Nitrogen incorporated TiO2 nanotubes array is fabricated on Ti6Al4V sheets by combination of oxidation and ion implantation. Phase species of substrate strongly affect the nanotubes growth. The regular nanotubes array forms selectively in the region of the dominant α-phase, but a disordered nanoporous grows on β-phase from Ti6Al4V. The nanotubes array has a hardness of 0.4 GPa and modulus of 40 GPa. By implantation, nitrogen is not only successfully incorporated into the TiO2 nanotubes array, but it is also present as a chemically bonded state. Nitrogen implantation also leads to formation of Ti3+ and Ti2+ transformed from Ti4+ in the titanium oxides. Nitrogen doping extends the TiO2 photo-response into the visible light region of 400–800 nm. Post implantation annealing up to 650 °C induces a mixture of anatase with a small fraction of rutile in the nanotubes array. A higher photo-degradation rate is further identified covering nitrogen incorporated TiO2 nanotubes array under visible light.


Waste is the residue of daily activities human days and/or solid natural processes. The solid waste generated by Ternate city people transported to TPA is 226 m3/ day, with a service level of 57% of the total population of Ternate City. Alternative waste management is better for dealing with this problem, one of them by using processing waste into compost. The purpose of this study was to determine the additional effect of skipjack gills on the physical quality of compost in the aerobic composting process. This type of research is an experimental study with a posttest only control design. The results of this study are the quality of compost with the addition of skipjack fish is good because the NPK measurement results are by SNI 2803: 2010, with the results of N: 8%, P: 9% and K: 9%. And for measurements of temperature, humidity, and pH following SNI: 19-7030-2004. Suggestions for further research are to be developed further.


We have developed offline & a real-time algorithms for detection of Q,R,S wave of ECG & PPG signals, monitoring patient continousley by doctor and rapidly increase of patient full health care (EHCMS) and suggest precautions to the patient before entering critical case, and classification of some disease that is faced patient depend on vital signs that is capturing from patient like bradycardia and tachycardia by analysis of Q,R,S wave, this work is part of M.I.C.U.


Problem statement: The function of a protein is dependent on its three -dimensional structure. However, numerous proteins lacking intri nsic globular 3D structure under physiological conditions had been recognized. These proteins are frequently involved in some of the most critical cellular control mechanisms and it appears that the ir rapid turnover, aided by their unstructured natu re in the unbound state, provides a level of control t hat allows rapid and accurate responses of the cell to changing environmental conditions. Approach: A significant number of proteins known to be involved in protein deposition disorders were now c onsidered to Be Intrinsically Unstructured Proteins (IUPs). For example, A β peptide and tau protein in Alzheimer's disease, Pr P in Prion's disease and α- Synuclein in Parkinson's disease. The disorder of i ntrinsically unstructured proteins (IUP's) was crucial to their functions. They may adopt defined but extended structures when bound to cognate ligands. Their amino acid compositions were less hy drophobic than those of soluble proteins. They lack hydrophobic cores and hence did not become insoluble when heated. About 40% of eukaryotic proteins had at least one long (>50 residues) disor dered region. Roughly 10% of proteins in various genomes had been predicted to be fully disordered. Presently over 100 IUP's had been identified; none are enzymes. Obviously, IUP's were greatly underrep resented in the Protein Data Bank, although there were few cases of an IUP bound to a folded (intrins ically structured) protein. Results: The five functional categories for intrinsically unstructure d proteins and domains were entropic chains (bristl es to ensure spacing, springs, flexible spacers/linker s), effectors (inhibitors and disassemblers), scavengers, assemblers and display sites. These IUP s could serve as potential targets for Structure Based Drug Design (SBDD) which stress on the transition from disordered to ordered confirmation through drug stimulation. Recently an unstructured domain of a regulatory protein had been found to be involved in inhibiting catalytic activity of ins ulin receptor and targeting this IUP would provide a new approach which can be employed in modifying insulin signaling in treatment of diabetes. IUPs were also involved diseases and disorders such as c ardio vascular diseases, cancers and autoimmune disorders. Unstructured proteins had also been show n to be important components of invasion, survival and disguising strategies of pathogens such as Plasmodium falciparum . Conclusion: New greater focuses on proteins that were in some way unstructu red normally would promise to provide a greater understanding of protein function particularly with respect to protein-protein interactions and hence can give new potential targets for future strategie s.


For forty years or more, much of the discourse about poetry in education has constructed poetry teaching and learning as an especially difficult professional problem to be solved. The problem has been analysed in many different ways: as a product of inadequate teacher subject knowledge and pedagogical fear; as an inherent problem with poetry and a perception of its methods of meaning-making as elitist and alienating; as a problem of curriculum development, predicated on an inadequate selection of poems in relation to different ideas about relevance; and, in England, perhaps above all, as a problem of National Curriculum prescription. The problem with "the problem with poetry" is that the influential idea channelled research into what the cultural anthropologist Michel-Rolph Trouillot termed a "cultural slot". In this space, he argued, the research domain becomes self-replicating, anatomising the problem within established terms, the roots of which are rendered opaque over time and historical agency overlooked. By this process, new research can only contribute to "morosely preserving the empty slot itself" (Trouillot 1991, 40). One might argue that the standard conception of the function of a literature review contributes to this dynamic. That is not to dismiss any of the excellent work that has been done to anatomise the challenges (and joys) of teaching poetry in different contexts, not least Margaret Mathieson's article "The problem of poetry" () and Richard Andrews' later book The Problem with Poetry (1991). Nor is it to question the ethical commitment of many researchers to developing first rate professional practice. Indeed, we have both written in different ways about "the problem of poetry" (Snapper 2013; Blake and Shortis 2010). For this special edition, however, we were keen to advance a research agenda that goes beyond this slot. We build, of course, on important work by others in our field. The ESRC funded Poetry Matters seminar series (2011–2012), led by Sue Dymoke, Anthony Wilson and Andrew Lambirth, resulted in two excellent books, Making Poetry Matter: international Research in Poetry Pedagogy (Dymoke, Lambirth, and Wilson 2013) and its companion volume Making Poetry Happen: Transforming the Poetry Classroom (Dymoke et al. 2014). These comprehensively re-articulate "the problem with poetry" in relation to contemporary contexts, but also crucially move on the debate by presenting examples of excellent imaginative practice in teaching poetry as reading, writing, and speaking and listening, and exploring what might constitute "transformative poetry cultures". In the second volume, the editors argue for "a broader cultural vision, a more creative, artistic and engaged approach to literature learning". They call for practices that connect poetry in the classroom with the renaissance of poetry in public spaces beyond the school, and for a shared experience of poetry that is about creative playfulness, joy and empathy, and which settles with uncertainty and divergent ways of seeing the world. In choosing papers for this special edition of English in Education we hope we have built on the powerful and positive concluding vision of Making Poetry Happen. ENGLISH IN EDUCATION 2022, VOL. 56, NO. 1, 1–4 https://doi.org/10.1080/04250494.2022.2030974


In order to make effectively analysis of the slope stability,BP neural network combined with artificial intelligence particle swarm optimization is used.Firstly,the six influencing factors like cohesion,internal friction angle,slope angle,slope height,slope of the density and pore pressure ratio are selected as the slope stability discrimination indicators.Secondly,the weights and thresholds of BP neural network are optimized by the particle swarm optimization.At last,PSO-BP model is applied to study the stability of five slopes.The average prediction error is 1.98%and has achieved a preferable prediction effect.The results show that PSO-BP neural network model has higher accuracy and faster convergence than the traditional BP neural network model.


Abstract Although previous studies have investigated the contribution of several components of the school choice paradigm to school segregation, one critical aspect has not received attention from segregation scholars: schools' priority rules, that is, the rules schools apply in case of oversubscription. We evaluate how three priority rules – grade-based, distance-based, and random-based – shape school segregation. Using Swedish register data on students' applications to upper secondary education in Stockholm, Sweden, we assess the effect of these priority rules from two counterfactual frameworks. One uses actual students' rank-ordered lists, and the other relies on a large-scale simulation framework. We show that grade-based and distance-based priorities produce higher levels of segregation than random-based priorities through different mechanisms. Our results hold, even when we control for students' school preferences and residential segregation.


The effect and mechanism of dynamic high pressure microfluidization(DHPM) on functional properties of gluten protein was investigated.The results showed that DHPM could change the functional properties of gluten protein and there was close relationship between the changes in functional properties and the pressure of DHPM or protein concentration.When the concentration was above 4% the solubility was increased and then decreased with the increase of pressure.When the concentration was less than 4% the solubility was decreased and then increased with the increase of pressure,with the limit of 80 MPa.When the concentration was 4%,the foaming ability decreased and the foaming stability,emulsifying ability and emulsifying stability increased with the increase of pressure;while the opposite as the other concentration such as 2% and 6%.SDS-PAGE and DSC analysis indicated that high molecular weight subunit was destroyed and some new aggregation was formed,which changed the functional propertied of gluten protein.


Abstract: Oesophageal atresia, with or without tracheo-oesophageal fistula, is one of the most challenging conditions with which the anaesthesiologist has to deal during the perioperative period. The patients are usually in their first few days of life, and might be premature with inherent airway problems. This is then compounded by airway and respiratory complications presented by this lesion. These patients often present with a multitude of other congenital anomalies that may have a bearing on the oxygen cascade. With improvements in antibiotic choices, prenatal diagnosis, neonatal intensive care and surgical options, outcomes in this patient group have improved immensely. This manuscript serves to highlight the anaesthetic considerations of these conditions, while also examining recent developments in this patient population.


This document presents a detailed summary of my participation in the company's Gestion 360 and KUBO architecture & engineering, located in Malaga-Spain. The main activities developed throughout the internship and participation in the projects related to Design of interior spaces, structural study together with the Engineer Mario Garcia, quotations of materials and budgets, rehabilitation of facades, development of construction details of both the structural elements as well as the fixed point and external elements such as a swimming pool, tabulation and translation documents of the company.


This study builds a probabilistic model of Russian bank defaults. Microdata from the monthly financial and regulatory statements that Russian banks submit to the Bank of Russia are analysed, covering the period from July 2010 to December 2017. A model incorporating a standard set of reliable predictors of bank defaults is augmented by three novel predictors: the excess of deposit and loan rates over the respective cross-section averages, and the ratio of spending on advertising to the bank's assets. These predictors are statistically significant in logit regressions that forecast bank defaults and improve the forecasting power of the model, although relatively moderately. The too-big-to-fail premise is not supported by the data.


The equation based TCP-friendly rate control protocol (TFRC) has been proposed to support multimedia applications. In this paper, an analytical approach is proposed for quantifying the performance of equation based TFRC over wireless/Internet integrated networks. Specifically, discrete time Markov chains (DTMC) are developed to analyze the performance of TFRC-controlled multimedia flows, in terms of wireless resource utilization, flow throughput, packet loss rate, and probability of end-to-end delay exceeding a prescribed threshold. It is shown that the maximum number of link layer retransmissions and the required base station buffer size can be determined based on the application's QoS requirements.


Objective The aim of this work was to evaluate the results of use of cemented modular hemiarthroplasty prosthesis in cases of comminuted fractures of the proximal humerus. Background Proximal humeral fractures account for ∼5% of all joint fractures. More than 70% of patients with these fractures are older than 60 years of age, 75% are women and most of these fractures are related to osteoporosis. Shoulder hemiarthroplasty is a method of treatment of comminuted proximal humeral fractures in which complication of fracture fixation is avoided with a restoration of the anatomy of the shoulder joint. Materials and methods In the period between February 2012 and February 2016, a prospective study of 20 patients with post-traumatic comminuted fracture of the proximal humerus with or without dislocation of the humeral head had been admitted to El-Menoufia University Hospital. All cases that fulfilled the inclusion criteria had been treated with cemented modular hemiarthroplasty. Results The age of the patients in this study range from 30 to 75 years, 14 (70%) women and six (30%) men. The shoulder range of motion in two (10%) cases had an excellent result, eight (40%) cases had good results, seven (35%) cases had fair results, and three (15%) cases had poor results. Seventeen (85%) cases were satisfied with the results and three (15%) cases were not satisfied with the procedure. Conclusion Shoulder hemiarthroplasty is a method of treatment of comminuted proximal humeral fractures particularly in osteoporotic bone.


A 49-year-old Greek patient with the diagnosis of cancer of the larynx, who underwent radiation therapy in his country, developed recidivation of his cancer, which was necessary to be treated by laryngectomy, as he was told in Greece. Having heard about laser surgery, by which the tumor could be removed without the loss of the larynx and the respective life quality, he decided to be treated in Germany, although he could not speak German or English. For reduction of the expenses, the patient was released from the hospital by own choice 3 days after the operation. He traveled to Hamburg and stayed at a friend's home, suffering from strong pain and increasing difficulty to swallow food and to breath. Eventually he had to be transfened by emergency to the ENT-clinic of the Hamburg University Hospital, where very severe bums of his throat and trachea where diagnosed. Obviously, a burn of the endotracheal tube had occurred during his microlaryngoscopic operation, which was confirmed by the treating hospital after an inquiry from the Hamburg University Hospital. The patient had not been informed about the accident by the surgeon or the treating hospital. There was just one sentence about the course of this adverse event to be found in the available documentation of the operation. During a period of 7 days on a ward at the Hamburg University Hospital, the status of the patient's throat mucosa was documented daily, until he was released from the hospital by own choice and returned home to Greece.A 49-year-old Greek patient with the diagnosis of cancer of the larynx, who underwent radiation therapy in his country, developed recidivation of his cancer, which was necessary to be treated by laryngectomy, as he was told in Greece. Having heard about laser surgery, by which the tumor could be removed without the loss of the larynx and the respective life quality, he decided to be treated in Germany, although he could not speak German or English. For reduction of the expenses, the patient was released from the hospital by own choice 3 days after the operation. He traveled to Hamburg and stayed at a friend's home, suffering from strong pain and increasing difficulty to swallow food and to breath. Eventually he had to be transfened by emergency to the ENT-clinic of the Hamburg University Hospital, where very severe bums of his throat and trachea where diagnosed. Obviously, a burn of the endotracheal tube had occurred during his microlaryngoscopic operation, which was confirmed by the treating hospital aft...


To develop and make use of tunable Terahertz(THz) sources with high power,high efficiency and operating in room temperature,this paper researches and analyzes the progress in THz sources by photonics methods,including optically pumped THz lasers,air plasma THz sources,photoconductive antennas and the optical rectification,difference frequency generation,THz parametric generation based on nonlinear optical process.The numerous challenges and key technologies of this THz generation method are also proposed.


Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) has been one of the most promising fields of study among different 3D printing techniques. The purpose of this study is to increase the knowledge of SLS printing and to give better understanding about the factors which affect the quality of printed parts. The article introduces a testing device which is designed especially for experimenting the capabilities of SLS. As a result, a device that enables high modifications from the user was built. The device includes an easily-replaceable and adjustable powder distributor mechanism, a large printing volume, powerful laser-scanner combination and durable building materials. With the construction, user is able to research various parameter effects, such as laser scanning speed, laser power, effect of preheating, printing material, layer thickness and layer building speed.


We report on the electrocatalytic oxidation of 1,3-propanediol and the four butanediols at nanoporous Pt and planar solid Pt electrodes under basic conditions. We consider the reactant and Pt morphology dependencies of the electrocatalytic oxidation reactions seen for the diols. Our experimental data point to the oxidation pathway for the diols depending sensitively on the proximity of the hydroxyl groups to one another, with relatively less dependence on whether the hydroxyl functionalities are at primary or secondary positions. For vicinal diols, there are two resolvable oxidation steps, whereas for the 1,4- and 1,3-diols, the multiple processes contributing to the observed oxidation wave are not clearly resolvable. The data for two 1,3-diols show no current density enhancement for nanoporous Pt electrodes, underscoring the central role that the Pt electrode surface morphology plays in determining reaction efficiency.


We investigate gaming of a public disclosure program with a threshold that creates a sharp discontinuity in incentives. In particular, we focus on whether gaming depends on the reporting technology and on the incentives provided to the employees who are most likely to carry out the gaming. Our empirical context is the governmentmandated disclosure of airline on-time performance. While this program collects data on the actual minutes of delay incurred on each flight, it ranks airlines based only on the fraction of their flights that arrive 15 or more minutes late. This creates incentives for airlines to game the program by reducing delays on specifically those flights they expect to arrive with about 15 minutes of delay. While some airlines report their delays through an automated system, others report manually which may facilitate misreporting. The airlines in our sample also vary by whether they explicitly incentivize their employees based on the airline's performance in the government program. Our empirical analysis finds strong evidence of gaming by airlines which report delays manually. We also find evidence of gaming for some of the airlines with incentive programs in place. Specifically, we find that their flights that are predicted to arrive with about 15 minutes of delay are significantly more likely to arrive exactly one minute sooner than predicted. Our findings highlight that gaming of a disclosure program will not only depend on the design of the program but will also depend on if and how the measured quality dimensions can be manipulated and whether those who are in a position to manipulate them have incentives to do so.


The internet technologies evolved many new innovations in communication technologies for searching and sharing data over the IoT. The importance of both software and hardware technologies became an important for the service providers and users as well. Searching and data sharing is contemporary task for the services providers because security aspects. Efficient searching and secured data sharing is an open issue till now. Information leakage costs more for the organizations. In this paper we proposes an efficient frame work for secured cloud based services where the data can shared among multiple devices of IoT. Our scheme allows all smart devices interact and share data among users in Internet of Things securely. We also attempted to develop a useful searching mechanism for having required data by the users over distributed storage domains to share. We conducted an abundant survey and study them in depth for better improvement of our work. Keywords— IoT, cloud based services, AES, DES, key generation, SHA.


This article provides an overview of chronic kidney disease in adults and outlines nursing management in primary and secondary care. Patient assessment, including the stages of chronic kidney disease, common causes and risk factors, are also discussed.


Whole-body vibration transmission influences comfort, performance, and long-term health of the driver. This current study is an objective evaluation of vehicle comfort characteristics based on standard mathematical formulae and frequency analyses. A variety of road types were selected and quantified by using the International Roughness Index (IRI). To assess vibrations transmitted to the passengers, vibration dose values (VDV), kurtosis, frequency response functions (FRF), and power spectral densities (PSD) of the compartment recorded signals were evaluated. SEAT values based on VDV outputs qualified the seat suspension as a vibration isolator, whereas the FRF and PSD quantified that behaviour through frequency analyses. Results indicate that energy concentration is at frequencies lower than 30 Hz. Such low frequency excitations are well attenuated by seat suspension in the vertical direction but are amplified (up to five times in harsh conditions) by a backrest in the fore-aft trend. Signals are amplified beyond 30 Hz, but amplitudes are still very low. It seems that backrest assembly still can be improved to become a better isolator. However, T15 (time to reach severe discomfort), even in harsh conditions, is more than three hours, which exhibits the overall good quality of the vehicle suspension systems. Kurtosis and VDV correlate with IRI and may be used as two objective metrics, together with jury evaluation, to create a vehicle vibration-comfort index in the future.


The elastic scattering of and and the thermalization of quark?gluon matter are studied. According to Feynman diagrams at the tree level, squared amplitudes for the elastic gqq scattering and the elastic scattering are derived in perturbative QCD. Transport equations including the squared amplitudes for the elastic and scattering are established. Corresponding to anisotropic gluon and quark distributions created in central Au?Au collisions at RHIC, solutions of the transport equations show that thermalization time of quark matter can be shortened by the elastic and scattering.


Calcium Sulfonate Complex grease is a new kind of multipurpose grease.The new kind of grease has good performances in high or low temperatures,and also has good resistivity against clipping and rubbing friction. The calcium sulfonate complex grease is suitable for automobiles,metallurgy,with other machinery equipment.The effect of component of calcium sulfonate complex on physical and chemical performance as well as friction property of grease were analyzed.


. The rate of population growth and building constructions which is increasing and growing rapidly will affect the tendency of electrical energy usage needs in a country that can also cause energy crisis. Energy crisis that would happen can trigger every community to think about energy conservation. Because of that, this final assignment experiment will lift a case about energy conservation in CDE mall building which is located in Surabaya to conduct the energy conservation. In this experiment, it is conducted by analyzing the lighting and cooling system on ground floor of CDE mall Surabaya. The lighting system analysis in every room compares to SNI 03-6197-2000 lighting standard which is used as a reference to analyze the lighting system. The next method is analyzing the cooling load to know about the amount of cooling load of a room using ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers) reference. From the conducted research, it was obtained the results of comparison of lighting intensity, comparison of lighting power and total comparison of cooling load with the installed AHU capacity in every tenant on ground floor CDE mall Surabaya. Lighting system saving has been conducted after changing the lamps which is for 121351 kWh/year, so it can save Rp. 184,968,052 every year. And the total of cooling load reduction from all of the tenants on ground floor CDE mall Surabaya which was obtained after changing the double glass and lamps is for 917224.53 Btu/hr, so it can save for Rp. 1,943,698,698 every year.


The present invention relates to an injectable formulation Yinxingdamo quality control method, the quality control method including characters, checks and identification, assay one or both of the two items; wherein the authentication comprises flavonoids with hydrochloric acid specific reaction of magnesium powder, dipyridamole authentication features to control Ginkgo biloba extract and quercetin, kaempferol, isorhamnetin reference to and as control ginkgolide a, B, C and the ginkgo esters reference to TLC control; Determination comprising dipyridamole reference, reference quercetin, kaempferol reference isorhamnetin reference, reference bilobalide, ginkgolide a , B, C for the reference method for the determination control; comparison with the prior art, the present invention increases the TLC assay method and terpene lactones, Yinxingdamo improve the quality control standards injectable formulation, in order to ensure the clinical efficacy of the present formulation.


Abstract The present study explores the relationships among six different measures of construct ordination in the context of vocational value systems. Fifty-seven subjects were given a 10 by 10 rating grid, an implications grid, and a resistance-to-change grid, all utilizing the same set of 10 occupational constructs. Ordination measures were calculated for each of the 10 constructs, using all six methods–explicit rating, implicit rating, extremity, total variance, implications, and resistance to change–and correlations were computed between each pair of methods. The total variance among all six methods that was accounted for by each method is also reported. On this basis, the implicit method emerges as the best omnibus method. However, the question arises whether the six methods measure ordination with unequal fidelity or actually measure differing aspects of ordination, highlighting the need for further study in this area.


Having successfully coached the Olympic diving champions Guo Jingjing,Hu Jia,Yang Jinghui and Wang Feng,the famous Chinese diving coach Zhong Shao Zhen has tasted bitter and sweet in her coaching career.Over sixty years old now,she still makes her effort to arrange her daily training work as usual,looking forward to the coming of London Olympic Games.


Rail is an important part of the railway track, it directly bears the train loads and interacts with the wheels. Its condition firstly affects the safety and transportation efficiency of train operation. In addition, rail is the most expensive part of the railway track, and the dosage is very large, China's rail production can't meet the need. The annual investment and maintenance costs are also enormous. However, the deformation, rupture and other defects of rails are all related to the stresses in the rail. This article mainly introduces a technology to detect and control the welding residual stress in railway, completes the relevant tensile experiment, testing experiments and controlling experiments, analyses the results and the function of regulation. Eventually, an effective way to detect and reduce the residual stress of rail is found.


In this paper, first the full dynamics of aerial transportation of a rigid body with arbitrary number of quadrotors is derived. Then a control strategy is proposed to convey the nonuniform rigid body appropriately to the desired trajectory. In the dynamical model of this transportation system, not only the load is considered as a nonuniform and non-homogeneous rigid body but also mass, flexibility, and tension of the cables are considered. Each cable is modeled as successive masses, springs, and dampers where each mass, spring, and damper has 4 degrees of freedom (DOF). The Euler-Lagrange equations are used to derive the motion equation. The control strategy includes three loops of attitude control, formation control, and navigation control. The sliding mode control is designed based on multi-agent systems for the formation control where the controller is proven to be asymptotically stable. The navigation control loop, based on the load states, guarantees that the load reaches the desired location. Finally, numerical examples and simulations are presented to verify the appropriate operation of the proposed system for transporting both homogeneous and non-homogeneous bodies by spreading quadrotors according to mass distribution of the body.


[Objective] To determine the effect of unreamed tibial intermedullary nailing (UTN) versus external fixation (EF) for grade Ⅱ and Ⅲ open tibial shaft fractures.[Method] MEDLINE (1966-March,2009),EM-BASE (1974-March,2009),The Cochrane Library(Issue 1,2009) and CBM disc (1979-December,2008),and the relevant Chinese and English orthopedic journals were searched retrospectively.Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and Controlled Clinical Trials (CCTs) of unreamed intramedullary tibial nailing versus external fixation for grade Ⅱ and Ⅲ open tibial shaft fractures were included.The system review was performed using the method recommended by the Cochrane Collaboration.[Result] Four studies (2 RCTs and 2 CCTs) were included,involving 300 patients.The results of meta-analysis showed there were no significant differences in the rate of nonunion and delayed union between group UTN and EF.The rate of malunion in group UTN was lower than that in group EF,while the rate of implant failure was higher than the latter.In grade ⅢA open tibial fractures,the incidence of superficial infection in group UTN was significantly lower than that in group EF,but there was no difference in deep infection between both groups.However,the infective rate of the two groups had no significant difference in grade ⅢB open fractures.[Conclusion] Compared with external fixation,the unreamed intramedullary tibial nailing had a decreased incidence of maluinon and superficial infection in grade ⅢA open tibial fractures.However,more high quality,large-scale randomized controlled trials are required for accurate conclusion.


Readers of the online edition of the Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians , inaugurated with this issue, will have access to a wide variety of digital illustrations. To see (and/or hear) these materials, the reader opens a new window by clicking on an in-text link or on the thumbnail of the illustration displayed in the Multimedia "carousel," located to the right of the text.

The new illustrations include zoomable color photographs (Zoomable Image), which may be enlarged as far as the resolution of the file will …


This paper presents the use of GPUs (graphic processing units) for implementing an efficient audio fingerprinting (AFP) system for audio music retrieval. Such a music retrieval system can compare a 10-second recording of exact but noisy audio clip to the database of more than 100K songs on a single PC with GPU cards. Due to the use of GPUs, we can achieve a speedup factor of 14 for audio comparison, leading to a satisfactory response time for a practical AFP service. In order to squeeze the computing power out of GPU, we have tried detailed performance analysis to find the best memory usage strategy and the corresponding optimum GPU parameters. As far as we know, this is the first technical paper covering the detailed use and analysis of GPU for audio fingerprinting over a database of more than 100K songs. The resulting system, now with around 203K songs, has been successful deployed on the web for public access.


Environmental protection falls within the public interest, the latter coating various faces according to the problems encountered and the strategies developed. One constant, however, reveals: the consequences of ecosystem degradation are and will be felt in all latitudes, so that the action of each is necessary to anticipate or provide solutions to these problems. The issues of climate, the ozone layer, biodiversity or forest are no exception to this dynamic. These matters within the "global environment", highlight the solidarity and interdependence that are emerging in the international community for the purpose of environmental conservation and protection of common interests to the universal level. The fight against climate change regime is a stimulating laboratory for observing the alliances that are emerging. The universal action and seeking equity in the community of States should not overshadow the diversity of approaches. Keywords: public interest; climate change; ecosystem; universal action; environmental conservation


Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of health education/health promotion among college students since they enter the college. Methods Since 1998 to 2003 a 5-year program of comprehensive health education/health promotion was implemented in Teachers' College, Qingdao University: health education lectures were given, health policies were developed, relevant administrative departments were engaged in health surveillance, medical department ran psychological counseling and established health records for students, and teachers conducted counseling for students. Cornell Medical Index (CMI) was used to test the psychological and physical health before and by the end of the program among 178 students. Results CMI showed a decrease of general score, and A-R, M-R, M, I, and L scores. The morbidity decreased gradually, and significantly decreased since 2001 (all P0.05). The dropout rate decreased from 1.81% in 1998 to 0.63% in 2003 (P0.05). Health factors made up 17.65% of the reasons of dropout in 2003 significantly lower than that in 1998 (83.33%, P0.01). Conclusion Institution of higher education-based comprehensive health promotion intervention since entrance is effective in improving the psychosomatic health of students and decreasing morbidity and dropout rate.


Several placebo-controlled trials have shown the effcacy of clomipramine (CMI) in panic disorder. However, none has investigated the relationship between CMI, and desmethylclomipramine (DCMI) plasma levels, and outcome. In this trial, 41 patients meeting the DSM-III-R criteria for panic disorder with/without agoraphobia received 50-200 mg of CMI daily in a single-blind, flexible dose regimen for 14 weeks. At the end of treatment, 97% of the patients were free of panic attacks. Patients were classified into two groups of improvement according to the panic symptom items of the `Patient-Rated Anxiety Scale'. A repeated-measures analysis of variance suggested a significant association between outcome and serum DCMI level/daily dose ratio as well as total serum level/daily dose. Patients with intense improvement showed DCMI and total serum levels lower than those with moderate improvement. The results indicate the importance of monitoring clomipramine and desmethylclomipramine serum levels in this disorder.


Since the birth of the theism, the contradiction and conflict between theism and atheism has never stopped This conflict is the special form of the conflict between materialism and idealism in the history of philosophy. To some extent, the atheism gains its development in the contradiction and conflict between theism and atheism. The theism is strongly refuted by many well-known scholars, such as Xun Zi, Wang Chong, Fan Zhen, Liu Zongyuan, Liu Yuxi and so on, as the theism of theoretical pattern, it doesn't have a foothold after Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties.


Objective To improve the diagnostic rate of duodenal injury before and during the operation,and to decrease the postoperative complications and mortality rate. Methods The clinical data of 29 duodenal injury cases were retrospectively analyzed and the relevant references were reviewed. Results The preoperative diagnostic rate was 20.7%,and the rate of missed diagnosis during operation was 17.2%.12 cases were treated with neoplasty for duodenal rupture,6 cases with Berne diverticulumized operation,4 cases with reforming diverticulumized operation,2 cases with "Y" anastomosis of duodenum with jejunum,2 cases with fistulation through duodenal rupture,1 case with duodenopancreatectomy,1 case with end-to-end anastomosis of duodenum, and 1 cases was treated with duodenal hematoma cleaning.The total postoperative complication times were 22 and the postoperative complication rate was 75.9% and mortality rate was 34.5%.The main complications were duodenal fistula,intraperitoneal abscess,acute renal failure,liver abscess,pulmonary infection and pancreatic fistula. Conclusion In order to decrease the postoperative complications and mortality rate of duodenal injury,the following managements were the key points: early diagnosis,timely and rational operative treatments,thoroughly and effective duodenal decompression and abdominal draining.


This paper proposes a tracking-by-detection method with a weighted scoring mechanism to associate the trackers and the detection results for accurate tracking and counting vehicles in a surveillance application. For the vehicle detection, the proposed method uses our robust PVA-lite deep learning model to detect vehicles. The experimental results show that the proposed method can achieve more than 95% in the average counting accuracy.


The trend in Plasma Display Panel (PDP) TV is towards the thinner thickness, lighter weight, and fan-less system. For achieve this goal, it is desired advanced power conversion technique to implement a low-profile power supply for PDP. As PDP power module, LLC resonant converter is widely used because it can achieve both high efficiency and reliability. To achieve a low-profile circuit configuration, it is necessary to operate the converter at high switching frequency. LLC resonant converter can be operated at high switching frequency because of softswitching operations. However, it is a problem that the temperature of flat transformer becomes high at high switching frequency. In this paper, the method of reduction flat transformer temperature in LLC resonant converter for PDP is proposed by analysis of core loss and experiment. Low-profile power module of profile of about 14 mm can be achieved. Temperature of transformer repressed to 711.


The importation of exotic natural enemies for pest suppression is an established tactic in modern pest management; and at present, there is probably more interest in biological control than at any time in the recent past. However, analysis of the empirical record reveals that the number of successful cases of classical biological control is not as large as might be expected. For example, Clausen (1956) showed that, by the mid-1950s, 485 species of natural enemies were liberated in the continental United States against 77 pest species. In these cases, 95 species of natural enemies (19.6%) established and gave varying degrees of control of 22 pest species (28.6%). Similarly, Bierne (1975) analyzed the attempts at biological control in Canada over the past 90 years and concluded that while colonization varied from 10–78%, only ca. 10% of the attempts were successful from the economic viewpoint. Finally, DeBach's (1971) analysis of the attempts on a worldwide basis (through 1969) reveals that 42 of 223 pests (18.8%) were brought under complete control, although an additional 48 species (21.5%) were brought under substantial control.


In the 21st century school fundraising has become a fine art. Chocolates come in their own carry cases for students to sell, and volunteers working at sausage sizzles deliver hot snags in bread, with or without onions, like well-oiled machines. But 70 years ago the Branyan Road State School in Bundaberg had to work with what they had - a small school house on a large open block.


Exploring the artistic paths of the two Algerian Berberi women artists under French colonisation, this chapter aims to demonstrate how art could be transformed into a powerful expression of anticolonial and feminist thought. Baya Mahieddine (1931–98) distinguished herself in painting while Taos Amrouche (1913–76) was a singer of lyrical Berber songs (chants). In 1947, Surrealist André Breton came across both of their work and fascinated by their authentic artistic style, described them as the 'beginning of an age of concord and radical break' with the artistic thought of the era. The social and personal trajectory of the two women gave their art a dimension of the gendered imagination nourished by their ethnic origins. A quest for identity guided their work towards self–understanding, constituting a path to an exploration of the 'other'. In order to show the impact of their personal experiences on their work, as well as the feminist thinking that emerges along the way, this chapter delves into the social and historical conditions of their artistic practices.


In electric power system,it is necessary to equip every feeder with a high voltage display and locking device to avoid five misoperations and to keep the system safe.This paper introduces all kinds of the existing high voltage electriferous displays and locking devices,including their principles,advantages and disadvantages,and proposes the design tendency of new type high voltage electriferous monitoring system.


tor is a near-ubiquitous device in today's offices and is also commonly found in cinemas and homes. Despite the capabilities of such projection systems, technical limitations in terms of miniaturization and power efficiency currently prevent the widespread adoption of projection subsystems into consumer-electronics (CE) and automotive applications. The need for small, power-efficient projectors in the CE space is aptly demonstrated by the advent of mobile TV. It is clear that the high-resolution content available is incompatible with a typical cell-phone display of 2.5-in. diagonal and, as consumers and manufacturers alike have long since realized, such a display format is inconvenient for sharing content with multiple viewers. These restrictions could be solved by employing a battery-powered projection accessory or embedded projection device to display the content. Applications such as reconfigurable instrument clusters and head-up displays (HUDs) in the automotive sector are also creating demand for miniature projection systems. Whilst there are clear benefits in using projectors for both applications, similar barriers to integration also apply because – as in the CE space – conventional projection systems are generally unsuitable for integration. For example, in addition to the high brightness and contrast ratios required for HUD applications 1 and extremely tight space constraints for rear-projection instrument cluster displays, 2 the entire projection subsystem must be robust, fault tolerant, and optically efficient while maintaining wide operating and storage temperature ranges. As a result, a number of LED-or laser-based microprojector technologies are now being developed to address these issues and to overcome the fact that conventional lamp-based imaging projection technology is unable to simultaneously satisfy the key requirements of small physical size, low cost, low power consumption, and a robust implementation. In addition, it is clear from discussions with automotive and CE customers that there are several additional, and perhaps more restrictive , requirements that also must be fulfilled for the commercialization and acceptance of such miniature projection displays: • High resolution • High brightness • Low speckle • Eye safe • Large depth of focus and wide projection angle. Light Blue Optics (LBO) has been developing a unique holographic laser projection technology since 2004 that, unlike imaging and scanned-beam display technologies, has the unique ability to simultaneously fulfill the key OEM requirements outlined above. LBO's technology represents a revolutionary approach to the projection and display of information. Unlike other commercially available projection technologies, this projection engine exploits the physical process of two-dimensional diffraction …


This paper describes the feedback closed loop steady-space with reference input and integral action for distributed power photovoltaic systems including Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT). In order to validate the control proposal scheme it was applied to the non-inverter Buck-Boost DC-DC power converter. The MPPT considered was the IC algorithm. Results show how this control technique could be applied in power converters in order to regulate the output voltage. The control scheme was able to follow the reference even for dynamic demand behavior. Under MPPT conditions, the PV output voltage seeks the MPPT reference input signal maximizing the output power.


The Houston METRO Regional Computerized Traffic Signal System (RCTSS) is being designed by Kimley-Horn and Associates Inc., to include real time integration with METRO Transit. The two subsystems and the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) Regional Freeway Management Center (RFMC) will represent one of the first major metropolitan areas in the United States to achieve the national vision of intelligent transportation systems.


Simulations of a fixed-bed industrial methanol reactor have been studied in the presence of long term catalyst deactivation. The performance of the reactor was investigated using two different dynamic models: (a) a homogeneous model, and (b) a heterogeneous model. Both the models were found to predict the identical results at industrial operating conditions. The models have been verified against daily observed process data of a methanol plant for four years of operation and good agreement was found. By analyzing the results of the homogeneous model, it was shown that there is a non-uniform catalyst deactivation along the reactor. Simple model, of the type presented here, represents a useful beginning in the optimization and control of reactor for methanol synthesis, since it is capable of describing many of the qualitative trends observed with such reactors.


Early detection of normality pregnancy is one of the ways to prevent more serious disorders in pregnancy. This thesis study the implementation of Adaptive Neuro Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) to determine the normality of pregnancy. The period of pregnancy and complaints during pregnancy are used as inputs and the normality of pregnancy as output. Data were analyzed using ANFIS method and using Sugeno FIS rules. The program simulation results show that the performance of ANFIS can be implemented to determine the normality of pregnancy. The learning results on different training with the highest level of accuracy of 77,5% can recognize the symptoms and 97.5% could identify the diagnosis to determine the normality of pregnancy. The system can provide the necessary information about the normality of pregnancy. The results show that ANFIS can be used to determine the normality of pregnancy.


It has become increasingly clear that satellite infrared measurements of sea surface. temperature (SST) should be validated against in situ measurements of skin SST. To do so requires the deployment of skin SST radiometers on volunteer observing ships (VOS) and later on moored ocean buoys. The need for these in situ skin SST measurements compliments well plans for reference measurement sites for air-sea heat fluxes. While the heat flux measurements can be made equally well from moored buoys and from VOS ships the skin SST measurements can presently only be carried out from ships where the ship-based radiometer optics can be checked and cleaned regularly. Future radiometer developments may make it possible to reliably deploy a validation radiometer on a moored buoy. These would be located at the buoys deployed for the global heat fluxes. The VOS lines will be chosen to maximize the north-south sampling of the skin SST. The in situ skin SST measurements should be accurate to /spl plusmn/0.1/spl deg/C.


There are numerous papers dwelling on the effects of locus of control on job performance but the process that explains the behaviour of sales personnel in the services sector has not received considerable attention from the HRM practitioners as well as researchers. The present study is conducted with the premise that customer orientation plays an important role which is influenced by the locus of control of sales personnel from the services sector. The data for the study were collected from a cross-section of respondents employed in the services sector in various towns of North Bengal. A structured questionnaire was administered on 200 respondents out of which 19 were unacceptable since they have not been answered properly. Apart from various descriptive measures, factor analysis and multiple regression techniques were employed to analyse the data. Findings of the study reveal that sales personnel having high internal locus of control exhibit higher customer orientation. The findings also reveal that sales personnel working under job-induced stress are likely to practise sales orientation. The outcome of the study amply demonstrates that the HR managers should influence the salespeople to follow customer orientation and help reduce their stress level by adopting appropriate HR policies to induce a vibrant CRM system in the organisation. Practical implications and suggestions for future research are also discussed.


This study aims at reviewing the interactions of people and their biophysical environment in order to examine underlying ideas of 'nature' that might create conflicts over resource use. Assuming that peoples' use of the natural environment reveals something about how they perceive it, I explore the changing relations between a community and its forested hinterland - turned into a national park - and a local NGO working in the region in southern Ecuador. I found that various stakeholders perceive the 'nature' of the park differently. The NGO focuses largely on biodiversity conservation, management and recreation, while the community population have a broader understanding of 'nature' as life itself, and often fail to comprehend what a national park is. Villagers are practically oriented, using a range of plant species for medicinal, nutritional and other purposes. Yet, it seems such uses are declining, as many young people are reluctant to take on a village lifestyle. A less tangible relation to nature, and possibly reduced knowledge transfer between generations, may well lead to changes in the perceptions and values put on the forest by people in the community. Neither perceptions nor uses of nature are static, making conservation management something of a moving target.


Reflections of three- to four-year cycles in vole abundance have been observed in the breeding performance and abundance of raptors in Estonia at least since the 1970s. To check whether such link could be used to reconstruct earlier vole cycles, too, I analysed two geographically distinct samples of reports on systematic raptor persecution in 1890-1908. These samples showed three- year periodicity and coincided in their years of minimum although vole-eating species formed only a small part of the material. The numbers of different taxa (diurnal raptors vs owls; Buteo buteo vs Accipiter nisus) were positively correlated in the material, indicating interspecific synchronity in the fluctuations. Probably the observed pattern reveals that, similarly to the recent decades, the productivity of raptors fluctuated in response to three-year vole cycles in Estonia already at the end of the 19th century. These reconstructions can explain some known historical irruptions of raptors and indicate an early general decline of diurnal raptors at least in southern Estonia.


3D object detection from LiDAR point cloud is a challenging task in autonomous driving systems. Collaborative perception can incorporate information from spatially diverse sensors and provide significant benefits for accurate 3D object detection from point clouds. In this work, we consider that the autonomous vehicle uses local point cloud data and combines information from neighboring infrastructures through wireless links for cooperative 3D object detection. However, information sharing among vehicles and infrastructures in predefined communication schemes may result in communication congestion and/or bring limited performance improvement. To this end, we propose a novel collaborative 3D object detection framework using an encoder-decoder network architecture and an attention-based learnable communications scheme. It consists of three components: a feature encoder network that maps point clouds into feature maps; an attention-based communication module that propagates compact and fine-grained query feature maps from the vehicle to support infrastructures, and optimizes attention weights between query and key to refine support feature maps; a region proposal network that fuses local feature maps and weighted support feature maps for 3D object detection. We evaluate the performance of the proposed framework on CARLA-3D, a new dataset that we synthesized using CARLA for 3D cooperative object detection. Experimental results and bandwidth consumption analysis show that the proposed collaborative 3D object detection framework achieves a better detection performance and communication bandwidth trade-off than five baseline 3D object detection models under different detection difficulties.


Gardnerella is the primary pathogenic bacterial genus present in the polymicrobial infection known as bacterial vaginosis (BV). Despite BV's high prevalence and associated chronic and acute women's health impacts, the Gardnerella pangenome is largely uncharacterized at both the genetic and functional metabolic level. Here, we used genome scale metabolic models to characterize in silico the Gardnerella pangenome metabolic content and assessed metabolic functional capacity within a BV positive cervicovaginal fluid context. Metabolic capacity varied widely across the pangenome, with 38.15% of all reactions as core to the genus, compared to 49.6% of reactions identified as unique to a smaller subset of species. Four genes – gpsA, fas, suhB, psd – were identified as core essential genes, critical for in silico metabolic function of all analyzed bacterial species in the Gardnerella genus. Further understanding of these core essential metabolic functions could inform novel therapeutic strategies to treat BV. These data represent the first metabolic modelling of the Gardnerella pangenome and illustrate strain-specific interactions with the vaginal metabolic environment across the pangenome.


In order to develop composite materials, new attempting was conducted. When an explosive is exploded in water, underwater shock wave is generated. Metal plate is accelerated by the underwater shock wave and collided with diamond particles at high velocity. In this paper, pure aluminum and magnesium alloy plates are used as matrix. Micro and nano sized diamond particles were used as reinforcement. Micro diamond particles were closely coated on metal surface. Some of micro diamond particles were penetrated into aluminum. Improvement of base metal property (wearing resistance) was verified by wear test for recovering metal plate. In order to confirm the deformation of the aluminum plate during the collision with diamond particles, simplified numerical simulation was conducted by using LS-DYNA software. From the result of numerical simulation, large deformation of aluminum and process of particle penetration were verified.


IDDF2021-ABS-0122 Figure 1Abstract IDDF2021-ABS-0122 Figure 2ConclusionsPPI use is not associated with adverse clinical outcomes in COVID-19 patients. The result remains robust after PS weighting, PS matching, multivariable adjustment, and subgroup analyses.


The goal of this project was to determine how precisely temperature can be measured using rare-earth ion spectra, and to determine the Stark levels of the rare earth ion multiplets. The absorption spectra of Er-doped silicate glass were studied, and a method was developed to determine temperature change. Emission spectra were used and was calculated from the absorption spectrum by the McCumber method. An uncertainty in temperature of approximately ±10K was obtained, and a simplified Stark level model was constructed.


Preparing molecules at rest and in a very pure quantum state is a long-standing aspiration in chemistry and physics, so far achieved only for a select set of molecules in dedicated experimental setups. Here, a quantum-limited combination of mass spectrometry and Raman spectroscopy is proposed that should be applicable to a wide range of molecular ions. Excitation of electrons in the molecule followed by uncontrolled decay and branching into several lower-energy states is avoided. Instead, the molecule is always confined to rotational states within the electronic and vibrational ground-state manifold, while a co-trapped atomic ion provides efficient entropy removal and allows for extraction of information about the molecule. The outlined techniques might enable the preparation, manipulation and measurement of a multitude of molecular ion species with the same instrument, with applications including, but not limited to, precise determination of molecular properties and fundamental tests of physics.


Photoacoustic (PA) probes have been developed very quickly and applied in broad areas in recent years. Most of them are constructed based on organic dyes with intrinsic near‐infrared (NIR) absorption properties. To increase PA contrast and improve imaging resolution and the sensitivity of detection, various methods for the design of PA probes have been developed. This minireview mainly focuses on the development and design strategies of activatable small‐molecule PA probes in four aspects: reaction‐cleavage, metal ion chelation, photoswitch, and protonation‐deprotonation. It highlights some key points of designing PA probes corresponding to their properties and applications. The challenges and perspectives for small‐molecule PA probes are also discussed.


Abstract : Random sea surfaces representative of sea states 3 through 8 have been generated for use with the computer program CABUOY. Output waveforms are presented graphically, along with the frequencies, amplitudes and phases of the component waves. Physical characteristics of the generated waveforms are compared with actual sea state data. (Author)


The problem with the company is the increase in non-conformance findings in the internal ISO audit report which is very significant, namely as many as 20 findings related to clause 7.2 of controlling information documents within a period of 6 months. Therefore, the main problem raised in this analysis is how to reduce the findings of non-conformities in the results of internal audit and document management at PT. Dinar Makmur uses fishbone diagrams, PLAN – DO – CHECK – ACTION (PDCA) cycles and provides training for employees to employee evaluations until the findings of the company's internal audit results decline. After that, a calculation of the improvements that have been made is carried out by adding up the clause findings obtained after the audit and divided by the number of sections/departments multiplied by the number of points audited. So the results of the increase in the value of the audit as much as 12% success rate from before the repair. After improvements were made, there was a decrease in findings in the previous period January-June 2018 as many as 40 findings and in the July-December 2018 period as many as 30 findings, and the difference in the decline that has been achieved is 10 findings.


Progress of the construction of the HT-7 tokamak with superconducting toroidal field coil is described. The features and main parameters of the HT-7 tokamak are presented in detail.


A genetic algorithm (GA) is used to obtain pattern nulling and main beam scanning of the array feed parabolic reflector. Unlike conventional GA using a random initial population, in this study, one of the initial individuals is designated as conjugate field matching (CFM) weight vector. The implemented GA algorithm is tested for both phase-amplitude array and phase-only array feed for parabolic reflectors. Various results are presented to show the performance of the algorithm.


"One of the most enduring and unusual heroes in detective fiction." THE BALTIMORE SUN Now that Linda "Pidge" Lewellen is grown up, she tells Travis McGee, once her girlhood On my husband any iteration of tyre and with a dog. So long term the fourth month on end I have been? So a scarf or neon can't be so much. When considering its au naturale state, is not for providing me tell you don't! Hi and lady blah in the images I had. I was your buck then say says you that applied. Adding a different I even before.


Objective To investigate an accurate,reliable and objective method to evaluate persistent vegetative state at bedside.Methods The brain function of 34 cases with persistent vegetative state as a result of acute brain injury was evaluated,involving clinical examinations and neuroelectrophysiological evaluations(EEG,BAEP,SLSEP).Results The most common cause of brain damage was anoxic encephalopathy(30/34,88.2%).The patients were in mild,moderate or deep coma with complete or partial existence of brainstem reflection,activities distributed by cerebral nerves,voluntary extremity activities,spinal cord reflection and automatic spinal cord reflection as well as partial existence of pathologic reflection.According to the Young Criteria of EEG,64.5%(20/31)and 29.0%(9/31)of the cases were in grade Ⅰ and Ⅵ respectively,6.5%(2/31)were in grade Ⅲ and Ⅳ.According to the Cant Criteria of evoked potential,34.8%(8/23),21.7%(5/23)and 43.5%(10/23)of the cases were in gradeⅠ,Ⅱ and Ⅲ of brainstem auditory evoked potential,respectively.43.5%(10/23),4.4%(12/23) and 52.2%(12/23)were in grade Ⅰ,Ⅱ and Ⅲ of short-latency somatosensory evoked potential respectively.29.4%(10/34)of 34 cases died,and 11.8%(4/34)resuscitated during 35—90 days. Conclusion Combination of multiple neuroelectrophysiological tests was an accurate,reliable and objective approach to evaluate the brain function of patients with persistent vegetative state,which provides evidence for decision-making in agrypnotic therapy.


South Johor Economic Region (SJER) is located in the southern part of Peninsular Malaysia and northern of Singapore; its area coverage is 221,634.1 hectare or 2,217 sq. km and population 1.4 Million. SJER includes District of Johor Bahru, Mukim of Jeram Batu, Mukim of Sg. Karang and Mukim of Serkat, Pulau Kukup (in Mukim Ayer Masin). SJER is 2.5 times size of Singapore, 48 times size of Putrajaya. Johor Bahru the capital of Johor state is located in the SJER area. Projected South Johor Authority (SJA) population by 2025 is 3 million and area of SJER covered PBT Pasir Gudang, Majlis Bandaraya Johor Bahru, Majlis Perbandaran Kulai and Majlis Daerah Pontian. It's Local Authorities include are Majlis Bandaraya Johor Bahru, Majlis Perbandaran Johor Bahru Tengah, Majlis Perbandaran Kulai and Pasir Gudang Local Authority.


The probability density of distribution function of the sum of N isotropic random vectors is studied for the general case in which the probability density of the lengths of the individual vectors vanishes identically outside a finite interval. The probability density function is expressed in a Fourier sine series whose coefficients are the sampled values of the characteristic function. Typical numerical calculations are summarized in graphical form for the case where the lengths of the vectors obey a rectangular probability density. Sampling expansions are also developed for the moments and the distribution function.


Are you interested in making your community website, online interest group, Internet training program or other information technology (IT) projects more successful and sustainable? Would you like to do this without wasting valuable time and resources? EvaluateIT is the online resource kit you need. EvaluateIT simplifies the task of reviewing or evaluating your IT project. It does this by leading you through four steps that help you decide how to begin, how to involve other people, how to do the review, and how to make the changes that will improve your IT project. As well as this process, this kit contains links to many additional resources, including more help with each step. EvaluateIT can be used by any group who wants to work together to review their own community IT projects. It encourages involvement in the review by all groups in a community that could benefit from the IT project.


Objective:To observe the effects of different processed Rhubarb products on general condition and the quantity of plasma cAMPand cGMP in rats.And the effective properties of different processed Rhubarb products were studied.Methods:The effects of different processed Rhubarb products on rats including the appearances,body weight,defecating were observed.And the quantity of plasma cAMPand cGMP were detected by radioimmunoassay.Results:The crude Rhubarb and Rhubarb stir-fried with wine groups showed poor appearance,slow weight gaining,lower body temperature in comparison with control,while Rhubarb steamed with wine group had better general condition.The quantity of plasma cGMP were increased while the quantity of plasma cGMP and the cAMP/ cGMP ratio decreased.Different processed Rhubarb products had different potencies,crude Rhubarb and Rhubarb stir-fried with wine had a stronger effect than Rhubarb steamed with wine,while no significant differences could be observed between crude Rhubarb and Rhubarb stir-fried with wine.Conclusion:Gastric irrigation of long-term relative megadose crude Rhubarb and Rhubarb stir-fried with wine could impair the rats' yang qi and caused obvious cold-deficiency syndrome,while no obvious cold-deficiency syndrome could be observed under the administration of Rhubarb steamed with wine.


Foreign investments represent a well known topic in the literature which has resulted from their economic, financial, technological, managerial and social contribution at the national and regional level of the receptive country. North-West region is part of the richer and more developed regions of Romania. Based on the statistical data provided by NTRO (2018, p.24), North-West region of Romania is ranked on the third position by the number of companies with foreign participation in the share capital and on the fourth position in terms of the value of the total subscribed capital in companies with foreign participation. The main objective of our study is to analyze the distribution of the number of registered companies with foreign participation in the share capital between the counties of North-West region of Romania and also to analyze the evolution of the value of subscribed capital in companies with foreign participation in the share capital within the counties of this region. We also analyzed the evolution of some selected indicators that we consider relevant for assessing the level of economic development of the counties located in North-West region of Romania. After pointing out the existing disparities in the level of development of the region's counties, an important finding of our study is that there are major intra-regional disparities regarding both the value of subscribed capital and the number of registered companies with foreign participation in the share capital. There is a clear separation between the counties Cluj, Bihor and the rest of the region's counties. Between 1991 and 2017, Cluj and Bihor counties attracted the largest number of foreign investors and recorded the highest values of the total subscribed capital in companies with foreign participation. At the opposite pole there are Bistriţa-Năsăud and Sălaj counties. This paper also provides a ranking of North-West region's counties according to the two aspects regarding foreign participation, subject to analysis, i.e. the number of registered companies with foreign participation in the share capital and the value of subscribed capital.


An American Mechanic. Letters from a workingman. New York and Chicago: Revell. Pp. I9I. $I net. Andre, Geo. C. Our Criminal FellowCitizens. London: New Age Press. Pp. ioo. is net. Arner, Geo. B. Louis. Consanguineous Marriages in the American Population. (Studies in History, Economics and Public Law.) New York: Columbia University. Bailey, L. H. The State and the Farmer. New York: Macmillan. Pp. 2I + I77.


This article presents a six‐phase silicon‐germanium (SiGe) heterojunction bipolar transistor divide‐by‐3 injection locked frequency divider (ILFD). The ILFD is based on a three‐stage differential ring oscillator (voltage controlled oscillators) and was fabricated in the 0.35 μm SiGe 3P3M BiCMOS technology. The divide‐by‐3 function is performed by injecting a differential signal to the common gates of injection MOSFETs with the drain/sources connected to the VCO outputs. Measurement results show that when the supply voltage Vdd is tuned from 1.4 V to 2 V, the divider free‐running oscillation frequency is tunable from 6.2 GHz to 3.58 GHz, and at the incident power of 0 dBm the operation locking range is about 8.3 GHz, from the incident frequency 18.8 to 10.5 GHz. The core power consumption is 8.96 mW at Vdd = 1.4 V. The die area is 0.802 × 0.812 mm2. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 51: 1555–1557, 2009; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.24345


French journalistic fields in ways that set standards also for the commercial media. For instance, similar to many other European countries, the French commercial television was developed only when the public system had established its position. Traces of these origins remain in the journalistic values of commercial providers. In the United States, however, the public service television PBS grew out of educational networks only in the 1960s, and it remains a small and decentralized player in the field. While the regulatory framework produces the meta-level difference for the two journalistic fields, Benson also pays attention to the 'field logics', that is, to the more practical and professional differences between the two countries. One such example is the 'forms' of news: modes of articles and news packages. Narrative news, 'shaping of information as a "story" with clear characters and plot' (p. 49) is typical for the American news genre. In France, on the contrary, newspapers organize topics as a 'multigenre debate ensemble', which is a collage of different genres and voices. This format allows various agents such as civil society actors and academics to present their views on an issue, and according to Benson, this form tends to afford more multiperspectival, critical, and in-depth news coverage on immigration. While the book makes future recommendations particularly towards American journalism, claiming for a stronger public service media, the comparative study nevertheless offers future perspectives also for European journalistic fields. The European public service media face pressure from commercialization and digitalization, perhaps more so than Benson's rather optimistic account suggests. Studies such as Shaping Immigration News that carefully compare the strengths and limits of different systems and outcomes of different media policies are crucially important also for the future development of the struggling public service initiative in Europe and elsewhere.


• Location and contact information for all commercial and academic cyclotrons in the United States. • All PET radiopharmaceuticals currently produced at each of the 48 academic/research PET radiopharmaceutical chemistry laboratories in the United States. For each radiopharmaceutical produced, the database tracks the frequency of production and the regulatory mechanism under which the radiopharmaceutical is utilized. • PET radiopharmaceuticals produced by commercial vendors, available for use in clinical trials.


Objectives: To compare the analgesic effect of thiocolchicoside and ketoprofen alone and their combination in male albino wistar rats by using digital analgesiometer for the degree of analgesia and the time course of action. Materials and Methods: Analgesia was studied in male albino wistar rats using the radiant heat method. For each test, four groups of six animals each were orally fed with a single dose of thiocolchicoside, ketoprofen, and combination of thiocolchicoside and ketoprofen and normal saline as control, respectively. Results: In all three drug treatments showed significant analgesia (P < 0.001) as compared to control, but there was significant difference in the analgesia produced by drugs in combination. The radiant heat method demonstrated a quicker onset of action with thiocolchicoside and ketoprofen, whereas greater degree of analgesia was seen with the combination of thiocolchicoside and ketoprofen than the individual drug, though this difference was statistically significant. Conclusions: Thiocolchicoside and ketoprofen combination offers advantage over thiocolchicoside and ketoprofen alone, in terms of degree of analgesia or onset of action. Therefore, our study supports the reports claiming the efficacy of the fixed dose combination of thiocolchicoside and ketoprofen greater than individual drug alone.


A novel sliding surface is proposed by defining a virtual state. This sliding surface has the nominal dynamics of an original system and makes it possible to use the sliding-mode control technique with various types of controller. Its design is based on an augmented system whose dynamics have a higher order than that of the original system. The reaching phase is eliminated by using an initial virtual state that makes the initial sliding function equal to zero.


Excerpt INTRODUCTION While attending an outpatient diagnostic clinic serving a labor union whose membership consists of industrial workers, we were surprised by the relative frequency with which we...


In the internationalization process of a firm, the choice of a suitable entry strategy for the foreign target market plays a vital role. For small and medium-sized companies in the service industry, even more challenges emerge in this process. This study examines the market entry strategies employed by Austrian small and medium-sized service enterprises operating in the emerging markets of Central and Eastern Europe. Fifteen case studies of Austrian service companies are analysed. The results show differing strategies and the importance of establishing and cultivating relationships for a successful market entry.


Revisiting the complex dynamics of nature-culture relations should take into consideration the juxtapositions between multiple spaces, times and meanings that constitute the current anthropological understanding of the concept of 'environment'. As digital technologies were progressively incorporated into the ways in which the influences of the environment are perceived and reimagined, a new type of places appeared: the 'virtual heterotopias'. They typify contemporary conceptualizations of the environment by simultaneously connecting and differentiating multiple spaces and times. In my paper, I draw upon the theoretical groundwork developed by Michel Foucault (1967) regarding heterotopias. I focus on how nature-culture relations are mirrored, signified and reimagined in virtual worlds (i.e. MMOG worlds). I consider the virtual worlds to be multileveled heterotopias where the digital counterparts of real elements from the environment seem more 'real' and 'compelling' than the originals. The new ways in which 'virtual heterotopias' are built in order to represent multiple dimensions of the environment ultimately contribute to a redefinition of heterotopias' epistemological and anthropological relevance.


Russian medical journals are presented in the Scopus database in a limited number, although demonstrating a significant increase over the past 2 years, featured about 70 journals at the end of 2017 (including those coming from Medline, which are not viewed as indexed by Scopus). This value cannot be considered representative of Russian medical science, particularly in comparison with the total number of medical journals and Russian journals of other subjects in Scopus. Therefore, it seems important to assess the possibility of expanding the presence of Russian medical titles in Scopus, as well as to understand which medical fields or areas are poorly represented or not covered by Russian journals. The Medical Section of the Association of Science Editors and Publishers (ASEP) is currently working to identify the most promising journals and help them to prepare for inclusion in Scopus. To this end, a preliminary selection out of 1000 journals was carried out to reveal 335 titles that, according to the authors, can be classified as major Russian medical scientific journals. These journals are either indexed in Scopus, or seen as good candidates for this database. Subsequently, the selected journals were analysed in terms of their subject classification according to the Scopus All Science Journal Classification Code List (ASJC). The key objectives were (1) to determine the subject classification of those Russian titles that, according to preliminary estimates, can meet the needs of Russian researchers in presenting their results in Scopus and (2) to identify those journals that can fill the gap of certain subject areas under represented by Russian journals. Our study has revealed that Russian titles are not distributed homogeneously among clinical, medical, biological and other related thematic areas. Among the 335 journals, 2/3 represent clinical medicine in 49 categories, with the remaining 82 categories accounting for 1/3 of the titles on related subjects. This data shows that publications on medicine in Russian journals are dispersed across various journals. Along with this, a significant part of related subject area journals is well-represented in Scopus. The journals selected as a result of the research were included in the preliminary list of titles considered as candidates for the State Support Programme that began in 2017.


Hadj Khalifa, K. & El Mokni, R.: Vitex trifolia (Lamiaceae) a naturalized alien new to the nonnative flora of Tunisia and North Africa. — Fl. Medit. 30: 327-332. 2020. — ISSN: 1120-4052 printed, 2240-4538 online. Vitex trifolia (Lamiaceae) is recorded for the first time for the non-native vascular flora of Tunisia and North Africa. Morphological description, distribution and habitat, as well as taxonomic notes, are provided. Original discriminant characters and a key of the genus in North Africa are also given.


We review the concept of PON coexistence, which facilitates upgrading existing networks. The existing coexistence mechanisms are compared, but found wanting in some respects. A novel scheme with a superior combination of properties is proposed.


We have studied the magnetic properties of ${\mathrm{Na}}_{2}{\mathrm{Co}}_{2}{\mathrm{TeO}}_{6}$, which features a honeycomb lattice of magnetic ${\mathrm{Co}}^{2+}$ ions, through macroscopic characterization and neutron diffraction on a powder sample. We have shown that this material orders in a zigzag antiferromagnetic structure. In addition to allowing a linear magnetoelectric coupling, this magnetic arrangement displays very peculiar spatial magnetic correlations, larger in the honeycomb planes than between the planes, which do not evolve with the temperature. We have investigated this behavior by classical Monte Carlo calculations using the ${J}_{1}\text{\ensuremath{-}}{J}_{2}\text{\ensuremath{-}}{J}_{3}$ model on a honeycomb lattice with a small interplane interaction. Our model reproduces the experimental neutron structure factor, although its absence of temperature evolution must be due to additional ingredients, such as chemical disorder or quantum fluctuations enhanced by the proximity to a phase boundary.


In a method for estimating at least one control parameter of an injection system in an internal combustion engine for a target injection quantity, the estimation of the control parameter is based on linear regression, which is determined between predefined grid points and calculated test points in an operating range of the injection system.


Having pastored the largest Nazarene church and founded the Southwest Christian Leadership Institute, Alan E. Nelson is currently planting a new church in Arizona. Leading Your Ministry is Nelson's third book on ministry. In Leading Your Ministry Nelson offers insights on future-oriented church leadership. He suggests and gives the framework for a model of pastoral leadership beyond that of the traditional shepherd. The needs for this shift, he proposes, rise out of an increasingly fragmented and rapidly changing environment in which churches are living. He further notes the impact of lay movements, generational shifts, and the emergence of the "megachurch" model as calling for a change in the direction of pastoral leadership. The model Nelson proposes is a pastor with "the mind of a priest and the soul of a prophet." He writes that the Bible is not a text on leadership, but goes on to develop a philosophy of Biblical leadership, pointing particularly to "the Jethro Principle." His section on practical application, "Part Three: Leadership Praxis" attempts to clearly outline principles of leadership. Leading Your Ministry offers sound advice and principles, but very little is new. Nelson neither offers a satisfactory explanation of the model Book Reviews Review and Expositor, 94 (1997)


Background: Patients with heart failure (HF) reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) have symptoms that are more severe and experience a higher rate of hospitalization compared with HF preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) patients. However, symptom recognition cannot be made by patients based on current approaches. This problem is a barrier to effective self-care that needs to be improved by new self-monitoring instruments and strategies. Objective: This study describes a protocol for the self-monitoring daily diaries of weight and shortness of breath (SOB) based on the traffic light system (TLS). The primary objective is to compare the self-care between the intervention and control group. Comparison of HF knowledge, HF quality of life (HFQOL), and all-cause hospitalization between the 2 groups are the secondary objectives. Methods: A single-blind randomized controlled trial is being conducted at the HF clinic at Tehran Heart Center (Tehran, Iran). Sixty-eight adult patients of both genders will be enrolled during admission to HF clinic. Eligible subjects will be assigned to either the intervention or control group by a block balanced randomization method. Baseline surveys will be conducted before random allocation. Participants in the intervention group will receive an integrated package consisting of (1) HF self-care education by an Australian Heart Foundation booklet on HF, (2) regular home self-monitoring of weight and SOB, and (3) scheduled call follow-ups for 3 months. Patients in the control group will receive no intervention and they only complete monthly surveys. Results: This study is ongoing and is expected to be completed by the end of 2018. Conclusions: This is the first trial with new self-monitoring instruments in Iran as a low and middle-income country. If the findings show a positive effect, the package will be applied in different regions with the same health care status. Trial Registration: Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials IRCT2017021032476N1; https://en.irct.ir/trial/25296?revision=25296 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/73DLICQL8) JMIR Res Protoc 2018 | vol. 7 | iss. 11 | e184 | p.1 https://www.researchprotocols.org/2018/11/e184/ (page number not for citation purposes) Nomali et al JMIR RESEARCH PROTOCOLS


: Sentiment analysis is defined as the task of finding and analyzing the opinions of authors about specific entities or topic. Social network has increased astounding consideration in the most recent decade. Getting to Social network destinations, for example, Twitter, Facebook LinkedIn and Google+ through the web and the web 2.0 innovations has turned out to be more moderate. Data mining gives an extensive variety of methods for identifying helpful learning from enormous datasets like pat- terns, examples and tenets. Data mining methods are utilized for data recovery, measurable displaying and machine learning. These strategies utilize data pre-processing, data analysis, and data interpretation processes in the course of data analysis. This survey talks about various in Data mining methods used as a piece of mining differing parts of the Social network over decades going from the verifiable procedures to the up to date models. Twitter is a miniaturized scale blogging administration worked to find what is going on at any minute in time, anyplace on the planet. Twitter messages are short, and created always, and appropriate for learning revelation utilizing information stream mining.


E.A.C.I.'s corporate liaison sees co-operation and communication amongst members as one way in which to realize mutual objectives. Exploring these objectives is one of the points on the agenda this autumn in the Association's first corporate Podium.


Research on international elite sport emphasises the convergence of national systems. Such trends are reflected also in the Nordic countries. However, the national elite sport systems in these countries have developed quite differently over the last 30 years, despite strong historical similarities. This article directs the attention to a topic that has been largely ignored in the research on international elite sport systems – the role of institutional entrepreneurs. It builds on earlier research on Nordic elite sport. In addition, we have conducted comprehensive interviews with central leaders in the national Olympic Committees, national confederations of sport and national elite sport organisations in all four countries – a total of 16 informants. They were selected strategically, based on their roles and experiences. The point of departure for the theoretical coding was a model of institutional entrepreneurship with four key elements: field characteristics, the creation of a divergent vision, the mobilisation of allies and the mobilisation of resources. Our findings are consistent with the theoretical model, but introduce nuances and additions to the model. Entrepreneurial efforts take place within institutional fields that may enhance or limit the scope for successful change. The findings point to the significance of entrepreneurs' active interpretation of challenges and opportunities. Furthermore, change processes take place in a context partly beyond the control of entrepreneurs, and as windows of opportunities come and go, the timing of initiatives may be decisive. The general argument put forward in this article may serve as a framework for identifying and explaining variations in policy changes and implementation across different countries within a broader trend of policy convergence.


Our study aimed at assessing the role of Coxiella burnetii in nonspecific febrile illness at the National Center of Infectious Diseases in Algeria, EL-HADI FLICI Hospital. Seventy patients were included and compared to seventy controls without any ongoing infection. Coxiella burnetii infection was investigated using IFA serology and qPCR. Serology was positive in 3 of 70 patients (4.30%), including 1 in whom PCR was also positive (1.42%). All three patients reported frequent contact with ruminants. These results suggest that C. burnetii is an agent of nonspecific febrile illness in Algeria.


Abstract A new nonlinear artificial intelligence ensemble prediction (NAIEP) model has been developed for predicting typhoon intensity based on multiple neural networks with the same expected output and using an evolutionary genetic algorithm (GA). The model is validated with short-range forecasts of typhoon intensity in the South China Sea (SCS); results show that the NAIEP model is clearly better than the climatology and persistence (CLIPER) model for 24-h forecasts of typhoon intensity. Using identical predictors and sample cases, predictions of the genetic neural network (GNN) ensemble prediction (GNNEP) model are compared with the single-GNN prediction model, and it has been proven theoretically that the former is more accurate. Computation and analysis of the generalization capacity of GNNEP also demonstrate that the prediction of the ensemble model integrates predictions of its optimized ensemble members, so the generalization capacity of the ensemble prediction model is also enhanced. This model b...


The difference in chemical reactivity between silicon (Si) and anodic oxide surfaces was used to fabricate gold (Au) nanostructures. By means of scanning tunneling microscope tip‐induced anodization, a Si surface terminated with hydrogen (Si–H) was patterned with the anodic oxide. Subsequently, the patterned sample was treated in an electroless plating bath to deposit Au on it. Using a scanning electron microscope, an energy dispersion x‐ray spectroscope, and an atomic force microscope, we confirmed that the Au deposition selectively occurred on the Si–H surface where it was not anodized. The anodic oxide surface served as a mask to prevent Au deposition. Au lines of less than 200 nm in width could be fabricated on the Si–H surface.


A 37-m thick layer of stratified clay encountered during a site investigation at Swann's Bridge, near the sea-coast at Limavady, Northern Ireland, is one of the deepest and thickest layers of this type of material recorded in Ireland. A study of the relevant literature and stratigraphic evidence obtained from the site investigation showed that despite being close to the current shoreline, the clay was deposited in a fresh-water glacial lake formed approximately 13 000 BP. The 37-m layer of clay can be divided into two separate zones. The lower zone was deposited as a series of laminated layers of sand, silt, and clay, whereas the upper zone was deposited as a largely homogeneous mixture. A comprehensive series of tests was carried out on carefully selected samples from the full thickness of the deposit. The results obtained from these tests were complex and confusing, particularly the results of tests done on samples from the lower zone. The results of one-dimensional compression tests, unconsolidated und...


Measles is a highly contagious viral disease that can lead to serious complications, including death, particularly in young children. In this study, we developed a mathematical model that incorporates a seasonal transmission parameter to examine the measles transmission dynamics. We define the basic reproduction number (R0) and show its utility as a threshold parameter for global dynamics and the existence of periodic solutions. The model was applied to the measles outbreak that occurred in Pakistan from 2019 to 2021 and provided a good fit to the observed data. Our estimate of the basic reproduction number was found to be greater than one, indicating that the disease will persist in the population. The findings highlight the need to increase vaccination coverage and efficacy to mitigate the impact of the epidemic. The model also shows the long-term behavior of the disease, which becomes endemic and recurs annually. Our simulations demonstrate that a shorter incubation period accelerates the spread of the disease, while a higher vaccination coverage rate reduces its impact. The importance of the second dose of the measles vaccine is emphasized, and a higher vaccine efficacy rate can also help bring R0 below one. Our study provides valuable information for the development and implementation of effective measles control strategies. To prevent future outbreaks, increasing vaccination coverage among the population is the most effective way to reduce the transmission of measles.


Microfluidics is an emerging technology enabling the development of Lab-on-a-chip (LOC) systems for clinical diagnostics, drug discovery and screening, food safety and environmental analysis. LOC systems integrate and scale down one or several laboratory functions on a single chip of a few mm2 to cm2 in size, and account for many advantages on biochemical analyses, such as low sample and reagent consumption, low cost, reduced analysis time, portability and point-of-need compatibility. Currently, available nucleic acid diagnostic tests take advantage of Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) that allows exponential amplification of portions of nucleic acid sequences that can be used as indicators for the identification of various diseases. Here, we present a comparison between static chamber and continuous flow miniaturized PCR devices, in terms of energy consumption for devices fabricated on the same material stack, with identical sample volume and channel dimensions. The comparison is implemented by a computational study coupling heat transfer in both solid and fluid, mass conservation of species, and joule heating. Based on the conclusions of this study, we develop low-cost and fast DNA amplification devices for both PCR and isothermal amplification, and we implement them in the detection of mutations related to breast cancer. The devices are fabricated by mass production amenable technologies on printed circuit board (PCB) substrates, where copper facilitates the incorporation of on-chip microheaters, defining the thermal zones necessary for PCR or isothermal amplification methods.


The article explains how driver assistance systems, considering ACC as an example, can take advantage of using navigation data. The functional concept of the assistance function has to be designed according to the particular properties of this additional data source. Even with the quality of navigation data available today BMW's ACC system can be enhanced by situation adaptive dynamics, which provides even more benefit for the customer.


The impact of oil price shocks on macroeconomic activities has attracted a great deal of attention since the 1970s first oil price shock. Initially, many studies argue that there exist a significant negative impact of oil price shocks on GDP, but recent empirical studies suggest a diminishing relationship between oil shocks and the macroeconomy. A key feature characterizing existing literature is that it applies predominantly to advanced oil-importing economies. For developing oil importing countries, different conclusions may be expected but this can be empirically ascertained. Despite the key role energy plays in industrial production and the socio-economic development of countries, many studies only focused on the causal link between oil price shocks and output. This study therefore, employs a restricted VAR model and Johansen Cointegration test to investigate the impact of oil price shocks on the macroeconomy of Ghana- a developing oil importing economy. The findings reveal that oil price shocks have significant negative impact on output and economic activities in Ghana. We further employ a nonlinear oil price shocks specification to account for asymmetric effects and we find that negative oil price shocks adversely affect economic growth whiles positive oil price shocks stimulate growth and increase output. Our results indicate a nonlinear oil-price macroeconomy relationship but no evidence of asymmetric effects exist between oil price shocks and macroeconomic variables in Ghana. This study recognizes that the magnitude of the percentage impact is small, however, this does not mean that the oil shock effects on the Ghanaian economy is negligible. Key w ords: Oil price shocks; Macroeconomy; Nonlinear models; Ghana; VECM.