In the mid-1980s, as a result of pressure from the national scientific community and the influence of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's 1984 science and technology policy review, science was introduced into the Portuguese political agenda. A Framework Law and a series of institutional reforms were the most visible signs of change. Admission to the EC in 1986, however, provided an excuse for reducing the public R&D budget. While science policy remains, in the 1990s, a priority in the political discourse, there is a lack of correspondence between this discourse and policy practice. A survey of members of the Portuguese Parliament undertaken in 1995 was designed to shed some light on their perceptions and opinions concerning the value of science and the role of the Parliament in science policy, and, therefore, on the reasons for the gap between the discourse and practical behaviour of policy-makers in this field.


This article presents the full design methodology and implementation of inverse Class‐F power amplifier with a commercial high‐power GaN HEMT. For a 3.48 GHz continuous wave signal, the measurement results show state‐of‐the‐art power‐added‐efficiency (PAE) of 76.7%, drain efficiency of 81.1%, gain of 12.9 dB, and output power of 39.9 dBm. Within a bandwidth of 200 MHz, drain efficiency and output power are maintained above 60% and 38.5 dBm, respectively. With digital predistortion, it achieves −45 dBc of adjacent channel leakage ratio for a 2.5 MHz wideband signal with a peak‐to‐average power ratio of 8.9 dB, with an average PAE of 36.7%. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 54:521–525, 2012; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com. DOI 10.1002/mop.26577


Mental retardation is one of the most distressing handicaps in any society. Development of an individual with mental retardation depends on the type and extent of the underlying disorder, the associated disabilities, environmental factors, psychological factors, cognitive abilities and co morbid psychopathological conditions. Social development means acquisition of the ability to behave in accordance with social expectations. Becoming socialized involves 3 processes: i) learning to behave in socially approved ways, ii) playing approved social roles and iii) development of social attitudes.For people with mental retardation, their eventual level of social development has implication for the degree of support needed in their literacy arrangement and their integration in the community with increasing emphasis on mainstreaming the attainment of skills in personal, domestic and community functioning. It also contributes considerably to quality of life. Thus investigation of factors that may facilitate or inhibit social development assumes particular importance.The social functioning of mentally challenged children can be affected, and this is closely related to degree of impairment. In addition to brain pathology, there are other factors related to the malfunctioning of these children in a normal social setup. A particular environmental setup in which a child grows up is likely to play an important part in improving or deteriorating the child's functioning in a social milieu. Browder and West (1991) assessed 56 school-going children (aged 6-13 years) with mental retardation with the help of Social Maturity scale and found that the mentally retarded children function more in the lower level of social interaction. As the degree of impairment in terms of intelligence goes down, it is observed that the child approaches an average or satisfactory level of social functioning.They also found that the level of social development varies with the intellectual level among persons with mental retardation, or a wide range of family and environmental variables may also influence social development.Patton and Jones (1994) designed a study to identify the effects of severity of retardation, age, type of services attended and location of services in rural/urban area on the social development of children with mental retardation using a sample of 113 subjects diagnosed as children with mental retardation. The analysis of results suggested that with increasing severity of retardation, social development also decreases.Further it was found that age, type of services and locations of center do not have any effect on social development. Mayers (1979) found that a positive relationship exists between measures of adaptive behavior and IQ or mental age. Cornelius (1987) assessed relationship between social and cognitive functioning. For people with Down's syndrome, the level of social functioning was found to exceed the level of cognitive functioning. Matson (1999) designed a study to identify the effects of seizures/epilepsy on psychopa thology, social functioning, adaptive functioning and maladaptive behaviors using a sample of 353 people diagnosed with seizures and either severe or profound intellectual disability. People with a diagnosis of seizures were found to have significantly less social and adaptive skills when compared to developmental disabled controls with no seizure disorder diagnosis.Social behavior and social maturation is very important factor in a child's adjustment. As a handicapped child is lagging behind in intellectual abilities, so is in social maturity. He is not able to compete with others so well, as he is expected by his age. Social maturity scale is commonly used to assess his social competence in different areas of social behavior.The aim of the present study is to analyze the social maturity of persons with mental retardation and the exploration of the impact of their rehabilitation. …


W hereas traditional risk factors, namely, high oxygen exposure, mechanical ventilation, excess fluid administration, and the basic immaturity of the lung, have most frequently been the factors related to the development of bronchopulmonary dysplasia, neonatologists have gradually begun to realize that a relationship may exist between early nutritional support in the very-low-birth-weight (VLBW) infant and the development of chronic lung disease. A recommendation of a recent National Institutes of Health workshop on "Nutrition and the Lung," which concluded that "sufficient evidence is available to recommend that greater clinical priority be given to nutrition as a vigorous part of total support in premature infants,"' is only beginning to be reflected in current neonatal nutritional practices. Data from the time period of late 1987 to late 1988, reported from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Network of Neonatal Intensive Care Units, still demonstrate nutritional deficiencies experienced by VLBW infants from seven perinatal centers.' Specifically, they reported the mean age to regain birth weight as high as 19 days for the ~750 g premature and that 68% of infants weighed less than the tenth percentile for postmenstrual age at the time of discharge, concluding that "despite gains in the technical aspects of neonatal care, very few advances have been made in maintaining adequate growth and nutrition." They recommended as a future challenge "improved methods of nutrition to improve growth during the critical perinatal period."' It is the purpose of this report to relay the specifics of some of nutrition's multiple benefits to the


essential part of our world crop genetic heritage, but also wild plant and animal species that serve humanity as biological resources. To maintain the dynamic evolutionary processes involved in planthuman interactions, conservation of landrace varieties within their native agricultural landscapes, i.e., in situ conservation of traditional agroecosystems, has been proposed but it is controversial. Crop genetic conservationists, who are keenly aware of the rapid and comparatively recent loss of traditional cultivars, usually consider such conservation programs to be impractical or impossible. At the same time, some wildlife conserva-


A discussion of the principles underlying the measurement of fabric thickness is presented. The instruments and procedures in current use are outlined, together with their advantages and disadvantages. A procedure based on the one adopted by the British Standards Institute for measuring fabric thickness under low pressures is outlined and recommended. The necessary equipment is discussed, together with the results obtained on over 200 fabrics.


Heat Shock Proteins (HSP) are highly conserved chaperones found in all cell types that have been identified as a defense mechanism for cell survival under severe environmental conditions. Most HSP are constitutively expressed at low levels but some can be up-regulated in response to cellular stresses (physiological, chemical, nutritional or environmental) so to protect cellular proteins against aggregation and denaturation. This study is aimed at determining the presence of HSP60, HSP70 and HSP90 in rabbit spermatozoa exposed to heat stress conditions and to detect if there is any difference between physiological and high temperatures treatments. An up-regulation or an activation of HSP with high temperatures could be a key to induce cryotolerance if heat stress is produced before cryopreservation. Fresh semen samples (6 to 8 New-Zealand White rabbits) were diluted in a semen extender and sperm was incubated for 3h at 4 different temperatures: 32 (scrotal), 37 (body), 42 (heat stress) and 60oC (killing high temperature). Sperm cells were frozen and kept until the day of processing. Frozen samples were homogenized in 1 mL of protein extraction buffer. Protein concentration of the supernatants was determined by Bradford technique by utilizing a commercial kit. Afterwards, proteins were separated by SDS-PAGE electrophoresis in 10% (w:v) acrylamide gels and transferred to nitrocellulose membranes. Detection of HSP60, HSP70 and HSP90 was performed by using mouse monoclonal anti-HSP60 (1:4000), mouse monoclonal anti-HSP70 (1:1000), mouse monoclonal anti-HSP90 (1:1000), respectively. Membranes were exposed to radiograph films to reveal the HSPs bands (60-90 KDa) after 5 minutes incubation with Luminol Reagent. An goat anti-mouse IgG-HRP was used as secondary antibody at a dilution of 1:2000. Stripping buffer was used to remove the specific HSP marking and a specific anti-mouse a-tubulin antibody for re-test. ImageJ software was used to analyze the adjusted relative densities. Presence of HSP60 and HSP90 was observed in each of the temperatures evaluated. Although an HSP70 band was detectable at 32oC, 37oC and 42oC, no signal for this protein was present at 60oC. Differences among groups were performed through an ANOVA, followed by the Sidak's post-hoc test fot the HSP analysis. The level of sigificance was set at P < 0.05. No significant differences were found between the results. In conclusion, the present study confirms the presence of HSP in rabbit sperm cells as a basal defense system. Further studies about specific location changes and variations in HSP phosphorylation levels could be done so to elucidate if there are changes in protein activity related to high temperatures.


Leaching losses of sulphur were studied in loamy sand and sandy loam soils collected from the control and continuously green manured plots in two long-term experiments at the research farm of Punjab Agricultural University. Ludhiana. The studies indicated that 90 per cent of the tota; sulphur leached in both the soils was recovered during the first 5 days. In Sesbania green manured soil the leaching losses of sulphur were lower as compared to control and the per cent decrease in sulphur lost from the column after 16 days of leaching was about 22 per cent in loamy sand as compared to 28 per cent in sandy loam soil. However, after 16 days the effect of Sesbania green manure on the leaching losses of added sulphur was only about 7 per cent in loamy sand and negligible in sandy loam soil.


Motivation Genome-wide maps of epigenetic modifications are powerful resources for non-coding genome annotation. Maps of multiple epigenetics marks have been integrated into cell or tissue type-specific chromatin state annotations for many cell or tissue types. With the increasing availability of multiple chromatin state maps for biologically similar samples, there is a need for methods that can effectively summarize the information about chromatin state annotations within groups of samples and identify differences across groups of samples at a high resolution. Results We developed CSREP, which takes as input chromatin state annotations for a group of samples and then probabilistically estimates the state at each genomic position and derives a representative chromatin state map for the group. CSREP uses an ensemble of multi-class logistic regression classifiers to predict the chromatin state assignment of each sample given the state maps from all other samples. The difference of CSREP's probability assignments for two groups can be used to identify genomic locations with differential chromatin state patterns. Using groups of chromatin state maps of a diverse set of cell and tissue types, we demonstrate the advantages of using CSREP to summarize chromatin state maps and identify biologically relevant differences between groups at a high resolution. Availability and implementation The CSREP source code is openly available under http://github.com/ernstlab/csrep. Contact: email@example.com


Theory predicts that information sharing among lenders attenuates adverse selection and moral hazard, and can therefore increase lending and reduce default rates. Using a new, purpose-built data set on private credit bureaus and public credit registers, we find that bank lending is higher and credit risk is lower in countries where lenders share information, regardless of the private or public nature of the information sharing mechanism. We also find that public intervention is more likely where private arrangements have not arisen spontaneously and creditor rights are poorly protected. 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. JEL classification: D82; G21; G28


Introduction: It is known that as stimulation frequency is increased in a healthy heart, a corresponding increase in LV contractile function (dP/dtmax) is observed, i.e., force–frequency relationship. The impact of this relationship on systolic and diastolic mechanical restitution in an ejecting, in vivo preparation has yet to be explored. Understanding this relationship may lead to further insight on the cellular processes that govern the contraction and relaxation of the heart, in addition to providing a safer, more feasible clinical diagnostic tool.


Higher Vocational Colleges (HVC) are at its prime time and it is inevitable to set up new majors for its development. As there exist various viewpoints on the expansion of HVC, many blind and superficial opinions and measures also emerge. This is extremely harmful for the setup of new majors which is the key point for the development of HVC. Therefore, it is of vital importance to intervene into that problem.


The present invention relates to a wireless TV system using the home network, and more particularly, by sending to the portable wireless terminal by using a wireless LAN in the server compresses the signal received over the wire to the MPEG2 system, a TV with sharper picture relates to a wireless TV system using a home network so that you can. To this end the present invention provides a server which outputs a video signal according to the wireless control signal to compress image data of the TV signal received via the wire; Receiving the compressed video signal according to the control signal to be transmitted to said server for displaying a television image by a control signal and then decompresses: characterized by consisting of (TV Television). Accordingly, the invention is by the server that is responsible for TV reception compressing an image by receiving an over-the-air broadcast via the wired and wireless transmission to a portable wireless terminal, and the portable wireless terminal by displaying the image to extract the image data, the external It can use the antenna to receive the TV image with a small noise vivid picture than the conventional TV receiving a signal, and can watch TV in areas poor TV reception, had not the user is watching and the recording of the live video can be It has the effect of TV programs to watch at any time.


In one kind of clothing with a pulsator cylinder means, a pulsator device comprising: an active pulsator mounted on the bottom of the cylinder clothing, driven to rotate by an electric motor; and a plurality of passive pulsator, the active pulsator to rotate about the respective rotational driving support shaft is fixed on the side wall of the cylinder axis of clothing.


Low tidal volume and adequate positive end‐expiratory pressure (PEEP) are evidence‐based approaches for pediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome (pARDS), however, data are limited regarding their use since pARDS guidelines were revised in 2015.


Humanoid robots are expected to share human environments in the future and it is important to ensure safety of their operation. A serious threat to safety is the fall of a humanoid robot, which can seriously damage both the robot and objects in its surrounding. This paper proposes a strategy for planning and control of fall. The controller's objective is to prevent the robot from hitting surrounding objects during a fall by modifying its default fall direction. We have earlier presented such a direction-changing fall controller in [1]. However, the controller was applicable only when the robot's surrounding contained a single object. In this paper we introduce a generalized approach to humanoid fall-direction control among multiple objects. This new framework algorithmically establishes a desired fall direction through assigned scores, considers a number of control options, and selects and executes the best strategy. The fall planner is also able to select "No Action" as the best strategy, if appropriate. The controller is interactive and is applicable for fall occurring during upright standing or walking. The fall performance is continuously tracked and can be improved in real-time. The planning and control algorithms are demonstrated in simulation on an ASIMO-like humanoid robot.


We discover that tautological intersection numbers on M g,n , the moduli space of stable genus g curves with n marked points, are evaluations of Ehrhart polynomials of partial polytopal complexes. In order to prove this, we realize the Virasoro constraints for tautological intersection numbers as a recursion for integer-valued polynomials. Then we apply a theorem of Breuer that classifies Ehrhart polynomials of partial polytopal complexes by the nonnegativity of their f ∗ -vector. In dimensions 1 and 2, we show that the polytopal complexes that arise are inside-out polytopes i.e. polytopes that are dissected by a hyperplane arrangement.


Objective To investigate the protein expression level of breast cancer metastasis suppressor 1(BRMS1)in papillary thyroid carcinoma and its clinical significance.Methods Immunohistochemistry SP method was used to detect the expressions of BRMS1 protein in 200 tissue samples,including 50 cases of papillary thyroid carcinoma,50 cases of thyroid adenoma,50 cases of para-carcinoma tissues and 50 cases of cervical lymph node metastasis of papillary thyroid carcinoma.ResultsThe expression of BRMS1 in normal para-carcinoma tissues(98%)and in thyroid adenoma tissues(96%)was statistically significantly higher than that in papillary thyroid carcinoma(40%)and in cervical lymph node metastasis of papillary thyroid carcinoma(10%)(P0.05 for each).Conclusion The decreased expressions of BRMS1 proteins were significant in papillary thyroid carcinoma and cervical lymph node metastasis of papillary thyroid carcinoma,and it was more significant in cervical lymph node metastasis of papillary thyroid carcinoma.The decrease of BRMS1 protein expression may be related to the development and metastasis of papillary thyroid carcinoma.


Background: Today, hospitals have faced many requests for quality services, while their costs are increasingly growing as well. These facts; Therefore, necessitate much more attention from hospital mangers in order to reduce healthcare costs. Moreover, the urgent need for a precise costing approach is more evident. Activity-based costing provides useful information on the activities required to achieve services with desirable quality. However, given that the basic information for ABC system is provided under conditions of certainty, the possibility of using this approach in terms of uncertainty would be greatly decreased. This study aims to propose a new framework called FL-ABC. Materials and Methods: Since, costing processes environment happen under conditions of uncertainty in the hospital, fuzzy logic in the ABC model was used in order to make more accurate estimates of hospital costs and increase the reliability of the results. Results: This proposed model was used in a hospital lab unit and the results were compared with the standard ABC system. The results showed that the maximum difference in the prescribed costs was 77708951.89 and 67508112.57 IRR in serology and parasitology tests, respectively, mostly due to uncertainty in the assigned costs to each activity. Conclusion: The FL-ABC system, in terms of taking into account the uncertainty in the parameters of cost, provides more accurate estimates of the cost of activities under conditions of uncertainty which estimates the costs of health care services more accurately.


An approach based on the idea that the spinning nucleus being stretched out along the symmetry axis under the influence of some of centrifugal force has been proposed. The stretching in this work is treated within the framework of quantum mechanics rather than classical mechanics which had been used by Diamond Stephens and Swiatecki. Our approach led to a new formula that describes the dependence of the moment of inertia on the angular momentum. This formula is applied for the calculation of rotational ground state bands of eveneven nuclei in the atomic mass range 150  A 190 and that having energy ratios in the range between 4 2 2.9  E / E  3.33 . The results show an overall agreement with the experimental data up to high level energies. There are a small and systematic deviation appears at 12 I  . This deviation increases with the increasing in I and also differs from one nucleus to another.


This paper has presented a review of an alternative nesting procedure for the multinomial logit model. The approach depends on a grouping of attributes ratings other than the traditional approach of grouping alternatives. The new approach was found to model the effect of introducing new alternatives into the choice set and changing existing attribute ratings in a more acceptable manner than the traditional approach.


The contribution places Hegel's political philosophy, chieflypresented in Elementsof the Philosophy of Right from 1820 but already adumbrated in The GermanConstitution from 1799-1802, intothe context of the quarrel between the ancients and the moderns about the relation between thecitizen andthe stateand the corresponding differentiation of political freedom and civil liberty. In particular, the contribution attributes to Hegel a third, conciliatory position beyond the establishedopposition between the ancient republican ideal of civic commitment and service and the modern emphasis on individual choiceand personal self-fulfillment.


Polymers with nonlinear optical chromophores1 as guest molecules or side groups are of fundamental as well as practical interest. Macroscopic nonlinear optical properties are only found if the centrosymmetry in these glassy polymers is broken by means of a suitable dipole-orientation process. For sufficient stability, the dipole orientation must be frozen in by keeping the polymer at temperatures well below its glass-rubber transition. Usually, the dipoles are first oriented by means of poling in a strong electric field above the glass-transition temperature of the polymer and then locked in their angular positions during slow cooling. For poling selected areas only, patterned electrodes2 must be used in that case because of the global heating.


System and method for communicating a plurality of food orders from a plurality of portable ordering devices to the food preparation area in the restaurant. To create a single handwritten labels representing at least one aspect of the plurality of food orders above on one of the plurality of ordering devices described above. The labeled and radio communication from one of the plurality of portable ordering devices of the display to the food preparation area. Optionally one completion of the plurality of food orders above can wirelessly communicate with one of said plurality of portable ordering devices.


This study explored differences (positive or negative) in self–other representations among Chinese social networking (Weibo) users with high or low popularity. Through the crawling program of Python software, 413 Weibo users (180 male, 43.58%) with their 5,823 microblog updates were selected as participants. The variables in this study (i.e., self-representation, other representation, relational self, and positive and negative representations) used the word frequency of the corresponding words in the microblog text as an indicator. Results indicated that for high-popularity users and low-popularity users, their expressions of self-representation and relational self were both associated with the expressions of positive emotions in general. Specifically, the association between self-representation and positive emotions was higher among low-popularity users than high-popularity users, whereas the association between relational self and positive emotions was higher in high-popularity users than low-popularity users. Practical implications and future directions of this study's findings are discussed.


The effects of increasing the frequency of contraction on the mechanics of left ventricular contraction were studied in nine canine preparations in which filling pressure was controlled. Increasing the contraction rate produced significant increases in maximum contractile element velocity and maximum wall tension in isovolumic beats, and this augmentation of contraction was evident despite an abbreviation of systole.


Monochamus galloprovincialis (Olivier) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) is a secondary wood borer that acquired primordial importance since it was identified as the European vector of Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, the causal agent of pine wilt disease (PWD). An effective trapping method is needed as a tool for managing this insect vector and allowing early detection of nematode transportation. Among effective attractants identified in recent years are the specific M. galloprovincialis aggregation pheromone, host pine kairomones such as α‐pinene and bark beetle kairomones like ipsenol and methyl‐butenol. The main objective of this study was to optimize the combination of these volatiles to improve lure attractiveness and specificity. Based on ten complementary field experiments, we found a pheromone dose‐response of trap catches. The best combination of attractants was the aggregation pheromone plus two bark beetle kairomones, ipsenol and methyl‐butenol. Addition of pine terpenes, such as α‐pinene, did not significantly improve M. galloprovincialis trap capture, but did increase catch of non target species, including natural enemies. The use of pine terpenes would be advisable only if priorizing to maximize removal of vectors. While this research has lead to the development a new, highly attractive commercial lure for mature pine sawyers, none of the tested blends were successful in attracting immature pine sawyer adults. Further investigation is needed to develop attractants for these beetles.


This paper discusses how traffic information is obtained and how the congestion of a major freeway affects travel behavior. Immediately following two congestion-causing major highway incidents south of San Francisco, telephone surveys were conducted of commuters who utilize the affected corridor of highway. The incidents took place two weeks apart on the same corridor of US-101, the first affecting southbound traffic and the second affecting northbound traffic. The travel behavior of commuters before and during their commute at the time of each incident was determined, including how they obtained traffic information and how the information influenced changes in route, mode of travel and departure time. The results of both surveys suggest that traveler behavior is largely unaffected by individual incidents of congestion. Furthermore, although a fair portion of commuters listen to traffic reports, they do not often modify their travel behavior in response. These surveys are the first two of several that will collectively provide insight into how travel behavior changes over time and will allow us to assess the impact of the TravInfo Traveler Advisory Telephone System (TATS) in the San Francisco Bay Area. Passwords: TravInfo traveler information commuter travel behavior


We have described rapid, label free detection of Influenza A viruses with cantilever transducer modified with synthetic sialylglycopolymer as a receptor layer. Surface stress induced by binding of viruses to receptor layer was investigated as analytical signal. Synthetic sialylglycopolymer receptor layer can be implemented in nanoscale strain-gauge cantilever transducers for high sensitive viruse detection. Strain-gage transducers with such sensor layer demonstrate long lifetime, high sensitivity and regeneration possibility. Nanomechanical cantilever system with optical detector was used for surface stress measurements. We have shown that positive label free detection of Influenza A could be achieved at a concentration less than 106 viruses in ml, which is comparable to the detection sensitivity of polymerase chain reaction (PCR). However, in contrast to PCR, cantilever sensor detection was label free, in situ, and rapid (less than 30 min), potentially requiring minimal or no sample preparation.


The article deals with the issues of a computer-aided design of hydraulic equipment, namely hydraulic jacks. Design principles of the hydraulic jack CAD system are described. In addition, the possibilities for the system improvement and expansion are considered.


This ambitious volume examines the complex histories of rice in the early modern and modern periods. Rice is not only a plant but also a crop, a commodity, and a food, and the fifteen essays in the volume trace patterns of rice cultivation and consumption throughout much of the world. More specifically, the book explores what Francesca Bray calls the "local-global articulations" (4) of the political, economic, cultural, scientific, environmental, and biological forces that have shaped rice and its roles in society. This rich and wide-ranging analysis reflects the diverse scholarly backgrounds of the volume's contributors, whose areas of study range from East and Southeast Asia to Africa and the Americas. In the introduction, Bray frames the varied histories of rice with two distinct historical debates. The first debate centers on the involution thesis in East and Southeast Asia, based on Clifford Geertz's pioneering study of colonial agriculture in Java (1963). Geertz argued that the technological and social attributes of wet-rice cultivation led to the intensification of production, mainly through increased labor, without leading to the transformation of the means of production or, by implication, to capitalist development. The second debate focuses on the "black rice" thesis in the Atlantic world. Proponents of this thesis, such as Judith Carney (2001), argue that enslaved Africans, especially women, brought their knowledge and skills of rice cultivation— not just their physical labor—from West Africa to the Americas and thereby contributed in a major way to rice production in the plantation economy and, by extension, to Atlantic capitalism. Bray adroitly juxtaposes these two debates to show that scholars of different regional histories have held divergent views on the relationship between rice and capitalism. She uses them in a valiant attempt to create coherence among the volume's very diverse chapters and, perhaps more importantly, to demonstrate the need for a comparative and global history of rice, a project to which this volume contributes substantially. Bray herself is a critic of the involution thesis (1986), and


Stochastic gradient MCMC methods, such as stochastic gradient Langevin dynamics (SGLD), employ fast but noisy gradient estimates to enable large-scale posterior sampling. Although we can easily extend SGLD to distributed settings, it suffers from two issues when applied to federated non-IID data. First, the variance of these estimates increases significantly. Second, delaying communication causes the Markov chains to diverge from the true posterior even for very simple models. To alleviate both these problems, we propose conducive gradients, a simple mechanism that combines local likelihood approximations to correct gradient updates. Notably, conducive gradients are easy to compute, and since we only calculate the approximations once, they incur negligible overhead. We apply conducive gradients to distributed stochastic gradient Langevin dynamics (DSGLD) and call the resulting method federated stochastic gradient Langevin dynamics (FSGLD). We demonstrate that our approach can handle delayed communication rounds, converging to the target posterior in cases where DSGLD fails. We also show that FSGLD outperforms DSGLD for non-IID federated data with experiments on metric learning and neural networks.


The present study aimed at identifying the impact of the tourism promotion-mix elements – which are represented in advertisement, publicity, public relations, personal selling, and sales promotion - on the foreign tourists' mental images of the Jordanian tourist destinations. Therefore, the sample of the present study was selected from Amman / Jordan and consisted from three hundred (300) foreign tourists. The tourism promotion-mix elements are considered independent variables and the foreign tourists' mental images of the Jordanian tourist destinations are considered a dependant variable. Several statistical methods were used to test the study's hypotheses and provide answers for the study's question. It was concluded that the impacts of the tourism promotion-mix elements on the foreign tourists' mental images of the Jordanian tourist destinations vary. For instance, advertisement is the most influential promotion-mix element on the foreign tourists' mental images of the Jordanian tourist destinations. That is because it can interpret 47.4 % of the change that occur in the dependant variable. However, sales promotion is the least influential promotion-mix element on the foreign tourists' mental images of the Jordanian tourist destinations. That is because it can interpret 29.1 % of the change that occur in the dependant variable. It was concluded that there are statistically significant differences between the extents of influence of the tourism promotion-mix elements on the foreign tourists' mental images of the Jordanian tourist destinations which can be attributed to their nationality. The researchers of the present study suggested several recommendations that can participate in enhancing and developing the Jordanian tourism sector. They also recommended providing more attention and care to the promotional activities that are based on social networking sites.


ABSTRACT In this paper, Fourier integrals are used to solve some elastic problems of generalized plane stress and small transverse displacements in infinitely long, rectangular, isotropic plates stressed only at their edges. The Airy stress function and the transverse displacement satisfy the two-dimensional bi-harmonic equation, and the basic mathematical problem is to solve this equation subject to different sets of boundary conditions. Little attention has been given hitherto to problems in which some of the boundary conditions depend directly upon displacements. Here the general problem is solved when one long edge is fixed, and stresses or displacements are arbitrarily prescribed at the other, with no stresses and displacements at infinity. The problem of a concentrated edge force is discussed in detail and numerical values of the stresses at the fixed edge are given.


Introduction/Framework Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease resulting from deficient secretion and/or peripheral insulin action, causing hyperglycemia, with multiple organ damage. The worldwide Diabetes mellitus incidence has increased in recent decades, with an estimated worldwide prevalence close to 415 million adults. In this context, a lot of workers with this disease will be accessed through medical examination to evaluate fitness for work, so it is essential that the Occupational Physician remains updated about the clinic and the available pharmacological options to deliberate on aptitude, restrictions and recommendations for a specific job/task. Methodology It's a narrative review of the available evidence from the PubMed database, complemented by the national and international guidelines and the Portuguese law. Contents/Discussion DM complications can affect the ability to work and should motivate periodic evaluation by the Occupational Physician. Some chronic complications are evident in their likelihood of disability, such as retinopathy or neuro-ischemic disease, which often motivate work restrictions. On the other hand, acute complications, although often mild and self-limited, can put the worker at serious risk of an occupational accident. Severe hypoglycemia, with neuroglycopenic symptoms, is the most obvious example. The pharmacotherapy itself can cause hypoglycemic episodes or other symptoms that put the safety of the worker and even others at risk. Workers with DM who work at heights, who handle dangerous equipment or who drive professionally, must be carefully evaluated by the Occupational Physician. Although most will not have work restrictions, it may be necessary to adapt the workplace or limit certain tasks to achieve adequate glycemic control, a determining factor for preventing complications. Recommendations for workers with diabetes include breaks for glycaemic control, food ingestion and/or therapeutic administration, appropriate choice of protective equipment and, eventually, restriction of night shifts or some tasks with high metabolic expenditure. Those recommendations depend on the awareness of hypoglycaemea, the pharmacotherapy used to control diabetes and the complications of the disease. Conclusion Occupational Physician needs to be updated about Diabetes Mellitus management tools, pharmacotherapy, with particular attention to eventual side effects, to control and prevent professional risks arising from poor control. Keywords: Diabetes mellitus; Antihyperglycemic Pharmacotherapy; Fitness for Work Assessment; Occupational Health.


The California Psychological Inventory (CPI) was administered to 123 non-minority male graduate students enrolled in a part-time MBA program, in order to assess patterns of sample-group personality scale similarity or dissimilarity with selected criterion groups. Personality comparisons were felt to offer implications of programmatic and vocational significance. Criterion groups selected were the CPI norm sample, two student samples, and two business samples. The MBA student sample displayed attributes broadly evocative of managerial success when compared with the large norm sample. Yet broad patterns of significant differences emerged when the MBA profile was compared with the profiles of the criterion groups. MBA student deficiencies include the attributes of responsibility, capacity for status, self-control, achievement via conformance, and intellectual efficiency. MBA student strengths include the attributes of dominance, self-acceptance, and psychological-mindedness. Questions are raised about the implicit assumptions of the nature of MBA students which direct curricular and educational practice. Implications for effective preparation for business careers through MBA programs are discussed.


In order to ensure the safety running of the turbine generator sets,and to share the running information of the machine,an on-line condition monitoring and fault diagnosis system based on distributed network and CAN bus are introduced.Described the network structure hardware and software function of the system in detail.Experimentation proved it played an important and maintenance of the turbine generator sets.


may be lost under absolute dictatorship. The writer is convinced that nothing can avert these calamities but a spiritual revival. ' Only a mobilization of the spirit can be set up against modern collective insanity and demonic possession, against modern polydemonism and idolatry. Social organization alone is powerless to struggle against this chaotic decay of the world and of man.... Once again man must return to monotheism, or else degenerate, be resolved into cosmic elements compulsorily organized into social collectives.' At the same time the writer holds the somewhat


Principal component analysis based on 19 characters (amino acids and protein measurements) was used to analyze differences among 46 cultivars in 5 yam species: (Dioscorea alata L., D. rotundata Poir., D. esculenta Burkill, D. trifida L.f., and D. bulbifera L.). Considerable diversity existed in amino acid composition among cultivars within species and also between species. Most of the cultivars contained adequate amounts of the essential amino acids except those containing sulfur. The quantity of sulfur-containing amino acids was not associated with individual species or geographical sources. Large variation in the methionine to half-cystine ratio was found, and these amino acids in the 5 species composed 50% to 79% of the amount found in the FAO reference protein. The essential amino acids leucine, phenylalanine, and threonine were present in sufficient excess to supplement proteins from other sources. The pattern of diversity for amino acids was compatible with current biochemical knowledge and suggested that in yams most amino acids are inherited independently of each other.


The aminopeptidase response of bacterial communities from anoxic sediments to inputs of organic matter was investigated by substrate enrichment experiments with particulate organic matter (phytoplankton) and polymer (proteins, cellobiose and starch) and monomer (glucose and amino acids) organic compounds. Changes in specific aminopeptidase activity were observed over an 11 days incubation period under in situ temperatures. The pattern of this activity was related to polymer compounds and more precisely to enrichments with proteins. The results showed that monomer compounds did not inhibit activity. Thus, mechanisms of aminopeptidase regulation seem to be different in freshwater sediment from other aquatic environments.


What do firms gain by offering benefits? Economists have proposed two payoffs: (i) benefits may be a more cost-effective form of compensation than wages for employees facing high marginal tax rates, and (ii) benefits may attract a more stable, skilled workforce. Both should improve firm outcomes, but we have little evidence on this matter. This paper exploits a rich new dataset to examine how firm productivity and survival are related to benefit offering, and finds that benefit-offering firms have higher productivity and higher survival rates. Differences in firm and workforce characteristics explain some but not all of the differences in outcomes.


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OBJECTIVE: To down-regulate the expression of XIAP by siRNA in K562 human chronic myelogenous leukemia cells,and detect apoptosis and sensitivity to cytarabin and etoposide of K562 cells.METHODS:K562 cells were divided to 3 groups.Cells in experimental group were transfected with XIAP siRNA.Cells in control group were transfected with control siRNA.Blank control group had no transfection.Real-time PCR and Western blot were used to determine the expression of XIAP in K562 cells.CCK-8 kit was used to detect the difference of drug sensitivity in 3 groups.Flow cytometry and Hochest staining were used to detect apoptosis.RESULTS: Forty-eight hour after transfection,the XIAP mRNA and protein expression decreased about 70.0% and 60.0% respectively in experimental group than those in control group(P0.05).The IC 50 of cytarabin and etoposide in experimental group was 2.28-fold and 2.77-fold lower than that in the control group(P0.05).There was no significant difference on the number of apoptotic cells among 3 groups(P0.05).Six hour after transfection,etoposide or cytarabin was added to the K562 cells and incubated for 48 h incubation,and etoposide:The apoptosis of the 3 groups were(41.3±1.6)%,(34.3±1.9)% and(30.6±1.7)%,respectively(P0.05).Cytarabin:The apoptosis of the 3 groups were(47.4±1.1)%,(37.0±1.8)% and(35.5±1.7)%,respectively(P0.05).CONCLUSION:XIAP siRNA can specifically down-regulate the expressions of XIAP mRNA and protein,promote the drug-sensitivity to cytarabin and etoposide,and increase the chemotherapeutic drug-induced cell apoptosis in K562 cells.


Objective To investigate the clinical efficacy of polysaccharide iron capsule in treatment of iron deficiency anemia pregnant women in the perinatal period. Methods Retrospectively analysed the data of 196 cases of pregnant women (pregnant and postpartum ranges from 1 week) with anemia from June 2011 to June 2012 in obstetrics and gynecology department,and the patients were divided into treatment group and control group. Results The effective rate of the treatment group(98.1%) was higher than that of the control group (78.0%),and the treatment group patients complement iron rapid. Conclusion Polysaccharide iron capsule has the high absorption efficiency,the iron content is high,complement iron quickly,the effect is significant,the side effects is small,it is worthy of clinical promotion.


In this study, It was aimed to examine the effect of recreational Pilates exercises on functional movement analysis scores in women. 34 sedentary women volunteers participated in the study in a private gym located in Turkey-Istanbul. In our study, within the scope of pre and post-test; Anthropometric measurements and functional movement screen test battery were applied. After the pre-tests obtained from the participants before the study, the participants in the study group (SG) continued their Pilates exercises for 60 minutes, 3 days a week for 8 weeks, while the control group (CG) continued their program with moderate-intensity fixed resistance exercises in the gym. SPSS 21.0 package program was used for statistical analysis. According to the results of the statistical analysis, both dominant and non-dominant pre-post-test within-group development differences of the study and control groups were found to be statistically significant (p˂0.01). In the intergroup comparison of the total FMS pre-and post-test change scores of the Study and Control Groups, the difference in development between the Study and Control groups was found to be statistically significant in favor of the Study Group (p=0.001). As a result, besides the positive effects on fat and muscle ratios of female participating in recreational pilates exercises, it was determined that the content of pilates exercises was compatible with functional movement screen and improved functional movement screen results. It is foreseen that possible injuries will be prevented and an increase in performance will be achieved by examining one and both sides and eliminating asymmetries.


Excerpt To the editor: The recent letter of Drs. Rudders and Pisciotta (Ann Intern Med77:659-660, 1972) sets forth their understandable demurral on urea therapy in sickle-cell disease. Our views ca...


and science B.A.'s in community colleges in British Columbia given the right to confer B.A.'s. He concludes that the attempt to defi ne an "applied" B.A. as distinct from a traditional B.A. has been "elusive." Some authors suggest that a concerted communication effort and the traditional community college commitment to students, fl exibility, and responsiveness will continue to differentiate the CCB from a traditional B.A. These factors may be decisive in the short term; but over the long term, without structural or legal distinctions, what will preserve the difference between a B.A.granting "community college" and another type of B.A.-granting institution, especially as colleges try to convince employers and graduate schools that the CCB is just as good? Lorenzo's chapter argues for the university center model in which the university uses community college facilities to teach upper-division students but maintains control over the degrees. Maintaining the structural distinction between the two types of institutions prevents what he considers to be the likely erosion of the community college mission in the CCB model. But Floyd is skeptical that the university center can deliver the benefi ts of the CCB, and Townsend suggests that colleges with university centers will tend to move to a full CCB, citing Westmark as an example. But while the discussion in the book seems to suggest a shift in focus as community colleges grant B.A.'s, a question raised but not answered by these authors concerns the characteristics of the students in CCB programs. Have Westmark College, St. Petersburg College, or Great Basin College become less hospitable to the traditional community college student? How do the characteristics of the CCB students compare to other students in those colleges? Other crucial empirical questions concern the characteristics of the faculty teaching in CCB programs and the relative cost. The description of the St. Petersburg case has some discussion of faculty, costs, and tuition; but given the importance of all of these issues, a much more detailed understanding is necessary, as indeed, Furlong, the author of that chapter points out. The growth of the community college baccalaureate raises fundamental questions: What is a community college and what makes it different from a traditional, baccalaureate-granting institution? If community colleges start to offer B.A.'s, will they still be community colleges; and if not, what will be lost? It seems likely that the community college baccalaureate will continue to grow. The editors and authors of The Community College Baccalaureate have advanced the discussion of the future of community colleges by raising these important questions and outlining a policy and research agenda that can begin to answer those questions. Richard Vedder. Going Broke by Degree: Why College Costs Too Much. Washington DC: AEI Publications, 2004. 272 pp. Cloth: $25.00. ISBN: 0-8447-4197-3.


Seismic tomography in both the upper and the lower mantle, as well as subducting oceanic slabs defined by seismicity, has been translated into density heterogeneities to generate models of mantle circulation. These models can predict both the surface velocities and the geoid, which can be compared with plate tectonics and gravity data. A given model is specified by 6 parameters related to the viscosities of 3 mantle layers and the absolute amplitudes of density variations in the upper and lower mantle as well as in the slabs. The values of these parameters are chosen at random within an acceptable range. Each model is submitted to an appropriate test comparing observations with predictions. The results of the most successful models selected by this Monte Carlo inversion are displayed. They yield preferred mantle viscosity structures exhibiting large variations at depth. With a physical interface between upper and lower mantle, i.e., with the possibility for the circulation to penetrate the 650 km discontinuity, two classes of viscosity profiles stand out. The first one implies a regular increase of the viscosity in the sublithospheric mantle, with reasonable values for the density parameters. The second one is unexpected in the sense that it predicts a very stiff bottom for the upper mantle. It also requires vanishingly small amplitudes for the upper mantle density heterogeneities defined by tomography, which would thus have to be of lithological rather than thermal origin. With a chemical interface at 650 km the outcome is very similar: the same two classes of viscosity structures do yield a satisfactory geoid prediction. However only the class of models with a stiff layer at midmantle depths predicts acceptable surface velocities. Altogether the best models out of some 60,000 which have been tested only explain one third of the geoid and two thirds of the surface divergence for spherical harmonic degrees 1 to 6. Nevertheless the main features of these two observed patterns are present in the computed maps, and 4 out of 6 correlation coefficients lie close to the 90% confidence level. This is true for the geoid as well as for the surface divergence of the displacement velocity. However, as the internal viscosity structure has been assumed to have spherical symmetry, the rotational component of the surface velocities cannot be predicted.


: To date, most of the indoor environment control is based on the dry-bulb air temperature, which is one of the simplified control methods having the limitation to truly represent the thermal comfort of individual occupants. A variety of factors affect the thermal comfort such as dry-bulb air temperature, humidity, air movement, radiation, clothing insulation, and metabolic activity level. In this circumstance, this study investigated the effects of considering hourly metabolic rate variations for predicted mean vote (PMV) control on the actual thermal load, energy usage, and life cycle cost (LCC). The case adopting PMV control taking the hourly metabolic rate into account was comparatively analyzed against the conventional dry-bulb air temperature control, using a detailed simulation technique after the validation process. As a result, when the activity state of the occupant is house cleaning in the summer, the indoor temperature decreases rapidly due to the high amount of activity. It requires a temperature that is 11.7 ◦ C and 9.7 ◦ C lower than the conventional dry-bulb air temperature control method, respectively, and generally forms a higher indoor air temperature than the conventional control method after 7 p.m. This means the difference in temperature to satisfy the comfort of the occupant according to the amount of activity, and during winter as opposed to summer, was found to form a lower indoor air temperature than the conventional temperature control. In case of annual boiler gas consumption, PMV control showed 7.3% less energy consumption than the dry-bulb air temperature control and showed 28.8% less energy consumption than the dry-bulb air temperature control for annual cooling electricity consumption. Considering the cooling and heating energy reduction rate and the initial installation cost of measuring equipment for real-time metabolic rate and PMV measurement, a payback period of approximately 4.15 years was required.


This study examines trends in alcohol consumption in Sweden from 1990 to 2002, with the emphasis on the period after 1995 with Sweden as a member of the European Union (EU). The specific aim of the study is to study gender-specific and age-specific trends in self-reported consumption by means of five general population surveys conducted between 1990 and 2002. Trends in the proportion of high consumers were also studied. Alcohol sales and estimates of unrecorded consumption indicate that Swedish per capita alcohol consumption (per person aged 15 or older) rose by approximately 27 per cent, from 7.8 litres of pure alcohol in 1990 to 9.9 litres in 2002. Approximately 90 per cent of this increase has occurred since 1996. Analyses of self-reported consumption from survey data confirm this trend with more than a 30 per cent increase for both genders (aged 16–75 years) since 1996. Among women, this is mainly due to increased wine consumption, and among men to augmented consumption of wine as well as beer. Furthermore, the proportion of high consumers has increased – and more so than the per capita consumption. The study also shows that changes in consumption during the period of 1990 to 2002 differ for the various gender-and age-specific groups. Among women, for in-stance, the increase since 1996 has been strongest for the oldest women (50–75 years of age), and since 1998 statistically significant only among this group. The weakest, and thus not statistically significant, increase has occurred among women between the ages of 30 and 49. It is important to track the changes not only among men and women and various age groups, but also in the different sub-groups of the population, since changes in per capita consumption are strongly related to changes in different alcohol-related problems. Other groups of importance are e.g. various social classes (including the long-term unemployed and people on long-term disability benefits), regions, family units and, not least, different drinking groups, including high consumers. Improved knowledge of how consumption changes in different socio-demo-graphic groups will also improve our understanding of the causes and mechanisms behind changes in alcohol consumption in society.


Frequency tracking is an important measure to
avoid the misoperation of protective relaying. Here, at first the
basic formulae of Fourier transform under the sampling
frequency mismatch are deduced. Through the analysis on the
transform results a novel frequency tracking algorithm is
presented. Then the main implementation procedures of the
presented algorithm are described, the characteristics and
design approach of two digital filters during the
implementa-tion are given. The effectiveness of the presented
algorithm is verified by a practical calculation example.


The Gross Protein Value technique, modified in certain particulars, has been used to evaluate 171 samples of protein concentrates, obtained from world-wide sources, and including a number of animal by-products and oilseed meals.

The assessments demonstrated that in nearly all these classes of concentrate the samples on the market differ widely in nutritive value. The work reported indicates the need for rapid laboratory tests which will predict the value of different protein concentrates and the range of samples should provide useful reference standards for this purpose.


A striking feature of many financial crises is the collapse of exports relative to output. In the 2008 financial crisis, real world exports plunged 17 percent while GDP fell 5 percent. This paper examines whether deteriorations in bank health can help explain the large drops in exports relative to output in the recent crisis. Our paper is the first to establish a causal link between the health of banks providing trade finance and growth in a firm's exports relative to its domestic sales. We overcome measurement and endogeneity issues by using a unique data set, covering the Japanese financial crises from 1990 through 2010, which enables us to match exporters with the main bank that provides them with trade finance. Our point estimates are economically and statistically significant, suggesting that the health of financial institutions is an important determinant of firm-level exports during crises. Mary Amiti International Research Federal Reserve Bank of New York 33 Liberty St New York, NY 10045-0001 email@example.com David E. Weinstein Columbia University, Department of Economics 420 W. 118th Street MC 3308 New York, NY 10027 and NBER firstname.lastname@example.com


A high temperature x‐ray camera suited for transmission topography is described. The camera is capable of continuous operation at 900°C. The camera chamber can either be evacuated or used with an inert atmosphere. The stresses in a silicon wafer due to a thin vapor decomposed silicon oxide were followed during heating and cooling, by observing a series of topographs. Clear, large area topographs are seen even at the high temperature range.


The goal of this paper is to present a data model to manage highly variable data of the real world. The management of such data raises new database problems. These problems are the data volume, the great number of states that database operators have to manipulate, as well as the deficiency of versions that leads to non-determinist temporal queries. To this end, a new approach to represent and to manipulate these data is proposed. The representation model consists in describing how a value evolves in the course of time. We associate semantics to this description. Concerning the manipulation, this descriptive representation is converted to an internal polynomial representation. Queries on highly variable data are solved by using numerical algorithm techniques on the polynomial representation. We also present some implementation issues and results of performance evaluations. The paper reports on this ongoing experiment.


This paper records the setting and planning of an Asian literature theme unit provided for a multicultural 2nd grade ESL class. The central question is how to design a lesson unit that helps students with the English language academically while scaffoldingstudents with the recognition of diverse cultures. To address this issue, the paper describes the design of the balanced reading unit, including the book choice for different purposes. By analyzing the data collected from the daily teaching and observing journal taken in the classroom, the paper reflects the application process of the unit.


ABSTRACT This article offers a historical account of the changing politics of abortion in Australia in the late 1960s and early-mid 1970s. The article first focuses on women's personal stories of seeking and having an abortion and what they make of these experiences. It considers how these were made political through the Women's Liberation Movement, at the Royal Commission into Human Relationships and in the pages of the new women's magazines of the early 1970s. It then considers changes in access to abortion services in the early 1970s and finds that the political weight and authority of women's stories about their need for abortion were not so effective in this arena. The article avoids universalising claims about the effects of making the personal political and argues for attention to the particularities of the effects of this shift. It also observes that the medical profession and the public health system put significant limits on the newly public demands made by women in relation to abortion. It concludes that reshaping the relationship between the personal and political does not necessarily guarantee women's reproductive rights when these are claimed through liberal discourse and subsumed to medical authority in the private market of healthcare.


Outward migration of the turn insulations of several poles was observed on every generators in one of Hydro-Québec's power plant and was attributed to thermomechanical stresses. The concern for these rotors is more related to consequences of such degradation and to decide what should be the next course of action considering that the units have been operating for just over thirty years out of 50 years of expected life. If shorted turns start to occur and cause magnetic, thermal or mechanical problems, this may lead to unplanned outage. A prudent alternative would be to re-insulate the poles from class-B to class-F insulation. However, since the actual hotspot temperature is not known and could be above the 155°C of maximum for class-F insulation, the problem could manifest itself again. Therefore, determination of the hotspot temperature was the primary goal of this investigation. Fiber Bragg Gratings (FBG) were used in conjunction with an optical rotating joint to carried out measurements of four of the poles of one unit in the plant. The results of this investigation are presented, highlighting the benefits of carrying localized on-line rotor temperature measurements.


In this paper, we give a number theoretical application of a simple discrete map. For any prime $p\geq 5$, we show that the numbers in the set $G(1, p-2)=\{1, 2, 3, \cdots , p-2\}$ can be divided into disjoint triplets $\langle a, b, c\rangle $, such that $a\cdot b\cdot c\equiv 1$ (mod $p$). This is a generalization of the well known doublet--division, that is, the numbers in the set $\{1, 2, 3, \cdots , p-1\}$ can be divided into disjoint pairs $\langle a, a^*\rangle $, such that $a\cdot a^*\equiv 1$ (mod $p$). The reason that we can perform the triplet-division is because there exists a simple map $F$ defined on the set $G(1, p-2)$ such that any number $a\in G(1, p-2)$ is a period-3 point of the map. Furthermore, the triplet $\langle a,~F(a),~F^2(a)\rangle $ has the property that $a\cdot F(a)\cdot F^2(a)\equiv 1$ (mod $p$).


Highly conserved G runs, G1M2 and ISE, regulate the proteolipid protein (PLP)/DM20 ratio. We have investigated recruitment of U1 small nuclear ribonuclear protein (snRNP) by G1M2 and ISE and examined the effect of splice site strength, distance, and context on G run function. G1M2 is necessary for initial recruitment of U1snRNP to the DM20 5′ splice site independent of the strength of the splice site. G1M2 regulates E complex formation and supports DM20 splicing when functional U1snRNP is reduced. By contrast, the ISE is not required for the initial recruitment of U1snRNP to the PLP 5′ splice site. However, in close proximity to either the DM20 or the PLP 5′ splice site, the ISE recruits U1snRNP to both splice sites. The ISE enhances DM20 splicing, whereas close to the PLP 5′ splice site, it inhibits PLP splicing. Splicing enhancement and inhibition are mediated by heterogeneous nuclear ribonuclear protein (hnRNP)H/F. The data show that recognition of the DM20 5′ splice site depends on G run-mediated recruitment of U1snRNA, whereas a complex interaction between the ISE G runs, context and position determines the functional outcome on splicing. The data suggest that different mechanisms underlie G run-mediated recognition of 5′ splice sites and that context and position play a critical role.


The Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) assigns students to organizations to strengthen fundamental emergency concepts and develop skills necessary to work in emergency management. One student intern was assigned to the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department Emergency Preparedness Division (JFRD), Emergency Operations Center (EOC), Duval County Special Needs department during the EOC Level II activation during Tropical Storm Andrea.


1-methyl-3-butyl Imidazole chloride is prepared by 1–methyl imidazole and chlorinated n-butane. The synthesis reaction of 1-methyl-3-butyl imidazole tetrafluoroborate is in the acetone. The solubility of NaNO3 and BMIC in acetone is not large, but due to the insolubility in acetone of reaction product NaCl and continuous precipitation from the liquid phase in the reaction process, so as to promote the reaction continuously towards forward direction. The colorless transparent and odorless BMINO3 are gotten. We use infrared spectrometer for the structure characterization, it is proved that we have gotten BMINO3 room temperature ionic liquids. BMIC and BMINO3 ionic liquids have better solubility in H2O, ethanol, ethyl acetate, acetone, acetonitrile, and methanol, and is insoluble in the ether and cyclohexane.


The construction technology of central premixing filled up by lime stone modified expansive soil was introduced with the case study of He-Ning railway and its mixing effective was analyzed.The quality control measurement of construction of under bedding road so as to guarantee the engineering quality and progress.


The use of industrial by-products in concrete is becoming more popular for producing high performance concrete. Industrial by-products act as pozzolanic reaction and hydration reaction as well as micro fillers in concrete. It provides additional reduction in the porosity of mortar matrix and improves the interface with the aggregate. Chemical admixtures allow substantial reduction in the mixing water to achieve high strength. Industrial by-products such as silica fume, bottom ash and steel slag aggregate are introduced to enhance the overall performance of concrete. Their use 1 International Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics Volume 118 No. 24 2018 ISSN: 1314-3395 (on-line version) url: http://www.acadpubl.eu/hub/ Special Issue http://www.acadpubl.eu/hub/


Additive manufacturing was used to build a large scale prototype of a 3-DOF, 3-PRS parallel manipulator designed for enhancing the mobility of instruments used in endonasal neurosurgery. The prototype is 5 times larger than the design, with an outer diameter of 25mm. It uses custom ball and socket joints to provide pitch and roll capabilities of ±60° while remaining compact. Testing of the robots range of motion shows the desired workspace is achievable. Visual tracking was used to record the precision of this motion. Positioning errors were relatively low with a root mean squared error of 1.1°. The prototype exhibits high strength and is able to withstand axial forces of 80 N and torques up to 300 N mm. Future research will focus on the development of a 5 mm diameter manipulator.


State immunity is an area of the law where a unified, universal approach is critical to the fulfilment of its goals. Those goals are well-summarised by the 2009 Naples Resolution of the Institut de droit international: immunities are 'conferred to ensure an orderly allocation and exercise of jurisdiction in accordance with international law in proceedings concerning states, to respect the sovereign equality of states and to permit the effective performance of the functions of persons who act on behalf of states'. Each of these goals requires a common understanding of the scope of state immunity. Without such an understanding, we could be faced with competing claims to jurisdiction, inter-state disputes over the limits of sovereignty, and the disruption of international relations.


The study focuses on the water saving technology for external cooling system of DC transmission converter station equipment, a water saving design applicable to external cooling system of such key equipment cooled by water as converter valve and transformer in the converter station of the conventional/flexible DC transmission project. Current external cooling method for converter valve equipment in the converter station mostly combines the closed-circuit cooling tower and spray cooling. This method, however, has the disadvantages of, for example, high water consumption and large quantity of blowdown. In view of this, this paper proposes a water saving technology by sewage recycling through spray treatment system based on two-stage reverse osmosis. In this technology, the water in the converter station can be recycled, thus achieving the purpose of water saving and blowdown reduction. For the transformer cooled by external cooling with water, this paper provides an optimized design of common configuration in which the external cooling systems of converter valve and transformer share the same spray pool and spray treatment equipment. This design will not only save water resources, but also facilitate the operation, maintenance and comprehensive management of converter station. It is thus in accord with the green development philosophy of converter station.


Simple Lyapunov proofs are given for an improved (relative to previous results that have appeared in the literature) bound on the maximum allowable transfer interval to guarantee global asymptotic or exponential stability in networked control systems and also for semiglobal practical asymptotic stability with respect to the length of the maximum allowable transfer interval


In order to analyze the contribution of the natural biological control of the coccinellid predator Scymnus spp. (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) on Triozoida limbata Enderlein (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha: Triozidae), the aim of this research was to study the populational fluctuation of these arthropods in semi-organic orchard of guava and correlate the populational density of this pest with meteorological elements. We used yellow stick traps for monitoring adult of T. limbata and Scymnus spp., spaced approximately 30 m from each other at a height of 1.5 m above the ground, inside random plants. These traps were maintained in the field for 15 days and replaced by new traps, without interruption, totaling 23 samples. We calculated the Pearson correlation coefficients (r) to correlate the populational density of T. limbata with populational fluctuation of Scymnus spp., and meteorological elements. We also made histograms with information about the populational fluctuation of the specimens sampled and temperature (°C) and precipitation (mm) values. The highest densities of adults of T. limbata occurred almost between spring and summer seasons. The populational density of Scymnus spp. was positively correlated with populational density of T. limbata . There was no correlation between the populational fluctuation of T. limbata with meteorological elements.


In this article, we present a method for designing miniaturized and broadband quadrifilar helix antenna, which has better bandwidth than other smaller antennas and more compact than larger bandwidth antennas. The antennae in this design have same size with axial lengths of 24 mm and diameters of 18 mm. The antennae are miniaturized by folded arms and dielectric loading. In both cases, a short pin is added to adjust the impedance matching and broaden the bandwidth. Inside and outside diameters of the loading dielectric cylinder are the parameters used for controlling the center frequency, which can be shifted between 1.2 and 1.8 GHz. An antenna with a central frequency of 1.5 GHz was simulated and measured to verify the design. In addition, this design could provide bandwidth of 100 MHz for satellite navigation application. Two antennae, operating at 1.227 and 1.575 GHz with 100 MHz bandwidth, are simulated. The 1.227 GHz antenna covers GPS L2, BEIDOU B2 and B3, GLONASS G2, and Galileo E5b bands. The 1.57 GHz antenna covers GPS L1, BEIDOU B1, B1C, B1I, and Galileo E1 bands.


Cellular senescence is characterized by stable cell cycle arrest and a secretory program that modulates the tissue microenvironment. The aberrant accumulation of senescent cells in aged and cancerous tissue triggers inflammatory signaling through a senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP), promoting aging and tumor progression. Pharmacologically, clearing senescent cells has been shown to have promising effects against cancer and age-related pathologies in preclinical models as well as human pilot clinical trials. However, current senescent cell elimination strategies are focused on the rare senescence targets that are under-represented on normal cells. To date, there are no universal senescence cell specific markers. Therefore, the use of senolytics in the clinic is still limited due to their cytotoxicity to normal cells. A more effective senescence cell targeted approach is needed to reduce side effects and increase the efficiency of senescence cell removal. Conditionally Active Biologics (CAB) technology is a proprietary platform that is unique in its ability to selectively activate in the context of diseased tissues, but not normal tissues, taking advantage of the acidic pH conditions in the inflammatory tumor/aged tissue microenvironment. Senescent cells, like tumor cells, are dependent on glycolysis for energy metabolism, and thus generate a glycolytic microenvironment (GME) that resembles that of the tumor microenvironment. Since our CAB technology is already being deployed in cancer therapy by targeting cell surface markers such as AXL, ROR2, and CTLA4 in the clinical stage, we explored whether CAB technology will allow selective removal of senescent cells in SASP-associated microenvironments such as the GME. To identify senescence-specific surface antigens that are broadly and specifically upregulated in senescent cells, we screened our CAB cell surface antigen library in different senescence models including CDK4/6 inhibitor-induced senescent human breast cancer cells, human lung fibroblast cells, as well as in vivo aging mouse tissues and chronic kidney disease mouse model. We have identified several novel senescence markers which show significantly elevated expression in senescent cells. Furthermore, in vitro binding assays demonstrated that CAB antibodies targeting these senescence markers have no or very low binding to the target antigen on senescence cells in alkaline physiological conditions but have strong binding in glycolytic/acidic SASP conditions. Moreover, we performed antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity assays for evaluating the functional activities of CAB antibodies against the senescence targets. Our data demonstrated that CAB antibodies were more potent against senescent cells compared to proliferating cells and displayed high selectivity for the glycolytic/acidic microenvironment condition. In conclusion, CAB technology should provide a new generation of biologics with an increased safety margin and therapeutic index in the clinic targeting senescence cells in cancer and age-related diseases.
 Citation Format: Jian Chen, Jing Wang, Matt Lucas, Haizhen Liu, Christina Wheeler, Kyrie Johnson, Kathryn Woodard, Cathy Chang, Gerhard Frey, William J. Boyle, Jay M. Short. Targeting senescence cells in cancer and aging by conditionally active biologic therapeutics [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference: Aging and Cancer; 2022 Nov 17-20; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;83(2 Suppl_1):Abstract nr B022.


This paper examines factors influencing e-learning. A survey-based methodology was used to obtain data from respondents, namely, students in three higher educational institutions. The dependent variable in this study was effectiveness of e-learning and the independent variables were the impact of wireless technology and mobile devices, and d emographic factors s uch as gender, age a nd course of study. Multiple regression analysis, correlation analysis, and chi-square test for independence were e mployed to analyze the data. Wireless technology and mobile devices were found to be the most important determinants of effectiveness of e-learning. There was no significant effect of course of study, age and gender on effectiveness of e-learning.


The genus Aspicilia A.Massal. s.l. (Megasporaceae Pertusariales Ascomycota) has a worldwide distribution and the species are common components in the lichen vegetation on exposed rocks in a wide variety of biomes from hot deserts to Arctic tundras. The genus has a reputation of being taxonomically extremely complicated, which is partly caused by the extreme morphological variation and phenotypic plasticity of the species (Nordin 2013; Nordin et al. 2007, 2008, 2010; Owe-Larsson et al. 2008, 2011; Roux et al. 2011). The only existing taxonomic treatment of the genus with a wide scope was published by Magnusson (1939), who applied very narrow species circumscriptions in most cases. Here a number of new synonyms are presented and discussed, most of which are names introduced by Magnusson ( loc. cit. ), and lectotypes of Lecanora griseopallida and Sagedia laevata are designated.


Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), an emerging class of porous sorbents, have become one of the most promising functional materials for indoor moisture regulation. However, the practical application of MOFs in building environments is challenging. Common shaping forms of MOFs (e.g., pellets, tablets, monoliths, granules, coating, etc.) may lead to agglomeration of MOF particles, higher usage costs, low efficiency, and material waste. Here, we report a new MOF-based electrospun nanofiber membrane with high porosity, light weight, and a large surface-area-to-volume ratio. MOF nanoparticles distributed on the fibers can fully contact moisture in the air, thus significantly enhancing MOFs' utilization and performance. The results of the moisture adsorption test show that the improved MOF membrane has significantly higher water vapor uptake than most conventional hygroscopic materials and textiles in built environments. A building energy model was established to evaluate the MOF membrane's effect on building energy consumption under different climates worldwide. The simulation results show that the MOF membrane can efficiently moderate indoor moisture fluctuation and has excellent energy-saving potential. The latent heat load reduction rate in summer can be up to 80–90% in arid/semi-arid climates and around 50% in temperate climates in a purely passive manner.


Concerning the Martian ionosphere, one usually speaks about a two-layer structure, that means about a region with two maxima of the plasma density at altitudes of about 135 km and 110 km. But recently it became evident, that at altitudes of 65-110 km a third sporadic ionospheric layer of meteoric origin exists, which is well separated from the two other layers [1]. Further, results of the general circulation and climate models (GCM) of the Martian atmosphere show that at altitudes of 80 km rather strong neutral gas winds and wave turbulence exist [2]. Thus, the question arises, if and how turbulence and sporadic layers are correlated.


This paper investigates the performance of a weather forecasting application Brazilian developments on the regional atmospheric modelling system - BRAMS on high performance computing HPC clusters with a multi-core architecture. We simulated atmosphere conditions over South America for 24 hours ahead using the BRAMS, aiming to understand the impact of different architectural configurations on performance and scalability. Our analyses consider execution in intra-node and inter-node configurations of a cluster with 24 cores per node. Results reveal differences in the BRAMS performance caused by interconnection. The BRAMS may get better performance by using a newer version of MPI library implementation one-copy schema and improving spatial resolution.


This paper presents a disturbance observer based control strategy for four wheel steering systems in order to improve vehicle handling stability. By combination of feedforward control and feedback control, the front and rear wheel steering angles are controlled simultaneously to follow both the desired sideslip angle and the yaw rate of the reference vehicle model. A nonlinear three degree-of-freedom four wheel steering vehicle model containing lateral, yaw and roll motions is built up, which also takes the dynamic effects of crosswind into consideration. The disturbance observer based control method is provided to cope with ignored nonlinear dynamics and to handle exogenous disturbances. Finally, a simulation experiment is carried out, which shows that the proposed four wheel steering vehicle can guarantee handling stability and present strong robustness against external disturbances.


With environmental degradation and energy security as serious concerns, it is important to anticipate how vehicle ownership and usage patterns can change under different policies and contexts. This work ascertains the acquisition, disposal, and use patterns of personal vehicles of a synthetic population over time and relies on microsimulation to anticipate fleet composition, usage, and greenhouse gas emissions under different settings. Twenty-five-year simulations predict the highest market share for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), hybrid electric vehicles, and smart cars and the greatest reductions in carbon emissions under an increased gasoline price ($7/gal). Results under a "feebate" policy scenario (where fees apply to low-fuel-economy vehicles, and rebates rise with fuel economies above a threshold) indicated a shift toward fuel-efficient vehicles but with vehicle miles traveled (VMT) rising, thanks to lower driving costs. Excepting the low PHEV price and feebate policy simulations, all other scenarios predicted a lower fleet VMT value. The high-density scenario (job and household densities quadrupled) resulted in the lowest vehicle ownership levels and lower VMT values and emissions. The low-PHEV-price scenario resulted in higher shares of PHEVs but negligible impacts from greenhouse gas emissions. Adoption and widespread use of plug-in vehicles will depend on marketing, competitive pricing, government incentives, reliable driving-range reports, and charging infrastructure. Though just 29% of survey respondents stated support for a (specific) feebate policy, 35% indicated an interest in purchasing a PHEV if it cost just $6,000 more than its gasoline counterpart.


By the analysis of the structural statuses of age structure, sex ratio at birth, industrial distribution and the educational composition of China's population, this paper brings to light that the only way out for speeding up the improvement of population structures and living conditions is to further reduce the fertility and thus to deduct annual total births. In order to switch to the decreasing course of total population as soon as possible, the finding of which is against the opposite way of appealing for the loosening of the birth control policy.


Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are commonly regarded as the Persistent Organic Pollutant (POP). PBDEs are ubiquitous, flame retardants widely found in synthetic polymers, clothing, plastics. PBDEs are threat to the safety of environment and health. Many reclamation studies such as biotransformation, remediation, and neutralisation are reported by chemical and biological processes. Out of the all the biological stood out due to its environmental-friendly and less production or formation of more potent daughter compounds than the parent. Bacterial species such as Pseudomonas, are majorly involved in eradication/removal of the environmental contaminant. The current study highlights the need to use consortium of the microbial species than a single strain and to increase its efficiency one can focus on involving inter-species (bacteria-fungus, bacteria-algae, fungus-algae) and concentrate on the enzymes released for the reductive-oxidative debromination of the PBDEs. The need is to centre the determination of the PBDEs in India and use indigenous organisms for the removal studies targeting the Indian scenario of the PBDEs production, consumption and release.


Summarizes the feature of the EPON-based optical access network,propose the overall solution approach of EPON-based optical fiber access network,and give in detail the specific application instance of EPON,taking hybrid fiber/coaxial cable technology(HFC)and EPON+EoC for example.


This study asks the following question with respect to level 3 fair value assets and liabilities: are level 3 fair value assets and liabilities being measured accurately?  An argument is made that since level 3 markets do not exist (as defined in ASC 820), it is not possible to determine a level 3 value.  Data is examined, both pre- and post- SFAS No. 157 with respect to a specific level 3 asset that can be found on the balance sheet of most publically traded financial institutions, mortgage loan servicing rights.  The data suggests that the FASB's attempt to clarify fair value had no effect on the levels of capitalization of mortgage loan servicing rights.  An additional argument is made that the language in ASC 820 undermines the requirement that level 3 fair values reflect a "market" value rather than an "investment" value.


Oxyethylated alcohol - surfactant C12E10 - was tested under the conditions of the die-away test with activated sludge as inoculum. The residual surfactant and its biotransformation by-products: short-chained ethoxylates (SCE) and long-and short-chained poly(ethylene glycols) (PEG) were separated and determined using the indirect tensammetric technique. A high percentage of primary biodegradation (98.5%) and high concentration of SCE and PEG was found at the end of the experiment. There is a clear sequence of biotransformation: central fission —> fragmentation of the long-chained PEG into short-chained PEG. Generally, the same pathway was observed as in the case of oxyethylated alcohol biodegradation under the conditions of the continuous flow activated sludge test.


Recently, sign or gesture recognition has been challenged by concerns like high computational cost, occlusion of hands, and inaccurate tracking of hand signs and gestures. The existing models face difficulty in managing longer term sequential data, due to poor information learning and processing. To highlight the aforementioned concerns, a novel deep learning based ensemble model is proposed in this article. Firstly, the sign/gesture images are acquired from American Sign Language (ASL)-Modified National Institute of Standard and Technology (MNIST) and real time South Indian Sign Language (SISL) databases. In addition, K-means clustering with the Gaussian blur method is implemented for precisely segmenting the sign/gesture region. Next, the feature extraction is carried-out using Gray-level Co-occurrence Matrix (GLCM) features and AlexNet, and then the dimensionality of the extracted feature vectors are decreased using a deep learning model: stacked autoencoder. The dimensionally decreased feature vectors are fed to the ensemble classifier (Multi-Support Vector Machine (MSVM) and Naive Bayes) to classify 24 alphabets and 30 SISL classes on the ASL-MNIST and real time SISL databases. The extensive experiments demonstrated that the ensemble based stacked autoencoder model achieved 99.96% and 99.08% of accuracy on the ASL-MNIST and real time SISL databases, which are better related to the traditional machine learning classifiers.


Introduction: The current obstacles to regenerate ischemic cardiac tissue using the stem-cell based therapies include poor survival of transplanted cells in the ischemic heart, lack of anisotropic structure for alignment of cardiomyocytes and thickness of the engineered cardiac tissue. Hypothesis: We hypothesized that a biodegradable multi-layered hiPSC-CMs aligned nanofiber (PLGA) cardiac patch mimics the anisotropic structure and alignment of transplanted cardiomyocytes, thereby improves cell survival and cardiac function following transplantation onto the ischemic myocardium. Methods: Study was divided into four different groups as follows: 1) Control (no-MI); 2) MI (Permanent LAD ligation); 3) S-CP (Single layer cardiac patch +MI); 4) M-CP (Multilayer cardiac patch+MI). Nude athymic rats (NIHRNU) were used for transplantation of human cardiomyocytes (rFP fluorescence). HiPSC-CMs were cultured for one-week on the aligned nanofiber scaffold. For multilayered patch, three single layers of cardiac patch w...


Under the severe situation of the COVID-19 pandemic, masks cover most of the effective facial features of users, and their head pose changes significantly in a complex environment, which makes the accuracy of head pose estimation in some systems such as safe driving systems and attention detection systems impossible to guarantee. To this end, we propose a powerful four-branch feature selective extraction network (FSEN) structure, in which three branches are used to extract three independent discriminative features of pose angles, and one branch is used to extract composite features corresponding to multiple pose angles. By reducing the dimension of high-dimensional features, our method significantly reduces the amount of computation while improving the estimation accuracy. Our convolution method is an improved spatial channel dynamic convolution (SCDC) that initially enhances the extracted features. Additionally, we embed a regional information exchange network (RIEN) after each convolutional layer in each branch to fully mine the potential semantic correlation between regions from multiple perspectives and learn and fuse this correlation to further enhance feature expression. Finally, we fuse the independent discriminative features of each pose angle and composite features from the three directions of channel, space, and pixel to obtain perfect feature expression for each pose angle, and then obtain the head pose angle. We conducted extensive experiments on the controlled environment datasets and a self-built real complex environment dataset (RCE) and the results showed that our method outperforms state-of-the-art single-modality methods and performs on par with multimodality-based methods. This shows that our network meets the requirements of accurate head-pose estimation in real complex environments such as complex illumination and partial occlusion.


Surrounding rocks are seriously deformed,stress condition is complex,and supporting is difficult in No.1 intake ventilation cross cut of Licun Mine.For these problems,roadway deformation and bolt stress are studied by theoretical analysis and field test.The study concludes the duration time of sharp and stable change stages,the sidewall deformation from sharp change stage to stable one,the percentage of arch deformation amount in the total deformation,and the sidewall displacement and arch displacement from stable stage to rheology stage.


(57) Abstract: Pirohosuhon acid alkyl, how the continuous preparation of pyrophosphate alkyl and their multimeric and 4-amino-1-hydroxy-alkylidene-1,1-bisphosphonic acid or a method of producing a salt thereof.


A double-sides layout, six layers laminated multichip model with full metal package ispresented for a 500MHz mix-signal microsystem integration. The transmission line is simulated bySpecctraQuest .


Siderophore produced by cowpea Rhizobium GN1 (Peanut isolate) was shown to be involved in iron uptake by this organism. Siderophore enhanced iron uptake in iron-starved cells. SDS-PAGE analysis of the outer membrane proteins showed two iron repressible outer membrane proteins with approximate molecular mass of 80 kDa and 76 kDa. A siderophore non-producing mutant, which was unable to grow on a medium containing synthetic iron chelators unless and until iron was added exogenously in the medium, could use siderophore of the wild-type for iron uptake indicating that the receptor for Fe-siderophore complex was intact in the mutant.