This book aims to augment classical pedological investigations by providing a series of up-to-date methods in soil biology. The text is divided into three key sections. Part I is the largest of these (20 chapters) and deals with soil microbiological methodology, Part II (seven chapters) covers soil zoology and Part III (two chapters) describes some methods in soil physics and chemistry. This is an ambitious book but the editors have made an excellent job of compiling a selection of methods which will be useful to anyone with an interest in soil science or microbial ecology. Furthermore, college and university teachers will find it a good source of laboratory-based practical exercises. The layout of the book is clear. Each chapter deals with a particular topic and starts with an introduction which explains the theories and concepts relating to the specific area dealt with in the chapter. Following the introduction are sections which describe individual experimental procedures. Descriptions of methods follow a standard format which detail the underlying principle, the materials, equipment and reagents required, the procedure, calculation of results, notes and references. Part I, Methods in Soil Microbiology: the text covers soil sampling and preparation, bacterial biomass (e.g. plate count technique, physiological groups by most probable number method, identification and quantification with monoclonal antibodies), indirect estimation of microbial biomass (e.g. fungal biomass by ergosterol content, substrateinduced respiration), nitrogen mineralization, nitrification and denitrification, enzymes involved in carbon, phosphorus and sulphur metabolism, soil algae and ectomycorrhizas, to list just a few of the 20 chapters and specific topics. Part II, Methods in Soil Zoology: methods dealing with microfauna, mesofauna and macrofauna are described (primarily sampling and abundance measurements) in addition to a chapter devoted to microand mesocosms. Part III, Methods in Soil Physics and Chemistry: this section describes how to determine dry matter content, water-holding capacity, aggregate stability, acidity, organic matter, total nitrogen, ammonium, nitrate and phosphorus content. Inevitably, the methods described vary in the level of technical expertise and}or equipment needed to perform them. However, the book bridges the gap between three fields of environmental science, those of biology, chemistry and physics, and will be a valuable addition to any laboratory. . . 


The awareness of our need for a sustainable society has encouraged the search for renewable, high quality materials that can replace oil-based products. This has stimulated a lot of research where ...


Objective To study the application effect of comprehensive nursing intervention in elderly intestinal polyps enucleation. Methods A total of 78 elderly patients with intestinal polyps enucleation were randomly divided into control group(n=39) and observation group(n=39), two groups were given routine nursing,observation group was given comprehensive nursing intervention based on routine nursing. Results SAS and SDS scores of the observation group after nursing intervention were(37.43±5.63)scores and(48.82±7.46)scores, those were lower than(52.16±8.37)scores and(52.16±8.31)scores of the control group(P0.05). Intestinal polyps knowledge awareness and nursing satisfaction of observation group were 94.87% and 97.44%, higher than 79.49% and 82.05% of the control group(P0.05). Conclusion Comprehensive nursing intervention in elderly patients with intestinal polyps enucleation during perioperative can effectively relieve patients' anxiety and depression, and improve the recognition of intestinal polyps and nursing quality.


Water availability for agricultural activities will decrease in the twenty-first century. As a consequence, agricultural water management will have to improve in order to meet two challenges: satisfy the needs of an increasing world population; and alleviate the climate change impacts. One way to improve agricultural water management consists of including the 'risk' notion as much as possible at the different decision levels of: farmers, farmer corporations and states or associations of states. These three decision levels will be analysed both for rainfed and irrigated agriculture. The poorest countries are those most subject to climate risks, the main risks in developing countries, because they too rarely possess the means to combat excesses or shortages of water during the plant growing period (irrigation schemes) and they cannot rely on crop insurance or other kinds of support to maintain their income in bad years. Consequently, in order to ensure a minimum level of income, farmers will prefer low input practices that provide a low but stable production without involving too much investment or cash. Where possible they will diversify their production. This paper first defines hazard, vulnerability and risk in the particular context of drought assessment and prediction. It then presents some strategies to reduce water risk in three major categories: (1) more irrigated agricultural land in an efficient manner; (2) increased and better managed pasture and forest areas to benefit from otherwise lost water by evaporation process, increasing animal productivity; (3) well water managed dryland agriculture. In dryland agriculture, some additional public measures are necessary, mainly drought risk insurance and early warning systems, in order to promote investment in drought-prone environments and to provide tools for decision-making. The adoption of an efficient water use management of rainfall and irrigation will ensure food security, contribute to poverty alleviation, and free water for non-agricultural uses. The paper presents some new promising techniques and approaches. Finally, it discusses the sharing of risk between the different decision levels and launches some ideas to serve as discussion points in the electronic conference.


The pilot reform of the normal education"dual system" technical skills training mode was carried out by Quanzhou Preschool Education College.Through the innovation of the college-district-Kindergarten work together,preschool education professional "dual system" technical skills training mode solve the kindergarten teachers to accept higher education and learning, get through and widening the channels of kindergarten teacher training and development effectively, improve the preschool education teachers' quality greatly. It has demonstrated and promoted the reform of vocational education personnel training mode in the new period.


ABSTRACT A new method of preparing a cassava starch-based wood adhesive with high performance using hydrogen peroxide, acrylamide, butyl acrylate (BA), and an organic siloxane as an oxidant, a hard co-monomer, a soft co-monomer, and crosslinking agent, respectively, is proposed. The effects of various parameters on the shear strength, the water resistance, and the viscosity of the adhesive were investigated. The results showed that the shear adhesive strength in dry state and wet state of cassava starch-based adhesive could reach 6.11 MPa and 3.05 MPa, respectively. The organic siloxane, when added, could reduce the content of the hydroxyl on the starch molecule, and promote the crosslinking of the starch molecules, improving the bonding strength and water resistance.


Embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma (ERMS) development after trauma is a rare occurrence. We first report two cases of head ERMS that developed in the scar of head trauma. The first is that of a 12-year-old boy who was incorrectly considered as hematoma calcification at the first stage because of his shorter head traumatic history (56 days) and the relatively stable feature of mass. Preliminary CT scan and MRI results did not fulfill the diagnosis of malignant tumor. But further pathological examination in the resected tissue demonstrated the feature of lesion and referred to ERMS, leading to the second radical excision of the tumor and further interstitial iodine 125 intervene in the region and adjuvant chemotherapy, with a good prognosis at last. The second case concerns a 10-year-old girl who was same with a head injury history (about 2 months) before presenting a mass in her forehead. However, the volume of mass significantly increased in the few months followed by severe headache and instable walking. MRI and PET-CT both showed local malignant lesion with systemic metastasis. Pathology further confirmed the diagnosis of ERMS. The girl died soon after abandoning treatment. The presented cases suggest that traumatic cerebral lesions may also be a predisposing factor for the development of ERMS and reminder us not to forget the possibility of tumor formation after head injury, especially for these posttraumatic adolescents. As stated by other authors, an association between head trauma and tumor risk cannot be ruled out and should be studied further.


The dispersion properties of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) during propagation on metal wires with a dielectric coating in the terahertz frequency range were investigated theoretically. An analytical expression was obtained for a pulsed electric field using the solution of Maxwell equations taking into account high-order dispersion terms. The influence of the dielectric coating on the distortion of the pulse shape was investigated. Unlike uncoated wire, the propagation of surface plasmon pulses along a coated wire is highly dispersive. It was shown that the coating leads to the appearance of a long-chirped signal with a propagation of only a few millimeters, i.e., when a terahertz pulse propagates along a coated wire, it acquires a long oscillatory tail, the frequency of which depends on time.


The present invention discloses a multi-module timing control circuit comprises a one to one correspondence with the delay circuit and a shaping circuit modules, said delay circuit and an input terminal connected to the signal detection terminal, the input terminal and the output terminal of the shaping circuit connected to a shaping circuit connected to the output module and its corresponding enable terminal. Multi-module timing control circuit according to the present invention, a time delay circuit binding shaping circuit structures, a simple circuit structure and high sensitivity, reduce product cost.


The determination of safety and adverse effects in Phase I together with investigations on the disposition and bioavailability of the drug often provide a better scientific and ethical basis if conducted with knowledge of the dose required to produce the desired pharmacologic effect. Because certain pharmacologic effects are specific for the disease state, Phase I studies on stich drugs should be conducted only in carefully selected patients with the appropriate disease.


The wrist and hand are important in helping perform activities of daily living. Fractures of the wrist and hand are common injuries and, if inappropriately managed, can result in significant functional deficit. In this chapter some common fractures are discussed including Colles' fractures, Smith's fractures, Bennett's and Rolondo's fractures, scaphoid fractures, peri-lunate fracture dislocations, metacarpal fractures and phalangeal fractures. 2015 Nova Science Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.


By a questionnaire investigation on male and female college students who have taken more than 1 years course of shadowboxing,the author finds some thing different in their Traditional National Physical Program's knowledge of Traditional National culture they have grasped and thinking of keeping health.


Let M be a connected sum of r closed aspherical manifolds of dimension n > 3, and let EM denote the space of self-homotopy-equivalences of M, with basepoint the identity map of M. Using obstruction theory, we calculate 7rq(EM) for I 3 we show that infinitely many generators of 7r1(EM3, idM) can be realized by isotopies, to conclude that 7r1(Homeo(M3), idM) is not finitely-generated. 0. Introduction. Let EX be the H-space of homotopy equivalences from X to X, with the identity map of X as basepoint. It contains the basepoint-preserving self-homotopy-equivalences EOX, the group of homeomorphisms Homeo(X), and, when X is a smooth manifold, the group of diffeomorphisms Diff(X). The inclusions of these subspaces are H-space homomorphisms. From knowledge of EX, one hopes to obtain information about these subspaces. The groups 7rO(EOX) and 7TO(EX) have been studied for various classes of spaces. It was shown by Sullivan [S] and, independently, Wilkerson [W] that when X is a simply-connected finite complex, ro(EX) is finitely-presented. In contrast, Frank and Kahn [F-K] showed that for p > 2, vo(Eo(SI V Sp V S2 -1)) is not finitelygenerated. There are examples of finite aspherical 4-complexes K 4 with 7TO(EO(K4)) not finitely-generated [M3]. Little is known about the homotopy groups 7Ti(EX) for i > 1 except for two important cases. For X an aspherical complex, Gottlieb [GI proved that rt (EX) center(7rT(X)) while Ti(EX) = 0 for i > 2. It follows that 7Tj(EOX) = 0 for j > 1. The other case is that of the n-sphere Sn, for which 7Tq(ES') = [Sq; Maps(S', Sn)] [5" A S; Sn] 7T_n+q(S ). In this paper, I adapt the obstruction theory of Federer [F] to obtain some calculations of the homotopy groups of EM, where M is any connected sum of r > 2 (closed) aspherical (combinatorial) manifolds of dimension n > 3. Specifically: (1) For 1 < q < n -4, 7TqEM r4 T+q(Sn-), hence is finite. Received by the editors April 17, 1979 and, in revised form, January 3, 1980. The results in this paper were presented January 7, 1979 at the Geometric Topology Conference at the University of California at Berkeley. AMS (MOS) subject classifications (1970). Primary 55D10, 57A65, 57F99, 58D05; Secondary 55B25, 55G35, 55G37.


We consider the state complexity of extensions of the Kleene star and quotient operations to unranked tree languages. Due to the na- ture of the tree structure, there are two distinct ways to define the star operation for trees, we call these operations, respectively, bottom-up and top-down star. We show that (n + 3 )2 n−1 states are sufficient and nec- essary in the worst case to recognize the bottom-up star of a tree lan- guage recognized by an n-state deterministic unranked tree automaton. The bound is of a different order than the known state complexity re- sult 3 · 2 n−1 for the Kleene star operation for automata on strings. On the other hand, for the top-down star we obtain a tight state complex- ity bound that coincides with the corresponding result for automata on strings. The bottom-quotient and top-quotient operations are extensions of the left and right quotient to trees. We establish tight state complexity bounds for both variants of quotient. The precise worst-case state com- plexity of bottom-quotient is shown to be (n+1)2 n 1, which differs by the multiplicative factor n + 1 from the corresponding result 2 n 1 for ordinary finite automata.


Numerical simulations of 2-dimensional (2D) unsteady cavitating flows were carried out under various conditions of the number of blades, incidence angles and cavitation numbers. When the incidence angle increased or the cavitation number decreased, the steady balanced cavitation transited to unsteady and non-uniform patterns. Typical patterns reported in the previous studies such as rotating, asymmetric and alternating for 3and 4-blades were successfully reproduced. In this study, cascades of the larger number of blades were dealt with to consider the generality of unsteadiness by reducing the influence of periodicity. The cavitation is basically triggered in the backward next section. However, the period of time for growing causes complexity in the discrimination of propagation. In most cases of rotating partial cavitation, except for 4-blades, the cavity develops in the second passage of backward direction after the decay of largest cavity. In case of many blades, multiple cavities rotate simultaneously and the particular patterns observed in cascades of small even numbers of blades attenuate.


While engaged in studying the still enigmatical insect, Platypsilla castoris, along Devil's River, Texas in the spring of 1891, on opossum was treed by the dogs one evening, and shot. The following morning I found the animal, which was a female, and though herself dead, the young were still alive and in the pouch of the mother. While examining these I observed that the pouch also contained numbers of fleas. Specimens were captured and sent to the Department of Agriculture at Washington, I being at the time employed by the Division of Entomology.


Introduction of IT in the health domain can potentially benefit the quality of the delivered healthcare, also contributing to increase safety. However health IT systems themselves can have safety implications and can result in accidents. Creating a safety case has been in practice in numerous domains and is starting to be adopted in the health IT domain with the most notable example, that of the UK National Health Service (NHS), Information Standards Board for Health and Social Care (ISB) standards (formerly DSCN 14/2009 & DSCN 18/2009). Safety cases can be thought of as a defensible, comprehensible and clear argument, supported by evidence that a system is acceptably safe in its operational context. This paper presents the main areas of safety case practice and its implication for the health IT development and stakeholders.


Scientists in the biological sciences need to retrieve information from a variety of data collections, traditionally maintained in SQL databases, in order to conduct research. Because current assistant tools are designed primarily for business and financial users, scientists have been forced to use the notoriously difficult command-line SQL interface, supplied as standard by most database vendors. The goal of our research has been to establish the requirements of scientific researchers and develop specialized query assistance tools to help them query data collections across the Internet. This thesis describes our work in developing HyperSQL, a Web-to-database scripting language, and most importantly, QueryDesigner, a user-oriented tool for designing query interfaces directly on Web browsers.
Current browsers (i.e., Netscape, Internet Explorer) do not easily interoperate with databases without extensive "CGI" (Common Gateway Interface) programming. HyperSQL is a scripting language that enables database administrators to construct forms-based query interfaces intended for end-users who are not proficient with SQL. Query results are formatted as hypertext-clickable links which can be used to browse the database for related information, bring up Web pages, or access remote search engines. HyperSQL query interfaces are independent of the database computer, making it possible to construct different interfaces targeting distinct groups of users.
Capitalizing on our experience with HyperSQL, we developed QueryDesigner, a user-oriented tool for building query interfaces directly on Web browsers. No experience in SQL and HTML programming is necessary. After choosing a target database, the user can build a personalized query interface by making menu selections and filling out forms--the tool automatically establishes network connections, and composes HTML and SQL code. The automatically generated query form can be used immediately to issue a query, customized, or saved for later use. Results returned from the database are dynamically formatted into hypertext for navigating related information in the database.


Since April 19, 2000, 30 injecting-drug users (IDUs) died or were hospitalized with unexplained severe illness in Glasgow, Scotland. Illness was characterized by extensive local inflammation at a subcutaneous or intramuscular injection site often followed by hypotension and circulatory collapse. Since April 24, 2000, 15 IDUs in Dublin, Ireland, and 14 IDUs in England with similar illnesses have been identified. Despite debridement and broad spectrum antibiotics, 30 (51%) of the 59 patients in all three countries have died. This report further describes the clinical syndrome and key epidemiologic features of the illness as characterized by a preliminary investigation by health authorities in Scotland, Ireland, England, and the United States (1).


language of madness while leaving mental illness to those of us who would remain imprisoned by insanity' (p. 6). As she comes from a literary background, this concentration upon the vocabulary of mania certainly makes sense, having rejected the telling of a progressive historical narrative or using a contemporary theoretical narrative. However, in an attempt to separate 'real' mania from the history of madness and the development of mental illness, it is not immediately clear how Hermsen plans to detect mania in its pure form, especially while simultaneously acknowledging that mania has multiple realities that co-exist under a single name. She offers the caveat that 'no narrative will be able to tell everything there is to tell about the history or the rhetoric of "mania"', and that she has 'chosen to sketch those spaces that deal most competently with mania in the making, those in which it is best captured and its coordination with mental illness is most visible' (p. 8). Manic Minds is clearly modelled on Foucault's attempt to mirror the history that he describes with the language he uses, and Hermsen's approach is brave and experimental in trying to grapple with the language of a continuously shifting entity separated from the social, cultural and medical contexts of madness and mental illness. Hermsen describes her work as a narrative that does 'not travel in only one direction [...] it turns back and goes forward alternately at any moment in time [...] work[ing] as a map, accumulated layers, and coordinated sites' (p. 8), but it ultimately leaves the reader somewhat lost and wishing that they had a clearer path to guide them through the maze.


According to the characteristic of the foundation beam with prestressed anchor-cable reinforcing slopes, a detailed analysis is carried out for different working stages and loading status of the foundation beam; and on the basis of it, a method for computing the limit state of foundation beam, is suggested;and the concretely computing process is given. An engineering case is calculated using the method; and the comparison shows that it is necessary to calculate the limit state of the foundation beam for designing when the anchor-cable is in the limit state.


Turbo code, a kind of error correction coding technique, has been used in the field of digital mobile communication system. As the number of iterations increases, it can achieves remarkable BER performance over AWGN channel environment. However, if the number of iterations is increased in the several channel environments, any further iteration results in very little improvement, and requires much delay and computation in proportion to the number of iterations. To solve this problems, it is necessary to device an efficient criterion to stop the iteration process and prevent unnecessary delay and computation. In this paper, it proposes an efficient and simple criterion for stopping the iteration process in turbo decoding. By using variance values of LLR in turbo decoder, the proposed algorithm can largely reduce the average number of iterations without BER performance degradation in all SNR regions. As a result of simulation, the average number of iterations in the upper SNR region is reduced by about 34.66%~41.33% compared to method using variance values of extrinsic information. the average number of iterations in the lower SNR region is reduced by about 13.93%~ 14.45% compared to CE algorithm and about 13.23%~14.26% compared to SDR algorithm.


Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine compounds (OCC) could be the major pollutants in environment. Scientific research of the environmental state of the marine system should take special care of the ecological cycle life of the sea organisms (fish, mussels etc.). As a consequence of the increasing urbanization, which occurred in Boka Kotorska bay and led to a flush of a big amount of wastes, the ecological balance of the bay is disturbed. Since mussels proved to be very sensitive bio-indicators of environment, the levels of contamination were determined in mussels' tissues from Boka Kotorska bay. Samples of Mytilus galloprovincialis species were collected in May 2003 from three different locations. The paper presented the levels of DDT, DDE and PCBs, which show the presence of the residues of PCB and OCC in body of mussels as a result of contamination sea environmental body and the processes of bioaccumulation and biomagnification.


Fossil diatom-bearing marine sediment cores recovered from Prydz Channel, Prydz Bay, record episodes of glacial advance and retreat in the bay. Diatom frustules are abundant, well preserved, and the species composition is diverse in two biogenic sediment units composed of siliceous diatom ooze (SMO-1 and SMO-2). Between SMO-1 and SMO-2 a terrigenous unit (T) is present, composed of muddy diamicton and sandy silty clay, which contains poorly preserved rare diatoms. The SMO units are interpreted to represent an open marine setting with seasonal sea ice cover; the T unit is interpreted to represent glacial ice expansion from the Amery Ice Shelf over the site. Based on an age model developed previously for other cores from Prydz Channel with analogous stratigraphies, we interpret our record to be late Quaternary through Holocene in age. The T unit records the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) in Prydz Bay; the SMO-1 and SMO-2 units record interstadial episodes that are post- and pre-LGM respectively. Extinct diatom taxa in the T and SMO-2 units indicate reworked sediment sourced from two different-aged deposits. Our results provide both a new interpretation of late Quaternary deposition in Prydz Channel and support for previous studies in this region.


Objective: To detect common chromosomal aneuploidy variations in embryos from couples undergoing assisted reproductive technology and preimplantation genetic screening and their possible associations with embryo quality. Methods: In this study, 359 embryos from 62 couples were screened for chromosomes 13, 21, 18, X, and Y by fluorescence insitu hybridization. For biopsy of blastomere, a laser was used to remove a significantly smaller portion of the zona pellucida. One blastomere was gently biopsied by an aspiration pipette through the hole. After biopsy, the embryo was immediately returned to the embryo scope until transfer. Embryo integrity and blastocyst formation were assessed on day 5. Results: Totally, 282 embryos from 62 couples were evaluated. The chromosomes were normal in 199 (70.57%) embryos and abnormal in 83 (29.43%) embryos. There was no significant association between the quality of embryos and numerical chromosomal abnormality (P=0.67). Conclusions: Embryo quality is not significantly correlated with its genetic status. Hence, the quality of embryos determined by morphological parameters is not an appropriate method for choosing embryos without these abnormalities.


Docker is the most popular open-source software for managing software containers. Docker is widely used in the industry and is becoming the de-facto standard. In this paper, we tackle the issue of bringing Docker into the Linked Open Data Cloud to enhance docker images descriptions and search. We first present the construction of the ontology that describes Docker images. This ontology is interconnected with DBPedia and reuses SIOC and prov vocabularies. We then describe the automated process that automatically extracts data from the Docker Hub Registry to populate the aforementioned ontology. We also present a Web platform that provides a SPARQL endpoint as well as analytical insights into the dataset.


Anaerobic acidogenesis of municipal primary sludge is one way of producing external carbon sources within sewage treatment plant. The practical utility was evaluated for the TVA (Total Volatile Acids) production by anaerobic acidogenic of primary sludge on the sewage treatment plant. The reactor was fed with primary sludge alone and operated HRT 1.5 day at . Results show that SCOD/TCOD ratio was 8.2%, average TVA production rate was and average SCOD production rate was . In the batch denitrification tests, the denitrification efficiency was about 39.6%, and the contents of SCOD which can be external carbon source in denitrification process was about 34%. The required gCOD for denitrification was


A spectrometry device according to the present invention is provided with: a light source 101 that causes p-polarized light, which is linearly polarized light having an electric field vibration direction parallel to the incidence surface, to be incident on the surface of an object of measurement at Brewster's angle; an introduction optical system 103 for introducing measurement light emitted from the object of measurement struck by the p-polarized light into a phase shifter 105 and dividing the same into two measurement light beams; an interference light optical system 106 for forming interference light from the two measurement light beams; an interference light detection unit 107 for detecting the intensity of the interference light; a processing unit 201 for creating an interferogram of the measurement light on the basis of the intensity variation of the interference light obtained through the driving of the phase shifter 105; and a calculation unit 202 for obtaining a measurement light spectrum by applying the Fourier transform to the measurement light interferogram.


The most crucial factor in membrane LNG ships to ensure safe operations, is how to effectively control tank pressure at the time of excessive generation of boil off gas (BOG). When the ships carry out tank cool?down with her retaining heel prior to arrival at loading port, the vessel encounters the critical situation of excessive BOG and high tank pressure that can lead to high degree of risk. This is to provide one of the best ways to secure safe and effective LNG ship operations focusing on the detailed methods of tank cool down to achieve ATR (Arrival Temperature requirement) without building up high tank pressure and excessive BOG and calculating the appropriate heel quantity to be unutilized for tank cool?down and fuel during ballast voyage.


The virtualization options for Solaris have been expanding rapidly. In this article we discuss three types of virtualization systems avaible in OpenSolaris for x86: Solaris Containers, Solaris xVM, and Sun xVM VirtualBox. We include instructions on how to deploy each solution and a detailed comparison of the three to help systems administrators and virtualization fans alike choose the appropiate virtualization technology for their needs. Even if you don't use Solaris, we do explain the differences among OS-level virtualization, para-virtualization, and full-virtualization clearly.


In this paper, the authors address the problem of edge-perception for its applications to vision-feedback control in robotic systems. In natural vision, the recognition of objects takes place through the process consisting of 'eye system', 'neural networks' and 'cognition'. The cognitive process, in turn yields a phenomenon known as perception. This is the phenomenon of perception of physical attributes, such as edges, color and texture, etc., which is responsible for the recognition of objects through the natural vision processes. In this paper, we make an attempt to postulate the theory of perception for gray-level images. The gray-level images, when going through the cognitive and perception processes, are contaminated by the uncertainty; here we call it 'cognitive uncertainty'. The studies in this paper are confined to the phenomenon of edge-perception for two-dimensional gray-level images, however, these studies can be extended to other types of visual attributes both in two-dimensional and three-dimensional Indeed, the perception of these attributes, which attempts to emulate the human vision system, may help in the design of a truly robust computer vision-feedback control system for robotic applications.


A 10-MW wind turbine high temperature superconductor (HTS) synchronous generator operating at 68 K is modeled according to the optimized parameter, and the magnetic flux density (MFD) in various generator parts is simulated. Two key parameters of field leakage coefficient and operating field current are determined based on the MFD simulation results. Moreover, as the cryogenic component, a basic vessel structure used for cooling HTS field coils is proposed, and the required cooling power for heat loads and coolant flow rate are derived.


The fluidized-bed combustion of large coal char particles was studied with a focus on the burning rate and the primary CO/CO2 ratio at the particle surface. To this end, single particle laboratory-...


The amplitude and time behavior of the pulsed output from a 10.6‐μ CO2–N2–He laser is investigated as a function of partial gas pressures and discharge current. Nearly two orders of magnitude increase in output power is obtained compared to CW operation. The time behavior of the laser pulse indicates that electron excitation processes dominate in populating the upper laser level.


Self-assembly patterning of nanomaterials using electrostatic interaction in solution was investigated. The electrostatic adsorption conditions were numerically analyzed by considering the Debye length in solution and the electric charge densities displayed on the surfaces of nanomaterials and substrates. Using the analyzed conditions, nanoparticles as large as φ10 nm were successfully patterned one by one on a substrate. Moreover, increasing electric charge density on the nanoparticle achieved single nanoparticle placement onto an electrostatic adsorption pattern that was larger than the size of the nanoparticle. The electrostatic patterning was applied to various nanomaterials.


Using a stated-preference survey, we examine changes in air transport demand resulting from the entry of low cost carriers (LCCs) into domestic aviation services between Tokyo International Airport and Kansai International Airport, and from the start of operation of the Linear Chuo Shinkansen (high-speed railway). The results showed that total aviation demand between the capital region and the Kinki area will increase even when the Linear Chuo Shinkansen begins operating. The impact of entry of LCCs is also significant on the route between the metropolitan area and Fukuoka prefecture and between Kinki area and Fukuoka prefecture: LCCs will take over a significant share of full service carriers and the Shinkansen.


.Load relaxation experiments are performed on 1100 aluminum alloy as a function of temperature. Based on the experimental results, the behavior of the mechanical equation of state for plastic deformation including the contribution of grain boundary sliding is established. Attempts are made to apply the approach' of mechanical equation of state to predict the creep properties of this alloy.


The ARC Poetry Club is a pilot project in which a poetry therapy group intervention was utilized with special needs children. In this article, information will be provided regarding the children who participated in the club, the activities that took place during each session of the club and the facilitator's observations regarding group participants' reactions to the group activities. In addition, recommendations for future poetry therapy group interventions will be made based on the author's experience as facilitator of the ARC Poetry Club.


A thorough backward stability analysis of Hotelling's deflation, an explicit external deflation procedure through low-rank updates for computing many eigenpairs of a symmetric matrix, is presented. Computable upper bounds of the loss of the orthogonality of the computed eigenvectors and the symmetric backward error norm of the computed eigenpairs are derived. Sufficient conditions for the backward stability of the explicit external deflation procedure are revealed. Based on these theoretical results, the strategy for achieving numerical backward stability by dynamically selecting the shifts is proposed. Numerical results are presented to corroborate the theoretical analysis and to demonstrate the stability of the procedure for computing many eigenpairs of large symmetric matrices arising from applications.


In the Feyerbacher judgment, the Court of Justice of the European Union has interpreted for the first time the Headquarters Agreement between the ECB and the Federal Republic of Germany in the framework of a reference for a preliminary ruling. This shows once more that the Court considers itself competent to provide an interpretation of agreements which do not fall prima facie within its sphere of competence. In this judgment, the Court has examined firstly if the Headquarters Agreement is an act of European Union law and, secondly, if the applicability of the German law conferring an allowance to the ECB officials is excluded where the ECB confers a comparable social benefit on its staff. The judgment shows, on the one hand, that in the future this agreement can be further interpreted by the Court and, on the other hand, that there is an interaction between a na¬tional social security framework (in concreto, the German framework) and the conditions of employment of the ECB concerning the allowance.


A numberofmulti-hop, wireless, network programming systemshaveemerged forsensor network retasking butnoneof thesesystems support a cryptographically-strong, publickey-based systemforsourceauthentication andintegrity verification. Thetraditional technique forauthenticating aprogrambinary, namelyadigital signature oftheprogramhash, ispoorly suited toresource-contrained sensor nodes.Oursolution tothesecure programming problem leverages authenticated streams, isconsistent withthelimited resources ofatypical sensor node, andcanbeusedto secure existing network programming systems. Underour scheme, aprogram binary consists ofseveral codeanddata segments thataremappedtoaseries ofmessages fortransmission overthenetwork. An advertisement, consisting of theprogram name,version number, andahashofthevery first message, isdigitally signed andtransmitted first. The advertisement authenticates thefirst message, whichinturn contains ahashofthesecond message. Similarly, thesecondmessage contains ahashofthethird message, andso on,binding eachmessage totheonelogically preceding it intheseries through thehashchain. We augmented the Deluge network programming system withourprotocol and evaluated theresulting systemperformance.


There is a well-known Monty Python skit in which a customer seeking to buy time for an argument enters a room and asks, "Is this the room for the argument?" The man behind the desk replies, "I told you once." "No you didn't!" "Yes I did!" "When?" "Just now!" It has often seemed to me that our processes of "truth disclose" (aka "telling bad news") are akin to the miscommunication depicted in this skit. As professionals we have shared information about childhood disabilities so many times that the "telling" becomes somewhat routine and automatic. "We (professionals) have told you (parents) (once)—so you should now 'know'!" It is important to underscore some basic "truths" about communicating with families—ideas that have been well described in the literature for the past several decades (Cunningham, Morgan, & McGucken, 1984). The most important issue is that "truth disclosure" is a process, not an event. In the paper by Klein and colleagues (2011) in this issue it is apparent that most of the parents in this study had already seen other professionals and done their "homework." Nonetheless, despite being relatively prepared, there remained gaps in the "process" that could (in this observer's view) be addressed with several practical (and of course "familycentred") steps on our part as service providers (King, King, Rosenbaum, & Goffin, 1999). The first action, in my opinion, is to ask parents up front: "How can we be helpful? What do you want to achieve with today's visit/assessment/consultation?" That way, we can engage them in setting the agenda, with a greater likelihood that we will be addressing the things that are of current importance to them, rather than assuming why they are here and what they expect from the encounter. In other words, we need to understand what information—from the broad range of things we experts know—is currently relevant to families' lives. An alternate opening approach is to say to parents, "Tell me about your child." This provides us an opportunity to hear how they are seeing, and understanding, their child's predicament (and their own), as a basis for establishing common


Falls are a leading cause of serious morbidity and mortality in the elderly. Previous research shows that one in three people over 65 will fall each year, and the ratio increases to one in two for people above 85. Patients with peripheral neuropathy are at risk of increasing falls twenty times more than ordinary old people. This paper introduces an innovative method to improve stability and reduce the chance of falling by mechanically and electrically stimulating the foot.


Although chest X-ray (CXR) is a well-studied classic diagnostic tool, this easy-to-obtain, readily accessible imaging modality is still capable of giving physicians new information on patient conditions in an efficient manner. This chapter provides intensivists, cardiologists, cardiology fellows, and medical students with concise information on recent data on CXR imaging and interpretation and briefly reviews the most common medical conditions in which CXR is useful. It includes a brief review of a multistep approach to the evaluation of the quality of chest radiographs and the systematic description of imaged structures. This chapter covers water retention, air collection, and lung-related problems, gives information on monitoring of line and device placements (central venous catheters, tubes, pacemaker lead positions, etc.), and also focuses on the pitfalls of image interpretation in intensive care unit settings. In addition, the chapter reviews recent data on accuracy of other imaging modalities, in terms of describing certain abnormalities, as compared with regular chest radiographs.


Trying to understand how journalists and editors in the South African media landscape think about the work they do and the environment in which they work is not easy. However, while many of us speculate about why things are reported on in one way or another, this article gets to the heart of the issue - or the mouth - by speaking to journalists and editors about the work they do and how things have changed in the last few years within this complex institution we call the media.


OBJECTIVE
To study human recombination bone morphogenetic protein-2 (rhBMP-2) change in bone and marrow under simulated weightlessness.

METHOD
5 SD rats were tail suspended for 14, 28 d with another 5 freely active rats as control. Histological samples were in situ hybridized.

RESULT
rhBMP-2 expression of bone and marrow were lower in tail suspended rats than control levels (P < 0.05). rhBMP-2 expression tail suspended rats in 14 day were higher than that in 28 day suspended group (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION
rhBMP-2 levels in rats bone and marrow were lower after tail suspension.


Conodont biostratigraphy is investigated in the Poyuan, Shangkou, and Menggong sections in Guangxi, and the Lower Emsian (Lower Devonian) excavatus and nothoperbonus zones are partly recognized. Combining the Lower Devonian conodont framework and lithological successions to date, the process of the Early Devonian northeastward stepwise transgression in South China is more elaborated in detail herein. It is proved that the differentiation of the "Xiangzhou Facies" and the "Nandan Facies" in South China took place in the nothoperbonus Zone. A series of high‐resolution Early Devonian palaeogeographic maps of South China is illustrated in this study.


Three teacher education programs were studied to explore the process of integrating computer technology into the curriculum. The focus of this study was to define the stages that schools, colleges, and departments of education experienced as faculty and students moved from lower to higher levels of computer technology use and integration. Data were gathered at the participating sites from three sources: teacher education faculty members, key informants, and focus groups. In-depth interviews were conducted with the key informants and with focus groups (administrator, key informant, faculty member(s), computer technology support person, and student). The gathered data were used to answer the research question: What are the defining characteristics of the stages of development that departments of education experience as they infuse computer technology into the teacher education curriculum? The findings of this research resulted in the emergence of a Five-Stage Model for computer technology integration into teacher education programs: pre-integration, transition, development, expansion, and system-wide integration.


Feminist legal theory challenges the fundamental principles of American law by uncovering the profound implications of the fact that the legal system was constructed, and until recently, interpreted and administered by and for men. Feminists have not only criticized specific judicial decisions and proposed legal reforms,1 they have gone further to question the fundamental concepts and methods of law.2 Feminist jurisprudence reaffirms the conclusions of the legal realists and the Critical Legal Studies movement that law is neither neutral nor objective but serves to reinforce the dominant power structure. Feminist legal theory emphasizes the extent to which the patriarchal character of that power structure shapes the law and in so doing, makes the domination of women "seem a feature of life, not a one-sided construct imposed by force for the advantage of a dominant group."3 Is it possible that as increasing numbers of women


PREFACE ix by Parker J. Palmer FOREWORD: REMEMBERING WHAT THE ANCIENTS KNEW xiii by Angeles Arrien and Rachel Naomi Remen INTRODUCTION 1 Interlude: Finding the Time and Space for a More Meaningful Professional Life 11 1 What Is a Formation Mentoring Community? 13 Interlude: Message in a Bottle 27 2 Cultivating Growth: Conversation in Community 31 Interlude: Is There a Place for Me in a Formation Mentoring Community? 63 3 The Basics of Creating Formation Mentoring Communities on Your Campus 65 4 Collaborative Stewardship: Facilitating a Formation Mentoring Community 95 5 From Individual to Institutional Change: Ripples of Transformation 117 AFTERWORD: BEYOND THE SMALL GROUP 131 by Rachel Naomi Remen and Angeles Arrien RECOMMENDED RESOURCES 137 NOTES 147 GRATITUDES 153 ABOUT THE AUTHORS 157 INDEX 163


Abstract Evidence from clinical trials has traditionally been used to support regulatory drug approval, whereas real-world evidence (RWE) has been used for post-marketing surveillance studies. With the enaction of the 21st Century Cures Act, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is evaluating the potential use of RWE to support new indications for an approved product or to satisfy post-approval study requirements. Yet the substantial evidence standard remains unchanged for FDA approval. To date, the FDA has issued guidelines or frameworks for using RWE for regulatory decisions. However, many methodological challenges remain unanswered when using RWE in gerontology research. This Pharmaceutical Care and Outcomes Research Interest Group-sponsored symposium consists of leading experts in the country to address these problems. The four papers in this symposium will address methodological challenges that are unique in gerontology research. Specifically, The first paper will introduce the FDA drug evaluation process, focusing on the key considerations for evaluating RWE in regulatory decision making; the second paper will discuss possible challenges related to data sources from which RWE are generated in aging research; the third paper will provide a case example of some of the challenges in using RWD sources to generate RWE in the Alzheimer's Disease setting; and the fourth paper will provide recommendations for improving gerontology research based on RWE going forward.


Herein we present a series of self-standing, flexible, and biocompatible optical interference filters obtained through infiltration and polymerization of an elastomer (polydimethylsiloxane) in a porous Bragg mirror prepared by alternating deposition of layers of TiO2 and SiO2 nanoparticles. The method proposed yields the uniform filling of the nanopores of the multilayer by the polymer, which allows lifting off the hybrid structure as long as the ensemble is cooled to temperatures below the glass transition of the polymer. This multifunctional material combines the optical properties of the periodic nanoporous multilayer and the structural and physicochemical characteristics of polydimethylsiloxane. Experimental demonstrations of their potential use as flexible and adhesive UV-protecting filters, as well as of light, highly-efficient conformal back reflectors to enhance the efficiency of photovoltaic devices are provided.


In this paper, a new cylindrical dipole antenna structure is analyzed using the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method developed for solving Maxwell's equations with the body of revolution (BOR) technique. A two-dimensional finite difference lattice is used to study the efficiency of a bazooka balun type, connected at the bottom of the cylindrical dipole antenna. A good agreement of the experimental and theoretical result from this new structure is shown, with the FDTD calculation design at a center frequency of 800 MHz. We conclude that the result demonstrated in this paper shows the great efficiency of the FDTD algorithm for such complex structures analysis.


The invention relates to the field of biotechnology and aims to provide multiple primers and probes for detecting mutation of a cancer gene BRAFV600E. The primers and probes provided by the invention respectively comprise a mutation specific forward primer, a mutation non-specific forward primer, universal reverse primers and universal probes shown in SEQ NO.1-11. The detection sensitivity of the mutation specific primer and probe provided by the invention can reach 500 copies/ml, thus the sensitivity is good. If a sample does not contain the cancer gene BRAFV600E, the ct value of the amplification curve of the sample is greater than or equal to 36, and the specificity is strong. Because the mutation non-specific primer is simultaneously designed in the invention to be used for detecting the total template quantity of samples, the false negative result is avoided and the quality control is convenient.


The nucleotide sequence of the Penicillium chrysogenum Oli13 acvA gene encoding delta‐(L‐alpha‐aminoadipyl)‐L‐cysteinyl‐D‐valine synthetase, which performs the first step in penicillin biosynthesis, has been determined. The acvA gene contains an open reading frame of 11,238 bp encoding a protein of 3746 amino acids with a predicted mol. wt of 421,073 dalton. Three domains within the protein of approximately 570 amino acids have between 38% and 43% identity with each other and share similarity with two antibiotic peptide synthetases from Bacillus brevis as well as two other enzymes capable of performing ATP‐pyrophosphate exchange reactions. The acvA gene is located close to the pcbC gene encoding isopenicillin N synthetase, the enzyme for the second step of beta‐lactam biosynthesis, and is transcribed in the opposite orientation to it. The intergenic region of 1107 bp from which the acvA and pcbC genes are divergently transcribed has also been sequenced.


Smartphones' role in improving the retail customer experience is rising within the constant disruption and transformation. The need for harmonizing the digital environment with the in-store environment is clearly recognized within retailers' struggling of adapting to the new reality and to improve the shopping experience, blending digital experiences with physical ones, keeping up with major mutations, having adequate insights from the analysis of data, and ensuring this way the retail renaissance, including by considering mobile and artificial intelligence as disruptive forces in retail. The last but not the least, retailers need to take into account the renewed interest in retail apps.


The role of gravel size of unigranular diameters 2, 4, 8, 16, and 26.5 mm on ova survival and subsequent emergence of rainbow trout alevins is examined using a vertical-flow incubation apparatus. Survival to emergence, time of emergence, and alevin condition at emergence were signficantly influenced by gravel size. Mean percent survival to emergence increased with gravel size from a minimum of 1% in the 2-mm gravel to a maximum of 76% in the 26.5-mm gravel. Survival of control ova from gravel-free incubator was 88% to swim-up stage. Differences in percent survival were most significant within the 2 to 8 mm range. Poor survival of trout alevins in the finer gravels (2–4 mm) was the result of insufficient void space (entrapment). Days to first (43–58 days after ova burial) and 50% emergence (49–62 days after ova burial) also increased with gravel size. At a mean incubation temperature of 10.6 °C, the total emergence days was greatest (40 days) from the 8-mm gravel and occurred prematurely on day 37 after ov...


Plasma Jet Machining (PJM) is a surface figuring technology based on atmospheric plasma assisted chemical etching or deposition, respectively. In both cases a sub‐aperture plasma jet source is used combined with a CNC multi‐axes system for the processing of curved surfaces. It is under development for the surface figuring of a variety of optical materials by IOM for about 15 years. PJM is capable to figure deep aspheric or free‐form substrates with high material removal rate and high spatial resolution. Based on chemical reactions between plasma generated radicals and the surface PJM does not introduce any damage to the processed surface and sub‐surface region in contrast to abrasive techniques. Deterministic deposition of SiOx layers and subsequent proportional transfer using ion beams or polishing is another plasma jet based technique for surface figuring that extends the range of machinable materials. The article gives an overview on the current state of PJM development in IOM and shows examples of its application.


Objective: The objective of the study was to establish the anti-inflammatory and anti-arthritic potential of various fractions of Eclipta prostrata Linn.
Methods: The four fractions, i.e., n-butanol, ethyl acetate, chloroform, and n-hexane from hydro-alcoholic extract were obtained. First, the fractions were evaluated through in vitro models, and then they were evaluated by in vivo anti-inflammatory model, i.e., carrageenan-induced paw edema model. Further, two active fractions were evaluated for the anti-arthritic activity using formaldehyde induced arthritis model.
Results: The fractions at a dose of 100 and 200 mg/kg showed an anti-inflammatory activity, but the ethyl acetate and chloroform fraction will show maximum anti-inflammatory potential. Hence, they are further evaluated for anti-arthritic potential where they show significant activity.
Conclusion: From the results, it is concluded that the ethyl acetate and chloroform fraction show significant anti-arthritic activity.


The development of plasma prepared in the scientific community has high expectations and a wide dissemination
of commercial kits for obtaining platelet-rich plasma (PRP), also known as platelet-rich concentrate (PRC), platelet
gel, autologous or plasma rich in growth factors (PRF) and its effect on bone regeneration. The generation of concentrated
plasma as working hypothesis is a step forward because the concentration in the number of platelets allows the release
of growth factors sustained over time in linear form relationship. There is very little clinical evidence, and a great variability
in the preparation of concentrates as well as the amount of platelets and growth factors to provide them as a basis for
their use. There is no significant relationship between the number of platelets and the concentration of growth factors which
do actually consider whether the PRP and PRF are exactly the same product. We stress the importance of differentiating between
the roles played by growth factors "per se", and which performs the platelet ready. The current literature not found any
evidence showing the alleged acceleration of healing fractures to the implementation of PRP/PRF. There are reports on its
use in muscle, tendon, injuries or their employment in arthroscopic surgery, but it is a preliminary discusses clinical studies.
It is therefore necessary to advance in the experimental study that includes the identification and quantification of growth
factors in situ in the application of PRP on the regeneration of injuries that allows us to deepen our understanding of the
biological behavior of platelet growth factors in bone repair.


For most of this century American Indian tribes have been going to court in an effort to protect their water rights. Their claims are almost always based on the doctrine established in the 1908 Supreme Court case of Winters v. U.S., which held that Indian tribes have a right to water that was implicitly created when the reservation was established. Thus, Indian reservations have a federally reserved water right to sufficient water to meet the purposes of the reservation.


In comparison with users of the term Black, people associate use of the term African American with a more liberal speaker. Is this a reasonable inference based on elite usage, or an inference steeped in unjustified out group-based assumptions? We tested the relationship between ideology and racial label use by utilizing members of the U.S. House and Senate as a sample of the political elite. Liberals were found to be more likely to choose African American than Black, and liberals are far more likely to choose African American than are conservatives. In sum, it appears that the inference that users of African American are likely more liberal is neither unreasonable nor unfounded, making this language choice both an important political cue and another sign of the political communication chasm between liberals and conservatives.


Abstract This study employs the framework of web services in conjunction with the Bayesian theorem to construct a SOA‐based medical decision support system for diagnosis. The purpose is to help users (physicians) with issues pertinent to medical diagnosis decisions. Users, through the system, key in available prior probabilities, and through computation based on the Bayesian theorem, obtain more accurate diagnosis. The process helps users enhance the quality and efficiency of medical decisions. On the other hand, features of web services enable this medical decision support system to offer more service platforms than the conventional one. Users will have access to the system whether they use Windows, Macintosh, Linux or any other platforms that connect with the Internet via HTTP. More important is the fact that after the system is complete, all web system developers will be able to access the system as a software element freely and quickly. This way, the goal of this study ‐ to provide a medical diagnosis decision support tool and speedily integrate heterogeneous medical decision support systems can be effectively achieved.


Francis Blathwayt was an aristocrat turned parson, and a pioneer in the science of birdwatching.He spent the years 1900 to 1916 in Lincolnshire, and the remainder in the Dorset and Gloucester areas - all of this time as the rector of tiny country parishes. He was repsonsible for the modern County lists in three counties: Somerset, Lincolnshire and Dorset. His work is referenced today. The books examines his life story, with particular reference to the Lincolnshire years; and looks at his contribution to birding and bird writing.


The relevance of the article. The article delves into the history and cultural significance of semi-public diaries, created with the intention of being read, and compares them to modern social networks. The topic is particularly relevant taking into account the growing popularity of social networks and the transformation of traditional cultural practices of personal writing, self-reflection and self-expression.
The purpose of the article. The purpose is to trace the history of semi-public diaries and compare their accounting-and-reflection practices with those found in social networks personal profiles, focusing on the interplay between public and private domains.
The methodology. The article utilizes a comparative analysis of diaries and social networks, examining their historical evolution and contemporary practices, and draws on existing research from cultural studies, history, and media studies.
The results. The study reveals that diaries have long been used to share individual reflections with others, making their personal writing practices similar to those of modern social network profiles. The study discovered that pre-internet era diaries and contemporary social networks have two similar intentions for personal writing: firstly, to document and reflect on personal experiences for private purposes, such as for self-reflection, life-tracking and identity formation, and secondly, to share personal ideas and experiences with others. This duality generates tension between the public and private aspects of personal writing.
The scientific novelty. The study offers a fresh perspective on the role of diaries in the cultural practice of personal writing by examining their similarities with modern social networks and emphasizing the interaction between private and public domains in documenting and reflecting on personal experiences.
The practical significance. Understanding the historical and cultural context of diaries and social networks can help individuals better appreciate the functions and potential benefits of these mediums for personal reflection and communication. The findings of this study can also inform future research into the role of personal writing in identity formation and the ways in which technology is transforming the nature of personal writing.
The conclusions. This study demonstrates the enduring relevance of accounting-and-reflection practices of personal writing in both diaries and modern social networks. Additional comparative research is required to examine the similarities and differences in topics and styles of personal writing across diaries and social networks, as well as the balance between public and private domains when using social networks for self-expression and identity formation.


(1999). "Regressions" ("u"-shaped learning) in the acquisition of prosodic structure. This paper addresses learning of constraint rankings by children. We argue that constraint demotion cannot account for all developmental patterns observed in child phonology. Learning algorithms that allow for constraint promotion fare better, but some still cannot account for all developmental changes. Child language contains many inaccuracies relative to the target adult language. Over the course of development, these inaccuracies disappear. Most developmental changes bring the child's speech closer to the target language. Theories of learning focus on how such improvements are accomplished. However, a minority of developmental changes are U-SHAPED: a developmental change in which there is a decrease in accuracy relative to the adult target. Historically, much of the debate over different theories of learning has focused on how each theory deals with these relatively rare developmental occurrences (e. Regressions are also the best test of the adequacy of learning models proposed for OT. We argue that constraint promotion must be a possible change during-PAGE 2-learning, contra Tesar and Smolensky (1998), and Prince and Tesar (1999). Some learning algorithms that allow for constraint promotion, such as that of Boersma and Hayes (1999), may nonetheless have difficulty accounting for some regressions, because of restrictions on which constraints may be promoted. These models fail to account for the particular set of regressions examined here, and hence are not adequate to describe learning by human beings. 1. A Typology of Phonological Regressions U-shaped learning appears to be especially prevalent in the development of phonology (the pronunciation of words), where it is known as regression. We have found it useful to describe phonological regressions using two dimensions that describe how the system has changed: TRADE-OFF vs. PURE: whether along with the regression there is some improvement in the same output CORRELATED vs. UNCORRELATED: whether the regression correlates with a change made to the system that leads to improvements in other outputs than the one showing the regression ALL theories of learning predict regressions only when there is a motivation: trade-off: Due to limitations in the range of outputs, altering the system to achieve accuracy on one dimension of a form may be at the expense of accuracy on another dimension. correlated: Changes that increase the range of possible outputs or that improve the efficiency of processing may make errors possible that before were impossible, so the system was not set up to …


For the aim to increase level number and reduce switches number of multi-level converter, two half-bridge Power Electronic Building Blocks (PEBB) are inserted into the DC side of a typical three-phase H-bridge converter, a novel seven-level converter is proposed in this paper. By using the H-bridge as a level doubling network, the natural point voltage imbalance of traditional Natural-Point Clamped converter (NPC) is avoided. Moreover, because of the symmetrical structure, a reasonable control scheme for the DC voltage balancing is adopted, which based on ways of both active current superposition and switching states selection. Meanwhile, the frequency limitation to the switching states swapping is applied with a low-pass filter to ensure the control stable. The circuit operation and converter performance are analyzed. The analysis and control scheme is verified by MATLAB/SIMULINK simulation results.


We used time-resolved photoluminescence micro-scopy to analyze charge carrier transport and recombination in CdTe double heterostructures fabricated by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). This allowed us to determine the charge carrier mobility in this system, which was found to be 500-625 cm2/(V·s). Charge carrier lifetimes in the 15-100 ns range are limited by the interface recombination, and the data indicate higher interface recombination velocity near extended defects. This study describes a new method to analyze the spatial distribution of the interface recombination velocity and the interface defects in semiconductor heterostructures.


This poster introduces the main ideas behind a study conducted during the spring 2017. The aim was to investigate how different formulations of tasks, where students are expected to provide mathematically based explanations, might influence their responses. Preliminary results from the first stage in the analysis process indicate that there are some interesting differences due to small differences in task formulation.


Operation intravascular catheter comprising a flexible comprises a shaft with an elongated flexible having multiple regions rigid profile made of different elements, i.e. structures. The first catheter shaft, i.e. the distal section has a rigid or flexible is distinguished substantially constant or clearly, the second intermediate, i.e. transition zone, the base end side of the first section is positioned, provided with a lower flexibility as compared to the first section, also a third section is located on the proximal side relative to the first section, similarly low soluble than the first section equipped with a FLEXIBLE. Third section further comprises a substantially constant, i.e. a rigid or flexible is clearly distinguished. Flexibility or rigidity of the second zone, the example first, i.e. the rigidity of the tip section, the third, that is, to facilitate between the stiffness of the proximal section, and as a gradual transition approximately linearly along the length of, or stepped changes in ramp form.


Attack graph is an essential tool for the security assessment of industrial Internet systems. Unfortunately, the traditional attack graph mainly focuses on discrete information and cannot handle continuous information such as temperature and humidity. These continuous data represent the states of the industrial Internet and are also indicators of attacks, which should be included in the attack graph. To this end, this paper presents a hybrid attack graph model, which can simultaneously describe the discrete and continuous information of the system. Based on the hybrid attack graph model, a security analysis method is presented. Firstly, the transformation rule from hybrid attack graph to timed automata is established. Secondly, the security attribute of the system is described by sequential logic of continuous interval, and then the model checker TACK is used to complete the analysis of the system. Finally, an example is analyzed and verified by a smart home system to illustrate the method's effectiveness. The method in this paper provides a new idea for attack graph construction and analysis for industrial Internet systems.


This is another study in the series on Aspects of Greek and Roman Life, edited by H. H. Scullard. Trade, internal and foreign, consisted either in developed barter or "transactions carried out by means of a universally accepted means of exchange — a precious metal, used as bullion or struck as coin." Given autarkeia (self-sufficiency) as the main aim, emphasis was placed upon essential imports, financed through exports. Trade, especially imports, therefore was a matter of state concern. Classic industry bore very little likeness to modem industry, consisting essentially of crafts and labor, often slave labor, unsupplemented by machinery and important sources of power. The attitudes of philosophers and aristocrats toward trades and crafts were not very favorable to their improvement. Sources of information relating to trades and crafts in classical Greece consist mainly of non-economic literary works, principally centered on Athens, and inscriptions; only some of the estimated 250,000 still in existence have been explored. Unfortunately, permanent records were not emphasized by the Greeks who also found statistics foreign to the national mind. Hopper emphasizes Athenian and related trade and industry since so much of the evidence available relates to Athens. Of the ten chapters comprising the study, one relates to the pre-classical era and one to states other than Athens in the Hellenistic period. Eight chapters deal with the classical era. Of the four chapters dealing mainly with trade, one deals with wholesale, retail, and local trade, along with degree of specialization, trade routes, trade terminology, attitudes toward traders, and the roles of metics and slaves, roles examined also in other chapters. Import trade, principally of com and quite secondarily of raw products and edible merchandise, along with relevant vicissitudes, difficulties, and policies, is treated in one chapter and touched upon in several others. Industrial production and exports (e.g., pottery, olive oil, wine, manufactured goods), together with conditions that limited division of labor, industrial capital, the exploitability of slave labor, and the development of state owned industry, are examined in another chapter, along with the adequacy of exports to finance essential imports and foreign investment. State attitudes toward trade and traders and the role of foreigners in Athens are examined in another chapter together with the adequacy of revenues and essential imports. Individual chapters are devoted to finance and banking, together with current practices and applications, some reminiscent of pawnshops; to trades, crafts, domestic industry, workshops, factories, quarries, etc. and the transmission of skills; to mining, of great importance in Greece; and to land, agriculture, other cultivation, and varied fanning and rights. This interesting, well written study should prove very useful both to students of trade and industry in the Mediterranean and adjoining


Britain's Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority is to review the practice of "egg giving"—whereby a woman seeking in vitro fertilisation firstly goes through one cycle of treatment in which her eggs are harvested and donated to another patient before going on to have another cycle of treatment for herself at a reduced cost.

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Light micrograph of human egg cell, with pipette used in preparation for in vitro fertilisation

Credit: PASCAL GOETGHELUCK/SPL

But the man who first introduced the idea of egg giving, Professor Ian Craft, has said that the authority …

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Military and civilian aircraft operating in hostile environments or experiencing violent mishaps are susceptible to numerous damage mechanisms. Of these mechanisms, fire is the lead contributor to fatal losses. However, a series of underlying phenomena and damage mechanisms are pivotal to the ignition and growth of fires. The hydrodynamic/hydraulic ram (HRAM) damage mechanism is one of the key factors determining the ignition and continued growth of fires. Furthermore, given its potential to cause catastrophic structural damage, it has been a critical concern for vulnerability analyses of military aircraft engaged by antiaircraft systems and civilian aircraft suffering catastrophic failures. Much of the underlying phenomena leading to a HRAM event have been described from research dating back to the 1960s. However, current deficiencies have been identified in the physical models that were developed to simulate the effects of HRAM on aircraft fuel and hydraulic subsystems. Moreover, the limited availability of experimental data for validation and the recent development of models to characterize ballistic-induced fires have raised concerns within the survivability community as to the applicability of current HRAM characterization methodologies for fire vulnerability analyses. This article will explore past simulations and test data and define test/experimental data requirements to satisfy modern system-level survivability analyses. In addition, a framework will be proposed to develop an advanced HRAM engineering model that satisfies multiple facets of survivability analyses.


In order to quantitatively describe the complexity of the traffic flow system, this paper analyzes the traffic flow complexity on a road based on introducing statistical complexity and its properties. Taking traffic flow on three typical road sections in Nanjing, by comparing and analyzing the relationship between traffic flow complexity and traffic conflict rate on different sections, the paper draws out the regression model of traffic flow complexity and traffic conflict rate. The results show that: The characteristic complexity is an effective measure of the random and non-linear systems and the relevance between traffic flow complexity and non-serious traffic conflict rate is better enough to measure and analyze the traffic flow complexity, which brings a new idea in studying the complexity of traffic


We investigate a model of a single resonant level coupled to the edge of a quantum wire in the Luttinger-liquid phase or to the middle of a chiral Luttinger liquid via both tunneling and a contact interaction. Utilizing the Yuval-Anderson approach, we map this model onto a classical 1D Coulomb gas in which all the details of both the interactions in the lead and the level-lead interaction enter only through the corresponding Fermi-edge singularity exponent, which we explicitly evaluate using the Bethe ansatz solution for a particular model of the lead. Thus the population, dynamical capacitance and level entropy are universal in the sense of being equal for models with interactions differing in magnitude and even in sign. We demonstrate this to hold quantitatively using density matrix renormalization group calculations. Since the Coulomb gas description is of the single-channel Kondo type, we infer that the universality we found implies that Luttinger-liquid physics has no qualitative effect on these properties, in contrast with perturbative results.


Physiology Alcohol enhances gamma-aminobutyric acid's (GABA) inhibitory effects on signal-receiving neurons, thereby lowering neuronal activity, leading to an increase in excitatory glutamate receptors. Over time, tolerance occurs as GABA receptors become less responsive to neurotransmitters, and more alcohol is required to produce the same inhibitory effect. When alcohol is removed acutely, the number of excitatory glutamate receptors remains, but without the suppressive GABA effect. This situation leads to the signs and symptoms of alcohol withdrawal. Practice recommendations


Viral upper respiratory tract infections are often followed by secondary bacterial infections in the form of acute rhinosinusitis. We investigate the effect of rhinovirus infection on the expression of cell adhesion molecules and bacterial adherence to primary human nasal epithelial cells.


Such external openness leads analysts to frequently rank my country very high in terms of exposure to international trade and financial shocks, only to see such shocks having a milder impact on the economy when they happen. While we believe that such gap is to a large extent due to our appropriate monetary and fiscal policies and the institutions supporting them, we are aware that this does not mean full insulation from global developments, including, of course, Global Financial Cycles.


ABSTRACT The contamination by microorganisms and oxidation of explants in the in vitro establishment of bamboo are recurrent problems for its micropropagation. In the present study, effects of the biocide Plant Preservative Mixture (PPM™), the antibiotic kasugamycin and the consistency of the culture medium were evaluated in the in vitro establishment of Bambusa vulgaris,Phyllostachys bambusoides and Dendrocalamus asper. The presence of PPM™ in the culture medium had a significant effect using 2 mL L-1 or 4 mL L-1 concentrations, as well as in the liquid culture medium, increasing the plants established in the autumn. Kasugamycin promoted variable responses for all the three species, depending on the season. There was interaction among the factors, demonstrating that higher rates of viable plants can be obtained by combining different strategies to reduce the oxidation and contamination. For the in vitro establishment of B. vulgaris,P. bambusoides and D. asper, it is recommended to add 2 mL L-1 or 4 mL L-1 of PPM™ to the liquid culture medium.


We show that various formulations (e.g., dual and Kullback-Csiszar iterations) of estimation of maximum entropy (ME) models can be transformed to solving systems of polynomial equations in several variables for which one can use celebrated Grobner bases methods. Posing of ME estimation as solving polynomial equations is possible, in the cases where feature functions (sufficient statistic) that provides the information about the underlying random variable in the form of expectations are integer valued.


This paper proposes the development of an activity based on the community of practice (CoP) approach in collaboration with lesson study to enhance teaching potential. The CoP approach is utilized to elicit teachers' experiences and facilitate the sharing of teaching guidelines, while the lesson study method enables small groups of teachers to collaboratively design, teach, reflect on, and refine a class lesson. Drawing from semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, documentation, expert field notes, and focus groups, the proposed activity consists of four key components: 1) principle, 2) activity objective, 3) learning activity, and 4) learning evaluation. The learning activity encompasses four steps: educating, innovating, implementing, and reflecting. Each step comprises several sub-activities, with the innovating and implementing steps being iterative. The activity demonstrates a content validity of 0.95 and a suitability rating of 4.88. Furthermore, the participating teachers in this study exhibit increased self-confidence in constructing classroom activities and gained additional pathways for designing effective learning activities. The paper suggests that this approach can effectively foster the acquisition of new knowledge, the development of innovative practices, and the application of effective instructional strategies in the classroom.


Nearly thirty chemical elements are frequently institute in bio-organisms, involving in basic physio-biochemical and functions, and recognized as necessary elements for life.


Despite a heightened interest regarding the role of infectious diseases in wildlife conservation, few studies have explicitly addressed the impacts of chronic, persistent diseases on long-term host population dynamics. Using mycoplasmal upper respiratory tract disease (URTD) within natural gopher tortoise Gopherus polyphemus populations as a model system, we investigated the influence of chronic recurring disease epizootics on host population dynamics and persistence using matrix population models and Markov chain models for temporally autocorrelated environments. By treating epizootics as a form of environmental stochasticity, we evaluated host population dynamics across varying levels of outbreak duration (r), outbreak recurrence (f ), and disease-induced mortality (m). Baseline results indicated a declining growth rate (l) for populations under unexposed or enzootic conditions (lEnzootic  0.903, 95% CI: 0.765–1.04), and a median time to quasiextinction of 29 years (range: 28–30 years). Under recurring epizootics, stochastic growth rates overlapped with baseline growth rates, and ranged between 0.838–0.902. Median quasi-extinction times under recurring epizootics also overlapped for most scenarios with those of baseline conditions, and ranged between 18–29 years, with both metrics decreasing as a function of f and m. Overall, baseline (enzootic) conditions had a greater impact on l than epizootic conditions, and demographic vital rates were proportionately more influential on l than disease- or outbreak-associated parameters. Lower-level elasticities revealed that, among disease- and outbreak-associated parameters, increases in m, force of infection (φ), and f negatively influenced l. The impact of disease on host population dynamics depended primarily on how often a population underwent an epizootic state, rather than how long the epizootic persisted within the exposed population. The modeling framework presented in this paper could be widely applied to a range of wildlife disease systems in which hosts suffer from persistent recurring diseases.


Lay Summary Mud dauber wasp females hunt, sting, paralyze, and pack spider prey into a mud nest for their offspring to eat. Individual female wasps of the same species, in the same population, with access to the same resources have different preferences for the spider prey that they capture. Some females specialize on only one species of spider (prey specialists) while others catch a number of species (prey generalists). Individuals' preferences remain consistent over time.


In this study Swedish teachers' views of the technology subject and technology teaching are examined. Investigations made the last few years show that there are deficiencies in the technology teach ...


Mental health is a critical concern that affects numerous individuals globally. In the case of students in India, mental health issues are especially pervasive. The pressure to excel academically and conform to societal norms often leads to feelings of stress, anxiety, and depression. In this article, we will explore the mental health challenges encountered by Indian students and provide some self-help suggestions.


Excitons in a GaAs quantum wire were studied in high‐resolution photoluminescence experiments performed at a temperature of about 10 K with a spatial resolution of 160 nm and a spectral resolution of 100 µeV. We report the observation of quasi‐one‐dimensional excitons which are delocalized over a length of up to several micrometres along the quantum wire. Such excitons give rise to a 10 meV broad luminescence band, representing a superposition of transitions between different delocalized states. In addition, we find a set of sharp luminescence peaks from excitons localized on a sub150 nm length scale. Theoretical calculations of exciton states in a disordered quasi‐one‐dimensional potential reproduce the experimental results.


Abstract THE test about to be described has been in use in this company for about fifteen years, and has been adopted to some extent by the rubber industry, particularly for use with belting. However, in response to various requests for information regarding the details of the test as applied to tire-carcass materials, a brief description of the methods now in use in the company laboratories is given here. The tests consists of taking a strip composed of several plies of fabric and rubber, bending the strip around a hub until its two faces are nearly parallel, applying a weight to the hub so that the strip is pulled taut, and moving the jaws reciprocally so that the strip drives the hub and is moved back and forth around the hub. This is continued until a separation occurs between the plies of the strip. This test, if carried out under carefully controlled conditions, gives consistent results, and it is the purpose of this paper to outline these conditions.


A process of chemical purification of multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) is investigated to determine the structural and chemical changes in atomic bond caused by chemical treatment. As-grown multiwall carbon nanotubes were treated in mixture of H2SO4, HNO3 under a refluxing condenser with magnetic stir for different time period 5, 7, 9 and 15 h (samples S1, S2, S3 and S4, respectively) at 70 oC in order to remove amorphous carbon and catalysts completely. The acid-treated tubes are extensively characterized by means of Raman spectroscopy. Raman spectra were recorded for as-grown as well as post treated multiwall carbon nanotubes samples as prepared for different time duration. The results of Raman spectroscopy suggest that the appropriate mixing ratio between H2SO4 and HNO3 is 3:1 with treatment time from 5-9 h is suitable for purification and create less defect during acid treatment.


The following idealized problem is intended to illustrate some basic thermodynamic concepts involved in kinetic friction. A block of mass m is sliding on top of a frictional,1 flat-topped table of mass M. The table is magnetically levitated, so that it can move without thermal contact and friction across a horizontal floor. The table is initially stationary, while the block has initial speed vi and slides to rest relative to the table. The block and table are inside a large vacuum tank, so there is no air resistance, buoyancy, nor thermal losses to the atmosphere. Furthermore the inner surface of the vacuum tank is a perfect mirror so that the tank does not radiatively exchange heat with the block and table. The block and table are homogeneous, both initially have temperature Ti, and they each have large thermal conductivities so that they rapidly attain a common final temperature Tf after the block has come to rest. The specific heat capacity of the block is cb and that of the table is ct, and these heat...


The paper introduced the current research situation of domestic and overseas mechanization of crop breeding test plot from various parts of management. Plot seeder and harvester, two key-parts of machines of crop breeding test plot, had a series of products, their techniques were mature, the other techniques and equipments made big progress. Computer techniques had been utilized greatly in management machines of breeding test plot. Mechanization of crop breeding test plot would be realized, it could not only increase accuracy and science of breeding test, but also decrease cost and promote efficiency of breeding test.


Short welding times make spin welding particularly suitable for mass production. This paper presents an analysis of the friction phase, which makes it possible to estimate the influence of the welding parameters and the material being welded on the temperature in the welded zone, the melt rate, and the torque in the spin welding of semicrystalline thermoplastics. A comparison of experimental and calculated results shows an acceptable correlation. In addition, the influence of speed, axial pressure, and braking on the weld seam quality of different amorphous and semicrystalline thermoplastics is discussed.


8216 Background: Patients with cancer approaching the end of life were interviewed to ascertain their views on the formulation of "do not resuscitate" (DNR) orders to guide policy.

METHODS
Consecutive eligible patients had semi-structured interviews which were recorded, transcribed, and subjected to qualitative analysis. Accrual ended when data saturation occurred, that is no new issues were being raised.

RESULTS
Twenty-eight patients, 13 females, 15 males (average age 61, range 39-79) were interviewed, 86% as inpatients, half with family members or friends present. All were Australian residents with English as their first language; 64% were currently married. The patients spanned 11 different cancers from which 23 (82%) died within 12 weeks of interview, including 4 within 1 week, with the longest survivor just over 6 months. Fourteen patients had a DNR order recorded in their file at interview and only 1 had not clearly specified their wishes at time of death. However, for 7 patients there were discrepancies between their views at interview and what was recorded. All but 4 patients understood the term DNR. Resuscitation was often spoken of as a medical intervention which may stop an appropriate peaceful death. The majority believed that the patient should make the DNR decision stressing the importance of individual autonomy but some preferred a shared decision with physicians or family. Patients said that being lucid was necessary for making DNR decisions. There was no consensus on the appropriate timing of a DNR discussion. Some favored no discussion. A minority favored a discussion early before possible mental incapacity, but those who supported holding the discussion when the issue became pressing wanted to spare patients the negative emotions of an earlier discussion. There was ambivalence about who should decide when to discuss, some believing it to be the patient's decision but others deferring to the experience of the physician.

CONCLUSIONS
DNR policies must allow the flexibility to accommodate diverse individual patient wishes. Documentation of DNR orders can be problematic, both in accurately ascertaining patients' wishes, and accommodating changes that may occur. No significant financial relationships to disclose.


The antioxidant effects of HS-1580 derived from Brown seaweeds in comparison with NOS inhibitor, L-NAME, were tested in the Parkinson's disease animal model. C57BL/6 mice were implanted with osmotic pump containing vehicle, HS-1580 or L-NAME intraperitoneally 2 days before MPTP injection. The Parkinson's animal model were prepared by intraperitonal injection of MPTP (20 mg/kg, 4 times with 2 hours intervals in a day). The mice were perfused with Zamboni fixative 2 days or 7days after MPTP injection. The 30 m cryostat section were immunostained with free-floating method. Rabbit anti-tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and rat anti-mouse MAC-1 were used as the primary antibodies. The following results were obtained.The number of TH-immunoreactive (ir) neurons in ubstantia nigra (SN) and the relative density of TH-ir axon terminals in striatum were decreased by MPTP injection. But the decrease was significantly attenuated with 10% HS-1580 or L-NAME (50 mg/kg) pretreatment before MPTP injection. MAC-1-ir activated microglia were observed in substantia nigra 2 days after MPTP injection. Activated microglia were showed as thickened processes with round cell bodies. The morphological changes of MAC-1-ir activated microglia were inhibited by HS-15980 or L-NAME pretreatment before MPTP injction. Above results mean that the damage of nigrostriatal dopaminergic system was rescued by pretreatment of HS-1580 or L-NAME in MPTP-induced Parkinson's disease animal model


The successful application of precision bronchoscopy in the early diagnosis of bronchogenic carcinoma has been noted by numerous authors. This diagnostic aid has become a procedure of prime impor tance in detecting bronchogenic carcinoma in the curable stages. With the development of successful thoracic surgical techniques it has be come increasingly important to diagnose the lesion during the early stage of bronchial irritation rather than in the later advanced stages of bronchial obstruction. Since the lesion is usually located in close association to the main bronchial divisions, it lends itself to early diag nosis by precision bronchoscopy.


Abstract : The majority of methods for measuring dimerication constants requires that the pure monomer spectrum be known. This spectrum is obtained by successive dilution of a dye solution until Beer's law is obeyed. In practice, there is a limit where the absorbance of the solution is too small to measure precisely. Frequently, the dye is diluted with alcoholic-aqueous solutions to foster monomer formation. We have devised a general scheme to compute molar absorption coefficients and dimerization constants based on Monahan's method. Absorbances are measured for a series of dye concentrations. A nonlinear least-squares program then finds the best-fit monomer and dimer molar absorption coefficients. Absorbances are remeasured at various temperatures or with different dye concentrations and the calculation repeated. The mean molar absorption coefficients are computed from all the measurements; these values are then used to compute the dimerization constants at each temperature.


We investigate the relations between the bulk and boundaries properties of short-range resonating valence bond wave functions using Projected Entangled Pair States. We find a gapless (gapped) entanglement spectrum for kagome (square) lattices, which reflects the properties of the edge modes rather than those of the bulk correlations. We also derive the topological entropy and show that the topological nature of the wave function manifests itself in a non-local many-body boundary Hamiltonian which we identify completely. We propose to use this feature as a probe to identify topological phases in microscopic Hamiltonians.


A novel hierarchical distributed genetic algorithm is proposed for image segmentation. Firstly, a technique of histogram dichotomy is proposed to explore the statistical property of input image and produce a hierarchical quantization image. Then a hierarchical distributed genetic algorithm (HDGA) is imposed on the quantized image to explore the spatial connectivity and produce final segmentation result. HDGA is a major improvement of the original distributed genetic algorithm (DGA) and multiscale distributed genetic algorithm (MDGA) in four aspects: (1) HDGA does not require the a priori number of image regions, however it can effectively and adaptively control the segmentation quality; (2) the chromosome structure is revised from the original label (multilabel)-condition-fitness format to a more compact (storage-efficient) label-fitness format; (3) the fitness function is revised to utilize the spatial connectivity, but not the original "reconstruction" error; (4) three revised genetic operations are presented to make the algorithm computation-efficient. Our experiments give proofs for the advantages of HDGA.


The Sznajd model for the opinion formation is generalized to small-world networks. This generalization destroyed the stalemate fixed point. Then a simple definition of leaders is included. No fixed points are observed. This model displays some interesting aspects in sociology. The model is investigated using time series analysis.


The influence of exogenous application of kinetin and diaminopurine on the penetration and subsequent development of the root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne incognita were studied in susceptible (Pusa Ruby) and resistant reacting (SL-120) cultivars of tomatoes. Alterations in the level of kinetin, through foliar application, induced susceptible reaction in resistant reacting variety, as judged on the basis of development of egg laying females, fecundity and number of root galls. Furthermore, exogenous application of kinetin resulted in the establishment of feeding sites required for the development of the females. Exogenous application of diaminopurine, known inhibitor of kinetin, led to the resistant responses to M. incognita in a susceptible tomato cultivar. Interference in the utilization of kinetin affected the development of the nematode. Apparently, kinetin had profound influence of the successful development of feeding sites required for the further development of infective larvae into gravid females. Bioassay studies for estimation of cytokinin indicate that the level of endogenous cytokinin is more in Pus a Ruby than SL-120 and resistant as well as susceptible varieties show higher level of cytokinin during post-infection period.


Silica core–silver shell, silver nanoshells (NSs), have been synthesized by an innovative laser-based approach. The NSs' nucleation and growth progressed upon the pulse strikes of a copper vapor laser on a colloidal solution containing silver and silica nanoparticles (NPs). The silver NPs were separately synthesized by ablation of a silver target in deionized water by a 1064 nm Q-switched Nd:YAG laser. The dependence of silver NSs' growth on the laser exposure time has been systematically studied by UV–VIS absorption spectroscopy technique. Transmission electron microscopy was exploited as well to visually confirm the NSs' evolution through the process.