The question of whether any of us can truly be held responsible for what we do is an issue that occupied the ancient Greeks and continues to entertain our leading thinkers. Whether we can be held responsible for our health, or lack thereof, has additional layers of complexity because of the way in which what we do over time impacts our health. Those of us who have ever self-deceptively wondered about the apparent shrinking of our belt or at the fact that the stairs seem to have multiplied are familiar with the idea that our health can change gradually over time as a result of successive choices that we have made. While there are one-off behaviours that can have an impact on health, for example, a single exposure to a very high level of radiation, in general, ill health develops over time, within an environment and complex set of interactions with other people.

The implications of that complexity are central to this issue's Feature Article by Brown and Savulescu.1 They note that there is debate over whether responsibility should play a role in the allocation of healthcare, and, rather than taking a view on that issue, make a number of suggestions about how the concept of responsibility used in healthcare can be enriched by attending to the complex relationship between behaviour and health. …


Health and social participation are two fundamental pillars of active aging thus it is important to understand variables that might affect them. The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between extraversion, optimism, health status and social participation. The sample comprised 406 community-dwelling older adults (M=74.88, SD= 6.75) from urban areas of Granada. It was found that extraversion and optimism positively correlated with perceived health status and with social participation and negatively correlated with number of illnesses. The association between personality  and social participation was stronger than the one between personality and health. This study highlights the relevance that personality has for older adults' health and social participation thus it is important to consider personality in active aging models.


In the context of the recent decision of the European Commission to incorporate a minimum of 10% biofuel by 2020 in total transport fuel use, the production of bioethanol and biodiesel will be boosted. When compared to fossil fuels this two biofuels have numerous advantages i.e. they are renewable, they run in conventional vehicles, they are not toxic, they are biodegradable, they show low particulate emissions and they are CO2 neutral. However they show some disadvantages such as the high energy demand of their production and the high yield of byproducts (i.e. glycerin for biodiesel and distiller's waste for bioethanol), that require a dedicated marketing effort and supply chain. The energy demand required for the production of both biodiesel, through transesterification of vegetal oils, and bioethanol, through fermentation followed by distillation, is thermal and mechanical and can be satisfied by means of a CHP plant integrated in the production line fueled by its own byproducts. The paper analyzes the energy balances of two CHP plants fed with the above mentioned wastes (glycerin and wheat straw residues) and integrated in the biofuels (respectively biodiesel and bioethanol) production plants. The CHP plant considered are based on the IPRP (Integrated Pyrolysis Regenerated Plant) technology, meaning a gas turbine fed with syngas obtained from slow pyrolysis of the residues. Results show that in the case of biodiesel the production of glycerine is sufficient to satisfy the electricity demand of the plant that is lower than the heat demand, while the last cannot be completely covered because glycerine production is reduced respect to the input mass of vegetable oil and equal to 10% w/w. Concerning bioethanol, wheat straw residues are enough to cover heat demand that is the most important energy input of the process but they are not able to cover electricity input that is linked with the milling of the raw material. This is because of the reduced syngas yields and its lower energy content if compared with that obtained using glycerine.Copyright © 2011 by ASME


Apparatus is provided, including an external device, including a mount, which is placed in front of an eye of a subject. A laser is coupled to the mount and configured to emit toward the eye radiation that is outside of 380-750 nm. A partially-transparent mirror is coupled to the mount. An intraocular device is implanted entirely in the subject's eye, and includes a plurality of stimulating electrodes, and an energy receiver, which receives the radiation from the laser and generates a voltage drop in response thereto. A plurality of photosensors detect photons and generate a signal in response thereto. Driving circuitry is coupled to the energy receiver and to the photosensors, and receives the signals from the photosensors and utilizes the voltage drop to drive the electrodes to apply currents to the retina in response to the signals from the photosensors. Other embodiments are also described.


The Paratrichodorus species P. renif'er and P. minor ( = P. christie1), which hacl been rccorded for Germany From glasshousc ornamcntals and trce nurseries so far, proved to bc cxclusively P. renifer. This species morphologically resembling P. minor is well characterized by the reniform shape of the vaginal sclerotizations. whereas thc absence of an ocsophagcal ovcrlap, which had bccn uscd as an additional diagnostic criterium beforc, is of restricted taxonomic significancc. Originally, P. renifer is probably a species of warmer climatic regions with only restrictecl ability to survive outdoors in Germany. There is cvidence that all records from northern and central Europe (in part recordcd as P. minor) are, in fact, P. renifer. Reliable records of P. minor are availablc for the Meditcrranean region, Portugal. Madeira and thc Canary lslands.


The carbon emission permits trading is an emerging financial market.As a useful tool to reduce the carbon emission,permits trading origins from the Kyoto Protocol.In last few years,especially after the establishment of EU ETS in 2005,the development of international carbon emission permits market get into a new era.The trading volume and the number of participants increase rapidly.This paper is a theory summary focusing on the detailed mechanisms of the carbon emission permits trading market,from the determination of emission volume to the implication of permits trading to the real economy,etc.It may provide some useful grounds for the design of carbon emission permit trading system of China.


A method for spiral wound membrane ultrafiltration utilizing a filter, where the gap between the filter element and the pressure vessel internal pressure is higher than or equal to the pressure of the filter element. With these conditions, the force generated by the static pressure generated in the spiral wound filter element to provide a high friction between different sheets, the above-described high frictional force to effectively prevent the filter element unwinding or telescoping. With this configuration, it is possible for the ultrafiltration other way than with a high differential pressure across the filter element, the higher the pressure difference results in higher efficiency and low power consumption. Further, an anti-described telescopic device (ATD) and one spiral wound filter element, the anti-telescoping device (ATD) and a spiral wound filter element is particularly suited to the disclosed methods.


Recently, anodized aluminum is widely used in microelectronics for the manufacturing switching plates, multiterminal packages for chips, multichip modules, various sensors, etc. One of the factors limiting the wide use of aluminum substrates with anodic alumina films (AAF) is the low thermal stability of the aluminum — AAF system. The problem is due to the fact that, according to various sources, the temperature coefficients of linear expansion of aluminum are 2.5 to 4.5 times higher than the temperature coefficients of linear expansion of anodic aluminum oxide. Therefore, at the high-temperature treatments during the microelectronic device fabrication, cracks appear in the anodic alumina films. The growth of these cracks can cause catastrophic failures of devices. Moreover, bending of the substrates causes difficulties in the photolithography execution. A number of technical solutions allowing the thermal stability of the Al/AAF system to be improved are known. For example, a thermal annealing to 477 K is recommended in [1], because the crack formation mechanism in the anodic oxide is attributed to the presence of associated water molecules in the film. The thermal stability of anodic coatings on aluminum is shown in another work [2] to be increased either by the anodization in the priority of acids: sulfuric → oxalic → phosphoric or by the oxidation in the same electrolyte by increasing the anodizing voltage. This is due to the increase in the size of cells and pores of the oxide with increase of voltage of anodic oxidation. Prerequisites of the research were the data obtained from the theoretical analysis of the strain and stress emergence at the aluminum/alumina interface during the AAF growth [3, 4]. In accordance with the theoretical estimates obtained, a zone of plastically deformed aluminum, where a part of elastic stress relaxes, arises at


The objective of this study is to investigate the effects of free stream turbulence intensity on the heat transfer from a flat surface. An analogy between conduction and convection is used by applying the simplified time-averaged turbulent energy equation to treat the problem. The emphasis is placed on explaining how free stream fluctuations affect the heat transfer rate. The effect of parameters such as the direction of temperature gradient, different flow regimes, and fluid types is discussed The approach taken in this work can be regarded as a rule of thumb to predict the heat transfer from/to a flat plate adjacent to a laminar or turbulent stream. The introduced method leads to the results in agreement with previous works. Some of the flow conditions considered in this work have not yet been investigated in the literature.


Background: To represent and interpret the three-dimensional (3D) geometry and the distribution of the axonal damage to the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) compared with healthy subjects. To analyze alterations in RNFL morphology in eyes of MS patients with or without previous episodes of optic neuritis (ON). Methods: MS patients (n = 122) and age-matched healthy subjects (n = 108) were enrolled. The Spectralis optical coherence tomography system was used to determine the circumpapillary RNFL thickness. The 768 RNFL thickness measurements were used to evaluate thickness measurements in patients with or without antecedent ON and to design a 3D reconstruction of the RNFL thickness representing the mechanobiologic tissue response to neurodegeneration caused by MS and ON episodes. Results: RNFL thickness was decreased in MS patients, and was higher in the MS group with previous ON. Statistical analysis and 3D RNFL reconstruction revealed greater damage to the ganglionar cells in the superonasal RNFL area (101.77 µm in MS vs. 125.47 µm in healthy subjects) and in the inferotemporal RNFL (119.05 µm in MS eyes and 149.26 µm in healthy eyes). Conclusions: The 3D representation of RNFL thickness based on measurements allows physicians to better observe damage in the temporal areas, especially in patients with previous ON.


Symptomatic leiomyomatous uteri affect about 30% of women [1]. In the United States, more than 80% of African American and 70% of Caucasian women have leiomyoma by age 50, with an overall incidence of 12.8 per 1,000 woman years [1]. Symptomatic severity disparities are more pronounced than leiomyoma incidence disparities. African Americans women have larger and more numerous leiomyomata occurring up to 15 years earlier than do Caucasian women [1]. Heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB) and/ or mass symptoms affect about 20 to 40% respectively of women with leiomyomatous uteri [1]. Anemia, dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, non-cyclic pelvic pain, and bladder tenesmus contribute to 53.7% of women with leiomyomata perceiving quality of life decrements [2]. Leiomyomata cost the United States up to USD 34 billion annually [1, 3]. While hysterectomy is definitive treatment of symptomatic leiomyomatous uteri, hysterectomy is not the best option for all women, nor will immediate hysterectomy be a guaranteed insurance covered procedure. Therefore, medical management is important.


In this paper, we study a cooperative vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) interference-limited communication system with decode-and-forward relaying operating over double-Nakagami (DN) fading channels. This distribution has been proposed as a fading model for scenarios where both the transmitter and the receiver are in motion, as is the case in V2V communications. For the purposes of our analysis, we introduce the bivariate DN distribution and derive statistical metrics for this distribution, such as the probability density function, the cumulative distribution function, and the moments. The new expressions have been employed to model the outdated channel state information (CSI) that is due to the fast time-varying nature of the wireless medium and the delay naturally existing between relay selection and data transmission instances. The analysis considers two relay selection schemes, according to the relay-destination channel quality, namely the well-known best relay selection (BRS) and a new one termed as threshold-based relay selection, which offers lower complexity than BRS. Using our analytical framework, exact and asymptotic performance results are obtained for the outage and the average symbol error probabilities, while the diversity order has been also evaluated. The numerical and simulation results corroborate our theoretical ones and quantify the impact of the outdated CSI, level of interference, and varying distances between the relay nodes and the final destination on the system's performance.


In our Research Topic "Insights into RNANetworks and Biology"we gathered a number of articles that relate to the newest developments in the RNA field. Starting from computational works (Pepe et al. and Vandelli et al.) and passing through network analysis (Yang et al. and Zhang et al.), we present approaches for biochemical characterization of protein-RNA interactions (Giambruno et al. and Kieffer et al.), implication of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in disease (Fan et al. and Li et al.) and investigation of the role of RNA molecules and translation in physiology (Buchanan et al. and Zhang et al.). Several theoretical methods for studying physical interactions between RNA and proteins are currently being developed. The review by Pepe et al. summarizes the most recent advances in the algorithms, especially to predict circular RNA (circRNA) and long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) interactions with RNA-binding proteins (RBPs). The authors emphasize the need for developing larger interaction datasets to increase performance and expand on approaches amenable to machine learning. In their Perspective, Vandelli et al. provide an example on how the integration of RNA-protein interaction data with computational analysis tools can lead to new hypotheses. The authors used data from four experimental and one computational study of interactors of SARS-CoV-2 genomic RNA. Although hundreds of proteins have been identified across the different studies, only twenty-one appear in all the experiments to interact with SARS-CoV-2 RNA. The identified proteins refer to known or predicted stress granule forming proteins, which leads to the intriguing hypothesis that a mechanism of action for SARS-CoV 2 could be to target proteins that attract other partners through phase separation. Two articles focus on transcriptome analysis for construction of RNA-RNA networks. Yang et al. performed a systematic analysis of mRNA, microRNA (miRNA) and circRNA expression in type II alveolar epithelial cells (ATII) in Tibetan pigs. These pigs live at high altitude and developed an efficient metabolism for living at lower oxygen levels than "standard" landrace pigs. The authors simulated a hypoxic environment for cultured ATII cells of tibetan pigs and landrace pigs grown under normoxic and hypoxic conditions. The differential expression of circRNA, miRNAs and mRNAs were combined to construct competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) networks for these cells, thereby identifying critical regulatory modes for metabolic control. A similar approach was used by Zhang et al. that explored the transcriptomic network of Rotator cuff tears (RCT), the most common cause of shoulder dysfunction. Specifically, the authors performed RNAseq analysis of five patient samples with RTC in supraspinatus muscles and matched OPEN ACCESS


The subject innovation is injected in the injection facts to more specifically, an output sound or light only when the injection operation is to be performed relates to a multipurpose jet apparatus and a control method using a sound or a light, notifying the injection the user can easily recognize to an apparatus and a control method thereof. Versatile injector associated with the example of the present design is a fluid and a storage tank, from which air is stored and provided on a side of the storage tank, a heater for heating the fluid and air, is provided at the top of the tank, one side of the air the side air inlet and the other to be injected is formed an air discharge port in which the air is discharged and the coupling pipe, is installed on the lower side of the reservoir fluid outlet to which the fluid is discharged, one end detachable in at least one of the fluid discharge or air outlet and, the fluid and air is connected to the other end of the hose, said hose passing through generating a sensing signal in response to at least whether or not the part injection of the fluid and air are provided adjacent to the injector and the injector for injecting the fluid and air comprising a sensor unit, wherein the injector, the fluid and a nozzle portion from which air is discharged is injected, one Only the means associated with the nozzle unit, the rotation means associated with direct injection assembly and function is regulated by one or injection function wherein the injection assembly may comprise parts of the fluid and the air duct is formed in the handle flowing therein.


Given two h-vectors, handh0, we study which are the possible h-vectors for the union of two disjoint sets of points in P2, respectively associated to h and h0and how they can be constructed. We wil ...


Clay underlayer is the major component of the antiseepage system of a hazardous waste landfill,its infiltration coefficient is required to be lower than or equal to 1.0×10-7cm/s and its thickness not less than 0.5 m.This is difficult for a valley-type waste landfill to implement.This paper has a discussion on the application of clay underlayer to waste landfill from the aspects of material,design and construction.


The paper presents an account of an intervention programme implemented to address the learning problems of children with communication disorder in a community in Abeokuta, Ogun State. The presentation details the history of educational programme of the community, and the nature of the intervention which includes the policy framework with which the intervention was packaged, the staffing involved, parental involvement, the integration of the programme into the regular school and the curriculum of the programme. The report also provided information on the success recorded in the programme and suggestions for its sustenance.


Joseph Robbins sipped his morning coffee and stared OUt over thousands of tortured souls. They sizzled and seared, as if each were a strip of bacon in their woeful condemnation. Robbins imagined the familiar scent of breakfast his mother used to make when he was a kid, though all he could smell now was recycled air. Outside, the fires of Hell roared and consumed its eternal victinls. In Robbins' office, however, the atmosphere settled dully beneath the fluorescent lights that flickered every so often. Robbins, perhaps Satan's seventh IT Director, was quite nervous about the job before him. Those who had tried before him were now among the delectable, crackling pieces of breakfast outside his window. He knew in his work that there would be no room for error-lest he face the wrath of Great Satan. The boss of all bosses. You know, I bet Dilbert would have something funny to say about having Satan as a boss, he thought. Essentially, Robbins' job was to update Hell's outdated databases-to meliorate the old systems that were now nothing more than clunky, dusty, ancient relics. What would happen if the systems were left worn away, no one could say for sure. But Robbins knew what to do. And he would update the databases efficiently and reroute the wires appropriately and upgrade the servers dogmatically, and ... What's this? "Mr. Robbins! Sir!" A pudgy, pasty-white man with outstretched arms huffed as he jogged towards Robbins. Bernard. The internfrom financing, Great, Robbins thought. Bernard spoke with great difficulty, after a moment of doubled-over panting:


Optimal dosing of potentially toxic drugs implies precise achievement of specific thera utic goals. It uses a population model of the behavior orthe drug, and of the relationships between serum levels of the drug and its clinical effect. It also employs feedback. One designs a regimen to optimize a performance criterion, and explores future dosing and sampling scenarios in advance to optimize the process of learning about the patient's model while having to treat him at the same time. Supported by RR01629.


With the continuous popularization of Internet, the influence of new media permeates all fields and levels of society. The arrival of the new media era has brought great influence to the traditional computer education. On the one hand, it provides opportunities for computer teachers to improve their teaching ability and knowledge level, and on the other hand, they bring a certain impact. For computer teachers, how to seize the opportunities brought about by the new media era, and meet the challenges, has become a new topic. All computer teachers should attach great importance to the impact of the new media era, raise the level of computer teaching, and maintains a certain self-control, moral awareness and legal awareness, so that the new media can be used rationally. This paper firstly analyzes the existing traditional computer education under the new media era of the problem, and then elaborates on the positive impact and negative effects of the new media era on the traditional computer education. In addition, the regression model and the factors of negative impact of new media on traditional computer education are analyzed. Finally, it points out that: on the one hand, the computer teacher should speed up the learning of new technologies, explore new teaching methods, change teaching ideas, master the concept and basic knowledge of new media, the use of new media, and the understanding of new media environment, as well as the ethics and safety awareness of new media. On the other hand, new media literacy should be introduced into the computer class. Teachers and students should strengthen the new media literacy, and let students actively participate in activities, to maintain and improve the knowledge of computer. Only in this way can we improve the quality of computer teaching, make better use of new media for computer learning, and make the traditional computer education glowing with new vitality.


In this work, the performance of Ultra-Low-Power (ULP) Diodes implemented with Junctionless Nanowire Transistors (JNTs) is presented for the first time. Experimental data of ULP Diodes formed by Junctionless Nanowire CMOS Transistors show that nanowire width, length and doping concentration play an important role in the reverse current of the diodes, affecting the on-off current ratio.


Using a pulsing technique, we have measured ultrasonic attenuation in various high polymer solutions over the range from 5 to 55 megacycles. In all cases measured the attenuation increases as the square of frequency. The attenuation in solutions of synthetic rubber in methyl‐ethyl ketone increases rapidly with concentration. For example, at 50 mc a 7.8 percent solution absorbs 13.0 db/cm, a 5.5 percent solution 9.4 db/cm, and pure methyl‐ethyl ketone absorbs 4.9 db/cm. We have measured a 3.5 percent solution of gelatin in water and find that attenuation increases sharply after the material has been gelled. Thus, at the same temperature, gelatin in the sol state absorbs 4.2 db/cm while the same sample in gel state absorbs 7 db/cm. The only physical change in the gelatin was a phase change. Further investigations are being carried out to determine the possibility of using ultrasonic attenuation as an index of phase changes and as a tool for studying structure of polymers in solution. A study is also being m...


Using the NCEP monthly height and wind fields at different levels from 1951 to 2001, SSTA field of COADS, monthly rainfall from 147 stations in China, and with SVD and regression analysis, we research the relationships between decadal variability of SSTA on Pacific and that of summer rainfall in China. We find that the tropical Pacific is the key area that affects the rainfall in south China, the SSTA in this area in anaphase from the 1950s to the 1970s is positive, corresponding summer rainfall in the south of Changjiang river is more, that in the north of Changjiang river is less;the condition after 1970s is opposite. The key area that affects the rainfall of middle reaches of the Changjiang river is in the middle latitude of the north of Pacific, from the anaphase of the 1970s to the prophase of the 1990s,the SSTA is negative,the rainfall in the middle reaches of Changjiang river is more, both sides of it is less;The key area that affects the rainfall of the northeast and north China is in the low latitude middle Pacific,from the 1970s to the prophase of the 1980s,SSTA of the area is negative,corresponding rainfall in summer in the northeast of China is less,from the 1950s to the metaphase of 1960s, the prophase and the metaphase of 1990s, conditions are opposite. Furthermore,we study the probable mechanism for SSTA in Pacific to affect the rainfall in China.


~ Ari abstract of a dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the re tcireVetsit for the 1)e~ree of Doctor of Education in Teachors College, Temple tiniy, 1958 lJhi..l<o}rlncrl~: Director of Treatment-State Correctional Institution at Philadela, ])a. ~ Crime in the United States has been vehemently labeled one of Our major problems. F.B.I. I)irector J. Edgar Hoover has frequently Ported that the U. S. is in the midst of &dquo;an ever mounting wave of


ing practices and it is honest in its appraisal. The account documents the problems, uncertainties and strains under which all alternative artists have worked in this country during three terms of Tory rule. Those working with Gay Sweatshop have faced the added difficulties of the violence of homophobia, fuelled by the concerns of the present regime and its right-wing press. This book serves as a testament to the courage and strength of the individuals who have carried on the fight for all of us. We should be grateful to the women and men listed on the final pages of the book, for their work and their vision: we owe them a tremendous debt. PAUL HERITAGE


Long lead times, inflexible resources and high failure rates expose pharmaceutical firms to substantial product development risks. In this study, we identify and estimate the impact of drug development failures on the value of pharmaceutical firms. We conduct an event study around the failure of phase III clinical trials. We identify key development portfolio properties that are associated with the relative magnitude of the impact of a failing drug development project on the firm's value. Specifically, we find that two properties of development portfolios are particularly salient: the build-up of new phase III projects prior to the failure and the presence of "backup" projects, i.e., additional development projects targeting the same market. Our empirical results establish a direct link between product development portfolio properties and financial outcomes, a link that has been repeatedly called for in prior literature. Further, our findings help us identify properties of the drug development portfolio that product development managers should focus on.


Indonesia only achieved 79,82% tax revenue from what was targeted in the 2018 State Budget. Whereas with the advancement of technology, many new tax sources can be utilized by Indonesia to meet its tax revenue targets, one of which is by taxing bitcoin. Unfortunately, as a state of law, the tax law in Indonesia has not been able to keep up with technological developments, so that the law governing bitcoin taxation still does not exist. There are two issues that are discussed in this undergraduate thesis, first is the urgency and the possibility of bitcoin taxation in Indonesia, and second is how the law should regulate imposition of the tax on the ownership of bitcoin in Indonesia. This two issues are solved using normative legal research through the study of laws, journals, books, and trusted internet sites. The result of the discussion shows the following findings: First, bitcoin can be used in online black market, have threat to the data security, and it can be used in tax evasion. So, it is very urgent to make regulation on the taxation of bitcoin. Second, Indonesia should regulate the taxation of bitcoin with some addition on the prevention of illicit use of bitcoin, consumer protection, and obligation to make report and supervision on the activity of bitcoin. So, the best things that Indonesia can do is not only to create the regulation but also to make a cooperation with the registered bitcoin company and ban other illegal bitcoin sites.


Scholarly interest in self-protective behaviors is demonstrated in studies examining victimization; these behaviors are presumed to reduce the likelihood of experiencing crime. Protective behaviors are not taken by all citizens equally, however, so it is critical to explain these behaviors within the population. The current study extends existing works, most of which were based on urban samples, by examining the determinants of protective behaviors in a sample of rural residents in the United States. Predictors are derived from a modified risk interpretation model (Ferraro, 1995) and include risk, fear, victimization experiences, and perceived collective efficacy. Results show that household protective behaviors are influenced by perceptions of risk and, indirectly through risk, by perceived collective efficacy and victimization experiences.


Forward rod-backward can combined extrusion test was used to investigate the tribological properties of Ti-6Al-4V titanium alloy with oxide film at cold and warm forging conditions. 0.08 and 0.10 µm-thick oxide films were formed on the test piece by atmospheric oxidation treatment. A friction test was performed without using lubricants. As a result, the oxide film was effective to prevent seizure at cold forging condition, where the friction coefficient was estimated as about 0.15. However, at warm forging condition, a decohesion of the oxide film and seizure occurred, where the estimated friction coefficient was larger than that at cold forging condition. Furthermore, thickening the oxide film was effective against the decohesion and to reduce the friction coefficient.


In order to collect proper diffraction data from outstanding micro-crystals, a brand-new data collection system should be designed to provide high signal-to noise ratio in diffraction images. SPring-8 and KEK-PF are currently developing two micro-beam beamlines for Targeted Proteins Research Program by MEXT of Japan. The program aims to reveal the structure and function of proteins that are difficult to solve but have great importance in both academic research and industrial application. At SPring-8, a new 1-micron beam beamline for protein micro-crystallography, RIKEN Targeted Proteins Beamline (BL32XU), is developed. At KEK-PF a new low energy micro-beam beamline, BL-1A, is dedicated for SAD micro-crystallography. The two beamlines will start operation in the end of 2010. The present status of the research and development for protein micro-crystallography will be presented.


Respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) of the newborn remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality in preterm infants. Although the latest scientific evidence questions the utility of fetal lung maturity testing to determine the most suitable moment for delivery in certain obstetrical complications, there is a set of relative indications in which a non-invasive test can find application. The aim of this paper is to review studies published on the use of ultrasound as a method to predict neonatal respiratory morbidity, using both Doppler evaluation of the pulmonary artery and ultrasound quantitative analysis of fetal lung texture.


High stable and dispersive nanosized copper particles with spherical shape and average size of 25 nm were produced by combining the chemical reduction method with supercritical fluid drying technique. The optimum process conditions selected by test was found as follows: pH value is 2, the molar ratio of CuSO_4 to NaH_2PO_2 is (1.3,) the concentration of CuSO_4 is 0.2 mol/L, reaction temperature is 50 ℃, reaction time is 2 h, using multiplex non-ionic dispersant. The copper powders gotten at the best conditions were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, X-ray powder diffraction and infrared ray microscopy. Moreover, the tribology property of lubricating oil containing the nanocopper powder was also discussed.


Egypt is a transcontinental country, located approx imately between latitudes 22° and 32°N, and longitudes 25° and 35°E. Its 2450 km coastline extends along both the Mediterranean and the Red Seas. The Mediterranean c oasts of the country (approximately 1050 km) extend from the city of Raf ah (31.7044444° N, 033.9694444° E; North Sinai Governorate) in the east, to El-Sallum (31.7766667° N, 025.6930556° E; Egyptian Libyan border) in the west. The Red Sea coastline (approximately 1400 km) extends from Taba (29.488455° N, 34.900846° E; Egyptian-Israeli borders) in the east, to the borde rs with Sudan (22.001290° N, 36.883281° E) in the south. ARTICLE INFO Article History: Received: July , 2017 Accepted: July, 2017 Available online: July, 2017


Objective To determine the amount of ursolic acid in Cynomorium songaricum and study the extracting technology to develop the extracting rate.Methods Employing the technology of Ultrasonic-assisted extraction and the method of orthogonal experiment the extracting technology of ursolic acid.Results The calibration curve was liner(r=0.999 8) in the range of 0.023 16~0.154 4 μg for ursolic acid.Precision degree RSD ﹤0.86%.The average recovery was 97.7% with RSD of 1.31%.The best extracting technology was got and the extracting rate reached 94.2%.Conclusion The technology can extract ursolic acid suffi ciently and develop the using rate of medicinal materials.


Purpose: The purpose of this study was to synthesize sex education programs for adolescents by conducting systematic review. Method: From past 14 years, 94 publications in Korea about sex education for adolescents was reviewed and 19 articles were finally selected. Result: Contents, teaching methods, and effectiveness of sex education were evaluated. Sex education contents lack psychosexual development aspect and teaching methods lack discussion and tool usage. When evaluating program effectiveness was weighted sexual knowledge and sexual attitudes. In most of articles sex education program was effective. Conclusion: Future sex education in Korea need to incorporate psychosexual development aspect and teaching methods with practical information using discussion as well as educational tools.


The key factor of component based software development is component composition technology. Although many researches have focused on this subject, the quality of system that is composed of components has not been guaranteed indubitably. Test-driven development (TDD) is a software development methodology for achieving high reliability. The combination of these two technologies will help to locate the component mismatch early and reduce the cost of system testing. In this paper, according to the components interaction graph we analyze the processes of testing based components composition (TBCC) and introduce the method as well as propose an algorithm. By applying testing ideas to component composition, it helps to control the composition process and lay foundation for high quality component software.


Numerical investigations of strain localization have been performed on 3D dense fully saturated sand specimens subjected to triaxial loading and simultaneous inflow or outflow conditions. The role of the water suction field on the formation and evolution of strain localization is addressed computationally. It has been shown that, in a porous medium, the fluid (water) phase plays indeed an important role in strain localization. The formation and evolution of strain localization are influenced both by the material behaviour of the solid component and the interaction between components. In this contribution, after a presentation of the incremental formulation of the coupled problem and the discretization in time, a nonlinear constitutive model is presented for the solid component. In the last part of the contribution, results are presented for the influence of water inflow or outflow on the development of strain localization in a laboratory specimen. keyword: Strain localization, constitutive modeling, soil hardening and softening, flow surfaces, porous medium, solid fluid phase interaction, water suction, cavitation.


Objective: To express recombinant EspA and EspB from enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli(EHEC) O157∶H7,and analyze their protective immunity.Methods: The espA and espB gene were amplified by PCR with the genomic DNA from EHEC O157∶H7 strain,the amplified products were cloned into pET-22b(+) vector,then transferred into the host cells E.coli BL21(DE3) strain.The EspA and EspB proteins were expressed induced by IPTG,and purified by affinity chromatography.The relative molecular mass of purified proteins were determined by SDS-PAGE.The immune protection of the two proteins was analyzed by the immunization of mice.Results: The nucleotide sequences of the espA and espB were consistence with the sequence from GenBank by 100%.The purity of recombinant EspA and EspB were above 95%.The highest antibody titer of immunized mice sera was 106.Conclusion: The recombinant EspA and EspB protein of the EHEC O157∶H7 were successfully expressed in soluble form and the recombinant proteins have good protective immunity.These results may provide the founda tion for the further development on EHEC O157∶H7 vaccine.


We report work in progress on adding affect-detection to an existing program for virtual dramatic improvisation, monitored by a human director. To partially automate the directors' functions, we have partially implemented the detection of emotions, etc. in users' text input, by means of pattern-matching, robust parsing and some semantic analysis. The work also involves basic research into how affect is conveyed by metaphor.


Papers p 606

An important lesson in all medicine, but particularly illustrated in screening programmes, is the continued need to review and audit. Serum screening for Down's syndrome, introduced by many health authorities in the past decade, 1–3 is a good example. The original demonstration projects compared the detection rate when Down's syndrome was identified after serum screening with earlier data derived from screening targeted towards pregnancies in older women.2 Howe et al from Southampton now challenge some of the assumptions (see p 606).4 They found that the Down's syndrome detection rate in one Southampton maternity hospital averaged 68% (and at least 41% in the pregnancies of women aged less than 35), without using serum screening. The higher detection rate without serum studies undermines the cost benefit arguments for such screening and raises questions about what to do next.

One reason for this higher than expected detection rate is a change in the age distribution of pregnant women. In the Southampton …


Montane regions like the Sino‐Himalayas constitute global diversity hotspots. Various mechanisms such as in situ adaptive divergence, speciation following immigration or allopatric diversification in complex landscapes have been proposed to account for the exceptional diversity found in a particular clade in a montane setting. We investigated macroevolutionary patterns to test these different hypotheses in the continental radiation of a Sino‐Himalayan bird group, the parrotbills (Paradoxornithidae).


State machine replication is a form of active replication commonly used to create fault-tolerant distributed services. In a nutshell, the approach consists in ensuring that a set of replicas receive and execute the same sequence of deterministic requests, returning the same results. This approach handles all requests evenly, but for some services it is important to consider that some requests have priority over others, i.e., that whenever two or more requests are ready to be executed, the one with higher priority is executed first. Paxos is perhaps the best known protocol to order requests in asynchronous environments, but Paxos has no notion of priority. In this paper we introduce the notion of priority-based state machine replication and modify Paxos to take request priorities into account. The proposed algorithm, PRaxos, works in three steps and satisfies Paxos' safety properties in asynchronous systems, while enforcing priorities when the system behaves synchronously.


This paper put forward a research of the chirp signal and its generated method. The research was based on a software-defined radio (SDR) system, which was composed of GNU Radio and Universal Software Radio Peripheral (USRP). It introduced the chirp signal and design algorithm to show how to generate the chirp signal based on DDS technique. And it provided two platforms including the FPGA platform and SDR platform to generate the chirp waveforms. Finally, it analyzed the difference between the two platforms. From the waveforms using these two platforms displayed in oscilloscope, it found that the results based on SDR were better. And it demonstrated that advantages of GNU Radio and USRP.


In the past few years, High Performance Computing (HPC) technologies led to General Purpose Processing on Graphics Processing Units (GPGPU) and many-core architectures. These emerging technologies offer massive processing units and are interesting for porous media flow simulators may used for CO2 geological sequestration or Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) simulation. However the crucial point is "are current algorithms and software able to use these new technologies efficiently?"The resolution of large sparse linear systems, almost ill-conditioned, constitutes the most CPU-consuming part of such simulators. This paper proposes a survey on various solver and preconditioner algorithms, analyzes their efficiency and performance regarding these distinct architectures. Furthermore it proposes a novel approach based on a hybrid programming model for both GPU and many-core clusters. The proposed optimization techniques are validated through a Krylov subspace solver; BiCGStab and some preconditioners like ILU0 on GPU, multi-core and many-core architectures, on various large real study cases in EOR simulation.


The article reviews portrayals of "the addict" in press items from Italy, Finland, Poland, and The Netherlands. The dataset consists of 1,327 items from four national newspapers published in 1991, 1998, 2011. The portrayals varied according to country, period, and type of addiction problem. Results can be read as four cases where different conceptualizations ("the sinner," "the sick," "the social problem," "the criminal," and "the famous") assume diverse importance. These conceptual frames-of-reference are clearly neither unambiguous nor fixed. They are constantly modified and part of different trends.


This study attempts to reveal pre-service teachers' conceptions, definitions, and understanding of quadrilaterals and their internal relationships in terms of personal and formal figural concepts via case of the parallelograms. To collect data, an open-ended question was addressed to 27 pre-service mathematics teachers, and clinical interviews were conducted with them. The factors influential on pre-service teachers' definitions of parallelograms and conceptions regarding internal relationships between quadrilaterals were analyzed. The strongest result involved definitions based on prototype figures and partially seeing internal relationships between quadrilaterals via these definitions. As a different result from what is reported in the literature, it was found that the fact that rectangle remains as a special case of parallelogram in pre-service teachers' figural concepts leads them not to adopt the hierarchical relationship. The findings suggested that learners were likely to recognize quadrilaterals by a special case of them and prototypical figures, even though they knew the formal definition in general. This led learners to have difficulty in understanding the inclusion relations of quadrilaterals


ABSTRACT Because of the high demand many urban road facilities are frequently oversaturated and congested respectively. Through congestion the capacity of the road infrastructure is in fact reduced and the performance deteriorates considerably during rush hours when the maximum capacity is most urgently needed. Given the demand, the most efficient means to alleviate congestions and its negative impacts on travel times, as well as on environmental pollutions and on traffic safety is to balance the traffic saturation on the different parts of the road network. In urban road networks this goal is to be achieved primarily by the means of adaptive traffic signal light control. This can be achieved by deploying various kinds of sensors for traffic light control. For example: pressure sensors; which reacted to masses that are passing on top of them; magnetic field sensor which responds to objects within its range; videos and cameras for capturing images of both moving cars or stills that can then processed using specific software to be utilized to manage traffic congestion. In this study we explored more on utilizing still images captured by digital camera as sensor. We will use MATLAB software as tool for image processing to control traffic congestion as a mean to support the adaptive traffic light control. Two techniques for extraction of information from traffic images were developed – the first technique is based on histogram readings to measure the queue length, and second technique by counting cars requiring that the presence of vehicles in any part of the image be labeled and distinguished from the background scene. These approaches improve traffic efficiency of preinstalled traffic light controller through adaptive dynamic timing according to traffic condition. We found that noises are present during dusk, and reduces accuracy. We believe that such problem could be reduced by technical refinement of our syntaxes i.e. during the threshold step. Simulations results show that using the described approaches improve measurable traffic efficiency. We suggest that these approaches should be developed in term of technical refinement i.e. automated threshold technique. Simulation results show that these approaches have a very good prospect in the future, and should be further tested and developed for real traffic light operation. DGE Nokia – Siemens in particular has expressed their interest in implementing them by customizing their traffic light microcontroller to fit for these approaches.


Health literacy (HL) is considered as an interaction between the demands of health systems and the skills of individuals. The current global approach demands health professionals to be more accountable for universal precautions approach and improve communication skills, and employ strategies to confirm patients' understanding. The aim of this study is to assess the knowledge and attitude of health care professionals (HCPs) about HL and their communication skills, and its effect on their practices, and to compare the findings among subgroups of HCPs. An online cross-sectional survey involving 29 items was developed for sociodemographic and professional characteristics and knowledge, attitude, and practices evaluation. Health care professionals reached by occupational organizations and social media platforms. Among the 277 participants that answered the questions, 184 were physicians and 78 were nurses, and 37.99% of physicians and 18.42% nurses heard about the term "HL" through this survey. Most of the participants stated their willingness to receive information/training on the subject and that knowing HL level would change their approach to and outcomes of the patients. Nurses were using a variety of methods that improve communication with patients and considered HCPs' lack of knowledge of the concept of "HL" and their neglect of HL as obstacles to its evaluation more than physicians. These results emphasize the urgent need of initiatives to be taken to improve the awareness of HCPs of HL and the subsequent incorporation of these initiatives into the daily health care services they provide. Nurses' awareness of HL is higher and they are already better at incorporating HL-sensitive items into their practices. Both graduate and continuing education programs need to be modified to improve HL knowledge of all HCPs and its positive effects on health care. The current structure of the roles and responsibilities of these professions needs to be improved to make it more HL sensitive.


PROLONGED RELEASE PHARMACEUTICAL FORMULATION ALLOWING THE CONTROLLED Dissolving the active ingredient, independent of pH, wherein consist of microorganisms containing the active ingredient covered by a MEZ <CLA of ethylcellulose and Eudragit RS.


Digital city is a big leap forward in people's awareness of the material city, a kind of description of city development orientation which is the same as what we say "garden city" or "ecological city". In this article, the basic meaning and procreant background of digital city is first analyzed and summarized. The content, frame, principle and function of a digital city are probed into. Through the above discussion, some policy suggestions to promote the development of China's digital cities are put forward.


Treatment and medicine have natural relationship in China. But medicine becomes an important channel to gain profit for hospitals and get kickback for doctors. Marketization brings some laith results. New medical policy will be implemented and separating medicine from treatment is mainstream. To cut off economic relationship between treatment and medicine is very difficult because of the influence of Chinese system and culture. So discussion of the relationship between treatment and medicine in theory and practice is valuable.


ABSTRACT This article explores key elements of women's empowerment based on findings from fieldwork in South Sulawesi, Indonesia. It argues that efforts to promote women's empowerment should recognise that empowerment requires women to make their own strategies to suit their particular circumstances. A conceptualisation of empowerment is proposed and this framework consists of 4Cs (capability, confidence, choice, commitment) and 3As (awareness, achievement, acknowledgment). The 4Cs and 3As reflect the personal, relational, and multidimensional aspects of empowerment. The framework talks uniquely to the context where women in this study live, and particularly how they engage in an empowerment project.


A rare uninodal 9-connected metal−organic framework (Zn3(TAA)3(H2O)3·(1,4-dioxane) (MOF 1) (TAA = 1-H-tetrazole-5-acetate) was synthesized, structurally characterized, and topologically rationalized as a vnd net, exhibiting permanent porosity, and solvent-dependent luminescence properties.


For displaying the number of doses left in the canister 3, suitable counter for use in a metered dose inhaler. Counter is added to the canister, the module 1 to provide an indication of the number of administrations that are left in the canister, and a triggering mechanism 8 for updating the display in response to actuation of the inhaler.


Burmite (Burmese amber) from the Hukawng Valley in northern Myanmar is a remarkable valuable and obviously the most important amber for studying terrestrial diversity in the mid-Cretaceous. The diversity of Burmite inclusions is very high and many new taxa were found, including new order, new family/subfamily, and new genus. Till the end of 2016, 14 phyla, 21 classes, 65 orders, 279 families, 515 genera and 643 species of organisms are recorded, which are summized and complied in this catalogue. Among them, 587 species are arthropods. In addtion, the specimens which can not be identified into species are also listed in the paper. The information on type specimens, other materials, host and deposition of types are provided.


Background: The blood pressure, pulse wave velocity (PWV) and arterial stiffness index (ASI) are important markers for age related alterations of vascular function. Further a link between vascular stiffness and erythropoietin are least explored in relation to sex and age. Objective: The present study was aimed to assess the vascular health in relation to ageing with special reference to erythropoietin in both male and female. Methods: 204 healthy male (n= 102) and female (n=102) participants (20 to 95 years) were randomly selected among general population of Vijayapur city, Karnataka. Participants were divided into group I (20-29years), II (30-39 years), III (40-49 years), IV (50-59 years), V (60-69 years) and VI (>70 years). Physical anthropometry, physiological parameters, hematology and serum erythropoietin (Epo) were assessed. Vascular stiffness indicators like PWV (b-a PWV and c-f PWV) and ASI (brachial ASI and ankle ASI) were also evaluated. Statistical analysis was performed by using one way ANOVA and post hoc test by using SPSS software. Results: Increase of MAP, PWV and ASI along with concomitant decrease of serum Epo were observed in group V and VI of both males and females. While comparing between male and female all the vascular parameters showed significant differences in group I to IV only. Conclusion: The present study clearly showed impact of ageing on PWV, ASI, MAP and Epo in higher age groups of males and females. Epo is sensitive in older age groups in relation to vascular functions.


In this paper we outline an approach to learner preparation that provides a framework  to effectively structure a collaborative research assignment using a wiki site as a writing platform. Even though most students are literate in using social networking software, such as Facebook and Twitter, they do not naturally translate these technology skills to the language learning environment. While students are familiar with posting pictures and videos online, they may not be aware of how to effectively integrate text and visual information to present their research in the online wiki format. Likewise, collaborative writing for an audience requires an understanding of authorship, how to productively collaborate on composing and editing, and interact synchronously and asynchronously through online means to provide feedback. The framework we provide explains how to scaffold wiki-based assignments to ensure an optimal language and culture learning experience. Examples of a wiki research project for intermediate language learners are provided.


This study examines maladaptive schemas in relation to cognitive insight among Jordanian women. A sample of (388) women were taken as a subject of investigation. The respondents were classified into two groups (battered women, n= 224, and non- battered, n=164).Young's maladaptive schema and Beck's cognitive insight scales were employed. The study comprises a number of classified variables. Results indicate that disconnection and rejection, impaired limits, overigilance and inhibition, and impaired autonomy are all related to insight impairment. In comparison to non- battered, battered women have scored higher means in all maladaptive schemas and impaired insight. Results show that cognitive impaired insight is higher in women with short married life and physical violence.


Over the past two years there has been im petus towards the use of the flexible socket in terface in above knee prosthetics. For our pur poses here, it is widely accepted that the flex ible socket is of multiple benefit to the patient. We will concentrate on discussing the different systems available. The history of flexible sockets dates back a number of years. The article by Charles Pritham, C.P.O., et. al. "Experience with the Scandinavian Flexible Socket" 1 0 provides a concise summary of this train of development. At the present time, there are numerous flex ible socket systems being used in the United States and throughout the world. These sockets differ in design in two major areas: flexible socket interface and the outer hard socket. The flexible socket is currently being used with three types of support mechanisms:


Business efficiency is based on scope. Different enterprise has different optimal scope and its own way of fulfilling it. This essay deals with the following: To achieve optimal efficiency, how an enterprise handles its overmuch resource under the rationally,linearly optimal scope; the pure scope expansion; the scope expansion when the relationship between price and output appears linear. The essay concludes as the following; When the enterprise has the preliminary optimal scope and owns no overmuch resource, the pure scope expansion with the synchro-enlargement of the resource is the best; when the relationship between price and output appears linear, the enterprise can achieve optimal expansion coefficient and greatest optimal scope.


Composite particles are applied in various industrial fields. In order to prepare higher function composite particles, it is often required to coat core particles with multi-component particles. In this paper, coating of polyethylene core particles with fine silica particles was investigated with particular attention to the effect of feeding procedures of fine particles on the coating ratio. Three types of silica particles with different sizes were used as coating particles. The feeding procedures investigated were (1) simultaneous feeding of all fine particles at once, (2) three-step coating started from the feed of the smallest particles followed by larger particles and (3) three-step coating started from the feed of the largest particles followed by smaller particles. It was found in (1) simultaneous coating and (2) three-step coating started from the smallest particles that the smallest particles obstructed the coating with the other fine particles, leading to a reduction in coating ratio, Among the three procedures, (3) three-step coating started from the largest particles was advantageous for the formation of densely packed coating surface. However, even in (3) three-step coating started from the largest particles, the effect of obstruction of coating in the second step was observed. The effect of the obstruction can be explained by a packing model of triangular units.


Objective: this paper aimed at promoting the use of the inner tube as a systematic device in orthopedic surgery, such as body holder and protector of bony projections, especially in long-term spine surgeries. Methods: this was a prospective non-randomized study, carried out from 2002 to 2007, with 264 orthopedic procedures. Results: we found that, regardless the time of surgery, there were no areas of pressure around bony prominences or injury of peripheral nerves in the postoperative follow-up. Conclusion: those results could recommend the inner tube as an excellent option like a frame in orthopedic surgery. It is an inexpensive device, easy to obtain, and without known complications.


Cost‐related medication underuse (CRMU), a measure of access to care and financial burden, is prevalent among cancer survivors. The authors quantified the impact of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) on CRMU in nonelderly cancer survivors.


Introduction: The subject of this academic work is the marketing of personal trainers. The subject will address a content analyse of what the personal trainers in cascavel posts in the social media. Objetctive: analyse the personal trainer's use of professional marketing in social media Instagram. The research will be focused on quantity and quality, made longitudinally. The population and sample are Instagram accounts of famous personal trainers in Cascavel, state of Paraná. Methodology: The reasearch will be supported by the social media Instagram and the app fanpage karma. They correspond to the frequency and average calculations of the published Posts. For the calculation of the engagement, the following formula was used:% of engagement = (total of tanned x 1 + total comments x 2) ÷) x 100. The results of the results were a greater efficiency of marketing offer in the surveys that approached the image of the "body" image with the goal of "training" with approximately the same scope if the union of the image "exercise", with the content "motivational." You can use the tool to download Instagram for the sale of your product.


Vertical transverse oscillations of a coronal magnetic rope, observed simultaneously in the 171 Å and 304 Å bandpasses of the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), are detected. The oscillation period is about 700 s and the displacement amplitude is about 1 Mm. The oscillation amplitude remains constant during the observation. Simultaneous observation of the rope in the bandpasses corresponding to the coronal and chromospheric temperatures suggests that it has a multi-thermal structure. Oscillatory patterns in 171 Å and 304 Å are coherent, which indicates that the observed kink oscillation is collective, in which the rope moves as a single entity. We interpret the oscillation as a fundamental standing vertically polarized kink mode of the rope, while the interpretation in terms of a perpendicular fast wave could not be entirely ruled out. In addition, the arcade situated above the rope and seen in the 171 Å bandpass shows an oscillatory motion with the period of about 1000 s.


Cardosin A (EC: 3.4.23) is an enzyme containing two polypeptide chains, purified from pistils of Cynara cardunculus L., a cardoon, used for milk clotting in cheese making. It is a member of the aspartic proteinases (APs), like pepsin and HIV-proteinase that are composed by two symmetric units comprising the active ccepted 12 August 2009 vailable online 19 August 2009


1. Newer than what? Older than what? Alan Ryan 2. The progressive origins of the administrative state: Wilson, Goodnow, and Landis Ronald J. Pestritto 3. Progressivism as a national narrative in Biblical-Hegelian time Elson J. Eisenach 4. On justifying the moral rights of the moderns: a case of old wine in new bottles Gerald F. Gaus 5. Liberalism, economic freedom, and the limits of markets Debra Satz 6. Populist perfectionism: the other American liberalism Thomas A. Spragens, Jr. 7. Procedural versus substantive justice: Rawls and Nozick David Lewis Schaefer 8. Libertarianism and the state Peter Vallentyne 9. Liberalism beyond borders Loren E. Lomasky 10. Liberalism and the constitution Sotirios A. Barber 11. On constitutional welfare Liberalism: an Old-Liberal perspective Michael P. Zuckert 12. Why the New Liberalism isn't all that new, and why the Old Liberalism isn't what we thought It was William A. Galston 13. Federalism and the Old and New Liberalisms Jacob T. Levy.


Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting after presenting a study on cervical cancer screening in 150,000 women who lived in underprivileged communities in India. The study found that visual inspection with acetic acid or vinegar by primary health workers resulted in reduced cervical cancer mortality by 31%. 12 Although the study was reported from the point of view of intervention efficacy, its design and conduct is an example of a successful implementation strategy and the importance of addressing contextual factors. This table summarizes the contextual factors relevant to this study.


Carbon‐based functional materials have extensive applications in the fields of catalysis, energy storage, and conversion, as well as environmental science. However, it remains challenging to synthesize these materials in an economically sustainable way. This work demonstrates an in situ carbothermal reduction route to prepare biochar stabilized Ru–Cu nanoalloys (Ru–Cu/biochar) with low Ru loading (0.16 wt%) by pyrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass waste. The as‐synthesized Ru–Cu/biochar shows excellent catalytic performance toward Cr(VI) reduction by hydrazine (N2H4·H2O), with 94% of the Cr(VI) reduced in aqueous solution within 150 s without any additional precipitation process. The catalyst also demonstrates high stability without significant loss of activity after nine cycles. This work offers a sustainable approach to utilize biomass waste to synthesize functional materials as highly efficient and durable catalysts.


Abstract The eastern grey squirrel is listed among the worst invasive species throughout the world. This species of American origin is currently replacing the native Eurasian red squirrel in most of the Great Britain, as well as in parts of Ireland and Italy. It may debark trees and exert damages to woodlands and tree plantations. Therefore, its spread may be deleterious for biodiversity and environment, emphasising the need for a rapid detection in new areas of occurrence. In this work, we reported for the first time, the presence of new populations of this invasive species in Tuscany (Central Italy) and some updates and analyses regarding the status of this species in Veneto (North-Eastern Italy). Occurrences were collected through citizen-science contributory approach supported by photos, road-kills, and/or hair-tube sampling. Field investigations ad hoc were carried out in Veneto and Tuscany to confirm the repeated reports in the surroundings of Arezzo and in the province of Siena. Although records can be possibly related to erratic or single individuals escaped from captivity, reproductive nuclei have also been detected in both regions, with the observations of juveniles and/or lactating females. The occurrence of the species in these regions is still scarce and localised, but considering the surrounding favourable wooded habitats, a rapid removal of the animals would be required to prevent their spread.


Let d(u,v) denote the distance between two distinct vertices of connected graph G, and diam (G) be the diameter of G. A radio labeling c of G is an assignment of positive integer to the vertices of G satisfying d ( u, v ) + | c ( u ) − c ( v )| ≥ diam( G ) + 1.The maximum integer in the range of the labeling is its span. The radio number of G, rn ( G ), is the minimum possible span. Radio number of gear graph G' n , for n ≥ 4  is rn ( G' n ) ≥ 4 n + 2, and n ≥ 7 is rn ( G' n ) ≤ 4 n + 2. The labeling of gear graph G' n , n=4,5,6 is rn ( G' 4 ) = 18, rn ( G' 5 ) = 22, rn ( G' 6 ) = 26 than for n ≥ 4 , the radio number rn ( G' n ) is  4 n + 2.


The Trench Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (TIGBT) has become of central importance in high power high switching speed applications. Breakdown in these devices is strongly influenced, among other factors, by subtle details of trench geometry, especially at the bottom edge. Here, we apply the variational thermodynamic methodology to develop quantitative models for the electric potential relaxation distance into N--Si region adjacent to the trench gate oxide and the SiO2/N--Si interface potential. From this we extract electric field in the gate oxide and at the SiO2/N--Si interface for different sections of the trench as function of gate voltage.


The Galileo/IFA 500 x 500 CCD camera was used to resolve red giant stars in the gas-rich dwarf galaxy LGS 3 at magnitudes fainter than V = 21.8. Depending on whether these stars are >10/sup 9/ yr old or 10/sup 8/--10/sup 9/ yr old, the distance of the galaxy is 0.7--1.2 Mpc. Although H I gas has been detected in this system, there has been no significant star formation for at least the last 7 x 10/sup 7/ yr. The CM diagram of LGS 3 is compared with the CM diagrams of the Pegasus irregular galaxy discussed by Hoessel and Mould. A distance of 1.3 Mpc is suggested for Pegasus, rather than the larger distance preferred by Hoessel and Mould or the very much larger distance offered by Sandage and Tammann.


The Digital Infrastructure group at Ocean Networks Canada (ONC) is in charge of the development and maintenance of the Organization's Data Management and Archiving System (DMAS), also referred to as "Oceans 2.0". The group has been successful in setting up a software system that acquires data from large sensor networks, archives them and makes them available to a varied audience of scientists, the public as wells as government and non-governmental agencies. Oceans 2.0 relies on its Service-Oriented Architecture to acquire data and has extended it to support data distribution to a wider range of customers using web services. More recently following a funding opportunity with CANARIE Inc. to deliver portable, re-usable middleware, OGC SWE-compliant web services were implemented. The new services offer the ability to OGC-ready clients to obtain ONC scalar data in a self-descriptive and effective way.


The load-carrying capacity and the stiffness of concrete filled circular hollow section (CHS)columns will decrease after exposure to fire, so it is necessary to assess the aseismic capacity of concrete filled steel tube (CFST) structure in seismic areas. This paper provided seven test data pertaining to the seismic behavior of concrete filled CHS columns after exposure to ISO-834 standard fire, and a numerical method was used to calculate the hysteretic lateral load (P) versus lateral displacement (Δ) relations. Based on the theoretical model, influences of the changing axial compression ratio(n), slenderness ratio (λ), steel ratio (α), yield strength of steel (f_y) and compressive strength of concrete (f_(cu)), fire duration time (t) on the lateral load versus lateral displacement skeleton curves were discussed. The results showed that the hysteretic curves of the beam-columns are in plump shapes, and have no significant pinch phenomenon after exposure to fire, but the ultimate load-carrying capacity and the elastic stiffness will decrease with the increase of the fire duration time. The achievements in this paper may be used to afford an approach to repair such structure with fire protection against earthquake after fire.


The prevalence of multiple melanoma is 1.2% (95% confidence interval, 0.8%–1.5%). For patients with a single melanoma, the risk of developing a second primary melanoma was estimated to be roughly 200-fold. The definition of multiple synchronous melanomas applies when the second primary melanoma is diagnosed within 1 to 3 months of the occurrence of the first malignancy. Several studies have found that up to 40% of multiple primary melanomas are synchronous.


We review recent work on level set methods for following the evolution of complex interfaces. These techniques are based on solving initial value partial differential equations for level set functions, using techniques borrowed from hyperbolic conservation laws. Topological changes, corner and cusp development, and accurate determination of geometric properties such as curvature and normal direction are naturally obtained in this setting. The methodology results in robust, accurate, and efficient numerical algorithms for propagating interfaces in highly complex settings. We review the basic theory and approximations, describe a hierarchy of fast methods, including an extremely fast marching level set scheme for monotonically advancing fronts, based on a stationary formulation of the problem, and discuss extensions to multiple interfaces and triple points. Finally, we demonstrate the technique applied to a series of examples from geometry, material science and computer vision, including mean curvature flow, minimal surfaces, grid generation, fluid mechanics, combustion, image processing, computer vision, and etching, deposition and lithography in the microfabrication of electronic components.


Significance and Background- Bloodless Medicine is a standard of care at Pennsylvania Hospital Education, patient identification, and care planning is facilitated through the Center for Transfusion-Free Medicine (CTFM) Onset of the COVID 19 pandemic necessitates social distancing, and protective strategies to minimize exposure and transmission (CDC, 2019) However, it is critical that we are providing vigilant, individualized, high quality care A virtual and telephonic workflow offers accessibility Purpose - The purpose of process change was to create a workflow to maximize access to patients and providers, while improving care delivery for patients refusing blood transfusion Interventions - CTFM maintains 250-400 patient encounters monthly The CTFM SOP was adjusted to accommodate a virtual and telephonic platform to meet with patients and providers In addition, patient identifiers physically and electronically in the EMR allow tracking of trends and outcomes Evaluation - Inpatient/face to face visits decreased 67% with the workflow adjustment and decreased hospital census Correspondingly, with the SOP changes, consultations increased 110%, monthly patient education sessions attendance increased 150% The ability to meet with patients utilizing videotelephone services increased accessibility for patients during limited contact, and those permanently confined to the home The CTFM nurse, coordinators, and secretary have been able to spend more time with patients, assisting in facilitating care and education Resulting in early enrollments and physician referrals Discussion -Prior to an enrollment, patients are provided a power point as a guide which covers an explanation of the hospital, CTFM department and services, blood fractions and treatments This guide is followed as a visual aid, during the virtual consultation for education and enrollment Education is provided throughout the service lines, and in each department Screening tools were created and placed at registration points to screen for potential "bloodless" patients, identifying those needing to be referred to CTFM These patients populate to a "bloodless" list created in EPIC Patient armbands, bed signs, and hard copies of enrollment forms were left at these registration points Enrollment forms were converted to e-documents Proactively, CTFM reviews the hospital OR list 4-6 weeks in advance and daily Innovation - Revision of the SOP provided insight into additional routes of outreach As a result, CTFM has been able to implement additional forms of service, provide education, and resources for patients Evaluation of this addendum to the SOP due to the current pandemic demonstrates the need to continue as an ongoing service permanently, as it contributes to the continuity of care


Small amounts of toxic organics can be encountered in many industrial wastes and contaminated materials treated by cement solidification/stabilization. Besides, very low levels of organics make incineration processe very expensive and sometimes ineffective. The functional group of the organic compound can be important to determine the type of influence that occurs during the cement hydration process. Tetrachloroethylene, sodium acetate, ethylamine and phenol - four pollutant organics containing different functional groups were used in the experimental work. Three comparative concentrations (0,5; 5,0 and 10 weight percent of the total mix) and different curing times were tested. X-ray diffraction (XRD) has showed the presence of calcium hydroxide, ettringite, calcite and belite. Differential Thermal Analysis (DTA) results confirmed the calcium hydroxide formation that is formed during normal hydration of cements. Leaching tests correlated the Total Organic Carbon (TOC) levels in the leachates with the proportion of the organic compound additioned.


To keep pace with the upcoming big-data era, device-level neuromorphic system with highly efficient computing paradigms is underway developed with numerous attempts. Synaptic transistors based on all-solution processing method have received growing interest as the building block for neuromorphic computing based on spikes. Here, we propose and experimentally demonstrated the dual operation mode in Poly{2,2-(2,5-bis(2-octyldodecyl)-3,6-dioxo-2,3,5,6-tetrahydropyrrolo[3,4-c]pyrrole-1,4-diyl)dithieno[3,2-b]thiophene-5,5-diyl-alt-thiophen-2,5-diyl}(PDPPBTT)/ZnO junction-based synaptic transistor from ambipolar charge trapping mechanism to analog the spiking interfere with synaptic plasticity. The heterojunction formed by PDPPBTT and ZnO layer serves as the basis for holes-enhancement and electrons-enhancement mode of the synaptic transistor. Distinctive synaptic responses of paired pulse facilitation (PPF) and paired pulse depression (PPD) were configured to achieve the training/recognition function for digit image patterns in the device-to-system level. The experimental results indicate the potential application of ambipolar transistor in future neuromorphic intelligent systems.


Sealants are commonly used to insulate cracks and joints preventing water from entering the underlying structure. However, extended exposure of sealants to water has shown to negatively impact sealant properties causing gradual degradation of sealant performance. In addition, sealants show different degradation rates when they are exposed to water depending on their chemical composition and environmental conditions. While there have been many studies on characterizing sealant performance in dry conditions, there has been no comprehensive experimental tests to evaluate crack sealant water susceptibility based on a fundamental material property. This paper introduces four laboratory tests to investigate the effect of water exposure on different crack sealants commonly used in cold, moderate and hot climates. The first test examines crack sealants' rheological properties and relaxation time using a Dynamic Shear Rheometer (DSR). The relaxation time, which is the time it takes for the stress to disappear when a constant strain is applied on the crack sealant, is calculated to determine how fast the recovery takes place before and after water conditioning. It is hypothesized that it will take longer for the stress to disappear after the sealant is exposed to water for extended time. The second test uses the Bending Beam Rheometer (BBR) machine to measure the crack sealant's ability to resist low temperature cracking. The third test implements Direct Adhesion Tester (DAT) to determine the load required to cause the sealant's adhesion failure before and after water exposure. The fourth test identifies the chemical functional groups in sealants using the Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR). The FTIR shows the presence of oxygen bond after water conditioning indicating increased extent of aging. Six different hot-poured crack sealants were investigated in this study. A ranking of the sealant's physical and chemical qualities is performed based on the DSR, BBR and DAT.


Teacher reflection has been shown to have a positive influence on educators' professional growth. This article features the author's autobiographical reflection on his eight years working at an elementary school within a predominantly migrant Mexican American community, with specific attention paid to his mistakes while implementing a lesson on the indigenous Huichol culture of Mexico. Through the author's critical self-reflection, a number of common missteps in multicultural instruction are discussed, including the selection of lessons that call for shallow reproductions of cultural artifacts, the error of false assumptions of cultural homogeneity, and the culturally-insensitive practice of assuming privileged roles of academic authority that treat indigenous people as exoticized subjects unable to describe themselves and their lived experiences. The article concludes with a synthesis of lessons learned from the author's errors, and encourages other educators to engage in similar teacher reflection to further their own growth as culturally sensitive educators.


This paper aims to identify the meaning of architectural form of the East and the West. Ordinarily, we know the visual differences of architectural form between the two cultural families, and the technical reasons of such differences. However, the East and the West have their own views of architectural form that are derived from their own views of architecture, and again the views of architecture are rooted in their own views of the world. The paper maintains a comparative stance between the two cultures in analyzing the different concepts of architectural form, and employ the ideas of 'Form(形象)' and 'Energy-Form(氣形)' as a kind of representative concept of the two views of architectural form. It is discussed that the idea of Form pursued the realization of ultimate substance which is less materialistic but more ideal., while, the idea of Energy-Form pursued the realization of oneness and health through mutual interaction between man, architecture and nature. Architectural form in the West has been the purposeful expression of human ideal, while in the East, it was an expediential device for better energy condition. It seems important to understand such differences of the meaning of architectural form between the East and the West, since, in present time, we tend to think that the Western conception of architectural form is the only possible one. But it is not generally known that the Western conception of form has very particular background reason of its own which is unique to Western culture, and on the other hand, the nature of East Asian conception of architectural form is generally unknown.


In a recent article* I expressed a fear that much of the management training available to the manager of smaller firms was directed towards the least significant aspects of his activities and behaviour. In this context the management training contribution to improving his total performance could at best be marginal and at worst counter-productive: and all this for an input which was high cost, and itself difficult to manage. I went on to suggest that no help was on offer in the main field in which the smaller businessman needs help. His overwhelming need is to learn how to operate successfully in an external environment which he can rarely either predict or control. I compared the activities of the larger and the small businessmen to those of farmers and hunters. The senior to middle manager in the larger firm farms levelled and tilled ground; he plans the rotation of his crops, their harvesting and yield in a careful and skilled manner; he deals with the encroachment of the jungle by pushing back the frontiers of cultivation; and he prepares new ground for farming well in advance. These planning skills, making the unpredictable predictable, the uncontrollable controllable, are developed to a very high order in most large businesses. The man who manages the smaller enterprise is not so placed. He operates from a small clearing in the heart of the jungle where there is so little to control and predict, that he leaves it to the women, children and the aged. His main skills are those of the hunter. He moves off regularly into the unpredictable, and uncontrollable jungle where the rewards can be high if he wishes to take risks. Of course, like the farmer, he can go for low risk, low reward, and live at subsistence level on berries and roots many jungle people and most small businessmen do. But with a few good weapons and tools, the skills to approach and also retreat, plus the attitudes needed to withdraw, to wait and to pounce; he can tackle fair sized prey. And if he doesn't get this one he may get the next. It is these weapons and tools, these skills and above all these attitudes with which I am concerned here. For it is in these areas that management training inputs are needed, if more small businessmen are to lift their eyes from the berries and the roots. Abandoning the metaphor, it will be fruitful to delineate these new needs by exploring them in the context of a few well-established skills and resources on which the manager of the larger enterprise relies.


The specific activity of acid phosphatase in male and female rats follows a circadian rhythm. Preincubation of liver microsomes with testosterone led to an increase of phosphatase activity and a loss of circadian rhythm. NADH 5 alpha-reductase was inactivated by several animal and bacterial acid and alkaline phosphatases while the acid phosphatase from potatoes was ineffective. The extent of inhibition depends on the course of circadian rhythm of NADH 5 alpha-reductase activity. Preincubation of microsomes in the presence of testosterone inhibited the NADH 5 alpha-reduction of testosterone. No such inhibition was observed after preincubation of microsomes with progesterone.


Globally, 1-5 billion people live in countries affected by violent conflict. International aid to fragile and conflict-affected states accounts for 30 percent of global official development assistance (ODA) flows. However, no low-income fragile or conflict-affected country has yet to achieve a single Millennium Development Goal (MDG). For the first time, a group of these countries have joined together to discuss their shared development challenges and advocate for better international policies to address their needs. Calling themselves the "g7+," this group represents an important new voice in the debate over aid effectiveness and it carries high expectations. This article describes the rise of the g7+ and attempts to answer the question on everyone's mind: Can it deliver? Recent years have witnessed a new criticism of the international aid architecture and its shortcomings in addressing the challenges posed by state fragility. Attention has shifted from hard targets in terms of percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) spent on official development assistance, and even the MDG targets, to the overall effectiveness of international development efforts. Critics have pointed to persistent shortcomings in the way that international assistance is delivered, particularly in problems of will and attention, lack of engagement with national stakeholders, aversion to risk, inflexible and cumbersome financing mechanisms, opaque decisionmaking processes, lack of country ownership, and a distressing lack of coherence and coordination among international actors. The potential for donor assistance to have the unintended effect of undermining, rather than bolstering, state capacity and legitimacy is now widely recognized. International actors have been faulted for applying cookie-cutter approaches to complex problems in vastly diverse environments, even as thinking on the challenges posed by conflict and fragility has evolved. In the past several years, there have been a number of milestones in seeking a structured international response to the failures of development assistance to meet challenges of fragility. Building on the 2005 Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness- in 2007 the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries endorsed a set of Principles for Good International Engagement in Fragile States and Situations (the Fragile States Principles) to guide aid to fragile states. However, these were top-down reform efforts: despite the good thinking that underpinned the Fragile States Principles, they were created by donors, for donors. Much like the Washington Consensus, which governed development policy in the 1980s, the early discourse on aid effectiveness largely consisted of outsiders diagnosing the problem, prescribing the solution, and assuming responsibility for carrying out the treatment. This started to change at the Third High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness, held in Accra, Ghana, in 2008, in which developing countries played a more active role in the preparations, and civil society groups across the developed and developing world were widely consulted. On the fragile-states front, perhaps the most significant development to come out of Accra was the establishment of the International Dialogue on Peacebuilding and Statebuilding. [1] The Dialogue brings donor and recipient countries together to devise a realistic set of peacebuilding and statebuilding objectives to address the root causes of conflict and fragility. Its participants include OECD donors; nontraditional donors (such as Brazil and China); international and regional organizations (including the UN, the World Bank, the African Union, and the African Development Bank); representatives of civil society; and, most importantly, representatives of conflict-affected and fragile states. First proposed at a preparatory meeting in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, in July 2008, the Dialogue was endorsed in Accra in September 2008 and formally launched at the end of that year. …


During the Middle Ages arms and armour were considered luxury products. They were not used every day and not by everyone. Nonetheless, the circle of their buyers was relatively wide, making their prices extremely diversified. On the other hand, as weaponry was bought every several years, the demand was limited. It resulted in a relatively small number of workshops in which weapons were produced. Besides specialised production sites located in towns or at royal courts, there were also rural forges, where arms and armour were produced for the needs of less wealthy members of the medieval society.The production of armaments in the borderlands of Silesia, Greater Poland, Brandenburg and Lusatia (roughly equivalent to today's Lubuskie Voivodeship), laying mostly outside the borders of medieval Poland, has not been yet explored in the scholarly works. Researching the subject is difficult due to the lack of direct sources. There is, however, some indirect evidence.Iron, in medieval times obtained mainly from bog ores, was the most important raw material for the manufacture of a majority of military equipment. Therefore, the first indication of the arms and armour manufacturing in the studied borderland during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period can be found in written sources, which mention many small metallurgical workshops (forges and hammer-mills). Early mentions concern following settlements: Drozkow near Żary, Klikowa near Ilowa, Szprotawa (Sprottau), Łozy upon the Kwisa, Sanice near Przewoz, Dobrzyn and Bucz (Fig. 1). Direct evidence confirming the functioning of s place of iron production was discovered during archaeological excavations in Podrosche (former part of Przewoz).Most scholars assumes that rural smithies did not participate in the production of arms and armour on a large scale, mostly limiting their activity to horseshoeing, forging basic agricultural and carpentry tools (including axes and hatchets) as well as sharpening and repairing more elaborate artefacts . Mass-produced arrow- and boltheads, as well as iron parts of staff weapons, could also be manufactured there, although rather only in times of war. Remains of such a rural smithy (dated to the 15th c.) were recorded in Nowa Wieś, Miedzyrzecz District (Fig. 2). A large amount of iron slag was found in the fill of the feature, along with smithing tools, finished and unfinished smithing products and also pieces of armaments.Castle forges were more specialised in manufacture and repair of individual parts of military equipment. Remains of such workshops were found, among others, in: Miedzyrzecz (Fig. 3) and Santok (Fig. 4), while inventories of the Teutonic castles in Kostrzyn (Kustrin) and Drezdenko, in which large amounts of saltpetre, sulphur and lead was recorded, may indicate that gunpowder and projectiles were produced in those strongholds.Little is known about metal crafts' organisation in the region as written sources provide almost no information. (Fig. 5) There is no doubt that blacksmith guilds existed in larger towns of the area, as it was typical for medieval urban centres of Central and Western Europe, although the relatively late mentions in written records provide little information on the subject. Some data was acquired as a result of examination of archaeological finds. Some of them are signed with craftsmen's marks, which if identified may indicate a place of origin for particular pieces of arms. They, however, show these objects were manufactured outside the region (Fig. 6). It is finds like unfinished items and intermediate products that can suggests local production of armaments in the places where they were discovered (Fig. 7).Therefore, indirect evidence shows that although the scale of the production was rather small, it met the demand of local purchasers (of various wealth). The need for simple and mass produced arms might be fulfilled by castle, town and rural forges.


Logarithmic detectors (LogDs) have been used in coherent Brillouin optical time-domain analysis (BOTDA) sensors to reduce the effect of phase fluctuation, demodulation complexities, and measurement time. However, because of the inherent properties of LogDs, a DC component at the level of hundreds of millivolts that prohibits high-gain signal amplification (SA) could be generated, resulting in unacceptable data acquisition (DAQ) inaccuracies and decoding errors in the process of prototype integration. By generating a reference light at a level similar to the probe light, differential detection can be applied to remove the DC component automatically using a differential amplifier before the DAQ process. Therefore, high-gain SA can be employed to reduce quantization errors. The signal-to-noise ratio of the weak Brillouin gain signal is improved from ∼11.5 to ∼21.8 dB. A BOTDA prototype is implemented based on the proposed scheme. The experimental results show that the measurement accuracy of the Brillouin frequency shift (BFS) is improved from ±1.9 to ±0.8  MHz at the end of a 40-km sensing fiber.


This paper presents algorithms and techniques to generate recommendations for DVB content. The developed recommendation engine uses metadata which are delivered by the DVB transport stream, the Service Information. The creation of user profiles, which contains the preferences of an individual user, is described. Personalization strategies, to filter the interesting contents for each user, will be shown. Furthermore new developed and firstly presented algorithms to generate recommendations for DVB content are listed and described. A PPG (Personal Program Guide), which has been developed to visualize the recommendations is shown, too. Several tests show the usefulness of the developed recommendation scheme.


Cooperation between suppliers will help to boost the performance and service life of lithium-ion batteries, says Christophe Goasdoué, a fluid technology and asset protection expert at Pall Corporation


Influenced by various factors,graduates have psychological problems associated with the fierce competition in seeking employment.The culture is the basic source of the psychological pressure of graduates.Therefore,it is necessary to construct advanced culture positively and display its adjustment function for the psychological pressure of graduates.


Talking about physical resources in any organization is synonymous with a fixed asset or that type of resource specific to the company that generates some type of value and presents other requirements that will be explained in the course of the document. Having said that, the following document focuses mainly on the idea of providing an option for improvement to the San Diego ophthalmology clinic, a company located in the city of Cucuta and which has great prestige by having this advanced technology designed for the wellbeing of each one of those who acquire their services. Providing health services in the country is not an easy task for the managers of any organization of this type, since health represents a fundamental right that all Colombians are free to enjoy; This is why having the best infrastructure, the best biomedical equipment and the best computer and office equipment is the main priority of San Diego clinic managers, seeking the satisfaction of their clients and gaining regional recognition for their services. provided. On the other hand, managing the different fixed assets of a company can be a tedious task for organizations, as it involves various departments of the same and collaboration and especially the synchrony of information from each of the people concerned. Carry formats, indicators and documentation is not enough to track these resources, if there is no information reliability and synchrony of it.