L'Oceanografic is going to be one of the most outstanding facilities of its kind in the world. Not only because of its size (9.000 m 3 of marine water for fish and 33.000 m 3 for marine mammals), but also its design andspecies diversity make this Aquarium something unique. Parques Reunidos Valencia S.A. is in charge of the management of the whole complex, and we have participated in the start up of the facilities, a huge challenge. The following chapters are discussed: (1) Concept and design, (2) steps followed during the starting up, (3) main problems already faced, (4) adopted solutions, (5) expected evolution and (6) conclusions.


The purpose of this paper is to analyse and assess health care reforms in Vietnam since the late 1980s. It will argue that shortcomings of the reforms centre on three related sets of measures: substitution of budgetary allocation with user charges, expansion of social insurance and promotion of decentralisation. Reduction in fiscal support for providers offered them the motive to concentrate on revenue-generating activities while user charges provided them with the means to do so. With both the motive and the means for maximising revenues in place, providers vigorously pursued income-maximisation which had the effect of raising overall expenditures while reducing access. To deal with the problem of declining access due to rising user charges, the government is in the process of vigorously expanding social insurance. However, social insurance does not deal with the root causes of the problem of rising expenditures which lie in paying providers on a fee-for-service (FFS) basis. The paper will further argue that decentralisation has aggravated the adverse effects of FFS by diluting control and accountability.


A highly sensitive fluorometric technique is developed for the determination of biological and geo-organic compounds in ancient sediments and extraterrestrial samples. This technique is used to establish chemical evidence for fossil pigments in an extraterrestrial sample. Also developed is a highly sensitive and specific fluorometric method for the determination of total primary amine nitrogen in soil samples.


Microelectrode voltammetry is used to study the electrochemical reduction of dioxygen, O2, in the room-temperature ionic liquid trihexyl(tetradecyl)phosphonium trifluorotris(pentafluoroethyl)phosphate [P6,6,6,14][FAP]. The nature of the unusual voltammetric waves is quantitatively modeled via digital simulation with the aim of clarifying apparent inconsistencies in the literature. The reduction is shown to proceed via a two-electron reaction and involve the likely capture of a proton from the solvent system. The oxidative voltammetric signals seen at fast scan rates are interpreted as resulting from the reoxidation of HO2•–. In the presence of large amounts of dissolved carbon dioxide the reductive currents decrease by a factor of ca. two, consistent with the trapping of the superoxide radical, O2•–, intermediate in the two-electron reduction process.


Molecular dynamics simulations of nanoscale multilayered Cu/Ag metals have been conducted under uniaxial tensile straining to elucidate the out-of-plane deformation behaviour relevant to tensile spallation experiments. In nanolayers with pristine architectures, plastic dissipation prior to crack nucleation is suppressed owing to the high hydrostatic tensile stress state. The presence of sources for micro-twinning partials, such as micro-cracks or columnar grain boundaries, result in abundant deformation twin lamellae across multiple Cu/Ag interlayers. Plastic recovery is observed during unloading of the nanolayers.


Half-dry stroke has a special effect in Chinese ink-wash drawing. To simulate its special texture and complex shape, a new concept of quadrilateral with two opposite curve sides (QTOCS) and two representations of dividing strokes (centre-line-key-point-representation and outline-key-point-representation) are presented according to the irregularity of the texture and shape of half-dry strokes. The emphasis is placed on the design of the algorithm of mapping QTOCS to rectangle. First a stroke is divide into several QTOCSs,and then by using the mapping algorithm and attaching technology, the internal texture of the stroke is rendered with drawers′ classic style of drawing. The new representations and mechanism of dividing strokes make the algorithm little complex and excellent in performance. The simulated results indicate that the rendering effect is very lifelike, not only keeping the characteristics of original drawing, but jointing the outlines of strokes correctly.


The second book in a three book series designed to support the Northern Ireland curriculum. This book focuses on geographical issues at national and European scales and includes chapters on natural disasters, the European Union, energy demands, population, rivers and cities. Hurricanes are also covered alongside mapwork, geography and careers and GIS.


The lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of amphiphilic poly(2-isopropyl-2-oxazoline) (PiPrOx) was precisely tuned via the copolymerization with 2-ethyl-2-oxazoline (EtOx) as a hydrophilic comonomer. The copolymerization was cationically initiated by methyl p-tosylate at the optimum condition (42 °C in acetonitrile) for living polymerization, obtaining the copolymers with a narrow molecular weight distribution (Mw/Mn ≤ 1.02). The monomer reactivity ratios of 1.78 and 0.79 respectively were derived for EtOx and iPrOx from the cumulative and instantaneous compositions of the copolymers determined from the 1H NMR and MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. This set of the reactivity ratios are sufficiently different enough to form the gradient copolymers, in which each polymer chain has a trend of a gradually decreasing EtOx and an increasing iPrOx composition along the backbone from the α-terminal to ω-chain end. These gradient copolymers followed a rather simple rule in their thermosensitive behaviors to show a...


Information which places our familiar monuments in their wider European setting we are prepared to disinter from the most elaborate stylistic convolutions. But alas, Professor Brieger considered it more important 'to define the main features which constitute the English element in the European Gothic style, than to discuss in detail the various continental influences'. There used to be a tendency for English Gothic art to be studied by Englishmen, whence a paucity in our vocabulary of foreign reference, which we had hoped to see on this occasion greatly extended. Disappointed in this major expectation, we are ready to be consoled by the freshness and piquancy that we have learnt to associate with attacks upon the Englishness of English art. Enthusiasm, upon occasion a disarming enjoyment, these we do find; but beyond appreciation to definition ? Professor Brieger, striving to cover equally all the arts, renames the old divisions of the thirteenth century Episcopal, Regal, and Seigneurial. Yet, on account of the relationship between architecture and the other arts, a central problem which is altogether avoided, the old-fashioned architectural titles were curiously apposite to painting and sculpture. Professor Brieger makes some crossreferences—the angels of the Tennison Psalter are compared with the spandrels of the Angel Choir at Lincoln; the sculptural quality of St. Faith in her chapel at Westminster is rightly observed; the Bible of Robert de Bello is associated, more obscurely, with Wells West Front. But he could have gone so much further. What of a comparison between the Trinity College Apocalypse (which has three pages of description with no indication of date) and the Westminster transept Angels ? Or an analogy between cross-legged knight effigies and the pose of the St. John in the Lindeseye Psalter Crucifixion drawing (pi. i^b) ? The 'great books on English Gothic Art' of a generation ago, as Professor Brieger j ustly calls them, segregated the arts, and divided they remain. We plunge, so to speak, from a chapter of Prior to a chapter of M. R. James, and back again.


In this work is proposed a hardware implementation method of Safe Petri Nets (SaPN) models. The processing structure presents an interaction between homogeny processing elements functional defined. On dependence of interconnections of elements, there can be implemented any complexity of Safe Petri Net model. The processing elements represent a flexible architecture, which permit to adjust them to Safe Petri Nets models. Using this architecture and interactions of elements we obtained a reduced time of processing to checking Safe Petri Nets to reachability, viability and other behavior properties.


the bone is being made, connected to each other and to the lining cells on the surface by cell processes within canaliculi. For the first few weeks the osteocyte is within osteoid and subsequently it is within mineralized bone. Each osteocyte undergoes one of two fates. Some die in situ by apoptosis; this process is brief, but apoptotic bodies can remain as a pyknotic nucleus for many months. Eventually the products of cell death are removed, leaving an empty lacuna. Much later (? years) the empty lacuna becomes filled with mineralized debris and may no longer be visible by light microscopy. Alternatively, some osteocytes may be removed before death by osteoclasts during bone resorption; their subsequent fate is controversial. Most studies of osteocyte number have used the number of lacunae as the referent. Many years ago Frost found that percent occupied lacunae in human cortical bone fell from about 95% at age 10 to about 70% at age 40, and remained steady thereafter. The decline was greater in interstitial than in osteonal bone. Much later osteocyte viability was determined using LDH cytochemistry, because osteocytes may remain stainable for some time after they have died. This index declined with age in the femoral head but not in the vertebral body. Such results are of interest but assume that total lacunar density remains constant. Since this is not true it is more accurate to express such data as per unit bone area in a section, or better yet, although usually impractical, per unit bone volume. My former laboratory at Henry Ford Hospital maintains a large library of iliac biopsy samples from healthy women. We found that cancellous osteocyte density (#/unit bone area) declined significantly with age from 20 to 70 years with a parallel decline in total lacunar density with an increase in empty lacunar density and a fall in the proportion of occupied lacunae. The rates of change were most rapid initially, falling exponentially with increasing age. Linear regressions were all significant in premenopausal but not in postmenopausal women. When measurements were made separately in superficial bone (less than 25 Ìm from the surface) and in deep bone (more than 45 Ìm from the surface), at all ages there were significantly more osteocytes in superficial than in deep bone. There was no significant decline with age in superficial bone, but a steeper exponential decline in deep bone than in whole trabeculae. The results confirm that osteocyte density declines with age in women as it does in men and suggest that it is the age of the bone rather than the age of the subject that is important, raising the possibility that one function of remodeling in iliac cancellous bone is to maintain osteocyte viability in superficial bone. In iliac cancellous bone the probability that a particular episode of remodeling will penetrate to a region decreases with distance of the region from the surface. Consequently, superficial bone is more frequently remodeled than deep (mainly interstitial) bone, so its mean age is lower, which is the primary difference between them. Even with a high rate of surface remodeling, bone more than 75 Ìm from the surface is virtually inaccessible and may be as old as its owner. Indeed, the remoteness of interstitial bone from remodeling and consequent protection against perforation is a condition for its survival. As well as fewer osteocytes, old interstitial bone has higher mineral density and more micro damage than young surface bone. Since the density of empty lacunae in superficial bone does not fall with age, bone containing empty lacunae must be replaced by new bone containing osteocytes. We found a significant inverse relationship between superficial bone osteocyte density and surface bone formation rate (BFR) in healthy women, consistent with the suggestion that osteocytes released a signal that inhibits remodeling. This raises the possibility of a feedback relationship between the two variables. However, a high BFR was unable to correct the osteocyte deficit and most of the variance in superficial bone


In order to investigate the interference effect of multiple pulses on modern microelectronic devices, a test module based on CAN (Controller Area Network) bus technique for distributed control is designed. More than a hundred modules are prepared for statistic test. Pulse injection test is carried out to measure the variation of interference threshold under electromagnetic pulse (EMP). The threshold voltage under two situations, multiple pulses with different number and with different time interval are considered. Accumulative effects of multiple pulses are observed and discussed.


Jimian 229 was developed by crossing between Jimian 616(female parent) which had resistance to Fusarium wilt,Verticillium wilt and premature senescence and the high fiber quality line 2118(male parent)which was distant hybridization offspring came from G.hirsutum,and G.barbadense.It had the characteristics of compact plant-type,growing healthy,high boll setting numbers and lint percentage,early maturing and well boll opening.Jimian 229 was approved by Hebei Crop Variety Approval Committee in 2013,the approval number was 2013004.


Context: During recent years, Objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) has been used in nursing education and other health care professions. It is considered as the "Gold Standard" for assessing the clinical skills. Objective evaluation of clinical competencies is a key component of undergraduate nursing education programs. Methods: We conducted a qualitative phenomenological study to explore the challenges in OSCE and also to identify the themes based on challenges in OSCE. All interviews were recorded and transcribed for the III year B.Sc Nursing students who had faced challenges in mental health nursing OSCE pattern of examination with the help of vignettes. Colaizzi seven steps analysis framework was used to identify major themes in the collected data. Results: We identified 2 challenges and themes in mental health nursing OSCE pattern of examination Viz the anxiety related to OSCE and the time confinement in manned stations.


Phospholipase A2 (PLA2), a common toxic component of snake venom, is responsible for a wide spectrum of biological and toxicological effects including bactericidal, anticoagulant, hemolytic, as well as neurotoxic and cardiotoxicity activities. In the present work, phospholipase A2 named (Mb-PLA2) was isolated from the venom of Montivipera bornmuelleri a Lebanese snake, by a two-step procedure consisting of gel filtration chromatography on Biogel P60 and reverse phase high pressure liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) on a Restek Ultra II C18 column. The experimentally determined molecular weight of the Mb-PLA2 was 13650 Da, which was determined by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry and close to 14400 Da as judged by SDS-PAGE electrophoresis. The isolated Mb-PLA2 was evaluated for bactericidal activity against Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Staphylococcus aureus. Mb-PLA2 showed strong antibacterial activity against the Gram positive bacteria S. aureus, followed by the Gram negative bacteria, E. coli, and then P. aeruginosa. Moreover, the Mb-PLA2 exhibited hemolytic activity toward human erythrocyte, as well as an anticoagulant activity when evaluated on human plasma.


The purpose of this paper is to obtain evidence for validity of the consumer xenocentrism scale adapted to wine consumption in Brazil. Xenocentrism is the internalized belief of the consumer about the inferiority of national products, and a propensity to prefer foreign products when compared to national products for the purposes of social aggrandizement.,Two samples composed of wine consumers were investigated (online and paper-and-pencil questionnaires), and the scale validation process was carried out in two studies. The sample of the first study was composed of 195 participants, and in the second study, 258 participants were investigated. Data were treated with confirmatory factor analyses and structural equation modeling.,Main results pointed to the discriminant and predictive validity for the Brazilian version of the scale of consumer xenocentrism adapted to the context of wine consumption.,This study expands on the original one by Balabanis and Diamantopoulus (2016), proposing the validation of the scale with Brazilian consumers. It also expands on the understanding of this behavior to a specific product (domestic wines) and offers evidence of scale validity in a culturally and economically context different from that of the original study, suggesting some evidence that the xenocentrism construct may actually occur in different cultures. An agenda of empirical research is suggested, to the understanding of the antecedents of xenocentric consumption behavior that will help Brazilian wineries to come up with more effective marketing strategies.


Phreatic is an important water resource for human survival and development. With the process of urbanization, diving in many areas has been polluted to varying degrees. In order to find out the existing relationship between phreatic level and water quality, in this study, 53 Wells in the main urban area of Xi'an in 2017 were selected to map and analyze the submersible water level, and the improved fuzzy comprehensive evaluation was used to evaluate the submersible water quality. The results show that the change of phreatic level is closely related to the fluctuation of terrain. The improved fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method can well reflect the phreatic quality in the study area, and it is universal. There is a linear relationship between phreatic level and water quality. Due to the flow in phreatic water, the polluted phreatic in the upstream will pollute it in the downstream. This is also the reason why the water quality along the Weihe River is poor. This study has positive significance for the good development of phreatic protection and the construction of human life in the study area.


Optimal T‐cell activation depends on the antigen‐specific signal mediated by the TCR and engagement of costimulatory receptors such as CD28. CTLA‐4, a homologous counterpart of CD28, is considered to be a crucial inhibitory receptor. To test its function separately from CD28 in an antigen‐driven and ligand‐specific model, we stably transfected the T‐cell hybridomas A1.1 and DO11.10, which lack significant endogenous CD28 or CTLA‐4 expression, with wild‐type CTLA‐4 (CTLA‐4 WT) and a construct lacking the cytoplasmic tail (tailless [TL]). Functional studies were carried out by co‐incubation with APC expressing the B7 ligands for CTLA‐4 and appropriate MHC molecules loaded with their cognate antigens. IL‐2 production on costimulation of CTLA‐4WT and TCR did not differ significantly from untransfected controls. However, coligation of TCR and CTLA‐4TL resulted in a vigorous IL‐2 response specific for the interaction of CTLA‐4 with B7. Thus, lack of the cytoplasmic tail converted CTLA‐4 into a costimulatory receptor. This indicates that the CTLA‐4 inhibitory function may not be attributable to sequestration of the common B7 ligands when competing with CD28. Rather, ligation of B7 by the CTLA‐4 extracellular domain can enhance TCR activation, whereas in the full‐length receptor, inhibitory signals mediated by the cytoplasmic domain may override this activation.


Werner Heisenberg died, of cancer, in February 1976. It was the month I finally found a practice, so I remember the date. In digs in Cambridge with a student of atomic physics I'd had personal tuition in Heisenberg's 'Uncertainty Principle'. Knowing the speed of an electron meant that also knowing its location was intellectually impossible, and vice versa: one or the other but never both. With what adolescent glee we applied this to Paul's stolen bike. Small consolation, walking to lectures, that he could calculate his bicycle's velocity because he didn't know where it was. But what's all this nostalgic nonsense to do with the poor, with inequality, with health or UK general practice?

My thesis is that a self-serving version of the uncertainty principle is being applied, throughout Whitehall, to inequality and health. We are being told that we must see socioeconomic inequality as a function of speed — are the poor, as a group, catching up or falling further behind? It will do us no good to try to locate deprived individuals: to do so is tantamount to voyeurism and is illegal. Outside the sancta of the Inland Revenue and Social Security there is a compulsory 'confidentiality threshold' for the release of economic data — 16 households or 50 persons being the smallest legal tender. This is perverse polity; whether by cock-up or conspiracy is not my concern. I want to propose that in the UK there is, staring us in the face, a tool for breaking this bureaucratic bulwark, a means of linking actual people to their socioeconomic standing. It is objective, indeed official, and not distastefully obtrusive. I believe it to be a mechanism more suited to general practice rather than is the usual pinched population thinking of public health; Dickens rather than Malthus. It could …


Low latency radio / baseband interface protocol is provided. In one embodiment thereof, 8b / 10b encoding is used, it has a specific control characters and data characters. Control characters are used to define the start of a frame. More specifically, according to one aspect of the present invention, the signal transmission between the radio part of the communication facility baseband portion of the communication facility, it is encoded into code data units of a specific number of bits be achieved by, each code is a data unit of a larger number of bits than the specific number of bits. A plurality of different types of data exchange is defined, different codes are assigned to data exchange each type. For a particular data exchange, according to be exchanged data, data exchange type is selected, a message frame in accordance with the data exchange type selected is formed, this message identifies the data exchange type code that is included. Then, the message frames are transmitted between the baseband part and the radio part.


T HE S TATE OF C ALIFORNIA L ABOR P AUL M. O NG J AMES R. L INCOLN E DITORS A JOINT PUBLICATION OF THE I NSTITUTE OF I NDUSTRIAL R ELATIONS U NIVERSITY OF C ALIFORNIA , L OS A NGELES U NIVERSITY OF C ALIFORNIA , B ERKELEY C OPYRIGHT © 2001 A LL RIGHTS RESERVED . P RINTED IN THE U NITED S TATES OF A MERICA . ISBN: 0-89215-189-7 P RINTED BY : B ROTHERS P RINTING C OMPANY


Activities of maturation-promoting factor (MPF) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) of mature oocytes should be decreased to begin subsequent development. In this study, activities of MPF and MAPK were investigated in porcine oocytes after artificial activation. To determine optimal electrical activation, porcine oocytes were exposed to 3 V AC pulse for 5 s followed by a single DC pulse of various electric field strengths (120, 150, 180, and 210 V/mm) and pulse durations (15, 30, 45, and 60 μs). For chemical activation, oocytes were exposed to 5 μM ionomycin for 5 min followed by 2 mM 6-dimethylaminopurine (6-DMAP) or 5 μg/mL cycloheximide for 4 h or 6 h. After activation, 40 to 50 oocytes were cultured in 50-μL drops of NCSU23 medium supplemented with 4 mg/mL BSA at 39°C, and 5% CO2 in air. After 6 days of culture, blastocyst formation was observed and then numbers of blastocyst nuclei were counted after staining with Hoechst 33342. in vitro development rates and numbers of blastocyst nuclei by the field strengths were not significantly different among experimental groups (P > 0.05). However, development rates to the blastocyst stage of porcine oocytes exposed to 15 and 30 μs were 27.4 and 24.4%, respectively, which were significantly higher than that (12.5%) of 60 μs (P < 0.05). Mean numbers of blastocyst nuclei in 15- and 30-μs groups (38.6 ± 13.4 and 37.9 ± 11.4, respectively) were significantly higher than that (25.8 ± 10.5) of the 60-μs group (P < 0.05). Blastocyst development after optimal electrical pulse exposure was compared with that after different chemical treatments. Electrical stimulation induced 22.9% of blastocyst formation, which was significantly higher (P < 0.01) than those induced by the chemical stimulators (3.4 and 2.7%). Based on these results, changes of constituent proteins (cdc2 and ERK) of MPF and MAPK after artificial activation were analyzed by immunoblotting using anti-PSTAIRE monoclonal antibody and anti-MAP kinase polyclonal antibody. Activities of both cdc2 and ERK in pig oocytes were reduced 4 h after electrical stimulus, but were maintained at optimal levels after treatment with ionomycin + 6-DMAP. Our results indicate that an optimal single electrical pulse is effective on the inactivation of MPF and MAPK in porcine oocytes, eventually resulting in activation of porcine oocytes produced in vitro.


verge across the two societies. Ameeriar convincingly presents Canada as a multicultural state operating under a colonial logic that perpetuates systematic ascriptive inequalities. This uncovering of racializing processes in the experience of Pakistani immigrant women is a useful empirical contribution to sociology. That said, the book is limited theoretically due to its insufficient engagement with sociological literature on the racialization of immigrants. So despite the clear contributions the book makes to our understanding of complexities and inequalities within Canadian multiculturalism, it is not clear how the work challenges or advances existing theories and concepts such as racial formation, segmented assimilation, or racialized incorporation. It is also not clear how the case of Pakistani immigrant women challenges or advances existing understandings of marginalization within Canadian scholarship on race and immigration. Nevertheless, this is an important case study that will be of great interest to sociologists interested in immigration and citizenship, racialization, precarious work, gender, and the South Asian diaspora.


In the present manuscript, we explore the VN‐codoped TiO2 system intended to understand the role played by each dopant in synergistic enhancement in performance of TiO2 photocatalyst. The photocatalytic decomposition of organic pollutants in aqueous solution under visible light was used as a probe reaction to evaluate the performance of VN‐codoped TiO2 samples with different V and N concentrations. An optical measurement of VN‐codoped TiO2 shows considerable improved visible light absorption with increase in V‐concentration as compared to increase in N concentration, which was due to the effective narrowing of the band gap by V‐doping. The energy levels formed by N‐dopants act as the trapping centers for photogenerated holes to suppress recombination process as indicated by PL and TRPL results. It is also observed that at high V‐concentrations recombination centers are created in the form of oxygen vacancies as indicated by XPS and PL. In VN‐codoped TiO2, addition of N partially fills these oxygen vacancies to reduce the number of recombination centers and prolong the lifetime of charge carriers. Thus, V improves the visible light absorption while N reduces the recombination of electron–hole pairs, thus creating the synergistic effect to produce three times better performance than pure TiO2.


THERE IS A LOT FOR CLASSICISTS TO LIKE in Marlowe's The Tragedy of Dido Queen of Carthage. There was a lot for theatergoers to like in Neil Bartlett's production of this play at the American Repertory Theatre (ART) in Cambridge, Massachusetts (March 5–26, 2005). The script of Dido is based primarily on the Aeneid (Books I, II, and IV). Vergil's text contains many formal and thematic allusions to tragedy, especially in IV: the agonistic speeches; Anna's role as nutrix/ confidante; comparisons of Dido to a raging Bacchant (301–3), Pentheus (469–70) and scaenis agitatus Orestes 471; and her thoughts of imitating the savage violence of Medea and Atreus 600–602. Aeneid IV raises the possibility that the poem will metamorphose from epic to tragedy, with Dido taking center stage from Aeneas. That is what happens in Ovid's Heroides 7, and it happens again in Dido Queen of Carthage. Marlowe probably wrote this play—his first— in 1585, when he was a twenty-one year old student at Cambridge University. An excellent Latinist, Marlowe did a superb translation of Ovid's Amores, probably before writing Dido. In writing Dido, Marlowe focused on Aeneid I, II, and IV, the books of the poem best known to ancient, Elizabethan, and modern audiences, and in a few places his characters speak Latin lines from the Aeneid. In dramatizing this material, Marlowe did not simply translate but made many changes in structure, characters, and language. Aeneas' account of the fall of Troy, for example, condenses all of Aeneid II (more than 800 lines) into 163 lines (still a very long speech, which includes horrific details not in Vergil: "young infants swimming in their parents' blood, / headless carcasses piled up in heaps" [II.i.193–94]).1


A highly ordered mesoporous sulfurized polyacrylonitrile (MSPAN) composite has been synthesized via in situ polymerization of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) in an SBA-15 template followed by sulfurization. The synthesized composite possessed high sulfur utilization, high Coulombic efficiency, and excellent cycling stability as a cathode active material for high-rate lithium sulfur (Li–S) batteries. A highly ordered mesoporous structure was observed in the MSPAN composite from transmission electron microscopy. Excellent electrochemical and stable cycling performances of the MSPAN composite were obtained, especially at high C rates. The capacity retention of the MSPAN cell was 755 mAh g–1 after 200 cycles at 1 C and 610 mAh g–1 after 900 cycles at 2 C. Even at a higher rate of 5 C, the composite showed reasonable capacity retention. The superior performance of the MSPAN composite was attributed to its highly porous structure, which could effectively improve the wettability, accessibility, and absorption of electro...


When can a relationship between an exposure and a disease be considered "causal"? Typically, several steps need to be followed to respond to the question, such as identifying, reviewing, evaluating and integrating the scientific evidence for an overall evaluation that includes a thoughtful check of the Bradford Hill criteria [1], as illustrated in the International Agency for Research on Cancer preamble [2] or in the Environmental Protection Agency procedures [3, 4]. Efforts to reduce air pollution exposure, especially from traffic emissions, could help prevent a substantial portion of new cases of asthma http://bit.ly/339gGdq


test should be added to ensure the reliability of perinatal diagnosis, especially in PIH cases. Obviously, to use these two tests for perinatal fetal monitoring simultaneously is better than to use any one test alone.


Agrosystems Research, Plant Research International, PO Box 16, 6700 AA, Wageningen, The Netherlands, wAlterra, PO Box 47,6700 AA, Wageningen, The Netherlands, zApplied Research, Animal Sciences Group, PO Box 65, 8200 AB, Lelystad,The NetherlandsIn GCB 1090 published in 12-2, 2006, the unit ''kg per kgmilk'' should read as ''g per kg milk'' throughout thearticle.


Introduction Dental implants and extracoronal attachments were used with Kennedy class II implant assisted removable partial dentures (IARPD) without a major connector. strain gauges were used to detect the microstrains generated around the abutments and dental implants. Materials and Methods Thirty acrylic resin models of a mandibular class II Kennedy received 3 RPD designs; a clasp retained RPD in group I, a unilateral clasp retained RPD without a major connector supported by a dental implant placed once at the first molar and once at the second molar position in group II, and in group III, a clasp free RPD, with extracoronal attachments, supported by a dental implants placed in similar positions to group II. Strain gauges were used to determine which design generated more significant loads, and recorded microstrains were statistically analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests. Results Significantly greater loads around abutment teeth were reported in group II and group III than in group I. The distal placement of the implants resulted in significantly greater microstrains more than the mesial placement in groups II and III, and both placements were of more intensity in group II than in group III. Conclusions A Kennedy class II IARPD can be effectively altered to a bounded space prosthesis by placement of a dental implant in the first rather than the second molar position, and together with an extracoronal attachment, the clasp and major connector can be omitted once the edentulous span is short, and the clinical situation is favorable.


Goat pox virus is a highly contagious viral disease of goats causing huge economic losses in animal productivity. This study was designed for isolation, identification and molecular characterization of goat pox virus in Suez Canal area. From a total of 200 goats in 6 flocks located in Suez Canal provinces; Ismailia, Suez, and Port Said, about 26 skin scab samples mixed in 6 pools and 116 serum samples were collected in the period from 2017 to 2019. Typical pock lesion were observed in 4/6   (66.66%) of pooled samples, while the rest of the sample 2/6 (33.33%) showed no pathological changes on the chorioallantois membrane (CAM) of 11-13 days old embryonated chicken eggs (ECE). A total of 18 positive samples out of 116 examined sera were recorded by AGPT with a total positive percentage of 15.52 %. Goat pox virus antibody titer was higher in vaccinated animals than non-vaccinated animals. Goats less than 6 months old exhibited higher antibody titer than animals more than 6 months old. Conventional PCR was done for 3 pooled goat pox isolates with capripox specific primers for P32 (primer 1) and 3 pooled isolate for p32 (primer 2) one pooled isolate for RPO30 gene. PCR were carried out for goat pox virus isolates recovered from animal skin crusts and CAM harvest of infected eggs. The size of the PCR products by 1.5% gel electrophoresis with capripox specific primers for P32 (primer 1, 2) and RPO30 gene were 89 and 390 and 151 base pairs respectively.


The heavy ion irradiation simulation of neutron and/or proton irradiation has been verified experimentally by the detailed study of radiation damage in α-Al2O3 irradiated at the equivalent dose by 5.28×1015cm-285 MeV19F ions and by 3×1020cm-2 En≥1MeV neutrons, respectively. The radiation damage created by irradiation was examined by a positron annihilation lifetime technique. The positron annihilation parameters of lifetime and intensity obtained for both irradiations in α-Al2O3 are all in good agreement. This demonstrates that the heavy ion irradiation can well simulate the neutron and/or proton irradiation.


A Zr--Nb alloy containing less than approximates 5% may be a possible substitute for Zircaloy-2 in water-cooled reactors. Results obtained on a single commercially produced billet of Zr-2 1/2% Nb are given and compared with corresponding results for Zircaloy-2. Unlike Zircaloy-2, the oxidation resistance of this alloy is very much worse in air than in steam and it is this factor which may be critical in determining the suitability of the Zr--2 1/2% Nb alloy. It is shown that the behavior of the niobium alloy in air or oxygen is similar to that of unalloyed niobium under the same conditions, and the cause of ths poor behavior in air is inferred by comparison with the mechanism of niobium oxidation. By virtue of this mechanism its oxidation resistance, particularly in air, is very susceptible to differing heat treatments and fabrication procedures. In steam, its behavior is also very susceptible to the presence of free oxygen. (auth)


Tumor relapse and acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) remain the major obstacles limiting the efficacy of allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (allo-BMT). However, there has been a strong correlation between the beneficial graft-vs.-tumor effects (GVT) and the deleterious GVHD. Recent studies have provided novel evidence for the divergent roles of the cytokines IL-17 and IFNγ in the establishment and maintenance of inflammatory disease. Because proinflammatory responses are greatly involved in the pathogenesis of acute GVHD, we examined the role of CD8+ T cell-derived IFNγ and CD4+ T cell-derived TNFα mediated cytokine response in the development of GVHD/GVT in two different murine BMT/GVHD models as well a delayed bortezomib-induced GVHD dependent gut toxicity model that we have shown to be associated with increased serum levels of IL-1, IL-6 and TNFα (Blood, 2005). We found that removal of CD4+ but not CD8+ T cells from donor graft markedly lowered post-transplant serum TNFα but not IFNγ levels. This correlated with significantly decreased acute GVHD as well as delayed bortezomib-induced GVHD dependent gut toxicity. The use of TNFα knockout mice as donors revealed that the delayed bortezomib exacerbated acute GVHD-dependent mortality was dependent on CD4+ T cell-derived TNFα. In addition, we found that donor CD4+ IL-17+ cells were significantly increased in the GVHD target organs (gut and liver) but not the spleen of acute GVHD mice. Donor CD4+ IL-17+ cells in the gut were further increased in delayed bortezomib-induced GVHD dependent gut toxicity model. Thus, removal of CD4+ T cells from the graft significantly altered post-transplant serum cytokine patterns resulting in reduced acute GVHD lethality as well as delayed bortezomib-induced GVHD dependent mortality. To determine the effect of bortezomib treatment on CD8+ T cell mediated GVT, A20 lymphoma bearing BALB/c recipients were given FvB cellular grafts. No significant protective anti-tumor effects of the BMT alone with or without post-transplant bortezomib therapy were observed in these advanced-tumor-bearing recipients. When the tumor-bearing mice received allogeneic BMT with donor splenocytes that were depleted of CD4+ T cells, marked and significant increases in survival were observed, indicating that significant GVT effects had been obtained in the absence of donor CD4+ T cells. Survival was further improved with the addition of prolonged post-transplant bortezomib therapy, indicating synergistic anti-tumor responses had been obtained with CD4+ T cell depleted spleen cells and bortezomib treatment (P


The short history of creation of the theory of biological oxidation of organic connections and use of biological oxidizers аэрационного and filtrational types and their reconstruction with reference to sewage treatment is stated.


In this paper, we revisit the wireless link scheduling problem under a graded version of the SINR interference model. Unlike the traditional thresholded version of the SINR model, the graded SINR model allows use of "imperfect links", where communication is still possible, although with degraded performance (in terms of data rate or PRR). Throughput benefits when graded SINR model is used instead of thresholded SINR model to schedule transmissions have recently been shown in an experimental testbed. Here, we formally define the wireless link scheduling problem under the graded SINR model, where we impose an additional constraint on the minimum quality of the usable links, (expressed as an SNR threshold βQ). Then, we present an approximation algorithm for this problem, which is shown to be within a constant factor from optimal. We also present a more practical greedy algorithm, whose performance bounds are not known, but which is shown through simulation to have much better average performance than the approximation algorithm. Furthermore, we investigate, through both simulation and implementation on an experimental testbed, the tradeoff between the minimum link quality threshold βQ and the resulting network throughput.


The aim of this paper is to investigate and analyze practices in multilingual classrooms of mathematics in a compulsory school in Sweden where immigrant students have been known to succeed. The sch ...


*A version of this paper was delivered as a lecture for U.C.T.'s Centre for Extra-Mural Studies in August, 1980 , when the Baxter Company was performing Ted Hughes' adaptation of Seneca's Oedipus in the Baxter Studio Theatre. My thanks to Dr. K. Coleman for commenting on a draft of this paper.


Bullying which seems to be a widespread problem among the primary schools  has a harmful effect on the mental, physical and social wellbeing of the child .To prevent such mishaps on the children, this  study examined the available bullying practices among the primary schools within Awka urban area, the roles  of different stakeholders in education as intervention strategies and made recommendations on how to bring bullying to a stop. This study will be significant to the parents, government and head teachers on how to join hand to ensure a conducive learning environment free from  fear of bullying for better academic achievement of the pupils .The  study which was limited to public primary schools used a descriptive survey guided by two research questions .A sample population of 80 randomly selected primary six children and ten head teachers from all the 20 public primary schools in Awka urban area were used. The instrument used for collection of data was a 15 Item questionnaire.  The study found out that in primary schools in Awka urban area, different bullying practices were available and at a very high frequency such as taunting, fighting, gossiping, stealing and others. The researchers therefore concluded that putting bullying under control should be the responsibilities of all the stakeholders in education such as the parents, educators, non governmental organizations, policy makers, religious organizations and the school pupils involved. Based on the findings, recommendations were made among others is that the head teachers should organize orientations for the pupils and the teachers on human right policy and a parental awareness campaign could be conducted during the Parents Teachers meeting .


Organic nonlinear optical co-crystals 2-aminopyrimidine benzoic acid (2APB) and 2-aminopyrimidine succinic acid (2APS) have been successfully grown by slow solvent evaporation method at room temperature. The structural characterization of the grown crystals was carried out by single crystal X-ray diffraction. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and FT-Raman spectra of the grown crystals are recorded and the observed vibrational frequencies are assigned. The hybrid computational calculations are carried out by Hartree–Fock (HF) and density functional theory (DFT) (3-parameter, Lee-Yang-Parr (B3LYP)) methods with 6-311[Formula: see text]G(d,p) basis sets and the corresponding results are tabulated. The geometrical parameters of the molecules also have been analyzed. The computed vibrational spectra were compared with experimental result which shows appreciable agreement. The chemical hardness, electronegativity, chemical potential and electrophilicity index were determined by highest occupied molecular orbital–lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (HOMO–LUMO) plot. The grown crystals were subjected to population analysis, thermal, linear and nonlinear optical studies of materials. The calculated second-order hyperpolarizability values of these materials are nearly two to four times that of urea.


The convective transport of 31P and 32P in three soils was investigated using elution and miscible displacement techniques. The rate of movement of both 31P and 32P compared with that of water was greatly retarded by soil-phosphorus interactions; the retardation of movement increased with increasing rates of phosphate fixation of the soils. The rate of 31P and 32P movement in soil was influenced by the mode of phosphate application. The rate measured by pulse input was greater than that measured by continuous input. The rate of 31P movement was invariably greater than that of 32P. Also, the specific activity of the effluent obtained from soil columns was different from the specific activity of the phosphate solution added, particularly at the start of elution. The change in specific activity and the slower rate of 32P movement than that of 31P was attributed to exchange of 32P with soil phosphate. It is suggested that isotopes such as 32P, which can exchange with their unlabeled form in the medium, cannot...


In this paper the synthesis and properties of resacetophenone oxime–formaldehyde resin are described. The number-average molecular weights of the resin determined by vapor-pressure osmometry and nonaqueous conductometric titration are 2200 ± 10% and 2500 g/mol, respectively. Cu(II), Ni(II), and Co(II) chelates of the resin were prepared. Elemental analysis of the chelates indicates a metal to ligand ratio of 1:2. The diffuse reflectance spectra and magnetic moments of Ni(II) and Co(II) chelates show tetrahedral structure, whereas Cu(II) chelate shows a square planar structure. Infrared spectral studies show that the metals are coordinated through the nitrogen of the oximino group and oxygen of the phenolic group. The presence of methylene bridges is also indicated by IR spectral studies. The thermal behavior of the resin and its metal chelates are also discussed.


In this paper we consider the problem of recovery of a burst-like forcing term in the framework of dynamical sampling. We introduce the notion of a sensing limit of a collection of samples with respect to a semigroup and indicate its fundamental role in the solvability of the problem.


Resumen en: A view based on the religious composition of the Brazilian municipality, Goias, of the religious and cultural phenomenon which serves as a model for th...


This paper describes a new test system that relies on sudden strain energy release to subject specimens to rapid loading. The new system is cost effective to build in comparison to, and smaller than, existing systems, can be used to test relatively larger-sized specimens and can be conveniently adjusted to achieve a broad range of strain rates. The theoretical potential of the device is discussed and equations that describe the operation of the system are developed and used to identify influential variables. A computational simulation model of a prototype system is then described and exercised to quantitatively explore the influence of the key variables. A prototype device was built to demonstrate proof-of-concept and its ability to perform high rate impact test for cement composites requiring large size specimen by using small impact device is discussed.


Biomonitoring of PAH air pollution using lichens was carried out. Sixteen PAHs were studied in 11 locations along the valley of Caracas (Venezuela). The results of this work indicate that 14 of the 16 analysed PAHs were highly accumulated into the lichen thalli of Pyxine coralligera Malme. PAH levels in the samples revealed that the several volatile PAHs (naphthalene, acenaphtylene, acenaphtene, and fluoranthene) have the highest levels in the majority of the studied locations. The fluoranthene/pyrene and phenantrene/antracene ratios suggested that the major sources of PAHs are anthropogenic, mainly associated with gasoline and diesel combustion (pyrolytic) and unburnt oil derivates (petrogenic). The total PAH concentrations obtained in the present study were in the range of 0.24 to 9.08 µg/g, similar to those reported by other works in European and Asian cities.


it commenced in the substance of the cortex and was spreading diffusely from that focus. Microscopically it proved to be a highly malignant glioma. The patient remains in good health. CASE II.-F. In this case the patient, a boy aged 8, presented fulminating symptoms of cerebellar tumour, intense optic neuritis, inability to stand, repeated cerebellar fits, marked nystagmus and localizing pressure symptoms enabling a-diagnosis of right cerebellar lateral lobe lesion. A glioma of about 8 cm. long axis was removed from this situation. As will be seen from the photograph (Fig. 20) the patient is in perfect health nearly four years after operation, and shows no symptoms of loss of cerebellar function' although the removal of .the growth necessitated considerable contusion of the cerebellar hemigphere. These cases make it clear that the successful treatment of glioma resolves itself into a question of early diagnosis. In this respect it seems to fall into line with the corresponding malignant tumours, for example, *sarcomata of muscle and other soft vascular organs and tissues.


A key issue in developing commercially viable planar solid oxide fuel cell stacks is appropriate seal design. We are currently developing an alternative approach to rigid and compressive seal designs that conceptually combines advantages of both techiques, including hermeticity, mechanical integrity, and minimization of interfacial stresses in either of the joint substrate materials, particulary the ceramic. The new seal relies on a plastically deformable metal seal; one that offers a quasi-dynamic mechanical response in that it is adherent to both sealing surfaces, i.e. non-sliding, but readily yields or deforms under thermally generated stresses, thereby mitigating the development of stresses in the adjacent ceramic and metal components even when a significant difference in thermal expansion exists between the two materials. Here we employ finite element modeling to assess the potential thermal cycling performance of this design, specifically as it pertains to sealing components with vastly different thermal expansion properties.


Objective:To study the curative effect mechanism of Jiaweijianling Decoction on insulin resistence and TNF-α level in patients of EH , which were Yin deficiency and Yang excess syndrome with phlegm-dampness. Method: A total of 60 EH patients were observed according to the diagnosis criteria. They were divided into two groups at random. The treatment group and the control group both had 30 patients. The control group were treated by west medicine, while patients in the treatment group were treated by Jiaweijianling Decotion everytime twice every day on the basis of west medicine. The course of treament lasted three weeks, then the changes of laboratory indexes、TNF-α level and the degree of insulin resistence were observed. Result: (1) In the treatment group ,the level of SBPBP、FPG、FINS were more remarkably reduced than in control group, and the difference was significant betreen the two groups (P0. 01). (2) The level of ISI in the treatment group were improved more remarkably than in control group,and there was statistical difference between the two groups(P0. 01). (3)The level of TNF-α in treatment group was decreased more significantly than in control group, and the difference between the two groups was statistical P0. 01). Conclusion; Jiaweijianling Decoction could improve the level of SBP,DBP,FPG,FINS、TNF-α and the degree of insulin resistence of the EH patients. It is a safe and effective preparation and it is worthy to be studied deeply.


Transient resonance coherent Stokes Raman scattering (CSRS) spectra of the photoinduced radical ions of all-trans-1, 8-diphenylocta-1, 3, 5, 7-tetraene (DPO) were observed in polar solvents such as acetonitrile, N, N-dimethylformamide and dimethyl sulphoxide. The identification was based on the long lifetimes and the dependence of their formation on the electron-donating and/or -accepting nature of the solvents. The fluorescence spectra of DPO were also observed in the presence of N, N-dimethylaniline (DMA) and p-dicyanobenzene (DCNB) in p-dioxane and in polar solvents without DCNB and DMA. The absence of an indication of exciplex formation, in contrast to the cases of diphenylbutadiene and diphenylhexatriene, can be related to the extremely low efficiency of the radical ion formation by solvent-assisted photoionization in DPO—DMA and DPO—DCNB in p-dioxane systems. The strong dependence of the CSRS signal of the DPO radical ions on the content of polar solvent in the high-concentration region of the binary solvent systems with p-dioxane suggests a collective behaviour of the polar solvents surrounding an S1 solute for the CT interaction to generate the radical ions. The observed Raman wavenumbers were compared with those of DPO in the S0, S1 and T1 states and qualitative correlation among them is discussed.


Compliance programmes are present in the Banking System through standards such as the Guide to Good Compliance Practices of the Brazilian Federation of Banks and the Resolutions of the Central Bank of Brazil No. 2.554/1998, 4.595/2017 and 4.557/2017 that financial and equivalent institutions authorised to operate in the country must establish responsible credit policies. However, such measures are not effective due to the broad scenario of overindebtedness of individuals borrowing credit, which are now protected by Law No. 14.181/2021, whose principle is the protection of overindebted consumers by establishing sanctions for financial institutions that irresponsibly grant credit.


Oelke, E.: The brown coal mining near Bennstedt in the Saalekreis (Saxonia-Anhalt). - Hercynia N. F. 48 (2015): 75 – 96. Brown coal was extracted underground near Bennstedt from 1821 to 1939 by 2 trade-union mines, the mines "Sophie" and "Eintracht". They won brown coal from 2 seams of the geological Nietleben-Bennstedt basin, an upper seam from the Lower Oligocene and a lower seam from the Upper Eocene. The mines extracted the coal with little shafts and galleries. They are supplying the local industry and the inhabitants of Bennstedt. Over all the mines near Bennstedt have extracted 2,9 Mio t brown coal. Key words : Brown coal mining, underground mining, historical development, mine "Sophie", mine "Eintracht"


Soil water storage capacity is the primary factor affecting crop productivity. To determine the effects of this capacity on winter wheat production in the Loess Plateau in western China,we have collected data of soil water content and winter wheat production over multiple years from eight observatory stations located in semi-arid,semi-humid and humid areas. These data were analyzed based on the circulatory theory of Air precipitation-Soil water-Plant (ASP). These areas were considered a high performance water resource. In semi-arid,semi-humid and humid areas,the calculated maximum soil water storage capacity was 270mm,299mm,331mm in 1 m depth and 561mm,605mm,676mm in 2m depth respectively. The capacity increases with increased humidity. However,the actual maximum soil water storage capacity determined was drastically lower,only 111mm,183mm and 269mm in 1m depth and 230mm,370mm and 550mm in 2m depth,corresponding to 41%,61% and 81% of the maximum water storage capacity for semi-arid,semi-humid and humid areas,respectively. The capacity amounted to 51%,76%,and 102% of the optimum water storage amount in these three areas. As a result,the semi-arid areas were far short of water supply to meet the requirement of winter wheat growth,causing a severe drought condition. Whereas,the sub-humid areas barely met the water supply,sustaining a mild drought condition. Hence,appropriate soil moisture conservation measures were necessary to increase wheat production in sub-humid areas. During the entire growth period of winter wheat,the transpiration ratio and water consumption in 2m soil layer were 330-648mm and 304-343mm,which increase with increasing drought conditions. Natural precipitation accounted for about 65%-95% of the water requirement,and pre-sowing soil storage water supplied 5%-35%. In shallow soil layer,winter wheat water consumption was higher during vegetative growth than that during reproductive growth period. In contrast,in deep soil layer,reproduction growth consumed more water than vegetative growth. For winter wheat,the soil water grain productivity was 0.30-1.38kg/mm with an average of 0.87 kg/mm. The biomass productivity was 1.416kg/mm. The productivity decreased dramatically with worsening drought conditions. These data suggested that the winter wheat water productivity in dryland areas of Loess Plateau in western China was low and unstable. To increase the water use productivity,appropriate measures in fertilizer use,farming techniques,management,etc will have to be taken into account.


Drugs may cause headache or may exacerbate a preexisting headache disorder. The International Headache Society (IHS) groups them as "headaches associated with substances or their withdrawal."1 When these drug-induced headaches have an abrupt development and do not remit, they are sometimes classified as "new daily persistent headaches."2 We present a case of daily headache as the main clinical manifestation of lithium intoxication.

A 62-year-old white woman had had bipolar disorder for 12 years and had been treated with lithium carbonate (1200 mg daily), diazepam (5 mg daily), and thioridazine (25 mg daily) for 3 years. She had good control of the psychiatric symptomatology, showing only a mild depression. Her last manic exacerbation occurred 6 years previously. Two weeks before initial examination (12/99), she had daily bilateral, intense holocranial headache, which she described as being "heavy"; it was without photophobia but with phonophobia and …


Strain delay index (SDI) allows quantification of the wasted contraction or gain of myocardial contractility expected after cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT). The present multicentre prospective study aimed to assess the accuracy of the SDI in predicting responses to CRT in real‐life patients with wide and narrow (<130 ms) QRS complexes.


An on-chip implantable lock-in analyzer of variations of the electrical bio-impedance has been designed and pilot versions of the ASIC based analyzer have been fabricated and tested. A mixed signal approach, as the most suitable way for accomplishing a low voltage and low power ASIC for applications in portable and implantable devices for various biomedical applications, is discussed.


This paper compares the government RD expenditure among some developed countries and newly industrialized nations.The government RD expenditure is an important measare to drive the RD input in the whole country and enhance the strength of the country.The international experiences are the scale of the government RD expenditure decides the RD expenditure in the whole country,and new industrialization countries should have a more rapid increase of the RD expenditure than GDP.The strength of the government RD expenditure in China is not enough,increasing the government RD expenditure has been the most important task.


According to the recent development of modern distance education system, which is based on the Internet and the architecture of 3-layer Client /Server, it becomes reality to make the students accept more services of distance education ( reading information , asking and answering etc. ) in any time and any place. However, another key problem, which can help us to improve the distance tuition effect, is to create and actualize a synchronous distance education system according to the CSCW technology and modern multimedia communication technology based on this. We can achieve the synchronous virtual classroom, synchronous examination and supervision, the information exchange between teacher and students or between students, we can also make teacher and students pool fr.eely a same integrated environment provided by network to reform and perfect the distance education system.


Direct numerical simulations of transient turbulent channel flow were conducted in order to study and characterize the large-small scale interaction in this type of flows. This was achieved by analyzing some well-known universal aspects of turbulence. Additionally, the so called strain-rate-eigenframe analysis was applied to study the local flow topology during the transient conditions of the flow evolution.


I. Continued Fractions. Since these play an important role, the first chapter introduces their basic properties, evaluation algorithms and convergence theorems. From the section dealing with convergence it can be seen that in certain situations nonlinear approximations are more powerful than linear approximations. The recent notion of branched continued fraction is introduced in the multivariate section and is later used for the construction of multivariate rational interpolants. II. Pade Approximants. A survey of the theory of these local rational approximants for a given function is presented, including the problems of existence, unicity and computation. Also considered are the convergence of sequences of Pade approximants and the continuity of the Pade operator which associates with a function its Pade approximant of a certain order. A special section is devoted to the multivariate case. III. Rational Interpolants. These rational functions fit a given function at some given points. Many results of the previous chapter remain valid for this more general case where the interpolation conditions are spread over several points. In between the rational interpolation case and Pade approximation case lies the theory of rational Hermite interpolation where each interpolation point can be assigned more than one interpolation condition. Some results on the convergence of sequences of rational Hermite interpolants are mentioned and multivariate rational interpolants are introduced in two different ways. IV. Applications. The previous types of rational approximants are used here to develop several numerical methods for the solution of classical problems such as convergence acceleration, nonlinear equations, ordinary differential equations, numerical quadrature, partial differential equations and integral equations. Many numerical examples illustrate the different techniques, and it is seen that nonlinear methods are very useful in situations involving singularities. Subject Index.


CasaW's study certainly deserves praise as an overall systematic presentation of John's views on Christian morality, and as a review of the best which has been published in recent yeara on this topic and on related subjects. The bibliography, the indices (Scripture, subjects, Greek terms, authors), and the abundant footnotes are welcome complements to this valuable addition to the otherwise almmt excessively growing literature on John. L.S.


Since its introduction in 1932 by Rensis Likert, Likert scales and Likert-type items have become the most used attitude and tendency measurement technique in many areas like, social sciences, political sciences, psychology, marketing and education. However, confusion in "Likert Scale" and "Likert-type item" concepts leads to misinterpretation and false analysis of the data obtained from these scales. Another topic of discussion is whether parametric or non-parametric tests should be used in analyzing the Likert scale and Likert-type items. The purpose of this research, is to clarify concepts of "Likert Scale" and "Likert-type item", to determine which concept and method is more preferred in educational research, and to examine which test should be used in the statistical analysis of data obtained from this type of scales. The result of the study show that relevant concepts are mixed with each other, Likert-type items are mostly analyzed with non-parametric tests, and generally parametric tests were used in analyzing Likert scales despite the lack of a consensus on consistent and reliable method.


Coronaviruses, seven of which are known to infect humans, can range from asymptomatic infection to malnutrition and death. Russia has over 12.4 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 at the time of writing, with nearly 334,000 deaths. While all other coronaviruses affect cardiovascular disease, the SARS-CoV-2 virus also has a tropism for the cardiovascular system, gastrointestinal tract, liver, pancreas, kidneys, and nervous system. In this review, we describe the important gastrointestinal manifestations of COVID-19 in children and discuss possible underlying pathophysiological mechanisms for their occurrence.


The Orthographie surface structure of Swedish words has been us~d ~or predicting Pru:ts-of-speech information using a connecttomst approach. Th1s technique can be used to aid syntactic processing within a text-to-speech system. The error back-propagation technique has been used for the connec tionis! learning. A corpus of the 10 000 most frequent Swedish words have been used for training and testing the system. The results indicate that around 80% of the words can be correctly classified by using the last part of


Management of patients with heart failure (HF) should include patient reported outcomes (PROs). The Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire is self-administered with subscales to evaluate HF symptom burden, physical limitations, social limitations (recreational participation), and quality of life (QoL). Change in PROs among newly diagnosed patients with HF and reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) prescribed a wearable cardioverter defibrillator (WCD) and initiating guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT) has not been assessed.

 Examine PROs over 180 days of receiving GDMT for newly diagnosed HFrEF.

 Patients (n=93, 75.3% male) were enrolled ≤10 days post-hospitalization for new onset HF; all patients had an EF ≤35% and were prescribed a WCD. Health status, as measured by PRO was assessed at baseline, day 90, and day 180. Controlling for age and EF at baseline, changes in PROs over the 180-day study period were evaluated using repeated measures modeling. Pairwise comparisons with Bonferroni adjustments were used to compare adjacent timepoints. Higher scores reflect better health status.

 After controlling for age (mean 56±13.4) and baseline EF (mean 22±7.7) improvements in health status were observed. From baseline to day 90, physical limitation, symptom frequency, QoL, and the summary score all increased (Δ: 17.8, 23.7, 28.4, 23.7, respectively; all p's <0.05). From day 90 to day 180, only QoL continued to improve (Δ 7.5, p=0.001). Change in social limitations over time was not significant (p=0.42).

 Patients report improved health status in the months following a new diagnosis of HFrEF when prescribed a WCD and GDMT.
 Change in Quality of Life

 Type of funding source: None


Special aspects of the contraction of an arc discharge in various gas mixtures are considered. The conditions for the existence of a normal current density'' in the discharge are found. An explanation is given for experimentally- observed sharp changes in current density with changing concentration of alkali additives and molecular impurities. Various methods of obtaining diffuse diacharges in gas lmixtures are discussed. (auth)


1. The insect wing appears to degenerate with use, so that wing wear increases with increased flight activity. Wing degeneration may affect an insect's mortality. 2. The rate of mortality is known to increase with age in worker bumble bees. This study examines whether wing wear can account for mortality in foraging bumble bees. 3. Workers in eight wild-foraging colonies of bumble bee (Bombus melanopygus Nylander) were divided into two treatment groups: clipped (the outer margin of each forewing trimmed, reducing wing surface area by an average of 18%) and unclipped controls. The mortality and behaviour of foraging individuals was assessed with colony watches and night censuses. 4. Treatment did not detectably affect the proportion of foraging bees, the lengths of foraging or within-nest bouts of foragers, or pollen load sizes, but wing-clipping did cause bees with the greatest amounts of initial wing wear to stop foraging. 5. Mortality was positively related to natural wing wear among unclipped bees. In addition, relative to control foragers, foragers with clipped wing margins experienced significantly reduced life expectancies. 6. These results support the hypothesis that wing wear is a proximate factor responsible for an increase in mortality in older workers. The wing-wear hypothesis therefore provides one functional reason for foragers to adopt a currency that maximizes the ratio of net benefit to cost (i.e. 'efficiency').


In recent years frequency and range of Harmful Alage Blooms(HAB)has shown marked increase causing disruption to aquiculture and supsequent economic loss. This paper investigates distribution and species of HAB in Jiaozhou Bay (Qingdao, China).40 HAB species of 25 genus were identified and factors inducing HAB were considered.


Learn about the rich American History collections of The Henry Ford. For each category, you can view a selection of objects chosen by the curators. Larger images and object descriptions are available by clicking on a thumbnail.


The effective planning of urban areas is important in terms of improving both the urban density and the traffic problem. Parking lots should be arranged to manage spaces and traffic at the points where the population is highly dense. On the other hand, installing rooftop solar energy plants over parking lots are highly advantageous in terms of renewable energy production. During the design process of such urban power plants, the area-energy optimization and the shading caused by surrounding buildings have direct effect on overall performance. In this study, firstly a parking lot was designed on an empty parcel within the urban area of İzmir province, with the capacity of 1.704 vehicles, 64 motorcycles and 64 electric vehicle charging stations. In addition, a solar power plant was planned over the parking lot canopies, then a power system was designed by selecting the proper photovoltaic panels and inverters. On the parametric simulation software, which was used to determine the system performance, the solar radiation and shadow simulations on the designed parking lot were run. After that, the electricity generation performances were investigated and comparisons between the parking lot parcels and the selected dates were made. In the conclusion, it was found that 7.006 photovoltaic panels placed over the canopies with an area of 24.995 m2 are able to generate 8.084 MWh/year electricity.


The aim of this study was to clarify the relation between postprandial hyperinsulinemia and metabolic disorders in obese children. Twenty-eight obese Japanese children (8.8–16.2 yr) were divided into four groups: without impaired liver function and dyslipidemia (Group A), with impaired liver function (Group B), with dyslipidemia (Group C), and with impaired liver function and dyslipidemia (Group D). The levels of PG, serum immunoreactive insulin (IRI) and serum C-peptide (CPR) were measured during an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). The subjects had delayed superfluous insulin and CPR secretion during the OGTT compared with healthy references. In regard to the insulin secretion pattern, Group A's response peaked at 60 min and then decreased gradually until 120 min, Group B's response peaked at 60 min, remained at the peak until 120 min and then decreased gradually until 180 min, Group C's response peaked at 120 min and then decreased gradually until 180 min, and Group D's response peaked at 120 min and remained at the peak until 180 min. These results suggest that delayed superfluous insulin secretion during an OGTT is related to metabolic disorders in obese Japanese children and that these patients will experience a vicious cycle of postprandial hyperinsulinemia and metabolic disorders. It is important to prevent healthy children from becoming obese and to improve management of childhood obesity.


In 2018, Kentucky Attorney General Beshear began investigating the servicing of student loans owned by the National Collegiate Student Loan Trusts (NCSLT). These Trusts are notorious for shoddy record-keeping, meaning that servicers and collectors pursue borrowers for debt that they can't prove are owed. In fact, an internal audit of NCSLT loans found that "a random sample of nearly 400 National Collegiate loans found not a single one had assignment paperwork documenting the chain of ownership." Attorneys general across the country have started similar investigations as they work to protect the borrowers victimized by "the worst-performing student loan investment vehicles ever created by Wall Street."

And the company responsible for servicing these student loans—sending out all of the bills, receiving payments, computing interest, and applying people's payments—is the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA), also known as American Education Services. PHEAA is one of the largest student loan servicers in the country and handles over $425 billion in student loan debt owed by millions of consumers nationwide. In fact, one out of every ten dollars of non-mortgage consumer debt in the country is handled by PHEAA. And yet, in Kentucky and around the country, PHEAA is arguing that it is above the law.

PHEAA is asking the Kentucky Court of Appeals to decide whether Attorney General Beshear, Kentucky's top law enforcement official, has the authority to take action against a company that it suspects is engaged in rampant illegal practices. This amicus brief lays out why Attorney General Beshear should be able to protect Kentuckians by holding unscrupulous student loan companies to account, including PHEAA.


Abstract Well‐preserved representatives of three genera of fossil gonyaulacoid dinoflagellate cysts, Wigginsiella n. gen., Spongodinium Deflandre 1935, and Apteodinium Eisenack 1958, show paratabulation details that indicate a close relationship to genera referred to the "Aptiana‐Ventriosum complex"; of Helenes (1986) and the "Danea group"; of Damassa (1984). Important details of paratabulation include: (1) asymmetrical, oblong, antapical paraplate (Y), (2) elongate posterior intercalary (X), (3) crescentic posterior sulcal (Z), (4) pentagonal‐hexagonal last precingular (li) which contacts both first and fourth apicals (lu and A), (5) offset of alignment of the parasutures of the dorsal precingular and dorsal postcingular paraplates (offset of IV/V and 4/5), and (6) contact of the second and fourth apicals (B and A) precluding contact of P with the third apical (C). Expression of paratabulation in species of these three genera is typically subtle and unclear in many specimens, thus other criteria, such as...


This study analyzed variables that affect children's leadership qualities. The subjects were 400 five-year-old children and their mothers living in the Seoul metropolitan area. The instruments used in this study were the Young Children's Leadership Scale (Kim, 2006), Temperament(Hong, 2008), Peer Interaction (Choi, 2004), Mother's Verbal Control Modes(Do, 1997), and the HOME instrument (Rhee and Jang, 1982). The data collected was analyzed by descriptive statistics, Pearson's correlation, and multiple regression analysis. Our results indicated that (a) girls' scores on leadership were higher than those of boys. (b) Boys' leadership qualities were related to children's temperament, peer relationship, maternal verbal control modes, and home environment. (c) Girls' leadership qualities were related to children's temperament, peer relationship, and home environment. (d) In particular, it was noted that children's temperament (in terms of their sensitivity/endurance) was the strongest predictor for leadership qualities in both boys and girls.


The title compound, a promising antiviral carbocyclic nucleoside analogue, was synthesized enantiospecifically. The present synthesis involves a coupling reaction of 5-amino-4,6-dichloropyrimidine and (1R,2R,3R,4R)-2,3-dihydroxy-4-(hydroxymethyl)cyclopentanamine which was in turn prepared from D-xylose.


AGE-GRADING ADULT FEMALE AEDES AEGYPTI (L.) USING CUTICULAR HYDROCARBON ANALYSIS SEPTEMBER 1996 MICHAEL L. DESENA, B.S., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST M.S., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST Directed by: Professor T. Michael Peters Gas chromatography (FID) was used to measure the time associated, quantitative changes in the cuticular hydrocarbons (CH's) of female Aedes aegypti (L.) (Diptera: Culicidae). Cohorts of unstressed Ae. aegypti, Rockerfeller strain (RS), were reared at 24, 28, and 30°C. Samples from each cohort were taken eight different times; from 0-231 degree-days at 33 degree-day intervals (using 17 °C as the threshold temperature). Seven major peaks were identified in the chromatograms of the cohorts studied. Two of these peaks were identified as having promise for age grading. The relative abundance of Peak 1 decreased linearly from 0 to 132 degree-days. Peak 5 increased linearly over the same duration. Two linear regression models were developed from these data for aging female Ae. aegypti (RS). These models can be used regardless of rearing temperature. A preliminary blind study, performed to validate the age-grading models, showed the first regression model (designed to age younger mosquitoes) could predict the age of unknown females up to 110 degree-days. The estimated age of the 22-110 degree-day unknowns deviated from the actual age by an average of 14.05 degree-days. Eleven degree-days is equivalent to one day at 28°C. The second regression model (designed to age mosquitoes older than 132 degree days) did not perform as well as expected. The age-grading characters of stressed and unstressed mosquitoes (both reared at 28°C) were compared using Analysis of Covariance (ANACOVA). It was determined that the stressed and unstressed Peak 1 regressions, given by the relative abundances of Peak 1, were equal from 0-132 degree-days. The regressions given by the relative abundances of Peak 5 were also equal from 0-132 degree-days. Two new age-grading models were developed which included the data for the stressed mosquitoes. These new models showed relatively little change in performance when compared to the two models derived solely from the data for unstressed mosquitoes. Recently colonized Chachoengsao strain (CS) Ae. aegypti were compared with RS females at 0, 33, 66, and 99 degree-days, using ANACOVA. It was found that the rate of decrease of Peak 1 and the rate of increase of Peak 5 was the same for both strains.


In this paper, we present the design of a Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) shearing system based on unique acoustic waves generated using a phased-array transducer. Four 90° sector-transducers are used to build a circular array transducer. Each 90°-transducer is excited with separate RF signal of same or different phase. The proposed transducer structure generates bulk lateral ultrasonic waves in the DNA sample; the lateral waves produce both convergence and vortexing effects in the sample. The converged lateral acoustic waves are required to break the DNA sample-meniscus inside the tube and the rotational component of acoustic field is used to recirculate the DNA sample to get homogeneous shearing with tight fragment distribution. Finally, we present the experimental results of DNA sheared to different mean fragment sizes using the proposed system and validate the shearing-capability of the proposed system.


This work introduces reader with problems of jamming signal of mobile phones. Theoretical part deals with basic description of a structure of a GSM network. Its purpose is not to give the detail, but make an introduction into the topic instead. Next subchapter mathematically describes jamming signals and their effect on base band and modulated signals. In practical parts, realization of a GSM jammer is described, specifically design, manufacture and several measurements are described. Two cases of GSM jammers are compared, namely classical GSM jammer with a linear frequency sweep and GSM jammer with a fast frequency sweep with utilizing a chaotic oscillator. A possibility of jamming with lower power if using jammer with chaotic oscillator is discussed and compared to a classical GSM jammer design.


Reactions of methyl radicals with hydrogen bromide CH3 + HBr → CH4 + Br (1) and bromine atoms CH3 + Br → CH3Br (2) were studied using excimer laser photolysis−transient UV spectroscopy at 297 ± 3 K over the 1−100 bar buffer gas (He) pressure range. Methyl radicals were produced by 193 nm (ArF) laser photolysis of acetone, (CH3)2CO, and methyl bromide, CH3Br. Temporal profiles of methyl radicals were monitored by UV absorption at 216.51 nm (copper hollow cathode lamp with current boosting). The yield of acetyl radicals in photolysis of acetone at 193 nm was found to be less than 5% at 100 bar He based on the transient absorptions at 222.57 and 224.42 nm. The measured rate constants for reaction 1 are k1 = (2.9 ± 0.7) × 10-12, (3.8 ± 1.5) × 10-12, and (3.4 ± 1.3) × 10-12 cm3 molecule-1 s-1 at the buffer gas (He) pressures of 1.05, 11.2, and 101 bar, respectively. The rate data obtained in this study confirmed high values of the previous (low pressure) measurements and ruled out the possibility of interferen...


Objective:We tested the hypothesis that parathyroidectomy would improve functional/physical capacity, an underlying determinant of the ability to perform activities of daily living (ADL), in older patients with asymptomatic primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT). Summary of Background Data:PHPT patients often present with nonspecific, subjective symptoms including proximal muscle weakness, fatigue, and reduced physical functional. Although qualitative data suggest that parathyroidectomy reduces these symptoms in asymptomatic PHPT patients, there are no quantitative data confirming this potential surgical benefit. Methods:Eighteen asymptomatic older (>50 years) patients with biochemically confirmed PHPT who did not meet National Institutes of Health consensus conference criteria for undergoing a parathyroidectomy were randomly assigned to either a surgical group (parathyroidectomy) or a control group (observed for 6 months). All patients underwent functional testing (6-minute walk test, 50-foot walk test, and repeated sit-to-stand test) at baseline/presurgery and at 6 weeks and 6 months after surgery or baseline. This study is registered at clinicaltrials.gov (Registration# 2007–0220 ID#NCT00501215). Results:The surgery and control groups were functionally similar at baseline. Six-minute walk distance increased in the surgery group by 184 ft, a distance that is both significant (P < 0.05) and clinically meaningful. Fifty foot walk and repeated sit-to-stand times in this group remain unchanged from presurgical levels. All functional measures for the control group remained unchanged over time. As anticipated, parathyroidectomy reduced serum calcium and intact parathyroid hormone levels. Conclusions:The improvement in 6-minute walk distance observed in the surgery group suggests that parathyroidectomy can improve functional capacity, and hence the performance of ADLs in asymptomatic, older PHPT patients.


The aim of the study was to describe the ability of class VII students of SMP Negeri 32 OKU in writing narrative paragraphs before and after using the Contextual Teaching and Learning strategy, to describe the effectiveness of the Contextual Teaching and Learning strategy in writing narrative paragraphs in class VII SMP Negeri 32 OKU. The method used in this study is an experimental method with a population of 150 students and a sample of 36 students. The data collection technique was writing narrative paragraphs and the data analysis technique used the t-test. The results showed that students' ability to write narrative paragraphs before using the CTL strategy, students who scored between 80 and above did not exist, students who scored between 66-79 there were 15 people (41.67%), students who scored between 56–65 there were 14 people (38.88%), students who scored between 46–55 there were 3 people (8.33%), students who scored between 00–45 were in the failed assessment category, there were 4 people (11, 11%). Then the results of the ability of class VII students of SMP Negeri 32 OKU in writing narrative paragraphs after using the CTL strategy, there were 11 students who scored between 80–100 (30.56%), students who scored between 66–79 there were 24 people (66.67 %), students who scored between 56–65 did not exist, students who scored between 46–55 did not exist, students who scored between 00–45, there was 1 person (2.77%). This increase can be seen from the results of the average pretest score of 57.97 and posttest of 73.97. The results of the "t" test show that tcount > ttable or 4.29 > 2.03 at a significance level of 5%. This shows that the CTL strategy is effectively used in learning to write narrative paragraphs on the abilities of class VII students of SMP Negeri 32 OKU. Then the researcher made several suggestions, namely that teachers should be able to carry out learning Indonesian language and literature, especially material for writing narrative paragraphs using the CTL strategy and students should be able to improve their skills in learning to write narrative paragraphs by absorbing as much relevant information as possible from various sources.


Relevant research efforts in male contraception involve: 1) hormonal approaches to block sperm production by inhibiting the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis, 2) disruption of sperm production by drugs that act directly on the testes, 3) interruption of sperm transport, and 4) alteration of secretions of the accessory sex glands and their subsequent effect on the spermatozoa. Both agonistic and antagonistic synthetic analogs of the hypothalamic gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) factor cost too much and lack an effective mode of administration. Recent studies indicate that over 90% of Chinese and Indonesian men can develop complete azoospermia following either a testosterone or a progestin and an androgen combination treatment. Vaccines that utilize GnRH and follicle stimulating hormone as the active antigens have been introduced in clinical studies in the US and India. Drugs such as sulfasalazine, pyrimethamine, nitrofurane, and bis(di-chloracytal) diamines reduce male fertility but side effects make them unacceptable. Dinitropyrroles, halopropanedils, chlorosugars, and indazole carboxylic acids have been tried in laboratory animals. Gossypol rendered men infertile in large-scale clinical studies conducted in China but synthesis of safer analogs has not succeeded. Extracts of another plant, tripterigium wilfordii, are used in China as a popular herbal medicine. Vasectomy has improved with no-scalpel vasectomy and by the novel technique of blocking the vas with cured in situ polymeric plugs. Preliminary data suggest that men prefer condoms made from polyurethane as opposed to latex rubber increasingly used to protect against AIDs and sexually transmitted diseases. The antifungal agents, imidazoles, have spermicidal activity and synthetic variants may reduce undesirable side effects. Research on male-oriented methods has intensified during the last 10-15 years, but a new product is not likely to appear in the next 5-10 years.


In this paper, we propose an algorithm that reduces unnecessary computations, while keeping almost same prediction quality as that of the full search algorithm. In the proposed algorithm, we can reduce unnecessary computations efficiently by calculating initial matching error point from first partial errors. To do that, we use tighter elimination condition as error criterion than the conventional PDE algorithm. Additionally, we use different search strategy compared with conventional spiral search pattern. By doing that, we can increase the probability that hits minimum error point as soon as possible. Our algorithm decreases the computational amount by about 50% of the conventional PDE algorithm without any degradation of prediction quality.


The IFAJ/Agriterra Exposure 4 Development tour group arrived on Philomina Nshangano's farm in the southwest of Uganda in pouring rain. Yet nobody was negative because, as agricultural journalists, everyone in the group shares farmers' grateful attitude towards rain and also because of the way in which we were received - with a warm heart, open arms and the words: "Enjoy the rain; it is a great blessing for us."


The contents of main nutritional components and amino acids of Bohu mushroom were detected, and the international general nutritional value assessment method was applied for the overall nutritional assessment of its protein. The assessment result showed that, compared with button mushroom (Agaricus brunnescens), shiitake mushroom (Lentinus edodes), straw mushroom (Volvariella volvacea) and oyster mushroom (Pleurotus rhodophyllus), the total content of essential amino acids in Bohu mushroom is the highest, which occupies 43.9% of the total amino acids. Moreover, its amino acid score (AAS), chemical score (CS), essential amino acid index (EAAI), biological value (BV), nutritional index (NI) and score of ratio coefficient of amino acid (SRCAA) of protein are 68.6, 43.6, 78.6, 74.0, 32.6 and 65.3, respectively. By the measurement of fuzzy discernment method, its close degree to egg protein is 0.89, which is higher than that of button mushroom, shiitake mushroom, and straw mushroom. In conclusion, the protein nutrient value of Bohu mushroom is very high.


Background: Growing evidence suggests that exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) may disrupt lipid and liver enzyme regulation, but data in children are limited. We examined the a...


Objective To investigate clinical characteristics of hypertension in patients with Cushing′s syndrome. Methods One hundred and eighty-four cases of Cushing′s syndrome with pathological diagnosis after operation were studied retrospectively. These included 90 cases of Cushing′s disease with small pituitary adenoma and 19 cases with large pituitary adenoma, 10 cases of pituitary hyperplasia, 59 cases of adrenal adenoma, 3 cases of ACTH-independent macronodular adrenal hyperplasia and 3 cases of ectopic ACTH syndrome. Results PrevalenceofhypertensioninpatientswithCushing′s syndrome was 89.7% (82.6% according to old criteria). Prevalence of hypertensive complications was 44.8%. The hypertensive complications correlated with the age of operation and the highest systolic blood pressure level by logistic regressive analysis. Characteristics of hypertension were significantly different between diagnosis age ≤25 and 25 years group. Among 129 cases who had taken antihypertensive drugs before operation, only 43 cases continued to use drugs after operation, therefore, rate of antihypertensive drugs administration decreased significantly after operation (P0.001). Conclusion Prevalence of hypertensions in patients with Cushing′s syndrome is extremely high. Probability of hypertensive complications increases with elder operation age and higher highest systolic blood pressure. Compared with that of younger patients, the hypertension of adult ones has higher prevalence, longer duration, and is more difficult to treat. Although the majority of patients discontinue antihypertensive drugs after operation, some of them still have persistent hypertension. More attention should be paid to these patients.


This chapter examines the main features of diagnosis and its uses in consultations for organizational improvement and change. Three critical facets of diagnosis are introduced: (a) process—working with members of an organization to plan a diagnostic study, administer it, and provide feedback on the findings; (b) modeling— using models to frame issues, guide data gathering, identify organizational conditions underlying problems, and organize feedback; and (c) methods— techniques for collecting, analyzing, and summarizing diagnostic data. In organizational diagnosis, consultants, researchers, or managers use conceptual models and applied research methods to assess an organization's current state and discover ways to solve problems, meet challenges, or enhance performance. 1 Diagnostic practice applies ideas and techniques from a diverse range of disciplines within behavioral science and related fields, including psychology, sociology , management, and organization studies. Diagnosis helps decision makers and their advisers develop workable proposals for organizational change and improvement. Without careful diagnosis, decision makers may waste effort by failing to attack the root causes of problems (Senge, 1994). Hence, diagnosis can contribute to managerial decision making, just as it can provide a solid foundation for recommendations by organizational and management consultants. The following are two examples of the use of diagnosis in consulting projects in which I took part: 2 Case 1 In cooperation with the chief personnel officer in a branch of the armed forces, a human resources unit prepared a survey of organizational climate and leadership in field units. Repeat applications of the survey tracked developments within units over time and provided comparisons between functionally similar units at the same point in time. Members of the human resources unit provided commanding officers with periodic feedback containing both types of data. The feedback helped officers recognize problematic leadership and administrative practices and motivated them to take steps to improve these practices.


Aiming at the unpredictability and nonlinearity of the Lorenz chaotic system, this paper takes the fluid thermal convection of the infinite plate as the model, and studies the sliding mode control of the fluid thermal convection of the infinite plate based on LMI. Based on the characteristics of the Lorenz chaotic system, the sliding mode control method is applied to attenuate the effects of some nonlinear factors, and the Lyapunov function is designed to obtain the control law that satisfies the sliding mode conditions. Further, a dynamic compensation algorithm is presented, it can efficiently regulate the poles of a closed-loop system, and ensure that the specific matrix is negative definite. The simulation results show that under the action of the compensator, the dynamic perturbed Lorenz chaotic system has a good state response, which makes the sliding mode control of the Lorenz chaotic system stable.


Binary tree encryption is an intriguing primitive that enables many practical applications to achieve an increasing important security feature, forward security. However, the public key size of existing constructions grows linearly with the depth of the underlying binary tree in the standard model. To support more secret keys associated with nodes, it is often expected that the tree has a sufficiently large depth. This places a burden on employing it implicitly or explicitly in real world. In this work, we show how to compress linear-size public key down to constant-size public key and give our construction featuring constant-size public key in the standard model. We prove that our construction achieves an improved security, adaptive security, under the matrix decision Diffie–Hellman assumption, which is a generalization of standard $k$-Lin assumption. Moreover, our key-generation, key-derivation and encryption algorithms have lower time complexity than that of the prior construction, leading to further efficiency improvements. To illustrate these improvements in practice, we give an implementation of our construction and the prior one and then evaluate the performance in the tree depth.


To analyze the performance characteristic of 500 kV composite insulators,which could provide reference for evaluating the performance and the status of composite insulators in service,5 pieces of 500 kV AC composite insulators and 6 pieces of 500 kV DC composite insulators were selected to be tested.The detection items included pollution measurement,hydrophobicity test,dissecting test,water diffusion test,water immersion test and steep front impulse test.Based on the tests,the contamination characteristics of the AC and DC insulators were compared and the relationship between insulators' operating years and its deterioration were studied.The application of different detection methods was also discussed.The results show that contamination of DC insulators is more serious than that of AC insulators.Moreover,contamination of DC insulators is significantly increased with the operation years,while that of AC insulators has no obvious change.Under the test conditions,there is no obvious relationship between the aging characteristics and the operating years of the tested insulators.Each of the evaluation methods is capable of reflecting a certain aspect of deterioration of composite insulators.


A quasi-Gaussian quantum superposition of Hořava-Lifshitz (HL) stationary states is built in order to describe the transition of the quantum cosmological problem to the related classical dynamics. The obtained HL phase-space superposed Wigner function and its associated Wigner currents describe the conditions for the matching between classical and quantum phase-space trajectories. The matching quantum superposition parameter is associated to the total energy of the classical trajectory which, at the same time, drives the engendered Wigner function to the classical stationary regime. Through the analysis of the Wigner flows, the quantum fluctuations that distort the classical regime can be quantified as a measure of (non)classicality. Finally, the modifications to the Wigner currents due to the inclusion of perturbative potentials are computed in the HL quantum cosmological context. In particular, the inclusion of a cosmological constant provides complementary information that allows for connecting the age of the Universe with the overall stiff matter density profile.


MED-ED, Inc. | 1911 Charlotte Dr. Charlotte, NC 28203 | P 800-763-3332 | F 704-333-5020 | www.MedEdSeminars.net Course Description This course is a review of flight and transport nursing designed to assist the participant to be successful in obtaining CFRN certification. The course offers lectures, graphics, videos and practice questions in all the areas outlined by the CFRN Blueprint. This review will provide not only a knowledge base for successfully completing the exam, but also a foundation for further study as the participant works towards certification as a flight nurse.