Education carried out today faces many problems and obstacles, including the influence of increasingly rapid and advanced technology. The invention of information technology is developing on a mass scale. Technology has changed the shape of society, from the local world community to the global world community. In the task of adolescent development, the tendency of adolescents should be able to achieve emotional independence and socializing with peers and the opposite sex, but the reality on the ground there are still many teenagers who have not been able to achieve these developmental tasks. In the learning process many teenagers who feel unable to face the academic demands they find in the world of education and experience stress, most of them relieve stress by playing online games. It is hoped that in this study, students improve the management of academic stress that is still poor and understand the impact of playing online games. Counseling teachers are expected to be able to provide input for schools to develop a counseling program in developing steps to prevent the occurrence of academic stress experienced by students, as well as making preventive efforts to the intensity of students in playing online games. The next researcher is expected to study and research more about academic stress and the intensity of playing online games by taking different aspects, as well as a larger number of samples.This type of research is classified as correlational descriptive. The population of this study is the students of SMA PGRI 2 Padang in the academic year 2019/2020 with 180 students with a sample of 64 students. The data collection tool used was a questionnaire. Data analysis techniques used the Pearson Product Moment formula with the help of the Statistical Product and Service Solution for Windows version 20 program. The research findings show that (1) the level of academic stress of SMA PGRI 2 Padang students is in the medium category, (2) The level of intensity in playing online games of PGRI 2 Padang high school students is in the moderate category, (3) There is a significant relationship between academic stress and intensity play online games for high school students of PGRI 2 Padang with Pearson correlation 0.532 and a significant level of 0.000 with a fairly strong relationship level.


The purpose of this study is reorganization of resilience factors on rehabilitation sports participation. For the study, the researcher selected total 414 millle and old ages. who are registered in the 5 selected rehabilitation centers are located in Seoul, Gyeonggi-do. The collected data were examined through the statistic analysis by using SPSS 18.0, such as conducting the frequency analysis, factor analysis, the reliability analysis, and Exploratory factor analysis(CFA)the Confirmatory factor analysis(CFA) with validity examinations were conducted by AMOS 20.0. In conclusion, 5 resilience factors on rehabilitation sports participation were rearranged as follows; Causual analysis, Communication skills, Empathy, Communication skills, Self optimism, Gratitude.


Balogh, Bollobás and Morris (2006) have described a threshold phenomenon in the behavior of the profile of hereditary classes of ordered graphs. In this paper, we give an other look at their result based on the notion of monomorphic decomposition of a relational structure introduced in [32]. We prove that the class S of ordered binary structures which do not have a finite monomorphic decomposition has a finite basis (a subset A such that every member of S embeds some member of A). In the case of ordered reflexive directed graphs, the basis has 1242 members and the profile of their ages grows at least as the Fibonacci function. From this result, we deduce that the following dichotomy property holds for every hereditary class C of finite ordered binary structures of a given finite type. Either there is an integer such that every member of C has a monomorphic decomposition into at most blocks and in this case the profile of C is bounded by a polynomial of degree − 1 (and in fact is a polynomial), or C contains the age of a structure which does not have a finite monomorphic decomposition, in which case the profile of C is bounded below by the Fibonacci function. AMS Subject Classification. 05C30, 06F99, 05A05, 03C13.


Flood disaster on the district of Pati and Kudus was usually on rainy season. Some districts such as Kaliwungu, Undaan and Mejobo (Kudus District) and Pati, Margorejo and Juwana (Pati District) has always been the area of inundation. Several attempts have been done such as flood control and improvement efforts to normalize the embankment. However, given the complexity of the flow system buttresses at the time Juana, tthese efforts have not provided adequate results. This study is intended to analyze alternative flood control in Kali Juana using HEC-RAS model analysis. The analysis was performed by simulation to some form of control efforts, in order to reduce the amount of flooding. The results show that there are six alternative models that appear in flood control Kali Juana. From some of these models, selected simulation model that includes normalization, dikes, reservoirs of logung, 8 Retention pond and floodway.


By investigating and researching into the fatigue damage on the service steel cranegirder,the paper presents the assessment model about fatigue damage of steel cranegirder.The relation between damage grade and reliability grade is discussed,and a sort of simple mothed is put forward for the reliability assessment of steel cranegirder.


Data on the generation and decay of wind-generated gravity waves have been collected for several years by the University of California. These data together with the original data by Sverdrup and Munk have been analyzed, and the results were presented in dimensionless graphs suitable for use in wave forecasting (Bretschneider, 1951). No analysis was made of the effect of following or opposing winds.


Evidence continues to mount concerning the contribution that carbon emissions from human activity are making to climate change [1], the costs that this will impose on future generations if unabated...


This article explores how theoretical frameworks are evident in Master's dissertations and doctoral theses in Educational ICT research. These studies (n = 103) were purposively selected from seven South African universities. We argue that theoretical frameworks are epistemological devices that account for the knowledge that is produced in a study. We furthermore argue that they explicitly fimplicitly account for the type of design of an inquiry. The findings of the document analysis conducted reveal that studies that were theoretically developed, yielded data that could be interpreted in more depth, while a substantial number of researchers that employed their theoretical frameworks in a very limited way, presented findings that were no more than descriptive in nature. We argue that the reason for the theoretically impoverished studies is complex; part of it may be due to students' training in methodology, supervision that students received, conditions at the institution and so forth. We argue that theory...


Sudden tubular contraction geometries of 2:1 and 4:1 ratios were incorporated in the flow loop constructed in the laboratory. The patterns of the flow fields were recorded using particle tracer photography. The flow patterns showed two distinct flow regimes in the stable region, which was followed by an unstable flow region. In the stable flow region a vortex growth regime and a divergent flow regime were observed. Spiralling flow was the characteristic phenomena of the unstable flow fields. The frequency of the spiralling was of the order 0.6 to 0.8 Hz.


Plackett-Burman design and response surface methodology were applied in order to optimize the fermentation medium of (R)-α-hydroxyphenylacetic
acid ((R)-HPA) producing Bacillus sp. HZG-19. The
factors playing important roles in the production of (R)-HPA were selected
based on Plackett-Burman design. The path of steepest ascent was undertaken to optimize
said fermentation medium. Finally, the optimal levels of the factors with the
greatest change in regard to product yield were further optimized using
Box-Behnken and response surface analysis. The optimal conditions were found to
be as follows: casein peptone 30.49 (g × L-1), glycerol 14.09 (g × L-1),
KH2PO4 0.1345 (g × L-1), K2HPO4 0.01 (g × L-1),
CaCl2 0.1 (g × L-1), MnSO4 0.01 (g × L-1).
Under the optimal conditions described above, the yield of (R)-HPA reached
63.30%, which indicated an increase of 14.9%, as compared to the yield obtained
before optimization.


Intelligent agents must pursue their goals in complex environments with partial information and often limited computational capacity. Reinforcement learning methods have achieved great success by creating agents that optimize engineered reward functions, but which often struggle to learn in sparse-reward environments, generally require many environmental interactions to perform well, and are typically computationally very expensive. Active inference is a model-based approach that directs agents to explore uncertain states while adhering to a prior model of their goal behaviour. This paper introduces an active inference agent which minimizes the novel free energy of the expected future. Our model is capable of solving sparse-reward problems with a very high sample efficiency due to its objective function, which encourages directed exploration of uncertain states. Moreover, our model is computationally very light and can operate in a fully online manner while achieving comparable performance to offline RL methods. We showcase the capabilities of our model by solving the mountain car problem, where we demonstrate its superior exploration properties and its robustness to observation noise, which in fact improves performance. We also introduce a novel method for approximating the prior model from the reward function, which simplifies the expression of complex objectives and improves performance over previous active inference approaches.


This study investigated the influence of advice sources and closeness of relationship on framing effect of decision- making. The experimental materials were the adaption of the classic "Asian disease problem" from Kahneman 's study. The results showed that( 1) the advice source affected decision- making reaction,especially when the advice was from professionals( e. g.,firefighters),the decision- makers showed preferences for the unidirectional framing effect of risk;( 2) relationship closeness leaded to different framing effects. The framing effect was very significant when the affected population including the rescuer's relatives( intimate relationship) were rescued; and the decision- makers showed preferences for the unidirectional framing effects of risk when strangers were rescued;( 3) If advice source and relationship closeness influenced the subject's decision- making together,as long as it came to a close relationship,both advice sources all showed significant framing effects. This result pattern suggests that the different sources of advice and the closeness of relationship have an impact on the decision- making under the emergencies.


The major capsid proteins VP16 and VP17 of bacteriophage P23-77 have been crystallized using both recombinant and purified virus and preliminary diffraction analyses have been performed.


'This surveys aims to gather information on; (1) the standards of existing
equipment overhead projectors used in rural secondary schools. (2) how much and
how often the overhead projectors are being used. (3) was there encouragment in
using the overhead projectors. (4) are teachers being exposed to the right
techniques/courses in using overhead equipment in teaching. (5) how much
awareness do teachers have regarding the advantages ill using overhead projectors in
teaching and learning.


ABSTRACT This study aims to discuss discursive and socio-ideological aspects in Goethe's poem Prometheus , from the dialogical perspective of language, observing how it is configured as a counterword to the Greek tragedy Prometheus . For in such a way, we find theoretical and methodological endorsement in the thought of Bakhtin (2006a, 2006b [1979]; 2010 [1930-34]), Medviédev (2016a, 2016b [1928]), Volóchinov (2017 [1929]) and Benjamin (2018), which subsidize the research. Using a dialogical approach, we delimited as locus of the study the poem entitled Prometheus , authored by Goethe. From the moment when we understand the poem by Goethe as a counterword, it is possible to glimpse a change of conception in the construction of the character, resulting of discursive interactions between Prometheus and Zeus. In addition, there is a process of discontinuance of the mythical narrative, since Goethe's perspective reveals dialogues with the German sociopolitical system between the 18th and 19th centuries. It is, therefore, considered a research of qualitative and interpretative matrix. The results had pointed to the fact that the points of view of Goethe, in his work-statement (BAKHTIN, 2006d [1979]), differentiate of the tragic perspective visualized in the Myth of Prometheus , where the character has become a slave and had perpetual punishment.


The Promotional Materials Clearinghouse was a program developed by the Florida Institute for Marketing Alternative Transportation at Florida State University's College of Business to assist transit professionals in the development of marketing and promotional collateral. Because the development and production of marketing collateral can be an expensive and time consuming undertaking, many transit systems borrow from the ideas of other systems throughout the country as a cost-cutting measure. However, because no central repository of collateral material exists, information exchange is very limited. The Clearinghouse addressed this issue by creating an arena in which transportation professionals throughout the country could share ideas on the effectiveness of certain marketing strategies. FIMAT staff and students collected marketing collateral from transit systems throughout the nation and, in turn, made this information available for review by other transit marketing and public relations personnel. The primary method for information delivery was a site on the world wide web (http://tan.cob.fsu.edu or http://nuti.cob.fsu.edu). The site contained digitized copies of collected materials as well as other information deemed important to transit service marketing. This report details the activities performed during the development, design and implementation of the Promotional Materials Clearinghouse.


Polyamines, especially spermine, were demonstrated to stimulate both the esterase activity and proteinase activity of acrosin, a critical enzyme in the fertilization process. The stimulation was demonstrated to result from an increase in the maximal velocity, with little effect on the affinity of the enzyme for substrate. Spermine also protected acrosin against autoproteolytic degradation. There was, however, no stimulation or stabilization of trypsin activity. Although polyamines stimulated the activity of acrosin, they inhibited the autocatalytic activation of proacrosin, the zymogen form of the enzyme. Spermine produced the greatest stimulation of proteinase activity and the greatest inhibition of proacrosin activation. This is the first report of polyamine stimulation of a proteolytic enzyme and inhibition of zymogen activation. These results suggest that polyamines could serve as in vivo modulators of the proteolytic activity of acrosin and the activation of proacrosin.


Arthroplasty of the knee replacement is considered to be the most commonly surgical reconstructive procedure performed in the United States of America [1]. Upon data collection, there are more than 350,000 total knee replacements (TKR) in 2007, and may be increasing to 500,000 operations in 2020 [2]. The loss of blood during this operation can be remarkable, with the capacity usually varying from 300 to 1000 ml [1]. One study reported the significant quantity of blood loss that varied from 1450-1790 ml [2]. It was reported by Lotke et al. that the average loss of blood in total knee replacement calculated from the perioperative drop in hemoglobin (Hb) was 1518 ml and mean hematocrit (Hct) drop was 5% [1,3,4]. The anemia from peri-operative blood loss was highlighted to be the cause of post-operative infection, slow physical recovery, lengthening of hospitalization, as well as increase in morbidity and mortality.


"Commission exceptionally orders the licensing of a copyright to safeguard competition in the German pharmaceutical sales reports market"* 1. Introduction On 3 July 2001 the Commission adopted…


We show how to teach and motivate small quantum computer programs as a supplemental topic in a CS2 data structures class. A traditional example such as Shor's factorization [8] could be used, but we focus instead on the area of quantum pseudo-telepathy games. Examples in this area require less mathematics than factorization and are easy to motivate with short proofs that the problems solved have no solutions in a world of classical computing. A CS2 class is a good location to present this work because of the matrix storage and manipulation that is required.


We consider a solvable model of a one dimensional electron gas interacting with an array of dynamical scattering centers, whose state is specified by a pseudospin variable. In the dilute limit, for frequencies w and temperatures T below the single-center Kondo scale but above a coherence scale {delta}, the physics is governed by the fixed point of the single-impurity two-channel Kondo problem. In that region, the physical properties are governed by composite (or odd-frequency) pairing fluctuations and they are reminiscent of the normal state of high temperature superconductors. As {omega} and T {yields} 0, three susceptibilities are equally divergent: (1) conventional, spin-singlet even-parity pairing (2) composite spin-singlet odd-parity 77-pairing and (3) odd parity pseudospin.


This article deals with the impediments to the free flow of information in rural areas of Gwalior district of Madhya Pradesh. Total 667 schedules were received back from respondents. Major findings are: 83.05% of respondents prefer to study reading material in Hindi language; money and lack of time are coming in the way of obtaining required information in rural areas; only 4.34% respondents (29 out of 667) are familiar with the Internet in this I T age. While 18.14% of respondents (121 out of 667) are familiar with computer. 241 (36.13%) of respondents are familiar with mobile; 13 (1.94%) respondents have taken the benefit of Internet technology for fulfilling their information need. Majority of respondents 267 (40.02%) have not taken benefits because they have not received information timely.


The goal of this paper is to analyse the mechanical properties of the weld steel structure of car body truck frames following MAG welding repairs using various filler materials. The main role of welding conditions is connected with filler materials, welding technology, stress state and temperature. In the paper, the properties of steel structures after MAG welding with microjet cooling are presented. Weld metal deposits (WMDs) were prepared by using various welding wires with different chemical compositions. A WMD with various nickel content was examined using three different welding wires; simultaneously, a WMD with varied oxygen content was examined using different gas mixtures for microjet cooling. In this study, the metallographic structure and impact toughness of welded joints were analysed in terms of welding parameters. The amount of acicular ferrite (AF) in WMDs, with various amounts of nickel and oxygen after welding, was tested. The various steel deposits were checked with the variable content of manganese and silicon, as well as nickel. Gas mixtures of argon and carbon dioxide were used for microjet cooling.


Based on 13 evaluating indexes and correlative demonstration datum,the paper has synthetically evaluated the comprehensive strength of 17 cities in Shandong province by Principal Components Analysis method.The result is that regional difference is evident.Then,based on the comprehensive score of cities,17 cities are classified into developed,quite developed,common and behindhand 4 types.4 tourism economy zones are divided into,the core cities of which are Qingdao,Yantai,Jinan and Jining.Finally,the problem of analysis and correlated development measures are advised.


Hydrogen is an abundant, clean and renewable energy source, and is therefore an optimal fuel for the development of a future hydrogen economy. Alternative biological processes can be practically applied to produce hydrogen. This study investigated hydrogen production from algal biomass by a three-step process; first, photosynthetic CO2 fixation into starch by a cyanobacterium, Nostoc sp. TISTR 8872; second, dark anaerobic fermentation of biomass by 5 strains of anaerobic bacteria to produce organic acids; and third, conversion of organic acids to hydrogen by Rhodopseudomonas sp. TISTR 1953. The cyanobacterial strain Nostoc sp. TISTR 8872 produced 0.30+0.00 g (DW)/L of biomass with 30.66+0.58% of accumulated starch during photosynthetic growth in BG-11 media at 28+1C under illumination at 60 mol photon/m 2 /s on an orbital shaker for 20 days. The algal biomass was concentrated, and then converted into organic acids (360.52+87.67 mM of malic acid, 1,338.49+153.95 mM of acetic acid, 3,341.37+194.45 mM of citric acid and 21.18+11.27 mM of butyric acid) by Lactobacillus brevis subsp. brevis TISTR 868 in anaerobic fermentation for 48 h. A photosynthetic bacterial strain, Rhodopseudomonas sp. TISTR 1953, produced hydrogen at a rate of 10.38+0.53 ml/l/h. The results indicate that Nostoc sp. TISTR 8872 is a suitable stain for algal biomass production to produce hydrogen by a three-step microbial hydrogenproducing system.


Abstract : The use of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) products in the development of command, control, communications, and intelligence (C3I) systems for the Department of Defense (DOD) is crucial. Significant reduction in the DOD budget and the expectation of further reductions will force the defense community to build lower cost systems that do not depend heavily on customized hardware and software. The concept of 'open system architecture', where individual subsystems designed and manufactured by different industrial organizations can be integrated into systems of high performance (by virtue of common interface standards), is making its appearance in the commercial marketplace. This creates the possibility that large-scale military systems can be integrated at low cost from commercial products, with relatively short development schedules. The DOD will need to exploit this possibility.


The relationship between variational rate of resistance and the remaining service life for metals in fatigue is analyzed theoretically by using fatigue damage theory and thermodynamics. The analysis is approved by experiments. A new method of estimating the remaining service life for metal in fatigue is then given.


WOCS 4540 is the longest orbital period (P orb = 3030 days) blue straggler star (BSS)—white dwarf (WD) pair in the old open cluster NGC 188. It also contains one of the most luminous BSS in the cluster. Prior Hubble Space Telescope Cosmic Origins Spectrograph spectroscopy measured a WD mass of 0.53 M ⊙, indicative of a carbon–oxygen WD and suggesting previous mass transfer from an asymptotic giant branch (AGB) star. Detailed modeling of the system evolution, including red giant branch phase wind mass transfer, AGB wind Roche-lobe overflow, and regular Roche-lobe overflow, is done with Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics. The best-fit model produces excellent agreement with a wide array of observational constraints on the BSS, the WD, and the binary system. To produce the observed luminosity and effective temperature of the BSS, all three donor mass-transfer mechanisms contribute similarly to build a 1.5 M ⊙ BSS. The overall mass-transfer efficiency is 55%. Regular Roche-lobe overflow occurs only during the largest AGB thermal pulse, but yields a very high accretion rate at 75% efficiency and briefly (less than 1 Myr) a very high luminosity boost from the accretor.


Studying sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) can tell us a lot about the financial services sector. Specifically, in this commentary I suggest that studying the reactions of financial service providers, such as asset managers but also the broader complex of professional services such as accounting and law that 'lubricate' (Dicken, 2007) the financial system, to the growing importance of SWFs reveals much about the dynamics of the changing geographies of power in the financial services sector and the implications for incumbent financial centres such as London and New York. I make two main points. First, I suggest that the growing importance of SWFs does indeed mean that financial centres such as Doha, Dubai and Shanghai will become increasingly powerful over the coming years, in particular as financial service providers such as asset managers and related professional service firms such as law race to establish new and grow existing operations in these centres. Second, however, I also contend that this rebalancing of power relations will not be a zero sum game that necessarily leads to the erosion of the power and importance of incumbent centres such as London and New York. By taking a relational approach to understanding the geography of financial centres (on which see Beaverstock et al., 2006; Faulconbridge, 2004) that recognises the complementary nature of coexisting centres (on which see Clark, 2002) I illustrate the way that incumbent centres are actually likely to benefit from the activities of SWFs and the growing importance and power of centres such as Doha, Dubai and Shanghai.


The question of the boundaries of firms (externalization, network firm, hollow firm, etc.) is crucial today in the analysis of business organizations. Firms' functional structure, in particular, is increasingly transcending their internal space. This article presents an analysis of this phenomenon, based on the COI-ICT 2006 survey. The authors evaluate and describe the relationship between the firm and its outside "functional partner": is it a contractual relationship with a service provider in a network, a division of work within a group, exclusive delegation or shared responsibility? They identify the importance of the group phenomenon in the decoupling between functional organization and firm, pointing out that the weight of groups has increased massively over the past two decades. Whereas until now this phenomenon has essentially been analysed from a perspective of diversification/re-centring of products-activities, or else from a fiscal point of view, the results presented here reveal a third logic based on the functional specialization of subsidiaries.


We report the results of high-resolution optical spectroscopic observations of 23 moderately bright Herbig Ae/Be candidate stars (V ∼ 8– 12 mag) obtained at the 6-meter telescope of the Russian Academy of Sciences (resolving power R=15000–30000) and at the 2.1-meter Otto Struve telescope of the McDonald Observatory (R=60000). Recently found new Herbig Ae/Be star candidates are presented.


This study was carried out following the underwater propeller-grinding of the Soviet cargoship SENEGALES by the Belgian firm Hydrex in Antwerp. Modern statistical methods demonstrated that the hydrodynamic propulsion performance improved by 4%, i.e. at any frequency of rotation a 4% lower engine output was required. The reduction of propeller roughness from 12-15 mcm to 2-5 mcm resulted in reduced fuel-consumption at full power; 3.6% at 130rpm and 4% at the economy regime of 110rpm. Due to the improved propeller performance, at the same engine output, the speed of the ship after the propeller grinding increased by 0.17 kn.


The Pd–Y system was critically assessed using the CALPHAD technique. The solution phases (liquid, b.c.c., f.c.c. and h.c.p.) were modeled using the Redlich–Kister equation. The intermetallic compounds Pd 3 Y and PdY, which have homogeneity ranges, were treated as the formula (Pd,Y) 0.75 (Pd,Y) 0.25 and (Pd,Y) 0.5 (Pd,Y) 0.5 by a two-sublattice model with a mutual substitution of Pd and Y on both sublattices. The optimization was carried out in two steps. In the first treatment, Pd 3 Y and PdY are assumed to be stoichiometric compounds; in the second treatment they are treated by a sublattice model. The parameters obtained from the first treatment were used as starting values for the second treatment. The calculated phase diagram and the thermodynamic properties of the system are in satisfactory agreement with the experimental data.


Orbital metastasis is rarely the first sign of a malignant process. Most cases of metastatcis orbital tumours are diagnosed in patients with known primaries elsewhere.
The patient presented is one of the unusual cases of breast carcinoma in a young person. Her primary presentation to the eye clinic with "orbital inflammatory disease" (which turned out to be a metastasis into the orbit) prior to the diagnosis of the primary disease makes her even more unusual. All cases of "inflammatory orbital disease" require a full and thorough physical examination.
KEY WORDS: Breast Cancer, Young, Meratasis.
[Nig. J. Ophthalmology Vol.10(1): 28-31]


Non-linear behavior of rock mass is a time-dependent process during deformation.The adjustment of stress in rock mass is related to propagation and coalescence of fractures and fissures in rock mass.Based on the conception of equivalent strain and effective stress,fracture-damage coupled mechanical model of jointed rock mass was set up.Furthermore the model was applied to analyze the stability of large underground caverns of pump stations of Wanjiazhai Project of Water Diversion from the Yellow River in Shanxi Province.Numerical results show that the newly developed model can fit the real properties of rock mass well during simulating excavation and support steps in practice.


Mei Zhao, Maria A. Ralat, Vanessa da Silva, Timothy J. Garrett, Stephan Melnyk, S. Jill James, and Jesse F. Gregory, III Food Science and Human Nutrition Department, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida; Biomedical Mass Spectrometry Laboratory, Clinical and Translational Science Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida; and Department of Pediatrics, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, Arkansas


Within the bonded tableau unitary group approach (BTUGA), a scheme, combined with Pauling's resonance theory to select the predominant valence bond structures for VB calculations, is proposed. This scheme ensures a reliable and illustrative bonding picture in the description of chemical reactions, as exemplified by the isomerization reaction HNC↔ HCN. The computation results account for important bonding features about this isomerization at the ab initio level and explore the mechanism of phenomena such as (i) HCN is more stable than HNC; (ii) the C-N bond first lengthens and then shortens in the vicinity of the transition state; (iii) only H-atom migration is observed in the isomerization process, without the breaking of the CN bond. Our results demon- strate that only a few bonded tableau functions are sufficient enough to provide a visual and reli- able bonding picture.


Santelli et al. appear to have underestimated the contribution of current sexual activity to declining pregnancy rates among adolescents aged 15 to 17 years. The authors calculated a contraceptive risk index (the weighted average of estimated "typical use" failure rates for contraceptive methods reportedly used at last intercourse) assuming this index accurately reflects the risk of pregnancy among sexually active adolescents. But a review of pregnancy data for 1995 and 2002 reveals that the calculated index does not consistently correspond with actual pregnancy risk for sexually active adolescents aged 15 to 17 years. Pregnancy risk among sexually active adolescents can be calculated more accurately by dividing the pregnancy rate by the proportion of adolescents who are sexually active. In 1995 the pregnancy rate for girls aged 15 to 17 years was 64.1 per 1000. Because 28.2% reported recent sexual activity in 1995 the pregnancy risk among sexually active girls was actually 0.227 (0.0641/0.282) not 0.344 as estimated by the authors. In 2002 the pregnancy rate among girls aged 15 to 17 years was 0.0423. Because 23.4% reported recent sexual activity in that year the pregnancy risk among sexually active girls was 0.181 (0.0423/0.234) similar to the authors estimate of 0.186. Repeating the authors calculations with the more accurate estimates of pregnancy risk among sexually active adolescents aged 15 to 17 years we found that reduced pregnancy risk among sexually active adolescents accounts for 54.7% of the decline in pregnancy rates whereas the reduced proportion of adolescents who are sexually active accounts for 45.3%. An alternative approach is to calculate the anticipated change in pregnancy rate were sexual activity to decline without any change in pregnancy risk for sexually active adolescents. Had this occurred the 2002 pregnancy rate would have been 0.053 (0.234 × 0.227). By contrast had there been no change in recent sexual activity and pregnancy risk for sexually active adolescents had declined the 2002 pregnancy rate would have been 0.051 (0.282 × 0.181). Using either approach the contributions of declining sexual activity and reduced risk of pregnancy among sexually active adolescents are actually quite similar. Additional research is needed to determine why standard contraceptive effectiveness rates may not apply to adolescents (differences in the frequency of intercourse and the consistency and correctness of use compared with adults are possibilities). Meanwhile researchers should not assume that pregnancy risk among sexually active adolescents is only a function of contraceptive choice. (full text)


Preservice teachers' responses to students with attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder who reportedly failed a classroom test were investigated. Undergraduate students (n = 49), during their semester of student teaching, rated six vignettes that varied by student gender, attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnosis, and medication status. When a student had no disability, teachers rated a boy more likely to fail than a girl; when a student had ADHD, they rated the girl more likely to fail. Differences were also related to diagnosis and medication status assigned to the student. Findings support attribution theory and apply to classroom motivation of students with disabilities.


Conventiotial single beam side-scan sonars with beams at about 10 are not wel! suited jor the detection and identification ojvery smal! objects TS < -25 dE e.g. minelike objects. Sonars ojvery high angular resolution at 0./ 0_ 0.2 o operate in the nearfield and the speed oj the sonar's transducer towing has to be reduced significantly. The paper presents a design approacn to a multi-beam side-scan sonar w/wre the above mentioned drawbacks have been removed. The sonar has several narrow parallel (not conical) beams simultaneously formed using the method oj beam shaping in the nearfield. Two methods oj beam shaping in the nearfield are presented. Thanks to them sonars ojvarious quality and cost can be designed. Selected beam patterns for the two methods of beam forming in the nearfield are presented and compared.


Operationalising structural programming for HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment
Hargreaves Structural_AIDS2012.pdf

Principles, examples and evidence to answer the big question: How do we put structural approaches into practice?

In a presentation at the 2012 AIDS Conference, Dr James Hargreaves of LSHTM quotes and addresses the three key barriers to effective structural programming: no definition, no operational guidance, no evidence.

Hargreaves notes that effective new health interventions tend to increase health disparities by increasing the health of wealthier groups faster than that of poor groups. As HIV is increasingly associated with marginalised and hard-to-reach populations, it is necessary to identify, prioritise, fund and deliver strategies that: ensure that basic programmatic activities benefit the hard to reach, target the social determinants of HIV transmission through HIV-specific interventions, catalyse HIV-sensitive development.

At the same time, Hargreaves says, we must strengthen the evidence base with monitoring, evaluation and outcome research. Here, he draws on findings from interventions such as Stepping Stones, IMAGE and Swa Koteka.


In this paper hybrid method for electromagnetic (EM) modelling of coherent radiation in semiconductor lasers is presented. Described approach consist of drift diffusion (DD) model and electromagnetic simulation. Four-level two-electron atomic system with Pauli Exclusion Principle (PEP) extended by electric pumping ratio has been used as lasing model.


This paper proposes a planning system for empty container repositioning. It is said that movement of empty containers account for thirty percentage of movement of all containers. This is because the amount of trade by marine logistics is d ifferent between countries. Empty container repositioning cost no less than 234 million dollars in 2010. Therefore, we have developed planning system to reduce the cost of repositioning empty containers. To achieve this purpose, we have developed a p lanning system for empty container repositioning. This system includes demand prediction, inventory control, and determination of transportation plan. We optimize the stock of empty containers at each port by demand predict ion and inventory management, and we optimize the whole network of empty container repositioning by determining transportation plan. We have developed simulator including these three methods, and carry out the simulation. Then, we applied this system to marine logistics network. We compared current scenario and our system scenario. The result of these simulat ions suggests that the cost of empty container repositioning can be reduced by our planning system, and empty container repositioning is achieved by our planning system.


COPYRIGHT © 2023 Mazzoni and Chiappalone. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. Editorial: Reading and writing the neural code for neuroprosthetics


Organizations today have no choice but to continually exhaust their efforts to exploit what they know and continue to explore new knowledge, so they are realizing that to remain competitive and able to achieve competitive advantage they must explicitly manage their intellectual resources and capabilities.


We examine the validity of the zero duality gap properties for two important dual schemes: a generalized augmented Lagrangian dual scheme and a nonlinear Lagrange-type dual scheme. The necessary and sufficient conditions for the zero duality gap property to hold are established in terms of the lower semicontinuity of the perturbation functions.


We show that the nucleon spectrum in a hard-wall anti-de Sitter/QCD model can be improved by use of a relatively large IR cutoff. All of the spin-1/2 nucleon masses listed in the Particle Data Group can be fit quite well within 11%. The average error is remarkably only 4.66%.


With the development of the construction of highway engineering, the problems of highway engineering emerge now and then, even lead to many traffic accidents. It brings great loss to the national economy and people's life. It is of great importance to pay more attention to testing the quality of project engineering to solve these problems. This paper expounded the importance of testing quality of highway engineering in the engineering quality management.


A method of growing SiC nanowires (NWs) on 4H–SiC surfaces by in situ vapor-phase catalyst delivery was developed as an alternative to the ex situ deposition of the metal catalyst on the targeted surfaces before the NW chemical vapor deposition (CVD) growth. In the proposed method, sublimation of the catalyst from a metal source placed in the hot zone of the CVD reactor, followed by condensation of the catalyst-rich vapor on bare substrate surface was used to form the catalyst nanoparticles required for the vapor–liquid–solid (VLS) growth of SiC NWs. The NW density was found to gradually decrease downstream from the catalyst source and was influenced by both the gas flow rate and by the catalyst diffusion through the boundary layer above the catalyst source. Formation of poly-Si islands at too low value of the C/Si ratio created preferential nucleation centers for misaligned SiC NWs and NW bushes. The flexibility of controlling the nanoparticle density made this technique suitable for NW growth on horizontal surfaces as well as on patterned SiC substrates, including the vertical sidewalls of SiC mesas.


During the exploration of the possible use of an extraction process for the separation of gaseous cascade impurities from uranium hexafluoride, a number of short exploratory studies were carried out. These included (1) experimental determination of the vapor pressure and liquid density of perfluorodibutylcylicether, (2) calculation of the liquid vapor-equilibria of the systes perfluoro-n-pentane-uranium hexafluoride and 1,2-dichlorohexafluoropropane-uranium hexafluoride, and (3) derivation of equations for the estimation of activity coefficients in ternary systems from the properties of the pure components. The results of these studies are summarized in this report.


The factors responsible for the South Carolina Low Country's rapid economic rise in the eigthteenth century and for the area's subsequent lapse into stagnation and decline are described and analyzed. The conclusion is that the rise and fall of the Low Country grew out of the white settlers' early economic commitment to the production of plantation staples with bound labor. The Low Country was locked into a pattern of economic development that required a high demand for low country staples. When demand for low country staples abated, the area faced economic ruin.


A pulsed eddy current system with differential coil assembly was proved to be applicable to measure the sodium levels in EBR-II fuel rods with an accuracy better than plus or minus 0.030 in. When the sodium levels are flat or have only slight variations, a cylindrical coil system can be readily used. However, when the sodium levels vary around the periphery, the cylindrical system fails to measure the average sodium levels. A four-channel point-probe-type pulsed eddy current system was developed for this problem. With this equipment the sodium levels at four points on the periphery could be determined. The average value of these four measurements correlated with those determined by destructive tests. (M.C.G.)


Cultural attitudes towards mentally and physically challenged and handicapped fellow-humans have changed from culture to culture and from century to century. But all cultures seem to have visible or hidden recognition of the dignity and uniqueness and sometimes divine characteristics of the handicapped. From bodily and mentally challenged acrobats and artists in the Chinese Imperial Court and the residences of European feudals to the divination of certain psychiatric persons in Eastern and Western cultures to limited legal rights of self-determination for the incompetent in many contemorary democracies, there is a wide range of acceptance and refusal of the 'other' who is different to most of us. In this paper I will discuss more specifically some selected aspects of the genuine competence of those who have been declared legally incompetent in accordance with certain cultural preconceptions or neurological or psychiatric criteria for tests.


The article discusses little studied: 1) cases in which the Bible says about leprosy or psoriasis?;2) what kind of disease, leprosy or psoriasis, caused acquisition mankind first icons of Christ Holy Face? Currently, these issues receive reflected in medical science during the spiritually oriented therapy in patients with psoriasis and spiritually oriented psychotherapy pathological dependency.


Abstract The structure of the steady transverse circulation of a rotating stratified fluid on an f plane is analyzed in two stages. First, a length scale analysis is performed, giving the relationships between the vertical and horizontal length scales. Then an idealized problem in which there is an offshore Ekman transport near a coast is solved, giving the detailed structure of the transverse circulation. Boundary layer structures which decay algebraically are found from the formal solution.


Forensic dentistry plays major role to identify human beings in natural or man-made calamities, especially in explosions, fires, terrorist attacks, decomposed, injured or burned bodies, when there is very little human tissue remains to perform visual inspection. This is the reason why dentists who are working with forensic investigating teams & law agencies to be more familiar with the new technologies & methods. There are several proved and reliable tools in forensic dentistry to establish the human identification like Bite marks, Cheiloscopy, Rugoscopy, Ameloglyphics, Photograph analysis, Genetic methods (DNA extraction) and biometrics analysis. Through this article we will review the various methods & techniques applied in forensic dentistry to establish the human identification. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Mohammad Ehtisham, Sheeba Nissar, Shahla Khan, Rehan Khan, Firdous Wani, Iram Jan. Institute of Dental Studies & Technologies Modinagar ShreeBankey Bihari Dental College & Research Centre, Masuri, Ghaziabad INTRODUCTION "Everything comes at a price. Everything in your life. The question you have to ask yourself is, what price are you willing to pay?Pulliana Simons[1]". Everyday our society face new challenges. Even though recent advances in modern technology, new medical discovery and the globalization that the last century has brought, making our life better day by day, crimes are still present in every aspects of our lives. Brutal, cruel and vicious activities that smashed the lives of human beings, their friends and families occur in day to day life. There is no replacement of such damage. The apprehension and subsequent prosecution of the criminal(s) is essential to maintain law and order[2]. Sherlock Holmes is a great inspiration for forensic science in literature, substantially for the way his criminal investigation scenes provides small clues as to the precise sequence of events. He loves to use trace evidence such as shoe and tire impressions, as well as fingerprints and handwriting analysis[3]. The word "forensic" is derived from the Latin, word "forensic" meaning "before the forum". In the era of Roman civilization, the forum, meant "Public Square." These days forum referred as belonging to, used in or suitable to courtsof adjudication. It can also be designated as "public discussion or debate". Forensic science is referred as the study and practice of the application of science for the purpose of law or can be defined as areas of endeavour that can be used in a judicial system and accepted by the court and the forensic community to separate truthfulness from falsehood[4]. FORENSIC DENTISTRY Forensic dentistry was relatively in a state of beginnings in its research and growth until the 1960s when the period of resurgence awaked by the first formal constitutional program in forensic dentistry materialized in the United States of America (USA) at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AIFP). Because their valuable contribution in the field of "forensic odontology" diversified its branches to such an extent that the teeth and its supporting structures alone were able to deliver abundant amount of reliable information not only to the dentist, but also to security agencies and other forensic investigating teams[5]. ROLE OF FORENSIC DENTISTRY IN HUMAN IDENTIFICATION: "EVIDENCE THAT DOES NOT LIE"


Mechanical valvular obstruction and reduced arterial compliance combine to increase left ventricular afterload in patinets with aortic stenosis (AS). As a result of the recognition that valvular and arterial abnormalities both play important roles in determining the overall impedance to left ventricular ejection in AS, it is now clear that standard methods of quantifying valvular stenosis, which focus entirely on the valve itself do not adequately characterize the severity, predict the onset, progression, and magnitude of symptoms, or identify the incidence of subsequent adverse event. The valvuloarterial impedance (Zva) provides an estimate of the global left ventricle (LV) hemodynamic load that results from the summation of the valvular and vascular loads, and the concept is very useful because it incorporates stenosis severity, volume flow rate, body size, and systemic vascular resistance. Moreover, Zva can easily be calculated using Doppler echocardiography from 3 simple measurements, that is, the systemic arterial compliance (SAC) in the LV outflow tract, the transvalvular mean gradient, and systolic arterial pressure, it is superior to the standard indexes of AS severity in predicting LV dysfunction. Zva is the best-suited and most relevant parameter to clinically quantify this "global or total" increase in LV hemodynamic load. There is few data regarding effects of surgical aortic valve replacement (AVR) on Zva and SAC. In patients with AS undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI), acute declines in Zva were reported. Reductions in Zva observed 1 month after TAVI also were shown to persist during a 2-year follow-up, suggesting that pISSN 1975-4612/ eISSN 2005-9655 Copyright © 2016 Korean Society of Echocardiography www.kse-jcu.org http://dx.doi.org/10.4250/jcu.2016.24.3.191


In this fictitious study, the investigators compared the time to healing of stage 3 pressure ulcers in subjects treated with the new dressing (XYZ dressing). Fifty patients were recruited into the study and randomly assigned to the new dressing or a usual care control group. The investigators reported that there was no significant difference in the time to wound healing in the XYZ and control groups (P .15). They concluded that the new dressing was no more effective than usual care (the dressing currently used on the unit). Should you accept their conclusion? In answering this question, that is, deciding whether there was really no difference in the effectiveness of the 2 dressings, you need to determine if the study was adequately powered. Within the context of research, power is the ability of a statistical test to detect a difference when one exists in the target population.1 The target population is the entire group of persons in which you are interested in applying the findings of a study. The goal of research is to use data from a sample to make inferences about the target population, while minimizing the likelihood of making erroneous conclusions about that population.2 Statistical tests such as the t test, analysis of variance, or regression are used to test a hypothesis in a sample of the target population. Typically, 2 hypotheses are considered. One is the null hypothesis, the hypothesis that there is no difference. Testing for statistical significance is based on the null hypothesis.3 In a study comparing characteristics in 2 groups, the null hypothesis would be that there is no difference in the characteristic(s) of interest in the groups. In a study examining an intervention, the null hypothesis would be that there is no difference in the outcome before and after the intervention (ie, a 1-group study) or no difference in the outcome between the treatment and control groups. The second hypothesis is the alternative hypothesis, the hypothesis that there is a difference, for example, a difference in characteristic(s) in the groups or in the outcome following an intervention. In the fictitious study, the null hypothesis is that there is no difference in the time to wound healing between the group receiving XYZ dressing and the control group and the alternative hypothesis is that there is a difference in the time to wound healing between the 2 groups. When researchers interpret the results of statistical tests in their studies, they can make 2 different types of errors: a type I or type II error (Table 1). A type I error occurs when investigators conclude, based on the P value, that there was a significant relationship or treatment effect between their groups when none exists in the target population (ie, the null hypothesis is true). Investigators control the probability of making a type I error when they select the alpha ( ) that they will utilize to determine whether the results of their statistical tests are significant. Typically, is set at .05, which means that the investigators are willing to accept a 5% probability (1 chance in 20) that they made a type I error. The other type of error is a type II or beta ( ) error. A type II error is made when the investigators, based on a nonsignificant P value, accept the null hypothesis that there was no relationship or no treatment effect when one exists in the target population. Power (1 ) is the probability that if a difference exists in the target population it will be detected by the statistical test performed. If, for example, is set at .10, the investigators are willing to accept a 10% chance of not detecting a significant effect if it exists. This of .10 means that the power to detect a treatment effect is 90%. Ideally, investigators would like the probability of making both type I ( ) and type II ( ) errors to be zero, allowing them to be confident that their sample findings reflect reality in the target population. Unfortunately, achieving this goal generally requires a larger sample than can be feasibly recruited.3 Although there are exceptions, in most situations type II errors (eg, erroneously concluding that an


Sixteen healthy Xuhuai white goats were equipped with intubatton in ruminal vein,portal vein,mesenteric vein and carotid artery.The catheters were made from polyethylene.The catheter was remained for an average of six weeks in ten goats,but five for as long as two months after the surgical operation performed.


We have studied 75 children at the Baca Ortiz Childrens Hospital in Quito,they have been pattern selected by hazard from a total of 1925 kids.Their ages are between 3 to 36 months.We have found a 72% of underfeeded, with a predominance of a third degree malnutrition (33,4%).The causes of hospitalization were:Bronconeumonia (45,3%), Diarrhea (26,6%), besides other pathologic problems (28,1%). We have correlated hematological findings in a nutritive state and serum folate level through RIA with I 125. We have found a high frecuence of Anemia (X=73,3%) with upper values for the underfeeded (75-82%) in relation with the normal childs (57%),being a significant statistic of difference. The most significant hematological finding (p < 0,001) was the presence of hipersegmented polymorphonuclears,only in the bad nutrited population,with an increasing percentage, according to the underfeeding degree. This parameter relates itself directly with de serum folate deficiency (-3 ng%). We have found folic acid deficiency in 68% at the total population, with upper percentages occording to the underfeeding degree (IIQ=83% and IIIQ=92%).Among the children with malnutrition the administration of folic acid must be considered as a fundamental part of the therapeutics. The presence of the hipersegmented polymorphonuclears, is a useful parameter,it indicates the folate deficiency,withouth the RIA sensibility.


Antibody CNJ206 catalyzes the hydrolysis of p-nitrophenyl esters with significant rate enhancement and product specificity. We report here kinetic and affinity measurements for this antibody in the pH 4–9.5 range. We also report the X-ray structures of CNJ206 Fab liganded with a transition-state analog (TSA) and with one of the products of the hydrolysis, p-nitrophenol, at pH 4. This product binds in the same hydrophobic pocket as the p-nitrophenyl part of the TSA; its release at basic pH, where catalysis is usually measured, is facilitated by its ionized state and this avoids product inhibition. The conformation of the CNJ206 combining site is identical in this structure and in the previously determined structure of a CNJ206 Fab•TS A complex at pH 8. Taken together with the pH-profile of the rate enhancement by CNJ206, the structural data support a mechanism for catalysis by CNJ206 involving stabilization of a tetrahedral oxyanion intermediate by the peptide NH groups of two consecutive residues in the H3 complementarity-determining region.


THIS section summarizes the contributions of 83 scientific studies to the psychology and methods of teaching reading in elementary schools. The plan adopted in preparing the summary differs somewhat from the usual procedure. The bibliographies prepared annually by the writer covering the period from July 1, 1931, to June 30, 1934, were first checked by Doctors Gates, Horn, and Yoakam for completeness. Any omitted published studies were added to the list. It is only fair to say that many important unpublished studies were omitted. The cooperators next checked all references which in their judgment contributed to an understanding of the psychology and methods of teaching reading in elementary schools. The checked lists were then compared and all references reviewed which had been checked by two or more members of the group. A summary was next prepared in preliminary form and submitted to the cooperating experts for criticism and suggested revisions. These suggestions were then assembled by Doctor Gates and the revised copy returned to the writer for approval or further changes. On account of the limited space available, it was impossible to include many personal interpretations of the results of the studies or criticisms of the technics employed.


Abstract Understanding and closing the gender gap in environmental concern is the only way to identify and implement the best policies for the environment and sustainable development. This paper examines the gender difference in environmental concern in the case of Ethiopia, Oromia regional state. For this, 140 individuals are sampled from the study areas. The result reveals that women play triple role in their communities: reproductive role, productive role, and community roles. The result also shows that women are more likely to depend on natural resources and hence more likely vulnerable to climate change effects. However, there is no statistically significant difference between women and men in terms of climate change awareness and choice of climate change adaptation strategies. The estimated logit model predicts that women are 31.25 times more likely to participate in environmental conservation than men. Increase in the daily work load by 1 hour is more likely to reduce the individual participation in environmental conservation by 0.237 times. The result also shows that increase in livestock possession decreases individual participation in environmental conservations. A number of policy implications are drawn. There is a need to increase the incentive and distribution of improved cooking stoves and biogas so as to decrease the women work loads. There is also a need to engage civil society organizations, government institutions, and relevant women's networks to ensure inclusive approaches to the implementation of gender-responsive forest policies. Finally, the regional government is advised to organize gender-awareness seminars and workshops for forestry officials, including decision-makers and policy committee members.


Bacterial superantigens (SAgs) are potent activators of T lymphocytes and play a pathophysiological role in Gram‐positive septic shock and food poisoning. To characterize potential MHC class II binding sites of the bacterial SAg staphylococcal enterotoxin (SE) A, we performed alanine substitution mutagenesis throughout the C‐terminus and at selected sites in the N‐terminal domain. Four amino acids in the C‐terminus were shown to be involved in MHC class II binding. Three of these amino acids, H225, D227 and H187, had a major influence on MHC class II binding and appeared to be involved in coordination of a Zn2+ ion. Alanine substitution of H225 and D227 resulted in a 1000‐fold reduction in MHC class II affinity. Mutation at F47, which is equivalent to the F44 previously shown to be central in the MHC class II binding site of the SAg, SEB, resulted in a 10‐fold reduction in MHC class II affinity. The combination of these mutations in the N‐ and C‐terminal sites resulted in a profound loss of activity. The perturbation of MHC class II binding in the various mutants was accompanied by a corresponding loss of ability to induce MHC class II‐dependent T cell proliferation and cytotoxicity. All of the SEA mutants were expressed as Fab‐SEA fusion proteins and found to retain an intact T cell receptor (TCR) epitope, as determined in a mAb targeted MHC class II‐independent T cell cytotoxicity assay.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


We thank Dr. Damkier and Dr. Kaplan [Damkier and Kaplan, this issue] for their interest in our recent manuscript [Dawson et al., 2014], and their comments on our presentation of data regarding birth defects in the children of mothers who reported preconceptional or prenatal exposure to methotrexate in the National Birth Defects Prevention Study. Studying the association between medications and birth defects is challenging and requires a multifaceted approach. The complete picture often combines data from animal studies, case-series, casecontrol studies, Teratogen Information Services studies, and cohort studies. Each of these study designs comes with limitations that need to be acknowledged in the scientificmanuscripts. For our study the limitations included recall bias and reliance on maternal report, as we acknowledged in our paper. There may be other limitations or biases and our sample size was small, which is whywe conducted a descriptive analysis and did not calculate measures of association. However, as we read the case-series on methotrexate exposed pregnancies and the suggestion that heart defects might be part of the methotrexate embryopathy [Piggott et al., 2011; Poggi and Ghidini, 2011], we felt that wewould be remiss if we did not publish the data we had available to us. Our data, from population-based birth defects surveillance systems, were collected over a period of twelve years and included very detailed case review and classification and exposure assessment based on a specific question about the use of methotrexate. The fact that several mothers of infants with congenital heart defects reported use of methotrexate shortly before or during pregnancy could indicate that the developing


In post-socialist Slovenia one observes the re-emer- gence of certain traditional defamatory attitudes toward athe- ism. For this reason, empirical testing of the following theses, which have been publically promulgated by leading represent- atives of the Roman Catholic Church, have been undertaken in recent years: 1. that atheists are unhappy; 2. that atheists are unreflective about life; 3. that atheists are immoral; and 4. that atheists do not feel solidarity with social minorities. On the basis of data collected by ISSP, EVS, and WVS research studies, it is possible to claim that these statements made by the Catholic Church about Slovene atheists are unsubstanti- ated. Especially as regards "convinced atheists" and "natural atheists" who exhibit above-average levels of happiness, above- average belief as to the meaning of life, average moral rigour and below-average social distance in relation to various social minorities. The explanations of such findings will be pursued in a comparative analysis of the ethos and value habitus of Catholicism on the one hand, and in the secular ideologies that have been present in Slovenia on the other.


Optical nonlinearities of dialkynyl complexes at ground state and excited states have been investigated by DFWM. The nonlinear susceptibilities of the system were enhanced greatly through the population of the excited states. The values of the hyperpolarizabilities of the sample molecule at excited states, γ1111,se and γ1221,se, were determined to be 2.15 × 10-30 esu and 1.17 × 10-30 esu, respectively, while their values at ground state, γ1111,sg and γ1221,sg, were 1.08 × 10-31 esu and 2.30 × 10-32 esu.


The reliable integration of nanoporous low dielectric constant (k) materials is challenging due to their vulnerability to delamination, cohesive cracking, and diffusion. We review selected reliability issues for the integration of nanoporous low-k dielectrics regarding UV curing, diffusion, and damage evolution. Depth-dependent UV curing by the UV standing wave effect is presented. It is demonstrated that significant enhancement in fracture energies at both interfaces of low-k films can be obtained by tailoring UV curing depth profiles and employing the underlying barrier as an optical spacer. The effects of nonionic surfactants on diffusion and damage evolution in nanoporous low-k films are discussed.


This paper reviews important parameters and conditions that determine the life of welded joints, and summarizes recent research developments in the fatigue design of welded structures, with an emphasis on offshore tubular structures. Two of the factors that strongly affect fatigue life, the environment and plate thickness, have been the subject of several large research programs in recent years. With the increasing use of higher strength steels much interest has also been taken in various methods for improving the fatigue life of welded joints. Developments in these areas of research are reviewed. Examples of approaches to fatigue life prediction in design codes are given. Recent changes to design codes are evaluated, and examples of significant changes in design codes are given. Progress in the implementation of techniques for fatigue life improvement and life extension of fatigue-damaged structures are discussed.


Objective
To evaluate efficacy, complications and influencing factors of children with aplastic anemia(AA)who were receiving rabbit anti-thymocyte globulin (rATG) combined with cyclosporine for immunosuppressive therapy (IST), and to explore optimal therapy for different clinical types of AA according to severity.

Methods
From 1st January 2006 to 1st February 2017, a total of 128 children who were diagnosed as AA by peripheral blood routine and bone marrow morphology and/or bone marrow pathology, and accepted rATG combined with cyclosporine in Department of Pediatric, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University. According to the clinical classification of the disease, the subjects were divided into non-severe aplastic anemia (NSAA) group (n=22), severe aplastic anemia (SAA) group (n=63), and very severe aplastic anemia (VSAA) group (n=43). The clinical data of the patients were retrospectively analyzed. The efficacy of the patients at 3, 6, 9 and 12 months after treatment and at the end of follow-up among 3 groups were evaluated by chi-square test. The treatment-related adverse reactions and prognosis were observed. Univariate analysis of different influencing factors, such as age, absolute value of neutrophils, platelet count, and reticulocyte were performed using the chi-square test. Statistically significant factors in the univariate analysis were included in the Cox proportional hazard regression model for multivariate analysis. Survival analysis was performed using the Kaplan-Meier method. The procedure of this study was accordance with the requirement of the revised World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki in 2013. Informed consent was obtained from all guardians of participants.

Results
① Of the 128 patients, 121 cases were evaluable, 5 cases were lost to follow-up, and 2 cases were early death. The complete remission (CR) rates at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months after treatment and at the end of follow-up were 5.0% (6/121), 14.9% (18/121), 16.5%(20/121), 28.9% (35/121) and 51.2% (62/121), respectively. The overall response rates were 33.9% (41/121), 38.9% (47/121), 49.6% (60/121), 62.8% (76/121) and 65.3% (79/121) , respectively. The response rates at 3 and 6 months after treatment in the NSAA group were 63.6% (14/22) and 68.2% (15/22), which were significantly higher than those of 30.5% (18/59) and 39.0% (23/59) in SAA group, 22.5% (9/40) and 22.5% (9/40) in VSAA group, the former were statistically different from the latter two (χ2=11.416, 13.297, P=0.001, 0.05). ④ The lymphocyte count 0.05).

Conclusions
The treatment of rATG combined with cyclosporine in children with SAA and VSAA has a higher response rate and a lower incidence of serious complications, which can be used as first-line treatment in the absence of appropriate donors. The lymphocyte count<1.5×109/L, platelet count≥20×109/L, and decreased CD3+ CD4+ cell ratio might be predictors of good response to rATG combined with cyclosporine in the treatment of children with AA.

Key words:
Anemia, aplastic; Immunosuppressive agents; Child; Rabbit anti-thymocyte globulin


A 31-year-old woman presented with fever, ataxia, double vision, confusion, and auditory hallucinations, preceded by 2 weeks of cough, increased oral secretions, and dermatomal rash. Her medical history was unremarkable. Her family history was notable for fi rst-degree relatives with autoimmune disorders, including Crohn disease and immune thrombocytopenic purpura. On initial examination, she was intubated, febrile ( ≥ 38.5°C), and comatose. She had right leg hyperre fl exia and exhibited autonomic instability, characterized by labile blood pressures (systolic/diastolic [86 – 161/21 – 96] mm Hg) and heart rate (50 – 117 bpm), requiring in-termittent administration of vasopressors. Serologic demonstrated low TSH (TSH <0.015 IU/mL), high T4 (free T4, 16.7 ng/dL), (93 IU/mL; – (9.67 IU/L;


The typification algorithm development of the main cutting area characteristics and their formalization are directed on the decrease in operational expenses of forest users regarding the machine and mechanism system use by their rational and reasonable distribution on the revealed types by the operating condition sets.


This article provides the framework for some case studies on the dynamics of Europeanisation in South European political economies. It summarises the key features of the common template each case study adopts. Following a discussion on political economy as it is conceptualised in this volume titled ''Europeanisation and the southern periphery' in retrospect: another decade of dynamism, asymmetry, and fragmentation? Guest Editors: Canan Balkir, H. Tolga Bolukbasi and Ebru Ertugal', the article elaborates the defining attributes of the Europeanisation research programme by focusing on its theoretical core, research design and method of conceptualising and operationalising domestic continuity and change centring on the troika of 'ideas', 'interests' and 'institutions' in unpacking the dynamics therein. It concludes by providing a summary of the contributions to this volume.


Objective of Project DEEP STEAM is to develop the technology required to economically produce heavy oil from deep reservoirs. Accomplishments attained during this reporting period include: completion of construction and initiation of testing in the thermal well completions test tower at Tacoma, WA; finalizing a testing agreement for field evaluation of a high pressure combustion downhole steam generator; successful laboratory testing of a combustion wave ignition system for low pressure combustion downhole steam generator; completion of atmospheric combustion test of diesel-fueled high pressure combustor; and initiation of a program for minimum stress packers.


Blood flow in arterial systems is described by the three-dimensional Navier-Stokes and the continuity equations within a time-dependent spatial domain that accounts for the viscoelasticity of the arterial walls. Blood is treated as an incompressible viscous Newtonian fluid that flows through compliant vessels of circular cross section. A three dimensional semi-implicit finite difference-finite volume model is derived in such a fashion that numerical stability is obtained at a low computational cost on a staggered grid. The resulting algorithm is robust, efficient, and applies to hydrostatic, nonhydrostatic, and one-, two-, and three-dimensional flow problems.
The purpose is to develop the previous hydrostatic 2D-model proposed by Casulli, Dumbser and Toro (2012), that is very efficient in giving the basic information for the study of the transport of substances in the arterial system (see Tavelli et al.), in order to give at the same time a good 3D-description of both pressure and velocity fields. Non-hydrostatic corrections to the pressure along to the cross section are necessary to give a good description of secondary flows, and consequently to simulate blood flow through curved sections or junctions in the vascular tree. This is very important because asymmetric irregularities of blood flow, curved sections, junctions, stenosis and turbulence instabilities can cause the leading contributes, e.g., to wall shear stress.
The numerical approach is very similar to Casulli's device for nonhydrostatic, 3D-free-surface flows (Casulli, 1999) that is very suitable for general, irregular domain of arbitrary scale (Casulli and Zanolli, 2002) and it is accurate at the same time. The same algorithm seems to be very adequate for the implementation of higher order corrections and the use of a moving Lagrangian grid that is the convenient choice to obtain an optimal description of junctions. The model can be directly applied in simulating blood flow in realistic arterial vascular trees of complex geometry and, further to this, the implementation of the method for a good description of venous walls is almost straightforward.
At first, a three dimensional semi-implicit finite difference model for hydrostatic flows in compliant pipes of circular cross section is presented as the first development from previous 2D model. Navier-Stokes equations are discretized within the time-dependent spatial domain. The numerical system is mass conservative and the pressure is still assumed hydrostatic along the cross section of the pipe. This model preserves the peculiarities of simplicity, robustness, accuracy and efficiency of the previous model in solving problems that exhibit axial symmetry. These features are illustrated on nontrivial test cases for axisymmetric pipe flows where the exact analytical solution is known. The results of the simulations confirm actually the same results of the 2D model.
Secondly, nonhydrostatic corrections are computed. The resulting approach confirms previous results and it remains locally and globally mass conservative within an almost arbitrary tolerance. Testing cases of steady flow in uniformly curved, rigid and compliant section are presented. Axial velocity development and secondary flows are shown and compared with previously published results in literature.

V. Casulli. A semi-implicit finite difference method for nonhydrostatic, free-surface flows. Int. J. Numeric. Meth. Fluids, 30:425–440, 1999.

V. Casulli and P. Zanolli. Semi-implicit numerical modeling of nonhydrostatic free-surface flows for environmental problems. Math. Comp. Model., 36:1131–1149, 2002.

V. Casulli, M. Dumbser, and E.F. Toro. Semi-implicit numerical modeling of axially symmetric flows in compliant arterial systems. Int. J. Numeric. Meth. Biomed. Engng., 28:257–272, 2012.

M. Tavelli, V. Casulli, and M. Dumbser. High resolution methods for advection-diffusion problems in compliant arterial systems. Int. J. Numeric. Meth. Biomed. Engng., Submitted to.


The analysis of a shoot-through-proof converter topology designed to eliminate the need for a dead time between switching transitions is presented. Shoot-through-proof is done by splitting each leg of a normal converter and inserting an inductor to limit the current during transitions. Matlab/Simulink™ simulations based on a 10-kVA laboratory test setup, which was built to validate the proposed ideas, are used to evaluate the system performance. In particular, simulations were used to predict losses associated with the topology and reduce the harmonics injected by the converter. The control system was implemented in a TMS320F28335 DSP, and the results of both the simulations and prototype testing showed very good agreement.


ABSTRACT The Walker Creek field, located in Lafayette and Columbia Counties, Arkansas, is the largest stratigraphic trap yet discovered in the Smackover State Line Trend. The porosity at Walker Creek is developed in an Upper Smackover oolite sequence thought to represent a regressive, high-energy shoreline deposit modified by contemporaneous structural movements associated with salt swells. The southern Persian Gulf shelf is seen as its Holocene analogue. The upper Smackover oolite reservoir is a continuous sequence of very well sorted lime grainstones containing no interstitial, low-energy lime muds. Porosity occlusion and ultimate trap formation is the result of early cementation associated with meteoric water table conditions developed during periodic exposure of the Smackover during its depositional history. The porosity-occluding early carbonate cements formed in the meteoric phreatic zone, immediately beneath the water tables, while primary porosity was being preserved in the overlying meteoric vadose zones. This primary porosity has been preferentially preserved over the active structures because vadose conditions persisted across these topographic highs for longer periods of time. Porosity distribution within the Smackover at Walker Creek, thus, is not controlled by original depositional processes--such as the pinchout of a porous sand into a lagoonal clay--but is the direct result of the early cementation history of a carbonate sand sequence that exhibited little variation in original porosity. The demonstration that Walker Creek is a "diagenetic trap" rather than a true stratigraphic trap gives the explorationist and production engineer in the Arkansas-Louisiana Smackover trend a valid alternative model to conceptualize potential reservoir characteristics.


Management of water resources has hitherto been largely exploitive. This kind of development induces adverse geomorphological and ecological adjustments leading to environmental degradation. Two major floods in 1994 caused considerable concern in the Durance valley, France, prompting extensive engineering and ecological investigations. Understanding these biophysical diagnostics is important to develop more environmentally sustainable management strategies. Data presented show morphological changes from 1930 to 1994, and future changes in the lower 140 km of this channel.


Three tin ? complexes with N,N- dialkyl dithiocarbamates Ph3SnS2CN(CH3)C6 H5 (1),Ph3SnS2CN(C4H8NH) (2) and Sn(Cl)2(S2CNEt2)2 (3) have been synthesized. Th e crystal structures have been determined by X- ray sin- IMG SRC="IMAGE/0915 0031.JPG" HEIGHT=11 WIDTH=12gle crystal diffraction. A crystal of the complex 1 is triclinic with space group , a=0.9485(3)nm, b=1.0491(3)nm, c=1.3631(4)nm, α =70.996(4)° , β =72.294(4)° , γ =79.609(4)° , Z=2, V=1.2168(6)nm3, IMG SR C="IMAGE/09150032.JPG" HEIGHT=11 WIDTH=12Dc=1.453g· cm- 3, μ =1.234mm- 1, R =0.0442, wR=0.0858. A crystal of the complex 2 is monoclinic with space group P2 (1)/c, a=1.2214(2)nm, b=1.1651(2)nm, c=1.5769(3)nm,β =99.039(2)° , Z=2, V=2.21 62(7)nm3, Dc=1.532g· cm- 3, μ =1.352mm- 1, R=0.0267, wR=0.0591. A crystal of the complex 3 is triclinic with space group , a=0.7179(2)nm, b=0.9256(3)nm, c=1 .5327(5)nm,α =93.857(4)° ,β =98.992(4)° , γ =109.481(4)° , Z=2, V=0.9405(5 )nm3, Dc=1.717g· cm- 3, μ =2.076mm- 1, R=0.0263, wR=0.0662. In the complexes 1 and 2 the tin atoms rendered five- coordination in a distorted tigonal bipyr amidal structure and in the complex 3 the tin atom rendered six- coordination i n a distorted octahedron structure. CCDC: 1, 179918; 2, 180024; 3, 180004.


The paper studied the relation between the biosynthesis of antibiolitic antibviolitcs M182A produced by marine mold strain M182 and the resistance of self-secondary metabolites. By UV and UV + NG complex mutation, The high resistance strains against M182A was obtained and whose relative potency increased to 244%. Subculture test indicated that the heredity character of the high productivity strains was stable. The test of liquid fermentation showed natural organ nutrient substances were advantageous to synthesis compounds. Certain temperature shock could improve the yield of M182A.


In order to understand the resistance of pathogenic Escherichia coli isolates from chickens to tetracycline antibiotics and distribution of resistant genes,158 strains pathogenic E.coli were isolated and identified from the dead chickens in parts scale farm of Shaanxi provinces.The susceptibility of pathogenic E.coli isolates to four kinds of tetracyclinesantibiotics were detected by the Kirby-Bauer disk method,three kinds of tetracycline's resistance genes were detected by the PCR method,compare the resistance gene sequences with the related sequences in GenBank by the DNAStar software.The results show that the resistance rates of pathogenic E.coli isolates from chickens to tetracycline,chlortetracycline,oxytetracycline and doxycycline were 88.6%,77.2%,87.3%,and 50.6%,respectively.More than 30% resistant strains accounted for 78.5%.The detection rate of tetracycline resistance gene tetA,tetB were 81.4% and 20.7%,respectively.tetCgenes was not detected.The results showed that the resistance of pathogenic E.coli isolates from chickens to tetracycline antibiotics was widespread exist and most were multi-drug resistant;the detection rate of resistance genes tetAwas positively correlated with their resistance.


This letter presents a highly sensitive near-infrared (IR) α-Si:H phototransistor for touch sensor applications. The narrow bandgap of a-Si exhibits a wideband spectrum response from IR to ultraviolet region, where the IR bandpass filter layers allow the α-Si:H phototransistor to respond to the selective IR light uninterrupted by visible light. The time-resolved photoresponse and transfer I-V characteristics for the near-IR α-Si:H phototransistor as a function of power at 785-nm illumination allow the observation of fast photoresponse (τ ~ 0.1 ps), high external quantum efficiency (7.52), and high photoresponse. A prototype unit pixel structure for touch sensors composed of amorphous Si-based switching/amplification/near-IR phototransistors and a storage capacitor, is proposed and designed. The overall results suggest that the near-IR α-Si:H phototransistor offers unique possibilities for user-friendly, low-cost, and large-area touch sensors, especially aimed at consumer applications and other areas of optoelectronics.


We discuss the influence of momentum-dependent correlations on the superconducting gap structure in iron-based superconductors. Within the weak coupling approach including self-energy effects at the one-loop spin-fluctuation level, we construct a dimensionless pairing strength functional which includes the effects of quasiparticle renormalization. The stationary solution of this equation determines the gap function at $T_c$. The resulting equations represent the simplest generalization of spin fluctuation pairing theory to include the effects of an anisotropic quasiparticle weight. We obtain good agreement with experimentally observed anisotropic gap structures in LiFeAs, indicating that the inclusion of quasiparticle renormalization effects in the existing weak-coupling theories can account for the observed anomalies in the gap structure of Fe-based superconductors.


Social media is an invaluable source of feedback not just about consumer products and services but also about the effectiveness of government services. Our aim is to help analysts identify how government services can be improved based on citizen-contributed feedback found in publicly available social media. We present ongoing research for a social media monitoring interactive prototype with federated search and text analysis functionality. The prototype, developed to fit the workflow of social media monitors in the government sector, collects, analyses, and provides overviews of social media content. It facilitates relevance judgements on specific social media posts to decide whether or not to engage online. Our user log analysis validates the original design requirements and indicates ongoing utility to our federated search approach.


With the rapid development of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, and the Internet of Things, many researchers have probed into the study of learning analysis, trying to solve the problems of teaching by analyzing the learning behavior data from learning process. And in many learning behavior research, the sensor network usually consists of a host of mutually independent data sources, which can be used to monitor measured objects from multiple dimensions thereby obtaining the multi-source multi-modal sensory data. However, there still exist false negative readings, false positive readings and environmental interference, etc. Therefore, we propose a multi-source multimode sensory data acquisition method based on Date Quality(DQ). We first define the data quality in terms of four aspects-accuracy, integrity, consistency and instantaneity. Then, by the modeling there aspects respectively, we propose metrics to estimate the comprehensive data quality method of multi-source multi-mode sensory data. Finally, a data acquisition method is presented based on data quality, which selects a part of data sources for data transmission according to the given precision. This method aims at reducing the consumption of the sensory network on the premise of the data quality guarantee. An extensive experimental evaluation demonstrates the efficiency and effectiveness of the algorithm.


The purpose of this study was to find the difference and relationship between high sc hoof students` self-identity and delinquency impulsivity. The subject of this study were 392 students(lst and 3rd grade of 4 high schools in Keochang). Self-identity test devise d from questionnaire of Korean type-self-identity constructed in 1996 by Mr. Park and questionnaire of delinquency impulsivity written by Mr. Lee in reference to Mr. Jung`s Personality Test for Elementary students and Mr. Lee`s standardized Diagnostic Test of Personality was used, which was amended and revised with the help of Mr. kim in acco rd with the level of high school students. The results of this study were as follows First, academic students had higher scores than vocational, and first grade students, third grade, in levels of self-identity, but there is no difference between male and female students. Second, vocational students had higher scores than academic, and third grade students, first grade in delinquency impulsivity, but there is no difference between male and female students. Third, there is a certain anti-relationship between self-identity and delinquency impulsivity, and in case of subarea, there is a certain relationship in realms of autonomy, self-acceptance, goal-aiming, leading, and intimacy.


Ippolito Nievo was a highly perceptive reader of Giacomo Leopardi's works. This article focuses in particular on Nievo's interpretation of the Operetti morali, as emerges in two of Nievo's dialogues from 1857 housed in the Bastogi collection in Livorno: the Dialogo della Filosofia con un nuovo stampo d'avaro [Dialogue between Philosophy and a new kind of miser], which gained notoriety following its publication in 1858, and the Dialogo della Chimica colla Natura Umana [Dialogue between Chemistry and Human Nature], which was left unpublished. A transcription of each dialogue based on the Livorno autograph is presented, together with a thematic, linguistic and stylistic analysis which highlights those textual features closely linked to Leopardi's Operette.


Study Design. Prospective. Objective. To investigate the influence of paraspinal fatty muscle infiltration (FMI) and cumulative lumbar spine degeneration as assessed by magnetic resonance imaging on long-term clinical outcome measures in patients with lumbar spinal canal stenosis (LSCS) of the Lumbar Stenosis Outcome Study (LSOS) cohort. Summary of Background Data. Past studies have tried to establish correlations of morphologic imaging findings in LSCS with clinical endpoints. However, the impact of FMI and overall lumbar spinal degeneration load has not been examined yet. Materials and Methods. Patients from the LSOS cohort with moderate to severe LSCS were included. Two radiologists assessed the degree of LSCS as well as cumulative degeneration of the lumbar spine. FMI was graded using the Goutallier scoring system. Spinal Stenosis Measure (SSM) was used to measure the severity level of symptoms and disability. European Quality of Life 5 Dimensions 3 Level Version (EQ-5D-3L) was used to measure health-related quality of life. Results. The nonsurgically treated group consisted of 116 patients (age 74.8±8.5 yr), whereas the surgically treated group included 300 patients (age 72.3±8.2 yr). Paraspinal FMI was significantly different between the groups (54.3% vs. 32.0% for Goutallier grade ≥2; P<0.001). Total degeneration score was comparable in both groups (9.5±2.0 vs. 9.3±2.0; P=0.418). FMI was associated with lower SSM function and lower EQ-5D-3L (all P<0.05), but not with SSM symptoms. Total degeneration of the lumbar spine was associated neither with SSM symptoms, nor with SSM function, nor with EQ-5D-3L (all P>0.05). Conclusions. FMI is associated with higher disability and worse health-related quality of life of LSCS patients in the LSOS cohort. There was no significant association between total cumulative lumbar spine degeneration and the outcome of either surgically or nonsurgically treated patients. Level of Evidence. 3.


A 36-year-old woman had a long-standing history of intravenous drug abuse (methylphenidate, Aitalin). During a 5 year period, she had two hospital admissions and multiple emergency room visits for five separate subcutaneous abscesses at injection sites. In June 1980, the patient was admitted with pleuritic chest pain, nonproductive cough, and fever. Blood cultures were positive for coagulase-negative Staphylococcus, and a new cardiac murmur was appreciated. The admission chest film showed bibasilar atelectasis but was otherwise unremarkable. The working clinical diagnosis was staphylococcal endocarditis. The patient was placed on intravenous nafcillin and tobramycin. Although laboratory tests showed that the organism was sensitive to nafcillin, there was no clinical improvement over a 9 day period. With subsequent worsening ofthe clinical picture, septic emboli from right-heart endocarditis were suspected. The antibiotic therapy was changed to a regimen of vancomycin, rifampin, and tobramycin. Within 3 days the patient's fever was reduced and the white blood cell count decreased. The patient received intravenous antibiotics for 4 weeks, after which she had no shortness of breath and normal resting arterial blood gases. During the initial part of her hospitalization, she had pulmonary infiltrates with central and basilar consolidation. As the pulmonary infiltates cleared, hilar masses persisted (fig. 1A), and further evaluation was performed. Pulmonary angiography showed three separate pulmonary artery aneurysms (fig. 1B). Because the aneurysms were bilateral, surgery was not considered. The patient failed to keep clinic appointments; however, she was admitted in February 1982. A chest film showed diminution of the hilar masses (fig. 1C). After more than 1V2 years since hospitalization with pulmonary artery aneurysms, she had no chest complaints.


The measurement, analysis and visualization of plant growth is of primary interest to plant biologists. We are developing software tools to support such investigations. There are two parts in this investigation, namely growth visualization of (i) a plant root and (ii) a plant stem. For both domains, the input data is a stream of images taken by cameras. The tools being developed make it possible to measure various time-varying quantities, such as differential growth. For both domains, the plant is modeled by using flexible templates to represent non-rigid motions.


To address the shortage of teaching aids, this paper proposes a new inquiring teaching model via the virtual simulation technology. The proposed model is specific to the maintenance crew. The interactive virtual environment is first built with the aid of virtual training software and the simulation technology. The constructed platform provides a practically interactive mode for the trainee. The thinking skill of students can be then enhanced by consecutive exercise. Multiple teaching practices prove that the proposed method could arouse the student's enthusiasm fully. The teaching effectiveness can be therefore improved significantly. It is valuable to extend the proposed method to much more trainee accordingly.


We have determined the draft genome sequences of Thiorhodococcus mannitoliphagus and Thiorhodococcus minor for comparison with those of T. drewsii and Imhoffiella purpurea. According to average nucleotide identity (ANI) and whole-genome phylogenetic comparisons, these two species are clearly distinct from the Imhoffiella species and T. drewsii. ABSTRACT We have determined the draft genome sequences of Thiorhodococcus mannitoliphagus and Thiorhodococcus minor for comparison with those of T. drewsii and Imhoffiella purpurea. According to average nucleotide identity (ANI) and whole-genome phylogenetic comparisons, these two species are clearly distinct from the Imhoffiella species and T. drewsii.


Koon, Yeewan . A defiant brush: Su Renshan and the politics of painting in early 19th-century Guangdong. Hong Kong : Hong Kong university press, 2014. 248 p. ISBN : 9789888139613. As the Opium War unfold in Guangdong Province, the painter Su Renshan (1814—c.1850) exploded onto the art scene with a bold, paradigm-turning new voice. A Defiant Brush takes a fresh look at this underappreciated artist in the context of a nascent Chinese modernism. In 1839, Guangzhou has shifted from a cosmopolitan...