In order to understand eco-hydrology effect of forest soil in Liuxihe small watershed,soil physical characteristics and water conservation characteristics of evergreen broadleaf forest,bamboo forest and litchi forest in Liuxihe small watershed were measured by cutting ring method. The test results showed that: (1)soil bulk density of three types of forest increased with soil layer depth. Soil bulk densities 0—60 cm depth were ranked in the order of litchi forest (1. 45 g/cm3), broadleaf forest(1. 22 g/cm3),bamboo forest (1. 11 g/cm3). (2)Porosity of three types of forest decreased with the soil depth. In 0—60 cm depth,total porosity and capillary porosity of bamboo forest were the max in three types of forest,and total porosity of litchi forest and evergreen broadleaf forest were almost the same. Non-capillary porosities in 0—60 cm depth were ranked in the order of broadleaf forest (11. 51 % ),bamboo forest(7. 38 % ),and litchi forest(5. 91 % ). (3) Water storage capacity in 0—60 cm depth were ranked in the order of broadleaf forest (63. 39 mm),bamboo forest (41.86 mm),and litchi forest(33.96 mm). Water draught capacity of 0—60 cm soil depth were ranked in the order of broadleaf forest (65. 44 mm),bamboo forest(43. 59 mm),and litchi forest(34. 68 mm). Therefore,forest of Liuxihe watershed had good effect on soil physical characteristics,and the water conservation capacity of broadleaf forest was better than that of bamboo and litchi forest.


Polyphenol oxidase is a key enzyme involved in the sclerotization of new cuticular layer of insect.In order to study the function and characters of polyphenol oxidase from the wild silkworm Phthonandria atrineata,isolation and purification methods of polyphenol oxidase from Phthonandria atrineata were explored.Crude polyphenol oxidase was extracted from the 5th instar larvae with sodium phosphate extraction buffer.Partially purified polyphenol oxidase was obtained through 80% saturated(NH4)2SO4,precipitation dialysis,and Sephadex G-100 gel filtration from the crude enzyme.This protocol had a purification factor of 6.28,yield factor of 3.34%,and enzyme specific activity of 812.81U/mg.


A coupling system (10) TRANSFERRED FLUIDS FROM A CARTRIDGE CONTAINER drugs until an injection, comprising: a flow channel liquid cannulated blunt (16) defining the distal end of the channel, a needle cannula (18) defining the proximal end of the channel and mechanisms to fixedly connecting cannula cannula NEEDLE WITH blunted.


A model of the dynamics of intradaily exchange rates is presented. The current Over-The-Counter (OTC) exchange rate is the quote of the quoting bank.Two polar cases are considered: (i) If each bank is able to observe the noises relative to the orders of its own clients, then the OTC exchange rate is shown to obey a random walk with a constant conditional variance. (ii) If each bank is not able to observe the noises relative to the orders of its own clients, the OTC exchange rate is no more a random walk and conditional heteroskedasticity appears.


This paper will review the relative merits of class A and class B bias for GaAs FET power amplifiers intended for use in radar systems. Aspects to be considered are power and efficiency in the gain compression/saturation region as a function of bias point, gain degradation in class B compared with class A, and range sidelobes resulting from pulsed operation and its implications for the pulse compression system.


Background Hypoxia is a key physiological and microenvironmental difference between tumour and normal tissues. Hypoxia induces DNA damage, genomic aberrations and reprogramming of DNA repair mechanisms. A crucial mechanism in a highly dynamic hypoxic tumour microenvironment is metabolic reprogramming of tumour cells. Genome-wide multi-modal molecular profiles have been generated, however it remains unclear whether upregulation of metabolic genes is substantially enriched with somatically acquired alterations. To answer this, we performed a pan-cancer integrative analysis of genomic and transcriptomic profiles of 10 TCGA tumour types (n = 5,500). Methods 2,750 metabolic genes were extracted from KEGG pathways, and differentially upregulated genes were identified for each tumour type. High-ranking (10%) upregulated genes were assessed for correlation between mRNA abundance and DNA copy-number changes, and subsequently tested for metabolic-enrichment using genome-wide permutation analysis. For each tumour type, highly correlated genesets were subsequently examined for their potential as drug targets and biomarkers of disease relapse. Results Integrative analysis of mRNA and copy-number data revealed clusters of tumours that exhibit similar landscape of metabolic gene profiles, and those having unique metabolic copy number aberrations. Within these profiles, we identify a core set of genes that exhibit strong correlation (Spearman9s ρ>0.3; q Conclusions We isolate tumour-type specific and core pan-cancer metabolic gene signatures revealing within and cross disease heterogeneity in metabolic profiles. We highlight a core set of pan-cancer metabolic candidate drivers which are recurrently over-expressed due to genomic amplifications induced by hypoxia. Citation Format: Syed Haider, Alan McIntyre, Ruud GPM van Stiphout, Laura M. Winchester, Simon Wigfield, Adrian L. Harris, Francesca M. Buffa. Genomic alterations underlie a pan-cancer metabolic transcriptome shift. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 3750. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-3750


1.0 Introduction_____________________________________ 4 2.0 Massachusetts Native American History____________. 6 2.1 Creation of Indian Plantations___________________ 6 2.2 Dissolution of Indian Plantations________________ 7 3.0 Why Indian Housing Authorities?__________________ 9 3.1 Indian Land Claims 11 3.2 Federal Recognition______________________________.13 4.0 What is an Indian Housing Authority?_____________.-16 5.0 The Proposed Indian Housing Authority ___________ 18 5.1 Indian Land Issues 20 6.0 Comparisons to Other Housing Authorities ________ 25 6.1 Penobscot Indian Housing Authority ______________ 27 6.2 Local Housing Authorities ______________________ _ 32 6.3 Town Of Mashpee Housing Authority________________.-32 7.0 Indian Expectations of Indian Housing ___________ 40 Authorities 6.0 Conclusions 47 8.1 Political_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 48


Abstract Background Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a complex functional gastrointestinal disorder with likely heterogenous pathophysiology, multiple symptoms, and comorbidities. Growing evidence shows that the gut microbiota composition and function are altered in IBS patients. However, identifying the critical drivers of clinical expression remains challenging due to the episodic occurrence of IBS symptoms, the inherent variability in composition of gut microbiota across individuals, and high sensitivity of gut microbiota to dietary and environmental cues. Aims To identify whether changes in gut microbiota composition accompany or, predict the occurrence of symptoms. Methods 28 IBS patients (IBS-D n=20, IBS-C n=8) and 10 healthy controls (HC) were followed longitudinally for 25 weeks, collecting stool samples, and recording their symptoms weekly. Stool microbiota profiles were assessed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing using Illumina platform. The sequences were preprocessed, filtered, and annotated using DADA2 and phyloseq pipelines; statistical analyses were performed using FactomineR and microbiomeanalyst packages in R. Statistical significance was set at p<0.05. Results Multifactorial analysis of clinical data classified 950 samples in 6 clusters. Distribution of samples among the clusters was based on Bristol stool scale defining symptomatic periods (scores <3 and >4 indicating abnormal stool) and asymptomatic periods (scores 3 or 4), with several gut and mood symptoms varying significantly between the two categories. IBS-D patients, but not IBS-C patients presented with changes in symptoms severity, such as pain, diarrhea, constipation, and anxiety during the symptomatic periods. Depression scores were, however, higher in IBS-C compared to IBS-D patients. In contrast, immune makers such as fecal b-defensin-2 and calprotectin were higher during asymptomatic periods in IBS-D, but not in IBS-C patients. Bacterial diversity profiles differed among IBS patients (IBS-D and IBS-C) and HC, namely Shannon index and Bray-Curtis distance, but they did not change significantly between the symptomatic and asymptomatic periods within each subtype. Despite this, several bacterial taxa unique to each cluster were identified using linear mixed models. Conclusions Our results demonstrate the need to study patterns of co-occurrence of IBS symptoms and their severity during symptomatic and asymptomatic periods to better understand the role of identified bacterial taxa in the symptom generation. Identifying their temporal changes and cross-feeding patterns in individual patients will shed light on the underlying mechanistic role of gut microbiota in IBS, which might be otherwise obscured by group generalizations. Funding Agencies CIHR


This work presents a kinetic study of thermal degradation of polymethyl metacrylate (PMMA). This material was subject of five extrusion cycles in a single barrel screw extruder, and results for raw and reprocessed material are presented. Glass transition temperature (by DSC), melt flow index, and temperature of maximum weight loss rate (by TGA) were determined in samples taken after each reprocessing. Results from thermogravimetric analysis were used to get the kinetic triplet by isoconversional, non-isoconversional, and dynamic methods as it is reported in literature. It was found that heating shifts to the right TG, DTG, and conversion curves. Activation energy values found with non-isoconversional differential methods tend to be higher than those found with integral methods. Also the activation energy increased with reprocessing, while the probability or collision factor increased with the heating rate.


S tructural instability considerations provide a special group of design problems for reinforced and prestressed concrete members wherein axial or in-plane forces play an important role in structural performance. The nonlinear behavior of a member due to the actual stressstrain relationship, effects of cracking, creep and current deformations must be duly accounted for in order to carry out realistic strength predictions. On the other hand, simplified methods are needed which are practical to use in actual design situations and which can allow for the nonlinear effects in a sufficiently accurate manner. This paper describes the basic features of structural instability in reinforced and prestressed concrete members such as columns, plates and shells. Simplified methods are discussed, which are based on the tangent modulus theory and ultimate limit state considerations. Several studies have been made by comparing theoretical results with buckling tests on plate and shell specimens. In general, the design methods proposed show good agreement with available experimental results. Emphasis is put on the significance and adequate representation of construction imperfections, specifically geometry and materials. A simplified but powerful design method is given, by which geometric out-of-shape imperfections can


Yu Zhang received her Ph.D. in Computer Science at Texas A&M University in 2005. She is currently Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science at Trinity University and Director of the Laboratory for Distributed Intelligent Agent Systems. Dr. Zhang's research falls within Agent-Based Modeling and Simulation. Her research is currently supported by three NSF grants. She is editor in chief of the International Journal of Agent Technologies and Systems. She is also in the editorial board for several journals including The Transaction of Simulation, and in program committee for over 10 conferences and technical groups, such as Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems. She has regularly reviewed proposals for federal agencies. She is Program Co-Chair of Agent Directed Simulation of SCS SpringSim 2010. She is in the organizing committee of IEEE SMC 2009 and SCS SpringSim 2009. She is Program Chair of IEEE Women In Engineering Central Texas Chapter (CTC), Program Chair of IEEE SMC Society CTC, and Vice Chair of IEEE Computer Society CTC. Yu Zhang (Trinity University, USA)


Mega-geomorphological units in parts of the Ganga-Yamuna plains have been mapped using IRS-LISS III remote sensing data. The study highlights the differences in geomorphic setting of this part of the Gangetic plains with that in more eastern parts, and this is manifested in fluvial landforms. A 20 m incised bank section at Kalpi in the Yamuna plains has also been examined and preliminary interpretations about the general stratigraphy are presented. The fluvial sequence manifests several hiatuses in the sedimentation record represented by palaeosol units.


In an interesting article in this journal, Kingston and Synge discuss sequences of pedal triangles { T,, }, where T,,+1 is the pedal triangle of T7, i.e., its vertices are the feet of the altitudes of T,,. The authors observe that there are pedal sequences which are periodic in shape, and construct all of them. In this note we demonstrate that the shape of triangles in a pedal sequence is ergodic. Denote by A, B, C the angles of a given triangle; the angles A', B', C' of its pedal triangle are simply related to A, B, C: If all angles A, B, C are acute,


This study introduces a simple, reproducible assay for HLA class I antigen using antibodies against β2‐microglobulin and the heavy chain on HLA. The sandwich technique was named mixed enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (MELISA), and was designed for identification of plasma membranes in neutrophil subcellular fractions. The subcellular localization of HLA was identical to that of other plasma membrane markers, [3H]concanavalin A and detergent‐independent alkaline phosphatase, and was unchanged by stimulation of cells by weak and strong secretagogues. In addition to the presence as part of the HLA complex in the plasma membrane uncomplexed β2‐microglobulin is present in the specific granules of neutrophils. However, the release of β2‐microglobulin from intact neutrophils stimulated with formyl‐methionylleucyl‐phenylalanine was much higher than could be explained by exocytosis of specific granules. Subcellular fractionation studies demonstrated that β2‐microglobulin is localized in fractions characterized by latent alkaline phosphatase and released from this novel secretory compartment in response to stimulation with formyl‐methionylleucylphenylalanine.


Maraging steels are characterised by an exceptional combination of mechanical properties making them suitable for the manufacturing of parts used in critical and added value applications in aerospace engineering and the tooling industry. Depending on the service environment, maraging steel components may be exposed to dynamic mechanical stresses, corrosion or stress corrosion cracking, and thermal fatigue. In order for these components to withstand demanding working requirements, further improvements of their mechanical properties are necessary. Researchers have studied several surface engineering techniques on maraging steels, such as laser surface melting, physical vapour deposition, nitriding, and shot peening. Thus far, the effects of laser peening on maraging steels have been investigated only through surface layer analysis without conducting fatigue tests which offer further insight into the extent of possible fatigue resistance improvement. The scope of the presented research was to investigate the influence of laser peening on the fatigue resistance of high-strength maraging steel. The laser process was conducted in confined mode without an absorbent coating using a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser with a constant laser pulse energy. The residual stress analysis showed a significant influence of the chosen laser parameters on the residual stress distribution in the thin surface layer. Consequently, this phenomenon proved to have a huge impact on the fatigue resistance of the analyzed maraging steel.


【Objective】To investigate the effective and secure treatment strategy of lower calyceal calculi.【Methods】106 patients with lower calyceal calculi(﹥or =10 mm) were divided into random two groups,58 pa-tients were treated were by extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy(ESWL),48 patients were treated by mini percuta-neous nephrolithotomy(MPCNL).Analyzed the treatment result and calculate the stone-free rate.【Result】All cases had been followed-up for 1~3 months post-operation.There are 16 cases with remnant stone,14 cases with ineffi-ciency,28 cases stone-free after ESWL,the most remnant stone is 1.1 cm.The stone-free rate of the group of ESWL is 48.28%.In group of MPCNL,there are three cases with remnant stone after post-operation,the most rem-nant stone is 0.5cm.The stone-free rate of the group of MPCNL is 93.92%.There is statistically significant differ-ence of stone-free rate between two groups(P 0.05).Severe complication didn't present and few patients with macroscopic hematuria in ESWL groups.Some complications like massive haemorrhage,renal parenchyma dilacera-tions,pleura damnification,etc,didn't occur during operation.There are two cases with secondary haemorrhage and two cases with fever after operation of MPCNL,but they cured through expectant treatment.Three were no cases with blood transfusion and infection shock during or after the operation.【Conclusions】MPCNL can be used as the first choice of therapy for lower calyceal calculi(﹥or =10 mm),and MPCNL is a secure and effective therapy for patients with lower calyceal calculi,thus the treatment is satisfying.


In recent molecular models of the smectic‐C phase the tilt angle χ is related to a characteristic biaxial order parameter μc; χ=const. ×μc, for small χ. We derive the effective nuclear spin Hamiltonian taking into account the orientational order parameter μc, and apply this Hamiltonian to a consideration of published nuclear magnetic resonance experiments. The order parameter μc may be defined as the Z, Y component of the order matrix 〈ν3ν2+ν2ν3〉, where ν3 and ν2 denote the directions of the long molecular axis and a given transverse axis, respectively, Z is the preferred orientation of ν3 (i.e., ? is the nematic director), and the plane ZY is the tilting plane. It is expected that μc may reach values of order 10−1. Experimentally, the orientational order in the smectic‐C phase of terephtal bis(butylaniline) (TBBA) has been investigated by Luz, Hewitt, and Meiboom, using the technique of deuterium magnetic resonance. It is shown here that the outward movement of the edges of the spectra, which should occu...


Phytotoxicity or allelopathy means poisonous results by a composite on plant growth, composites may be trace metals, pesticides salinity or phytotoxins . Some of the medicinal plants have phytotoxic activities which inhibit the growth of weeds and unwanted plants which are not of our desire. The present study is aimed to investigate the phytotoxic assessment of Centaurea pullata methanolic extract (CPME) roots. Dried plant were ground and extracted with methanol to prepare methanol crude extract. In-vitro phytotoxicity activity was conducted using these methanolic extracts as per standard procedures. The inhibitory effect of Centaurea pullata extract is tested on stalk and root of Portulaca oleracea and using four concentrations (3, 1.5, 0.75 and 0.37mg/ml) of plant extract and distal water in control. The result is noted on 5 th and 10 th days. The results obtained from these experiments showed that the crude methanolic extract of Centaurea pullata slightly inhibits the roots and shoots of Portulaca oleracea seeds as compared to the control plate which was not treated by the above mentioned sample extracts shown in Figures as. From the results obtained that, Phytotoxicity activity of Centaurea pullata methanolic extract showed non-significant results. Purification and in vivo studies of these plant are required for further verification.


Abstract Taxonomic notes are provided on species of the uncommonly encountered ripiphorid subfamily Pelecotominae. Zapotecotomasumichrastigen. et sp. nov., is described from southern Mexico based on a unique male likely collected in the later part of the mid-19th Century. The discovery of additional species of the South African genus Clinops Gerstaecker permit a revised diagnosis and distinction of the group from the eastern Mediterranean genus Scotoscopus Brenske and Reitter, resurrected status. Two new species of Clinops are established: Clinopsinexpectatussp. nov. (northeast of Durban near Swaziland) and C.perpessussp. nov. (region of Durban), and Scotoscopusspectabilis (Schaufuss) is newly recorded for the Peloponnese in Greece.


Do the personality traits of our youth and our family background influence our health in later life? Do psychological and behavioral patterns contribute to the occurrence of cancer? For many, the idea that an apparently physical disease is linked to personality or psychological characteristics seems absurd. Yet, a large body of research literature has accumulated over the past several decades indicating that such a link exists. To make my questions more concrete, let us consider the profiles of two men (from my colleague's grant application in 1974)


With the explosion of protein sequences generated in the postgenomic era, there is a need for the development of computational methods to characterize and classify them as an alternative to the experimental methods that are expensive and time consuming. Although the amino acid chains that constitute proteins are originally symbolic chains they can be converted into numerical sequences and processed as signals. One recent approach represents a protein as a set of images derived from numerical representations of the protein based on the physicochemical properties of amino acids. Then a feature vector is extracted from texture descriptors of the set of images. In this paper we adopt the same approach of representing proteins as sets of images but we propose to generate the images from evolutionary or structural characterization of proteins instead of generating them from physicochemical properties. We also propose the use of an alternative texture descriptor that, in combination with the proposed approach, obtains a significant improvement of classification accuracy in a membrane protein type prediction task.


A quantitative, descriptive research design was used to assess firefighters' knowledge, perception, and utilization of advanced directives so that primary care providers can improve advanced directive completion with this population. The theoretical framework that fit with this study was King's Theory of Goal Attainment. Human ethics board approval was obtained from Daemen College. A modified version of The Advanced Directives Knowledge, Attitudes and Utilization Questionnaire (AD-KAUQ) was offered as an anonymous survey via Survey Monkey to a convenience sample of firefighters from two fire departments in Western New York. The questionnaire inquired about participants' knowledge, attitudes, and utilization of advance directives. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. A total of 69 surveys were returned for a 40 percent response rate. Participants' ages ranged from 18 to 84 years with a mean age of 36 years. Results showed that the majority of respondents had knowledge regarding what advance directives are however, most didn't have an advanced directive in place. Most respondents expressed they would consider an advanced directive with a preferred setting being that other than a doctor's office, clinic or acute care setting. Further research dealing with utilization of advanced directives in the firefighting population is needed. KNOWLEDGE, PERCEPTIONS AND UTILIZATION OF ADVANCE DIRECTVES 6 KNOWLEDGE, PERCEPTIONS AND UTILIZATION OF ADVANCE DIRECTVES 7 Table to contents Thesis Committee....................................................................................... 3 Acknowledgements..................................................................................... 4 Abstract....................................................................................................... 5 Chapter 1: Introduction A. Background.............................................................................................8 B. Study Purpose and Significance...................................................................9 C. Research Question...................................................................................9 D. Theoretical Framework............................................................................. .10 E. Overview of Methodology...........................................................................12 F. Definition of Terms..................................................................................12 G. Assumptions......................................................................................... 13 H. Summary..............................................................................................13 Chapter 2: Literature Review A. Summary............................................................................................. 25 Chapter 3: Methodology A. Design............................................................................................... 26 B. Setting and Sampling.............................................................................. 26 C. Protection of Human Rights...................................................................... 27 D. Research Tool....................................................................................... 28 E. Data Collection Method............................................................................. 28 F. Summary............................................................................................. 29 KNOWLEDGE, PERCEPTIONS AND UTILIZATION OF ADVANCE DIRECTVES 8 Chapter 4: Results A. Demographics...................................................................................... 30 B. Knowledge of Advance Directives...............................................................30 C. Attitudes Towards Advance Directives.......................................................... 30 D. Utilization of Advance Directives....................................................... ......... 32 E. Summary.............................................................................................32 Chapter 5: Discussion A. Summary of Study................................................................................. 33 B. Discussion of Findings................................................................................ 33 C. Implications for Practice........................................................................... 35 D. Limitations.......................................................................................... 36 E. Recommendations for Future Research..........................................................36 F. Conclusions..........................................................................................36 G. Summary............................................................................................. 36 Reference List References.................................................................................................. 38 Appendices Appendix A: Cover Letter.............................................................................40 Appendix B: Advance Directives Knowledge Attitudes and Utilization Questionnaire............................................................................................41 Appendix C: Permission to Use Questionnaire.....................................................42 KNOWLEDGE, PERCEPTIONS AND UTILIZATION OF ADVANCE DIRECTVES 9 Chapter 1: Introduction . Chapter 1 will provide an outline of the quantitative research study that was conducted to examine firefighters' knowledge, attitudes and utilization of advanced directives. This chapter will discuss various aspects of the study, including the background, significance, theoretical framework, as well as details regarding the research question, purpose, assumptions, and definition of terms used in the study. Background Firefighting is one of the most dangerous professions because fire fighters have a higher morbidity and mortality rate than any other profession. The job may involve fatality in order to protect the life of another human being. For this reason, fire fighters should have a living will in case something were to happen while on the job. Having a living will prevents family members from having to make health care decisions. According to the National Fire Protection Association, there were 62,085 on the jobrelated firefighter injuries in 2016 (Haynes & Molis, 2016) related to incidents that involve responding and returning from calls, while on the fire ground, and during training. Further, the National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety recorded 91 line of duty deaths in 2016 (NIOSH, 2016). Currently there are 55 line of duty deaths recorded for 2017 (NIOSH, 2017). It could be assumed that traumatic incidents are the number one cause of fire fighter related death, but this is not the case. According to Patterson, Smith, and Hostler (2016), cardiovascular death is the number one cause of fire fighter fatalities. This is attributed to the excessive strain that is placed on the heart during firefighting operations. While fire fighter fatalities are decreasing each year, civilian deaths in the communities that fire fighters serve are steady. KNOWLEDGE, PERCEPTIONS AND UTILIZATION OF ADVANCE DIRECTVES 10 Fire fighters play a dual role as emergency medical technicians. This means that they are exposed to patients that have advanced directives in place. Annual training is done on how to interpret these documents, however, interpreting these directives is still unclear to many fire fighters. It's crucial for these documents to be followed because they are legal documents that direct care for someone who is unable to advocate for themselves any certain time. Nurse Practitioners, as well as other health care professionals, should be responsible for promoting and educating all patients, including fire fighters about advanced directives. Nurse practitioners have a higher success rate with getting patients to complete advance directives (Lawrence, 2009). Purpose The purpose of this thesis study was to determine fire fighters' knowledge and perception of advanced directives. With firefighting being one of the most dangerous professions, assessing this knowledge can help facilitate discussion to have a fire fighter create his or her own advanced directives and help NPs design appropriate and effective interventions to improve firefighters' knowledge and use of ADs. By doing so, if an 'on the job' injury was to occur, possible end-oflife decisions would not be placed on family members. The advanced directive would ensure that the fire fighter's wishes would be carried out. These findings will help NPs design interventions to that help fire fighters learn about and create advanced directives and living wills in addition to understanding patients' advance directives out in the field. Research Question What are fire fighters' knowledge and perceptions of advanced directives? Significance of the Study Firefighting is a very dangerous profession. Line of duty injury occurs often and, unfortunately, sometimes ends in death. Most firefighters do not have any advanced directives in KNOWLEDGE, PERCEPTIONS AND UTILIZATION OF ADVANCE DIRECTVES 11 place even with obvious dangers encountered while on the job. By assessing fire fighters' knowledge and perceptions of advanced directives, early talks can be facilitated about having personal advanced directives in place with an increased completion rate. This would prevent a firefighter's family member from having to make tough health care decisions if a serious line of duty injury occurred. In addition, fire fighters would be able to better assist the patients they rescue and treat. Theoretical Framework The theoretical framework used in this study was Kings' Theory of Goal Attainment. This framework assumes that human beings are the focus of nursing and is based on a conceptual system King's theory the goal of nursing is


The Law of the Sea Treaty is designed as an umbrella treaty to provide a general legal framework for dealing with sources of marine pollution, 85% of which are land-based. Unlike smaller bodies of water, the oceans may be too large to reverse the effects of pollution beyond a certain point. Besides land-based sources, the treaty addresses pollution from seabed activities, dumping, airborne pollutants, and vessels. Basic jurisdictional rights and duties are established that protect navigational freedoms as well as prevent pollution. (DCK)


With the recent hurricanes that have affected the United States, we were saddened to see the devastation left behind. To help raise awareness to support ...


A new approximate decoupling method for linear time-invariant systems based on the concept of energetic diagonal dominance is proposed in this paper. It is a time-domain approach and the design procedure is simpler than that of frequency-domain approach. The conditions for the energetic decoupling with simultaneous stabilizability are established in terms of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). It is very convenient to solve this problem using the powerful LMI toolbox. The results are derived first for proper systems with nonsingular D, and then extended to strictly proper systems. Illustrative examples demonstrate that this method has satisfactory decoupling performance.


Nanoparticles consisting of a magnetic core (Fe3O4, CoFe2O4 and CuFe2O4) and a hydrophobic shell were prepared by chemical co-precipitation of the inorganic cores and by subsequently modifying the surface with dodecanoic acid. The nanoparticles were then dispersed in cyclohexane to form stable ferrofluids. These dispersions were investigated by small-angle scattering of polarized neutrons and the data were interpreted according to a `pearl-necklace' model, opportunely modified to account for the core–shell structure of the particles. Results of the fitting show that the particles consist of a magnetic core with a mean radius of 40–50 A and an organic shell with a thickness of 7–8 A. These nanoparticles assemble in fractal aggregates when a magnetic field is applied.


Social media for emergency management has emerged as a vital resource for government agencies across the globe. In this study, we explore social media strategies employed by governments to respond to major weather-related events. Using social media monitoring software, we analyze how social media is used in six cities following storms in the winter of 2012. We listen, monitor, and assess online discourse available on the full range of social media outlets (e.g., Twitter, Facebook, blogs). To glean further insight, we conduct a survey and extract themes from citizen comments and government's response. We conclude with recommendations on how practitioners can develop social media strategies that enable citizen participation in emergency management.


For a long time it has been accepted that Turing machines are more powerful than generalized sequential machines. Since a generalized sequential machine is also a Turing machine, the class of Turing machines is at least as powerful as the class of generalized sequential machines. The purpose of this paper is to examine the adverb "more" from the aspect of work accomplished. Three manifestations of work performed by machines are considered, namely (i) numerical functions, (ii) output tapes as a function of input tapes, and (iii) the sets of accepted tapes. For each of these expressions of work there is studied the question of the existence of codes so that the resulting set (i.e., the set of numerical functions, the set of input-to-output tape functions, and sets of accepted tapes respectively) for the class of Turing machines is transformed into a subset of the resulting set for the class of generalized sequential machines. In other words, the problem under investigation is to see if the behavior of Turing machines can be reinterpreted as behavior of generalized sequential machines. The main results achieved are as follows. (1) There exist effective mappings/ and g, f transforming a subset of the natural numbers into sequential input tapes and g transforming a set of sequential output tapes into the natural numbers, with the following property. To each partial recursive function h there corresponds a generalized sequential machine S so that for each natural number x, g(5(/(x))) = hix), where 5(/(x)) is the output from machine 5 upon application of the input tape/(x). Furthermore, all these machines S have a finite joint input alphabet and a finite joint output alphabet (Theorem 3). (2) Given any set of Turing machines in a finite joint alphabet there is a function / such that (a) / maps all Turing tapes one to one into sequential input tapes, and (b) for each Turing machine Z there is a generalized sequential machine S such that 5(/(A)) =Z(A), X being any Turing tape, 5(/(A)) being as above, and Z(A) being the analogous function to Z that 5(/(A)) is to 5 (Theorem 5). (3) Given any set of Turing machines there is a function / such that (a) / maps all Turing tapes one to one into sequential tapes; and (b) for each Turing machine Z there is a sequential machine 5 such that the set of tapes


The paper introduces a few methods of well shelf deformation monitoring,and emphasizes the method of ground photogrammetry.It elaborates some questions associated with well shelf photogrammetry,such as design of photographic symbol,choice of photographic station,arrangement of photographic way,the spot photograph with photograph processing and photo measurement by experiencing deformation monitoring of the main shelf in WuGang Chengchao iron mine and in ShanXi FuShan Beifeng iron mine.In addition,it calculates and analyzes three schemes by light beam method with 6 control points,4 control points and no control point.The result indicates that the two former plans are more accurate than the third one.But all three methods can achieve the precision requirement of well shelf deformation monitoring.It also shows that this method is feasible and worthy to be applied widely.


Behcet`s disease (BD) is a multisystemic disorder, which is characterized by recurrent oral aphthous ulcers, genital ulcers, uveitis, and skin lesion. Although intestinal involvement is an uncommon manifestation of the BD, it leads to a poor prognosis, as a result of a high complication, such as intestinal perforation, fistula formation, and massive hemorrhage. Intestinal BD has the tendency for the resistance to conventional medical treatment, and it often requires a surgical intervention because of severe complication. Although the causes of intestinal BD are unknown, some studies show that tumor necrosis factor Alpha (TNF-α) plays a key role in the pathogenesis of BD. Therefore, anti- TNF-α monoclonal antibody, such as adalimumab, is one of the useful treatment for refractory and relapsed intestinal BD. We describe a patient who had intestinal BD complicated enterocutanous fistula with a good response to adalimumab.


A two step silicon surface texturing, consisting of potassium hydroxide (KOH) etching followed by tetra-methyl ammonium hydroxide etching is presented. This combined texturing results in 13.8% reflectivity at 600 nm compared to 16.1% reflectivity for KOH etching due to the modification of microstructure of etched pyramids. This combined etching also results in significantly lower flat-band voltage (VFB) (−0.19 V compared to −1.3 V) and interface trap density (Dit) (2.13 × 1012 cm−2 eV−1 compared to 3.2 × 1012 cm−2 eV−1).


This paper aims to empirically explore the effects of human capital on structural capital in Iranian e-business. A questionnaire-oriented survey from senior and top manager in Iranian information technology companies was utilized for regression analysis. The findings indicate that human capital significantly influences the three dimensions of structural capital which consists of relational capital, process capital and innovational capital. The study also provides empirical evidence that these three dimensions are internally correlated.


The article presents a model of a lesson on genre and typical specificity of «Mozart and Salieri» by A. S. Pushkin, genre form of «little tragedy» as artistic researching one passion, approaches to Pushkin's understanding of nature of human genius


In today's economic environment, it is crucial to create a strong, consistent brand image within a graduate business program. This study examines the perceptions that students at Southeastern Louisiana University hold about its MBA program and the MBA programs of its main competitors. A focus group was conducted to indentify competitors and factors used to compare MBA programs. A questionnaire was designed and distributed and the results were analyzed using perceptual maps.


RESEARCH is the cornerstone for maintaining healthy and sustainable agricultural industries. Systems for obtaining funding and managing and dispersing resources are as diverse as are there systems for culturing sugarcane. This paper presents a model of managing agricultural research programs at the Federal agency level. The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is USDA's principal in-house agricultural research agency and, as a Federal agency, it is tasked with conducting publicly-funded research for the benefit of the United States. ARS aims to generate relevant, significant, and timely scientific information for use by the Agency's many stakeholders: agricultural producers, food processing industries, natural resource managers, universities, and nonprofit research institutions. To ensure that these objectives can be achieved, ARS implemented the National Program cycle, a cycle of phases embodying a series of recurring activities. Customers and stakeholders are actively engaged in each phase of the process and their contributions are integral to the direction of research and its success. Input, Planning, Implementation, and Assessment — are the four sequential phases through which ARS research progresses, ensuring that it remains of the highest quality. The cycle ties these activities together in a recurring 5-year sequence to ensure an effective and efficient program and project management within ARS. These efforts are aimed at maintaining a sustainable sugarcane industry that is responsive to changing economics, production problems, and opportunities, and will require continued Federal, but also State, private, and international cooperation to be successful. The beneficiaries of a sustainable sugarcane industry will be the citizens of the U.S. who will enjoy abundant and affordable sugar and sugar-based products.


The CNDO method is extended to molecules containing the elements sodium through chlorine and used to examine the importance of the 3d orbitals of these elements to molecular properties. An examination of the radial dependence of the 3d orbitals is carried out by performing parallel calculations with three different basis sets on a selection of molecules. A basis set in which the 3d orbitals are somewhat contracted is found to best predict molecular geometries, dipole moments, and bending force constants. The molecular dipole moments are found to present the most persuasive evidence for 3d participation, while most molecular geometries are relatively insensitive to inclusion of atomic orbitals of d symmetry.


However, the cases of abnormality of function, which constitutes a psychopathic condition in the child, are less well understood. Since abnormal mental functioning may occur at any mental level, there may be many delinquent cases which measure up to all of the standards of a general intelligence test, but which exhibit marked psychopathic tendencies when other means of diagnosis are employed. It is the psychopath who has not deteriorated but has a normal level or even, as many of them have, a superior level of intelligence that constitutes a great social problem. Such a psychopathic child has all the skill and ability of the normal person but without any control or any regard for the social conventions; consequently he yields to his deeper and more primitive impulses: becomes a thief, a liar, a sex pervert or other troublesome person. In short, he is not fit to be loose in a community; and society cannot tolerate him. Consequently he is arrested and brought into court, but not being feeble-minded, nor insane as the law recognizes insanity, he is only bad and therefore subject for punishment [p. 41].


The present investigation was carried out to study genetic parameters for eleven seed yield and its physiological quality contributing characters in thirty rice genotypes with three check varieties during Kharif 2016. Analysis of variance showed significant differences among all the characters under study. The phenotypic coefficient of variance was slightly higher in magnitude than that of genotypic coefficient of variance for seed yield and its physiological contributing characters indicating very less environmental influence on the expression of these traits. Higher genotypic coefficient of variation was recorded for seeds per panicle (24.22) followed by seed yield per plant (22.14) and vigour index (18.31). Heritability in broad sense estimates were higher for days to 50% flowering followed by seedling dry weight, days to maturity, plant height, vigour index and seed yield per plant. High expected genetic advances were observed for characters viz., seed yield per plant, seeds per panicle, vigour index, plant height, days to 50% flowering and seedling dry weight. High heritability along with high genetic advance as percent of mean was registered for days to 50% flowering, seedling dry weight, plant height, vigour index and seed yield per plant, this suggest that these traits can be taken as selection parameters to select elite genotypes.


Arsenic, Phosphorus and Antimony dopants for n+ USJ formation was studied for junction quality comparing nonmelt to melt laser annealing without and with BF2 or In HALO structures. When junction leakage was high >2E-2A/cm2 no reliable sheet resistance could be determined. We observed between 21nm to 70nm of liquid phase dopant diffusion with the melt process and dopant activation levels were lower than expected due to the very short annealing and cool-down quenching rates with laser annealing requiring longer dwell times. Also, cold implants and C co-implants with laser annealing resulted in very high junction leakage as did the additional of either a BF2 or In HALO structure.


Despite having one of the world's worst death tolls in the pandemic, Mexico's government declined to lock down or expand test and trace operations. The result has been devastating for doctors and patients alike, reports Luke Taylor


An innovative hydrogen test area for cryogenic high-pressure applications has been put into operation at the ILK Dresden. This test area allows fundamental investigations on hydrogen (in all its phase states) and on gaseous helium. Furthermore, tests and qualification of components of any kind in the temperature range from room temperature down to 10 K and under pressure conditions ranging from high vacuum to 1000 bar are possible. In the framework of a research project, investigations of the charging and discharging process of hydrogen tanks, and the development of new storage technologies to achieve a high hydrogen storage density up to 100 kg/m³ are feasible. Our experiments promote the intricate developments of new components in relation to the handling of supercritical mediums. Thereby, experiments on re-cooling systems in form of capillary expander or Joule-Thomson-cooler are performed as well as on special latent-heat storage systems based on eutectic mixtures. The current status of the development up to test set-ups and experimental results is presented. Furthermore, results of numerical calculations are shown regarding the optimization of process control.


It was shown in the Section 2.3 of Chapter 2 that the circular waveguides joined with tapered waveguide sections with large taper angle can be used as mode transducers to couple power in the higher-order TEin and TMin modes. A few mode transducers exciting these modes have been realized in this chapter in order to achieve shaped radiation patterns. This chapter presents multi-mode transducer feeds for improving the efficiency of reflector antennas for space-borne scatterometer and altimeter sensors. The techniques of shaping the primary radiation pattern using multiple modes at feed aperture to improve the efficiency of reflector antenna have been investigated. This technique has been applied to develop novel type of elliptical multi-mode transducer feeds for reflector antenna of space-borne scatterometer payload. The multi-mode transducer feeds for a nadir-looking altimeter sensor is also presented. The measured efficiency of the reflector is of the order of seventy percent when kept at the focus of the reflector. The measured and simulated primary and secondary radiation patterns are presented.


Abstract Background Urogenital schistosomiasis due to Schistosoma hematobium infection is hypothesized to cause increased HIV-1 RNA shedding in semen in HIV co-infected men as result of chronic egg-induced inflammation in the prostate and the seminal vesicles. The effect of treatment with the antihelminthic agent praziquantel on seminal HIV-1 RNA load was assessed in this study. Methods HIV-1 RNA load was determined in blood plasma and semen at baseline and at 10-week follow-up. Praziquantel was administered at baseline and two weeks later. Results Eighteen HIV-positive men with S. haematobium co-infection were enrolled into the study. Status of antiretroviral therapy (ART): 6 ART-naïve and 12 ART-experienced. All participants became egg-negative in urine at follow-up. Among the ART-naïve men, the mean HIV-1 RNA load decreased by 0.32 log10 copies per mL (4.41 vs 4.09) in blood plasma from baseline to follow-up, and in semen by 1.06 log10 copies per mL (4.06 vs 3.00). Conclusions This study demonstrated a decline in seminal HIV-1 RNA load following praziquantel treatment of urogenital schistosomiasis infection in HIV-positive men. The finding needs further exploration in a larger randomized study targeting praziquantel as a supplementary preventive measure of sexual transmission of HIV-1 in S. haematobium endemic areas in sub-Saharan Africa.


The present application relates to a nonvolatile memory cell with random access, with suspended mobille gate transistors and having piezoelectric actuating means of the grid.


syllables into groups that are phonetically most distinct from each other. Phonologically complex distinctions are those which exceed an upper threshold in the number of phonological predicates to which they refer. It is claimed that languages adopt weight distinctions that are phonetically most effective without being overly complex phonologically. Syllable weight thus reflects a compromise between phonetic and phonological factors. The proposed model of weight further suggests that phonological weight distinctions are ultimately predictable from other basic phonological properties, such as syllable structure.* 1. SYLLABLE WEIGHT. Linguists have long observed that certain phonological processes in many languages distinguish between 'heavy' and 'light' syllables (see, for example, Jakobson 1931, Trubetzkoy 1939, Allen 1973, Hyman 1977, 1985, 1992, McCarthy 1979, Zec 1988, Hayes 1989). Syllable weight has played an increasingly larger role in more recent phonological theory, as the number of prosodic phenomena argued to instantiate syllable weight has grown to encompass diverse phenomena such as weight-sensitive stress, compensatory lengthening, reduplication, minimal word requirements, and tone, among others. Drawing on data from these weight-sensitive phenomena, linguists have developed simple yet compelling theories of weight grounded in fundamental concepts such as phonemic length, segment count, and sonority. As our data base on weight-sensitive phenomena has expanded to include ever more explicit information on a larger cross-section of languages, theories of weight have been presented with new and interesting opportunities for empirical validation. While the expanded empirical base has corroborated many standard notions about syllable weight, it has also brought new challenges to the theory of weight: an increasingly diverse set of weight distinctions crosslinguistically, individual languages sensitive to multiple weight distinctions, weight distinctions based neither on the number of segments nor on phonemic length contrasts, and cases of conflicted weight criteria for different weight-sensitive processes in the same language. These new data continue to necessitate expansions of the formal apparatus in the theory of weight, suggesting the need for reexamination of the phenomenon of syllable weight. This article explores the extent to which syllable weight is linked to both phonetic and phonological properties. As such, it may be viewed as part of two research programs: one relating the phonology and phonetics of weight (see, for example, Maddie


0bjective:To establish the method of collagen-gel droplet embedded culture drug sensitivity test with I rat tail collagen,and explore the clinical application of this method in vitro chemosensitivities test of tumors.Methods:To establish three diamensions formwork of rat tail collagen,then drug sensitivity of Hela cells to 4 chemotherapeutics is detected by MTT and CD-DST. Results:Hela cells grow well in collagen-gel droplet, clonal proliferation, radiated growth; there is a good concordance with 2 methods. Conclusions: CD-DST with rat tail collagen is feasible , and there is a clinical application value in vitro chemosensitivities test.


The Netherlands and Flanders are well known for their long and profound tradition in research and development on recruitment and selection practices. During the past decade, however, considerably less attention has been paid towards recruitment and selection topics, both within the Dutch/Flemish academic literature as well as at Dutch/Flemish universities (e.g., in terms of the number of specialized courses). This remarkable observation runs counter to the call for scientifically trained recruiting/selection experts as instigated by several new developments within the professional field of recruitment and assessment:. This article presents six developments/trends in recruitment and selection. We further illustrate the scientific-practitioner gap as well as several perspectives on recruitment and selection to address some of the recent developments.


The present study comprises a comparison of the Mel Frequency Cepstral Coefficients (MFCC), Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Independent Component Analysis (ICA) as feature extraction methods using ten different regression algorithms (AdaBoost, Bayesian Ridge, Decision Tree, Elastic Net, k-NN, Linear Regression, MLP, Random Forest, Ridge Regression and Support Vector Regression) to quantify the blood glucose concentration. A total of 122 participants—healthy and diagnosed with type 2 diabetes—were invited to be part of this study. The entire set of participants was divided into two partitions: a training subset of 72 participants, which was intended for model selection, and a validation subset comprising the remaining 50 participants, to test the selected model. A 3D-printed chamber for providing a light-controlled environment and a low-cost microcontroller unit were used to acquire optical measurements. The MFCC, PCA and ICA were calculated by an open-hardware computing platform. The glucose levels estimated by the system were compared to actual glucose concentrations measured by venipuncture in a laboratory test, using the mean absolute error, the mean absolute percentage error and the Clarke error grid for this purpose. The best results were obtained for MCCF with AdaBoost and Random Forest (MAE = 11.6 for both).


We show that any tree whose maximum degree is at most 10 can be drawn in 3-space such that it is the minimum spanning tree of its vertices.


How does working with university students with disabilities influence the practice of teacher candidates (TCs) in Bachelor of Education (BED) programs? How do experiences in mentoring disabled students and helping them to self-advocate influence TCs' understanding of inclusion and their development of teaching strategies and skills? Our paper explores these questions through a research project involving a community practicum for TCs, in which they studied theory and pedagogy related to mentoring and self-advocacy skills, and applied their learning by mentoring disabled students and implementing self-advocacy workshops. Our theoretical and conceptual framework consists of three components embedded in an Experiential Learning format: (a) Lizzio's (2006) Five Senses of Student Success, a model used to inform the design and delivery of transition strategies in postsecondary education; (b) Peer Mentoring; and (c) Self-Advocacy. Data included group and individual interviews, questionnaires, and weekly reports. Results of our qualitative data analysis indicate that participating in peer mentoring and self-advocacy training was an effective way for teacher candidates to develop positive attitudes toward inclusion of students with disabilities and acquire teaching skills and strategies. Further, these activities supported the transition to University for students with disabilities.


Detailed karyomorphology of five garden varieties of Clitoria ternatea (2n=16) namely blue single, blue double, violet single, violet double and white single have been studied. They shared many karyotype features in common. In finer details of karyomorphology, some recognizable differences were noticed among the five varieties such as total chromosome length, total short arm length, TF%, number and distribution of secondary constriction and especially the position of centromere on certain individual chromosomes. In the absence of gross structural chromosomal changes it is suggested that gene mutations or cryptic structural changes of chromosomes have played a role in the evolution of morphologically distinct varieties in the species.


Isonicotinic hydrazide (INH, isoniazid) has been used as a first‐line anti‐tuberculosis drug since the 1950s. INH is a pro‐drug and its bactericidal function in mycobacteria requires catalase‐peroxidase (KatG) activation. The Compound I intermediate, derived from hydroperoxide treated KatG, has been shown to be catalytically competent in the activation process. However, the INH binding or reaction site in KatG has not been revealed in crystallographic studies. Resting (ferric) KatG heme iron exhibits a mixture of five and six‐coordinate states as isolated. Previous studies showed that the heme becomes six‐coordinate with a water ligand during storage after purification. In this study, we carefully examined the binding of INH and other aromatic hydrazides using a combination of spectroscopic and calorimetric techniques. Under non‐turnover conditions, high binding affinity for hydrazides was found exclusively in 6‐coordinate KatG. The binding of INH and its analogs is largely enthalpy driven, which may indicate some conformation change in the enzyme. The binding process is also the rate‐limiting step during the reduction of KatG Compound I by aromatic hydrazides.


In the southwest Yukon Territory rock glaciers of both the glacier debris system type and the talus type are common. In addition there are many examples of the transition between glaciers and the glacier-ice-cored type of feature. The glacier-ice-cored forms characteristically develop within or emanate from cirque basins where the formation of a complete debris cover of the glacier surface has been possible. Flow of these rock glaciers is due to periods of glacier advance with some secondary deformation of the ice under the debris cover after the retreat of the glacier. This secondary deformation accounts for movements measured at the present day. Comparisons are made among an ice-cored moraine system, a transitional form, and a large glacier-ice-cored rock glacier. The different flow lobes of the


The Army's rocket missile is a one-shot weapon system, which is produced and used for only one mission, and requires high reliability. While reliability analysis with failure data can result in underestimation of the life distribution, reliability analysis with all the non-failure data can result in overestimation of the life distribution. Under or overestimation of the life distribution can lead to cost increase by early disposal or complete observation of all rocket missiles. In order to overcome this problem, the Army suggests the guideline of the number of samples from non-failure data for reliability analysis with failure data. However, the currently used sampling method can generate errors for predicting the failure rate. To solve this problem, this study proposes a new sampling procedure for predicting a future failure rate using non-failure data. The comparison test between the currently used sampling method and the proposed sampling method is conducted and the result shows that the proposed sampling method can predict the future failure rate more accurately


INTRODUCTION: The study of skin wound regeneration has not lost its relevance, especially among surgeons. Angiogenesis is a key factor in wound healing. It is known that the optimal blood supply provides the tissue with nutrients, growth factors, immune cells necessary for the complete repair of skin defect. Insufficient ability to restore functional blood supply to the wound area can lead to chronic non-healing wounds. Therefore, the identification and validation of various factors influencing angiogenesis in the wound bed is of great interest for the development of potential therapeutic agents. The aim of this review is to highlight the current understanding of the mechanisms and morphological manifestations of skin wound angiogenesis, as well as the functional significance of stromal cells involved in this process. The contribution of macrophages, pericytes, mast cells, telocytes to the mechanisms of formation of microcirculatory vessels is shown. The search for literary sources was carried out in the electronic systems eLIBRARY.RU and PubMed by the main keywords of the topic: histology, skin wound regeneration, angiogenesis, stromal cells, macrophages, mast cells, pericytes, telocytes. The publications were analyzed over the last 12 years. The criteria for including a research in the review were the simultaneous mention of several keywords in the article. CONCLUSION: Analysis of the literature demonstrates the relevance of the study of angiogenesis. Modern morphological methods permitted to describe complex intercellular interactions providing the growth of the vascular network. Despite the large number of studies in this area, morphological data are constantly being supplemented to expand the potentials of histological and immunohistochemical studies. Cellular interactions during wound healing are being actively studied and confirmed to be used in the study of the mechanisms of action of drugs and in the development of new methods for treating wounds of various origin. This is of great importance, for example, in search for new reconstructive technologies, for creation of blood vessel grafts, and for development of endothelial prostheses based on non-degradable synthetic materials.


The rationality or "Economic man" is the basic condition of most of the research works. It is also the basis of stock market analysis. In the development history of Chinese stock market, the investors have not perfect rationality. This thesis finds that the knowledge, especially the level of education, has the decision influence on the stock price. Hence, in order to develop our stock market rapidly and healthily, we should enhance the invests' education.


Abstract The incidence of clinical mastitis (CM) in small and large-scale dairy cow farms can be highly variable and can be affected by age, parity, post-calving status, and atmospheric conditions. The current study aimed to assess the CM-incidence and its association with the post-calving days, number of lactations, season, and number of affected udder quarters in dairy cows in small-scale dairy farms. The study was conducted within one calendar year in 177 small-scale farms with 864 dairy cows. Clinically confirmed CM cows (n=72) were sampled from each udder quarter and processed for bacteriology examination. The CM-positive samples were grouped according to the season (spring, summer, autumn, and winter), the number of days after calving (<90, 90-180, and >180), the number of lactations (1-st, 2-5-th, and >6-th), and the number of affected udder quarters (one, two, three, and four). The CM-positive samples (n=72, 8.3%) were confirmed on bacteriology examination in significantly lower count (n=56, 6.5%). The 2-5-th lactations cows (n=35, 68.6%) were significantly more compared to the first lactation (n=6, 11.8%), and >6-th lactation cows (n=10, 19.6%). CM cows with infection of one udder quarter (n=40, 78.4%) were significantly more than the cows with two (n=6, 11.8%), and four infected quarters (n=5, 9.8%). The CM-incidence in small-scale dairy cow farms in North Macedonia was 8.3% and 6.5% by clinical and bacteriology examination, respectively. The highest CM susceptibility was observed in the cows between the second and fifth lactations. One udder quarter was most frequently affected in CM-positive cases.


Abstract Dithioesters 2a, b were prepared and methylated to give dimethyl thioesters 3a, b. Azines 4a-d and 5a, b were obtained in one step from 2 with primary diamines or in two steps through 3. Dithioesters 2a, b reacted with amines in ethanol to produce thiosemicarbazones 6a, b and 8a–d, while in butanol reacted with morpholine to form 7a, b


There is a tendency to attribute greatness to Einstein's views on religion on the basis of his greatness in the field of theoretical physics, as was illustrated by Alan Batten's thought-provoking article (September pp16–17). I have always understood Einstein's famous one–liners about religions, such as "God does not play dice", as essentially rhetorical; if there is a God, the best He can do is make random decisions, and what kind of God is that...?


In this paper, I analyse three measures of stock market synchronicity; the classical measure, the R square measure and the zero return measure proposed by Morck et al. (2000), Skaife et al. (2006) and Khandaker (2012). It is found that the classical measure and the R square measure exhibit somewhat similar aspects of stock market synchronous behaviour while the zero return measure provides a different finding. Further, cross-sectional analysis shows that inflation is generally positively correlated with the classical measure and the R-square measure, while it is negatively correlated with the zero return measure; and government accountability and trade openness is negatively correlated with the classical measure and the R-square measure whereas it is positively correlated with the zero return measure. Analysis of the correction coefficient shows that the classical measure is positively correlated with the R square measure while the zero return measure is negatively correlated with both these measures. The paper concludes that the classical measure and the R square measure of stock synchronicity are closely correlated while the zero return measure captures an aspect of stock market behaviour other than stock synchronicity.


It is, I think, important to clarify from the beginning of this book my understanding of the nature of educational research and educational theory, for this carries implications for many of the chapters that follow. This chapter begins by reviewing the development of educational theory and research from a time (in the 1960s and 1970s) when it was still possible to talk of four 'foundation disciplines', to one characterised by the diversity, fragmentation, and hybridisation of the intellectual sources of educational research—one in which this research is described in terms of multidisciplinarity, interdisciplinarity, and, as some would have it, postdisciplinarity. The chapter welcomes the greater diversity and enrichment of the resources available to contemporary educational researchers and acknowledges the importance of being able to combine different disciplinary approaches in the exploration of educational theory, policy, and practice. It argues, however, that this should not be at the expense of discipline in educational inquiry, i.e. of the systematic procedures that provide a better warrant for the beliefs that are put forward, rather than inquiry that lacks such 'systematics' and in the sense of shared rule-governed procedures, 'which make a community of arguers possible' (Hunt in Consequences of theory. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 1991: 104). In a final section, the chapter acknowledges and examines the perennial wrestling between, on the one hand, rules that operate to maintain particular hierarchies of power and control over what might count as credible belief and, on the other hand, rules that serve more narrowly epistemic functions related to the development of knowledge and understanding.


The invention provides a method and a device for fuzzy research of license plate numbers and belongs to the technical field of intelligent identification. The method comprises the following steps that: (A) for a database with license plate number field, the license plate number field and the shifted field which is obtained by enabling the license plate number field to be subjected to cyclic shift are taken as an index keyword and a plurality of index files of the database are established; in addition, each index file is corresponding to a cyclic shift; and (B) according to the fuzzy research condition of the fuzzy research of a license plate number, fuzzy research of the license plate number is performed in at least one index file of a plurality of index files. The method and the device can accelerate the speed of the fuzzy research of license plate numbers.


Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe the challenges of implementing a records management system in an ever changing business, regulatory and operational landscape and to suggest remediation measures.Design/methodology/approach – The approach is based on the author's experiences of implementing large scale enterprise‐wide content and records management systems. Practical advice is provided on key measures to be undertaken to mitigate the challenges of implementing records management systems.Findings – The key findings highlight that records managers must have a deep understanding of the business/regulatory environment, technology landscape and the organizational culture. The challenge of managing records in multiple applications, different platforms and varying formats coupled with constantly changing business, regulatory and technology environments is not easy. By properly planning the design and development of the technology system, one can look forward to a well received used records manag...


Abstract:  The proliferative responses of cells to mitogens decrease during aging, and this may result from age‐related defects in signal transduction in response to mitogens. In this study, we have investigated the age‐related alteration of responses to epidermal growth factor (EGF) in cultured human keratinocytes that were senesced in vitro by repeated passage. The stimulation with EGF increased the DNA‐binding activity of activator protein 1 (AP‐1), an important transcription factor for cell proliferation, in young keratinocytes, whereas the binding activity showed little or slight change in the senescent cells. The induced DNA‐binding activity of AP‐1 in young cells was inhibited by PD 98059, an inhibitor of MEK, and partially inhibited by GF 109203X, an inhibitor of protein kinase C. Western blot analysis demonstrated that EGF induced dramatic increase in the phosphorylation of EGF receptor (EGFR) and extracellular signal‐regulated kinases (ERK) in young cells, while this phosphorylation was much less profound in senescent cells. Finally, the application of EGF to young cells resulted in increased phosphorylation of Fra‐2, a Fos protein component of the Jun/Fos heterodimer AP‐1 complex. This EGF‐induced Fra‐2 phosphorylation was attenuated in senescent cells. Taken together, our study suggests that the signal transduction mediated by EGF/ERK pathway is altered in senescent human keratinocytes, and this change may be attributed, in part, to the decreased AP‐1 transcription activity observed in senescent keratinocytes.


Proper soil cover management for citrus cultivation can contribute to increased productivity and improved soil quality. This study examined five different vegetative coverings [Urochloa brizantha; U. decumbens, U. ruziziensis, spontaneous vegetation, and herbicide application (glyphosate) in the total area] in the inter rows of a Natal orange orchard [Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck] grafted on the Swingle citrumelo (C. paradisi × Poncirus trifoliata). Their effects on the microbiological and chemical attributes of the soil and the vegetative development in the orchard were examined. Chemical (Ca2+, Mg2+, K+, P, pH, H+Al, CECpH7, base saturation, and OM) and microbiological (carbon and nitrogen of microbial biomass, basal respiration, and metabolic quotient) soil attributes in the rows and inter-rows were evaluated for the orchard in 2018 and 2019. There was a significant difference for most variables in the 2 years studied, emphasizing 2019 for microbiological parameters and OM, with the latter being 14.8% lower in the treatment with glyphosate in the total area compared to the treatment with spontaneous vegetation. The results showed the benefits of vegetation 1 Students of the PhD of the Postgraduate Program in Agronomy, Universidade Estadual de Londrina, UEL, Londrina, PR, Brazil. E-mail: email@example.com, firstname.lastname@example.com 2 Profs. Drs., Agronomy Departament, UEL, Londrina, PR, Brazil. E-mail: email@example.com, email@example.com, firstname.lastname@example.com 3 Researcher, Fundo de Defesa da Citricultura, Fundecitrus, Araraquara, PR, Brazil. E-mail: camilla_andrade@yahoo. com.br 4 Researcher, Centro de Citricultura Sylvio Moreira, Instituto Agronômico de Campinas, CCSM-IAC, Cordeirópolis, SP, Brazil. E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com * Author for correspondence 331 Semina: Ciênc. Agrár. Londrina, v. 43, n. 1, p. 331-350, jan./fev. 2022 DOI: 10.5433/1679-0359.2022v43n1p331 Received: July 14, 2021 Approved: Nov. 03, 2021 ARTICLES / ARTIGOS Shimizu, G. D. et al. 332 Semina: Ciênc. Agrár. Londrina, v. 43, n. 1, p. 331-350, jan./fev. 2022 cover with brachiaria in inter-rows of the Natal sweet orange orchard in the chemical and microbiological attributes of the soil, especially in carbon and nitrogen of the microbial biomass.


ABSTRACT To increase Soldiers' access to HPV vaccination, we evaluated the feasibility and sustainability of a nurse-led intervention to integrate HPV vaccination into medical processing procedures for Soldiers. We partnered with nursing staff to introduce HPV vaccine into existing vaccination services at a nurse-led clinic that serves Soldiers at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. In addition to stocking the vaccine, the intervention included training nursing staff (n = 11) strategies for recommending HPV vaccination for Soldiers ages 18–26. We conducted surveys of nursing staff to assess their perspectives on feasibility. Nursing staff tracked HPV vaccine uptake among Soldiers for 4 weeks post-training to assess adoption and again for 2 weeks at 4-month follow-up to assess sustainability. We assessed delivery cost as the cost of personnel time, vaccine doses, and other materials during the initial 4-week intervention period. Nursing staff agreed that recommending HPV vaccination fit in with medical processing procedures (mean = 4.6 of 5.0). Of the 516 Soldiers offered HPV vaccine in the 4 weeks following the training, 198 (38%) accepted and received the vaccine. Soldier ages 18–20 more often accepted HPV vaccination than older Soldier ages 21–26 (46% versus 32%, p < .01). Vaccine uptake was similar at follow-up, with 98 of 230 eligible Soldiers (43%) receiving HPV vaccine. The total delivery cost was $12,737, with an average cost per vaccine dose delivered of $64. Our findings suggest that training nursing staff to recommend and administer HPV vaccinations to Soldiers is feasible and warrants wider-scale testing as a strategy to protect soldiers from HPV-attributable cancers. Plain Language Summary HPV vaccination is not required for US military service, and Soldiers' uptake is low. We trained nursing staff at a large military clinic to recommend HPV vaccine to Soldiers using a nursing education intervention to integrate HPV vaccination into routine care for active duty Soldiers. Our findings suggest that training nursing staff to recommend and administer HPV vaccines to Soldiers is feasible and low cost, and may warrant wider-scale testing as a strategy for increasing military readiness and protecting Soldiers from HPV-attributable cancers. Until guideline and policy changes are implemented and HPV vaccine is required for military service, use of education strategies is one path to increasing HPV vaccine coverage among Soldiers to ensure protection from HPV-related diseases.


Catatonic syndrome is frequently observed over the course of severe mental disorders and general medical conditions, but when catatonia occurs in psychiatric patients with co-morbid medical or neurologic conditions, diagnosis and management may be challenging. Several medical conditions may cause catatonia in psychiatric patients, but some, such as brain injury, infections, hyponatremia and critical illness, may be most relevant in this population. Alongside appropriate etiologic treatment, benzodiazepines and electroconvulsive therapy in refractory cases are effective and safe, and may resolve catatonic syndrome rapidly. When newly-onset psychotic symptoms in catatonic patients with established psychotic disorders occur, delirium should be suspected and appropriately managed. An extensive clinical and laboratory diagnostic workup to determine the underlying etiology of catatonic syndrome should be carried out. In cases of acute multi-morbidity, the exact cause of catatonic syndrome in psychiatric patients may be unclear. It is recommended to avoid antipsychotic drugs in acutely catatonic patients, because they may exacerbate the catatonic symptoms. The akinetic type of catatonia should be differentiated from hypoactive delirium, as treatments for these syndromes differ substantially. When a psychiatric patient presents with symptomatology of both catatonia and delirium, treatment is particularly challenging.


Globally, after several years of effective and efficient performance, the level of productivity in the oil and gas industry is moving headlong into dissolution. This may seem hard to imagine, given the increase of the U.S. oil production and the growing sense of optimism that is sweeping the sector.However, in Nigeria, In spite of the massive amount of money expended in servicing the industry, there has been a steady decline of the sector leading to the liquidation of various oil and gas servicing companies, massive retrenchment of workers in the private sectors, increasing tendency of employees to leave the organisation and a sharp drop in employee productivity. Thus, this paper investigated perceived organisational support and employee productivity of Nigerian Oil and Gas servicing companies. The paper adopted cross-sectional survey research design. A validated survey instrument was tested on 421 employees and the findings showed that perceived organisational support has a positive and significant effect ( 0.513, 0.05) p    on employees" productivity of selected oil and gas firms in Lagos state, Nigeria. The study therefore recommends that oil and gas firms in Nigeria and others along same value chain must continue to strive to give workers continued support in terms of fairness of policy, providing supervisory support, work-life balance support, work flexibility and show appreciation for the work done which invariably will enhance employees" productivity.


The hydrodynamic theory for the axial sinusoidal oscillation of a viscoelastic fluid in a rigid tube of infinite length and circular cross section is given. The fluid is assumed to be incompressible. Its properties in sinusoidal shear are described by a complex coefficient of viscosity. An equation for the velocity profile is developed and typical profile curves are presented. Equations for the acoustic impedance per unit length of tube are also obtained. Functions from which the acoustic resistence and reactance are directly obtainable for a wide range of the physical parameters are determined and are presented in graphical form. Viscoelastic media which range from a perfect viscous fluid to a perfect elastic solid are treated.


Thin capitalization describes disequilibrium in the capital structure of a company. It occurs when its indebtedness exceeds the level of its equity shares. Standing from a Tax Law point of view, Thin Capitalization is far from being neutral owed to the deductibility of debt interests. Therefore, two kinds of Thin Capitalizations may be identified. In a first type, the ''abuse of thin capitalization'', indebtedness is used to elude partially, or totally direct taxes on income. Contrarily to the second type, the''pathologic thin capitalization'' where, indebtedness is only a consequence of an insufficient access to equity financings. This dissertation studies solutions proposed by Tax and Corporate Laws to solve thin capitalization problems from French and International scopes. For that purpose, two approaches are suggested: ''repressive'', and ''preventive''. The ''repressive approach'' consists in prohibiting the abusive tax planning schemes using exclusively debt financing methods (part one). The ''preventive approach'' tends to encourage subscriptions to equity capital of corporations in need of permanent cash from companies or individuals as well (part two).


In recent years, the decision-making patterns for purchasing new luxury goods and the phenomenon of symbolization of commodity are gradually increasing in Taiwan. For manufacturers, they enhance the value-added commodity by creating the brand sign and giving the symbolic meaning; for consumers, they not only pay attention to the effective function of commodities, but also focus on psychological dimensions of experience and satisfaction. In this study, we use MUJI and UNIQLO as research subjects, and use the symbolic consumption theory, the new luxury, and the cultural identity theory as the framework to make discussion. We analyze the sign value created by the marketing strategy of Taiwan MUJI and Taiwan UNIQLO; on the other hand, we interpret the purchase value of these new luxury brands which come from Japan and shift their original brand spirit. In this study, after we collect the brand manufacturers' relevant background information for the interview guide and content analysis, we interview the users of Japanese consumer culture from different backgrounds to carry out the case studies. Twenty respondents were interviewed to develop the consumption structure consists of three dimensions, namely, new luxury brand sign, corporate marketing strategies and meaning construction of consumers. The three dimensions influence and interact with each other mutually, and together form a picture to meet the real needs for consumers by providing competitive products in modern society. Japanese brands such as MUJI and UNIQLO both attract much attention in Taiwan, and the common points of these brands are to create high texture and high symbolic value of brand value. MUJI and UNIQLO did a great job to arouse consumers' emotional appeal which makes symbolic value of commodities given successfully. Therefore, if Taiwanese manufacturers want to enter the new luxury market in Taiwan, in order to achieve to meet the real needs of the modern consumers, they can use signs of symbolic factors to make resonation with consumers emotionally.


Competition ebbs and flows in cycles. Prior research has recognized the importance of studying the temporal facet of rivalry. A number of studies have examined the antecedents of competitive disruptions. No attention however has been paid to the duration of such disruptions, which has an important effect on the speed by which competitors settle into new equilibrium and industry profitability. To begin filling this gap, integrating insights from game theory and the social embeddedness perspective, we propose that market stability, the presence of new CEO, indirect interlocking directorship, common institutional ownership and multi-market contact all affect the duration of competitive disruptions in markets. Hypotheses are tested in US domestic airline industry and the evidence is largely supportive.


Tallahassee, Fla. - Florida's successful fishing industries support thousands of jobs and bolster the state economy, but the rapid growth of Florida's highly invasive lionfish population is a serious threat to the sector, according to an Economy Commentary from the nonpartisan Florida TaxWatch. On the heels of last week's National Invasive Species Awareness Week, the TaxWatch report highlights the vulnerability posed by non-native lionfish. "Florida fishing provides jobs, local food and unique tourism experiences, which must be preserved as they are critical pieces of Florida's diversified economy," said Dominic M. Calabro, President and CEO of Florida TaxWatch. "By taking steps to control Florida's lionfish population, the state is protecting valuable Florida resources and needed jobs." Florida's saltwater commercial fishing industry is the second-largest in the nation, and supports nearly 65,000 jobs, while saltwater recreational fishing is responsible for more than 109,000 jobs. The report notes that the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is working to control the population of lionfish by encouraging lionfish removal in derbies around the state, promoting a lionfish reporting smartphone app, and prohibiting lionfish from being imported for aquariums. Lionfish have no natural predators in Florida waters, and compete with other fish for food, while often feeding off of Florida's native fish populations, including snapper and grouper. The Florida red grouper fishing harvest totaled more than


An intelligent monitoring system for city street single lamp control is presented,in which the low-voltage power line communication is adopted.A communication scheme of single lamp relay mode is proposed according to line style structure for street lamp distribution and the characteristic of power line communication.The noise from low-voltage electrified wire network is analysed,and the corresponding solution in hardware and software is provided.The experiment shows that the scheme can meet the requirements of city street lamp control.


The amount of calcium, magnesium and phosphorus in the shell portion (shell with shell membrane) of eggs of guineafowl and chicken at various times during the stay in the uterus was measured by an atomic absorption spectrometry or colorimetric method. All of the minerals were found to increase during the stay in the uterus, but the aspect of the increase differs between the minerals : parabolic in calcium, linear in magnesium, and quadratic in phosphorus, and also differs between the guineafowl and the chicken.


This article aims to look at how montage videos constitute a speech genre. In this way, we try to think like this genre was mobilized to construct sense around the ex-president image of Lula. As theoretical and methodological basis, we take the ideas of Mikhail Bakhtin to think about the issue of gender discourse montage videos looking to position ourselves in a more mediatized. We support the gender issue from the notion of scene of enunciation proposed by Dominique Maingueneau.


This paper presents a detailed experimental approach for understanding and optimizing the hover performance of Martian UAV rotor, including a systematic discussion about several coefficients for hover characteristics and a detailed design approach for rotor blades of Martian UAV at Reynolds numbers lower than 50000. The discussed hover performance coefficients include figure of merit, thrust coefficient, thrust weighted solidity, power loading and disk loading, and these coefficients are also used to evaluate the hover performance of a specific rotor configuration. In addition, rotor parameters are investigated and analyzed in this experimental approach, including airfoil, camber, solidity, blade chord, number of blades and blade twist. These parameters are the major factors significantly influence the rotor hover performance. A detailed rotor design approach is proposed based on the experimental result by optimizing the hover performance coefficients and rotor parameters.


Nelson Mandela International Day (18 July) honours the ideals that underpinned Madiba's actions – freedom, universal enfranchisement, and participatory democracy. As Mandela once said, "We can change the world and make it a better place. It is in your hands to make a difference." More than a quarter-century after grass-roots pro-democracy movements began replacing authoritarian regimes in many African countries, and despite marked progress toward democratic governance, many new democracies continue to suffer from a number of democratic deficits. One of these is low levels of civic participation.


Kalman Filter (KF) has been used to the detection of nonstationary Epileptic Spikes (ES). For this purpose, it is considered that the nonstationary ElectroEncephaloGram (EEG) can be modeled by Time-Varying AutoRegressive model (TVAR). KF estimates the AutoRegressive (AR) coefficients by which we calculate another signal. The Epileptic spikes in this estimated signal are accentuated and the background activity is attenuated. The detection step is based on thresholding to localize the ES. Knowledge of this detection method is insufficient to apply it, it is necessary to know the conditions under which it gives results that can be trusted. In this paper, we are interested in the study of spikes width effect on the result of detection. For this purpose, we used a synthetic EEG containing triangular spikes which constitute nonstationarities.


This research work investigated the influence of socio-psychological factors on the educational aspiration of married women in Rivers State. A stratified random sample of 680 married women selected purposively from 8 out of 23 local government areas of Rivers State was used for the study. The sample covered both the urban and rural residential areas (4 urban local government areas and 4 rural local government areas). An 80-item questionnaire consisting of 60 positive and 20 negative questions aimed at examining the influence of socio-psychological factors such as attitude to education, self concept, and job Interest, on the educational aspiration of married women, was constructed to enable the researcher collect adequate information for the study. For the purpose of analyses of data, mean, standard deviation and t-test were used. Findings revealed that the married women in Rivers State generally have high educational aspiration and chances are there that given a boost, their educational aspiration may even be higher. The findings also revealed that there was no significant difference in the educational aspiration of married women, with high and low level of education, and married women with high and low level of income. There was however significant difference; between the educational aspiration of married women in the urban and rural locations, between the educational aspiration of married women and their attitude to education, between the education aspiration of married women and their job interest. Out of the 6 null hypotheses formulated, 2 were accepted while 4 were rejected. Some recommendations were made and suggestions offered. Keywords : educational aspirations, socio-psychological factors, location, level of education, level of income, self-concept, job interest Nigerian Journal of Guidance and Counselling Vol. 13 (1) 2008: pp. 92-108


The problem of the condition of artists in Poland is rarely addressed in public debate, which is particularly surprising in the world of growing disproportion between rapid development of the art market (the number of galleries, rising prices of auctioning) and still financially unstable and difficult situation of artists. The paper attempts to look at the economic and social status of Polish artists through the analysis of the artistic work of a Polish artist Joanna Rajkowska who tries to find her position in the socio-economic system, without giving up her creative activity. At the end of the paper the author will try to answer the question whether socially engaged art can bring about major changes in the system of financing art.


Information about a real patient is presented in stages (boldface type) to an expert clinician (Dr Adler), who responds to the information, sharing his reasoning with the reader (regular type). A discussion by the authors follows.

Patient presentation: Mr H is a 61-year-old man with a medical history significant for hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and benign prostatic hyperplasia who was admitted to the medical service with a chief complaint of fevers. Eleven years before presentation, the patient underwent a prostate biopsy for a rapidly rising prostate-specific antigen, and there was no evidence for malignancy. The biopsy was complicated by septicemia, which was treated with antibiotics. Four months before admission, the patient presented to the urology clinic with worsening urinary retention, and the decision was made to proceed to transurethral resection of the prostate. A preoperative workup was significant only for a urine culture growing 1000 colonies of enterococcus, and no antimicrobial treatment was given. He underwent a technically successful transurethral resection of the prostate and was discharged home the next day after passing a voiding trial.

Two days after being discharged, the patient had fevers to 102°F and was readmitted to the hospital. He was found to have an Enterococcus faecalis urinary tract infection and was treated with 1 day of intravenous cefepime before being discharged the next day on a 7-day course of amoxicillin–clavulanic acid. On the day after discharge, blood cultures that were drawn on admission grew E faecalis with the same susceptibility pattern cultured from the urine, but there was no alteration in the treatment plan. The patient's fevers resolved.

One month before admission, the patient presented to an outside emergency department with decreased exercise capacity, pleuritic back pain, and malaise. Computed tomography of the chest with contrast identified a right …


The newly developed multiphase transformation-induced plasticity (TRIP) steels are of interest for industrial applications because of their excellent combination of high strength and ductility. Their performance can be successfully controlled by designing an optimum balance in the volume fractions of ferrite, bainite and retained austenite. The characteristics of the retained austenite are considered to be the main key to achieving the desired final properties. Against this background, the effects of retained austenite characteristics, such as volume fraction, carbon concentration, size and shape, on the behaviour of TRIP steels have been studied. The crystallographic orientation of the retained austenite was measured by electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD). The effect of initial cold-rolling reduction on the microtexture development of the retained austenite was studied on an aluminium-containing TRIP steel. The results show that, by increasing the cold-rolling reduction before the final austempering, the main components of the face-centred cubic phase, i.e. copper, brass and Goss, dominate the texture of the retained austenite. In contrast, the copper and Goss components of the retained austenite are absent in the texture of lightly deformed sheets. The features of the preferred orientation of the retained austenite are discussed and explained in terms of the annealing texture of the recrystallized ferrite and bainite.


To research the time complexity of indirect interaction patterns quantitatively,fuzzy-timing Petri nets models of three basic indirect interaction patterns were proposed as well as fuzzy time complexity of three indirect interaction patterns.Reachability tree searching algorithm from sponsor to receiver of integrated interaction pattern could deal with the three indirect interaction patterns and calculate fuzzy time complexity of integrated interaction pattern.Finally,an instance was used to analyze the application of indirect interaction patterns in the prosses of establishing integrated interaction pattern.The method can evaluate time complexity of integrated interaction pattern and help choosing integrated interaction patterns.


Sound waves in dielectric liquid, that consists of subsystems of valence electrons with effective mass and ions which interact through the long-wave potential electric field are considered, on analogies with metallic liquid, but with a requirement, that electric current is absent. It is shown that usual description of sound wave in an ideal liquid as wave of mass density and mass velocity follows from the offered consideration. It is also shown that sound waves on the other hand can be considered as waves of potential electric field in an environment. Introduction of phonons in both cases is considered.