In their provocative report, Glader and collaborators demonstrated the presence of comparable amounts of circulating immunocomplexes with C. pneumoniae antibodies in 78 subjects who later suffered an acute myocardial infarction and in 156 matched controls. No significant difference in the C. pneumonia antibodies (IgG or IgA) titres (soluble or circulating immunocomplex-associated) was detected between the two categories of subjects. However, C. pneumoniae circulating immunocomplexes were found to contain more lipoprotein(a) in cases than in controls, with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease when circulating immunocomplexes had >13 mg . l 1 of the lipoprotein(a). Based on the synergistic interaction between high lipoprotein(a) and C. pneumonia antibodies in circulating immunocomplexes, the authors hypothesized that C. pneumonia antibodies could form immunocomplexes with some lipoprotein(a) epitopes cross-reactive with C. pneumoniae antigen. Although some serological determinations used throughout this study are far from being standardized and no direct proof that lipoprotein(a) is antigenically recognized by C. pneumonia antibodies is provided, nonetheless, the overall data lends some implicit support to the possibility that at least one component of atherosclerosis relies upon an autoimmune disorder, and that some circulating immunocomplexes of particular combination are involved in the initial endothelial damage. The autoimmune theory of the atherosclerotic process is not new, nor is the idea novel that circulating immunocomplexes may play a role in this and other cardiovascular diseases. The novelty of the study by Glader et al. rather resides in the suggestion that at least some of the C. pneumonia antibodies in circulating immunocomplexes would indeed interact with (recognize?) lipoprotein(a), thus assigning to this risk factor for myocardial infarction the possible role of a C. pneumoniae antigen mimic. Antigenic mimicry is a widespread phenomenon whereby microbial epitopes are naturally endowed


Thanks to its significances in human daily life and suggesting valuable clues to wearable robotic devices, studying on the dynamic characteristics of human wrist joint has been recently aroused increasing interests. Despite great successes and breakthroughs, the biomechanical properties, especially the impedance characteristics, of human wrist joint have not been fully or deeply investigated. In order to study the passive and active impedance characteristics of human wrist joint, this paper firstly develops a wrist joint impedance measurement instrument (WriJIMI) based on the principle of series elasticity. Then, a reliable and accurate estimation method is adopted to describe the dynamics of wrist joint. Afterwards, the accuracy and reliability of the developed device are verified via experimental tests. Finally, some other experimental tests are conducted over 8 subjects to investigate the passive and active impedance characteristics of human wrist joint. In terms of studying the characteristics of impedance, a real-time feedback training method is also designed to guide subjects to control their degrees of forearm muscles co-contraction. The experimental results reveal that there are no obvious relationship between inertial parameters and forearm muscle activation, whereas the damping and stiffness parameters gradually increase as human wrist muscle activations increase. Moreover, passive impedance of wrist joint estimated in this paper is consistent with current research results.


Robots sometimes face hardware and algorithmic challenges that exceed their capabilities, e.g., an armless robot pressing an elevator button. Previous work suggests that rather than augmenting the robot capabilities, sometimes robots can simply ask for help. A central contribution of this paper is the discovery of how people's helping behaviors vary within local microcultures, i.e., shared patterns of behaviors and norms linked to local atmospheric conditions and situations. Our methods combine techniques from both social robotics research and ethnography to investigate how people's helping behaviors toward robots vary across six cafes on a single college campus. We deploy a simple robot to request help ordering items, analyzing the 268 interaction instances to find significant variations in both help and care behaviors toward the robot. Microcultural and situational factors influence this help, motivating the inclusion of cultural criteria into the behavioral predictions of human-robot interaction systems.


The stratigraphic sequence of Montou (Eastern Pyrenees, France) covers a period from the middle Neolithic to the late Bronze Age. Environmental changes are noticed since the middle Neolithic, when the decline of the deciduous oak favours, in the long term, the evergreen oaks. The Chalcolithic period witnesses the arrival and spread of mesomediterranean and thermomediterranean plant formations. This evolution may result from increasing anthropogenic pressure as shown by the maintenance of a garrigue vegetation during the Bronze Age. The association charcoal analysis/quantitative anatomy offers new perspectives concerning vegetation changes. Both approaches record the existence of mesomediterranean bioclimatic conditions during the middle Neolithic; thermomediterranean affinities are recorded first, by charcoal analysis, during the early Bronze Age, and by eco-anatomy during the transition from the middle to the late Bronze Age. Quantitative anatomy also pinpoints (1) the existence of two humid phases, (2) an increase in mean annual temperature, and (3) the exploitation and management of the olive tree since the early Bronze Age.


Clay minerals are widely distributed in nature, and their applications have been rapidly developed in the last decade or so due to their unique physical and chemical properties. Since the most researched is the modification of clay minerals, this paper introduces the types of clay, basic structural characteristics and common modification methods. The methods of modified clay include high-temperature excitation and acid-base excitation methods to stimulate the activity of clay minerals, as well as interlayer ion exchange modification methods, clay surface grafting techniques such as sol-gel method, surface hydroxyl grafting modification and other methods, and also introduces the intercalation methods, including solution intercalation method, In situ polymerization intercalation method, etc. The applications and developments of clay minerals are summarized, from traditional industrial applications to environmental protection and high-tech nanomaterials, mainly in the automotive industry, environment-friendly materials and catalysts.


By analyzing the relationship between the teaching reform of embedded system experiment and students' innovative ability training,this paper discussed how to improve students' synthesis quality and capacity,especially how to come into being the innovational spirit,and improve the innovational ability.


Genetic modification of the association between peripubertal dioxin exposure and pubertal onset in a cohort of Russian boys" (2013). Cell and Developmental Biology Publications and Presentations. Paper 118. Most diseases arise from the interplay between environmental factors and genetic susceptibility (Bookman et al. 2011). A substantial number of gene–environment interactions have been identified and replicated in epide-miologic studies (Hunter 2005). However, many environmental factors have yet to be assessed in gene–environment studies, including exposure to dioxins. Dioxins are a class of persistent environmental pollutants that have been linked to cancer (Michalek and Pavuk 2008), diabetes (Consonni et al. 2008), car-diovascular disease (Humblet et al. 2008), and endocrine disruption (Pavuk et al. 2003). Different rat strains have lethal doses (median lethal dose, at 50%; LD 50) of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) that vary by a factor of 1,000 (Pohjanvirta et al. 1993). Dioxins may therefore be an environmental exposure for which genetic factors affect susceptibility. Identifying genetically susceptible subgroups is important for ascertaining the exposure levels that are sufficiently low to protect the most vulnerable members of the population, and may also clarify dioxin's mechanisms of action. Dioxin's mechanism of action has been studied for > 30 years (Okey 2007), which facilitates the study of gene–environment susceptibility. Dioxins bind to the aryl hydro carbon receptor (AhR), which, after dissociating from its complex of chaperone proteins in the cytoplasm (including HSP90 and XAP2) translocates to the nucleus. There it forms a complex with the ARNT protein, which binds to dioxin-responsive elements and alters the expression patterns of a large number of genes (Franc et al. 2008). In addition to its direct effect on transcription, the AhR is involved in many protein–protein inter actions, including with various protein kinases, and pathways related to cell-cycle progression and apoptosis (Puga et al. 2009). Although the specific molecular mechanisms that transduce the toxic effects of dioxins are not fully understood , the pathways described above provide a ready list of potential genes that might affect susceptibility to dioxin exposure, thus allowing a targeted genetic approach. There is currently no clear consensus over the optimal statistical method for analyzing medium-to large-scale gene–environment interaction studies (Thomas 2010) in order to minimize false positives due to testing many of these interactions. One common approach reviewed by the NIEHS, and approved for publication. Approval does not signify that the contents necessarily reflect the views of the Agency, nor does the mention of …


Interfirm collaborations are an important source of resources and competitive advantage. Few enterprises have all of the crucial resources to compete effectively with competitors in the current dynamic landscape. Hence, enterprises seek access to the resources needed through joint ventures. Since joint venture as one of the equity alliances, this paper is to examine the relationships between joint venture and competitive advantage of the alliance management employing the theoretical framework transaction costs and strategic behavior. Effective alliance management begins with partnership selecting. Hence, to look further insight into the joint venture as a source of competitive advantage for enterprises, this paper utilize a case study of the Taiwanese fastener enterprises that secure for interfirm collaboration through joint ventures and formed an international marketing company, U-WIN FASTENERS CO., LTD in July 7, 2001. Due to its well-established industrial system and industrial cluster, Taiwanese fastener industry is capable exerting itself production-based competitive advantage. Thus, it has enjoyed an outstanding reputation around the worldwide for "The Kingdom of Fastener" in the total exporting supplies since 1984. Specifically, in the resulting we can see the fastener enterprises adopt joint ventures it indeed not only minimizes the sum of production and transaction costs but also maximizes profits through improving an enterprise's competitive position.


Background: Intraoperative continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) has been utilized during liver transplantation (LT). Our objective was to assess intraoperative CRRT for metabolic control, postoperative complications and outcomes. Methods: Retrospective matched cohort study. Cases were LT patients receiving intraoperative CRRT. Controls were matched for demographics and Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score. Data were extracted on physiology, course and outcomes. Results: 72 patients were included. Despite effort to match by MELD, cases had higher scores (35.4 vs. 29.9, p = 0.01) compared to controls. Preoperatively, cases received more vasopressors (p = 0.006), and more RRT (94.4 vs. 25.7%, p < 0.0001). There was no difference in complications (p = 0.35) or ICU re-admission rate (p = 0.29). Cases were more likely to require postoperative RRT (p < 0.0001). There was no difference in hospital mortality (p = 0.61). Conclusions: LT patients selected for intraoperative CRRT more commonly have hemodynamic instability and preoperative acute kidney injury requiring RRT. Despite higher illness severity for cases, there were no differences in complications or mortality.


The invention discloses a processing method of a metal pipe material. The method comprises the steps that: (1) the metal pipe is heated, such that the temperature turns from an environment temperature to a working temperature; (2) under the working temperature, the metal pipe is subjected to hot pressure processing; and (3) the metal pipe is rapidly cooled, such that the temperature turns to the environment temperature. With the processing method, the metal pipe is subjected to only the three simple steps which are heating, hot processing, and rapid cooling, such that the processing upon the metal pipe is realized. Compared with a metal pipe material cold processing method in prior arts, with the hot processing method, work-hardening of the metal pipe material is avoided, such that the production efficiency of the metal pipe material is improved, and the production cost of the metal pipe material is reduced. Further, the whole metal pipe material processing method is advantaged in simple processing process and convenient operation.


Background: Hyperkalemia is a common electrolyte disorder in the emergency department, its presence is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. The main causes reported are related to decreased excretion as in patients with impaired renal function and associated with drug intake. Our objectives were to know the prevalence, etiology, management, and outcomes in these patients. Methods: This is a retrospective and observational study. All adult patients admitted to the emergency department with a diagnosis of hyperkalemia from June 2018 to December 2019 were included. We identified 4 groups associated with the development of hyperkalemia: Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) or decompensated Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD), associated with drugs, inadequate dialysis, and others. Demographic data, comorbidities, home medications, clinical and laboratory findings at presentation, management, and patient outcomes were collected from these patients. Results: We included 175 patients; the prevalence of hyperkalemia was 2.1%. In 59% of the cases, hyperkalemia was attributed to AKI or decompensated CKD, 15% to inadequate hemodialysis, 18% associated with medications, and the remaining 8% to dehydration and gastrointestinal bleeding. The general mortality of patients admitted to the Emergency Department (ED) of our institution in the same study period was 7.5% and among the patients included in this study it was 17%. Conclusions. Mortality in patients admitted to the emergency department with hyperkalemia is higher. We found that those with drug-associated hyperkalemia and hyperkalemia attributed to AKI or decompensated CKD have a longer hospital stay and mortality than hyperkalemia associated with inadequate dialysis and dehydration.


Measured position angles of 149 galaxies that lie in a sheet near the void in Corona Borealis are presented. The distribution of positions and position angles is tested for alignment; none is detected. 17 refs.


We propose a novel design to enhance third harmonic generation (THG) using individual Au nanorods (NRs) coated with gain materials. The present design avoids the use of conventional gap systems, where complicated semiconductor techniques must be used in order to realize the corresponding high-resolution planar structures. As such, this design can contribute to a significant THG enhancement from nanoparticles; this THG is especially favorable for many applications (e.g, photovoltaic devices, bioimaging, and therapy). We perform numerical simulations using a finite-difference time domain (FDTD) in order to identify the origin of the enhanced nonlinear response based on the present system. In addition, we present an effective method to characterize the third harmonics by using Fourier analysis separating them from the excited light. The results show that the THG enhancement of the gain-assisted Au NR with a critical gain coefficient is one to two orders of magnitude greater than the highest values reported for gap THG systems.


Abstract Reactions of Mg(II) and Ca(II) chlorides with two carbonyl compounds (HL and HL′) in 1:1:1 molar ratio in ethanol have yielded mixed ligand complexes [MLL′(H2O)2] (where M = Mg(II) or Ca(II) and HL is 1-phenylbutane-1,3-dione and HL′ is salicylaldehyde, 2-hydroxyacetophenone, 2-hydroxypropiophenone or pentane-2,4-dione). These complexes have been characterized by elemental analyses, TLC, IR, electronic and NMR spectra.


With the development of China's economy and the growing scale of China's infuastructure construction,more highways,bridges,houses,etc.need to be built on the soft ground.There are various methods for managing soft ground,and many economical and effective methods have been widely used in engineering,Dry Jet Mixing method is one of them.In this paper,the static loading test is done to the DJM piles which are used in the Xinhugouhan Engineering in Gu Town,and the numerical evaluation calculation on the single dry-cement Jet mixing pile composite foundation is made by means of the finite element method (FEM).A good agreement has been found between the results of finite element calculation and measured data.


The technology of magnetic-control pendnlar arc applied to seam-tracking research in this paper.According to the characters of the pendular magnetic-control weld arc,the mathematic model was built,based on this MATLAB model was built by Simulink associated with M-files;Then the corresponding GUI was designed with the callback functions for objects,it has made the operation vivid and convenient;In the end,the main parameters that impact over simulation output was simulated and analysed,it provided academic foundation to the design of the magnetic-control pendnlar arc sensor and to the establishment of the pendular magnetic-control arc seam-tracking system.


It is pointed out that the photodissociation of H2O in the first absorption band is an ideal process for studies which can lead to an understanding of the basic principles of simple fragmentation phenomena. With modern quantum methods, this fragmentation can be studied on an ab initio basis, and theoretical predictions can be compared with experimental results. The present investigation is concerned with the preparation of a single rotational state in an excited vibrational state, taking into account a procedure based on the use of a tunable IR laser. The conducted experiment demonstrates that photodissociation of single, selectable states is possible. New insight is obtained with respect to fine details of simple fragmentation processes. 10 references.


The study of sound propagation through forested areas remains an important topic for the outdoor sound propagation community. Absorption from forest ground at low frequencies, multiple scattering caused by tree trunks and the modification of temperature and wind gradients directly impact sound propagation in significant forested areas. The present communication studied both multiple scattering and ground effects from numerical and experimental analyses. In a first approach the tree trunks are replaced with rigid cylinders in both numerical and experimental analyses. The Transmission Line Matrix (TLM) method has recently been validated for several cases related to outdoor sound propagation. This method is extended here to the study of multiple scattering and ground effects. 3D-numerical simulations are carried out for different configurations of scatterers and different types of ground impedances. A simplified 1:10 experimental scale model made of plastic cylinders and two types of grounds are used to perform the experimental analysis. The experimental results are discussed in comparison with the numerical model for different distributions of cylinders and ground effects.


This guide is an introduction to the resources available for researching Psychology. It covers resources available on Social, Clinical, Coaching and Developmental Psychology, as well as Cognition, Perception and Neurophysiology. How to reference using the APA 6th style guide


The collective task of understanding and developing leadership within an organisation being undertaken by those interested in organisational management and advocating views of distributed leadership is set against those in which the development of self as leader is advocated. In their transformational view of leadership, Kouzes and Posner assert that 'leadership development is selfdevelopment . . . the instrument of leadership is the self and mastery of the art of leadership comes from the mastery of the self' (Kouzes and Posner 2002, 390). This book contributes to our understanding of the emotional burden of this journey of self-discovery with respect to better understanding the inhabitation of the role of head teachers. As an application of Gardner's work on multiple intelligences, emotional intelligence has been highlighted as the key focus for leaders in thinking about their effectiveness (Goleman 1995, 1996; McWilliam and Hacker 2007) such that they work towards exhibiting 'appropriate' emotion (Goleman 1996, 56). Studying the 'emotional journeys' of head teachers in an explication of the affective dimension to their work, and distinguishing between 'feelings (what we experience internally), emotions (feelings that we show) and moods (feelings that persist over time)' (8), this work focuses mainly on the expressed emotions. The book is laid out such that the terrain of emotion and leadership is explored in Chapters 1 and 2, illustrated with data from the project, followed by, in Chapter 3, an exploration of how narratives were collected to reveal emotions. Eleven head teachers were interviewed from both primary and secondary schools, male and female, and aged between 42 and 55. The stories of three of these head teachers are presented in detail in Chapter 4. The social dimension to the emotional burden of their work as head teachers forms the basis of Chapter 5, in which data from some of the other head teachers is included. Pivotal emotional events pulled out as significant by the head teachers themselves are drawn upon in Chapter 6 to allow the context of each event to be taken into account. The book concludes by first summarising what it means to be a head teacher in a school today, in terms of the social and personal aspects to this (in Chapter 7) and then, in Chapter 8, identifying elements of context and policy in the future that may affect the emotional terrain for head teachers. Each chapter offers suggestions for questions that could guide further thought on the issues raised and there is a list of further reading annotated with the particular value of each article or book. This book offers a readily accessible response to the technical-rational view of managerial leadership being advocated, highlighting the importance of individualising rather than normalising views of leadership, termed by McDermott (1994) as 'leadership from within'. As with Antonacopoulou and Bento (2004), Crawford sees this as relating to two principles: leadership as a window to inner learning and as a The Curriculum Journal Vol. 20, No. 3, September 2009, 310–311


Tests were done to examine the feasibility of disposing of used engine oil from military vehicles by blending it with JP-8 engine fuel to be used in diesel vehicles. Two Army diesel engines were evaluated in cyclic endurance dynamometer test procedures using JP-8 fuel blended with 7.5% vol used oil. Results were compared to baseline performance using neat JP-8 fuel. The following major differences were observed when using blended fuel: Significant ashy deposits were found in the pre-combustion chamber of the 4-cycle diesel engine; indications of imminent exhaust valve burning (streaking) were found on the exhaust valves in the 2-cycle diesel engine. For both engines, condition was such that continuous use of 7.5 %vol blend would not be recommended. Considering it would take between 19--68 years for an Army engine to reach the end of endurance test condition, use of blended fuel 1 or 2 times per year is judged acceptable from an endurance standpoint.


Results: Four patients with varying auditory and/or vestibular symptoms caused by free diving were identified. All of these patients showed no otoscopic signs of middle ear barotrauma or disease, but all developed audiological or vestibular dysfunction after free diving. Sensorineural hearing loss was observed ranging from limited high frequency loss to profound hearing loss. One patient underwent middle ear exploration for evaluation of a suspected perilymphatic fistula.


We consider the problem of simulating X conditional on the value of X+Y, when X and Y are independent positive random variables. We propose approximate methods for sampling (X|X+Y) by approximating the fraction (X/z|X+ Y=z) with a beta random variable. We discuss applications to Levy processes and infinitely divisible distributions, and we report numerical tests for Poisson processes, tempered stable processes, and the Heston stochastic volatility model.


Abstract Disclosure: C. Labib: None. Z. Saeed: None. M. Trabulsi: None. F. Ramharrack: None. INTRODUCTION: Thyroid associated ophthalmopathy (TAO) is caused by an autoimmune process involving the orbital tissue, however, its etiopathogenesis is still largely unclear. It is common in hyperthyroid patients with Graves' disease and has also been reported in euthyroid and hypothyroid Graves' patients with positive thyroid receptor antibodies (TRAb). However, only 5% of patient with Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) develop orbitopathy. Here we report an unusual case of a male patient, clinically and biochemically euthyroid, who had severe bilateral exophthalmos due to underlying Hashimoto's thyroiditis. CASE PRESENTATION: A 68-year-old male patient was evaluated for worsening bilateral eye protrusion associated with redness and grittiness for many years. The patient was otherwise asymptomatic; denied fatigue, any change in weight, constipation, joint/muscle pain or any other symptoms. On physical examination he was noted to have bilateral moderate periorbital edema, conjunctival injection along with mildly enlarged thyroid. Initial labs showed normal TSH 4.10 mIU/L (0.4-5.0mIU/L) and free T4 0.8 ng/dL (0.8-1.8 ng/dL). Further labs were notable for normal antithyrotropin antibody (TRAb) 1.09 IU/l and normal TSI less than 89%. Anti-thyroid peroxidase antibody (anti-TPO) level was as high as 12 IU/mL (less than 9 IU/mL). Thyroid US showed multinodular goiter with bilateral nodules. A Subsequent FNA was benign. The degree of exophthalmos on the Hertel ophthalmometer was 30 mm bilaterally. Orbital magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed proptosis of the left and right globes as well as prominence of intraorbital fat. Extraocular musculature was symmetric bilaterally and only minimally prominent but diffuse. Treatment with teprotumumab infusion was started with improvement in the patient's symptoms. CASE DISCUSSION: Usually mild eye symptoms are seen in Hashimoto's thyroiditis such as dryness, blurred vision, upper eyelid retraction and loss of lateral third of eyebrows. In rare cases it can cause orbitopathy similar to that seen in Graves' disease. Like Graves' orbitopathy, in addition to reversing the underlying thyroid abnormalities, moderate-to-severe orbitopathy is treated with corticosteroids or teprotumumab. This case sheds the light on exophthalmos being an atypical presentation of Hashimoto's thyroiditis in a clinically and biochemically euthyroid patient. Physicians should be cognizant of this rare manifestation for prompt recognition and early treatment which can prevent corneal involvement and blindness due to optic nerve compression. Presentation: Friday, June 16, 2023


Proposed is a method (100) for recognizing attempts at manipulating a self-service terminal, in particular a cash dispenser, comprising a control panel in which various elements, e.g. a keyboard, cash dispensing slot, etc., are arranged. In said method, a camera is directed onto at least one of the elements, and the image data generated by the camera is evaluated. At least one edge image is created from the generated image data using edge detection (step 120). The edge image is evaluated using a reference edge image (step 130). Several individual images are used for creating the reference edge image (step 110). The edge detection allows manipulation attempts to be evaluated and recognized in a fully automatic manner.


Big data refers to data that is so large that it exceeds the processing capabilities of traditional systems. Big data can be awkward to work and the storage, processing and analysis of big data can be problematic. MapReduce is a recent programming model that can handle big data. MapReduce achieves this by distributing the storage and processing of data amongst a large number of computers (nodes). However, this means the time required to process a MapReduce job is dependent on whichever node is last to complete a task. This problem is exacerbated by heterogeneous environments. In this paper we propose a method to improve MapReduce execution in heterogeneous environments. This is done by dynamically partitioning data during the Map phase and by using virtual machine mapping in the Reduce phase in order to maximize resource utilization.


The construction of urban space at the end of the Second Kingdom as a place of coexistence was a challenge that was not restricted to its materiality, but included its political, social and economic aspects, provoking intense disputes among the contenders. Therefore, we adopt as axis of analysis of this space-time clipping the experiences of Andre Reboucas understood as one of the competitors the conformation of this space. Their records present a propositional stance that takes as a starting point the construction of material instruments that enable this place of coexistence. However, we have identified that along these same records there has been a re-signification in the way in which such material instruments should be appropriated and made available. Thus, we propose to analyze the course of these changes of engagement in favor of a wider social engineering.


Kinetic parameters of thermooxidative decomposition of three groups of lignosulfonates (LS-NH 4 : LS-Fe and LS-Ca), both unmodified and modified by epoxidation, have been evaluated. The three evaluation methods used, namely Coats-Redfern, Reich-Levi and Swaminathan, permitted evaluation of the kinetic parameters for narrow temperature and conversion degree ranges, and establishment of the isokinetic relation and the most probable conversion function' for each decomposition reaction. A comparison of thermal stability as a function of chemical composition is also made.


Cite this article: Williams AS (2016) Detection of Perivascular Adipose Tissue-Associated Macrophages by Zirconium-89 conjugated Imaging Probes – Utility for Diagnosis of Vascular Pathology During Inflammatory Arthritis? JSM Arthritis 1(1): 1003. *Corresponding author Anwen S Williams, Division of Infection and Immunity, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, United Kingdom, Tel: 4402920687092; Email:


Use of La(OTf) 3 as a Lewis acid promoter for N-iodosuccinimide-mediated activation of thioglycosides is reported. The glycosylation reactions proceeded smoothly with good to excellent yields and stereoselectivity.


We adopt a recently introduced incentivized method to elicit widely shared beliefs concerning (a) social norms, (b) environmental effect, and (c) difficulty of a wide range of environmental behaviors. We establish that these characteristics, as reflected in elicited beliefs recorded in one sample, predict (out-of-sample) environmental behaviors in a second separate sample. Pro-environmental behaviors perceived to be more socially appropriate and easier to perform, in particular, are more likely to be chosen. We show that subjective social norms mediate the effect of "global" (widely shared) social norms on behavior, which improves our understanding of the normative processes underlying pro-environmental action. Our use of an incentivized elicitation method might moreover mitigate problems associated with conventional surveys, such as social desirability bias, consistency bias, and inattentive responding, as discussed in the article.


The purpose of this paper is to derive some invariance identities for certain discrete systems which are governed by a set of non–linear recurrence relations. The identities are obtained under the assumption that the discrete Lagrangian possesses an invariance under special types of transformations.


The screen printing technique has been used to prepare solar cells in recent years. In the present work the authors have prepared a n-CdS/p-CdTe heterojunction solar cell of simple structure using screen printing. Open circuit voltage (Voc) = 520mV and short circuit current density (J /SUB sc/ >19mA/cm/sup 2/) have been obtained. A conversion efficiency of more than 4.5% has been obtained for a cell area of 1.05cm/sup 2/.


What was the environmental complex in which the Plio-Pleistocene hominids were evolving? What situations selected f o r increasing variation in hominid morphology? A n ap-preciation of ecological dynamics is important to develop answers to those questions. The circumstances that accompany periodically more severe semiarid successions appear to have promoted a shqt in early australopithecine morphology toward hyper-robust forms. Successional dynamics (including ameliorated conditions) may have resulted in repeated sympat y of potentially competing lines. Through the process of character divergence, some earliergracile populations appear to have emerged more Homo-like by the end of the Pliocene. Palaeodemographic analysis combined with detailed ecological modeling offers new possibilities f o r explorato y retrodictions concerned with common and divergent hominid adaptations. [australopithecines. palaeoecology, early Homo]


AIM:To clarify the significance of combined resection of the spleen to dissect the No.10 lymph node(LN). METHODS:We studied 191 patients who had undergone total gastrectomy with splenectomy,excluding non-curative cases,resection of multiple gastric cancer, and those with remnant stomach cancer.Various clinico-pathological factors were evaluated for any independent contributions to No.10 LN metastasis,usingχ 2 test. Significant factors were extracted for further analysis, carried out using a logistic regression method.Furthermore,lymph node metastasis was evaluated for any independent contribution to No.10 LN metastasis,using the same methods.The cumulative survival rate was calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method.The significance of any difference between the survival curves was determined using the Cox-Mantel test,and any difference was considered significant at the 5%level. RESULTS:From the variables considered to be potentially associated with No.10 LN metastasis,age, depth,invasion of lymph vessel,N factor,the numberof lymph node metastasis,Stage,the number of sites, and location were found to differ significantly between those with metastasis(the Positive Group)and those without(the Negative Group).A logistic regression analysis showed that the localization and Stage were significant parameters for No.10 LN metastasis.There was no case located on the lesser curvature in the Posi-tive Group.The numbers of No.2,No.3,No.4sa,No. 4sb,No.4d,No.7,and No.11 LN metastasis were each found to differ significantly between the Positive Group and the Negative Group.A logistic regression analysis showed that No.4sa,No.4sb,and No.11 LN metastasis were each a significant parameter for No.10 LN metastasis.There was no significant difference in survival curves between the Positive Group and the Negative Group. CONCLUSION:Splenectomy should be performed to dissect No.10 LN for cases which have No.4sa,No. 4sb or No.11 LN metastasis.However,in cases where the tumor is located on the lesser curvature,splenectomy can be omitted.


Ferroelectric (Pb,La)(Zr,Ti)O3 (PLZT) thin films have been epitaxially grown on the c plane of sapphire by rf‐planar magnetron sputtering. The sputtering conditions were investigated to obtain epitaxial and transparent films. Dielectric, piezoelectric, and electro‐optic properties of the films were measured. Piezoelectricity of the PLZT(28/0/100) film was confirmed and was as strong as that of BaTiO3. Excellent quadratic electro‐optic effects for PLZT(28/0/100) and PLZT(9/65/35) films and a linear electro‐optic effect for PLZT(21/0/100) film were observed at 0.633‐μm wavelength. Epitaxial PLZT thin film on sapphire is presently the most promising material for new functional devices.


Bronchial asthma, which is a problem all around the world, has relevance also in Russia and in the
Republic of Mordovia in particular. In the Republic reveals a growing number of cases of this disease.
The incidence of asthma is more pronounced in areas with higher levels of air pollution.


I'm using my plain brain to imagine her fancy cortex. As if my lowly mollusk could wear so exalted a mantle as her pontifex pallium. As if the knots and tangles of my twisted psyche could mesh with her intricate synaptic network of condensed neural convolutions. As if my simple chalk could fossilize the memory of her monumental reefs of caulifloral coral. As if my shallow unschooled shoals could reckon the calculus of her konk's brainwave tsunami. As if the pedestrian software of my mundane explorer could map as rounded colonies the terra incognita of her undiscovered hemispheres. As if the speculative diagnosis of my imaging technology could chart the direction of her intuitive intellect. As if the inquisitive iris of my galaxy-orbiting telescope could see as far as her vision. As if the trained nostrils of my narcobloodhound could sniff out what she senses in the wind. As if my duty-free bottle of jerk sauce could simulate the fire ant picante that inflames her tongue of rage.


In this study, vortex-assisted low density based dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction followed by high performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detector has been developed for the determination of three pesticides including chlorflurenol-methyl, chlorfenvinphos, and diazinon from environmental water samples. Different parameters influencing the extraction efficiency such as the type and volume of extraction and disperser solvent, sample pH, salt addition as well as vortex and centrifugation time were investigated and the optimal conditions were obtained. Under the optimum conditions, the calibration curves were linear in the concentration range of 8.5–100, 3.1–100 and 36.5–600 ng/mL for chlorflurenol-Methyl, chlorfenvinphos and diazinon, respectively, with coefficient of determination (r) of 0.993 or better. The limits of detection and quantification of the analytes, which were determined at 3 and 10 signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) ranged from 0.9–11 and 3.1–36.8 ng/mL, respectively. The proposed method has been successfully applied to the analysis of real water samples. The relative recoveries (%RR) studied at two spiking concentration levels were ranging from 76–108%, with the corresponding relative standard deviation (%RSD) ranging from 1.9–9.9%. The results of study demonstrated that the proposed method is efficient for extraction and/or preconcentration of the three pesticides prior to quantitative determination utilizing HPLC–UV/Vis instrument.


The development of regional economy is closely related with such factors as the economic structure and the economic ties.The formation of the prosperous North Sea-the Baltic Sea Trade Region was mainly due to the rise of handicraft industries of Britain and Netherlands.In both countries,foreign trade and domestic industry complemented each other rather than developed independently.Owning to its advanced transshipment trade,Italy became the hub of the Mediterranean Trade Region.However,the trade was loosely related with Italy's domestic industry,which clearly indicates an imbalance in its economic structure.At the same time,unhealthy completion existed among the Italian cities:the development of small cities was drastically curbed by the bigger ones.This led Italian cities to a polarization in development and consequently a unified domestic market was hard to take shape.Coupled with the decay of major industrial sectors,Italian economy in the early modern times lost its leading role in Europe,and thus made the Mediterranean Trade Region's economic strength began to decline.


The uniform design is applied to preparation of nanometer zinc oxide. A non-linear mathematic model is identified by analyzing the experimental results through multiple stepwise regress. Girding optimization is a simple and practical approach. The optimization parameters of the experiment are identified by the girding optimization. The results show that the data mining base on uniform design and MATLAB programs of modeling and optimization is applied to synthesis of nanometer zinc oxide successfully.


Server service on this Internet is using RedHat Linux 9 as the operating system has been installed before, and some common applications that people use the Internet lately. Usefulness can be matched with the needs of owners, not only as an information storage media, as well as the arena of e-commerce transactions on the Internet. The information provided is the structure of an application installation to the con guration of server applications built in these Internet services. With the information given in this writing, it is expected of each individual or group can build their own Internet service server.


This article argues that there were significant disagreements in the highlands over the utility of military recruitment. The difference between authority and jurisdiction provoked contentious debates that ran parallel to the extension of the fiscal-military state in the region. This article utilizes the correspondence of local authorities, ministers and landowners to highlight the considerable resistance to military rule, undermining the current assumption that a unified elite acted in partnership with the state upon an enfeebled poor. It asserts that recruitment must be seen as an ideological process, which divided the region's population along lines of personal interest, rather than socio-economic taxonomy.


The study evaluates an alternative to traditional wood-framed shear wall construction, an innovative use of a water and seismic damage resistant, wood-concrete-composite (WCC). The WCC design consisted of a thin layer of engineered cementitious composite (ECC) cast in a traditional wood frame. Structural performance and damage sustained during lateral loading and cost were evaluated, and compared to a traditional wood frame with OSB sheathing. Monotonic tests of WCC walls show that the average maximum load was 47.5 kN (10,700 lb) , average elastic shear stiffness was 1.78 kN∕mm (10,200 lb∕in.) and average energy absorbed was 4,810 J (42,600 lb-in.) . Tests show WCC is comparable with or superior to the OSB wall in shear strength and stiffness, energy absorption and ductility. During lateral loading the WCC appeared to sustain less damage than the OSB wall. Panelized construction of the WCC may increase cost but yield benefits such as decreased construction time and greater durability. WCC appears to be a ...


In this paper, we propose a class of octonion-valued neural networks with leakage delays and mixed delays. Considering that the multiplication of octonion algebras does not satisfy the associativity and commutativity, we can obtain the existence and global exponential stability of weighted pseudo almost periodic solutions for octonion-valued neural networks with leakage delays and mixed delays by using the Banach fixed point theorem, the proof by contradiction and the non-decomposition method. Finally, we will give one example to illustrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the main results.


The invention discloses a modified nanometer nulvalent ferric particle and preparing method with grain size at 20-50nm and even grain size at 30-40nm and specific surface at60-70m /g, which comprises the following steps: allocating soluble ferric salt solution and NaBH4 or KBH4 alcohol-water composite solution with bulk rate at 1: 1-20, adding polyvinyl pyrrolidone in the soluble ferric salt solution according to rate, stirring evenly, adding NaBH4 or KBH4 alcohol-water composite solution in the soluble ferric salt solution, stirring continually until the solution becomes black, adopting magnetic method to select nanometer nulvalent ferric particle, washing through distilled water completely, washing through acetone or alcohol then, reserving in the acetone or alcohol.


RINs prices have been making headlines in recent months, with prices at times crossing the psychologically important $1 per gallon mark. Echoing earlier complaints (farmdoc daily, July 19, 2013; December 4, 2015), this has caused some to question whether the RINs market is manipulated or even outright fraudulent. For example, on July 28 (as reported by OPIS) Jack Lipinski, CEO of CVR Refining stated that, "RINs have become a black pool allowing exempt parties, and even speculators, to drive prices to confiscatory levels. We believe the market may be cornered, the effect of which will be to bring small merchant refiners to the brink of bankruptcy while unjustly enriching speculators and exempt blenders." A few days later, (again as reported by OPIS) the President of the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), Robert Dineen, stated in a letter to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that, "The recent spike in RIN prices appears contrived and driven by something other than basic supply-demand fundamentals...Indeed, the spike raises renewed questions about potential manipulation of the market by entities who may believe the specter of higher RIN prices supports their political efforts to repeal or reform the RFS." Well-known investor Carl Icahn upped the ante in August by arguing that the RINs market had become "the mother of all short squeezes" for independent refiners. These are serious charges about the operation of the RINs market, particularly in light of the fact that RINs prices represent the marginal cost of complying with RFS mandates. The purpose of this article is to analyze recent movements in RINs prices and provide some historical perspective regarding the manipulation charges.


Design is an iterative, generative, and multidisciplinary process by its nature. Iteration is frequent in most of the engineering design and development projects including construction. Design iterations cause rework, and extra efforts are required to get the optimal sequence and to manage the projects. Contrary to simple design, isolation of the generative iterations in complex design systems is very difficult, but reduction in overall iterations is possible. Design depends upon the information flow within domain and also among various design disciplines and organizations. Therefore, it is suggested that managers should be aware about the crucial iterations causing rework and optimal sequence as well. In this way, managers can handle design parameters related to such iterations proactively. Numbers of techniques are available to reduce iterations for various kinds of engineering designs. In this paper, parameter based Design Structure Matrix (DSM) is chosen. To create this DSM, a survey was performed and then partitioned using a model. This paper provides an easy approach to those companies involved in or intend to be involved in "design and build projects."


This paper describes the plan of a study to determine the utility of video in supported employment, and results from the first phase: focus groups of providers polled for their response to the technology, suggestions for utility, and drawbacks. Providers were positive about integrating this technology into their practice.


There are abundant cold- adapted cellulose- degrading bacteria resources from soil in the Da Hinggan forest of Inner Mongolia.This study was aimed at analyzing the community structure of coldadapted cellulose degrading bacteria.Cold-adapted cellulose-degrading bacteria were isolated by enrichment culture using sodium salt of caboxy methyl cellulose(CMC- Na)medium at 10 ℃.Cellulase activity was determined by 3,5-dinitrosalicylic acid(DNS)method.The 16S rDNA genes(V3~V5 region)were amplified by using the universal primers(34lF and 907R).The PCR products were electrophoresed by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis(DGGE).The 16S rDNA fingerprint was obtained and the bacterial community structures were analyzed.The results indicated that the relative enzyme activity increased constantly with the extension of incubation time during the process of enrichment,the 4th generation had the highest relative enzyme activity with 30.625 IU.Some bacteria died out or increased at each generation.Four DGGE profiles of microbial community structure of four generation enrichment cultures were obtained.There were five subgroups in enrichment culture,including α- Proteobacteria,β- Proteobacteria,γ- Proteobacteria,Firmicutes,and Bacteroidetes,respectively.The subgroups of Firmicutes(65.5%)and β-Proteobacteria(13.8%)were the dominant bacterial floras.This study confirmed that there were abundant resources of cold-adapted cellulosedegrading bacteria in the Da Hinggan forest of Inner Mongolia.These bacteria will have a potential value of application.


Background Data on the molecular processes involved in nasal mucosa wound healing after radiofrequency tissue ablation (RTA) of the inferior nasal turbinate (INT) are missing. This study was designed to examine tissue expression of fibronectin, collagen III, CD68, and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) 9 in the INT (ventral) after RTA in sheep. Methods An experimental randomized controlled study was performed. Seventeen INTs (ventral) of nine sheep were used. RTA was applied in 12 INTs. Turbinate samples were studied 1, 3, and 8 weeks postoperatively (4 samples/time point) and in five control INTs (without surgery). Besides hematoxylin and eosin staining, immunostaining was done for MMP-9, collagen III, fibronectin, and CD68. A quantitative grading ranging between 0 (no immunoreactivity at all) and 100% (profuse immunoreactivity) was performed by a blinded senior pathologist. Comparisons between groups were performed using Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskal-Wallis one-way ANOVA. Spearman's rho correlation coefficients were calculated between histological and/or immunohistological variables. Results At week 8, fibronectin (p = 0.025), collagen III (p = 0.004), and MMP-9 (p < 0.001) immunoreactivity was significantly higher than controls, while immunoreactivity for CD68 was higher, although not significantly (p = 0.114) compared with controls. Strong correlations have been found between mucosal vascularization and interstitial space volume (r = 0.776), interstitial space volume and epithelial cell necrosis (r = 0.730), and CD68 immunostaining and epithelial cell necrosis (r = 0.784). Conclusion Given their high tissue concentrations after RTA application, fibronectin, collagen III, CD68, and MMP-9 deserve further study as candidate modulators of the INT wound-healing process.


Austenitic stainless steel sheets and ordinary cold-rolled carbon steel sheets with variable thickness were welded with 1 kW diode laser. Different weld joints were utilized. The optimal parameters for each case were determined. The joints were examined by metallography and mechanical testing. The results show that diode laser is an optimal tool for sheet metal welding, when a considerable narrow weld is aimed. The edges prepared by mechanical sheering are acceptable as the joint preparation. The tensile strength and ductility of all the joints were acceptable and on the same level or better than that of base metal. The shielding gas seems to play a much higher role than in conventional laser welding (CO2 or Nd:YAG laser welding). When using the non-oxidizing shielding gas (nitrogen or argon), the welding speed to be reached is much slower than when welding without any shielding gas. This is probably due to the increase of absorption by oxygen.


The new compounds (III) and (IV) are prepared by evaporation of aqueous solutions at room temperature and characterized by single crystal XRD.


*Corresponding Author: Aya Abaza., Assistant Prof. of Safety and Prevention of Oncology in Radiation Protection Department, Nuclear and Radiological Regulatory Authority, Cairo, Egypt. PhD, M.D in Childhood Studies & Pediatric Oncology, Ain-Shams University, Cairo, Egypt. E-mail: email@example.com Swift Journal of Cancer Research and Experimental Oncology Vol 1(1) pp. 001-012 October, 2015. http://www.swiftjournals.org/sjcreo Copyright © 2015 Swift Journals


This paper presents a unified simultaneous and sequential model for note combinations and chord progressions. In chord progression analysis, n-gram models have often been used for modeling temporal sequences of chord labels (e.g., C major, D minor, and E# seventh). These models require us to specify the value of n and define a limited vocabulary of chord labels. On the other hand, our model is designed to directly modeling temporal sequences of note combinations without specifying the value of n, because we aim to use our model as a prior distribution on musical notes in polyphonic music transcription. To do this, we extend a nonparametric Bayesian n-gram model that was designed for modeling sequences of words in the field of computational linguistics. More specifically, our model can accept any combinations of notes as chords and allows each chord appearing in a sequence to have an unbounded and variable-length context. All possibilities of n are taken into account when predicting a next chord given precedent chords. Even when an unseen note combination (chord) emerges, we can estimate its n-gram probability by referring to its 0-gram probability, i.e., the combinatorial probability of note components. We tested our model by using the ground-truth chord annotations and automatic chord recognition results of the Beatles songs.


The horse evolved to graze the vast plains, with survival traits that have served it well. Even with domestication it continues to exhibit these traits. As a result, humans need to understand horses' natural behavior or reactions in order to make our interactions with them safer and more rewarding. First, we need to realize that the horse evolved as a prey animal and its first response to anything scary is flight. Horses understand that their safety relies on their ability to put distance between themselves and something they perceive as dangerous. What is dangerous to a horse? Almost everything! Their wellbeing relies on their perception that everything that moves or is new could eat them. So when we lead or ride a horse up to or past something it has not seen before, the horse can become wary and nervous. While horses are prey animals, humans are classified as predators, and as such, we approach life in a very different manner than the horse. A lot of things we naturally do can be counter-productive when it comes to working horses.


Application to pharmacy residency programs has become increasingly competitive over the past several years. Although successful candidates must excel in the various stages of the application process, preparing written applications and securing onsite interviews are early and arguably the most


Fifteen trained male cyclists had muscle biopsies and performed cycling tests to determine if relationships exist between the oxygen uptake response and various intramuscular variables. It was found that muscle oxidative capacity is better able to explain the oxygen uptake response during high intensity cycling than muscle fiber distribution.


This article discusses the transformations in the forms of psychic suffering that can be observed from psychoanalytic clinical practice. Assuming that the bases for understanding the subject proposed by Freud remain preserved and valid, the author emphasizes the importance of the classic references to articulate the current perspectives as a way of dealing with the contemporary subjects, who present symptomatic manifestations more primitive and regressed. The challenges facing analysts in the way the subjects are currently analyzed are also pointed out.


The genetic behavior of green cotyledon character in soybean Dandou 6was researched.the green and yellow color cotyledon seeds were investigated in the F2、F3and F4segregative generations of Kefeng14×Dandou 6and Yi1358×Dandou 6.The results showed the yellow cotyledon seeds and green cotyledon seeds in two progenies were accord to Mendel's single gene inheritance model,and a recessive gene control the green color cotyledon in Dandou 6.


Stacking fault energy (SFE) plays an important role in deformation mechanisms and mechanical properties of face-centered cubic (fcc) metals and alloys. In metastable fcc alloys, the SFEs determined from density functional theory (DFT) calculations and experimental methods often have opposite signs. Here, we show that the negative SFE by DFT reflects the thermodynamic instability of the fcc phase relative to the hexagonal close-packed one; while the experimentally determined SFEs are restricted to be positive by the models behind the indirect measurements. We argue that the common models underlying the experimental measurements of SFE fail in metastable alloys. In various concentrated solid solutions, we demonstrate that the SFEs obtained by DFT calculations correlate well with the primary deformation mechanisms observed experimentally, showing a better resolution than the experimentally measured SFEs. Furthermore, we believe that the negative SFE is important for understanding the abnormal behaviors of partial dislocations in metastable alloys under deformation. The present work advances the fundamental understanding of SFE and its relation to plastic deformations, and sheds light on future alloy design by physical metallurgy.


In recently years, rapid social cultural movement has arisen from a sea of highly technical electronic complexity. It is necessary to look into the true nature of a thing from various angles instead of looking merely at its surface. The computer and the related matters are at the center of the movement. The computer, accessible only to those with years of technical training, and seen as nothing more than a tool for calculation and data storage, has become accessible to those in the arts and humanities. Computers store all information in strings of zeros and ones, reducing everything to a digital representation. Additionally, the computer is a metamedium that can mimic other media, like film, photography, animation, computer game and print. Finally, computers can add an important quality to literature. In defining the qualities of this computer-mediated phenomenon on, it is fruitful to begin by looking through the brief history of this genre, and describing some of the major works that helped to create this new art form By doing so, the features of this genre (as well as some of its limitations and possibilities) become evident, and this computer-mediated phenomenon on literature shall be called 'cumputer mediated literature(CML)'. Consequently this paper selected 'community literature' in inferior genres of CML as a main subject of study.


DLR's launcher systems analysis division has proposed a visionary, extremely fast passenger transportation concept reaching the edges of space based on rocket propulsion. The paper describes the recent technical progress achieved in the SpaceLiner configuration. The revolutionary ultrafast transport is now under investigation in the EU-funded study FAST20XX (Future high-Altitude high-Speed Transport 20XX) set off in December 2009. The focus of the paper is on all system aspects of the preliminary design including its flight performance impact on design choices. A major new result is the replacement of the original skipping trajectory by a smooth glide obtained in system optimizations.


The objective of this paper is to develop a concept of expert system based on the survey of experts' opinions and their experience concerning relations in modal split, on the basis of parameters of transport system demand and transport supply, defined through PT travel time and city size, i.e. mean trip length. This expert system could be of use both to experts and less experienced planners who could apply the knowledge contained in this expert system for further improvement, on operational as well as on strategic level.


The yield potential of maize continuously shifted with modification of plant density and nitrogen level because of high mobile nature of available nitrogen and continues releasing of new hybrid with high nitrogen requirements. Thus modification of these factors to optimum level significantly increases the grain yield of the crop. Based on this concept, a field experiment was conducted at four locations for three consecutive years (2016-2018) to determine the optimum plant density and nitrogen level for late maturing maize hybrid. The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design in factorial arrangement with three replications. Four plant density viz., 44444, 53333, 62500 and 66666 with five nitrogen levels viz. 69, 92, 115, 138 and 161 kg ha -1 were combined by factorial combinations and tested in the experimental plots to select the optimum level for high yield. The result indicated that increasing in plant density produced tall plants with weak stalk strength ultimately resulted high lodging under highest plant density. The maximum grain yield (7838.1kilo gram per hectare) obtained under optimum plant density (53333 plants per hectare with application of 115 kilo gram nitrogen per hectare). This result showed 29% and 24.4% yield advantages compared to the standard check and satellite check respectively. Similarly application of 115 kg N /ha under 53333 plant densities was the most profitable compared to other combinations. Thus the previous recommended plant density, 44444 plants/ ha with application of 92 kg N /ha is insufficient for hybrid BH661 cultivation. Slightly higher plant density and nitrogen level, 53333 plants per hectare with application of 115 kg N ha -1 are suitable for the high yield of hybrid maize BH-661 during main seasons.


Education is the most important thing in a country to become  better in future. The quality of the education can be measured by the succeed of the teaching and learning processes. There are three aims of this research. First, to find out the learning materials that is used by the teacher to teach accounting for social eleventh graders. Second, the reason of the teacher using the learning materials. Third, to find out the feasibility of the learning materials that is used by the teacher in teaching accounting for XI social graders in SMA Negeri 1 Krian. This research was descriptive. The data was collected by using interview and checklist. The result of the study was the teaching and learning process in SMA Negeri 1 Krian used BSE Ekonomi and Module Economic Accounting. BSE Ekonomi had 90,23% with very good feasibility and Module Economic Accounting had 79,15% with very good feasibility. So that the researcher concluded that BSE Ekonomi and Module Economic Accounting were suitable to teach accounting because they suits the BSNP reference. Keywords: Learning Materials, Feasibility, BSNP


Subtitle: The patch to success in this profession is as clear as it is challenging, but once attained, the rewards are many.


The achievement of coaxiality between recovery device and embolized tubular foreign bodies like central venous catheters is a key point to achieve percutaneous removal. To facilitate this target, we designed a coaxial retrieval loop‐snare device using amodified coronary guiding catheter and a coronary 0.014″ guidewire. This new technique has been bench tested and then successfully used to remove a long Port‐A catheter's fragment embolized into the right sided heart. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


This work intended to deal with the social formation and historical paranaense speech passed by the identity regional speech and having as objective the analysis of the intellectual productions by Bento Munhoz da Rocha Netto, Brasil Pinheiro Machado and David Carneiro. The theoretical referential that based the sociological approach and delimited the choice of the methodological procedures in the research, took as starting point the relation between the concepts of authority language and spirit of family by Pierre Bourdieu. It was understood that the authorized speech found bases in a reproduction logic and distribution of the inherited cultural capital, having as analysis elements of the familiar inheritance of the intellectuals in question and their correlation with the regional political power.


This research deals with the design of an LCL filter for a grid tied megawatt fuel cell stack. In the adopted configuration, the LCL filter links a three-level neutral clamped point inverter with the grid. A typical inverter is a source of harmonics as in general its output is not a pure sinewave. Standards such each IEEE 519 and IEC 61000-3-6 define the allowable harmonics distortion for both the current and the voltage in a power system based on the current level and the voltage level respectively. This paper aims to design an LCL filter to reduce harmonics produced by a three-level inverter serving as interface between a fuel cell stack and a grid and meet the abovementioned standards. The input of the grid tied inverter is connected to a 1.4 MW solid oxide fuel cell stack at 1400 V. The inverter is modelled and controlled to deliver 1.2 MW at 600 V between phases. To evaluate the performance of the designed filter, the system including the 1.4 MW fuel cell stack, the inverter, the LCL filter, a grid and a load is simulated using Matlab/Simulink environment. The results show that the designed filter reduces the total harmonics distortion to 0.46 % and 24.87 % for the voltage and the current, respectively.


When using critical pedagogy in college classrooms, college students can sometimes experience critique fatigue -- a despondency that results from a saturation of analysis about experiences of oppression that they experience directly. This is especially the case when there is no creative outlet for political, emotional, or practical response to the critical course material built into the classroom activities. In this essay, I exlpore the idea of using scaffolding, a pedagogical technique where students help one another perform the tasks of the course "authonomously", as a way to mitigate critique fatigue. To get around the ableism and white supremacy of its more traditional iteration, though, I propose a "radical" form of scaffolding that supports students in setting and reaching their own learning goals through creative projects that engage topics most relevant to them.


The E906/SeaQuest experiment at Fermilab will use the 120 GeV/c proton beam extracted from the Main Injector to measure the light antiquark flavor asymmetry, ¯ d/¯u, in the nucleon sea, and how it is altered in nuclei. It will provide direct input to the parton distribution fits, and provide a better understanding on the physical mechanism which generates the sea of the proton. The experiment will
start in the fall of 2011 and run until the end of 2014. After completion of the SeaQuest experiment, the spectrometer will be available for a polarized Drell-Yan
program, either with a polarized beam or a polarized target. The first in a long list of possible experiments at the Main Injector is a polarized Drell-Yan experiment,
motivated by a fundamental prediction of QCD that postulates a sign change in the Sivers function measured in Drell-Yan as compared to deep inelastic scattering.


This paper deals with physiological and ecological characteristics of distribution, habitat, growth, blossom, reproduction, and the preliminary results of introduction and cultivation of Ziziphus jujuba var. spinosa Hu. The possibility for widely planting this plant is also discussed.


This symposium is concerned with rehabilitation, ergonomics and preventing work disability. Specifically it is concerned with determining the state of the science and identifying research opportunities that could result in major reductions in work disability. Disability has be defined as (Brandt and Pope 1997): Disability is defined as a limitation in performing certain roles and tasks that society expects of an individual It is the expression of the gap between a person's capabilities and the demands of the environment - the interaction of person's limitations with social and physical environmental factors. Available data show that there are many persons in our society who are disabled in that they are unable to achieve expectations established by employers, e.g., production rates, quantities and quality, without endangering themselves or others in the workplace or community. This expectation typically extends to forty hours per week, but could be more or less hours. Limitations in performance may result from conditions of birth, illness or injury. They also may be a primary or secondary effect of work. This is the case with Work Related Musculoskeletal Disorders; WMSDs. WMSDs are a leading cause of work disability and compensation in many contemporary work settings. Although this program focuses on prevention of disability due to WMSDs, it is broadly concerned with the prevention of all disability. The models and methods discussed have common elements that are applicable to many if not all persons and situations. For example, the above definition defines disability as a "gap" between job demands and worker capacities. This definition applies to a person with paraplegia as well as a person with carpal tunnel syndrome. In both instances, methods are needed for assessing and comparing worker capacities and job demands. The program includes presentations by leading investigators who will draw on their own work and work of others to describe the state of the art and develop recommendations for future research.


The Roper resonance is considered as a mixed state of a three-quark core configuration and a hadron molecular component N+sigma. Based on this ansatz we study electroproduction of the Roper resonance. The strong and electromagnetic couplings induced by the quark core are calculated in the 3P0 model. The contribution of the vector meson cloud to the electromagnetic transition is given in the framework of the VMD model. Results are compared with the recent JLab electroproduction data.


A scattering parameter re-normalization procedure is proposed to obtain a new set of parameter that directly quantifies the actual coupling and reflection coefficients of power waves in highly integrated array antenna systems employing unequal port terminations. We examine both the intra-element coupling between the radiator and the active circuitry along with the inter-element coupling between the elements of an antenna array and discuss the important differences from the more customary 50-Ohm S-parameters.


A pamphlet published by Warren Brothers Company which tells the story of the past eighty years' development of a very old industry, has been presented to the Society by Mr. George C. Warren. Although the use of asphalt for paving purposes is generally thought of as a nineteenth-century invention, it is, as a matter of fact, older than Nebuchadnezzar. An inscription on a brick found on "Procession Street," which led from the palace to the North wall, states that Nebuchadnezzar's father, Nabopolassar, King of Babylon, "had made a road glistening with asphalt and burnt bricks," and that he, "Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, he who made Esaglia and Ezida glorious, placed above the bitumen and burnt bricks, a mighty superstructure of shining dust, made them strong within with bitumen and burnt bricks as a high-lying road."


The author describes the history and design of the ANS synthesizer and discusses his work composing music with the help of this photoelectronic instrument.


Dermatophytes are prevalent causes of cutaneous mycoses and, unlike many other fungal pathogens, are able to cause disease in immunocompetent individuals. They infect keratinized tissue such as skin, hair, and nails, resulting in tinea infections, including ringworm. The dermatophytes include three genera of molds in the class Euascomycetes: Trichophyton, Microsporum, andEpidermophyton. Dermatophytes are grouped according to their habitat as being either anthropophilic (human associated), zoophilic (animal associated), or geophilic (soil dwelling). Anthropophilic species are responsible for the majority of human infections; however, species from all three groups of dermatophytes have been associated with clinical disease. Human infections caused by anthropophiles tend to be chronic, with little inflammation, whereas infections caused by geophiles and zoophiles are often associated with acute inflammation and are self-healing. . The clinical presentation, though very typical of ringworm infection, is very often confused with other skin disorders particularly due to rampant application of broad-spectrum steroid containing skin ointments and creams leading to further misdiagnosis and mismanagement. So there is a need for correct, rapid and efficient laboratory methods for diagnosis of dermatophytosis.


Background: High monocyte to lymphocyte ratio (MLR) values may be associated with the risk of active tuberculosis (TB) infection in adults, infants, and postpartum women with HIV infection. It may also serve as an indicator of the effectiveness of anti-TB treatment. Thus, the main aim of this study is to ascertain the accuracy of MLR for the diagnosis of TB and its role in monitoring the effectiveness of anti-TB therapy. Methods: This systematic review and meta-analysis followed the preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses 2020 guidelines. All statistical analyses were performed using STATA 11 and Meta-DiSc software. The Quality assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies tool was used to evaluate the methodological quality of the included studies. The area under the hierarchical summary receiver-operating characteristic hierarchical summary ROC curve [(HSROC) curve (AUC)] was also calculated as an indicator of diagnostic accuracy. Results: A total of 15 articles were included in this study. Accordingly, the result showed that elevated MLR is associated with increased risks of TB disease [odd ratio = 3.11 (95% CI: 1.40–6.93)]. The pooled sensitivity and specificity of MLR for identifying TB were 79.5% (95% CI: 68.5–87.3) and 80.2% (95% CI: 67.3–88.9), respectively. The AUC of HSROC was 0.88 (95% CI: 0.857–0.903), indicating the excellent diagnostic performance of MLR for TB. This study also showed that there is a significant reduction in the MLR value after anti-TB treatment in TB patients (standardized mean difference  = 0.68; 95% CI: 0.007, 1.43). Conclusions: Generally, MLR can be considered as a crucial biomarker to identify TB and monitor the effectiveness of anti-TB therapy.


Bifunctional oxazoline-thiourea-based organocatalysts were synthesized and applied to the aza-Henry reactions between N-Boc aryl imines and nitromethane in high ee and chemical yields at room temperature.


In this paper, a novel interface circuit based on PSSHI which can be utilized for multi-input piezoelectric energy harvesting is presented. When it comes to the arbitrary phase difference between different piezoelectric transducers (PZT), traditional power conditioning circuit can hardly solve the phase mismatch of multiple sources. However, the proposed circuit can solve this problem with the improved circuit topology of the rectifier. Moreover, self-powered strategy which is designed for the proposed multi-input parallel synchronized switching harvesting on inductor (P-SSHI) circuit is applied as well. When the voltage reaches the peak, the switch is on and the parallel inductor branch access the circuit. Comparing with those based on serial synchronized switching harvesting on inductor (S-SSHI), the energy harvesting efficiency is improved. Moreover, the proposed circuit shows a good compatibility in different cases of the input sources with arbitrary phase difference within (0, 2π).


Background: In Bangladesh, the estimated incidence of 12.7 million new cancer cases will rise to 21.4 million by 2030. The study was proposed to provide information about the common cancer types, predisposing risk factors and modalities of treatment among the Bangladeshi cancer patients. Methods: Interviews were conducted based on a semi-structured questionnaire with 550 histopathologically confi rmed cancer patients or patients having radiological and clinical evidences of cancer (339 men and 211 women), between July 2013 and June 2014 from different cancer hospitals located in Dhaka city. Results: Among the male patients, the leading cancers were lung (23%), followed by mouth and oropharynx (16.52%), stomach (14.45%), colorectal (10.91%) cancers etc. Among the female, breast cancer (31.75%) was the highest, followed by cancer of cervix (27.96%), ovary (18%), mouth and oropharynx (13.27%), stomach (4.74%) etc. Among the risk factors of male cancer patients, tobacco smoking was considered highest (76.4%), followed by chewing betel leaf and nuts (61.65%) and chronic disease (58.4%). Among women, the attributable fraction of cancer causing by recurrent STDs (37.91%) was highest, followed by obesity (36.97%), chronic disease (32.7%), chewing betel leaf and nuts (23.22%) and tobacco smoking (26.54%). Main treatment modalities are surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy applied either invidually or in combination. Most of the patients received chemotherapy (54.72%), followed by chemotherapy with radiation (32%). Only 7.81% patients got pallitive care. Conclusions: There are resource-strained oncology units in different public hospitals along with few private hospitals in Dhaka. However, this survey revealed that many patients lack access to cancer awareness programme, cancer screening facilities, availability of low cost drugs, therapies and palliative care. Hence, promotion of health education, behavioural change communication and development of treatment facilities and manpower are recommended.


OBJECTIVE
To isolate mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) from second-trimester amniotic fluid using an improved two-stage culture protocol, and to induce these MSCs into neuron-like cells.

METHODS
An improved two-stage culture protocol for MSCs from amniotic fluid was developed. MSCs from amniotic fluid were induced to differentiate with beta-mercaptoethanol into neuron-like cells. Flow cytometry, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and immunocytochemistry were employed for analysis of the phenotypic characteristics of the cultured MSCs from amniotic fluid.

RESULTS
MSCs from amniotic fluid were successfully isolated, cultured and enriched without interfering with the routine process of fetal karyotyping. Flow cytometry analysis showed that they were positive for CD44, CD29, and CD105, but negative for CD45, CD34, or human leucocyte antigen-DR (HLA-DR). Importantly, a subpopulation of transcription factor Oct-4 positive cells could be detectable in the cultured MSCs from amniotic fluid. Moreover, MSCs from amniotic fluid obtained by two-stage culture protocol showed higher proliferation rate [(15.0+/-2.3)% vs. (10.0+/-1.8)%] and higher Oct-4 positive cell rate [(1.2+/-0.3)% vs. (0.9+/-0.2)%, both P<0.05]. After the induction, MSCs from amniotic fluid displayed processes that formed extensive networks. Positive cells for neurone specific enolase (NSE) constituted (54.76+/-3.65)%, and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) (36.28+/-4.27)%, respectively.

CONCLUSION
We demonstrate that human pluripotent MSCs are present in second-trimester amniotic fluid. The two-stage culture protocol could be a kind of simple one with high performance and it does not interfere with the routine fetal karyotyping. MSCs from amniotic fluid can be induced to differentiate into neuron-like cells in vitro by beta-mercaptoethanol in optimal medium.


The vegetation types was preliminary surveied in Nuluerhu Mountain Nature Reserves of Chaoyang,Liaoning province.Results showed the typical vegatation was temperate deciduous broad-leaved forests which was made up of Quercus,Acer and Sibirica,etc.There are 4 vegetation types and 7 vegetation subtypes in this region.And these also showed that the forests had the transition characteristics from temperate grasslands zone to temperate deciduous broad-leaved forests zone,it had very important value of ecological and protecting.Some advices toward the problems in the vegetation protection were suggested at the end of this paper.


Editor—Chapman's piece about a newspaper report on a study by the International Agency for Research on Cancer that allegedly showed that passive smoking does not cause cancer1 reminds us of a similar incident a few years ago. On 3 June 1996 Le Soir, the leading French language newspaper in Belgium, published an article carrying the following title: "Le tabagisme passif pas nocif" [passive smoking is not harmful]. This article was based on a report by Agence France Presse and indicated that six scientific experts from all over Europe had evaluated all available studies on passive smoking and concluded that no significant risk of lung cancer was associated with it.

Le Soir mentioned that the study had been sponsored by the tobacco industry and gave the names of the experts who "had accepted to perform the study on the condition that they could work without interference from the sponsors." We were struck by the presence among these experts of one professor whom we knew relatively well—not, however, for his expertise in epidemiology or smoking issues—and conducted a Medline search to find out what these experts had published in the field of epidemiology or about the effects of smoking. This gave the results shown in the table when we used "lung," "smoking," or "tobacco," as well as "epidemiol*" as (separate) search terms for the period between 1966 and 1996.

This certainly confirms the terms of BAT's memo from 1988 that Chapman mentions—namely, that scientific consultants should have "no previous record on the primary issues." We are not questioning the scientific achievements, or indeed the integrity, of these academics, but it is obvious that none of them could reasonably be considered an expert in the epidemiology of lung cancer caused by passive smoking. It would not have been difficult for journalists to find this out. We do not imply that experimental scientists have no say in assessing the impact of toxic agents on public health, but we wonder whether it is acceptable that expert panels should consist of such scientists only.

One of us seemingly fitted the profile defined in the industry's strategy and in 1990 was approached by a lawyer working for the tobacco industry. His company wanted a "well recognised university" to organise a "balanced scientific debate" about environmental tobacco smoke in or near Brussels, "the centre of regulation in Europe." Apart from reservations about the costs invoked in inviting a speaker from Australia, a major stumbling block seemed to be our insistence on opening the conference with a talk addressing the effects of active smoking. The conference never took place.


The Research and Training Center on Disability in Rural Communities is an organization whose mission is to improve the employment and health status of rural Americans with disabilities, and enhance their ability to participate fully in community life. Our aim is to integrate disability into the mainstream agenda for rural America. Rural Futures Lab Foundation Papers are intended to present current thinking on the economic drivers and opportunities that will shape the future of rural America. They provide the foundation upon which it will be possible to answer the question that drives the Lab's work – What has to happen today in order to achieve positive rural outcomes tomorrow?


This study aims to improve the ability to recognize numbers 1 to 10 in children group A RA Nurul Amal Ciguruwik in Cileunyi District, Bandung Regency through a number card game. This research is a classroom action research conducted collaboratively between researchers and teachers. The subjects in this study were 13 children of A RA Nurul Amal Group consisting of 7 girls and 6 boys. Data collection techniques are carried out using observation, performance, and documentation. Data analysis techniques were carried out descriptively qualitative and quantitative. the results of the study showed that increasing the ability of children to know numbers 1 to 10 before using a number card game had an average score of 50.64. Teacher activity in the first cycle showed a percentage of 76.47% then in the second cycle increased to 97.06%. Children's activity in cycle I was 72.65% increasing to 95.3% in cycle II. The average value of the ability to recognize numbers 1 to 10 in the first cycle of 64.74 turned out to have increased in the second cycle of 78.85. So increasing the ability to recognize numbers before and after recognizing numbers 1 to 10 is 28.21.


This paper presents a new approach to reduced complexity detection of partial response continuous phase modulated signals over channels with severe intersymbol interference (ISI). The detector combines the overall channel response for the CPM modulator with that of a multipath channel to calculate the branch metrics of a breadth-first sequential detection algorithm known as the T-algorithm. To our knowledge the reported work is the first attempt to make use of such a technique for equalisation of quaternary partial response CPM signals transmitted over multipath channels. Simulation of the performance of the receiver in multipath channels is reported.


A behavior recognition model and a model-based approach to extract foreground are presented. Because the process of human motion are likely to result in new events and behaviors, in this model, hierarchical Dirichlet process is used to cluster feature data monitored of the human body to determine whether there are unknown behaviors. Infinite hidden Markov model is used to learn unknown behavior patterns with supervise, and then update the knowledge base and rule base. When the rules and knowledge repository reach a certain scale, system can analyze behaviors without supervise. The Viterbi decoding algorithm in Markov model is adopted to analyze the current behavior of the human body. Foreground detection method is proposed based on the background edge model combined with background model, which can effectively avoid the light, shadows and other external factors. The simulation experiments show that this method in real-time video surveillance in the detection of human behavior has an unique advantage.


In this review we consider the important future of the synthetic fuel, dimethyl ether (DME). We compare DME to two alternatives [oxymethylene ether (OMEx) and synthetic diesel through Fischer-Tropsch (FT) reactions]. Finally, we explore a range of methodologies and processes for the synthesis of DME. DME is an alternative diesel fuel for use in compression ignition (CI) engines and may be produced from a range of waste feedstocks, thereby avoiding new fossil carbon from entering the supply chain. DME is characterised by low CO2, low NOx and low particulate matter (PM) emissions. Its high cetane number means it can be used in CI engines with minimal modifications. The key to creating a circular fuels economy is integrating multiple waste streams into an economically and environmentally sustainable supply chain. Therefore, we also consider the availability and nature of low-carbon fuels and hydrogen production. Reliable carbon dioxide sources are also essential if CO2 utilisation processes are to become commercially viable. The location of DME plants will depend on the local ecosystems and ideally should be co-located on or near waste emitters and low-carbon energy sources. Alternative liquid fuels are considered interesting in the medium term, while renewable electricity and hydrogen are considered as reliable long-term solutions for the future transport sector. DME may be considered as a circular hydrogen carrier which will also be able to store energy for use at times of low renewable power generation. The chemistry of the individual steps within the supply chain is generally well known and usually relies on the use of cheap and Earth-abundant metal catalysts. The thermodynamics of these processes are also well-characterised. So overcoming the challenge now relies on the expertise of chemical engineers to put the fundamentals into commercial practice. It is important that a whole systems approach is adopted as interventions can have detrimental unintended consequences unless close monitoring is applied. This review shows that while DME production has been achieved and shows great promise, there is considerable effort needed if we are to reach true net zero emissions in the transport sector, particularly long-haul road use, in the require timescales.


Abstract : Consider a finite-state finite-action Markovian Decision Process for which the state space has been partitioned into subsets. The decision maker can only observe the subset to which the states of the process belong, and not the actual states of the process. In addition, the costs are unobservable in the sense that the total discounted cost is to be assessed at infinity. An approach to this problem, which makes use of the probability distributions over the state space, is developed.


Active Notch signalling is elicited through receptor-ligand interactions that result in release of the Notch intracellular domain (NICD), which translocates into the nucleus. NICD activates transcription at target genes forming a complex with the DNA-binding transcription factor CSL (CBF1/Su(H)/Lag-1) and co-activator Mastermind. Despite this, CSL lacks its own nuclear localisation sequence, and it remains unclear where the tripartite complex is formed. To probe mechanisms involved, we designed an optogenetic approach to control NICD release (OptIC-Notch) and monitored consequences on complex formation and target gene activation. Strikingly we observed that, when uncleaved, OptIC-Notch sequestered CSL in the cytoplasm. Hypothesising that exposure of a juxta membrane ΦWΦP motif is key to sequestration, we masked this motif with a second light sensitive domain in OptIC-Notch{ω}, which was sufficient to prevent CSL sequestration. Furthermore, NICD produced by light-induced cleavage of OptIC-Notch or OptIC-Notch{ω} chaperoned CSL into the nucleus and induced target gene expression, showing efficient light controlled activation. Our results demonstrate that exposure of the ΦWΦP motif leads to CSL recruitment and suggest this can occur in the cytoplasm prior to nuclear entry. Summary statement Light controlled exposure of the Notch ΦWΦP motif leads to CSL sequestration and suggest this interaction could occur prior to nuclear entry during normal signalling.


For the first time since 1996, Congressional appropriators reduced the annual amount to capitalize the USEPA's hallmark Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) from what has been a steady $1.35 billion to $1.1 billion. The $250 million cut to what had been a virtually untouchable account, however, was half that sought by the White House and approved by the House for fiscal year 2005 (FY2005). Lawmakers also slashed funding for the Clean Water Act's (CWA's) nonpoint pollution program by 12%, from $238.6 million in FY2004 to $209 million in FY2005.


The Observing Language Pedagogy (OLP) tool uses videos of authentic classroom interactions to elicit the procedural knowledge which pre-school teachers can access, activate and use to support classroom decision-making. Three facets are captured: perceiving (the ability to identify salient language-supporting strategies); naming (the use of specific professional vocabulary to describe interactions); and interpreting (the ability to interpret the interactions observed). Prior research has shown that the OLP predicts classroom quality; with naming and interpreting proving the strongest predictors. This study examines OLP responses from 104 teachers to consider the nature of their pedagogical knowledge (perceiving, naming, interpreting), and describe differences between expert teachers (those leading language-supporting classrooms) and non-expert teachers (those leading lower quality classrooms). It offers insight into the nature of language-related expertise and to guide design of teacher professional development, suggesting a tri-fold focus on knowledge of linguistic input, relational pedagogy and cognitive challenging interactions.


Background—Patients with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy have left ventricular (LV) diastolic dysfunction due, in part, to temporal heterogeneity in regional function. The acute effect of the relief of LV outflow tract obstruction is unknown. Therefore, we investigated the effects of nonsurgical septal reduction therapy (NSRT) on regional function. Methods and Results—Twenty-two patients (aged 56±17 years) underwent echocardiographic examination, including tissue Doppler imaging, simultaneously with left heart catheterization before and after NSRT. LV regional function was assessed in 12 segments from which myocardial strain was obtained. Asynchrony was calculated as the coefficient of variation of the time interval from the QRS complex to the onset of expansion and to early diastolic strain. After NSRT, a significant reduction in LV outflow tract obstruction (from 57±5 to 12±3 mm Hg) occurred with shortening of the time constant of LV relaxation (71±4 to 61±3 ms; both P <0.05). The coefficient of variation of the time interval to onset of regional expansion decreased significantly and related well to the changes in the time constant of LV relaxation (r =0.81, P <0.01). Conclusions—NSRT has a favorable effect on LV regional asynchrony, which accounts for the acute changes in LV relaxation.


Two-pack PU elastomer was prepared by means of quasi-prepolymer process, with polyether glycol,4,4'-diphenylmethane diisocyanate(MDI),1,4-BDO and 3,5-dimetylthio toluene diamine(DMTDA)as raw materials. The key affecting factors,such as the variety of polyols, the mass percentage of free -NCO group in the quasi-prepolymer, the variety and proportion of different chain extenders and isocyanate index, of the physical and mechanical properties of polyurethane elastomer were discussed. The results indicated that the elastomer of PTMG/MDI/DMTDA by quasi-propolymer process had good mechanical and technological properties.


Spatiotemporal analysis in the form of geographic information systems (GISs) can help monitor changes in crime patterns in comprehensive community initiative (CCI). This article presents a CCI in W...


This paper proposes a delay based on QoS simulation model with AMC via wireless system,and further delay constraint characteristic is simulated via finite state Markov channel model for video stream traffic by utilizing Nakagami distribution.Simulaton result reveals that,higher SNR gives a better delay performance of QoS,and the model can consequently be used to improve model accuracy and process.


predictive method for remaining component lifetime evaluation consists in integrating the crack growth law of the material considered in a finite element step-by-step process. So, as part of a linear elastic fracture mechanics analysis, the determination of the stress intensity factor distribution is a crucial point. Two-dimensional, elastic–plastic finite element analyses of Edge-crack geometries with different crack length were conducted to study fracture parameters and to calculate J integral values under plane-stress conditions. Mesh refinement for the geometries were studied. Numerical implementation and mesh refinement issues to maintain path independent J-values are explored .The present work considers mode-I, linear-elastic response of cracked finite FML subjected to monotonic loading. The results obtained by these various means on cracked FML are in good agreement with those available analytical solutions. Nevertheless, since the knowledge of the field near the crack tip is not required in the energetic method, the J-integral calculations seem to be a good technique to deal with the fatigue growth of general cracks.


—makes it a rather weak (if accurate) conclusion. Chapter 6 is a particularly disappointing discussion of voting behavior and candidate strategy. The authors deal with individual vote choice in nine pages, referring very briefly to concepts such as candidate image, ideology, and issues without defining them clearly or analyzing them in any detail. The evidence is almost entirely anecdotal. The discussion of candidate strategy is a checklist of relevant factors, the role of which is highly underdeveloped. A conclusion is that "personality and ideology have importance only relative to other factors and the field of candidates" (p. 152). The chapter ends with a comment that "we have barely touched the complexity of presidential nomination campaigning" (p. 156). The chapter should have been the central one of the book where assorted themes could be brought together and focused; instead, it is the weakest in the book. The book tends to be less than incisive in confronting normative questions. Chapter 4, for example, which deals with primaries and caucuses as alternate delegate selection procedures, includes as comments late in the discussion that "considerable controversy rages over the issue of whether caucuses do a better job of nomination as compared to the primaries" (p. 97). Furthermore, "there are no definitive answers to these controversies. Trade-offs must be made in accepting either position. There are some advantages to mass participation and there are some advantages to elite-dominant decision making in the nominating process. The American solution is often to compromise" (p. 100). One might have hoped for analysis to focus on precisely what the controversy consists of and on what, exactly, the tradeoffs are.