In this paper, a miniaturized coupler decoupling network is designed for reducing the mutual coupling of two-element tightly-coupled multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) antenna array. To make the antenna structure more compact, the center-to-center distance of the elements is reduced to $0.3\lambda_{0}($ where $\lambda_{0}$ is the free-space wavelength at the center frequency). A decoupling network is inserted between the two elements, which is made of two couplers connected by two transmission lines with different lengths and widths. A new coupling path is built through the proposed decoupling network which makes surface wave coupling and spatially wave coupling cancel out. The dimension of the coupler is $0.112\lambda_{0}\times 0.216\lambda_{0}$ for miniaturization. As a result, an improvement of isolation from 4.75 dB to 43.76 dB at the center frequency is achieved.


The 3rd International Symposium on Otosclerosis and Stapes Surgery took place on 24–26 April 2014 in Siofok, Hungary. The event was organized by the president of the Congress, Professor Istvan Sziklai. Experts from Europe, Asia, and South America presented the latest advances in treating progressive and congenital hearing impairments. Otosclerosis has always been a challenge for pioneers in otosurgery, even though therapies have become better with the development of new technologies such as high-quality operating microscopes, microsurgical instruments, and lasers. The surgical skill of otologists has kept pace with advances in new technology.


The moment device is a key part of a force-balance accelerometer. In the design of moment device, new magnetic materials are used, the design of moment device is optimized, the magnetic intensity of magnetic circuit working is calculated. The moment reactive coefficient is given, and the effect of moment reactive coefficient on expanding the measurement range and improving the accuracy of force-balance accelerometer is analyzed.


We proposed to convert CEST into an operational model by working with NHC's Storm Surge Unit through the JHT program. During this period, we converted 30 SLOSH basins into corresponding CEST grids and associated SLOSH tracks into the CEST tracks which are in xml format by following the procedure developed for this project. Meanwhile, CEST was ported to the Linux platform in the High Performance Computing Center of Florida International University, which employs the compiler similar to the one used by NOAA's supercomputer. We have tested the CEST model over all grids by performing simulations using hypothetical hurricane tracks provided by NHC. There are about 10,000-70,000 hypothetical hurricanes with varying intensities, forward speeds, and incoming directions for each basin. The CEST model was robust for most cases without further adjustment and produced MEOWs and MOMs comparable to those created by the SLOSH model.


Harm reduction is a new social governance concept different from zero tolerance. It came into being in1990 s. The core of harm reduction is avoiding the greater impact on society for the illegal and criminal behavior.Harm reduction is a police operation pattern of minimizing harm. Harm Reduction is being practiced effectively in China as well as western countries. How to deal with the harm reduction appropriately in the context of China is an issue of great theoretical and practical significance.


Objective To observe the curative effect of self-made Qing Pox Decoction in the treatment of children with chickenpox.Methods We divided 90 cases of children chickenpox randomly into two groups:treatment group(45 cases) and control group(45 cases).The treatment group was treated with Qing pox Decoction and the control group was given acyclovir tablets and cimetidine tablets.The clinical efficacy,symptoms,signs and fever improvement complications were observed after one-week treatment.Results The total effective rate of the treatment group was 95.56% and that of the control group 71.11%,with a significant difference between the treatment group and the control group(P0.01).The treatment group was superior to the control group in healing time of herpes,herpes defervesce,itch stopping and basic crusted time,with a significant difference between the two groups(P0.05).And the complications of the treatment group were fewer than those of the control group.Conclusion The self-made Qing Pox Decoction has a good effect in the treatment of children chickenpox,worthy of clinical application.


Gradients are commonly used in image sharpness assessment methods.  However, research has not fully addressed the direct relationship between gradients and the perceived sharpness. In this paper, we discover and validate through experiments that the maximum gradient is an effective indicator of the perceived image sharpness on a global or local scale. Based on these observations, we propose a novel and efficient no-reference image quality assessment (NR-IQA) method for blurry images. Our method uses two elements to predict the quality of blurry images: the maximum gradient and the variability of gradients. The maximum gradient represents the sharpest spot in an image, and the variability of gradients shows variations within the content of the image. According to the characteristics of human visual systems, these factors are significant for humans when judging the quality of blurry images. The method was tested using blurry image datasets from five public IQA databases. Compared with nine other state-of-the-art NR-IQA methods for blurry images, the experimental results demonstrate that our method is more consistent with humans' subjective evaluations. The MATLAB source code of our method is available at  https://github.com/Atmegal/Sharpness-evaluation.


Corona discharges arise due to ionization of air or gas subject to high electric fields. The free electrons and ions contained in these discharges interact with molecules of insulating materials, resulting in chemical changes and destroying the electrical insulating properties. The paper describes some results of measurements aimed at determining corona pulse waveforms, their repetition rate, and amplitude distribution during various randomly-sampled identical time periods of a 60-Hz high-voltage wave. Described are properties of positive and negative corona impulses generated from typical conductors at various test high voltages. A possible method for calculating the energies, densities, and electromagnetic interferences by making use of these results is suggested.


Abstract : Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is found in appreciable amounts in mammals only in the central nervous system, where it is believed to play important roles in oxidative metabolism and in the regulation and transmission of nerve impulses. GABA in the brain is formed from glutamic acid by decarboxylation and is catabolized by a transamination reaction with alphaketoglutaric acid, the latter enzyme forming part of the well-known GABA shunt pathway. The level of GABA in the brain may therefore be regulated by varying the relative reaction rates of these two enzyme systems referred to as GAD and GABA-T respectively. Since no data are available concerning the relative sensitivity of GAD and GABA-T to oxygen the present investigation was initiated to study this aspect of the problem. (Author)


The article deals with the steganography system which hides text inside images without losing data. The secret message is hidden in the cover image using Last Significant Bit (LSB) algorithm. To evaluate steganography system properties the measures like Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR), Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio (PRSN), Mean Squared Error (MSE) and Structural Similarity Index for measuring (SSIM) are used. Experimental results show the advantages of the described steganography system.


In this study, PMS gasoline gotten from randomly selected commercial fuel stations was blended with ethanol gotten from agricultural waste and developed nanoparticles Additives (D-NA). The blended samples were analyzed for their physical properties using methods recommended by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). The tests were carried out on the fuel's density, oxygenates, benzene content, research octane number (RON) and sulphur content. The results shown in the physical property tests done on these blended fuels when compared with the neat gasoline gotten from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), industry standards (DPR/SON) and global markets (United States US & United Kingdom UK) shows that the blended fuels meet all required standards and specifications. The additives had little effect on the fuel's density but showed a sharp drop in its benzene content levels which makes it a healthier choice of fuel. Ethanol blended fuel had a higher oxygenate level than neat gasoline and the D-NA blended fuel. The research octane number for the three fuel samples showed favorably high numbers that fit the standards of the global market. The most interesting result is the Sulphur content which showed an increase in its values for the blended fuels although the values are within industrial and global limits. Keywords: PMS Fuel; physical properties; density; oxygenates; nanoadditives; ethanol


Microbial endophytes were isolated from surface sterilised leaf segments of Strychnous nuxvomica L. from forest areas of Malnad region, Southern India. A total of 1271 endophytic isolates belonging to 23 different fungal species and two Pseudomonas species from a total of 1800 segments incubated in two seasons were examined at three sites. Fungi recovered belonged to ascomycetes, coelomycetes and hyphomycetes and mycelia sterilia. Pseudomonas pseudomallei strain YL-1, a Gram-negative rod-shaped bacteria was isolated as dominant endophyte from surface sterilised tissues. Dual culture studies revealed that P. pseudomallei have the potentiality to control some pathogenic fungi in vitro.


Abstract. Flood-protection levees have been built along rivers and coastlines globally. Current datasets, however, are generally confined to territorial boundaries (national datasets) and are not always easily accessible, posing limitations for hydrologic models and assessments of flood hazard. Here we present our work to develop a single, open-source global river delta levee data environment (openDELvE) which aims to bridge a data deficiency by collecting and standardising global flood-protection levee data for river deltas. In openDELvE we have aggregated data from national databases as well as data stored in reports, maps, and satellite imagery. The database identifies the river delta land areas that the levees have been designed to protect, and where additional data is available, we record the extent and design specifications of the levees themselves (e.g., levee height, crest width, construction material) in a harmonised format. openDELvE currently contains 5,089 km of levees on deltas, and 44,733.505 km2 of leveed area in 1,601 polygons. For the 152 deltas included in openDELvE, on average 19 % of their habitable land area is confined by verifiable flood-protection levees. Globally, we estimate that between 5 % and 54 % of all delta land is confined by flood-protection levees. The data is aligned to the recent standards of Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability and Reuse of scientific data (FAIR) and is open-source. openDELvE is made public on an interactive platform (www.opendelve.eu), which includes a community-driven revision tool to encourage inclusion of new levee data and continuous improvement and refinement of open-source levee data.


The invention provides a network access control method and device. The network access control method includes: configuring the network access authority of a first application, wherein the network access authority allows the first application to access network resources through a first-kind network access point, and the first-kind network access point includes at least one first network access point; accessing to a second network access point which belongs to the first-kind network access point; when the first application operates, allowing the first application to access the network resources through the second network access point; when the first application accesses to a third network access point, forbidding the first application from accessing the network resources through the third network access if the third network access point does not belong to the first-kind network access point, and network safety is increased. When electronic equipment accesses the network resources high in safety, the safety of user resources using the electronic equipment can be increased.


This study conducts a comprehensive review of the literature and develops a framework that links among TQM practices, quality improvement, and organizational performance. The paper provides empirical support for direct and indirect effects of TQM practices on quality improvement and organizational performance. The purpose of this research is to empirically investigate the impact of TQM practices on quality improvement and organizational performanceon SMEs which amounted to 3,446,589.2 million baht representing 37.9 percent of Thai GDP. The number accounts for 99.8 percent of approximately 2,000,000 SMEs businesses and generates employment for 9.7 million people, or almost 80 percent of all jobs in Thailand. The study utilized primary data obtained from a questionnaire method. 456 SMEs in the various export-oriented manufacturing industries were surveyed in Thailand. Four hypotheses have been developed through literature review and tested using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) by AMOS and SPSS 18.00 software. Data analysis shows that TQM practices has significant effect on organizational performance and quality improvement directly, TQM practices has significant effect on organizational performancethroughquality improvement, quality improvement has significant effect on organizational performance,organizational performance is more influenced by quality improvement than TQM practices.


To meet the emerging challenges of 21st century, thenumber of drugs introduced into the globalpharmaceutical market is increasing every year. Thefocus on research and development of the drugmolecule is to introduce either new entities orpartial structural modification of the existing oneto improve its potency and/or to reduce its adverseeffect. Very often there is a time lag from the dateof introduction of a drug into the market to the dateof its inclusion in pharmacopoeias. This happensbecause of the possible uncertainties in thecontinuous and wider usage of these drugs, reports ofnew toxicities (resulting in their withdrawal fromthe market), development of patient resistance andintroduction of better drugs by the competitors.Under these conditions, standard analyticalprocedures for these drugs may not be available inthe pharmacopoeias.The analysis of high-potency, low-strength solid oraldosage forms poses a number of analytical challengesthat can impact potency, purity and dissolutiontesting of the dosage form.


his study was conducted with 750 students from four different middle schools located in In-cheon and the sampling method used for the study is stratified cluster random sampling method. The conclusions for the study are as following. First, with regard to physical education teachers's teaching methods according to student gender, democratic type, positive reward type, instruction and order type, and social support type showed significant difference among them. In terms of teaching types according to academic year, positive reward type, instruction and order type, and social support type showed significant differences. Second, in terms of class satisfaction according to teacher gender, satisfaction with teacher's behavior and satisfaction with grade showed significant difference. In class satisfaction according to student year, satisfaction with teacher's behavior, satisfaction with learning environment, satisfaction with score, and satisfaction with exercising ability showed significant difference. Third, teaching types and students's class satisfaction found to have correlation Fourth, it was found that the significant statistical variable for the effect of teacher's democratic teaching on class satisfaction affected satisfaction with teacher's behavior, satisfaction with learning environment, and satisfaction with score, while the significant statistical variable for the effect of teacher's positive reward on class satisfaction affected satisfaction with teacher's behavior and satisfaction with learning environment. Also, it was found that the significant statistical variable for the effect of teacher's instruction and order on class satisfaction affected satisfaction with teacher's behavior and satisfaction with physical activity, while the significant statistical variable for the effect of teacher's social support on class satisfaction affected satisfaction with teacher's behavior and satisfaction with physical activity.


The health insurance industry is responding to COVID-19 by paying for testing and treatment, and working with providers to assure that coverage for proper care is available. Many people are losing employment and potentially health insurance coverage, shifting the responsibility for payment among private sector and government payers. The unbudgeted costs of COVID-19 care will be substantial. At the same time, providers are postponing routine care and treatments that are not time-sensitive, reducing or deferring similarly substantial sums. The balance of payments is uncertain, though likely to favor health plans in the short run. Keywords: COVID-19, health insurance, finance


Recently, pixel numbers of consumer grade digital cameras are amazingly increasing by modern semiconductor and digital technology, and there are many low-priced consumer grade digital cameras which have more than 10 mega pixels on the market. In these circumstances, convenient digital photogrammetry using consumer grade digital cameras are enormously expected in various application fields.With this motive, performance evaluations of consumer grade digital cameras for digital are photogrammetry a investigated using 24 kinds of cameras in this paper.


d s s s ENTRIFUGE-BASED cell-washing autotransfusion systems have been used as a method of blood conservation ince the 1970s. The advantages of diminishing the requireents of allogeneic blood, thereby reducing risk of hepatitis C nd human immunodeficiency virus transmission, have been ell documented.1,2 The quality of washed red blood cells RBCs) is at least as good as banked blood,1,3-6 with an excelent safety record of intraoperative autotransfusion.7 However, he extent to which the salvaged blood is contaminated with ctivated leukocytes, platelets, or other plasma elements, such s fat particles, is unclear. The clinical significance of these ssues remains controversial. With the recent introduction of he continuous autotransfusion system (CATS), the dominance f conventional, discontinuous autotransfusion systems DATS) has been challenged. The differences between both ystems in terms of the quality of washed blood are currently nder investigation. The aim of this review is to summarize the developments in he area of cell-washing autotransfusion, with an attempt to ntroduce new research possibilities.


The alpha- and beta-adrenoceptors were found to strengthen a depressor effect of prostacyclin and to increase the heart rate in dogs. The blockade of M-cholinoreactive structures increased the systolic volume alone.


The causes of mechanical seal leakage of methanol feeding pump in MTBE plant were analyzed,based on which reforming scheme was raised,and the feasibility of it was demonstrated.The modified mechanical seal has satisfied effect which creates good condition for stable operation of plant.


Participatory extension approaches have been adopted in Limpopo Province Department of Agriculture through Broadening Agricultural Services and Extension Delivery (BASED) programme since 1998. However in 2006 when the project came to a close the programme struggled to continue due to different vision held by the leadership in the organization.  The approach has the potential to improve extension delivery because of its framework which allows the involvement of different stakeholders. Since the past six years after the close of the project service delivery has not showed any significant improvements although some notable outputs have been observed in the two pilot districts namely Vhembe and Capricorn. Within the two districts there a number of sites that were identified into pilot, however only two sites are reported in this paper namely Spitzkop in Capricorn and Mbahela in Vhembe district. The objective of this paper is to share experience of Limpopo Province in terms of participatory strategies adopted and how institutions are linked within the framework of BASED. A total of 79 extension officers were interviewed in this study from a sample of 277. The study found that due to the implementation of the Participatory Programme it promoted inclusivity, increasing of maize production yield, fostered good working relationship among farmers, involvement of women in leadership role, involvement of more farmers in experimentation, local people became aware of importance of agriculture.


The angular distributions of neutrons emitted from the N/sup 14/(d, n)O/ sup 15/ reactions were investigated by means of a neutron-detector made of a thin plastic scintillator to eliminate the gamma -ray background at the deuteron energies of 1.53-, sults were compared with the stripping theory including the heavy particle stripping, and qualitative agreements were obtained. The excitation curve of this reaction was estimated and compared with those of the N/ sup 14/(d, p)N/sup 15/ and N/sup 14/(d, alpha )C/sup 12/ reactions. The excitation curves of the N/sup 14/(d, n) and N/sup 14/(d, p) reactions show similar resonancelike structures, whereas that of the N/sup 14/(d, alpha ) reaction shows somewhat different behavior.


Highly significant changes were found in digenean metacercariae infected gills of killifish Fundulus heteroclitus with respect to gill abnormalities. Gills infected with >1000 metacercariae exhibited up to 42 additional gill branches per fish when compared to less parasitized conspecifics. A strong positive correlation was found between abnormal gill morphology (number of branches) and the number of endoparasites present.


Objective To study the heterogeneity alteration of Na~+ channel in rabbit myocytes under ischemia condition.Methods Single myocytes were enzymatically isolated from the epicardium,midmyocardium and endocardium of the free left ventricle wall of rabbit,then I_(Na) of the three cellular subtypes(superfused with normal and then simulated ischemia solution) were recorded using whole-cell patch-clamp techniques.Result ⑴After simulated ischemia,I_(Na) steady-state inactivation curves were all shifted significantly in the hyperpolarizing direction in three cellular subtypes and the inactivation rates were accelerated.The differences of the half maximal inactivation voltages(V_(0.5)) among the three cellular subtypes were also changed.⑵After simulated ischemia,I_(Na) recoveries from inactivation states of three cellular subtypes were all slower than those in normal condition,but without statistical significance.There were significant differences among the recovery from inactivation curves of three cellular subtypes after 30minutes of simulated ischemia.⑶After simulated ischemia,there were no changes in the configuration of I_(Na) I-V curves and the dependence of voltage,but the peak I_(Na) densities(at-20mV) were significantly reduced in three cellular subtypes.Meanwhile,the differences of I_(Na) peak current densities among the three cellular subtypes were changed.Conclusion The alteration of the Na~+ channel activity under ischemia condition can affect the heterogeneity of I_(Na) and the balance of ion channel currents among three cellular subtypes.These could be responsible for ischemic arrhythmias and could be the reason for different pharmacology reactions under normal and ischemic conditions.


Background: Stress is an important part of a college student's life. Psycho-technology has greatly helped students cope more effectively with stress. Objectives: The aim of the present study was to compare the effectiveness of three methods of intervention for stress management in students based on mindfulness-based stress reduction, including blended therapy, smartphone mobile application, and face-to-face therapy. Methods: A quasi-experimental study was designed with pretests, posttests, and follow-ups for a month on randomly selected students. The first group was treated by the Aramgar application only, the second group by both the face-to-face therapy and Aramgar application, and the third group by the face-to-face therapy only. The DASS-21 was utilized for both pretest and posttest administration. The ANOVA and post hoc tests were applied to analyze the data. Results: The mean age of the participants was 24.29 ± 3.21 years. There was a significant difference in the mean score reduction of depression, stress, and anxiety between the three groups (P < 0.001). The post hoc test showed that the blended therapy group had the greatest mean score reduction on stress, depression, and anxiety among the three groups. Conclusions: The blended approach could improve the mental health of students more than the two other approaches. Therefore, the use of mobile platforms of new technologies is highly suggested along with face-to-face interventions in clinics to support people within their daily routine.


s / Osteoarthritis and Cartilage 20 (2012) S54–S296 S145 understand the role of norepinephrine in human osteoarthritic chondrocytes with regard to inflammation and its impact on metabolic activity. Methods: Human chondrocytes were isolated from post-surgery discarded human osteoarthritic articular cartilage. Expression of b2-adrenergic receptor on articular cartilage was tested with standard immunohistochemical analysis. Employing 3D cell cultures in fibringel, effects of norepinephrine on interleukin-1b induced gene expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines and matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) were analyzed with quantitative real-time PCR. The impact of norepinephrine on cell proliferation was determined in monolayer culture with BrdU and XCelligence analyses. Results: ß2-adrenergic receptors are abundantly expressed in human osteoarthritic cartilage. Stimulation with norepinephrine has significantly reduced interleukin-1b induced gene expression of interleukin 8 and MMP-13 in human osteoarthritic chondrocytes cultured in 3D fibringel. Notably, we were unable to detect an impact on interleukin-1b induced gene expression of interleukin-6, MMP-2 and MMP-3. Furthermore, norepinephrine inhibits BrdU incorporation compared to the controls. Additionally, we measured a lower cell spreading, assessed through electrical impedance using the XCelligence System (Roche), starting 6 h after norepinephrine stimulation until analysis was stopped (50 h after stimulation). All effects were observed exclusively with 10-6 M and not with 108 M norepinephrine indicating for a signaling via b-adrenergic receptors. Conclusions: Neurotransmitters of the sympathetic nervous system like norepinephrine presumably mediate an anti-inflammatory / chondroprotective effect in human osteoarthritic chondrocytes via reducing interleukin-8 and MMP-13. Furthermore, norepinephrine is able to modulate the metabolic activity by inhibiting cell proliferation of human osteoarthritic chondrocytes. These findings indicate, together with b2adrenergic receptor expression in human osteoarthritic articular cartilage, a yet unknown function of catecholaminergic neurotransmitters in adult human cartilage and might have an impact on osteoarthritis pathology. 284 EGR-1 MEDIATES THE SUPPRESSIVE EFFECT OF IL-1 ON PPARG EXPRESSION IN HUMAN OA CHONDROCYTES S. Nebbaki, F. El Mansouri, N. Zayed, M. Benderdour, J. Martel-Pelletier, J.-P. Pelletier, H. Fahmi. Univ. of Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada Purpose: PPARg has been shown to down-regulate several inflammatory and catabolic responses in articular cartilage and chondrocytes and to be protective in animal models of OA. We have previously shown that IL-1 down-regulated PPARg expression in OA chondrocytes. In the present study we will investigate the mechanisms underlying this effect of IL-1. Methods: Chondrocytes were stimulated with IL-1, and the level of PPARg and Egr-1 protein and mRNA were evaluated using Western blotting and real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction, respectively. The PPARg promoter activity was analyzed in transient transfection experiments. Egr-1 recruitment to the PPARg promoter was evaluated using chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assays. Small interfering RNA (siRNA) approaches were used to silence Egr-1 expression. Results: We demonstrated that the suppressive effect of IL-1 on PPARg expression requires de novo protein synthesis and was concomitant with the induction of the transcription factor Egr-1. ChIP analyses revealed that IL-1 induced Egr-1 recruitment at the PPARg promoter. IL-1 inhibited the activity of PPARg promoter and overexpression of Egr-1 potentiated the inhibitory effect of IL-1, suggesting that Egr-1 maymediate the suppressive effect of IL-1. Finally, Egr-1 silencing with small interfering RNA blocked IL-1-mediated down-regulation of PPARg expression. Conclusion: These results indicate that Egr-1 contributes to IL-1-mediated down-regulation of PPARg expression in OA chondrocytes and suggest that this pathway could be a potential target for pharmacologic intervention in the treatment of OA and possibly other arthritic diseases. 285 THE FUNCTIONAL EFFECTS OF DIO2 IN AN IN-VITRO MODEL FOR CHONDROGENESIS N. Bömer , Y.F. Ramos , S.D. Bos , B.J. Duijnisveld , W. Koevoet , G.J. van Osch , R.G. Nelissen , P.E. Slagboom, I. Meulenbelt . Dept. of Molecular Epidemiology, LUMC, Leiden, Netherlands; 2 The Netherlands Genomics Initiative-sponsored Netherlands Consortium for Hlth.y Aging (NGI-NCHA), Leiden, Netherlands; Dept. of Orthopedics, LUMC, Leiden, Netherlands; Dept. of Otorhinolaryngology, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, Netherlands; Dept. of Orthopedics, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, Netherlands Purpose: Previously, we identified the deiodinase iodothyronine type-2 gene (DIO2) as a relevant susceptibility gene for osteoarthritis (OA). The type 2 deiodinase (D2) is a selenoprotein responsible for catalyzing the conversion of intracellular inactive thyroid (T4) to active thyroid (T3), a process that occurs in specific tissues including the growth plate. In the growth plate, T3 specifically signals terminal maturation of the chondrocytes. Here, we investigate the role of DIO2 during chondrogenesis by interfering with D2 protein function in an in-vitro chondrogenesis model. Methods: The 'RAAK' study contains human bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) which were isolated from OA affected hips joints of subjects undergoing total hip arthroplasty. These BM-MSCs were cultured as micromasses and differentiated into cartilage particles. First, we assessed expression of DIO2 at consecutive weeks of chondrogenesis by RT-qPCR on samples previously isolated by the Rotterdam departments. Next, we tested the RAAK samples for the effect of T3 and Iodopanoic Acid (IOP), a DIO2 inhibitor, on chondrogenesis by adding them to the chondrogenic culture medium of the micromass cultures. These micromass cultures were than maintained up to 49 days. To measure the effects of interfering with D2 protein function we initially assessed pellet sizes at different time points and histochemistry with Alcian blue to determine glycosaminoglycan and Alizarin red to determine calcifications. Results: DIO2 gene expression significantly increased in untreated BMMSC micromasses during in-vitro chondrogenesis from 3 weeks onwards of differentiation. Upon inhibition of DIO2 protein function with IOP, the BM-MSC micromasses showed no significant changes in size after 7 weeks of differentiationwhen compared to untreated controls. In contrast, excess of T3 resulted in significantly smaller micromasses after 7 weeks of differentiation suggesting decreased extracellular matrix deposition. This observation was supported by histological analysis, which showed decreased Alcian blue staining already after 5 weeks of differentiation in T3 treated micromasses compared to untreated controls. In addition, only upon treatment with T3, calcium deposition could be detected by Alizarin Red staining from 5 weeks of differentiation onwards. Conclusions: In addition to the association between DIO2 and osteoarthritis and the body of literature on the role of DIO2 in endochondral ossification, we are investigating the functional effect of DIO2 on chondrogenesis. Our first results show a significant up-regulation of DIO2 gene expression during chondrogenic differentiation. Furthermore, we show that excess T3 in this in-vitro chondrogenesis model, appears to interfere with the chondrogenesis process reflected by significant decreased pellet sizes and decreased Alcian blue staining accompanied by increased calcium deposition. Currently, we are using both lentiviral-induced DIO2 over expression and siRNA knock-down to explore directly the effect of DIO2 interference during in-vitro chondrogenesis. 286 EXPRESSION OF NUCLEOSTEMIN IN SYNOVIAL TISSUES AND IN NORMAL AND OSTEOARTHRITIC CHONDROCYTES M. Ricketts, D.M. Salter, S.H. Ralston. Univ. of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United


One of the great promises of virtual reality is that it can allow people to visit places in the world that they might otherwise be unable to. Since the recent renaissance of virtual reality, content creators have exercised various techniques such as 360-degree cameras and photogrammetry to make this promise come true. At Google, we spent more than 10 years capturing every part of the world as part of the Google Earth project. The result is a rich 3D mesh that contains trillions of triangles [Kontkanen and Parker 2014] and as such is predestined to be a good data source for VR content. In [Kaeser and Buehlmann 2016] we discussed some of our early experiments with bringing Google Earth to virtual reality, but without a focus on developing a product. Following these experiments, we worked extensively to create a well-rounded product, Google Earth VR, which we eventually launched to the world in November 2016. Google Earth VR quickly became one of the most actively used VR applications in the market and has won several awards since. This talk discusses the journey of the Google Earth VR project from its early prototypes to its final launched stage.


Low-rack/oxidized coal, with big porosity and surface oxygenic functional groups, causes large reagent consumption and low efficiency during flotation separation. In addition, the analysis on the previous studies by scholars at home and abroad provides a theoretical reference in the pursuit of feasible methods to improve the flotation of the low-rank/oxidized coal.


Objective To evaluate the therapeutic effect of 125Iodine seeds on the rabbit VX2 model and to examine changes in tissues of hepatoma and normal liver.Methods Twelve VX2 model animals made from New Zealand rabbits were divided into two groups,the therapy group and the control group.125Iodine seeds and dummy seeds were implanted into the tumors.CT-enhanced scanning and hepatic function examination were performed before the implantation and at 7,14,28 and 60 d after implantation.Pathological study of tumor and normal liver was done to evaluate the damage caused by 125I seeds.Results The tumors in the therapy group were smaller than in the control group at 7,14,28,and 60 d after implantation.In the therapy group,the ALT value was decreased after 14 d,and the AST value was decreased after 7 and 14 d after implantation,as compared to those in the control group.Radiation injury was not detected with CT in the therapy group over the period of 60 d.Conclusion Brachytherapy with 125I seeds can significantly inhibit tumor growth while retaining liver function;hence it is a safe and effective technique.


PURPOSE: A probe and a gene chip for diagnosing norovirus, rotavirus, and coronavirus, a primer for amplifying a gene, and a method for diagnosing pathogen using the same are provided to detect pathogen causing NCD(Neonatal Calf Diarrhea) and genotype. CONSTITUTION: A primer for detecting rotavirus, norovirus, and coronavirus which are a pathogen causing NCD contains a primer containing one or more sequences among sequence numbers 1-12. A method for amplifying a gene comprises simultaneously detecting rotavirus A, B, and C using a primer containing sequences of sequence numbers 1-6. The method comprises a step of detecting norovirus genotype group I, II, and III using a primer containing sequences of sequence numbers 7-10. The method comprises a step of detecting coronavirus using one or more primers among sequence numbers of sequence numbers 11 and 12. A probe contains one or more sequences among sequence numbers 13-91 to detect rotavirus, norovirus, and coronavirus.


The article discusses functioning characteristics of small educational enterprises on the example of an independent not-for-profit organization of extended education in the conditions of digitalization of economic processes. The notion of "digital environment" and its components, opportunities of educational organizations, their external settings, and the demand for their digital activities are in the focal point of the article. Digital economy requires from educational institutions to restructure and implement changes in their major operations and to solve the problems arising: reviewing educational syllabi with the issues of digitalization inclusive, changing the class format, opportunities to provide educational services on the territory of Russia regardless the location of an educational institution, qualitative cost restructuring of educational services. To solve the problems, it is crucial to actively implement digital technologies in the operations of small educational enterprises, to retrain staff, to universally apply outsourcing, to implement enterprise-wide electronic document flow. The authors concluded that at present, conditions have been formed that make it possible to successfully use and further develop digital technologies in the activities of educational small firms.


Logistics distribution at the time of the disaster Pidie Jaya there are several issues that need to be considered, among which are irregular establishment of shelters, lack of coordination with the relevant sectors, the data the victims were not recorded properly, and logistics distribution process does not correspond to the needs of victims in the disaster area. These problems occur because there is no information to connect to the data of victims across relevant sectors, aid which has been fulfilled until the logistics are very urgent in the disaster area. Distribution of disaster logistics information system is indispensable to achieve an effective and efficient distribution. Application of this information system consists of several stages of the design, implementation, and testing. This research was conducted in the office BPPD Pidie Jaya district. Distribution logistics information system applied will make it easier and speed up the process of recording the distribution logistics in times of disaster. Testing was conducted using the System Usability Scale (SUS) with average values obtained 78.30. This indicates that the level of use of this information system is acceptable and is very easy to use by the user.


Objective:To understand the mortality trend of female breast cancer in last ten years,explore the high risk population,provide a scentific basis for formulating strategies for reducing mortality of breast cancer.Methods:The female mortality data based on Chinese Health Statistics Annual(2002~2005) and National Health Statistical Yearbooks(1996~2001) were analysed by description statistical analysis.Results:①The mortality of breast cancer ranged from 8/100 000 to 10/100 000 in urban areas,4/100 000 to 6/100 000 in rural areas from 1996 to 2005;②The women more than 84 in urban areas and more than 74 in rural areas had the highest mortality rates of breast cancer;③In 2005,of all female cancer deaths,the proportion of breast cancer deaths aged 25~59 years old was higher than that in the other age groups;④In 2001,the mortalities of female breast cancer in age group 30~34 years from high to low were listed as follows:country with low economy level,country with middle economy level,country with high economy level,small and medium-sized cities,large cities;in 2005,the mortalities of female breast cancer in age group 25~29 years from high to low were listed as follows: small and medium-sized cities,country,large cities.Conclusion:The mortality of female breast cancer remains stable for the last 10 years in China,but regional gap exists;more attention should be paid to young women.


655Background: Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) are capable of inducing profound immune suppression of anti-tumor T cell responses. Here we examined the ability of intratumoral MDSC accumulation to alter the immune landscape of RCC and to identify the factors involved. Methods: Using flow cytometry, 41 clear cell RCC nephrectomy samples were assessed for their total MDSC infiltrate and the percentage of granulocytic (PMN-MDSC) or monocytic (M-MDSC) subsets. RNA isolated from these tumor samples and 4 non-tumor samples was also evaluated for expression levels of immune-related genes using a Nanostring PanCancer immune panel. A multiple linear regression model was used to identify which immune-related genes might be significantly associated with PMN-MDSC intratumoral accumulation. Log-Rank test was used for comparison of survival curves. Results: Genes encoding cytokines, cancer-testis antigens, interleukins, and T cell function were differentially expressed by clear cell RCC and the non-tumor sample...


Qingkou,located in Huai'an,Jiangsu Province,is the place where the Yellow River,the Huai River,and the Grand Canal meet.It was a strategic site of water transportation in ancient China.The Ming-Qing period witnessed the most efforts being put into the management of the water resource at this area,which resulted in a good number of engineering facilities for water management.The major facilities including those for managing the Yellow River,the Huai River and the Grand Canal as well as those for facilitating water transportation or preventing flood constitute a comprehensive system of water resource in Qingkou.To conduct studies on Qingkou's water management history may assert a great driving force for the application of the Grand Canal's World Heritage status.


This invention discloses a chip integrated directional coupler used in microwaves and millimeter waves including a medium chip with metal paste plates on both sides, the chip is set with 2 integrated waveguides composed of at least 3 lines of metallic through holes, an input, a through end, an isolation end and a coupling end are set on a surface of the chip, in which, said input and the through end are connected with both ends of a waveguide, the isolation end and the coupling end are connected with both ends of the other waveguide, a coupling window is set on a common side wall between the two integrated waveguides and a coupled metallic through hole is set in the window.


The use of qualitative measures in a quantitative framework results in a reasonable likelihood of triangulation; in contrast, the independent conduct of qualitative and quantitative evaluations is a greater challenge for triangulation, but it also holds promise for greater discovery.


A frequently asked question is how accurate are the Highways Agency's procedures for predicting the traffic flows and economic benefits that result from a scheme. This article reports the latest results from the Post Implementation Evaluation Studies, one of several tools used to assess such matters. It concentrates on re-evaluations of major bypasses and also outlines how procedures could be improved and integrated with other ways of assessing the performance of road schemes. Implications for scheme appraisal are discussed. (A)


Although TiO 2 exhibits a small fluoride ion exchange capacity, it was found that titanium hydroxide, Ti(OH) 4 , can exchange fluoride ion with large saturation capacity of 1.60 m . mol/g. Although the H 2 PO 4 - interferes with the F - exchange, the amount of F - exchange of Ti(OH) 4 was hardly changed by the coexistence of Cl - , NO 3 - , and SO 4 2- . The capacity for F - exchange was almost unchanged over 4 times repetition of ion-exchange and desorption and furthermore, the elution of Ti was negligibly small. Consequently, Ti(OH) 4 is expected to be a new inorganic F - exchanger for the removal of fluoride ion from wastewater.


A comparative mathematical analysis of economically important ampelographic indicators was performed in 32 local, introduced and newly bred white wine vine varieties. It was found that depending on the similarity and remoteness of the values of the studied indicators, the varieties are grouped into three generalized clusters. In the first, the varieties are characterized by a longer budding period and relatively lower productivity. In the second, they have similarities in the length of the budding period, long period of budding - technological maturity, moderate productivity, and close content of volatile acids in the wine. In the third, the newly bred two varieties Gergana and Misket Markovski, which are the most fertile and productive and with the smallest number of seeds in the berries. There is a high variability of the individual white wine varieties according to the studied economically valuable indicators. The indicators of bunch length and average weight per 100 berries have a stronger direct effect on the formation of the yield in individual varieties, and the average bunch weight, bunch width, percentage of mesocarp in berries, berry length and width, as well as the theoretical yield significantly affect indirectly the productivity of vines.


We take the approach developed by Rietveld and RAAAF to be a paradigm example of a much-needed development in embodied cognitive science: applying the insights gained into the nature of cognition back to embodied cognition itself, back to the practice of bodily engagements with our sociocultural environments. Rietveld's work is groundbreaking precisely because it stands almost alone as a prototype of this move: to raise embodiment from a mere content of our theorizing to the practical level of determining the form of our activity, including our scholarly activity. We describe some of our own artistic-scholarly work that follows similar principles.


SIGCAPH is up for viability review a t NCC '84 in Las Vegas this July. By then a year will have passed since the SIGBoar d recommended that the SIG be placed on provisional status. The SIGBoard will seriousl y consider the state of SIGCAPH. The board can choose to act, either dissolving SIGCAPH o r returning it to permanent status, or not t o act, leaving SIGCAPH as provisional. Is i t clear from this year ' s activities what th e fate of SIGCAPH should be ? In the Spring, 1983 Newsletter and als o in a separate mailing to members I explaine d the viability criteria for a SIG. I'd lik e to review them at this point, comment o n SIGCAPH ' s progress in meeting them, and urg e you to pitch in and help. The first criterion is that the SIG publish regular newsletters. Ross is stil l struggling to gather enough materials to publish substantial newsletters on a quarterl y basis. He has the publication process down to a science but cannot create a newslette r out of thin air. Very few members contribute . Do YOU have something to share wit h the membership? How about some comments o n the change in direction that Ben Tunkelan g proposed in the last issue? Or additions t o the bibliography being published? Or report s on devices being introduced into the market ? The second criterion is that the SI G conduct a regular technical activity in it s specialty. We are planning our second .con-secutive business/technical meeting at th e NCC. Can you plan to attend? We are als o moving ahead with the next joint worksho p with the IEEE TC on Computers and the Handicapped (see the preliminary announcement i n this issue). Can you volunteer to help or at least plan to attend ? The last criterion is to maintain administrative and fiscal stability. SIGCAPH's FY '85 budget was submitted and approved and i s presented in this issue. Although some deficit spending is planned, a reasonable fun d balance should be retained. The fund balanc e as of December 31, 1983 was around $17,500. The biggest concern in this area remains th e lack of active members, particularly potential officers. If SIGCAPH was returned t o permanent status, elections would need to b e conducted by the following …


Objective:To observe the effect of melatonin(Mel) on the expression of morphine-induced conditioned place preference(CPP) in rats and changes of cAMP response element binding protein(CREB) and CREB in the brain during this process.Methods:(1) The CPP was established by morphine(sc,5 mg·kg-1,once daily for 6 consecutive days) in rats.Mel(50 and 25 mg·kg-1) was administrated 20 min before the CPP testing to observe the effect of melatonin on the expression of morphine-induced CPP.(2) The CPP in rats was established as described above.From d7,Mel(50 mg·kg1,ip) was administrated twice daily(in the morning and the afternoon),and on d8 morning,ip Mel,totally 3 times.6 h after the last administration,the immunoreactivities of CREB and p-CREB in the nucleus accumbens(NAc) and the hippocampus(Hip) were detected by immunohistochemistry analysis.Results:Melatonin 50 mg·kg-1 significantly reversed morphine-induced increase in CPP scores in rats(P0.01);and decreased the upregulation of p-CREB protein level in the NAc and the Hip induced by morphine during this process(P0.01).Conclusion:Melatonin may reverse the expression of morphine-induced rewarding effect,and this action may be relevant to its ability to decrease the upregulation of p-CREB protein level in the NAc and the Hip induced by morphine.


The restructuring process started in the 1970s increased the pool of labor to all productive sectors and services, making unemployment a structural problem. At the same time we observe portions of society by supporting the state ideology in strengthening the repressive measures and institutions are increasingly strict. This article reflects on these issues, based on the current Brazilian context, understanding the violence as the integral part of our society and structural, essentially considering the violence that emerges from the state, with policies of mass incarceration and criminalization of social, which makes control and repression of society increasingly intense. In a movement, we see the rights of citizenship, not yet consolidated, although Brazil is a signatory to international laws and declarations. We understand such dilemmas as part of capitalism in its essence, can be overcome only in another social form, however, seek ways to mitigate them and confronting them is the immediate task.


The lattice structure is used to enhance the strength of light-weighted material and 3D printing is a good method to produce light-weighted lattice structure. This research focuses on the compressive strength of 3D printed polymer lattice structure using different combinations of process parameters which are layer resolution, print strength, print pattern and strut diameter. The Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) polymer is used as the 3D printing
material in this research. The 3D printed lattice structure specimens are then tested by using lnstron compression test with ASTM D695 standard. The result reveals that specimen with identification (lD) of 07SoH12 has the highest strength compared to the others. The data and results from compression test are then inserted into Minitab software to obtain the optimization of the experiment and the SIN ratio shows that the specimen fabricated by using the combinations of 70 ~ layer resolutions, almost solid print strength, cross or honeycomb print pattern and 1.2 mm strut diameter has the highest strength.


Objective To summarize the therapeutic experience of terminal biliary complication following liver transplantation.Method The clinical data of terminal biliary complication in 11 cases following liver transplantation were retrospectively analyzed.Result The clinical symptoms of all the patients disappeared,their jaundice minigated or disappeared and the bilirubin declined to normal level.None of them recurrenced within 24-40 months of followed-up.Conclusion Non-invasive intervention and correct surgical therapies are effective pathway for treating the terminal biliary complication following liver transplantation.


(W-ith a eproductiun of a rcmt niphotogrfaiph by Professor Raper of Manch/Cster.) LAST week we had with sorrow to announce the death oin board ship, off Kingston, Jamaica, of Professor E. II. Starling at the age of 61. Of late years lie had had indifferent health and had suffered from disabilities under which one of less heroic spirit could not have continued to work strenuously. His enthusiasm for the discovery of new truths was unimpaired, and his mind was so synmpathetic and alert that it was difficult to believe he was not a sound man. Nevertheless, evidences of diminishing capacity for work without undue fatigue ware obvious to his friends and a source of anxiety to them. At the close of the winter session, during which lie had been daily occupied with arduous experiments, he was very tired. The weather was cold and dull and lie longed for sunshine and warmth. He therefore decided to take a voyage to the West Indies, in full hope that this would restore his energies and enable him to continue. with enjoyinent the experimental work with which he was occupied. However, that was not to be, but he had the satisfaction of going down with his flag flying, as lie would surely have desired.


A benchmark for the basis of a shared assessment vocabulary making clear what feedback statements mean to Cultural Studies students


By combining with the work practice,the paper introduces the application of the post grouting method of the grouting piles in the construction,illustrates the operation steps and the quality control key points,including drilling holes,the making and installation of reinforced cages, and the post grouting construction of pile ends,so as to direct the smooth operation for the post grouting construction of drilling grouting piles.


The classical distributed energy resources (DER) supplying energy to microgrids (usually diesel generator-sets) are progressively supplanted by supplier based on renewable energy sources (RES). However, the intermittency of RES leads to major stability issues, especially in the context of microgrids, notably because these sources usually decrease the available inertia of the grid. Hence, the traditional control strategies for inverters, interfacing the various DERs connected to the microgrid, needs adapting.The virtual synchronous generator (VSG) is one of the most popular solution that can participate in increasing the microgrids inertia and that could be integrated into traditional stability studies because it presents similarities with a synchronous machine. As the VSG is still a recent concept, mostly considered for the DER integration in microgrid, various problematics remain unresolved (some of which are addressed in this manuscript). In addition, the different solutions that can be found in the literature do not consider the industrial and practical aspect of its development (also considered in this industrial thesis).This thesis is dedicated to the VSG-based inverters and their integration in microgrids with a high level of variable renewable energy penetration. This PhD have been carried out thanks to the cooperation between two laboratories, G2Elab and Gipsa-Lab, in collaboration with Schneider Electric and its R&D team, Power Conversion.


repeatedly recrystallised till TLC pure. High quality SDS (BDH Analar) and spectrograde (BDH) methanol were used without further purification. Triply distilled water was used to prepare aqueous SDS solutions. The UV -Vis spectra of the complexes were recorded on a Shimadzu 240 double beam spectrophotometer. In methanol, the concentrations of the donors were held constant at 2.5xlO-2 M and that of PQ varied between 2.5xlO- 3 and 1.25xlO- l M so as to produce the complexes with measurable absorbance. The concentration of CA was held constant at 2.5xlO-3 M while those of donors varied between 0.2 M and 0.8 M . The sol utions of complexes in SDS were prepared by injecting concentrated methanolic solutions of BPHs into sol uti ons of different concentrations of SDS which already contained required quantity of PQ. In SDS media the concentrations of any donor is 3xlO- 3 M and that of PQ varied between 2xlO- 3 and lxlO- l M. The strength


Reason for posting: Observational studies have suggested that hormone replacement therapy (HRT) may reduce the risk of cognitive decline in post-menopausal women.[1][1] However, results from the Women's Health Initiative Memory Study (WHIMS)[2][2],[3][3] recently prompted a letter to Canadian health


Iterative demodulation and decoding scheme is analyzed and modulation labeling is considered to be one of the crucial factors to this scheme. By analyzing the existent mapping design criterion, four aspects are found as the key techniques for choosing a label mapping. Based on this discovery, a novel mapping design criterion is proposed and two label mappings are searched according to it. Simulation results show that the performance of BICM-ID using the novel mappings is better than the former ones. The extrinsic information transfer (EXIT) chart is introduced and it is used to evaluate the proposed mapping design criteria.


Thanks in part to the impeachment of President Bill Clinton, the popular reputation of Congress has recently plum meted to perhaps an all-time low.As the Senate deliberated in late January 1999, Jay Leno captured what seemed to be widespread disgust with Capitol Hill. He cracked, "We've reached a point where Congress does not affect anyone's life, so we look at it as entertainment. It's like the Jerry Springer show, except everyone has a law degree. They can't fix health care, they can't fix Social Security, so we look at them to provide a few laughs on a daily basis" (Providence Journal 1999). Leno's wisecrack adds to a long history of jokes and laments about Congress, which throughout this century has taken far more hits from the public than has the executive branch. To listen only briefly to such criticism is to hear that Congress is inefficient, unresponsive, obstructionist, irresponsible, and undemocratic in its operations. Most often we are told that Congress suffers from two related weaknesses: it rolls over to please powerful interest groups, and it cravenly dreads reprisal from constituents.


For the proletariat does not need all the thousands of little words by which the bourgeoisie masks class struggles in its own pedagogy. The 'unprejudiced,' 'understanding,' 'empathetic' bourgeoisie practices, the 'child-loving' teachers — these we can do without. (Benjamin, 1973: 32)


In this paper, I argue that demand characteristics such as market size and the variance of consumers' valuations impact the costs and benefits of division of labor in service industries. I posit th...


A computer model was used to evaluate the economic viability of implementing phosphorus recovery processes in municipal wastewater treatment applications. The model examines investment costs, sludge volumes, sludge disposal costs, chemical costs, and the value of recovered phosphates. The model specifically focused on: 1) representative phosphorus recovery technologies integrated with representative treatment scenarios for enhanced biological nutrient removal (EBNR) with a sidestream Crystalactor® application and for conventional biological treatment followed by mainstream (tertiary) Crystalactor application; 2) the value of recovered phosphorus, assuming recovery as calcium phosphate, with a similar value to that of phosphate ore (handling and transport costs are ignored); and 3) the impacts of phosphorus recovery on major operating costs. The model results show that phosphorus recovery is most cost-effective for high phosphorus and low biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) concentration wastewaters where slud...


ABSTRACT Prior knowledge about an upcoming target can bias attention and facilitate visual search performance. However, whether knowledge about distractors can likewise enhance search, biasing attention away from to-be-avoided items, is less clear. Here, we investigated whether the utilization of such attentional templates is affected by search difficulty. Results from two experiments revealed search efficiency to be reliably increased when positive cues provide information about the upcoming target (relative to neutral, baseline cues) irrespective of whether search was easy (low target-nontarget similarity) or difficult (high target-nontarget similarity). By contrast, negative cues that inform about a to-be-avoided distractor were found to facilitate performance only during difficult (but not easy) search, that is, when responses were relatively slow. This suggests that, contrary to positive target templates, negative distractor templates can be used effectively only when the search task is difficult, which provides sufficient time for processes of distractor inhibition to operate.


An inverse scattering model, based on the time-domain concepts of electromagnetic theory is developed. Using the first five (zeroth to fourth) moment condition integrals, the Rayleigh coefficient a...


This paper addresses energy-efficient link adaptation for downlink multiuser multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) systems. Different from the previous works on energy efficient MIMO techniques, we take into account finite pilot power and the corresponding effect of imperfect channel state information (CSI) at the users. We analyze the average throughput and define the energy efficiency (EE) of downlink multiuser MIMO systems. We show that the EE of the system is not jointly quasi-concave with respect to pilot power, data power, and transmission rate. For this reason, we propose an efficient algorithm that alternately updates pilot power, data power, and transmission rate to improve the EE of the system. Simulation results show that the proposed scheme significantly enhances the EE, and the resulting EE is comparable to the maximal EE obtained by the exhaustive search.


4 Introduction 5 Topic Objectives of study Structure Sources Limitations Literature Review 9 Methodology 12 Nature of the Project Field Study Methods Introduction to Interviewees Glossary 13 Body Nation-building, Identity, and Memory 14 Memory, Heritage, and History 16 Landscape as a Medium for Social Analysis 18 Sites of Memory: Re-working the Cape Town Landscape 20 Selective Remembering and Narratives of the Past 23 How Best to Remember? 27 Who is involved in Memorializing the Past? 29 Whose City? Memory and Identity at Prestwich Place 30 Conclusion 37 Recommendations for Further Study 39 Bibliography 40 Appendices 45 Interview Questions Consent Forms


Abstract— The merits of alternative approaches to the inference of evolutionary trees have been much discussed, but there have been few attempts to compare inferences systematically or to pinpoint the source of differences. The two major classes of approach are via likelihood inference under an evolutionary model and estimates based upon parsimony methods. Within the general class of likelihood approaches, there are differences depending upon the particular class of models considered. This paper makes comparisons of the characteristics of inferences for the case of quantitative variation (of allele frequencies, for example), concentrating on the case of very small numbers of populations where explicit solutions are possible, but also upon features which apply as well to inferences for larger groups of populations. The parsimony method of "minimum evolution" was proposed by Edwards and Cavalli‐Sforza (1964) to provide an approximation to the likelihood solution for an intractable model. In fact, its estimated phylogenies are closest to those of a more recent model of Felsenstein (1981) which, like parsimony, produces a fundamentally unrooted tree. Likelihood estimates based upon models involving an implicit or explicit root are radically different. These differ also from each other, depending upon whether or not the root is explicitly estimated, and upon whether or not a model for the fissioning of populations is included. Some general features of the comparisons can be summarized.


The nanocomposite CeO2/Y2O3 partially stabilized zirconia (Ce-PSZ/Y-PSZ)-toughened alumina was prepared by wet chemical simultaneous coprecipitation process. The thermal stability of phases and morphology of powders were characterized by TG-DTA, FTIR, and FESEM. The microstructure, stabilization of phases and compositional analysis with different mol% CeO2/Y2O3-doped zirconia in alumina are characterized by FESEM, XRD, and EDAX spectra. Significant improvement in fracture toughness and flexural strength has been observed in 10 vol% of partially stabilized zirconia (2.5 mol% Y2O3 in ZrO2/9 mol% CeO2 in ZrO2)-toughened alumina, which is suitable for high-speed machining applications.


Traditional brute-force is a dictionary-based attack that tries to unlock an authentication process in service. This type of brute force can be applied in web and SSH services, and brute-force XSS injects JavaScript code. In this paper, we explore four types of ensemble classifiers using CIC-CSE-IDS 2018 to determine which yields the highest accuracy, recall, precision, and F1 in detecting three types of brute force. The first step of the research is to normalise the dataset with the tanH operator. The second step is to train the single classifier to determine three types of single classifiers combined as ensemble classifiers. The last step is predicting and comparing the results of four ensemble classifiers. The stacking algorithm achieves the best test result that reaches 94.87%, 99.94%, 98.82%, and 99.37% for accuracy, precision, recall, and F1, respectively.


The distribution of I131 among the biota of Fern Lake, Washington, was compared in aquarium and field experiments. The samples for study in the laboratory were isolated in containers so that the water solution, and not food, was the major source of the radionuclide. The field experiment related the uptake of I131 by organisms isolated in containers to the accumulation by those with access to their usual sources of food. In the aquarium, the initial concentration of I131 was 8,000 times the average concentration calculated for the lake experiment. Maximum concentration factors ranged from 1.7 and 2.6 for the muscle of trout and crayfish, respectively, to 280 for the "thyroid" of trout, 380 for Nitella, and 600 for an amphipod. I131 was not detected in a number of samples collected from the lake, but accumulation factors were as high as 1,400 for Nitella clumps and 12,000 for the "thyroid" of trout. Young microcrustaceans, which are able to accumulate iodine directly from water, were an important source of I131 for trout.


An epidemiologic investigation of possible exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) was conducted following the discovery of widespread soil PCB contamination in Paoli, Pennsylvania. Concentration of PCBs in yard and street soil ranged from less than 1 ppm to more than 6,400 ppm. From several neighborhoods adjacent to or immediately downgradient from the source of contamination, 66 persons were selected through probability sampling to represent the entire population of the neighborhoods (396 persons). The geometric mean and distribution of serum PCB concentrations in the group did not differ from the means and distributions of a large sample of persons selected from across the United States having no known environmental exposure. Thus, the population near the site in Paoli did not show exposure different from other U.S. populations.


This article begins with the premise that art education should engage with forms of popular visual culture in the art classroom so that students can better understand, evaluate, and critique the world around them. The researcher argues that studying video art with students offers a valuable approach to critiquing film and television, among other mass media, because of shared methods of production and persuasion involving sound, language, movement, and time, in addition to visual imagery. Taking the work of South African artist, Candice Breitz, as a case study, this article investigates how video art that re-appropriates multi-sensory popular culture as a form of social critique can provide a model for critical, interdisciplinary conversations in art education. By engaging with Breitz's videos, which utilize largely "found footage" in their production, art educators can enable students to better analyze the forms and effects of entertainment media and help them "find" their own footage for critical artmaking. This article situates this approach within recent conceptual and contextual literature about visual culture art education, re-appropriation in art and video art, and other topics.


Abstract Prediction of design loads for small high speed commercial craft has traditionally been governed by classification society, rule based formulae. Larger high speed vessels, particularly those greater than 100 m in length, require validation of rule based design loads. Validation methods include model tests or hydrodynamic studies using computer based motion and loads software. This paper presents the results of studies into the calculation of global loads for a 112 m, wavepiercing catamaran design. In particular, the preliminary design approach for assessment of loads is discussed. Longitudinal bending and pitch connection moment loads are derived from linear and nonlinear motion and loads software packages FASTSEA, SWAN and BESTSEA. The computed results are compared with rule based loads and empirically derived loads based on full-scale measurements from similar craft. Local wet deck slamming loads are discussed with reference to current rule based formulae and results of full scale tests on similar vessels. The effect of high local slam loads is discussed and how these loads may influence the design process. Conclusions are drawn on the presented results concerning the interaction of global and local loads in the design of a 112 m wavepiercing catamaran for Incat shipbuilders in Hobart, Australia.


Taking Qixianling Hot Springs National Forest Park at Baoting County, Hainan province as study area, in the re.search area of the survey sample, through field interviews and questionnaire survey of tourists, Social demographic character.istics, spatial structure characteristics and tourism behavior characteristic of tourists were comparatively analyzed. The main conclusions are: Scenic area's largest tourist source comes from the inside of the province, and the tourists source outside the province mainly come from the northeast of China and developed areas; The main composition of visitors are youth and the high incomes people; In the process of tourism, leisure and nature are the main purposes. The study on tourist in Qixian.ling Hot Springs National Forest Park can give basic information and suggestions for unearthing the market, tourism product development, tourism sustainable development and etc.


How managers take decisions with respect to the acquisition and deployment of technology to promote technological innovation is central to the field of strategic management. The main objective of this research is to explore how technology decisions drive technological innovation in organizations. Technology decisions have been explored through the lens of substance and enactment of technology strategy. The paper reports findings from three Indian Power Distribution Firms that have taken various initiatives to turn around the dilapidated power distribution situation in the country. The study in addition to proposing typologies of technology acquisition and deployment strategies on the basis of patterns discovered also puts forth propositions linking technological innovation to the typologies. A modified model linking the technological innovation process to the substance and enactment of technology strategy has also been proposed.


Ultraviolet (UV) MSM photodetectors (PD) based on AlGaN alloys find many applications, including flame sensing. In this work we investigate the dependence of AlGaN based photodetectors grown by MBE on the kinetics of growth. MSM photodetectors were fabricated in the interdigitated configuration with Ni/Au contacts having 400 μm finger length and 10 μm finger spacing. Bulk Al0.4Ga0.6N films were grown on to sapphire substrates using an AlN buffer layer. A series of PDs were developed using the Al0.4Ga0.6N films grown under different group III/V flux ratios ranging from stoichiometric conditions to much higher than unity. Upon testing, it was observed that the otherwise identical photodetectors show significant decrease in dark current as AlGaN deposition conditions change from stoichiometric to excess group III, due to reduction of unintentional incorporation of oxygen-related point defects. In addition, the intensity and spectral dependence of the photocurrent also change, showing an extended low energy t...


A simple microwave assisted route has been formulated to synthesise various surface functionalized carbogenic quantum dots from biodegradable polysaccharides. The photoluminescence (PL) properties of such surface functional carbon quantum dots (CQDs) have been tuned by the in situ addition of high boiling organic solvents during the synthesis of CQDs under microwave irradiation. Several divalent cations have also been added to investigate the variation of PL intensity after cationic modifications. Some straightforward mechanistic approaches have been predicted to rationalize the enhancement or quenching of the fluorescence by the introduction of organic and inorganic substrates.


[Introduction.] Since the 1950s, the European Community (EC) has been trying to build up a new independent legal and economic order. This exercise has been difficult and gradual. Indeed, each step forward in the build-up of the community's legal and economic order requires a new compromise formula between the member states--for example, between the free traders and the economic interventionists; between the more service-oriented, the more industrial-oriented, and the more agricultural economies; and between the richer and the poorer regions. Obviously, the Community is not developing in a vacuum. Since the Community is a major player in international trade relations, its development has an effect, not only within the EC, but also on third countries. Naturally, since Community measures also affect third countries, those third countries, including the United States (US), have been trying to influence or even control the final shape of the EC's legal and economic order. As Jeffrey Garten, the US Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade, has recently explained, the US is determined to try and shape its trading partners' economic system in view of the US market opening objective. According to Garten, Washington would use its power to try to pry open markets even if it meant challenging "the very industrial organization of countries"(cited in Friedman, 1995). As a result, tension has developed between, on the one hand, the EC's sovereign right to set up its own legal order and, on the other, the outside world's interest in monitoring and influencing the EC's development. This paper examines this tension as it arises in the relationship between the Community and the United States. More specifically, the paper deals with the institutional strategies (multilateral, bilateral, and unilateral) used by the United States to monitor the EC's development and to keep the Common Market open for US exports. The main question is how far each of the institutional strategies was able to help resolve, or better, help prevent, "market opening" conflicts between the US and the EC. At the end of the paper, the current US market opening options toward the EC will be analyzed, including the recent suggestion to create a Transatlantic Free Trade Area (TAFTA) similar to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).


Affective learning is a major focus of the national K-12 physical education (PE) content standards (National Association for Sport and Physical Education [NASPE, 2004]). Understanding how students might fit into different affective learning subgroups would help extend affective learning theory in PE and suggest possible intervention strategies for teachers wanting to increase students' affective learning. The present study used cluster analysis (CA) and latent profile analysis (LPA) to develop a two-level affective learning-based typology of high school students in compulsory PE from an instructional communication perspective. The optimal classification system had ten clusters and four latent profiles. A comparison of students' class and cluster memberships showed that the two classification procedures yielded convergent results, thus suggesting distinct affective learning profiles. Students' demographic and biographical characteristics, including gender, race, body mass index, organized sport participati...


Plants owe their various pharmacological properties to their active phytochemical components. Phytochemicals are bioactive chemicals or secondary metabolites products of plants, which play important roles in plant defense mechanisms. The major groups of these compounds, also known to be very protective in humans and animals, include phytosterols, flavonoids, terpenoids, saponins, alkaloids, carotenoids, aromatic acids, organic acids, essential oils and protease inhibitors. These phytochemicals have demonstrated significant antioxidant activities through scavenging free radicals, quenching ROS, and inhibiting oxidative enzymes. They play important roles against the initiation, formation and sustenance of oxidative stress. Apart from their roles in oxidative stress, some phytochemicals are known to have direct specific antidiabetic and anticancer activities, and modulate the signal transduction pathways common to both diseases. The aim of this review is to describe the antidiabetic and anticancer dual-roles of these phytochemicals, and highlight their importance in the management of diabetic patients with concurrent cancer illness and cancer patients with glucose intolerance. This review equally aims to compare the intended use of these phytochemicals as adjuncts or alternatives to conventional antidiabetics and anticancer agents.


Summary. The European Landscape Convention obligates EU countries to elaborate and implement a landscape quality objectives (standards) for regions which are under quick transformation, or require special protection. These objectives sho uld be expressed by experts, after examination of local social expectations. In order to examine s ocial expectations concerning landscape quality objectives for the Roztocze ‐ Solska Forest region a survey was conducted. The questionnaire was filled in by 8 social and work groups of people, wh ich exerted an important role in protection and creation of the landscape of the region and by farm ers and tourists. The results show which features of the landscape of the region are considered to be the most important, worthy to be preserved and improved. The preferences of each respondents groups about landscape quality and threats were defined.


Based on the analysis of locomotive inspection and repair system in force and issue with the system reforming,the suggestions for reforming locomotive inspection and repair system were put forward.


The Mobile Ad-hoc Network (MANET) opens a novel area for grid computing to extend pervasive computation in wireless environment. In this paper, a mobile agent based approach is proposed for building computation grid over MANET that is characterized as self-organizing and without fixed infrastructure. It distributes computations and aggregate resources through mobile agent. As an autonomous entity, it visits nodes with sufficient battery power and resource capability and negotiates their resource provision for running the computation job. It solves the problem of network topology change due to node mobility or power consumption, which may affect the stability of grid. Also it introduces flexibility in handling different cooperation models of nodes for resource sharing, thus is able to collect a lot of nodes in MANET to participate in grid computing. Mobile Ad Hoc Grid deals with the challenges in resource discovery and job scheduling due to its mobility and power consumption. In this paper a new grid computing technique is implemented to manage the congestion control with job scheduling. The proposed addition of the mobile ad hoc network within AHGL can offer maximum network utility.


The invention discloses a feed for mature commercial pigs. The feed is prepared from the following components: corn, bran, broken rice, rapeseed meal, cottonseed meal, vinasse, casing powder, silkworm chrysalis powder, fish meal, mushroom, an antioxidant, decavitamin, a composite multi-mineral, and a core additive. The core additive is prepared from the following components: aloe, nutmeg, astragalus root, eucommia ulmoides, acanthopanax senticosus, dodder, panax notoginseng, and rhodiola rosea. The feed for the mature commercial pigs can provide basic nutrients for the mature commercial pigs; at the same time, with the addition of the core additive, the feed can ensure the commercial pigs to keep meat taste in a mature period, can avoid aging of mature pork, can also increase own immunity of the mature commercial pigs, and has the advantages of high security, wide raw material sources and low price.


Fermilab is developing 10–12 T superconducting dipole magnets for future accelerators based on Nb3Sn conductor. Within the High Field Magnet Project, a common coil design was chosen for magnet R&D using the react & wind approach. Based on cable studies in which a variety of designs were tried and tested using inexpensive ITER strands, a 41-strand cable was used for a racetrack coil, whereas a 60-strand cable was preferred for the common coil model. Multifilamentary Nb3Sn strands 0.7 mm in diameter to be respectively used in the racetrack coil and the common coil model were purchased from OST (Modified Jelly Roll technology) and IGC (Internal Tin technology). They are herein characterized by Ic, n-value, residual resistivity ratio, and magnetization. Results of cabling and bending degradation are also presented.


Imiquimod 5% cream versus radiotherapy for eyelid BCC Garcia-Martin et al compared the efficacy, cosmesis and tolerance of two non-surgical treatments e imiquimod (IMQ) 5% cream and radiotherapy (RT) e to combat periocular nodular basal cell carcinoma (BCC) in 27 patients with clinical and histopathological diagnosis randomised to receive IMQ 5% cream once daily, 5 days/ week for 6 weeks (15) or RT (fractionated, total dose 40e70 Gy) (12). All tumours showed histopathological remission within 3 months and sustained clinical remission was documented in each patient at 24 months. Overall, cosmesis and functional results were better with IMQ, while RTwas better tolerated. See page 1393.


The article looks into several contemporary approaches a in the classification of expressive means in language. An opinion is expressed on the place of comparison in the overall system of these means.


The medieval determination of the Easter cy cle has even today a topical evidence in chronology and calendariography, as the easter formula published by C. F. Gauss in 1800 was not accepted in chronology. To verify dates in past and future, both historians and ca lendariographs until now could only use tabular-com pilation based on different systems. The CHRONOS program offers a chronologic/calendariographic funda mentum by means of which you can answer all essential questions of l'art verfier les dates and calendariography. CHRONOS includes a calendarian ranging from 4713 b. C. to 3268 a. C. as well as a computation of the chan geable holidays of the years 293 2499 for the Julian and Gregorian calendar. Moreover it can determine the Jewish Passah holiday and the Jewish New Year's day. Especially interesting for the historians is the possibility to find out the computistic key-dates of a year, to con vert the eras used in historiography, and to implement the medieval calendar of saints. In this connection the Mohammedian calendar is also offered in concordance with the Christian one. The Chronos program substi tutes and surpasses the traditional chronological facili ties of the historian. * Address all communications to Werner Bergmann, Fak. f?r Geschichts wissenschaft, Ruhr-Universit?t Bochum, Postfach 102148, D-4630 Bo chum.


FIGURES 1 – 2. Topographic map of (1) Thailand with Tennaserim Mountain Range outlined and (2) Tennaserim Range with collection localities marked.


Two major funders of research in China have announced a move to open-access publishing that could result in more than 60% of papers in China being free to read online.


In the crowd security research area a primary concern is to identify and control the transitions of the crowd motions. The order parameter and the entropy as a measure of order and disorder respectively, are essential parameters in this research area. This paper introduces a newly-developed crowd behavior entropy model to characterize the crowd motions and to research the sudden transition of the crowd based on the social entropy theory. Velocity direction and magnitude are both included. To simulate the crowd motions, experiments have been done using social force model. Results revealed the relation between the social entropy, order parameter, and the mass status. This paper established a baseline for crowd motion evaluation by incorporating the social entropy theory with the order parameter measurement. The work broadened the crowd motion management study by inducting artificial attractive force into the crowd, creating the statistical model and developing the order evaluation criteria. Keywords—Crowd motions, crowd behavior entropy, order parameter, phase transition


Present day socioeconomic factors have exacerbated the need for superior organizational retention strategies. The knowledge-based economy, the shortage of skilled labour, and shifting work force demographics have made retention issues particularly significant in the IT industry. This exploratory study examined the application of a best practice retention model in IT organizations. The model consists of the six factors most cited in the literature to affect turnover, namely, orientation, training, career development, motivation, compensation, and feedback/evaluation. Three main aspects of retention were explored. First, the extent of application of the six best practices in IT organizations was examined. Second, the perspective of the HR manager was examined to gain insight into both the types of retention strategies being implemented, and the challenges inherent in implementing the best practices. Third, the perspective of the IT professional was examined to gain information regarding which retention strategies most affected commitment. It was found that orientation, career development, non-financial compensation, and feedback confer competitive advantage to IT organizations in terms of retention, while training, intrinsic motivational strategies, and financial compensation are necessary practices to avoid dissatisfaction, but do not encourage retention. A contingency model is proposed, which takes into account the relevance of labour market conditions, demographic factors, and organizational size, structure, and culture to the design of retention strategies.


We show that any self-conformal measure $\mu$ on $\mathbb{R}$ is uniformly scaling and generates an ergodic fractal distribution. This generalizes existing results by removing the need for any separation condition. We also obtain applications to the prevalence of normal numbers in self-conformal sets, the resonance between self-conformal measures on the line, and projections of self-affine measures on carpets.


In order to plunder the Korean Peninsula in earnest, 'Modern Age Korea Topographical Map' of reduced 1:50,000 scale was manufactured within the period of 5 years from 1914 to 1918 through Japanese government-general of Joseson. This map includes all the data representing the life model of Korean Peninsula in the period of the End of Korean Empire, before the modern public construction works had started to seriously develop. This study analyzes the land use change after embedding the coordinates to the image of Modern Age Korea Topographical Map, which includes the scenery of 1910, and then overlaying it with the contemporary map in GIS environment. The results of presented research showed that before modern civil construction works started, the farmlands had lost their competitiveness because of difficult for development hilly areas and frequent floods, the river sites being abandoned and industrial structure change, and were developed into modern city area.


We have found spatial and temporal coherencies in the departures of short-range-forecasts from observed and analysed geopotential fields, which can be used diagnostically and as the basis for adjustment of forecast products. We identify characteristics of the differences between forecast and observed, and forecast and analysed values, and we demonstrate the significant impact on forecast accuracy which may be gained through the routine estimation and removal of these discrepancies. The removal of these discrepancies in the data assimilation step of the forecast cycle was found to have little impact, in contrast with the effect of direct correction of forecast products in conjunction with post processing. DOI: 10.1034/j.1600-0870.1990.00001.x


This paper describes efforts to develop a simulation environment for modeling the operations of an airborne surveillance aircraft. The simulated aircraft will monitor seismic and visual sensors to detect disturbances on the ground. In traditional systems, a human operator is responsible for managing all surveillance resources. The simulation environment developed in this project will allow for the evaluation of automated scheduling systems. The system described here uses an on-line optimization algorithm to schedule cameras to targets. To assess the performance of the on-line optimization algorithm, the team developed an off-line formulation of the scheduling problem to estimate an upper-bound for the optimal achievable performance. Varying both the total area defined by the user as areas of interest and those areas' corresponding priority, we assessed the intelligence-gathering capability of the system using a performance ratio. By experimentally comparing the performance ratio between the on-line algorithm's performance and the optimal achievable off-line performance, we conclude that the human operators can detriment the performance of the on-line scheduling algorithm.


Total marine fisheries catches in the Baltic Sea by Poland were estimated from 1950-2007 using a method called 'catch reconstruction'. Using ICES landing statistics (which have included Polish catches since 1955) as our reported data baseline, we created a more comprehensive catch-data time-series that accounts for 'adjustments to ICES landing statistics' (from sources such as ICES working group stock assessment reports and the Polish Maritime Industry), unreported ('unallocated') landings, discards, and recreational catches. ICES attributes approximately 7 million tonnes of fish to Poland from 1950-2007, our reconstruction for the same time period estimated 9.5 million tonnes, an increase of 35%. Unreported landings of cod (Gadus morhua) seem to be a major problem in Poland, and our reconstruction estimates almost 1 million tonnes landed illegally between 1990 and 2007. Despite this, we still believe this reconstruction remains a conservative estimate of the true rate of marine resource exploitation by Poland in the Baltic Sea. Baltic Sea fish stocks have shown significant changes since 1950, and strategies such as increased data collection to include all fishery sectors, increased accountability and transparency at the decision-making level in an ecosystem-based management context, and increased compliance with fishing restrictions, would all increase the chances of the stocks' recovery.


The relative abundance, age-structure, sex-ratio, biomass and breeding activity of Praomys tullbergi (Tullberg's soft-furred mouse) were studied over an eight-month period (June 2008 to January 2009) at Mount Afadjato Conservation Area in the Volta Region of Ghana. The methodology involved the use of live-trapping techniques using Sherman collapsible traps. There were 183 captures of 80 individual mice in 3,360 trap-nights, giving overall trapping success and relative abundance of 5.4% and 2.4%, respectively. Adults constituted about 93% of the total number of individuals captured, while the remaining 7% were all sub-adults. Majorities (59%) of the individuals recorded were males, and these were generally slightly heavier than their non-pregnant female counterparts. Breeding activity was evident throughout the study period, peaking during the wet season. All the captured female individuals showed evidence of breeding activity (perforate vaginas, enlarged nipples, pregnancy), whereas 84% of the males had scrotal testes. The highest number of individuals was recorded in August. The year-round breeding activity of P. tullbergi may, to a large extent, account for their dominance in most forests in Ghana.


There are two nationwide population‐based registers for multiple sclerosis (MS) in Denmark. The oldest register is The Danish Multiple Sclerosis Registry (DMSR), which is an epidemiological register for estimation of prevalence and incidence of MS and survival, and for identifying exposures earlier in life that may affect the risk of MS. This register has no systematic follow‐up data except for survival. The DMSR has over the years published nationwide incidence‐ and prevalence data from Denmark and has been involved in a number of 'historical prospective' studies to elucidate the association between a number of different environmental exposures in the past and the subsequent risk of MS. Some of these studies have been able to exonerate suspected risk factors. The other register, the nationwide Danish Multiple Sclerosis Treatment Register, is a follow‐up register for all patients who have received disease‐modifying treatments since 1996. It has, in particular, contributed to the knowledge of the role of antibodies against the biological drugs used for the treatment of MS.


The view that tyrosinase is a mixture of a number of components has been
held by several investigators. Haehn [1920] reported that potato tyrosinase
lost its activity on dialysis or ultrafiltration, but regained it on addition of
the ultrafiltrate or boiled juice. He concluded that the activator was inorganic
in nature. Raper and Wormall [1923], while partially confirming Haehn's
finding, noticed that the boiled juice of new but not of old potatoes had an
accelerating effect. They also adduced evidence to show that the activator
in potato juice is organic in nature.
In an earlier paper [Narayanamurti and Ramaswami, 1929] it was shown
that on ultrafiltration of Dolichos tyrosinase the residual liquid on the ultrafilter
was active and that the addition of the ultrafiltrates to the residual liquid did
not cause any acceleration. The following additional results have so far been
obtained.


A total solar eclipse occurs on March 9 along the path through Indonesia and the Pacific. KASI organized an expedition team for total solar eclipse observation. The main purpose of this observation is to test the coronal temperature and outflow velocity diagnostics based on filter observation, which is proposed for the coronagraph. In addition, various white light observations including automatic programmed observation, manual observation, linear polarization, and time-lapse movie will be tried. We report the preliminary result of the expedition. Recent analysis on asteroidal thermophysical property revealed that there is a tendency that their thermal inertia decrease with their sizes at least for main belt asteroids. However, little is known about the thermal properties of comet-like bodies. In this work we utilized a simple thermophysical model to calculate the thermal inertia of a bare nucleus of comet P/2006 HR30 (Siding Spring) and an asteroid in comet-like orbit 4015 Wilson—Harrington from AKARI observation data. It is also shown that the determination of their thermal inertia is very sensitive to their spin vector, while the diameter is rather easy to be constrained to a certain range by combining multi-wavelength observational data. Thus, we set diameter and hence the geometric albedo as fixed parameters, and inferred the spin vector and thermal inertia of the targets. Further detailed analyses on these cometary bodies will shed light on our understanding of the detailed surfacial characteristics of them. solar stereoscopic speed multi-spacecraft and


I refer to the article reported by Yapici et al in the Asian Cardiovascular and Thoracic Annals, entitled "Limb Ischemia Due to Use of Internal Thoracic Artery in Coronary Bypass."1 They presented two patients with left lower leg ischemia that developed after left internal thoracic artery (ITA) grafting. They recommended the assessment of epigastric arterial flow by doppler ultrasound and the examination of the abdominal aorta and iliac artery by angiography if aortoiliac occlusion is suspected. They also suggested the use of pulse oximetery or digital examination of the foot before ITA harvest.


Water and land ecotones harbour complex interactions of hydrosphere, biosphere, atmosphere and lithosphere. Exchange processes at their interfaces involve multiple feedback mechanisms which to a large extent affect the overall conditions on earth. Hydrological processes affect ecotones and vice versa. The paper outlines briefly some of the effects and gives examples of ecotones in arid and urban environments.