This paper introduces Sample Distribution Shadow Maps (SDSMs), a new algorithm for hard and soft-edged shadows that greatly reduces undersampling, oversampling, and geometric aliasing errors compared to other shadow map techniques. SDSMs fall into the space between scene-dependent, variable-performance shadow algorithms and scene-independent, fixed-performance shadow algorithms. They provide a fully automated solution to shadow map aliasing by optimizing the placement and size of a fixed number of Z-partitions using the distribution of the light space samples required by the current frame. SDSMs build on the advantages of current state of the art techniques, including predictable performance and constant memory usage, while removing tedious and ultimately suboptimal parameter tuning. We compare SDSMs to Parallel-Split Shadow Maps (PSSMs, a state of the art Z-partitioning scheme) and show that SDSMs produce higher quality shadows. Finally, we demonstrate that SDSMs outperform PSSMs in a large 2009 game scene at high resolutions, making them suitable for games and other interactive applications.


The RG7787 mesothelin-targeted recombinant immunotoxin (RIT) consists of an antibody fragment targeting mesothelin (MSLN) fused to a 24-kD fragment of Pseudomonas exotoxin A for cell killing. Compared with prior RITs, RG7787 has improved properties for clinical development including decreased nonspecific toxicity and immunogenicity and resistance todegradationby lysosomalproteases.MSLN is a cell surface glycoprotein highly expressed bymany solid tumormalignancies. New reports have demonstrated thatMSLN is expressed by a significant percentage of triple-negative breast and gastric cancer clinical specimens.Here, panels of triplenegative breast and gastric cancer cell lines were tested for surface MSLN expression, and for sensitivity to RG7787 in vitro and in animal models. RG7787 produced >95% cell killing of the HCC70 and SUM149 breast cancer cell lines in vitro with IC50 < 100 pmol/L. RG7787 was also effective against gastric cancer cell lines MKN28,MKN45, andMKN74 in vitro,with subnanomolar IC50s. In anudemousemodel,RG7787 treatment (2.5 mg/kg i.v. qod 3–4) resulted in a statistically significant 41%decrease in volumes ofHCC70 xenograft tumors (P < 0.0001) and an 18% decrease in MKN28 tumors (P < 0.0001). Pretreatment with paclitaxel (50 mg/kg i.p.) enhancedefficacy, producing88%and70%reduction in tumorvolumes forHCC70andMKN28, respectively, a statistically significant improvement over paclitaxel alone (P < 0.0001 for both). RG7787 merits clinical testing for triple-negative breast and gastric cancers. Mol Cancer Ther; 13(11); 2653–61. 2014 AACR.


Public interest lawsuit aims to maintain and protect state interest and social interest. It is a method for natural persons and organizations to manage public affairs. Constructing and perfecting public interest lawsuit system can help to improve China's judicial system and to promote the art of governing by law. As a part of the construction of democracy in our country, the improvement of China's public interest lawsuit system requires the establishment of an operating system for the supervision of power practices, clear identification of the subject, terms and domain of accepting the case so as to arouse awareness of public interest lawsuit of the citizens, to build relative organizations and finally to help the court of justice with the improvement of work efficiency and enforcement of law.


A newly started business entity has various kinds of difficulties, complexities, and risks (Trimi & Berbegal-Mirabent, 2012), the risks faced by startups include markets, products, competitiveness, employees, and finances (Paternoster et al., 2014). The purpose of this study is to analyze what factors contribute to the demise of startups in Banyumas. The participants in this study were resourceful startup actors in Banyumas. Data was collected through focus group discussions and questionnaires. Data were analyzed descriptively and qualitatively using an analytical hierarchy process (AHP), strengths-weaknesses-opportunities-threats (SWOT) analysis, and quantitative strategic planning matrix (QSPM). Based on the results of the AHP analysis, there were four main problems: background, competence, communication infrastructure, and security. Furthermore, it could be seen from SWOT and QSPM analysis that each SO (Strengths-Opportunities) strategy value was 152, WO (Weaknesses-Opportunities) was 100, ST (Strengths-Threats) was 148, and WT (Weaknesses-Threats) was 144. The conclusion was digital startup sustainability problems could be resolved by prioritizing the SO strategy. The implementation of these strategies included optimizing young workers, collaborating with supporting communities, and creating unique products. Apart from practical implications, this paper also develops literature on the factors that cause startup failure, which so far has been limited to discussing only the success factors.


(75) Inventors: Roy Johnson, Oconomowoc, WI (US); OTHER PUBLICATIONS Paul R. Young, Wheaton, IL (US) Applegate et al., "Phytase: Basics of Enzyme Function'May 2004, (73) Assignee: U.S. Water Services, Inc., St. Michael, Farm Animal Management(a) Purdue, AS-560-W: 1-5. MN (US) Belyea et al., "Element Concentrations of Dry-Grind Corn-Process ing Streams' 2006, Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology, (*) Notice: Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this 134:113-128. patent is extended or adjusted under 35 "Genencor Introduces a Greener, More Efficient Enzyme for Ethanol Production—New Maxaliq TM ONE product improves process efi U.S.C. 154(b) by 0 days. ciency in production of biofuels from corn." Jun. 20, 2007. This patent is Subject to a terminal disGenencor(R), News for Immediate Release. claimer. Sullivan et al., "A Multifunctional Additive for Deposit Control." Corrosion 96, The NACE International Annual Conference and (21) Appl. No.: 13/274,075 Exposition, Paper No. 158, 1996. 9 Amjadet al., "The Influence of Recirculating Water Impurities on the 1-1. Performance of Calcium Phosphate Inhibiting Polymers." Corrosion (22) Filed: Oct. 14, 2011 99, NACE International, Paper No. 118, 1999. (65) Prior Publication Data alth et al., Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology (2006) 128:


Abstract To investigate the e ects of electric power assisted steering (EPAS) on a vehicle's steering performance, this paper explicitly proposes several indices, such as steering sensitivity and road feel, for evaluation of steering performance. Then a single-track car model with lateral and yaw movement is considered and an EPAS model is built. The mathematical expressions for the steering performance indices are deduced and a stability criterion is established by integrated analysis of the vehicle's dynamics and the EPAS dynamics. By means of frequency domain analysis, the e ect of each parameter of EPAS on steering performance indices is analysed. Finally, an optimizing model used to improve these steering indices is put forward and the result is given.


In order to accurately identify the fault type of the frequency converter of the wind power generator,this paper,based on neural network,presents a frequency converter fault diagnosis method specifically for the direct-drive wind power generator.It analyzes the structure,the fault principle and the fault type of the frequency converter,obtaining a series of the output voltage waveform changes in different fault conditions.Then,the designed BP neural network is trained and tested.Considering the factors such as the long neural network training time and imperfect forecast result,this research tries to use the genetic algorithm to optimize the weights and the threshold parameter of neural networks.The simulation results show that the optimized neural network has shorter training time and the higher prediction precision.


Deal with the activities of daily life involves turning attentional processes that allow us to be more receptive to the events of the environment and act in certain tasks regardless of the type of effort that they entail. In this context, the research aims to analyze the processes present in the attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The mechanisms involved can be selective of the type, distribution and maintenance or upkeep. In students with ADHD these processes are often affected, conditioning their school performance and their familial relationships. In connection with the programming, the ADHD affects students, presenting important judgments on the basis of the programming, hinde ring the understanding and reasoning.


The phase diagram of the coupled sine circle map lattice shows spatio-temporal intermittency of two distinct types: spatio-temporal intermittency of the directed percolation (DP) class, and spatial intermittency which does not belong to this class. These two types of behaviour are seen to be special cases of the spreading and non-spreading regimes seen in the system. In the spreading regime, each site can infect its neighbours permitting an initial disturbance to spread, whereas in the non-spreading regime no infection is possible. The two regimes are separated by a line which we call the infection line. The coupled map lattice can be mapped on to an equivalent cellular automaton which shows a transition from a probabilistic cellular automaton (PCA) to a deterministic cellular automaton (DCA) at the infection line. Thus the existence of the DP and non-DP universality classes in the same system is signalled by the PCA to DCA transition. We also discuss the dynamic origin of this transition.


The decrease in cost and increase in automation of audio visual systems for the classroom has led to widespread deployment of lecture capture within higher education. While a number of studies have examined the effectiveness of such systems within an institution, no study has characterized student background across institutions. In this paper we describe three different lecture capture systems deployed in three different higher education institutions worldwide. We note particular interesting investigations we have made into how students use these systems, and outline how our current work in the opencast community project will be used to provide more rigorous cross-institution analysis options of lecture capture systems.


Classroom-based writing mentors facilitate learning and knowledge transfer for both students and instructors in their classes. They accomplish this by doing with rather than by only teaching to, making the means of learning more visible and, therefore, the writing goals more accessible; this provides a powerful means of furthering WAC goals and objectives on campuses. Since mentors are typically not experts in the discipline in which they work, they must rhetorically read the class and the discipline, articulating this process for the instructor and other students. This gives students a better understanding of how the disciplinary discourse operates, and shows instructors the challenges students in the class face as they attempt to enter that discourse. Mentors' dual status as both peer and expert expands the range of social interactions in the classroom community of practice, helping to expose the motives that drive students' writing, and the motives that should drive the activity of writing in the discipline. Drawing on research emerging from WAC, writing center, and literacy practices, this article theorizes the experiences of four classroom writing mentors in order to better understand how this process works, and how it might be duplicated in other institutional contexts as a means of faculty and student development to create a culture of writing. In a Bakhtinian sense, with whom, in what ways, and in what contexts we interact will determine what we stand to learn.(Ball and Freedman, 2004, p. 6) The image of a writing center tutor is that of a peer interacting with students, using perceptive questions, drawing on the knowledge writers bring to the table, and applying this to new writing situations. The questions tutors use stem from an understanding of writing and collaborative learning theories (e.g., Gillespie & Lerner, 2004; Rafoth, 2005; Ryan & Zimmerelli, 2006), from tutors' own tacit knowledge about being a student, and from their analysis of the writing task. This is how the ideal writing center helps produce better writers (North, 1984): with tutors who are trained to ask questions about and apply their own resources to the rhetorical situation presented by the writer. The success of these strategies is furthered by the tutors' non-evaluative positive position: they don't grade and, in fact, are taught to avoid assuming the authoritative stance of a "little teacher" (Bruffee, 1978). As a result, tutors are able to create the ideal learning environment described by Tompkins Mullin, Schorn, Turner, Hertz, Davidson, and Baca 2 (1999), one characterized by "greater sensitivity to the needs of students and a more sympathetic understanding of their positions, both as workers in the academy and as people in the wider world" (p. 24). Tompkins was referring to an optimal classroom situation, one that, we believe, can be fostered by bringing the writing center environment to the WAC classroom. Situated within a WAC course, writing mentors (the term we prefer over "writing fellows") collaborate uniquely with students and faculty, modeling for both groups how to enter others' discourse, how to exchange ways of constructing knowledge, and how to enter a disciplinary conversation, creating an appropriate ethos while maintaining a personal voice. They help raise the visibility of assumptions and practices for all, making evident the hidden complexity of the community practices necessary to master written knowledge in a discipline. They accomplish this by doing with rather than by only teaching to, making the means of learning more visible and, therefore, the writing goals more accessible; this provides a powerful means of furthering WAC goals and objectives on campuses. The Effectiveness of Writing Mentors: Theory People act in multiple, interacting systems of activity where writing that seems the "same" as what one has read or written before is in practice very different—and not only in the formal features, the "how" of writing. Lying behind the how are the who, where, when, what and—most importantly—the why of writing, the motives of people engaged in some system of activity (Russell & Yañez, 2002, p. 359). Writing mentors' immersion in the course enables them to act as a type of classroom ethnographer, observing the actual "routines, words, tools, ways of doing things, stories, gestures, symbols, genres, actions or concepts that the community has produced or adopted in the course of its existence and which has become part of [its] practice" (Geller, Eodice, Condon, Carroll, & Boquet, 2007, p. 36). We maintain that because writing mentors[1] are analyzing the context of the class, they are able to address the "how" of writing, and respond to the disciplinary who, what, when, where, and why. Thus, the work writing mentors engage in with students comes to be shaped by the demands of the particular disciplinary classroom, and also, using the questioning techniques learned in a writing center, by the needs of the students seeking to enter that discipline. Finding out how students engage in the writing process is central to mentors' classroom work, and they are trained to recognize the formulas on which students will rely. These formulas, previously successful in students' school writing experiences, often consist of external prescriptions that blind students to rhetorical cues that might demand different writing strategies or a different application of a writing strategy (see Bartholomae, 1985; Beaufort, 2007; Hillocks, 1995; Thaiss & Zawacki, 2006). "[G]iven the way freshman writing is typically taught," students are "ill-prepared to examine, question or understand the literacy standards of discourse communities ... in other disciplines, the work world, or in other social spheres they participate in" (Beaufort, 2007, p. 11). This leaves students, in Bakhtin's sense, struggling to engage a discipline's discourse, seeking to make it their own; this difficulty often results in what Beaufort (2007) calls "negative transfer of learning, a series of failed attempts to successfully meet instructors' expectations in disciplines outside of writing classes" (p. 11). We find that when a classroom-based mentor attends every class, integrates herself into the life of the classroom, interacts with the professor, and debriefs students on their writing processes, both the mentors and the student-writers engage in rhetorically reading the classroom and in learning how to speak more effectively within that community. Conducting Research in the Gray Space 3 Mentors accomplish these goals by drawing on their authority and experience as rhetorical experts, as authorities on writing—but they are not disciplinarily authoritative. There is an advantage in this since mentors can then more readily use their analytical skills to see how the discourse operates— and how they might enter it. The discourse has not yet bound mentors to it and even though they "encounter it with its authority already fused to it...It is ... not a question of choosing it from among other possible discourses that are its equal" (Bakhtin, 1981, p. 342). While mentors, like the students, lack the instructor's authoritative mastery of the disciplinary language, they bring to the classroom their tutorial understanding that disciplinary knowledge is constructed with language. They already know from their writing center practice that multiple discourses can merge to provide access to new communities. This experience in writing center pedagogy also prevents mentors from reducing writing to an authoritative formula. Instead, a mentor uses rhetorical expertise to unmask the student formulas by making apparent the internal dialogue that shapes students' writing and their interpretation of writing tasks. Mentors, however, engage in this task not just with student-writers but also with faculty. For faculty, mentors project and amplify the difficulties that face a novice engaging in the community of practice. They embody and give voice to the internal dialogue in which students are engaged, uniquely articulating for instructors what students and mentor are experiencing. In addition to fostering faculty understandings of student positions, though, mentors use their questioning, collaboration techniques and observational abilities to draw out and examine an instructor's understandings of writing, to make visible their own tendency to articulate writing as formula instead of knowledge building. It is not unusual that faculty reduce the discipline to formulas because, as representatives of the authoritative discourse within the community, they are operating tacitly when it comes to writing. Writing, for the instructor, has "become transparent, automatic and beneath the level of conscious activity" (Russell, 1995, p. 70) and of conscious articulation— especially when it comes to writing assignments. WAC and writing practitioners seek to accomplish what mentors practice on a daily basis: a gradual transformation of how faculty—and, therefore, students—think about and use writing to provide entry to a discipline. With what we are now learning about transfer in writing instruction, it seems that mentors provide faculty and WAC directors understandings that help promote student knowledge transfer.[2] Poised in that middle space between faculty and students, between their own discourse and that of the classroom, mentors witness that "internally persuasive word [that] is halfours and half-someone else's." They work alongside students to "awaken new and independent words, ... [which are] not so much interpreted by us as [they are] further, that is, freely, developed, applied to new material, new conditions." Mentors encourage each student with whom they work to "enter into inter-animating relationships with new contexts" (quotations from Bakhtin, 1981, pp.345-46); but this active engagement with context applies to faculty also. A mentor can open up for faculty the internally persuasive di


The application of HF(hemofiltration)has been widely recognized in severe acute pancreatitis.A large number of experimental and clinical research has shown that HF can effectively clear the excessive cytokines of blood,stable environment,block systemic inflammatory response syndrome,prevente and treat severe complications such as multiple organ dysfunction syndrome etal.Prevention and treatment can achieve the purpose of acute pancreatitis.But the pathogenesis of HF have not been completely clear.And there are much controversy on the way of HF,duration of HF and so on.


Pat Jackson, Fred Chernoff and Heikki Patomäki are scholars with deservedly distinguished reputations. They anchor three different approaches to cause and advocate them in thoughtful and intelligent ways. I offer a very different approach, one that shares some things in common with each of theirs, but differs from them in important ways. The reviewers are not quite sure what to make of my approach to cause, in large part because they are so committed to their own. They end up using their approaches to criticize mine, rather than evaluating it on its own terms.


Career skills is a kind of integrated capacity, which should be combined with the actual needs of enterprise post in the students training process of vocational colleges. Based on this situation, schools and enterprises built skills contest platform together, the professional knowledge of the students is effectively tested and the career skills are expanded in the contest, and personnel training and personnel needs can be linked between schools and enterprises.


The author illustrates viewpoints such as, enforcing political education to establish thinking of serving soldier, broadening construction of green pass to improve quality of service, enforcing scientific management and adhering to way of serving soldiers to promote the overall development of hospital. Give experience to enforcing serving soldiers and improving serving quality.


Objective:Our aim was to test the hypothesis that anticardiolipin antibodies (aCL) may cause an antiphospholipid syndrome and thrombotic events in patients with liver disease.Methods:aCL were measured in 116 healthy controls and 372 patients with liver disease of different stage and etiology: 136 cases secondary to hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, 139 due to hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, 69 with alcoholic liver damage, and 28 cryptogenic in origin. Prior thrombotic events were recorded. The results were related to age, gender, stage, severity, and etiology of the liver disease, as well as to the occurrence of organ- and nonorgan-specific autoantibodies.Results:aCL were positive in 4.4% of controls and in 18.8% of patients (p < 0.0002). Patients with aCL were more frequently men with an advanced cirrhosis and simultaneous occurrence of anti–smooth-muscle antibodies (ASMA) in serum (p < 0.0006); their liver damage was often secondary to HBV (37.3%) or alcohol abuse (18.5%). At conditional logistic regression analysis, only the presence of ASMA (odds ratio [OR] = 3.02, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.7–5.5, p= 0.0003), HBV (OR = 3.4, 95% CI 1.6–7.2, p= 0.0013), or alcoholic liver disease (OR = 5.3, 95% CI 2.3–12.2, p= 0.0001) were independently associated with aCL. Thrombosis was encountered in 24 patients (6.4%). At conditional logistic regression analysis, thrombosis was significantly associated with advanced age (OR = 1.07, 95% CI 1.0–1.1, p= 0.0094), development of hepatocellular carcinoma (OR = 17.8, 95% CI 1.6–196.0, p= 0.01), HBV etiology (OR = 6.3, 95% CI, 1.6–24.6, p= 0.0076), or cryptogenic liver disease (OR = 54.8, 95% CI 5–599.9, p= 0.001). Of the five patients with newly documented portal thrombosis during the follow-up, only one tested positive for aCL.Conclusion:In patients with nonautoimmune liver disease, aCL production is an epiphenomenon of the liver damage and is not associated with thrombotic complications. These data do not support the hypothesis that HCV is a cause of the antiphospholipid syndrome.


It is undeniable, in today's global and information society, the fundamental role of the mass media for the formation of public opinion on various topics. Hence the impor- tance of press freedom, one of the pillars in building a real democratic state, for exercise social, political and cultural functions, in that, by granting quality information, has the potential to contribute to the adoption and enforcement of fundamental rights, such as an ecologically balanced environment, considering that contributes to the formation of public opinion in favor of sustainable development. In this line of reasoning, this paper aims, at first, to analyze the right to press freedom, indicating how the information has become an essential condition for democracy. Then, it addresses the use of communi- cation in favor of the environment, pondering how the conscious action of the mass communication media can contribute to the progress towards sustainable development. Finally, this paper evaluates the promotion of citizenship through quality information, in the current context of globalization and global governance.


These last few years the multicolored Asian ladybird, Harmonia axyridis (Pallas), previously introduced in Europe and North America as a biological control agent, has swiftly spread out on those territories and turns out to be a pest in several ways. In order to improve understanding of several key points of the biology of this ladybird, a novel fast-GC method of quantification of harmonine, the main defense alkaloid of H. axyridis, has been designed and validated using the accuracy profile concept for concentrations ranging from 13 to 264 µg/individual. This method allows quantifying harmonine in a single insect with a maximal error risk of 20%. For ladybirds collected in spring, mean harmonine concentration observed was 106.6 µg/individual with a very high standard deviation of 80.2 µg/individual, which can easily be explained by the strong asymmetry of the results distribution. Males and females seem equally chemically protected as the harmonine concentration did not significantly differ between sexes. This method is currently used to improve our comprehension of several key points of H. axyridis biology including aggregation behavior and aposematism.


The first aim of this study is to review and critique the empirical literature on dyadic problems of spousal caregivers. A total of 18 relevant studies published between 1990 and 2015 were identified via several databases in South Korea. Four major results were identified: (1) assuming caregiving roles easily caused various caregiving-related problems, such as stress and burden; (2) care recipients' health conditions and problems were one of the crucial factors influencing caregiving-related problems in spousal caregivers; (3) caregiving easily caused marital problems in couples with frail spouses; and (4) spousal caregivers had negative communications with their care recipients.


1 Dept of Mechanical and System Engineering, Kyoto Institute of Technology, Japan.Email: email@example.com 2 Dept of Mechanical and System Engineering, Kyoto Institute of Technology, Japan.Email: firstname.lastname@example.com 3 Dept of Mechanical and System Engineering, Kyoto Institute of Technology, Japan.Email: email@example.com 4 Dept of Mechanical and System Engineering, Kyoto Institute of Technology, Japan.Email: email@example.com CUMULATIVE DAMAGE ESTIMATION USING WAVELET TRANSFORM OF STRUCTURAL RESPONSE


Abstract Drowning is one of the accidents with the greatest impact on health. The objective of this paper was to analyze drowning deaths involving children up to four years of age in Campina Grande, Brazil. A cross-sectional study was developed using secondary data, carried out at the Forensic Medicine Unit. All autopsy reports of children 0-4 years of age, victims of drowning in the period from 2008 to 2011 were evaluated. Data referring to the year of occurrence, victims' gender and age, time of day, day of week and place of occurrence were collected. Data analysis involved descriptive statistics (frequency distribution). Ninety-three cases of fatal drowning were identified, of which 20 (21.5%) involved children under four years of age. Most victims were male (80%), aged one year (35%). The accidents occurred predominantly during the day (85%), mostly at home (75%). The drowning victims were mostly boys in the first year of life and most cases of drowning occurred at their homes.


Three distinctive types of medical careers are isolated. They are described in terms of how patients are attracted, retained, and passed on to other doctors, how each doctor fits into the system of medical institutions, and how he relates himself to his colleagues.


Objective To investigate the clinical effect of the Divine Comedy and acupuncture treatment. Patients with chronic cholecystitis.Methods Our hospital receiving treatment of 80 cases of chronic cholecystitis patients on admission were analyzed, according to the time of admission patients(single, double) were divided into two groups, each group has 40 patients. The control group was treated with acupuncture treatment, the experimental group used. The Divine Comedy decoction treatment, compared two groups of patients with clinical curative effect.Results The experimental group the total effective rate was 95% higher than that of the control group(85%)(P0.05); the experiment group patients satisfaction was 95% higher than that of the control group(P0.05); the experiment group patients after drug(4.21.1h) after onset, and acupuncture therapy with slow onset time(6.63.2h), 1 patients had vomiting complications in experimental group, 1 patients relapsed(recurrence rate 2.5%) was better than that of the control group(P0.05).Conclusion the clinical use. The Divine Comedy, and the effect of acupuncture in treating chronic cholecystitis. Significantly, but the Divine Comedy soup effect better, after treatment, with low recurrence rate, worthy of promotion.


. The biochemical features of rhabdomyolysis are raised Creatine Kinase (CK) and urine myoglobin (pigmen-turia) [1-3]. Rhabdomyolysis caused by hyponatremia is excep-Abstract COVID-19 vaccine-induced rhabdomyolysis is rare. The concurrent presentation of rhabdomyolysis and hyponatremia secondary to COVID-19 vaccine has never been reported. A 54-year-old gentleman had developed rhabdomyolysis two days after receiving his first dose of the AstraZeneca (ChAdOx1 nCoV-19) vaccine. His initial Creatine Kinase (CK) and sodium level were 12,588 U/L and 113mmol/L, respec-tively. He was treated with two-steps fluid management strategy. Initially, he received hypertonic saline, fluid restriction, and Desmopressin injection to slowly correct the plasma sodium. Subsequently, he received aggressive isotonic crystalloids. He sustained acute kidney injury despite treatment, and was advised against receiving a second dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine. The exact mechanisms of COVID-19 vaccination-induced rhabdomyolysis are unknown. The management for simultaneous rhabdomyolysis and hy - ponatremia requires different approaches to fluid management. Physicians should be vigilant about the risk of rhabdomy - olysis and hyponatremia following COVID-19 immunization, and the treatment paradox in the context of fluid administration.


The present study has two aims: Examining the effect of formative assessment based teaching practices on the development of conceptual understanding levels of middle school students on the concepts of heat and temperature, and evaluating the observations and experiences of teachers. Practical action research method was used in the study. The research sample consisted of 24 middle school students from Eskisehir (13 seventh grade) and Kocaeli (11 sixth grade) provinces. Three formative probes were used for pretest data collection, and nine two-tiered questions were used in posttest. In addition, the journals kept by the teachers throughout the research process were used for data collection. In conclusion, it was seen that formative assessment-based teaching practices had a positive effect on the conceptual understanding of the sixth and seventh grade students, and increased the eagerness of the students to attend the lesson, learn, and discover and ensured that teaching occurred based on mutual communication and interaction.


This project review is about an Android mobile application developed to solve the issues that communicate between emergency department, radiology department, and pathology department. In this project, Emergency Medical Service Mobile Application's objective is to manage the data transaction between different departments and develop a prototype mobile application for 3 different departments to improve their data transaction. Methodology used in this project is waterfall model that consists of 5 phases include planning, analysis, design, implementation, and maintenance. Therefore, through the development of this Emergency Medical Service Mobile Application, it helps 3 departments have better communication and data transferring in more convenient way and easy to manage.


Objective: To establish multiple RT-PCR semi-quantitative detection system to test MDR gene mRNA expression. Methods: Using duplicate RT-PCR as method through a process of amplica tion to become a multi-component RT-PCR, Based on observation of 5 MDR gene's mRNA kinetic effect studies and the setting of RT-PCR standord curves, a six-comples RT-PCR method was established. Results: Six-complex RT-PCR system was identical to simled and duplicated RT-PCR in sensitivity and specificity, and easily to be repeated. Conclusion: This given method was sensitive, specific, and had the advantages of speed in performance (within 6h), only small quantity of specimen (50 mg) and semiquantitation when used to detect the MDR gene mRNA expression in primary liver cancer tissue and cell line. It could also be applied to process a batch of samples simultaneously in one setting.


The variation of surface resistances to diffusion of molecules through the silicalite single-crystal membranes as a function of permeants has been investigated using the Dual Control Volume-Grand Canonical Molecular Dynamics method. For this purpose three spherical molecules, CH4, Ar, and CF4, have been selected. This selection enabled the study of a range of molecular diameters and interaction energies. Simulation results showed that the magnitude of surface resistance in zeolite membranes depends on the permeant-crystal interaction size and energy. Furthermore, the range of the surface resistance, defined as the distance from the surface beyond which the surface resistance becomes constant, is primarily a function of molecular size:  For smaller molecules the range of surface resistances is shorter while its magnitude is lower. Variations in mass-transfer resistances and diffusivities were studied in further detail with a parametric sensitivity analysis by varying permeant-crystal interaction size and w...


The aim of the present research is to investigate, for the Italian case, the role and importance of Related variety to foster employment growth. The Related Variety approach received increasing attention in the literature, as it tried to identify the key drivers for economic development at regional and national level. This work supports the study of economic and local development from a related-variety approach's perspective, focusing on the need to have some degree of cognitive proximity at local level to foster innovation and economic development covering the period 1991-2011 for the Italian case. The results underline that variety has a positive impact on employment growth, and related variety matters even more.


The integrated of reverse engineering with rapid prototyping is an important means of product innovation design and rapid development. To overcome the contradiction between improving the modeling quality and reducing the modeling time in the integrated process,TRIZ theory is used to analyze the contradictory information,and universal technology character parameters are used to describe problem,then the invention theory are found from the contradiction matrix to solve this problem. The solution is obtained,according to the mediator and the cheap disposable of the invention principles and to combine with the RE/RP process. The experimental results show that this innovation scheme can effectively solve the problem of improving the modeling quality and reduce the modeling time on the same time.


In the presence of increasing penetration from renewable energy sources, several control areas in Europe and the US have introduced Capacity Remuneration Mechanisms (CRMs) to ensure sufficient investment in firm electricity generation capacity. However, due to their long-term focus, these mechanisms are typically uncoupled from short-term electricity markets. We introduce a new CRM design, which involves shortterm clearing of a market for generation capacity in parallel with that of the wholesale electricity market. The proposed CRM allows for participation of capacity providers from both generation and demand side. Also, emerging technologies that were not able to participate in existing CRMs due to the longterm nature of those markets (e.g., storage) are able to participate in the proposed market for generation capacity. The proposed CRM is shown to satisfy the competitiveness, fairness and energy security principles defined by the European Commission. Finally, our analysis shows that the proposed CRM can ensure supply adequacy at a lower cost when compared to rival designs, by taking advantage of daily and seasonal variability in system demand.


A subject of considerable importance in littoral ocean environments is the frequency dependence of sediment attenuation for various classes of sediments. The well-known frequency exponent value of 1.8 for sandy sediments was the subject of numerous research studies. For mud-like or mixed sediments, for which there is a scarcity of experimental data, values for the frequency exponent are not well established. Previously, the sound speed structure of a surface mud layer in the New England Seabed Characterization experimental area was estimated with inversion and Bayesian methods. The inversions utilized MK-64 SUS explosive sources in a 25-275 Hz band placed on concentric circles of 2, 4, and 6.5 km radii in the latitude-longitude plane. The area was previously surveyed with CHIRP sonar allowing for multiple sediment layer horizons to be constrained for layer thicknesses by measured two-way travel times. In this analysis, a larger bandwidth (25-5000 Hz) of the SUS, the Combustive Sound Source (CSS), and tonals from towed sources at multiple frequencies allow for the development of posterior probability distributions that contain the statistics of the frequency dependence of sediment attenuation up to about 5 kHz. [Work supported by ONR]A subject of considerable importance in littoral ocean environments is the frequency dependence of sediment attenuation for various classes of sediments. The well-known frequency exponent value of 1.8 for sandy sediments was the subject of numerous research studies. For mud-like or mixed sediments, for which there is a scarcity of experimental data, values for the frequency exponent are not well established. Previously, the sound speed structure of a surface mud layer in the New England Seabed Characterization experimental area was estimated with inversion and Bayesian methods. The inversions utilized MK-64 SUS explosive sources in a 25-275 Hz band placed on concentric circles of 2, 4, and 6.5 km radii in the latitude-longitude plane. The area was previously surveyed with CHIRP sonar allowing for multiple sediment layer horizons to be constrained for layer thicknesses by measured two-way travel times. In this analysis, a larger bandwidth (25-5000 Hz) of the SUS, the Combustive Sound Source (CSS), and tona...


2011 was a year of celebration for our reference publications at the Centre for Fine Print Research, which was the 10th anniversary of the Artist's Book Yearbook and the 5th anniversary of The Blue Notebook. Paul Silveira invited Sarah Bodman to write about the publications.


Internal control is an organizational plan that has with objective to safeguard and preserve the goods of the company, through methods and procedures to prevent inadequate expenditure of funds and provide security that compliance with policies and regulations that have the institution.
The Greenhouse "Eastman Perez" Cia. Ltda. In the actuality, it does not have with an Internal Control System to develop in the appropriate way each activities and functions by workers. Also it does not have an adequate segregation of function that can facilitate to take the correct decision since. It cannot fulfill with emphasis each policy and standards established within the greenhouse, so that there will be greater customer satisfaction and achieve the goals set by the organization.
And the present investigation will be developedment in order to provide the institution functions and procedures that will help to achieve greater efficiency, effectiveness, economy and usefulness in both administrative and operational activities will be performed in the greenhouse.
In conclusion, the internal control system will allow to the staff from the greenhouse to carry out all functions and tasks assigned to each one.


The present investigation on "Studies on grain mould resistance in sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench)" was carried out to estimate the amount of heterosis and heterobeltiosis, the general and specific combining ability for selection of potential parents and crosses and to ascertain the nature of gene action operating in inheritance of some important quantitative characters associated with grain mould resistance. The experimental material comprised of 10 divergent parents and their 45 F1 and 45 F2 progenies in halfdiallel fashion. Observations were recorded on grain yield, germination percentage and other mould related traits. Data were analyzed as per Griffing (1956 b ). The results of the present investigation revealed that the parents PMS 74B, PMS 71B, GNM 14-7, MS 296B, PVK 801 and hybrids AKGMR 110 x IS 14332, PMS 71B x IS 14332, AKGMR 110 x PMS 74B, PMS 42B x IS 14332 and AKGMR 110 x B 58586 were having high mean values for grain yield. Similarly, the parents IS 14332, PMS 42B, B 58586, PMS 71B, GNM 14-7 and the hybrids MS 296B x PVK 801, MS 296B x I 26, I 26 x PVK 801, GNM 14-7 x I 26, AKGMR 110 x PVK 801, GMN 14-7 x MS 296B, B 58586 x MS 296B, I 26 x PMS 71B, AKGMR 110 x IS 14332, I 26 x PMS 42B, PMS 71B x PVK 801, AKGMR 110 x I 26, GMN 14-7 x PMS 74B, AKGMR 110 x PMS 74B, I 26 x IS 14332, PMS 42B x PVK 801 and GMN 14-7 x AKGMR 110 were found with high germination percentage and were resistant to grain mould. The segregating population of crosses AKGMR 110 x B 58586, B 58586 x PMS 71B, PMS 71B x PVK 801, GMN 14-7 x PMS 42B, B 58586 x PMS 74B, I 26 x PVK 801, PMS 42B x IS 14332, PMS 71B x IS 14332, GMN 14-7 x AKGMR 110, AKGMR 110 x I 26, PMS 71B x PMS 42B, B 58586 x PMS 42B, PMS 74B x PMS 42B and I 26 x PMS 42B are also having higher germination percentage in F2 diallel progenies. The highest estimates of heterobeltiosis were upto -18.61 per cent for days to 50 per cent flowering, -10.26 per cent for days to maturity, 112.19 per cent for plant height, 46.86 per cent for number of primaries per panicle, 49.08 per cent for panicle length, 25.50 per cent for panicle width, 94.13 per cent for number of grains per primary branch, 64.80 per cent for 100 seed weight, 158.12 per cent per cent for grain yield, -80.00 per cent for field grade score, 67.74 per cent for threshed grade score, 41.84 per cent for grain hardness, 11.88 per cent for grain density, 36.10 per cent for germination, -77.95 per cent for glume coverage, -44.94 per cent for water absorption capacity, -81.01 for fungal load of Fusarium spp., -85.39 for Curvularia spp. and -85.31 for fungal load of other spp. The hybrids having high heterobeltiosis for grain yield were AKGMR 110 x IS 14332, PMS 42B x IS 14332, AKGMR 110 x B58586, AKGMR 110 x I 26, I 26 x PMS 42B, AKGMR 110x PVK 801, AKGMR 110 x MS296B, PMS 71B x IS 14332, PMS 42B x PVK 801, MS 296B x I 26, AKGMR 110 x PMS 42B, B 58586 x PMS 42B, MS 296B x PMS 42B, MS 296B x PVK 801 and hybrids having desirable significant heterobeltiosis for germination percentage were AKGMR 110 x PVK 801, MS 296B x PVK 801, MS 296B x I 26, GNM 14-7 x PMS 74B, AKGMR 110 x PMS 74B and I 26 x PVK 801. Inbreeding depression is the lowered fitness or vigour of inbred individuals compared with their non-inbred counterparts. For days to 50 per cent flowering, out of 45 hybrids, 28 hybrids showed negative inbreeding for days to flower character indicating enhancement of flowering days in F2 than F1. For days to maturity, the range of inbreeding depression was from 1.99% to 31.26%. For grain yield per plant, among the 45 hybrids, fifteen hybrids exhibited positive inbreeding depression. All the hybrids showed significant negative inbreeding depression for the characters panicle width, 100 grain weight, field grade score, threshed grade score, grain hardness, grain density and water absorption capacity. The mean squares due to genotypes were significant which indicated presence of substantial degree of diversity for all the characters studied. Lower magnitude of variance due to gca than sca revealed that non-additive gene action was predominant for all the characters studied in both F1 diallel crosses. It is seen from general combining ability effects that the parents AKGMR 110, IS 14332, B 58586, PMS 71B and PMS42B showed desirable gca effect for most of the mould resistance traits in F1 diallel progenies. Positive and significant sca effects for germination percentage were obtained in 13 crosses of F1 diallel. Among them, the crosses B 58586 x MS 296B, AKGMR 110 x IS 14332, MS 296B x PVK 801 and GNM 14-7 x MS 296B were most superior. Positively significant sca effects for grain yield were recorded by 21 crosses in F1 diallel progenies. At the phenotypic and genotypic level, grain hardness exhibited significant positive association with germination percentage and negative association with water absorption capacity and fungal load of Fusarium spp. Thus, selection made on the basis of seed hardness would ultimately result in mould resistant progenies.


A survey of caladium growers in Highlands County, Florida, was made in 1979 to determine the number of caladium cultivars grown and to ascertain the most pre dominant cultivars available. The most widely grown of 110


Topoisomerase cleavage complexes (TOPccs) can be stalled physiologically and by the anticancer drugs camptothecins (TOP1 inhibitors) and etoposide (TOP2 inhibitor), yielding irreversible TOP DNA-protein crosslinks (TOP-DPCs). Here we elucidate how TOP-DPCs are degraded via the SUMO-ubiquitin (Ub) pathway. We show that in human cells, TOP-DPCs are promptly and sequentially conjugated by SUMO-2/3, SUMO-1 and Ub. SUMOylation is catalyzed by the SUMO ligase PIAS4, which forms a complex with both TOP1 and TOP2α and β. RNF4 acts as the SUMO-targeted ubiquitin ligase (STUbL) for both TOP1- and TOP2-DPCs in a SUMO-dependent but replication/transcription-independent manner. This SUMO-Ub pathway is conserved in yeast with Siz1 the ortholog of PIAS4 and Slx5-Slx8 the ortholog of RNF4. Our study reveals a conserved SUMO-dependent ubiquitylation pathway for proteasomal degradation of both TOP1- and TOP2-DPCs and potentially for other DPCs. In Brief Topoisomerase DNA-protein crosslinks (TOP-DPCs) are the therapeutic mechanism of clinical TOP inhibitors (camptothecin and etoposide). TOP-DPCs induce rapid and sequential conjugation of SUMO-2/3- SUMO-1 and ubiquitin catalyzed by activation of PIAS4 through its DNA-binding SAP domain and RNF4 through its SIM domains. This SUMO-ubiquitin cascade triggers proteasomal degradation of TOP-DPCs. HIGHLIGHTS Abortive topoisomerase I (TOP1) and II (TOP2) cleavage complexes resulting in DNA-protein crosslinks (TOP-DPCs) are rapidly and sequentially modified by SUMO-2/3, SUMO-1 and ubiquitin before their proteasomal degradation. PIAS4 SUMOylates TOP-DPCs via its DNA-binding SAP domain independently of DNA transactions and DNA damage responses. RNF4 ubiquitylates SUMOylated TOP-DPCs and drives their proteasomal degradation. TOP-DPC processing by the SUMO-Ub pathways is conserved in yeast and human cells.


Amination of lignin conducted simply by Mannich reaction is an important mean for lignin structural and value upgradation. However, there is a lack of powerful analysis for quantification of the am ...


an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest due to tension pneumoperitoneum caused by esophagogastric perforation. A 40-year-old man with a history of duodenal ulcer and pyloric stenosis complained of sudden-onset abdominal pain and developed cardiac arrest during transportation to our hospital. He had jugular venous distention ; subcutaneous emphysema in the upper body trunk, arms, and neck ; and a markedly distended abdomen. Immediate needle-chest decompression was not effective, but after volume resuscitation, adrenaline administration, and abdominal decompression by nasogastric tube, spontaneous circulation was resumed. Radiological findings revealed tension pneumoperitoneum due to esophagogastric perforation. Emergency laparotomy was performed, and the perforation of the esophagogastric junction was detected. The patient was discharged from the hospital without any disability. Notably, in the treatment of a patient with cardiac arrest having subcutaneous emphysema, the cause of obstructive shock could exist not only in the chest, but also in the abdomen. Shinshu Med J 67 : 113―119, 2019


IN the summer of 1943 I visited Fort Nelson, British Columbia, to study the etca?otena, or Brush Dwellers, a subdivision of the Slave Indians.' Friendly relations were also maintained with two English-speaking Cree Indians, Adolpheus Hudson and Napoleon Capotblanc, although no close ethnographic work was done with the Cree. However, Napoleon's ability to speak Slave and English recommended him as an interpreter for Slave informants. The eight tales in this paper were recorded in the relatively poor English of these two men and edited for grammar. Revision was deliberately kept down to preserve the flavor communicated in speech. The first five tales derive from European sources;2 the last three are of local origin. Hudson told all except no. 3 which Capotblanc volunteered.


The main objective of this paper was to study the causes of stress on the hotel and restaurant employees in Surkhet valley. In addition to this, it focuses on the techniques of stress management and its impact on employee performance. Descriptive research design was applied in this research and primary data was collected through the questionnaire, which includes the personal interview, mail questionnaire, telephone interview and Google Form. There were 150 respondents. among them 83 were from hotel and 67 were from restaurants. The finding of the study concluded that unhealthy working environment was the primary causes of the stress in hotel and restaurant industry. To overcome such stress majority of the respondents, prefer to listen music and this study also find that there is an inverse relationship between stress and the employee performance.


The article highlights the main challenges of the historical and evolutionary approach of social constructivism: a selection considering the class of purposeful activity as a universal form of life existence, the allocation of the communicative discourse categories of activity, which is interpreted as the basis for the existence of biological, social and psychological systems. The concept of activity as a process of generating diversity at various levels of the system is disclosed. The works of such scholars as Gurevich, Batkin, Gergen, etc. that help to see how the evolutionary significance of diversity are mentioned. The higher one rises through evolution, the more divergent model programs of his/her behaviour are, and there appears a set of variable programs. The author shows that through the activity approach many phenomenological issues of culture are perceived, the development of cultural activity paradigm leads to the fact that psychology goes beyond the scope of a separate science, and serves as a unique paradigm of the future. Since the A.N. Leontiev veiwed psychology as a kind of workshop to support diversity, where the psychologist is as an expert in designing new worlds. The author concludes that the research of activities by which the development of diversity in this world of uncertainty is meant is incredibly important.


An analytical solution is developed to determine the active lateral earth pressure distribution on a retaining structure when it consists of a cohesive backfill (internal friction angle ϕ > 0, cohesion c > 0) with an inclined ground surface. The solution derived encompasses both Bell's equation (for cohesive or cohesionless backfill with a horizontal ground surface) and Rankine's solution (for cohesionless backfill with an inclined ground surface). The orientation of the failure surface is also determined. Results indicate that, unlike the soil-wall scenarios of Bell and Rankine where the failure planes are parallel with a fixed orientation independent of the overburden pressure, for sloping cohesive backfill (ϕ > 0, c > 0) the slope of the failure surface is a function of the overburden pressure and becomes shallower with depth, thus forming a curvilinear failure surface. The solution developed can also be used to check the sustainability of a slope. The analytical solution can be programmed conveniently...


The latest technology of vehicle steer-by-wire (VSBW) system has promised significant improvement in vehicle safety, dynamics, stability, comfort and maneuverability. Due to complete separation between steering wheel and the front wheels gives the practical problems for steering control especially on directional control and wheel synchronization of vehicle. This paper presents investigations into the development of PID control scheme for directional control and wheel synchronization of a VSBW system. Two PID controllers are used to control the steering wheel angle and front wheel angle. The PID controllers use the front wheel tracking error to generate controlled steering angle. The Ziegler Nichols method is used for tuning the PID parameters. The implementation environment is developed within Matlab/Simulink software for evaluation of performance of the control scheme. Implementation results of the response of the VSBW system with the PID controller are presented in time domains. The performances of control schemes are examined in terms of input tracking capability, wheel synchronization and time response specifications with the absence of disturbances.


A theoretical result concerning the discrete Fourier transform is derived and used to develop a transform algorithm for computing two-dimensional convolutions. The use of this algorithm minimises the number of arithmetic operations and the memory requirements in computing a convolution of order (M×N) using a transform processor or program designed for a length No, where M≤N0 and N≤N0.It is particularly suitable for computing convolutions whose orders are not powers of two using conventional fast Fourier transform processors. Methods of implementing the algorithm are also presented.


Imaging γ-ray astronomy is a slowly evolving field because experiments are expensive, few and far between. For energies above 100 MeV the only satellite experiments to date with real imaging capabilities have been NASA's SAS-2 and ESA's COS-B. At lower energies (1-30 MeV) only balloon experiments have so far had imaging capabilities (e.g. the MPE Compton Telescope). Much of the scientific analysis of such data can be done without actually generating images at all -for example source searches can be done by cross-correlation or similar methods, and quantitative studies of the diffuse Galactic emission are best done by model fitting using radio surveys of Galactic gas as a basis. However visual presentation is also essential as a means for understanding the data, comparing it with other wavelengths, and looking for the unexpected. Because of the particular problems associated with γ-ray observations, it is logical that considerable investment be made at this time in studying methods to obtain the best possible images for scientific analysis, especially since the forthcoming launch of NASA's Gamma-Ray Observatory will increase the amount of 7-ray data by two orders of magnitude.


Recent modelling work has shown that abrupt bathymetric transitions can produce dramatic amplifications of long waves, under the influence of both nonlinearity and dispersion. Here, the evolution of wave packets towards a vertical wall over a varying bathymetry is investigated with a one-dimensional conformal-mapping spectral code. In this system, wave breaking, runup and reflection, wave interference and bathymetric effects are highlighted. Wave breaking is examined with respect to geometric, kinematic and energetic conditions, with consistent results. The breaking strength is characterized for spilling and plunging based on initial wave period and amplitude. Non-breaking waves are amplified by reflection, interference and the bathymetry leading to large runups. In a typical example inspired by a real-world bathymetry, the maximum runup amplification approaches a factor of 12 – large enough for a 3 m amplitude wave to overtop a 30 m cliff.


Solar powered systems have been built for various applications ranging from public lighting to water supply units. Robust efforts have not been made in the systematic study of the effectiveness and viability of such systems as it applies to the Nigerian techno-economic situation. The objective of this study is to design a solar photovoltaic (PV) powered water supply system for rural areas in Nigeria using Onipe, a village in Ibadan without electric grid connection as a case study. The methodology adopted for this study involves field survey and detail system design and analysis. The design of the solar powered system was based on the estimated daily water supply rate of 15,000 litres with a view to obtaining a cost-effective and energy-efficient system to drive it. A review of pump technologies, alternative energy applications in some parts of the world and an assessment of the potentials of various alternative energy technologies in Nigeria and particularly in the study location was undertaken. The data gathered from the location which include the required water supply capacity and the likely depth of the borehole were applied in the design. This depth was estimated by a geo-physical survey using Vertical Electric Sounding (VES) techniques. Pipe sizing, pump sizing, power supply design and protective devices selection were all carried out during the design of the system. Finally, a cost-comparison analysis between the solar-powered system and generator powered system was done using Life-Cycle costing and analysis. Results obtained from the study showed that a 0.75 kW solar powered unit can supply the desired water quantity. Comparing the power supply costs of both systems over a 20-year life cycle showed that the generator powered system has a present value cost of over two times ( ≥ 200 % )that of the solar powered unit. In addition, the annual Carbon dioxide emission tonnage from the generator powered system is estimated to be about 3.2 tonnes whereas the solar powered system is emission free. The outcome of this study will find useful modularization applications in villages with similar characteristics and can also be easily adjusted to fit larger or smaller sized communities.


For a stationary random field Z on R d , this work studies the asymptotic behavior of predictors of ∫v(x)Z(x)dx based on observations on a lattice as the distance between neighbors in the lattice tends to 0. Under a mild condition on the spectral density of Z, an asymptotic expression for the mean-squared error of a predictor of ∫v(x)Z(x) dx based on observations on an infinite lattice is derived. For predicting integrals over the unit cube, a simple predictor based just on observations in the unit cube is shown to be asymptotically optimal if v is sufficiently smooth and Z is not too smooth. Modified predictors extend this result to smoother processes.


Bentonite clays are an essential input to the production of drilling fluids. One of the main consumer segments of bentonite clay is the oil industry, where it is used as a thixotropic agent in drilling fluids in oil wells, attributing to the fluids physical characteristics and specific chemical and rheological properties. According to Leal (2012), the physico-chemical and rheological properties must be carefully controlled so that the fluid can perform all its functions, such as cooling the drill, forming a layer of low permeability with the formation and keeping the solids in suspension, in order to ensure its good performance in drilling wells. Three samples of industrialized sodium bentonite clays from the Boa Vista-PB region were studied. For the organophilization of the clays will be used quaternary ammonium salt, the rheology was determined, and it was observed that it is possible to obtain formulations of oil-based fluid additives with clay.


The next-generation intelligent smart factory system that is proposed in this paper could improve product quality and realize flexible, efficient, and sustainable product manufacturing by comprehensively improving production and management innovation via its digital network and intelligent methods that reflect the characteristics of its printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturing design and on-site implementation. Intelligent manufacturing systems are complex systems that are composed of humans, cyber systems, and physical systems and aim to achieve specific manufacturing goals at an optimized level. Advanced manufacturing technology and next-generation artificial intelligence (AI) are deeply integrated into next-generation intelligent manufacturing (NGIM). Currently, the majority of PCB manufacturers are firms that specialize in processing orders from leading semiconductor and related product manufacturers, such as Samsung Electronics, TSMC, Samsung Electro-Mechanics, and LG Electronics. These top companies have been responsible for all product innovation, intelligent services, and system integration, with PCB manufacturers primarily playing a role in intelligent production and system integration. In this study, the main implementation areas were divided into manufacturing execution system (MES) implementation (which could operate the system using system integration), data gathering, the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) for production line connection, AI and real-time monitoring, and system implementation that could visualize the collected data. Finally, the prospects of the design and on-site implementation of the next-generation intelligent smart factory system that detects and controls the occurrence of quality and facility abnormalities are presented, based on the implementation system.


This work studied the effects of diethylcarbamazine citrate (DEC) on the contraction of isolated thoracic aortic ring of guinea-pig.DEC could markedly inhibit the contraction of thoracic aortic rings induced by KCl and norepinephrine(NE) in a concentration-dependent manner,shifted the cumulative dose-response curves of KCl and NE to right,and reduced the maximal efficacy of contraction in a nonCompetitive antagonistic manner.The pD'2 values of KCl and NE were 1.991 and 2.271 respectively.The further studies of contractive mechanism indicated that DEC inhibited both the Ca2+ release from intracellar storage sites and the influx of extracellar calcium significantly.These results suggest that DEC inhibits vascular contraction through its calcium-antagonistic effect.


1. A process for preparing 1,2,4-oksadiazolbenzoynoy acid or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, comprising the following steps: (1) reacting the cyanobenzoic acid methyl ester with hydroxylamine; ! (2) acylation galogenbenzoilhloridom; ! (3) and condensation! (4) hydrolysis of the methyl ester! wherein each reaction stage is carried out in the same organic solvent. ! 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the organic solvent is tetrahydrofuran, dioxane, isobutyl acetate, isopropyl acetate, ethyl acetate, methanol, ethanol, isopropanol, the isobutanol, propanol, butanol or tert-amyl alcohol. ! 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the organic solvent is tert-butanol. ! 4. The method of claim 1 wherein step (1) - (3) is carried out without isolation of the intermediate product. ! 5. A process for preparing a compound of formula! ! or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof! wherein R1 represents substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, substituted or unsubstituted cycloalkyl, substituted or unsubstituted heterocycloalkyl, substituted or unsubstituted aryl, substituted or unsubstituted heteroaryl, - (CH2CH2O) nR6 or any biohydrolyzable group; ! X independently each occurrence represents F, Cl, Br or I and! m is an integer from 1 to 5! It involves performing the following steps in the same solvent: (1) reacting the cyanobenzoic acid ester! ! with hydroxylamine to give! ! subsequently (2) to obtain the acylation galogenbenzoilhloridom! ! and followed by (3) condensation. ! 6. The method of claim 5 wherein X is F.! 7. The method of claim 5 wherein m is 1! 8. The method of claim 5 wherein X is F and m is 1.! 9. The method of claim 5, wherein R1 is methyl. ! 10. C


The fluorene and spirocyclopentylfluorene were used as model compounds so that the «special» magnetic anisotropy effects of cyclopropane and cyclobutane rings could be estimated. The typical behavior of cyclopropane was confirmed: upfield shifits of protons located above and below the plane of the ring. A small downfield shift was found for the spirocyclobutanes; however, it is not large enough to force the conclusion that cyclobutane has a group magnetic anisotropy similar but opposite in direction to cyclopropane. Proton chemical shifts in this series of compounds cannot be used as an argument for the antiaromaticity of cyclobutane


As an important part of the undergraduate studies,graduation thesis and project can greatly improve the academic skills and abilities of the student.There are various ways to ensure the quality of this part with respect to different majors of college students.This paper analyzes the features of undergraduate thesis and project of engineering professionalism,introduces QC in the procedure to enhance the administration.Some key issues and strategies concluded from several years of practice are also provided


The reliability and maintainability design criteria that were a part of large central-control communication systems, have been combined to produce deferred maintenance concepts in fully distributed communication systems. Combining these concepts allows the achievement of a cost-effective life-cycle design for communication switching systems. In a hardware/software environment one should not separate hardware maintainability and software maintainability, nor separate the reliability and maintainability of the system. Reliability models are being developed that reflect a constant rate for transient faults and a decreasing rate for catastrophic faults. The relationship of software bugs to their number and type of manifestation is being defined. Designs for primarily non-attended system sites should include appropriate maintenance concepts in order to be cost effective. If two or more individual repairs can be made with each maintenance visit to a site, the total area maintenance staff can be reduced. Implementation of deferred maintenance techniques can raise the availability level of the services provided, especially for a distributed communication switching system. Several examples of practical techniques for developing deferred maintenance concepts are presented, and topics such as the manning versus non-manning of sites, the time of day effects on state diagrams, centralized maintenance, and computer modeling techniques are discussed. The current and potential maintainability concepts and analysis tools that are discussed in this paper can be used to develop cost-effective maintenance concepts as distributed systems become more prevalent.


Applied Physics
Using magnetic fields to write information into memory storage limits the physical bit density of magnetic media. Hong et al. present a proof-of-principle demonstration of using spin-polarized currents instead of magnetic fields for the writing process, which could potentially increase this density. The magnetic bit was a multilayer structure with cobalt-iron-boron as the magnetic layer. A scanning tip—through which the spin-polarized current tunneled into the bit—was coated with a similar multilayer. The researchers were able to control the magnetization of the bit with the current by placing the tip only 3 angstroms away—a distance that will need to be increased for commercial applications.

Appl. Phys. Lett. 114 , 243101 (2019).


In the twenty-first century, many music education scholars seek to reconceptualize music education toward social justice. Critical pedagogy is at the fore-front of this shift. However, as teachers aim toward equity through employing critical pedagogy, some undesired effects of using this teaching approach may arise. In this paper, I consider the problematic side of critical pedagogy and ask two important questions: Are there any restrictions or limits placed on who can enact critical pedagogy in music education? And are there any so-called "casualties" of critical pedagogy in music education or in education more generally? To consider these questions philosophically, I employ a critical race lens to explore tenets of critical pedagogy and their applications to music education, as illustrated in the ideas and practices of four elementary music teachers who strove to challenge dominant paradigms of music education. By examining critical pedagogy in music education with a critical lens, I seek to illuminate the philosophical complexities and paradoxes of engaging critical pedagogy in the classroom.


Brazil has been a federal country for more than a century. With a land area of 8,514,215 square kilometers, Brazil has a population of 175,568,265 and an annual population growth of 1.4 percent. The urbanization rate is 81.2 percent. In 2002 Brazil's gross domestic product (GDP) amounted to approximately US$451 billion, and its GDP per capita was $2,582. According to the 2001 Census, most Brazilians (54 percent) declare themselves white, followed by mulatto (39.9 percent), black (5.4 percent), Oriental (0.5 percent), and indigenous people (0.2 percent). The great majority said they belong to the Roman Catholic Church (73.6 percent), followed by those who said they belong to no religious group (7.4 percent). Because the country was colonized by Portugal, Brazil's official and predominant language is Portuguese. Brazil is under the aegis of its seventh constitution, drafted between 1987 and 1988 as a result of the country's return to democracy after almost 20 years under a military regime. Brazil has had a variety of federal arrangements and has experienced periods of authoritarianism and democracy. The country's main social conundrums (regional and social inequality and poverty), while of concern to constitution makers since the 1930s, have not been vigorously addressed by any political system. This chapter discusses why Brazil has had difficulties maintaining a stable federal democracy that is capable of preventing periods of authoritarian rule, reducing social and regional inequality and poverty, and reconciling social democracy with the constraints of the world economy. I argue that the main problems Brazil faces today are due more to governmental difficulties in changing policy priorities and dealing with economic constraints not foreseen by constitution makers than to deficiencies in the Constitution itself. There is a gap between the areas constitutional governance explicitly covers and politico-economic circumstances, and the latter still continue to take precedence over constitutional mandates.


Characterising the atmospheres of hot Jupiters is important in understanding the formation and migration of these exotic planets. However, there are still many open questions about the chemical and physical properties of these atmospheres. Here, we confirm the detection of water vapour in thermal emission from the non-transiting hot Jupiter τ Boötis Ab with the high resolution NIR CARMENES spectrograph. Combining over 17 h of observations (560 spectra) and using a Bayesian cross-correlation to log-likelihood approach, we measure a systemic velocity of $V_{\mathrm{sys}} = -11.51^{+0.59}_{-0.60}$ km s−1 and a radial velocity semi-amplitude of $K_{\mathrm{P}} = 106.21^{+1.76}_{-1.71}$ km s−1 for the planet, which results in an absolute mass of $M_{\mathrm{P}} = 6.24^{+0.17}_{-0.18}\, \mathrm{M_{J}}$ and an orbital inclination of $41.6^{+1.0}_{-0.9}$ degrees. Our retrieved Vsys shows a significant shift (+5  km s−1 ) from the literature value, which could be caused by an inaccurate time of periastron. Within the explored model grid, we measure a preference for solar water abundance (VMR = 10−3) and no evidence for additional minor species in the atmosphere. Given the extensive orbital coverage of the data, we searched for a phase dependency in the water signal but found no strong evidence of variation with orbital phase. This detection is at odds with recent observations from SPIRou/CFHT and their tight upper limit on water abundance. We recommend further observations of the atmosphere τ Boötis Ab to try and resolve these discrepancies.


Atomic force microscope (AFM) probes are mechanical beams that can be used to simultaneously map topography and material properties. Upon contact of the tip with the sample surface at each cycle in the intermittent mode, higher harmonics are excited. The harmonics in the vicinity of higher eigenmodes are enhanced and present an amplified response, ultimately carrying information about the material properties. In this paper, active cantilevers with integrated actuation and sensing are used as a basis to create harmonic cantilevers for the signal-to-noise ratio improved measurement of time-varying forces. Focused ion beam milling is used to remove mass from specific areas in the cantilever such that the fundamental and higher eigenmodes are tuned toward each other. Two methods are tested, where the shape and location of mass removal is determined, first by simulation and second through an in situ approach. Higher harmonics of the harmonic cantilevers with piezoresistive deflection sensors indicate a significant response of up to 10% in respect to the first harmonic. The improved material contrast mapping abilities of the modified cantilevers are validated by characterization and AFM images.


This paper presents a microstrip antenna which recovers its resonant frequency and impedance shifted automatically by the approach of other objects such as hands. This can be used for telemetry sensor applications in the ultrahigh frequency(UHF) industrial, scientific, and medical(ISM) band. It is the key element that an frequency-reconfigurable antenna could be electrically controlled. This antenna is miniaturized by loading the folded plates at both radiating edges, and varactor diodes are installed between the radiating edges and the ground plane to control the resonant frequency by adjusting the DC bias asymmetrically. Using this voltage-controlled antenna and the micro controller peripheral circuits of reading the returned level, the antenna is designed and fabricated which recovers its resonant frequency and impedance automatically. Designed frequency auto recovering antenna is conformed to be recovered within a few seconds when the resonant frequency and impedance are shifted by the approach of other objects such as hand, metal plate, dielectric and so on.


Older adults participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) at much lower rates than the general population. Possible explanations for this disparity include stigma, lack of information, and lack of transportation. However, past research focusing on SNAP use among older adults is limited and utilizes age cohorts in their analyses that may not accurately reflect actual age differences in SNAP participation. This study explored four different models of age categorizations as they relate to SNAP participation rates among older adults over 55. Using a sample of 10,116 from the nationally representative Health and Retirement Study (HRS), the research used logistic regression analyses to test the four age categorization models. Results indicated that age added little predictive power to the SNAP participation model, and that no age categorization model predicted participation better than any other.


The coal-gangue(CG) and CH which were the main components for secondary hydrate reaction,were simplified as one system.Therefore,it was easier than normal way to research this system.A modified acid dissolve method was used to make fix quantitative analysis of the percentage of CG in specimens of each age in the new system.As illustrated from the data,the reactive CG would be dissolved partly in acid solution.More or less,CG may be regarded as limited cementitious materials.Most of actions between CG and CH reacted in the first 28 days.


The definition of multiple slicing types in 5G has created a wide field for service innovation in communications. However, the advantages that network slicing has to offer remain to be fully exploited by today's applications and users. An important area that can potentially benefit from 5G slicing is emergency communications for First Responders. The latter consists of heterogeneous teams, imposing different requirements to the connectivity network. In this paper, the RESPOND-A platform is presented, which provides First Responders with network-enabled tools on top of 5G on-scene planning with enhanced service slicing capabilities tailored to emergency communications. Furthermore, a mapping of emergency services and communications to specific slice types is proposed to identify the current challenges in the field. Additionally, a novel slicing manager proposed and detailed, along with a group of performance measurements for low latency and high bandwidth slicing types. The approach is summarized by discussing future steps in the convergence of 5G network slicing in various areas of emergency applications.


Pansharpening is normally utilized to take full advantage of all the available spectral and spatial information that are derived from a low-spatial-resolution multispectral (MS) image and its associated high-spatial-resolution (HR) panchromatic (PAN) image, respectively, producing a fused MS image with high spectral and spatial resolutions. Many methods have been recently developed based on convolutional neural networks (CNNs) for the pansharpening task, but most of them still have some drawbacks: 1) The information cannot efficiently flow in their simple stacked convolutional architectures, thereby hindering the representation ability of the networks. 2) They are commonly trained using supervised learning, which does not only require an extra effort to produce the simulated training data, but can also lead to scale-related problems in the fusion results. In this article, we propose a novel unsupervised CNN-based pansharpening method to overcome these limitations. Specifically, we design an iterative network architecture, in which a PAN-guided strategy and a set of skip connections are adopted to continuously extract and fuse the features from the input, thus enhancing the information reuse and transmission. Besides, we propose a new loss function for unsupervised training in which the relationships between the input MS and PAN images and the fused MS image are used to design the spatial constrains and spectral consistency, respectively. The typical quality index with no-reference is also added to this function to further adjust the spectral and spatial qualities. The designed loss function allows the network to be learned only on input images, without any hand-crafted labels (reference HR MS image). We evaluated the effectiveness of our designed network architecture and the combined loss function, and the experiments testify that our unsupervised strategy can also obtain promising results with minor spectral and spatial distortions compared with other traditional and supervised methods.


Soil stabilization is the alteration of soils to ameliorate their physical properties. It is imperative to acquaint here that recent trends on soil stabilization have evolved innovative and ingenious techniques of utilizing locally available agricultural waste material for the modification and stabilization of deficient soil. Almond shells are available in profusion as a local waste material in most parts of Jammu and Kashmir. It is a woody fibrous material having very good value if used as a fuel and in this study an attempt has been made to use this as a stabilizing agent for geotechnical applications. Since it is a biodegradable material and its strength can be affected by ageing and termite action, hence a diminutive percentage of lime was added to optimize its age and binding capacity with soil. An extensive experimental program on the natural and amended soil after adding different percentages by weight of soil, of the stabilizer was undertaken and its physio-chemical properties were determined in the form of Atterberg limits. To understand its strength behavior, Optimum Moisture Content (OMC), Maximum Dry Density (MDD) and Unconfined Compressive Strength (UCS) tests were performed for all the design mixes at different curing periods. It was found that the OMC and MDD were lowest for a mixture of Soil + 2% powder + 0.5% lime. The maximum value of UCS was found to be 0.076N/mm 2 for this mixture after 28 days of curing. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Powdered X – Ray Diffraction (PXRD) was also conducted on these design mixes to understand their quantitative as well as qualitative behaviour. It was found that the experimental results matched well with the microstructural characteristics for all these design mixes.


This chapter contains sections titled: Evolution of Student Articulations, Evolution of the Student-Computer Interface, Evolution of Feedback Techniques, Coevolution of the Software in Use, Evolution into the Future


This essay is concerned. with one of the most mundane, routine, yet significant practices of modern society: the inquiry. Approaching the inquiry as, simultaneously, a mechanism for the evaluation and adjudication of truth, and as a method of information collection and compilation, the paper argues that the inquiry is a key apparatus for the production of a regime of truth governed. by the liberal notion of 'impartiality'. In making this argument, the paper provides a detailed. case study of the numerous colonial inquiries into the nineteenth-century migration of indentured. Indian labour: It outlines how, as a method of information collection and compilation, these inquiries formed. a discursive field defining the parameters of the debates on indenture. In addition, it demonstrates how, as an apparatus for the production of truth, the continual appearance of the inquiry served. to shore up the notion of 'impartial' truth, thereby enabling the system of indenture for almost a century. The resonances between the status of the inquiry with regard to indentured. migration and a host of current practices become evident through the paper, as specific effects of power attach to the 'impartial truth' produced. by the apparatus of the inquiry.


Glass-ceramic materials of the Li2O-ZnO-SiO2 system, with various amounts of TiO2 added, have been prepared. The appropriate heat treatment temperatures were selected according to the information provided by the differential thermal analysis (DTA). X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis demonstrated that in the LZS glass-ceramics system, the main phases are Li2ZnSiO4, cristobalite, tridymite and quartz. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed that crystals appear as lamellar and spherical particles in the glass-ceramics samples. In addition, the average coefficient of the thermal expansion (CTE) values first decreased, then increased and finally tended to flatten. When the content of TiO2 increased to 6%, the CTE value decreased to 9.15×10-6/K, reached the lowest value. When the content of TiO2 increased to 10%, the CTE value reached highest value 13.90×10-6/K.


The utility model discloses a slot type edge junction box applied in a solar double-glass assembly, which comprises a box cover and a box body. The box cover and the box body are mutually clamped. The box body comprises a cuboid-shaped box chamber with one face provided with an opening. A diode is arranged inside the box chamber along the length direction. The ends of the two base pins of the diode are respectively fixedly connected with a heat radiation metal sheet. Two heat radiation metal sheets are also located inside the box chamber. One box body side surface located on the box chamber opening and another box body side surface opposed to the former side surface respectively extend towards the same direction to form sheet-shaped wing parts. A gap between the two wing parts forms a U-shaped slot where the double-glass assembly can be clamped. A communicating slit is present between the slot and the box chamber. The slit is applied for the leading-out wire of the double-glass assembly to be inserted into the box chamber and further connected with the base pins of the diode. The junction box which has a simple structure and is designed in a way to satisfy the IEC standard prevents water leakage and electric conduction problems. Meanwhile, the junction box is simple and convenient to install and operate.


The accumulation and incineration of waste tires have caused great damage to the environment. Therefore, recycling waste tires efficiently and economically has become an important issue in protecting world resources and the environment. In this study, 5%, 10%, and 15% rubber particles were used to replace fine sand in concrete, and basalt fibers (0.1%, 0.2%, and 0.3%) and polypropylene fibers (0.1%, 0.15%, and 0.2%) were added to rubber concrete to prepare hybrid fiber rubber concrete (HFRC). The experiments investigated the changes of mechanical properties of basalt (BF), polypropylene (PPF) fibers, and rubber particles when they were blended into concrete respectively, and the degree of influence of each factor on the mechanical and carbonation resistance of HFRC was investigated based on the orthogonal test. The results show that the rubber concrete's mechanical and carbonation properties are improved to varying degrees after adding hybrid fibers. When the basalt fiber content is 0.2% and the polypropylene fiber content is 0.15%, the overall mechanical properties of HFRC reach the best state. When the basalt fiber content is 0.2%, the polypropylene fiber content is 0.15%, and the rubber content is 5%, the carbonation resistance of HFRC is the most ideal. In addition, the microstructure of HFRC was observed by scanning electron microscope.


In the first section of this part of his Memoir, Professor Matteucci treats of the heat developed by muscles during contraction. Adverting to earlier experiments by other inquirers, in which a rise of temperature was observed to take place in the contracting muscle while the blood still continued to circulate through it, and where, consequently, it remained uncertain how far the effect might not be due to a modification of the circulation, the author describes his own experiments, by which it is shown that the muscles of frogs, after all circulation of the blood has ceased, and by the sole act of contraction, cause a rise of temperature amounting to about half a degree Centigrade.


The treatment of 1 .5g chlorine per plant could improve the growth and net photosynthetic rate of Chinese-cabbage;contrast to the CK,the yield was enhanced9.3% ,NO3 - contentwas reduced 1 3.9% ,Vc was enhanced 1 6 .9% ,soluble-protein was enhanced 2 0 .7% ,sugar- acid ratio was enhanced 37.6 % ;the quality was enhanced significantly.While at high chlorine concentration,the growth was restrained and even the plantwas suffered toxicity by chlorine,atthe same time the yield and quality was decreased significantly.


This paper targets to propose an efficient reliability evaluation and prediction scheme based on concepts of improvable information and communication networks (ICN). In this order of ideas, several black-box models of reliability growth are proposed in the literature. Remarking that a wide variety of methods, in the literature, suppose restrictive assumptions on the manner to discover ICN failures, we propose an alternative approach in accordance with observable dysfunction and improvement profiles of the analyzed network. Thus, we define a non-parametric model of ICN reliability and we consider a nonparametric statistical way to evaluate and predict the reliability during improvements with different strategies of correcting ICN malfunctions. This method allows us to study the evolution of the reliability growth without introducing too restrictive hypotheses. We show that the maximum likelihood estimate under improvement restrictions is equivalent to the estimate obtained by the antitone regression and we confront our model to others by using the u-plot method


In countries that are signatories to the Washington Accord, the final year (often honours) projects in four-year engineering degree programs are considered the culmination of the students' undergraduate work and are used as one of the key sources of evidence of students' design ability. Not surprisingly there is a lot of variation in how these projects are conducted and assessed. What academia and
accrediting bodies need is evidence of fundamental discipline-specific technical knowledge as well as
professional skills. These competencies need to be demonstrated on an authentic realistic open-ended capstone project, providing useful feedback to the student and facilitating significant reflection. Also, this grading had to be carried out in a consistent, repeatable, and reliable manner.
PURPOSE
The aim of this research is to critically analyse the project assessment practice at an Engineering Faculty at a regional Australian university and assess this practice against the criteria above.
DESIGN/METHOD
Twelve mechanical engineering projects were selected from the 2011 cohort for analysis. Each of these projects was assessed independently by two senior academics of the discipline. A full rigorous assessment of the dissertation was made, with the assessment instrument completed and a final grade awarded. A senior member of the mechanical engineering discipline from another university assessed four of these projects. This assessment followed the USQ assessment process using the USQ assessment instrument so that the same elements were assessed and final grades could be compared. This provided cross-institutional benchmarking and feedback on the USQ process. Finally, an academic from another discipline at USQ, who was already familiar with the general assessment process, carried out full grading as well as order ranking of the 12 projects. This assessment did not focus on technical details, but was designed to provide valuable insights into the value of the assessment instrument. Each project had the original and several independently determined grades.
RESULTS
Use of the assessment instrument:
• Within the mechanical engineering discipline at USQ produced repeatable assessment grades.
• Within the mechanical engineering discipline across institutions produced acceptable results (within
half a grade of the formal assessment).
• Across discipline boundaries at USQ produced assessment grades that followed the general trend of the formal assessments but with potential variation of one grade about this trend.
CONCLUSIONS
The several phases of the moderation practice make this process robust and significant outliers which may be presented from a single assessor are identified early and addressed at that time. The assessment instrument provided repeatable assessment grades across independent assessors within the same discipline. External benchmarking did not indicate any large discrepancy in assessment, although greater clarity and exemplars may be required in the assessment instrument and the expected level of achievement in individual elements in the rubric and also the overall grade. This paper highlighted the need to use project assessors who are well versed in the technical discipline
area. Overall it can be concluded that the USQ holistic method of assessment of competencies and grading of the final year capstone project can be considered consistent, repeatable, and reliable.


Abstract : The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), in a collaborative effort with other Federal agencies, states, and private industry, is developing Ecological Soil Screening Levels (Eco-SSLs) for ecological risk assessment of contaminants at Superfund sites. Earthworm (Eisenia fetida) cocoon production and survival tests were conducted in a Sassafras sandy loam soil that supports relatively high bioavailability of barium (Ba), beryllium (Be), manganese (Mn), and antimony (Sb). For the metals tested, cocoon production was a more sensitive endpoint than was survival. Bounded Lowest Observed Effect Concentrations (LOECs) (mg kg-1) for cocoon production, as determined by analysis of variance (ANOVA), were 83, 86, 433, and 1236 for Be, Sb, Ba, and Mn, as compared to LOECs for survival of 110, 697, 1585, and 2222, respectively. Bounded No Observed Effect Concentrations (NOECs) (mg kg-1) for cocoon production, as determined by ANOVA, were 57, 60,258, and 1111 for Be, Sb, Ba, and Mn, as compared to NOECs for survival of 83, 617,1348, and 1444, respectively. Non-linear regression analysis of cocoon production data showed that the relative toxicity (EC20 mg kg-1) of the four metals was in the order of Sb (30) = Be (52) > Ba (370) > Mn ( 629). These results will be submitted to the Eco-SSL Work ou for review and inclusion in their database.


The school order we have learned to defend in school spaces and time seems to be crumbling. In this regard, we ask: what meanings do young people give to school? The aim of this article is to articulate some theoretical-methodological reflections concerning the field of Cultural Studies with two investigations that proposed to change the ways of doing research. In these studies, the school is described by young high school students. The studies were valuable to think about school practices and consider that the conflicts and negotiations that exist between the subjects that inhabit the school produce another meanings for the contemporary school.


[Purpose]This study investigates the factors limiting the impact factor grow th of Medical University journals from the perspective of journal development strategy.[Methodology]Based on the IF changes of four journals including medical university journals,comprehensive medical journals,basic medical journals and clinical medical journals reported by "Chinese ST Journal Citation Reports( Core Version) 2010-2013 " together w ith publication and citation data of Journal of Third Military Medical University in 2008-2013 and five Medical University journals in 2014,this paper studies the factors decreasing the IF of Medical University journals.[Findings] The basic research papers are published in large numbers but w ith low citation rate.Overstrengthening on Science Citation Index and providing more space for special reports lead to low IF of Medical University journals.[Conclusions]In order to improve the IF,editors of the Medical University journals should fully understand the citation characteristics of the published papers,and should be encouraged to contact w ith clinical departments to provide personalized services.


Objectives: To investigate how information about innovative surgical procedures is communicated to patients. Background: Despite the national and international guidance that patients should be informed whether a procedure is innovative and has uncertain outcomes, little is known about current practice. Methods: This qualitative study followed 7 "case studies" of surgical innovation in hospitals across the United Kingdom. Preoperative interviews were conducted with clinician innovators (n=9), preoperative real-time consultations between clinicians and patients were audio-recorded (n=37). Patients were interviewed postoperatively (n=30). Data were synthesized using thematic analytical methods. Results: Interviews with clinicians demonstrated strong intentions to inform patients about the innovative nature of the procedure in a neutral manner, although tensions between fully informing patients and not distressing them were raised. In the consultations, only a minority of clinicians actually made explicit statements about, (1) the procedure being innovative, (2) their limited clinical experience with it, (3) the paucity of evidence, and (4) uncertainty/unknown outcomes. Discussions about risks were generalized and often did not relate to the innovative component. Instead, all clinicians optimistically presented potential benefits and many disclosed their own positive beliefs. Postoperative patient interviews revealed that many believed that the procedure was more established than it was and were unaware of the unknown risks. Conclusions: There were contradictions between clinicians' intentions to inform patients about the uncertain outcomes of innovative and their actual discussions with patients. There is a need for communication interventions and training to support clinicians to provide transparent data and shared decision-making for innovative procedures.