The research and developmental activities for generating new water quality models provide a valuable source of knowledge in the fields of water resources and environmental engineering. Due to limited water quality data and high cost of water quality monitoring, the data based modeling approaches are being extensively used. This paper presents the forecasted monthly values of water quality parameters viz., pH, Water Temperature and Dissolved Oxygen of River Godavari at Rajahmundry water quality monitoring station, Andhra Pradesh, India. Time series methods of forecasting were used for the predictions of parameter values. The predicted values are compared with actual measured observations using statistical performance tests. The results indicated that the proposed models were performing well. The MAE, RMSE and MAPE values, for pH 0.249, 0.359and 3.228; for Water Temperature 0.94, 1.18 and 3.24 and for Dissolved Oxygen 0.56, 0.67 and 7.52, respectively. The forecasted water quality parameter observations for the study period (2009-2012) and the future period (2012-2015) showed seasonal trend pattern which indicated quality of water is greatly influenced by the seasonal inflows. The time series forecasting methods with allowable error limits can be used to assess the future water quality and for taking protection measure for conservation of the river.


Smart Steps to Sustainability provides small business owners and managers with practical advice and tools to implement sustainable and environmentally-preferable business practices that go beyond compliance.


We develop a continuous-time dynamic model for Bitcoin mining from the miners' perspective by borrowing idea of the classic Hotelling model for exhaustible resources. The model is rich enough to incorporate declining Bitcoin rewards and random transaction fees as well as inventory and demand levels, and is able to calibrate to empirical data. We find that high jump risk and transaction fees are major forces driving miners to reduce their inventory even when Bitcoin prices are quite low or very volatile. Our model can also explain why the average transaction fee rate stays flat from 2014 to 2016 and increases dramatically in 2017. ∗Risk Management Institute, Centre for Quantitative Finance, and Department of Mathematics, National University of Singapore. E-mail: email@example.com †Department of Industrial Engineering and Decision Analytics, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com ‡Department of Finance, Questrom School of Business, Boston University. E-mail: email@example.com §Center for Financial Engineering, Soochow University. E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com In the classic exhaustible resource model pioneered by Hotelling (1931), miners maximize their revenue by controlling their production rate. In contrast, the production rate of Bitcoin is predetermined by the Bitcoin system in the form of Bitcoin rewards to miners. On the other hand, Bitcoin miners can control the supply of Bitcoin to users via an inventory management, i.e., a selling strategy. In addition to Bitcoin awards, Bitcoin miners receive transaction fees attached by users. A natural question is to how Bitcoin miners manage their inventory so as to maximize their revenue from Bitcoin awards and transaction fees. The question is closely related to a stylized fact as shown in Fig. 1: the ratio of the miners' inventory to the total number of mined bitcoins declines steadily, even when Bitcoin prices are low and extremely volatile (see Athey et al., 2016). Given the fact that Bitcoin rewarding is a unique way of Bitcoin supply, Fig. 1 has two implications: (1) miners keep selling their Bitcoins; and more importantly, (2) miners sell more Bitcoins than what they mine during the period of 2013-2015, regardless the drastic fluctuation of Bitcoin prices and the scarcity of Bitcoins. This paper also attempts to address the stylized fact revealed by Fig. 2: the average transaction fee rate, defined as the average transaction fees paid by users for a unit Bitcoin, seems to be flat from 2014 to 2016 and increases dramatically in 2017. It is also reported in Easley, O'Hara, and Basu (2019) that many users may get their orders processed without paying any transaction costs. 2013 2014 2015 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4 0 200 400 600 80


A short introduction to the control aspects of therapeutic drug delivery is presented. Intrinsic feedback control mechanisms that occur in most therapeutic situations are discussed. The application of control engineering methods in open-loop drug delivery, which uses mathematical models of the dose-effect relationship of the drugs, together with parameters identified from population statistics, is examined.<<ETX>>


In this paper, we prove that the twisted Alexander polynomial for the Lawrence-Krammer representation of the braid group B4 is trivial. This gives an answer to the problem of whether the twisted Alexander polynomial for given faithful representations is always non-trivial.


Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is one of the most common cancers in East Asia and is the seventh leading cause of cancer deaths. Podophyllotoxin (PT), a cyclolignan isolated from podophyllum peltatum, exhibits anti-cancer effects at the cellular level. This study investigated the underlying mechanism of anti-cancer effects induced by PT in ESCC cells. Exposure to increasing concentrations of PT led to a significant decrease in the growth and anchorage-independent colony numbers of ESCC cells. PT showed high anticancer efficacy against a panel of four types of ESCC cells, including KYSE 30, KYSE 70, KYSE 410, KYSE 450, and KYSE 510 by IC50 at values ranges from 0.17 to 0.3 μM. We also found that PT treatment induced G2/M phase arrest in the cell cycle and accumulation of the sub-G1 population, as well as apoptosis. Exposure to PT triggered a significant synthesis of reactive oxygen species (ROS), a loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), and activation of various caspases. Furthermore, PT increased the levels of phosphorylated c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), p38, and the expression of Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress marker proteins via ROS generation. An increase in the level of pro-apoptotic proteins and a reduction in the anti-apoptotic protein level induced ESCC cell death via the loss of MMP. Additionally, the release of cytochrome c into the cytosol with Apaf-1 induced the activation of multi-caspases. In conclusion, our results revealed that PT resulted in apoptosis of ESCC cells by modulating ROS-mediated mitochondrial and ER stress-dependent mechanisms. Therefore, PT is a promising therapeutic candidate as an anti-cancer drug against ESCC for clinical use.


Smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) method coupled with finite element method (FEM) is used to simulate the dropping of rectangular fluid-filled tank.The deformation,stress,vertical acceleration and dynamic pressure of fluid-filled tank are calculated and the slosh of fluid is also de- scribed.The results show that SPH method is suitable for shock analysis of fluid-filled tank,which can help to optimize the design and forecast the dropping test.


In January 2017, historic forest fires occurred in south-central Chile. Although their causes and consequences on health and ecosystems were studied, little is known about their atmospheric effects. Based on chemistry-transport modeling with WRF-CHIMERE, the impact of the 2017 Chilean mega-fires on regional atmospheric composition, and the associated meteorological feedback, are investigated. Fire emissions are found to increase pollutants surface concentration in the capital city, Santiago, by +150% (+30 µg/m3) for PM2.5 and +50% (+200 ppb) for CO on average during the event. Satellite observations show an intense plume extending over 2000 km, well reproduced by the simulations, with Aerosol Optical Depth at 550 nm as high as 4 on average during the days of fire activity, as well as dense columns of CO and O3. In addition to affecting atmospheric composition, meteorology is also modified through aerosol direct and indirect effects, with a decrease in surface radiation by up to 100 W/m2 on average, leading to reductions in surface temperatures by 1 K and mixing layer heights over land by 100 m, and a significant increase in cloud optical depth along the plume. Large deposition fluxes of pollutants over land, the Pacific ocean and the Andes cordillera are found, signaling potential damages to remote ecosystems.


The research aims to describe the implementation of fluid lectures in classrooms and laboratories on the integration of Al-Islam values through the Pemaknaan Learning Models, analyzing student learning outcomes, and describing Students' response in fluid lecturing through the Pemaknaan Learning Models. The study was conducted in 4 academic year students 2018/2019 a number of 18 students. The results showed that: 1) fluid lecturing in classes as well as in laboratories is carried out well, linking the concept of fluid to the values of Al-Islam; 2) Student learning results of the minimum B category; and 3) 88% of students respond positively to the fluid lecture by integrating Al-Islam's values through a learning model of use.


The aim in the re\|employment legislation of our country is to establish "an adequate system of market\|employment under the state macro\|administration".To achieve this aim,the re\|employment legislation should build a systematic frame in which employment promoting law,employment welfare law and employment protection law will mainly be included.This essay therefore puts forward,in four respects,the basic ideas and certain suggestions about the legal measures dealing with the problem of re\|employment.Besides,the essay specially discusses the importance to control legally the laid\|off behaviors.


The invention discloses an insecticidal composition containing benzenecarbothioamide and relates to the technical field of pesticides. The insecticidal composition consists of an insecticidal active compound I and an insecticidal active component II, wherein the insecticidal active compound I is benzenecarbothioamide while the insecticidal active compound II is selected from one of an organophosphorus insecticide, a pyrethroid insecticide, a nereistoxin insecticide, an antibiotic insecticide and the like; the weight ratio of the insecticidal active compound I to the insecticidal active compound II is 1: 30 to 30: 1. The insecticidal composition has an obvious synergistic effect compared with that of a single dosage and can be used for effectively preventing and treating lepidoptera pests and homopteran pests, so that the dosage of the pesticide is reduced and the medicating cost is saved. Meanwhile, the insufficiency of insecticidal activity of benzenecarbothioamide and the tolerance of pests to benzenecarbothioamide are solved, so that the insecticidal activity is improved and the insecticidal spectrum is wide.


Standard techniques for geochemical and mineralogical characterisation are time‐consuming, they can involve significant sample preparation and they are prone to error. The aim of this work is to show how the emerging fast laser‐induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) technique can be valuable for mineral exploration. For this purpose, the well‐established micro‐X‐ray fluorescence (µ‐XRF) technique was used to validate the LIBS data. Two ore samples from the platinum‐group elements (PGE) Lac des Îles mine (Ontario, Canada) were analysed both by LIBS and µ‐XRF. The fast mineralogical and elemental mapping provided by LIBS allowed the identification of four major silicate phases (chlorite, bytownite, actinolite, hornblende) and four minor sulfide phases (Pd‐bearing pentlandite, chalcopyrite, pyrrhotite, pyrite). Multi‐element chemical mapping and mineral characterisation using µ‐XRF corroborated the LIBS analyses for the composition, distribution and abundance of minerals in PGE ore samples. These findings demonstrate the ability of the LIBS technique to perform direct fast high‐resolution mapping of the chemical and mineralogical composition of PGE ore samples. This work highlights the advantages of LIBS for this application of being much faster and more sensitive to trace elements (e.g., Pd), as well as to low atomic number elements.


Purpose. To evaluate the efficacy and safety of dexamethasone intravitreal implant in the treatment of macular edema (ME) secondary to retinal vein occlusion. Material and methods. The results of dexamethasone intravitreal implant injections in 77 patients (77 eyes) with ME due to non-ischemic central or branch retinal vein occlusion (CRVO or BRVO) were retrospectively analyzed. The age of patients ranged from 32 to 84 years (mean age 59.8±11.5 years), 40 male, 37 female. Thirty nine patients had the CRVO, 38 – the BRVO. The duration of the disease at the moment of dexamethasone implant intravitreal injection (IVI) ranged from 2 days to 1.5 years. Results. We did not record intra- and post-operative complications. The IVI procedure and postoperative period were well tolerated for patients. The visual acuity did not show statistically significant changes 7-10 days after the IVI. The IOP ranged from 9.7 to 27.0mmHg. The elevated intraocular pressure (Po>21.0mmHg) was observed in 6 (7.7%) patients, however, the difference was not statistically significant. The central retinal thickness (CRT) decreased significantly (p=0.017) and ranged from 102 to 1196μm. One month after the IVI the visual acuity significantly improved (p 21.0mmHg) was detected in 13 patients (16.9%), but it was statistically insignificant. The CRT decreased in comparison with the status 7-10 days later significantly (p=0.002) and ranged from 107 to 615μm. The visual acuity 3 months after the IVI was not significantly changed (with respect to the results after 1 month) and varied from 0.01 to 1.0. The IOP was within 10.0 to 32.0mmHg, the IOP increase (Po>21.0mmHg) was revealed in 11 (14.3%) patients, but it was statistically insignificant. The CRT was not changed significantly (with respect to the results after 1 month), and ranged from 107 to 771μm. Eight (10.4%) patients had a relapse (rising) of macular edema. The visual acuity 6 months after IVI was not significantly changed (with respect to the results after 3 months) and ranged from 0.02 to 1.0. The IOP was within 10.0 to 26.0mmHg, the IOP increase (Po>21.0mmHg) was detected in 5 (6.5%) patients, but it was statistically insignificant. In addition to those patients who showed the ME growth 3 months after the IVI, another 14 (18.2%) patients were diagnosed with relapse (rising) edema. Thus, 6 months later the ME relapse was diagnosed in 22 patients (28.6%). In 2 patients from this group the vitrectomy with membrane peeling (removal of internal limiting membrane) was performed, 6 patients underwent the repeated IVI. During the 6 month follow-up after a single IVI only one (1.3%) patient showed a progression of complicated cataract, due to this fact cataract phacoemulsification with intraocular lens implantation was carried out. Conclusion. Ozurdex medicine demonstrated an efficacy and a safety in the treatment of macular edema due to central or branch retinal vein occlusion.


PURPOSE: An automatic waste refractory sorting apparatus of high efficiency having a placing recessed groove and a double conveyer belt is provided to accurately classify automatic waste refractory according to quality with the intervals of refractory particles regularly maintained. CONSTITUTION: An automatic waste refractory sorting apparatus of high efficiency comprises a hopper(200), first and second conveyer belts(300,400), a CCD camera(40), an air nozzle(50) and receiving containers(60,70). The second conveyer belt transfers waste refractory particles at a speed faster than the first conveyor belt. Seating grooves are formed on the surface of the first and second of conveyer belts in a progressive direction. The CCD camera takes the color of waste refractory particles and transmits the color to the controller. The air nozzle emits compressed air to waste refractory particles of low quality.


Verifications of real-time software are important. However, the state explosion problem is serious for model checking verifications. We present a symbolic model checking algorithm for real-time software, which can check CTL properties without computing exact states. Based on an approximation method, we formulate an approximation/refinement procedure for symbolic model checking, which recursively computes approximate states and iteratively refines approximations. The algorithm reduces the state explosion, using approximations of time zone and symbolic representations with DBMs (difference bounded matrices) and BDDs (binary decision diagrams). We have implemented the algorithm and experimented with the CSMA/CD protocol. Experimental results show that our method can verify large real-time systems which cannot be handled by conventional symbolic model checkers.


Time is limited. Teachers often struggle to address the diverse needs of learners in their classrooms, especially when faced with academic and social skills concerns. Finding effective ways to teach social skills in the context of academic instruction makes sense. Books by Dr. Seuss provide a variety of high-interest stories that can be used to address a wide range of social competencies while improving reading skills. The authors offer specific classroom techniques for integrating social skills with reading instruction.


In petrochemical analysis it is often not necessary to identify every compound in a sample. The boiling point distribution and group composition, e.g. aliphatic and aromatic groups or straight chain versus branched alkanes determine, to a large extent, the physical characteristics of fuels. The oxygenated group content of a fuel is another important parameter. It is believed that high oxygen content enhances fuel combustion and reduces harmful emissions, but oxygenates also end up as pollutants in water supplies. More effective ways of oxygenate analysis are required, both for fuel characterization and environmental monitoring.


This article makes an analysis of the main regulations used by the credit rating agencies on the financial market. The article describes the main specific legislation on credit rating agencies existing on the market. Credit rating agencies are issuing independent opinions on the reliability of an entity, of a debt, of financial obligations, or of a certain financial instrument. The credit ratings issued by the credit rating agencies established in the European Union are analysed by investors, debtors, issuers and governments, helping all these entities in making any decisions on investments and financing. These ratings may also serve as reference for determining their own funds, necessary to ensure the solvency or reference helping the investors in assessing any risks related to their investment activities. Rating agencies and the products they offer on the international capital market are subject of various researches, which mainly refer to market structure and organization, to the architecture of agencies` s rating systems, to the rating functions, to the controversies concerning rating activity, the role of rating agencies and rating quality.


The article is dedicated to the analysis of the concept sphere of fauna and flora in M. Vinhranovskyi's prose for children. The micro concept spheres and core concepts, which are the main representatives of the author's mapping of the world, have been traced in the structures of the concept sphere of fauna and flora. This article analyzes two individual author's concepts — ELM and CROW.


This paper provides an insight into the citation analysis of research publications of the National Metallurgical Laboratory (NML) during the period 1972-2007. It analysed 2830 most valuable citations spread over 561 publications made by the NML scientists and researchers indexed in Science Citation Index (SCI) retrieved through the Web of Science. It determines the research and citation impact using parameters such as extent of citation received in terms of number of citation per paper, year wise break up of citation, domain wise citation, self citations and citation by others, diachronous self citation rate, citing authors, citing institutions, highly cited papers and categories of citing documents, citing journals and impact factor. A Bradford plot constructed to determine the core-citing journals shows that the curve is a typical S shape which indicates subject maturity.


Introduction : acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a serious health problem, especially for developing countries. Objective: to verify if the strategy of elimination of the vertical transmission  diminished the risk of vertical transmission of AIDS according to the goals of the World Health Organization. Method : a retrospective longitudinal study was performed at a health center in the city of Tete, Mozambique. Two groups were compared, women who followed and those who did not follow elimination of the vertical transmission. For the categorized variables, the X 2 test and odds ratio were used. Results: the mean age of pregnant women was 25.2 years. Pregnancy was more frequent in women with a general secondary education level. Of the total of pregnant women only 37.4% accepted and completely followed the elimination of the vertical transmission . With it, only 7.6% of newborns were VIH +. Conclusions: the effectiveness of elimination of the vertical transmission  was evidenced even though its results are far from achieving the goals proposed by the World Health Organization.


Respiratory failure is a recognized complicationm of both bone marrow and solid-organ transplant. Patients who require mechanical ventilation after bone marrow transplant have a high mortality. Recent studies have focused on 1) describing clinical scenarios likely to result in respiratory failure, 2) assessing potential predictors of respiratory failure, and 3) evaluating diagnostic approaches. Solid-organ transplant recipients are moist likely to develop respiratory failure secondary to infectious complications. Aggressive prophylaxis has greatly improved the outlook in many cases; however, emerging organisms, particularly fungal organisms, remain a significant threat. Lung transplants are particularly susceptible to early reperfusion injury and late obliterative bronchiolitis. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation has been successfully used to support patients with severe reperfusion injury. Obliterative bronchiolitis is a more difficult problem that is still being completely characterized and that has responded only modestly to treatment attempts.


I was once told by a friend that the definition of an expert was someone who was at least 50 miles away from home and had slides. I suppose this is as good a definition as any, since nothing seems to adequately define the concept of an expert. Yet, that is what many of us in medicine are being labeled anytime we get into the drama of medicolegal work. Ten years ago I do not believe I heard the words medicolegal more than once a month in my daily course of events. Today it is rare when I do not think about or discuss the medicolegal aspects of an obstetric case. This is sad in some aspects, but the closer truth is that in this climate the medical profession is more thorough, more careful, more informative, and less likely to take shortcuts, thereby risks. Though difficult to prove, I believe this is what we are witnessing. Some would correctly say that we pay a big price for this better brand of medicine, yet in some ways, it does help "make the medicine go down" easier. Certainly no one prepared me at any time in my medical training for the controversial subject of medicolegal medicine. With no role models or personal experience, I was no more an expert on this subject than any of my peers. That is why, when I did wander into my first medicolegal case, it was a disaster. Although my title at the time was Assistant Professor in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Vanderbilt University Hospital, and my length of time out of residency limited, the two plaintiff attorneys who walked into my office one day, approximately 10 years ago, seemed quite interested in me. It was a straight-forward case. The defendant was said to have practiced below the standard of care in taking care of a pregnant woman who eventually died of an intestinal carcinoma. He, it was claimed, did not make a timely diagnosis, and this eventually led to her demise. After a somewhat superficial review of the case, it was obvious to me that the physician's prenatal records left much to be desired and I was critical, therefore, of this laissez faire attitude toward record keeping. I was told that this was an important aspect to bring out in court and assured that by commenting on this deficiency, I would be useful in their case against the physician. I was told that I could be in this case a "friend of the court". The link to causation was not properly addressed. From the moment I walked into the courtroom, I knew I had made a mistake, or worse, a series of them. I assumed that I was an authority in obstetrics. I never attempted to understand the plaintiff lawyers nor the process in which they had invited me to participate. Furthermore, I was testifying in my home state, and worse, not until I took the oath, did I realize that the defendant was a relative of my best friend. Of course, the ever present staid, professional defendant attorney backed me into an embarrassing and uncomfortable corner. Later, as I drove home to safety in a pensive mood, I thought of what John F. Kennedy once said: "good judgment comes from experience; experience comes from bad judgment." The defendant was correctly judged innocent of all charges and I, in my chagrin, wrote him a letter explaining my stance on the matter and in my own way apologizing. His reply was unforgettable: "It's a little like a man whose wife has found out about his illicit affair—she may forgive him, but it will never be the same". I certainly became a more experienced expert. After hearing this story, few were surprised when I swore never to involve myself in a medicolegal case again. I stuck tenaciously to this promise. I needed to mature medically as well as emotionally, and I needed to tend to more important tasks in my academic pursuits. Over the years whenever the topic of performing medical expert work arose among my nonphysician friends, I seemed to be consistently placed on the defensive. They said by not getting involved I was burying my head in the sand, condoning and sanctioning bad medicine, and making no attempt to correct the significant medical problem that exists in our society. I asserted that I changed more by teaching in the classroom and operating room than I could in the courtroom. My physician friends,


Introduction The Gambian pouch rat (Cricetomys gambianus), also known as the African giant pouch rat is a nocturnal rat of the giant pouched rat genus Cricetomys. It is the largest muroid in the world. It is native to Africa (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gambian-Pouch-Rat). The giant rat Cricetomys gambianus (Okete) is a common rodent found around buildings and gardens in many parts of Nigeria. It digs long deep burrows with several entrances and stores found there. It eats roots, bulbs, young shoots and fruits. Other types of rats prefer grains. The female and young are communal and live in burrows. Each community consists of about thirty individuals; male giant rats live apart by themselves. Nests prepared from vegetable matter occur in the terminal chamber of the burrow 1 . The Gambian pouch rat can grow to be as big as a raccoon and can weigh up to 4 kg. It has very poor eyesight and so depends on its senses of smell and hearing. Its name comes from the large, hamsterlike pouches in its cheeks. It is not a true rat, but is part of a uniquely African branch of muroid rodents. In its native Africa, this rat lives in colonies of up to twenty or more, usually in forests and thickets, but also commonly in termite mounds. It is omnivorous, feeding on vegetables, insects, crabs, snails, and other items, but apparently preferring palm fruits and kernels 2 . Unlike domestic rats, it has cheek pouches like a hamster. These cheek pouches allow it to gather up several kilograms of nuts per night for storage underground. It has been known to stuff its pouches so full of date palm nuts so as to be hardly able to squeeze through the entrance of its burrows. The burrow consists of a long passage with side alleys and several chambers, one for sleeping and the others for storage 3 . The African giant pouch rat belongs to the Order Rodentia, Superfamily Muroidea, Family Nesomyidae, Subfamily Cricetomyinae, Genus Cricetomys, Species C. gambianus, Binomial name: Cricetomys gambianus Waterhouse, 1840 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gambian-Pouch-Rat). In Africa it is routinely eaten as bushmeat. It (and other mammals) is referred to by the pidgin name of "beef". A study carried out in Nigeria showed that the giant rat produces about the same amount of meat as the domestic rabbit 4 . The meat's nutritional value compares favourably with that of domestic livestock and African villagers know how to prepare it by smoking or by salting. The African giant pouch rat is a delicacy in Africa; however, no literature is available on the amino acids profile of the skin and muscle. The amino acids profile of the brain and eyes of African giant pouch rat had been published 6 . This work was therefore set out to evaluate the amino acids profile of the muscle and skin of the African giant pouch rat, the information derived here may also improve the information on food composition Tables. Materials and methods Cricetomys gambianus matured female samples were caught in the wild by a local hunter commissioned for the purpose at Iworoko Ekiti, Nigeria; identified, immersed in hot water (10 min), hair removed and the animals dissected. The muscle and skin were then separately removed, washed with distilled water and dried to constant weight; milled into flour and kept in a freezer, pending analysis. The micro-Kjeldahl methods as described by Pearson (1976) was followed to determine the fat-free crude protein. The fat was extracted with a chloroform/methanol (2:1 v/v) mixture using Soxhlet extraction apparatus 8 . About 35 mg defatted samples were weighed into glass ampoule, 7 ml of 6M HCl added and hydrolysed in an oven


The effective utilization of the limited scarce bandwidth resources allocated by a spectrum regulator usually the Nigerian Communications Commissions (NCC) in Nigeria universities is paramount in maximizing the usage of the expensive scarce bandwidth resources. A significant bandwidth allocation is needed in order to meet up with the challenges of the day and the task of networking, communicating and reaching the word in our universities. Therefore, bandwidth management becomes necessary and essential. This paper contributes in that direction by surveying the bandwidth utilization at Federal University of Technology Minna campus with the hope of proffering a general solution that can be adopted in Nigerian universities for effective bandwidth management. Also, factors that hindered the development of most Nigeria universities are also examined. The federal university of technology minna which is structured like all other universities in the country in terms of the bandwidth requirement was choosing as a case study for this research work. Furthermore, some policies which can be adopted in order to effectively manage the scarce bandwidth resources in Nigerian universities are also proposed.


Suspensions of magnetic nanoparticles exhibit normal liquid behaviour coupled with superparamagnetic properties. This leads to the possibility to control the properties and the flow of these liquids with moderate magnetic fields. The magnetic control enables various experiments in fluid mechanics and gives rise to the development of numerous technical and medical applications. Ferrofluids and their general properties will be introduced and, as examples for the magnetic control of their flow and properties, thermomagnetic convection and magnetoviscous effects will be discussed in some detail.


Students in part‐time courses were interviewed about their perceptions of good teaching and tutoring. The perceptions differed markedly between those with reproductive conceptions of learning and students holding self‐determining ones. The former preferred didactic teaching but disliked interaction, whereas the latter had almost diametrically opposite perspectives by finding student‐centred approaches consistent with their conceptions of learning. The findings have implications for the evaluation of teaching, as ratings are likely to be influenced by the predominant conceptions of learning of a class. It is common for individual instructors to be regularly evaluated by teacher evaluation questionnaires, which often have a teacher‐centred bias, and for the ratings to be used for appraisal. It is argued that this leads to conservatism as teachers fear that students with reproductive conceptions of learning will reduce their ratings if they innovate in their teaching. As the degree of bias from this ratings‐lowering phenomenon may be quite large, the findings are a caution against the common practice of using absolute rating values from both teacher evaluation questionnaires and programme‐level evaluation by instruments such as the Course Experience Questionnaire. Results need to be interpreted together with other evidence and take into account contextual factors including students' conceptions of learning.


Plants area source of many valuable secondary metabolites that find a broad field of applications, ranging from the agrochemical to the pharmaceutical industries. Establishing a suitable source for extraction of phytochemicals is, however, not always straightforward. In many instances the production by chemical synthesis is not economically viable due to their complex structures and conservation issues may arise when they are harvested from natural sources. In vitro culture techniques offer an attractive alternative to these issues. Natural grown plants can be replaced by in vitro produced biomass with the advantage that several strategies can be implemented to increase production yields, such as genotype selection, altering growth conditions and use of elicitors, so that the higher investment costs are justified. Also, because plant tissue cultures can be generated on a continuous year-round basis without seasonal constraints, they can guarantee reliable and predictable production levels, which is of great importance for efficient process down-stream. Plant tissue culture techniques offer the possibility of establishing cultures from leaves, stems, roots and meristems, meaning that metabolites produced in specific plant organs can also be prospected. The successful production of a large number of phytochemicals from micropropagated biomass has been reported, and it seems that only in a few cases cultures fail to accumulate compounds of interest. The advantages and the range of possibilities offered by plant tissue culture techniques suggest that these might become a valuable and indispensable tool for the production of phytochemicals. In this work, the example of the prospection of plumbagin from micropropagated D. intermedia plants is described. Plumbagin is a naphthoquinone with potential pharmaceutical applications and results obtained by several hyphenated analytical techniques confirm that an end product with high purity and recoveries can be obtained from in vitro cultured plants.


Establishing the reproducibility of a measure is important to facilitate appropriate estimations of sample size for research and to make pragmatic assumptions concerning the usefulness of an intervention. The aim of this study was to quantify the reproducibility of laboratory based 20 and 40 km simulated time trials (TT), and the smallest worthwhile change in performance, in well-trained cyclists. With institutional ethics approval 11 welltrained male cyclists (age, 37.9i6.2 years, mass, 78.8i9.2 kg, VO2max, 4.78i0.30 l min21) completed three consecutive TT at each distance, the order of which was randomised and counterbalanced,
on an electromagnetically braked cycle ergometer (Velotron, RacerMate, Seattle). Participants were instructed to
complete each TT as fast as possible and feedback was given on distance elapsed every 10% of the trial. Data were log transformed before analysis. Change in the mean was assessed for learning effects between TT 1–2 and 2–3. The mean typical error with 90% confidence intervals, were used to quantify reproducibility. Smallest worthwhile change in performance was quantified as 0.2 of the between-participant standard deviation. There were no trends for
improved performance on repeat TTs (20 km 1–2=0.45%, 2–
3=0.21%. 40 km 1–2=23.2%, 2–3=2.2%). For 20 km, mean
power was 269i33 W, typical error was 2.9% (2.3 to 4.1%), and smallest worthwhile change was 2.4%. For 40 km, mean power was 235i33 W, typical error was 3.7% (2.9 to 5.3%) and smallest worthwhile change was 2.7%. These data are comparable with previous reproducibility studies on 20 (Sporer and McKenzie, 2007) and 40 km TT's. The results of the study can be used to determine sample sizes for future research, and for interpreting changes in performance in well-trained cyclists.


The article uses a original prefabricated steel bridge as example,briefly introduces the truss element calculation theory. Selecting different reinforcement, modeling of the reinforcement with the Midas / Civil program, emphatically analyze the stress and deflection of the full-bridge under each reinforcement, then comparison the results with the allowable value ,finally select a best reinforcement program,provides reinforcement and repair practical reference for fabricated steel truss bridge.


In this work, we compare sales, employees and total assets growth of Venture Capital (VC)-backed and non VC-backed New Technology-Based Firms (NTBFs). Our focus is on the type of investor, and in particular on the treatment effect that public venture capitalists (PUVCs), further distinguished into governmental and university funds, exert on the growth performances of European NTBFs. We consider a unique and recently constituted longitudinal dataset composed of 8391 NTBFs from seven European countries (Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, UK) and observed from 1984 (or subsequent foundation year) to 2009. The results of econometric estimates indicate that overall NTBFs financed by PUVCs underperform with respect to firms invested by private venture capitalists (PRVCs) in terms of growth (of any type), but that the impact of PUVC is still positive and significant when it comes from governmental rather than university sources and it is provided to very young NTBFs. This evidence highlights that "hands-on" governmental intervention in the venture capital market can be extremely valuable for NTBFs in the early stages of their lives.


We employed the membrane of 1‐palmitoyl‐2‐oleoyl‐sn‐glycero‐3‐phosphocholine (POPC) liposomes suspended in water as a microenvironment for carrying out the organocatalytic epoxidation of an α‐alkylidene oxindole. The reaction proceeds smoothly and displays diastereo‐ and enantio‐selectivity that differs from what is achieved under bulk solution conditions. The potential of organocatalytic approaches for synthetic transformations in aqueous phase in the presence of dispersed membranes is briefly discussed.


The utility model discloses a fuel pump. The fuel pump is provided with a dividing wall arranged between a high-pressure oil chamber (13) and a low-pressure oil chamber (12) in the manner of matching; a decompression oil cushion chamber (14), a flow-limiting wall and a stopping wall (41) are arranged between the dividing wall and the low-pressure oil chamber (12); the decompression oil cushion chamber (14) is divided into a decompression oil outflow cushion chamber (141) and a decompression oil inflow cushion chamber (142) by the flow-limiting wall; a rotor mounting part (11) is arranged at one end side of the fuel pump; and the high-pressure oil chamber (13), the low-pressure oil chamber (12) and the decompression oil cushion chamber (14) are arranged at the same side of the periphery of the rotor mounting part (11). The oil pumping efficiency of the fuel pump can be increased, and moreover, the fuel pump is compact in structure. The utility model also provides an integrally arranged engine front shroud of the fuel pump and an engine applying the engine front shroud.


Blockchain, as a distributed ledger technology, becomes increasingly popular, especially for enabling valuable cryptocurrencies and smart contracts. However, the blockchain software systems inevitably have many bugs. Although bugs in smart contracts have been extensively investigated, security bugs of the underlying blockchain systems are much less explored. In this paper, we conduct an empirical study on blockchain's system vulnerabilities from four representative blockchains, Bitcoin, Ethereum, Monero, and Stellar. Specifically, we first design a systematic filtering process to effectively identify 1,037 vulnerabilities and their 2,317 patches from 34,245 issues/PRs (pull requests) and 85,164 commits on GitHub. We thus build the first blockchain vulnerability dataset, which is available at https://github.com/VPRLab/BlkVulnDataset. We then perform unique analyses of this dataset at three levels, including (i) file-level vulnerable module categorization by identifying and correlating module paths across projects, (ii) text-level vulnerability type clustering by natural language processing and similarity-based sentence clustering, and (iii) code-level vulnerability pattern analysis by generating and clustering code change signatures that capture both syntactic and semantic information of patch code fragments. Our analyses reveal three key findings: (i) some blockchain modules are more susceptible than the others; notably, each of the modules related to consensus, wallet, and networking has over 200 issues; (ii) about 70% of blockchain vulnerabilities are of traditional types, but we also identify four new types specific to blockchains; and (iii) we obtain 21 blockchain-specific vulnerability patterns that capture unique blockchain attributes and statuses, and demonstrate that they can be used to detect similar vulnerabilities in other popular blockchains, such as Dogecoin, Bitcoin SV, and Zcash.


PURPOSE: A radiation ray-sensitive resin composition, a curing film, an array substrate, and a method for forming the same are provided to improve surface hardness, solvent resistance characteristic, and relative permittivity. CONSTITUTION: A radiation ray-sensitive resin composition includes copolymer, quinine diazide compound, and a hardener. The copolymer includes a first structural unit with carboxylic group and a second structural unit with epoxy group. The hardener is at least one selected from compound represented by chemical formula 1, compound represented by chemical formula 2, tertiary amine compound, amine salt, phosphonium salt, amidine salt, amide compound, ketimine compound, block isocyanate compound, imidazole ring containing compound, and inclusion compound. In chemical formula 1, R1 to R6 are respectively hydrogen atom, electron attracting group, or amino group; at least one of R1 to R6 is electron attracting group; at least one of R1 to R6 is amino group; and a part or whole of hydrogen atoms in the amino group is capable of being substituted with C1 to C6 alkyl group. In chemical formula 2, R7 to R16 is respectively hydrogen atom, electron attracting group, or amino group; at least one of R7 to R16 is amino group; a part or whole of hydrogen atoms in the amino group is capable of being substituted with C1 to C6 alkyl group; A is single bond, carbonyl group, carbonyloxy group, carbonylmethylene group, sulfonyl group, sulfinyl group, methylene group, or C2 to C6 alkylene group; a part or whole of hydrogen atoms in the methylene group and the alkylene group is capable of being substituted with cyano group, halogen atoms, or fluoroalkyl group.


Strength of granite under elevated temperatures is an important parameter governing the long-term stability of waste disposal boreholes.  The objective of this study is to experimentally determine the effects of elevated temperatures on the compressive strengths and elasticity of Tak granite.  The rock strength and deformability are determined under various temperatures and confining pressures.  The confining stresses are maintained constant at 0, 3, 7, to 12 MPa using a polyaxial load frame.  The rectangular block specimens have nominal dimensions of 5×5×10 cm3.  The testing temperatures are varied from 273 to 773 Kelvin.  The results indicate that the granite strength and elasticity exponentially decrease as the temperature increases.  The distortional strain energy criterion is proposed to describe the rock strengths as a function of mean strain energy.  The criterion fits well to the test results.  The proposed strength criterion is useful to predict the strength and deformation of granite around waste disposal boreholes under elevated temperatures.


This paper is about the design of an automated system to read the "Ownership
Code" [1] of intermodal containers as they are being loaded down from the
ship. The system used machine vision with cameras attached to the crane to get images
of container to be processed. Usefulness of this system lies in the implementation
of an early detection system for handling errors. It is a huge problem that crane
operator picks up the wrong container. If we discover it late, when the ship has gone,
it becomes almost a catastrophe for the handler. Nowadays, there are human operators
checking manually the correctness of loading/unloading. This new system arrives
to help them, generating alarms that could be issued before the crane releases
its load. Human supervision will still be necessary but will become more effective.


This paper is intented to deal with the effect of the dipping technology on fruit and vegetable chips in process of manufacture and analyses the selection and composition of the dipping liquid and the dipping technology itself as well


Divided emission correlation functions.Analytical results.The Raman state and the proper excited state.The spectral broadening mecanisms and the molecular pure dephasing mecanism.Non-Markovian effect:an analysis based on the stochastic model.


National discussions of health-care delivery systems have renewed the effort to identify empirically validated psychotherapies. Although the logic of efficacy studies in psychotherapy, which are used to empirically establish the efficacy of psychotherapy, is relatively simple, the validity of inferences from these studies are ambiguous and the focus on outcome obscures other important aspects of psychotherapy. Problems related to (a) common versus specific confounds, (b) difficulties in disproving the uniform efficacy supposition, and (c) hazards in standardizing treatments are discussed. These problems make developing criteria for establishing empirically validated treatments difficult; a currently proposed set of criteria for proving treatment efficacy is critiqued.Die in den USA gefuhrte Diskussion uber das System der Gesundheitsversorgung hat zur Erneuerung von Bemuhungen beigetragen, empirisch validierte Psychotherapien zu identifzieren. Obwohl die Logik von Effektivitatsstudien in der Psychotherapie...


The analysis of several government defense and intelligence agency large-scale acquisition programs that experienced significant cost and schedule growth shows that several critical factors need to be addressed in the preacquisition phase of the acquisition cycle. These include overzealous advocacy, technology readiness levels, life-cycle cost, schedule details, requirements maturity, acquisition and contract strategy, program office personnel tenure and experience, risk management, systems engineering, and trade studies. The results of this study–which incorporated data from industry responses, government and industry executive interviews, numerous studies, and reports–indicate that early preacquisition activities executed in a rigorous fashion can significantly reduce the risk of cost and schedule growth. In this paper, the root causes of the cost and schedule growth are discussed as well as techniques and alternatives to improve program performance.


The purpose of this study was to provide basic data on counseling, education, and treatment related to orthodontic practices through an understanding of the relationships between orthodontic treatment, oral health-related quality of life, and happiness of high school students. The subjects in this study were 500 students in Grades 1 ∼ 3 of a high school in Jeollabuk-do. We conducted a survey targeting this group; the results revealed the following: in the social support item, peer support showed significant differences in the matter of orthodontic treatment (p < 0.05). In oral health-related quality of life, the students without orthodontic treatment showed 14.09 scores that were higher than the students with treatment (p < 0.05). Regarding happiness, the students with orthodontic treatment showed higher scores which were significantly different from the those of the non-orthodontic treatment group (p < 0.05). Additionally, upon examining the correlations between self-esteem, social support, oral health-related quality of life, and happiness, oral health-related quality of life, peer support, and happiness showed the negative ( – ) correlations while the rest of the variables showed the positive correlations (p < 0.05). The factors having effects on oral health-related quality of life included the stress, matter of orthodontic treatment, and teachers support (p < 0.05). The factors having effects on happiness included self-esteem, peer support, and family support (p < 0.05). Based on the above results, even though dental orthodontic treatment had negative effects on oral health-related quality of life, it had positive effects on happiness. Consequently, it would seem necessary to seek active methods to increase oral health-related quality of life. This improvement could be achieved by minimizing inconveniences, such as mastication, in the process of dental orthodontic treatment, and developing programs that could enhance happiness.


Identification of regulatory elements and their target genes is complicated by the fact that regulatory elements can act over large genomic distances. Identification of long-range acting elements is particularly important in the case of disease genes as mutations in these elements can result in human disease. It is becoming increasingly clear that longrange control of gene expression is facilitated by chromatin looping interactions. These interactions can be detected by chromosome conformation capture (3C). Here, we employed 3C as a discovery tool for identification of long-range regulatory elements that control the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator gene, CFTR. We identified four elements in a 460-kb region around the locus that loop specifically to the CFTR promoter exclusively in CFTR expressing cells. The elements are located 20 and 80 kb upstream; and 109 and 203 kb downstream of the CFTR promoter. These elements contain DNase I hypersensitive sites and histone modification patterns characteristic of enhancers. The elements also interact with each other and the latter two activate the CFTR promoter synergistically in reporter assays. Our results reveal novel long-range acting elements that control expression of CFTR and suggest that 3C-based approaches can be used for discovery of novel regulatory elements. INTRODUCTION Appropriate spatial and temporal control of gene expression depends on regulatory input from cis-acting elements such as promoters, enhancers and repressors. Identification of these elements is challenging because they can be located far from their target gene, sometimes up to several megabases (1–3). Detailed knowledge of such distant regulatory elements and their mechanism of action will greatly contribute to basic understanding of gene expression. Abundant evidence suggests that human disease can be caused by mutations that affect distant regulatory elements, while leaving the disease gene itself intact. Examples include Aniridia, caused by loss of distant regulatory elements of the PAX6 gene, and blepharophimosis syndrome (BPES) that can be caused by deletion of regulatory elements located >600 kb from the FOXL2 gene (4,5). Regulatory elements are often characterized by the presence of DNase I hypersensitive sites (DHS), which can mark the position where transcription factors are bound to DNA. Other chromatin features found at distant regulatory elements are increased levels of H3K4me1 and histone acetylation (6,7). In addition, these sequences are often conserved across species (8,9). All these features can be used to identify putative functional elements and these powerful strategies are currently widely applied (10,11). However, these analyses do not immediately reveal the target genes of these regulatory elements. *To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel: +1 508 856 4371; Fax: +1 508 856 4650; Email: email@example.com Present addresses: Nele Gheldof, Center for Integrative Genomics, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland. Christoph M. Koch, Abbott GmbH & Co. KG, Max-Planck-Ring 2, 65205 Wiesbaden, P.O. Box 21 03, Wiesbaden 65011, Germany. The authors wish it to be known that, in their opinion, the first two authors should be regarded as joint First Authors. Published online 31 March 2010 Nucleic Acids Research, 2010, Vol. 38, No. 13 4325–4336 doi:10.1093/nar/gkq175 The Author(s) 2010. Published by Oxford University Press. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by-nc/2.5), which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. at M eical C eter Lrary on A ril 6, 2011 nar.oxjournals.org D ow nladed fom Regulatory elements can directly associate with target promoters through chromatin looping (1–3,12). These looping interactions can be detected using chromosome conformation capture, or 3C (13). The insight that regulatory elements physically associate with promoters provides a methodology to discover novel regulatory elements by performing systematic 3C analyses to search for genomic elements that are found to interact with a specific promoter. Here we tested the feasibility of such an approach by analysis of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) locus. Identification of extragenic regulatory elements for this locus (and other disease related loci) is especially important because (i) they could be screened for mutations in patients with no known mutations in the CFTR gene itself, and thus aid in proper diagnosis, and (ii) they could be included in gene therapy constructs (to recapitulate endogenous CFTR regulation). Finally, identification of CFTR regulatory elements will provide basic insights into the mechanisms that control expression of CFTR, which could also lead to new approaches to boost or manipulate CFTR expression in patients. The CFTR gene is, when both alleles are mutated, responsible for cystic fibrosis. It contains a promoter that has many characteristics of a housekeeping gene including potential binding sites for SP1 (14). Also present is a critical CCAAT-like element, shown to bind C/EBP (15), implicating cAMP as a possible regulator. Supporting a role for cAMP in CFTR regulation is data showing that cAMP activation of protein kinase A can regulate basal CFTR expression (16) and the discovery that CREB and ATF-1 bind the CFTR promoter in a cAMP-responsive manner (17). A YY1 element has also been identified that, when mutated, significantly increases the expression of CFTR (18). However, despite the abundance of regulatory elements in the CFTR promoter, it is clear that additional elements are required for the complex spatio-temporal expression pattern of the CFTR gene (19). Indeed, work from the Harris laboratory has identified additional putative regulatory elements located within introns of the gene, as well upand down-stream of the locus. For instance, HNF1a has been found to interact with a putative regulatory element in introns 1, 10, 17a and 20 and over-expression of this protein results in increased CFTR mRNA levels (20,21). Here we applied a systematic 3C analysis to a 460Kb chromosomal region surrounding the CFTR transcription start site (TSS). We examined different cell lines that either express or do not express the gene in order to identify regulatory elements that function specifically in CFTRexpressing cells. Our approach was validated by identification of previously discovered regulatory elements, e.g. an element located 203 Kb downstream of the promoter that coincides with a DHS [referred to as DHS4574+15.3 (22)] and that has been found to be able to act as an insulator (23). Importantly, we discovered an additional regulatory element: one located within intron 11 (109 kb downstream of the TSS) that interacts with the CFTR TSS exclusively in cells that express the gene. Additional 3C analyses allowed us to define the locations of long-rangeacting elements at 1 kb resolution. In CFTR expressing cells, these elements contain the characteristic features of known regulatory elements, such as the presence of a DHS and specific histone modification patterns. Interestingly, we find that regulatory elements also interact with each other, and in the case of the elements located 109 and 203Kb downstream of the TSS synergistically activate the CFTR promoter in reporter assays. These studies identify novel CFTR regulatory elements and provide insights into combinatorial control of the gene. Finally, these results provide strong evidence that 3C-based approaches provide tools for ab initio discovery of regulatory elements and their target genes. MATERIALS AND METHODS


The article contains sections titled:

1. Introduction
2. Preparatory Processes
2.1. Comminution
2.2. Size Separation
2.2.1. Screening
2.2.2. Classification
3. Physical Separation Processes
3.1. Radiation Sorting
3.2. Gravity Separation
3.3. Magnetic Separation
3.4. Electrostatic Separation
3.5. Separation Based on Surface Phenomena
4. Process Design Economics


Objective To evaluate the short-term curative effects and cosmetic effects of breast-conserving surgery plus adjuvant therapy on patients with early-stage breast cancer.Methods One hundred and fifty six patients of breast cancer in stage Ⅰ-Ⅱa treated with breast-conserving surgery from 1998 to 2005 were analyzed retrospectively.All patients were treated with breast lumps local expand resection and axillary lymph node dissections and radiotherapy 58-60 Gy,and those with invasive breast cancer were done adjuvant chemotherapy 4-8 cycles,after chemoradiation,those with hormone receptor-positive received tamoxifen or letrozole hormone therapy.Breast appearances were evaluated and survival conditions were followed-up.Results The surgical complications incidence rate of all cases was 15.4%,and cosmetic effects of all patients were classed into three grades:good(65.4%),fair(32.1%) and poor(2.5%).The 3-year overall survival rate of all cases was 95.5%,and 3-year disease-free survival of that was 92.3%,and total local recurrence rate was 6.4 %.Conclusion The breast-conserving surgery is effective in early-stage breast cancer;however,the strict control of preoperative indications as well as the postoperative standardized adjuvant therapy will be a guarantee of good efficacy for breast-conserving surgery.


A great variety of studies on workplace harassment has been approached by different working groups because they show organizational and individual conditions that facilitate the development of this problem; for that reason the present study carries out a systematic review of scientific research on mobbing on university staff, using the following databases as a collection tool: La Referencia, EBSCO, Web of Science, Scielo and SCOPUS. The study included research published in the period between the years2000 and 2019. The approach of the studies analyzed was quantitative and mixed, with a non-experimental and cross-sectional design, and a correlational and descriptive scope. With respect to the instruments used, the importance of theoretical updating and validation is highlighted, as well as the need to implement and create new instruments to measure this phenomenon. In the same way, research about mobbing on university staff in the workplace is encouraged, considering the analysis of sex differences and harassment behaviors.


Catalytic hydrotreating of Athabasca bitumen using conventional, commercial catalysts is severely limited by the nature of the feedstock. Oil-sands bitumens have high concentrations of iron, vanadium and nickel, a high +525/sup 0/C fraction, and high asphaltene components. These lead to rapid catalyst deactivation through the formation of coke on external and internal surfaces and through the precipitation of poisoning metals onto the active surfaces. Several methods have been suggested for alleviating the short catalyst life and high operating cost expected for hydrotreating and hydrocracking of bitumen. In this paper results are reported from the investigation of the effects of variation in catalyst physical parameters on several measures of conversion. The data for sulfur removal, asphaltene removal, and hydrogen to carbon ratio all indicate that constant conversions are obtained with catalysts having pore diameters between 7.5 nm and 50 nm. The increase in rate of mass transfer with the larger pores is accompanied by a decrease in surface area. These two effects combined to produce the relatively constant conversions. However, the data do suggest that higher conversions would have been obtained if a large pore catalyst (say 50 nm) having a high surface area (say 150 m/sup 2/g/sup -1/) could havemore » been prepared. The optimum pore size would have to be established by a series of life tests. Mass transfer effects and metal foulant dispersion would have to be established by a series of life tests. Mass transfer effects and metal foulant dispersion would be improved with large pore catalysts. Conversely the quality and quantity of coke on the small pore catalysts would be preferable. One of these effects could be more important than the others in choosing the optimum pore size for a hydrocracking catalyst.« less


A new study on HIV infection and AIDS in South Africa has shown that children aged 2 to 14 years have an infection rate of 5.6%, leading to worries that South Africa's other epidemic—child abuse—is linked to the spread of HIV.

The Nelson Mandela/HSRC [Human Sciences Research Council] study of HIV and AIDS released last week draws for the first time on a representative sample of the local population including all ages and population groups. The most frequently used survey, done annually …


This paper presents an implementation framework to perform a vision-guided, bat-like inverted perching maneuver with a bi-directional thrust quadrotor platform. The framework consists of several distinct modules (guidance, motion planning, control, state estimation) that can be easily be individually customized in the future to meet specific research requirements. The main contribution of this paper lies in the whole framework pipeline with a modular structure developed for implementing a generalized framework for an agile quadrotor to achieve inverted perching. A computationally-light guidance module has been developed as an example to demonstrate the capability while being independent of accurate pre-known target information, and does not require the state estimation of the quadrotor to be provided by an external motion capture system as in our previous work. A motion planning module based on an optimization method has been introduced to generate a two-stage inverted perching trajectory aiming at minimizing altitude loss during the half-flip maneuver. A control module has been developed to enable a bi-directional quadrotor to fly in both upright and inverted states and closely follow the intended trajectory. The compensation strategy used in the control module is key to minimizing the transition time between the upright and inverted states. Finally, an experimental flight platform has been developed to demonstrate the capabilities of the framework. During testing, the proposed framework has achieved an 80 % success rate. To the best of our knowledge, this paper presents the first time a quadrotor has achieved the inverted perching maneuver using onboard vision guidance.


The levels of total PCBs, Co-PCBs and PCDD/Fs in the transformer insulation oil samples obtained using GC/ECD and HRGC/HRMS were ranged from N.D. to 77.3 ppm, from 0.0863 to 2.49 ppm and from N.D. to 0.00241 ppm, respectively. In terms of WHO-TEQ values, Co-PCBs and PCDD/Fs were ranged from 23.3 to 600 pgTEQ/g and from N.D. to 128 pgTEQ/g, respectively (-PCBs+PCDD/Fs concentration was calculated 24.4~728 pgTEQ/g). Although, the contribution of PCDD/Fs was below 12% in total TEQ concentration, it is suggested contamination of PCDD/Fs in transformer insulation oils. Among 10 samples, 4 samples showed higher concentration than 2 ppm (specific waste criterion of Korea) and Aroclor 1242, 1248, 1254 and 1260 was detected in samples as a single or mixture of Aroclor. It was shown reliable relationship between concentration of Co-PCBs and those of PCDD/Fs (p


Liquid carboxyl terminated polybutadiene(CTPB) was aged at various temperature and analized for the physicochemical properties. The CTPB properties were degraded with the aging time and temperature. CTPB thermal degradation was observed due to the decomposition of carboxyl functional group situated at the end of butadiene chain. The activation energy for carboxyl group decreasing rate from arrhenius plot was found to be 19.5kcal/mole. Solid composite propellants were manufactured with aged CTPB and mechanical properties and gel contents were tested. The mechanical properties of propellants decreased with the degree of CTPB aging condition, because the reactivity of aged CTPB was reduced.


This research aims to analyze the success of artificial insemination in dairy
cows that never litter, determine which are the base village development of dairy
cows and determine a strategy for the development of dairy cows in Pacet
subdistrict of Mojokerto.
Fifty-three samples of breeders that have females that dairy cows never
litter is determined using the formula slovin and gathering primary data obtained
through questionnaire against the inseminator, dairy farmers, veterinarians,
Village Unit Cooperative Agribusiness Dana Mulya Pacet subdistrict of Mojokerto
and expert Department of livestock and fisheries Mojokerto analyzed descriptive
statistics, scale linkert, location quation (LQ) and SWOT analysis.
The conclusion to this study stated that the research was obtained at Non
Return Rate (NRR) 68,2615%, Service per Conception (S/C) on this research
obtained 2.0629 ± 1.21, Conception Rate (CR) on this research obtained
69.2318% and Calving Rate (CvR) content on this research obtained 67,9739% so
the success rate of artificial insemination in dairy cows Pacet subdistrict of
Mojokerto is declared successful. Gondang Subdistrict LQ 1.4846 ≥ 1, then the
sector is a sector sentra, Pacet Subdistrict LQ 6.4162 ≥ 1, then the sector is the
sector of the base with a population of 1,533 dairy cow tail, and LQ Subdistrict
Sooko 9.5561 ≥ 1, then the sector is a sector sentra even though the population of
dairy cows only 228 of the tail. From these it appears that Kecamatan third LQ,
LQ Pacet Subdistrict shows the largest numbers unless the eviction occurs the area
then the LQ definitely changed. The appropriate strategy for the development of
agribusiness dairy cows in a dairy Center area of Pacet subdistrict of Mojokerto is
a growth strategy through horizontal integration by expanding or improving
economies of scale through joint ventures or partners with the pattern of the other
party.


The dynamical evolution of bright screening-photovoltaic (SP) spatial optical solitons in biased photovoltaic- photorefractive materials is investigated under steady-state condition. Our numerical study indicates that these SP solitons are stable against small perturbations whereas optical beams that significantly differ from soliton solutions tend to experience larger cycles of compression and expansion.


A color television receiver having a system for controlling the color saturation in which either of a divided dc voltage signal of a dc source or a mean-rectified dc signal of the output of a band pass amplifier in the color signal circuit can be selectively derived through a change-over switch and applied to said band pass amplifier through a common variable resistance to control the gain of said band pass amplifier and thereby control the color saturation.


The objective of this study was to evaluate the tolerance of piavas ( Leporinus obtusidens ) to ammonia (NH3) by measuring its effects on plasma ion levels and tissue metabolic parameters. Piava juveniles (25-30 g) were exposed to five concentrations of NH3 (mg L-1): 0.003 (control), 0.1, 0.4, 0.7, and 1.4; after 96 hours, plasma levels of Na+, K+, Cl- and NH4+ ions and metabolic and enzyme activity in tissues (liver, kidneys, gills and muscle) were measured. The lethal concentration (LC50; 96h) of NH3 was 0.27 mg L-1. As NH3 increased, Na+ and NH4+ in the plasma increased and K+ decreased. In addition, Na+/K+- ATPase activity concomitantly increased in the gills and decreased in the kidneys. Glucose, glycogen, and protein levels decreased, while lactate and ammonia increased in the tissues of piava juveniles that were treated with higher concentrations of ammonia. The observed lethal toxicity could be due to a gradual depletion of plasma ion levels and a reduction of metabolic and Na+/K+-ATPase activity in tissues. Both can lead to dysfunction in ionoregulatory and physiological systems. This finding has implications for the management of fish culture of piavas.


A SAW tapped delay line operated in the baseband region is used to implement a programmable transversal filter. Programmability is achieved by controlling the tap weights through OAC multipliers. variety of processing functions, including realtime Hilbert transformation and inverse filtering, is described. The system


The invention provides an HBA compatibility processing method, device and system. The HBA compatibility processing method includes the steps that a multi-path processing device analyzes input/output I/O of virtual discs and determines physical discs corresponding to the I/O, the multi-path processing device obtains HBA properties of all physical discs on an operating system and determines HBA properties of the physical discs corresponding to the I/O according to the HBA properties of all the physical discs on the operating system, the multi-path processing device judges whether HBA properties of the virtual discs are compatible with the HBA properties of the physical discs corresponding to the I/O or not, forwards the I/O to the physical discs corresponding to the I/O if yes, conducts compatibility conversion on the I/O according to the HBA properties of the physical discs corresponding to the I/O and the HBA properties of the virtual discs if not, and forwards the I/O undergoing the compatibility conversion to the physical discs corresponding to the I/O. According to the HBA compatibility processing method, device and system, HBAs with different structures are supported through multiple paths.


We apply the factorization technique developed by Kuru et al. (Ann. Phys. (N.Y.), 323 (2008) 413) to obtain the exact analytical classical trajectories and momenta of the continuum states of the non-Hermitian but symmetric Scarf II potential. In particular, we observe that the strange behaviour of the quantum version at the spectral singularity has an interesting classical analogue.


Grapevine is a popular cultivated fruit throughout the world and heat stress is one of the most serious threats to viticulture. However, transcriptional responses, such as molecular properties of photosynthesis and abscisic acid biosynthesis, metabolism and signal transduction pathway of grapevine to heat stress, are still poorly understood. In this study, RNA-seq was carried out for thermostabilized grapevine 'Kyoho' leaves. Results showed that 685 and 469 genes were commonly down-regulated and up-regulated at three sampling time-points. The light-dependent reactions of photosynthesis was significantly enriched in up-regulated DEGs at 1 hpt and down-regulated DEGs at R24 hpt. Heat stress impaired the photosynthetic capacity of grapevine leaves, and there was a significant positive relationship between photosynthesis and stomatal conductance at short-term post-heat stress treatment, but the inhibition of HS on Pn was non-stomata limitation for a longer period. Photosystem (PS)Ⅱ was more sensitive to heat stress than PSⅠ, and PsbP, as well as Psb28, played important roles in response to heat stress. The abscisic acid (ABA) content in heat-stress-treated Kyoho plants was higher than that in the control at 1 hpt, but less in heat-stress-treated plants at 4 and R24 hpt, which was regulated by numerous genes involved in the ABA biosynthesis and catabolism pathways. These results help to understand the influence of heat stress on photosynthesis and ABA biosynthesis, metabolism and signal transduction pathway.


In this paper is presented a method for constructing diagrams illustrating the strength of landing gear structures for various combinations of loads. The diagrams show graphically the maximum combinations of vertical-drag and vertical-side loads which a landing gear can sustain without failure. Strength diagrams for several different airplanes are presented and their significance is discussed. * The charts facilitate a comparison of landing gear strengths, are useful in determining the effect of physical changes to the gear structure, and are helpful in the derivation of suitable ground load strength requirements.


RICHARD F. HAMILTON. Who Voted for Hitler? Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1982. Pp. xv, 664. $50 and $16.50 (US); MICHAEL H. KATER. The Nazi Party: A Social Profile of Members and Leaders 1919–1945. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1983. Pp. xiv, 415. $50 (US).


This is a statement by Mr. Mohamed Boussaid, Minister of Economy and Finance of the Kingdom of Morocco, on behalf of the Constituency of Afghanistan, Algeria, Ghana, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Kingdom of Morocco, Pakistan, and Tunisia at the eighty-ninth meeting of the Development Committee held on April 12, 2014.


The fine tradition of the Chinese Communist Party's maintaining the leading role of ideological and political education has taken shape in the long history of the Chinese revolution and construction.It mainly concludes the theory concerning the leading role of ideological and political education,as well as the leading goal,content,and method of socialist ideological and political education.The main characteristics of upholding the leading role of ideological and political education are the Party's emphasis on the unity and long term of the leading goal,the critical character and national characteristic of the leading content,and the creative inheritance of the leading method.


Prospective issues of the organization of modeling technology for studying the climatic and ecological processes and solving the practical environmental problems are discussed. The combination of process models and observational data as well as the construction of numerical schemes is carried out within the framework of the variational principle with weak constraints. Some of the basic models, developed in the ICM and MG of the SB RAS for climate-ecological research, are presented.


EUV photoresists are considered as a potential source of optics contamination, since they introduce irradiation-induced outgassing in the EUV vacuum environment. Therefore, before these resists can be used on e.g. ASML NXE:3100 or NXE:3300, they need to be tested in dedicated equipment according to a well-defined procedure, which is based on exposing a witness sample (WS) in the vicinity of a simultaneously exposed resist as it outgasses. Different system infrastructures are used at multiple sites (e.g. NIST, CNSE, Sematech, EIDEC, and imec) and were calibrated to each other by a detailed test plan. Despite this detailed tool qualifications, a first round robin comparison of identical materials showed inconsistent outgas test results, and required further investigation by a second round robin. Since the resist exposure mode is different at the various locations (some sites are using EUV photons while others use E-gun electrons), this difference has always a point of concern for variability of test results. In this work we compare the outgas test results from EUV photon and electron exposure using the resist materials of the second round robin. Since the imec outgas tester allows both exposure methods on the resist, a within-system comparison is possible and showed limited variation between photon and electron exposure mode. Therefore the system-to-system variability amongst the different outgas test sites is expected to be related to other parameters than the electron/photon exposure mode. Initial work showed that the variability might be related to temperature, E-gun emission excursion, and/or residual outgassing scaled by different wafer areas at the different sites.


While orbiting the Sun, the Earth and the other planers in our solar system are ex posed to an outflow of plasma from the Sun. This is the solar wi nd, which largely determines the particle environment o f the planets, as well as their magnetospheric properties. Long-tenn exposure Lo the solar wind may have had signjficant cffectc; on planetary atmospheres in some cases. Mars is a particu larly interesting example, as the Martian atmosphere was once much thicker than it is today, and the erosive effects of solar wind exposure are commonly believed to be responsible for itc; depletion (see Ch. 8; also Jakosky et al .. 1994; Atreya et al., 2013). The solar wind does not expand indefinitely. Eventually it runs into the interstellar medium (ISM), the ex tre mely low-particle-density e nvironment that exists in between the stars. Our Sun is moving relative to the ISM that surrounds the planetary system, so we see a flow of interstellar matter in the heliocentric rest frame, coming from the direction of the constellation Ophiuchus. The interaction between the solar wind and the ISM flow determines the large-scale structure of our he liosphere. which basically defines the extent of the solar wind's reach into our Galactic environment. Other stars are naturally surrounded by their own "astrospheres" (allernatively "asterospheres"') defined by the s trength of their own stellar winds, the nature of the ISM in their Galactic neighborhoods, and their rnlative motion. Much as the Earth's magnetosphere plays a role in protecting the Earth's atmosphere from direct and potentially damaging expo,.ure to the solar wind, the global heliosphere has its own role to play in shielding the planets that exist inside it from high-energy pmticles, called Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCRs), that pe rmeate the Ga laxy (see Vo l. U, Ch. 9; and Vol. III, Ch. 9). Some of these GCRs do penetrate into the inner heliosphere and encounter Ea1th. The extent to which they have influenced our planet and the evolution of life is debatable, but cosmic rays cause radi ation damage and mutations in DNA (Dartncll, 20 I I). There are also c laims


The (Independent Police Complaints Commission) IPCC have released annual statistics regarding complaints to police services (7 October 2015). North ...


Group theory is an extremely powerful mathematical tool for many physical problems, in particular for classification of quantum states by exploiting their symmetry. In this paper, we address symmetry properties of single- and double-excited subradiant states and show how they can be useful for experimental design of sidewise excitation method for generation of subradiant states. Experimental realization of the considered method can be achieved using superconducting qubits in circuit quantum electrodynamics.


The statistical dynamical diffraction theory (SDDT) provides a method for performing high resolution X‐ray diffraction (HRXRD) analyses from materials that contain high levels of structural imperfection. SDDT is implemented by combining kinematical and dynamical diffraction formalisms into a single framework through the inclusion of two parameters (a static Debye–Waller factor and a correlation length) that can provide an adjustable coupling between the kinematic and dynamic extremes. Typically one of the prominent difficulties in implementing SDDT is the mathematical complexities that are characteristic of this theory. Recently we have demonstrated a simplified realization of SDDT [Shreeman and Matyi, J. Appl. Crystallogr. 43, 550 (2010)] that preserves the essential features of the theory while allowing it to be applied to a variety of structures. Here we show the viability of this approach by fitting various experimental HRXRD data from highly defective and partially relaxed Si0.70Ge0.30 ion implanted heterostructures. This study demonstrates the capabilities the SDDT theory provides for HRXRD analyses of highly defective semiconductor materials.


: Hypodontia is one of the most common dental developmental anomalies. It is the congenital agenesis of less than six teeth excluding the third molars.  Hypodonita causes aesthetic and/or functional problems because they are usually involve the anterior region of the maxilla and mandible. This is a case report of a young male, aged 8  and half  years reported to a private dental clinic by his parents with a chief complaint of spaces between his upper and lower anterior teeth. Clinical and radiographic examination revealed bilateral agenesis of both the maxillary permanent lateral and mandibular central incisors. Proper examination and diagnosis particularly in young children is important to make a correct and rational treatment plan and avoid complications. The treatment of hypodontia requires an interdisciplinary approach that includes, orthodontics, paedodontics and restorative dentistry. tegrative and Complementary Practices (NPICP), not only rescue these knowledge, but also seek to provide greater security in the use of elements of rustic medicine. Health professionals are responsible for familiarizing themselves with these traditional therapeutic methods as they actively participate in their diffusion through health education practices that value popular knowledge as a valid therapeutic resource.


This paper aims to demonstrate some solutions of a new method for constructing modal interfaces for information structure of a smart Gallery, which allows using the context-oriented calculations and subject-oriented knowledge base to offer the user the most suitable interface, based on available resources, situations, context, preferences and constraints. The developed foundations are based on subject-oriented knowledge bases.


The effects of the changing of the impurity composition of anode slime upon the process in Guixi Smelter, Jiangxi Copper Company Ltd. are introduced, and the optimized processes and measurements, used to remove impurities such as bismuth, antimony, arsenic and selenium from anode slime, are also put forward.


AIM: To investigate the effect of PYY on NO and iNOS in rats with severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) by detecting NO content and iNOS expression in the pancreatic tissues of rats. METHODS: Being randomly divided into SAP group and treatment group equally in number, 40 rats were injected intraperitoneally with 60 g/L L-arginine to induce SAP models. The treatment group was given PYY (0.8 pmol/g) by subcutaneous injection immediately after the first L-arginine injection, and 0.8 pmol/g PYY was given 10 times altogether at an interval of 4 h, and the SAP group was given 9 g/L NaCl, the dose and method as L-arginine. 48 h after the beginning of modeling, the contents of NO in the homogenates of pancreatic heads were determined with nitrate reductase, and the expressions of iNOS in the pancreatic tails were evaluated after immunohistochemistry staining. RESULTS: iNOS high expression rate and NO content in the pancreatic tissues of the SAP group were 0.90 and (68±3) μmol/g, while they were 0.10 and (22±5) μmol/g respectively in the treatment group. And NO content in pancreas in treatment group was significantly lower than that in SAP group (P0.05), so was the high expression rate of iNOS. CONCLUSION: PYY has a protective effect on acute pancreatitis by inhibiting the NO production and the expression of iNOS in pancreatic tissues.


The speciation of C-O-H-N volatiles and silicate components in fluids and solubility and solution mechanisms of C-O-H-N volatiles in aluminosilicate melts have been determined experimentally, mostly i n s it u with the sample at high temperature and pressure corresponding to those of the upper mantle, as a function of melt composition and redox conditions. In silicate-O-H systems, molecular H 2 O and OH groups linked to the silicate network exist in silicate and aluminosilicate-saturated fluids and in water-saturated melts. The delta H of the water speciation equilibrium, H 2 O+O=2OH, is ˜30 kJ/mol. The delta H of hydrogen bonding is ˜10 and ˜20 kJ/mol for melt and fluid, respectively. Hydrogen bonding is not detected above about 500 deg C. Silicate speciation in fluid and in melt comprises similar Q-species with delta H of the solution reaction ˜400 kJ/mol. In silicate-C-O-H systems, under oxidizing conditions (such as that controlled by the magnetite-hematite, MH, buffer, for example) the CO 2 solubility in melts, where it exists as molecular CO 2 and CO 3 groups, is in the 1-4wt% range between ˜1 and 3 GPa and upper mantle temperatures. Its solution mechanism is CO 2 +Q n =CO 3 +Q n +1 . This equilibrium probably shifts to the right with temperature and left with pressure [1]. Alkalis and alkaline earths dissolve in C-O-H fluid as complexes with CO 3 . Silicate is not detectable in CO 2 fluid. Methane, The behavior of carbonate minerals under high pressures is important in our understanding of the geochemical cycle of carbon in the deep mantle. Magnesium and calcium carbonate minerals dominate the Earth's interior. Magnesite, MgCO3, is a naturally occurring carbonate mineral and is stable over a wide range of pressure and temperature. In contrast, calcium carbonate (CaCO3) occurs in three structural forms: calcite, aragonite, and vaterite. Calcite is stable under ambient conditions, and adopts several different modifications (calcite I-V), whereas aragonite is thermodynamically stable at high pressures and high temperature corresponding to the upper mantle conditions. Dolomite (MgCaC2O6) is stable up to the mantle pressures. Therefore, the behavior of magnesite, aragonite, and dolomite are important for an understanding of the circulation of carbon from the crust to the upper mantle. Recent advances in geophysical observations have allowed to map the electrical conductivity of the Earth's mantle. Electrical conductivity measurements on carbonates at high pressures and high temperatures can contribute towards an estimation of the distribution of carbonate rocks in the deep mantle. In this study, we have determined the electrical conductivities of three carbonates up to 6 GPa and 1000 K using in situ complex impedance spectroscopy in a multi-anvil high-pressure apparatus. These measurements allowed us to quantify the effects of pressure, temperature, and chemical composition. The electrical conductivity of magnesite increased with increasing pressure. The activation enthalpy also increased with increasing pressure. The effect of pressure was interpreted as being the activation volume in the Arrhenius equation. The negative activation volume and relatively large activation energy observed in this study suggests that the hopping of large polarons is the dominant mechanism for the electrical conductivity over the pressure and temperature range investigated [1]. In the case of aragonite, a decrease in the electrical conductivity with increasing pressure was observed. The calculated activation enthalpy increased with increasing pressure. The positive activation volume observed in this study suggests that ionic conduction is the dominant mechanism over the pressure and temperature range investigated [2]. The electrical conductivity of aragonite was higher than that of magnesite. The electrical conductivity of dolomite was similar to the value of magnesite. According to our data, the electrical conductivities of carbonates can be described as a function of pressure, temperature, and chemical composition. Our new data can contribute to interpret the electrical conductivity map of the Earth's interior. [1] Viscosity is an important property of magma (silicate melt), because it controls the transportation of magma in the planetary interior. Traditionally, viscosity at high pressure was measured in quenching experiments. At the beginning a metallic sphere was places at the top of a sample chamber. The falling velocity was determined from the falling distance during the molten period of sample. The movement of a metallic sphere in a sample chamber was recorded in X-ray radiography image. We have used this technique to determine the pressure, temperature and compositional dependence of the viscosity of silicate melts. The main goal of our study is to determine the effect of dissolving carbon dioxide on the viscosity of silicate melts at high pressure. It has been known that volatiles are dissolved in natural magmas and affects the physical properties. However, very few studies have been performed to investigate the effect of carbon dioxide on the viscosity of silicate melts at mantle pressures. In the present study, the viscosity of carbon-dioxide bearing CaMgSi2O6 and NaAlSi2O6 composition melts have been determined up to 5 GPa. We installed an X-ray radiography system at the NE7A station at High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK) in Tsukuba, Japan. A charge?coupled device (CCD) camera with a YAG:Ce fluorescence screen was used to obtain the X-ray absorption contrast image. High-pressure was generated using a Kawai type multi-anvil apparatus, which was driven by a DIA type guide block in the MAX-III system. The pressure was determined by using an equation of state for MgO. A pure-Ge solid sate detector was used to collect the X-ray diffraction data of the pressure standard by energy-dispersive method. The starting mixture was synthesized from reagents at 1 atm. A powder mixture of oxides and carbonates were fused and quenched to make a glass. Carbonate powder was finally added as a source of carbon dioxide. Structural study has suggested that the CaMgSi2O6 composition melt is depolymerized. The viscosity of pure CaMgSi2O6 melt increases with increasing pressure. By the addition of 1.0 wt % of carbon dioxide produces about 50% decrease under pressure. NaAlSi2O6 composition melt has polymerized structure. In our previous study, we observed the decrease of viscosity of the pure NaAlSi2O6 melt with elevating pressure. In this study, we measured the viscosity of NaAlSi2O6 + 0.5 wt% CO2 melt. The viscosity of CO2-bearing NaAlSi2O6 melt decreases by about one order of magnitude. Our results suggest that the viscosity of the polymerized silicate and aluminosilicate melts are relatively reduced by the addition of CO2, because CO2 depolymerizes the SiO4 and AlO4 networks. Diamond is known to be the hardest material, which is synthesized by high-pressure and high-temperature or chemical vapor deposition techniques. Successful synthesis of sintered bodies of polycrystalline diamond was first reported in 2003, which was found to have peculiar nano-textures and very high hardness. We have recently succeeded to produce such nano-polycrystalline diamond (NPD) with linear dimensions of up to 1 cm, which has been used for various industrial and scientific applications. Here I will review current status of synthesis of NPD and its applications to high-pressure experiments, industrial tools, and synthesis of novel polycrystalline materials. Carbon, the fourth most cosmic abundant element in the solar system, has a key role in the melting phase relations and redox conditions of mantle rocks and can move within the mantle as carbonate-rich melts and volatiles (Dasgupta et al., 2013; Stagno et al., 2013). Carbonate carbon and organic carbon, the two solid forms of carbon in the surface of the Earth, is recycled to the mantle by subduction processes. The mass balance between the surface and mantle carbon inventories has been a topic of hot debate (Dasgupta et al., 2013), where the carbon isotopic composition serves as an efficient tool to understand the carbon cycle, both in the shallow and deep Earth environments. Recently, the presence of light carbon isotope-bearing diamonds was considered to provide evidence for deep cycling of surface carbon of the organic matter origin (Walter et al., 2011), however recent experimental results in the Fe-C system suggests an alternate possibility of light carbon can exist in the core (Satish-Kumar et al., 2011). Therefore, it is essential to understand the carbon isotope fractionation processes taking place in the mantle during carbonated mantle melting conditions in order to clearly interpret the movement of carbon in the deep Earth. Here, we present results on experimental determination of partitioning of carbon isotopes at high-pressure and high-temperature conditions, analogous to melting of carbonated mantle in the presence of graphite/diamond, and discuss the carbon mobility in the mantle. High-pressure experiments were performed in the Mg-Si-C-O system using a Kawai type multi-anvil high-pressure apparatus at the Institute for Study of the Earths Interior, Okayama University, Misasa, Japan. Starting materials comprise of natural enstatite, synthetic magnesite, San Carlos olivine and pure graphite, that were mixed in the molar ratio 3:2:1:3. This mixture is assumed as simplified carbonated harzburgite in a upper mantle, with excess carbon. Experiments were carried out at pressures of 5 and 10 GPa at varying temperature conditions between 1100 C and 1800 C. Retrieved samples from HPHT experimental runs were mounted in epoxy and cut into two halves where one half was used for petrographic observations and the other half for carbon isotope measurements. Run products were mechanically and/or chemically separated and carbon isotope measurements were carried out using a conventional gas source isotope rati


Chronic gastritis has a high incidence in adults, causing progressive destruction of glandular structures, favoring the development of gastric atrophy. The association of chronic gastritis with intestinal type metaplasia of gastric mucosa has a poor outcome as intestinal metaplasia is regarded as a precancerous lesion. Metaplasia is common in patients with Helicobacter pylori infection. The aim of our study was to study chronic gastritis and its association with H.pylori and intestinal metaplasia. The study was conducted on a total of 800 patients, aged between 20 and 60 years, who presented for dyspeptic disorders in the period 2015–2016 and were examined clinically and endoscopically. During the gastroscopic examination, fragments of gastric mucosa were collected for the histopathological study and for detection of H.pylori infection. For the histopathological study, Hematoxylin–Eosin was performed, while for identifying H.pylori infection, giemsa stain was done. A diagnosis of gastritis was established in 390 patients, representing approximately 48.75% of all cases. Most cases with gastritis were found in people of middle age. Gastritis was present in almost all age groups. Of the 390 cases of gastritis, histopathological examination identified the presence of intestinal metaplasia in 45.64% of patients with chronic gastritis, and h.pylori positive was found in 51% of patients with chronic gastritis. This study highlights the association of chronic gastritis and H.pylori and the presence of intestinal metaplasia, which is a precancerous condition.


Objective To investigate the protective effect of Cipangopaludina chinensis polysaccharide on alcoholic hepatic injury in mice. Methods Kunming mice were randomly divided into 6groups:a normal control group,a model group,apositive control group,agroup given a low dose of C.chinensis polysaccharide,agroup given a medium dose, and a group given a high dose.Mice in all groups except the normal control group were perfused with the 56℃ Red Star white wine(12ml/kg)for 10dto cause alcoholic hepatic injury.The three groups given C.chinensis polysaccharide were given different doses of C.chinensis polysaccharide once a day for 10d.The positive control group was perfused with the traditional Chinese medicine Yiganling(80mg/kg).The normal control group was given an equal volume of saline for the same duration.After the latest perfusion,blood was drawn from the eyeball,and levels of serum ALT and AST were determined.A liver homogenate was prepared to detect MDA and GSH content and SOD activity.Pathological changes in liver tissue were observed. Results Groups given the medium dose and high dose of C.chinensis polysaccharide had lower serum levels of ALT and AST(ALT:46.22±10.61and 43.06±11.18;AST:135.64±24.53and 119.17± 23.17)compared to the model group(ALT:66.71±15.46;AST:196.22±42.13,P0.05or P0.01).Groups given the low,medium,and high dose of C.chinensis polysaccharide had increased SOD activity(161.36±15.67,170.69± 14.73,and 175.12±16.77)compared to the model group(140.86±13.36,P0.05).Groups given the medium and high dose of C.chinensis had increased GSH content(237.44±43.37and 248.96±33.10)compared to the model group(202.62±39.88,P0.05).Groups given the low,medium,and high dose of C.chinensis polysaccharide had decreased MDA content(1.37±0.39,1.18±0.26,and 1.10±0.28)compared to the model group(1.84±0.57,P0.05or P 0.01).C.chinensis polysaccharide significantly alleviated damage to liver tissue. Conclusion C.chinensis polysaccha-ride has action to protect the liver from alcoholic injury.