Sawicki's thesis studies warped cones. Warped cones were introduced by Roe in [11] in the context of foliations to provide a sort of coarse geometric model for the ideas underlying Alain Connes' foliation C ̊-algebra [2]. To give a vague idea of an overly-generalized version (for the sake of simplicity), let X be a compact topological space, equipped with an equivalence relation ". The key examples occur when X is a foliated manifold and " the relation of being in the same leaf, or X could be equipped with a group action and " could be the relation of being in the same orbit. In Connes' noncommutative geometry program, one builds a C ̊-algebra out of pX,"q in which it is 'hard' to tell apart related points (but maybe not impossible! – one does not want to pass to the classical quotient X{ " as this would lose all information about points in the same equivalence class). The idea of the warped cone is to build a metric space where related points are 'hard' to tell apart: in coarse geometry, this means that they are nearby. Making this precise in a non-trivial way requires one to choose generators for the relation in some sense (some form of infinitessimal generators determined by a Riemannian metric in the case of a foliation, honest generators of the group for a group action). Now, Roe's original motivations for this construction in [11] were indextheoretic. However, around ten years later, Roe [13] used the warped cone idea for group actions to build interesting examples of purely coarse geometric interest; it is really with this later paper that the ideas in Sawicki's thesis start. I think motivated largely by the work of Sawicki and his advisor Piotr Nowak, there has been an explosion of interest in the coarse geometric properties of warped cones in recent years. The paradigm for many of these results, starting with Roe's paper [13], is that one can relate dynamical


The undecimated discrete wavelet transform (UDWT) is a powerful image denoising tool, well-known to perform better than orthogonal wavelets. Unlike the case of orthogonal wavelets, noise as well as signal in the UDWT domain are non-white. Because of this inter-pixel correlation, scalar operations such as thresholding do not take full advantage of the power of UDWT. In this paper, we present a model for autocorrelations in the UDWT domain, and use it in a Wiener-type denoising algorithm. This algorithm accounts for colored signal and noise, and also aims to implicitly match the directional information due to the local edges in the image.


The document is a draft for the ambient aquatic life water quality criteria for 2,4,5-trichlorophenol. The document is intended to accurately reflect the latest scientific knowledge on the kind and extent of all identifiable effects on health and welfare that might be expected from the presence of pollutants in any body of water on aquatic life.


When Francis turbine operated at part-load conditions, there is strong vortex rope in the draft tube, which may induce violent pressure oscillation, mechanical vibration and noise. This paper treats the pressure oscillations at a part-load operation by analyzing the unsteady multiphase flow in a Francis turbine. Air admission is used to alleviate pressure oscillation under different cavitation number. In order to improve the numerical accuracy, a modified method including the Level-set based method and FBDCM model is applied in the calculation. The simulation results indicate that the modified method can reasonably predict the pressure oscillations in turbine with good agreement with experimental data. The method can reflect more detailed flow characteristics and capture a clearer phase interface compared to the conventional method. It is noted that air admission with suitable ventilation rate does suppress the pressure oscillation in the turbine. The pressure oscillation in the vaneless area due to rotor-stator interaction cannot be depressed completely. Further, the mechanism on the pressure oscillation suppression in the draft tube is due to the spiral motion depression of vortex rope by air admission. As the increase of air admission, the pressure and its gradient distributions become much homogeneous. The homogeneous distribution of pressure in the draft tube would be favourable for the suppression of pressure oscillation


On the continental slope off East Antarctica off Dronning Maud Land (Weddell Sea) Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) site 692 recovered 40 m of organic-rich Lower Cretaceous (Valanginian-Hauterivian) black shales from a paleolatitude of 70°S. Deposition occurred in the isolated and restricted Weddell Basin (WB) at a paleowater depth of about 500 m. During the Early Cretaceous, the extent, persistence and dynamics of anoxia and carbon burial in the emerging Southern Ocean are not well constrained, especially not potential links between orbital forcing on carbon cycling, temperature and continental paleohydrology.


Hepatocyte apoptosis plays an important role in the development of fulminant hepatic failure (FHF). The objective of this study was to investigate whether endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and unfolded protein response (UPR) inhibition is an underlying mechanism of melatonin anti‐apoptotic effects in an animal model of FHF of viral origin induced by the rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV). Rabbits were experimentally infected with 2 × 104 hemagglutination units of a RHDV isolate and received melatonin at two concentrations of 10 mg/kg and 20 mg/kg at 0 hr, 12 hr and 24 hr postinfection. RHDV infection induced increased expression of CCAAT/enhancer‐binding protein homologous protein (CHOP), immunoglobulin heavy chain binding protein (BiP/GRP78), glucose‐regulated protein 94 (GRP94), phospho‐c‐Jun N‐terminal kinase (JNK) and caspase‐12. These effects were attenuated by melatonin. Double immunofluorescence staining showed colocalization of CHOP and cleaved caspase‐3 in liver sections of RHDV‐infected rabbits, while immunostaining decreased markedly with melatonin treatment. RHDV infection resulted in significant increases in the mRNA levels of activating transcription factor 6 (ATF6), ATF4, inositol‐requiring enzyme 1 (IRE1), spliced X‐box binding protein‐1 (XBP1s) and tumor necrosis factor receptor‐associated factor 2 (TRAF2). Melatonin attenuated the extent of the changes. Data obtained provide evidence that in rabbits with experimental infection by RHDV, reduction in apoptotic liver damage by melatonin is associated with attenuation of ER stress through a modulation of the three arms of UPR signaling and further support a potential hepatoprotective role of melatonin in FHF.


We employ scattering amplitudes in curved space to model the dynamics of a light probe particle with mass $m$ orbiting in the background spacetime induced by a heavy gravitational source with mass $M$. Observables are organized as an expansion in $m/M$ to all orders in $G$ -- the gravitational self-force expansion. An essential component of our analysis is the backreaction of the heavy source which we capture by including the associated light degrees of freedom. As illustration we consider a Schwarzschild background and verify geodesic motion as well as the first-order self-force correction to two-body scattering through ${\cal O}(G^3)$. Amplitudes in curved space offer several advantages, and further developments along these lines may advance the computation of gravitational-wave signals for extreme-mass-ratio inspirals.


This article investigated the effect of Arabic orthography on the phonological awareness acquisition. A sample of Tunisian primary school and preliterate were asked to manipulate syllables and phonemes through segmentation, counting and deletion tasks. Results showed that manipulation of syllables is far easier than that of phonemes. Also, the deletion of phonemes was an easier task than phoneme segmentation and counting, in contrast to findings attendant to alphabetically written languages such as English and Hebrew. Data were interpreted by the nature of Arabic orthography and diglossia.


The main aim of the study is to investigate numerically thermodynamic processes occurring during an operation of a transcritical ejector working as a part of the heat pump system. Especially, this work concentrates on the estimation of performance characteristics of ejector with respect to thermodynamic parameters of flowing medium. To achieve this goal, a three-dimensional mathematical model of transcritical R774 (CO2) flow through ejector was built using a commercial CFD code Fluent. However, the software is not capable of solving so complex problem as three-dimensional transcritical two-phase flow of a real fluid. Therefore, based on the commercial code platform an enthalpy based two-phase formulation was developed using the User Defined Function capabilities. In this modelling approach two-phase flow is assumed to be homogeneous mixture of both phases at the thermodynamic equilibrium. The presence of each phase is distinguished based on the thermodynamic parameters. This methodology was widely validated against experimental data recorded on the heat pump experimental setup equipped with ejector [3]. In the analysed problem very important issue is calculation of physical properties of the working medium (CO2). Since the ejector working region is close to the saturation line and critical point CO2 needs to be treated as a real fluid. One of the most recent and accurate real gas models are provided by the REFPROP libraries [2]. However, utilisation of these libraries in the CFD model appeared very time consuming, especially in case of determination of the ejector performance characteristics. Therefore, based on the REFPROP libraries in-house fast approximation of the physical properties of CO2 in one and two-phase region was developed.


The first solid-state carbon-13 magic-angle sample-spinning n.m.r. spectra of an antiferromagnetically-coupled species, [Cu(HCO2)2(C5H5N)]2 are reported, the results indicating that essentially diamagnetic behaviour can be observed at –180 °C, while increasing temperature results in a shifted and progressively broadened resonance, owing to spin unpairing.


We examine the higher dimensional action in which gravity is coupled to the exponential nonlinear electrodynamic and a scalar dilaton field. We construct a new class of $n$-dimensional static and spherically symmetric black hole solutions of this theory in the presence of the dilaton potential with two Liouville-type terms. In the presence of two Liouville-type dilaton potential, the asymptotic behavior of the obtained black holes are neither flat nor (A)dS. Due to the nonlinear nature of electrodynamic field, the electric field has finite value near the origin where $r\rightarrow0$ and goes to zero as $r\rightarrow\infty$. Interestingly enough, we find that in the absence of the dilaton field, the electric field has a finite value at $r=0$, while as soon as the dilaton field is taken into account, the electric field diverges as $r\rightarrow 0$. This implies that the presence of the dilaton field changes the behaviour of the electric field near the origin. In the limiting case where the nonlinear parameter $\beta$ goes to infinity, our solutions reduce to dilaton black holes of Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton gravity in higher dimensions. We compute the conserved and thermodynamic quantities of the solutions and show that these quantities satisfy the first law of black holes thermodynamics on the horizon.


As part of the Marine Corps's development of employment methods and maneuver techniques for the V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft, a piloted simulation study of one-on-one air-combat maneuvering (ACM) was conducted at NASA Ames. In addition to V-22 ACM, the simulation provided an opportunity for a preliminary investigation of maneuver requirements for a possible armed-escort tilt-rotor aircraft. Results from the study indicate that the tilt-rotor's low-speed masking and high-speed dash capabilities significantly enhance its survivability against both fixed-wing and helicopter aggressors. Furthermore, the tilt-rotor's conversion capability and, in turn, the variety and extent of its maneuvering characteristics make it an effective air-combat aircraft.


We consider a system of $N$ two-level atoms (spins) interacting with the radiation field in a dispersive but high-$Q$ cavity. Under an adiabatic condition, the interaction Hamiltonian reduces to a function of spin operators which is capable of producing spin squeezing. For a bipartite system $(N=2)$, the expressions for spin squeezing get very simple, giving a clear indication of close to 100% noise reduction. We analyse this squeezing as a measure of bipartite entanglement.


In the conventional wire feeder
drives of welding machine, one thyristor or MOSFET device was used for half-wave phase control circuit and direct EMF measurement was used for sensing the wire feed rate But the method using one switching device has poor response for sudden disturbance and it has latent speed ripple. It can affect some welding performance such as spatter generation and irregular bead formmmg. Therefore, the welding performance using full-bridge PWM speed control scheme was compared with conventional driving scheme and experimented in this paper. The results of experiment confirm the posibility of welding perfomance improvement by proposed constant speed control scheme in wire feeding drive of welding machine.


The synthesis of cyclic monomer, dimer, trimer, tetramer, and pentamer based on 1-(4-hydroxy-4'-biphenylyl)-2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)butane (TPB) and 1,10-dibromodecane and their characterization are presented. Their phase behavior was compared with that of the linear high molecular weight polymer based on TPB and 1,10-dibromodecane. The cyclic monomer is liquid. The larger cyclic compounds exhibit a nematic mesophase and a very slow crystallization tendency. Their melting temperature shows an odd-even dependence on ring size, while their isotropization temperature shows a continuous increase with increasing ring size


Panax ginseng, a slow‐growing perennial herb, is the most praised and popular traditional medicinal herb. Mountain‐cultivated ginseng (MCG) and cultivated ginseng (CG) both belong to Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer. The market price and medical effects of this popular health product are closely related to its age. It is widely acknowledged that CG is typically harvested after 4–6 years of growth, but MCG is often collected after 10 years. Until now, the age identification of MCG or mountain wild ginseng (MWG) has remained a major challenge. In this study, we established a novel and rapid method for staining xylem vessels with phloroglucinol and identifying the "annual growth rings" of ginseng by utilizing a stereoscope, which serves as a reliable indicator of the age of MCG. Statistical analysis of the ring radius and the ring density of MCG aged from 1 to 20 years shows that the secondary xylem of MCG increases rapidly in the first 3 years but then gradually slows down from 4 to 10 years, and minor fluctuation is observed in the next 10 years. Meanwhile, the space between the growth rings (ring density) becomes increasingly small with age. This straightforward staining approach can reveal the age of MCG with remarkable clarity and can distinguish MCG from CG.


On-chip electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection is required to protect ICs against ESD failures of various origins. While ESD protection against human body model (HBM) ESD failures has been very successful, charged device model (CDM) ESD protection design emerges as a new challenge for ICs at advanced technology nodes. This paper reports a comparison study of CDM ESD protection versus HBM ESD protection. It found that the current practices of using conventional pad-based ESD protection networks for CDM ESD protection may not work. This study leads to a game-changing question to the field: Are existing CDM ESD protection approaches fundamentally faulty? It therefore calls for a completely new on-chip CDM ESD protection method to truly resolve the real-world CDM ESD failure problems.


Speech by the Honourable Associate Justice Mary-Jane Ierodiaconou at the Annual Tristan Jepson Memorial Foundation Lecture in Melbourne on 6 October 2015.


In this paper we analyze the error introduced by beamspace transform when it is applied to uniform circular array (UCA). Several algorithms for direction of arrival (DoA) estimation exploit this modal transform. The performance of such estimators is degraded if the array has a small number of elements. The beamspace transform is based on the phase-mode excitation principle (Davies, DEN, 1983). Here we introduce a generalized beamspace transform that performs mapping from element-space to beamspace domain taking into account the error caused by the transform. Justification of the difference in the statistical performances of MUSIC and root-MUSIC algorithms for UCA is also given. Finally, we introduce a first order approximation of the bias in the DoA estimates that arises after the beamspace transform. An expression for the bias is provided.


Abstract This is the first portion of a study in two parts on the lyric and elegiac poet Timocreon of Ialysos. My aim is to offer an up-to-date presentation of and running commentary on the extant fragments of his poetry, which has received less attention than it deserves. The first four fragments of Timocreon's poetic production that are discussed in this article are those concerning his turbulent relationship with Themistocles.


19 One of the major ecological concerns associated with in situ recovery (ISR) of uranium is the 20 environmental release of soluble, toxic Se-oxyanions generated by mining. Postmining natural 21 attenuation by the residual reductants in the ore body and reduced downgradient sediments 22 should mitigate the risk of Se contamination in groundwater. In this work, we investigate the Se 23 concentrations and Se isotope systematics of groundwater and of U ore bearing sediments from 24 an ISR site at Rosita, TX, USA. Our results show that selenate (Se(VI)) is the dominant Se 25 species in Rosita groundwater, and while several upgradient wells have elevated Se(VI), the 26 majority of the ore zone and downgradient wells have little or no Se-oxyanions. In addition, the 27 δSeVI of Rosita groundwater is generally elevated relative to the U ore up to +6.14‰, with the 28 most enriched values observed in the ore zone wells. Increasing δSe with decreasing Se(VI) 29 conforms to a Rayleigh-type distillation model with an ε of −2.25‰ ± 0.61‰ suggesting natural 30 Se(VI) reduction occurring along the hydraulic gradient at the Rosita ISR site. Furthermore, our 31 results show that Se isotopes are excellent sensors for detecting and monitoring postmining 32 natural attenuation of Se oxyanions at ISR sites. 33


ABSTRACT Indigenous agricultural land management practices have potentials for soil fertility maintenance and balancing crop nutrient requirements. However, the contribution of indigenous farmland management practices and consequential effects on food production has not been fully addressed in the literature. This study assesses rural farmers' perceived effectiveness of indigenous farmland management practices in semi-arid areas of Ghana. The study employs quantitative methods using interview schedules with farming households and stakeholders in the agricultural sector to generate primary data. The sample consists of 226 heads of farming households from three farming communities and three stakeholders – an agricultural extension officer, a representative of a famer-based organisation and an officer of a non-governmental organisation. The results of the study reveal that multi-cropping, inter-cropping, and animal manure application are the primary indigenous techniques for managing farmlands by farmers. Also, farmers use some modern farming practices, such as improved seeds, composting, inorganic fertilisers and agroforestry. The assessment shows that farmers who combine both practices perceive their crop yields to be higher than those who practice only the modern techniques. The study recommends that priority should be given to educating rural farmers on environmentally-friendly farming techniques by combining useful indigenous agricultural land management practices with modern practices.


Phosphorus (P) is one of the essential nutrient elements for plant development. In this work, BnPHR1 encoding a MYB transcription activator was isolated from Brassica napus. The characterization of nuclear localization and transcription activation ability suggest BnPHR1 is a transcriptional activator. The tissue expression and histochemical assay showed that BnPHR1 was predominantly expressed in roots and modulated by exogenous Pi in transcriptional level in roots under Pi deficiency conditions. Furthermore, overexpression of BnPHR1 in both Arabidopsis and B. napus remarkably enhanced the expression of the Pi-starvation-induced genes including ATPT2 and BnPT2 encoding the high-affinity Pi transporter. Additionally, BnPHR1 can in vivo bind the promoter sequence of ATPT2 and BnPT2 in both Arabidopsis and B. napus. Possibly, due to the activation of ATPT2 and BnPT2, or even more high-affinity Pi transporters, the excessive Pi was accumulated in transgenic plants, resulting in the crucially Pi toxicity to cells and subsequently retarding plant growth. Given the data together, BnPHR1, as crucial regulator, is regulated by exogenous Pi and directly activates those genes, which promote the uptake and homeostasis of Pi for plant growth.


With the internationalized development of higher education,Chinese higher education is confronted with unprecedented opportunities and severe challenges. Chinese universities must come up with effective strategies in terms of guiding principles,education philosophy,teaching staff,management team,curricula system,teaching model,scientific research cooperation,academic exchanges,Chinese-foreign cooperation in running schools,digitalization and internetization,in order to keep their invincible position in the wave of internationalization of higher education.


Automatic abnormality detection in human health status based on the variation in the vital health parameters is a continuous research thrust area. After Covid pandemic the importance of checking the variation in the health status become a part of our regular activities. With the help of artificial intelligence, today many research works have been proposed in abnormality detection. The proposed work is personalized abnormality detection technique based on adaptive unsupervised mechanism and tries to map the health status with the incoming health stream data. The proposed adaptive density-based K-Means fixes the severity range of each vital health parameter of a person and achieved an accuracy rate in fixing the severity range with 91.3% during training and 87.8 % testing respectively.


In order to bring alive the practicalities of embracing behavioural economics in market research, I asked each of the four members of the ESOMAR Behavioural Economics Seminar Advisory Board a few of the most common questions that practitioners raise about doing BE-led research.

Their answers reveal some very strong areas of agreement and some very clear shared advice about the practical steps researchers can take. But, as you might expect, there is also some healthy debate about quite how close research practice should be to what goes on in the science.


. Observations of trees around recently built single- and multiple-family dwellings in two expanding Georgia cities showed that more than 85% of hardwoods and 95% of pines survived construction, but more than half showed signs of stress. The results suggest guidelines for builders who want to promote the survival and health of trees following home construction on wooded lots. Abstract ROBINSON, DIANE. 1987. Of the nursery industry the voracious gypsy moth. Am. Nurseryman 166(4): 116-118, 120, 122. Despite eradication attempts, defoliation by the gypsy moth is severe and widespread. The moth's lar-vae currently defoliate over 500 species of trees and shrubs. The hungry gypsy moth caterpillars des-cend on trees each spring in infested areas, causing damage to forest, ornamental and shade trees. There is no organized program to eradicate the moth in the infested Northeastern US, although APHIS does become involved in eradication of isolated cases. The treatments for gypsy moth infestations consist mostly of a bacteria insecticide called Bacillus thuringensis, or B.t. Also used occasionally in gypsy moth control are pesticides such as Sevin, Dimilin and Orthene. Another way to control the moth is with parasites. So scientists are working toward other ways to rid the world of the pesky moth. One of these methods involves second-generation sterilization of male gypsy moth. The future in research appears bright, with new controlling techniques on the horizon. Gypsy moth control has not been the world's greatest success story.


OF THE DISCLOSURE A method of producing bright gold to yellow colored soda-lime glasses by adding from about 0.03 to about 0.04 percent by weight of molybdenum disulfide to the glass batch as the coloring agent. The present invention relates to a process of making colored glass and more particularly to a glass having controlled shading varying between a bright golden shade and a red-orange shade. While there are certain known batches and processes for producing yellow or golden toned glass, the present invention has resulted in particularly attractive and use ful shades of yellow or golden glass produced with readily available batch materials which are obtainable at minimum expense. The easily controlled process pro duces pre-determined shades ranging from a bright golden shade to an attractive and darker red-orange shade. The improved coloring is obtained with relatively small amounts of the coloring ingredient and the batch mixing, melting, and fining processes used with the new batch generally follow conventional procedures so that the new glass shades are obtained readily with existing equipment. It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved method and batch for preparing a golden colored glass. Another object of the present invention is to provide a batch and method of producing golden colored glass in which the coloring is imparted by the incorporation of relatively small amounts of molybdenum disulfide in the batch. Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved batch and method for producing glass hav ing a controlled range of coloring between a light gold shade and a darker red-orange shade. Other and further objects of the invention will be ob vious upon an understanding of the illustrative embodi ment about to be described or will be indicated in the appended claims, and various advantages not referred to herein will occur to one skilled in the art upon employ ment of the invention in practice. We have discovered that a permanent golden coloring may be imparted to glass by mixing a batch containing comparatively small amounts of molybdenum disulfide and that by varying the amounts of molybdenum disul fide and by adjusting the proportions of certain other in gredients as indicated below, a controlled series of shad ings between a light or bright golden color and including golden yellow shades and yellow shades and red-orange shades may be produced. As indicated, the shadings of the glass produced by the present method will vary depending upon the percentage of the coloring agent or molybdenum disulfide used in the batch as well as certain other conditions discussed below. It is thus clear that our invention is not restricted to the production of a precise shade but covers a range of colors as described above by the use of the batch in gredients as indicated and under the conditions described. 5


Abstract - Natural field observations of salamander predation are uncommon, in some cases limiting the ability of scientists to study the evolution of toxicity, aposematism, and mimicry in these amphibians. Here, we document field observations of recently depredated salamanders: 1 Pseudotriton ruber (Red Salamander) and 2 Gyrinophilus porphyriticus (Spring Salamander), members of a putative Müllerian mimetic complex involving Notophthalmus viridescens (Eastern Newt). We used molecular methods to identify the likely avian predator of the Spring Salamanders and underscore the opportunities for future research enabled by the pairing of traditional natural history with modern molecular techniques.


Keep yourself safe by exercising common sense and keeping alert. 1. Report any suspicious persons or activities/incidents no matter how minor 2. Report losses/theft immediately 3. Be sure to lock and secure all windows and doors in your dorm 4. Photocopy all documents in your wallet and keep in a secure place 5. Lock your car, storing valuables in the trunk 6. Never loan keys to anyone as keys are easily lost, stolen, or duplicated 7. Have your keys out and ready to use when approaching your dorm room or vehicle 8. Mark or engrave your belongings and never leave valuables unattended for any amount of time 9. Install tracking software on your computer and use a locking cable device 10. At night, travel and park in lighted areas 11. At night, travel in pairs or groups 12. Do not let anyone tailgate you into a dorm unless you know they live in your building 13. Know all fire escape routes for whatever buildings you are in More crime prevention and safety tips are found on the University's Security website. Refer to the following link: https://hilo.hawaii.edu/security/


A DOE-funded program was used to understand the mechanisms that control the formation of NOx during the combustion of steelmaking by-product fuels and to investigate possible low-cost control options to minimize the NOx emissions. This paper discusses the CFD modeling results of NOx emissions in a reheat furnace. The reheat furnace has a total of 20 burners distributed over three firing zones. The furnace is fired at a rate of 250 × 106 Btu/hr and an overall stoichiometric ratio of 1.06 (fuel lean). Fuels with heating values of approximate 500 Btu/SCF were examined, including coke oven gas (COG), blast furnace gas (BFG) and a blend of COG, BFG, natural gas (NG) and nitrogen. A good range of process variables was modeled to examine effects of fuel type, air preheat, stoichiometric ratio, firing rate and burner stoichiometry distribution on NOx emissions.
 Modeling results indicated that NOx formation in the reheat furnace is dominated by thermal NO, with some variation depending on the fuel fired. Temperature profiles showed an effective separation of the furnace interior into top and bottom zones as a result of the steel slab barrier. Higher temperatures characterized the bottom zone and elevated NOx levels as a result of the confined space and enhanced fuel air mixing provided by the slab supports. Results also showed that reburning of NOx plays a significant role in final NOx emissions with 30–40% of NOx formed being reduced by reburning in most cases. Modeling identified that operating the side burners in each burner zone slightly substoichiometric (while maintaining the overall furnace stoichiometry at 1.06) provided significant NOx reduction via reburning. NOx reductions of 23% and 30% were predicted when firing with COG and COG-NG-Air fuels, respectively. Overall furnace exit temperatures and heat flux profiles were not significantly affected by the biased firing.


The submental artery island flap is a recently described local flap that may be used for reconstruction of the lower and middle thirds of the face and oral cavity. The reverse‐flow manner of the flap has been used in limited cases because of possible drawbacks such as venous congestion. We present our experience with the use of reverse‐flow submental artery flap and describe the surgical technique.


Similar issues and similar interventions appear in treatment programs for child physical abuse, child sexual abuse, and woman abuse. Programs in all three of these areas make use of crisis lines, temporary shelter for victims, and professionally guided self-help groups. A wide variety of treatment orientations are used. However, common to all areas is a controversy over whether to use a family systems approach or an individual approach. Critics of family approaches claim that too much value is placed on family reunion or that they implicitly blame the victim. There is also a common trend toward closer collaboration with the criminal justice system. The collaboration is sometimes meant to convey the message to the family and society that family violence is a crime but more often it is designed to keep the offender in treatment. Cognitive and behavioral approaches have been evaluated more often than other approaches and seem to show promising results. Unfortunately, serious defects in the designs of nearly all evaluation studies conducted to date make it impossible to draw definite conclusions about treatment effectiveness.


The presence of oral cancer can necessitate the surgical removal of all or part of the maxilla, leaving the patient with a defect compromising the oral cavity's integrity and function. Upon removal of surgical obturator after 7-10 days of surgery requires fabrication of interim obturator. Which intern helps in restoration of esthetics, deglutition, and speech till the time patient is ready for definitive prosthesis. This article describes a simple technique to fabricate a one piece hollow bulb interim obturator.


Shilts begins work on And the Band Played On for St. Martin's Press – despite an initial struggle to find a publisher for the work. Shilts tackles the complexity of writing about an ongoing infectious disease pandemic with an unknown ending. Shilts unveils his thesis that AIDS succeeded because of government neglect, gay leaders public relations concerns, and news media reluctance to cover gay-related issues. Shilts employs "new journalism" techniques to tell the story of AIDS including reconstructed dialogue and internal thoughts. Shilts learns of the existence of a gay man infected with HIV still sexually active. Shilts uncovers and misinterprets the first "cluster study" on KS victims in southern California. Initial criticism of Shilts for "Patient Zero" concept raised.


In the article examined the influence of pressure, relative humidity and temperature of the atmosphere onto the air pressure in the tire 175/70R13car VAZ based on the data of the SU «RIHMI-WDC» the fasts (stations) about the air temperature, relative humidity and atmospheric pressure at station level of the natural-climatic zones of Russia. The issues of the impact of climatic characteristics onto the pressure in automobile tires considered for the summer period, which is the most loaded period of the year in terms of operation of the vehicle. Investigations are made with random sampling method using data from fixed-term observations of posts of the Federal Service of Hydrometeorology and Monitoring of environment. Changes in pressure in the tire during the work shift significantly affect the manageability, reliability and economic efficiency of operation of motor vehicle.


Survey and control measures are available for the western pine shoot borer, Eucosma sonomana Kearfott, but timing is a problem because of the cryptic nature of the insect in the field. In central Oregon, key features of the insect's seasonal history were related to heat accumulation (degree-days [DD] above 5.5°C) and phenological characteristics of one of its hosts, ponderosa pine, Pinus ponderosa Douglas ex Laws., and eight other associated shrubs and forbs. These relationships permit the status of the shoot borer's seasonal history, such as the egg-laying period, to be established indirectly from local temperature records or by observations of some obvious phenological characteristics of its host and associated plants.


The wavelet transform has emerged over recent years as a powerful time--frequency analysis and signal-coding tool suitable for use in the manipulation of complex nonstationary signals, and it has been in the forefront of many recent developments in biomedical and biological signal processing.


9589 Background: Breast cancer is frequently associated with thromboembolic events (TEE). TEE may result in significant morbidity, a substantial economic burden and they represent a leading cause of death. Methods: We conducted a case-control study to analyze patients' baseline and treatment characteristics in predicting TEE occurrence as well as the prognosis of breast cancer patients with thromboembolic events. We identified all breast cancer patients with a TEE at INCA (Brazilian National Cancer Institute), between January 2007 and December 2011. The control group consisted of breast cancer patients that had a doppler ultrasound with normal findings during the same period. Variables found to be significant (P <0.10) by univariate analysis were subsequently entered into a multivariate logistic regression model. We used Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression for survival analysis. Results: Overall, 225 patients that developed TEE were compared to 225 matched controls. The majority of events were deep vein throm...


The final report entitled"The Influence of Working Capital to Profitability at
Pharmacy Companies Listed in Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) In Year 2008-
2012". This study aims to identify and analyze Working Capital Turnover(WCT),
Receivable Turnover (RT), and Inventory Turnover (IT) simultaneously and
partically to Return on Assets (ROA)at Pharmacy Companies Listed in Indonesia
Stock Exchange (IDX) In Year 2008-2012. The data used are secondary data form
the financial statements of Pharmacy Companies Listed in Indonesia Stock
Exchange (IDX) In Year 2008-2012.The analytical method that used is multiple
linear regression.The analysis technique used are the descriptive statistic
analysis, data test, multiple linear regression, and hypotheses test. The result is
Working Capital Turnover(WCT), Receivable Turnover (RT), and Inventory
Turnover (IT) simultaneously significant effect to Return on Assets (ROA).
Whereas partically Working Capital Turnover(WCT) has negative significant
effect to Return on Assets (ROA), but Receivable Turnover (RT) and Inventory
Turnover (IT) hasn't effect to Return on Assets (ROA).
Keywords: Working Capital Turnover(WCT), Receivable Turnover (RT),
Inventory Turnover (IT) and Return on Assets (ROA).


By using achievement tendency individual difference,the will quality and characteristic sport self-confidence were adopted with the Achievement Tendency Individual Difference Scale,the Excellent Athlete Will Quality Scale and the Characteristic Sport Self-confidence Scale.And the date was analyzed by T-test,multivariate ANOVA,one-way ANOVA,multiple comparisons and Pearson correlation analysis.Possible reasons were discussed and analyzed from the two different angles of mass health-building and sports respectively.The result showed that the achievement tendency individual difference of the male disabled ping-pong players was slightly higher than that of the female,however,will quality and characteristic sport self-confidence were almost equal to that of the female;Gender characteristic and disabled category characteristic had no significant influence to the three aspects;The main effect of the two factors was not obvious,neither was the interaction;Age,training time,gender characteristic,disabled category characteristic had little correlation with the three aspects;However,the will quality had obvious correlation with the achievement tendency individual difference;Team,champion and non-champion had little correlation with the three aspects;But will quality had obvious correlation with the achievement tendency individual difference.


Vocational students in Culinary Department is required to mastering the ability on managing restaurant. One of the responsibility of the students while operating a training restaurant is writing financial statements. Most of the time, writing financial statements is the hardest part for students to be conducted in a training restaurant since the students have studied limited theory/courses on that topic. This research aims to explore the improvement of students' ability to write financial statements after the application of interactive worksheet by asking them to solve financial statements case study. This research is an experimental research. Three groups of samples are used in this research, in which each of the group consists of 74 students. The first group consists of the students who solve the case study without using any software/application, the second group solve the case study by using Microsoft excel, and the third group solve the case study by using the interactive worksheet application. The re...


Management of heterogeneous enterprise security mechanisms is complex and requires a security administrator to have deep knowledge of each security mechanism's configuration. Effective configuration may be hampered by poor understanding and/or management of the enterprise security policy which, in turn, may unnecessarily expose the enterprise to known threats. This paper argues that knowledge about detailed security configuration, enterprise-level security requirements including best practice recommendations and their relationships can be modelled, queried and reasoned over within an ontology-based framework. A threat-based approach is taken to structure this knowledge. The management of XMPP application-level and firewall-level access control configuration is investigated.


Debriefing is challenging and daunting for the novice debriefer. Debriefing literature is focused on the debrief conversation and the process of debriefing, with little guidance provided on how to observe the scenario and prepare for the debrief. Research in the simulation learner observer role reveals that engagement with the scenario through directed observation primes the learner to notice actions and events which may have been otherwise overlooked. Similarly, using the scenario learning objectives to prime and focus their attention, novice debriefers can develop their own observation tool to support data gathering during the scenario. By engaging with the learning objectives to clarify what they may expect to see or hear if the learning objectives are achieved, debriefers are better positioned to notice and collect relevant observational data and frame a debriefing conversation anchored to the scenario objectives.


This publication results from a year-lasting (2014-2015) collaboration between the Polytechnic University of Turin and Eindhoven Technical University's Chair of Rational Architecture, guided by Professor Christian Rapp together with Haike Apelt as Dutch Supervisors and Professor Silvia Malcovati as Italian Supervisor.


The present invention relates to a tunable laser having a dual output beam, a first configuration of the laser cavity comprises a first laser mirror, a laser gain medium, intracavity collimating lens, an active optical phase modulator in order to install, acousto-optic tunable filters, tunable Fabry - Perot filter, a second laser cavity mirrors and laser control and drive systems. After reflection by the mirror of the laser cavity into said first acousto-optic tunable filter of zero order beam output constituting a first laser beam, reflected by the rear mirror of the laser cavity into said second acousto-optic tunable filter zero order beam device constituting the second laser output beam. A second configuration of the laser is a Fabry increases above a first configuration - Perot etalon to achieve further compression band width laser output. The present invention has reasonable design, having no mechanical moving parts, reliable, low cost, small size, easy installation and production characteristics.


this paper presents Shunt Active Power Line Conditioners (APLC) for compensating reactive power and harmonic currents drawn by the loads besides power factor correction. The shunt APLC is implemented with three phase PWM current controlled voltage source inverter and is connected to the point of common coupling for compensating the current harmonics. The compensation process is based on phase locked loop (PLL) synchronization and proportional integral (PI) controller. These control strategy for shunt APLC makes certain that source current is sinusoidal even when the load is non- sinusoidal and unbalanced. The PWM-VSI inverter switching is done according to gating signals derived from hysteresis current controller and the capacitor voltage is maintained constant using PI controller. The proposed shunt APLC is investigated using extensive simulation and is found to be effective in terms of THD, active filtering, reactive power compensation and VDC settling time under both transient and steady state conditions.


The efficiency of many noise suppression filters relied on an accurate estimation of their parameters such as the power spectral density of the noise (PSD) and the a priori speech absence probability (SAP). This work addresses the problem of estimation of the a priori SAP. The proposed method relied on the conditional probabilities of the noisy speech magnitude, assuming that speech is absent or present and by dynamically computed parameters of the a priori SAP using two factors: a smoothing-update factor and a factor related to the kth spectral component. The smoothing-update factor, which is based on a decision made in frequency band whether speech is present or absent, is computed by recursively averaging past spectral values of the a priori SAP. The factor related to the kth spectral component is computed using the a priori signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). The efficiency of the proposed algorithm over competitive ones, both in terms of background noise suppression and speech distortion, is assessed by the use of an objective measure namely average segmental signal-to-noise ratio (segSNR) plus a study of speech spectrograms.


In this study, we used a fact pattern similar to the John Mark Karr scenario to examine perceptions of DNA and confession evidence. Specifi cally, we hypothesized that DNA evidence, confessor level of psychopathology, and presence or absence of Miranda protections would affect participants' perceptions of guilt and attitudes towards the interrogation process. One hundred nine undergraduates read a two-page summary based on John Mark Karr's confession. Summaries varied based on psychopathology of confessor, the presence or absence of DNA evidence, and the provision of Miranda warnings prior to confession. The DNA manipulation explained participants' attitudes towards specifi c aspects of the interrogation process. The importance of perceptions of forensic type evidence, specifi cally DNA, in our legal system is discussed.


The present study was accomplished to know the population of Heritiera macrophylla Wall. inside the Reserve forest in an effort to study further and conservation for the future, effects of seed germination and various nursery techniques. The study was conceded out in 4 Reserve forest in the plain area surrounding Pasighat forest range (Loki, Pikimuk Reserve forest in Pasighat range, Poba Reserve forest in Ruksin range, and Siko Reserve forest in Mebo range) and in the laboratory and field of Department of SAF, CHF, Pasighat, Arunachal Pradesh in the year 2017-2019. On surveying the reserve forest, only one Reserve forest was found to have occurred with the species and the data collected from there gives the frequency, density and abundance of 20%, 0.25 and 1.25 respectively. Among the 14 treatments for germination parameters in the laboratory, condition T13 {seed soaking in gibberellic acid 0.05% (overnight)} gives highest in germination percentage, germination value and peak value with 83.33%, 8.23 and 2.87 respectively. Energy period was fast in T14 {Split open the pericarp on 'C' with knife followed by gibberellic acid 0.05% soaking (overnight)} with 26 days. Similarly, in field condition, germination percent was highest in T13 {seed soaking in gibberellic acid 0.05% (overnight)} with 86.67% and the rest parameters - germination value, peak value and Energy period were highest in T14 {Split open of the pericarp on 'C' side with knife, gibberellic acid 0.05% (overnight)} with 9.40, 3.17 and 20 days respectively.


A recent APA seminar on environmental issues shows the trade is aware it needs to make changes. The first step is measuring what we already do.


ABSTRACT Offshore structures such as jacket platforms have anodes fitted on their steel structural members to prevent corrosion. The anodes are projections on the surface of a tubular structural member and they increase the hydrodynamic forces and hydrodynamic coefficients of the tubular member. The effect of anodes on hydrodynamic forces and coefficients depends on several factors. The industrial practice to account for this effect is to multiply the total hydrodynamic force by a global factor, which may be conservative and uneconomical. The objective of this particular study is to determine the effect of location and orientation of anodes on wave loads and hydrodynamic coefficients of a cylinder, which have not been studied extensively to the authors' best knowledge. The hydrodynamic forces and coefficients on a bare cylinder and a cylinder fitted with anodes were studied for regular waves of Keulegan-Carpenter (KC) number ranging from 0.42 to 1.91 in this experimental investigation.


The already divisive politics of South Asia's trans-boundary water resources are further complicated by the rush to construct large- and medium-scale dams. While highly contested in India today, hydropower construction reflects a nexus of state and capital that discriminates against the poorest and most marginalised citizens. Alternatives to the multiple crises of water within and beyond India must look beyond state-centrism and, instead, promote multi-scalar civil society organisations and networks, which may contribute to a more sustainable and transparent South Asia in the future.


This article discusses the concept of "tax dispute", determined the competence of the Russian judicial system under the consideration of tax disputes, as well as describes the basic ways of protection of rights of taxpayers, including pre-court settlement of tax disputes.


A pulse is shortened by repeated transits of a quantum well absorber in which the band-edge is detuned to higher energy. The calculated effect is consistent with the experimentally observed formation of 448-fs transform-limited pulses.


The theory of the gradual formation of overfolds and overfaults in a stratified system is thus developed by Professor Heim:— Wherever a stratified rock series is subjected to the lateral horizontal thrust of the earth's crust, a fold is originated. This fold consists of two opposed and symmetrical members, with more or less remote axes, viz. (Plate VIII. Fig. 1)


In this chapter, the authors describe how companies strategically manage standards in complex products and systems. They explore how standards selection and adoption can leverage the position of a firm as a leader or complementor1 in a CoPS platform. The authors particularly review the platform leader's management of standards and question whether these standards are used to reinforce its leadership or not. Then, they adopt the complementor's viewpoint and question whether standards adoption and implementation constitute a vehicle for skills acquisition. In other words, the authors address two questions: Does standard selection constitute a strategy to strengthen leadership? Does standard adoption facilitate capability building for a complementor and enable it contesting an installed leadership?


Introduction: The formation of solid inner core has conventionally been explained in terms of secular core cooling [1,2]. A solid inner core may also form if the pressure in the core of a growing protoEarth exceeds a threshold value and the existing core tem-perature becomes lower than the pressure-dependent melting temperature of the core. Assuming a Mars-type initial proto-Earth, the lithostatic pressure at the center increases from ~60 GPa to ~300 GPa during the accretion, implying a high probability of a solid inner core growth. The latter scenario is investigated as-suming that Earth is formed by inelastic accretion and complete merging of 25 Moon to Mars size planetary embryos, creating a self-gravitating and compressible Earth model.


The main results presented are characterizations of the Cramer-Rao (CR) bound on the variance of direction estimates for closely spaced emitters in multiple parameter (multi-D) scenarios. Specifically, simple analytic expressions for the CR bound are presented for colinear emitter configurations, which show the bound to be very sensitive to the maximum spacing between emitters ( delta omega ). Results also are cited for CR bound sensitivity to delta omega for emitter configurations in which the emitters are not colinear. The latter results exhibit greatly reduced sensitivity to the direction separation factor delta omega . Thus, the results show that degeneracies are present in multi-D parameter estimation scenarios that are not present in 1-D scenarios. Specifically, emitter resolution and direction estimation can be expected to be much more challenging for some emitter configurations than for others. The case of colinear emitters appears to be a particularly stressful one.<<ETX>>


As principal product to prevent pollution flashover for overhead transmission lines,composite insulators are applied to power networks in large quantity,but existing detection methods cannot effectively detect the inner-defect of composite insulators,so that the inner-defect becomes hidden danger to secure operation of power grids to certain extent.By means of theoretical analysis and a lot of testings as well as combining with practical operation of power grids,the authors propose a set of effective modified water-diffusion test methods and parameters for casual inspection and test items to detect inner-defect in new composite insulators and insulators in operation as well as an effective measure to detect ageing condition of composite insulators.In addition,a measure using airborne infrared imaging device to periodically inspect the inner-defect of composite insulators in service is put forward to ensure the secure operation of power grids.


Find & book your perfect family hotel, lodge, resort, villa, motorhome or island. Specialists in family accommodation, activities & adventure.


Bleeding is one of the leading causes of consultation in daily medical practice of the hematologist. Different hemorrhagic manifestations are not always caused by disorders of hemostasis. The proper application of clinical method is essential to correctly orient these patients. Individuals with disorders of hemostasis often have prolonged, recurrent and usually excessive bleeding. In this review we present some considerations to bear in mind when we face this kind of patient where an


Farfetch is the leading platform for online luxury fashion shopping. We have more than 3000 brands and high-end designers with the biggest catalog of luxury products available worldwide to more than 1 million customers. The high-end luxury fashion segment where Farfetch operates in is a notably complex and intricate field. Fashion trends change very fast and can come from anywhere, at any time, thus being very hard to capture. Ultimately, people's tastes are very personal and hard to extrapolate. Users of luxury websites have understandably high expectations and demand a high-end, curated and knowledgeable experience in all aspects. To achieve this, the recommendations engine powering the Farfetch platform is being built on top of three main pillars: 1) data, 2) expert knowledge, and 3) experimentation. Data is obviously the core of any automated recommender system. Like many e-commerce platforms, we collect and leverage various implicit interactions by tracking our users' journeys on Farfetch.com and apps, as well as the explicit preferences they often set - such as their favourite designers. From implicit feedback data we started building the state-of-the-art recommender systems based on collaborative approaches only to realize that our catalogue would not allow for item-item collaborative recommenders, since a product's lifetime is either too short with unique pieces being bought as soon as they go live, or too long with some timeless iconic items lasting forever. Hence, we needed to implement hybrid versions of collaborative-based recommenders which emphasized the products' content data [1]. Throughout the experimentation process over these algorithms, both implicit and explicit feedback data seemed to fall short to encode the sense of fashion expected by our customers. The obvious next step was to use the internal knowledge embedded in several teams of fashion experts and stylists. Although not trivial, there are many ways we can leverage this expert knowledge into improving the fashion understanding of our recommender systems: • Our content editors create the editorial pages with the latest trends and write the products' descriptions. This data allows us to build the relationships between designers to create adjacency models and incorporate taxonomy data employing NLP approaches [5]. • Our visual merchandising experts curate crucial listing pages with products respecting business rules, fashion trends and our signature on fashion. This allows us to encode colorflow and style trends by using style transfer techniques such as computing Gram matrices from convolutional feature maps [2]. • Our stylists manually curate outfits respecting Farfetch's style identity. This allows us to build automated outfits based on siamese neural networks on top of Convolutional Neural Networks [3, 4]. In order to tie these sources of information together in a seamless manner, we follow a strict experimentation workflow, where we iterate fast, deliver in a controlled way through AB testing, and track and evaluate the impact in different dimensions. This process has allowed us to optimize the business value of the system in different contexts and gain a better understanding of our customers and what works and doesn't work for them. In this talk, we will share the Farfetched solutions of our journey on building personalized recommendations in the segment of luxury fashion using data, experts and experimentation.


The study entitled "The Influence Of Behavioral Finance To Entrepreneurship Decisions On Students Faculty Economics University Abdurachman Saleh Situbondo ", to find out the direct and indirect influence of demographic factors (X1) and psychological factors (X2), against the decision of entrepreneurship (Y). External research achieved increasing the knowledge about the importance of entrepreneurship, opening new business opportunities especially for students themselves and for surrounding communities, increasing the income of students and the community, and can open up new jobs in the community. The population in this research is the student of Faculty Economics University Situbondo Saleh Abdurachman 983 students. This study used a purposive sampling random sampling techniques namely the sampling criteria. Determination of the total sample of respondents using the formula slovin, namely an amount of 71 respondents. The method used is the type of survey methods research explanation or explanatory research. Data analysis technique used is multiple regression analysis. Analysis results obtained shows that the influence of demographic factors Variable (X1) against the decision of Entrepreneurship (Y) based on the t-test can be aware that demographic factors variable significance < 0.05. Means a partially variable demographic factors (X1) had a significant influence of entrepreneurship (Y). While the influence of Psychology Factor Variables (X2) against the decision of entrepreneurship (Y) that the value of the variable significance of Psychology factor < 0.05. Means a partially variable factors Psychology (X2) had a significant influence of entrepreneurship (Y). Thus, the hypothesis that States influence the psychology of entrepreneurship in students of Faculty Economics University Abdurachman Saleh Situbondo proved his righteousness. As for the F-test results in summary it can be seen that the value of the probability of significance test of F is less than 0.05 (0.000 < 0.05), then the variables are demographic factors and psychological factors simultaneously influential decision significantly to entrepreneurship. So it can be stated that there is the influence of demographic factors and psychological factors simultaneously to the decision of entrepreneurship student Faculty Economics University Abdurachman Saleh Situbondo.


A method for defining and classifying heatwave events in the Euro-Mediterranean region is presented. The definition is based on the 95th centile of the local temperature probability density function, with additional criteria for spatial and temporal extension. The heatwave events are then classified into six classes by cluster analysis. The six heatwave patterns of Europe are described and compared to the existing literature. The most catastrophic extreme heatwaves (e.g. 2003 in Europe, 2010 in Russia) are shown to belong to one of these classes. It is then shown that the different classes are associated with different physical mechanisms. The effect of synoptic circulation and hydrological conditions are notably investigated. In particular, a drought appears to be a pre-requisite to heatwave occurrence in some clusters but not all.


From the dried leaves of Ohwia caudata, two new compounds, namely (4E)‐(4‐hydroxyphenyl)‐3‐butenoic acid butyl ester (1), and 4‐benzyl‐1,3‐phenylenedicarbamic acid methyl ester (2), together with five known compounds, were isolated and identified. The structures of compounds 1 and 2 were established using 1D‐NMR, 2D‐NMR and HR‐ESI‐MS spectral analysis. Previous studies on O. caudata had been reported to protect against Alzheimer's disease, two new compounds were evaluated for their neuroprotective effect against lipopolysaccharide‐induced BV2 microglia cells. The result indicated two compounds showed well anti‐neuroinflammatory activity at 12.5 μM.


Trans-Sphenoidal surgery (TSS) is a well-known approach for treatment of pituitary tumors. However, in inexperienced hands, the risk of lateral misdirection and vascular damage, intraoperative CSF leakage, and optic nerve injury are all well-known complications of this procedure. This prospective study was conducted to validate the accuracy of image-based segmentation in localization of neurovascular structures during TSS. METHODS: Eight patients with pituitary tumor underwent preoperative 3TMRI, which included thin sectioned 3D space T2, 3D Time of Flight and MPRAGE sequences. Images were reviewed by an expert independent neuroradiologist. Imaging sequences were loaded in BrainLab iPlanNet (6/8) and Stryker (2/8) for segmentation and pre-op planning. After patient registration to the intra-op neuronavigation system and surgical exposure, each segmented neural or vascular element was validated by manual placement of the navigation probe. The pulses of the bilateral ICA were confirmed using micro-Doppler. RESULTS: Pre-operative segmentation of the ICA and cavernous sinus matched with the intra-operative endoscopic and micro-Doppler findings in all cases (Dice-coefficient =1). This information reassured surgeons regarding the lateral extent of bone removal at the sellar floor and the limits of lateral explorations. Perfect correspondence between image-based segmentation and endoscopic view was also found at the surface of the tumor and tumor-normal gland interfaces. This helped in preventing unnecessary removal of the normal pituitary gland. Image-guidance helped surgeon to localize the optic nerve and chiasm in 63% of case and Diaphragma sella in 50% of cases, which helped to determine the limits of upward exploration and decrease the risk of CSF leakage. CONCLUSION: Image-based pre-operative vascular and neural element segmentation especially with 3D reconstruction is highly informative preoperatively and helps young and inexperienced neurosurgeons to prevent vascular and neural injury during trans-Sphenoidal surgeries. This novel preliminary study is encouraging for future prospective intraoperative validation with larger numbers of patients.


This paper covers the University of Louisville Libraries' experience with developing tools and a rubric for assessing events sponsored by one of the campus libraries. It provides background information about the local environment, outlines a conceptual framework developed for understanding event assessment, and briefly describes the tools that were designed for that purpose. It also describes some of the organizational barriers that were encountered as the assessment plan was shared within the organization. It serves as a reminder that creating a culture of assessment involves much more than introducing specific tools and methods for gathering feedback. It requires an organizational commitment to learn how well and what good is accomplished though the delivery of collections, programs, and services. Introduction Events programming at the University of Louisville (UofL) Libraries has always been considered a means for the unit to contribute to the vibrant intellectual climate on campus and create a welcoming environment for users. Over the years, the libraries have initiated and hosted a broad range of activities in our facilities, including exhibits, receptions, lectures, presentations, workshops, and open houses. During a period of organizational transition, this approach came under administrative scrutiny, and event assessment was recommended as a means of refining the future direction of the libraries' events programming. Context The previous dean of libraries strongly encouraged events as one method of generating visibility for the libraries. Her underlying premise was that increasing the number of events held in library facilities elevated the libraries' campus profile. It was believed this would increase the university administration's perception of library value and eventually result in greater investment via budget increases. Another administrative tenet affecting the volume of activity was that building relationships with external academic and support units was critical for reaching our long-term goals of administrative investment. As such, collaborations with other units, regardless of the libraries' role in event planning or execution, were encouraged and rewarded. Compounding these issues was an ad hoc infrastructure supporting events that drove a distributed decision-making culture. Library directors, librarian liaisons, and a very active exhibits committee were all empowered with initiating and hosting events. For a period of time, this approach appeared to be quite successful. The number of events increased and the libraries experienced increased traffic. Librarians were rewarded for their efforts and believed that they had accrued positive social capital with campus colleagues. Campus surveys validated that the libraries were held in high regard by the campus community, and the libraries enjoyed good support from the university administration. It is impossible to determine if any of these conditions were related to the increasing number of events held in the libraries, but it was a highly selfjustifying system. By the time a new Dean arrived in early 2011, this approach to events programming had become, in many respects, a victim of its own success. With so many different people involved and the lack of coordination, events were being scheduled when the buildings were closed, rooms were being doublebooked, and the libraries' technology, public services, and facilities staff were spending hours each week responding to "emergency" help requests from outside groups who viewed libraries' personnel as their conference center support group. Because the issues were the most pressing in the largest of the campus libraries, the library director convened an events work group to manage the calendar and logistics for all events in that facility. 2016 Library Assessment Conference 266 For the first time, one central body was charged with coordinating events, spaces, and resources. The group started meeting weekly and consisted of the library director, the head of access and user services, and two individuals closely involved in room scheduling. Their first tasks were to develop a schedule of all routine, ongoing events and to coordinate planning with event sponsors for future events. This allowed them to be better prepared for those ongoing events the libraries had longstanding arrangements to support. The group also rigorously reviewed incoming requests for new events and determined whether the libraries could accommodate their building use needs. Finally, they identified key library personnel for each event's management and shifted responsibility for security, maintenance, and other physical labor to the event planners. With these nominal changes, it was clear that, although some of the events were related to local collections and services, others had tenuous connections at best. Being charged to take a more focused and strategic approach to events planning allowed the group to say no to requests that were outside the scope of the libraries' strategic plan, particularly when the requested event placed significant demands on library resources. Within a year of when the group started, there was a clear decline in both the number of new events taking place in the library and the amount of situational drama that occurs when things go wrong. Additionally, the events that were taking place were better planned, better resourced, and more connected to the mission and goals of the library. Building a Tool Despite the many positive changes made to the logistics and scheduling of library events, assessment was not being used to help the group get feedback on events programming. As such, the authors volunteered to develop instruments to assist the events coordinators with understanding how well they were doing and where there were opportunities for further improvements. They envisioned the final outcome would be similar to the program evaluation forms that are a standard feature at most conferences, augmented with more casual onsite tools such as whiteboards or guest books. The library literature provided a number of useful, thought-provoking, and holistic approaches related to event assessment, particularly in sources about public library programming. Sources from the business literature also provided invaluable guidance for understanding how to measure event performance. In both librarianship and the business world, the concept of Return on Investment (ROI) with respect to events led to thinking about the success of events more broadly than originally conceived. If ROI was at the core of the transformative change in events coordination at UofL, the ability to assess it would greatly enhance assessment efforts. The authors then focused on learning more about the purpose and history of events the libraries were already hosting, such as an annual Dia de los Muertos display that filled the first floor lobby with altars and kites created by introductory Spanish classes to pay tribute to the deceased. Structured interviews were conducted with the library contacts for five representative events derived from the compiled events schedule. During these interviews, they asked planners a set of questions about the history of the event, its goals, success indicators, and their perceptions of the value to the libraries for hosting the event. These conversations were very pivotal in the development of an initial conceptual model for assessing the libraries' events. One of the key findings from these interviews was that the desire to build and maintain relationships with campus partners was often the primary goal of hosting the event from the library planners' perspectives. Although the planners had little evidence that event collaboration led to more frequent or deeper collaborations, they were highly certain of their value. Another important finding was that libraries' personnel frequently had little, if any, involvement in overall event decision making. An early conceptual model (Figure 1) emerged from the literature review and interviews with colleagues that had four dimensions for assessing events. As the authors developed a bank of questions and suggested methods (a toolkit) for collecting information related to each dimension, it appeared that the categories were not quite as distinct and encompassing as initially thought. Some questions seemed to fall in multiple categories and others did not fall neatly into any of them. After further analysis of the model and its four dimensions, it appeared there were two broad domains relative to event assessment that needed to be captured: "How well did we do?" and, "What good did we do?" The "How Well" measures covered the quality of the event and core issues of performance. Many


Piezoelectric ceramic cylindrical transducers are used extensively for underwater acoustic communication applications on mobile platforms (UUVs). Employing piezoelectric single crystals, used in either fully-active or active-passive segmented cylinders, in the transducer design has the potential to increase the usable bandwidth while reducing the overall size and weight of the device. In some instances, one single crystal transducer may replace several ceramic transducers and reduce the number of hardware channels. The impact on acoustic system design (power amplifier, matching transformer, and tuning network) for several piezoelectric ceramic and single crystal cylindrical transducer technologies is modeled and supported with measured transducer data.


This viewpoint for the Housing Learning and Improvement Network (LIN) has been prepared to identify some of the ways in which themes being discussed and implemented through the planning system could hinder or help in the supply of suitable and sufficient housing for the elderly. Housing suitable for the elderly is wrapped up in the housing system seen as a whole. There are reasons to believe that by meeting the needs of the elderly, the shortages of housing affecting other groups might also be relieved. It is important that housing is regarded as a public good and that the planning system is used to control supply and adaptation in the wider public interest – addressing the problems being caused by short term political interests.


Neural networks have been gained extensive study and application in the communication systems. This paper applies the neural networks to the transmitter, which proposes a self-learning constellation mapping method. The proposed method contains two kinds of neural networks. One is used to generate a new constellation mapping which can compensate the channel distortion. The other one is used to determine whether the newly generated constellation mapping is optimal. These two types of neural networks constitute an actor-critic architecture which is trained through the reinforcement learning method. Without losing generality, this paper applies the proposed method to the quadrature amplitude modulation systems. In the simulation experiments, the proposed method can generate some new quadrature amplitude modulation constellation diagrams which can compensate in advance the amplitude and phase distortion caused by the channel. Moreover, the performance of the proposed method is superior to the classical compensation method. Significantly, the neural networks in the proposed method are trained online, so there is no need to prepare a large amount of artificial data sets in the training phase.


271 words) Antibody-mediated rejection (AMR) is difficult to diagnose after ABO-compatible or ABO-identical (ABO-C) liver transplantation. To confirm whether C4d immunostaining is useful for diagnosing AMR, we compared the results of C4d immunohistochemistry in allograft biopsies with assays for anti-donor antibodies performed at the time of biopsies. A total of 114 patients with ABO-C grafts and 29 patients with ABO-incompatible (ABO-I) grafts were included. Linear C4d endothelial staining identifiable by x4 objective lens or staining seen in >50% of portal tracts was considered positive. Five of 114 (4%) patients with ABO-C and 15 of 29 (52%) patients with ABO-I showed C4d positivity. In ABO-C cases, C4d positivity was associated with ≥stage 2 fibrosis (METAVIR score) and presence of donor-specific anti-HLA DR antibodies (HLA-DR DSA) with more than 5000 mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) by the Luminex single antigen bead assay in late (≥30 days posttransplantation) biopsies (p=0.01 and 0.04, respectively). Conversely, presence of HLA-DR DSA was associated with presence of ≥stage 2 fibrosis, acute cellular rejection, and C4d positivity. During two-year follow-up, neither C4d positivity nor HLA-DR DSA was related to graft loss. In ABO-I, C4d positivity was not associated with allograft dysfunction or fibrosis. Only three of 15 (20%) C4d-positive patients showed periportal hemorrhagic edema, which could be a histological sign of AMR in ABO-I, and were the only cases associated with elevations in anti-donor A/B antibody titers. In conclusion, C4d endothelial positivity in ABO-C was an uncommon event that could be associated with chronic graft damage with or without clinical AMR. C4d positivity is common in ABO-I grafts, and may not be associated with allograft dysfunction if alloantibody titers are not elevated. Salah. C4d immunohistochemistry in liver allografts 4 Antibody-mediated rejection (AMR) in liver allografts is recognized as a possible cause of early and late allograft injury, and poor prognosis (1-8). However, unlike acute cellular or chronic rejection, the diagnosis of AMR in liver allografts is often difficult to establish. One of the main reasons for this is due to the difficulty in interpreting C4d deposition, which is the most widely used marker of clinical AMR in renal, cardiac, and pancreatic transplantations (8-11). The specificity of C4d staining in liver allografts is controversial. Ali S et al. (3) and Lunz J et al. (4) correlated diffuse portal tract vascular endothelial C4d deposition with AMR. However, C4d positivity was also reported in other medical conditions, such as acute cellular rejection (ACR) (1,3-5,12,13), chronic rejection (CR) (3,5,12,13), ischemic injury (1,3,12), hepatitis (1,3,4,14) and cholangitis (1,3,4). Unfortunately, most of these previous studies performed C4d staining on non-consecutive biopsies from unstable liver grafts (15). A more comprehensive study is required to understand the significance of C4d and its utility in AMR, in combination with tests for alloantibodies. In addition, sites of C4d deposition differ between and within these reports, including portal vessels (1-6,12,14), portal stroma (1,2,5), and sinusoids (3,4,5,12). The lack of agreement in staining patterns may also be related to the low specificity of C4d for AMR and may prevent clinicians and pathologists from using C4d in the routine histological diagnosis of liver allografts. Kozlowski et al. (7) recently suggested that strong linear staining in the sinusoid, rather than the portal tract, was a better marker for AMR and recommended the use of immunofluorescence on frozen sections. As they pointed out, immunoperoxidase staining is insensitive and frozen sections may be a better tool to demonstrate C4d deposition. However, frozen sections are not suitable for conventional histological evaluations, and formalin-fixed paraffin embedded tissue is additionally required. Considering the rarity Salah. C4d immunohistochemistry in liver allografts 5 of clinical AMR in liver transplantation (LT), we suggest that establishing a method to evaluate C4d by immunoperoxidase alone may be practical. Here, we designed a non-selective prospective study in which we performed C4d staining on all liver allograft biopsies obtained over four consecutive months, and every clinically indicated biopsy was included in this study. The presence of anti-blood group (Anti-A/B) antibodies or anti-human leukocyte antigen (anti-HLA) antibodies was evaluated during the same period. All patients were followed up for 2 years to clarify the significance of C4d in liver allografts. We adopted endothelial staining for this study although we previously reported the stromal deposition of C4d as an ominous sign of ABO-I LT (2). The main reason to exclude stromal staining in this study was that only endothelial staining has been used as the standard in other solid organ transplantations (16). The second reason is that stromal staining alone is often difficult to differentiate from the non-specific staining seen in elastic fibers or necrotic tissue (1, 17). When we picked up every portal stromal or endothelial staining, C4d staining was seen in various types of liver allograft injuries and did not show clinical significance (1). Since extensive C4d staining covers the endothelia of portal, sinusoidal, and perivenular areas (1, 2), we now assume that endothelial staining alone is adequate for evaluating C4d. Materials and methods Study population and biopsies In a prospective and non-selective manner, regardless of indication, we studied all liver allograft biopsies obtained between July and October 2011 at Kyoto University Hospital. Patients who underwent LT outside Kyoto University hospital were not included. Liver allograft biopsies were performed to determine allograft dysfunction or evaluate graft fibrosis when immunosuppression weaning was intended. If a patient underwent multiple biopsies during this period, the first biopsy that showed C4d positivity was Salah. C4d immunohistochemistry in liver allografts 6 selected for analysis. When all biopsies were negative for C4d, the first biopsy was selected. In each case, the biopsy specimen for analysis was classified as early (taken within 30 days after transplantation) or late (taken 30 days or more after transplantation). All patients were followed up until July 2013. Clinical and serological data were obtained from electronic patient charts. The Institutional Review Board of Kyoto University approved this study. Immunosuppression The baseline immunosuppression protocol consisted of tacrolimus and oral prednisolone in both ABO-C and ABO-I patients. The lower limit of the target for whole blood tacrolimus levels was 10 to 15 ng/mL during the first 2 weeks, 10 ng/mL thereafter, and 5 to 8 ng/mL from the second month on. Acute rejection was treated by a 3-day course of intravenous methylprednisolone bolus therapy (10 mg/kg). Mycophenolate mophetil was administered to patients who underwent refractory rejection or plasma cell hepatitis simulating autoimmune hepatitis. Immunosuppression was weaned in selected pediatric patients, according to the previously described protocol (18). All ABO-I patients underwent preoperative plasmapheresis or blood exchange in order to reduce antidonor A/B antibodies to 1:8 or lower. In addition, patients who underwent ABO-I transplantation after 2006 received rituximab (anti-CD 20 monoclonal antibody) approximately two weeks before transplantation (19). Adult patients were given prostaglandin E1 and methylprednisolone via a portal vein or hepatic artery. Clinical AMR, consisted of an elevation in postoperative anti-donor A/B antibody titers and graft dysfunction, was treated for about 5 days by plasmapheresis or intravenous immunoglobulin, with steroid bolus therapy. Salah. C4d immunohistochemistry in liver allografts 7 Histopathology Liver allograft biopsies were processed for routine light microscopy. Biopsy specimens were fixed in 10% buffered formalin, sliced 3 μm thick, and stained with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E), Masson Trichrome, and Cytokeratin 7 (clone OV-TL 12/30, Dako, Glostrup, Denmark; dilution 1:200). ACR and chronic rejection were diagnosed according to Banff criteria (20, 21). AMR was diagnosed according to the criteria used in other solid organ transplantations; i) clinical evidence of graft dysfunction, ii) histologic evidence of graft injury, iii) immunopathologic evidence of antibody action (C4d deposition), and iv) serologic evidence of anti-HLA or anti-donor antibodies at time of the biopsy (22). A combination of periportal edema, hemorrhage, and neutrophilic infiltration was regarded as an indicator of AMR in ABO-I patients (8,23). Allograft fibrosis was staged according to the METAVIR scoring system (24). C4d immunohistochemical staining A rabbit polyclonal anti-human C4d antibody (BIOMEDIA, Bl-RC4D, 1:50 dilution) was used to detect C4d. Staining was performed on an autostainer machine (Ventana Benchmark ULTRA). Sections were treated with protease (Ventana, 0.5 U/mL) at 37 °C for 20 minutes for antigen retrieval. C4d immunostaining using formalin-fixed, paraffin embedded tissue was available in our laboratory since August 2003, but it was applied only to selected cases and was not used routinely before this study. C4d interpretation Staining was recorded as diffuse when linear C4d deposition in the portal tract vascular endothelium was seen in 50% or more of portal tracts. Staining of fewer than 50% of portal tracts was considered focal. We also evaluated the intensity of staining, which was Salah. C4d immunohistochemistry in liver allografts 8 recorded as strong when linear C4d deposition was seen on low power magnification (x4 objective lens), and weak when staining was confirmed only on higher magnification. Completely negative (Score 0) or focally weak (Score 1) staining was considered negative and equivocal, respectively. Diffus


Objective To establish a normal BMD standard by observing lumbar BMD with quantitative computerized tomography(QCT) measurement in Weifang healthy women,so as to provide basis for clinical prevention and treatment of osteoporosis,and for assess of fracture risk in the region.To discuss the value of quantitative CT in measuring bone mineral density.Methods A total of 150 women from 20 to 69 years old,who received physical examination in the hospital were enrolled in this study.They were divided into five groups.Trabecular BMD of lumber bodies(L1~L3)were measured with QCT software so as to establish a standard of normal BMD in Weifang healthy women.Results The mean lumbar spine(L1~L3) BMD values of five age groups from 20 to 69 were(168.86±17.34),(160.36±18.59),(143.35±19.56),(120.31±18.36),(99.66±15.64)(mg/cm3) respectively.The average lumbar spine BMD value from 40 to 59 years(130.26±20.35mg/cm3)was greater(P0.01) in premenopausal women than in postmenopausal women(100.51±17.96mg/cm3).The threshold bone mineral density value for osteoporosis was 112.26mg/cm3;The percentage of annual bone mineral density loss was 1.58%;The BMD loss per year was 2.40mg/cm3.Conclusion We established a standard of normal BMC in women with QCT measurement,which provides the threshold bone mineral density value for osteoporosis,and provides basis for prevention and treatment of osteoporosis as well as evaluation of prognosis and fracture risk.


By a classifiable theory we shall mean a theory which is superstable, without the dimensional order property, which has prime models over pairs. In order to define what we mean by unique decomposition, we remind the reader of several definitions and results. We adopt the usual conventions of stability theory and work inside a large saturated model of a fixed classifiable theory T; for instance, if we write M ⊆ N for models of T, M and N we are thinking of these models as elementary submodels of this fixed saturated models; so, in particular, M is an elementary submodel of N. Although the results will not depend on it, we will assume that T is countable to ease notation. We do adopt one piece of notation which is not completely standard: if T is classifiable, M0 ⊆ Mi for i = 1, 2 are models of T and M1 is independent from M2 over M0 then we write M1M2 for the prime model over M1 ∪ M2.


The People's Republic of China launched the New Silk Road Initiative in 2013 . When completed, New Silk Road will link three continents: Asia, Europe and Af-rica. The chain of infrastructure projects will create the world's largest economic corridor, covering a population of 4.4 billion people and economies worth a total of 21,000 billion dollars [1]. Central and Eastern Europe is an important link in the chain that connects China with Europe, or the hub in the New Silk Road belt. The Republic of Serbia is located in Southeast Europe, at the crossroads of the main traffic corridors, with the shortest road and rail links from Western and Central Europe to the countries of Southern Europe and the Near and Far East. Serbia's infrastructure as a transit country is of great importance for easier ac-cess to and exploitation of natural resources and production capacities. Its main role is the transport of passengers and goods, as well as the transmission of data and information. Infrastructure projects include the construction of high-speed railways, roads and highways, networks for transmission and distribution of energy and networks of optical cables. Cities and harbors along the New Silk Road will record economic development. The paper analyzes the state of the Serbian infrastructure, its shortcomings and possibilities. If Serbia does not accelerate the development of infrastructure, with good estimates of growing commodity exchange and accelerated regional and global economic development, the advan-tages that it has can turn into weaknesses and endanger not only infrastructure security, as a follower of economic activities, but also slow down its own economic development due to missed opportunities to find its place in a change of the economic map of the world.


In this research, materials characterization of transparent glass-ceramics containing ferroelectric potassium sodium niobate (K0.5Na0.5)NbO3 (KNN) crystals in a tellurite glass system were studied. The samples were prepared via an incorporation method. Glass-ceramics containing KNN crystals were successfully fabricated by mixing KNN calcined powder with TeO2 of about 70 and 80 mol% and melting at 800°C for 15 min in a platinum crucible. The prepared glasses were then subjected to heat treatment at 350–550°C. The optical properties of the samples were characterized by UV-Vis-NIR and ellipsometer. It was found that heat treatment temperature had significantly affected the optical properties. XRD patterns of the glass-ceramics revealed an amorphous-like structure with different degrees of crystallinity. SEM results confirmed the XRD data, where the degree of crystallinity increased with increasing heat treatment temperature.


The utility model discloses an automatic pushing device. The automatic pushing device comprises a machine frame and a pushing arm, the machine frame is provided with transverse guide rods, a rotation power source and a connection base which is provided with transverse holes and a longitudinal hole, the guide rods are sleeved with the transverse holes, and the pushing arm is connected inside the vertical hole in a sleeved mode; a crank-link mechanism enables the rotation power source to be capable of driving the connection base to slide on the guide rods in a reciprocating mode; a cam mechanism connected with the pushing arm and the crank-link mechanism move synchronously to enable the pushing arm to be capable of sliding in the vertical hole in a reciprocating mode. According to the automatic pushing device, the rods and the holes in the transverse and longitudinal direction are used for guiding and limiting, the crank-link mechanism and the cam mechanism which move synchronously are arranged, and therefore power for achieving transverse reciprocating pushing and pulling and vertical reciprocating lifting can be output only by one rotation power source, and the pushing arm is driven to do rotation motion on a vertical face. The automatic pushing device is ingenious in conception and simple in structure, pushes materials rapidly and can be widely used for pushing and feeding materials during material conveying.


To comprehensively evaluate the safety of large grounding connection, testing and action principle of the main factors that impact the safe operation of grounding connection, were analyzed and studied, and the following conclusions were drew by theoretical analysis and simulation research. While evaluating step voltage and touch voltage, it's inadvisable to consider seasonal factors during the selection of soil resistivity; the testing direction of step voltage and touch voltage should be selected based on simulation computation for getting reliable data; eligibility criterion on electric integrity of grounding connection should not be 200mΩ but appropriately lowered; corrosion evaluation of grounding connection can be get rudely by analogized ways, which need the adding appropriate monitoring point in the corner of the grounding grid. Finally, the grading criterion and reference methods of weight value for the testing results of safe operation factors of grounding connection is proposed for establishing a quantified evaluation system of grading grounding connection, detailing the state evaluation system of large grounding connection.


This paper examines possible sources of asymmetries in Okun's law, which describes the relationship between cyclical changes in the unemployment rate and cyclical changes in output; that is, the relationship between deviations in unemployment from its natural rate and deviations in output from its trend. Macroeconomic shocks can generally explain the asymmetry in the Okun relationship between periods of economic expansion and contraction. We find no evidence of asymmetry between periods of positive and negative cyclical (above trend or below trend) output. In turn, we conclude that the asymmetry between periods of economic expansion and contraction results from policy decisions and exogenous shocks rather than an underlying structural component of the relationship such as inherent risk aversion among employers.


Authenticated key exchange (AKE) is a classic problem in cryptography, where two participants want to exchange their secret keys without being guessed feasibly. Recently, there has been renewed interest in this problem in the smart city since millions of devices and servers in this environment may involve the problem. New challenges are raised at the same time. One of the greatest challenges is how to facilitate communication between participants. Traditionally, a trusted third party (TTP) is needed to provide a trusted way to exchange keys. However, devices in the smart city environment are usually distributed and trustless. A central trusted mechanism is not suitable for many applications in it. The second challenge is that the requirements in the applications of the smart city are diverse. Finally, a practical AKE protocol should be efficient and easy to integrate. To address these challenges, we provide a fully decentralized AKE protocol framework called DAKEs. To the best of our knowledge, DAKEs enjoy the most comprehensive security properties to fulfil diverse requirements. The decentralization of DAKEs is captured by using the blockchain while avoiding the availability problem of other similar blockchain-based schemes. Our test is conducted in a real-world test network of Ethereum. The result shows that DAKEs are efficient and at a low cost.


 PRIME empowered stakeholders collectively to design and establish plans for effective management of pastures and water. The project supported soil and water conservation measures, enclosing degraded pastures, selective bush thinning, and clearing the invasive plant Prosopis. These practices improved pasture plant quality and reduced bare soil and overgrazing, which resulted in increased sequestration of soil carbon. These grassland improvements were estimated to sequester -0.1 million tCO2e/yr.


On July 4, 1862, a famous baseball game is played at Salisbury Prison between Union inmates and Confederate guards-and is captured in a lithograph made by a spectator, Capt. Otto Boetticher of the 68th New York. Baseball spreads with the armies, a favorite pastime that keeps a lot of men safely busy during the long lulls between battles-and is sometimes played while battles are raging nearby. It soon becomes a metaphor for the war itself


This article reports the results of an investigation involving a select number of former prisoners with completed PhDs, who applied for work as tenure‐track criminology/criminal justice professors. It attempts to place into context the literature on ex‐convicts' employment, the hiring process at academic institutions, and the experiences of ex‐convicts with PhDs competing for academic jobs at colleges and universities. The findings are based on the personal experiences of ex‐convict university professors, gathered through a questionnaire. Analysis of responses reveals little evidence of perceived prejudice against former criminals at the recruitment and interview stages. However, the hiring stage may be more problematic. In part, results suggest that the impact of a criminal conviction on employment chances may depend on the point at which disclosure about a felonious past is made.


Introduction: Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) is the universal standard developed bythe American College of Radiology to characterize breast lesions on mammography.Histopathological assessment is usually doneaftersurgery,helpstocorrelatetheBI-RADSscoringsystem.).Molecular markers including estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2(Her2) have prognostic and predictive values and hence can be used to recommend treatmentguidelines. Methodology: A 2-year prospective cross-sectional observational study was conductedin the Departments of Pathology and Radiodiagnosis, Christian Medical College, Ludhiana. Atotalof62caseswhichhadundergonemammographyfollowedbyabreastbiopsywereincludedinthe study. Mammograms and Histopathology slides of all cases were reviewed independently by tworadiologists and pathologists respectively. Results: Lesions with smaller diameters on mammography and biopsy showed a stroke positive correlation (r =0.5461,p=0.0007). Significant associations of biomarkers with mammography characteristics were observed(ER with architectural distortion, p=0.005 ER with margins, p=0.005 PR with architecturaldistortion,p=0.009PRwithmargins,p=0.005Her2witharchitecturaldistortion,p=0.007Her2with margins, p=0.006). Conclusion: Significant associations between histopathological biomarkers and mammography characteristics could provide additional information at the first contact of a patient with a breast lesion.