.............................................................................................................................................................. 9 Note on Presentation: Thesis by compilation ................................................................................... 10 Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 11 Part 1: The science and technology of human enhancement ......................................... 11 Reproductive genetic technologies ............................................................................................. 11 Life extension ....................................................................................................................................... 14 Cognitive enhancement .................................................................................................................... 16 Moral enhancement ........................................................................................................................... 17 Part 2: Enhancement concepts.................................................................................................... 18 Functional approach to enhancement ....................................................................................... 19 The not-medicine approach to enhancement ......................................................................... 20 Species-based approaches to enhancement ............................................................................ 24 Normative approaches to enhancement ................................................................................... 26 Summary ................................................................................................................................................ 28 Part 3: The ethics of enhancement ............................................................................................ 30 The argument from consistency and the importance of means ...................................... 30 Arguments from design .................................................................................................................... 33 Arguments from justice .................................................................................................................... 37 Arguments from liberty ................................................................................................................... 39 Part 4: Context statement – human enhancement and human diversity .................. 40 Chapter 1: Enhancing the species: genetic engineering technologies and human persistence ...................................................................................................................................................... 43 Note: ....................................................................................................................................................... 43 Abstract: ............................................................................................................................................... 43 ............................................................................................................................................... 43 Collective enhancement ................................................................................................................. 43 Enhancement concepts .................................................................................................................. 43 Species concepts ............................................................................................................................... 44 The value of persistence ................................................................................................................ 45 Individual survival and persistence .......................................................................................... 48 Genetic diversity and persistence .............................................................................................. 49 Exploitation and exploration ....................................................................................................... 50 How GET could enhance persistence ....................................................................................... 52 Improving exploration ...................................................................................................................... 52


Objective To evaluate the efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine which eliminating necrotic tissues and promoting granulation on pressure ulcer of Ⅲ to Ⅳstage using Meta analysis.Methods RCTstudies of therapy of eliminating necrotic tissues and promoting granulation traditional Chinese medicine for stage Ⅲ~Ⅳ pressure ulcer were searched,in which the control groups used routine methods,while the experimental groups adopted necrotic tissues and promoting granulation traditional Chinese medicine.Two reviewers assessed the documents'quality separately and completed data extraction.The statistical analysis was performed using the Cochrance collaborations' Rev Man 5.1 software.Results The cure rates for pressure ulcers of the experimental groups were higher than the control groups.The time of recovery of the experimental groups were shorter than the controls.The dressing change frequency of the experimental groups was less than the controls.Conclusions Traditional Chinese medicines which eliminating necrotic tissues and promoting granulation can significantly improve the cure rate,shorten the therapeutic time and reduce the frequency of dressing change.

Key words:
Eliminating necrotic tissues and promoting granulation;  Traditional Chinese medicine; Pressure ulcer; Meta analysis;  Systematic review


The average annual wheat yields (bushels/acre) for each major wheat-producing shire in Western Australia were studied for a 40-year period from 1932 to 1971. Simple correlation coefficients provided an inadequate representation of the yield fluctuations over time and of regional differences. The data were then analysed by principal component analysis of the variance-covariance matrix. The order and magnitude of the vector coefficients provided clearly interpretable results distinguishing between-season from within-season components of variation and regional differences in respect of the magnitude of their relative contributions. Thus the method provided information that would otherwise be unavailable and the implication of these findings in the formulation of breeding programs is discussed.


Abstract Background Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) after decannulation of extracorporeal life support (ECLS) is not uncommon. Moreover, the impact of anticoagulation and potential risk factors is unclear. Furthermore, it is unclear if cannula‐associated DVT is more common in ECLS patients compared to critically ill patients without ECLS. Methods All adult patients who were successfully weaned from ECLS and were screened for DVT following decannulation were included in this observational cohort study. The incidence of post‐ECLS‐DVT was assessed and the cannula‐associated DVT rate was compared with that of patients without ECLS after central venous catheter (CVC) removal. The correlation between the level of anticoagulation, risk factors, and post‐ECLS‐DVT was determined. Results We included 30 ECLS patients and 53 non‐ECLS patients. DVT was found in 15 patients (50%) of which 10 patients had a DVT in a cannulated vein. No correlation between the level of anticoagulation and DVT was found. V‐V ECLS mode was the only independent risk factor for post‐ECLS‐DVT (OR 5.5; 95%CI 1.16–26.41). We found no difference between the ECLS and non‐ECLS cohorts regarding cannula‐associated DVT rate (33% vs. 32%). Conclusion Post‐ECLS‐DVT is a common finding that occurs in half of all patients supported with ECLS. The incidence of cannula‐associated DVT was equal to CVC‐associated DVT in critically ill patients without ECLS. V‐V ECLS was an independent risk factor for post‐ECLS‐DVT.


This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. © 2022 The Authors. eJHaem published by British Society for Haematology and JohnWiley & Sons Ltd. on admission showed a neutrophil count of 8940 × 109/L and Hb of 7.1 g/dl. Patient was started on cefepime and vancomycin while awaiting results of blood culture that grew methicillin-susceptible


The PITA Engineering and Process Control Working Group have recently carried out a review of cross machine moisture profile controls in UK paper-mills, looking particularly at the different types of actuators used and the grades of paper to which they are applied. This paper has been produced following the completion of the project and has essentially been written by John Middleton, formerly of Valmet Automation, but who is now operating his own company Invista. Many members of this Working Group have contributed to this paper which is a prime example of the type of work carried out by PITA Working Groups.


Determining the number of component clusters for a multivariate normal mixture model is the most important problem in model based clustering and determining the number of candidate mixture models is the most interesting problem in multivariate normal mixture model based clustering using model selection criteria. In this study; first, the concept of the total number of candidate component cluster centers is introduced and an interval is constructed by using the number of partitions in each variable in multivariate data. Second, an equation is given for the total number of candidate mixture models in multivariate normal mixture model based clustering. The number of candidate mixture models is defined as the sum of the number of possible mixture models with different number of component clusters.


In this work we show that integrated silicon hollow core AntiResonant Reflecting Optical Waveguide (ARROW) can be used as a basic tool for the realization of optical sensors. ARROW waveguides, with hollow core, permit to confine the light in a low refractive index liquid core, by means of two cladding layers designed to form a high reflectivity Fabry- Perot antiresonant cavity. This arrangement allows to realize microchannels that can simultaneously act as microfluidic networks and optical waveguides with a strong advantage in the integration and with an increased interaction efficiency between the light and the liquid substance that can be very useful in sensing applications (fluorescence, absorption spectroscopy, etc.). Another ARROW waveguides advantage is the ability to tailor the wavelength response of the device. In fact, the waveguide propagation losses strongly depend on the change of the resonant condition inside the interference cladding. In this paper we report three sensing applications of hollow core ARROW waveguide. A long path absorbance cell for colorimetric protein assay, a high sensitivity integrated refractometer and a micro flow cytometer for cell/particles analysis. The proposed devices have been realized in standard silicon technology by using two silicon wafers bonded together.


English: The objective of this thesis is to develop a position controller for a Stewart platform that allows it to follow trajectories in space while presenting active compliance, meaning that the robot itself changes the desired path using its actuators according to the forces applied to the end eflector. First, an overview of the neccesary theoretical background is given. Then, a methodology based on joint space control using trapezoidal velocity profiles is proposed, which is further implemented in Labview. Finally, experimental tests were conducted using external measurements, which validate the operation of the controller.


ABSTRACT THIS STUDY AIMED TO SYNTHESIZE FINDINGS CONCERNING TIME-MOTION ANALYSIS AND PHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSES, AND PERFORMANCE AND PERCEPTUAL EXERTION IN BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU COMBATS. THE EFFORT/PAUSE RATIO DURING MATCHES WAS 6:1 TO 13:1, WITH EFFORT PERIODS OF 85–290 SECONDS AND PAUSES OF 5–44 SECONDS. POSTMATCH LACTATE CONCENTRATION (∼10 MMOL/L) INDICATES MODERATE-TO-HIGH GLYCOLYTIC PATHWAY ACTIVATION. COMBATS TEND TO GENERATE CELL DAMAGE, MAINLY AFTER SUCCESSIVE BOUTS. RESULTS OF LOWER LIMB PERFORMANCE DIFFER AMONG STUDIES; HOWEVER, HANDGRIP STRENGTH IS REDUCED AFTER MATCHES. COMBATS ARE CLASSIFIED AS "HARD," ALTHOUGH FOREARMS, FINGERS, WRIST, AND BICEPS BRACHII ARE THE MOST REPORTED FATIGUE AREAS.


The internet of things (IoT) has seen immense growth in a couple of decades. Many data centers are producing bulk data daily, which is needed to be handled properly. The extent of produced data is constantly growing. Storing data on local IoT devices is not recommended because of the availability of limited storage space, less security, and high energy consumption. The IoT integration with cloud computing requires service provision with other attributes like efficiency, high performance, scalability, reliability, and ubiquity. For accomplishing such attributions, research vision and business are anticipated to merge IoT and cloud computing concepts to enable everything as a service model to encompass new capabilities of cognitive IoT and functionalities. This manuscript describes IoT-cloud computing-based smart infrastructure and presents different techniques for preventing challenges for integrating cloud computing and IoT.


BACKGROUND
General practitioners are now asked to prescribe drugs that, due to possible risks and side effects, had previously been prescribed almost exclusively at hospital.

OBJECTIVE
To assess the quality of hospital letters as the key communication between hospitals and GPs.

METHOD
Hospital letters examined using a predetermined protocol.

RESULTS
Of 224 patients identified who were taking drugs that required regular monitoring, 173 were commenced in hospital. Fewer than one in five (30; 17%) hospital letters indicated that there was a risk associated with the drug or that it should be routinely monitored. Monitoring frequency was identified on only 14 occasions and the majority of letters (129; 74. 6%) did not state who was to be responsible for ongoing monitoring (either GP or hospital). Information was slow to arrive at the practice and, in 12% of cases, the hospital letter had not arrived within 14 days of commencement of medication.

CONCLUSION
The information provided in hospital letters is insufficient to allow GPs to put structures in place to monitor drug therapy.


The paper builds on an ongoing research project striving to reduce hospitalization of elderly citizens with dementia (ECwD). In the research project sensor technologies are used to gather large amounts of data to speak on behalf of the ECwD about change in their behaviour. But in order for the data to create value, network-building efforts made by the project researchers is needed, as the case illustrate. Inspired by the framework of participatory infrastructuring we illustrate how front-stage as well as back-stage activities leads to negotiations and translations of concerns and data in a process of network-building together with a multiplicity of users and other actors such as ECwD, their loved ones, caregivers, sensors, researchers, municipalities, companies and nursing homes.


The titul of this bachelor thesis is "The physical activity in pre-school children". This paper is a theoretical-research. In the theoretical part there are characteristics of the period of school age and description of the most important changes of this period. Then the author was interested in types of physical abilities and the tests which are used for the evaluation. In the second part of this thesis the author analyzed the results of the questionnaire and the test, which is called the Ruffier´s exam. School children of 7th and 8th class were inquired in this research.


Antonio Canova (1757-1822)suffers not only from having been overlooked, but from the superabundance of praise, indeed outright worship that was meted out to him by his contemporaries and the majority of subsequent fellow-sculptors, connoiseurs, and aesthetics throughout the 19th century. Canova was for them the quintessential sculptor and in all respects, until perhaps the maturity of Rodin, the role model of all aspiring scupltors. This catalogue was published to accompany the firt time 'The Three Graces' has been shown in Scotland. 'The Three Graces' was executed in 1815-17 for the 6th Duke of Bedford for Woburn Abbey, Bedfordshire.


The invention relates to a structural deformation observation and data processing method at the operation and maintenance stage of a high-speed train. Though a structural deformation observation and data processing at a construction period can predict under-track settlement, the method has adaptability-related problems in the structural deformation monitoring at an operation period. The method comprises the steps of: laying reference points, deformation monitoring points and characteristic section points at two levels; conducting rigorous constraint adjustment to calculate the heights of the reference points, the deformation monitoring points and the characteristic section points; under the situation that the deformation monitoring points are broken or lost, conducting broken height repair to actually measured height difference to eliminate high-difference mutation errors caused by broken height; and calculating actually measured height difference between two adjacent monitoring points, directly adopting the actually measured height difference to conduct differential deformation analysis to the adjacent deformation monitoring points and calculating current additional gradients, accumulated additional gradients, gradient difference and accumulated gradient difference of a line. The structural deformation observation and data processing method at the operation and maintenance stage of the high-speed train has the advantages that the field observation workload is reduced, the differential deformation is accurately and intuitively reflected and comprehensive suggestions are made for the safe operation of railways.


The problem statement is that road infrastructure development is vital, but it can be problematic if it is not well planned. Spatial scientists can give evidence-based reasoning for implementing sustainable and effective road infrastructure provisioning that maximises socioeconomic advantages while maximising nature conservation. The African case study presented in this study shows how rerouting poorly planned highways can reduce negative environmental impacts, conserve biodiversity, and provide innovative and flexible ecosystem management solutions, all based on integrated spatially explicit impacts assessment and cost-benefit analysis. Examining the proposed 260-kilometer motorway in Cross River State, Nigeria's south-east, demonstrates how human actions in equatorial Africa affect biodiversity and wildlife conservation. Findings: The Cross River State Government in Nigeria's proposed roadway would have cut through 115 kilometres of intact tropical rainforest or protected areas and cost US$2.5 billion to build. We proposed and analysed two alternative routes 1 and 2 that would be less harmful to the Cross River National Park, unprotected forests, and biodiversity areas.Although the alternative routes are slightly longer (290 and 353 km), they are less expensive to build (US$0.9 billion) than the state government's proposed superhighway. The first option proposed completely avoids intact forest while attempting to maximise benefits to farmers and settlers. Environmental ethics predates the concept of sustainability and has a lot to contribute to a sustainability ethics. This chapter presents an overview of environmental ethics' primary topics, thinkers, and theoretical methods. It also addresses hot topics like the relevance of scientific and ecological concepts and ideas in environmental ethics. It also looks at the connections between social and ecological communities in terms of environmental justice. Sustainability is an important subject that has a lot of people talking about it and a lot of people supporting it. However, because of its complexity and the massive paradigm shifts it advocates, it is intrinsically difficult to implement. Conclusion and Importance: In order to meet Goal #9 of the global Sustainable Development Goals, research findings on smart infrastructure provisioning and sustainable land-use management should be used as strategic tools for developing informed conservation economy policy and decision-making in Africa. If Africa is to achieve biodiversity conservation and ecosystem management, road infrastructure development must be optimised to minimise environmental impacts while maximising socioeconomic benefits, which can be realised by promoting lessons, trade-offs, and synergies learned from the cross-river superhighway case study. This work is partly presented at 7th International Conference on Biodiversity Conservation and Ecosystem Management, Melbourne, Australia


This paper presents an efficient new snapshot mechanism, briefed as Live Save, to make real time backup of the VM state to the local host. The proposed Live Save will iteratively send the state data, store the snapshot file in the local host and send the entire file directly to a remote host when necessary - to save significant bandwidth consumption. We also set up an advanced Improved Live Save which uses a simple judging device to handle the dirty frequency problem in Live Save. Simulation results show that, in contrast to other mechanisms, ours are able to conserve substantial network resources in performing snapshots.


The developing trends and technical challenge of future mobile communications are summarized in this paper, and development strategies of China's mobile communications are suggested based on the analysis of developing status of world mobile communications. The characteristics of future mobile communications, such as requirement of data service with higher speed, huge variety range of data speed, personalization of IP address and limited wireless spectrum resource, put forward requirements of more advanced network, more flexible air interface and mobile terminals. The R D of 4G has begun in all over the world. In order to develop China's mobile communications, China should grasps the opportunity to begin the R G of 4G key technologies in time, and not only develops the force of R D and outputs IPR, but also spreads the impacts in the world communication field through all sorts of beneficial factors.


The development of HIS and the isolation of all the HISs are mentioned in this paper. It's suggested that HL7 be used to unify the health information. The inosculation of Laboratory Information System (LIS) and Hospital Information System (HIS) is taken as an example to introduce a unification scheme of medical treatment information network based on Health Level Seven (HL7) Engine.


"Playing the game" is a term familiar to both medical students and residency programs. It is best described as taking the required steps to earn the residency position that you desire. It is a phrase that draws feelings of both admiration and loathing from everyone involved. While no one likes "the game," it is understood by all to be a necessary evil, and is played on both sides. I can only comment on the perspective that I have been privy to: the applicant's side. Therefore, what follows is the opinion of one medical student who successfully "played the game" and became an FRCPC emergency resident.


Abstract This paper investigates the consensus problem on ellipsoids for multi-agent systems. Simple nonlinear protocols are proposed to realize collective behavior on ellipsoids. For the high-dimensional nonlinear multi-agent systems, equilibrium sets are described exactly. By a generalized form of LaSalle invariance principle, some global dynamical properties are obtained. With the linear approximation method, some results on instability of some kinds of equilibria are obtained. Based on the above results, almost global consensus is achieved under some conditions. Simulation results are presented to show the effectiveness of proposed protocols.


We report a high-pressure behavior of carbon nanohorns (CNHs) to 40 GPa at ambient temperature by in situ Raman spectroscopy and synchrotron radiation x-ray diffraction (XRD) in a diamond anvil cell. In Raman measurement, multiple structural transitions are observed. In particular, an additional band at ∼1540 cm−1 indicative of sp3 bonding is shown above 35 GPa, but it reverses upon releasing pressure, implying the formation of a metastable carbon phase having both sp2 and sp3 bonds. Raman frequencies of all bands (G, 2D, D + G, and 2D′) are dependent upon pressure with respective pressure coefficients, among which the value for the G band is as small as ∼2.65 cm−1 GPa−1 above 10 GPa, showing a superior high-pressure structural stability. Analysis based on mode Gruneisen parameter demonstrates the similarity of high-pressure behavior between CNHs and single-walled carbon nanotubes. Furthermore, the bulk modulus and Gruneisen parameter for the G band of CNHs are calculated to be ∼33.3 GPa and 0.1, respectively. In addition, XRD data demonstrate that the structure of post-graphite phase derives from surface nanohorns. Based on topological defects within conical graphene lattice, a reasonable transformation route from nanohorns to the post-graphite phase is proposed.We report a high-pressure behavior of carbon nanohorns (CNHs) to 40 GPa at ambient temperature by in situ Raman spectroscopy and synchrotron radiation x-ray diffraction (XRD) in a diamond anvil cell. In Raman measurement, multiple structural transitions are observed. In particular, an additional band at ∼1540 cm−1 indicative of sp3 bonding is shown above 35 GPa, but it reverses upon releasing pressure, implying the formation of a metastable carbon phase having both sp2 and sp3 bonds. Raman frequencies of all bands (G, 2D, D + G, and 2D′) are dependent upon pressure with respective pressure coefficients, among which the value for the G band is as small as ∼2.65 cm−1 GPa−1 above 10 GPa, showing a superior high-pressure structural stability. Analysis based on mode Gruneisen parameter demonstrates the similarity of high-pressure behavior between CNHs and single-walled carbon nanotubes. Furthermore, the bulk modulus and Gruneisen parameter for the G band of CNHs are calculated to be ∼33.3 GPa and 0.1, respecti...


'. . . But what's the diagnosis, doctor?' To the medical student, even with the consultant unnervingly peering over the half-rimmed spectacles, atopic dermatitis (also referred to as atopic eczema and innumerable other names) must appear to be one of the most obvious dermatological diagnoses. 'Atopic dermatitis is a chronically relapsing pruritic disorder in which the eczema is typically flexural and lichenifled, occurring in individuals with a personal and/or family history of atopic diseases (that is, atopic asthma, allergic rhinitis or atopic dermatitis).' Several years later, a dermatology registrar might be asked the same question. This time the case will have been selected because it is difficult to categorise, and with the knowledge that life is not really made up of neat parcels (some useful lessons have been learned) a typical reply might be: 'From the distribution of the rash, this eczematous disorder would appear to be of endogenous origin and may represent atypical atopic dermatitis'—the second lesson is that whether you are right or wrong, you must not look foolish! During the ensuing discussion it is established that other skin disorders can lichenify, even psoriasis, and that prick tests are nonspecific, as are raised serum IgE levels; the total serum IgE level can also be normal. When someone mentions the diagnostic criteria compiled by Hanifin and Rajka (1980), the list, at first sight, seems too long to be remembered and the point is made that 'pruritus' is included as a 'basic diagnostic feature' and that this symptom also occurs in the other forms of eczema. In fact, the criteria for the diagnosis of atopic dermatitis (Hanifin & Lobitz, 1977; Hanifin & Rajka, 1980) were initially drawn up in order to unify the concept of atopic dermatitis held by nondermatological researchers, but these criteria can be particularly helpful where the pattern of eczema is non-specific. The term 'pruritus' was meant to imply the intense generalized itching which is so commonly observed in atopic dermatitis. Although pruritus does not distinguish atopic dermatitis from the other forms of eczema, it may be regarded as an essential clinical feature.


Mycorrhizal fungi may enhance plants growth and development by increasing the water use efficiency and nutrients uptake and alleviating of the salinity and drought stresses. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of three arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi species (Glomus intraradices, G. mosseae and G. versiforme) on growth and development parameters of marigold with four treatments (non inoculated or control plants and inoculated plants with three mentioned fungal species) and five replications in complete randomized design. Comparison of the mean values was done using Duncan's Multiple Range Test at 5% probability level. Inoculated plants with all the three mycorrhizal fungi had better growth and development than control plants and symbiosis of hosted plants with mycorrhizal fungi resulted in significantly (pQ 0.05) increase of the plant height (upto 3 times), flower size (1.5-2.5 times), fresh and dry weights (more than 3 times), colonization rate, phosphorus concentration of root and earlier flowering (14-15 days) compared with non-inoculated plants. G. versiforme was more efficient than the other two mycorrhizal fungi regarding the mentioned traits. It seemed that the higher percentage of colonization with this species was the probable cause of its good efficiency.


We have investigated noise characteristics of novel GaN/Al Ga N doped channel heterostructure field effect transistors designed for high-power density applications. The measurements were carried out for various gate bias and the drain voltage varying from the linear to the saturation regions of operation V. Our results show that flicker, e.g., noise, is the dominant limiting noise of these devices; and the Hooge parameter is on the order of . The gate voltage dependence of noise was observed in the linear region for all examined and in the saturation region for . These results indicating low values of the Hooge parameter are important for microwave applications.


New two-piece can technologies are increasing market demand for more flexible can coatings. In response to the demand, several different waterborne epoxy resin systems have been prepared by synthesizing epoxy resin with new flexible backbones and converting them to onium forms. More specifically, the coating epoxy resins were made by modifying the resin backbone with extended aliphatic spacers of either bisphenol or diepoxide structures. These flexible epoxy resins were then converted to onium forms by reacting the epoxide group with an aqueous mixture of lactic acid and nicotinamide (...)


The biodiversity of the Amazon region includes many oleaginous fruits, among them the Castanha-de-cutia, whose great potential is its almonds, which have about 16.6% protein and 73% oil. What is also remarkable is the exceptional amount of bioactive compounds in their chemical composition. This bibliographic review has the objective of arousing interest in the consumption of the Castanha-de-cutia almonds in order to improve quality of life. A systematic search was carried out for studies published between 1947 and 2016 that examined the physical-chemical characteristics, nutritional composition, bioactive functions and industrial potential of the almond from the Castanha-de-cutia. These studies included the use of this Amazonian fruit in the diet of traditional populations in the Amazon region. The presence of essential fatty acids, tocopherols, carotenoids and phenolic compounds strengthens the endogenous system, reducing oxidative stress and the risk of pathologies. The high content of monounsaturated fatty acids was also verified. This demonstrated exceptional nutritional value for the Castanha-de-cutia oil of Amazonian origin. The identification of the bioactive compounds of the Castanha-de-cutia almond is of fundamental importance as an alternative source of such compounds, since these desirable characteristics can be used in the prevention and treatment of metabolic diseases, as well as having great socioeconomic potential in the paint, food and pharmaceutical industries.


The objectives and structure of the seminars and workshops offered as part of the faculty development program at the Colorado School of Mines.


The locations and generation mechanisms of energy sources in the Kuroshio were analyzed. The slope of the one-dimensional spectral energy density varies between -5/3 and -3 in the wavenumber range of 0.03-0.1 cpkm (wavelengths of approximately 209 to 63 km, respectively), indicating an inverse energy cascade in the Kuroshio; according to the steady-state energy evolution, an energy source which occurs at scale smaller than Rhines scale must be present. By analyzing the wavenumber-frequency spectrum, the period of higher kinetic energy (KE) is about 89-209 days and spatial scale is less than 0.03 cpkm. The locations of energy sources were identified with using the spectral energy transfer calculated by altimetry and model data. At the sea surface, the KE sources are mainly within 23.2°-25.2°N and 28°-30°N at less than 0.03 cpkm and 23.2°-23.6°N and 26°-30°N at 0.03-0.1 cpkm. The available potential energy (APE) sources are mainly within 22.2°-28°N and 28.6°-30°N at less than 0.03 cpkm and 29.2°-30°N at 0.03-0.1 cpkm. Wind stress and density differences (including buoyancy flux, temperature flux and salinity flux) are primarily responsible for the KE and APE sources, respectively. Beneath the sea surface, the energy sources are mainly above 400 m depth, and buoyancy flux plays a major role in the generation of energy sources. The energy cycle process can be summarized as follows: once an energy source is formed, to maintain a steady state, energy cascades (mainly inverse cascades) will be engendered.


Introduction: Human vocal tract is a series of pipes. Repeated breathing pauses during sleep and snoring occurring in Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) induce structural and functional changes in the vocal tract. The effect of treatment by continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) on acoustic features of voice in OSAS is still under research. Voice analysis is expressed in terms of formants, which are the result of energy peaks in a zone of the acoustic spectrum. Methods: In 21 men and in 20 women with severe OSAS we have studied 3 formants considered to be crucial in the generation of vowels: F0 (fundamental frequency), F1 (generated by the pharynx) and F2 (originated in the oral cavity). The analysis was performed using the Praat voice analysis system, while subjects were pronouncing sustained vocals "a" and "e" at initiantion (when diagnosed with OSAS by polysomnography) and after 4 weeks of CPAP therapy. Results: All the formants showed lower values compared to those quoted in the literature as normal for adult European population, in both females and man, most significantly for the F0 of the vowel "a" in women, which was 178,15 ± 29 Hz compared to 192,00 Hz quoted as normative. There was a slight increase in all formants after 4 weeks of CPAP use, although non-significantly ( eg. 185,2 vs 178,15 for F0a in women , p >0.5). Conclusion: Patients with untreated OSAS tend to have lower frequencies of their voices than general population and the use of CPAP tends to improve this phoniatric aspect.


Nisin is a heat stable lantibiotic consisting of 34 amino acids. Of these amino acids, there are several unusual amino acids including dehydroalanine, dehydrobutyrine, aminobutyric acid, lanthionine and β-methyllanthionine. It has antimicrobial activity against many species of Gram positive bacteria, but not Gram negative bacteria due to their outer membrane barriers. However, when used in combination with other chemical or physical treatments that destabilize the outer membranes, nisin can inhibit Gram negative bacteria. Nisin has been used as a food preservative in many food industries because it is legally approved as safe for use in food and beverage. The knowledge on the production and mechanism of antimicrobial action of nisin is important for the understanding how nisin contains unusual amino acids and how it kills sensitive bacteria. The knowledge may also be a factor for the successful application of nisin. Therefore, this review focuses on presenting these two aspects of nisin.


Ahmed Yerima's Abobaku is a drama that explains Yoruba cosmological belief in the concept of a scape-goat who dies to accompany Alaafin and other Yoruba Kings to the ancestral world.Despite its significance to Yoruba cosmology, Yerima's Abobaku has not been given a full-blown pragmatic study. This paper therefore attempts to fill this existing gap by examining the practs of metaphor in it. Modified model of Mey's (2001) pragmeme and Steen's(2008) deliberate metaphor theory were used as the theoretical base of this study. The findings revealed that there are deliberate conceptual mappings of a human as a beast, a sacrificial lamb, and a saviour ; human's life as a journey, a light, and a cracked cooking pot; death as a container/vehicle and a journey; life as a journey and a light; and love as a two-edged sword . Participants rode on the shared socio-cultural, cognitive and linguistic common grounds to pract lamenting, warning, informing, condemning, stating, reminding and boasting in the text.


The establishment of peace agreement is on the purpose of which carries out one new era of hegemony, but old century had ended. During the Cold War, the peace agreement was designed politically to stop war or manage conflict. As we know, the peace agreement was employed to balance US and Soviet powers on the intention of avoiding escalation of conflict. After the Cold War, the peace agreement is transformed to an war tool in order to build peace and promote global governance. The supremacy countries mix humanitarian spirit into to counter genocide which happened in the rest of other countries. Based on the peace agreement, the analysis can be carried out in the study of the peace agreement between Cross-Strait; particularly, this agreement is in the centre of cease-fire, autonomous and humanitarian spirit, and besides the study will list every possible article of this peace agreement. The authors believe that cross-strait situation would come out peace on the principles of cease-fire, autonomous and humanitarian spirit. Expectedly, the Cross-Strait peace agreement will be signed and be ratified in the future.


Objective To observe the CT manifestations and features of pulmonary embolism(PE)-reperfusion edema(RE).Materials and Methods 14 mongrel dogs were anesthetized and intubed.The dogs were performed 24 hours of PE and 4 hours of reperfusion by Swan Ganz catheters.Measurements of blood gases and pulmonary artery pressure were made at normal condition,at 24h PE and at 4h reperfusion.Multislice CT scan was performed at seven time points(normal,24h PE,30min,1h,2h,3h,4h reperfusion).Transmission electron microscopy,optical microscopy and wet/dry(W/D)weight ratio were performed to reveal the changes of pulmonary reperfusion edema.Results Reperfusion pulmonary edema(RPE)was an acute,mixed,noncardiogenic edema that was observed in all 14 dogs with successful PE and RE animal models.CT manifestations of RPE developed gradually from "ground glass" opacification to nodular consolidation then to large area consolidation.It manifested pathologically as an edematous lung infiltrated by inflammatory cells.The mean of SPAP and PaO2 of 4h reperfusion was 25.79±6.25 mmHg and 80.74±4.12mmHg,which were significant difference(P0.05,P0.05)from normal condition(22.31±3.77 mmHg and 96.03±6.73 mmHg).The W/D of the reperfused lung(6.29±1.23)was significantly greater(P0.01)than that of the contralateral lung(4.54±1.19),suggesting that the increase in the lung water was due to RPE.Conclusion RPE is characterized by hypoxemia,pulmonary hypertension,and pulmonary polymorphonuclear neutrophil activation and sequestration.The CT manifestation of RPE is variable.Multi slice CT can rapidly demonstrate the dynamic development of reperfusion pulmonary injury.


Summary In this paper, results of Vertical Electric Sounding (VES), resonance acoustic profiling (RAP) and ground-penetrating radar (GPR) survey are represented. The aim of investigations was identification of the higher moisture areas in the rocks, zones of tectonic fracturing and other geological elements, which can influence on the exploitation process of underground constructions of the metropolitan. Geophysical survey was done along the underground railway between the stations Ipodrom and Teremki in Kyiv, Ukraine. All methods are informative for investigations of engineering conditions of the territory and supplement results of each other. Methods VES and RAP help to trace big structural components of the territory and zones of irrigation. GPR method is informative on shallow depth (up to 7 meters) but helps to trace layering more precisely and localize shallow areas of water saturation. On the results of RAP, along the tunnel between stations Ipodrom-Teremki, water saturated and water-bearing zones were identified. These zones influence on tunnel construction and exploitation of the objects. These three methods are informative for regular monitoring of existing objects and while construction.


The present invention provides a thin film photovoltaic module having a protective glass substrate, the substrate protective profile has been shaped to define a space so that the air can be prevented by a bus bar on a thin film photovoltaic device captured. The protective substrate of the contour molding and greatly facilitate the deaeration of the laminate module, as this treatment reduces or eliminates the amount of air trapped during lamination. The photovoltaic module according to the present invention can be processed, and the waste from the laminate was degassed and related problems resulting minimized.


This is not the first t ime livestock has graced the cover of Conservation Biology. The March 1989 cover featured seven rare breeds of pigs, accompanying an article on the conservation of genetic resources in farm animals. The September 1992 cover showed cows grazing in grasslands along the Rhine River in the Netherlands where cattle are being used to manage vegetation as substitutes for extinct native herbivores such as the ure-ox and wild horse. Conservation biologists are legitimately concerned about the maintenance of genetic variation in domest ic species. We also recognize that l ivestock can be a useful tool for managing or restoring grasslands, especially in cases where native herbivores are extinct or cannot easily be re introduced or where prescr ibed burning is not feasible. The cattle on the cover of this issue send a less optimistic message. They tell a story of bare dirt, manure, e roded gullies, and endless fences slicing through what once was open, wild rangeland. This story is all too familiar to those w h o know and love the American West. From Canada to Mexico and beyond, few arid and semi-arid landscapes wes t of the lOOth meridian have been free of the influence of livestock, whose "management" has contr ibuted to loss of native vegetation, invasions by alien plants, decline of native fishes due to dewatering of streams for irrigation and degradation of riparian zones, eradication of native carnivores and prairie dogs, diseases in native herbivores, and major changes in fire frequency, hydrology, softs, and other ecosystem properties. Many conservationists claim that livestock has done more damage to the native biodiversity of wes te rn North America than all the chainsaws and bulldozers combined. Livestock grazing on public lands is rapidly becoming one of the hottest and most polarized environmental issues in the United States. But what does science have to say about rangeland conservation? Among terrestrial ecosystems in North America, rangelands have received surprisingly scant attention f rom ecologists and conservation biologists. Rangeland ecology is more poorly unders tood than forest ecology, for example. The biodiversity-oriented research that forests have enjoyed in recent years, in part stimulated by political responses to endangered species listings, has not been ex tended to rangelat~ds; however, the threatened deser t tortoise in the southwestern U.S., and perhaps soon the


Diabetic foot ulcers do not heal as well in ESKD as in the absence of kidney failure, and rates of recurrent foot ulcers, as well as lower extremity amputation, are higher. This review of the literature highlights the vital role of the dialysis team in prevention, early detection, and support of treatment of diabetic foot ulcers. Our review has five goals—(a) increase nephrologists' understanding of the high morbidity and mortality associated with chronic foot ulcers and (lower extrimity) LE amputations in ESKD; (b) promote nephrologists' understanding of grading systems for diabetic foot ulcer severity, in order to expedite communication with local diabetic foot experts; (c) promote collaboration between nephrologists and infectious disease specialists regarding the dose, route, and delivery logistics of intravenous antibiotics for infected chronic foot ulcers, in particular in the presence of osteomyelitis and other deep‐seated infections; (d) increase the awareness of dialysis nurses, technicians, dietitians, social workers and administrators regarding evidence‐based and multidisciplinary approaches to patients' diabetic foot ulcers; (e) encourage the application of published works integrating patient‐centered diabetic foot education into the dialysis setting to reduce lower extremity amputations.


In the continuous economic recession, companies are introduced in a variety of management strategies in order to gain a competitive advantage. Accordingly, companies have been progressed supply chain management activity actively in order to gain a competitive advantage. This study established the theoretical background on the supply chain management activity and business performance, those are focused on the practices of the manufacturer of the companies in a variety of fields, and It aims to research the relationship between the supply chain and business performance as a research-based activities through empirical analysis. In order to achieve the above purpose of this research study, It used a total of 117 questionnaires recovered through offline and online surveys. Empirical analysis of the derived results are as follows. First, the logistical based activities based on supply chain management activity showed a positive effect on financial performance. Second, the structural based activity, the logistical based activity effects showed a positive effect on customer satisfaction and logistical activities are based. Third, the logistical based activities showed a positive effect on the productivity results. Fourth, the technical based activities none effects showed on business performance.


During the Second World War, the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation of Australia designed and built a prototype high performance fighter aircraft, which for the times, was the epitome of fighter aircraft design. The aircraft was designated the CA-15 and only one was ever built. The performance of the CA-15 far exceeded that of any other piston driven aircraft during and just after the war, but unfortunately the introduction of gas turbine powered aircraft spelt the demise of piston engined fighters, and so too further development of the CA-15.


In an efficient two step synthesis of substituted 8-aryloxy/arylthio-16H-dinaphtho[2,1-d:1′,2′-g][1,3,2] dioxaphosphocin 8-sulfides, dimethylaminopyridine (DMAP) catalyses the preparation of the intermediate monochloride 3 from bis-(2-hydroxy-1-naphthyl)methane (1) and thiophosphoryl chloride. Displacement of the chlorine in 3 with substituted sodium phenoxides or thiophenoxides proceeds nearly quantitatively in toluenetetrahydrofuran at room temperature.


Four species of Lycium barbarum(Ningqi 1,Ningqi 2,Ningqi 3 and Ningqi 4) were introduced and cultivated in some regions of Loess Plateau.The result showed that all of the four species adapted to the local soil and climate,but had weak resistance to insect and disease.The diseases could be controlled by spraying chemicals in time.On the basis of comprehensive analysis and selection,Ningqi 1 was regarded as the most suitable species for the local to development Lycium barbarum.


This invention relates to a polymer composition comprising: (A) at least one polymer comprising at least one diol residue, and (B) a stabilizer composition comprising: (1 ) at least one primary antioxidant comprising at least one phenolic antioxidant; and (2) at least one secondary antioxidant comprising at least one phosphite, and (3) at least one chain extending agent; wherein the b* value for said polymer composition is less than 10 according to the L*, a* and b* color system of the CIE (International Commission on Illumination) after being heated for at least three hours at 200 °C or 24 hours at 175 °C.


Mobile Phone Culture is the most widely used term in the present era. Mobile phone has affected almost every field of life but its effects on students" learning especially at university level are deep and in multidimensional and multifarious. Our youngsters have been completely mesmerized and hypnotized by this magical device. Now it has become an essential part of modern life and is playing a vital role in decreasing distance and increasing communication among people. This small device has done that work which was not even accomplished by great leaders and even wonderful inventions. It has made the people closer and closer day by day. The study was conducted in order to determine the effects of mobile phone on the performance of students at university level. A small sample consisting 390 students of The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Bahawalnagar Campus, Pakistan was taken by giving representation to all the students of all the programs offered in the campus. A 25 item questionnaire on five stages scale was administered to the students. Data was analyzed by using SPSS XIV. Most of the students claimed that they can contact with their teachers and class mates to discuss the educational matters. They also utilize the mobile phone to share the useful information with their class fellows, to consult dictionary and thesaurus for educational purposes. On contrary to this they are agreed that the mobile phone is wasting the students" precious time and money. Moreover it


One organizing theme of research in the BioSyM program is that mechanical forces and interactions are critical regulators and indicators of molecular, cellular, and tissue functions. It is now widely recognized, for example, that mechanical signaling pathways operate in parallel with biochemical ones in regulating biological function. This mechanical/biochemical coupling in biology offers diverse opportunities to diagnose, intervene, and control biological outcomes from the molecular to tissue levels. The work of BioSyM will have broad impact on many pathophysiological states since there is ample evidence that many mechanical/biochemical coupling mechanisms are ubiquitous in biology. Our major goals are to develop novel imaging, manipulation, measurement and control platforms that are applicable from the molecular to the tissue levels; and to apply these platforms for fundamental studies relevant to tissue degenerative diseases, fibrosis and drug screening targets. The integrated research efforts will bridge key gaps between engineering and molecular/cell biology by bringing together technologists in micro-and nanofabrication; single-molecule and single-cell manipulation; 3D molecular, cell, and tissue imaging; and computational biology with engineers, biologists, and clinicians focused on developing new tissue-based disease models, diagnostics, and treatment modalities. Single Molecule Sensors and Sequence Identification • The aim of this effort is to develop and validate mechanical and optical sensors of intermolecular binding events at the single molecule level. Successful development of our approach – quantitative sensing of kinetic interactions among intra-and extracellular proteins and proteolytic enzymes – will be critical to the identification of drug targets that are implicated in cell/tissue disease or that significantly affect cell migration and tissue degeneration rates. The experimental and modeling capabilities explored herein will serve as the basis for a new class of mechano-diagnostic sensors. The aim is to engineer generalized sensor platforms to harness single molecule methods for detection and measurement of molecular and cellular interactions and measurements. Micro/Nanofluidic and Optical Profiling of Cells and Molecules • It is increasingly evident that the mechanics of biomolecule / cell interactions are critical in the normal operation of many biological systems. Recent scientific advances in cellular and molecular biomechanics revealed many different examples where biomechanical cues and interactions are indeed critically important to normal cell function and molecular / cellular recognition. In addition, such interactions and cellular / molecular mechanical properties could be utilized for diagnostic purposes. It is crucial to develop experimental tools allowing one to manipulate individual cells and molecules mechanically towards further development of this promising …


The advent of the synthesizer brought a new timbral palette for artists to explore. Early synthesizers sought to imitate acoustic instruments, but over time they developed their own unique timbral qualities used in 1970s funk and progressive rock. Occupying the Freudian uncanny, synthesized sounds are just distinguishable enough from those of acoustic instruments to inspire discomfort or create an otherworldly, science-fiction sound. This chapter argues that African-American funk musicians of the 1970s used synthesizers in the spirit of black social empowerment movements, which advocated for the reclamation of technology to be used in the defense of black communities. Artists such as Stevie Wonder and Parliament-Funkadelic's Bernie Worrell utilized the synthesizer to articulate social protest against the plight of inner-city black Americans. To explore these issues, the chapter analyzes "Chocolate City" and "Living for the City" from lyrical, structural, and timbral perspectives.


An evaluation system capable of measuring the wavelength and angular characteristics of the absolute reflectivity (or diffraction efficiency) of soft x-ray optical elements has been designed and constructed. The system was installed on a beamline (BL-11) of the AURORA, a superconducting compact storage ring, at the Synchrotron Radiation Center, Ritsumeikan University. To cover a wavelength range of 0.5 nm<λ<25 nm, this system incorporates two types of Monk–Gillieson monochromators. One is a conventional type equipped with three varied-line-spacing gratings, allowing a choice of two included angles. The other is a new type that employs a scanning mechanism based on surface normal rotation. The outline of the system and some preliminary experimental data obtained in the course of test runs are described.


Evolutionary analysis of the fluvial landscape provides relevant inputs for the environmental management of a territory, in such a way that the understanding of the dynamics of fluvial spaces becomes a preponderant factor in the definition of protection and management strategies. Although the development of geographic information systems is a step forward in the study of the landscape, it is necessary to establish methodological frameworks that make remote sensing techniques available at multiple spatio-temporal scales, especially in basins with high levels of intervention. In the present study, we develop a methodology for the analysis of the fluvial landscape development in the last century of a highly modified water body, through the detailed study of hydrogeomorphic elements, using remote sensing techniques including high-density surface data (LiDAR) and historical aerial imageries; when supported by fieldwork, these allow for the identification of the sequence of sedimentation–erosion zones, differentiating in detail the zones denominated as areas of current erosion, accretion zones, and historical erosion zones. An application of the methodology was carried out in the Larrodrigo stream, located in Salamanca, Spain.


Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text. Study Design: Systematic review. Objective: To characterize the effects of postoperative physical therapy (PT) after surgery for cervical spondylosis on patient-reported outcomes and impairments. Secondarily, to identify associated complications, adverse effects, and health care costs with postoperative PT, and to describe the content, timing, and duration of the PT. Summary of Background Data: Cervical spine surgery is common; however, it is unclear if the addition of postoperative PT leads to improved patient outcomes and decreased health care costs. Materials and Methods: PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Physiotherapy Evidence Database, and Web of Science were searched until July 2019. All peer-reviewed articles involving cervical spine surgery with postoperative PT for cervical spondylosis were considered for inclusion. Risk of bias was assessed using the Revised Cochrane risk-of-bias tool for randomized trials. Findings were described narratively, and GRADE approach was used to define the quality of evidence. Results: A total of 10,743 studies were screened. Six studies met inclusion criteria; 2 randomized controlled trials and 4 subsequent follow-up studies containing study arms that included postoperative PT after cervical spine surgery. Meta-analysis was not performed due to study heterogeneity and no study compared PT+surgery to surgery alone. PT treatment included exercise therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and optional vestibular rehabilitation. Included studies indicated PT appeared to have positive effects on patient outcomes, however, there were no treatment control groups and the quality of evidence was very low to low. Timing, duration, and content of PT programs varied. No studies reported complications, adverse effects, or cost-effectiveness relating to PT after surgery. Conclusions: Current literature prevents a definitive conclusion regarding the impact of postoperative PT, given the lack of treatment control groups. PT treatment was limited to exercise therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and optional vestibular rehabilitation in the included studies. PT treatment varied, limiting consistent recommendations for content, timing, and treatment duration. Controlled trials are needed to determine the effectiveness of the addition of postoperative PT following cervical spine surgery for cervical spondylosis. Level of Evidence: Level II.


This paper proposes a mobile and graded collaborating trust model based on the characteristics of the trust relationship which often changes in migrating workflow system. The model, on the one hand, decides the migrating object of migrating instance, therefore solves the inseries problem when instance migrating. On the other hand, it solves the work position resource graded access control.


Clusters of young stars have been found near a number of compact HII regions. These clusters do not show a turnover in the K-band luminosity and are probably several million years old. In L 1641 only moderate clustering tendency has been observed and many sources show signs of extremely young age.


May the Holy Trinity Father, Son and Holy Spirit, return to you sevenfold, my dear Keble, all the good of which you have been the instrument towards me, since I first knew you. To you lowe it, humanly speaking, that I am what and where I am.... . . . Let me not seem rude. Let it be your comfort when you are troubled to think that there is one who feels he owesall to you, and who, though, alas, now cut off from you, is a faithful, assiduous friend unseen. I


During the early 1990s Germany received over half a million Yugoslavians fleeing war. By 2000, many of these refugees, who were under temporary protection, had been repatriated. We exploit this historical episode to provide causal evidence on the role that migrants play in explaining productivity shifts (as measured by export performance) in their home countries after their return. We find that the elasticity of exports to return migration is between 0.1 to 0.24 in industries where migrants were employed during their stay in Germany. In order to deal with endogeneity we use historic exogenous rules of allocation of asylum seekers across different German states to construct an instrumental variable for the treatment. The results appear to be mostly driven by workers in occupations intensive in analytical and managerial skills.


Two patients, one male and one female, with subcorneal pustular dermatosis are described. Our female patient needed many different treatments to bring her disease under control and topical clobetasol propionate was used as an adjunct to other treatments. The male patient failed to respond to Dapsone and is free of symptoms on topical clobetasol propionate only


The fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) and fMRI image imaging system is disclosed. fMRI imaging method according to an embodiment of the present invention, (a) for multi-region of interest of the subject-echo EPI (multi-echo Echo Planar Imaging: ME-EPI) to obtain data; (B) calculating a standard deviation of the true signal component is the noise component except for the at least two data TE from a plurality of TE (echo time) data of the ME-EPI data; (C) on the basis of the calculated standard deviation, the step of estimating the T2 * deviation information of the ME-EPI data; And a and (d) by the intensity displayed in proportion to the estimated T2 * deviation information displaying a functional image of the region of interest of the target object.


The leadership of college students is an important aspect of their comprehensive quality. In order to adapt to the development trend of globalization, informatization and economic integration in modern society, the leadership education of college student cadres in colleges and universities is not only in line with the quality education advocated by the state, but also in line with the development requirements of college students themselves. In the future, most college students majoring in economic management will pay more attention to the cultivation of leadership from the economic management industry. This paper analyzes the path of leadership training for students majoring in economics and management, and makes clear what aspects of leadership quality the students majoring in economics and management should improve themselves in order to consciously improve themselves in these aspects, so as to better adapt to the needs of society.


In a recent investigation of men working in foundries three observers read all the films but, before they did so, a random sample of 200 was picked and these films were used to explore and develop a classificatory system which would enable any characteristic peculiarities of films of foundrymen to be adequately recorded. The first reading of these 200, by each observer working in isolation, revealed the following frequencies of the 'abnormal pattern' symbol Z:


The invention provides a detection method based on head recognition and tracking characteristics in the technical field of pattern recognition. The detection method comprises the following steps: acquiring images from the video frequency, detecting acquired images by adopting a head categorizer to the head area, clustering the detected head area in the frame with consecutive numbers according to the western-style distance so as to gain corresponding relationship between head areas in the adjacent frames; carrying out one-one corresponding relationship between head areas in the adjacent frames intersected and recognized by adopting a bar chart, so as to obtain the track of head movements; and finally, judging in and out behaviors according to import and export marks and the track of head movements so as to detect number of the people. The invention utilizes abundant samples to train the head categorizer, the detection method is more accurate than the method of simply adopting ellipse matching to recognize the head, and the detection precision of the invention is about 90%.


Reexamining the plasmonic metasurfaces for efficient transmissive nanophotonics devices has recently drawn considerable attention. It attributes to their ease of fabrication and tunability in terms of the excitation of abundant multipoles. Despite recent efforts in developing plasmonic meta‐atoms, meta‐gratings provide an ultimate solution that enables efficient conversion of the polarization in a broadband range, particularly at optical frequencies. In this work, by vertically stacking meta‐gratings whose bandwidths overlap with each other and possess no physical limitation, plasmon mode hybridization is introduced so that highly‐transmissive broadband plasmonic metasurfaces are realized. It is reported that the intra‐coupling in a discrete plasmonic meta‐grating plays a key role in geometric phase‐controlled metasurface design. As a proof of concept, a half‐wave plate using plasmonic meta‐gratings to convert the incident circularly‐polarized light in a wavelength range from 1106 to 1521 nm with a peak efficiency of 50.2% and a gradient metasurface with truncated discrete meta‐grating as building blocks for deflecting the light with a maximum of 32.60% are demonstrated. Finally, the physical picture is explained through the electric field distributions, mode coupling, and energy splitting. The presented framework may provide an optimized way to enhance efficiency and expand the bandwidth for plasmonic systems.


In order to get the variable angle transmission ratio more conducive to drivers and improve maneuverability of automobiles with steer-by-wire(SBW)system,the variable angle transmission ratio characteristics for SBW were explored.Considering the influence of variable angle transmission ratio on steering characteristics,yaw velocity gain and steering sensitivity were determined as the design bases of variable angle transmission ratio characteristic by analyzing related objective evaluation indices of handling stability.Lateral acceleration gain was used as the design basis of variable angle transmission ratio at high speed instead of steering sensitivity.Yaw velocity gain was the design basis of variable angle transmission ratio at middle speed.To get the variable angle transmission ratio at low speed,subjective tests were carried out.Variable steering gain for variable angle transmission ratio characteristic was put forward.The results show that the variable gain method can reduce busyness level of drivers and improve the performance of path tracking,driving safety and vehicle handling stability.


This paper describes the selection of a new southern/equatorial sample of gigahertz peaked spectrum (GPS) radio galaxies, and subsequent optical charge-coupled device imaging and spectroscopic observations using the ESO 3.6-m telescope. The sample consists of 49 sources with −40 ◦ 20 ◦ and S2.7 GHz >0.5 Jy, selected from the Parkes PKSCAT90 survey. Approximately 80 per cent of the sources are optically identified, and approximately half of the identifications have available redshifts. The R-band Hubble diagram and evolution of the host galaxies of GPS sources are reviewed.


Phytochemicals have shown promise in inhibiting UV‐induced oxidative stress, and therefore are considered as potent inhibitors of UV‐induced oxidative stress‐mediated skin diseases. We have shown previously that topical treatment of silymarin, a flavonoid from milk thistle (Silybum marianum), inhibits UV‐induced oxidative stress in mouse skin. However, the cellular targets responsible for the inhibition of UV‐induced oxidative stress by silymarin are not clearly defined. To address this issue, C3H/HeN mice were UV irradiated (90 mJ cm−2) with or without topical treatment with silymarin (1 mg cm−2 skin area). Mice were killed 48 h later and skin samples collected. Flow cytometric analysis of viable dermal cells revealed that the number of infiltrating CD11b+ cells were the major source of oxidative stress (31.8%) in UV‐irradiated skin compared with non–UV‐exposed skin (0.4%). Treatment of silymarin inhibited UV‐induced oxidative stress through inhibition of infiltrating CD11b+ cells. The analysis of myeloperoxidase also indicated that silymarin significantly (P < 0.001) decreased UV‐induced infiltration of leukocytes, and this effect of silymarin was similar to that of intraperitoneal treatment of mice with monoclonal antibodies to CD11b. The inhibitory effect of silymarin, regardless of whether it is topically treated before or after UV irradiation, was of similar magnitude. Intraperitoneal administration of monoclonal antibodies to CD11b (rat IgG2b) to C3H/HeN mice inhibited UVB‐induced oxidative stress generated by both epidermal and dermal cells as is evident by relative fluorescence intensity of oxidized rhodamine. Similar to the effect of anti‐CD11b, silymarin also inhibited UV‐induced oxidative stress in both epidermal and dermal cells. Further, CD11b+ and CD11b− cell subsets from UV‐treated or silymarin+UV‐treated mice were separated by immunomagnetic cell isolation technique from total epidermal and dermal single cell suspensions and analyzed for reactive oxygen species (ROS)/H2O2 production. Analytic data revealed that CD11b+ cell population from UV‐irradiated skin resulted in significantly higher production of ROS in both epidermis and dermis than CD11b− cell population, and that silymarin inhibited UV‐induced oxidative stress through targeting infiltrating the CD11b+ cell type in the skin.


Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) has emerged to overcome the inability of cloud computing to offer low latency services. It allows popular data to be cached on edge servers deployed within users' geographic proximity. However, the storage resources on edge servers are constrained due to their limited physical sizes. Existing studies of edge caching have predominantly focused on maximizing caching performance from the mobile network operator's perspective, e.g., maximizing data retrieval success rate, minimizing system energy consumption, balancing the overall caching workload, etc. App vendors, as key stakeholders in MEC systems, need to maximize the caching revenue, considering the cost incurred and the benefit produced. We investigate this novel Mobile Edge Data Caching (MEDC) problem from the app vendor's perspective, and prove its <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mathcal {NP}$</tex-math><alternatives><mml:math><mml:mi mathvariant="script">NP</mml:mi></mml:math><inline-graphic xlink:href="xia-ieq1-3107918.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula>-hardness. We then propose Online MEDC (OL-MEDC), an approach that formulates MEDC strategies for app vendors, without requiring future information about data demands. Its performance is theoretically analyzed and experimentally evaluated. The experimental results demonstrate that OL-MEDC outperforms state-of-the-art approaches by at least 20.41% on average.


A significant amount of knowledge and understanding of device charging damage in processing equipment exists in CMOS IC manufacturing. This paper introduces the basic charging mechanisms responsible for gate oxide damage in CMOS ICs, illustrates these mechanisms with examples of measurements obtained in contemporary IC processing equipment, describes a wafer charging characterization method successfully used by integrated circuit and equipment manufacturers to quantify wafer charging in process equipment, and shows how this knowledge could be applied to the control of charging damage in GMR head wafer processing.


The present paper extends the hybrid atomistic-continuum multiscale method developed in Vu et al. (2016) to the study of gas flow problems in long microchannels involving density variations. The simulation domain is decomposed into three regions: the bulk where the continuous Navier-Stokes and energy equations are solved, the neighbourhood of the wall simulated by the Molecular Dynamics and the overlap region which connects the macroscopic variables (density, velocity and temperature) between the two former regions. For the simulation of long micro/nano-channels, a strategy with multiple molecular blocks all along the fluid/solid interface is adopted to capture accurately the macroscopic velocity and temperature variations.
The validity of the hybrid method is shown by comparisons with a simplified analytical model in the molecular region. Applications to compressible and condensation problems are also presented and the results are discussed. The hybrid method proposed in this paper allows us a cost-effective computer simulations of large scales problems with an accurate modelling of the transfers at small scales (velocity slip, temperature jump, thin condensation films, ...).


We have measured at 25°C the relative specific sound velocity increment, [u], and the partial specific volume, v°, of cytochrome c as a function of pH. Our data reveal that the base‐induced native to unfolded transition of the protein is accompanied by a volume decrease of 0.014 cm3 g−1 and a compressibility decrease of 3.8 × 10−6 cm3 g−1 bar−1. These results allow us to conclude that, relative to a fully unfolded conformation, the base‐denatured state of cytochrome c has only 70 to 80% of its surface area exposed to the solvent. Recently, we reported a similar result for the acid‐denatured state of cytochrome c. Thus, insofar as solvent exposure is concerned, both the base‐ and the acid‐induced unfolded states of cytochrome c retain some order, with 20 to 30% of their surface areas remaining solvent‐inaccessible. We discuss the implications of this result in terms of defining potential intermediate states in protein folding pathways.—Chalikian, T. V., Gin‐ dikin, V. S., Breslauer, K. J. Spectroscopic and volumetric investigation of cytochrome c unfolding at alkaline pH: characterization of the base‐induced unfolded state at 25°C. FASEB J. 10, 164‐170 (1996)


Between 2000 and 2004, a 12-state consortium in the southeastern United States used a "train-the-trainer" effort to introduce good agricultural practices (GAPs) to the region's fresh produce growers, packers, and consumers. Supported by the National Food Safety Initiative, the consortium created and implemented training by using a program and supporting materials specifi cally applicable to conditions and commodities in southern states. Because several factors distinguish the southeastern U.S. fresh produce industry from that of other regions in the U.S., a region-specifi c training program addressing distinguishing factors was needed. Distinguishing factors include: 1) southeastern U.S. producers are typically grower-packers, with some notable exceptions in Florida and Texas; 2) most such producer entities are seasonal, have their own packinghouse operation, are small-scale in that they pick what they grow and pack and often use migrant and seasonal labor; 3) modern worker training, sanitary practice, and facilities and supervisory expertise are either somewhat limited or completely lacking; and 4) the use of seasonal and migrant labor dictates the use of Spanish language interpreters and training. To meet fresh produce food safety training needs for the region, project leaders created a 329-page training program and associated PowerPoint presentation-containing compact disc, nine four-page crop-specifi c brochures relating GAPs to crop "groups," a Spanish language handwashing video and a new model recall program for the fresh produce industry. The leveraging effect of this train-the-trainer effort ultimately reached nearly 20,000 people in this multi-disciplinary, multi-state, integrated project, thus expanding and reinforcing regional cooperative extension efforts.


We propose an online single-pass algorithm MFC-append (mining frequency change patterns in append-only data streams) for online mining frequent frequency change items in continuous append-only data streams. An online space-efficient data structure called Change-Sketch is developed for providing fast response time to compute dynamic frequency changes between data streams. A modified approach MFC-dynamic (mining frequency change patterns in dynamic data streams) is also presented to mine frequency changes in dynamic data streams. The theoretic analyses show that our algorithms meet the major performance requirements of single-pass, bounded storage, and real time for streaming data mining.


The phylogeny of the Piscicolidae was analyzed from combined sequence data of 18S rDNA, cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (CO-I), nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide dehydrogenase subunit I (ND-I), and morphological data using parsimony. A worldwide distribution of Pisciolidae was represented for the first time in a phylogenetic analysis. While the family Piscicolidae was supported as a monophyletic group, the traditional subfamilies based on morphology were not supported. The Platybdellinae was polyphyletic and formed four distinct clades, and Bathybdella sawyeri did not group with any other platybdellids. The Piscicolinae was also polyphyletic, also forming four distinct clades. The pontobdellid genus Stibarobdella was shown to be the basal taxon within the Pisciolidae; however, the Pontobdellinae was found to be paraphyletic if Oxytonostoma was included. The genera Aestabdella, Austrobdella, and Malmiana were found to be paraphyletic; the genera Calliobdella, Cystobranchus, and Platybdella were found to be polyphyletic. The species Myzobdella lugubris was not found to be monophyletic. It is proposed that Oxytonostoma be removed from the Pontobdellinae, that Aestabdella be synonymized with Pterobdella, that Calliobdella vivida, Cystobranchus mammillatus, Cystobranchus meyeri, Cystobranchus salmositicus, and Cystobranchus virginicus be reassigned to Gonimosobdella, and that Piscicolaria be synonymized with Myzobdella. The synonymy of Malmiana and Heptacyclus is confirmed, with Heptacyclus having priority. Piscicola milneri is confirmed to be a separate species from Piscicola geometra. Eleven species of freshwater leeches from North America are redescribed. The description of Gonimosobdella mammillata is emended to correctly describe the conducting tissue and atrium. The reassignment of Piscicola salmositica to Cystobranchus and now Gonimosobdella is confirmed on the basis of the conducting tissue arrangement and absence of mycetomes. The description of Gonimosobdella virginica is emended to include information on pigmentation, conducting tissue, accessory gland cells, coelomic system, and mycetomes. The reproductive and coelomic systems of Gonimosobdella meyeri, Myzobdella reducta, Piscicola milneri, and Piscicola punctata are reported for the first time.


To effectively suppress the interference of narrowband signals to the ultra-wideband system, a five- notch ultra-wideband bandpass filter with miniaturization characteristics is proposed. The filter proposes a multiple-mode resonator (MMR) structure based on a uniform impedance resonator and loaded with three open-circuit stubs. At the same time, a new type of approximate "王" shape resonator is used on the multiple-mode resonator to achieve triple notched bands and uses the L-shaped resonator and Hilbert fractal curve slit to create single notched band, respectively. After HFSS simulation and optimization, the passband range is 3.0-11.2GHz, the stopband attenuation is 55dB at 2.68 GHz, and the in-band flatness is good. Among them, the five-notch filter notch frequency occurs at 4.44GHz, 6.56GHz, 7.3GHz, 8.22GHz, 9.66GHz, which can effectively suppress the radio altimeter ITU band, the Indian national satellite communication C band, the X satellite band, Interference in the International Telecommunication Union, and radio navigation bands, suitable for various ultrawideband systems.


INTRODUCTION: Due to the repetitive nature and large forces placed on the shoulder during the throwing motion, baseball players have been shown to have increased anterior glenohumeral (GH) laxity in the dominant arm compared to the non-dominant [1]. As such, many clinicians have hypothesized that this increased laxity may decrease proprioceptive abilities, such as joint position sense and are associated with various orthopedic injuries. However, no data are available detailing the relationship between proprioception and laxity among athletes without shoulder injury. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the strength of the relationship between anterior GH laxity and active joint position sense among baseball players without dysfunction. Identifying such a relationship may be beneficial for clinicians in the prevention, evaluation, and treatment of various shoulder injuries associated with increased GH laxity.


The text lists Java programs which convert star catalogs to the format of the XEphem visualiser. The currently supported input catalog formats are (i) the data base of the orbital elements of the Minor Planet Center (MPC) of the International Astronomical Union (IAU), (ii) the data base of the Hipparcos main catalog or the variants of the Tycho-1 or Tycho-2 catalogs, (iii) the systems in the Washington Double Star catalog, (iv) the Proper Motions North and South catalogs, (v) the SKY2000 catalog, (vi) the 2MASS catalog, (vii) the Third Reference Catalog of Bright Galaxies (RC3), (viii) the General Catalogue of Variable Stars (GCVS v. 5). [viXra:1802.0035]


One of the most widely used techniques in data modelling is curve fitting. Curve fitting is the process of creating a curve or a function that will model the data to be analysed. Often times the resultant curve will not pass through all the data points, this is why it is called a best-fit curve for the data. In this paper, we propose a curve fitting quadratic function that is used to model educational data. The resultant model is then used to predict one or more output variables based on different values for input variables. In order to optimise the parameters for the quadratic function, the proposed AUA algorithm is used. The AUA is a metaheuristic optimisation that can be used to optimise a wide variety of continuous functions (linear, nonlinear, convex and non-convex). The AUA algorithm is used to find the optimal values for the coefficients of the quadratic function. Moreover, the optimal values for these coefficients are found using the classical derivative method for the sake of comparison.


Observes that although the concept of lean manufacture is well understood, little work has been carried out to determine its applicability to high‐value, low‐volume complex products. Proposes a methodology for enabling an examination of the degree of relevance of lean manufacturing to such products, using a model of a typical lean high‐volume automotive producer as a base, comparing the drivers faced, the practices adopted to respond and the type of measures used to assess effectiveness. Provides an explanation as to how this approach was applied to the civil aerospace industry as an example of those products the authors have chosen to define as "super value goods", together with some initial first line results.


The article describes the history of the evolution of the content, semantic specificity, and the role of the philosophical categories of "value" from antiquity to the twentieth century. It is shown that the tendency of vesting the meaning of "value" in a certain sense, in the history of European axiology developed from the ethical and aesthetic meaning of the concept to ontological, epistemological, methodological and instrumental.


Abstract Motivated by economic conditions, a great number of gas turbines' have been employed in China for power generation. High reliability and availability constraints underscore the need for a modern maintenance information system. This paper describes a non-linear gas path analysis technique based system, which is capable of providing the information of maintenance intervals of gas path components. This system broadly consists of two core modules: engine simulation and engine diagnostics. Data provided by GE mark V system are processed by diagnostics programs developed in LabVIEW environment. The results of diagnostics module are then utilised for condition maintenance decision. The application to PG9171E engine shows that this system has the advantage of high accuracy and is efficient on gas turbine performance analysis.


Tokamak is a torus-shaped nuclear fusion device that uses magnetic fields to confine fusion fuel in the form of plasma. Tearing instability in plasma is a major issue in which the magnetic field breaks and recombines in tokamak. This instability can lead to plasma disruption that terminates the fusion power generation and damages the plasma-facing wall materials. For a successful steady operation of a large-scale tokamak without disruption, it is required to predict and alarm the tearing instabilities well in advance to avoid them. In this work, we develop and validate a deep neural network-based multimodal prediction system that estimates the future tearing instability likelihood from multi-diagnostics signals in the DIII-D tokamak.


In this paper some results on singular products of distributions are derived. The results are obtained in Colombeau algebra of generalized functions, which
is most relevant algebraic construction for tackling nonlinear problems of Schwartz
distributions.


The present study was to identify some responsible variables for the prevalence of diabetic retinopathy among adult people of Bangladesh...


In machining operation, cutting tool performs a central role towards the overall machining performance. A user from metal cutting community always look for better cutting tools that can enhance productivity by reducing tool wear and cost. Modification in the micro-geometry of cutting edge is termed as edge preparation, and it is performed to improve the machining performance by strengthening the cutting edge, reducing internal stresses of coating and lowering the edge chipping etc. Edge preparation has a controlling influence on the formation of deformation zones, cutting temperature, cutting forces and stresses at the cutting interface. Vibration assisted machining (VAM) concept is gaining fame in the metal cutting sector community for machining difficult-to-machine materials. In VAM, cutting tool moves with a small amplitude vibration instead of moving with a constant cutting velocity. This small amplitude vibrational movement provides better machining performance for difficult-to-cut brittle materials. The current numerical study utilized different edge prepared micro-geometries such as sharp edge, round edge and chamfer edge etc. cutting tools, and then these cutting tools were used in the numerical simulations of VAM. The study shows higher magnitude of cutting forces under VAM with tools with modified geometry. The study is beneficial for the metal cutting community and opens new areas of industrial applications.


This work addresses the topological asymptotic analysis of the two-dimensional macroscopic elasticity tensor to topological microstructural changes of the underlying material. In particular, the microstucture is topologicaly perturbed by the nucleation of a small circular inclusion. Using the topological derivative concept, applied within a variational multi-scale constitutive framework, a simple analytical expression for the sensitivity is proposed. In the multi-scale modelling, the macroscopic strain and stress at each point of the macroscopic continuum are defined as volume averages of their microscopic counterparts over a Representative Volume Element (RVE) of material associated with that point. These mathematical concepts allow the closed form calculation of the sensitivity, whose value depends on the solution of a set of equations over the original (unperturbed) domain, of a given shape functional with respect to an infinitesimal domain perturbation. The main result – a symmetric fourth order tensor field over the RVE domain – measures how the macroscopic elasticity tensor estimated within the multi-scale framework change when a small circular inclusion is introduced at the micro-scale level. The final format of the proposed analytical formula is strikingly simple and can be used in applications such as the synthesis and optimal design of microstructures to meet a specified macroscopic behaviour. In order to show this feature we present several numerical examples using the obtained result together with a level-set based algorithm.


Primary caregivers' beliefs often influence their experiences of providing care to children with disabilities. This exploratory study qualitatively probed the meanings that five Korean immigrant mothers attributed to the unanticipated responsibility of parenting children with autism spectrum disorders and communication disorders. From a symbolic interactionist theoretical perspective, the mothers' narrative indicated that they accepted the responsibilities of care for their children with disabilities, worked to build stronger family ties, and transformed their understanding about life. From these findings, we discuss implications for practice to support Korean immigrant mothers who have children with disabilities.


Summary Risk factors associated with childhood obesity were examined in children of the elementary school of Aosta (northern Italy). In data from 2044 families none of the variables investigated (sibship size, mother's age, birth rank, the 'temporarily-one-child syndrome', and number of living parents) was found to have a significant association with the frequency of obesity, though weak associations for family size and the number of living parents may exist. The only significant difference found was between children of parents from northern Italy and those from southern Italy (recent immigrants).


According to the research on( 76 + 160 + 76) m continuous beam arch combination structural design along Hefei-Bengbu Express Railway,the paper introduces the design points and the construction methods of the main bridge structure,points out the main arch erection method of the non-bridge-place assembling and longitudinal positioning,and solves the safety hidden hazards on existing railway caused by the long assembling period of the traditional methods,so as to relieve the operation risk.


Metal ions play a crucial role in many biochemical processes, and when in a state of scarcity or surplus, they can lead to various diseases. Therefore, the development of a selective, sensitive, cost-effective, and fast-responding sensor to detect metal ions is critical for in vitro medical diagnostics. In recent years, fluorescent sensors have been extensively investigated as potent kits for the effective assessment of metal ions in living systems due to their high sensitivity, selectivity, ability to perform real-time, non-invasive monitoring, and versatility. This review is an overview of recent advances in fluorescent sensors for the detection and imaging of metal ions in biosystems from 2018 to date. Specifically, we discuss their application in detecting essential metal ions and non-essential metal ions for in vitro diagnostics, living cell imaging, and in vivo imaging. Finally, we summarize remaining challenges and offer a future outlook on the above topics.


Results are presented for an analytical study of the effect of creep and shrinkage on the behavior and ultimate capacity of long rectangular prestressed concrete columns with hinged ends. The effects of concrete strength, steel percentage, slenderness ratio, eccentricity and partial prestressing were considered. The results indicate that long eccentrically loaded columns can be significantly increased by sustained loading. In addition the prestressing force in the column may be reduced appreciably under sustained loading.


Automated blood cell counters are available in most clinical laboratories even in resource poor settings. The platelet parameters obtained on these counters, i.e., platelet volume indices (PVI) include: platelet count (PC), mean platelet volume (MPV), platelet distribution width (PDW) and platelet large cell ratio (P-LCR). In the current millennium, coronary artery disease (CAD) and its related morbidity and mortality has attained the epidemic proportions, not only in developed countries but also in developing nations.


The present invention relates to a circuit arrangement for operating a discharge lamp (La) with a dielectric layer between at least one electrode and a discharge medium with a primary circuit (P). Said circuit arrangement comprises a forward converter (Wl, T) with at least one electronic switch (T), wherein the forward converter (Wl, T) has a first input connection (El) and a second input connection (E2) for connecting an input voltage; a secondary circuit (S) which has a first output connection (Al) and a second output connection (A2) for connecting the discharge lamp (La); and a transformer (T) connecting the primary circuit (P) to the secondary circuit (S), wherein the transformer (T) has at least one primary winding (Wl), a secondary winding (W2), and a transformer core on which the primary winding (Wl) and the secondary winding (W2) are wound. Said circuit arrangement additionally comprises a discrete inductance (L) with a core, wherein the discrete inductance (L) is connected electrically in parallel with the secondary winding (W2). The invention further relates to a method for operating a discharge lamp with a dielectric layer between at least one electrode and a discharge medium in such a circuit arrangement.


The present network forensics research was summarized and analyzed from the actual application and theoretical research.Based on the actual network attack characteristics,the postmortem network forensics process model was proposed.In addition,the correlation of the forensics phases in the model was indicated,and the forensics steps,principle,actual application technologies and their deficiency were also analyzed and discussed.The dynamic network forensics system and systemic network forensics analysis process was the focus of the current network forensics theoretical research.The leading productions in these fields were analyzed and compared,and the deficiency and development trend were also discussed.Finally,the future work on the improvement of network forensics was discussed from the viewpoint of the law and technology.


The motion control problem for the double-integrator system subject to velocity constraint is addressed. A novel methodology, which consists of a two-stage process and regards a trade-off between natural and learned behaviors to develop a family of analytic controllers, is proposed. To this end, firstly, a natural behavior is designed to achieve asymptotic tracking of a desired continuous trajectory by using a Control-Theory approach. Secondly, learned behaviors are discovered by using a Genetic Programming approach to synthesize an analytic controller to ensure a bounded velocity of the system. The integration of these approaches allows the system to exhibit a good tracking performance while keeping the velocity bounded to a desired value, freely set by the user. Simulation results are provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposal, and a comparison with a traditional Control-Theory-Based solution is also given and discussed.


This paper deals with the situation in the European car industry since the crisis of the early 1990s. After a short review of the structural problems of the industry and the main responses by car manufacturers, the discussion shifts to a detailed analysis of labour union responses. The paper discusses two broad stages in labour responses. The first consisted of the traditional social plans and early retirement measures that had been at the core of labour union strategies before. The second is a broader strategy, which trades working time reduction, working time flexibility and wage concessions for job security and investment guarantees. A detailed analysis of such agreements in five carproducing European countries - Germany, France, Spain, the UK and Belgium - as well as two detailed case studies of the competitive dynamic between local unions in different countries prompted by these agreements -- in GM Europe and Renault -- illustrates the main strengths and weaknesses of this strategy. While these agreements may be able to secure employment, they also install a competitive spiral on working conditions among unions. The paper then discusses the contours of an alternative strategy that attempts to avoid interunion competition, and the role for institutions such as European Works Councils in this alternative.


The present invention Leghemoglobin and alcohol compounds, glycol compounds, parabens, quaternary nitrogen-containing compound, an isothiazolinone compound, aldehyde releasing agent, at least one preservative selected from the group consisting of antioxidants and halogenated compounds It provides personal care compositions containing. Preferably, the leghemoglobin is nitrogen-fixing root nodule extract providing 0.0001% to about 10% of the leg hemoglobin concentration in the composition based on the total weight of the composition. The present invention also discloses a method for manufacturing a personal care composition.


We thank Anna Pelet and members of the family for their participation in this study. This work was supported in part by grants from the "cooperation Franco-Marocaine dans le domaine de la sante," the Association Francaise contre les Myopathies (AFM), and the Institut National de la Sante et de la Recherche Medicale (INSERM).