Vibrissae are highly refined vibrotactile receptors that are present on most mammals. The Golden hamster exhibits three different behaviours of its mystacial, supraorbital, and genal vibrissae. During rest, all the vibrissae are reclined and motionless. When hamsters are alert, the vibrissae are partly or fully erect and essentially motionless. During active investigation, the mystacial vibrissae "whisk" or "sweep" through antero–posterior excursions. The genal vibrissa moves only slightly in periodic erection. The supraorbital vibrissae carry through a wide erection arc and have limited excursions with movements of the upper eyelid. The mystacial vibrissae whisk quickly (about 16 sweepsls). Whisking is divisible into contact (relatively high amplitude, low frequency), non–contact (relatively low amplitude, high frequency), and double–pump (combination contact and non–contact) types, and can be either bilaterally symmetric or asymmetric. The dimensions of the mystacial territory around the snout change throughout whisking due to coordinated changes in the shape of the mystacial pad and the tilting of the vibrissae relative to the pad. Such differential movements have implications for sensory physiology as they point to an ability for fine sensory monitoring of the environment.


These days many of the Agro help centres and farmers use different techniques to intensify the agriculture production. Farmers experiences great difficulties in controlling various types of diseases. In this paper we propose an automatic detection of plant diseases using image processing technique. Image processing is the best approach for detecting and diagnosis the diseases in which initially infected region is found, then different features are extracted such as color, texture and shape. These feature extraction uses different techniques like grey level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM), Gabor filter etc. GLCM describes some easily computational texture features based gray time spatial dependencies method. This research used the cooccurrence method to determine whether texture based saturation, contrast, and intensity color features etc. which could be used to identify diseased and normal leaves under experimental conditions. From the texture statistics, the presence of diseases on the plant leaf is evaluated. It includes several steps viz. image acquisition, image pre-processing and features extraction and classification.


The invention discloses an overvoltage protection circuit for a high-voltage integrated circuit. The overvoltage protection circuit is characterized by mainly comprising a PMOS (p-channel metal oxide semiconductor) transistor I (101), a PMOS transistor II (102), and an NMOS (n-channel metal oxide semiconductor) transistor I (103), wherein the PMOS transistor II (102) and the NMOS transistor I (103) are connected together in series, the grid electrode of the PMOS transistor I (101) is connected with a connecting point of the PMOS transistor II (102) and the NMOS transistor I (103), and the drain electrode of an NMOS transistor II (104) is connected with source electrodes of the PMOS transistor II (102) and the PMOS transistor I (101) respectively. The whole circuit structure of the overvoltage protection circuit disclosed by the invention is simpler, only the zener voltage and the number of zener diodes need to be properly increased or decreased, the functions of the overvoltage protection of the high-voltage integrated circuit, the clamping protection of an input power VCC, the overshoot protection of the input power VCC, the static electricity discharge protection of the input power VCC and the like can be easily realized, and the properties are extremely steady.


PURPOSE: A system for remitting money between wireless terminals by controlling a virtual account right and a wireless terminal therefor are provided to maintain a ledger access right of a virtual account of a remitter who requests a remittance transaction in a state in which a recipient can access, thereby enabling the recipient to selectively process only the remittance transaction that the recipient approves. CONSTITUTION: A remitter virtual account opening unit(105) accesses by a wireless terminal of a remitter to open a virtual account of a remitter. A remittance transaction request receiving unit(135) receives remittance transaction request information including remittance money information and recipient wireless terminal information. A remitter virtual account operating unit(110) maintains a ledger access right for transaction details of the remitter in a state in which a recipient can access.


This article describes an experimental study of a novel approach for remote calibration of active phased array transmitters proposed by Silverstein (see Proceedings of the 30th Asilomar Conference on Signals, Systems, and Computers, 1996). The calibration technique is implemented and experimentally validated with a L-band active phased array testbed developed at the University of Texas at Austin.


My aim in this article is to describe some ways in which intentional ambiguity, the deliberate crafting of messages in such a way that they invite multiple interpretation, devolves in an ethnographic situation. I take the ethnographic situation to be not a strange one, but a very common one-an example of dialogue taking place across a horizon, between two worlds that are likely to interpret the same tree, let us say, on that horizon very differently. In this case, in fact, we are dealing not with two worlds but with many worlds and an indeterminate number of horizons, since the material of our analysis is an ancient Indian (Tamil) poem that comes to us embedded in many layers of interpretation and can be seen to incorporate multiple voices much more ancient than itself even prior to its own embedding. By intentional ambiguity I mean something more than anomaly, or mediation, or transition, or otherness, more than something outside the structure that has somehow to be dealt with, and more than the kind of once-a-year chaos that is needed to keep some orders well defined. Intentional ambiguity is not interstitial ambiguity-marginal, liminal ambiguity characteristic of what is dismaying or strange to people-but ambiguity at the heart of things, openly embraced where it is found, emphasized where it is hard to perceive, and created where it would not otherwise exist. It entails an acceptance of the fact that the horizon is everywhere, including the place where we stand now. In what follows, I try to show that the ambiguities I encountered in the poem I studied and in the exegesis of it that was offered to me acted in similar ways to bring diverse forms of thought into some kind of mutual awareness. In particular, I try to show how various kinds of poetic ambiguity are used to relate opposed paradigms, opposed theories about the nature of things, or, less formally and self-


Objective To investigate the prevalence of hyperuricemia(HU) and gout among over-40-year-old community residents in Nanchang District and its influential factors. Methods A cluster sampling was conducted(including questionnaire,physical examination and laboratory tests) among 3 795 residents aged over 40 years in 15 communities of Nanchang from June to October 2011. The diagnostic criteria for HU was blood uric acid(SUA) 420 μmol / L(for males), 350 μmol/L(for females),gout diagnosis accorded with the Criteria formulated by American College of Rheumatology(ACR) in 1977. Results The mean SUA concentration was(329. 0 ± 89. 7) μmol / L,and(376. 0 ± 83. 1) μmol / L in males,higher than that of females 〔(285. 2 ± 71. 7) μmol / L〕(P 0. 05). The overall prevalence of HU was 20. 94%(795 /3 795),and 26. 75%(488 /1 824) in males,higher than in females 〔15. 58%(307 /1 971),P 0. 05〕. The overall prevalence of gout was 1. 52%(58 /3 795),and 2. 63%(48 /1 824) in males,higher than in females 〔0. 01%(10 /1 979),P 0. 05〕. In males,HU prevalence was higher in 40-49 age group than in 50-59 age group,and increased with the age augment in other age groups(P 0. 05). In females,HU prevalence(except the 70-79 age group) increased with the age augment(P 0. 05). The incidences of overweight,hypertriglyceridemia,hypercholesterolemia,hypertension and diabetes were higher in high HU group than in normal HU group(P 0. 05). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia,hypertension,alcohol consumption,gender,age,body mass index were risk factors for HU(P 0. 05). Conclusion The prevalence of HU and gout is high,significantly higher in males than in females. The incidences of overweight,hyperlipidemia,hypertension,diabetes increase remarkably in HU patients. Hypertriglyceridemia has the greatest effect on the development of HU,for which appropriate measures should be taken for early prevention.


Basic formulation of reinforced concrete member under an eccentric axial force is carried out from basic assumptions of theory for flexural strength.The methods are also presented in full range analysis on the ultimate strength curve calculation.


In the coming wars between nation-states and non-state entities, both traditional and advanced forms of weaponry and concepts will be employed. Increasingly, however, advanced forms of war-fighting will play a dominant role in counter-OPFOR (opposing force) strategies because of the new capabilities which they offer. Battlespace dynamics, information warfare to netwar, and bond-relationship targeting all represent viable strategies which can be utilized by nation-states against non-state entities. They are not stand alone solutions to combating networked OPFORs but rather can be combined with each other and with additional strategies based on developing urban CONOPS, nonlethal and hyperlethal weaponry, with better use of intelligence and planning prior to the engagement of hostilities, and with friendly C41 networks for operational support and direct operational impact in 'not crime-not war' operational environments.


A research team in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Toyohashi University of Technology developed a method for reducing aerodynamic noise via plasma. Cavity flow, such as the flow around car gaps of high-speed trains, often radiates aerodynamic noise. A plasma actuator inducing flow was applied to suppress this noise. By periodically switching off the power of the plasma actuator, a higher reduction in sound pressure level was observed when compared with continuous operation under the same power consumption.


2-Pyrones with a chiral branched allylic silyl ether underwent IMDA reactions with remarkably high π-facial- and endo-selectivities. The resulting diastereomerically and enantiomerically pure cycloadducts were transformed into the natural products (+)-lycopladine A and (-)-lycoposerramine R.


A method for designing biorthogonal wavelet filters is proposed. The method is used for constructing symmetric biorthogonal spline wavelet filters with finite length and vanishing moments. The constructed filters are applied together with a thresholding technique for removing Gaussian noise from noise corrupted images.


The purpose of the research has been to develop new techniques for performing text-independent automatic speaker recognition in forensic settings. A segregating automatic speaker recognition system was developed. The system uses vector quantization on a coarse set of parameters to perform segregation. Classification is then performed on a fine resolution set of parameters. A taxonomy of forensic speaker recognition tasks was developed along with a set of guidelines for using automated systems in real forensic cases. A description of ideal speaker recognition systems is given and a theoretical bound on the performance of such systems is calculated. New techniques for compensating for channel variation are purposed and tests more stringent than any reported in the literature were performed on the new system.


The Physiome is the quantitative description of the structure and function of the intact organism. The Physiome Project is a multi-centric program to archive and disseminate quantitative information on all aspects of physiological systems, and to develop and disseminate integrative models of functional behavior from regulation of transcription and protein-protein interactions to cell biology and to the normal and pathologic behavior of tissues, organs, and the organism. Complex systems tend to have emergent properties not evident on the parts, only in the whole. Systems viewpoints are necessarily hierarchical: a human body operates organ systems, tissues and cells. Models develop in stages: (a) collections of objects, (b) diagrams of connectivity, (c) descriptions of causation and kinetics of the connections, (d) physico-chemical mechanistic equations for the integrated system, and (e), for practical utility, reduced-form versions describing limited aspects of system behavior. At each level, the model must account realistically for or be in tune with the observations made at the next level down. Physical models (circulatory or skeletal mechanics, or protein dynamics) can be well based upon a combination of theory and observation. Biochemical systems models can be based on thermodynamics and experimentally observed chemical reactions. Higher level models summarize a broad diversity of experimental data comprehensively. Bioinformatics models are attempts to bring together meaningful diagrams of connectivity through "inference engines", even while cause and effect is often unknown; this is still a long way from stage (c), and is very difficult. The current state is that there are few validated models of protein-protein interaction. For cell electrophysiology and metabolism there is a century of observation and integration leading to numerous level (d) models; these are gaining reliability and therefore utility in prediction, but to remain reliable over a wide range of conditions such models have several internal levels and tend to be computationally costly. They are used in the development of pharmaceuticals. Advanced but computationally and operationally simplified models have value in clinical practice. Modern science is facilitated by open standard and rapid dissemination of knowledge. Component modules developed by independent investigators can be brought together through adherence to standards of quality, use of common ontologies, programming in common languages, archiving in standard forms with complete descriptions. The automated construction of large model from validated modules is beginning, and will allow putting together models from several different laboratories. A fundamental and major feature of the Physiome Project is the databasing of the basic observations and for evaluation of the modeling. When the models integrate the observations from many laboratories into quantitative, self-consistent, comprehensive descriptions they will provide to the community of scientists, physicians, teachers, and to medical health professional and industrial communities, functional descriptions of human biological systems in health and disease.


Using 134 propagation batches from 19 silkworm F1 hybrid varieties and 42 propagation batches from the same silkworm F1 hybrid variety as samples, we compared two methods, the standard method and the once investigating method, on investigating the practical hatchability of silkworm eggs. The results showed no significant differences between the two methods by SAS software analysis. It demonstrated that the once investigating method can be substituted for the standard method for its conveniency.


Local radial basis function-based differential quadrature (RBF-DQ) method is a natural mesh-free approach, in which any derivative of a function at a point is approximated by a weighted linear sum of functional values at its surrounding scattered points. In this paper, the weighting coefficients in the spatial derivative approximation of the Euler equation are determined by using a weighted least-square procedure in the frame of RBFs, which enhances the flexibility of distributing points in the computational domain. An upwind method is further introduced to cope with discontinuities by using Roe's approximate Riemann solver for estimation of the inviscid flux on the virtual mid-point between the reference knot and its surrounding knot. The lower–upper symmetric Gauss–Seidel (LU-SGS) algorithm, which is implemented in a matrix-free form like the one used in the finite-volume method, is introduced in the work to speed up the convergence. The proposed approach is validated by its application to simulate transonic flows over a NACA 0012 airfoil. It was found that the present mesh-free results agree very well with available data in the literature, and the implicit LU-SGS algorithm can greatly save the computational time as compared with explicit time marching methods.


The Numerical Aerodynamic Simulation (NAS) Facility has a long standing practice of maintaining buildable source code for installed hardware. There are two reasons for this: NAS's designated pathfinding role, and the need to maintain a smoothly running operational capacity given the widely diversified nature of the vendor installations. NAS has a need to maintain support capabilities when vendors are not able; diagnose and remedy hardware or software problems where applicable; and to support ongoing system software development activities whether or not the relevant vendors feel support is justified. This note provides an informal history of these activities at NAS, and brings together the general principles that drive the requirement that systems integrated into the NAS environment run binaries built from source code, onsite.


Charm production by neutrino charged-current interactions produces two muon (dimuon) events which are easily identified. This signal provides an important method to measure the strange sea and the mass of the charm quark. Several experiments, including CCFR, CDHS and CHARM II, have performed analyses of such events. The results of these analyses are summarized with emphasis on CCFR and improvements made by NuTeV.


The study was conducted to evaluate relationships among walking velocity, heel contact velocity, and friction demand. Particularly, the study attempted to ask if two age groups (younger and older groups) differed in walking velocity and heel contact velocity, and how these gait parameters influenced friction demand characteristics in two age groups. 14 younger (7 females and 7 males, 18 to 30 years old) and 14 older (7 females and 7 males, over 65 years old) adults participated in the study. Kinematic and kinetic data were measured using 6 infrared cameras and 2 force plates mounted on the walking track. The primary goal of the study was to evaluate if walking velocity (whole body COM velocity) and heel contact velocity with advancing age influenced friction demand characteristics. The results indicated that older adults walked slower, exhibited lower heel contact velocity, and produced lower friction demand in comparison to younger adults. The study suggested that walking velocity could be a good indicator for predicting friction demand characteristics.


R. Gunstone and M.H. Lee "An Hysteresis-Habituation Mechanism for Sensorimotor Scaffolding", Proc. AISB'03 Second International Symposium on Imitation in Animals and Artifacts, 189-190, 2003.


BACKGROUND
Barefoot runners have a higher probability of lower leg and foot disorders compared to runners wearing traditional running shoes. However, the site of muscle stress due to barefoot running has not been reported. This study aimed to investigate the effects of shod and barefoot running on muscle mechanical properties.

METHODS
A total of 18 healthy male subjects were included in this study and were assigned to either the shod running group or the barefoot running group. While the shod group ran on the treadmill at a speed of 75% heart rate reserve for 45 min with shoes, the barefoot group ran without shoes after warm up session. As an index of muscle stiffness, the shear wave velocity (SWV) of the eleven lower extremity muscles were measured at rest before and after exercise using shear wave elastography.

RESULTS
The tibialis posterior SWV was increased after running in the shod (3.67 ± 0.41 m/s to 3.90 ± 0.45 m/s) and barefoot (3.70 ± 0.36 m/s to 4.02 ± 0.54 m/s) groups. In contrast, the vastus lateralis SWV was increased only in the shod group (2.62 ± 0.32 m/s to 2.80 ± 0.34 m/s), while the peroneus muscle SWV increased only in the barefoot group (3.24 ± 0.48 m/s to 3.50 ± 0.55 m/s and 2.92 ± 0.5 m/s to 3.11 ± 0.49 m/s for the superficial and deep layers, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS
The shod condition selectively influences changes in the stiffness of the vastus lateralis and peroneus muscles during running but has no effect on the tibialis posterior.


Up to some time ago, we radiologists have beenusing gadolinium in patients affected by renal insuffi-ciency, and this was done very confidently, with assur-ance that we were utilizing a safe alternative for assess-ment of these patients.The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warning,on June/2006, (http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2007/NEW01638.html), concerning nephrogenic sys-temic fibrosis (NSF)/nephrogenic fibrosing dermopathyobliges us to revise our concepts on safety in the use ofgadolinium. After the RSNA 2006, the medical team inour institution started discussing the indication forgadolinium use in patients with renal insufficiency, butup to then strict rules for utilizing gadolinium-basedcontrast agents in these cases had not been establishedyet. So, in June/2007, a patient with this disease wasadmitted to the Hospital das Clinicas of Faculdade deMedicina da Universidade de Sao Paulo, and I mustconfess that, seeing for the first time a patient affectedby this syndrome associated with gadolinium admin-istration, I have got that old sensation: "this will nothappen here". The impact has been so effective thatcurrently in our institution the creatinine clearance ispreventively evaluated prior to the administration ofgadolinium to patients with moderate or severe renalinsufficiency. It might be said that the scenario is criti-cal and that every physician must be aware of the pos-sibility of NSF development.Until February this year, 200 cases of NSF weredescribed. This disease is systemic, and, just as its nameindicates, is characterized by widespread tissue fibro-sis. Originally, it was known as nephrogenic fibrosingdermopathy because of its dominant cutaneous find-ings (http://www.pathmax.com/dermweb).This condition develops in patients who receiveintravenous gadolinium-based contrast agents to en-


ABSRTACT This paper investigates the influence, impact and consequences of interconnection between language, food and culture in society, especially in Nigeria. The phenomena of language, food and culture are products of human interaction with the environment. The indigenous knowledge of the environment is concerned with science, technology, culture and domestication of plants and their ecological system. They form the experience of society transmitted through language from generation to generation.The plants and animals are critical elements in human environment as they serve as sources of domestication and cultivation of animals and crops plants as food. Equally, the domestication of animals as husbandry and for various uses as pets, burden, for war, sources of food has tremendous impact on language, culture and history. These domestications have tremendous influence on the rapid growth of civilization and human language. Their development was attributed to the domestication of wheat, rice, maize, potato and guinea corn respectively .However, domestications often consequentially lead to movements of human beings, in the process; the languages of the imigrants come in contact leading to linguistic diffusion and diversity. This thus makes multilingualism a linguistic reality in this geographical sphere as neighbours endeavour to learn the languages and varieties of languages of one another for various kinds of exigencies. The study also shows that organisational evolution and use of plants and animals as food and shelter in medicine, for telling time and periodising seasons as indicators of omen and ecology facilitate extensive lexicon for their transmission. Furthermore, the indigenous knowledge enhances the agencies of education and acculturation which in effect aids rapid transformation of society, the languages spoken in the society. And in the Nigerian case, it has contributed largely to the extensive expansion of English vocabulary in Nigeria as the names of the local foods are directly incorporated into English Language.


The question of injury and permanent harm was examined most carefully. It appears that women. are a little more accident-prone than men, especially in riding, hockey, basket-ball and track and field events, but their future health was not in jeopardy. One of the first disciplines competitive sport imposes on women is control of the emotions and the acceptance of the thinking and living habits of good sportsmanship. , The article goes on to deal with the effects of games on delinquency, school work and personality in a favourable manner, but these findings are not specific for women. Sport, like the arts, music and literature, is. a means of self-expression. In many ways "Sport is an art, with the Olympic Games the concert stage of athletes who have reached the. height,S of sheer artistry in their chosen sport."


HOW RUSSIA IS NOT RULED Reflections on Russian Political Development Allen C. Lynch Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005. 288pp, $52.26 cloth (ISBN 0521840600), $19.11 paper (ISBN 0521549922)Since his first book published in 1987, The Soviet Study of International Relations, Allen Lynch has established himself as a lucid and sober analyst of the Soviet Union. In his latest and highly readable book, Lynch provides a first-rate analysis of contemporary Russian politics and society.Let us begin with the title of the book. In choosing this title, Lynch pays homage to the well-known American political scientist, Merle Fainsod, who in 1953 published an important book, How Russia is Ruled (revised edition 1963). Fainsod's influential study marked a generation of Soviet analysts, Lynch among them. By inverting the title of the Fainsod book, Lynch points out to readers how Russia is ruled today.The Russian/Soviet and once again Russian state (since 1992), was never a rational-legal bureaucratic state, to use Max Weber's concept, as were most of the western European states (France, Sweden). Instead it was, according to the American historian Richard Pipes, the archetype of the patrimonial state. This type fused in its institutions and elites political and economic power. Lynch, in his elegantly written and carefully crafted book, has refined the concept of the patrimonial state and has renamed it the neopatrimonial state. This is a hybrid type of state that contains elements of the patrimonial and legal-rational state.It is this neopatrimonial model that best explains the functioning of the Russian state that took hold in post-communist Russia ruled by Yeltsin and Putin (128-30). "This [neopatrimonial] system," writes Lynch, "rests upon the tight nexus of wealth and political power" (130). This suggests that neopatrimonialism represents a variant of the authoritarian political regime. In fact, Lynch explicitly argues, "Yeltsin had developed an authoritarian system of power" (153). It should be added that in Yeltsin's system of rule, the state was highly dysfunctional. The type of system created by Yeltsin remained the same under Putin's presidency, although state administration became more coherent. Lynch argues that Putin's system of power, much like Yeltsin's, rests on a narrow institutional foundation.The emergence of a dysfunctional Soviet/Russian state at the end of Gorbachev's tenure has immensely hindered Russia's post-communist transition. Lynch sees the primary problem in Russia today as the establishment of a state/government that can effectively govern but not rule the country. …


The program was designed to provide data on the biological communities in the Savannah River that might be directly affected by the present and proposed activities of the Savannah River Plant (SRP). One of the major activities to be evaluated for potential impact is the restart of the L-Reactor. This report presents data on ichthyoplankton abundance, removal of ichthyoplankton through entrainment with the cooling water and the impingement of fishes on the screens that protect the intake pumps.


The chemical hydrolysis of sulfonylurea herbicide is firstorder kinetic nuclearphylic substitution reaction, it conforms Arrhenius formula. The acid is effective catalysis of this reaction. The major hydrolysis products are arylsufonamide and aminoheterocyclic compounds. The mechanism and the rate of chemical hydrolysis are related to the structure of compound itself and the characters of reaction medium and environmental factors such as temperature and acidity, etc.


Aortoiliac occlusive disease (AIOD), especially proximal to the transplant artery, in kidney transplant patient activates the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system by limiting graft renal perfusion and causes symptoms that can occur with transplant renal artery stenosis (TRAS) such as refractory hypertension, water retention, and graft renal dysfunction. Immediate clinical suspicion is difficult due to the nature of the progressive disease unlike TRAS. Herein, we present an interesting case of bilateral common iliac artery occlusion (AIOD, TASC II, type C) that manifested as uncontrolled blood pressure and decreased allograft function in a patient who had kidney transplant 17 years ago. The patient was successfully diagnosed with duplex scan, ankle-brachial index (ABI) and computed tomography angiography and treated with percutaneous luminal angioplasty and stent graft insertion.


Radionuclide brain‐scans employing Technetium‐99m pertechnetate were performed in the neonatal period on 85 full‐term newborns with neurological symptons secondary to perinatal hypoxia/ischemia. The brain scan was abnormal in 56 of the infants.


This study will attempt to determine the impact of service quality is main factor for the success of a bank on customer satisfaction to acquire life insurance and maintain that continuously at long-time. Service Quality helps to distinguish the banking performance from the competitors. In this study, aim to how HDFC Life Insurance, Madurai maintain the service quality and keep goodwill image are impact on customer satisfaction. Quantitative data was collected using the non- probability self administered questionnaire that consists of questions with 5-points Likert scales distributed to our samples of individuals. By using ANOVA and Correlation analysis, it is found that, service quality factors are significant to HDFC Life Insurance holders' satisfaction. The result indicated the existence of significant differences between these business segments and they confirmed a relationship between the length of a customers' relationship with the HDFC Life Insurance holders' and their level of satisfaction experienced. From the result, service quality factors are (tangible, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy) have positive and significant impact on insurance holders' satisfaction. The findings from the study should guide to HDFC Life for distinguish between the satisfaction experienced generated by the service quality used in specific segments in insurance banking.


After a decade of intense research and development,Wireless SensorNetworks (WSNs) are on the verge of transforming from an obscure technology into a viable market segment. In this period, the WSN node hardware has constantly improved, resulting in better functionality while size, cost and energy consumption have been reduced. Unfortunately, the software development process has not been able to keep the same pace. The tight resource constraints and the application-specific requirements are driving developers into closed and integrated solutions which impede design and code reuse, increasing the required effort for developing new applications and adapting them to an ever evolving hardware. The lack of a common software architecture for WSNs is seen by many in the research community as significant contributing factor for the existing inefficiencies. We introduce a Double-Anchored Software Architecture that enables effective WSN development through traditional methodologies of design and code reuse, using time-tested principles like functional decoupling and complexity hiding. At the same time, it provides mechanisms for controlling the inherent trade-offs between efficiency and reuse so the above benefits can be achieved without paying a prohibitively high price in performance, compared to a customized and vertically integrated solution. The proposed architecture is specified in the form of a component framework organized around two "anchors" that provide rigidity and establish a base for design and code reuse. The lower portability anchor abstracts the hardware while enabling explicit control over the performance-portability trade-offs. The upper interoperability anchor abstracts the node-local services behind an expressive publish/subscribe interface and supports application-specific customization. This dissertation contends that a broad software architecture, anchored at these two levels of the software stack, can effectively promote portability and interoperability while maintaining high sensibility towards abstraction costs. We evaluate these claims in qualitative and quantitative way, on the example of several prototype implementations, some of which are in wide use in theWSN community. To support the evaluation we have also developed a custom distributed testing infrastructure that enables efficient testing of functional and non-functional properties of WSN protocols and services.


Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)‐C is an important lymphangiogenic factor involved in the lymphangiogenesis of gallbladder carcinoma (GBC) and the lymph node metastasis of the tumor. Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)‐α, a key inflammatory cytokine responding to chronic inflammation of GBC, has been reported to stimulate the expression of VEGF‐C in some nonneoplastic cells. But whether TNF‐α promotes the expression of VEGF‐C in GBC has yet to be determined. Therefore, in the present study, the concentration of TNF‐α and VEGF‐C and the lymphatic vessel density (LVD) in the clinical GBC specimens were analyzed, and a linear correlation was found between the concentration of TNF‐α and that of VEGF‐C, the lymphatic vessel density (LVD); The transcription and protein level of VEGF‐C in NOZ cell line were detected by real‐time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and TNF‐α enhanced the expression of VEGF‐C in NOZ cell lines in a dose and time‐dependent manner. Lymphatic tube formation in vitro was observed in a three‐dimensional coculture system consisting of HDLECs and NOZ cell lines, and lymphatic vessels of GBC in nude mice model was detected by immunohistochemistry. TNF‐α promoted the tube formation of lymphatic endothelial cells in vitro and the lymphangiogenesis of GBC in nude mice; The nuclear factor (NF)‐κB binding site on the VEGF‐C promoter was identified using Site‐directed mutagenesis, electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) and chromatin immunoprecipitation assay (ChIP). Taken together, TNF‐α can upregulate the expression of VEGF‐C and promote the lymphangiogenesis of GBC via NF‐κB combining with the promoter of VEGF‐C.


A series of hyperbranched polyesters (HBPEs) using trimethylolpropane (TMP) as a core were synthesized via an esterification reaction, and the molecular weights of these HBPEs were 1600, 2260, 3370, and 5170 g/mol, respectively. Then, these HBPEs were added into dope solutions to prepare PSf hollow fiber membranes via a wet-spinning method. When the HBPE molecule weight increased from 1600 to 5170 g/mol, the initial viscosities of the PSf–HBPE–PEG400–DMAc dope solutions increased, and the shear-thinning phenomenon of these dope solutions became increasingly obvious. When these dope solutions were immersed into the deionized water, the demixing rate increased with an increase in the HBPE molecule weight at first and then decreased; this results in the increase of membrane porosity and the coexistence of finger-like and sponge-like structures. With the addition of HBPE, the start pure water contact angle and the mean effective pore size of the membranes decreased, and the Jw increased. For the mechanical properties of the membranes, the breaking strength and the elongation of the membranes also increased. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Conceptual design studies of the Fusion Experimental Reactor (FER) have been conducted at JAERI in line with a long-range plan for fusion reactor development laid out in the long-term program of the Atomic Energy Commission issued in 1982. The FER succeeding the tokamak device JT-60 is a tokamak reactor with a major mission of realizing a self-ignited long-burning DT plasma and demonstrating engineering feasibility. The paper describes recent developments of the FER design concept.


Carcinoma lower oesophagus metastasizing to thyroid occurs rarely. We report the case of a 56-year-old male who was referred for evaluation of dysphagia in whom such an occurrence has been documeneted. Clinically patient had palpable cervical lymphadenopathy. There was no thyroid swelling. Upper gastro-intestinal endoscopic biopsy revealed squamous cell carcinoma of lower third oesophagus. Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) from the right cervical lymph node also revealed squamous cell carcinomatous deposits. Patient was then evaluated by integrated whole-body positron emission tomography-computed tomography using 18F fluorodeoxyglucose which revealed metabolic activity in thyroid gland. Ultrasound guided FNAC from thyroid shown metastatic squamous cell carcinomatous deposits which was further confirmed by imunocytochemistry. We present this case because of its exceedingly rare occurrence and poor prognosis.


This report examines the learning styles of Caucasian and African-American students. While research supports the claim that low academic achievement is prevalent in the minority community, there is no consensus regarding the causes. There are two schools or thought that involve (1) the cognitive deficit or genetic cause, and (2) the cultural deprivation theory related to cultural poverty. Research shows that middle -class Caucasian students perform better in school than middle-class African Americans. It also shows that students who are field independent, which is the modality of teachers, receive higher grades. Most African-American students are field dependent. Fiald-independent learning reflects academic curricula, academic achievement, and testing. The evidence shows that Blacks are primarily auditory and tactile rather than visual and that, unfortunately, enormous amounts of information are transferred visually in American society. The prime processing mode for Blacks is kinesthetic, which is substantiated by African Americans' high motoric capability. Finally, the paper suggests that because Blacks aye extraverted, preferring action and personal involvement, black students need affective material, warm and supportive teachers free of racism, and a proactive learning environment to experience scholastic success. An appendix includes information about Blacks' relations t, educational materials, certifying knowledge, and turn taking. (Contains 11 references.) (GLR) *********************************************************************** * Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. * *********************************************************************** Factors That Contribute to Learning Difference Among African American and Caucasian Students. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION ()thee of Educahonst Research and Improvement EOU TIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) 1ms document has been repucd aon owed from the person or org rod aniezatt originating d 0 Minor changes have been made to anprove reproduchon aualty Points 01 we*, or ogruonS Slated m this docu. I ment (so not necessanly represent offiCIII OE RI poseton or policy Stephen Earl White


Quantum superposition is normally sustained in a microscopic regime governed by Heisenberg uncertainty principle applicable to a single particle. Quantum correlation between paired particles implies the violation of local realism governed by classical physics. Over the last decades, quantum features have been implemented in various quantum technologies including quantum computing, communications, and sensing. Such quantum features are generally known to be impossible by any classical means. Here, a macroscopic quantum correlation is presented for coherence manipulations of polarization-path correlations of a continuous wave laser, satisfying the joint-parameter relation in an inseparable product-basis form. For the coherence control of the polarization-path correlation, a pair of electro-optic modulators is used in a noninterfering Mach-Zehnder interferometer for deterministic switching between paired polarization bases, resulting in the polarization product-basis superposition in a selective product-basis choice manner by a followed pair of acousto-optic modulators. This unprecedented macroscopic quantum feature opens the door to a new understanding of quantum mechanics beyond the microscopic regime for future classical optics-compatible quantum information.


After nearly seven months of flight, the U.S. Air Force's latest X-37 robotic space plane is nearing a milestone in its secret mission in Earth orbit as it chalks up mileage and operational experience.


This study examines the economic, demographic, and fiscal history of Dayton, Ohio, from the turn of the 20th century to the present. The purpose of this study is to place Dayton in the context of a declining manufacturing city that must overcome substantial challenges if it is going to succeed as a 21st-century city. In many ways Dayton is the archetype of the declining Rust Belt city. Until the 1960s, Dayton was a thriving midwestern manufacturing hub, initially built around waterways and later railroads and surrounded by fertile farmland. In the mid-20th century, southerners migrated northward to take advantage of the job opportunities and higher wages in places like Dayton. Southern racial discrimination and segregation limited educational opportunities for many southern blacks, and this legacy of institutionalized discrimination inhibited the educational attainment of many blacks and contributed to the city's inability to adapt to changing economic conditions. Highway construction and the nationwide decline in manufacturing also harmed Dayton, and since the 1960s, Dayton and other midwestern cities have experienced declines in population, wages, and home values. The nationwide shift to a service economy has reduced reliance on natural resources, and this, combined with the long-term decline in transportation costs, means that government policies and climate will increasingly decide the economic fate of cities. Dayton cannot change its physical location, so local officials must compete using policy if Dayton is to have a chance at revitalization.


The purpose of the research is to analyze literature data on epizootology, morphology and biology of Thelazia callipaeda, and on clinical signs of thelaziosis.Thelaziosis caused by Th. callipaeda is widespread and not limited to Southeast Asian countries. At the end of the last century, autochtonous infection cases of thelaziosis were noted in Italy, and later the disease was recorded in France, Switzerland, Germany, Spain, Belgium, Portugal, Romania, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Croatia, Greece, Slovakia, Serbia, Turkey, Hungary, Moldova, Austria, Czech Republic, Poland, etc. Cases of thelaziosis recorded in the United States of America and the Russian Federation were most likely allochthonous and imported from contaminated areas. In Russia, canine thelaziosis was recorded in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Tyumen. It was found that definitive hosts of Th. callipaeda were not only cats, dogs or humans, but also many species of wild animals, namely, gray wolf, red fox, pine marten, hare, wild cat, Iberian wolf, European grey rabbit, beech marten, pine marten, golden jackal, European badger and brown bear. The prevalence of Thelazia infection among populations of wild animals reached 38.1%. The maximum number of helminths found in one animal was 96 specimens. In the life cycle of Th. callipaeda, males of the fruit fly Phortica variegata and Ph. okadai, which can keep Thelazia larvae in their bodies for up to 180 days are involved. Phylogenetic analysis of the cox1 gene showed that Th. callipaeda isolated from diseased animals in different countries belonged to haplotype-1, which was common in Europe.


We studied the effects of photomask design, illumination time, and UV intensity on the formation of polymer walls, and speculated the related mechanism. According to the optimized condition, we make a flexible LCD cell with colorless polyimide substrate.


We report of the strong photo-conductivity response of doped stannic oxide single crystals for submillimeter radiation. As confirmed up to 120 kG the magnetic field dependence of the photo-conductivity response is negligible. This fact admits in a magneto-transmission experiment the stannic-oxide detector to be positioned directly behind the investigated sample in the presence of the external magnetic field. Design and operation of the detector system are discussed in detail.


Exchanging commodities by commercial transaction is one of the most direct forms of transferring cultural and intellectual capital. Historically, however, international trading relationships have been complicated by national rivalries, opposing economic interests, and the desire of nation-states to protect domestic industries as a guarantee of economic power and military strength. Against these restrictive influences, the acceptance of free trade has varied according to time, place, and circumstance. This article examines the international and ideological trajectory of the idea and considers the structural and economic influences which shaped policy development and outcomes, as well as the historical context within which it occurred.


There are series of words with "■(的)" among Korean vocabularies,and we named them as "X■ "words.Korean "X■" and Chinese "X的",similar to each other in some way,but differ from each other in other way.Both of the"Degree adverb + Noun"form in Chinese and "X■"words in Korean going through the same mechanism and obtain the same semantic feature of [+degree,+status].The formula of correspond between them could be like this : Korean "X■" = Chinese "degree adverv+X+(的)"


Ion electrospray propulsion devices rely on the transportation of ionic liquid propellant to emission regions where ions are extracted at high velocities. One such method involves the use of porous substrates to passively transport propellant towards conically shaped features of the same porous material. Historically, the methods of fabricating such small features (~150pm tapered to ~20pm over a height of ~150pm) are subtractive, in that material is selectively removed from a substrate to reveal the desired features. The limitations of these processes include but are not limited to: process repeatability, complex operation, material selection limited by the process, serial operation, and long/expensive fabrication time. With an understanding of these limitations, the goal of this research is to explore new materials and processes to identify candidates for electrospray propulsion applications. In particular, processes that allow for additive tip manufacturing, parallel processing, and uniformity in addition to materials that allow for variable and uniform porosity have been studied. As part of this research, the sol-gel and freeze casting methods for producing porous materials were characterized to better identify feasibility for electrospray propulsion. Characterization includes the feasibility of molding porous tips directly onto substrates. As a result of this research, porous substrates from different materials and varying pore sizes were fabricated via both methods. A porous emitter tip prepared by the sol-gel method was fired and shown to extract current at levels exceeding the state of the art. Finally, a new process, entitled sol freeze, was invented that utilizes the benefits of both the sol-gel and freeze casting methods. Additionally, porous material research for the purpose of contact electrodes was investigated. In order to lengthen the electrochemical window during electrospray thruster firing, a desire for conductive porous materials with large internal surface area was discovered. Carbon xerogel electrodes with embedded wires were designed and fabricated through this research. Specifically, carbon xerogel electrodes with internal surface areas on the order of 500 m2 /g were fabricated and tested.


BACKGROUND
The Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 is now the predominant variant worldwide. However, its transmission dynamics remain unclear.

METHODS
We analyzed 405 local case-patients infected with the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 and temporal patterns of viral shedding identified between 22 June and 31 July 2021 in Daejeon, South Korea.

RESULTS
Overall, 20% were presymptomatic at the time of epidemiological investigation. We identified six clustered outbreaks, and all were associated with indoor facilities. In 23 household contacts, the secondary attack rate was 63%. We estimated the mean serial interval as 3.26 days (95% credible interval, 2.92-3.60), and 15% (95% confidence interval, 13-18%) of cases seeded 80% of all local transmission. Analysis of the nasopharyngeal swab samples identified virus shedding from the presymptomatic patients, and the highest viral load was observed two days after symptom onset.

CONCLUSIONS
Our findings suggest that the Delta variant is highly transmissible in indoor settings and households. Rapid contact tracing, isolation of the asymptomatic contacts, strict adherence to public health measures, and increased uptake of COVID-19 vaccination including booster doses are needed to reduce the community transmission of the Delta variant.


The present invention relates to a multi-way antenna comprising: a first loop resonator (120) comprising a radiating element (121) forming a loop; a second resonator (110) juxtaposed to the first loop resonator (120) comprising a radiating element (111); said antenna being characterized in that said radiating element (121) of the first loop resonator (120) has a main surface S1 defined by a first median plane; a secondary surface S2 defined according to a second median plane, second surface defining a projection (122) of said radiating element (121, 221) positioned opposite the second resonator (110) and having an inclination (α) relative to the mean plane of the main surface S1.


The introduction of 5G technologies is pushing research in mobile communications to millimeter waves. However, sub-6 GHz frequency range as a part of the 5G standard provides excellent wave propagation properties and more capacity due to new usable frequency ranges. This paper introduces a design for picocell base station 2×2 antenna array with integrated signal injection network for transceiver calibration. Operation frequency range is from 2 to 6 GHz. The antenna array with calibration board has better than −6.3 dB active reflection coefficient and efficiency higher than −3 dB. Calibration network provides 29 dB coupling.


Objectives To explore effect of continuous opening airway in emergence cardiopulmonary resuscitation which can hopefully lead to the development of more effective ways to open airway in short period of time. Methods 94consecutive cases of patients with acute cardiac-pulmo arrest that require emergency cardiopulmonary resuscitation at the EICU and emergency observation room of our hospital during 11 May 2010 and. 2 September 2012 all cases were randomly divided into continuous opening airway implementation group and conventional group. The studies was performed in accordance with guidelines as prescribed in the International cardiopulmonary resuscitation 2010 guidelines, in applying cardiopulmonary resuscitation, monitoring and recording recovery process and the physical signs, as well as observing the general progress and use of respirator. Results Evidently more patients in the implementation group had iris shrinking to normal during the resuscitation process than those in the conventional group p<0.05). This group also requires less time in returning to natural breathing than the conventional group. Additionally, the same group required more frequent use of SIMG+PSV or PEEP p<0.05). Conclusions Applying continuous opening airway in an effective and well-organised manner positively contribute to cardiopulmonary resuscitation and prognosis of patients.


The spatial accessibility of urban park green space (UPGS) plays a crucial role in promoting the healthy development of cities and their residents. However, previous studies have overestimated the accessibility of UPGS and failed to adequately consider the impact of variegated parks on residents' needs. To fill this gap in the research, we first propose an improved two-step floating catchment area (Huff-2SFCA) method that takes into consideration the trade-offs between supply, demand, and walking time to calculate the UPGS accessibility index for the built-up area of Mianyang, China. Next, we assess the spatial characteristics of UPGS accessibility from both partial and overall points of view and further explore the relationship between accessibility and population size. Our results show that (1) every street area has a different form of UPGS construction, and most of these spaces are of poor quality; (2) municipal-level parks are significantly more accessible than district-level parks, community-level parks, or neighborhood-level parks; (3) the overall distribution of accessibility is generally characterized by a decreasing trend along both sides of the river, with poor overall accessibility; and (4) 243 residential districts are located in high-demand–low-supply areas that need improving. This study can be employed to identify areas that are underserved by UPGS and can provide a basis for improving the accessibility of UPGS and promoting its health benefits.


HE APPENDED LIST is compiled from notes and records made by my brother and myself at Rancho Paicines during many visits of from two to ten days duration at various times of the year since 1888. In this work we have been greatly aided by the resident superintendent, Mr. Peter Kelly, who is naturally a shrewd observer, and who has taken a deep interest in the bird life of the locality. Our observations have been confined to this ranch and the immediate neighborhood, probably not covering over thirty square miles. Most unfortunately a valise containing some valuable notes and records of ours was stolen from a transfer wagon and never recovered. We are not sure of having closed the gap made by this loss. Paicines is situated on the northern slope of a comparatively dry belt, Hollister ten miles north being the approximate limit of copious rains. The annual rainfall at Paicines varies from four inches in dry seasons to fifteen or more in wet winters, twelve inches when properly distributed insuring good crops. The result of this light precipitation, together with the coolness of the climate as compared with the southern and interior valleys of the State is that many of the resident birds are intermediate between the dark northern and coast forms and the lighter ones of the true interior and south. The ranch consists mostly of open rolling land on both sides of the San Benito River, with some alluvial bottoms, occasional oak groves, many scattering oaks, sage brush and chaparral tracts, and clumps of cottonwoods or willows here and there beside the stream. Like many California rivers the San Benito can only be dignified with such a name immediately after a heavy rainfall in the mountains, as for the greater part of the time it is but a small stream, often dry for long stretches in the summer. Its valley is bounded on the southwest by the Gabilan Range which is some 3000 feet high and is covered on its northeast slope with digger pines and chaparral. On the ranch are large tracts of open pasture land, hundreds of acres of level grain fields and an alfalfa patch of ioo acres under irrigation, but no orchard or vineyard. From this brief description it will be seen that the character of the country is quite diversified and the variety of birds correspondingly large. Many different species of ducks follow the river in the fall and winter and often light upon the small ponds and lagoons in its neighborhood, or upon the deeper spots in the river itself. Some waders also appear from time to time, killdeer thrive along the moist gravel beds and some colonies of herons maintain themselves without difficulty. In the following list "summer resident" means breeding birds, while "common resident" does not mean abundant unless so stated,-it is meant to convey the idea more of even distribution and ordinary occurrence than of large numbers, while of course "sparingly resident" means that though fairly evenly distributed the numbers are small. These terms are used in order to have the text as concise as possible and yet make the matter clear.


In this paper, we analyze the relationship between wage outcomes and the nature of international trade and economic integration when labour markets are unionized and a homogeneous product market is characterized by intra-industry trade. We characterize the full set of possible trade regimes for different combinations of wages and derive unions' wage reaction functions. We show that a unions' choice between a high and a low-wage strategy will depend on the value of the trade costs. We find that: (i) compared to a non-union setting, unions reduce the prohibitive trade cost and that (ii) this rules out trade in that region of trade costs over which, in the non-union model. welfare falls as trade costs fall, (iii) in any trade equilibrium, falling trade costs lead monopoly unions to set higher wages, (iv) there is a range of trade costs for which equilibrium is non-existent and (v) the characterization of the union wage-setting as a Prisioners' Dilemma and hence the incentives for international union coordination of wage demands, depend upon the extent of trade costs.


In recent years,dramatic changes have taken place in the world's natural gas market landscape,in terms of production,marketing and international trade.Affected by the economic recession,the world's natural gas production and consumption dropped by 2.41% and 2.34% respectively in 2009.However,the natural gas international trade has been growing continuously,at a rate of 6.28% per year from 2007 to 2009.LNG trade is gaining speed.With its flexible marketing tactic and lower spot price,LNG has snatched portions of shares of piped gas in the export market in many areas.During economic recovery and/or the period in which natural gas supply is abundant or exceeds demand,the prices of natural gas are close to those of coal,creating conditions for natural gas replacing coal.Emerging economies,particularly China,India and their neighboring East Asian and South Asian regions,represent an increasing share of the world' s natural gas consumption.From 1999 to 2009,China' s natural gas production and consumption grew by 12.95% and 13.91% per year respectively,while the percentages with India are 4.59% and 7.53%.The financial crisis has pushed the world's economic hub to move towards East Asia at a faster speed.Natural gas development has been more balanced geographically and a multi-center landscape will take shape at a faster pace.Natural gas production,consumption and foreign trade in the Asia Pacific Region,particularly in China and India,will grow faster.The sustained fast growth of shale gas production has not only affected the international trade of natural gas in recent years but has also had a more far-reaching effect on the world's natural gas market landscape.All these have created new opportunities for the massive development of natural gas in China.Under two framework scenarios,China' s natural gas consumption will reach some 2400 ×108m3 and 2500 ×108m3 by 2015 respectively.To meet this demand,domestic production should supply 1500×108m3 of gas in both scenarios and 900×108m3 and 1000×108m3 of imported gas are needed in the two scenarios respectively.By 2015,gas output from domestic conventional gas reservoirs should reach 1300×108m3 or 1350×108m3 and the annual growth rates from 2010-2015 for the two scenarios are 9.81% and 9.12% respectively.Apart from importing gas via pipeline,China will need to import 600×108-800×108m3 of LNG in 2015.As for domestic policies,in addition to strengthening exploration and development,special attention should be paid to the harmonious development of the upstream,midstream and downstream sectors of the natural gas industry as well as the deployment of LNG infrastructure in advance.On the import side,attention should be paid to the diversification of natural gas imports and the various long-term contracts,agreements of intent and short-term spot transactions should be combined in a flexible way in securing import sources.In addition,international cooperation should be strengthened and a complete supporting system should be established.


The northern Apennines of Italy are characterized by a complex Tertiary tectonic history, where superposed compressional and extensional deformation occurred. In such regions, characterized by low active extensional strain rate, the coseismic surface ruptures are rare and often a matter of much debate resulting in a difficult connection between "geological" faults (i.e., faults which can be mapped at the surface) and "seismological" faults (i.e., faults which actually generate earthquakes). The availability of detailed geological mapping and high‐resolution seismological data for the Colfiorito area, struck in 1997 by a sequence of six 5 < Mw ≤ 6 normal faulting earthquakes, allow us to compare and verify the existence of geometric and kinematic correspondence between the mapped geological Quaternary faults and the activated structures. In map view, the earthquakes distribution reflects the fault pattern mapped at the surface, the length of activated and mapped faults is quite similar (7–10 km), the coseismic subsided region imaged by interferometric synthetic aperture radar data, is located in the hanging wall of the mapped normal faults that bound the Quaternary basins. In section view, there is a geometric connection between mapped normal faults and the aftershock alignments used to image fault geometry at depth. Comparison of striated fault planes and aftershock focal mechanism solutions show a strong kinematic consistency. This study points out that the Quaternary tectonosedimentary evolution and the present‐day geological and geomorphologic setting of the Colfiorito area can be interpreted as the result of repeated, extensional earthquakes, similar to the 1997 events, occurring on NW‐SE trending normal faults. Our data also show that the main shocks of the Colfiorito sequence nucleated close to the intersections between the normal faults and the preexisting compressional/transpressional structures, which in 1997 acted as lateral barriers to rupture propagation and consequently constrained the fault size.


High Performance Steel (HPS) has quickly gained popularity in United States bridge applications due to its high yield strength and better weldability, toughness, ductility, and weathering characteristics. However, a great deal of information is missing from the body of knowledge on HPS performance and design criteria, especially concerning HPS-70W (485W) produced by thermo-mechanical controlled processing (TMCP). This research examines material characteristics and fatigue performance of HPS-70W (485W) TMCP, as well the performance of Ohio's first HPS bridge in service. Data from 96 tensile tests show that yield and ultimate strengths of HPS-70W (485W) TMCP are dependent upon plate thickness and orientation. 75 Charpy V-Notch (CVN) specimens were tested, and all met the ASTM A709 requirement for minimum toughness. Twenty-nine specimens were tested to investigate the fatigue resistance of continuous plates with punched, drilled, and reamed holes. Results from this investigation suggest that current restrictions mandated by some state departments of transportation concerning punching holes are not overly restrictive when HPS-485W (70W) is utilized. Performance of drilled and sub-punched and reamed specimens met or exceeded American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) (2004) requirements for Category B details. Performance of Submerged Arc Weld (SAW) and Narrow Gap Improved Electroslag Weld (NGI-ESW) welded butt-splices utilizing HPS-70W (485W) were examined. All specimens performed considerably better than predicted by the AASHTO fatigue life equation.


Byline: Olivia M. Castellini, George C. Lisensky, Jennifer Ehrlich, Greta M. Zenner, Wendy C. Crone Carbon is a constituent element of DNA, proteins, fats, and carbohydrates and makes up approximately 20% of the human body. Carbon symbolizes love and commitment in some cultures and is scratched on paper to express ideas. It is a key ingredient in the fossil fuels used to power our cities and vehicles and is used in industry as coke in steel making, carbon black in printing, and activated charcoal in water treatment (Emsley 1998). Not surprisingly, carbon is also a key ingredient in the emerging field of nanotechnology. Aside from the long known allotropes of graphite and diamond, carbon is also found in the nanostructured forms of spherical fullerenes (buckyballs) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The four main forms of carbon-diamond, graphite, buckyballs, and CNTs-are an excellent vehicle for teaching fundamental principles of chemical bonding, material structure, and properties. Carbon atoms form a variety of structures that are intrinsically connected to the properties they exhibit. Educators can take advantage of this striking relationship between atomic structure and material properties to address several Physical Science Standards (9-12), including Structure of Atoms and Structure and Properties of Matter (NRC 1996, p. 178). This article discusses two new allotropes of carbon that are important for nanotechnology-buckyballs and CNTs-and related activities for the classroom. Figure 1. Atomic structure of diamond. Atomic structure and forms of carbon Even though diamond and graphite are made of the exact same element, carbon, the atoms can arrange in such a way as to make one of the hardest materials and one of the softest. In diamond, the hardest known natural material, each carbon atom is bonded to four other carbon atoms. Each bond is equal in strength and is oriented tetrahedrally to form a three-dimensional network. Figure 2. Atomic structure of graphite. The top view highlights the layered nature of the structure, while the bottom view shows the hexagonal pattern that the atoms form in each sheet. In contrast, each carbon atom in graphite is strongly bonded to three carbon atoms in the same plane and only weakly bonded to carbon atoms in other planes. The carbon atoms in the plane are arranged in the shape of hexagons, called graphene sheets, while the weak bonding out of plane allows the sheets to slide easily past each other. Graphite is used as a lubricant and in pencil "lead" because of the ease with which graphene layers slide past each other onto the paper when writing. The key to these two allotropes behaving very differently is at the nanoscale, in their atomic arrangement: diamond = tetrahedral network (Figure 1); graphite = hexagonal sheet (Figure 2). More recently discovered forms of carbon are nanoscale materials. A buckyball looks like a nanometer-sized soccer ball and a CNT looks like a single graphene sheet rolled up into a cylinder. Given the dramatic differences between diamond and graphite, it is not surprising that buckyballs and CNTs exhibit very different properties as well. A buckyball in its simplest form is a soccerball-shaped molecule that consists of 60 carbon atoms (C[sub]60[/sub]) arranged in pentagonal and hexagonal rings (Figure 3) and has a diameter of ~0.7 nm (7A) (Kroto et al. 1985). To put the extremely small size of the buckyball into perspective, consider that the relative size of a soccer ball with respect to the planet Neptune is approximately the relative size of C[sub]60[/sub] with respect to a soccer ball. Figure 3. A C[sub]60[/sub] fullerene, or buckyball. Since their discovery, buckyballs have been proposed for numerous applications, including possible HIV inhibitors and signal amplifiers for fiber optic communications. In 1996, Richard Smalley, Robert Curl, and Harold Kroto received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their discovery of fullerenes (Nobel Foundation 2005). …


The method comprises: (a) preparing a homogeneous mixture of CAFE GROUND AND GUARANA OR GINSNG HIGH CONCENTRATION IN THESE PRODUCTS IN A BLENDER; (B) Pour the mixture into a hopper DOSAGE AND (C) moving the product from the hopper WITH GROUND COFFEE FROM STORAGE SILO TO A PACKER A VACUUM. INSTALLATION, shown in FIG comprising: a mixer (1), a proportioning hopper (2), GRIND CAFE silo (3), A VACUUM PACKER (4) and related means of transport. FOOD INDUSTRY APPLICATION IN PARTICULAR, THE CAFE.


Extreme geomagnetic storms are considered as one of the major natural hazards for technology-dependent society. Geomagnetic field disturbances can disrupt the operation of critical infrastructures relying on space-based assets, and can also result in terrestrial effects, such as the Quebec electrical disruption in 1989. Forecasting potential hazards is a matter of high priority, but considering large flares as the only criterion for early-warning systems has demonstrated to release a large amount of false alarms and misses. Moreover, the quantification of the severity of the geomagnetic disturbance at the terrestrial surface using indices as Dst cannot be considered as the best approach to give account of the damage in utilities. High temporal resolution local indices come out as a possible solution to this issue, as disturbances recorded at the terrestrial surface differ largely both in latitude and longitude. The recovery phase of extreme storms presents also some peculiar features which make it different from other less intense storms. This paper goes through all these issues related to extreme storms by analysing a few events, highlighting the March 1989 storm, related to the Quebec blackout, and the October 2003 event, when several transformers burnt out in South Africa.


In this study, we develop a new system for real world audio environment matching. Environment detection within unknown audio streams requires a system that operates in an unsupervised manner since it will be faced with unknown environments without prior information. In addition, the overall solution should be computationally efficient for large audio collection. In the proposed approach, a Gaussian mixture model(GMM) is trained on large amounts of unlabeled audio data and used as a background acoustic model. Subsequently, an acoustic signature vector (ASV) is computed for each environment. Here, the ASV vector is designed to capture the unique acoustic characteristics of an environment. Using the ASV vectors, we demonstrate that it is possible to compute an effective similarity measure between two acoustic environments. We demonstrate the performance of the proposed system on real-world audio data, and compare it to a traditional GMM-UBM (Universal Background Model) system. Experiments show that our system achieves an equal error rate (EER) that is +35% better than a baseline GMM-UBM system.


The article studies an issue of the film adaptation of a literary work. The issue posed is considered on the example of N.V. Gogol work. In particular, on the example of his drama. These are such works as "The Inspector General", "The Marriage", "The Players". In their time those works were translated by the authors from literary into cinematic language: the screen version of "The Inspector General" by V.M. Petrov (1952), "Incognito from Petersburg" by L.I. Gaidai (1977), "The Marriage" by V.V. Melnikov (1977), "The Inspector General" by S.I. Gazarov (1996), "The Case of the 'Dead Souls' " by P.S. Lungin (2005), "The Russian Game" by P.G. Chukhrai (2007). As a result it was found that when translated into the cinema language, Gogol's interpretations reveal new meanings that are expressed at the level of genre (the elements of a western in "The Russian Game" or a detective genre in Lungin's film), plot (referring to the plots of several works at once), images (character replacement), details (garlands on the windows in Petrov's "The Inspector General"), as well as stylistics, symbols, metaphors (apples and red in "Marriage", for example). The above is emphasized by the authors through the use of specific film-language techniques. These are eccentrics, shooting at an angle, subjectivity, panoramas, etc. Postmodern techniques, used by interpreters to recreate the space of grotesque, intertextuality, and absurdity, also become interesting.


A principle of welfare conditionality asserts that eligibility to basic, publicly provided, welfare benefits and services should be dependent on an individual first agreeing to meet particular compulsory responsibilities or patterns of behaviour. Drawing on data generated in 55 semi structured interviews, this chapter explores the competing normative/ethical frameworks that policy stakeholders use to justify their support for, or opposition to, the welfare conditionality that is now embedded in UK social benefit policy. Despite certain reservations about its ongoing, many policy stakeholders routinely support conditionality within social security systems through a combination of contractual and paternalistic ethical frameworks. The relative lack of narratives which assert entitlement to social security based on human rights or citizenship status is striking. It is concluded that the highly conditional, contractual/paternalistic vision of social security endorsed by the majority of policy stakeholders interviewed is incompatible with the Republican theories of non-domination.


Information technologies (IT) act as an enabler for policy implementation in the U.S. federal government. While federal agencies increasingly rely on advanced digital technologies to execute new policy initiatives, many agencies are struggling with maintaining decades old legacy systems. This study investigates how national politics affects IT investment profiles in U.S. federal agencies. Drawing on a range of literature from the political science, public administration, and information systems (IS) disciplines, we hypothesize that a federal agency's capacity-building IT investments are associated with (i) legislative approval for the chief executive, (ii) government dividedness, and (iii) the agency's ideological characteristic. With a panel data set from 135 federal agencies and bureaus in 2003–2016, our empirical analyses produce several intriguing findings. For instance, when the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives are controlled by the President's ruling party, federal agencies are predicted...


Meadow plant litter species diversity-impact on organic matter accumulation We evaluated the effect of plant litter species diversity on the on humus accumulation in the underlying substratum and on soil microbial communities composition in experimental field study. Sandy loam (sand mixed with loam) mesocosms of were examined over the course of 2.5 years. Plots contained simplified substratum -. Five litters composed of meadow plants; both grasses and herbs (weed species) were used. Litters were composed of single species (I - Dactylis glomerata, II - Festuca rubra and III - Trifolium pratense) or were species mixtures IV (mixture of 3 species I, II and III); V (mixture of 12 species - IV and 9 other grasses and meadow weeds). Results baased mainly on the last year of the experiment show that most of the differences among treatments found in the substratum below the litter cover resulted from the litter diversity. Soil respiration, microbial biomass and numbers of fungi and bacteria did not differentiate between mono- and multispecies treatments. Despite of that the soil respiration and algal biomass were significantly correlated during the study period. The biomass of algae as well as carbon and nitrogen increases in the substratum, depended on the litter diversity and were higher when litter composition was more complicated. In general, our results suggest that algae may participate in the process of humus formation.


His existential anguish acts as an incentive motive creativity, but the analogy of the law brings intelligence. But analysts said offset fairly well balanced. The perturbation density is unstable emits recourse strategic planning process. Konvesiya buyer crystal displays of Christian-democratic nationalism, something similar can Mechanization Takes Command: A Contribution to Anonymous History. 2nd Printing by Sigfried Giedon be found in the works of Auerbach and Tandler. Flooding uses balneoclimatic resort.


Non-timber forest products provide a variety of economic benefits to forest-adjacent communities in developing economies. However, the value and significance of forest incomes to rural livelihoods have not been appreciated, as shown in their exclusion from national or/and county income accounting, resulting in incorrect forest management policies and development plans. This paper presents demand-sideanalysis of the contribution of non-timber forest products' incomes to rural livelihoods in Nandi County, Kenya.Using survey data of 276 households located within a five km radius of Nandi forest, the study examined household income diversification strategies and the income equalizing effects of forest income by applying inverse Simpson index of diversity and Gini coefficient computations, respectively. Results show that forest-fringe households used off-farm and portfolio of forest activities for income diversification. The non-timber forest income had a strong equalizing effect (Gini reduction of 9%), contributing 26% of the household income (average of Ksh. 68,261 per annum) while farm and off-farm incomes contributedSh.139,147 (53%) and Sh. 55,134 (21%), respectively. Restricting access of the rural poor to non-timber forest products would lead to increased income inequalities with substantial loss to households' welfare. The study recommended that forest management programs, which enhance supply of forest economic benefits to adjacent communities, be an integral component of conservation efforts


The structural tunability and compositional diversity of multicomponent perovskite oxides have enabled their various applications, including catalysis and electronics. The cation ordering in these oxides, ranging from disordered (i.e., high-entropy) to ordered (e.g., rocksalt), profoundly influences their properties. While computational design tools can typically predict properties associated with a particular ordering, inferring which ordering -- if any -- will be observed in synthesized oxides remains challenging. Here, we leveraged first-principles simulations and machine learning to develop data-driven, physics-informed descriptors of experimental ordering in multicomponent perovskites and compared them with traditional physicochemical descriptors, e.g., ionic radii and oxidation states. The fitted low-dimensional classification models correctly rank up to 93% of compositions in an experimental dataset of 190 perovskites between cation-ordered and disordered, offering a rigorous benchmark between theory and experiments. Furthermore, these descriptors accelerate high-throughput virtual screening of multicomponent oxides by predicting their dominant ordering to avoid costly, exhaustive simulations of cation arrangements.


Cold bending is one of the most commonly used metho ds f r bending straight members and creating arches using hot rolled wide flange se ctions. This process induces plastic deformations along the length of the member so that i can develop the required curvature. Thus, a different residual stress distribution is i ntroduced than the well-known residual stress pattern due to hot rolling. The influence of residual stresses due to hot rolling on the resistance of wide flange steel sections has been s tudied extensively, showing that they may have non negligible influence on the response. Limited studies have been performed using the residual stress pattern due to cold rolle r bending. Based on this residual stress pattern a detailed study is carried out to investig ate its influence on the section resistance, focusing on their elasto-plastic behavior.


COPYRIGHT © 2023 Ćurčić, Vujisić, Ljaljević Grbić and Trendafilova. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. Editorial: Chemical ecology of arthropods, plants, and fungi: bioactivity and importance of natural products


Based on introduction of development process of Lanzhou lily industry,the current situation and existing problems of it were discussed in detail.Then,the new ideas of developing lily industry in Lanzhou were put forward from following aspects,including active supporting by policy,increasing intensity of scientific research and development,group management and so on.


The notion of Canada as a cultural mosaic is especially vivid when comparing life in Nunavut to that of the rest of the country. Not only is the predominant Inuit culture unique in many ways, but so too are the geographical characteristics that make Nunavut and the Canadian North so different from many other regions in the country. To gain a better understanding of entrepreneurship in Nunavut, the research explores how entrepreneurs build and use their social networks and the role of brokerage and closure in the entrepreneurial process. Using a qualitative approach of observation and interviews in the field to gather the data, the findings describe how networks are used in business in the North, and support the conclusion that networks are important for the coordination of resources.


to the editor: Case 11-2003 (April 10 issue) 1 describes a 14-year-old boy with recurrent cholangitis complicating ulcerative colitis. The authors state that this presentation is unusual in such a young patient. We report a similar experience of a malignant duodenal tumor complicating the treatment of an 11-year-old boy with X-linked hyper-IgM combined immunodeficiency.2 The histologic diagnosis was duodenal neuroendocrine carcinoma, which makes this boy the youngest reported patient with this condition. The association of neuroendocrine tumors with the X-linked hyper-IgM syndrome is recognized and has been linked with hepatobiliary cryptosporidiosis and cholangitis, justifying early liver transplantation.3 In the case of our patient, lifelong precautions against cryptosporidiosis were pursued, including the sterilization of drinking water, surveillance microscopy of the stool, and liver biopsy. In Case 11-2003, the cause may be assumed to be chronic inflammation, but in our patient's case, neither infection nor cholangitis was identifiable. These cases illustrate two points. First, the intensive management of previously life-threatening conditions permits complications to present at increasingly younger ages. Second, the early presentation of a tumor in a child with an inherited condition in a case in which the presumed mechanism of carcinogenesis is absent calls into question the role of the underlying defect (e.g., the role of CD40 ligand) in carcinogenesis.


mediated injury. The initial response is the infiltration by polymorphonuclear leucocytes. triggered by the expression of cell adhesion molecules, injury to endothelial cells and the generation of inflammatory mediators including cytokines, such as tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNVcr) and interleukin 1. I t is now recognized that the cellular and molecular mechanisms of secondary injury after trauma to the CNS are very complex, but nevertheless holds out the possibility that therapeutic intervention directed at the post-traumatic inflammatory process will hclp to reduce cell-mediated injury and therefore improve outcome.


Absorbed dose calculations depend on a consistent set of nuclear data used in simulations in computer codes. Nuclear data are stored in libraries, however, the information available about the differences in dose caused by different libraries are rare. The libraries are processed by a computer system to be able to be used by a radiation transport code. One of the systems capable of processing nuclear data is the NJOY system. The objective of this study is to evaluate the nuclear data libraries for neutrons available in the literature, and to quantify the differences in absorbed dose obtained using the libraries JENDL 4.0, JEFF 3.3.1 and ENDF/B.VII. The absorbed dose calculation was performed on a simple geometric model, as spheres, and in anthropomorphic model of the human body based on the ICRP-110 for neutron transport simulation using the MCNP5 code. The results were compared with literature data. The results obtained with cross sections from the libraries JEFF and ENDF/B.VII have shown to be identical in most cases, except for one case where the difference has exceeded 10%. The results obtained with JENDL library has shown to be considerably different in most cases comparing to other two libraries. Some differences were over 200%. The dose calculations showed differences between the libraries, which is justified by differences in the cross sections. It has been observed that the cross sections values of certain nuclides assume quite different values in different libraries. These differences in turn cause considerable differences in dose calculations.


Based on the global economic downturn, the price of Bitcoin has recovered, and new investors are constantly pouring into the Bitcoin market. To ensure that new investors have a basic understanding of Bitcoin and avoid unnecessary losses, this article will analyze Bitcoin's Trading Mechanisms, Price Influencers, and Trading Recommendations The main research finds that when Bitcoin is used as a currency, commodity, risk asset, and digital gold, the price factors are quite different. For example, when it is used as a risk asset, its price is affected by capital flows, market sentiment, and policy regulation. The multiple nature of Bitcoin will have a greater impact on investors' judgments. Through research, it is found that Bitcoin is still the virtual currency with the largest volume, the largest transaction volume, and the brightest future development prospects. The diversity of its nature brings risks but also brings a variety advantages of to the single currency or other financial products.


The present invention, from the syngas stream, provides the removal of carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide. By implementing the partial pumparound (partially pumped circulation), to cool the portion of the solvent leaving the bottom of the carbon dioxide absorber. This makes it possible to reduce the solvent circulation rate and related equipment size. .FIELD 1


The characteristic that operating outdoors of wind generating set determines that the natural environmental conditions have a significant impact on its operational status.In this paper,the impact status of natural environmental conditions,such as atmospheric pressure,atmospheric temperature,typhoon,lightning strike,salt-fog,etc.,was summarized,and the effecting mechanism was analyzed.The countermeasures of design and operation for wind generating set in various natural environments were put forward in order to improve the adaptability of wind generating set to natural environment.It may provide some reference and help to the design,manufacture,operation and maintenance of wind generating set in China.


Background and Purpose: Intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) is an established technique for the treatment of prostate cancer. Volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) has recently been introduced clinically. Nucletron BV (Veenendal, Netherlands) offers both optimisation algorithms on the same platform in Oncentra® MasterPlan 3.3.
 Methods: In this planning study five patients with localised prostate cancer are enrolled to compare these two algorithms. The planning target volume (PTV) and the rectum volume, urinary bladder and femoral heads are delineated as organs at risk (OAR). Collimator and table angles are kept fixed during the treatment. The planning is accomplished using the machine data of a SynergyS linear accelarator of the Elekta Company. For the IMRT seven equispaced beams are chosen, starting at a gantry angle of 0°, followed by 51°, 103°, 154°, 206°, 257° and 309°. The VMAT calculations are made based on a dual arc technique rotating from 182° to 178° and back. The dose-volume objectives are kept identical: Planning Target Volume minimum dose 68 Gy, maximum dose 72 Gy, both weighted 3000, urinary bladder 40 Gy to 50% of the volume, weight 1000, rectum 40 Gy to 30% of the volume, weight 1000, and both femoral heads set to a maximum dose of 30 Gy, weight 300. Average doses for the organs at risk and target dose homogeneity H are evaluated.The homogeneity is hereby defined as (D5-D95)/DAV. Furthermore the number of monitor units are compared. For one representative case the treatment times are measured.
Results: The results of the dose distribution are rather similar: the average homogeneity for the VMAT plans is 0.088, in IMRT 0.094, both exceed the dose-volume objectives for the rectum (46,1 and 44,7 Gy) and the bladder (43,3 and 44.1 Gy). The objectives for the femoral heads are kept rather well although the weight is low (34,1 and 32,1 Gy).
The number of monitor units is clearly higher for the VMAT plans than for the IMRT (1016 and 698 MU). But as the measurement of the treatment times in one representative case (1088 and 775 MU) shows, there is nevertheless an advantage in treatment time for the VMAT case (8,09 min versus 10,14 min).
Conclusion: The results of the dose distribution are similar enough that VMAT is an interesting alternative for the treatment of prostate cancer. The treatment time, which is the crucial factor regarding intrafractional organ movements is advantageous for the VMAT technique.


A WIDESPREAD need exists for personal L7 income data by minor geographic areas, which would provide necessary data for market analysis, administration of local tax burdens, etc. In an attempt to provide data for these requirements, agencies in several states have prepared estimates for counties for various years.' In the South the first comprehensive set of county estimates was published in I952 for seven southeastern states.2 Of all the components of county income developed in these studies, it has generally been considered that farm proprietors' income 3 estimates by county had the least sound basis 4 and therefore probably contained larger errors than any of the other elements in the county totals. The objectives of this study are (i) to determine the factors influencing agricultural income formation for homogeneous groups of states, and (2) to develop a method which will serve as a basis for preparing county estimates of agricultural income with the minimum error. Objective and measurable determinants of agricultural income employed in the analysis are required which are equally available for states and counties. The assumption is that the rate of agricultural income formation from basic factors at the state level for homogeneous groups of states bears either a similar, or some determinable, relation to the rate of income formation from the same factors at the county level. The concept of agricultural income in this study begins with the National Income Division's series of farm proprietors' net farm income. Wages paid hired labor and rents allocated farm landlords are added. Government payments are deducted. The concept for Virginia for I949 is illustrated below:


This look back on my career as a medieval historian of women, families, and gender focuses on the lessons I have learned from my tenure as a pre-professional and professional academic.


Cloud computing has received significant attention recently. This paper presents real-time issues related to cloud computing, such as multi-tenancy architecture, scheduling, paralleled computing and proposes a framework for real-time service-oriented cloud computing. Specially, we propose a novel real time architecture which solve the new challenges in Cloud Computing.


The vortex-tube device provides a useful addition to the range of equipment available to the gas industry. It has been shown that the use of vortex-tube equipment permits improved separation in comparison with a Joule-Thomson system, without entering into the cost and complexity of a true isentropic system such as a turbo-expander unit. The comparative advantage of the vortex tube depends upon the inlet conditions of the gas and the pressure drop that is available. An optimum pressure drop of 25--35% of the inlet gas pressure has been confirmed in practice. Although not yet tested on operating plant, it is expected that a loss of performance of vortex-tube units will occur for inlet liquid-to-gas ratios of greater than 20%. Units with up to 5% liquid at the inlet have been successfully operated showing that a single phase gas at the unit inlet is not essential. It is expected that future application of vortex tube units will be concentrated where performance improvements over Joule-Thomson units, at low capital cost, are required.


The risk of falls in people living with HIV (PLHIVs) on antiretroviral therapy (ART) has received little attention in the literature. The aim of the meta-analysis is to quantify the association between fall risk and various categories of drugs used in ART.

 PubMed, Google Scholar, Embase, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were systematically searched from inception to January 2023. Any observational study or controlled trial that reported on the relationship of at least one antiretroviral drug with falls in PLHIVs was included. Data on the frequency of single fallers, multiple fallers (≥2 falls), and non-fallers were extracted and studied for each drug and drug category. The pooled results were reported as an odds ratio (OR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI).

 A total of five observational studies (51,675 participants) were included out of 414 articles obtained through a literature review. Stavudine use was found to be associated with an increased risk of single falls in PLHIVs (OR: 1.69, 95% CI: 1.08–2.66, P=0.02). However, Efavirenz (OR: 0.82, 95% CI=0.76-0.89, P<0.001) and Zidovudine (OR: 0.82, 95% CI=0.77-0.92, P<0.001) were found protective against the single falls. Didanosine had no significant association with fall risk (OR: 1.23, 95% CI: 0.78–1.93, P=0.37). Likewise, protease inhibitors, integrase inhibitors, nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, and non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors were discovered to have no significant association with fall risk.

 Most drug categories of ART have no significant association with the risk of falls in PLHIVs. However, certain drugs, such as didanosine and stavudine, which have the inherent effect of causing balance deficits and neuropathy, should be used cautiously.


In order to increase the penetration of HpD through the skin and to prevent photosensitization from occurring in normal skin after systemic administration, HpD was encapsulated into topical form of liposomes, composed of egg phosphatidylcholine and cholesterol 6.5-1 (molar ratio). Multilamellar vesicles (MLV) and vesicles prepared by dehydration rehydration procedure (DRV) were tested. The topical delivery of the liposomally encapsulated HpD was measured in vitro on Hairless female rat biopsies by a stripping technique and spectrofluorimetry. We have got the following results: (1) The encapsulation ration ranged from 5% to 12% according to the liposome's type. (2) The penetration of liposomal HpD into the 10th strip was better for the MLV than for the DRV (90 to 180%). It was more efficient when the application time increased but the augmentation of lipids concentration had no effect on it. (3) The cumulated quantity of HpD collected on 10 strips was increased, for each type of liposomes, with higher application times or lipid concentrations. The next experiments will be carried out with another composition of liposomes close to the lipidic skin composition, with human skin and with a model of rat cutaneous tumor.