The thermochemistry and chemical kinetics for a partially premixed system in turbulent reacting flows are discussed in terms of activation energy asymptotics and a simple presumed pdf based on two delta functions. The resulting analysis permits fuel and products to coexist, i.e., finite rate kinetic effects are incorporated. Emphasis is placed on lean mixtures since these are of greatest applied interest but the analysis pertains to both rich mixtures and those spanning equivalence ratio of unity. Assessment of the thermochemical model is carried out in two ways, the most comprehensive of which involves the flow in a slender channel. Although the fluid mechanical description of this flow is highly simplified, a large number of parameters are found to be needed to characterize the operative aerothermochemical conditions, the implication being that a wide variety of flows are susceptible to treatment.


Dynamic deformation measurement with a large in-plane deformation is performed by using virtual speckle patterns. The virtual speckle pattern has been generally produced by using Fourier technology. However, it takes a long calculating time to produce a virtual speckle pattern under Fourier technology, because the method requires Fourier transform operation at each pixel of CCD. In the proposed method, virtual speckle patterns are produced by Carré algorithm without any operation by Fourier transform. As the results, it is confirmed that the calculating cost of virtual speckle patterns is improved remarkably, and that the new method also is almost equal to the ordinary methods in measurement accuracy.


Background: Pre-operative and post-operative hearing status and status of mastoid cavity were compared in patients undergoing canal wall down mastoidectomy (CWDM) with tympanoplasty. Methods: Forty-three patients who underwent surgery and completed their follow up post-surgery were included in the study. Nineteen patients underwent CWDM with type III tympanoplasty with PORP, 7 patients underwent CWDM with type III tympanoplasty without PORP and 17 patients underwent CWDM with type IV tympanoplasty with TORP. Results: Among enrolled patients, 21 patients were females and 22 patients were male. Right ear (29) was commonly involved than left ear (14). Hearing loss was predominant symptom followed by recurrent ear discharge and other symptoms. Patients underwent three types of surgeries, type III tympanoplasty with PORP (19/43), type III tympanoplasty without PORP (7/43) and type IV tympanoplasty with TORP (17/43) by using Teflon prosthesis. Conclusions: Thirty seven percent (16/43) of patients had hearing threshold <25 dB post-surgery with maximum improvement in group A 47% (9/19). Forty seven percent (20/43) patients had hearing threshold between 26-40 dB with maximum improvement in group B 43% (3/7). Twelve percent (5/43) patients had hearing threshold between 4160dB with almost equal improvement in all three groups. Five percent (2/43) of patients had >60dB hearing threshold, all belonging to group C. Anatomical results were assessed by examining the mastoid cavity showing 95%, 72%, 70% patients in group A, B and C had well epithelialized cavity.


Multicanonical ensemble simulations for the simulation of first order phase transitons suffer from supercritical slowing down. Monte Carlo autocorrelation times diverge exponentially with free energy barriers ∆F , which on L boxes grow as L. We exemplify the situation in a study of the 2d Ising-model at inverse temperature β = 0.7 for two different lattice manifolds, toroidal lattices and surface hypercubes. For both geometries the effect is caused by discontinuous droplet shape transitions between various classical crystal shapes obeying geometrical constraints. We use classical droplet theory and numerical simulations to calculate transition points and barrier heights. On toroidal lattices we determine finite size corrections to the droplet free energy, which are given by a linear combination of Gibbs-Thomson corrections, capillary wave fluctuation corrections, constant terms and logarithmic terms in the droplet volume. Tolman corrections are absent. In addition, there is a condensation phase transition close to the Onsager value of the magnetization, which is of discontinuous order also. A combination of classical droplet theory and Gibbs-Thomson corrections yields a fair description for the transition point and for the droplet mass discontinuity for large droplets. We also estimate the nucleation barrier associated with the formation of the critical droplet.


To play the democratic supervision role of the democratic parties,we should firsdy know the democratic supervision of the democratic parties correctly;secondly the Chinese Communist Party,as the ruling party,should pay much attention to playing the democratic supervision role of the democratic parties;thirdly the democratic par- ties as the participating party,should improve the standard of the democratic supervision.


PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a time stamp device by which data information difficult in deletion and revision is added to digital contents without impairing image quality. SOLUTION: Image pickup date information set by a data information setting section 3 is converted into an image signal by an image pickup section 1, the image signal is embeded into a digital image signal of an objet image converted by an A/D converter section 2 at a watermark embeding section 4 by the digital watermark technology so as to add the data information whose deletion and revision are difficult to the object image without impaing image quality. Furthermore, in the case of extracting the impairing pickup date information sets of two kinds or over when the embedded information is extracted from the image signal, it is discriminated that the data information is a synthesis image by illegal use.


The paper offers an account of a research intended to answer the question Abstract whether among the groups of failing students with different levels of abilities and successful students there are differences in motivation and the level of procrastination, and to which extent the mentioned variables can predict failing in school. After a preliminary testing of students with a battery of intelligence tests KOG3, the final sample included 267 students from the first to the fourth grades of elementary school, who were divided in three groups: successful students with above-average abilities (IQ above 120, average school marks above 4.50), talented failing students (IQ above 120, average school marks below 4.50), and average failing students (IQ from 90 - 110, average school marks below 3.50). The respondents, selected according the above criteria, filled in the questionnaire for examining motivation which is based on the theory of self-placement, as well as the scale of procrastination (PASS) which determines a general measure of postponement as a feature of behaviour. The obtained results suggest that successful students show more productive forms of motivation, like autonomous intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, while failing students are characterized by a general tendency to postpone the activities that lead towards a goal. On the other hand, there were no differences between the high-ability failing students and average-ability failing students regarding either the type of motivation or the tendency to procrastination. The results of the category regressional analysis showed that the predictive set of the variables which combines different forms of motivation and procrastination are moderately linked with academic success, i.e. failing, while partial contributions of individual predictors stress the importance of external motivation for explaining failures.


ABSTRACT This study investigated the importance that professionals working in the hospitality industry attach to key areas taught in hospitality financial management and accounting as they relate to the success of hospitality graduates. It also sought to determine whether significant differences existed between various demographic subgroups based on industry segment, position, time in the industry, and educational attainment. A snowball sampling technique yielded 103 useable surveys. Analysis of the data indicated that practitioners did attach substantial importance to both financial management and accounting skills in achieving industry success. Of the two skill sets, they viewed financial management skills as more critical. There was a clear demarcation between those accounting areas more closely associated with operations and those linked to financial accounting. Analysis of the demographic subgroups identified differences in perception, but only a few of these rose to the level of significance.


In order to investigate the effects of physostigmine and verapamil on aggressive (test of foot shock induced aggression) and depressive (learned helplessness test) behavior, ten days after bilateral lesions of the nucleus basalis magnocellularis (NBM), adult male Wistar rats were acute treated (30 min before the test) with physostigmine (0.045, 0.060 and 0.075 mg/kg, s.c.) or verapamil (1.0, 2.5, 5.0 and 10.0 mg/kg, s.c.). Physostigmine in dose of 0.075 mg/kg and verapamil in doses 2.5 and 5.0 mg/kg significantly prolongated the escape latency period in the learned helplessness test and thus produced a consolidation of depressiveness in NBM-lesioned rats. In contrast to that, there was no restitution of aggressive behavior in NBM-lesioned rats treated with both drugs. It could be concluded that both physostigmine and verapamil exerts a significant influence on depressive, but not on aggressive reaction in an animal model of Alzheimer's disease.


The athlete tries to make out the test index and evaluation standard of the physical quality of excellent football athletes of U-15(aged 15-16) in our country objectively to provide the reference for the coachers in their teaching and training through statistics and analysis of the test data of the physical quality of the excellent men football athletes of U-15 in our country in winter training of 2002.


It is increasingly recognized by policymakers and the academic community that startup firms play an important role in enhancing national and regional economic competitiveness. Existing studies have focused mainly on developed countries and highly marketed city-regions in developing countries, lacking sufficient attention to underdeveloped regions. The Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) is the poorest province in post 1949 'New China'. In recent years, the TAR's government has released a series of policies to encourage the establishment and development of startup firms, but understanding how to promote social development and economic growth through the creation and development of startup firms is still a significant issue for the TAR's government. Therefore, taking Tibet as a case area, this article discusses the evolution of the spatial patterns of startup firms in underdeveloped regions in China. The findings include: ① The past two decades have witnessed tremendous growth in the number of startup firms; however, the number and rate of growth are not geographically even. ② In terms of geographical distribution, startup firms in the TAR have concentrated on or around key nodes along major transport corridors (place dependence); however, with the development of transportation infrastructure and development zones, they have also been established in new localities (place creation). ③ Although all subregions of the TAR have spatial agglomerations of startup firms, they are different in agglomeration characteristics. Finally, after acknowledging shortcomings in its research, this article calls for multi-sited research to investigate the diversity of the spatial patterns and dynamics of new firm formation in the underdeveloped regions of China.


Several (3-aryl-2,3-dihydrobenzofuran-3-yl)alkanamines, designed as potential antidepressant agents with analgesic properties, were synthesized and pharmacologically evaluated. While two compounds (1a, 1f) displayed potent antitetrabenazine activity, concomitant antinociceptive activity in the phenylquinone writhing assay was not observed.


$B$-site ordered thin films of double perovskite ${\mathrm{Sr}}_{2}{\mathrm{CoIrO}}_{6}$ were epitaxially grown by a metalorganic aerosol deposition technique on various substrates, actuating different strain states. X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and polarized far-field Raman spectroscopy confirm the strained epitaxial growth on all used substrates. Polarization-dependent Co ${L}_{2,3}$ x-ray absorption spectroscopy reveals a change of the magnetic easy axis of the antiferromagnetically ordered (high-spin) ${\mathrm{Co}}^{3+}$ sublattice within the strain series. By reversing the applied strain direction from tensile to compressive, the easy axis changes abruptly from in-plane to out-of-plane orientation. The low-temperature magnetoresistance changes its sign respectively and is described by a combination of weak antilocalization and anisotropic magnetoresistance effects.


Ideas on sculpture in the Encyclopedie. ; Although sculpture is the art that is most neglected in the Encyclopedie, certain articles (in particular those by Jaucourt that adopt the views of Falconet) reveal an aesthetic approach that is shared by most of the Encyclopedists, namely the predominance of technique, the search for a synthesis between reason and creative imagination, and the idea of "social" genius linked to that of progress. We can also see a historical culture that emphasizes classical art and French classicism, as well as the difficulties which prevented the achievement of the programme laid out by Diderot and D'Alembert. Two ideas surface here and there which were to become fundamental for neoclassicism a few years later : the moral aim of sculpture and art, and the principle of unity and clarity.


sistance of the complete wire in the secondary circuit, and U is a certain" force function" which depends solel,v npon the form and position of the wire at any instant, and on the magnetism of the influencing body. The expression, in gellerallanguage, is as follows: " When a cnrrent is induced in a closed wire by ft magnet in relative motion, the intensity of the CUl'l'ent produced is proportional to the actnal rate of variation of the" force function" by the differential coefficients of' which the mutual fwtion between the magnet an(l the wire would be represented if the intensity of the current in the wire were unity. " 'rhis investigation was underLaken to ascert"in if the laws of derived circuits apply to the currents of induction, which are represented by equations of which theabove is a type. A refleeting galvanometer of large resistance was included in the secondary circuit, and connected by COppel' wires of very small resistance with the coil in which the secondary cnrrents were produced: the resistance of these wires was infinitessimal in comparison with the resistance of the galvanometeJ·. The galvanometer was then shunted. The first two column,:; of the following table show that, with an inappreciable resistance outside of the galvanometer coils, the shunts made no difference in the deflection of the gftl vftnometer needle when the shunts were not less than three ohms, Below this the current divided. The resistance of the galvanometer was 5880 ohms, and the last numbers in the second and third columns show that an equal


The objective to this program is to develop, field test, and commercialize an improved Sonic Leak Pinpointer capable of accurately locating gas leaks emanating from the buried pipes of medium- and high pressure natural gas distribution systems in order to improve saftey and lower costs associated with leak pinpointing and repair operations. The purpose of the work reported here is to demonstrate the improved sensitivity of the sonic Leak Pinpointer breadboard.


A low power fast settling multi-standard CMOS fractional-N frequency synthesizer is proposed.The current reusing and frequency presetting techniques are adopted to realize the low power fast settling multi-standard fractional-N frequency synthesizer.An auxiliary non-volatile memory(NVM) is embedded to avoid the repetitive calibration process and to save power in practical application.This PLL is implemented in a 0.18μm technology. The frequency range is 0.3 to 2.54 GHz and the settling time is less than 5μs over the entire frequency range.The LC-VCO with the stacked divide-by-2 has a good figure of merit of-193.5 dBc/Hz.The measured phase noise of frequency synthesizer is about-115 dBc/Hz at 1 MHz offset when the carrier frequency is 2.4 GHz and the reference spurs are less than -52 dBc.The whole frequency synthesizer consumes only 4.35 mA @ 1.8 V.


The spatial distribution of DD-fusion neutrons emitted by the Plasma Focus Device PF 1000 at the Institute of Plasma Physics and Laser Microfusion, Warsaw was studied experimentally. The measurements of neutrons with thermoluminescent (TL) dosimeters and fast-neutron moderators show a distinct emission anisotropy owing to the neutron scattering on the discharge chamber. The measured anisotropy is compared with the computational prediction of the emission anisotropy induced by the discharge-chamber structure. Introduction The principle of a Dense Plasma Focus Device operation lies in the conversion of energy collected in a capacitor bank into electromagnetic acceleration and compression of short-lived plasma which becomes a source of X-rays, charged particles and nuclear fusion netrons, when operated in deuerium. The measurement of the neutron emission is affected by the neutron interaction with the discharge chamber, surrounding equipments and laboratory walls etc. [1]. The goal of our contribution is the observation of the anisotropy of the neutron emission by the Plasma Focus 1000 facility operated at optimal conditions of deuterium pressure and electrode configuration. Exper imental ar rangement The plasma was generated in the PF-1000 device discharging energy of 450-500 kJ in the deuterium with pressure of 3.5 Torr. The recorded maximum neutron yield is ... 3.5·10 34th EPS Conference on Plasma Phys. Warsaw, 2 6 July 2007 ECA Vol.31F, P-5.083 (2007)


Many companies are currently, using AI for lots of scenarios
including improving clinical workflows, managing claims, detecting
fraud, as well as predicting hospital-acquired infections..


against the systems of government that they overthrew, rather than invoking efhnocultural language or attacking particular "bosses" or "ward-heelers." They also benefited from the institutional weakness of political parties in the region. The main reformist arguments were that reform charters would enable city governments to do a better and more professionalized job at promoting and managing growth and would be better able to resist the temptations to corruption offered by powerful utility companies. The chief weakness of this book is its organization. Bridges adopts a chronological and thematic approach that discusses all of the cities simultaneously, which makes it difficult to follow the particular histories and remember the key players in any one of the cities. Clearly, though, this reflects a tradeoff, since Bridges is arguing for the distinctiveness of the Southwest, while she also is arguing for the shared history of its cities. There are also occasional errors such as referring to the IWW as the "International" rather than the "Industrial Workers of the World." Nevertheless, Morning Glories tells an important story convincingly. Old debates about city politics that were based on the experience of the Northeast and Midwest, particularly the one about whether it was bosses or reformers who represented democratic aspirations, are renewed by Bridges's evidence from the Southwest. Now that we know what reformers did when they won, the bosses look a little better. Bridges makes this point explicit in her conclusion. Chicago's heritage of machine politics, with voter participation rates much higher than those of the southwestern reform cities, allowed a victorious Carol Mosely Braun to tell her African-American constituents in 1992, "we know how to do this" (217). One might still question this interpretation of machine politics, but Bridges has made it very difficult to pose "reform" as a more democratic historical alternative.


International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) is the international accounting standards issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). Statement of Changes in Equity is a financial statement that shows the change in equity during a given period. This study aims to analyze and test the statement of changes in equity differences before and after the application of IFRS as well as to examine the effect of changes in equity on stock return. The samples are companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange for four years i.e 2008-2011. The sampling technique using purposive sampling, number of samples used 16 companies of 132 manufacturing companies. This research uses explanation. Analysis by using Simple Linear Regression Analysis and hypothesis testing use t-test (different) or paired sample test. The analysis showed that there are significant between the statements of changes in equity on stock returns. T test (different) showed that there is a difference between the statement of changes in equity before and after the implementation of IFRS. This study is expected to be a reference for researchers who want to conduct further research on the comparative statement of changes in equity before and after implementation of IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards), as well as being interested in solving the problem of the influence of changes in equity on stock returns. Thus, this study can be continued by adding more variables and using a longer study period in accordance with the company to be sampled, so get more relevant results.


During the course of the 19th century, the United States forged an empire on a continental scale and also made significant territorial gains overseas. While it had taken the British Empire a little over two centuries to settle the swath of land stretching between the Appalachian Mountains and the Atlantic Ocean, the fledgling postcolonial American nation managed to colonize a land mass several times larger in a fraction of the time. But all this expansion came at an enormous human cost, resulting in the death or removal of countless native peoples, the enslavement of millions of African Americans, and sectional tensions that led to the American Civil War. During the latter part of the century, Americans began pursuing an imperial project beyond the continent, waging war or initiating annexation projects in Santo Domingo, Cuba, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines. The sources collected here reflect the dynamism, contingency, and tragedy of American colonization efforts between 1776 and 1900.


The urban historical quarters are charged with the duties of preserving,spreading,and developing culture.Nanjing Republic Urban Quarters grew out of the Capital Plan,the city construction plan made by the Republic of China and characterized by dispersing tendencies.But they do not hinder the concentration development of the city today.Rather,they promote the development of urban organic concentration by playing the physical space role of organic dispersion.They also perform the double duties of sustaining and producing culture.Therefore,we should take more effective measures to make them an organic whole to promote the historical culture of the city.This will systematically push the organic concentration development of the Nanjing City.


Objectives:To expand the research on abstinence self-efficacy by establishing the relationship between self-efficacy, dispositional coping style, and treatment outcome in a clinical sample of male problem drinkers. Methods:During the first week of inpatient treatment, participants (N = 89) completed measures of alcohol use, coping style, and personality. Treatment outcome was evaluated 3 months following discharge. Abstinence self-efficacy was assessed both during the first week of treatment and at 3-months follow-up. Results:Previous alcohol use, dispositional coping style, and the interaction between self-efficacy and coping style accounted for 19.7% of variance in treatment outcome. Conclusions:Findings suggest that being less confident and avoiding confrontation with threatening information at the same time may increase the risk for relapse. Taking into account dispositional coping style may prevent clinicians from further inflating clients' self-efficacy.


Nuclear facilities, organizations, and regulatory agencies have a compelling interest in developing effective methodologies to help mitigate potential insider threat. The IAEA defines an "insider" as one or more individuals with authorized access to nuclear facilities or nuclear material in transport who could attempt unauthorized removal or sabotage, or who could aid an external adversary to do so. The IAEA Implementing Guide on Preventive and Protective Measures Against Insider Threat (NSS No.8) has multiple references to the role of nuclear security culture (NSC) in addressing insider threat but does not provide any specifics in this regard. This paper attempts to fill in this gap and develop step-by-step guidance for using the evolving NSC methodology to perform this vital function. The IAEA NSC model has 30 characteristics of culture while the Draft Technical Guidance for NSC Self-Assessment lists over 300 culture indicators to illustrate the meaning of each characteristic. At least several of them are directly linked to widely used practices designed to prevent insiders from committing malicious acts and mitigating their possible consequences. For example, Human Reliability Program is covered by NSC characteristic "Continual determination of staff trustworthiness; Mitigation of Occupational Strain by "Work environment"; Compliance with IAEA Proposed Preventive and Protective Measures by "Adherence to procedures"; and Improved Observation Skills by "Vigilance," which includes observation and reporting. Culture indicators associated with these characteristics would enable management to self-reflect to determine existing weaknesses and strengths or launch, if deemed necessary, a full-scope self-assessment focusing on insider threat as the main theme. A follow-up NSC enhancement plan will prioritize, among other tasks, improving relevant management systems, targeted training curricula, awareness raising and reliable communication systems in a comprehensive effort to promote a robust culture with special emphasis on dealing with insider threat. NSC self-assessments held at regular intervals will enable management to determine whether its follow-up plans yield desired results and what adjustments need to be made under the next plan. This cycle of IAEA recommended assessment and enhancement of security culture will keep insider risks under continuous scrutiny in a NSC general context rather than implementing separate and often disconnected initiatives in this regard. In addition, involving a considerable portion of the workforce in surveys, interviews and focus groups as methods of self-assessment can be a valuable and sustainable learning experience in addition to conventional classroom training format. Continuous focus on NSC as well as organization-wide dissemination and discussion of self-assessment reports can deter potential insiders from implementing their plans. The proposed approach is just one possible way to cope with the insider risk but it has several important advantages which is discussed in this paper.


This paper analyzed the errors that occurred by leaving the shape of the cutting edge out of consideration on a NC lathe machine in cutting a semi-sphere surface and brought forward a method to offset these errors and the correct calculated formula for some parameters on the basis of experiments.It has increased the manufacturing accuracy of the semi-sphere surface on the NC lathe machine.


The design of information-active systems provides the formation of the model representation of automated tasks, which is invariant to the environment and means of software and hardware implementation. The syntactic (info-logical) model representation of applied problems will be adequate to initial requirements only if they provide meaningful unity. It is determined by the initial formation of a knowledge model or conceptual representation of applied tasks. The conjugation of semantic and syntactic static constructions is based on the regularity of mapping in the framework of the methodology of intellectual labor automation. The formal description of connections (mapping) of semantic (conceptual) and syntactic (info-logical) representations on the basis of the regularity of mapping allows limiting the set of possible relations and connections in verbal syntactical constructions for representation of subject tasks and providing completeness of the formalized (syntactic) representations at the expense of their semantic addition.


A line start permanent magnet synchronous motor (LSPMSM) supplied with distorted voltage is analysed. The study is based on the field–circuit model. The algorithm for solving the equations of the model is discussed. In the analysis of the selected states of the motor the non–linearity of the magnetic circuit and skewed slots of the rotor are taken into consideration. In order to verify the developed algorithm and software, among others the startup process of the motor has been examined. The electromagnetic torque and phase currents are calculated. The results of computations have been compared to the results obtained using the commercial FEM package Comsol Multiphisics. Selected results of simulation tests are shown.


The Eucla Basin has the largest onshore extent of Cenozoic marine sediments anywhere in the world. The sediments provide a record of the evolving marine environments of the Southern Ocean and the terrestrial hinterland of the Australian continent. However, owing to its size and remoteness, the Eucla Basin is comparatively understudied. This is exacerbated by the scattered and often deeply weathered nature of the outcrops along the margins of the basin, and the inaccessibility of exposures in the basin centre, except in cliffs and caves. The extent and isolation of the Eucla Basin over two states has resulted in conflicting and overlapping stratigraphic nomenclature, especially of the marginal sediments. Therefore, we propose rationalising the nomenclature of the Eocene rocks in the region based on three guiding principles: the use of consistent terminology across the region; the recognition of the importance of allostratigraphy in defining stratigraphic architecture, in particular two 3rd‐order cycles correlated with the Tortachilla and Tuketja transgressions; and continuity with past usage wherever possible, with a minimum of new terminology. We propose eight major changes to the existing nomenclature: (i) abandoning the term Bremer Basin for the marine and marginal marine to non‐marine Eocene sediments that infill palaeovalleys and form a veneer across crystalline basement in southwest Western Australia and including these sediments in the margin of the Eucla Basin; a similar situation exists in the east, where the Eocene sediments that have been included in the Polda Basin are likewise a marginal extension of the Eucla Basin; (ii) introducing the term Maralinga Formation for all Middle Eocene non‐marine to marginal marine sediments, including those previously included in the lower part of the Pidinga Formation in South Australia, and North Royal Formation for similar sediments in Western Australia; these replace the previous informal usage of lower Pidinga and lower Werillup Formation, respectively; (iii) restricting Hampton Sandstone to its original usage for a calcareous marine sand underlying the Wilson Bluff Limestone; (iv) raising the Paling Member of the Wilson Bluff Limestone to formation status; (v) using Pidinga Formation for all Upper Eocene carbonaceous sediments on the margins of the Eucla Basin in South Australia, and Werillup Formation for all such sediments in Western Australia, including the marginal palaeovalleys; terms such as Wollubar Sandstone in the palaeovalleys of the Yilgarn Craton, and Poelpena and Wanilla Formations in the Eocene part of the former Polda Basin should be abandoned; (vi) using the term Pallinup Formation for all Upper Eocene spicule‐rich sediments along the western margin of the Eucla Basin; (vii) recognising the formation status of the Upper Eocene spicular marine sediments in the eastern Eucla Basin that were formerly termed the Khasta Member of the Hampton Sandstone and the Bring Member of the Pidinga Formation, abandoning the term Bring Member, and including those rocks, and similar sediments of the Poelpena Formation in the Polda Basin, in the new Khasta Formation; and (viii) abandoning the term Toolinna Limestone previously applied to Upper Eocene grainstone along the western margin of the Eucla Basin as it is a facies of the Wilson Bluff Limestone, whereas the grainstone at the type locality at Toolinna Cove is in fact Abrakurrie Limestone and is indistinguishable from the rest of that formation. We believe this rationalisation emphasises the unity of stratigraphy across much of southern Australia and, thus, will facilitate research on the Eucla Basin as a whole.


Background: Glioblastoma (GBM) is an aggressive brain cancer with poor prognosis and limited treatment options. Selinexor is a first-in-class oral inhibitor of Exportin 1 (XPO1/CRM1) with broad anti-cancer activities and is clinically approved to treat multiple myeloma and diffuse large B cell lymphoma. In a phase 2 study of recurrent GBM, monotherapy of selinexor demonstrated clinically relevant disease control (Lassman 2021 Clin Cancer Res). Our previous preclinical studies identified synergy between selinexor and proteasome inhibitors in GBM in vitro. Among the proteasome inhibitors tested, we chose to focus on marizomib due to its ability to cross the blood-brain-barrier, supporting its use in GBM. We tested GBM cell lines and mouse xenograft models to evaluate the anti-GBM effects of selinexor and marizomib in combination.
 Methods: Cytotoxic effects of selinexor and marizomib were evaluated with two GBM cell lines LN18 and U87MG. The anti-GBM effects of selinexor and marizomib were further investigated in vivo with U87MG mouse xenograft models of GBM. Female nude mice carrying U87MG subcutaneous implants were treated with vehicle, selinexor, marizomib or the combination of the two agents (six mice per treatment group). Tumor volume and body weight were monitored throughout the study. Tumor samples were collected at the end of the study for transcriptomic analysis and immunohistochemistry tests.
 Results: Synergistic anti-GBM effects of selinexor and marizomib were observed in both LN18 and U87MG cells in vitro. In mouse xenograft models of U87MG, tumor growth was significantly inhibited by selinexor and marizomib single agents relative to controls, at Day 15 of the study, tumor growth inhibition (TGI) was 60.0% (p=0.0009) for selinexor (10 mg/kg, once per week), 49.2% (p=0.0069) for marizomib once weekly at 75 µg/kg, and 33.1% (p=0.0991) for marizomib once every 2 weeks at 75 µg/kg. Synergistic anti-GBM effect was observed in the combination groups, with a TGI of 99.6% (p<0.0001) for selinexor with once weekly marizomib, and a TGI of 90.0% (p<0.0001) for selinexor with once every other week marizomib.
 Conclusions: Synergistic anti-GBM effects of selinexor and marizomib in preclinical models warrants further investigation. The synergism is likely due to enhanced inhibition of the NFκB signaling pathways as previously demonstrated for selinexor and proteasome inhibitor combination.
 Citation Format: Hua Chang, Leah Henegar, Christopher J. Walker, Trinayan Kashyap, Marie Maloof, Feng Wang, Kathleen Martyn, Shira Orr, Sharon Tamir, Michael G. Kauffman, Sharon Shacham, Yosef Landesman. Nuclear export inhibitor selinexor synergizes with proteasome inhibitor marizomib in preclinical models of glioblastoma [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2022; 2022 Apr 8-13. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(12_Suppl):Abstract nr 5455.


The Board recognizes the importance of providing each student with a school environment conducive to intellectual, emotional and social growth through participation in a full range of educational programs and activities. Board and staff commitments insure equal educational opportunities in course offerings, guidance and counseling, test procedures, extracurricular activities, discipline procedures and student support services.


The aim of this research was to improve the adsorption capacity of chitosan by modification of the chitosan using various cross-linking agents and followed by grafting using succinate anhydride. Succinate anhydride was grafted into chitosan that had been cross-linked using ethylene glycol di-glycidyl ether (EGDE), diethylene glycol diglycidyl ether (DEGDE) andbisphenolAdiglycidyl ether (BADGE) on the hydroxyl group of chitosan to yield Chit- EGDE-Suc, Chit-DEGDE-Suc, and Chit-BADGE-Suc, respectively. Modified chitosans were analyzed using FTIR and TG-DTA and then applied as adsorbents for Pb(II) ion. Adsorption was carried out in batch condition with a variation of solution pH, contact time, and concentration of Pb(II) in the solution. Adsorption ofPb(II) ion reached optimum condition at pH 5 and contact time of 120 minutes. Adsorption of Pb(II) ion on all of the adsorbents fit well the pseudo-second order kinetic equation. Adsorption capacities of Pb(II) on Chit-EGDE-Suc, Chit-DEGDE-SucdanChit-BADGE-Suc were 0.333, 0.388 and 0.898 mmolg-1, respectively, which mean that the adsorption of Chit-BADGE-Suc was the highest and followed by Chit- DEGDE-Suc and Chit-EGDE-Suc.


Macrophage apoptosis is a key feature of advanced atherosclerosis. Moreover, stress generated from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) due to accumulation of free cholesterol in ER and activation of the unfolded protein response (UPR) in macrophage contributes to the development of macrophage apoptosis. We recently identified a novel ER resident protein SEPS1 whose putative function is related to ER stress and inflammatory responses in humans. In order to understand the role of SEPS1 in ER stress‐induced cellular dysfunction, here we examined the ER stress‐dependent regulation of SEPS1 expression and the consequence of SEPS1 overexpression in Raw 264.7 murine macrophages during ER stress. We demonstrate that various ER stress agents increased SEPS1 mRNA expression in Raw 264.7 cells. This is accompanied by ER stress‐dependent stimulation of SEPS1 level in a dose‐ and time‐dependent manner. We next examined the consequence of overexpression of SEPS1 in ER stress‐induced cytotoxicity and apoptosis. The overexpression of SEPS1 in Raw 264.7 cells protected cells against ER stress‐induced cytotoxicity and apoptosis. These results indicate a cytoprotective role of SEPS1 in macrophages during ER stress, resulting in an attenuation of ER stress‐induced apoptosis. Together out study implicates an important role for SEPS1 in regulating ER stress‐induced apoptosis and SEPS1 may be a novel target to promote macrophage survival.


Based on the analysis of published sources, topographic maps, and satellite images, new data were obtained on the hydrological regime, morphology, size and dynamics of river deltas in the lakes inthe mountains of southern Russia and Mongolia. For high mountain lakes (Baikal, Issyk-Kul, Son-Kul, Chatyr-Kul, Sevan, lakes of Mongolia), most small rivers form alluvial fans with numerous channels. Large rivers flowing into the valley bays form multi-arm lobed padded deltas (Issyk-Kul Lake). Less common are blocked estuaries, deltas filling estuarine lagoons and prograding deltas on the open coasts (Lake Baikal, some lakes of Mongolia). The most studied are the river deltas flowing into Lake Baikal and Issyk-Kul. During the Pleistocene, River Selenga formed three alluvial fans with a total area of 1.8 thousand km 2 : 1) the Middle Pleistocene fan at 12–13 m above the level of Lake Baikal (457 m a.s.l.); 2) the Late Pleistocene fan at 8–12 m, and 3) the Holocene fan at 0.5–2 m. Over the past 78 thousand years, the Selenga River has prograded its delta by about 20 km into the lake. For the period 1980–2013 no delta growth has been observed. Lake Issyk-Kuls level fluctuations had a strong influence on the formation of the hydrographic network of the Issyk-Kul basin and on the dynamics of river mouths. Deep regression at the end of the Upper Pleistocene led to a lake area reduction by 2000 km 2 , incision of the rivers of the Issyk-Kul basin into lacustrine shelf deposits and the development of erosive river valleys along the entire perimeter of the lake, preserved to date in the form of flooded underwater valleys. In the recent epoch, most of the rivers of the Issyk-Kul basin have cut through mouth estuaries and over the past 150 years have formed various morphodynamic types of deltas (from the open-coast alluvial fans to multi-branch deltas filling ingression gulfs). One to three km elongation of the high-discharge rivers occurred during this period. The increase in the area of river deltas over the past 30 years (the total effect of the decrease of the lake level and accumulation of alluvium) ranged from 0.01 to 0.07 km 2 . Several large rivers of Russia (Upper Angara, Selenga) and Mongolia (Teysin-Gol, KobdoGol) have delta areas from 200 to 500 km 2 , the remaining deltas do not exceed 50 km 2 . The current progradaion rate of most lake deltas over the past 30 years is very low due to an extremely insignificant load of suspended sediment, with the exception of some large rivers.


This study investigated errors on mathematics word problems made by 107 fifth and sixth-grade ethnic students attending a school in the Phang Ma Pha district of Mae Hong Son Province, Thailand. Newman error-analysis interviews were used to identify and classify errors made by students responding to mathematics word problems on a pencil and-paper test (Cronbach alpha reliability, 0.90). Analysis revealed that the order of difficulty-from most difficult to least difficult-was (a) two-step questions, (b) multiplication word problems, (c) division word problems, (d) Compare questions, (e) Combine questions, and (f) Change questions (for (d), (e) and (f) involving addition or subtraction). The corresponding mean percentages of incorrect responses were 73.3%, 58.3%, 37.5%, 29.5% and 28.7%, respectively. Newman error analysis revealed that the most likely breakdown-point (that is to say, the form of error most likely to occur first in Newman's problem-solving hierarchy), with both the Lishu and Shan students, was Comprehension, followed by Transformation, Process Skills, Reading, and Encoding.
Keywords: Newman error analysis, Mathematics problem solving, Ethnic students,


At long last nurses are able to gain recognition for their academic achievements as well as their occupational skills. A working knowledge of the Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme (CATS) is of major importance to those wishing to make the most of this opportunity.


The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of tax planning on company value of listed companies in Vietnam, using the secondary data from audited financial reporting and other statistical documents of 513 non-financial companies in the period of 2015 – 2019. According to GLS, the research result shows that the tax planning has a positive effect on company value. In addition, state ownership, capital intensive and company size are control variables having a positive impact on firm value, but financial leverage is not. The findings suggest that financial managers should apply SAVANT framework and concentrate on fixed assets allocation and tax benefit of company size instead of leverage or high state ownership.


Utilizing a recently found class of exact, analytic rotating solutions of non-relativistic fireball hydrodynamics, we calculate analytically the single-particle spectra, the elliptic flows and two-particle Bose-Einstein correlation functions for rotating and expanding fireballs with spheroidal symmetry. We demonstrate, that rotation generates final state momentum anisotropies even for a spatially symmetric, spherical initial geometry of the fireball. The mass dependence of the effective temperatures, as well as the HBT radius parameters and the elliptic flow are shown to be sensitive not only to radial flow effects but also to the magnitude of the initial angular momentum.


Background and Objectives: Chimeric antigen receptor modified T (CAR-T) cell therapy has emerged as a promising strategy for the treatment of relapsed and refractory hematological malignancies recently. CD19 chimeric antigen receptor T (CD19CAR-T) cell therapy is a representative case showing promising results in treating relapsed and refractory B-lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia (r/r B-ALL). However, challenges remain due to the concurrent severe side-effects such as cytokine release syndrome (CRS) or neurological toxicities which may cause death if they are not properly managed. So, how to safely use the CAR-T cell therapy in patients has drawn a lot of concern and attention worldwide. The objective of this study was to investigate the cytokine patterns to early identify and monitor the severe side-effects of cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and neurotoxicity caused by the therapy so that the therapy can be safely administered. Patients and Method: From December 2015 to March 2017, five patients with r/r B-ALL treated with CD19CAR-T cells were enrolled in this study. The Th1/Th2 cytokines including Interleukin (IL)-2, IL-4, IL6, IL-10, Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and Interferon-gamma (IFN-γ ) in the serum and cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) were quickly measured by cytometric bead array (CBA) technology which allowed the result being available within 5 hours after the samples taken. The test were repeated more than once a day during the therapy. Results: 5 pediatric patients (2 boys and 3 girls) with r/r B-ALL aged 4 months -12 years old were treated by CD19CAR-T cell therapy. Four patients achieved complete remission (80% of CR rate) with minimal residual diseases (MRD) negative detected by flow cytometry within 2 weeks. One patient did not respond to the therapy due to the poor quality of his T cells. Five to 10 times of cytokine measurements were carried out for the five patients. Two types of cytokine patterns were identified: (1) very high levels of IL-6, IFN-γ with moderately elevated IL-10 indicated the CAR-T therapy effective pattern; (2) IL-6 slightly - severely elevated IL-6 level without concurrent elevation of IFN-γ represented a CAR-T cell therapy ineffective pattern but rather indicating a current infection. All the four responding patients presented the CAR-T therapy effective cytokine pattern, while the non-responding patient presented the CAR-T therapy ineffective cytokine pattern. We also analyzed the relationship between the cytokine levels and the severity of the side-effects and found that they were highly correlated. The cytokine levels in the CSF of two patients with seizure were also measured and we found that the elevation of the cytokine pattern in the CSF was paralleled to those in their serum but CNS-leukemia and CAR-T cells in their CSFs were not detected, indicating that the neurotoxicity concurrently presented in these two patients might be caused by the cytokines in the serum leaked into the CSF through the blood brain barrier. Extremely high level of cytokines occurred at 12 hours after CAR-T cell infusion in a patient was identified immediately and treated timely in onn-ICU setting to avoid the fatal consequence. Acute toxicities including fever, hypotension and other neurological toxicities occurred in responding patients within 2 weeks post infusion and managed properly with tocilizumab and/or steroids according to the "real-time" monitoring of this simple 6-Th1/Th2 cytokine patterns at the non-ICU setting. In conclusion, our study demonstrates that CD19CAR-T cell therapy can be administered safely for patients with relapsed and refractory leukemia under the "real-time" monitoring of a simple 6-cytokine pattern.

 No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


Abstract A single session tretment of an 18 yr. old girl with an injection phobia of 12 yr. duration is described. The client was successfully treated with exposure in-vivo while her heart rate and subjective anxiety were measured throughout the session. The effects of treatment also generalized to natural situations involving injections, and were sustained at a follow-up 4 years after treatment.


The appearance of the Mahāyāna Buddhism around the beginning of the Christian era brought about a wave of philosophical idea and religion in ancient India. The profound and sublime thoughts of Mahāyāna schools have fueled creative energy for Mahāyāna literature. The Mahāyānists began to compile scriptures that they call sūtra and then added their commentaries that they called śāstra on sūtra to canon. All of the Mahāyāna texts were written in Sanskrit; however there are a few palm leaf manuscripts that survive in India. As Buddhism began to spread outside of India, most of the Mahāyāna texts were introduced and translated into Chinese and Tibetan. Some scholars wrongly referred the term "Mahāyāna sūtras" to the so-called "Nine Dharma Jewels" which consists of nine works recently found in Nepal. 1 These nine works are: Aṣṭasāhasrikāprajñāpāramitā, Saddharmapuṇḍarīka, Lalitavistara, Laṅkāvatāra, Suvarṇaprabhāsa, Gaṇḍavyūha, Tathāgataguhya, Samādhirāja and Daśabhūmika. Mahāyāna Sūtras, 2 in fact, are much more than these nine works. In other words, those nine Sūtras are not representative of Mahāyāna sūtras. Mahāyāna is a movement which is


Gridlock, inertia, conflict, outrage, bureaucracy, obstruction, media sensationalizing, courts, and politicians. These are the things that characterize any attempt to implement a public policy today. It is worse today than it has ever been because the middle has dropped out of public opinion. We have today no consensus of public values. At Fernald, we have come to recognize that in order to achieve any success we must first build a public consensus about what success will look like. We do this through a three-part approach we call the three legged stool. It includes public information, management involvement, and person-to-person communication. Each of these elements is essential.


In order to study the behavior of cold-formed stainless steel hollow section columns,a total number of 43 stainless steel columns of Grade 304,including square hollow section,rectangular hollow section and circular hollow section,were tested under axial compression.The material properties and the ultimate strength of the specimens were obtained from the tests.The effects of the slenderness and the width-thickness ratio(diameter-thickness ratio) of the specimens on the failure mode and deformation capacity were analyzed.The results indicate that the width to thickness ratio has considerable effect on the above mentioned behaviors.Test results were then compared with the predictions of GB 50018—2002,Technical code for cold formed thin-wall steel structures of China and the Eurocode 3: part 1.4,American code for cold formed stainless steel members,and design method proposed by Rasmussen.Comparisons show that for circular members,the predictions of Eurocode,American code and the design code for low carbon steel structure of China are higher than the test strengths,while the methods proposed by Rasmussen could provide accurate results;for square and rectangular members,similar results are obtained using these methods: the test strengths of stub columns are higher than these prediction,while for slender members,these predictions are in good agreement with the test results.Currently,the method in design code for low carbon steel structure of China could not be used to predict the buckling strength of stainless steel column.


Poverty is a social and humanity problems which happensin one community. Poverty in economy viewed as disabiltyto fulfill human basic need such as food and non food.Poverty problems happens in many region in Indonesia, even ruralnor urban.Many strategy has taken to solve poverty problems, one of them isimproving economic comunity through women farmer empowerment. Women as a family member usually pasive in economic side, but in fact women has her own contribution to improve household economythrough any kinds of bussiness in home industrieswhich can be done without denying their roleas a mother in family.The purpose of this study was to identify the role of women farmer in increasing family income.  The result of this study hopefully can motivatethe farmer's household in Muara Kelingi Sub District to optimize women farmer role in order to increase farmer's household income.This study was using descriptive methode withquantitative approachthrough investigation on poor household in Muara Kelingi Sub District.  Sampling choosen purposively towards women farmer from foor family in Muara Kelingi Sub District.  The result of this study showed that women farmer has important role in increasing household income. As much as 84% women together with men (husband) active in being farm labour. 12% women farmer active in organizing family farming. The other 4% of women farmer doesn't involve in productive activity on family. With this role, women farmer hopefully can get her family out of poverty. Kata Kunci: Poverty, Women Farmer, Household income


The web has generated a large amount of structured data, and the number of Amharic-language online data portals is growing. As a result, intuitive ways of integrating and accessing this data are becoming increasingly important. Various question-answering approaches for different languages have been proposed to extract answers from interlinked datasets. In this paper, we propose a novel question-answering approach for Amharic, allowing users to ask questions using their terminology and receive direct answers. To accomplish this, the approach addressed the three major challenges that are required to meet users' information needs from the interlinked datasets. These are understanding users' questions, resolving lexical ambiguity, and fusing data from multiple sources. Apart from this, the approach can be used to answer different question types such as factual, aggregation, comparison, and superlative. A prepared Amharic test dataset was used to evaluate the approach. It achieved an average f-score of 0.83.


Gonghe basin is located in western Qinghai province of China. It is found that its petroleum geologic conditions are similar to eastern Qaidam basin, and it could be a novel domain for exploring biogenetic gas. Well GC-1 drilled in this basin shows that it has Tertiary system with thickness of over 5 000m. Through analysis an comparison of formation, deposition, structure, hydrocarbon generation and indicator with those from Sanhu area in eastern Qaidam basin, it is believed that the similarities occur in depositional environment, gas source rock feature and reservoir characteristic, etc., in the two basins. It is suggested that Gonghe basin is also an ideal area for biogenetic gas, the related exploration and studies should be focused on.


Let Q be a topological g-manifold, let X be a compact metric space, and let bQ and aX denote the cones over Q and X, respectively. A proper embedding /: aX-> bQ (i.e., f(a) = b and f~[Q\ = X) is unknotted if there is homeomorphism h: bQ —> bQ such that hf — /, where / is the conical extension of /. In this paper it is proved that a proper embedding is unknotted if and only if bQ — f[aX] and bQ — f[ax] are of the same homotopy type and the embedding / satisfies a local flatness condition.


We show that for the ground state of a one dimensional free electron gas on a circle the analytic expression for the canonical ensemble partition function can be easily derived from the density matrix by assuming that the thermodynamic limit coincides with the limit of the eigenfunction expansion of the kinetic energy. This approximation fails to give the finite temperature partition function because those two limits cannot be chosen as coincident.


Rice is the staple food for over 90% population of the Asiatic
countries. It is the principal source of energy for the people of Asia,
Latin America and pacific islands [1]


This work deals with the complex interaction of the key elements of the prohibition on restrictive agreements in European and German competition law. It does not stop at a meta-legal interpretation based on outcome or interests, but develops the foundations of restrictions by object and effect and its appreciability by means of historical and systematic analysis, starting from the teleology of the rules. The consequences for the assessment of different types of agreements are also discussed in detail. It thus provides the user with a sound framework for the application of Art. 101 (1) TFEU and § 1 GWB.


Invited Session on HETEROGENEOUS INTEGRATION ROADMAP – Mobile TWG. Smart phones continue to be the major human human-machine interface devices with >5Bn data subscribers and still growing! More functions & intelligence added to interact with human, machine and environment in the Global Digital Society


Correlation degree between stuctural parameters and moisture penetrate quantity was calculated by testing structural parameters and moisture permeability of cotton fabrics and using grey system principle,and the order of the result was proposed.The result showed that the most important structure parameters were porosity,weft tightness and total tightness in order.The RBF neural networkmodel of cotton fabric porositywas built with MATLAB soft.The result showedthe RBF neural network model mentioned in this paper has fast computing speed and high precision and good generalization capacity.


Novel fibre/powder (glass fibre (GF)–fumed silica (FS)) composite core materials with different fibre to powder ratios were prepared by wet papermaking process. The composite core materials and corresponding vacuum insulation panel (VIP) samples were characterised to obtain an insight into their microstructure, tensile strength, uniformity and thermal conductivity. The results show that the addition of fumed silica will alter the pore structure of the glass fibre core material, and reduce the average pore size, pore volume and porosity of the core material. Moreover, addition of fumed silica can increase the tensile strength of the core material to a certain extent, but it will diminish the uniformity. Further investigation conclusively shows that the addition of fumed silica has little effect on the thermal conductivity of VIP in low vacuum, but the thermal conductivity of VIP is significantly reduced with the increase of fumed silica content in high vacuum. Compared to glass fibre core VIP, the thermal conductivity of fiber/powder composite core VIP is more stable and the service life would be longer.


Business groups, which are collections of publicly traded companies with significant amount of common ownership, dominate private sector activity in developing countries. This paper studies how information flows within these groups by analyzing the trading behavior of pension fund managers in firms that belong to the same group. The paper shows that while pension fund managers are momentum traders on non-affiliated companies, they trade in anticipation of future abnormal returns in affiliated firms. Ownership concentration and business group ties exacerbate information asymmetries, discouraging investment and depressing stock market participation. Using the merger and acquisition activity among pension fund managers as a natural experiment, the paper provides evidence that increases in stock ownership concentration, via the threat of informed trading, adversely affect liquidity. The results indicate that cross-ownership structures and extensive investor-industry relations might curb the expected benefits from the presence of institutional investors, limiting market development.


Image segmentation is an image processing operation performed on the image in order to partition the image into some images based on the information contained in the original image. Image segmentation plays an important role in many medical imaging applications, image segmentation facilitates the anatomy process in a particular body of human body. Classification and clustering are the methods used un data mining for analyzing the data sets and divide them on the basis of some particular classification rules. There are many image segmentation tools that used for medical purpose, so it is necessary to define and/or to improve the image segmentation methods in order to get the best method. In this study, the image of leukemia and red blood cells will be used as samples to determine the best algorithm in image segmentation. The procedure for doing segmentation itself is clustering image, edge detection on image, and image classification. The clustering is to extract important information from an image. The edge detection is to determine the existence of edges of lines in image in order to investigate and localize the desired edge features. Moreover, the classification analyzes the properties of some images and organizes the information into certain categories. In this study, the Neural Network and K-Nearest Neighbor are used for image classification by paired with Local Binary Pattern and Principal Component Analysis. The results revealed that the best method of proven in classifying images is from Local Binary Pattern feature extraction with the average accuracy of 94%.


The author of this paper conducted field research on the traditional culture and folklore of Serbs in the Danube gorge in June 2017. within the project Research of the History and Culture of Serbs in Romania. Field conversations included, in addition to topics related to traditional culture, oral history, everyday life and the like. The scientific interests and the primary area of research of the author conditioned the more intensive introduction of issues related to verbal folklore, and a relatively wide corpus of folklore material was obtained. Attention is focused on the folklore material recorded in the interview with the interlocutor from Belobreška: ballads, wedding songs, love songs. The texts are commented through the analysis of stylistic and motive characteristics and comparison with previously published variants.


Noël Arnaud, the president of the Ouvroir de Litterature Potentielle (Oulipo), discusses that institution's history, its literary aesthetic, and its goals. He offers art assessment of twenty-five years of Oulipian activity, in the course of which he touches upon notions which are crucial to the Oulipo's praxis: the fundamental analogy of mathematics and literature, the role of formal constraint in the literary text, and the mutual complementarity of scholarship in literary history and the practice of innovative literary experimentalism.


In the first part of this paper discussion centres on definition of computer networks, resource sharing possibilities and problem areas, network alternatives etc to give a general picture of computer networks, their capabilities and limitations etc.In the second part, relevance of introducing computer networks in India, need for taking up review of application areas for optimization of resources, present and likely computer networking demand alongwith available options and designed approach for growth of computer networks are discussed. Efforts are mainly directed to invite audience suggestion towards evolving an approach which could lead to optimum resource utilization as well as promote appropriate application of this exciting technology of seventies in India.


Interleukin-10 was cloned as a murine Th2-derived factor, termed cytokine synthesis inhibitory factor, acting to inhibit activation of and cytokine production by Th1 cells [1,2]. Human IL-10 is produced by both Th1 and Th2 cells and acts more generally to reduce T-cell activation and cytokine synthesis [3]. Thus this cytokine was the ®rst described with a potential anti-in ̄ammatory action. In addition, IL-10 has been shown to be produced by a wide variety of cell types including monocytes, macrophages [4], B cells [5], mast cells [6] and eosinophils [7], and can inhibit pro-in ̄ammatory cytokine production (IL-1, IL-6, GM-CSF, TNFa, IFNa, IL-8, Mip-1a and IL-12) from these cells and CD80 expression by monocytes [2,8,9]. An important mechanism for the inhibition of T cell activation by IL-10 is this reduction in MHC class II expression by antigen presenting cells [10] and the molecular basis for this has been described as resulting from a block in MHC exocytosis and recycling [11]. The IL-10 gene is located on human chromosome 1, and the two receptor subunits have been described which interact through Jak1 and Tyk2 tyrosine kinases with Stat1, Stat3 and Stat5 [12,13]. Interleukin-10 production occurs late after T-cell activation relative to other cytokines, and this is thought to represent an autocrine negative regulation of T-cell responses [3]. The importance of IL-10 in immune regulation was demonstrated by generation of mice with targeted disruption of the IL-10 gene [14]. These animals develop spontaneous colitis to intestinal ̄ora, and show growth retardation and anaemia. Further evidence for the role of IL-10 in immune regulation has come from the description of murine regulatory T-cell clones [Th3] generated after induction of oral tolerance to myelin basic protein [MBP], which produced IL-4 and IL-10 and could suppress experimental allergic encephalomyelitis induced by either MBP or proteolipid protein [15]. IL-10 is also involved in protection from T-cell-induced colitis in a mouse model by CD4 CD45RB CD38 cells [16]. In addition Tr1 regulatory T cells were isolated from mice and human T cells grown in IL-10 [17]. These cells inhibit T-cell activation through mechanisms that depend, at least in part, on production of IL-10.


The  OBJECTIVE   was   to  assess the  effectiveness  of  the  developed  method  for  treating   DVT  with  fibrinolytic agent injection  via  a  catheter with  multiple  openings along  the  length  of  entire  thrombus. METHODS  AND MATERIALS. The  analysis of treatment efficacy  of 40  patients with late  total  and  subtotal deep  vein thrombosis was  carried  out.  The  patients were  divided  into two statistically  valid groups. The  first group  of patients were treated using  regional   thrombolysis by  injection  of  Urokinase into  the  popliteal  vein.  The  second group  had  fibrinolytic agent injection  via  a  catheter with  multiple  openings passed  along   the  entire   length   of  thrombosed venous segment. Patients were  given  Rivaroxaban before, during,  and  after  the  therapy  continuously for  6  months. RESULTS.   After 1  year  in the  second group,  compared to  the  first group,  the  excellent and  good  results were  higher by  10  %  and  5  %  respectively. Satisfactory and  unsatisfactory results decreased  by  10  and  5  %  respectively.  While using  background Rivaroxaban, the  thromboembolic complications were  not  registered. Hemorrhagic complications were found  in  10  %  of  both  group  patients with  equal   rate. CONCLUSION.  Injection  of a  fibrinolytic agent via a  catheter with multiple  openings along  the  length  of entire  thrombus is  efficient  and  pathogenetically substantiated.


In this paper, the asymptotic expression of the eigenvalues and eigenfunctions of the Sturm-Liouville equation with the lag argument y''(t) + l2 y(t) + M(t)y (t - D(t)) = 0 and the spectral parameter in the boundary conditions l y(0) +y'(0) = 0 l2y(p) + y'(p) = 0 y(t - D(t)) = y(0)j(t - D(t)), t - D(t) 0 is a real parameter, j(t) is an initial function which is satisfied with the condition j(0) = 1 and continuous in the initial set.


The invention relates to a targeted application system for tobacco bud inhibitors. The targeted application system comprises a single chip microcomputer system, a bracket, a tobacco stalk detection sensor, a speed measuring sensor, a stepping motor, a scroll, a steel wire rope, an electromagnetic valve, a slide block, a sliding rail, a check valve, a spraying pipe, a pulley and a bearing pedestal. According to the invention, the single chip microcomputer system controls the switching on and off of the electromagnetic valve according to whether a detection signal of the tobacco stalk detection sensor exists or not, and controls the rotating speed and rotating angle of the stepping motor according to the machine operating speed measured by the speed measuring sensor and preset spraying time, so that the automatic targeted spraying of the tobacco bud inhibitors can be realized, the production cost is reduced, and the labor productivity is improved; and the targeted application system disclosed by the invention is simple in structure and has a good spraying effect.


Kitch's study also suffers from other flaws. Phrases like "the strict application of hagiographical canons to vitae and encomia" (the latter defined on page 18 as "panegyrical sermon[s] dependent on the pagan funeral encomium") indicate theoretical confusion, which Kitch inherited from her sources. Historically, the two medieval genres of vitae and sermons received a "canon," or structure (that is, definite disposition of parts and topoi), from a common source: the classical, particularly Sophistic, encomium via fourth-century Patristic realizations of this structure in sermons, then saints' lives. Elsewhere (pp. 68, 72, 102, 130) Kitch interprets the "humility topos" too literally, ascribing its expansion to Epifanii's genuine humility. (Again she is not the first to do this.) Instead, this might be attributed to a tradition that prized humility in a monastic saint like Feodosii of Pechera or Stefan of Perm'. If the saint was portrayed as humble, then, by contrast, the author had to be even more so, but in a worse, not better way. In conclusion, although this study of Epifanii's Life of Stefan of Perm' is one of the best so far, a great deal still remains to be done. The value of Kitch's study lies in certain parts, which include occasionally interesting insights: one of these is the chapter on Epifanii's use of Biblical quotations. More systematic than earlier studies, this approach is still somewhat fragmentary and not entirely consistent. It is weak on theoretical questions and overview. Finally, it offers little or no new historical information or interpretations.


Thermal spray coating is a material protection process by depositing the coating material on the substrate material. Process parameters such as spray-off distance, surface roughness, and substrate preheat temperature, spray time, voltage, and arc current greatly influence the mechanical and tribological behavior. Selection of appropriate process parameters and coating materials must be carried out to obtain a coating that meets the design requirements. The coating method used is electric arc spray with parameters: spray-off distance of 200 mm, compressor air pressure of 7 bar, voltage of 32 volts, and layer thickness of 1 mm. At the same time, the independent variables are arc currents: 159, 185, and 299 amperes. The substrate material is AISI 1045 steel, PMET 885 intermediate material, and PMET 720 coating material. The tests carried out were observing the microstructure, hardness, wear rate, and corrosion rate. This research shows that the higher the arc current, the better the coating quality. At an arc current of 229 amperes, it is known that the hardness, the wear rate, and the corrosion rate are 398.10 VHN, 8.96 x 10-8 gram/mm2.s, and 0.8911 mpy, respectively. This research's contribution is to provide a reference on the influence of the arc current of the electrical arc spray coating process on the tribological behavior of the surface layer so that suitable for the desired application.


Recently there has been an increased interest in the application of macroscopic models for the description of developments in traffic safety. At the SWOV institute for road safety research this new interest was initiated in the early eighties by the discussion on the causes of the sudden decrease in the numbers of fatal and injury accidents after 1974. Before that time these numbers had increased steadily over the years. A satisfactory explanation for this decrease could not been given. Two mathematical curves are suggested and from this is estimated a total of 1080 fatal accidents in 1990 for the Netherlands. This approach will be described together with the results of application to the data from the Netherlands, the USA, Federal republic of Germany and Great Britain. Consequences of this application for the theoretical background of the developments in traffic and safety will be discussed. (a). An opposing view is presented by e. Bruehning. For the covering abstract of the conference see IRRD 830653.


Hip arthroplasty is one of the most effective surgical operations to treat femoral neck fracture in the elderly. After surgery, patients can do exercises out of bed earlier, avoiding such complications as bedsore and deep vein thrombosis due to long-term lying in bed. However, there is still a great controversy concerning the clinical efficacy and complication rates of cemented and uncemented prostheses in the arthroplasty. It is a clinical problem at present how to choose the most appropriate prosthesis for different patients. This article addresses this problem in the elderly population by reviewing the literature in the aspects of design characteristics, clinical outcomes and complications between cemented and uncemented prostheses.

Key words:
Femoral neck fractures; Arthroplasty, replacement, hip; Prosthesis; Elderly


Abstract Italy's federalization is an ongoing process which is part of a broader political and institutional adaptation that has been taking place since the early 1990s. This article explores the origins of modern Italian federalism, the goals it was supposed to reach and the paradoxes it has revealed given the gap between what was planned and what has been accomplished.


Objective To observe and evaluate the treatment effect of lipoic acid combined with Kudiezi injection on diabetic peripheral neuropathy. Methods 60 diabetic peripheral neuropathy patients w ere randomly divided into observation group and control group. Observation group w as given Kudiezi injection 40 mL,and lipoic acid 60 mL for 14 days; control group w as given lipoic acid 60 mL for 14 days. The nerve conduction velocity,sensory symptoms and total therapeutic effect of the tw o groups w ere compared before and after treatment. Results After treatment,sensory symptoms and nerve conduction velocity of the tw o groups w ere all improved compared w ith before treatment( P 0. 05). The efficiency of observation group w as better than that of control group( P 0. 05). Conclusion The effect of lipoic acid combined w ith Kudiezi injection for diabetic peripheral neuropathy is ideal.


A field investigation was conducted for two consecutive crop seasons during Rabi season of 2013 2014-15 at District Seed Farm, Department of Agriculture, Government of West Bengal, P.O. Burdwan and West Bengal. Four different treatment schedules i.e. T1(control), T2, T3 and T against sucking pests, viz, aphids [ Myzus persicae Aphis gossypii Glover] and white fly (Bemisia tabaci potato. Among these treatment schedules, T treatment with imidacloprid + foliar spray with car tap hydrochloride + chlorpyriphos and cypermethrin) was recorded most effective than other treatments as well as untreated control in reducing the population of aphids and white fly on potato. However, the least percentage of viral diseases (mid mosaic, severe mosaic, potato leaf ro ll virus and apical leaf curl disease) inci dence was observed in T treatment followed by T2 (with spraying of pharate + acephate + azadirachtin + chloropyriphos) and T treatment with Bacillus thuringiensis var spray with azadirachtin + chloropyriphos and thuringiensis var. Kurstaki) treatments, respectively. The efficacy of different treatment schedules was in or der of T4>T2>T3 as compared to control (T1). The maximum yield of potato tuber (t/ha) was found in T4 (26.93) followed by T (25.42) & T3 (23.34) respectively, than control T


Adolescents' sexuality behavior worldwide is seriously undergoing a transformation from what it used to be in the past taking into the cognizance their social adventure in the area of computer technology. This new phase of development that could be described as a technology-based society entered into by virtually all the countries of the world. Due to the need for development and global compliance, government in each society is positively and actively engaged in encouraging computer based services; computer ownership/ access and Internet use in order not to be left behind in the global development among the comity of the countries of the world. This move is virtually turning every society into Cyber societies. Consequently with these efforts, young adolescents are very much fascinated and attracted by new technologies and hence, computers and ABSTRACT


South High School, Salt Lake City, Utah, is a large inner-city school that works, and works well. These writers explain why.


This paper is derived in part from the findings of a six-month research project which was completed in June 1998 and which had as its objective the examination of a range of issues related to the strategic development of network technology in Scottish libraries. Until recently the literature on technological development and professional change has focused rather narrowly on computer competencies. There is a need to examine the profession's new roles much more broadly if information professionals are to highlight their unique contribution to managing the new information environment and facilitating end-user access to online information. Some key skill areas are identified as particularly important, but user education is highlighted as the area of greatest consequence for most professionals. The new importance of user education in an environment changed by electronic networks is argued for, and the barriers to developing new instructional roles discussed. A strategic approach to teaching information professionals to teach is recommended.


The paper deals with the quasi-optimum placement and temperature estimation of heat dissipating components in hybrid power circuits. A placement is found when the extreme temperatures on the substrate are minimized. Whereas classical techniques require large computational effort, a method presented in this paper is simple and rapid. It couples two main ideas: a heuristic approach to the placement problem and a neural computation of temperature.


The excitation function for Zn/sup 64/(n,2n)Zn/sup 63/ was measured for neutron energies of 12.2 to 18.1 Mev by an activation method. An absolute cross section was obtained by using the previously measured value of 167; 11 mb at 14.4 Mev. Above threshold, the cross section is found to increase rapidly with neutron energy reaching a value of 337 mb at 18.1 Mev. A cross section curve computed on the basis of statistical theory is shown for comparison. (auth)


Background Smartphones have become pervasive in all aspects of modern life and the health care industry is not immune. Currently smartphone applications (apps) are used by 85–87 per cent of physicians. Surgical logbooks are a mandatory part of training and time consuming to maintain.


Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the impact of minority shareholders' attendance at shareholders meetings on related party transaction (RPT) proposals.

Design/methodology/approach
This paper empirically examines the impact of minority shareholders' attendance in shareholders' meetings on the voting results of RPT proposals based on the hand-collected voting data of Chinese listed companies.

Findings
The empirical result shows a significant positive relationship between the attendance of minority shareholders and the nonagreeable vote rate of RPT proposals. Moreover, this positive relationship is strengthened when the corporate governance is poor, the negative media coverage is high, and the on-site attendance of minority shareholders is high. Conversely, good corporate governance and high positive media coverage can weaken this positive correlation. The additional analysis reveals that the number of RPTs and better market performance in the future can be significantly reduced when minority shareholders express their nonagreeable voice actively.

Originality/value
This paper analytically and empirically examines the impact of minority shareholders' attendance in shareholders' meetings on the voting results of RPT proposals based on the hand-collected voting data of Chinese listed companies. It provides direct and convincing evidence for the impact of minority shareholders' attendance and exercise of voting rights in shareholders' meetings on the outcome of RPT proposals. It complements the literature on the governance effects of minority shareholders' attendance in shareholders' meetings to exercise their voting rights in emerging capital markets. This study has practical value by guiding minority investors to participate actively in corporate governance.


Whether the supervision is done well will influence directly the construction quality and progress. Tan Shao Expressway adopts site supervision examination, which solved the problems of quality monitoring and control.


MRI images provide useful and valuable amount of information's about brain anatomy allowing doctors to analyze and diagnose diseases. To successfully succeed the diagnosis of a brain tumor, several types of sequences and images will be taken and their processes require massive time. This diagnosis will detect, locate, measure and evaluate the consequences of brain tumor. MRI brain image reproduces the internal structure of the human head. It is a multimodal structure. It is mainly composed of three regions: the gray matter, white matter, and cerebrospinal fluid. Therefore, tumor detection requires segmenting MRI image into levels equal to region numbers of MRI image. In this paper, we try to provide an automatic hardware tool for the diagnosis of brain structures using the Xilinx System Generator (XSG) which consists of a realtime MRI images multi-level thresholding based on hybridization of PSO and Otsu method. The performances of the proposed hardware architecture are demonstrated and validated using a set of MRI medical images


Hydrogen-donating hydrocarbons should be a viable resource in many applications. This article presents their radical-scavenging abilities, characteristics as pure hydrocarbons, and applications


Abstract The international political science literature is ambiguous on the point if the involvement of a plurality of external actors (citizens, economic and social groups, NGOs and CSOs, Universities and experts, different public authorities at the same or at different territorial level, etc.) in governance processes is an end in itself (because it increases democracy) or it is useful in order to achieve better results in the production of public goods. This article espouses the latter hypothesis and tries to understand if a governance perspective brings about a higher level of innovation in metropolitan areas. In order to test this hypothesis, two metrics are designed: • In measuring innovation, the ideas are that there are four dimensions in urban innovation (agenda innovation, process innovation, product innovation and innovative communication) and that a metropolitan city has to score high in most of them in order to be considered really innovative. • As far as governance is concerned, the analytical proposal is that the ideal governance network is at the same time complex (bringing together actors from different territorial levels and from different societal and institutional domains), dense (favouring direct interaction between the actors) and 'focused' (showing one or few actors able to act as focal points of the network). Drawing from a research done in four Italian cities (Turin, Milan, Florence and Naples) through the reconstruction of 120 urban innovation processes, the article illustrates the analytical steps taken and the conclusions that can be reached.


The taxonomy of the shore crabs of the genus Eriphia (Eriphiidae), common in most temperate and tropical seas, is revised. Eight species are recognised. One species, E. verrucosa (Forskal, 1775), occurs in the Mediterranean; another, E. gonagra (Fabricius, 1781) is only known from the western Atlantic, while two species, E. squamata Stimpson, 1859, and E. granulosa A. Milne-Edwards, 1880, are eastern Pacifi c in distribution. Four species are known from the Indo-West Pacifi c, E. sebana (Shaw & Nodder, 1803), E. smithii (MacLaey, 1838), E. scabricula Dana, 1852, and a new species, E. ferox. The new species has previously been confused with E. smithii. The differences between E. sebana and E. smithii, which have been often been confused with each other, are clarifi ed, and new characters defi ned. A key to all the members of the genus is provided.


Since the ancient times, honey has been used for both nutritional and therapeutic purposes. However, in the primordial application of honey as a medication, there was no understanding of it having antibacterial properties.Recently, many researchers have reported about broad-spectrum antibacterial activity of honey against various bacterial species. Studies found that honey works well against almost sixty species of bacteria including aerobes and anaerobes as well as grampositives and gram-negatives [1,2]. This remarkable attribute of honey has been proved to be derived from multiple factors, such as high sugar content, low water content, methylglyoxal, low pH, hydrogen peroxide, bee defensin-1, natural flora and phytochemicals [3]. Moreover, studies have shown that honey hinders the development of biofilms as well as suspend quorum sensing, which diminishes bacterial virulence. Hence, making the bacteria more sensitive to traditional antibiotics which have lost their potency. [4-12].


31 The development of topical microbicides is a valid approach to protect the genital mucosa from 32 sexually transmitted infections that cannot be contained with effective vaccination, like HSV and HIV 33 infections. A suitable target of microbicides is the interaction between viral proteins and cell surface 34 heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs). AGMA1 is a prevailingly cationic agmatine-containing 35 polyamidoamine polymer previously shown to inhibit HSPGs dependent viruses, including HSV-1, 36 HSV-2, and HPV-16. The aim of this study was to elucidate the mechanism of action of AGMA1 37 against HSV infection and assess its antiviral efficacy and biocompatibility in preclinical models. The 38 results show AGMA1 to be a non-toxic inhibitor of HSV infectivity in cell cultures and human 39 cervicovaginal histocultures. Moreover, it significantly reduced the burden of infection of HSV-2 40 genital infection in mice. The investigation of the mechanism of action revealed that AGMA1 reduces 41 cells susceptibility to virus infection by binding to cell surface HSPGs thereby preventing HSV 42 attachment. This study indicates that AGMA1 is a promising candidate for the development of a topical 43 microbicide to prevent sexually transmitted HSV infections. 44 45 46 47 48 a Bonferroni test if P values showed significantly differences. Results were expressed as means ± standard deviations. Results of the direct binding test of the compound to the cell surface, were analyzed by Student's t test. The Fisher exact test was applied to evaluate the in- vivo test results. Differences in number of disease-free animals of AGMA1 vs vehicle and naïve groups were assessed for statistical significance using heterogeneity of contingency tables. A value of p<0.05 was considered significant.


Ability of sportswomen to show high working capacity in all trimesters of an individual annual cycle has tinterrelation with inerease in metabolism NO.


In this paper we present a multiresolution approach for the detection of defects in flat glass. This approach is based on a signal restoration using 1D wavelet transforms. In a first step a procedure is applied to automatically determine the best reconstruction level based on the energy distribution of wavelet coefficients. By properly selecting the smooth subsignals or detail subsignals for reconstruction, the repetitive patterns can be effectively removed and only local anomalies are preserved in the restored signals. Experimental results show that defects in flat glass are well detected. A superposition of all treated lines allows to reconstitute the images revealing clearly the defects


Diamond synthesis under thermodynamic metastability has been shown to be feasible by vapor deposition using hydrocarbon-hydrogen mixed gases. Three different methods, i.e., modified CVD using a hot tungsten filament and plasma assisted vapor depositions using microwave (2, 450MHz) and rf (13.5MHz) power are employed. Typical growth conditions are : methane concentration, ca. 1%; total pressure, 10-60 Torr; temperature, 700-1000°C. Diamond can be grown on diamond as well as on non-diamond substrates including Si, Mo, W, Ta, SiO2, Al2O3 and BN. Structural identification of the deposits was performed by electron diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. Lattice spacings determined by RHEED agreed with those reported for diamond. X-ray diffraction pattern characteristic of diamond was observed for deposited films. Vapor-deposited diamond particles show well-defined morphology characteristic of diamond. They grow at a rate of 0.5-1μm/hr. The paticles are hard and readily give visible scratches on the surface of SiO2, Al2O3, B and B4C.


The surgical and anesthetic management of patients with giant umbilical hernia associated with Hurler's disease is a challenge due to the many problems. We present a recent case of giant umbilical hernia with skin necrosis accompanying Hurler's syndrome.


The purpose of this study is to load different formats of tile files through the tile Pyramid model in the Android platform, so as to optimize the storage mode according to the use scene. To compare the compression rate, loading time, loading speed, loading speed, portability and convenience under the given experimental data, according to the four commonly used storage modes (scattered files, ZIP files, SQLite database files and tile flow collection files). The experimental results show that loading SQLite database files loading tiles, the average time consuming 301ms, the average memory consumption 25.8MB, the overall performance is the best, is the preferred format for the Android version of the GIS grid data storage. At the same time, the test results show that the comprehensive advantage of the custom tile flow collection file is significant. If the storage structure of the file is further optimized, it can completely replace the SQLite storage mode and no longer be limited to the limitation of the database itself.


The present invention relates to a new and efficient process for preparing 5-amino-1-(2,6-dichloro-4-(trifluo-romethyl)phenyl)-4-(trifluoromethylthio)-IH-pyrazole-3-carbonitrile (hereinafter referred to as compound of formula I), which is useful as an intermediate for the antiparasitic agent fipronil, and a process for preparing 5-amino-3-cyano-1-(2,6-dichloro-4-tri-fluoromethylphenyl)-4-trifluoromethyl sulfinylpyrazole (hereinafter referred to as compound of formula II or fipronil). In one aspect, there is provided a process for preparing fipronil comprising: a) a step of reacting CF3S(bO)ONa with the compound of formula (III) in the presence of a reducing/halogenating agent; and b) a step of oxidizing the compound of formula (I) obtained in step a) in the presence of a selective oxidizing agent, under suitable conditions, wherein the selective oxidizing agent selectively effects oxidation of (I) to the corresponding sulfoxide, Fipronil. In certain exemplary embodiments, the selective oxidizing agent is MHSO5, wherein M is an alkaline metal cation.


When individuals behave differently in the presence of insurance than in the absence of insurance, the problem faced by the insurer is known as moral hazard. There are several ways moral hazard can manifest itself in individual behavior. Insured individuals may exercise less caution (e.g., smoking). When health care resources are required, insured individuals may seek professional intervention at a lower level of illness severity, demand a higher quality of care, or not shop as carefully for least cost providers as uninsured individuals. Dionne (1981) provides a review of the different types of moral hazard and the effect of moral hazard on search activity. An underlying theory of health economics holds that an individual tends to view health insurance premiums as exogenously determined sunk costs unaffected by consumption of additional health care resources. Individuals view premiums as sunk costs because they are paid at regular intervals during the year, not at the time health care services are purchased. Individuals view premiums as exogenously determined because premium quotations are based on group-experience rates, not the specific health expenditure record of the policyholder. Individuals of an experience rated group participate in an n-person game. The purpose of this paper is to provide a simple illustration of the problem of moral hazard within the context of n-person games. The rational choice for any individual is overutilization of health care resources. The illustration also shows that even if individuals take into account the effect of their own consumption on premiums they will still choose not to conserve. A solution based on merit rating is proposed.


First identified for a future with hydrogen functioning as a fuel, rechargeable metallic hydrides provide an attractive and versatile storage option compared with other methods of highly compressed gas and cryogenic liquefaction


A photochemical-based method in which UVA light (λ=366 nm) is used for synthesizing gold nanoparticles is presented by irradiating gold (III) chloride hydrate (HAuCl4) in the presence of pharmaceutical-grade heparin sodium (PGHEP) as a reducing and stabilizing agent in aqueous solution. Different HAuCl4 to PGHEP concentration ratios were exposed to UVA for up to seven hours. The as-synthesized nanoparticles were characterized by UV-VIS and Raman spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and pH measurements. The synthesized AuNPs present spherical as well as anisotropic shapes, such as oval, triangular, hexagonal sheets, rods, and some other faceted forms, with dimensions ranging from 20 nm to 300 nm. All obtained products show good temporal stability in solution. Surface plasmons differ when varying HAuCl4 to PGHEP concentration ratio. The obtained samples exhibit two absorption peaks, one in the region between 500-600 nm, and another one in the near-IR between 900-1200 nm; both peaks shift to longer wavelengths and increase their absorption intensity as the HAuCl4 to PGHEP concentration ratio increase. TEM images show the change in nanoparticles yield as well as the shape and sizes change depending on HAuCl4 to PGHEP concentration ratio variation. Ph measurements suggest that acidic media promote anisotropic nanoparticle formation. Raman spectroscopy was used to find out which heparin sodium main groups attached to the nanoparticles surface, and in what amount. In summary, it is found that when modifying the reactants concentrations and keeping the UV exposition time as the only fixed parameter, different nanoparticles with distinctive characteristics can be attained.


This paper presents a new nonlinear path-following guidance method for autonomous vehicles, which integrates two guidance laws that have given good results independently in applications in autonomous ground, marine, and air vehicles. This new technique retains the best aspects of its two supporting methods, whereas it overcomes some of their drawbacks. It uses the control law by Park et al. to command the vehicle position towards a reference point. However, the position of the reference point is controlled in a different way: instead of being calculated to stay at a fixed distance forward of the vehicle, we use a strategy, inspired in the works by other authors, that controls the speed of the reference point to maintain its position at the given distance. This change does not increment the number of parameters to tune the algorithm and makes it applicable to any initial conditions and parameterized paths. The paper also analyzes the stability of this new nonlinear guidance control law and shows its effectiveness under different simulations.