: Researcher need to know that traffic accidents are the ninth highest cause of death and are responsible for 2.2% of all deaths globally, road safety audits are one way to anticipate traffic accidents. Accidents that generally occur due to various factors together, namely: human factors, environmental factors and climatic factors. The purpose of this study is to conduct a Road Safety Audit in an effort to reduce accidents related to the use of safety triangles on the heaviest axle vehicles over 8 tons/large size vehicles. Research using descriptive method with a qualitative approach and interview methods. Traffic accidents often occur in cases where the driver of the vehicle collides with a truck or vehicle that is parked or stopped on the shoulder of the road. In conclusion, the factor that increases the occurrence of traffic accidents in the Province of Yogyakarta Special Region is the factor of the installation of a safety triangle which is still not good enough so that other road users do not see the vehicle stopping or parking. Handling to reduce the level of traffic accidents in the Special Region of Yogyakarta is recommended that the Government add regulations on the use of safety triangles on the highway so that safety triangles are visible to other motorists when used to reduce the risk of accidents.


Abstract Background The national immunization program (NIP) of annual influenza vaccination to the elderly population (≥65 years of age) in the Republic of Korea (ROK) has been implemented since 1987. Recently, the 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPV23) through the NIP has been provided to the elderly population in the ROK since May 2013. The aim of this study was to assess PPV23 and influenza vaccine (IV) effectiveness in preventing pneumococcal pneumonia (PP) among elderly patients ≥65 years of age. Methods A case–control study using a hospital-based cohort was conducted. Cases of PP including bacteremic PP and nonbacteremic PP were collected from 14 hospitals in the pneumococcal diseases surveillance program from March 2013 to October 2015. Controls matched by age and sex in the same hospital were selected. Demographic, clinical information, and vaccination histories were collected. Previous immunization was categorized into "vaccinated" if a patient had received vaccines as follows: PPV23 (4 weeks to 5 years) and IV (2 weeks to 6 months) prior to the diagnosis of PP for case patients and prior to the hospital admission for control patients. Adjusted odds ratio (OR) was calculated, controlling for underlying medical conditions. Vaccine effectiveness was defined as (1 – OR) × 100. Results During the study period, a total of 661 cases (104 bacteremic PP cases and 557 nonbacteremic PP cases) and 661 controls were enrolled for analyses. For overall patients ≥65 years of age, there was no significant vaccine effectiveness against PP. For young elderly patients with 65–74 years, IV alone (1.2%, [95% confidence interval (CI) −95.3% to 50.0%]) and PPV23 alone (21.9%, [95% CI −39.0% to 56.1%]) were not effective. However, significant vaccine effectiveness of PPV23 plus IV against PP was noted (54.4%, [95% CI 6.9–77.7%], P = 0.031). For older elderly patients ≥75 years of age, no significant vaccine effectiveness was observed. Conclusion Our study indicates that PPV23 plus IV may be effective in preventing PP among young elderly patients with 65–74 years, suggesting additive benefits of influenza plus PPV23 vaccination. Further studies are required to confirm the persistent additive protective effectiveness. Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.


In the event an oil spill occurs on a body of water, debris is coated with oil. New York and Vermont, like most states, have plans for the removal of oil and debris from state lakes, rivers and streams. This report provides an analysis of alternatives for disposing oil-soaked debris. Those methods found to be most appropriate for the Lake Champlain Basin are landspreading, landfilling and burial. They are discussed at length in the report. Forty-six, Lake Champlain Basin sites, meeting the necessary criteria for oil-soaked debris disposal, were identified. A map and description of the areas are included in the work.


The dramatic increase in the number of students enrolled in higher education programs outside their country of citizenship during the last half-century has created a huge demand for study abroad-related information circulation. Nonetheless, media nowadays attempts to break information barriers by gathering and processing data from multiple sources, mainly focusing on university academic competency. Although important, academic competency cannot represent international students' overall quality of life when spending their time in unfamiliar foreign cities. This research is designed to provide solutions to the problem from another perspective Utilizing the Multiple Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) method to evaluate international study destinations through various dimensions comprehensively. The research integrates various aspects such as economic development, culture inclusiveness, and personal safety into account. It then adopts the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) to obtain a detailed index for each destination in the rank. Our work-Global Ranking of Study Destination (GRSD) by cities, is accomplished to contribute to the international student community. With a ranking system that considers vital facets of life in certain cities, prospective international students can make assessments and decisions better for their future.


Objective: To further study the effect mechanism of Maxing Shigan Decoction in against influenza virus.Methods: ①Use nasal inoculation to establish mouse pulmonary infection model animals by influenza virus.Set up normal control group,model control group,Oseltamivir group and Maxing Shigan Decoction(MXSGD) group.After 7 days of drug or normal saline gavages,observing the lung index and pathological changes of lung tissue.②Using 2-(4-methylumbellifery1)-α-D-Nacetylneuraminic acid as a substrate,detecting the influenza virus neuraminidase activity of Maxing Shigan whole decoction and Maxing Shigan decoction with different concerted application.Results: ①Compared with the normal control group,lungs of model group have massive lymphocytic infiltration,the lung index was significantly increased(P0.01).Compared with the model group,pulmonary pathologic of lungs changes were significant improving in Maxing Shigan whole Decoction group,the lung index was significantly increased(P0.01).②Compared with the model group,the neuraminidase activity of Maxing Shigan Decoction group and herba ephedrae group was decreased by 53.4% and 75.4% respectively;The neuraminidase activity of herba ephedrae with almond,herba ephedrae with gypsum,herba ephedrae with glycyrrhizae,herba ephedrae with almond and gypsum,herba ephedrae with gypsum and glycyrrhizae,herba ephedrae with almond and glycyrrhizae,herba ephedrae and almond with gypsum and glycyrrhizae was decreased by 69.9%,75.5%,49.4%,67.1%,43.1%,46.7%,53.7%,respectively.While the neuraminidase activity of 4 concerted application groups with no herba ephedrae-almond and gypsum,almond and glycyrrhizae,gypsum and glycyrrhizae,almonds and gypsum and glycyrrhizae was decreased by 13.5%,2.6%,3.3%,-1.2%,respectively.Conclusion: Maxing Shigan Decoction could obviously alleviate lung inflammatory in influenza virus infected mice and reduce lung weight index,its mechanism may relate to inhibit the activity of influenza virus neuraminidase and prevent the proliferation of influenza virus.Herba ephedrae is playing a significant role in against the influenza virus.


Effective teaching of reading is a complex job that looks deceptively simple to the casual reader, or even to the University professor who has limited experience in teaching young children. The teaching of reading is over-simplified by the writers for most popular journals. On the other hand, the teaching of reading or being the best reader possible has some analogy to pursuing perfection, we are always only on the way, never at the peak of perfection. Each new insight into the reading process opens up vaster uncharted vistas and seas of wisdom, both as to the art of reading and to the art of teaching reading. Education is a continuous process and so is good, better, and best reading a vital part of all formal and informal education. Child Development and Language Arts at Aquinas College By Sister M. Bernetta, O.P.


Conjugated polymers have been studied extensively for their electrical conductivity, interesting optical, and more recently, electroluminescent properties17293. Conjugated polymer light emitting diodes (CPLEDs) were first reported in 1990 using poly(pheny1ene vinylene), (PPV), as the light emitting material'. Previously, we have reported cm the electroluminescent properties of a copolymer of a , derivative of PPV and the nitrogen analog of PPV, poly(2,5-dihexadecanoxy phenylene vinylene pyridyl vinylene), (PPV.PPyV)4 in a variety of different device configurations some of which can be operated in forward and reverse bias modes between copper and IT0 glass substrates thus enabling operation in an AC mode. Some of these involve a 5-layered symmetrically configured AC driven light-emitting (SCALE) configuration3. In the past CPLED devices have usually been operated in the forward bias mode only, the IT0 glass being attached to the positive terminal of the DC power supply. More recently a few reports have appeared involving operation of these devices in the reverse bias mode576 although such operation, at least in certain cases results in rapid breakdown of the device. Both symmetric and asymmetric I/V curves have been reported but even in the almost symmetrical IN curve case the electroluminescence intensity at a given applied potential while operating in an AC mode may differ for forward and reverse bias5. We here compare the use of gold3~7 and copper as both electron and hole injection electrodes in a comparative study of SCALE devices using Al, Cu or Au as the metal electrode and the PPV.PPyV as the emissive polymer. All can be operated in forward and reverse bias modes and in an AC mode. Both the metal and IT0 electrodes are capable of injecting electrons and holes into the electroemissive polymer. A similar intensity of emitted light in forward and reverse bias modes is achievable if both electrodes have approximately the same effective work functions. The Au/EB/(PPV.PPyV)/EB/ITO and Cu/EB/(PPV.PPyV>/EMTO devices were constructed by spin-casting the polyaniline, emeraldine base (EB) from a 1 % wt. EB solution in NMP on the IT0 glass. After spin-casting the PPV.PPyV layer from CHC13 solution on top of the EB layer, another layer of EB was spin-cast on top of the (PPV.PPyV) layer upon which the gold or copper layers were then deposited. The I-V characteristics of the gold electrode device are given in Figure 1. This device operates in both forward and reverse bias modes at approximately the same turn-on potentials (-2 5.0 V). It also operates in an AC mode at 1 Hz to 60 Hz. The intensity of the emitted light is approximately proportional to the current density in both forward and reverse bias modes. The intensity of light emission is more intense in the reverse bias mode than in the forward bias mode. The electroluminescent spectra in forward and reverse bias modes at -* 8 V are given in Figure 2. The above characteristics are in general qualitatively similar to those of the copper electrode device4.


The invention relates to excavating machinery, in particular to an excavator used for excavating residual roots of felled plants such as bamboo roots and tree roots, and discloses a bamboo root and tree root excavator. The bamboo root and tree root excavator comprises a power device and a power control device integrated on the power device. An output shaft of the power device is fixedly connected with a cylindrical tool rest. A spiral mud guide piece is arranged on the outer wall of the cylindrical tool rest in a surrounding manner. A main tool matched with the spiral mud guide piece is fixedly arranged at the bottom of the cylindrical tool rest. Dovetail grooves are formed in the inner wall of the cylindrical tool rest. A positioning assembly is arranged in the dovetail grooves. A positioning pin is arranged at the bottom of the positioning assembly. Auxiliary tools are arranged on lateral sides of the main tool at the bottom of the cylindrical tool rest, and are movably connected with the cylindrical tool rest. Pull rod steel wires are arranged on the auxiliary tools and fixed on an auxiliary tool starting device. The auxiliary tool starting device is clamped in the dovetail grooves and positioned above the positioning assembly. The bamboo root and tree root excavator is safe, practical and effective, and applicable to different power conditions and ground conditions.


[Aim] In order to determine the influence of high temperature shock on the survival characteristics and population dynamics of Tetranychus turkestani and T. truncatus.[Methods] The egg hatching rate, survival rate and developmental duration were investigated after the eggs, larvae and adults of the two mites were exposed to high temperature (38℃, 42℃ and 46℃) for 2-6 h . [Results] The survival rate of the treated eggs and larvae decreased with the increase of exposure temperature and treatment time. The high temperature shock showed no influence on the survival rate, pre-oviposition period, oviposition period and fecundity of the treated male mites, but significantly decreased the hatching rate of their eggs. The egg hatching rates of T. turkestani and T. truncatus exposed to 46℃ for 6 h decreased by 15.5% and 18.0%, respectively. [Conclusion] High temperature exposure has significant effects on the egg hatching rates, survival rates and developmental duration of T. turkestani and T. truncatus, but has no effect on the longevity and reproduction of their female adults, and T. turkestani has stronger adaptability to high temperature than T. truncatus.


A letter appearing in the January AAP News expressed concern about the pre-existing condition policies in the Academy's health insurance plan for its members ( Second Opinions , page 18). For those readers who have concerns about this issue, let me take this opportunity to provide more details.

The AAP member health insurance plan was established in 1953 as a member benefit to offer an option for individual pediatricians and their families to participate in a group health insurance plan. It is administered by Pediatric Insurance Consultants Inc. (PIC), and does not provide the Academy with any royalties or profit. In fact, all net proceeds are rolled over into a pool, which is referred to as the "premium stabilization fund." Thus, these profits are used to reduce premiums for the insured.


The authors have identified the substrain of mouse possessing the H-2K/sup bm3/ mutation as expressing a low anti-Vesicular Stomatitis Virus (VSV) cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) response upon secondary in vitro elicitation with ultraviolet light-inactivated virus. The CTL elicited from both the mutant, M505 (bm3), and the parental strain, C57B1/6(B6), kill B6 targets better than bm3 targets. Likewise, in cold target inhibition assays, unlabeled B6 cells inhibited better than unlabeled bm3 cells the recognition of /sup 51/Cr-labeled B6 targets regardless of whether B6 or bm3 CTL effector cells were used. CTL from both B6 and bm3 mice are H-2 restricted, virus specific, and possess the Thyl, Lyt2,3 phenotype. In addition, the effector cells use the H-2K molecule as the major restricting element. Both B6 and bm3 cells were shown by radiolabeling and immunoprecipitation to express an equivalent amount of G protein, the major viral surface glycoprotein, as well as equivalent amounts of H-2K. These data suggest the bm3 mutation in H-2K alters the association of H-2K with either the G protein or with a molecule on the CTL required for secondary in vitro elicitation.


The prediction of time to default for personal loans using mixture cure models: including macro-economic factors. Credit Scoring and Credit Control XIII conference August 28-30, 2015, Edinburgh Since the Basel accords and the resulting higher need for more accurate credit risk calculations, survival analysis gained more importance in credit risk modelling due to being able to estimate time to default, as well as the probability of default (PD) during the loan term. The survival function S(t) = P (T > t) = 1− F (t) is the probability that an event has not occurred by a stated time t. As S(t) goes to zero when time advances, the underlying assumption is that every subject will experience the event eventually. This property does not seem valid in the credit risk context, as a substantial part of the population will never experience default. The mixture cure model, a survival model that uses logistic regression to model a so-called "cured" or "unsusceptible" fraction was introduced for the first time in the credit risk context by Tong et al. (2012). Dirick et al. (2015) developed a model selection criterion for variable selection in these models, and applied this to credit risk data. With an unconditional survival function as follows: S(t | x, z) = P (Y = 1 | z)S(t | Y = 1,x) + 1− P (Y = 1 | z), Y is the susceptibility indicator (Y = 1 if an account is susceptible, and Y = 0 if not). Covariates x and z allowed in these models are typically (i) linked to a certain loan applicant (ii) considered not to change over time. However, macro-economic factors that change over time (e.g. interest rate) impact loan default. We extended the mixture cure model such that time-varying covariates are allowed, and macro-economic factors can be included. The simulation results show that timevarying covariates can indeed successfully be included in a mixture cure model. We conclude the research with a real-life credit data example.


So many important conditions and catalyzes for the shaping and overrunning of East-Turkistanism terrorism in Xinjiang province. They include the overflowing of the TUEKISTAN`S culture and van- TUKRKISTANNISM, the movement of spreading of ISLAMIC revival and the spreading of the VAN-ISLAMISM,the influence of all the kinds of terrorism in the countries bordering Xinjiang province,the inciting of international hostile force,the reinforce of the international intercommunion since the reforming and opening and the special geographical position of Xinjiang province.


ABSTRACT In this article, I examine the way that the political and social movements of minority groups of the Colombian Pacific region has been weaken through different policies and strategies of the Colombian government, transnational corporations and the insurgent movements.


Provided are energy curable high elasticity of inks and coatings for heat transfer label. Inks and coatings may include a monofunctional monomer / oligomer, a thermoplastic inactive resin, and a polyfunctional monomer / oligomer zero amount or a limited amount, good stretchability and, for example, scratching resistance and solvent (water, oil) shows a good surface resistance, such as resistance. Provided are also the use of high elasticity ink in application to heat transfer label (HTL).


Abstract Correlation of Rodinian and Gondwanan crustal domains relies on a thorough knowledge of those vestiges preserved today. The Bunger Hills hold a critical place in East Antarctica, recording the Mesoproterozoic assembly of Australo-Antarctica in Rodinia and the Neoproterozoic–Cambrian amalgamation of Indo- and Australo-Antarctica in Gondwana. It is situated in a region of disputed overlap between the different components of Rodinia and Gondwana, where there is little consensus on the location of sutures in this region and thus often speculative geological interpretations. The Bunger Hills therefore provide an opportunity to better understand the tectonic setting and palaeogeography during the assembly of these supercontinents. Recent work has confirmed that the Bunger Hills are one of few rare outcrops in Wilkes Land, East Antarctica that can be directly correlated with the broader Musgrave–Albany–Fraser–Wilkes Orogen (MAFWO). Whilst other constituent terranes of the MAFWO have been intensely studied, our geological knowledge of the Bunger Hills was comparatively limited until recently. In light of recent geological and geophysical developments, this contribution serves as an updated and concise standalone reference for the present state of knowledge of the Neoarchean–Cambrian evolution of the Bunger Hills region.


Dr. Natalya A. Temuryants was the prominent Russian biologist, Principal Researcher at the Shareable Scientific Equipment Center "Experimental Physiology and Biophysics", V.I. Vernadsky Crimean Federal University. Beginning her labor activity in 1971 as an assistant at the Chair of Anatomy and Physiology of Man and Animals of the Crimean State Pedagogical Institute, Natalya Temuryants devoted her whole life to studying effect of low-intensity electromagnetic field and space weather on living organisms. Her biorhythmological researches are also widely known both in Russia and abroad. Dr. Natalya Temuryants is the author of more than 350 papers in Russian, Ukrainian and European scientific journals, 12 monographs, and 20 patents; she was the head of the Crimean School of Magnetobiology. Under her leadership, 1 doctoral and 23 Ph.D. dissertations were defended. She was a member of the Expert Council of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, an editor of the journal Scientific Notes of Taurida National V.I. Vernadsky University, Series "Biology. Chemistry, a member of the Editorial Board of the journal Geopolitics and Ecogeodynamics of Regions. Dr. Natalya Temuryants was a full member of the European and American Bioelectromagnetic Society, International Society of Biometeorology, and Crimean Academy of Sciences, a member of the Ukrainian Biophysical and Physiological Society, Laureate of the Taurida National V.I. Vernadsky University Prize and State Prize of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. Dr. Temuryants was not only a distinguished scholar; she was also an outstanding personality of a great insightful mind and irresistible personal charm. In the current issue of journal Space and Time one of the latest articles of Dr. Temurynts (with co-authors) is published.
Vernadsky Crimean Federal University. "Natalya A. Temuryants (*31 Oct. 1944 – †17 Oct. 2017): Necrologue." Space and Time 2/3/4 (2017): 309. (In Russian). Fixed network address 2226-7271provr_st2_3_4-28_29_30.2017.95


Technology has been changing the way companies interact with their customers, this trend being emphasized during the COVID-19 pandemic. Traditional advertising tools are complemented or replaced by new marketing techniques, and companies are aiming to improve their reach by leveraging social media or the influencer trend. E-commerce makes it possible to browse and compare an ever increasing number of products, and to make purchases from any place with Internet access. Moreover, retailers who incorporate the online world into their business models might face less difficulty during adverse events. However, e-commerce is also defined by fierce competition among companies in their quest for gaining customer satisfaction and loyalty. Buyers can easily abandon their carts and switch to another seller, if the purchasing experience is flawed or another offer is more tempting. In the fashion industry, e-commerce is particularly challenging, as colors, sizes and quality are still difficult to reproduce in the web-based world. Thus, creating the right customer experience through e-stores can make the difference between success and failure for online fashion retailers. In this context, the paper is based on a quantitative analysis investigating the relationships between customer perception regarding the quality of product information, navigation ease, the online presence of the web store and customer satisfaction with the purchase.


Claiming that cross-speaker "but" can signal correction in dialogue, we start by describing the types of corrections "but" can communicate by focusing on the Speech Act (SA) communicated in the previous turn and address the ways in which "but" can correct what is communicated. We address whether "but" corrects the proposition, the direct SA or the discourse relation communicated in the previous turn. We will also briefly address other relations signalled by cross-turn "but". After presenting a typology of the situations "but" can correct, we will address how these corrections can be modelled in the Information State model of dialogue, motivating this work by showing how it can be used to potentially avoid misunderstandings. We wrap up by showing how the model presented here updates beliefs in the Information State representation of the dialogue and can be used to facilitate response deliberation.


Transmission lines in power system network operate close or beyond their thermal limits are said to be congested. In deregulated electricity markets the problem is more likely to occur due to unplanned power exchanges. Congestion management (CM) is accomplished mainly either by generator rescheduling or by load shedding. In load shedding reliability of power supply gets affected so re-dispatching the output of generator is better option to manage congestion while ensuring the system reliability. In generator rescheduling or redispatching independent system operators reschedule the generator output so that congestion has gotten rid off. In this operation independent system operator (ISO) commands the generator of low-price area to lower down its output while purchasing power from high price areas this will lead to an additional cost known as rescheduling cost. As rescheduling of generators incurs additional investment, an appropriate CM strategy should be adopted that involve minimum cost of generator rescheduling. This paper presents a versatile particle swarm (VPS) optimization-based CM by optimal rearranging of power generation dependent on the generator sensitivity to the congested line. In VPS algorithm, the parameters such as inertia weight factor and acceleration factors are made adaptive on the basis of objective functions of the current and best solutions. To attest the robustness and effectiveness of CM, the VPS algorithm is examined on IEEE 30-bus system and the results are compared with the particle swarm optimization (PSO) approach. The simulation results demonstrate that the VPS algorithm is successfully minimize the fuel cost in comparison with PSO for optimal rescheduling of generators to relieve congestion in the transmission line.


Preservation of periodontal health after periodontal therapy is paramount for the complete elimination of periodontal diseases. In most of the Dental Schools, recall appointments are considerably low, and in particular, to the Department of Periodontics, the compliance to recall visits by the patients diagnosed with periodontal disease is still inadequate. Faculty from the Department of Periodontics framed new criteria to follow in the comprehensive clinics by the postgraduate students. The criteria include communication, intraoral examination skills, and professionalism toward dental patients. Faculty in each comprehensive dental clinic observed the clinical encounters of postgraduate students with patients and provided the feedback. The study conducted from May 2018 to April 2019, and the patients attended were 1164 of 1544. Unattended patients were 380 of 1544. Effective evaluation of the feedback provided by faculty and communication with both the postgraduate students and unattended patients resulted in further improvement in recall, that is, 151 of 380 patients. Reframed criteria, direct observation of the postgraduate students by faculty during patients interaction, assessment of feedback forms, and immediately modifying the student's way of communication allowed maximum recall visits to the Department of Periodontics.


― 119 ― In Japan, improving the quality of life ( QOL ) by acquiring healthy behaviors is emphasized as one aspect of lifelong health care. Interventions aimed at acquiring healthy behavior are designated as " Health Communica-tions " ( HC ) and their effectiveness has often been reported in the literature. In this study, Formative Research ( FR ) was conducted on adapting information for community residents based on the community approach. A leaflet designed to improve physical activities and diet habits was distributed to residents of a community ( N = 3000; Age range 20 – 70 years ) . The content of the leaflets were compiled based on the results of FR and small change strategy. Responses of participants to the pre-intervention and post-intervention questionnaires ( n = 558 ) were analyzed. Missing values were excluded from the analysis. The assessment of participants ' behaviors two months after distributing the leaflets indicated improvements in physical activities ( 9.9 %) , lifestyle related physical activities ( 9.1 %) , and diet ( 10.9 %) . Significant improvements were also found in health-related QOL, as indicated by the physical summary, physical function, physical role, social function, and emotional role compo-nents. Additionally, free descriptions of the participants revealed that the leaflets had affected their health awareness. These findings indicated that people in the study community had acquired healthy behaviors and im-proved their health-related QOL. It is suggested future studies should be undertaken to improve health communications.


Autistic, dyslexic and normal readers matched for reading age (RA) were compared on a large range of oral reading tasks. In terms of single word reading autistic children demonstrated intact processing strategies, entirely in keeping with their RA level, while dyslexic children failed on phonological, but not on lexical or semantic processing. With connected prose, the autistic children showed failure in reading for meaning. This failure was traced to a difficulty in using semantic context in the absence of syntactic cues. Dyslexic children showed superior ability in using semantic context relative to their RA level. The reading problems in the two groups can thus be seen as complementary.


To increase the light extraction efficiency of high-power light-emitting diodes(LEDs),ZnO nanorod arrays were prepared by utilizing sol-gel coating and the aqueous solution growth technique successively.ZnO nanorod arrays were used as waveguides for emitting light and light emission from LED could escape via the side walls of the ZnO nanorods.ZnO nanrod arrays have uniform size distribution and morphology.Current-voltage characteristics and electroluminescence measurements indicated that there was no significant change in electrical and optical properties of the LEDs with ZnO nanorod arrays.With 310mA current injection,the light output efficiency of the LED with ZnO nanorod arrays was enhanced by about 15%.


Depression in adolescence is one of the most common causes of both morbidity and mortality. Its point prevalence is between 3 and 8 %, with as many as 15 % of adolescents having had at least one depressive episode [1]. It is an impairing disorder, with a negative impact on school performance and interpersonal relationships. The sequelae of depression are very serious: academic and employment underachievement, continued interpersonal impairment, an increased risk for tobacco, alcohol, and substance abuse, and a very high likelihood for recurrent depressive episodes. Most concerning is that depression is the single most salient risk factor for both attempted and completed suicide, which in turn is one of the leading causes of death in adolescence. Thus, the detection and treatment of adolescent depression is a public health issue of the first magnitude. The National Institutes of Mental Health (NIMH), the main source of funding for mental health research in the United States, recognizing the importance of this problem, called for proposals to establish the effectiveness of commonly utilized treatments for adolescent depression. The result was the Treatment of Adolescent Depression Study (TADS), which took 6 years, 17 million dollars, and 13 sites to accomplish the task [7]. As a result of NIMH's vision and the hard work and meticulous attention to detail of the investigative team, the results are clearly worth the wait, and shed light on recent concerns about the efficacy and safety of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) for the treatment of adolescent depression. The study compared four treatment conditions: Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) plus fluoxetine, fluoxetine alone, CBT alone, and pill placebo. Subjects and investigators were blind as to medication status, whereas independent evaluators were blind to both medication and psychotherapy status. Subjects were mid-adolescents, 55 % female, 21 % ethnic minority, and with clinically significant disease, namely, with high rates of comorbidity and fairly severe degree of impairment [Children's Global Assessment Scale of around 50 and Children's Depression Rating Scale (CDRS-R) of around 60]. Although acute suicidality was an exclusion criterion,nevertheless,according to the self-reported Suicide Ideation Questionnaire, Jr., 29 % of subjects had clinically significant ideation upon study entry. Subjects assigned to the fluoxetine condition received six 20–30 min pharmacotherapy sessions over 12 weeks, with a starting dosage of 10 mg, increased to 20 mg at week 2, and an option to increase again to 40 mg at week 8. CBT was a manual-based, skills-focused treatment, which drew in part on previously demonstrated efficacious CBT treatment approaches [2, 6]. In addition, there were two parent-only sessions to provide psychoeducation about depression, and one to three parent-child conjoint sessions to address parent-child relationship issues. The study had two primary outcome measures, the CDRS-R, a continuous measure of depressive severity, and the more global Clinical Global Improvement score at the end of treatment (CGI-I). Two additional secondary, self-report measures were obtained, the Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale (RADS), and the Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire-Junior High School Version (SIQ-Jr.). Accepted: 8 February 2005


The "Annals of the Joseon Dynasty (朝鮮王朝實錄)" is the precious historical material which contains royal culture of Joseon dynasty as an official document. It kept a record of the diseases and treatments relating to the 27 Kings for a period of 518 years, who had a variety of different s...


In an experimental test of plant community invasibility, we introduced seeds of a native ruderal, California poppy (Eschscholzia californica). at fixed density into experimental plots in a California winter annual grassland. Each of the 42 plots, which ranged in size from 2 m 2 to 32 m 2 , had been studied for 4 yr previous to the introduction, with the common observation that a subset of plots of each size consistently held more species than others. It was primarily in these more species-rich plots that establishment and reproduction by the experimental invader occurred. Success of the invader per plot, measured as the total number of plants germinating, producing seeds, or perennating, varied with plot size, but the statistical contribution of plot size was secondary to that of local species number. Contributing variables were the extent of small mammal disturbance (positive) and the degree to which a single resident plant species (in particular, Bromus diandrus) dominated a plot (negative). In contrast to theories of competitive exclusion via niche partitioning, species-rich plots were more invasible.


Recently, cognitive radio technology has been a lot of attention to improve bandwidth efficiency. In this paper, we propose an adaptive bandwidth management scheme based on the mechanism design and negotiation theory. According to the user`s utility, QoS and trust value, the proposed scheme allocates total resources while dynamically controlling the selfish users. In addition, proposed scheme is able to make a control decision in a distributed manner. This approach can reduce the excessive number of operations and increased the primary user`s profit, it is practical for real world network operations. Simulation results show that the proposed scheme provides the excellent performance than the existing schemes.


.............................................................................................................................................. II ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......................................................................................................................III TABLE OF CONTENTS.......................................................................................................................... IV LIST OF FIGURES...................................................................................................................................VI LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................................................VIII CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION.............................................................................................................................1 1.1 Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome............................................................................................1 1.2 Human immunodeficiency virus .........................................................................................................1 1.3 HIV replication cycle................................................................................................................................3 1.4 The 5' untranslated region of HIV .....................................................................................................5 1.5 Dimerization through the 5'UTR in HIV..........................................................................................6 1.6 The C-box and G-box of HIV ..................................................................................................................7 1.6.1 The C-‐box and the G-‐box ...............................................................................................................................................7 1.6.2 The CGI in HIV....................................................................................................................................................................7 1.7 Translation ..................................................................................................................................................9 1.7.1 General ..................................................................................................................................................................................9 1.7.2 Regulators of translational initiation....................................................................................................................11 1.7.3 Types of translational initiation..............................................................................................................................13 1.7.4 HIV translation................................................................................................................................................................16 1.8 Hypotheses ................................................................................................................................................17 1.8.1 Specific Aim 1. Characterize the role of 5'UTR splicing in Gag production. .........................................17 1.8.2 Specific Aim 2. Characterize the sequence and/or base pairing requirements of the C-‐box and G-‐box. 18 CHAPTER TWO: A 5'UTR-‐SPLICED MRNA ISOFORM IS SPECIALIZED FOR ENHANCED HIV-‐2 GAG TRANSLATION .........................................................................................................................................................20 2.1 Abstract ......................................................................................................................................................21 2.2 Introduction..............................................................................................................................................22 2.3 MATERIALS AND METHODS ......................................................................................................................24 2.3.1 Plasmid construction ...................................................................................................................................................24 2.3.2 Cell culture and transfection ....................................................................................................................................25 2.3.3 Cell culture and infection ...........................................................................................................................................25 2.3.4 Protein isolation and analysis ..................................................................................................................................26 2.3.5 PBMC sample acquisition...........................................................................................................................................26 2.3.6 RNA isolation and analysis ........................................................................................................................................27 2.3.7 Luciferase template construction for in vitro transcription.......................................................................28 2.3.8 In vitro transcription ...................................................................................................................................................28 2.3.9 In vitro translation........................................................................................................................................................28 2.3.10 Luciferase assays.............................................................................................................................................................29 2.4 RESULTS........................................................................................................................................................29 2.4.1 5'UTR splicing of gag mRNA in cell culture ........................................................................................................29 2.4.2 5'UTR splicing of gag mRNA in PBMCs from HIV-‐2-‐infected persons ....................................................30 2.4.3 Effect of the 5'UTR intron on Gag production in cell culture......................................................................31 2.4.4 In vitro translation of luciferase mRNA harboring 5'UTR spliced or unspliced HIV-‐2 leaders...34 2.4.5 In vitro translation of luciferase mRNAs harboring serially truncated HIV-‐2 leaders....................35 2.4.6 In vitro translation of luciferase mRNAs harboring a mutated HIV 5'UTR leader............................36 2.4.7 HIV-‐2 C-‐box mutants in cell culture ......................................................................................................................37


This reinforcing strip (1) comprises an elongate textile element (10) in its longitudinal direction, has at least one free edge (12, 13) which is folded in an interior volume of the textile element so that the textile element has a longitudinal portion folded on itself (15, 16), which portion folded on itself forms, in use, one end of the reinforcement strip and is attached to a suture reported (20, 30) which is adapted to be secured to a bone. According to the invention, the textile element comprises or consists of, monofilaments and multifilaments son, which are interwoven with each other. The mechanical strength of the strip and its binding capacity, both primary and secondary, are enhanced.


Objective To determine whether the health of Porton Down volunteers (PDV) has suffered as a result of their participation in medical trials, during which they were exposed to single low dose concentrations of chemical warfare agents. Methods Data were obtained from a self-selected series of ex-Porton Down volunteers who attended the MOD's Porton Down Volunteers' Medical Assessment Programme (PDVMAP). One hundred and eleven men attended with a mean age of 62 (range 37-81) years. Information obtained was analysed to determine whether clinical diagnoses and symptoms reported had any relationship to chemical exposures. Results The diagnoses were not unusual for UK nationals with a mean age of 62 years. The majority of volunteers went to Porton Down in the 1950s and then had a mean age of 19. The mean time between volunteers attending Porton Down and coming to MAP was 42 years. We found no correlation between chemical exposures and later development of established diagnoses, a latent period of 30 years. Conclusion On a clinical basis, no evidence was found to support the hypothesis that participation in Porton Down trials produced any long-term adverse health effects or unusual patterns of disease compared to those of the general population of the same age.


The space vehicle with flexible appendage can be characterized as a multi-time scale nonlinear system with small perturbation parameters,while the condition is that most of existing control approaches are for multi-time scale linear system and require the model of the system known exactly.In order to solve the tracking problems of the space vehicle with flexible appendage with uncertainty,an adaptive controller based on fuzzy singularly perturbed system is designed,which includes three terms: feedback,adaptive and robust part.The feedback term is attained by the solution of LMI equations,the adaptive term is used to reduce the tracking error,and the robust term is to guarantee the stability of the closed-loop system.Lyapunov synthesis approach is used to prove the stability.The proposed controller can be applied into the tracking problem of multi-time scale nonlinear system.Since the uncertainty is alleviated by adaptive law,which can reduce the conservation when control law is used.The proposed controller is used to the tracking control of the space vehicle with flexible appendage and the simulations illustrate the effectiveness of it.


H Entertainment operates a highly diversified network of gambling facilities in the United States and the United Kingdom. This case introduces students to Harrah's use of price controls for hotel revenue management: how it works, how it integrates with Harrah's Total Rewards loyalty card, and how it might be changed. Within the context of a course on revenue management or service operations, the case can be used effectively to discuss principles of revenue management and to demonstrate the use of a number of quantitative analysis techniques to design and optimize revenue management systems.


This research has made use of the NASA/ IPAC Infrared Science Archive, which is operated by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. We thank our ESO colleagues at the Paranal observatory for their excellent collaboration.


An appropriateness study of the Malay version of the WISC-R was conducted on one hundred 11 year old
students (53 boys and 47 girls). Prior to the study, the WISC-R was systematically translated using the
back translation method with a panel of experts as moderators. From the results of the study, the
reliability index of the Malay version of the WISC-R is .91 and this coefficient is consistent with the
condition set for an individual standardised test. The score for each sub-tests too does not differ from
the data presented by the original WISC-R. Therefore, the Malay version of WISC-R is appropriate for use
as a measure of intelligence (IQ).


As pharmacists and as members of the South African Association of Hospital and Institutional Pharmacists, we:
Acknowledge the history of our country and that of our profession, and the need for the profession to strive for unity and avoid the crippling effects of fragmentation;
Honour those who have worked and suffered for the development of our profession;
Recognise the broad transformation process taking place in South African society at this time in our history;
Believe that we are united and strengthened by the diversity and challenges of our profession;
Adopt this constitution as the ultimate authority governing our association and its members.


In the article the key success factor in the e-commerce market, which is an adequate assessment of the effectiveness of management of innovative economic forms of entrepreneurship is analyzed. The types of areas that form the basis for the functioning and development of innovative economic forms of entrepreneurship, in particular – the field of e-commerce. The content and significance of each of these areas are described.


As for the settlement accidents of existing buildings, people pay more attention to the construction quality than the rationality of foundation design. This paper analyzes and discusses the problem of excessive settlement of existing buildings caused by unreasonable design based on three typical engineering cases. The conclusion is that as for the upper filled soil and lower soft soil foundation, the heavy tamping method is not suitable without auxiliary measures if the foundation settlement is strictly controlled; cement-soil mixing pile method is not suitable for high-rise buildings based on soft soil foundation; the foundation design should be based on deformation control when high compressibility soil layer exists, the pile body should penetrate the main compression deformation layer, and the pile end should fall on the good bearing stratum when using pile foundation or rigid pile composite foundation.


The utility model relates to a sink, in particular to a multifunctional sink, comprising a body. The body comprises a first notch, a second notch, two object slots used for placing the clean appliances, wherein, a plurality of water outlets are arranged both on the bottom of the first notch and the second notch; the water outlets are externally connected with a plurality of soft water pipes; the periphery of the soft water pipes close to the water outlets is fixed by an s-shaped syphon; a plurality of water outlets are arranged on the bottom of the object slots; the object slots are matched with an object supporter; the clean appliances can be arranged inside the object slots; the kitchen knife, the chopping block and other appliances can be arranged on the object supporter when exchange the object supporter, so as to save the space. The utility model has the advantages that: as the periphery of the soft water pipes close to the water outlets is fixed by the s-shaped siphon, the bended place can accumulate water to separate from the toxic gas and the peculiar smell in the public waterways.


Background: Over 300,000 babies are born worldwide with sickle cell disease, mostly in low- and middle-income countries with the majority of these births in Africa. Nigeria has the largest population of people with sickle cell disease with about 150,000 children born with the disease every year. This study assessed the knowledge, attitude and willingness to screen younger infants for sickle cell disease among mothers attending immunization clinic in an urban community in Lagos, Nigeria.Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out at primary health care centres in Somolu Local Government Area in Lagos, Nigeria. Two hundred and ninety-one mother-infant pairs were consecutively recruited from August 2019 to January 2020. Data were collected with a pre-tested, interviewer-administered questionnaire. The analysis was done using SPSS version 22 software. Univariate and bivariate analysis were conducted with the level of significance set at p<0.05.Results: The mean age of respondents was 29.9 ± 5.4 years. Most 212 (72.9%) were aware of sickle cell disease. One hundred and fifty-one (71.2%) of those who were aware of sickle cell disease had good knowledge while 148 (69.8%) had a positive attitude towards SCD prevention. Majority of the respondents 180 (84.9%) were willing to screen their infants for sickle cell disease. A statistically significant association was found between good knowledge and positive attitude towards SCD (p<0.001).Conclusion: There is the need for increased education of mothers of younger infants attending routine immunization clinic about SCD for better knowledge, attitude and willingness for early infants screening of SCD.


Because of its well capability in expressing the experts' knowledge and simulating the inference process of human being, fuzzy inference system is applied widely. However, people found soon that fuzzy inference system is not good at learning from data. Then the learnable neural network is combined with the fuzzy inference system to build the "Neuro-fuzzy System". There are some disadvantages in the traditional neuro-fuzzy systems, and to cop with those disadvantages, this paper provides a new neuro-fuzzy system. The new system using Mamdani type fuzzy rules avoids the disadvantages of being hard to incorporate experts' knowledge and hard to understand. In the second place, the new system uses discrete membership functions at the consequent parts of the IF-THEN rules. So, any original membership function can be approximated by a discrete membership function and the shape of the membership function can be adjusted in training procedure in turn. The new neuro-fuzzy system includes a fuzzy inference system and its one to one mapping neural network, and this paper also provides the RBF neural network based structural learning algorithm and the gradient-based parameters learning algorithm for the new system. This paper also successfully applied the new neuro-fuzzy system in several important problems of Intelligent Transportation Systems. With the development of control theory, the implementation of control algorithms more and more depends on the powerful computational systems. On the other hand, people are asking for smaller and simpler controller. Then the conflict of complex computation and simple implementation appears. To solve the conflict, "Local Simple Remote Complex" control principle is a pod choice. Two correspondent parts at local and remote fields are integrant parts to implement the "Local Simple Remote Complex" control principle. The local part should be simple and no need to be learnable, but the remote part should have well capability of learning and optimizing parameters used at the local part. This paper utilizes the one to one mapping characteristic of the new neuro-fuzzy system and puts the simple fuzzy inference system at the local field while puts the learnable complex neural network at the remote field. Remote neural network gets the training data from the local field and optimizes the parameters, which in turn, are sent back to the local fuzzy inference to optimize its performance. In the long run, the "Local Simple Remote Complex" control principle is implemented successfully


We have developed eight-DFB-LD-array WSLs having a novel integration structure that uses a selectively-grown microarray active waveguides directly connected to dry-etched passive waveguides. We have first demonstrated an entire coverage of 100-GHz-spaced 135 ITU-T grids over the S-, C-, and L-bands by using only six WSLs fabricated on two wafers. High device performances such as more than 15-nm /spl Delta//spl lambda/, P/sub f/ of over 9 mW, and an SMSR of more than 42 dB were also shown. The practical properties of the WSLs over the three bands will increase the transmission capability of multi band DWDM systems.


OBJECTIVE To develop a high-performance liquid chromatography for evaluating the bioequivalence of two nizatidine preparations in the healthy volunteers.METHODS A single oral dose of 300 mg nizatidine tablets and 300 mg nizatidine capsules was given to 20 healthy male volunteer in a randomized cross-over design.Nizatidine concentrations in plasma were determined by HPLC assay.RESULTS The pharmacokinetic parameters of nizatidine tablets and capsules were shown as follow:tmax(2.05±0.32) and(2.00±0.32) h,ρmax(2.04 ± 0.63) and(1.97 ± 0.69) mg·L-1,AUC0-12(7.50±1.49) and(7.23±1.52) mg·h·L-1,AUC0-inf(8.31±1.70) and(8.01±1.67) mg·h·L-1.CONCLUSION The two formulations were bioequivalent according to the statistical analysis.


Nowadays, to analyse and determine the maximum seismic lateral displacement for reinforced concrete (RC) structures, the most applicable procedure used by structural engineers is the nonlinear static (pushover) analysis. The nonlinear static procedure (NSP) is a common approach for analysing the seismic performance of construction structures. By directing this procedure, the weak points in each structural member can be examined, and it also determines whether the members are safe or need to rehabilitate. This process defines the level of performance and shear strength under seismic diffusion to construct each element of the structure. The displacement, the base shear, the plastic hinge model, and the effect of the different plan on seismic response of structures has been reported. When concentrating on the RC structures, it requires the ability to conduct lateral resistant force systems, which one of them is commonly known as moment-resisting frames (MRFs). In this paper, three models of RC structures considered for low-, medium-, and high-rise buildings were examined, and each model has been analysed for three different spans. These models have been analysed applying ETABS software by inputting and examining a wide range of structural parameters. A comprehensive study on the pushover curve, performance curve, among others have been performed. The aim of this study is to consider the effect of plastic hinges in various ranges of performance capacities to evaluate the elastic stiffness factor of structures


Entrepreneurial behavior of a farmer is influenced by several factors. A study was conducted during 2007 in Uttarakhand state to find out the factors influencing entrepreneurial behaviour of vegetable growers. The path analysis revealed that socio-economic status, caste, ability to coordinate farming activities and value orientation had direct effect on entrepreneurial behaviour of vegetable growers. Other variables viz. education, marketing facilities, sources of information utilization, training received and experience in farming influenced indirectly the entrepreneurial behaviour of vegetable growers.


This article describes a new concept in ventilation used in a 33-kilometer twin bore tunnel in Austria. A number of new tunnels are being constructed for increased rail traffic as a result of Austria's entrance into the European Community. The new ventilation system has been designed for the twin-bore Koralm tunnel. The article describes the ventilation system, which would pressurize the tube that is not involved in an incident, emergency refuge ventilation, air flow in the tube where an incident occurs, and the effect of train movement on the pressurization system. The article includes drawings and graphs illustrating how the new system works.


Abstract Background Many studies have reported on the estimation of the development of left ventricular dimensions in children by using two-dimensional echocardiography and formulated equations to evaluate normal cardiac dimensions. We reported that height is the most simple and useful index to evaluate the normal dimensions of the left ventricle in children. Disparities have been detected between the "normal" dimensions estimated from these formulae and real dimensions in infants less than 1 year of age and neonates, by using body weight or body surface area as an index. Our objective is to assess the normal size of left ventricular end-diastolic dimension in infants less than 1 year of age and neonates, including premature neonates, by two-dimensional echocardiography by using height as an index. Methods and results The study group consisted of 243 infants, 123 males, and 120 females without congenital cardiac disease. The regression equation for the relationship between left ventricular end-diastolic dimension (Y) and height was Y (millimetre) = 0.352 × height (centimetre) + 1.86 in mature neonates and infants with height of less than 75 centimetres, whereas that in premature neonates was Y (millimetre) = 0.495 × height (centimetre) − 5.43. No significant differences were observed in the infants on the basis of sex. Conclusions The regression equations reported in the previous studies cannot be applied to data obtained from infants. In addition, three different formulae, one for each group of infants by using height as an index can be usefully applied for practical purposes.


In this study, we made a new discharge source improving previous SPI source to ionize softly organic compounds. The new SPI source consists of two electrodes as a hollow mesh cathode of half cylindrical shape and a hollow anode. We optimized the geometrical parameter of the SPI source by investigating the I-V curves at the various distance between the cathode and the anode. As the results, we found stable conditions of the soft plasma on broad range of the current and the voltage. The new SPI source attached to quadrupole mass spectrometer (QMS), and we obtained the mass spectra of dichloromethane (DCM). The fragment patterns of DCM appeared similarly with the pattern of electron ionization (EI).


The rational treatment of invasive cervical carcinoma is still a matter for discussion. Radiotherapy is favoured in the Scandinavian countries especially by K o t t m ei e r who heads the Stockholm school. By individua1 assessment of dosage, this group has obtained a 5-year survival of 76 per cent in Stages I and I1 a. By surgical treatment of patients in the same stages A u g u s t C h r i s t e n s e n and his associates have been able to achieve a 5-year survival rate of 82.7 per cent in Stage I and of 55.8 per cent in Stage 11. Gor ton , in a series treated by primary radiotherapy and subsequent lymphadenectomy, obtained a 77 per cent 5-year survival in Stages I and 11. At the 13th congress of Scandinavian gynacologists in Lund, Sweden, on June 4-6, 1964, one of the main topics was the surgical and radiation treatment of invasive carcinoma of the uterine cervix (Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Vol. XLIII, supplement 2, 1964). As was to be expected the proceedings did not bring any final elucidation of the problem.


R EPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT in the West has depended on the middle class for its success. An alert, responsible and politically active group of business and professional men have manned the key posts in government in most western countries for the past century. The identity of the middle class with liberalism has generally been equally close. The middle class formulated and developed the liberal creed, and in spite of the increasing ambiguity of liberalism in the late nineteenth and in the twentieth century, the association between the middle class and liberalism persists. In German history the classic summary of the liberal program was the Bill of Rights of the Frankfurt Assembly of 1848. The principles of this document continued to inspire some members of the German middle class down to 1918, but a majority of German liberals compromised their ideals by embracing a fervent and often intolerant nationalism, militarism and governmental paternalism. There were few German middle class men before 1918 who were willing to agitate for true parliamentary government; rather than accept political responsibility the German liberal accepted the semi-authoritarian political system bequeathed to the German people by Bismarck.' The basis of middle-class faith in the German Empire collapsed, however, in November 1918. The army was defeated, the Emperor fled into exile, and then the power to create a new government was thrust on a National Assembly elected by universal suffrage in January 1919. The composition of the National Assembly seemed to indicate that the great mass of German voters had become supporters of democracy and liberal ideals. One of the clearest indications of a swing of the German middle class to the support of liberal democracy was the heavy vote given to the German Democratic party (Deutsche Demokratische Partei), the heir of the Progressive party (Fortschrittliche Volkspartei), the most genuine liberal party in Germany. The signs of January 1919, however, were not portents of things to come. The direction middle-class politics took was away from liberalism and democracy. The German Democratic party was soon abandoned by most of its middle-class electorate for more nationalistic and conservative parties. By 1930 it was a splinter party; the voice of Germany's liberal tradition was too faint to be heard. The rejection of the Democratic party was in many ways symbolic of the rejection of the Weimar Republic by the middle-class electorate. Its failures represent in microcosm the failures of German democracy. Its limitations reveal


A micromammalian assemblage from the Bahe Formation of Lantian, Shaaxi, China is reported in the present paper. This Bahe association consists of 17 species referred to ten families, of which at least one third are new genera of Dipodidae, Cricetidae and incertae familiae, and two genera are new for the fossil record in China (Abudhabia and Progonomys). It seems likely that the rodent component shows a mixture of elements found elsewhere in European, African and Asian rodent faunas. The association represents a new step in the sequence of micromammalian faunas of the Chinese Neogene, with an age of early late Miocene (early Baodean, correlated, in European terms, with late Vallesian-early Turolian or MN9-11 equivalent). The Bahe association reflects a generally drier open steppic environment during the early late Miocene than that which characterized earlier and later intervals.


. L'Illustrazione Italiana , the magazine founded in 1873 by Emilio Treves, has been the focus of research mainly concerning political, military and social history. There is no shortage of contributions on the history of illustration and photography or collaborators of a certain importance, but much remains to be explored on museological problems.


This article reviews the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children, particularly as it relates to its use with the gifted. The article provides an overview of the test, followed by a discussion of its technical characteristics, the theoretical and research model on which it is based, the issue of cultural bias, its procedure for comparing cognitive performance and academic achievement, and the predictive validity of the test for academic achievement. The paper concludes by summarizing the test's characteristics that should be considered when using it to assess gifted students.


In order to study the deformation,mechanical mechanism and failure character of highway in strike-slip active fault environment,a finite element geology model was designed to analyze the effect induced by changing the movement of active fault,width of active fault and separation angle between highway and active fault.Then,the failure modes of highway in strike-slip active fault environment were studied,and the structure mechanics method which was used to calculate the deformation and stress of highway in strike-slip active fault environment was put forward.The result shows that the highway in strike-slip active fault environment is bended and sheared in cross direction,and two sides of highway are in tension and compression states.The change of strike-slip displacement of active fault results in change of the value of deformation and stress of highway except for their distribution characters.The change of separation angle between highway and active fault and the width of active fault result in great change of deformation and shear stress distribution characters except for their general ranges.Based on deformation and mechanical character of highway in strike-slip active fault environment,the failure modes of highway in strike-slip active fault environment can be generalized as sheared failure and tension-compression failure.


The design of yoke feeding system is a great challenge in the progress of the T90 core riveting machine design because of the specific structure of T90 relay' yoke. We designed a feeding system for the T90 core riveting machine in this article, including the program design of the feeding system and the design of the auto-feeding vibration plate > the yoke pushing component and the finger cylinder component. Finally we successfully solved the difficulty of the yoke feeding system for the T90 core riveting machine.


Dear Editor, I read with great interest the article reported from a general hospital on the reduction of delirium by switching from benzodiazepine receptor agonist (BRA) to orexin receptor antagonist (ORA). The use of ORA has also been reported to reduce the incidence of delirium in critically ill patients. However, in clinical practice, BRAs are prescribed to the elderly at high rates, causing delirium. Among BRAs, zolpidem is one of the most frequently used hypnotics in Japan. We conducted a case–control study to determine the effect of long-term preoperative use of zolpidem on the development of postoperative delirium in elderly patients with femoral neck fractures. Cases and controls were patients aged 75 years or older who underwent osteosynthesis or prosthesis replacement for proximal femoral fractures. Cases were diagnosed as postoperative delirium using The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition. The control group consisted of patients who did not develop postoperative delirium. Patients who were taking multiple sleeping pills, antipsychotic medications prior to surgery, or who had delirium prior to surgery were excluded. The primary exposure was receiving zolpidem for more than 6 months prior to surgery. Possible confounding factors included age, gender, use of ORAs, cognitive function, hypoalbuminemia, anaemia, and hyponatremia. Cognitive function was measured using Hasegawa's Dementia Scale-Revised (HDS-R). The crude odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI), and number needed to harm (NNH) were calculated. Statistical analysis was performed by chisquare test. This study was approved by the ethics committee of Sunlight Brain Research Center, and informed consent was obtained in the form of an optout on the hospital bulletin board.


The emission peak of Mn 2+ ions in calcium fluoro-chlorophosphates shifts to longer wavelength with a ratio of fluorine to chlorine ions. From optical and EPR experiments, This is explained qualitatively to be due to a change of distribution of Mn 2+ ions over two non-equivalent calcium lattice sites. The splitting factors were evaluated for both Mn 2+ ions occupying these calcium sites; for the Mn 2+ ions in a trigonal field, g // =2.001±0.001, g ⊥ =2.000±0.001, D =±(439.6±1.0) gauss, a – F =+7.8±1.0 gauss, A =±(97.6±1.0) gauss, B =±(91.3±1.0) gauss, and for the Mn 2+ ions in an equivalent orthorhombic field near halogen ions, g =1.999, D =±497.2 gauss, E =±11.7 gauss, A =±88.6 gauss, on the assumption of isotropy in the g-factor.


In this article, state of practice for production systems refers to the kinds of operations being performed today, in 600 + ft of water in the North Sea and up to 1,000 ft of water in milder environments. State of the art, as used in this article, refers to those structures, systems, tools, and devices in design, development, and test phases for water depths greater than those covered in state of practice. The definition for deepwater changes as technology advances, but is chosen to be about 10,000 ft for purposes of this article. In discussing the technical feasibility of various systems, no consideration has been given to economics, and no system is termed better than another. The only question is whether or not a system is capable of getting the job done.


Soil phosphorus (P) calibration for optimum wheat (Triticum aestivum) yield was conducted by uniformly applying a pre-determined optimum nitrogen fertilizer level of 138 kg ha -1 with 0, 46, 92, 138 and 184 kg P2O5 ha -1 in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Phosphorus fertilizer was applied three weeks before planting and was incubated under the soil. Soil samples from 0-20 cm depth were taken before and after incubation for Olsen's extractable P analysis. The soil analyses results showed that 13.4 kg P2O5 ha -1 is required to raise the soil test P level by 1 mg kg -1 . While, the agronomic data analyses revealed highly significant (P<0.01) differences in the yields of wheat due to application of P fertilizer. The regression analyses of the soil test P after incubation with yield indicated a significant (P<0.05) and strong quadratic (r=0.54) relation between grain yield and soil test P. Accordingly, the critical soil test P (Pc) level based on the Cate-Nelson graphical model was found to be 11.0 mg kg -1 . Thus, the equation developed for the P fertilizer recommendation (Pr) for wheat was found to be Pr (kg P2O5 ha -1 ) = (11.0-Po) x 13.4, where Po is the soil test P level.


Executive SummaryIf you order red snapper at a restaurant, you should get red snapper. If you found out it was something else, you would rightly be angry. But what if you also found out that the fish you ate may have been caught illegally, or had been imported when you thought it was caught locally? Seafood mislabeling can also cover up fish caught or raised with fishing or farming methods that can harm the environment. Overfished species can be labeled as more abundant varieties and cheaper offerings can be sold as more expensive ones to fetch a higher price. Seafood fraud cheats consumers and hurts fishermen and businesses that play by the rules.To highlight and address these problems, Oceana has investigated seafood fraud since 2010, testing more than 1,500 samples for DNA identification. In these studies, Oceana found roughly one-third of samples tested were mislabeled. Oceana brought this issue to the public's attention and urged the government to act.In 2014, the federal government established the Task Force on Combating Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing and Seafood Fraud. The task force issued recommendations that ultimately led to the establishment of the Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP) in 2018. SIMP requires catch reporting and traceability for 13 types of imported seafood at risk of seafood fraud and illegal fishing. However, the traceability requirements end at the U.S. border.To expose gaps in the current policy, Oceana launched a nationwide investigation of some popular seafood types not covered by the program. Oceana employees and volunteers collected more than 400 samples from over 250 locations in 24 states and the District of Columbia, including restaurants, large grocery stores and smaller markets. Despite the new program, Oceana discovered seafood mislabeling remains a problem in the United States.Key Findings:• One out of every 5 of the 449 fish tested (21 percent) were mislabeled.• Some of the most commonly collected seafood types in the study, sea bass and snapper, had the highest rates of mislabeling (55 and 42 percent, respectively).• One out of 3 establishments visited sold at least one item of mislabeled seafood.• Seafood was more frequently mislabeled at restaurants and smaller markets than at the larger chain grocery stores.• Some popular regional favorites, such as local Great Lakes yellow perch, were found to be imported fish like zander, a species from Europe and Asia.• Some depleted fish species that are not sustainably caught were labeled and sold as more sustainable fish (e.g. overfished Atlantic halibut sold as more abundant Pacific halibut).Seafood fraud remains an issue, including for many species that are not covered by the federal traceability regulations. Oceana recommends that those rules be expanded, requiring catch documentation detailing when, where and how a fish was caught or farmed for all seafood. This and other important information should follow the fish through every step of the supply chain from where it was caught to the final point of sale. Consumers should be provided with more information about the seafood they eat, including exactly which species they purchased. This is the only way U.S. consumers can know that their seafood is safe, legally caught and honestly labeled.


The timely recognition of fetal macrosomia may reduce the complications associated with vaginal delivery of a macrosomic fetus. Today, the most frequently used tool for identification of fetal macrosomia is ultrasound. Although many different calculations have been applied, the most commonly used is the estimation of fetal weight. Generally, the detection rate for fetal macrosomia is 33–82%, with a specificity of 70–100%, a positive predictive value of 40–83%, and negative predictive value of 66–92%. Adding amniotic fluid volume, cheek-to-cheek diameter or fetal subcutaneous tissue:femur length ratio may improve the accuracy of the diagnosis. Other promising diagnostic tools include the echo-planar imaging and the neural network. Despite the progress that has been achieved since the use of Nagele's rule, our ability to detect fetal macrosomia remains limited.


Robotics is a technology that is utilised tremendously in industrial and commercial applications. Different types of robots are designed to fulfill the human needs. The aim of the work presented in this paper is to simulate a robotic hand that emulate the shape and performance of a human hand (i.e. palm and fingers section). The robotic hand comprises of five fingers, which each of them has three degree of freedom (DOF) and 2 DOF for the thumb. This robotic hand simulation is divided into three main parts. The main objective is to design a three dimensional graphic of a robotic hand and its movement animation that imitates the movement of a human hand. This graphic design is then used as a foundation to find the kinematics and dynamic properties of the robotic hand. The end result is a robotic hand simulation that comes with analyses of the kinematics and dynamic properties.


Antitussive action and general pharmacological properties were comparatively examined in narcotine derivatives, especially the steric isomers, i.e., l-α-and l-β-narcotine, and their N-oxides. l-β-Narcotine showed better antitussive effect than l-α-narcotine by chemical and mechanical stimulation methods using guinea pigs. The N-oxides of both l-α-and l-β-narcotines had better action than thier original salts and the antitussive action of l-β-narcotine N-oxide was more effective than that of dihydrocodeine when tested by the mechanical stimulation method. Both l-α-and l-β-narcotines showed some activity in tests of anti-acetylcholine action on frog rectus abdominis muscle, respiration and blood pressure of rabbits, relaxation and histamine antagonizing action on guinea pig smooth muscle, and acute toxicity of mice. These compounds had no effect of increasing the analgesic action in combination with morphine, inhibition of intestinal propulsion in mice, or constipative action. N-oxides of both l-α- and l-β-narcotines had weak or entirely no effect in these tests, except for a marked antitussive action and relaxation of tracheal muscle in comparatively high dosage.


Objective: To study the effect of B cell-specific murine leukemia virus integration site-1 (BMI-1) gene expression inhibited by RNA interference on doxorubicin (Dox) -resistance of hepatocellular carcinoma cells, and to explore its related molecular mechanism.Methods: The Dox-resistant MHCC-97H cell line was established and named as 97H/Dox, while the parental MHCC-97H cell line (named as 97H) was used as the control. The drug-resistance, cell colony-forming capacity and invasive ability were measured by MTT method, cell colony formation assay and in vitro Transwell invasive experiment, respectively. The mRNA and protein levels of tumor-related genes were detected by real-time fluorescent quantitative-PCR (RFQ-PCR) and Western blotting. Then the small interference RNA (siRNA) targeting BMI-1 gene (BMI-1-siRNA) was transfected into 97H/Dox and 97H cells. After BMI-1 gene silencing, the changes of Dox-resistance of 97H/Dox and 97H cells were detected by MTT method, and the change of expressions of tumor-related proteins in 97H cells was detected by Western blotting.Results: The 97H/Dox cell line had a stable multiple-drug resistance, and its colony formation capacity was higher than that of the control cell line 97H (P < 0.05). The levels of BMI-1, ATP-binding cassette superfamily G member 2 (ABCG2) and matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) were significantly increased in 97H/Dox cells compared with those in the control 97H cells (all P < 0.05). Knockdown of BMI-1 gene by siRNA significantly increased the sensitivity to Dox in 97H/Dox and 97H cells (both P < 0.05), and resulted in a significant reduction of the expression levels of phospho-Akt (p-Akt), phospho-c-Jun N-terminal kinase (p-JNK) and ABCG2 in 97H cells (all P < 0.05).Conclusion: The upregulation of BMI-1 gene expression may be involved in the acquisition of Dox-resistance in hepatocellular carcinoma 97H cells. Inhibition of BMI-1 expression can enhance the sensitivity to Dox in hepatocellular carcinoma cells. Therefore, interfering the expression of BMI-1 gene may be a potential strategy for enhancing the response to chemotherapy in treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma. DOI:10.3781/j.issn.1000-7431.2015.11.744


The importance of the relationship between the integration of sensory inputs and motor actions has given rise to large number of researches that have demonstrated how it is a necessary function not only for good academic performance but also for a proper development of the organizational thinking. The ability of sensory-motor integration is today recognized a central role in the integral formation of the subject (Viviani, Stucchi 1992). The Italian National Guidelines for the curriculum of primary school of 2012 require the achievement of motor skills related to balance and motor coordination as one of the goals for skill development at the end of primary school, measurable through a different use of evaluation tools. Among the several motor assessment tests recognised by the international scientific community, the Oseretzky-Guilmain test could be considered among evaluation tools for the possible detection of the psychomotor age, referring in detail to three categories such as: "balancing" on one leg; "staying" with your eyes closed on your toes and "jumping" on one leg. The Salerno research group conducted a field research involving a sample of 320 children, aged 6-8, whose only the half part practicing sport (dance), who were given Oseretzky-Guilmain tests represents a valid instruments of assessing the general coordination and balance and their constitutive elements. The aim of the research has highlighted the importance of an use of motor evaluation assessment in the primary school that is required to bring out potentialities and plurality of limits of each pupil, which are essential for effective customized teaching planning of educational act. It has been shown that children practicing sport-dance in our study case, pass the above tests easier than those ones not doing any physical exercises.


This paper describes the development of a numerical model which allows the plasticity index of a fine-grained soil to be calculated from the results of the liquid limit test only. Because it is not necessary to determine the plastic limit in the laboratory, analytical time can be saved, and the risk of introducing further error into the plasticity index calculation can be reduced. The plasticity index of a soil is a fundamental geotechnical characterisation test. It defines the range of moisture content at which the soil exists in a plastic state, between the liquid limit, where the soil acts as a fluid, and the plastic limit, where the soil begins to behave as a brittle solid. British Standard BS 1377:1990 describes two methods for determining the liquid limit, the Casagrande cup method and the largely superseded cone penetrometer method. The plastic limit is determined by rolling the soil sample into a thread on a glass plate, under light pressure. The paper's table outlines the development of the numerical model, and illustrates the shortcomings of each of the equations of the model. A more accurate revised equation is then introduced. A table shows the frequencies and magnitudes of the model's predictive errors.


Abstract Background: Oral carcinomas (OCs) make up a significant proportion of head and neck carcinomas (HNCs) and are an important cause of morbidity and mortality globally. The purpose of this population-based study was to determine trends in incidence and survival in OC in the Danish population from 1980 to 2014. Material and methods: This study covered all patients registered in the nationwide Danish cancer registry (DCR) in the period 1980–2014. Age-adjusted incidence rate (AAIR) per 100,000 and annual percentage change (APC) were evaluated. Also, 5-year overall survival (OS) was calculated with Cox regression analysis in relation to location, gender, age, and calendar year at diagnosis. Results: Altogether, 8299 patients with oral cancer were identified, 5062 (61%) of whom were males and 3237 (39%) were females. The median age at diagnosis was 63 years. The AAIR of patients with OC increased from 1.9 per 100,000 in 1980 to 3.5 per 100,000 in 2014, and we observed a significant increase in 5-year OS of 12% points (a relative increase of 38%) from the period 1980–1984 to 2005–2009. Women were found to have a better prognosis than men. Conclusions: We found an unexpected increase in the age-standardized incidence of OC during the last 30 years in Denmark, and also an improvement in survival. The 5-year OS was significantly better in recent years even when we adjusted the analysis for relevant covariates.


© 2018 Nineteenth-Century Gender Studies, Edited by Stacey Floyd and Melissa Purdue. First published in Nineteenth-Century Gender Studies, ISSUE 14.2 (FALL 2018) Special Issue: Making Masculinity: Craft, Gender and Material Production in the Long Nineteenth Century: http://ncgsjournal.com/issue142/issue142.htm


The principal load-carrying members of the diamond-shape truss form traveler are kinds of member elements. The type of the traveler can make full advantage of material performance, is structurally light, clear in load carrying capacity and easy to be assembled, disassembled and fixed. In this paper, the design and construction of the traveler used for Luweiqiao Bridge on the west route of Guangzhou-Zhuhai Expressway are described.


The study that we present takes as aim the reflection about the intellectual and social function that holds at present the pedagogy, so much in his investigative aspect and to discipline as professional. For it, we oppose what is the official pedagogy, more docile in the acceptance of political and administrative slogans, to the unofficial pedagogy that we claim that it is more critical, rigorous and alternative to approach -with more guarantees- the complex problems that the educational processes suffer in an epoch of crisis an manifests economic cut.


Background & Aims : The process of motherhood affects the marital relationship and the mother's attachment to the fetus. Therefore, the present study was designed and conducted to determine the quality of marital relationship and its relationship with maternal-fetal attachment in wanted and unwanted pregnancies. Materials & Methods : This descriptive-analytical comparative study was performed on 150 mothers with wanted and unwanted pregnancies referred to health centers in Zanjan in 2017. Data collection tools included demographic information checklist, Glasser Marital Relationship Quality Questionnaire, and Cranley Fetal Attachment Questionnaire (CMFAS). Data were analyzed by appropriate statistical tests (ANOVA, Kruskal – Wallis , Chi-Square , Spearman, Pearson) using SPSS 16 software . Results : The total score of marital destructive behaviors in wanted pregnancies was lower than unintended and unwanted pregnancies (p˂0.001), results show that the quality of marital relations was favorable. The total score of maternal -fetal attachment in wanted pregnancies was higher than unintended and unwanted pregnancies and this difference between the groups was statistically significant (p˂0.001). There was also an inverse relationship between destructive behaviors of marriage and maternal attachment to the fetus in all three groups of wanted pregnancy (r=-0.98, p = 0.49), unintended pregnancy (r = -0.341, p ˂0.001), and unwanted pregnancy (r=-0.456, p = 0.015). Conclusion : Reducing the destructive behaviors of marriage can lead to an increase in the mother's attachment to the fetus in unwanted pregnancies and consequently improve the mother and child's mental health.


Cellular, chemical, and physical elements define a specialized three-dimensional (3D) bone marrow niche that regulates lineage commitment, and the release of mature blood cells into the bloodstream. Leading studies point to the erythroblastic islands as the core of erythropoiesis. The extracorporeal generation of physiologically relevant models of the bone marrow is central to multiple healthcare challenges including studying the mechanisms of human erythropoiesis in physiological and pathological conditions, drug screening at an individual scale, and production of red blood cells on-demand. Different bioengineering techniques have been developed, aiming at the mass production of erythrocytes in vitro. Tough, extrapolating the 3D structure and function of the erythroblastic islands is challenging.


Undergraduates were given material to be learned from a lecture, a transcript of the lecture, or a written text based on the lecture. Performance on a multiple-choice examination 1 wk. after original learning was the criterion. Predictor variables were sampled from the person, environment, and behavior domains of influence. A coordinated sequence of multivariate procedures was applied to the data. Differences in the person and behavior domains were associated with differences in criterion performance; differences in environment were not. Enhanced learning from text and lecture was associated with high motivation, high ability, extended studying, active studying, and with encountering a preferred performance measure. Study activities were interpreted as catalyst for both motivation and ability.


Summary form only given. The Conquest file system is designed to provide a transition from disk- to persistent-RAM-based storage. Initially, we assume 2 to 4 Gbytes of persistent RAM and the popular single-user desktop environment. Unlike other memory file systems, Conquest can incrementally assume more responsibility for in-core storage as memory prices decline. The Conquest approach realizes most of the benefits of persistent-RAM-based file systems before persistent RAM becomes cheaply abundant. Conquest also benefits from the removal of disks as the primary storage by identifying disk-related complexities and isolating them from the critical path where possible. The Conquest prototype is operational under Linux 2.4.2. It is POSIX compliant and supports both in-core and on-disk storage.


Researchers at NASA GRC are confronting the seal durability challenges of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells by pursuing an integrated and multidisciplinary development effort incorporating thermo-structural analyses, advanced materials, experimentation, and novel seal design concepts. The successful development of durable hermetic SOFC seals is essential to reliably producing the high power densities required for aerospace applications.


Alkylation of benzene with bioethanol (95% and 100% concentration) has been done in a laboratory tubular reactor using a new modified zeolitic catalyst. The alkylation experiments have been done at different reaction temperatures , pressures and benzene/bioetanol molar ratio in order to establish their influence on the final composition of the reaction product, selectivity and conversion. The feed and products are analysed by gas chromatography. There was small differences between 100% bioethanol and 95% bioethanol aqueous solution in experimental alkylation results that it possible to use 95% bioethanol solution as alkylating agent


The purpose of this work is to design novel antenna array topologies that maximize the energy efficiency (EE) in multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) wireless systems. To provide insights into EE optimization issues, the particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm is employed as an effective technique. First, we adopt a flexible and generalized three-dimensional (3D) angle of arrival (AOA) model to account for realistic propagation environments. Then we derive a novel closed-form spatial correlation function (SCF) relevant to the locations of antenna array elements in the 3D space. In this paper, we incorporate our SCF into the EE derivation and apply the PSO algorithm to find the optimal antenna array topology in space that maximizes the EE. The derived EE is significantly higher compared to existing state-of-the art research that employed an exponential SCF. We provide new insights into EE maximization for antenna arrays, where the simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness and usefulness of the proposed approach.


It is well known that under the above assumptions the operator G has a self-adjoint realization, which will be again denoted by G, in the Hubert space H=L\R'; c{x)dx). Note also that it follows from the assumption (b)2 that the operator G is elliptic. By Go we shall denote the self-adjoint realization of the Laplacian Δ in the Hubert space H0=L (R). It is well known that, under the above assumptions, the scattering matrix corresponding to the pair {G, Go} admits a meromorphic continuation to the entire complex plane C. Let {λy} be the poles of this continuation, repeating according to multiplicity, and set


It is well-known that the reduction of fertility and mortality rates and their impact on age composition brings about significant improvements in health conditions throughout the country. A reduction in the proportion of the youth population and an absolute and relative increase in elderly people produce demographic and socioeconomic consequences. One important consequence is related to health demands. The growing number of elderly persons and this implications for the construction of a new epidemiological profile for health care characterises a period of epidemiological transition in which infecto-parasitic diseases coexist with an increase in chronic degenerative diseases [Baer, Campino and Cavalcanti (2000)]. This is reflected in changes in the structure of hospital care and in the increase in hospital costs. This study examines the prevalence of morbidity in the over 60 years of age Brazilians, using hospitalisations in the Single Health System [Sistema Unico de Saude (SUS)] as proxy. This chapter aims to illustrate the pattern of hospital morbidity of elderly Brazilians.


Charge Trap Transistor One Time Programmable Memories were introduced in 14nm as a secure non-volatile memory. This paper highlights some of the test features and complexities that were modeled in a Verilog behavioral model.


The water environmental problem is destruction and pollution caused by highway construction in karst area.From the field investigations along highways of Guiyang-Zunyi,Guiyang-Xinzhai and Guiyang-Huangguoshu,there are six types of water environment destruction caused by highway construction.They are chang of flow direction,stop of the source of groundwater supply,cut of the passage of the groundwater,composite groundwater enviroment destruction and two phases of water environment destruction and water pollation caused by highway construction.The corresponding countermeasures are also presented in the paper.


In this paper, we investigate the issue of financial constraints to innovation in SMEs in Italy with respect to the future changes in the banking system, which will be driven by the adoption of the new version of the Basel Capital Accord, scheduled to be implemented after 2006. The study is based on firm-level data from the Mediocredito survey (2004). The availability of a qualitative indicator of financial constraints allows us to estimate possible determinants of credit rationing. Our empirical analysis is twofold: first, we implement a probit model in order to observe if the indicators of R&D intensity exert a significant impact on the probability of being denied credit. After deriving these results, which in general suggest a weak effect of the variables accounting for R&D intensity on the probability of a firm declaring the need of additional financial resources, we perform a simulation on the potential impacts of the adoption of the Basel II capital requirements by Italian banks on lending conditions to small and medium enterprises involved in product innovation.


Sandcastle worms are pretty good chemists. Without advanced degrees, they have figured out how to biosynthesize glue components they use to build their underwater tubular shelters. Inspired by the worms, Russell J. Stewart of the University of Utah and coworkers are creating similar adhesives that might be used to make in utero surgery safer or to block blood vessels that feed tumors. "It's a classic example of borrowing successfully from nature," comments biomedical sealants specialist Jeffrey M. Karp of Brigham & Women's Hospital, in Boston. When doctors examine or perform surgery on developing fetuses, the amniotic membranes that protect fetuses in the womb can rupture. The membranes often fail to heal, so the procedures carry a significant risk of preterm delivery. Existing medical adhesives fall short in addressing this surgical problem. Some adhesives swell too much when they cure and may cause further damage. Others "are ineffective in the flexible, ...