Background: Nod factor perception (NFP) protein is a plant, lysin motif receptor-like kinase. Results: Disulfide bridges that connect the three extracellular lysin motifs and the intracellular dead-kinase domain are essential for NFP function. Conclusion: Post-translational modifications are required for NFP folding, trafficking, and functioning. Significance: Structural information will help to determine NFP biochemical function. The lysin motif receptor-like kinase, NFP (Nod factor perception), is a key protein in the legume Medicago truncatula for the perception of lipochitooligosaccharidic Nod factors, which are secreted bacterial signals essential for establishing the nitrogen-fixing legume-rhizobia symbiosis. Predicted structural and genetic analyses strongly suggest that NFP is at least part of a Nod factor receptor, but few data are available about this protein. Characterization of a variant encoded by the mutant allele nfp-2 revealed the sensitivity of this protein to the endoplasmic reticulum quality control mechanisms, affecting its trafficking to the plasma membrane. Further analysis revealed that the extensive N-glycosylation of the protein is not essential for biological activity. In the NFP extracellular region, two CXC motifs and two other Cys residues were found to be involved in disulfide bridges, and these are necessary for correct folding and localization of the protein. Analysis of the intracellular region revealed its importance for biological activity but suggests that it does not rely on kinase activity. This work shows that NFP trafficking to the plasma membrane is highly sensitive to regulation in the endoplasmic reticulum and has identified structural features of the protein, particularly disulfide bridges involving CXC motifs in the extracellular region that are required for its biological function.


The objective of this paper is to study the effect of shot peening on components made of Aluminum (Al2024) material. Shot peening is one of the process to optimize fatigue life of component. The FEA model was developed for assessing the effect of shot size, velocity, angle and distance on compressive stresses induced in the component. The compressive stress induced inside the component increase the fatigue life of material. The model was validated using physical experimentation. The residual stresses were measured using hole-drilling strain gauge method and fatigue life was estimated using 3-point bending test.


By applying the DEFORM-2D software,the sheet precision stamping process is analyzed through the finite-element method.The pros and cons of the process parameters such as the gaps of the punch and die,the cutting edge fillet of the die and the location and height of the pressure edge ring gear are analyzed by quality factors of the precision stamping sheet,such as the light belt length of the shear surface,the width and depth of the collapse angle,rag,and so on.Then the optimum process parameters are obtained.Under the condition of the optimum process parameters,the light belt length of the sheet shear surface is twice than before,which satisfies the requirements of the precision stamping process basically,and provides references for the fine blanking and mold designs.


The current search tools for retrieving information on the WWW are not suitable for building customized information repositories because these search tools are designed for general users with the result of only an unstructured collection of documents. We present a personal digital library capable of efficiently retrieving information on the World Wide Web. We adopt several new strategies to overcome the shortcomings of current tools. The first strategy, classification, merges and organizes the retrieved documents to put them in a structural hierarchical frame. The second strategy, user profile, saves time and bandwidth for the access of the documents and permits the users to build their own customized category structure. The third strategy, multi-search, capitalizes on the power of multiple search engines to broaden the domains of information sources and alleviate the overloading of a single search engine. Furthermore we derive in detail the techniques for speeding up the iterative process of clustering.


The authors describe a simplified RGB- gamma signal processing system with a single-chip CCD (charge-coupled device) imager and two BiCMOS LSIs, which led to the realization of a compact camera with good color reproduction. Two ICs, a signal processing IC and an imager drive IC, were developed. Adopting this simplified system, a CCD camera was realized which is small in size, free from aliasing, and excellent in color reproduction. >


methanol whi 盈e there is only weak inhibiting e丘ect wi 亡h other low ignitability fuels. This i1 ユhib三ting effect of ethanol is due to sign 面cant reductions in OH radical and peroxides including HO2 and H ,02 befQre the onsets of bw temperature oxidation . The inhiblt1ng effect of ethanol on the low tempera ・ ture oxidation alsQ supPresses 七he ternperature rise a ' fter the lo圦・temperature oxidation , resulting in retarded high temperature ox 至dation. The beat release with low temperature oxidation decreases with increaslng ethanol energy fraction and disappears at 30% ethanol . The onset of high tempera ・ ture oxidatiDn can be controlled by the ethanol fraction as the delay period increases linearly with the increase in ethanol . As the mol fraction  of OI−I radicals ut the onset and end of the low temperature 〔,xidation are around 1 一7 almost irrespective of temperature , the condition where the OH radical exGeeds lO − 『 s necessary for low temperature oxidation t(⊃ progress. W 圭th ethanol


The vertebrate homeobox genes Msx‐1 and Msx‐2 are related to the Drosophila mshgene and are expressed in a variety of tissues during embryogenesis. We have examined their expression by in situ hybridisation during critical stages of cardiac development in the chick from stages 15 + to 37. Msx‐1 expression is apparent in a number of non‐myocardial cell populations, including cells undergoing an epithelial to mesenchymal transformation in the atrioventricular and the outflow tract regions that play an integral role in heart septation and valve formation. Msx.2 expression is restricted to a distinct subpopulation of myocardial cells that, in later stages, coincides morphologically with the cardiac conduction system. The timing of Msx‐2 expression suggests that it plays a role in conduction system tissue formation and that it identifies precursor cells of this specialised myocardium. The pattern of Msx‐2 expression is discussed with reference to current models of conduction tissue development. © 1993 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Beliefs and practices regarding autism were explored in Indian families living outside India. Parents (N = 24) of children (3 to 15 years) with an autism spectrum disorder wrote open-ended answers in an online questionnaire regarding their beliefs about causes, treatments and services received, use of and preference for Indian medicine and practices, and acculturation. Although two participants did not provide enough answers to be categorized, three groups of parents emerged: Those who were primarily Western (n = 4) in their beliefs and practices concerning autism, those who were primarily Indian (n = 4), and those who endorsed a combination of Western and Indian beliefs and practices (n = 14). Most parents acknowledged traditional beliefs and practices only when specifically asked and did not volunteer this information. Professionals need to avoid assuming there is a universal set of attitudes and practices related to autism when working with culturally diverse families.


Photovoltaic power generation has become the main research direction of new energy power generation. But high investment and low efficiency of photovoltaic industry arouse concern in some extent. So maximum power point tracking of photovoltaic power generation has been a popular study point. Due to slow response, oscillation at maximum power point and low precision, the algorithm based on genetic algorithm combined with BP neural network are designed detailedly in this paper. And the modeling and simulation are completed by use of MATLAB/SIMULINK. The results show that the algorithm is effective and the maximum power point can be tracked accurately and quickly.


In this paper a subarea of biomechanics in solid mechanics of lungs is described with the intention of familiarizing those working in the broad field of solid and structural mechanics so that they may explore this new and fascinating field of study. The materials contained in this paper are organized into four parts. First the functional anatomy of the respiratory system is briefly introduced. It is then followed by analysis of the properties and modeling of lung tissue. Next, some recent studies of lung elasticity problems are presented. Finally, consideration is given on potential research directions of this new and challenging field in biomechanics.


The initial research question for this study asked whether single women were having their employment needs met by the union in a university setting. Twelve single women who were members of a union at a university participated in semi-structured interviews about their experiences with the union. To the surprise of the researcher, the single women interviewed felt they had no needs. Drawing from feminist literature on the social construction of gender, this analysis argues that because of the patriarchal nature of our culture, women were raised to be mindful of other's needs and not their own, which made it difficult for participants to identify their own needs.


In this paper image mining concepts have been used for the diagnosis of the infected cells from the medical images. It manages the certain information extraction, picture information relationship and different examples which are not unequivocally put away in the pictures. This procedure is an expansion of information mining to picture area. Though the medical images are diagnosed using CT-scan and CAD (computer aided diagnosis) nearly 10-30% of the affected cells are not predicted but using this technique the medical images can be clearly diagnosed.


This paper studied the representation of time series. The signal and the noise separated by wavelet analysis, the whole data sampling was divided into many continuous intervals, in which the signal was monotone. Each interval was fitted by n-degree polynomial and its eigenvector was made up of the coefficients of the polynomial, its width and signal noise ratio (SNR). The eigenvectors of continuous intervals constituted an eigenvector sequence, which could represent the whole sampling. We analyzed respiratory intensity slice of Chinese astronaut, built the eigenvector sequence and finally found the similar intervals by means of cosine distance of eigenvectors.


In the present study, experiments were performed to examine the characteristics of flow boiling heat transfer and pressure drop of a refrigerant R410A flowing vertically upward in small copper rectangular and triangular tubes with hydraulic diameters of 1.04 and 0.88 mm, respectively, for the development of a high-performance heat exchanger using small tubes or minichannels for air-conditioning systems. Their characteristics were clarified by comparing the previous experimental data of the small circular tube (1.00 mm internal diameter). In the rectangular and triangular tubes, the pressure drop was found to be slightly lower and the heat transfer was much better than in the circular tube.


This report presents the detailed lithostatigraphy of the Phu Khat Formation based on the fieldwork during the program of post-graduated study of the first author. The Phu Khat Formation is the uppermost red bed in Nakhon Thai region. It is composed of a sequence of conglomerate, purple sandstone, reddish brown sandstone and fine-grained clastic sedimentary rocks. These strata are largely interpreted to have been deposited by alluvial fan and fluvial (braided stream) which overlie unconformably on the large-scale crossbedding aeolian sandstone of the Khao Ya Puk Formation. The well exposed five reference site sections are selected and describe in detail. The lower contact of the Phu Khat Formation is in general placed at the presence of successions of polymictic conglomerate with inverse graded bedding but in some other places it is place below the reddish brown sandstone. As the Phu Khat Formation is the upper most red-bed, therefore the upper contact has not been recognized. However, in general the upper part of the formation is defined by the present of thick bedded, reddish brown, mediumto coarsegrained sandstone of fluvial braided stream system. The formation can be subdivided into two large units, the upper and lower sequence. The lower sequences are mainly characterized by the succession of alluvial fan facies deposits. They are composed mainly of the conglomerate and purple, coarsegrained sandstone of stream flow deposits in proximal fan (the lower Phu Khat Formation) and continuous even parallel beds, reddish brown, fineto mediumgrained sandstone grading up into siltstone and claystone in more distal fan (the middle Phu Khat Formation). The upper sequence comprises a succession of thick bedded coarse-grained sandstone of the braided stream facies (the upper Phu Khat Formation) which overlies conformably on the lower sequence. The thickness, throughout the formation as followed the detailed section measurement in the Nakhon Thai region is approximately 490 m. The age of the Phu Khat Formation is considered as Late Cretaceous to Early Tertiary with reservation that the maximum age of deposition may not older than the Campanian age and not younger than the Ypresian age based on tectonostratigraphy (Nulay et al. in prepare). The formation represents a post reactivation of interior tectonic movements which was formed by erosion of an uplifted orogene and deposited in restricted subsidence basin. It can be lithostratigraphically correlated with the Phu Soay Dao formation in Laos (Assavapatchara and Raksasakulwong, 2010).


Providing a quality education to its students and reducing dropout rates are two of the primary goals of higher education. This can be done by forecasting student performance using educational data mining (EDM). This study aims to measure the performance of students in the different categories. The categories are excellent, good, moderate, poor, and probation, and the scores are compared between excellent, poor, and probation students using some effective features. In this work, the data was gathered from 675 records of undergraduate students from the computer science and engineering departments of a renowned private university in the city of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Finally, recommendations are given to learners on how to improve performance to achieve academic success, and the following six data mining methods are used for accuracy: K-Nearest Neighbor, Decision Tree, Gaussian Naive Bayes, Support Vector Machine, Logistic Regression, and Random Forest.


Many reactions in nature and engineering are catalyzed through the interaction between light and matter. Important examples include photosynthesis, the vision process, photo-chemical reactions, solar cells, and nanoplasmonics based on metamaterials. To better understand these complex processes, experimentalists in the field of cavity quantum electrodynamics (QED) have developed accurate methods to study quantum systems at the single-photon interaction limit (Nobel prize 2012). Further recent developments in this field are Fabry-Perot resonators with optical high-quality (high-Q) factors, circuit QED [1] and optomechanics [2]. In the electronic structure community, the quantized nature of the electrons is usually (approximately) incorporated, whereas the electromagnetic field is mostly treated classically. In contrast, in quantum optics, matter is typically simplified to models with a few levels, while the quantized nature of light is fully explored. In this work, we aim at treating both, matter and light, on an equal quantized footing. To incorporate arbitrary geometries and matter distributions, we reformulate the Maxwell equations, by using the Riemann-Silberstein vector [3] into a matrix spinor representation similar to the Dirac equation. In the stationary limit, its eigenvalues and eigenmodes are the essential input for a quantized description of the electromagnetic field. Using this input, we present exact solutions for fully quantized prototype systems consisting of atoms or molecules placed in optical one-dimensional highQ cavities and coupled to the quantized electromagnetic modes in the dipole or quadrupole coupling regime. We focus on spontaneous emission, atomic revivals, strong coupling phenomena, dipole-dipole couplings including van der Waals interactions, and Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET), all beyond the rotating wave approximation. These results are compared to a propagation of coupled MaxwellSchrödinger systems, using the matrix spinor representation on a real-space grid. The highlighted differences between these two schemes have implications for a future development of a time-dependent density functional theory formulation of quantum electrodynamics [4,5] and further allow to study modifications to the classical Maxwell equations for correlated multi-photon configurations. In the future, both can be used to open the new field of correlated spectroscopy [6].


system. Since product quality does not always correlate with high vegetable yields and vice versa , sometimes compromises need to be made.


We describe a case of fibrous dysplasia (FD) with an aneurysmal bone cyst (ABC) of the maxilla and review similar cases arising in the oral and maxillofacial region.In May 1989, a 33-year-old woman visited the Department of Dentistry and Oral Surgery, Kawaguchi Municipal Medical Center because of a painless swelling in the left side of the maxilla, which had developed 5 years previously. At that time, a pathological diagnosis of FD was made, but she did not receive treatment because she was busy. In October 1994, she returned because the swelling of the left side of the maxilla had increased in size.Radiographically, the lesion showed a ground glass appearance mixed with a radiolucent area. The lesion was treated via an intraoral approach by maxillary partial resection within aesthetic limits. There was no severe bleeding during surgery.Microscopic examination showed a proliferation of mature non-neoplastic fibrous connective tissue. This tissue contained numerous areas of dysplastic bone. Some portions of the specimen had spaces containing blood. The final diagnosis was fibrous dysplasia with an aneurysmal bone cyst.Five years have passed since resection of the lesion, with no evidence of recurrence.


Researchers have eagerly researched social media; however there has been a lack of direction in these publications, with replications of studies or studies making little to no theoretical contribution to the literature. There is, however, a call for papers which make more of a contribution toward understanding social media. This paper provides a review of the literature relating to social media. It makes a contribution by developing the 8C's of Social Media – Community; Communication; Conversation; Co-creation; Cutting-edge; Customised; Credibility and Culture. As this paper is a meta-analysis of literature, it is essential to undertake further research and ideas for this are provided.


Business clans in the Ukraine have formed around businessmen who combine economic with political activities. They exercise a disproportionate influence over policy-making. Powerful financial and industrial conglomerates have arisen out of the capital accumulated by these clans, and gained strength owing to their insertion in networks of power. These networks,formal and informal, are strategic assets for transactions between businessmen and politicians. Ukrainian politics is to be interpreted in the light of rivalries between these clans, which fund political parties and are involved in an ongoing redistribution of power.


Infrared image is primarily used to safeguard a country from intruders and smugglers. A thermal imaging camera is used to see a man at a distance of 20 kilometers away in total darkness. To detect abnormal human behavior, a simple and efficient approach is to build a model that measure the deviation from the constructed normal model. In this paper daubechies wavelet transform based abnormal human behavior has been recognized. D4 wavelet to decompose images into multilevel scale and wavelet coefficients, with which perform image feature extraction and similarity match by means of F-norm theory. The abnormal behavior recognition performance of daubechies wavelet is compared with Haar and wavelet histograms in terms of recall rate and retrieval speed. Experiments on infrared images and the comparison to the Haar and wavelet histograms validate the advantages of proposed daubechies wavelets. The Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR) records the infrared videos. The experimental results show the performance of fast and efficient retrieval.


The invention provides an illumination device for a drawer type refrigerator. The refrigerator comprises at least one drawer; the drawer comprises a drawer door, as well as an upper revolving door or an upper drawer door which is arranged above the drawer door; the illumination device comprises a light assembly, a switch assembly, a power supply assembly supplying power for the switch assembly and a connecting assembly connected between the light assembly and the switch assembly; the light assembly is arranged in a groove at the lower part of the upper revolving door or the lower part of the upper drawer door and comprises an illuminating light assembly and a light shield made of a transmitting material; the switch assembly controls the light assembly according to the open or close condition of the drawer door. By arranging the light assembly in the groove arranged at the lower part of the upper revolving door or the lower part of the upper drawer door which is arranged above the drawer door, the illuminattion can illuminate food in the drawer completely.


1. What is Cognitive Psychology? General Issues. 2. Cognitive Neuroscience. 3. Perception and Attention. 4. Memory. 5. Concepts and Categories. 6. Knowledge Representation and Expertise. 7. Language. 8. Problem Solving. 9. Reasoning, Judgment, and Decision Making. 10. Cognitive Development. 11. Intelligence. 12. Creativity.


The Second World War represented a watershed in the growth of American influence in the Mediterranean area, marked not only by US military investment but also by a growing influence in the economic, scientific, political and cultural fields. As early as 1943, the establishment of American military administrations in North Africa, and then in Italy, was combined with the distribution of food and technical aid to the authorities and civilian populations. While historiography has insisted on the role of the Mediterranean as an area of confrontation between American, Soviet and colonial imperial ambitions, and has particularly emphasized the action of governments, relations between the United States, Mediterranean Europe and Turkey were also affected by non-state actors and private initiatives on both sides of the Atlantic, whether they be foundations, political parties, unions, experts or individual artists and writers. These exchanges thus favored the circulation of knowledge, ideas, representations and technologies – both at the military and civilian levels—which cannot be reduced to the sole policy of influence of the governments, American administrations foremost amongst them. They favored what could be called a "cross-fertilization" of knowledge and practices. Conversely, the relationships forged between associations, organizations and private actors had a lasting influence on the political and ideological consolidation of the "Western bloc".


The sudden drop in fertility that occurred in the mid 1960s in 26 countries containing 1/4 of the worlds population was most marked in the Federal Republic of Germany. There the annual number of births fell from more than 1 million in the mid-1960s to half a million in the mid-1970s. Moreover the number of marriages is declining despite a favorable age structure; divorce law has encouraged the trend toward cohabitation. Factors contributing to decreased fertility include longer education of women; the extended economic activity of women; the changing status of women; their wish to have a career; housing conditions unfavorable to a large number of children; extended and therefore costly education of children and fear of an uncertain future--politica economically environmentally. Since these factors are likely to remain constant fertility will continue to decrease in the foreseeable future. So far however these facts have not prompted the government to adopt pronatalist policies. Besides non-demographic factors such as the economic activity of women the numbers of unemployed changes in productivity and alterations in pension arrangements might offset the expected rise in the dependent population particularly the elderly. Permanent population growth has no serious advocates and many agree that a slow process of population shrinkage would have advantages because of the existing high population density. A majority however seem to advocate zero growth with longer periods of a slow increase followed by longer periods of a slow decrease avoiding as far as possible sudden changes.


Objective To establish a simple and stable rat lung ischemia-reperfusion (LIRI) long-term survival model. Methods Eighty-four healthy SD rats were randomly divided into two groups:Group Ⅰ,the sham-operated group (n=42, no hilar blocking);Group Ⅱ, lung ischemia reperfusion group (n=42,left hilar blocking). The lung tissues and blood samples were collected at baseline before hilar oc-clusion,and 0 h,2 h,4 h,1 day,3 days and 7 days after repeffusion. The indices were determined as fol-lows:the myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity, wet/dry ratio (W/D ratio), lung permeability index (LPI) and the ultrastructure of AT Ⅱ. Results All the SD rats survived during the observation period. Compared with group Ⅰ,the MPO activity, W/D ratio, and the LPI were significantly increased in group Ⅱ at the time points of 2 h,4 h, 1 day after reperfusion (all P<0.01). The ultrastructure of AT Ⅱ displayed that the most serious injury occurred at the fine point of 4 h after reperfusion. The repair process emerged at 1st day after reperfusion. At 7th day after reperfusion, the lung tissue structure almost recovered to normal. Conclu-sion It is a simple and reliable animal model. The related indices of lung injury were in accordance with the changes of ultrastruture of ATⅡ.

Key words:
Lung ischemia;  Reperfusion injury;  Alveolar;  Model,animal


This research studies the effect of flow rate on the pouring of molten metal into the mould so that the flow rate into the mould can be controlled. Furthermore, this research studies the effect of mould preheating so that the temperature inside the cavity can be maintained, especially for narrow holes. The process starts with making the engine cylinder head pattern and gating system using a three-dimensional printer with polylactic acid resin. The mould pattern and gating system are combined and coated with a layer of cement plaster, silica sand and kaolin. After the coating is dry, the mould is heated until the mould pattern evaporates and there is no residue. The casting process was carried out at pre-heating moulds of 300 0C and 350 0C and a pouring temperature of 800 0C with pouring speeds of 20, 30, and 40 rpm. The final stage of the research is manufacturing test objects and testing mechanical properties. The results showed that the higher the pouring speed, the less perfect the casting results, especially in the cylinder head fins. The best casting results occurred in the pre-heat condition of the 300 0C mould with a pouring speed of 20 rpm, with a Maximum Tensile Strength of 105 N/mm2, Hardness 53 hardness Brinell test (HBN), Density and Porosity of 2.43 gr/cm3. The material used in this study refers to the reference is A356 Aluminum Alloy.


The Uncommon Area Mineral Resource Development and Utilization Engineering of West San He Ming Iron Mine of Bao Tou Steel and Iron Group was one construction project which adopted underground mining and wet magnetic selection as production technique flow.According to characteristics,construction contents and ecological impact identification,combined with surrounding environmental features of project site,the impacts of engineering on surrounding ecological environment during construction stage and operation stage are analyzed,and relevant measures of prevention and control are put forward.


Abstract : Our hypothesis is that combination therapy with MAPK inhibitors and immunotherapy will result in more rapid and durable control of melanoma than either modality alone. This hypothesis has gained support from several recent publications.1-4 Several proposed mechanisms for enhanced anti-tumor activity have been explored including changes in regulation of PD-L1 expression on tumor cells, changes in tumor antigen expression by tumor cells and changes in immune cell infiltration of the tumor microenvironment. So far, clear studies testing the role of enhanced tumor antigen release/antigen presentation or enhanced T cell activation have not been completed and this remains a fertile area to investigate the mechanistic basis for productive combination of targeted inhibitors and immunotherapies. In the present report, we review our findings to date and describe a pattern of paradoxical T cell activation by BRAF inhibitors that results in increased T cells up regulation of activation markers, cytokines and proliferation in vitro and in vivo. These findings represent one mechanism that may be exploited to maximize the clinical benefit of combination therapies. These finding are contrasted to our observations with MEK inhibitor treatment where T cell activation (including up regulation of PD-1, ICOS, CD25, CD69) are diminished in the presence of drug. This clearly sets the stage for the upcoming experiments in mouse models of melanoma testing the combination of checkpoint blockade and BRAF or MEK inhibitors in vivo.


The essential oil obtained by hydrodistillation of the flowering capitula of Coleostephus myconis (syn. Chrysanthemum myconis) was constituted almost exclusively of oxygenated sesquiterpenes (85.8%). The main constituent was T-cadinol (66.2%), followed by valeranone (8.2%), germacrene D (6.0%) and α-cadinol (4.6%). By mean of the SPME technique, the volatiles emitted in vivo by the whole capitula and by tubular and ligulate florets have been identified. Many differences were evidenced among the different organs and with respect to the essential oil


The discrete cosine transform (DCT) is widely used in many image applications and there are a high number of data bases with images stored in DCT-JPEG format. In this paper we present a hardware accelerator to perform a modified scheme to classify DCT blocks according to its edge orientation content but the classification performed in the compress domain. The efficient and simple solution consists of two combined steps. The first is a bidirectional conversion to different sizes of the DCT blocks, and the second is the edge classifier based on the subblocks DCT coefficients much like as would be performed at the spatial domain. The hardware accelerator explained in this article implements the before mentioned second step and its synthesis is based on Altera's FPGAs. The accelerator is capable of classify up to five different edge directions {0°, 45°, 90°, 135° and NB (Non Edge Block)} analyzing the DC coefficient of four 4×4 coefficients (pixels) subblocks which together form an 8x8 DCT block (JPEG Std.). The architecture of the small accelerator is presented together with the arithmetic, simulation and performance values resulting from its implementation. Images showing the block classification resulting from applying the scheme to them are also presented. The software version of the scheme is much simpler than other near similar content image classifiers, is because of this that a hardware implementation is intended. The scheme is oriented to applications where the feature extraction from compressed images is important.


The first part of this series of papers indicated that the melt stabilization performance of phenol/phosphite/metal stearate combinations in metallocene LLDPE (mLLDPE) was influenced by the purity of the fatty acid salt. In this second part, it is shown that the quality of the metal stearate has a direct influence on the discoloration of the aforementioned formulations in the melt state. On the basis of the peroxide and oxide impurity levels in the metal stearates (Part 1), it is suggested that discoloration is directly related to the formation of oxidative transformation products of the phenolic antioxidant. Furthermore, it was observed that the calcium stearates discolored upon aging in air at processing temperatures, while zinc stearates did not. Such discoloration is believed to be partly due to the combination of high levels of conjugated systems consisting of unsaturation and carbonyl groups formed during aging. J. Vinyl Addit. Technol. 10:144–148, 2004. © 2004 Society of Plastics Engineers.


In the finance market, a short-term investment strategy is usually applied in portfolio selection in order to reduce investment risk; however, the economy is uncertain and the investment period is short. Further, an investor has incomplete information for selecting a portfolio with crisp proportions for each chosen security. In this paper we present a new method of constructing fuzzy portfolio model for the parameters of fuzzy-input return rates and fuzzy-output proportions, based on possibilistic mean–standard deviation models. Furthermore, we consider both excess or shortage of investment in different economic periods by using fuzzy constraint for the sum of the fuzzy proportions, and we also refer to risks of securities investment and vagueness of incomplete information during the period of depression economics for the portfolio selection. Finally, we present a numerical example of a portfolio selection problem to illustrate the proposed model and a sensitivity analysis is realised based on the results.


Objective: To compare the change in P-wave amplitude and axis before and after 24 hours of the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbation. Study Design: Quasi-experimental study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of medicine, PNS Shifa Karachi from Dec-2010 to June-2011 (six months). Material and Methods: A total of 93 subjects were included in the study. Their pre-treatment and post treatment ECGs were evaluated by measuring P-wave amplitudes in leads II and aVF and P-wave axes were calculated. The differences in terms of changes in P-wave amplitude and axis were compared. Results: Mean age of patients was 53.09 ± 7.20 years. Before treatment P-wave amplitude in lead II was 2.36 ± 0.34 mm and after treatment it was 1.73 ± 0.29 mm (p < 0.001). P-wave amplitude in lead aVF before treatment was 2.446 ± 0.334 mm while after treatment it was 1.556 ± 0.329 mm (p < 0.001). P-wave axis before treatment was 72.670 ± 4.670 and after 24 hours of treatment it was 63.750 ± 3.950 (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Significant changes in terms of reduction of P-wave amplitude and left ward rotation of P-wave axis occur after effective treatment of acute exacerbation of COPD. These findings provide valuable objective evidence in evaluating patient's response to treatment and recommended to be used in clinical practice.


Two E∥B end‐loss‐ion spectrometers (ELIS) are now making plasma measurements on tandem mirror experiment‐upgrade (TMX‐U). One instrument is mounted on each end of this open‐ended tandem‐mirror machine. These spectrometers observe plasma losses along magnetic‐field lines. They operate reliably and with a minimum of attention during an experimental run. Their data, which are quickly acquired and analyzed, help guide the experimental sequence. The parallel electric and magnetic fields separate the end‐loss ions according to mass (D+ and H+) and energy. Each spectrometer detects ions with an array of 128 flat collector plates that are made from copper‐coated G10 epoxy fiberglass, normally used for printed‐circuit boards. The ELIS diagnostic system produces a wealth of experimental information, including data on peak plasma potential, central‐cell ion temperature, potentials in the thermal‐barrier region, axial confinement and ion‐end‐loss plugging, energetic‐electron losses, and hydrogen/deuterium concentrations.


We use 3 brief educational biographies of students in Mexico who have previously attended public school in the United States to introduce this literature review on United States–Mexico transnational students. This article is also the first of several planned articles stemming from a currently ongoing, Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia-supported research study. As such, the purpose here is to highlight some of the dynamics faced by students who need to negotiate 2 educational systems (the United States and Mexico) and who fit neither a classic United States immigrant typology nor the typical premises around which schooling in Mexico is organized.


How to solve the problem of "Agriculture, Country and Peasants" as a whole is a new issue in social science theory put forward by the practical implementation of rural tax reform. The problem should be solved based on the scientific research of current rural social structure and the investigation of the problems rooting in the current interrelations between individuals in the country, and the reform of relevant systems should be advanced systematically. Thus to solve the problem of "agriculture, countryside and peasants" as a whole, harmonizing the interrelation between individuals in rural society should be taken as a goal and the reform of systems should be systematically advanced.


The utility model discloses an ultrasonic flue-cured tobacco damping machine and belongs to an atomizing device. The atomizing device is simple and compact in structure, convenient to use, low in cost and good in atomizing effect. The damping machine comprises a water tank with a water adding pipe and a water mist generator. The water tank (4) is of an open structure. A water mist device is provided with a plurality of ultrasonic atomization pieces (3) fixed into the water tank. The damping machine has the advantages that water mist particles are small, use is convenient and flexible, and additional land is not occupied, and is a water mist generating device.


The more efficient and effective quality control techniques for 99mTc-DTPA are needed because 99mTc has a short half-life of around 6.0 hours. We have succeeded in developing a one-system of Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) for radiochemical purity testing system that is faster and more practical. Two-system method of TLC for radiochemical purity testing uses mobile phase of methyl ethyl ketone indicated as system A and 0.9% sodium chloride solution indicated as system B. One-system method uses the mobile phase of a mixture solution of acetone and 0.9% sodium chloride. In this study, the determination of radiochemical purity of the one-system of TLC has been successfully developed using the Whatman-1 paper stationary phase and the mixture of mobile phase between acetone and 0.9% sodium chloride solution. The mobile phase of acetone: 0.9% sodium chloride with a ratio of 9:1 shows the most optimum results. This phase can separate 99mTc-DTPA (Rf = 0.4-0.6) from 99mTcO4- (Rf = 0.9-1.0) and 99mTcO2 (Rf = 0.0-0.1) as radiochemical impurities. This result shows that the one-system of TLC method can be used for radiochemical purity testing of 99mTc-DTPA radiopharmaceutical kits. This method can completely separate the product compound (99mTc-DTPA) from its impurities (99mTcO2 and 99mTcO4-).


This comment discusses terminological issues related to the analysis of housing. It treats the definition of housing quality, and stresses the importance of distinguishing between supply and reduced form elasticities, between partial and total elasticities, and between stock and flow elasticities. Some of the pitfalls of housing market analysis are demonstrated by reference to Barton Smith, " The Supply of Urban Housing", Quarterly Journal of Economics, (1976), 389-405,


Words have a most important role in a science; for not only is communication of ideas indispensable if we are to have any science, but the symbology and framework of language used in this communication are also the very tools with which we think. We do not think first, and then afterwards translate the results into words. Instead, clear thinking and the correct use of words are essentially the same process.


INTRODUCTION
The aim of this case series was to assess the feasibility of a graft modification to increase its length when treating multiple adjacent gingival recessions with only one harvesting site at the palate and respecting the safety zone.

CASE SERIES
Nineteen recessions were treated in four consecutive patients with a modified coronally advanced tunnel and a modified connective tissue graft. An 8-mm height connective tissue graft was harvested by the single incision technique, the graft was split longitudinally achieving 4-mm height and double of length. Changes in recession depth, keratinized tissue height, mean and complete root coverage, and esthetic score were analyzed at 6 months. The technique allows to harvest a connective tissue graft up to 58 mm length with a single palatal site. Complete root coverage was achieved in 15/19 recessions (78.94%), with a mean root coverage of 82.90%. The mean recession depth was reduced in 1,31 mm and the keratinized tissue increased in 0,69 mm. The esthetic outcome scores 9,26/10.

CONCLUSION
This graft modification technique allows to increase significantly the graft length up to 58 mm without any modification of the surgical harvesting procedure. Therefore, it can be suggested to reduce the morbidity. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.


For the shortage of traditional Proportion Integration Differentiation (PID) in the application of the current multi-motor synchronous control system, this paper proposes a new control method which is fuzzy immune linear active disturbance rejection control (FI-LADRC) technology. The modern fuzzy immune control theory and active disturbance rejection control technology is combined for achieving the precise control of the three-motor synchronous coordination system. According to three motor synchronous system mathematical model, the whole disturbances compensation and the strong decoupling of the master motor speed and tension are achieved by the use of extended state observer (ESO). Moreover, nonlinear intelligent feedback is achieved by taking modern fuzzy immune control technology. Simulations and experiments show that: the control performance of the system is significantly better than the one of traditional PID control, such as good dynamic performance, obvious decoupling effect, strong anti-interference ability, high tracking accuracy, fast response and good robustness.


American spirituality in the first half of the nineteenth century was as diverse as the young nation's population. Optimism brought about by successful expansion led to the belief that society could be made perfect. In the secular world abolitionists, suffragists, temperance workers, education reformers, and others worked toward that perfection.1 Religious revivals led to an intense and emotional personal religious climate.2 Religious theorists sought knowledge of the millennium, the thousand years mentioned in Revelation 20, when holiness will prevail and Christ will reign on earth. In his comparison of the roots of millenarianism in Britain and the United States, Ernest R. Sandeen cites Britain's reaction to political reform as the impetus for the movement in that nation, while the momentum in the United States grew from the conviction that Americans were a chosen people and their nation a shining city upon a hill.3 It was in this climate that William Miller, a millenarian from western New England, set off one of the greatest mass delusions of the nineteenth century. Through an intense study of the Bible, Miller became convinced that he had found the answer to the greatest question of all: when would Christ the Savior return to gather the faithful to himself and destroy the world and its wicked inhabitants? Although members of the early Christian church had anticipated the return of Christ during their lifetimes, subsequent generations of believers understood the message of the scriptures to be symbolic rather than literal. Like Adventists on both sides of the Adantic, Miller espoused a literal interpretation of the Bible. According to Sandeen, it was "a hallmark of the millenarian party that literal rather than figurative or spiritualized fulfillments should be sought


Poverty is the main cause of concern in improving the economic status of developing countries. Micro-finance is the idea that low-income individuals are capable of lifting themselves out of poverty if given access to financial services. A microfinance institution is an organization that offers financial services to low income populations. Most of microfinance institutions give loans to their members, offer insurance, deposit and other services. The past decade and more of micro-finance development and penetration has created a world that even in some of the most deprived and isolated places on the planet, micro-finance has proven to support the poor on a sustainable basis, something that cannot be said for many other kinds of interventions, financial and otherwise. This paper is an attempt to understand past, present and future of microfinance in India.


Speech consists of a continuously-varying acoustic signal. Yet human listeners experience it as a sequence of discrete units (phonemes and words). To identify how the brain continuously represents and updates speech units, we recorded two-hour magnetoencephalograms from 21 subjects listening to short narratives. Our encoding and decoding analyses show that the human brain uses a dynamic coding scheme to represent approximately three successive phonetic features at each time sample. These dynamic phonetic representations, not directly accessible from the acoustic signal, are active earlier when phonemes are more predictable, and are sustained when lexical identity is uncertain. The results reveal how phoneme sequences in natural speech are neurally represented and shed new light on how the human brain combines them to probe the mental lexicon. One sentence summary The human brain keeps track of the relative order of speech sound sequences by jointly encoding content and elapsed processing time


Objective The viscoelastic property of the cancellous bones of the femoral head of the fresh cadaver were studied. Methods the tensile stress relaxation experiment and creep experiment were done in three directions: Longitudinal N transverse and 45 degrees. Results The data of the tensile stress relaxation and creep of three directions were reported. The reduced stress relaxation and creep functions, the curves and the irregular functions and curves of the relations between the stress relaxation and creep' s quantities and angles were also reported. Conclusion The quantities of stress relaxation and creep of the cancellous bones of the femoral head in the longitudinal direction are greater than those in the other two directions and the cancellous bone of the femoral head is an anistropic material.


Recent advances in network representation learning have enabled significant improvements in the link prediction task, which is at the core of many downstream applications. As an increasing amount of mobility data becoming available due to the development of location technologies, we argue that this resourceful user mobility data can be used to improve link prediction performance. In this paper, we propose a novel link prediction framework that utilizes user offline check-in behavior combined with user online social relations. We model user offline location preference via probabilistic factor model and represent user social relations using neural network embedding. Furthermore, we employ locality-sensitive hashing to project the aggregated user representation into a binary matrix, which not only preserves the data structure but also speeds up the followed convolutional network learning. By comparing with several baseline methods that solely rely on social network or mobility data, we show that our unified approach significantly improves the performance.


The term "beneficial owner" is found in 64 of the 71 double tax agreements signed by South Africa. However, there is no definition of the term in the Income Tax Act or within the orbit of international taxation. There are international court cases in relation to the interpretation of the term. The fact that there are inconsistencies in the treaties signed by South Africa may result in treaty shopping opportunities. The study aims to define the term "beneficial owner"; to view other necessary acts and other forms of supporting legislature when interpreting a treaty; and subsequently, to explore the term as used in South African double tax agreements.


In this work, we present an efficient method for computing in the generalized Jacobian of special singular curves, nodal curves. The efficiency of the operation is due to the representation of an element in the Jacobian group by a single polynomial. In addition, we propose a probabilistic public key algorithm as an application of nodal curves.


Pun is a special form of language which is used to express the speaker's intention in indirect ways.Figure-ground theory is one of the essential theories in cognitive linguistics,the study is based on the theory from aspects of different people set different parts of what they know as prominent figure,this paper broadens the application of the figure-ground theory and proves effective that pun can be analyzed from the aspect of cognitive linguistic study.


The present invention relates to a multistage process for the anticorrosion treatment of composite metal structures comprising metallic surfaces of aluminum, zinc and possibly iron, is carried out in which in the first step the selective zinc phosphating of zinc and iron surfaces using a phosphating solution containing water-soluble inorganic compounds of silicon in contains an amount sufficient to suppress the formation of specks on the zinc surfaces, but in this respect the amount is not exceeded, wherein the zinc phosphating loses its selectivity. In the subsequent second step of the method according to the invention, the aluminum surfaces are passivated with an acidic treating solution. Further, the present invention relates to a zinc phosphating solution suitable for use in the inventive method containing at least 0.025 g / l but less than 1 g / l calculated on silicon in the form of water-soluble inorganic compounds as SiF


1 Objectives 3 Background 3 Materials and Methods 5 Results and Discussion 6 a. Extreme water cycles: deluge vs. drought . . . . 6 b. Synoptic processes of extremes rainfall "cases" associated with ENSO 8 c. Characterizing the 4-6-year ENSO propagation processes . . 9 d. Preliminary prediction for Texas' extreme flood risk . . 10 e. Limitations and caveats to project methodology and results 11 Conclusions and Implications for Future Research 12 Implication for future research . . . . . 13 Affirmation of final report . . . . . . 14 Literature Cited 15 Appendix 17


The NADPH-dependent succinic semialdehyde reductase is one of the key enzymes in the brain GABA shunt, and it catalyzes the formation of the neuromodulator -hydroxybutyrate from succinic semi aldehyde. This enzyme was inactivated by diethylpyrocarbonate (DEP) with the second-order rate constant of at pH 7.0, , showing a concomitant increase in absorbance at 242 nm due to the formation of N-carbethoxyhistidyl derivatives. Complete inactivation of succinic semialdehyde reductase required the modification of five histidyl residues per molecule of enzyme. However, only one residue was calculated to be essential for enzyme activity by a statistical analysis of the residual enzyme activity. The inactivation of the enzyme by DEP was prevented by preincubation of the enzyme with the coenzyme NADPH but not with the substrate succinic semialdehyde. These results suggest that an essential histidyl residue involved in the catalytic activity is located at or near the coenzyme binding site of the brain succinic semialdehyde reductase.


Let M be a compact C1 manifold which is invariant and normally hyperbolic with respect to a C1 semiflow in a Banach space. Then in an -neighborhood of M there exist local C1 center-stable and center-unstable manifolds W cs( ) and W cu( ), respectively. Here we show that W cs( ) and W cu( ) may each be decomposed into the disjoint union of C1 submanifolds (leaves) in such a way that the semiflow takes leaves into leaves of the same collection. Furthermore, each leaf intersects M in a single point which determines the asymptotic behavior of all points of that leaf in either forward or backward time.


Factors which determine localisation and autolocalisation in topochemical processes are considered systematically in this review. The specific features of the formation and growth of nuclei in topochemical reactions, the role of the anisotropy of the properties of the initial crystal, and various versions of the catalysis of solid and gaseous products during the thermal decomposition of solid inorganic substances are given. Promising investigations in this region are noted. Bibliography of 83 references.


With the continuous development, the virtual reality (VR) technology has been more and more widely applied to teaching. It is necessary to use the VR technology in civil engineering teaching. The VR virtual simulation teaching can be effectively implemented only through good teaching process design and teaching activity organization. When applied to the teaching process, the VR technology integrates various advantages in the aspects of teaching approach, learning style, experimental method, etc., but meanwhile, it is still deficient in technology products, teaching contents, etc.


Statistical sharing to achieve a high network utilization is a major motivation behind the packet-switched network. This idea takes advantage of the bursty nature of traffic sources to achieve a better network utilization. In recent years, various control mechanisms have been proposed for future high-speed networks to support the network traffic management. Some of the control schemes advocate traffic shaping to reduce the burstiness of the traffic, and others insist on maintaining the bursty nature for better statistical sharing. This paper looks into the true meaning of statistical sharing, and tries to shed light on the design of better control mechanisms by using a simple queueing model to show the relationship between the congestion and the network utilization.


This paper reports preliminary studies on the mechanism of the mortality reduction effects in sublethally irradiated mice by administration of zinc at the high concentration. At first, accumulations of 65Zn in non-irradiated mice, which were orally administered with the artificial diet containing the radio-tracer and the stable metal at the high concentration (1,000 ppm), were investigated, and compared with those in mice which were administered with the artificial basal diet containing the tracer (control). Then the irradiation effects of 60Co gamma-ray at the sublethal dose on the accumulation were studied. The concentrations of zinc in whole body, tissues and organs of non-irradiated mice which were administered with the former diet were 2-fold higher than in the mice which were administered with the latter diet (control). But the accumulation of the tracer was affected by the irradiation, i.e. the concentrations in tissues and organs (except for blood and bone) of irradiated mice were lower than those in non-irradiated mice. However, the concentration in spleen of irradiated mice was remarkably higher than in the other tissues.


T here is undisputable, robust empirical evidence that supports the conclusion that immunizing infants and young children with the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccination does not cause autism. In Europe, the most recent evidence comes from a nationwide cohort study of 657,461 children born in Denmark between 1999 and 2010 which concluded that MMR vaccination is not associated with any clustering of new cases of autism following vaccination and that it does not increase any child's risk for autism (Hviid, Hansen, Frish & Melbye, 2019). Increasingly however, across primary, acute, community and long-term care contexts, registered nurses are encountering individuals who are hesitant to immunize, despite the evidence of vaccine effectiveness and implementation of national immunization programs. Vaccine hesitancy, as well as low vaccination coverage rates, are well documented throughout Europe, whether it be among women recommended to receive influenza and pertussis vaccination during pregnancy (Wilson, Paterson, & Larson, 2019), adolescents eligible to receive the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine (Karafillakis et al., 2019), or health care professionals and the uptake of the seasonal influenza vaccination (Gilardi et al., 2018). Recently, the World Health Organization (2019) identified vaccine hesitancy as one of the top-ten threats to global health. This global threat makes it apparent that in addition to quantitative studies that provide information about the effectivenessof vaccines and measures of vaccination coverage, nurses and other health care professionals need answers to equally important questions, such as: "What organizational or health system factors influence the successful uptake of immunization programs?" "What are individuals' values and beliefs towards vaccinations?" or "How do individuals make the decision to vaccinate (or not)?" The answers to these questions can be found through the conduct and use of qualitative health research.


Tetracyclopropylethylene reacts with tetracyanoethylene to give a cyclopropane-cleaved tricyclopropylvinylcyclopentane derivative; this is in striking contrast to the 2 + 2 cycloadditions of di- and tricyclopropylethylene with tetracyanoethylene in which cyclobutane derivatives are formed.


On February 18, 2004, then-FDA Commissioner Mark B. McClellan declared with certainty that electronic track-and-trace and authentication technologies would be in place by 2007 to protect the U.S. drug supply from counterfeiters.

But two years later, FDA's Acting Commissioner Andrew C. von


Transport of droplets on surfaces is important for a variety of applications such as micro liquid handling and biochemical assays. Here, we report evaporation-induced attraction, chasing, and repulsion between a target pure aqueous (water) droplet and a driver aqueous mixture droplet comprising water and a lower surface tension and lower vapor pressure liquid on a high energy surface. It is observed that for a fixed concentration of the mixture droplet, attraction/chasing or repulsion can be achieved by varying the relative time instants at which the drops are dispensed. Our study reveals that if the water droplet is dispensed within a critical time after dispensing the mixture droplet, the latter will get attracted to and chase the water droplet. On the other hand, if the water droplet is dispensed after this critical time, then it would get repelled from the mixture droplet. We explain the underlying mechanisms that govern the phenomena and demonstrate continuous transport of liquid/cell sample droplets/plugs.


for Doug Truckies are getting fucked up and dying young and their families and the rest of us are paying for all that one way or another – not the bastards benefiting from how hard they work. The drivers are being conned into carrying a shitload of the financial risk that they didn't used to back in the day. It all just adds to the shit. So, we spoke to loads of those who know about all of this. Some important people who should have talked to us didn't – which tells you something about how little they talk to each other down in Wellington when it's inconvenient for them. We were told that it's probably even worse than it looks, but no one is looking too hard because it's not in the interests of the people at the top to be having anyone looking. So, nothing's going to change until we know how much it's really costing us, and in what ways; but if we did know, we'd be able to go to Government and tell them how much it was worth spending to fix. But first they need to be willing to hear the nasty


Puffs were scored from prepupae of a homogeneous stage concerning both chronological and developmental age. In the Finnish strain of D. melanogaster, Porvoo wild, altogether 121 loci were observed to be puffing in the giant salivary chromosomes at the beginning of the prepupal stage. 86 of the puffs revealed a regular constancy in their activity. The results are in agreement with earlier analyses except for five puffs 23C (in 2L), 42C, 46D, 47F (in 2R) and 61F (in 3L) not reported in previous puff data. Special attention is paid to the degree of interindividual variation of puff size. The range of variability in size of different puffs is not uniform. Eight loci show especially wide variation while there are approximately twenty loci which, instead, show remarkable constancy between prepupae.


With increasing penetration of distributed generation, and the evolution of predominantly radial distribution systems into weakly meshed networks, it has become necessary to suitably update power flow solution techniques. This paper presents an unbalanced three-phase power flow solution method that is effective in the analysis of modern active distribution networks. The proposed approach is based on the development of a Branch-Current Matrix (BCM), and uses it in conjunction with the line Primitive Impedance Matrix (PIM) to obtain the power flow solution. This approach is initially applied to radial networks and then modified to include the case of weakly-meshed networks. The presented approach takes into account most of the special features of the distribution networks and uses neither LU-decomposition, nor Y-bus formulation/factorization and hence it is computationally efficient. The proposed method is tested on 13-node and 76-node unbalanced networks. Results of the proposed method are compared with some other methods presented in the literature.


To deconstruct what was socioculturally consolidated and vulgarized is to reflect and to practice ways of progressively reducing the prejudices established in the daily life. So the starting point should be to perform actions of sensitization and awareness of society, to which school may greatly contribute. Thus, the so-called inclusive school is able to decisively participate in such hard struggle. To do so, other spaces and times with a participative, political, and pedagogical dimension should be created, constituting a solid basis for an educative action. Inclusion questions the existing social practices, and among them are those performed by physical education that must work in the same time and space with children with different kinds of skills, capabilities, behaviors, and life stories.


Abstract : Experiments are reported which were designed to investigate human information processing with dynamic novel stimuli. In certain of the experiments, subjects had the opportunity to modify, on a real-time basis, certain of the information parameters of the stimuli. Several findings emerged. First performance with 'intensity' information appeared as good as or better than performance with 'amplitude' information. Second, when naive observers are given control over information parameters, performance tends to deteriorate when control options are utilized. However, when experienced observers are given such control, performance improves. (Modified author abstract)


KDP single and twin (prepared from two-glued seeds) crystals have been grown by the method of temperature reduction. Then, the grown crystals were cut and polished in the (100) direction for optical characterization. The transmission spectra and XRD analysis of the crystals were determined and compared. The Vickers microhardness tests carried out on the two types showed that duplication of the crystal lattice did not reduce the hardness of it.


Introduction.- A Policy Sciences View on Policy Analysis.- Perspectives on Policy Analysis: A Framework for Understanding and Design.- Diagnosing Policy Problems and Situations.- Designing the Policy Analysis Process.- Organizing the Policy Analysis Process.- System Models for Policy Analysis.- Actor Models for Policy Analysis.- Uncertainty in the Framework of Policy Analysis.


This report outlined the findings of the Evidence into Recommendations study, identifying the key influences on decision making in the formulation of clinical guidelines. The results impacted upon the way NICE identifies experts and lay people for their Guideline Development Groups. The findings also allow NICE to claim greater accountability and transparency in the guidelines they publish which have a direct impact on NHS care and resources in England and Wales.


Our study confirms that several tuna species spawn in the central Mediterranean, especially in the vicinity of island. Tuna larvae were found in the four areas sampled (Eolias, Cabo Passero, Malta and Aegean Sea) and represented between 18% and 90% of the total abundance. The high larval abundances and occurrence of Thunnus alalunga shows that our sampling period coincided with the spawning peak of this species. Other larvae also found in the assemblages included meso-batipelagic, small pelagic and coastal.


Corrosion protection systems and the development of coating materials applicable to marine structures which are exposed to severe corrosive environments are described. Urethane resin was selected as a heavy duty coating material as a result of long term model tests in a marine environment. The composition and coating system of the urethane elastomer have been developed. Urethane elastomer has excellent mechanical properties and durability performance and is suitable for application to the complicated shapes of steel products, for example steel sheet piles,by spraying. Details of the durability and the repairing technique for these coatings are examined. A two-layer coloured urethane elastomer coating system developed by the NKK Corporation is also described.


Diploid Ornithonyssus bacoti females from an inbred laboratory colony are more variable in more external morphological characters than haploid males maintained under identical colony conditions. Prejudiced selection of characters or use of a small sample size can provide data suggesting greater variability in males. When large numbers of characters on many mite specimens are compared by F-tests of variances, coefficients of variation, generalized variances (determinant of variance-covariance matrices) and tests of homogeneity of variance-covariance matrices, general phenotypic variation is greater in females. The agreement between univariate and multivariate tests allows additional confidence in the conclusion (tables 2–7).


Digital holography is a popular technique for investigation of changes of objects parameters: shape, density, temperature, and etc. Speckle noise, twin image, zero order, digital camera's temporal noise and fixed pattern noise (FPN) limit quality of images reconstructed from digital holograms. FPN is the only problem that actually was not researched. In this work effect of digital camera's FPN on reconstructed images is investigated. Characteristics of CCD and CMOS cameras of different types were used: scientific camera, video-surveillance camera, and others. Results of numerical reconstructions from holograms with different FPN are presented. Signal-to-noise ratios are obtained for the reconstructed images.


Scientists have been searching for ways to decrease the indiscriminate use of chemical inputs and an alternative that has been the aim of several studies is the use of medicinal plant extracts. This work aimed at evaluating the inhibitory effect of neem (Azadirachta indica) and garlic (Allium sativum L.) on Aspergillus niger, causal agent of sisal red rot disease. The concentrations of 1%, 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% of aqueous extract of neem and garlic were evaluated. The extract was obtained by blending and filtering 200 g of neem leaves and 200g of garlic bulbs with 1000 ml of distilled water. The extract was mixed with potato dextrose agar culture medium for growth of A. niger. Neem extract did not inhibit mycelium growth of A. niger. Garlic extract, in concentrations above 5% caused 100% inhibition of A. niger mycelium growth.


Introduction: In a previous pilot study, PET/CT performed for suspected relapsing or progressive multiple myeloma (MM) revealed more lesions with FCH than with FDG. We then launched a prospective comparison of FDG and FCH PET/CT in MM at initial staging, restaging and during therapeutic follow-up. The IMPeTUs scoring system was proposed in 2016 by Nanni et al. to summarize the results of FDG PET/CT. However, the IMPeTUs scoring system is not designed to reflect by one single patient-based score the extent of the disease, as determined on radiotracer uptake. To compare the performance of those two PET radiotracers, we set a single patient-based score, derived from the IMPeTUs approach, and we applied it to the comparison of FDG and FCH PET/CT at various clinical situations of MM.
 Aim: To compare (1) the reproducibility of reading and scoring of FDG and FCH PET/CT in initial staging, restaging and therapeutic follow-up of MM, (2) the correlation between the scores on FDG or on FCH PET/CT and serum concentration of M-protein, a quantitative criterion reflecting the secretory activity of MM, recommended at diagnosis and as a part of evaluation of therapeutic response.
 Patients and methods: FDG and FCH PET/CT were performed in 105 patients (20 at initial staging, 37 at relapse and 48 during follow-up).The FDG and FCH PET/CTs were read in a random order with a wash out period by two experienced readers blinded to any patient's clinical data. They scored according to IMPeTUs scoring system, evaluating the number and intensity of foci of radiotracer uptake in 5 sites (spine, skull, extraspinal, visceral and nodal), the presence of diffuse axial and/or appendicular bone marrow uptake, of PET-positive lytic lesions, or of fractures. According to the number of visible foci in each site, the site-score was: 1: 0 focus, 2: 1-3 foci, 3: 4-10 foci or 4: >10 lesions. In case of diffuse bone marrow uptake by the axial or appendicular skeleton, the site-score 4 was attributed to the corresponding site, to integrate this pattern in one single score per site. A "SUMM" score, theoretically ranging from 5 to 20, was obtained by summing up the site-scores of the 5 sites. The kappa coefficient was calculated to evaluate the inter-reader agreement in determining the SUMM score.A consensus reading was finally performed, to solve discordances in scoring between the two readers. The paired Wilcoxon test was used to compare the consensual SUMM scores of PET/CT with FDG and FCH; the correlation coefficient between the consensual SUMM scores and M-protein level was calculated.
 Results:Before final consensus, the inter-reader agreement in determining the SUMM score was better with FCH (Kappa=0.90; CI=0.85-0.95) than with FDG (Kappa=0.75; CI=0.64-0.86). The analysis was then continued on the data of consensus reading. FCH showed more foci in 28 patients (4 at initial staging, 13 at relapse, 11 during follow up) and FDG in 14 patients (3 at initial staging, 4 at relapse, 7 during follow up). The SUMM score was significantly greater with FCH than with FDG (p=0.0027).M-protein was present in the serum of 95/105 patients. The correlation with serum M-protein level was significantly >0 for both SUMM scores, but loose for FDG (r=0.3, p=0.0029) and stronger for FCH (r=0.7, p<0.001), the difference being significant (p=0.0001).Among 8 patients without M-protein detected in their serum, a negative PET/CT with FDG (SUMM FDG=5) but positive with FCH (SUMM FCH>5) was observed in 2 patients (1 referred for evaluation of relapsing MM and in one referred during therapeutic follow-up of MM).
 Conclusion: A patient-based "SUMM" score is proposed to characterize the extension and the number of foci on PET/CT imaging of MM. Using this SUMM score, a better inter-reader reproducibility, lesion detectability and correlation with serum M-protein was observed for FCH than for FDG, confirming FCH as a potential tracer in MM deserving further research.

 Garderet: Celgene: Consultancy; Amgen: Consultancy; Takeda: Consultancy.


In the paper we study the construction and functioning of a saw mill, empirically built in 1930th by a craftsman peasant in Sibiu area. The saw mill has a gear mechanism which allows actuation with animal traction, a rod-crank mechanism that ensures the cutting motion and a mechanism for self - advance of the wood to be cut. Kinematic analysis it is made, proving the ingenuity of the craftsman who has achieved a functional saw mill, whose advance motion is well correlated with the cutting motion. Different kinematic schemes and numerous charts are given, emphasizing the creativity of the craftsman, who empirically found the correct sizes for the mechanism's elements


Although the neoclassical labor economics literature assumes that hours of work are determined solely on the supply side as a result of individual demand for leisure, and abundance of evidence points to the importance of employer demand factors in the market for hours of work. Despite the appeal of models allowing for simultaneity in the market four hours, the scarcity of appropriate data has made their estimation difficult.


Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) has been identified as the major agent in human gastric cancer by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). Infection caused by H. pylori plays a leading role in many disorders including duodenal and gastric ulcer, chronic gastritis, lymphoid tissue lymphoma, and gastric adenocarcinoma. In addition, growing evidence suggests that H. pylori interferes with many biological processes, causing or affecting the incidence of several extra-gastrointestinal disorders. The bacteria are known to cause iron deficiency anemia (IDA), vitamin B12 deficiency, and immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP). Latest studies suggest that H. pylori may contribute in many disorders such as insulin resistance, acute coronary syndrome, neurological diseases among others, which previously was attributed to other factors and conditions. There are several mechanisms proposed for H. pylori inducing low-grade chronic inflammation and the incidence of molecular imitation mechanisms. This present study discusses the most critical diseases related with the role of H. pylori and related infection (especially extra-gastrointestinal diseases) in these diseases.


Synthesis and characterization of benzyl-monohydrazone-3-hydrazino-4-benzyl-6-phenyl pyridazine (BHP) and its complexes with copper(II), nickel(II), cobalt(II), zinc(II), manganese(II), cadmium(II), thorium(IV), dioxyuranium(VI), samarium(III) and erbium(III) are presented. The protonation equilibrium of BHP ion and complex formation equilibrium with the metal ions have been studied by potentiometry in 75% (v/v) dioxane-water and 0.10M KNO3 at different temperatures (10, 20, 30 and 40°C). A series of mononuclear complexes [ML n ](1− z )+ (L−  = BHP and n  = 1  − z) were found in solution and their formation constants, enthalpies and entropies were determined. The solid metal complexes and corresponding thermal products were elucidated by elemental analysis, conductance, IR and electronic spectra, magnetic moments, 1H NMR and TG-DSC measurements as well as by mass spectroscopy. The use of BHP as analytical reagents for the determination of copper(II), nickel(II) and cobalt(II) as well as extracting agents for these metal ions are discussed.


At the end of the 19th century, L. L. Zamenhof proposed Esperanto; it was intended as a global language to be spoken and understood by everyone. The inventor was hoping that a common language could resolve global problems that lead to con ict. This idealistic idea did not reach its full potential, yet there are still scienti c elds pursuing its legacy, though not necessarily from an ideological point of view. The Internet contains billions of web pages, as they come in all kinds of languages, a great deal of information is not available to us. A practical application would be a browser that translates these pages in a preferred language. In the eld of statistical machine translation (SMT), we try to build algorithms to translate from one language to the other by mere statistics taken from large bi-text corpora. When we adopt the SMT approach, we represent all individual or groups of words (cepts) as having a connection to zero, one or many foreign cepts under a probability value. This means that both the alignments and the probabilities need to be extracted from the bi-text. The main problem here is that we need the alignments to estimate the probabilities and the probabilities to estimate the alignments. These kinds of problems can be solved with the EM algorithm, one approach [2, 3] is particularly favored due to its estimation of reasonable models. In this paper, we will present the SMT Aligner (SMTA), which word aligns French-English sentences given word translation probabilities provided by [1] to estimate good alignments under the assumptions of IBM model I. We will then compare results from alignments that use the null word with ones that don't. We will also introduce a heuristic to increase the F1-score results by 4 percent. In section 2 we describe the theory which forms the basis of the SMTA. Section 3 is used to describe the research methodology. In Section 4 we present our results and we conclude section 5 with the discussion.


AbstractWe have developed a reliable nonisotopic mRNA in situ hybridization (ISH) technique utilizing specific antisense riboprobe and oligodeoxynucleotide probes labeled with biotin or digoxigenin to detect human glial fibrillary acidic protein and human S-100β protein in formalin fixed, paraffin embedded human and rat brain tissue sections. This method also allows detection of T and B cell rearrangements with commercially prepared oligodeoxynucleotide probes for kappa and lambda light chains in lymphatic tissues. The method uses proteinase K digestion and overnight hybridization with the labeled probes. Detection of the hybridized probe is accomplished with either streptavidin alkaline phosphatase or with anti-digoxigenin-AP. Hybridization is visualized after enzyme reaction with nitro blue tetrazolium substrate at the light microscopy level. ISH with biotin or digoxigenin labeled oligodeoxynucleotide probes and riboprobes is a rapid, accurate and specific procedure for the study of mRNAs in tissue sect...


Submitted for the DFD12 Meeting of The American Physical Society DNS of rising bubbles in a vertical homogeneous shear flow SADEGH DABIRI, University of Notre Dame — The bubbly flow occurs in many natural and industrial situations such as boilers and bubble column reactors. In many of these flows, bubbles rise inside a shear layer. Interaction between bubbles and the shear creates a lateral lift force on the bubbles and affects their distribution in the domain which in turn will affect the drag force on the flow and the flow rate. Here, the rising motion of buoyant bubbles in a homogeneous shear flow in vertical direction is studied. In order to create a homogeneous shear flow, periodic boundary condition in all three directions is implemented. A finite difference method with front tracking is developed that satisfies the periodic-shear boundary condition. The effect of the deformability of bubbles on the magnitude and direction of the lateral lift force is discussed. Sadegh Dabiri University of Notre Dame Date submitted: 03 Aug 2012 Electronic form version 1.4


This article examines the applied dimensions of relationship marketing, namely, customer service, loyalty/rewards programs, personalization, customization, and brand/store community with different customer retention levels in three retail stores in Malaysia. The relationship between customer service, loyalty/rewards programs, customization, personalization, and brand/store community with customer retention were examined via an empirical investigation of 450 loyalty/reward program members of three retail stores in Malaysia. The survey was personally administered but self-completed. All variables, namely, customer service, loyalty/rewards programs, customization, personalization, and brand/store community, were able to significantly discriminate between high and low customer retention levels. Retail managers in a developing country like Malaysia must be aware of the importance of these applied dimensions of relationship marketing (i.e., what can be done or practiced by the retailer to manage and enhance customer relationships) and how they impact customer retention levels.


Feedbacks between the intertwined water and carbon cycles in semi‐arid mountain ecosystems can introduce large uncertainties into projections of carbon storage. In this study, we sought to understand the influence of key mechanisms on carbon balances, focusing on an ecosystem whose complex terrain and large interannual variability in precipitation adds to its vulnerability to warming. We applied a dynamic vegetation‐ecosystem model (Lund‐Potsdam‐Jena General Ecosystem Simulator) to simulate water‐carbon interactions in the 104,512 km2 Mediterranean‐climate ecosystems of California's Sierra Nevada for 1950–2099. Our 48 scenarios include a combination of carbon dioxide (CO2) increase, air temperature change, and varying plant rooting depths. We found that with warming (+2 and +5°C), water limitations on growth and enhanced soil respiration reduce carbon storage; however, CO2 fertilization and associated enhanced water‐use efficiency offset this loss. Using the 4 km model resolution to capture steep mountain precipitation gradients, plus accounting for the several meters of actual root‐accessible water storage in the region, were also important. With warming accompanied by CO2 fertilization our projections show that the Sierra Nevada sequestering at least 200 Tg (2 kg m−2) carbon, versus carbon loss with warming alone. The increase reflects coniferous forests growing at high elevations, and some increase in broadleaved forests at low‐to‐intermediate elevations. Importantly, uncertainty in fire disturbance could shift our finding from carbon sink to source. The improved mechanistic understanding of these feedbacks can advance modeling of carbon‐water interactions in mountain‐ecosystem under a warmer and potentially drier climate.


This experiment aims to build a digital and quantitative model-based system for cropping design.The wheat and maize growth simulation model,water and nutrient dynamic balance model,and dynamic knowledge model for production management,based on knowledge engineering and information technology,were firstly developed by summarizing and extracting the key technique for wheat-maize cropping system in Huang-Huai-Hai region.The cropping design system for wheat and maize was secondly built by coupling the growth simulation model with the knowledge model.According to object-oriented programming method,this system was programmed in the.NET framework with C sharp language.This system consisted of seven function modules,including file management module,parameter management module,growth simulation module,real time management module,plan design module,expert consultation module,and help module.It was user-friendly and operating-conveniently,and has good mechanism and better application.The balance between crop production and cost performance has been primarily realized.


In his Article Contracts as Technology Kevin Davis makes an analogy between technological innovation and contractual innovation and suggests that contractual innovation, like technological innovation, can both add value to exchange and promote trade. Davis presents a theory of the uses and sources of contractual innovation that has at its core the idea that "[t]he principal determinant of the value of adopting a contract is the value of the changes in behavior it induces." The Article then draws on this theory and the analogy to technological innovation to explore the incentives of law firms, businesspeople, trade associations, and a variety of nonprofit institutions to engage in contractual innovation, even though there is no equivalent of copyright, trademark, or patent protection for contractual language. It concludes that given the lack of intellectual property protection for contractual language, potential contractual innovators of all types are likely to make socially sub-optimal investments in contractual innovation.


Although rate fed on a high-protein diet of 70% casein showed hyperazotemia, administration of the extract from Rhei Rhizoma induced decreases of blood urea nitrogen, ammonia nitrogen in the portal vein, urea concentration in hepatic tissue, and Gln, Lys, Thr, Ala, Gly, Ser, Glu, Pro, Arg, Tyr, Cit, Asp, etc. in serum, while significant increases of Glu and Asp in hepatic tissue were observed. The modification of the nitrogen-processing mechanism by rhubarb extract is discussed on the basis of the present results.


A system for verifying the operability of one or more HVAC devices in a communication network includes a network control device that sends a particular type of message to the HVAC devices. Each HVAC device receiving the message will initiate a clearly visible display on the HVAC device if the message is appropriately processed within the receiving HVAC device. Each HVAC device may be visually checked to confirm that it is in fact responding to the message from the network control device.


In this current work, we are presenting a new upper bound for some mn (2, 71). Generally, In the projective plane in the two dimensional projective geometry of order q (briefly denoted by PG(2, q)) over a selected field F q of a q number of components, a (k, n)-arc can be defined as the set K of k number of points having mostly n number of points on any selected line of the plane. Therefore, this work can be done after determining what is k such that K becomes complete, as well as, these K values are not included in a (k +1, n)-arc. Particularly, finding a value that represents the largest existent value k for a complete K , that can be written as mn (2, q). In this current projective plane, the blocking set represents the complement of a (k, n)-arc K in the two dimensional projective geometry of order q with s = q + 1 - n.


An eight element time-division multiplexed fiber Bragg grating sensor array is demonstrated using an unbalanced integrated-optic discriminator to facilitate demodulation of Bragg wavelength shifts in the return signals. The system exhibits a wide sensing range with a detection capability of <1 (mu) - strain/(root)Hz rms at low frequencies.


Ultrasound imaging is one of the most prominent technologies to evaluate the growth, progression, and overall health of a fetus during its gestation. However, the interpretation of the data obtained from such studies is best left to expert physicians and technicians who are trained and well-versed in analyzing such images. To improve the clinical workflow and potentially develop an at-home ultrasound-based fetal monitoring platform, we present a novel fetus phantom ultrasound dataset, FPUS23, which can be used to identify (1) the correct diagnostic planes for estimating fetal biometric values, (2) fetus orientation, (3) their anatomical features, and (4) bounding boxes of the fetus phantom anatomies at 23 weeks gestation. The entire dataset is composed of 15,728 images, which are used to train four different Deep Neural Network models, built upon a ResNet34 backbone, for detecting aforementioned fetus features and use-cases. We have also evaluated the models trained using our FPUS23 dataset, to show that the information learned by these models can be used to substantially increase the accuracy on real-world ultrasound fetus datasets. We make the FPUS23 dataset and the pre-trained models publicly accessible at https://github.com/bharathprabakaran/FPUS23, which will further facilitate future research on fetal ultrasound imaging.


Abstract Disclosure: J. Rebernigg: None. K. Baez: None. N. Torres Rivera: None. B. Contreras: None. S. Yenari: None. K. Hamad: None. W. Wiese-Rometsch: None. V. Farhangi: None. •While certain endocrinopathies are known to increase dysglycemia in critically ill patients with sepsis or COVID-19, the impact on glycemic dysregulation in the presence of concomitant diagnoses is unclear.•We aimed to characterize glycemic variability among sepsis patients with vs without extant obesity (Obes) and/or diabetes (DM) undergoing intensive care with vs without lab confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection (CoV-2+). •Clinicodemographic and administrative data including ICD-10-based Elixhauser comorbidity categories were extracted under IRB exemption from electronic medical records between March 14, 2020 and July 31, 2022.•Baseline serum glucose (SG) was assayed from initial blood sample in ED when patients were tested for CoV-2+.•Mean, median, minimum and maximum SG were computed to characterize longitudinal glycemic patterns.•Univariate and multivariate regression analyses computed Youden Index estimating mortality thresholds for glycemic parameters controlling for significant (p<.05) confounders including comorbidities, treatment known to affect SG, sepsis severity and pathway to ICU. •Continuous data summarized with median [IQR] was compared using Kruskal Wallis test. •Discrete data summarized as proportions were compared with chi-square test.•P-values for intergroup contrasts were Bonferroni corrected (p<.0125). •Among 2650 consecutively discharged sepsis patients with at least two SG assays were segmented into Control (1323, 49%), DM (473, 18%), Obes (418, 16%) and ObesDM (436, 17%) with similar (p>.0125) demographics including 62% males and 38% females aged 71 [60,79] years distributed across Whites (85%), Blacks (7%) and other races (8%).•Intergroup results are similarly sequenced and intragroup sequenced CoV-2+ vs not.•Insulin was given to Control (68 vs 56%, p<.05), DM (94 vs 96%, ns), Obes (83 v 66%, p<.001), ObesDM (99 vs 98%, ns).•Intragroup corticosteroids were given to Control (91 vs 48%, p<.0001), DM (89 vs 48%, p<.0001), Obes (97 vs 65%, p<.001), and ObesDM (95 vs 56%), p<.001).•Intergroup distribution of comorbidities included HTN (63%, 83%, 75%, 87%), iron deficiency anemia (47%, 48%, 47%, 54%), neurological disease (47%, 46%, 51%, 49%), heart failure (30%, 42%, 35%, 44%), renal failure (22%, 44%, 28%, 41%), coagulation disease (37%, 33%, 37%, 30%) and chronic pulmonary disease (25%, 23%, 27%, 32%).•Relative longitudinal impact of CoV-2+ is best represented by differential (p<.001) prevalence [n assays] of visit median glucose >131 mg/dL across Control (44% [14] vs 27% [20]), DM (82% [19] vs 66% [14], Obes (55% [29] vs 25% [19]) and ObesDM (84% [31] vs 67% [18]).•Varied mortality includes Control (49 vs 26%), DM (59 vs 23%), Obes (77 vs 22%) and ObesDM (68 vs 19%).•In conclusion, critically ill sepsis patients with DM and/or obesity comorbid with COVID-19 infection variously amplifies glycemic dysregulation and susceptibility to death. Presentation: Thursday, June 15, 2023


Assessment of stability and balance system consist in quantitatively measuring and analysing movements of the centre of foot pressure (COP). Position of COP steadily changes due to the so called postural sways, and of course due to voluntary moves. Enlarged sways, observed in normal pressure hydrocephalus, are not however specific and cannot give simple diagnosis. Postural balance can be impaired due to pathology in various organs including vestibular and cerebellar disorders and various forms of ataxia (Mohan at al. 2009), Parkinsonism (Bloem at al. 1995, Stolze at al. 2001, Jagielski at al. 2006), multiple sclerosis (Kessler at al. 2011) and even alcohol dependence (Wober at al. 1998) and muscle fatigue or aging (Blaszczyk and Michalski 2006).


New cross sections of the 183W(n,α)180mHf, 186W(n,d*)185Ta, 182W(n,p)182Ta, 184W(n,p)184Ta, 182W(n,2n)181W, 184W(n,α)181Hf, and 186W(n,α)183Hf reactions were measured in the neutron energy range of 13.5-14.8 MeV via the activation technique to improve the database and resolve discrepancies. Monoenergetic neutrons in this energy range were produced via the T(d,n)4He reaction on a solid Ti-T target. The activities of the irradiated monitor foils and samples were measured using a well-calibrated high-resolution HPGe detector. Theoretical calculations of the excitation functions of the seven nuclear reactions mentioned above in the neutron energies from the threshold to 20 MeV were performed using the nuclear theoretical model program TALYS-1.9 to aid new evaluations of cross sections on tungsten isotopes. The experimental data obtained were analyzed and compared with that of previous experiments conducted by other researchers, and with the evaluated data available in the five major evaluated nuclear data libraries of IAEA (namely ENDF/B-VIII.0 or ENDF/B-VII.0, JEFF-3.3, JENDL-4.0u+, CENDL-3.2, and BROND-3.1 or ROSFOND-2010), and the theoretical values acquired using TALYS-1.9 nuclear-reaction modeling tools. The new cross section measurements agree with those of some recent experiments and theoretical excitation curves at the corresponding energies. The consistency of the theoretical excitation curves based on TALYS-1.9 with these experimental data is better than that of the evaluated curves available in the five major nuclear data libraries of IAEA.


Mussel farming in Greece constitutes an important economic activity for the areas where it is concentrated. This paper presents the results of a survey of mussel producers in Thermaikos Gulf, Northern Greece, where almost 90% of the total mussel production in the country takes place. Using data from a questionnaire survey of 66 mussel producers in the area, a typology is elaborated, by means of which three types of mussel farmers are discerned. "Professionals" are the ones continuing their family tradition, "Newcomers" are those who chose mussel farming as their main occupation and recently invested in the sector and "Aged amateurs" are the oldest and least educated group, members of which plan to pass their farm to younger family members. There is strong evidence that the sampled "Newcomers" achieve considerably higher financial results, however the sample size is not adequate to generalize for all results except for the farm income. When it comes to their environmental attitudes, mussel farmers comply to bans in cases where high toxin concentrates are detected, but they are not convinced about the effectiveness of controls. They discern very clearly between the environmental and regulatory measures necessary to boost the productivity of the sector, but they seem to proclaim by far the latter type of adjustments, including the resolution of location issues. Based on the profile of each cluster and the general results of the sample proposals are made concerning the implementation of the new Common Fisheries Policy. Typologies as Management Tools: Understanding the Environmental Attitudes and Economic Prospects of Mussel Farmers in Greece


SQUID's (Superconducting quantum interference devices) and other amplifiers are modeled by ideal noiseless linear amplifiers with current in and voltage en noise sources in their input circuits. For independent sources at frequency v the uncertainty principle requires that (e2ni2n)1/2 ≳2hv, where h is Planck's constant. This limits the intrinsic energy sensitivity e=Φ2n/2L of a SQUID of inductance L and effective flux noise power Φ2n to e≳emin=(e2ni2n)1/2 /2πν=h/π. Correlation of the noise sources or mismatch of the SQUID inductance is shown to degrade emin.


Previous studies on the association of smoking with acne vulgaris have reported conflicting results. The objective of this study was to investigate such an association. Our setting was three primary care practices in Hong Kong and one primary care practice in India. Patient characteristics in all four practices are similar. All medical records in these practices incorporate a section in which the smoking habits of each patient is routinely documented. We searched our database and retrieved 632 records of patients with acne seen in the previous 5 years. We also retrieved 632 records of age‐ and sex‐matched controls. Fifty‐three out of 379 male patients with acne and 25 out of 379 male controls were smokers (P = 0.001; OR, 2.3; 95% CI, 1.4–3.8). Six out of 253 female patients with acne and three out of 253 female controls were smokers (OR, 2.0; 95% CI, 0.5–9.4). We conclude that smoking is likely to bear a positive correlation with acne for men. Our numbers are too small for a definite conclusion to be drawn for females.