In this study, paleoflood analyses were performed in order to determine the frequency of flood and overflow incidents which have caused loss of life and property in Batman in recent years. Batman, founded as Iluh village in Southeastern Turkey, is now a city thanks to developments in oil industry in migration from rural areas within 50 years. The number and frequency of floods are increasing as city center expanded to the river bed. Sediment log wells are opened to determine paleoflood features. Thermoluminescence and radiocarbon analyses are applied to the samples collected from log wells near Iluh riverbed where river fan widens. The sedimentological data revealed that 3 catastrophic flood occurred at present location of the city center. Radiocarbon analyses ( 14 C) dated the first flood 1420±21 years BP, the third was dated back to 220±25 years BP. According to historical data, the period of the second flood between the first and third one dates back to 800 years BP. Thermoluminescence analyses showed a decrease in flood energy from past to present. Other than these analyses, regional scaled geoarchaeological and historical data and studies on the climate changes were compared and the accuracy of the discovered dates was tested.


Gregory of Nyssa, of course, was very concerned with the movement of truth from the invisible to the visible: from the uncreated to the created, the adiastemic to the diastemic, the akinetic to the kinetic, the non-lingual to the lingual, and, most fundamentally, from the transcendent pre-incarnate Trinity to the incarnate Christ. First as a polemical strategy against the Neo-Arians and then as a constructive method of producing theology, Gregory wrestled with the status of truth and, more to the point of this study, its original structure. He forged an intrinsic link between how truth could manifest itself within creation and how he could speak it with language originally constituted by the very stuff of creation. That is, he wrestled with the material culture of revelation and the material culture of the production of theology. Keywords: Gregory of Nyssa; textuality; trinity


Path and Keyword search in XML documents has recently become an active area of research, in which constructing an effective index is a key issue. Existing index structures and encoding schemes for XML query processing target the Parent-Child and Ancestor-Descendant relationships, however, they depend on large index space and complex algorithms used to process regular path expressions. In this paper, we first introduce an encoding scheme by which the relationship of two nodes on a DOM tree and the topology of n nodes of a tree can be calculated efficiently. Then, we propose a novel index approach which is separated into two parts. One, called path index, keeps the path information of XML documents. The other, called value index, stores the content. Experiments show that the approach is more effective than the traditional ones, namely DataGuide and XISS, in terms of running time and size of index space.


Black pod disease is caused by fungi of the species Phytophthora palmivora or Phytophthora megakarya. The disease causes darkening of affected areas of cocoa trees and/or fruits and leads to significant reduction in crop yields and decreases lifespan of the plant. This study presents a simple S_1S_2IT-type model with variable population size to assess the impact of fungicide treatment on the dynamics of the black pod disease. We do both theoretical studies and numerical simulations of the model. In particular, we analyze the existence of equilibrium points and their stability, simulate the model using data on reported black pod cases from Ghana. In addition, we perform sensitivity analysis of the basic reproduction number with respect to the model parameters. The results show that the top three parameters that govern the dynamics of the black pod disease are the treatment rate, transmission rate, and planting rate of new trees


In 1984, it was discovered that cells of a common laboratory strain of Candida albicans could be induced to switch frequently and reversibly between a number of distinct colony phenotypes by exposing them, for a brief period, to a low dose of UV irradiation (Slutsky et al., 1985). It was subsequently demonstrated that most strains of C. albicans were capable of high-frequency phenotypic switching, and that many commensal and infecting strains were already in a high-frequency mode of switching (PomCs et al., 1985; Odds & MersonDavies, 1989; Soll et al., 1987, 1989; Hellstein et al., 1993). Evidence has also emerged that pathogenic strains, on average, switch at higher frequencies than commensal strains (Hellstein et al., 1993 ; Gallagher et al., 1992; Soll, 1992; Jones et al., 1994), and that different strains form somewhat different colony morphologies in their switching repertoires, but follow the same rules (Soll, 1992). Switching was initially discriminated through differences in colony morphology on zinc-limiting agar (Slutsky et al., 1985; Soll, 1992), and in most strains, differences in colony morphology have been demonstrated to be due to differences in the spatial distribution of budding cells, pseudohyphae and hyphae in the colony dome (Soll et al., 1991). However, with the discovery (Slutsky et al., 1987) and characterization (Slutsky et al., 1987; Anderson & Soll, 1987; Anderson et al., 1989, 1990; Ghannoum et al., 1990; Kennedy et al., 1988; Kolotila & Diamond, 1990; Rikkerink et al., 1988; Vargas et d., 1994) of the white-opaque transition in C . albicans strain WO-1, it became clear that switching could affect simultaneously an extraordinary variety of cellular characteristics, which is not the case for other bacterial and eukaryotic switching systems (Glasgow et al., 1989; Swanson & Koomey, 1989; Barbour, 1989; Donelson, 1989). It also became clear that switching was distinct from the bud-hypha transition, although, as will be described, the two developmental programmes manipulate the transcription of at least one common gene by overlapping regulatory circuitry (Srikantha & Soll, 1993). After the discovery of switching in strain 315312, a literature search uncovered earlier studies on the variability of colony morphology in C . albicans that are now rarely cited, but that very likely involved analyses of switch phenotypes (Mackinnon, 1940; Negroni, 1935 ; Brown-Thomsen, 1968 ; Vogel & Sponeler, 1970). At the time switching was demonstrated in C. albicans strain 3153A, Porn& et al. (1985) demonstrated switching between a smooth and rough phenotype in C. albicans strain 1001, and suggested that switching was due to mitotic recombination, although this seemed improbable since the same authors presented evidence for highfrequency reversibility. It is now known that highfrequency phenotypic switching is quite pleiotropic, but phenotypically precise, and that it can affect a number of putative virulence traits (Soll, 1992), reinforcing the original suggestion that it represents, in its own right, a pathogenic strategy for generating phenotypic variability to deal with the broad variety of environmental changes a strain faces as a commensal and pathogen.


Several theoretical parallel‐imaging approaches are evaluated that seek to improve the efficiency of an MRI experiment involving multiple small samples, such as mice. The best method for our mouse phenotyping application is chosen in terms of efficiency and ease of implementation, and the approach is demonstrated at 1.5 T on a clinical scanner with an array of four shielded birdcage coils with four parallel receivers. Electronic interactions between the receiver channels in the system are quantified and a novel sensitivity‐encoding (SENSE)‐like postprocessing method is described to remove the resulting image ghosts. In parallel imaging with a four‐coil array, the time required for three‐dimensional (3D) high‐resolution imaging of four mice is reduced to one‐fourth the time that it would take to image the mice sequentially. Magn Reson Med 49:158–167, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


The main objective of this work is to investigate the impact of the quality of attribute data source on the performance of a target tracking algorithm.


Abstract: This work looks at the contemporary social movement known as Black Lives Matter created in the United States in 2013. Through critical race theory and whiteness studies, this work focuses solely on contemporary United States, and the institutions within the United States that have contributed to the development of this social movement. Black Lives Matter is analyzed as a unique expression of protest both physical and ideological a protest that directly reflects the reality of black and white identity, the weight these constructed identities carry in daily life in contemporary United States. Further, this work analyzes the role and position Black Lives Matter embodies as commentary on active political agenda that shows time and time again, that black lives are not perceived the same as white lives, nor are they protected by the very institutions that dictate social life. This work aims to show that the foundation of structural racism lies in a complex web of America's tragic and violent history of black of white violence, a contemporary problem that takes shapethrough police terrorism, and violent ideologies around blackness, black thought, that sees negative portrayls of black identity, effecting the intenal and external quality of life for black Americans. This work shows that by naming whiteness as an active social structure, there can be a positive development in the way in which people perceive and talk about racism, and considers the potential problems with white bodies tackling racism, in the context of a system created by and catered towards, white bodies.


Thyroid hemiagenesis is a very rare abnormality, where one thyroid lobe fails to develop. Most patients diagnosed with the disease have associated thyroidal diseases. We report a 32-year-old female who presented with the left thyroid mass that had gradually increased in size over two years. Thyroid scan revealed the absence of right lobe and isthmus and a hypoactive nodule in the lower pole of left lobe. Ultrasonography confirmed the right lobe and the isthmus agenesis. The operative findings confirmed hemiagenesis of the right lobe and nodular hyperplasia in the left lobe. The purpose of this report is to present a case of nodular hyperplasia, where agenesis of the contralateral lobe was also observed


In pre‐Columbian times, Indian diets were markedly different from patterns that have developed after forced introduction of refined modern foods. The nutritional outcomes of this change have been inferred but not documented. To this end, samples of traditional Hopi and Papago Indian foods and federal commodity foods donated in 1971–72 were analyzed for nitrogen and 15 other elements. Native foods produced in the Arizona reservation areas were consistently higher in essential minerals than were the substituted commodity foods. The Hopi culinary practice of adding ashes of green plants (usually ash of chamisa or spent bean pods and vines) to various corn foods raised still further the already superior content of most minerals, notably calcium and iron. Some uncultivated plant foods were found to be rich sources of minerals, especially Papago dried cholla cactus buds which contained 2.8 percent of calcium. These tribes appear to have had a better probability of meeting mineral needs from locally grown and tr...


Abstract : A model for the optical cross section of deep centers, which is superior to the hydrogenic model used for shallow centers, has been developed. Ga-doped Si appears to be a sensitive extrinsic photoconductor that can be more heavily doped than available Ge photoconductors. The characteristics of the particular Ga-doped Si examined are Na = 1.2 x 10 to the 16th power/cu cm, N sub D = 2 x 10 to the 14th power/cu cm, E sub A = 0.071ev, Blip temperature = 40K, Detectivity = 6 x 10 to the 8th power cm(cps) 1/2/watt, and tau = 10 to the minus 9th power second at 40K. These results appear to justify examination of Si doped closer to the Ga solubility limit (4 x 10 to the 19th power/cu cm). (Author)


Introduction: Catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF) is an established therapeutic rhythm approach in symptomatic patients. Obesity is a dominant driver of AF recurrence after ablation. Weight reduction strategies lower general AF burden and as such may be critical to long-term success rates after ablation. Hypothesis: Long-term outcomes after AF ablation will be better in obese patients with sustained weight loss. Methods: All patients that underwent an index ablation with a BMI recorded and >30 kg/m 2 and at least 3 years of follow-up were included (n=407). The group was separated and compared by weight trends over the 3 years (1. Lost >3% of index weight, n=141; 2. Maintained index weight ±3%, n=147; 3. Gained >3% of index weight at 3 years, n=119). Long-term outcomes included AF recurrence and a composite defined as major adverse clinical events, MACE (stroke/TIA, heart failure (HF) hospitalization, and death). Results: The average age was 63.6±10.4 years, 59.3% were male and 51.7% had paroxysmal AF. AF comorbidities include: hypertension (79.5%), heart failure (36.0%), sleep apnea (35.2%), diabetes (28.9%), and stroke/TIA (5.9%). Those that maintained their weight (HR: 1.45, p=0.05) and those that gained weight (HR 1.54, p=0.07) were more likely to have AF recurrence compared to those that lost weight. Similarly, MACE increased from 18.4% in those that lost weight at 3 years compared to 18.6% (HR 1.32, p=0.29) in those that maintained their weight and 26.5% in those that gained weight (HR 2.01, p=0.02). A small group of patients (n=5), lost >3% then gained it back and ultimately increased their weight by 3%. This group had the highest rates of AF recurrence (100%). Conclusion: Maintained weight loss is a critical component in reducing AF recurrence rates after index catheter ablation in obese patients. Sustained weight loss also results in a reduction in AF-related comorbidities and mortality.


A bound on the cardinality of planar triangulations with minimum angle is considered. It is shown that a certain integral over the edges of the triangulation is bounded by times the number of vertices. This is an alteration of a result by Mitchell [6], and allows an optimality bound on triangulations which are "well-graded" to the local feature size of an input domain [7]. In particular, this result allows some improvement on the output guarantees of a robust version of Ruppert's Algorithm [8, 7]. A pathological triangulation proves that the bound is tight. "! # %$'&)(* #+,$ !


The Gotland Deep is a temporary anoxic basin in the central Baltic Sea that is frequently subjected to inflow events which result in oxygenation of the deep water. We examined the protistan community structure in this environment several months after such an inflow event by analyzing small subunit ribosomal RNA (18S rRNA) sequences from samples collected in the oxic-anoxic tran- sition zone (200 m) and in the sulfidic waters below (220 m). While ciliates and fungal phylotypes in the clone libraries decreased (40 to 14% and 25 to 8%, respectively) from the transition zone to the deeper sulfidic waters, jakobid phylotype abundance increased from 7 to 32%. Heterotrophic choanoflagellates and stramenopiles accounted for 7 to 10% of the phylotypes at both depths. Other taxonomic groups (e.g. dinoflagellates, cercozoans, perkinsozoans, amoebae, centroheliozoans) were rare. Seven phylotypes were shared between the 2 libraries, with a higher number of phylotypes with broader taxonomic representation occurring in the sulfidic compared to the suboxic water sample. Only a small proportion (9%) of the 18S cDNA sequences in the Gotland Deep clone libraries were closely (>95% sequences similarity) related to previously described sequences.


Firstly,the paper summarizes the present situation of urban system in Huaihai Economic Zone,and some conclusions are drawn:Urban system is relatively perfect,but the urban primacy index is too small,scale distribution is lopsided;urban density is comparatively big,spatial distribution is fairly balanced;characteristics along axis direction of urban distribution are obvious.Then urban scale structure and spatial distribution are studied by using Zipf rule and correlation dimension.Some proposals are put forward for the optimization of urban system,such as strengthening leading status of Xuzhou as primary central city;emphatically developing regional central cities;actively developing small cities and quickening the construction of regional spatial structure axis;establishing and perfecting the unified and coordinated mechanism.


This study investigates the development of German word formation as an important step in mastering complex lexical items for the language learning child. Thirty mother— child dyads participated. Means of word formation and resulting word categories were analyzed in children's spontaneous speech at ages 1;9, 1;11, 2;6, and 3;0. In contrast to the acquisition of English, the results show simultaneous development of compounds and derivations. German toddlers produce more verbal than nominal derivations and more compounds based on verbs than on nouns. The findings suggest that (1) there are cross-linguistic differences in the development of word formation devices, and (2) children rely heavily on verbs in word formation.


The invention relates to a method and a device for transferring a colour pattern on or into an object (10), using a support (12) which is printed with the colour pattern. The colour pattern is transferred from the support (12) onto an object (10) to be decorated. A gas jet (20) is used to help apply the support (12) to the object (10).


This chapter sets about to provide the background and orientation needed to set a novice designer on his or her way to bringing haptics successfully into an interactive product. To define appropriate roles for haptic interaction, it is necessary to integrate a basic awareness of human capabilities on one hand and current device technology on the other. Here, I explore this integration by first summarizing the most salient constraints imposed by both humans and hardware. I then proceed to relate perceptual, motor, and attentional capabilities to a selection of emerging application contexts chosen to be relevant to contemporary design trends and opportunities. These include abstract communication and notification, augmentation of graphical user interfaces, expressive control, affective communication, and mobile and handheld computing. Our touch (haptic) sense is such an integral part of our everyday experience that few of us really notice it. Notice it now, as you go about your business. Within and beneath our skin lie layers of ingenious and diverse tactile receptors comprising our tactile sensing subsystem. These receptors enable us to parse textures, assess temperature and material, guide dexterous manipulations, find a page's edge to turn it, and deduce a friend's mood from a touch of his hand. Intermingled with our muscle fibers and within our joints are load cells and position transducers making up our proprioceptive sense, which tell our nervous systems of a limb's position and motion and the resistance it encounters. Without these and their close integration with our body's motor control, it would be exceedingly difficult to break an egg neatly into a bowl, play a piano, walk without tripping, stroke a pet, write, draw, or even type. Touch is our earliest sense to develop (Montagu, 1986). It has evolved to work in a tight partnership with vision and hearing in many ways we are only beginning to understand, as we study processes (such as hand-eye coordination) and how we process conflicting or competing information from different senses. In stark contrast to the importance of touch in our everyday experience, the use of touch is marginalized in contemporary computer interfaces, overlooked in the rush to accommodate graphical capability in desktop-based systems. The primary advances have been in feel-focused improvements in nonactuated pointing tools for both function and aesthetics. Scroll wheels have been designed for the user to click with just the right resistance and frequency; and most cell phones now come with vibrators that indicate incoming calls. Meanwhile, the use of haptic feedback in the consumer sphere is largely limited to gaming, and tactile feedback to simple cell phone alerts.


This instrumental case study demonstrates the need for patients to be able to draw upon their own spiritual and religious vocabularies in order to reconstruct narrative self-continuity in the wake of debilitating illness. Through the presentation of case material taken from a series of semi-structured interviews with a 77-year-old female Roman Catholic patient who suffered a crisis of faith following a spinal cord injury and a stroke, the author illustrates key aspects of life history and religious beliefs and practices—such as lives of the saints, devotions, mystical experiences, sacred time, sacred symbols, and sacred space—to engage narrative ethics around typologies and therapeutic plots supplied by others. Narrative analysis of such discursive resources from the perspective of spiritual health can help inter-professional healthcare teams understand more fully patient needs and holistic best practices within rehabilitation environments.


Explanations are provided by expert systems to reassure their users of the validity of conclusions and of the relevance of queries. This paper, which addresses explanation in the context of simulation models, describes an expert system that is entirely devoted to explanation. The purpose of the system is to explain the results, i.e. the quantitative behaviour, of simulation models. In doing so, it makes use of information incorporated as an essential part of the simulation model that it is explaining as well as other information included solely for its explanatory use. What the system attempts to do is to provide the type of help a user of a simulation model might hope to receive from the designer and implementor of the model. A wide range of support is provided covering such matters as details of initial values of variables, implementation details, information about the structure of the model and help with interpreting results.


The parasequence is redefined by the principle of sequence stratigraphy and it is either a upwards shallowing sequence or upwards deepening sequence. According to the isochronism of tectonic surface, a coal-bed and coal-bed group, the Yanan Formation in Jurassic at the west Ordos Basin is subdivided into 21 parasequences, 5 parasequence groups, and 3 system tracts. The primary filling system tracts consists mainly of braid river sedimentary system; The overlap filling system tract consists of meandering-delta-lacustrine sedimentary systems; And the off-lap filling system tract consists of meandering-delta sedimentary system. It indicates that the Yanan Formation is a whole third order sequence and has undergone the formation, development, atrophy of the basin.


Numerical experiments were performed to clarify apparent differences between experimental observations and a theoretical prediction of the secondary instability in plane Poiseuille flow. It is shown that subharmonic breakdown is unlikely in natural transition as a result of the initial growth of what we call the ''minus'' modes and consequent forcing of Orr–Sommerfeld modes present in the background noise. Subharmonic breakdown was achieved only when these minus modes were continuously suppressed.


This letter is concerned with robust control of discrete-time linear stochastic systems with coefficient matrices given by polytopic martingales. To the best of our knowledge, this class of stochastic systems have not been dealt with as a target of control due to the absence of required theory. For such systems, we discuss the following two types of approaches for robust stabilization: One is the proposed stochastic control approach using the martingale property of the coefficient matrices, and the other is a deterministic control approach without using the information. Through theoretical and numerical comparisons of the two approaches, we demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed stochastic control approach in the sense of conservativeness.


Lead halide perovskite nanocrystals (NCs) are eminent for their emission properties, but lead (Pb) toxicity and moisture instability become an impediment to their commercial use. To resolve these obstacles and...


With the rapidly increasing demand for and use of engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) in agriculture and related sectors, concerns over the risks to agricultural systems and to crop safety have been the focus of a number of investigations. Significant evidence exists for NP accumulation in soils, including potential particle transformation in the rhizosphere and within terrestrial plants, resulting in subsequent uptake by plants that can yield physiological deficits and molecular alterations that directly undermine crop quality and food safety. In this review, we document in vitro and in vivo characterization of NPs in both growth media and biological matrices; compare the NP uptake patterns, biotransformation, and underlying mechanisms of nanotoxicity; and summarize the environmental implications of NP presence in agricultural ecosystems. A clear understanding of nano-impacts (advantages and disadvantages) on crop plants will help to optimize the safe and sustainable application of nanotechnology in agricult...


The aging of Europe's population is a crucial challenge for the 21st century. Today, the mean life expectancy in Sweden is 83 years for women and 78 for men. Providing health care of high quality o ...


It is difficult to use the traditional linearized methods to explain the mechanisms for nonlinear phenomenon such as lurch of the underwater vehicle. In this paper the bifurcation theory and the principles of continuation based on homotopy techniques were applied to stable state response and motion stability analysis of the underwater vehicle. The results were verified by simulation using direct numerical integrations of the fully nonlinear, coupled six degrees-of-freedom equations of motion for the underwater vehicle. It provides a nonlinear analysis method for motion of the underwater vehicle.


In the near future, video is going to be the major Internet traffic and the most popular standard used to transport and view video is MPEG. The MPEG traffic is VBR (variable bit rate) traffic & in the form of a time-series representing frame/VOP (video object planes) sizes. Video traffic prediction and modeling is important in enhancing the reliable operation over these networks. In this paper, the MPEG-4 VBR video traffic is predicted by ANN (Artificial Neural Network). The arm is to predict the future frame of video stream. In single frame prediction problem, the information of previous frame sizes is used to predict the next frame size of the sequence. As a tool for the prediction, we use neural network - multilayer perception feed forward neural network. (FMLP). The prediction results of neural network have compared with the traditional averaging method. The results show that the neural approach is best as compared to averaging approach.


Color constancy is a human characteristic that can recognize the color of an object correctly, even if the color of the illumination light changes. We constructed a network that reproduces the color constancy by pix2pix, an adversarial generative network. However, the current network has problems. For example, the network cannot output the color and shape of object parts correctly when the illumination is extreme colors, and the object and the background in the image assimilate. This research tries to improve the accuracy of the color constancy network by using the segmentation technique. We generate a mask image by the segmentation network from the input image, where the object part is white and the background is black. Then, we input the mask image to the network in the same way as the input image and add the information of the mask image to the network processing of the input image. By inputting the mask image, the information of the target object region is added to the color constancy network. It is possible to clarify the region of the object in the input image and to reproduce the shape and color of the object, which the existing color constancy network cannot reproduce.


The present invention, as at least the surface of the one, via a layer directly or one or more layers, in order from the substrate side in order, the low refractive index layer, middle refractive layer, and a transparent conductive laminate formed by laminating the transparent conductive layer material of the substrate, the refractive index of the low refractive index layer 1.40 ~ 1.50, the refractive index of the middle refractive index layer 1.50 ~ 1.80, and also, that the film density of the intermediate refractive layer 2.5 ~ 4.5 g / ㎤ is characterized by a transparent conductive laminate, and then the transparent conductive an electronic device or a module using the layered product. According to the present invention, the transparent conductive laminate, the moist heat resistance and excellent optical properties it is provided a transparent conductive laminate, and electronic devices or modules.


A Decision Support Model to Identify Causes of Human Error Creating Information Systems Failure L. van Deventer Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Stellenbosch, Private Bag X1, Matieland 7602, South Africa. Thesis: MEng (Industrial) November 2015 The smooth operation of information systems has a powerful impact on an organisation's nancial performance and success. The failure of information systems continues to be an issue for organisations and the human errors connected to these failures are not fully understood nor is there a set of guidelines that can identify these errors and their causes. The study identi es the most common human errors and seeks to ultimately create a decision support model that aids in minimising human errors that result in the failure of information systems. Case studies are used to create a model which can identify relevant human errors. Focus is set upon the di erent classi cations of errors and their possible environments, and then linked to the identi ed errors. This creates a path to identifying the causes, as well as their solutions. In order to link the causes and solutions to each context, validation is done through the use of surveys. The output is a simple model that can be used by managers to nd the causes of human error, rather than treating the symptoms thereof. The model's accuracy is measured with the use of Face validity. ii Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za


Ferroelectricity, which refers to the switching property of polarizations in a material, has been an important topic in material science. To be ferroelectrics, crystals must crystallize in one of the ten polar point groups: 1 (C1), 2 (C2), m (Cs), mm2 (C2v), 4 (C4), 4mm (C4v), 3 (C3), 3m (C3v), 6 (C6), and 6mm (C6v). Ferroelectric materials have a variety of technologically applications, as transducers, capacitors, sensors, etc. However, the studies of ferroelectrics mainly focused on inorganic materials such as BaTiO3 and Pb(Zr, Ti)O3. As the increasing concerns about the energy and environment, molecular ferroelectrics are believed to be the promising alternatives of conventional inorganic ferroelectrics. Great interests in molecular ferroelectrics have emerged due to their structural flexibility, tunability and homochirality. However, the discoveries of molecular ferroelectrics are not abundant. The lack of diverse chemical design is thought to be the main challenge in realizing new molecular ferroelectrics. As a result, chemical design approaches, including the ideas of introducing quasi-spherical theory, homochirality and H/F substitution, have been developed recently. Through these advanced methodologies, a wide range of ferroelectrics were successfully synthesised, changing the blind search into the targeted chemical design. In this perspective, we aim to provide insight into the fundamental chemistry and physics of molecular ferroelectric materials and propose the concept of "ferroelectrochemistry", which is concerned with the target design and performance optimization of molecular ferroelectrics from the chemical point of view. We start with the basic theory used in the modification of the chemical structure for new molecular ferroelectrics, such as the quasi-spherical theory and quantum matching theory. After that, we focus on the fundamentals of homochirality in the perspective of chemistry and advantages of introducing a homochiral molecule within the scope of ferroelectrics. The introduction of homochirality increases the chance of designing new molecular ferroelectrics because the homochiral compounds are more likely to crystallize in one of the five chiral-polar point group (C1, C2, C4, C3, C6). Further, we explore another design strategy, H/F substitution as an analogue of H/D isotope effect. We note that the introduction of F atom usually makes the polar point group unchanged but may sometimes lead to a minor structural disruption but may enhance the physical properties such as the Curie temperature (Tc) and spontaneous polarization (Ps). Finally, based on the extensive achievements after using the proposed design approaches, we made our prospects for the future directions of target designs on new molecular ferroelectrics with excellent performance. We hope our comprehensive studies on the target design and performance optimization strategies for molecular ferroelectrics may build up and enrich the content of ferroelectrochemistry.


This study explores the chronological and functional relationship between the Mongchontoseong and Pungnabtoseong, the two royal capital cities of Hanseong Baekje State (300 AD-475 AD). As a result of accumulation of excavation data, it is possible to examine the archaeological aspects of regarding the management of the two capital cities in Baekje. According to the summed probability distribution of radiocarbon dates and pottery type analysis, an apex period of Pungnabtoseong was preceded to Mongchontoseong. Moreover, based upon the Bayesian modeling of radiocarbon dates and settlement patterns, the usage period of the capital cities can be divided into three. In Phase 1, Pungnabtoseong was firstly occupied and residential facilities appeared. In Phase 2, ritual facilities and urban infrastructure were viably installed in Pungnabtoseong. During Phase 3, as Mongchontoseong began to expand its scale, the function of Pungnabtoseong changed. While ritual and storage facilities were mostl-y found in Pungnabtoseong, residential, ritual, storage facilities and other infrastructure were comprehensively identified in Mongchontoseong. The spatial-temporal change in two capital cities presents the change in urban management of capitals during the early Baekje state. Before the construction of Mongchontoseong, Pungnabtoseong was used as a singular capital city. However, Mongchontoseong concurrently took a role of the urban center under different functions with Pungnabtoseong.


great importance, on account of its affording the accoucheur information of the highest value to guide him in the treatment of laboui rendered difficult by deformities of the pelvis, or other cause of contraction of the genital passage, 01* by enlargement of the head. It is several years since 1 called the attention of the profession to the remarkable neglect of intrauterine craniometry, while the closely correlated procedure of pelvimetry was, and had long been, the subject of much investigation and experiment, and that not without valuable results for practice. Io show the practical importance of intrauterine craniometiy is so evidently a work of supererogation that I shall not entei upon it. It is the natural and now desiderated complement of pelvimetry; each, in any individual case, adding importance and interest to the other. And it is the more desiderated on account of the recognised


Texas Tech researchers talk about their findings from studying the effects of radiation at the exclusion zone in Chernobyl, Ukraine, as this month marks the 25th anniversary of the nuclear disaster; Provost Smith interview segment with Ron Mitchell, Rawls College of Business Administration; the online research magazine for Texas Tech, Discoveries, is launched this month.


Structure and lithiation mechanism of the nongraphitizable carbon (hard carbon) fiber were determined by X-ray and neutron diffraction-pattern simulation, neutron small-angle scattering, and neutron total scattering techniques. The structure of the hard carbon is formed by two-dimensional graphene sheets, which are spaced by narrow interlayer space and slightly larger interlayer space, corresponding to the periodically layered region and the interlayer voids, respectively. The shape of these voids on the nanosize was characterized by a combination of ellipsoid and random branching form. The lithiation proceeded by two steps. At a shallow lithiation region, lithium intercalated into the periodically layered region and the interlayer spacing of this region expanded. At the deep lithiation stage, lithium was inserted into the interlayer nanovoid and the void size increased. The coordination numbers of the constituent ions indicated a two-dimensional graphene sheet in the whole structure; this supports the "wave" model for the hard carbon structure. Based on our X-ray and neutron scattering experiments, a new structure model and a lithiation mechanism are proposed.


The renin‐angiotensin system (RAS) plays a crucial role in the regulation of blood pressure, fluid electrolyte homeostasis, and vascular development. Renin or a renin‐like enzyme evolved in primitive vertebrates and is conserved throughout the vertebrate phylogeny. The ontogenic development of renin, however, has not been well understood. We aimed to determine expression patterns and relative abundance of renin mRNA in pre‐ and postnatal chickens (Gallus gallus, White Leghorn breed) using primers designed by the NCBI PrimerBlast tool. On embryonic day 13 (E13) embryos show renal tubules, undifferentiated mesenchymal structures, and a small number of developing glomeruli. Maturing glomeruli are seen in post‐hatch day 4 (D4) and day 30 (D30) kidneys, indicating that nephrogenic areas still exist in 4‐week‐old kidneys. In E13 embryos, renin mRNA measured by qPCR in the adrenal glands is equivalent to the expression in the kidneys, whereas in post‐hatch D4 and D30 maturing chicks, renal renin expressions became much higher (10–15‐hold) and relative renin expression became lower in the liver and adrenals. Also, renin expression becomes clearly visible by in situ hybridization in the juxtaglomerular (JG) area in D4 and D30, but not in E13 embryos. The results suggest that in chickens, renin evolved in both renal (presumably in arteries and arterioles) and extrarenal organs at an early stage of ontogeny and, with maturation, is more localized in the JG area of the kidney. Clear JG structures are not morphologically detectable in E13 embryos, but are visible in 4‐week‐old chicks, supporting this concept. The early appearance of the chicken angiotensin type 1 receptor agrees with renin ontogeny.


This brief statement reports on the comments of Professor Smartya Sen from Harvard University at the August 17 1995 lecture "Population Policy: Authoritarianism versus Cooperation" in New Delhi India. Professor Sen believes that coercion is increasing in Indias government family planning program. Coercion is not viewed as Indias government policy but as a by-product of firm insistence that family planning centers meet targets. Coercion is manifested in verbal threats requiring sterilization for eligibility in anti-poverty programs depriving mothers of more than two children giving preferences in health services to sterilized persons and prohibiting persons who have more than two children from contesting elections to local councils. Mr. Sen is reported as connecting Indian policy makers actions with Chinas "successful draconian" measures in the one-child policy since 1979. Mr. Sen believes that Indian policy makers who admire Chinas progress have neglected the role of socioeconomic development in reducing fertility in China. Examples are given of the southern Indian states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu which in 1979 had higher birth rates than China and reduced fertility to 1.8 and 2.2 respectively. The Chinese fertility decline is viewed by Mr. Sen as slower than in these Indian states. These Indian states are recognized for noncoercive family planning and advancements in female literacy and social development. Mr. Sen stressed that couples are choosing small families in order to receive the benefits of a quality life. Fertility rates are considered to be the highest in countries that are socially backward in that they lack adequate educational opportunities health care life expectancy and womens empowerment.


Spacecraft array fed reflector antenna systems were assessed for particular application to a multiple fixed spot beam/multiple scanning spot beam system. Reflector optics systems are reviewed in addition to an investigation of the feasibility of the use of monolithic microwave integrated circuit power amplifiers and phase shifters in each element of the array feed.


This study aims to obtain new empirical evidence regarding: (1) the factors that affect tax compliance, and (2) differences in tax compliance based on: the type of taxpayer, classification and sources of income. This study uses cross section data period 2001-2011 obtained through field research in one of the Regional Office of Directorate General of Taxation and is estimated using Ordinary Least Square method approach Newey West. The results showed that the amount of income, income taxes, penalties, the probability of an audit, the audit frequency and experience to fill the SPT either individually or jointly significant positive effect on tax compliance. Through testing different between groups, corporate taxpayers are relatively more adherent than an individual, a high-income taxpayer, more obedient than the relatively low-income taxpayers, taxpayers operating in the service sector, relatively less adherent than taxpayers operating in the trade sector, while taxpayers operating in the industrial sector, relatively more adherent than taxpayers operating in the trade sector


When you suspect blunt nerve trauma, referral to a hand surgeon is prudent-even without evidence of acute compartment syndrome. The same is true if you discover ischemia in any part of the hand after injury. Try to control hemorrhage with compression and elevation of the involved extremity. If this is unsuccessful, use a short-duration tourniquet. Do not attempt to damp a bleeding vessel; the risk of causing serious nerve or tendon damage is too high. Avoid exploring wounds in the region distal to the midpalmar crease and proximal to the proximal interphalangeal flexor crease because of the high risk of damaging the flexor tendons and the annular ligaments in this region. Explore more proximal injuries cautiously to determine occult injury to the flexor tendon.


A staged multiport diffuser is schematized as an equivalent line source of momentum, neglecting the effects of effluent volume and buoyancy fluxes. Center-line effluent concentrations inferred from the predicted volumetric dilution induced by the diffuser discharge are in good agreement with values observed in laboratory scale models of staged diffusers. The theory is found to be applicable to the design of staged diffusers in coastal receiving waters.


During the past decade, commercial pork production has varied from 723 to 1,372 million pounds (dressed weight) per month. For the same period, the average farm price of hogs has ranged from $12 to $30. Consequently, net returns to hog producers were highly variable. Agricultural economists have devoted considerable research effort to estimating the quantity-price relationship for pork. Purcell and Raunikar suggest that the relationship between price and quantity of pork may differ for positive and negative changes in the price of pork at the retail level.


Follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) will induce red-orange pigmentation in non-ovariectomized female leopard lizards (Crotaphytus wislizenii) in 7-21 days depending upon the season. Progesterone is judged to be an important hormone in the process of color change, and will bring about pigmentation in the absence of ovarian tissue. Estrogen alone has no apparent effect on color change, but when administered before progesterone it appears to have a priming effect.


For high-resolution spotlight synthetic aperture radar, Doppler aliasing is always introduced in the long synthetic aperture observation time. The existence of signal Doppler aliasing will greatly affect the accuracy of motion compensation. To avoid Doppler aliasing, it is an effective strategy to use the subaperture (SA) approach. However, it will introduce the long synthetic aperture time stitching problem of signal and phase error. Compared with the SA approach, the two-step approach (TSA) based on the full aperture not only eliminates the Doppler aliasing but also avoids the signal splicing problem. Therefore, a two-dimensional (2-D) frequency-domain autofocus combined with the TSA is adopted in this article. First, TSA is used to perform dealiasing and coarse focusing imaging on full-aperture (FA) data. Second, the phase error history and the phase error form in the TSA process are analyzed and deduced, and an accurate prior structure of the phase errors is established. Then, the accurate inversion of the common 2-D phase errors is realized based on this prior structure. Finally, the autofocus process of the FA signal combined with the TSA is realized in the nonaliasing 2-D frequency domain. The validity of the recommended algorithm is verified by simulation and experimental results.


Objective: to evaluate the efficacy of a 32-week school physical education programme on low-back pain in elementary and secondary schoolchildren. Material and methods: Forty-one elementary school children (fifth-grade, mean age of 10.27 ± 0.31 years) and 43 secondary school adolescents (twograde, mean age of 13.46 ± 0.68 years) were assigned to the control (n = 40) or intervention group (n = 44). The intervention subjects were involved in an organised physical education programme including hamstrings stretching, endurance strength of the abdominal and lumbar muscles, and pelvic tilt during the two-weekly school physical education classes over 32 weeks. The control group was not subjected to the organized programme. Low back pain was registered and pain intensity was recorded using the Visual Analogue Scale. Results: The experimental group showed a statistically significant decrease of low back pain frequency while the control group evidenced an increase. For pain intensity no significant differences were found. Conclusion: The children and adolescents who were subjected to the school physical education programme showed a reduction of low back pain frequency, while a tendency toward the rising frequency of low back pain was detected for the control subjects.


Erythrocyte concentrations and fluxes of sodium and potassium were investigated in normal black and white male subjects. Erythrocyte sodium concentration was significantly elevated in blacks compared to whites. In single regression analysis erythrocyte sodium concentration was inversely related to the ouabain-sensitive 86Rb-uptake and to the frusemide-sensitive sodium efflux. After adjusting for race, only the relationship between the erythrocyte sodium concentration and the Na+, K+-ATpase pump activity persisted. The sodium-lithium countertransport system was also depressed in the black subjects. No significant difference was observed in erythrocyte potassium concentration between blacks and white. It is probable that, in blacks the decreased active influx of potassium through the sodium-potassium pump was to some extent counter balanced by a reduced efflux of this cationic mediated by the depressed cotransport system. There was no difference in cationic concentrations and fluxes of sodium and potassium between blacks bearing and not bearing haemoglobin S.


OBJECTIVE To study the therapeutic effect of two different approaches in treating supracondylar fracture of humerus.METHODS 128 cases of supracondylar fracture of humerus children were randomly divided into two groups.The 88 patients in observation group were treated with bilateral triceps brachii approach group,and the 40 cases control group were treated by approach of extra-articular osteotomy of olecranon,they were performed opened reduction and cross,Kirschner wire fixation,and comparatively evaluated indices of two groups.RESULTS The excellence rate of restored function of supracondylar fracture of humerus children in bilateral triceps brachii approach group was 90.9%,which was significantly better than 75.0% in control group(P﹤0.05);and the operation time in observation group was 39.2±13.4 min,with postoperative blood loss 53.2±10.7 ml,and with immobilization time of plaster 20.1±4.8 d and VAS score 4.6±1.6,which were significantly better than control group(P﹤0.05).CONCLUSION The effect of bilateral triceps brachii approach for supracondylar fracture of humerus children is better than the approach of extra-articular osteotomy of olecranon.


A detailed anaylsis and examples are presented that show how to enrich the kinematics of classical Kirchhoff plate theory by appending them with a set of continuous piecewise-cubic functions. This analysis is used to obtain functions that contain the effects of laminate heterogeneity and asymmetry on the variations of the inplane displacements and transverse shearing stresses, for use with a {3, 0} plate theory in which these distributions are specified apriori. The functions used for the enrichment are based on the improved zig-zag plate theory presented recently by Tessler, Di Scuva, and Gherlone. With the approach presented herein, the inplane displacements are represented by a set of continuous piecewise-cubic functions, and the transverse shearing stresses and strains are represented by a set of piecewise-quadratic functions that are discontinuous at the ply interfaces.


The Internet has been and will be an indispensable tool, for travel consumers in general and travelers visiting Asia in particular. To reflect the latest development of the Asian e-tourism industry, this column reviews asia-hotels.com (URL: www.asishotels.com), an online provider of Asian hotel reservations and guide. In the role of being part of the Internet series written for the Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research this article discusses the background of the website, analyzes its available functions and service and evaluates the overall usefulness of the website.


This thesis describes new approaches to the asymmetric synthesis of cyclic non-proteinogenic a-amino acids (NPAAs) and amino acid derivatives from (2/?)-3-benzoyl-4-methylene-2-phenyloxazolidin-5-one. In the first Chapter, an overview of the strategies used for the synthesis of these compounds and also their biological activities was provided. It was found that for the preparation of cyclic a-amino acids in high enantiomeric purity, starting materials with a chiral auxiliary have generally been employed. In Chapter Two, the synthesis of cyclic N P A A s , through the thermally induced Diels-Alder reactions of (2R )-3-benzoyl-4-methylene-2phenyloxazolidin-5-one (8) and substituted 1,3-butadienes and substituted 1,3-cyclohexadienes was explored. In general, the reactions were found to be highly regio selective and exo-diastereoselective. The exo selectivity of these reactions was explained by a secondary orbital interaction between the Af-donor group of the oxazolidinone ring of (8) (a captodative alkene) and the diene. The N P A A , (2S,4S)-2-aminobicyclo[2.2.2]octane-2carboxylic acid, was prepared in optically active form starting with (8) and cyclohexadiene. In Chapter Three, the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions of (2R)-3benzoyl-4-methylene-2-phenyloxazolidin-5-one (14) with nitrones and nitrile oxides are reported. In general the nitrone reactions occur under equilibrating conditions to give the more stable adducts that result from addition to the exo -cyclic methylene of (14) from the sterically more hindered 7t-face. The major adducts from the reaction of (14) and nitrile oxides (2) and (37) had the expected stereochemistry, addition of the 1,3dipole occurred from the least hindered 7C-face of the exo-cychc methylene


A K KOUL, I A HAMAL and S K G U P T A Department of Bio-Sciences, University of Jammu, Jammu 180 001, India MS received 24 February 1989; revised 19 August 1989 Abstract. Exposed nectar, abundant pollen production, zygomorphic flowers and compact umbels are the contrivances which attract in large numbers a wide variety of insect species to coriander flowers. Some of these visitors carry coriander pollen from one flower/umbel To another and by so doing actas potential pollinators; others ate only casual visitors.


Summary Hyperhomocysteinemia is an established risk factor for atherosclerosis and vascular disease. Until the early nineties the relationship with venous thrombosis was controversial. At this moment ten case-control studies on venous thrombosis are published. We performed a meta-analysis of these reports. We performed a MEDLINE-search from 1984 through June 1997 on the keywords "homocysteine" or "hyperhomocysteinemia" and "venous thrombosis", which yielded ten eligible case-control studies. We found a pooled estimate of the odds ratio of 2.5 (95% CI 1.8-3.5) for a fasting plasma homocysteine concentration above the 95th percentile or mean plus two standard deviations calculated from the distribution of the respective control groups. For the post-methionine increase in homocysteine concentration we found a pooled estimate of 2.6 (95% CI 1.6-4.4). These data from case-control studies support hyperhomocysteinemia as a risk factor for venous thrombosis. Further research should focus on the pathophysiology of this relationship and on the clinical effects of reducing homocysteine levels by vitamin supplementation.


Polyarteritis nodosa (PAN) is an uncommon systemic necrotizing vasculitis affecting small and medium-sized arteries. Ocular involvement is present in 10% to 20% of patients with PAN and shows great diversity including peripheral ulcerative keratitis, necrotizing scleritis, retinal, and choroidal vasculitis.1 Direct ophthalmoscopic evidence of choroidal inflammation has rarely been reported in inflammatory conditions of the posterior segment because the overlying retinal changes usually block visualization of the choroidal vessels.2 A 47-year-old man with history of PAN was referred for a painless choroidal mass in his right eye. Ultrawidefield fundus image showed a nonpigmented nodule with chorioretinal folds and presumed choroidal vessels surrounded with patchy segmental orange infiltrates (Figure 1A). B-mode ultrasound scan revealed a solitary, hyperechoic, sessile-shaped scleral lesion with edema in the Tenon space ("T" sign) which was consistent with nodular posterior scleritis (Figure 1B). Midphase fluorescein angiography disclosed a mild hyperfluorescent area due to window defect (Figure 1C). Mid-phase and late-phase indocyanine green angiography demonstrated segmental choroidal vessel staining and late leakage without choroidal ischemia (Figure 1, D and E). Optical coherence tomography (OCT) scan through the choroidal vascular lesion showed hyperreflective thickening of the inflamed choroidal vessel wall (Figure 2, A and B). Laboratory investigations revealed elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate of 115 mm/ hour. Circulating immune complexes, antinuclear antibody, antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody, venereal disease tests, and QuantiFERON-TB Gold test were negative. After high-dose intravenous methylprednisone (1 g per day) for one week, follow-up OCT scan Fig. 1. Multimodal imaging features of segmental choroidal vasculitis reactive to nodular posterior scleritis. A. Ultra-widefield fundus image showed a nonpigmented nodule with chorioretinal folds and choroidal vessels surrounded with patchy segmental orange infiltrates (arrow). Orange square: enlarged inset highlighting the segmental choroidal vasculitis. B. B-mode ultrasound scan showed a solitary, hyperechoic, sessile-shaped scleral lesion (asterisk) with edema in the Tenon space ("T" sign) (arrow). C. Mid-phase fluorescein angiography showed mild hyperfluorescent area due to window defect (arrowhead). D and E. Mid-phase (D) and late-phase (E) indocyanine green angiography demonstrated segmental choroidal vessel staining and leakage (arrowhead) without choroidal ischemia. The green arrow in (E) indicates the position of the OCT B-scan after the bifurcation of the affected choroidal vessel.


Tremendous developments in Information Technology (IT) have enabled us to store and process huge amounts of data at unprecedented rates. This phenomenon largely impacts business processes. The field of process discovery, originating from the area of process mining, is concerned with automatically discovering process models from event data related to the execution of business processes. In this paper, we assess the scalability of applying process discovery techniques in data intensive environments. We propose ways to compute the internal data abstractions used by the discovery techniques within the MapReduce framework. The combination of MapReduce and process discovery enables us to tackle much bigger event logs in less time. Our generic approach scales linearly in terms of the data size and the number of computational resources used, and thus, shows great potential for the adoption of process discovery in a Big Data context.


that I AM is the name of the spirit; and 15 in still clearer language answers the query of Moses with mention of the name. But who can deduce such meaning from "I AM THAT I AM"? Instead, this phrase becomes one of mockery, denying Moses the revelation he had implored. And the variant renderings are even more derisively cynical. Now these are possible renderings of the Hebrew, yet, if the writer had meant such, he would much better have said DANI DASHER DANI, or DANI DASHER DEHYEH, or even the unusual ANI DASHER HOYEH. In other words, our accepted translations, while possible, are at best of doubtful validity. And it will be evident that, whatever may be the correct translation, the error here has arisen through taking the subject of the first verb as at the same time the antecedent of the relative. It should be borne in mind that the Hebrew "relative" clause has a wide syntax. It occurs frequently as subject of the verb, or as object (see Gaenssle, "The Hebrew Particle Asher," ?? 62 and 66; K5nig, Syntax der Hebrdischen Sprache, ? 384; Ewald, Hebrew Syntax, ? 336a [1]; Gesenius-Kautsch [Cowley], Hebrew Grammar, ? 155 n.). Particularly revealing for our present problem is Isa. 41:24, which, except for the omission of the relative particle, is identical in form with the passage we are discussing. It is seen at once that the relative clause is the predicate of a nominal sentence: "An abomination (is) who-chooses-them." Then one should add numerous other similar passages, notably those listed by Kdnig under the caption "Pridicativsdtze" (op cit., ? 383a) among which, to his credit be it mentioned, he actually includes in its correct order Exod. 3:14. Beyond a question Kdnig is right; the 'ASHER clause in this passage, rather than the verbal element in the first 'EHYEH, is predicate of the sentence. There can be no reasonable doubt that the correct translation is "I-AM is who I am"-a rendering far remote from the similar wording of R.V. W. A. IRWIN


Objective: The anxiolytic activity of the methanol extract of Trachyspermum ammi. L was investigated by hole board and passive avoidance response test. Methods: The study was conducted using hole board and passive avoidance response tests. 21 male albino mice and rats for each hole board test and passive avoidance response test were used respectively. In both the experiments animals were equally divided into three groups; control, given 2% gum tragacanth (10 ml/kg), standard given diazepam (1 mg/kg) and test group given 50 mg/kg extract of Trachyspermum ammi. L. The data were subjected to analysis by taking mean and standard error to the mean using one sample t-test. Results: The extract of Trachyspermum ammi. L revealed a decrease of 17.43 counts/3 minutes in number of head dips (hole board test) as compared to control, which was almost comparable to diazepam. The decrease in compartment change time (passive avoidance response test) of Trachyspermum ammi L treated animals was 107.2 seconds as compared to control. All of the changes were statistically highly significant. Conclusion: The Methanol extract of Trachyspermum Ammi. L showed anxiolytic activity may be due to the presence of thymol in it, which has the mechanism similar to that of benzodiazepines but further studies are needed to reach a final conclusion.


Health professionals tend not to think much about 'health'. This is for a very good reason. They are normally too busy doing specific things with specific ends in sight, for example, reassuring someone, making them more comfortable, vaccinating them, excising a tumour, prescribing pain killers, or giving dietary advice.... There is an important sense in which thinking about health in the midst of this is beside the point.....


Objective To observe the efficacy and safety of Nd: YAG 1064 nm laser therapy,itraconazole therapy in the treatment for onychomycosis. Method Sixty patients with 125 nails infected by fungi were randomly assigned to two groups. The nails in group A were treated by Nd: YAG 1064 nm laser. The nails in group B were treated by itraconazole. By following the patients of each group at 8 weeks,16 weeks,and 24 weeks,both clinical and mycological efficacy was evaluated. Results In group A,the effective rates at 8 weeks,16 weeks,and 24 weeks were 78. 9%,52. 6% and 52. 6% respectively. In group B the effective rates were 80. 9%,66. 2% and 67. 6% respectively. There was no significant difference in the treatment efficacy between the two groups( P 0. 05). Conclusion Long pulse Nd: YAG 1064 nm laser therapy was a simple and effective method without significant complications or side effects. The difference in the treatment efficacy between the laser therapy and the drug therapy for patients with mild or moderate onychomycosis was not significant,so laser therapy could be considered in first-line therapy.


The article dwells on the place of executive power in the system of that one of state. Opposing to some positions established in science the author substantiates the provisions aimed at the disclosure of genuine predestination of executive power and sequential effectuation of power branches division in reference to the form of governance in Tajikistan. The complex of problems dealt with in the article brings to the logical conclusion which runs to the following effect: the goal of building up a scientifically grounded and effective mechanism of realization an actual agenda of the current day.


The paper addresses a two-dimensional boundary identification (reconstruction) problem in steady-state heat conduction. Having found the solution to the Laplace equation by superpositioning T-complete functions, the unknown boundary of a plane region is approximated by polynomials of an increasing degree. The provided examples indicate that sufficient accuracy can be obtained with a use of polynomials of a relatively low degree, which allows avoidance of large systems of nonlinear equations. Numerical simulations for assessing the performance of the proposed algorithm show better than 1% accuracy after a few iterations and very low sensitivity to small data errors.


INTRODUCTION. Recent in vitro studies of human adult articular chondrocytes have shown that interleukin-1 (IL-1) is much more effective in shutting down aggrecan synthesis than in promoting its degradation by proteolytic enzymes such as aggrecanase [1]. Indeed, at the low concentrations (< 100 picogram/ml) found in OA joint fluid, IL-1 inhibits aggrecan synthesis without inducing chondrocytic chondrolysis [1]. We have postulated, therefore, that it is much more likely that loss of matrix homeostasis in the late stages of OA is the direct result of a downregulation of the enhanced biosynthetic "repair" processes rather than of a further increase in the rate of catabolic activities by the chondrocytes [1]. To shed more light on the response of chondrocytes to IL-1, we examined if adult human articular chondrocytes, which synthesize aggrecan at a fast rate, are more or less susceptible to IL-1-induced downregulation of aggrecan synthesis.


To date, the researchers who have investigated the problem of altruistic, helping or sharing behavior have stressed the effects of modeling, positive reinforcement or nurturance in this process. A search of the literature (e.g. Bryan, 1972) fails to reveal a single study in which the effects of the negative reinforcement on sharing has been examined. This apparent bias does not seem to be supported by naturalistic observations of mothers and their children. Most observers could probably report at least one instance of an attempt by a mother to utilize negative reinforcement to induce sharing behavior. The use of negative reinforcement in the form of threats, for example, is probably a very common occurance in such mother-child interactions. Thus, it would seem that negative reinforcement could be an important factor in the socialization of sharing. In fact, Grusec (1971) has suggested that children's sharing behaviors may be motivated by fear of disapproval. To date, this hypothesis has not been tested. Investigations of helping or sharing with children have typically been conducted in a game context (Rosenhan and White, 1967; Aronfreed, 1970). The child, the subject, wins something of value in the game and is then asked to contribute part of his winnings to someone deserving of help. These deserving individuals are labeled &dquo;poor children&dquo;, &dquo;war orphans&dquo;, etc., and are usually depicted in photographs designed to elicit the --


EPIDEMIOLOGY OF ARDS LUNG SAFE study was an international, multi-centre, prospective cohort study of patients undergoing invasive or noninvasive ventilation who were admitted to 459 intensive care units (ICU) for 4 consecutive weeks in the northern hemisphere winter of 2014 in 50 countries (doi: 10. 1001/jama.2016.0291). The primary outcome was the proportion of admissions diagnosed with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). The secondary outcomes were assessment of clinician recognition of ARDS, what ventilatory management was used, and clinical outcomes. Of 29 144 patients admitted, 3022 (10.4%) had ARDS, 2377 were managed with mechanical ventilation which was 23.4% of those ventilated on ICU during this period. The prevalence of mild ARDS was 30.0%, moderate 46.6% and severe 23.4%. When the clinician recognised ARDS this was associated with higher positive end expiratory pressure ventilation, greater use of neuromuscular blockade, and prone positioning. Hospital mortality was 34.9% for those with mild, 40.3% for those with moderate, and 46.1% for those with severe ARDS.


Investigations were carried out on the effect of seed dressing chemicals on the beneficial predators in the Bt cotton ecosystem during 2021-22. All seed dressing insecticides were found safer to the natural enemies as the population of Chrysoperla and ladybird beetle were found comparable to population of untreated control treatment up to 37 days of seed treatment. Similarly, the spider population was also not affected up to 17 days of seed treatment. Thereafter, the population of natural enemies was found higher with the higher prey (sucking pests) populations in the untreated check compared to treatments of seed dressing chemicals and in later treatments, there was no significant difference. The maximum population of spiders (0.52/plant), Chrysoperla (0.42/plant) and ladybird beetle (0.42/plant) was observed in the untreated control. Yield data indicated that the treatment with imidacloprid 70 WG @ 3 g kg-1 obtained highest seed cotton yield (21.69 q ha-1) and it was found superior over the other seed treatments.


SURGICAL sequelae of bilharzial disease are mostly confined to the urogenital tract, and various writers refer to the well-known conditions. Marks (1956) refers to pathology of the bladder, ureter, colon, rectum, appendix, Fallopian tubes, uterus, cervix, vagina, testis, liver, pancreas, and perineal granulomata. Pesigan (1951) and Recio (1951) cite cases of cerebral schistosomiasis. Makar (1955) refers to cases of bilharzial pericystitis and in severe cases to thickening of the peritoneum due to bilharzial infiltrations. Gelfand (1957) and Manson-Bahr (1954) also refer to the usual sites affected. No case has as yet been reported of bilharzial cholecystitis or the formation of calculi in the biliary tract due to bilharziasis. The following case is worth reporting, not only on account of its probable rarity, but also because we will probably see many more cases in Africa, at least for the following few decades.


In this paper, we solve the problem of robust collision free motion planning for a nonholonomic planar vehicle in a stationary unknown envoirnment. The vehicle tracks its own position, the heading, and is equipped with a sensor with limited sensor range and uncertainties to detect stationary obstacles along the path.The vehicle moves with constant velocity and a bounded curvature. A robust hybrid control policy is proposed which ensures stationary obstacle avoidance in the presence of measurement uncertainties e.g. a radar cone. Furthermore, the proposed policy is geometric explainable. The robustness requires no numerical optimization, it simply results in a min-max algorithm.


Up to 25000 km of keystoned flat cable must be produced for the SCC (Superconducting Super Collider) project. Starting from a specification developed by Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, a special cabling machine has been designed to run at a speed corresponding to a maximum production rate of 10 m/min. This cabling machine is the key part of the production line, which consists of a precision Turkshead equipped with a variable power drive, a caterpillar, a dimensional control bench, a data acquisition system, and a take-up unit. The main features of the cabling unit described are a design with nearly equal path between spool and assembling point for all the wires and the possibility of running the machine with several over- or under-twisting ratios between cable and wires. These requirements led to the choice of an unconventional mechanical concept. With this equipment, the first trial run using 30 strands of superconducting wire produced cable within the dimensional tolerances at speeds up to 10 m/min without any crossovers. >


In this paper, a magnetic field sensor based on a multilongitudinal mode fiber laser has been proposed by employing a rotary apparatus modulated by an external magnetic field. Due to the remarkable birefringence change caused by the fiber twist, the polarimetric mode beat frequency (PMBF) of the laser is sensitive to the applied magnetic field intensity. Experimental results show that the PMBF linearly shifts with the variation of the magnetic field intensity and the sensitivity reaches up to 10.4 KHz Oe−1 in the range of 0–270 Oe. Moreover, such a device has the advantages of easy fabrication, low cost and high resolution, offering potentials in the weak magnetic field applications.


This paper introduces an operational wellness model that forms the basis of a wellness visualization system. The operational wellness model is needed to determine a common reference enabling the evaluation of the visualization system. Existing definitions of wellness and wellness evaluation models have limitations and cannot be realized in software. The proposed model comprises the operational definition of wellness and the operational wellness evaluation model. The results generated by the operational wellness model will be used in the wellness visualization system. The model presents numerous advantages: it is extensible, computable, and can be rendered by a computer program.


We study the semilinear nonlocal equation ut = J ∗ u − u − u p in the whole R N. First, we prove the global well-posedness for initial conditions u(x ,0 )= u0(x) ∈ L 1 (R N ) ∩ L ∞ (R N ). Next, we obtain the long time behaviour of the solutions. We show that different behaviours are possible depending on the exponent p and the kernel J: finite time extinction for p< 1, faster than exponential decay for the linear case p = 1, a weakly nonlinear behaviour for p large enough and a decay governed by the nonlinear term when p is greater than one but not so large.


The present invention provides a data storage method which comprises: partitioning attribute information of data to be stored into homogenous attribute information and discriminative attribute information, wherein the homogenous attribute information comprises common information of different individuals in a category of the data, and the discriminative attribute information comprises information of each different individuals in the category of the data; carrying out layering and encoding on the homogenous attribute information of the data according to a sequence of ranges to which the homogenous attribute information belongs from high to low or from low to high so as to obtain meaningful codes of the data; creating a sublist for containing the discriminative attribute information of the individuals for the individuals in the category of the data; and and filling the discriminative attribute information of the data into the sublist.


This chapter is concerned with how to calibrate a computer model to observational data when the model produces multivariate output and is expensive to run. The significance of considering models with long run times is that they can be run only at a limited number of different inputs, ruling out a brute-force Monte Carlo approach. Consequently, all inference must be done with a limited ensemble of model runs. In this chapter we use this ensemble to train a meta-model of the computer simulator, which we refer to as an emulator (Sacks et al. 1989). The emulator provides a probabilistic description of our beliefs about the computer model and can be used as a cheap surrogate for the simulator in the calibration process. For any input configuration not in the original ensemble of model runs, the emulator provides a probability distribution describing our uncertainty about the model's output. The Bayesian approach to calibration of computer experiments using emulators was described by Kennedy and O'Hagan (2001). Their approach was for univariate computer models, and in this chapter we show how those methods can be extended to deal with multivariate models. We use principal component analysis to project the multivariate model output onto a lower dimensional space, and then use Gaussian processes to emulate the map from the input space to the lower dimensional space. We can then reconstruct from the subspace to the original data space. This gives a


e15602Background: We assessed the prognostic signi cance of, and the relationship between, the pretreatment lymphocyte- to-monocyte ratio (LMR) and the TILs/tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) rati...


A secure routing scheme plays an integral role in ensuring the secure routing and efficiency of wireless sensor networks (WSNs). Recently, many studies have been undertaken to improve the data aggregation process, data security, and routing security. However, these approaches are highly suffered due to major limitations like time complexity, malicious attacks, and data insecurity. This research aims to develop an improved blockchain based encryption scheme for secure routing in wireless sensor networks using machine learning techniques. An improved artificial quantum beetle swarm neural network approach is proposed to perform the data aggregation among the sensor nodes. The cosine equivalent function and packet density correlation degree approach is emphasized to perform clustering in sensor nodes. The cluster head (CH) is selected based on the similarity of each sensor node. The Kalman filtering technique is introduced to filter out the data from unwanted malicious. This technique helps to filter the data before it is sent to the CH. Blockchain‐based encryption scheme is emphasized for data security by preventing malicious attacks during data transmission. The enhanced differential evaluation based firefly routing protocol is presented to maintain secure routing by choosing the optimal routing for the protected data transmission. Performance metrics such as latency, throughput, routing performance, energy consumption, FPR, blockchain (BC) computational performance, dead sensor count and average hop count are analyzed and compared with existing techniques. In an experimental scenario, the proposed approach achieves a maximum packet delay of 500 slots, throughput of 581 times/s, a latency of 0.31 ms, a computation complexity of 0.6, and a routing complexity of 2081 ms with a BC computation time of 95 ms. The performance of the proposed approach shows a better result than other existing approaches.


This paper introduces the capabilities of a general-purpose modeling and simulation approach named DEVS in multi-agent educational systems. Simulation provides both qualitative and quantitative information about correctness and efficiency which can help validate a multi-agent system (architectural) design before its actual implementation and thus deployment. Dynamic agent data helps designers to modify, refine or even propose new agent abstractions. DEVS-Suite simulator, a realization of Parallel DEVS, can model all components interacting in a multi-agent system, helping the designer and programmer to evaluate the system performance before the real implementation. This paper develops a description of a multi-agent system named MOMENT. A set of abstractions are formulated and their designs are realized in DEVS-Suite. A sample simulation study is conducted to illustrate the use of the MOMENT simulation in understanding some key design and performance aspects of educational multi-agent systems.


This study investigates the decision-making issues in the selection of destinations for large-scale exhibitions by the cultural and creative industry. We use the Rubber Duck China Tour by the Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman as an example and adopt the analytic network process technique to evaluate destination options for the exhibition, as well as to explore the impacts of the evaluation of destination feasibilities on exhibition investment. The results show that power, a high benefit-cost ratio, first-tier cities, integration with local communities, and a rich and interesting theme are the top five factors that curators should consider when planning exhibitions. Considering the priority among cities of various tiers, first-tier cities are the most favorable, followed by fourth-tier, third-tier, and second-tier cities. The decision-making model provides curators with a reliable reference for selecting destinations for future exhibitions.


This paper describes the design and simulations of reference low power current/voltage source in CMOS 0.35μm technology. Idea of the circuit is based on bandgap reference. Two voltages with different temperature coefficients are added resulting with near zero coefficient of output voltage. With use of Howlland current source the reference current is produced. In range of temperatures from −20° C to 80° C current changes by 0.25 % whereas voltage changes by 0.03 %. Circuit is supplied with 3 V and consumes 460 μW of power. Circuit area is 0.11 mm2.


This study investigates subjects' behavior in visual audio conflict conditions in stressful and stressless environments. To increase subjects' stress and anxiety in subjects we placed subjects in a chaotic city and to decrease subjects' stress we benefit from a green virtual environment. On the other hand to study the effect of sound on physiological data we designed confilict condition in which in the City environment participants heared the sound of Forest and in the Forest nvironment they heared the sound of City. To evaluate our findings we benefit from the heart rate of the participants which is directly related to subjects' emotions and participants can not involve their opinion to change this feature autonomously.


The implementation of a 16‐channel, low‐temperature bolometer linear detector array is described. The detectors are silicon samples, whose surfaces are doped with phosphorus by the technique of ionic implantation. A single digital processor implemented on a common PC both provides the scanning of the array and performs synchronous signal detection from the different bolometers. The actual system has been tested with a broad infrared source, and some possible improvements are indicated.


Multiple long non‐coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been demonstrated to function as vital regulators in the progression of prostate cancer (PCa). In the present study, we aimed to probe the function of lncRNA small nucleolar RNA host gene 8 (SNHG8) in PCa progression.


Hybridoma technique has made mouse monoclonal antibody. With the recombinant DNA technology and antibody library technology,people have modified mouse monoclonal antibody to overcome its clinical application defects,developed human-mouse chimeric antibody and humanized antibody and full human antibody. Because of good specificity and significant effects,monoclonal antibody drugs become a research hotspot of biopharmaceutical companies. With the development of biotechnology,a variety of monoclonal antibody derivatives are generated,including antibody-drug conjugates,small molecular antibodies and bispecific antibodies. In this article,the history,progress and prospect of therapeutic antibodies are reviewed.


INTRODUCTION — Thyroid nodules come to clinical attention when noted by the patient, or as an incidental finding during routine physical examination, or during a radiologic procedure, such as carotid ultrasonography, neck computed tomography (CT), or positron emission tomography (PET) scanning. Several different disorders can cause thyroid nodules (table 1). Their clinical importance is primarily related to the need to exclude thyroid cancer, which accounts for 4.0 to 6.5 percent of all thyroid nodules in non-surgical series [1-4].


In 1990, the Washington legislature enacted a number of laws designed to protect the community against sex offenders and to assist the victims of sex crimes.' By far the most controversial of these laws is a sexual psychopath law2 that is unique in American history. Sexual psychopath laws authorize indeterminate commitment for treatment and control of sex offenders believed to suffer from a mental disease or disorder and thought to be dangerous. Although most states no longer


With a University-wide theme of "learn by doing", all Cal Poly undergraduates are required to complete a Senior Project. Environmental Engineering students are encouraged to conduct an experimental or an applied design project to fulfill this requirement. Students who select new faculty members as their advisors frequently find themselves in the midst of an on-going chemical engineering based environmental research project. Since a student's time allocated for Senior Project is limited to the equivalent of four quarter units spanning a two quarter sequence, I have developed several procedures to facilitate the assimilation of students under my direction into these on-going projects. These procedures represent a unique combination of bringing research into the classroom, developing applied research skills in both lecture and laboratory courses, interactions with collaborative research groups, and individual instruction. The results have been promising with one student going on to win the national Air and Waste Management Association (AWMA) award for the best student paper. Several other students are either planning to or have gone on to pursue graduate engineering degrees in either chemical or environmental engineering.


Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text. Background Mortality among patients admitted to the ICU after cardiac arrest is high. Hemodynamic management in the phase of postresuscitation care is recommended by international guidelines, but the optimal mean arterial pressure (MAP) range in postcardiac arrest patients with vasopressor support is still unclear. Objective The purpose of the article is to investigate the association between the time spent in different MAP categories and ICU mortality in postcardiac arrest patients admitted to the ICU surviving ≥24 h with vasopressor support. Design, settings and participants This retrospective observational study analysis on the basis of the multicenter ICU database (eICU database, eicu-crd.mit.edu) with high granularity data for 200 859 admissions admitted between 2014 and 2015 to one of 335 units at 208 hospitals located across the USA. Postcardiac arrest patients surviving ≥24 h with vasopressor support during the first 24 h were included. Exposure The main exposure was time spent in different MAP categories during the first 24 h after ICU admission. Outcome measures and analysis The primary outcome was ICU mortality. Associations between time spent in different MAP categories and ICU mortality were evaluated using 10 MAP thresholds: ≤100, ≤95, ≤90, ≤85, ≤80, ≤75, ≤70, ≤65, ≤60 and ≤55 mmHg. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to test the association between time spent in different MAP categories and ICU mortality. Main results The study included 1018 eligible subjects in ICUs from 156 hospitals. The ICU mortality rate was 44.5%. After adjusting for confounders, MAP thresholds of ≤60 mmHg (OR, 1.13; 95% CI, 1.02–1.24; P = 0.014) and ≤55 mmHg (OR, 1.25; 95% CI, 1.09–1.45; P = 0.002) were significantly associated with increased ICU mortality. MAP thresholds of 65 mmHg or above were not associated with ICU mortality. Conclusions This study suggests that maintaining a mean arterial pressure of equal or greater than 65 mmHg may be a reasonable target in postcardiac arrest patients admitted to the ICU with vasopressor support. However, further prospective randomized trials are needed to determine the optimal mean arterial pressure targets in this patient population.


The present study is a descriptive correlational research was conducted during the months of October to December of 2012 with mothers of children under 1 year with IRAs pneumonic not treated at the CS High Trujillo, in order to determine the relationship between the factors and the maternal practices biosocioculturales on non-pneumonic IRAs. The sample consisted of 100 mothers selected according to inclusion criteria. Data collection was obtained by applying the "Questionnaire biosocioculturales factors and maternal practices on non-pneumonic wrath (CFBPMIN)". The data were tabulated, processed in SPSS version 15 and presented in single and double entry table. The information obtained was processed and analyzed by the test of independence of criteria Chi square (X2). We conclude that most of the mothers were between 20-39 years (72%), 37 percent housewives, 43 percent secondary education level and 46 per cent level of knowledge about IRAs medio. Las maternal practices pneumonic not in children under 1 year were adequate in 68 percent. Maternal practices on non-pneumonic IRAs in children under 1 year showed significant relationship with the level of education and level of knowledge. Key Words: No pneumonic IRAs, biosociocultural factors and maternal practices.


The world's prison population has risen substantially in recent decades and now stands at well over 11 million. In much of the world, increases in prison populations have not been matched by additional resources. This has led to overcrowded and unhealthy environments, with reduced access to the basic minimum requirements for human health. Well over 60 per cent of countries have overcrowded prison systems today. Prisoners often arrive in prison with pre-existing mental and physical health problems, including untreated (perhaps undiagnosed) medical conditions. Poor material conditions and lack of healthcare cause these problems to worsen and can give rise to new health problems, among staff as well as prisoners.

The report aims to provoke fresh consideration of the health risks associated with the over-use of imprisonment and to explain why addressing them should be regarded as a policy priority. It draws on data collected for ICPR's international, comparative project, 'Understanding and reducing the use of imprisonment in ten countries', launched in 2017. The report does not seek to provide an exhaustive account of health-related vulnerabilities and interventions in the penal context. Rather, it highlights a number of key issues by drawing on recent academic research and policy reports from across the ten countries, and on sources produced by expert bodies.

The report also contains illustrative material about the lived custodial experience as it relates to health, much of it taken from interviews with prisoners and former prisoners in some of the ten countries. The latest available statistics on prison populations and overcrowding are provided.


The invention discloses an adjusting device of a static iron core of a stud welding gun. The adjusting device comprises a fixed sleeve, inside which a coil is arranged, and the static iron core, wherein the fixed sleeve is fixedly arranged in a welding gun shell, the tail end of a moving iron core is inserted from the front end of the fixed sleeve and can slide in the fixed sleeve, the front end of the static iron core is inserted from the tail end of the fixed sleeve and is mounted at the tail end of the fixed sleeve, a lifting clearance is reserved between the moving iron core and the static iron core, the static iron core is of a bolt shape, a threaded hole which can be screwed with the static iron core is formed in the fixed sleeve, the static iron core is screwed to the tail end of the fixed sleeve, a lock nut is screwed onto the static iron core and is located between the fixed sleeve and the flange of the tail end of the static iron core, and the static iron core can be locked in the fixed sleeve by the lock nut. The adjusting device has the advantages that the structure is simple, and the lifting clearance can be conveniently and reliably adjusted.


We present here a case of tricuspid valve endocarditis in a person who injects drugs (PWID) with Mycobacterium chelonae and Mycobacterium abscessus successfully treated with a combined medical and surgical approach. This case highlights multiple challenges faced in the cases of treating injection drug use endocarditis including delays in identification and diagnosis of mycobacterial organisms, concern for intravenous line manipulation, poly microbial endocarditis which can be difficult to detect, and need for patients to be admitted for prolonged periods. A systematic literature review of M. abscessus endocarditis is provided with parallels and teaching points between our case and the 14 additional reported cases identified, particularly our approach to addiction treatment in order to facilitate cure in this patient.


In this research, we collected 10 samples, 2 soil and 8 vegetables cultivated in orchard area allowing district agricultural land in Al-Khatib at a few distances from Kadhimiya district, and adjacent to the area Al-Huria samples are congested as in table 2 after the chemical digestion of the seamount by using the atomic absorption technique, we found the following results: The highest value of Cadmium in A5 sample was 0.0436 ppm and 0.026933 ppm, the highest value of Lead in the sample A1 (soil of Kadhimiya) was 0.07345 ppm average and the highest value of Brass in A2 was 1.1176 ppm and 0.1762 ppm. The highest value of Cadmium in B4 (Rashad) was 0.0514 ppm and 0.04303 ppm, and the highest value of Lead in B5 (Kirath) was 0.365 ppm and on average 0.2293 ppm, the value of Copper in B4 (Rashad) was 1.1491 ppm and 0.20185 ppm in seriously. The limits are permitted within the WHO (World Health Organization), and therefore, there is no contamination of these items in these regions A and B (allows bastinade Kadhimiya, Khatib) respectively.


The crop growth models have the functions of reflecting the interaction of crops and climatic environment,describing the growing process of crops,and quantifying the relationship between crop growth and environmental factors.In this paper,the suitability of crop growth model WOFOST was analyzed and tested in regional scale based on experimental data.Localized model WOFOST was used to quantify and dynamically evaluate the drought disaster of winter wheat in North China.Applying the standard of yield reduction rate and calamity degree and numerical simulation experiments,the study determined the main meteorological factor which leads to yield reduction and conducted drought index of winter wheat.Based on the drought index,drought disaster at typical years and decadal drought disaster were evaluated.


Summary The concepts of semi-presidentialism by Robert Elgie and Matthew S. Shugart differ greatly. When applied to Ukraine and Slovenia, this shows how a country can be categorized differently depending on the author's understanding of what the defining properties of semi-presidentialism are. Elgie's minimalist concept classifies both countries as semi-presidential, while Shugart's concept points out major differences between the systems of government of these two countries. According to the Shugart's concept, Ukraine is a semipresidential regime; Slovenia is not. These two concepts illustrate the divergences in defining semi-presidential systems and, consequently, the differences in the understanding of the properties and the functioning of political systems in various countries. By comparing the systems of government in those two countries and by the application of Robert Elgie's minimalist and Matthew Shugart's non-minimalist concepts I will test the usefulness of the minimalist concepts in a theoretical and practical way.


The Magdalena-Cauca River basin has 213 species of freshwater fish, of which slightly more than 50% are endemic. This basin accounts for 80% of the Colombian population, holds 80% of the national GDP and within its channels are located the 84% of the hydroelectric plants that supply energy to Colombia. The Andean mountains generate altitudinal gradients in aquatic systems as well as its associated biota along the Magdalena-Cauca basin. To analyze the interaction between the altitudinal gradient in the distribution of species of freshwater fish and the location of existing reservoirs, it was performed an analysis of the altitudinal distribution of endemic and migratory fish species and their implications for their conservation based on the current and future state in the
formation of reservoirs, using a review of case studies at global and national levels. It was found that the number of species is inversely proportional to altitude, while the endemics are directly proportional and reservoirs below 700 m altitude affect the conservation status of migratory species. A reservoir creates new species richness gradients and modifies the channels that are used by migratory species as spawning areas. We conclude that the
development of the hydropower based on the use of water in the Andean rivers and another activities associated with economic development of Colombian society, has led to changes in freshwater aquatic systems in the Magdalena-Cauca basin, influences in the structure of the assemblages of species of fish and in the dynamic of migration and spawning of freshwater fish species important for artisanal fisheries.


The growth of some Spanish eities has created the need to develop urbanistic projects in its surroundings, on lands that in many cases have been affected by the activity of the city itself, and specifically by the existence of garbage deposits or different kinds of waste products. The nature and characteristics or these waste deposits usually differ in every case, since they may correspond to urban solid waste with a great presence of organic matter, or inert spillings caused by industrial activities. The existence of these deposits is known with a higher or lower degree of accuracy in some cases, while it is absolutely unknown in others, because the old deposits were conditioned for a subsequent use of the ground in a way that after several years it would be impossible to identify their location just by observing the site.


There has been considerable discussion on the question of determining total sulphur in urine. Folinl has suggested the use of sodium peroxide as oxidizing agent in determining total urinary sulphur. Benedict,2 by the use of copper nitrate and potassium chlorate, obtains results comparable with those of the Folin method. Ritson3 by using barium peroxide, obtains somewhat higher values than are given by the sodium peroxide method; this, however, as stated by Benedict,4 does not prove the accuracy of the method. Gill and Grindley5 have likewise obtained higher results than are given by the Folin method, but FolirP considers that the nitric acid method used by them is less reliable than the peroxide method, as described by him. The two methods which thus far have given check results are the sodium peroxide method of Folin and the copper nitrate method of Benedict. While recently engaged in making a large number of determinations of sulphur in the urines of subjects who were given various doses of sulphurous acid (eating sulphured peaches) and of sodium sulphite, using the Benedict method, the opportunity was offered not only for check determinations when the urine contained abnormally large amounts of sulphur, but also for making further comparisons with the method of fusing with sodium peroxide.