.................................................................................................................................. iii LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................... vii LIST OF TABLES ....................................................................................................................... viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................................. ix CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................1 CHAPTER 2: BACKGROUND AND LITERATURE REVIEW ..................................................3 2.1 Literature Review ..............................................................................................................3 2.2 History ...............................................................................................................................4 2.2.1 Thermocouple History ...............................................................................................4 2.2.2 TEG History ...............................................................................................................5 2.2.3 Peltier History ............................................................................................................6 2.3 Applications ......................................................................................................................6 2.3.1 Thermocouple/TEG ...................................................................................................6 2.3.2 Peltier .........................................................................................................................8 2.4 Thermoelectric Generator vs Peltier ...............................................................................10 2.4.1 Cooling .....................................................................................................................10 2.4.2 Power Generation.....................................................................................................10 2.4.3 Thermal Breakdown.................................................................................................10 2.4.4 Cost ..........................................................................................................................11 2.4.5 Power Generation Efficiency ...................................................................................11 2.5 Thermoelectric Generator vs. Photovoltaic .....................................................................11


Maglev vibration measurement system model was designed and the kinetic equation of Maglev vibration test system was built. The vibration equation shows that the relative displacement of the variable between the magnetic levitation ball and the instrument housing constitute a second order linear differential equations. By amplitude-frequency characteristics and phase-frequency characteristics analysis confirmed that when the frequency of the vibration signal measured is higher the relative displacement between the magnetic levitation ball and instrument housing is inversely related to vibration signals measured. Theory confirmed that maglev vibration measurement system can achieve absolute vibration measurement without absolute reference point. In order to verify the correctness of the theory some standard vibration signals were generated by standard vibration platform. The vibration waveforms generated by vibration platform were measured by magnetic levitation vibration measurement system. Test shows that Maglev vibration test system can achieve absolute vibration measurements. The frequency-domain power spectrum signals of these vibration waveforms measured were obtained by FFT transform. In order to eliminate the influence of high-frequency interference signals, in the power spectrum, the high frequency component is removed. Then the vibration signals closer to vibration platform are obtained by FFT inverse transform. Maglev vibration measurement system has high sensitivity and eliminates mechanical clearance error, etc. This method is a new method of vibration measurement. Through data analysis and processing, it can reduce the distortion. This method lays the foundation for the practical application of the method.


Inspired by the directional and phase characteristics of textures,a novel texture image segmentation approach based on dual tree contourlet transform is proposed.Dual tree contourlet is constructed by the pyramidal dual-tree directional filter bank,it not only maintains the flexibility direction selectivity of the contourlet transform,overcomes the limitation of traditional contourlet which namely lack of shift invariance but also provides complex subband coefficients.The proposed scheme using the energy of each directional subbands as the directional features,and defining the mean phase angle of complex coefficents as the phase features for segmentaion.Finally,the fuzzy C-means clustering method is used to complete the texture image segmentation.Experiment results demonstrated,the phase features are complementary to the directional features;compared with a typical traditional method,the present approach shows visible improvements both in diminishing segmentation error,and in increasing boundary precision and region harmony.


Vaccines worldwide have become the product of greatest benefit to the community, failure to comply with the vaccination scheme generates very low and insufficient coverages in our country and in our province, and it also brings complications for the child.

The purpose of this work is to determine the factors related to the noncompliance of the vaccination scheme in infants of 6-12 months attended in the urban health center of Quevedo, in the period of October 2018 - April 2019, for which a quantitative approach was used, descriptive and transversal.

The study was conducted in 60 mothers of children under 1 years of age, who were given a survey in order to know their criteria and perspectives concerning vaccination. The data obtained were processed statistically, with the result that 65% of mothers between 21 and 35 years of age, in free union, 35% are mothers who have studied secondary school, do not have stable work, finally 65% of mothers They refer not to vaccinate their children because of ignorance of the importance of the vaccine within the first 5 years of life and for a bit of carelessness, 56% of mothers have difficulty mobilizing that some expect the EAIS arrive at home, which means that the mothers of a family there is a range that are adolescents that this gives us a reflection of a little irresponsibility on the part of the mothers. Factors affect knowledge, more than personal factors.


For an $n$-bit positive integer $a$ written in binary as $$ a = \sum_{j=0}^{n-1} \varepsilon_{j}(a) \,2^j $$ where, $\varepsilon_j(a) \in \{0,1\}$, $j\in\{0, \ldots, n-1\}$, $\varepsilon_{n-1}(a)=1$, let us define $$ \overleftarrow{a} = \sum_{j=0}^{n-1} \varepsilon_j(a)\,2^{n-1-j}, $$ the digital reversal of $a$. Also let $\mathcal{B}_n = \{2^{n-1}\leq a<2^n:~a \text{ odd}\}.$ With a sieve argument, we obtain an upper bound of the expected order of magnitude for the number of $p \in \mathcal{B}_n$ such that $p$ and $\overleftarrow{p}$ are prime. We also prove that for sufficiently large $n$, $$ \left|\{a \in \mathcal{B}_n:~ \max \{\Omega (a), \Omega (\overleftarrow{a})\}\le 8 \}\right| \ge c\, \frac{2^n}{n^2}, $$ where $\Omega(n)$ denotes the number of prime factors counted with multiplicity of $n$ and $c>0$ is an absolute constant. Finally, we provide an asymptotic formula for the number of $n$-bit integers $a$ such that $a$ and $\overleftarrow{a}$ are both squarefree. Our method leads us to provide various estimates for the exponential sum $$ \sum_{a \in \mathcal{B}_n} \exp\left(2\pi i (\alpha a + \vartheta \overleftarrow{a})\right) \quad(\alpha,\vartheta \in\mathbb{R}). $$


Procedures are described for the synthesis of the following metabolites of deltamethrin, the pyrethroid insecticide: 3-phenoxy (carboxyl-14C) benzoic acid, 3-(2′-hydroxyphenoxy) (carboxyl-14C) benzoic acid and the corresponding 3-phenoxybenzyl alcohols, specific activity = 47–57 mCi/mmol.


The Collections of microbial cultures are considered centers of biological resources because they preserve strains of microorganisms that can be used in different microbiological, biotechnological, educational and research studies; therefore is necessary to apply appropriate preservation methods to ensure their viability, availability and protection of their phenotypic characteristics, genotypic and industrial potential. The aim of this study was to establish a collection of microbial strains for use in training and applied in research projects at Coffee for training Center SENA-Regional Caldas. In this study instructors conducted twelve microbial strains from research and trainees using preservation techniques in sterile distilled water and 10 % glycerol those were retained. Preservative was performed in 2 mL cryovials tubes adjusted to an optical density 1 (9x108 UFC/mL) MacFarland scale. The viability and purity was assessed preserved strains, resuming them in selective media for each type of microorganism, in order to observe changes in physiological and morphological characteristics of the cultures and to determine the efficiency of preservation methods evaluated. According to the results obtained in tests, they could be identified fully 12 microbial genera corresponding to Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus pumilus, Candida albicans, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Salmonella sp, Clostridium perfringens, Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus sp, Pseudomonas putida, Pseudomonas mendocina and Hafnia alvei, likewise positive growth of these microorganisms retain their viability was observed in both purity and preservation techniques used.


QG successes: BPS BH entropy counts, AdS/CFT (including its implication of BH unitarity) ST plausibly fits with interpretation as selection effect. Mechanisms for inflation (UV sensitive!), some observationally testable. Spinoffs/interplay: --Particle physics: SUSY as a possibility (but note: not generic in ST!), hidden sectors,... --Cosmology: Inflation mechanisms inform EFT & data analyses --CMT: AdS/CMT, hydro, 3d dualities, chaos --Abstract QFT: SUSY gauge theory dualities, non-Lagrangian, bootstrap, amplitudes,...... --Math


The measure of control of respiratory tuberculosis in industry through mass radiography, assuming the service to be accepted and organized at regular intervals, depends mainly on how great a proportion of employees volunteer for radiological examination at any one time. The response varies between different factories and in our experience may be from 5 to 100%. Such a wide range cannot be explained solely by differences in the attitude of individual workers. There are obviously other fac tors to be considered. One of the more tangible factors which may affect participation in a mass radiography survey, and one which could influence both employees and management, is the distance which volunteers have to travel from their place of work to the unit. It is reasonable to assume that the nearer the unit is situated to the employees, the better the response will be. In practice, however, it is not easy to move rapidly the complicated machinery of a radiography unit, and the premises of small factories may be inadequate, with the result that surveys of small groups of employees may prove uneconomical. It is, therefore, a matter of some importance to explore the extent to which atten dance figures depend on the distance separating examinees from the unit in relation to the size of the factory concerned. With this aim in view, a mass radiography survey covering a compact industrial estate was organized in 1955 on the following lines:? (1) At 52 factories the unit operated successively in the centre of a number of areas, the radius of which did not exceed 100 yards. (2) Twenty-four factories were visited individually, with the unit operating in the factory grounds. The attendance figures were then compared with those of the 1953 survey in which the unit worked on a single site and all the factories were situated within approxi mately one mile of it. In both surveys the same 76 factories were involved and the same type of propaganda was used. In only four factories was the number of employees in 1955 much different from that in 1953. The results are shown in Table 1. There was no appreciable difference between the responses in the two surveys. The slightly higher response for smaller factories in 1955 was com pensated by a slightly lower response in the larger establishments. Both surveys covered the same factories, with little change in the age and sex structure of their respective employees. In our experience repeat surveys result, if anything, in a higher response than first surveys. It appears, there fore, that by bringing the unit almost to the doorstep of the factory, no improvement in attendance was


To the editor:

The International Prognostic Scoring System (IPSS), which is based on cytogenetics, BM blast percentage, and number of cytopenias, has played a major role in prognosis assessment in myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) since its publication in 1997. The recently published revised IPSS (


OBJECTIVE To study the influence of mannatide injection on immunities of gallbladder cancer patients and prevention of postoperative infections so as to provide guidance for clinical treatment.METHODS A total of 160 cases of gallbladder cancer,who were treated in the hospital from Jan 2011 to Jan 2013,were enrolled in the study and randomly divided into the experimental group and the control group,with 80 cases in each,then the experimental group was treated with mannatide injection from 3 days before surgery through 7 days after the surgery,while the control group was given the equal amount of glucose,both groups received the conventional use of antibiotics for treatment of infections;the clinical efficacy,incidence of postoperative infections,the changes of levels of inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-2(IL-2),interleukin-6(IL-6),interleukin-10(IL-10),tumor necrosis factor-a(TNF-a),and the changes of levels of endotoxin,T lymphocyte subsets CD3+,CD4+,CD8+ and NK cell were observed and compared between the two groups.RESULTS Seven days after surgery,the levels of IL-10,TNF-a,and endotoxin of the experimental group were significantly reduced(P0.05),while the levels of IL-2 and IL-10 were significantly elevated(P0.05);the levels of IL-6 and TNF-a of the control group were significantly decreased(P0.05);as compared with those before the surgery,the indicators of the experimental group did not change significantly after the surgery;the levels of CD3+and CD4+ were reduced,the level of CD4+/CD8+ elevated,the level of NK cell decreased.Four days after surgery,the level of CD3+o f the experi mental group was elevated,the levels of CD8+ and CD4+/CD8+ decreased;the levels of CD3+ and CD4+ of the control groups were reduced,the level of CD4+/CD8+ elevated,the level of NK cell decreased.Seven days after surgery,the levels of CD3+、and CD4+ of the experimental groups were elevated,the levels of CD8+、and CD4+/ CD8+ decreased,the level of NK cell elevated;the levels of the indicators of the control group did not change significant,as compared with the control group,the levels of the CD3+,CD4+,and NK cell of the experimental group were elevated after the surgery;4 or 7 days after surgery,the levels of CD3+、and CD4+ were elevated,the level of CD8+ decreased,the level of NK cell elevated;the infection rate was 7.5% in the experimental group, 22.5% in the control group;as compared with all the data above,the differences between the two groups were statistically significant(P0.05).The total effective rate 4 days after surgery was 30.0% in the experimental group,27.5% in the control group;the total effective rate 7 days after surgery was 90.0% in the experimental group,82.5% in the control group,the differences were not statistically significant.CONCLUSION The application of mannatide injection before the gallbladder cancer surgery can effectively improve the immunities of the patients and reduce the infection rate,which may not affect the clinical efficacy.


Preoperative anaemia is associated with adverse outcomes in colorectal cancer (CRC). To clarify the reason for this we aimed to comprehensively assess the association of preoperative anaemia with tumour characteristics, host systemic inflammation and nutrition status, and perioperative blood transfusion.


The internal administrative acts of judicial relief,with its certain legal ambiguity,are controversial in the current theoretical study.The status-quote has affected the smooth conducting of administrative proceedings and the protection of the rights and interests of the administrative counterparts.This article makes a distinction between various acts and divides them into the nature of work and personnel;divides the internal administrative acts into the relative rights and obligations of the administrative counterparts and includes the former into the limits of legal relief,which is feasible in practice.


Horizontal and sagittal dipole layer distributions were estimated from scalp electroencephalogram for three dimensional dipole imaging of brain electrical activity. Horizontal dipole layer being parallel to the brain surface has been used in previous head models. In the present study, the dipole layer distribution in the sagittal plane was also introduced to identify the position of dipole sources in three dimensions. The parametric projection filter was applied to an inverse problem in a homogeneous plane head model under various signal conditions. The present simulation results suggest that the depth information of dipole sources could be observed by the present method.


Seeds have been identified as major sources of introduction and spread of pathogens, with viruses being detected in the seed and also on the seed coat. In this study, the infectivity of Maize chlorotic mottle virus (MCMV) through seeds was investigated. Maize seeds that had tested positive for MCMV previously using double antibody enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (DAS-ELISA) and real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (real time RT-PCR) were obtained from various sources. The seeds were soaked in phosphate buffer overnight and the solution used to inoculate maize seedlings. The whole seed was also ground and mixed with the buffer and used for inoculation of seedlings by hand rubbing. Visible MCMV symptoms were observed on less than 2% of the 547 seedlings inoculated with the seed soak and seed extract from contaminated seed 28 days after inoculation and this was confirmed using DAS-ELISA. Use of real time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction revealed infectivity of MCMV from one of the seed sources used. The mean cycle threshold (Ct) values of samples that showed infectivity ranged from 28.21 to 29.40 cycles. The means were significantly different (P<0.001) from the other samples tested, the healthy and negative controls. When compared to seedlings inoculated with MCMV-infected leaf sap, there was visible development of symptoms associated with MCMV infection, with a severity score of three and Ct values as low as 11.53. The results show evidence of infection of MCMV on maize seedlings caused by virus present in seed extract. Despite rare occurrence of infectivity, the presence of viable virus may cause spread of the virus in the field, leading to development of maize lethal necrosis disease where a cereal potyvirus is present.


Vocational competence being the core purpose of higher vocational education,the curriculum design in this field should be taken vocational needs into consideration and stress vocational competence and professionalism.With this understanding,the jobs obtained by Suzhou Health College's graduates were analyzed in the past three years,the surveys were conducted extensively,and vocational task and competence analysis meetings were held to find out the qualities and abilities required for different jobs.Based on its findings,the College managed to design a curriculum which emphasizes vocational ethics and competence for its rehabilitation technology program.The program curriculum included vocational foundation courses,vocational core courses,vocational orientation courses,elective courses,and practice courses.Besides,various flexible student-centered teaching methods were adopted to cultivate the students' abilities,and combined process and product assessment was made by using vocational competence criteria.


There is no indication on the stage of fetal development at which the PT cells acquire the ability to synthetize PTH. In order to gain such information, we performed immunocytological studies on PT glands from 29 normal 6 to 24 week-old fetuses obtained after legal abortion, and 1 anenoephalic 35 week-old fetus. Antiserum (GP03) was obtained against bovine PT extracts in guinea-pig ; it cross-reacted with human PTH and was directed against the carboxy-terminal end of PTH. The immunofluorescent reaction was carried out by the indirect method, and its specificity was tested by the usual procedure. No immunoreactive PTH-containing cells were observed in the PT glands of the 6 fetuses younger than 10 weeks, in spite of the fact that organized PT glands were identified by histological method. By contrast, the PT cells gave constantly a fluorescent staining in all fetuses older than 10 weeks of gestation including the anencephalic fetus. All cells were immunoreactive either as a cellular peripheral edging or as a more diffuse cytoplasmic staining around the nucleus. No immunoreactive cells were observed in thyroid or thymic parenchyma. Previous in vitro studies (Soothorne, Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci., 120 : 669, 1964) suggested that PT function might be active at 12 weeks of gestation. Our data suggest that immunoreactive parathyroid hormone is synthetized by PT gland as early as 10 weeks of gestation, and is present as well in the anencephalic fetus.


Odontogenic tumours encompass a diverse group of uncommon tumours that are frequently aggressive in their biological behaviour. They comprise 2.4% of all the lesions biopsied


INTRODUCTION : Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) is a devastating medical condition which results in decreased sensation
below the level of injury, decreased motor power and decreased bladder and bowel control. "An
ailment not to be treated" is what is written in the Edwin Smith Surgical Papyrus,1 written in Egypt
between 2500 and 3000 B.C regarding Spinal Cord Injury. Thanks to Dr. Mary Varghese who did
pioneering work in India by establishing a department for Spinal cord injured patients and efforts of
several other leaders in this speciality across the world, we are now able to treat persons with spinal
cord injuries and improve their quality of life.
Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) has long-term effects in many aspects of an individual's life.
Acute SCI patients commonly have two major questions for which they seek answers, one is if they can
walk and the other is if they can have normal bowel and bladder sensation and control. Anxiety about
one's urinary continence is often one of the major preoccupations of a person with spinal cord injury.
The degree of bladder dysfunction may be related to the injury itself, the level of the spinal cord
affected by the injury, and the severity of neurological impairment. Investigation techniques used to
help address the issue of predicting bladder outcome in persons with acute SCI include clinical
examination, X-rays of the spine, CT scan, MRI and electrophysiological examinations.
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES : The aim of the study was
1. To examine the value of Neurological and Radiological examinations in predicting bladder
function in persons with Thoraco-Lumbar fractures and Spinal Injury.
2. To determine if ASIA incomplete spinal lesions on clinical examination will have a better
prognosis for bladder function in the form of volitional voiding.
3. To determine the role of bulbocavernous reflex in predicting the type of bladder.
4. To determine if persons with a vertebral fracture at T12 or above will have a hyperreflexic
bladder and those with of L-1 and below will have an areflexic bladder.
5. To determine if those with a mild narrowing of the vertebral canal have a better prognosis for
volitional voiding.
MATERIALS AND METHODS : Inclusion criteria
Twenty consecutive patients with thoracolumbar fractures and spinal injury, admitted in
the Department of Physical Medicine Rehabilitation, Christian Medical College, and
Vellore within three weeks of injury, were recruited into the study.
Exclusion criteria:
1. Patients with non-traumatic paraplegia were excluded.
2. Patients with pre-existing thoraco-lumbar scoliosis were also excluded as evaluating
the x-rays for canal size would be difficult.
METHODS:
After data collection it was subjected to statistical analysis using SPSS
Software Vs. 11.0.
Data were expressed as number (%) and mean +/- standard deviation for categorical and
continuous variables.
Chi-square/Fisher's exact tests were used for group comparisons.
Independent t- test (for normal data) and Mann-Whitney test (for non-normal data) were
performed to compare the mean scores.
RESULTS:
• There was a significant correlation found between ASIA impairment scale
obtained during the first neurological examination and volitional voiding.
• There was a significant correlation found between ASIA motor scores more than
50, ASIA sensory scores more than 90, joint position sense of the great toe
preserved obtained during the first neurological examination and volitional
voiding.
• The use of Canal body ratio at the level of vertebral fracture on plain radiographs
was not useful in prediction of volitional voiding. Therefore plain radiography
was not found to be a good predictor of bladder function in persons with
thoracolumbar fractures and with spinal cord injury.
CONCLUSION : In this study a possible association between initial neurological evaluation
and radiological findings and bladder function at discharge in SCI patients
with thoracolumbar fractures was tested. Neurological examination included
sensory evaluation, joint position sense in the great toe, motor examination,
and voluntary contraction of the external anal sphincter and bulbocavernous
reflex. Radiological examination was done using plain X- rays and the canal
body ratio and sagittal transverse ratio were calculated.
20 patients with thoracolumbar fractures who fulfilled the inclusion criteria were
admitted in the study and the following conclusions arrived at:
1. A significant correlation was found between ASIA impairment scale obtained
during the first neurological examination and volitional voiding (Fisher's exact
test, P<0.05).
2. A significant correlation was found between ASIA motor scores more than 50
obtained during the first neurological examination and volitional voiding
(Fisher's exact test, P<0.05).
3. A significant correlation was found between ASIA sensory scores more than 90
obtained during the first neurological examination and volitional voiding
(Fisher's exact test, P<0.05).
4. A significant correlation was found between joint position sense of the great
toe preserved during the first neurological examination and volitional voiding
(Fisher's exact test, P<0.05).
5. The presence of Bulbocavernous reflex did not predict the type of bladder
dysfunction on Urodynamic evaluation (P> 0.05). However an absence of
Bulbocavernous reflex predicted an areflexic bladder.
6. The level of fracture did not correspond to the type of bladder.
7. The use of Canal body ratio at the level of vertebral fracture on plain radiographs
was not useful in prediction of volitional voiding. (P> 0.05)
8. Therefore plain radiography was not found to be a good predictor of bladder
function in persons with thoracolumbar fractures and with spinal cord injury.
9. Therefore the parameters: initial ASIA Impairment Scale from B to D, ASIA motor
score > 50, ASIA sensory score > 90 and preservation of joint position sense of the
great toe may be used to predict volitional voiding in persons with thoracolumbar
fractures and spinal cord injury.


'Openness' has become an important paradigm for organizations over the past decade in multiple fields. Recently also the strategy process has been changing. While strategizing was traditionally per...


The human type VII collagen gene (COL7A1) recently has been identified as an immediate-early response gene for transforming growth factor b (TGF-b)ySMAD signaling pathway. In this study, by using MDA-MB-468 SMAD42y2 breast carcinoma cells, we demonstrate that expression of SMAD4 is an absolute requirement for SMADmediated promoter activity. We also demonstrate that the SMAD binding sequence (SBS) representing the TGF-b response element in the region 2496y2444 of the COL7A1 promoter functions as an enhancer in the context of a heterologous promoter. Electrophoretic mobility-shift assays with nuclear extracts from COS-1 cells transfected with expression vectors for SMADs 1–5 indicate that SMAD3 forms a complex with a migration similar to that of the endogenous TGF-bspecific complex observed in fibroblast extracts. Electrophoretic mobility-shift assays using recombinant glutathione S-transferase-SMAD fusion proteins indicate that both SMAD4 and C-terminally truncated SMAD3, but not SMAD2, can bind the COL7A1 SBS. Coexpression of SMAD3 and SMAD4 in COS-1 cells leads to the formation of two complexes: a DNAyprotein complex containing SMAD3 alone and another slower-migrating complex containing both SMAD3 and SMAD4, the latter complex not being detected in fibroblasts. Maximal transactivation of COL7A1 SBS-driven promoters in either MDA-MB-468 carcinoma cells or fibroblasts requires concomitant overexpression of SMAD3 and SMAD4. These data may represent the first identification of a functional homomeric SMAD3 complex regulating a human gene. Members of the transforming growth factor b (TGF-b) family of growth factors signal through serineythreonine kinase transmembrane receptors. On activation by TGF-b or related ligands, signaling from the receptors to the nucleus is mediated by phosphorylation of cytoplasmic mediators called SMADs (reviewed in refs. 1 and 2). The receptor-associated SMADs, such as SMAD1, SMAD2, SMAD3, and SMAD5, interact directly with, and are phosphorylated by, activated TGF-b receptor type I (TBRI or BMPRI) (3–6). They are ligandspecific and form, on phosphorylation, heteromeric complexes with SMAD4. The latter functions as a common mediator for all SMAD pathways (7–9). These complexes then are translocated into the nucleus, where they function as transcription factors, possibly in association with other proteins, such as the recently described Fast1 and Fast2 (7, 10, 11). The third group of SMAD proteins, the inhibitory SMADs such as SMAD6 or SMAD7, prevent phosphorylation andyor nuclear translocation of receptor-associated SMADs (12–15). Most of the knowledge of the biological endpoints of SMAD pathways has been gained from studies in Xenopus laevis, Caenorhabditis elegans, and Drosophila melanogaster by using genetic screens aimed at understanding the downstream events of serine-threonine kinase receptors of the TGF-b family (reviewed in refs. 1 and 2). Although SMADs play a major role in TGF-b signaling in mammals, very few of the human targets for SMADs have been identified thus far. They include plasminogen activator inhibitor-1, (16, 17), p21 (18), Jun-B (19), and type VII collagen (COL7A1) (20). In the latter case, we have demonstrated that TGF-b up-regulation of COL7A1 gene expression in dermal fibroblasts is mediated by rapid and transient binding of a SMAD-containing complex to the region 2496y2444 of the COL7A1 promoter. This SMAD binding sequence (SBS) was shown to be composed of two distinct binding sites, located at both ends of the 2496y2444 region, whose simultaneous presence is required for SMADyDNA complex formation. Sequence analysis of the SBS revealed the presence of several repeats, notably two adjacent CAGA repeats in the 59 end and a GCCGGCG stretch in the 39 end (20), matching the consensus Drosophila Mad binding sequence (21). Of interest, similar CAGA boxes have been identified in the human plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 promoter (17) and through a screen of SMAD-binding DNA sequences using a random pool of oligonucleotides (22). In both studies, it was shown that multimers of these CAGA boxes can bind SMAD3 and SMAD4 and can confer TGF-b responsiveness when cloned upstream of a minimal promoter, otherwise unresponsive to the growth factor. In this study, we undertook a mechanistic analysis of SMADmediated transcription of COL7A1 by TGF-b. We demonstrate that, although SMAD4 is required for transcriptional activation, only SMAD3 was detected in the proteinyDNA complexes formed between the COL7A1 promoter SBS and nuclear extracts from TGF-b-treated fibroblasts. MATERIALS AND METHODS Cell Cultures. Human dermal fibroblast cultures, established by explanting tissue specimens obtained from neonatal foreskins, were used in passages 3–6. COS-1 cells were purThe publication costs of this article were defrayed in part by page charge payment. This article must therefore be hereby marked ''advertisement'' in accordance with 18 U.S.C. §1734 solely to indicate this fact. © 1997 by The National Academy of Sciences 0027-8424y97y9514769-6$2.00y0 PNAS is available online at www.pnas.org. Abbreviations: CAT, chloramphenicol acetyltransferase; EMSA, electrophoretic mobility-shift assay; SBS, SMAD binding sequence; TGF-b, transforming growth factor-b; TK, thymidine kinase; GST, glutathione S-transferase. iTo whom reprint requests should be addressed at: Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Biology, Jefferson Medical College, 233 South 10th Street, Room 430, Philadelphia, PA 19107. e-mail: alain. firstname.lastname@example.com.


Herein, we report that under mild and transition-metal-free conditions an unprecedented and practical SN2′ reaction of Morita–Baylis–Hillman adducts with isocyanoacetates takes place in a stereo- and regiospecific manner. This reaction which tolerates a wide variety of functionalities delivers transformable α-allylated isocyanoacetates in high efficiencies. Preliminary studies on the asymmetric version of this reaction indicate that ZnEt2/chiral amino alcohol combinations are an asymmetric catalytic system for this transformation, giving an enantioenriched α-allylated isocyanoacetate with a chiral quaternary carbon in a high yield.


We apply the microscopic nuclear structure and reaction models to the elastic scattering of the10Be and9Li nuclei. The states of the10Be and9Li nuclei are described as an α + α(t) + n + n four-body system based on the cluster wave function, respectively. The elastic scattering cross section is obtained by the microscopic coupled channel (MCC) calculation with the MPa interaction, which is the latest version of the complex G-matrix interaction derived from the ESC NN interaction model. We compare the channel coupling (CC) effect of the10Be nucleus with that of the9Li nucleus in the elastic scattering cross sections calculated with the same incident energy per nucleon. At the backward angles, the CC effect on the elastic scattering cross section for the incident10Be nucleus is clearly larger than that for the incident9Li nucleus. We investigate the dissimilarity for the CC effect through the dynamical polarization potential.


activity to a weighed amount of the solid, dissolving both in water and evaporating to dryness. The specific activity of the C00 obtained by combustion of substrates was deter- minedwiththe same gas counter aswas usedforthemeasure-ment of the specific activity of the CO. produced in the experiment. Sodium acetate was converted into silver acetate before combustion; glucose was combusted directly. Coenzyme. The diphosphopyridine nucleotide (DPN) used in Expts. 62 and 63 was 95-100% pure and was obtained from L. Light and Co. Ltd.


A speech recognition algorithm based on difference subspace is in this paper first introduced, then a comparison is made theoretically between this algorithm and the traditional DTW algorithm from the view point of optimization criteria and optimization solution. The two algorithms are implemented using MATLAB, and experiments of isolated-word recognition are done. Both theoretical analysis and experimental results show that the algorithm based on difference subspace is more efficient, and that its recognition rate is higher than DTW when training times are high.


An "index alignment" method, based on the registration of fiducial marks, was previously developed for passive alignment of a laser array to a corresponding fiber array. This method has recently been improved and used to fabricate laser-fiber array transmitter modules for single-mode operation at 1300 nm. An improved computer-controlled alignment-stage system with machine-vision features has been installed in order to render the alignment procedure faster, more precise, and more reliable; this system was particularly effective in quick achievement of the difficult but necessary angular alignment of the components. Special "self-registration" component-fabrication techniques were also developed to avoid mask-registration errors associated with the fabrication of the laser chip and the fiber carrier, so that the fiducial marks were automatically keyed to the positions of the laser ridges and V grooves, respectively. Measures were also taken to improve the accuracy of alignment of the etch mask to the silicon crystallographic axes during fiber-carrier fabrication, and to improve the etch-stop indication process. These techniques permitted an estimated accuracy and wafer-scale uniformity of /spl sim//spl plusmn/0.5 /spl mu/m of the fiber-carrier V-groove widths. In addition, the essential elements of of a practical technique for separation of a large-array laser-fiber module into a multiplicity of small-array submodules was demonstrated; in this way the cost of the alignment procedure could be amortized over a large number of transmitter modules. Several connectorized laser-fiber array modules were fabricated with the improved alignment apparatus and components. Test results showed that for single-mode operation at 1300 nm, coupling efficiencies greater than 8% could be achieved for a laser-fiber spacing of about 35 /spl mu/m. Such values closely approach the 9% coupling efficiency observed at this spacing with active alignment. Tests of the completed module at 1 Gb/s showed values of RIN low enough to permit operation at distances of about 1 km.<<ETX>>


Establishing the main cause of the radiation belt enhancements provides key information for models that forecast space weather — and thus protect our technology in space.


The recently published DVB-T2 standard provides for the use of two separate methods directed at reducing the signal peak to average power ratio. This paper investigates the effectiveness of the Active Constellation Extension method, and the Reserve Carrier Algorithm method through the use of simulations using Matlab software. Enhanced performance is demonstrated by using both techniques simultaneously.


Based on the quality of line frequency response function and the principle of rigid body micro-vibration, a technique was proposed to verify the experimental accuracy for the heavy truck powertrain by using rigid body inertia tensor transformation and additive theory. The measurement of inertial parameters of a heavy truck powertrain was carried out by hammer method. The total least square processing theory was proposed to process the experimental data. The experimental results showed satisfactory accuracy and reliability.


Protecting access to water represents human dignity and remains the traditional right upon which other forms of human rights are realised. This article argues that privatisation of Ghana Water and Sewerage Corporation (GWSC), which was conceived by the IMF/WB, and facilitated by the WTO's General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS); disfigures the humanity of poor Ghanaians, who lack the financial resource to purchase water. Similarly, it contends, that guided by avarice and greed, some MNCs characterised water as 'blue gold' to be exploited for financial and economic gains; thereby undermining the communal status of water, as stipulated in the water policy of Ghana. The article further argues, that by eschewing corruption-related practices, the Ghanaian government as well as state institutions, especially the judiciary, should protect the people's access to water-supply; by construing international human rights instruments and domestic constitution to the people's


In this work a Darboux-Goursat problem for a hyperbolic equation with a singular coefficient is considered. Such a problem arises in the study of multidimensional boundary value problems which are not well-posed. Here the well known results concerning the exact behavior of a generalized solution with possible big singularity are made more precise.


The past decade has seen a rapid development of solving travelling salesman problem (TSP) and vehicle routing problem (VRP) with deep reinforcement learning. In order to solve problems that are closer to life, more researchers turn their attention to the variant VRP. In this article, we tackle the capacitated VRP with soft time window (CVRPSTW). In this problem, the vehicles have capacity limit and will be punished if arriving at the customer outside the time window. We use a deep reinforcement learning (DRL) based on the attention mechanism and point network to solve CVRPSTW. In the training part, we use policy gradient with rollout baseline. The experiment shows that the proposed DRL model can effectively solve this variant VRP.


ABSTRACT Purpose To examine the associations between muscular fitness (MF) and body composition. Method MF was assessed with three tests of FitnessGram test battery. Total body fat percentage (BF%), abdominal fat percentage (AF%) and fat-free mass (FFM) were measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). The IOTF body mass index (BMI) cut-offs were used to define healthy weight, overweight, and obesity. Results MF was inversely associated with BF% and AF%. The children in the moderate and high MF groups had significantly lower BF% and AF% compared with the children in the low MF group within the same BMI category. After adjusting for cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), BMI and sex, the differences between the MF groups were significant for BF% but not for AF%. Conclusion There were significant inverse associations between MF and DXA -measured adiposity. Within the same BMI category, total and abdominal adiposity were lower in children with moderate or high MF than in children with low MF.


In this paper an explicit formula for a lower bound on the volume of a hyperbolic orbifold, dependent on dimension and the maximal order of torsion in the orbifolds' fundamental group, is constructed.


A series of new energetic compounds based on methylene-bridged bis(nitramino-1,2,4-oxadiazole) was synthesized through a simple, safe and efficient route and fully characterized.


--- We are developing a virtual reality entertainment system using a car as a motion platform. The feasibility and usefulness of this system has been evaluated on prototypes based on an electric car. However, the prototype has two problems, one is feeling of mismatch between the images and the movements, and the other is lack of realism for situations with shaking. As these issues were supposed to be caused by limited bandwidth of the car motion, we propose to add vibrators on the system and to combine the car movement with the vibrotactile stimulus. The vibrators expand the frequency limit of vibration stimulus by the car, as well as the car movement itself compensates the lack of the vibrators' power. The results of user evaluation showed that the mismatches were reduced and the shaking feeling was improved.


Let $H$ be an ultraspherical hypergroup associated with a locally compact group $G$ and a spherical projector $\pi$ and let $A(H)$ and $B(H)$ denote the Fourier and Fourier-Stieltjes algebras, respectively, associated with $H.$ In this note, we study power boundedness and Ces\`aro boundedness in $B(H)$. We also characterize the power bounded property for both $A(H)$ and $B(H).$


The goal is substantiating clinically and morphologically the need for narrow-wave (311 nm) ultraviolet (UV) therapy to improve the quality of treatment and the duration of remission in patients with psoriasis.
Materials and methods. Under observation were 134 patients with common psoriasis (82 men and 52 women aged 23 to 65 years). For UV therapy, the PSOROLIGHT 100-6 photo- therapeutic apparatus (medical equipment Viola Ukraine, Poltava) with a wavelength of 311 nm was used. Initial radiation doses were determined depending on the skin photo type. The standard course of treatment consisted of 15-20 procedures with a regimen 3-4 times a week.
Results. In patients of group I, 2 times faster regression of the rash was observed, and in 54 (81.8%) patients of group I, the rash disappeared after 15-20 procedures, in 52 (78.8%) after 6-8 months, the skin process was stable , after a year in 41 (62.12%). In biopsy samples in 8 (88.9%) patients of group I, moderate acanthosis and hyperkeratosis were observed, there were no signs of parakeratosis in 7 (77.8%), the thickness of the horny layer was restored in 8 (88.9%) and granular layers of patients of the first group.
Conclusions. All of the above gives reason to justify the need for narrow-wave ultraviolet therapy in patients with psoriasis to improve the quality of treatment and the duration of remission in patients with psoriasis. Conclusions. All of the above gives reason to justify the need for narrow-wave ultraviolet therapy in patients with psoriasis to improve the quality of treatment and the duration of remission in patients with psoriasis.


The aim of this study is to investigate the predictive relationship between authentic leadership and trust to supervisor. The data were collected from 104 employees from a variety of jobs and industries in a collectivistic culture, Turkey. In the scope of this study, existing scales are used to collect data. Employees completed the ten-itemed one factor solution trust to supervisor scale and sixteen-itemed four factor solution authentic leadership scale. Structural equation modeling was conducted to test the research hypothesis. The structural equation modeling results showed a strong positive relationship between authentic leadership and trust to supervisor. The results are discussed along with practical implication, suggestions for future research and limitations.


A computationally efficient procedure for the selection of placement of ac- tuators is described in this paper. This method is formulated in modal coordinates and isbased on a Progressive Collapse Analogy of adjoint structures made of a hypothetical brittlematerial and having the same shape as the eigenmodes of the structure to be controlled.


List of contributors. Remarks on European Monetary Union banking issues (C. Kindleberger). Introduction (I. Finel-Honigman). Part I: Issues of Risk and Instability. Macro financial stability policy: an overview for a globalized world (H.P. Gray). EMU led by the Bundesbank: in defense of the skeptics (R.M. Dunn, Jr.). Survey of bank failures in non-U.S., G-10 countries since 1980 (P. Bartholomew, B.E. Gup). Part II: Historical Models and Contingencies. Banking, commerce, and political sovereignty: European antecedents (B. Shull). Credit lyonnais: case study of an EU anomaly or blueprint for the future? (I. Finel-Honigman). The European Union payment systems: early lessons from the Federal Reserve and the Reichsbank (R.J. Phillips). Part III: Regulatory and Competitive Environment. The political economy of banking regulation and implications for competition in Germany (E. Wenger, C. Kaserer). Deregulation, strategy, bank performance, and efficiency: the Spanish experience (I. Hasan et al.). The euro's impact on the European Union financial markets and banks (S.S. Rehman).


Over the years, non-parametric test statistics have been the only solution to solve data that do not follow a normal distribution. However, giving statistical interpretation used to be a great challenge to some researchers. Hence, to overcome these hurdles, another test statistics was proposed called Rank transformation test statistics so as to close the gap between parametric and non-parametric test statistics. The purpose of this study is to compare the conclusion statement of Rank transformation test statistics with its equivalent non parametric test statistics in both one and two samples problems using real-life data. In this study, (2018/2019) Post Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations (UTME) results of prospective students of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) Ogbomoso across all faculties of the institution were used for the analysis. The data were subjected to nonparametric test statistics which include; Asymptotic Wilcoxon sign test and Wilcoxon sum Rank (both Asymptotic and Distribution) using Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS). In the same vein, R-statistical programming codes were written for Rank Transformation test statistics. Their P-values were extracted and compared with each other with respect to the pre-selected alpha level (α) = 0.05. Results in both cases revealed that there is a significant difference in the median of the scores across all faculties since their type I error rate are less than the preselected alpha level 0.05. Therefore, Rank transformation test statistics is recommended as alternative test statistics to non-parametric test in both one sample and two-sample problems.


This purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of 16-week dance program on body composition and mental health changes among the obese middle age women. The program was consisted of three 60-70 minute dancing per week, and it lasted for 16 weeks. Analysis of data two-way ANOVA was conducted to identify the differences in body composition and mental health changes between the program group and the control group. The results are summarized as follows. 1. Result of dance group, percent body fat decreased with the program, while waist/hip ratio and weight decreased. There were no statistically significant changes. In control group, body weights, and percent body fat, waist/hip ratio no statistically significantly. 2. Result of the Profile of Mood States showed that tension (p<.05), vigor (p<.05), in the experimental group were more positively changed compared to those of the control group.


This work is a theoretical study of energy exchange between two coupled TE-wave modes on director diffraction grating in a planar waveguide containing a layer of nematic liquid crystal. The diffraction grating is produced by an external electric field in the nematic layer with spatial periodic anchoring energy between director and waveguide surface. The intensity of a signal mode at the output of the nematic layer has been calculated in dependence of anchoring energy amplitude and modulation period, the size of nematic layer and electrical field value. The cases of co-propagating and oppositely propagating modes have been analysed. The analytical expressions that describe the maximum values of signal mode intensity have been derived. The maximum intensity value output from the nematic has been shown to depend monotonously on the anchoring energy parameters in the case of oppositely propagating wave modes and non-monotonously in the case of co-propagating wave modes. In both cases, the maximum value of signal mode intensity grows with the increase in electric field.


In recent years,the effects of environmental endocrine disruptors(EDCs) on human health have aroused great attention by researchers at home and abroad. Most of researches focus on reproductive toxicity,neurotoxicity,immune toxicity,carcinogenic and teratogenic effects of EDCs,whereas researches related to their effects on prostate are rarely reported. This paper summarized the toxicological feature and mechanism of several kinds of common endocrine disruptors which may have prostatic toxicity,and to provide theoretical support for the etiology and pathogenesis of prostate disease,and to complement the toxicity study of EDCs.


Forecasting water temperature in Electric Water Heaters (EWH) with limited information is essential for devising a control strategy for aggregated flexibility activation considering user comfort and rebound effects. In this paper, we present a novel Physics-Informed Unsupervised Neural Network (PINN) architecture for modeling the thermal dynamics of EWHs with only power consumption data. Physics from the single-zone thermal grey-box EWH model is encoded into the PINN loss function to incorporate domain knowledge. Additionally, a custom Recurrent Neural Network (RNN) cell is developed to capture the exponential evolution of water temperature profile. Two models for EWH ON- and OFF-dynamics are trained with power consumption as the sole input data. Temperature prediction results indicate that the proposed model has a similar performance as the traditional single-zone grey-box EWH model, thereby demonstrating the ability of proposed model to learn the underlying physics behind the EWH operation without water temperature data.


The present invention discloses a transparent outdoor waterproof printing coating liquid, which comprises the following components, by weight, 24-36% of a benzene-soluble or alcohol-soluble polyamide resin, 0.6-1.2% of a phenol antioxidant, 3-5% of nitrocellulose, 1-2.5% of butanol, 2-3% of acetone, 7-9% of ethanol, 8-12% of butyl acetate, 6-10% of xylene, 10-15% of toluene, and 18-25% of isopropanol. After being coated on the surface of a film, the transparent outdoor waterproof printing coating liquid presents a transparent state after solidification, such that transmittance of the film can not be affected, color effects of patterns and words printed on the coating are excellent, and color losing, color fading and other phenomena can not be generated.


Abstract : Results are reported of investigation in the area of light propagation and spectroscopy from sources of arbitrary states of coherence. The research undertaken has completely clarified the foundations of the radiometric model. It was demonstrated conclusively that spatial coherence properties of a source influence the nature of the spectrum of the emitted radiation. A number of results were derived relating to effects of a random medium on the state of polarization of light transmitted through it. Keywords: Coherence; Spectroscopy; Radiometry; Red shift; Blue shift.


Since 2008, oil and equity prices have moved together much more than they did previously. We show that this increased comovement is due in part to increased responsiveness of both oil prices and equity prices to macroeconomic news. Before 2008, there is little evidence that oil prices were responsive to macroeconomic news. Since 2008, reflecting the low interest rate environment and the relatively constrained monetary policy during this period (i.e. the zero lower bound), oil and equity prices have become more responsive to macroeconomic news. This finding suggests that different rules apply at the zero lower bound, implying the potential for large fiscal multipliers at the zero lower bound. JEL Classifications: F31, F41, E30, E01, C81


In Islam, the determination of wages is not only based on the quality of labor as the physical, mental, work experience, professionalism and so on. But there are other considerations, they are aspects of personal and family needs. Thus, there are important implications of the theory above, the Islamic theory of wage determination is in contrast to the capitalist economic system, and there are elements in common with the socialist economic system. Mechanisms of wage determination in Islam does not depend on the institutional market. Islam is a religion that upholds universal human values. Islam is very concerned with the rights and obligations of all people, including the workers and laborers. Teaching that can be seen from several hadith clearly provides real assurance that the workers have to work in a comfortable state, far from the threat of layoffs, delays in awarding salary, job demands beyond the limits of human ability and so on. Thus, Islam gives an overview of the importance of laborers and workers in human life . Islam gives us the importance of laborers and workers in human life. Islam thus providing strong values as a form of protection to the workers and employees. Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE AR-SA


Due to the length of sonar aperture being limited by autonomous underwater vehicles physical size,the resolution improvement of the sonar is restricted.The maneuverability of autonomous underwater vehicles(AUV) combined with passive sonar detection method provides the opportunity to improve the resolution of the sonar.In light of this characteristic,an approach of passive synthetic aperture sonar measurements processing based on the Doppler shift was proposed.The method estimated the orientation frequency and bearing of target jointly with the change of Doppler frequency shift caused by maneuverability of AUV.In this paper,one new passive synthetic aperture technology was proposed by introducing the maneuverability of AUV to the beamforming technology.Numerical simulations show that this method can effectively estimate target bearing,and significantly obtain high bearing resolution and improve the detection performance of AUV.


Crop production grown for human consumption is at extreme radical level due to infestation of harmful pests which host on plants. A chemicals pesticide has been used by the farmers to protect their crops from pests. Continuous use of chemicals leads negative impact on environment, leads toxic compounds affecting humans health and warm blooded animals. A synthetic chemicals harmful implication leads to search for an alternative approach. Utilization of naturally occurring substances as plants, animals or living organisms conducted biopesticides which includes microbial pesticides, certain biochemical formulations or genes of genetically modified plants that encodes insecticidal toxins. Biopesticides are the environmentally safe pesticides targetable to particular pest often sounds effectively to pest issues. Many biopesticidal products has been firmly registered in Indian market and processed for further practices. A bacterium, Fungi, Viruses and nematodes works efficiently against target pests.


Specification of the germ cell lineage is required for sexual reproduction in all animals. However, the timing and mechanisms of germ cell specification is remarkably diverse in animal development. Echinoderms, such as sea urchins and sea stars, are excellent model systems to study the molecular and cellular mechanisms that contribute to germ cell specification. In several echinoderm embryos tested, the germ cell factor Vasa accumulates broadly during early development and is restricted after gastrulation to cells that contribute to the germ cell lineage. In the sea urchin, however, the germ cell factor Vasa is restricted to a specific lineage by the 32‐cell stage. We therefore hypothesized that the germ cell specification program in the sea urchin/Euechinoid lineage has evolved to an earlier developmental time point. To test this hypothesis we determined the expression pattern of a second germ cell factor, Nanos, in four out of five extant echinoderm clades. Here we find that Nanos mRNA does not accumulate until the blastula stage or later during the development of all other echinoderm embryos except those that belong to the Echinoid lineage. Instead, Nanos is expressed in a restricted domain at the 32–128 cell stage in Echinoid embryos. Our results support the model that the germ cell specification program underwent a heterochronic shift in the Echinoid lineage. A comparison of Echinoid and non‐Echinoid germ cell specification mechanisms will contribute to our understanding of how these mechanisms have changed during animal evolution.


The existing wetting methods for the determination of acid-base properties on solid surfaces are discussed. Striving for a better understanding of the adhesive polymer interactions in adhesively joined polymers, the methods of Berger and van Oss-Chaudhury-Good were found as the most suitable methods for the investigation of wetting on solid polymer surfaces. Methods of nonlinear systems by Della Volpe and Siboni were adapted and evaluated on plastic surfaces. In the context of these investigations various data of the surface free energy as well as its components have been identified for a number of polymer surfaces by application of spatial equation solutions.


Adolescents who were abused or addicted to Narcotics must have several stages in the recovery process. The recovery process needs a long time, high cost, facilities, medicine, professional trained that have authority, hard longing from the sufferer, support and caring from own family. Family support could create a sound and ease condition recovery process. The purpose of the research is to describe the type of family supports which should be received from adolescents who are the victim of narcotics in the recovering process. Based on the social theory, the type of support will be diverged into information, emotional, and self-value. The type of research is descriptive research using a qualitative approach. The number of sample of the research is 24 samples. The result of the research showed that those who were the sample of narcotic victim got family support such as medicine; on the other hand, they did not have family support in terms of information such as books or film related to the healing process of the narcotic victim.


The authors investigate pilot contamination in a multicell massive multiple-input multiple-output system, in which the estimated channel state information (CSI) is significantly different from the real CSI. Pilot contamination is an obstacle to achievable rates for users. The authors first propose an uplink training strategy to limit the effect of intercell pilot contamination on channel estimation with low complexity. As a result, the downlink data rate through the reciprocal channels is significantly improved. However, as the conventional uplink training, this strategy suffers from intra-cell pilot contamination when the length of pilots is smaller than the number of users in a cell, while increasing the length of pilots degrades the spectral efficiency. The authors, therefore, propose a pilot optimisation that can be incorporated into the proposed training strategy. Based on the minimum mean square error criterion, they derive a closed-form equation to determine the optimal pilots for all users in a multicell system. The joint pilot optimisation and proposed uplink training strategy is found to outperform other schemes, especially when the number of users exceeds the length of pilots in a cell. Numerical results verify that the downlink achievable rate with the proposed training strategy and pilot optimisation outperforms that with conventional approaches.


The Piacena Viaduct, due for completion this month, is one of a number of works built in the Po River area of Italy that have been designed with special attention to their appearance, quality and durability. This high speed rail viaduct is believed to be one of the world's largest applications of dielectric posttensioning cables in the world. The advantage of this type of system is that it will protect cables against corrosion caused by electrochemical processes, particularly from stray currents, by insulating them from the surrounding structure.


A head feed combine was evaluated for optimization of combine parameters, viz. cylinder speed (14.42, 15.53 and 16.64 m/s), forward speed (3.5, 4.0 and 4.5 km/h), and crop parameter, viz. grain moisture content (18.1 to 22.4%) in relation to threshing efficiency, cleaning efficiency and total grain losses for scented and non-scented paddy (Oryza sativa L.) varieties. Moisture content of 18.1%, cylinder speed of 15.53 m/s and forward speed of 4.0 km/h was found optimum for harvesting of scented paddy variety Pusa 1121, whereas moisture content of 18.1%, cylinder speed of 16.64 m/s and forward speed of 4.5 km/h was found optimum for harvesting of non-scented paddy variety HKR 127.


Problems that occur in partner tourism villages are that village tourism is still managed and marketed improperly so that it is less marketable that relies on conventional marketing with marketing knowledge resources that are still not optimal, the main problems are marketing management knowledge, marketing personnel, and mastery of marketing support technology. The purpose of this activity is to transform the capacity of information technology as a marketing media for tourism villages specifically, first; by strengthening institutional capacity and human resources (training and mentoring), secondly; strengthen digital marketing of tourist villages. Methods of implementing activities through Focus Group Discussion (FGD) with POKDARWIS; the second phase is strengthening the institutional capacity of BUMDES and POKDARWIS. The result of the activity is that the BUMDES and POKDARWIS managers have been able to transform the 3-P strategy which includes segmenting targeting and positioning. Managers must be able to combine and internalize the 3-P strategy into digital marketing strategies. Suggestions for managers are first; managers must update the capacity on mastering the latest marketing technology so that they can keep up with the changing tastes of visitors' tastes. Service must be the package of activities so that the strategy to improve service quality becomes an inseparable part of all marketing efforts both conventional and digital.


Controlling iodine deficiency disorders-studies for program management in Sub-Saharan Africa. ( Doctoral Thesis), Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis, Comprehensive Summaries of Uppsala Disseratations from the Faculty of Medicine


Background: Liver cancer is the major cause of death in Ban Luang district, Nan province. Its incidence is the highest in the northern region of Thailand. Objective: To study the epidemiology of primary liver cancer in Ban Luang district during 2011- 2013 and compare with the previous study in 2008. Material and method: A retrospective descriptive study was conducted among the population in Ban Luang district who were diagnosed with primary liver cancer during January 2011 - December 2013. Data obtained from the population-based information of Ban Luang Hospital. Crude incidence rate (CR) and age-standardized incidence rate (ASR) were analyzed. Results: An average of 25 cases annually was found. Male was prominent (3:2). The mean age was 58.2 years (range, 38-84). Cholangiocarcinoma was the most common (77.3%), followed by unspecified liver cancer (18.7%) and hepatocellular carcinoma (4.0%). Most cases were diagnosed by pathological report (45.3% ). The annual CR per 100,000 population in males was 245.5 and in females was 169.8. The annual ASR per 100,000 world population in males was 189.2 and in females was 107.0. The highest incidence was found in Ban Fa sub-district, followed by Pakaluang, Suad and Ban Pee sub-districts.  Conclusion: Primary liver cancer was found in all sub-districts of Ban Luang district. The incidence increased in Ban Fa, Suad and Banpee sub-districts. Cholangiocarcinoma is the most common type. More patients underwent surgery because of early cancer detection. Keywords: Liver cancer, epidemiology, Ban Luang, Nan province


Various random regression models with different order of Legendre polynomials for permanent environmental and genetic effects were constructed to evaluate Murrah buffaloes under field condition. A total of 24,160 test-day (TD) milk yield records of 2,336 buffaloes belonging to six districts of Haryana state from 2014 to 2019 under CHRS Rohtak were considered for estimating the random covariate coefficients using REML algorithm. The R2 and BIC improved up to seventh order of the polynomials but decreased at 8th order. The lowest value of AIC was for 8th order of polynomial. The models with LPs of order 5 and above gave an improved fit of the lactation curve having high R2 value (>98%). However, the number of parameters increased from 13 for LP of order 3 to 73 for LP of order 8 indicating over parameterization of models. Best order of fit was 7th order having highest R2 (99.23%), lowest AIC and lowest BIC value. The lactation curves plotted from the ETDMYs obtained under RRMs using LP5 and LP7 were smoother as compared to the lactation curve obtained from arithmetic mean. The 301 day lactation yield under RRMs using LP of order 7 and 5 averaged 3470.42±2.76 kg and 3460.72±3.10 kg, respectively. The milk yield ranged from 3,456.38 kg in Bhiwani district to 3,480.86 kg in Sonipat district under LP7 model while it ranged from 3,426.35 kg in Jhajjar district to 3,503.95 kg in Bhiwani district under LP5 model. It was observed that less than 50% were common in top 1% of total buffaloes under the two RRMs. The RRM using LP of order 7, which provided more accurate breeding values, must be considered for selection of top ranking/ superior animals for breeding purpose.


Particle size of forages and total mixed rations plays an important role in the health and performance of dairy cattle. Objective of this study was to determine the effect of forage and total mixed ration (TMR) particle size on various health and production parameters in Ontario dairy herds.


This paper will examine ways that the Shoshone-Bannock Tribe has been integrating science with Native American culture. This paper will explain how and why technology mixed with traditional education can take place in the remote wilderness mountains of Idaho. Finally, we will explain how we are doing this and helping two endangered species at the same time: Salmon/Steelhead and Native American youth. These mountains are our living classroom.


Background: Primary cutaneous lymphomas form a heterogenous group of lymphatic neoplasias.They manifest themselves on the skin and are the second most frequent group of non‐Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) following gastrointestinal lymphomas.The number of epidemiologic studies is small due to limited availability and limited comparability on population‐based data.


This qualitative research aims at describing the coastal children's knowledge and perspective about the Tsunami and earthquake's symbols and signs. The use and purpose of the signs on the warning board is very important for children on the coastal area as an understanding of disaster preparedness. Consequently, the researchers chose 43 respondents with 8-13 years old who live at the coast of Kampung Jawa, Banda Aceh to respond questionnaire and interview. The questionnaire set contained the verbal and non-verbal symbols and signs about tsunami and earthquake which was formulated in the form open-ended questions. It was found that only 12 children who could answer 80% of the questions correctly from the questionnaire. This implies that their understanding and background knowledge about the tsunami and earthquake's symbols and signs are very low level even though the symbols and signs are put on their enviroment. Moreover, during interview process, children had wrong interpretation about the signs and symbols and did not know the function because they never get information about the symbols, the way to evacuate and preparation before the disaster happened from their school and enviroment. Consequently, it is suggested that stakeholder should conduct practices for disaster education that can improve their disaster awareness.


The development of advanced transparent electrical devices has created an urgent demand for wide‐bandgap transparent semiconductors. Herein, a simple, low‐cost ink‐based method for preparation of LaCuOS is introduced. High transmittances of above 60% and 65% at visible (380–750 nm) and mid‐infrared (3–5 μm) wavelengths, respectively, are obtained with LaCuOS films prepared using this ink. With these films, the carrier concentration is above 1018 cm−3, while a conductivity of 5 S cm−1 is obtained, electrical properties that are both higher than those of most transparent p‐type semiconductors. From density functional theory calculations, it is surmised that the improved conductivity of the LaCuOS is a result of its high carrier concentration, and its hole effective mass, which is smaller than that of typical transparent p‐type semiconductors.


PURPOSE: A food container and a refrigerator having the same are provided to prevent cool air of a storage compartment from being discharged when a door is open, to omit a cover structure which is installed at the front side of the storage compartment, and to easily approach a food storage container and a food container. CONSTITUTION: A refrigerator comprises a main body, a storage compartment, a door, food storage containers, a food container(50). The storage compartment is installed inside the main body. The front side of the storage compartment is opened. The door is rotatably connected to the main body in order to open and close the front side of the storage compartment. The food container accommodates the food storage containers and is stored in the storage compartment with the food storage containers. The food container comprises a storage space(51) with an open top; a bottom wall(52) which forms the storage space and is formed as one body; a front side wall(53), a rear wall(54), and left and right walls(55, 56).


We describe new details of a complex figure made with red paint in a superior gallery of Altxerri cave. The head of a bison with a corniform motif stands out among other strokes of difficult interpretation. This collection of paintings has no correlation with the numerous engravings and black paintings of the main gallery of this cave. There is no access to this superior gallery from the main gallery of the cave so the Paleolithic artist would have gained access through another entry from the mountain that is unknown in the present. Near the collection of paintings described there is a bison vertebra stuck by its spinous apophysis in a crack on the rock. The C14 dating of the vertebra has not been possible due to the lack of collagen in the sample. Underneath this figure, tarsal remains of two individuals of Rupicapra rupicapra were found dated 34195 ± 1235 y 29940 ± 745 BP. The contemporaneity of the remains and the figure cannot be established.


A definitive odontological identification of Hitler has been based on several sources of documentary evidence: (1) complete testimonies recorded by American intelligence officers during the 1945 interrogations of Hitler's dentist and physicians; (2) attached to one of the above mentioned reports five head X-ray plates taken in 1944 following an assassination attempt and revealing several very characteristic dental conditions, including (a) a maxillary left central incisor with a radiopaque (metallic) restoration and with a radiolucent zone typical of a so-called »Window Crown», (b) a special dental bridge construction in the right mandibular area, in which a radiopaque (metallic) restoration on the right canine is connected by means of a metallic lingual bar to the second premolar with a cantilever extension to replace the first molar, and (c) periodontal bone breakdown around the mandibular incisor roots; (3) the above observations were compared with the various dental features depicted in the Russian au...


In order to elucidate a link between density and structure of liquid Si-M (M=Fe, Ni, and Ge) alloys, synchrotron x-ray diffraction experiments have been conducted with the use of a conical nozzle levitation technique. Liquid structure factors of the Si-Fe and the Si-Ni alloys indicate a correlation of medium range ordering with the increase of the Si content. Although the total molar volume expands with the increase of the Si content in these alloys, the concentration dependence of the average interatomic distance shows a minimum around 70 at.% Si content. On the other hand, the Si-Ge alloys shows tendency of concentration dependence as ideal mixture in both total molar volume and the average interatomic distance. These results were discussed taking into account the formation of anisotropic bonds between 3 d transition metal and Si atoms, which may induce a spatial expansion in the microscopic scale.


Empirical evidence suggests that the Taylor rule describing the interest rate setting behavior of four keyMENA central banks (Tunisia, Egypt, Jordon and Morocco) is non-linear. This is achieved using an empirical framework that allows for regime change over time or more specifically the time variance in the model parameters. Using quarterly data from 2000:Q2 to 2014:Q3 to analyze the movement of nominal short-term interest rate of MENA central banks, we find strong evidence that the real decision-making process followed by these central banks varies from one central bank to another and that it exhibits nonlinearity. In particular, considerations about economic growth (for Morocco), inflation (for Jordon), stability of REER rate (in Egypt) and concerns about hitting the zero lower bound of the nominal interest rate  (in the cases of Tunisia) seem to be the major drivers of such nonlinear pattern of monetary policy.


Error correction codes are used in semiconductor memories to protect information against errors. Simple error correction codes are preferred due to their low redundancy and encoding/decoding latency. Hamming codes are simple and can be easily built for any word length. They only allow single error correction, so a multiple error can lead to a wrong decoding. Multiple errors often manifest as burst errors, and they are becoming more frequent as integration scale increases. This paper proposes modified Hamming codes, with the same redundancy and coverage as the original versions, but adding short burst error detection. Three code examples, with different error correction and detection capabilities, are presented. They are especially well-suited for memories, where the length of the data word is commonly a power of 2, and low redundancy and fast and simple encoder and decoder circuits are required.


The intensity of information technology devices among children has increased rapidly. Lack of supervision and protection when children are online makes then easily exposed to the adverse effects of the internet. Moreover, children mostly access internet through their own mobile devices and at their home. Therefore, the role of parents in preventing the negative effects of information technology is significant. This Community Partnership Program aims to improve knowledge and technical skills of parents in using technology information devices so that they can manage and control their children's daily online activities. Thus this program contributes as an effort to prevent the negative impact of information technology on children.


The aim of this is article is twofold: first to introduce an automated processing system based on SOD (Standing Order far Data , http://www.seis.sc.edu/SOD/) (Owens et al. , 2004), and second to give some initial results and pitfalls from our experience with using this system for automated receiver function calculations. EARS, the EarthScope Automated Receiver Survey, aims to calculate bulk crustal properties for all stations within the continental United States that are available from the IRIS DMC using receiver functions and to distribute these results to interested research and education communities as a "product" of the USArray component of EarthScope. Because of the high level of automation that this requires, a natural extension of this effort is to calculate similar results for all stations in the IRIS DMC. To do this we have employed SOD , a FISSURES/DHI-based software package (Ahern, 2001a, b) that we have developed to do automated data retrieval and processing.

We introduce EARS as an example of what we term "receiver reference models" They are standard analysis techniques applied to stations. These are analogous to the Harvard Centroid Moment Tensor solutions (which could be termed source reference models). An RRM need not be a definitive result but rather provides a standard, well known, globally consistent reference. This may be sufficient for many users, just as CMT's are sufficient for many, but may also be a starting point for more in-depth, focused studies. The key features of an RRM are that it be generated from a well known and widely accepted technique, produce results for most or all stations, and provide updated results as new sources of data become available. In addition, it must produce results that are of interest in a form usable by the community.

Because automated processing proceeds, by definition, without a large …


Farming activity is not uncommon anymore for Indonesian people, especially for duck farming. Duck farming businesses are increasingly in demand as an alternative source of income for people in rural and peri-urban. Tawangrejo village Turi district, is one of the village in Lamongan in which the majority of communities maintain a duck as a profit-making business. This research approach is qualitative approach. The subjects were a group of SMEs business of Sumber Rejeki. These results indicate that the production strategies conducted by Sumber Rejeki group still basic and not in accordance with the existing potential in the Sumber Rejeki group itself as the potential of ecosystems that support, as well as high social capital. Limited land and the multiple roles of the housewife as the constrain is a major problem. Other obstacles that could hamper the productivity of farmers in the Sumber Rejeki group include limited capital, limited human resources, networking, as well as duck diseases. SMEs' activitie of Sumber Rejeki is a form of local economic development through the utilization of the agricultural sector and the empowerment of women. The business development strategies that could be advised of the researcher are: (1) the ease of access to capital, (2) infrastructure support, (3) development of business scale, (4) development of business networks, marketing and business partnership, and (5) development of human resources. Keywords: Production, Constraint, Developing Strategy


The invention relates to a method of payment with a payment of repeated use over time, comprising the steps of: - said data storage means of payment, - each consumer, update of an amount, said real , associated with a user of said payment means, characterized in that it comprises one or more iterations of the following steps: - comparing said actual amount to a predetermined amount, - payment request with said data to said payment means when said amount real is greater than or equal to said predetermined amount. The invention also relates to a system (100) employing such a method and an application of such a method and such a system for automated rental vehicles.


Gravity volt battery of the present invention converts hit gravity into electrical energy. Said gravity voltaic cell comprising: a container; a mixture of an electrolyte disposed in the container of at least two electrolytes; upper and lower electrodes; and across the two electrodes for external electrical power consumed by the load . The electrolyte mixture comprises greater density portion and a less dense portion. The upper electrode contact less dense distribution of more electrolyte portion, and the lower electrode contacts the electrolyte distribution more greater density portion. The electrochemical imbalance exists between the upper electrode and the lower electrode. The electrochemical state of imbalance in the vicinity of the high capacity of the container portion has a lower density distribution of more electrolyte mixture, and the mixture has a greater density distribution of the electrolyte in the vicinity of more lower capacity of the container section. Maintain a gravitational field density deviation state quantity of the electrolyte is at least two, and the at least upper and lower capacity and the capacity of the two electrolytes upper and lower electrodes is maintained in a static position relative to the gravitational field.


Supplemental digital content is available in the text. Background Cardiac toxicity in patients with cancer results from treatment-related damage to the cardiovascular system by chemotherapy, targeted agents, or thoracic radiation. Cardio-oncology patients with co-occurring cancer and cardiovascular disease frequently experience fatigue. Exercise is recommended in clinical guidelines to manage fatigue during or after cancer treatment. Purpose The purpose of this article is to conduct a scoping review of the exercise randomized clinical trials in cardio-oncology patients, focusing on the components and effects of exercise interventions on patient cardiovascular and fatigue outcomes. Methods A scoping review methodological framework was deemed appropriate and used. Key words for search included "cancer," "oncology," "cardio-oncology," "heart failure," "physical activity," and "exercise." Search involved systematic searches of large databases (PubMed, MEDLINE, Cochrane Review, and CINAHL) and hand searches of reference lists, key journals, webpages, and experts in the field using snowballing techniques. Results There were 12 randomized clinical trials included in this review. Study characteristics, accordance of exercise protocols with recommendations, specific exercise training components, and cardiovascular and fatigue outcomes were mapped. Conclusions Recommendations for addressing the gaps included focusing on non–breast-cancer patients with cardiac toxicity risks, developing precision-based prescriptions based on various medical and physiological characteristics, and adding fatigue symptom experience as an outcome variable.


ISTH07A1_PLEN-W-011: Contact View [PLEN-W-011] FIBRIN AND FIBRINOLYSIS IN INFECTION AND HOST DEFENSE J.L. Degen, T.H. Bugge, J.D. Goguen. Division of Developmental Biology, Children's Hospital Research Foundation,College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati; Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Medical School University of Massachusetts, Massachusetts, United States Bacterial pathogens have frequently evolved and maintained the capacity to engage and/or activate hemostatic system components of their vertebrate hosts. Recent studies of mice with selected alterations in host plasminogen and other hemostatic factors have begun to reveal a seminal role of bacterial plasminogen activators and fibrin clearance in microbial pathogenesis. Bacterial pathogens appear to exploit host plasmin-mediated proteolysis to support both microbial dissemination and evade innate immune surveillance systems. The contribution of bacterial plasminogen activation to the evasion of the inflammatory response is particularly conspicuous with the plague agent, Yersinia pestis. Infection of control mice with wild type Y. pestis leads to the formation of widespread foci containing massive numbers of free bacteria with little inflammatory cell infiltrate, whereas the loss of either the bacterial plasminogen activator, Pla, or the elimination of host plasminogen results in the accumulation of robust inflammatory cell infiltrates at sites of infection and greatly improved survival. Interestingly, fibrin(ogen) deficiency undermines the local inflammatory response observed with Pla-deficient Y. pestis and effectively eliminates the survival benefits posed by the elimination of either host plasminogen or bacterial Pla. These studies, and complementary studies with other human pathogens, illustrate that plasminogen and fibrinogen are extremely effective modifiers of the inflammatory response in vivo and critical determinants of bacterial virulence and host defense. Detailed studies of the inflammatory response in mice with genetically-imposed modifications in coagulation and fibrinolytic factors underscore the regulatory crosstalk between the hemostatic and immune systems. Degen JL, Bugge TH, Goguen JD. FIBRIN AND FIBRINOLYSIS IN INFECTION AND HOST DEFENSE. J Thromb Haemost 2007; 5 Supplement 2: PLEN-W-011 Date: Wednesday, July 11, 2007 Session Info: Plenary Lectures: Fibrinolysis and fibrinogen Room: Plenary Hall file:///E|/working/RAJAN/Wednesday/PLEN-W-011.htm [1/22/2014 3:39:58 PM] Abstract ISTH07A1_PLEN-W-012: Contact ViewISTH07A1_PLEN-W-012: Contact View [PLEN-W-012] VKORC1: MOLECULAR TARGET OF COUMARINS J. Oldenburg, M. Watzka, S. Rost, C.R. Müller. Institute for Experimental Haematology and Transfusion Medicine, University Clinic, Bonn; Institute for Human Genetics, Biocentre, University of Wuuml]rzburg, Wuuml]rzburg, Germany The genetic diagnosis of a single family with Combined Vitamin K-Dependent Clotting Factor Deficiency (VKCFD2, OMIM #607473) finally led to the identification and molecular characterisation of Vitamin K Epoxide Reductase (VKORC1). VKORC1 is the key enzyme of the vitamin K cycle and the molecular target of coumarins, which represent the most commonly prescribed drugs for therapy and prevention of thromboembolic conditions. However, coumarins are known to have a narrow therapeutic window and a considerable risk of bleeding complication caused by a broad variation of intraand inter-individual drug requirement. Now, three years after its identification, VKORC1 has greatly improved our understanding of the vitamin K cycle and has led to the translation of basic research into clinical practice in at least three directions. i) Mutations within VKORC1 have been shown to cause a coumarin-resistant phenotype and a single SNP (rs9923231) within the VKORC1 promoter region has been identified as the major pharmacodynamic determinant of coumarin dose. Together with the previously described CYP2C9 variants and other dose influencing factors, such as age, gender, and weight, individualised dosing algorithms have become available. ii) Preliminary studies indicate that concomitant application of low dose vitamin K (80-100 μg/day) and warfarin significantly improve INR stability and time of INR within the therapeutic range. iii) Co-expression studies of FIX and FX with VKORC1 have shown that VKOR activity is the rate limiting step in the synthesis of biologically active vitamin Kdependent factors. Thus, co-expression of VKORC1 leads to a more efficient production of recombinant vitamin K-dependent coagulation factors such as FIX and FVII. This could improve production of recombinant factor concentrates in the future. Oldenburg J, Watzka M, Rost S, Müller CR. VKORC1: MOLECULAR TARGET OF COUMARINS. J Thromb Haemost 2007; 5 Supplement 2: PLEN-W-012 Date: Wednesday, July 11, 2007 Session Info: Plenary Lectures: Coagulation factors and inhibitors Room: Plenary Hall file:///E|/working/RAJAN/Wednesday/PLEN-W-012.htm [1/22/2014 3:39:58 PM]


This paper investigates the market consequences of alliance formation among stock exchanges.These alliances enable brokers to match investors internationally at their local market, thereby eliminating the need for brokers to maintain memberships in foreign stock exchanges.We sort out the conditions under which alliance formation increases profits for stock exchanges and brokers, and how changes in fee structures affect investors' participation rates and welfare.Finally, we examine several methods for implementing access fees and their welfare implications.Key words: stock exchange alliances, access fees, competition among stock exchanges


OF THESIS Hierarchical Implementation of Aggregate Functions Most systems in HPC make use of hierarchical designs that allow multiple levels of parallelism to be exploited by programmers. The use of multiple multi-core/multiprocessor computers to form a computer cluster supports both fine-grain and largegrain parallel computation. Aggregate function communications provide an easyto-use and efficient set of mechanisms for communicating and coordinating between processing elements, but the model originally targeted only fine-grain parallel hardware. This work shows that a hierarchical implementation of aggregate functions is a viable alternative to MPI (the standard Message Passing Interface library) for programming clusters that provide both fine-grain and large-grain execution. Performance of a prototype implementation is evaluated and compared to that of MPI.


Concurrent Engineering (CE) addresses the major technological issues of the change from sequential to simultaneous engineering It is a systematic approach that enables cooperative work among all groups that plan, design, produce, maintain and support the product over its life cycle It calls for multidiscipline teamwork and promotes collaboration and application of different skills and knowledge sources


Chromosome numbers are documented for the first time for Brazoria, Macbridea, and Synandra. The latter two have 2n = 18. Brazoria comprises two cytologically distinct subgroups: 1) B. scutellarioides, with 2n = 20 plus one to four small bodies interpreted as supernumerary chro- mosomes, and 2) B. arenaria, B. pulcherrima, and B. truncata, with 2n = 28 and lacking supernumer- ary chromosomes. Chromosomal data corroborate morphologically circumscribed subgroups within Brazoria and provide weak support for a relationship between Macbridea and Synandra.


The utility model relates to a tank online inflation detection and gas recovery system. A connecting shaft is fixed onto a piston rod of a top tank cylinder. A connecting flange sleeves the connecting shaft in a sealed manner. A vacuum cover elevating cylinder is fixedly disposed on a frame above a top tank cylinder seat. A vacuum cover connecting seat is fixed at the top of a piston rod of the vacuum cover elevating cylinder. A vacuum cover is fixedly disposed on the vacuum cover connecting seat. A tank inside vacuuming pipeline, a cover inside tank outside helium inflating pipeline and a cover inside tank outside vacuuming pipeline are disposed on the vacuum cover. A helium gas detection instrument is connected on the tank inside vacuuming pipeline. The cover inside tank outside helium gas inflating pipeline is connected with a gas outlet interface of a helium gas storage tank. The cover inside tank outside vacuuming pipeline is connected with a gas returning interface of the helium gas storage tank. The gas discharge interface of the helium gas storage tank is connected with a gas inlet interface of the helium gas storage tank through a pipe. The tank online inflation detection and gas recovery system can not only conduct helium gas detection on the airtightness of the tank body, but also recover the helium gas after the completion of the detection, thereby reducing production cost.


Papillary thyroid carcinomas represent a diversity of morphologic subtypes and variants, but to the authors' knowledge the prognostic significance of subclassification is not clear. Therefore, the authors compared the value of histologic classification with a combined assessment of histologic key features such as marked nuclear atypia, tumor necrosis, and vascular invasion (i.e., histologic grade).


In PEE's Special Session at PCIM 2011 the results of a 10kW transformer isolated DC/DC converter using 1.7kV SiC MOSFETs were presented. The converter is a half-bridge topology operating at 32kHz hardswitched with a link voltage of 1kV. An efficiency of 97.1% was demonstrated and was achieved without extensive optimization. The characteristics of the 1.7kV SiC MOSFET, design details of the converter, and measured results are presented in this article. Robert Callanan, Cree Inc., Durham NC USA


The Blueprint Genetics Marfan Syndrome Panel (version 4, Mar 01, 2018) Plus Analysis includes sequence analysis and copy number variation analysis of the following genes: ABL1, ADAMTS10, ADAMTS17, ADAMTSL4, BGN, CBS, COL11A1, COL11A2, COL1A1, COL1A2, COL2A1, COL3A1, COL5A1, COL5A2, EFEMP2, FBN1, FBN2, MAT2A*, MED12, PLOD1, SKI, SLC2A10, SMAD3, SMAD6, TGFB2, TGFB3, TGFBR1, TGFBR2, UPF3B and VCAN. This panel targets protein coding exons, exonintron boundaries (± 20 bps) and selected non-coding, deep intronic variants (listed in Appendix 5). This panel should be used to detect single nucleotide variants and small insertions and deletions (INDELs) up to 220 bps and copy number variations defined as single exon or larger deletions and duplications. This panel should not be used for the detection of repeat expansion disorders or diseases caused by mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations. The test does not recognize balanced translocations or complex inversions, and it may not detect low-level mosaicism.


Virala (Diospyros tomentosa Roxb.), an important Ayurvedic preparation, was chemically screened and found to accumulate significant levels of the anticancer markers betulin and betulinic acid. In order to identify the high yielding sample of these two markers, a number of virala samples collected from different parts of India have been screened by high performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC). The sample collected from local areas (20°15′N, 85°50′E) was found to contain the highest levels of betulinic acid (0.43%), whereas the sample collected from Vijayawada (16°30′N, 80°36′E) was found to contain maximum betulin (1.13%). Interesting correlations have been drawn between accumulations of these two markers versus the height of place above sea level where samples were collected.


A low-power fourth-order complex bandpass baseband analog filter (BBA) is designed for low-IF RF receivers supporting MedRadio or Bluetooth applications. The BBA is composed of three variable gain amplifier stages and two complex biquad stages. The gain and bandwidth tuning capabilities are needed to maximize the receiver dynamic range and support the variable data rates. The center frequency and Q-factor tunings are realized for optimum filtering and amplification performances. The gain tuning range is from −15 dB to +52 dB and the bandwidth tuning range is from 250 kHz to 2.9 MHz. The image rejection ratios are found to be 39 and 42 dB at the maximum bandwidth of 2.9 MHz and the minimum bandwidth of 250 kHz conditions, respectively. The layout size is 0.42 mm2 including the I/Q paths, while dissipating 1.5 mA from a 1-V supply.