Software product line is an effective way to implement software production for mass customization. How to organize and configure the feature set in the feature model of software product line to rapidly produce customized software product meeting individual demands is one of the key problems. Corresponding to the phases of feature selection in the process of software production, the feature configuration model is constructed to provide a uniform framework of constraint description for feature model and domain application requirement. The results of problem solving are the sets of feature meeting feature constraints and application requirements. The proposed method of configuration modeling and problem solving provide a theoretical foundation to rapidly produce software product on the base of configuration of reusable domain assets.


Abstract. An unaccountably high maternal serum alpha‐fetoprotein level at 16–18 weeks of pregnancy is associated with increased risk to the fetus in a continuing pregnancy. Thirty‐one pregnancies with confirmed high levels at 16–18 weeks produced 10 preterm live and 8 liveborn small‐for‐dates babies and 3 early neonatal deaths. Although the incidence of neural tube defects is decreasing, routine assay of maternal serum AFP at 16–18 weeks should be continued to give possible warning of extra risk to the fetus.


With the rapid development of network systems, many of our daily life activities can be performed via the Internet. Online shopping is one of the most common of these activities, which include group buying behavior. Group buying is a trading way, which is a mutually agreeable process. Buyers hope that they can buy their favorite goods or services through trading, and merchants hope that they can obtain a reasonable profit. In 2013, Lee et al. proposed an online group buying system for mobile commerce, they claimed that their proposed scheme achieves several important security requirements, for example: mutual authentication, integrity of transaction data, and non-repudiation. However, we found that there are still some defects in their proposed scheme. Thus, we made an analysis and discussion about these defects, like lack of negotiation description, cash flow issue, main shopper trust issue, limited payment method, not achieve non-repudiation, and arbitration issue.


The utility model discloses an on-line purification system of the secondary loop sodium of a sodium cooled fast reactor; a cold trap of the system is connected with the secondary loop through a heat regenerator. The on-line purification system has simple structure, small volume and safe operation.


Abstract : Several Aspects of modeling and control of large space structures have been investigated. A FORTRAN computer program is included which transforms modal data from commercially available finite element codes for personal computers to the forms needed for control system design. Design of a low order controller for a circular flat plate space structure is investigated by utilizing geometric symmetry of the structure and the control system actuators and sensor to decouple the system into smaller, single input -single output subsystems. (jg)


This thesis details the geomorphology and timing of the mid-Holocene fossil reef at Cleveland Point, Moreton Bay, Queensland. This research presents the first subsurface data from percussion cores through the reef. Results reveal that Cleveland Point reef initiated quickly after rising seas flooded their foundations 7300 years ago. The reef remained in a "catch-up" growth mode from 7300 to 5700 years ago before reef accretion ceased. Age data suggests that the termination of the reef occurred 5700 years ago and coincided with a hypothesized lowering of sea-level and a possible change in terrigenous sediment distribution in Moreton Bay.


In the new digital environment, citizens have the right to use tools to effectively control the usage of personal information related to them. Data protection is one of the fundamental rights in the EU guaranteed by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. The article deals with the requirements that electronic identification system operators will have to take into account to ensure that the system in operation meets the requirements for the protection of personal data.


Theoretical speculation has been raised that living in a world potentially compromised by nuclear war and nuclear power plant accidents affects psychosocial development and may result in various types of dysfunction. This study examines the associations between nuclear anxiety and problems experienced in seven general areas of life. These areas include drug problems, psychosomatic complaints, relationship problems, emotional distress, work problems, health problems, and family problems. To control for spurious or confounding effects, the influences of social conformity and social resources were controlled. Data were obtained from 739 young adults, and latent-variable analyses were used to address these issues. Nuclear anxiety was moderately related to psychosomatic complaints and emotional distress, modestly related to subjective perceptions of health and family problems, and was not associated with drug problems, relationship problems, and work problems. Although this cross-sectional data cannot determin...


OBJECTIVES To identify environmental influences on infant growth using data from a birth cohort established in 1921. DESIGN A longitudinal cohort study. SETTING Aberdeen 1921–22. SUBJECTS Five hundred and sixteen individuals (263 boys and 253 girls) born in Aberdeen during 1921. Health visitor assessments ranged from two to 40 (47% received at least 10 visits). No records were available for infants who died. Individuals were grouped as those who did not breast feed, those who breast fed initially but not at 6 months, and those who were continuing to breast feed at 6 months. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Rate of weight gain over the 1st year of life. A random effects model was used to identify environmental factors and conditions contributing to rate of weight gain in the 1st year of life. RESULTS Breast feeding rates were about 80% and 50% at 10 days and 6 months, respectively. Breast fed infants were significantly heavier than bottle fed infants at 28 days but this difference disappeared by 12 months. Significant negative effects on rate of weight gain, independent of initial body weight, were found for overcrowding in family homes and maternal parity, whereas social class had no effect. CONCLUSION Studies based on historical cohorts that have controlled socioeconomic variables only in terms of social class (derived from parental occupation) may have been subject to residual confounding. Growth in the 1st year of life is likely to reflect a number of environmental influences, some of which may continue to have effects throughout early life and beyond.


There are many software development Small, Medium enterprises (SMEs) in Cape Town, that are continuing to make use of the legacy and rigid waterfall software development methodology. The study therefore, was to identify and understand the factors which influence the adoption of an agile methodology within SMEs in Cape Town, South Africa. The study used the technological-organizational-environmental framework to obtain those factors to understand which, if not all of them, influence the adoption of an agile methodology. The study followed a qualitative approach and six SMEs across various industries were interviewed. The study results showed few factors that influence the adoption of agile methodology within SMES in Cape Town. The study results showed that there is an interest among SMES to adopt and implement an agile methodology. The study contributes to the body of knowledge on the factors influencing the adoption of an agile methodology Cape Town SMEs.


Based on comprehensive consideration of influencing factors(economy,society,ecology and management performance),a comprehensive evaluation index system for land intensive use was constructed.Then,it was adopted to evaluate land intensive use in Tianjing city,and the correlation between each influencing factor of the index system and land intensive use degree was calculated using grey relational analysis method.The results showed that economy factor influenced land intensive use in Tianjing city the most,especially in financial revenue,financial expenditure and fixedassets investment per area.


The 20th century began with the country in the midst of the greatest wave of immigration in its history. The century ended in the midst of another period of high immigration, greater in numerical terms but smaller in its relative impact than the immigration of 100 years earlier. The issues raised at the turn of the 21st century parallel those of the earlier wave: Can the country accommodate the new immigrants? Who benefits from the arrival of the immigrants? Who is harmed? Can the immigrants be absorbed and integrated or are they simply too "different" from the rest of the country? Will the country change as a result of the immigrants, and how?


ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to determine the improvement of students' learning abilities by using the talking stick method in dance art appreciation learning at SMA Dharma Patra Pangkalan Berandan. The theory used in this study is the talking stick method by Miftahul Huda, the experimental method by Sugiyono, and learning theory by Agus Suprijono. The research method is quantitative with the type of quasi experiment one group pretest-posttest design. The research sample was 36 students of class X IPA 2. The instruments used in this study were observation guidelines, documentation guidelines, and tests. The results of the study show that the average pretest value of students is 56.80 and the average value of student posttest is 81.44. based on the results of data processing, the conclusions obtained are that there is a significant increase in students' learning abilities after the use of the talking stick method in students of class X IPA 2 at SMA Dharma Patra Pangkalan Berandan. Keywords: method of Talking Stick, Learning, Appreciation of Dance. ABSTRAK Tujuan penelitian ini untuk mengetahui peningkatan kemampuan belajar siswa dengan menggunakan metode talking stick pada pembelajaran apresiasi seni tari di SMA Dharma Patra Pangkalan Berandan. Teori yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah metode talking stick oleh Miftahul Huda, metode eksperimen oleh Sugiyono, serta teori belajar oleh Agus Suprijono. Metode penelitian ini adalah kuantitatif dengan jenis penelitian quasi experiment one group pretest-posttest design . Sampel penelitian yaitu 36 siswa-siswi kelas X IPA 2. Instrumen yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini yaitu pedoman observasi, pedoman dokumentasi, dan tes. Hasil Penelitian menunjukkan bahwa nilai rata-rata pretest siswa sebesar 56.80% dan nilai rata-rata posttest siswa sebesar 81.44%. Berdasarkan hasil pengolahan data maka kesimpulan yang diperoleh bahwa terdapat kenaikan yang signifikan terhadap kemampuan belajar siswa setelah digunakannya metode talkingstick pada siswa kelas X IPA 2 di SMA Dharma Patra Pangkalan Berandan. Kata kunci: Metode talking stick , pembelajaran, apresiasi seni tari .


Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune disorder, most often caused by pathogenic autoantibodies (Abs) against the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) at the neuromuscular junction (NMJ).1 The clinical syndrome was first described by a woman initially thought to be suffering from hysteria presenting with generalized weakness, squint and dysphagia by Samuel Wilks in 1877.2 The incidence and prevalence of MG have increased over time, but this disease is still relatively rare. Globally, the prevalence of MG in most populations studied is between 100 and 200 per million,3 while the reported incidence varies widely between 1.7 and 10.4 per million.1 MG affects both sexes at all ages but is prevalent mostly in women during early adulthood (age <40 years). During puberty and older age, the incidence has been reported to be equal,4 but there are reports of higher incidence in men above the age of 50.5,6 There is evidence of MG being underdiagnosed in old age (>80 years). This has been attributed to variability in diagnoses in this age group, as symptoms are often interpreted as stroke or motor neuron disease.6


Over the next several hundred years, ocean acidification is expected to reduce average ocean pH. It has been reported that, given a 0.3 reduction in pH from 8.1 to 7.8, a 40% reduction in the acoustic absorption coefficient at low frequencies (less than 1 kHz) could result, suggesting a significant increase in ocean noise. Such extrapolations are based on the corresponding percentage change in the absorption loss only and ignore other dominant acoustic energy loss mechanisms, such as seabed attenuation, as well as the effect of ocean waveguide physics and the depth dependence of ocean pH. Presented here is an analysis of the impact of the reduction in ocean pH on ocean noise level using empirical and physical models of acoustic transmission loss. Three ocean acoustic environments are analyzed to elucidate the expected change in ocean noise level as a function of frequency: shallow water, a surface duct, and the deep ocean. Results show a negligible change in ocean noise in the shallow water and surface duct environments for all frequencies. In the deep ocean, the maximum change in ocean noise level occurs at approximately 2 kHz, with no significant change below 800 Hz.


Qiangdui copper deposit is a porphyry-skarn complex copper(molybdenum) deposit located at the copper(molybdenum) deposit-concentrated Lahange-Cuibaizi area in the central east Gangdise porphyry copper(molybdenum) ore belt.The host rock is granitic porphyry and quartz porphyry which are wholly mineralized. The skarn copper(molybdenum) deposit occurs at the contact zone of the porphyry and limestone of Cretaceous Menzhong Formation.Our study reveals that the ore-bearing porphyry exposed at surface is only the apophyses and intense erosion did not take place thus the main porphyry are still at depth and it is potential for discovering big porphyry deposit to depth.


This experiment has been conducted in order to study the effects of different biofertilizers and manure on absorption of some micronutrients by wheat in Alborz Province, Iran. Experimental design was factorial in the form of randomized complete block design with three replications. Four factors of the experiment were Azospirillum (600 g/ha and without), Mycorrhiza (with 1 kg/ha and without), Streptomyces (0.5 kg/ha and without) and manure (30 ton/ha and without). Results showed significant effect of Azospirillum, Mycorrhiza and manure at p 0.01 on measured traits but the effect of Streptomyces was not significant. All twofold and threefold interactions significantly affected absorption of four micronutrients, mostly at p 0.01. Although because of adverse effect of Streptomyces on Mycorrhiza, fourfold interactions were not much better than threefolds, but the highest absorptions of Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu happened in fourfold interactions. In interaction of Azospirillum × Mycorrhiza × manure (a m s o ), plants shoot contained 1 1 0 1 246.77 mg/kg Iron, 56.91 mg/kg Manganese, 13.03 mg/kg Zinc and 4.52 mg/kg Cupper that were much higher than any other treatments. Totally, results indicated that biofertilizers and manure can naturally meat large amount of plants nutritional requirements and replace chemical fertilizers in sustainable agricultural production systems.


This is a film review of The Cabin the Woods (2011), directed by Drew Goddard. This film review is available in Journal of Religion & Film: http://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/jrf/vol16/iss2/11 The Cabin in the Woods is a thrilling voyage into the realms of the supernatural and the human mind, created by director Drew Goddard. To the casual viewer, it presents itself as a fairly typical example of the horror genre; a group of college students venture out to a remote cabin to get away from the stresses of student life. Soon they discover the cabin's basement, filled with random memorabilia. Upon reading a diary of a young girl who was a member of a sadistic, masochistic family unit, the group unwittingly raise the family from the dead, who then seek to kill them all. Surrounding this cliche setting and storyline, is a far more complex wider theme: the group have been lured to the cabin by a mysterious organization. The entire setting, including the forest and landscape, is fabricated by this organization which via an invisible shield, which allows the students to enter onto the "set" but does not allow any escape. As the film evolves, two of the teens, Dana (Kristen Connolly) and Marty (Fran Kanz), escape through a safety hatch from which the zombies emerged. There they find themselves in one of thousands of small glass boxes, each containing a creature of the horror genre. The purpose of this entire creation, as they discover, is that they are sacrificial victims to ancient gods that constantly threaten humanity; that their deaths are required to keep these gods sleeping and therefore, preserve the human race. However, the two survivors eventually decide not to sacrifice themselves and, instead of preserving the human race, they bring about its destruction. The film is not explicitly religious, but it is fascinating on the grounds that it comments philosophically upon the question of human nature through a critique of the genre of horror. It is a remarkable critique that hides itself within the genre only to expose itself to reveal the darker aspect of the functions of the horror genre within humanity. Horror is a genre that features bloodshed and the suffering of others for us as neutral observers to watch. This is often done by making the characters in these 1 Greenish: The Cabin in the Woods Published by DigitalCommons@UNO, 2012 films as superficial as possible; for example, a motley group of carefree teens whose lives are a dedication to base pleasures. What this film does differently is it takes this aspect of watching a horror and slaps the audience in the face with it. It critiques this characteristic of the genre by drawing our attention to the archetypal characters that exist within many typical horror movies; the slut, the hero, the intellectual, the virgin and the nerd. The film is an attack at this enjoyment we feel at watching horror and the chief method by which it initiates this critique is through the insertion of the ominous, overseeing organization to the narrative. Our main gateway into the organization is through two men, Hadley (Bradley Whitford) and Sitterson (Richard Jenkins) who oversee the sacrifice of the five students. However, they do not only oversee this, but also run a game of bets over which horrible creature the group will un-wittingly summon to kill them. They also watch perversely as two of the victims engage in sex. What the organization does is it removes the audience from their position as spectators of a horror movie and wakes us up to the fact that this is exactly how the majority of an audience react when watching horror. It creates a strong sense of empathy for the students and a rather disconcerting feeling regarding our mind-set having entered the cinema to watch what we assumed would be a typical horror. What the organization is, with its shocking lack of moral substance, is an analysis of the darker side of the human sub-conscious. Possibly what Freud called the 'id'; the raw and untamed desires that exist within the human mind. Therefore, the film brings this element of our minds to the surface before us and shocks us in a way we had not expected. John C. Lyden theorises in his book Film as Religion Myths, Morals and Rituals, that film can transfer to its audience messages which the audience receive because they can relate to the characters or some other element of the film. But in The Cabin in the Woods those characters that it presents 2 Journal of Religion & Film, Vol. 16 [2012], Iss. 2, Art. 11 http://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/jrf/vol16/iss2/11 for us to relate to are those involved in the operations of the organization; the film even begins with the two operators discussing personal matters of their private lives, such as Hadley's wife's pregnancy. All this is an analysis of the philosophical quality of the bulk of the film. However, the film actually does make a rather bold and shocking, religiously explicit assertion. This is done when, at the end of the film, there is a slight shift in genre; from horror to apocalyptic film. In many films concerning the demise of the human race, the cause of our destruction is a natural disaster. Sometimes, like in The Cabin in the Woods our end is at the hand of monsters, titans or gods. However, there are certain key differences between this film and others of the genre, specifically the idea of redemption of humanity and the nature by which the apocalypse is brought about. In many of these films, a portion of humanity will survive and even move on to continue the species. This leaves the audience with a feeling of optimism for humanity. The Cabin in the Woods leaves us with no such comfort. Its turning of the horror genre as a method by which it philosophically critiques humanity, is finalised with a pessimistic vision of our apocalypse which offers us no redemption. The apocalypse is brought about by two human beings themselves, who choose to end the existence of the species on the grounds that humanity exists solely to cause suffering. This, as the earlier section of the film shows, is revelled in by fellow human beings, watching from afar. In other words, the film condemns humanity as a species that willingly brings about death in order to continue. The Cabin in the Woods is a remarkable film in that it both manages to scare in the typical ways that horror does and to shock on a very different level. It satisfies the purpose of a horror in bringing to life the supernatural to terrify and shock. But it 3 Greenish: The Cabin in the Woods Published by DigitalCommons@UNO, 2012 also holds in store for viewers a far more complex, satirical shock that moves the audience from the safety of their seats. It throws before its audience a particuarly pessimistic message that is distinctly intrusive and condemning. However, amongst all the satire, the film still entertains as well as scares. Amongst the dark ending, paradoxically is comedy. Though perhaps this may be simply a continuation of the critique through creating a mockery out of the horror genre, it still helps to soothe the wound created by the shock of the film's revelations. Overall the film at times may appear to be a little silly, but don't be fooled. It's actually an exceedingly clever and enjoyable film that can be appreciated by a varied audience. 4 Journal of Religion & Film, Vol. 16 [2012], Iss. 2, Art. 11 http://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/jrf/vol16/iss2/11


The Joint Institute for Nanoscience (JIN) is a cooperative venture of the University of Washington and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to encourage and enhance high-impact and high-quality nanoscience and nanotechnology of all types. This first annual report for the JIN summarizes activities beginning in 2001 and ending at the close of fiscal year 2003 and therefore represents somewhat less than two years of activities. Major portions of the JIN resources are dedicated to funding graduate students and postdoctoral research associates to perform research in collaborations jointly directed by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) staff scientists and University of Washington (UW) professors. These fellowships were awarded on the basis of applications that included research proposals. JIN co-sponsors an annual Nanoscale Science and Technology Workshop held in Seattle. In addition to involving PNNL staff in various UW nanoscience courses and seminars, a National Science Foundation grant Development of UW-PNL Collaborative Curriculums in Nano-Science and Technology has allowed the development of three intensive short courses that are taught by UW faculty, PNNL staff, and faculty from other institutions, including Washington State University, the University of Idaho, Stanford University, and the University of Alaska. The initial JIN agreement recognized that expansion of cooperation beyondmore » UW and PNNL would be highly valuable. Starting in early 2003, efforts were initiated to form a regional communication link called the Northwest Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Network (N₄). In concept, N₄ is a tool to encourage communication and help identify regional resources and nanoscience and technology activities.« less


The invention provides a data synchronization method, device and system in a distributed storage system. The data synchronization method comprises steps: a first storage service cluster receives a first data change request from a first client; the first storage service cluster changes corresponding data in the first storage service cluster according to the first data change request and generates a first synchronous log corresponding to the change data; the first storage service cluster syncs the first synchronous data corresponding to the first synchronous log to a second storage service cluster; the first storage service cluster receives second synchronous data sent by the second storage service cluster; the first storage service cluster carries out data synchronization according to the second synchronous data. Data bidirectional synchronization between storage service clusters distributed in different places is achieved, all the calculation resources are utilized fully, and remote disaster recovery is achieved based on limited calculation resources.


Polystyrene (PS) composite nanofibers were successfully fabricated by embedding NaYF4: Eu3+ nanophosphor into the PS matrix via electrospinning. The photoluminescence spectra, surface morphology and crystal structure of nanofibers were characterized by photoluminescence spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray diffractometer, respectively. Stress-induced α-NaYF4: Eu3+ (cubic) to β-NaYF4: Eu3+(hexagonal) structural phase transformation was observed in the nanofibers. The stress-induced phase transformation provides enough space for tailoring the properties of novel nanostructures. The composite nanofibers exhibited blue emission with 239 nm excitation wavelength. The XRD pattern of espun nanofibers confirmed the successful incorporation of 5% NaYF4: Eu3+ nanophosphors into the PS matrix. Brilliant values of the chromaticity coordinates of the prepared photoluminescent nanofibers (PLNs) predict their possible use in blue solid-state lighting applications.


A description is given of the concept of a multiagent plan-recognition model to assist a naval tactical decision maker in interpreting the activity of enemy ships and aircraft (agents) and predicting their goals and plans. Multiagent templates have been devised to capture the tactical decision-maker's knowledge of how the plans of individual agents interact in pursuit of shared goals. The templates provide a flexible knowledge representation that allows the plan-recognition model to reason about different situation-specific variations in the ways multiagent plans may unfold. Template instances form hypotheses of future agent actions and are created in top-down/bottom-up manner. The hypotheses are then updated based on observations of agent behavior. The plan-recognition process features mechanisms to curb the proliferation of hypotheses possible in multiagent domains.<<ETX>>


Dunedin Academic Press has recently published a book onAlmeriaauthored by Adrian Harvey and Anne Mather within the Classic Geology inEuropeseries. It is a highly attractive and educational work, including more than 100 colour figures, many of which correspond to superb maps. Both the texts and the illustrations reflect the deep knowledge of the authors on the geology and geomorphology of the area, as well as their extensive experience as field researchers and lecturers. Adrian Harvey is Emeritus Professor of Geomorphology in theUniversityofLiverpooland life membership of the Spanish Society of Geomorphology. He is a key author in the field of fluvial and alluvial geomorphology, covering virtually all the spatial and temporal scales. His extensive field research has been largely conducted in Almeria, in addition to many other regions worldwide. Moreover, he has developed an enormous service as Editor-in-Chief of Geomorphology (1993-2005), and as editor of the special issues of the journal since 2005. Anne Mather, Associate Professor (Reader) of Physical Geography in theUniversityofPlymouth, carried out her PhD on fluvial sedimentology and geomorphology in the Neogene basins ofAlmeriaunder the supervision of Adrian Harvey. Throughout her prolific career she has conducted research on a broad range of topics such as tectonic geomorphology, fluvial and alluvial systems or landslides, chiefly in drylands of various continents. Both authors are still conducting fructiferous research in Almeria region where they have supervised about five Ph.D. Theses. Almeria, in the Eastern Betic Cordillera, southern Spain, is a privilege region for studying, teaching and enjoying geology and geomorphology. It has one of the most arid climates inEuropeand is dominated by a Basin-and-Range topography related to the ongoing collision between the Eurasian and African tectonic plates. The present landscape is largely controlled by the interrelationships between climate and tectonics in one of the most active areas of the Betic Cordillera. The ranges mainly consist of Palaeozoic metamorphic rocks of the Inner Betics, and locally recent volcanic rocks. The active strike-slip and normal seismogenic faults that control the basin margins provide magnificent examples of tectonic geomorphology. The depressions correspond to Neogene basins with superb exposures of marine and continental successions that record a wide variety of sedimentary environments. The Messinian evaporites ofSorbasBasindisplay an outstanding gypsum karst of great scientific and educational value. The basins, affected by tectonic inversion and fluvial captures, have experienced a progressive change in their morpho-sedimentary behaviour, from sediment aggradation to fluvial incision. In some sectors the ancient Neogene basins are deeply incised, displaying excellent examples of fluvial terraces, torrential braided channels (ramblas or wadis) and impressive badland landscapes. Book examples of alluvial fans associated with fault-controlled mountain fronts occur in the associated piedmonts. The coastal landscapes in the area offers the possibility to examine active beaches and cliffs, as well as Late Pleistocene raised beaches that record sea-level changes and vertical tectonic uplift. The book comprises two main parts. The first one introduces through five chapters the main geological and geomorphological features of Almeria. The second part is conceived as a practical field-guide, including seven field-trips throughout the different geological units of the area. The reader will find clear indications about the routes, field-descriptions accompanied by excellent illustrations, and GPS coordinates to ensure the location of the key points and outcrops. The appendices and the glossary are of great help for a comprehensive understanding of the book contents, and provide useful information for the preparation of the field-trips. The book is accessible for a great public, from researchers to people keen of nature and "geotourism". We believe it is an excellent educational resource for lecturers and students of Geology, Physical Geography and Environmental Sciences. This publication constitutes a big temptation to travel to Almeria, enjoy its impressive landscapes and learn from the expertise of our colleagues Adrian and Anne.


Hypertrophy of human mesangial cells (HMC) is among the earliest characteristics in patients with diabetic nephropathy (DN). Recently, we observed the upregulation of parathyroid hormone (PTH)‐related protein (PTHrP) in experimental DN, associated with renal hypertrophy. Herein, we first examined whether PTHrP was overexpressed in human DN, and next assessed the putative role of this protein on high glucose (HG)‐induced HMC hypertrophy. As previously found in mice, kidneys from diabetic patients showed an increased tubular and glomerular immunostaining for PTHrP. In HMC, HG medium increased PTHrP protein expression associated with the development of hypertrophy as assessed by cell protein content. This effect was also induced by PTHrP(1–36). HG and PTHrP(1–36)‐induced hypertrophy were associated with an increase in cyclin D1 and p27Kip1 protein expression, a decreased cyclin E expression, and the prevention of cyclin E/cdk2 complex activation. Both PTHrP neutralizing antiserum (α‐PTHrP) and the PTH/PTHrP receptor antagonist (JB4250) were able to abolish HG induction of hypertrophy, the aforementioned changes in cell cycle proteins, and also TGF‐β1 up‐regulation. Moreover, the capability of both HG and PTHrP(1–36) to induce HMC hypertrophy was abolished by α‐TGFβ1. These data show for the first time that PTHrP is upregulated in the kidney of patients with DN. Our findings also demonstrate that PTHrP acts as an important mediator of HG‐induced HMC hypertrophy by modulating cell cycle regulatory proteins and TGF‐β1. J. Cell. Physiol. 227: 1980–1987, 2012. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


This paper aims to break the traditional teaching mode of advertising design and establish an open network teaching platform for advertising design by Web3D technology, Web development technology and database technology. We analyze the technical advantages of VRML in detail, and introduce the making of VRML courseware and examples. We also discuss the working principle and using conditions of VRML, and explain the way of embedding VRML file into multimedia courseware, which opens up the technical ideas for the construction of interactive multimedia courseware and virtual laboratory. The test analysis shows that the system not only has the functions of the existing network teaching system, but also supports 3D effect, which enriches the media types of network teaching resources, and increases the interactivity, real-time and realistic sense of the network teaching system.


Suzuki cross-coupling reaction is one of the important methodologys for generation of aryl-aryl compounds.This paper mainly introduce the latest progress of Suzuki coupling reaction in neat water,including Suzuki reactions by using of new catalytic systems,microwave and other uon-conventional techniques.were reviewed.


In this and a subsequent paper, work by geographers that is based on the idea that we are in a period of transition to an epoch of flexible accumulation, or post-Fordism, is examined. It is argued that this thesis relies on abstracting the technical and organisational aspects of current restructuring from its value relations. An account which includes value relations shows that the phenomena said to characterise flexible accumulation are more contradictory and unstable, more varied, and more open to struggle than is supposed in work in which a new epoch is assumed. An approach based on value relations can give a richer account of current spatial-economic change. In this first paper, capital—labour relations within production, and the relations between firms are discussed.


We examined the population genetic structure of Sonoma sunshine (Blennosperma bakeri), Sebastopol meadowfoam (Limnanthes vinculans), and Burke's goldfields (Lasthenia burkei), three endangered annual plant species mostly restricted to vernal pools of the Santa Rosa Plain, Sonoma County. Conservation of existing populations and additional population establishment on protected mitigation lands are now under way. To inform these efforts, we developed nuclear DNA markers to characterize the distribution of genetic variation among populations in space and in time. Using 15 microsatellite markers we genetically surveyed 21 populations of L. vinculans, genotyping 577 individuals in 2006 and 182 individuals in 2008. Our results indicate a substantial divergence and limited gene flow between Santa Rosa Plain (SRP) populations and an outlying Napa county population (mean FST = 0.180). Among SRP populations genetic variation is significantly lower (FIT = 0.052), with most (82%) of the overall SRP population variation explained by within population genetic variation. We found notable temporal genetic structure between years in 6 tested populations (Fst ranging between 0.08 – 0.23). The Sonoma Valley population of B. bakeri was distinct from those on the Santa Rosa Plain (PhiPT = 0.19, P < 0.001) and notable genetic structure existed among populations within the Santa Rosa Plain (PhiPT = 0.11, P < 0.001). Range-wide, geographically separate populations of L. burkei were genetically distinct (FST = 0.22, P < 0.001). The variation was divided between the difference among Lake and Sonoma County populations (FST = 0.11), and within Sonoma county populations (FST = 0.11). We found evidence of temporal genetic structure at four sites sampled in both 2006 and 2008 (PhiPT range = 0.07 – 0.16). Our results inform conservation efforts as to the distinctiveness of populations for ex situ seed conservation, guide genetically appropriate seed inoculation of created pools, and will be used to infer possible explanations for genetic subdivisions to aid in management decisions. We recommend that each extant occurrence of these species be conserved and that seed movement be regulated and implemented according to the genetic information outlined here.


Based on SHS reactive flame spraying TiC-TiB2 multiphase ceramic coating technology,the collision behavior of the flying particles with the substrate was investigated.Different morphologies of the collided particles were observed and their causes of formation were analyzed.The results show that the SHS reaction of the flying particles undergo from surface to inside.Collision gives remarkable influences on flying combustion and solidification and structure transformation.The SHS reaction of the flying particles can be terminated by the effects of dense elastic wave,mutation of physical medium and rapid solidification for heat exchange.


In Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1 the Supreme Court debated the meaning of Brown v. Board of Education. This essay, prepared for a symposium on Parents Involved, traces the roots of the debate between color-blindness and anti-subordination to Brown itself and efforts to desegregate public schools in the wake of that decision but shows that the debate goes back at least as far as the tensions reflected in the first Justice Harlan's celebrated dissent in Plessy v. Ferguson.


Set mixed rupture disk and rupture element to carry it out, intended to be mounted between two inlet and outlet support members, and having a resilient valve element 16 and a rupture member 14 having a plurality of elongated openings 28 extending radiant manner from a central portion 25. According to the invention, at least one notch 22 determining the rupture pressure is formed in said rupture element and connects the points formed by the ends, or adjacent to these ends of two or more elongated openings 28, such that rupture of said rupture element to occur when the pressure that is exerted on the valve member 16 and which is transmitted to the rupture element 14 reaches a level higher than the breaking pressure determined by said one or more notches.


In recent years, data service has been gaining popularity in embedded system. Most of the audio/video devices today are being controlled by legacy Infra Red (IR) based remote controllers which has limited range and also suffers from line of sight problem or internet based event management programs which always need connection to internet. This paper proposes a method by implementing a simple Short Message Service (SMS) based audio/video controlling method using ARM 9 and GSM module without the need of internet connection or the need of line of sight communication and moreover the range is global. A mobile number (registered/unregistered) with the GSM based audio/video control system upon boot up. Customer requested audio file or video file can be played based on the user's request, when that particular customer sends a SMS with his/her


1 Micro and Trace Analysis Centre, Department of Chemistry, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, B-2610 Antwerp, Belgium; 2 Research Institute for Solid State Physics and Optics of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, POB 49, H-1525 Budapest, Hungary; 3 Flemish Environment Agency (VMM), Krijgslaan 281, S2, B-9000 Gent, Belgium; 4 Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), Boeretang 200, B-2400 Mol, Belgium, 5 Flemish Environment Agency (VMM), Kronenburgstraat 45, B-2000 Antwerp, Belgium


Polyimides (PI) have been studied as the basic materials for preparing gas separation membranes attributable to their high gas selectivity. This paper deals with the preparation and characterization of blended polyimide membranes with polyethersulfone (PES) to study separation of ethylene from nitrogen gas at different feed pressures. For improving performance of PI membranes, two procedures were used. First, using polymeric additives such as polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and PES in low content and second, blending of PI casting solution with high amount of PES. Infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images were employed to characterize the membranes. Pyromellitic dianhydride-co-4, 4′-oxy dianiline (PMDA/ODA) polyimide membranes was synthesized using polyamic acid (PAA) as precursor materials. The ideal selectivity of 100% (ethylene permeation only) was achieved at 1 bar using PMDA/ODA polyimide membranes containing 1 wt% PVDF. Addition of PES did not have any significant influence on ideal selectivity of the prepared membranes. PES-(PMDA/ODA) polyamic acid blend membranes were prepared using different blending ratios of PES (25 wt%) and PAA (15 wt%). The blending ratio of casting solutions of PES/PAA solutions exhibited a main influence on the ideal selectivity. The ideal selectivity of 2.9 for ethylene was achieved at 3 bar using blend membranes with 0.5 wt% PAA solution. PES-PMDA/ODA polyimide membranes were also prepared from blend casting solutions by thermal imidization. Immiscible blend membranes were obtained at different blending ratios of the casting solutions with high gas permeance and poor selectivity. © 2011 Curtin University of Technology and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


It is well-focused question about whether interim financial report can help the information users to predict future expect income. And the research to prediction value of interim financial report is helpful to increase the quality of listed companies' interim financial reports and to protect the investors' interest. After analyzing the influence of interim financial report's workout method to prediction value, the author suggested that our country should lay particular stress on integral view.


The cost of errors in entered data can be significant in a company's data entry operation. Currently available program-controlled data entry devices and systems afford the user an opportunity to detect the error, but they generally cost more, and the error detection may also impact throughput.


A novel topology of single-phase AC-DC Cascaded Boost-Cûk (CBC) converter using the method of Common Part Sharing (CPSM) for high step-up applications has been proposed. The demand for high voltage, efficient and Iossless converters has increased in the 21st century. In order to facilitate the demand cascaded converters has been proposed which not only provides high performance in terms of efficiency, reduction in Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) of the input current and improved input power factor (PF) but also proper voltage regulation at all duty cycles. The proposed CBC converter has been simulated and verified using PSIM environment and is appropriate for high voltage and high-performance applications.


Recent fieldwork and the synthesis and reappraisal of aeromagnetic, geologic, structural, geochemical, and geochronologic data have provided a new perspective on the structural evolution and geologic history of the Arabian Shield. Although Paleoproterozoic rocks are present in the eastern part of the Shield, its geologic evolution was mainly concentrated in the period from 900 to 550 Ma during which the formation, amalgamation, and final Pan-African cratonization of several tectonostratigraphic terranes took place. The terranes are separated by major NW-trending faults and by N-, NW- and NE-oriented suture zones lined by serpentinized ultramafic rocks (ophiolites). Terrane analysis using the lithostratigraphy and geochronology of suture zones, fault zones, overlapping basins, and stitching plutons, has helped to constrain the geologic history of the Arabian Shield. Ophiolites and volcanic-arcs have been dated at between 900 and 680 Ma, with the southern terrane of Asir being older than the Midyan terrane in the north and the Ar Rayn terrane in the east.
 Final cratonization of the terranes between 680 and 610 Ma induced a network of anastomosing, strike-slip faults consisting of the N-trending Nabitah belt, the major NW-striking left-lateral transpressive faults (early Najd faults), lined by gneiss domes and associated with sedimentary basins, and N- to NE-trending right-lateral transpressive faults. Following the Pan-African cratonization, widespread alkaline granitization was contemporaneous with the deposition of the Jibalah volcanic and sedimentary rocks in transtensional pull-apart basins. Crustal thinning was governed by the Najd fault system of left-lateral transform faults that controlled the formation of the Jibalah basins and was synchronous with the emplacement of major E- to NW-trending dike swarms throughout the Arabian Shield. The extensional episode ended with a marine transgression in which carbonates were deposited in the Jibalah basins. Continuation of the thinning process may explain the subsequent deposition of the marine formations of the lower Paleozoic cover.
 Our interpretation of the distribution and chronology of orogenic zones does not correspond entirely to those proposed in earlier studies. In particular, the N-trending Nabitah and NW-trending Najd fault zones are shown to be part of the same history of oblique transpressional accretion rather than being two distinct events related to accretion and dispersion of the terranes.


As technology advances, application areas for robots are no longer limited to the factories where they perform repetitive tasks behind fences. Robots are envisioned to provide services to us in everyday public spaces - in which they will encounter and interact with people. These types of robots can be considered as social robots, and should interact with people following the behavioral norms people expect of the robot within a specific context. Compared to interactions people have with social robots in homes and classrooms, interactions with guide robots in public spaces are likely to be of a more incidental nature and shorter duration. This makes it perhaps even more important that users immediately understand how to use the robot. And what intentions and messages the robot communicates. Given that people apply social rules when interpreting the behavior of media (such as computers and robots), we have investigated social norms for social robots; in particular the non-verbal behaviors of (interpersonal) distance and gaze. In this thesis we have investigated people's preferences for, perceptions of, and behaviors towards social robots through a series nine (lab and field) studies. The work presented in this thesis provides empirical and methodological contributions to the development of social robots in semi-public spaces. The research in this thesis shows that the behaviors of social robots that provide services such as wayfinding in public spaces (such as airports) should, to an extent, be designed in a human-like way. This thesis offers practical guidelines for designers and developers of social robots. Specifically in terms of which distance robots should keep from groups of people, and in which direction a robot should gaze when guiding (small) groups. The results of this thesis contribute toward the development of social robots in semi-public spaces. The behavior of social robots should suit the context of use. In order to design behaviors for future social robots it is necessary for HRI researchers to study people's interactions with robots in this context of use during the development cycle of a social robot.


Strengthening the coordination between public security body and tax organ is an important issue which urgently needs settling in the current detection involving tax crime. In striking the crime concerning tax, tax and public security body should take their own advantages to make up their defects, take practical steps and inteasify coordination so as to form the combined force to strike the crime involving tax.


This article reviews three recent cases illustrating successful examples of accelerated construction. Accelerated construction has emerged as a solution to infrastructure reconstruction on heavily travelled bridges or roads. Closure of bridges or highways can have disastrous economic effects on commerce and travel, causing a significant motivation to rapid completion of repairs. The projects reviewed include a destroyed bridge on I-40 in Oklahoma, the repavement of I-405 in Washington state, and repairs to the Hoan Bridge in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.


Oxidative destruction of organic compounds in water streams could significantly reduce environmental effects associated with discharging waste. We report the development of a process to oxidise phenol in aqueous solutions, a model for waste stream contaminants, using Fenton's reactions combined with in situ synthesised hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Bifunctional palladium-iron supported catalysts, where Pd is responsible for H2O2 synthesis while Fe ensures the production of reactive oxygen species required for the degradation of phenol to less toxic species is reported. A comparison is made between in situ generated and commercial H2O2 and the effect of phenol degradation products on catalyst stability is explored.


ABSTRACT: A new technological process for railway frogs repair is developed by specialists from Associated Institute for High Temperatures on the base of plasma sprayed coating, ensuring the high quality defectless coating, which is less sensitive to operator errors, is more automated and has greater productivity compared with existing ones. Repaired frogs have passed successfully heavy field testing on the Experimental Ring of All Russia Research Institute for Railway Transport.


Background: Actinomycosis is a rare inflammatory disease caused by an anaerobic bacterium, Actinomyces israelii.
Aim: To report a case of abdominal actinomycosis presenting as intestinal obstruction.
Setting: University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, Port Harcourt.
Case report: A 54-year-old gentleman was involved in a road traffic accident in which he sustained fractures of the right humerus and pubic rami. A month later, he developed signs and symptoms of intestinal obstruction. At operation, a retroperitoneal mass obstructing the transverse colon and the proximal ileum was found and resected. Histological examination confirmed the mass to be due to actinomycosis infection. The patient was therefore placed on a parenteral therapy of 20 mega units of crystalline penicillin daily for three weeks and then a maintenance therapy of oral Amoxycillin for another six months. He recovered fully from the infection.
Conclusion: Abdominal actinomycosis infection is an uncommon disease entity. Careful and expert histopathological analysis is essential in post operative diagnosis.
 Port Harcourt Medical Journal Vol. 1(1) September 2006: 65-67


In this paper, the active vibration absorber controlling the pressure of the air spring is applied to a preview control system of a vehicle suspension. The front half-part of the vehicle functions as the sensor for the vibration absorption of the rear half-part. The design criterion for the optimum preview control absorber is the minimization of the rms value of the acceleration under the specified constraints on the relative displacement. The optimum preview system is realized by the feedforward and feedback compensation systems. Chang's optimum control theory is applied to the optimization. The experimental results show good coincidence with the analyses.


grown on n-paraffin, foam stability(leakage)and whippa bility were determined in comparison with those of soybean protein(SP), and the following results were obtained; 1. Foam stability of supernatant obtained by precipitating proteins from alkali extract showed a high level compared with that of extract(E)and protein isolate(P). 2. Leakage and whippability per one mg of protein-N generally decreased with the increase of protein concentration. The levels of whippability of E, P and protein isolate washed with ethanol(PE)were similar with one another, and they were all higher than that of SP in the range below 240mg% of protein-N. Foam stability of PE was remarkably superior to that of the other three samples, especially in the range of low protein concentration. 3. Whipping properties were generally affected with pH. Whippability of E, P and PE were superior, on the other hand foam stability of E and P were inferior respectively to those of SP in the range of pH 4~7. Foam stability of PE showed much higher level than those of the other three samples in an acidic to neutral pH range, and exhibited the level above 95% in the range of pH 3~5. (Received July 21, 1976)


The present invention discloses a metal silicide full lift self-aligned extrinsic base region of the bipolar transistor and a method of preparation, in order to solve the conventional products and methods can not effectively reduce the disadvantages of the invention the base resistor RB. Lifting the metal silicide present invention is self-aligned extrinsic base region complete bipolar transistor comprising a substrate, a buried layer of the collector region, a lightly doped epitaxial layer, a collector lead-out area, the field area of the medium layer, select implanted collector region, an intrinsic base epitaxial layer, the emitter region - base region isolation dielectric regions, heavily doped polycrystalline emitter region, the heavily doped single crystal emitter region, the extrinsic base region uplift, and a silicon oxide insulating dielectric layer. Raising a low resistance external base region comprises a metal silicide layer uplift extrinsic base region, Si / SiGe / Si polycrystalline layer and the heavily doped polysilicon layer. Lifting the metal silicide present invention is self-aligned extrinsic base region of the bipolar transistor and the whole preparation further reduced while maintaining the RB prior art has the advantage of optimizing the device performance.


Abstract We introduce a new text technology, called Wikidition, which automatically generates large scale editions of corpora of natural language texts. Wikidition combines a wide range of text mining tools for automatically linking lexical, sentential and textual units. This includes the extraction of corpus-specific lexica down to the level of syntactic words and their grammatical categories. To this end, we introduce a novel measure of text reuse and exemplify Wikidition by means of the capitularies, that is, a corpus of Medieval Latin texts.


Contempt of Court behavior is rife in the process of resolving court disputes in Indonesia including civil disputes. Contempt of Court actions constitute an insult to the judiciary so that it is appropriate to be sanctioned as a deterrent eff ect. This study aims to determine the actions that can be qualified as a Contempt of Court in the settlement of civil disputes, as well as understanding the law enforcement of the Contempt of Court in the practice of dispute resolution in court and its comparison with Singapore. This study uses normative juridical methods. This method is carried out by examining library materials in the form of legislation, doctrine, and other scientific papers related to the Contempt of Court and interviews with sources to obtain primary data as a secondary data extras, which is then analyzed in a qualitative juridical analysis. The results of the research show that Civil Contempt actions in the practice of civil dispute resolution processes can be interpreted as any act done intentionally not in compliance with every summons, orders, decrees, warnings, or decisions issued by the court resulting in losses to parties who litigate and undermine the authority, dignity and honor of the court. Law enforcement against the actions of Civil Contempt of Court in Indonesia is still considered less eff ective when compared to Singapore. Singapore has included its arrangements in written rules governing the qualifi cations of actions and sanctions imposed. In addition to administrative and civil sanctions, criminal sanctions also apply in order to increase the effectiveness of enforcement of the Civil Contempt of Court.


Connecdenn 3, a member of the connecdenn/DENND1 family of DENN domain–containing guanine-nucleotide exchange factors for Rab35, is demonstrated to bind directly to actin and specifically activates Rab35 for its role in regulation of actin dynamics.


Over the years, substantial progress has been made in the understanding and treatment of heart failure (HF). Multiple distinct pathophysiological mechanisms have been shown to contribute to the initiation and progression of this insidious disease. Significant improvements in outcomes have also been accomplished with drugs that predominantly target neurohumoral activation, including ACE inhibitors, beta-blockers, and aldosterone antagonists.1 Nevertheless the burden of HF on society is still increasing, and it remains one of the most common reasons for hospitalization in the western world. New insights into the pathogenesis of HF are therefore urgently needed.2 The natriuretic peptide system is the best understood protective pathway in HF. By secretion of natriuretic peptides such as ANP (atrial natriuretic peptide) and BNP (B-type Natriuretic Peptide) in response to increased wall stress, the heart itself can regulate fluid balance and blood pressure. BNP has been shown to exert potent beneficial diuretic and vasodilatory effects, and is probably most well known as a biomarker for HF.3 Natriuretic peptide receptors are expressed in a variety of tissues including the heart, kidney, liver, adipose tissue, and in leucocyte subsets. The role of these receptors outside the cardiovascular system is incompletely understood. Although BNP levels are significantly up-regulated in patients with acute and chronic HF, these levels are still insufficient to retain cardiovascular homeostasis in these patients. Indeed, several lines of evidence indicate that HF patients develop a systemic resistance to BNP. Nesiritide, a recombinant form of BNP, also failed to reduce rehospitalizations and mortality in patients with acute HF.4 The therapeutic potential of BNP in HF was therefore initially considered to be limited. This presumption was recently challenged by the PARADIGM-HF study, which showed impressive reductions in symptom severity, hospitalizations for HF, and mortality, with the angiotensin receptor-neprilysin inhibitor LCZ696.5 Neprilysin is an enzyme that is responsible for the breakdown of biologically active


It is crucial to control not only content but also in vivo toxic action of contaminated bacterial pyrogens for the safety of parenteral drugs. However, toxic activity of such pyrogens would vary depending on their source bacteria and even human peripheral blood cells (hPBC) show varied responsiveness to the pyrogens depending on source individual. However, the responsiveness of hPBC to each of the pyrogens was found to be consistent irrespective of source individual when evaluated in relative to that to Reference Standard Endotoxin. HPBC showed clear correlations among TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-1β productions in response to a panel of pyrogens in terms of the relative responsiveness. When nine different human monocytoid cell lines were examined, MM6, THP-1 and 28SC cells showed dose-dependent IL-6 productions. However, MM6 and THP-1 failed to show consistency with hPBC in responding to the panel of pyrogens. 28SC cells showed appropriate consistency with hPBC not only in the responses to the pyrogens but also in detecting the effect of human interferons to augment endotoxin to induce IL-6.


In this work, we present a latent fingerprint segmentation algorithm based on spatial-frequency domain analysis. The algorithm arranges the overlapped block-based Fourier coefficients into groups of frequency and orientation subbands, called Rearranged Fourier Subband (RFS). The RFS reveals latent fingerprint spectra in only a limited number of subbands. The algorithm then boosts, sorts, and extracts, from complex background and noise, the latent fingerprint spectra in the RFS subbands. Several experiments are evaluated based on ground truth comparison, feature extraction, and latent matching on the NIST SD27 latent database. Our experimental results show that the proposed algorithm achieves better accuracy compared to those of the published automatic segmentation algorithms.


Vehicle wiper blade device according to the invention, is provided a ball arm coupling the wiper arm to be coupled to a central portion of the rod-shaped main lever made of a synthetic resin; And a spacer member which is coupled to an end of said main lever, in the vehicle wiper blade unit including an auxiliary lever, a rod shape made of a synthetic resin, the auxiliary lever parameter to be coupled for rotation in a predetermined angle range with respect to the main lever and including, the spacer member is fixed to the main lever, said auxiliary lever is rotatably coupled to the spacer lever, the secondary lever is characterized in that the not to come in direct contact with said main lever.


Purpose— Hemodialysis grafts fail because of venous neointimal hyperplasia formation caused by adventitial fibroblasts which have become myofibroblasts ( α -smooth muscle actin positive cells) and migrate to the neointima. There is increased expression of hypoxia inducible factor-1 alpha (HIF-1 α in venous neointimal hyperplasia formation in experimental animal model and clinical samples. We hypothesized that under hypoxic stimulus (HIF-1 α fibroblasts will convert to myofibroblasts through a matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) mediated pathway. Materials and methods— Murine AKR-2B fibroblasts were made hypoxic or normoxic for 24, 48, and 72 hours. Protein expression for HIF-1 α , α -smooth muscle actin, MMP-2, MMP-9, TIMP-1, and TIMP-2 was performed to determine the kinetic changes of these proteins. Immunostaining for α -smooth muscle actin, collagen, and fibronectin was performed. Results— At all time points, there was significantly increased expression of HIF-1 α in the hypoxic fibroblasts when compared to normoxic fibroblasts (P<0.05). There was significantly increased expression α -smooth muscle actin at all time points which peaked by 48 hours in


In H3PO4 solution,formaldehyde had strong catalytic effect on the decolorizing reaction of potassium bromate oxidizing Coomassie brilliant blue.Based on this phenomenon,the optimum reaction conditions and reaction rate equations were confirmed.The order of reaction,apparent rate constant and the apparent activation were determined.The reaction mechanism was discussed.A new method for the determination of formaldehyde was established.The detection limitation was 0.091μg/mL,and the linear range of determination was from 0 to 2.1μg/mL.The method has good selectivity,and applied to determination of formaldehyde in wastewater samples with satisfactory results.


This paper analyses how finding a new job affects the earnings of immigrants. I hypothesize that job changes are more successful for individuals who have access to bridging social capital. Using data from the German Socio-economic Panel (1996–2011), fixed-effects models show that finding a new job results in higher earnings only when immigrants have both native German friends and high levels of human capital. The effect is, however, not dependent on the search method: both formal (advertisement, employment agency), and informal search methods (referrals via friends) result in higher earnings. The presented evidence shows that bridging social capital can be activated and converted into a better position on the labour market. However, the effect of contact with natives is limited to those who are higher educated, or who have good German language proficiency, suggesting that only those individuals who are better off already profit from bridging social capital.


This paper present a numerical investigation of discontinuities between coplanar waveguide (CPW) and slow-wave MIS CPW with inhomogeneous doping regions. The frequency-domain TLM (FDTLM) method is applied to calculate the scattering parameters for the abrupt transition from a normal CPW on insulating substrate to an MIS CPW on doped substrate. The effect of various lateral widths of the doping region on the S-parameters of such a transition is investigated. It is found that limiting the lateral extend of the doping region to the area below the slots and the center conductor not only provides a high slow-wave factor at low losses but also provides much better S-parameters compared to the case where the doping is extended over the whole transmission line cross-section.


For the situation of increasing water cut, decreasing oil production, and difficulty of stabilizing production, greater efforts have been done to increase the scale and momentum of stimulation measures. The measure input has been increasing year by year, but the economic benefit getting worse gradually. The increasing of invalid input has been an important restraint to oilfield economic benefit. According to the input - output theory and production practice, criteria of effective input of each stimulation measures have been established. Factors affecting the effectiveness of stimulation measures have been analyzed. This has been used in investment analysis of LB oil field in Liaohe oil province. Optimum combination of investment and production management is studied, thus providing an effective way of optimizing stimulation measures and scientifically making use of limited funds.


Abstract Replication Repair Deficiency (RRD), caused by germline monoallelic (Lynch Syndrome) or biallelic (Constitutional Mismatch Repair Deficiency, CMMRD) mutations in MMR genes, is present in 5-10% of glioblastomas in children, adolescents, and young adults. RRD glioblastomas are chemoradiation-resistant, but respond favorably to immune checkpoint inhibition (ICI). Representative immunocompetent animal models are urgently needed for 3 recently identified subgroups based on specific somatically-acquired mutations, survival, and immunotherapy response (RRD1: MMRD with POLE mutations, RRD2: MMRD associated with TP53 mutations, and RRD3: MMRD harboring IDH1 mutations). Using germline mutations and brain-specific Cre-drivers, we genetically engineered mouse models that recapitulate each human RRD-subgroup. RRD1 (Nestin- and Olig2-Cre+/ Msh2LoxP/LoxP/PoleS459F/+ and LSL-PoleP286R/+): CMMRD-like Nestin-Cre-driven mice develop posterior-fossa glioma-like or medulloblastoma (MB)-like tumors at ~2.7 months. Olig2-Cre-driven mice display hemispheric gliomas at ~10 months, suggesting distinct cell-of-origin. RRD2 (Nestin-Cre+/Trp53LoxP/LoxP and Msh2LoxP/LoxP or Mlh1-/-): CMMRD-like tumors develop in heterogenous locations at ~4.5 months (p<0.0001), classifying primarily as MB-like in hindbrain, and glioma-like in other brain regions. Strikingly, germline Mlh1 tumors occur earlier than Nestin-Cre-driven RRD2 tumors, indicating early developmental mutation accumulation in CMMRD-patients. Lynch-like RRD1/2 mice succumb exclusively to gliomas >13 months (p<0.0001). RRD3 (Olig2-Cre+/Msh2LoxP/LoxP/Trp53LoxP/LoxP/LSL-Idh1R132H/+): brain tumors occur later and are hemispheric. These observations recapitulate human data, where CMMRD-patients develop glioblastoma/MB earlier than Lynch-patients (8.6 vs. 14-years; p<0.0001), and posterior-fossa glioblastoma/MB presents earlier than hemispheric gliomas (p=0.04). Additionally, tumor onset and location vary (RRD1: 7.6-years, RRD2: 8.3-years, hemispheric/posterior-fossa; RRD3: 12-years, hemispheric; p=0.005). In both mice and humans, RRD1 exhibits ultra-hypermutation, high immune infiltration, and response to ICI, whereas RRD2 harbors lower mutational burden, are immune-cold, and ICI-monotherapy resistant. Temporal dynamics of RRD tumor development is currently being tracked by serial MRI to define biologically relevant time points. Our models accurately mimic the human condition and provide unique insights into RRD tumorigenesis, allowing optimization of subgroup-tailored therapeutic approaches.


Background: Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) is a monophasic immune -mediated demyelinating disease of the central nervous system. The initial clinical presentation may be nonspecific, but is the result of involvement of different areas in white matter tracts of CNS and brain and spinal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the gold standard complementary investigation for the diagnosis. Case report: A 16 month-old child, hospitalized for loss of walking ability of acute onset, irritability and refusal to eat. The neurological examination revealed: irritability alternating with periods of drowsiness, arreflexic flaccid paraplegia and trunkal ataxia, and urinary retention. Examination of cerebrospinal fluid showed lymphocytic pleocytosis, and herpes virus 6 were isolated by Polymerase Chain Reaction technic. The MRI revealed T2-weight hyperintense diffuse signal in D2-D3 and from D6 to the medullary connus also. She started therapy with steroids and human immunoglobulin with progressive improvement. Discussion: This is a case of ADEM of predominant spinal cord forcing the differential diagnosis with pictures of acute onset flaccid paraplegia. We highlight that herpesvirus 6 may be the agent of such a clinical picture.


The invention belongs to the technical field of catalysis materials, and discloses a xylose hydrothermal carbonized microsphere supported palladium catalyst, and a preparation method and an application thereof. The preparation method comprises the following steps: carrying out hydrothermal carbonization on xylose at 180-250DEG C to obtain xylose hydrothermal carbonized microspheres, dispersing the xylose hydrothermal carbonized microspheres in a toluene solution, adding a mercapto silane coupling agent, reacting at 60-120DEG C for 12-24h to obtain mercapto silane modified xylose hydrothermal carbonized microspheres; and adding the mercapto silane modified xylose hydrothermal carbonized microspheres and a palladium salt to a solvent, and reacting at 50-80DEG C for 2-12h to obtain the xylose hydrothermal carbonized microsphere supported palladium catalyst. The catalyst can be used to catalyze a Suzuki coupling reaction, and has the advantages of good catalysis effect, convenient separation, low cost, and good application prospect.


In this study, based on the bottom-up spillover theory, the effects of living area satisfaction such as housing, public transportation access, access to medical institutions, access to cultural facilities and natural environments, and access to public institutions on life satisfaction were analyzed. For the analysis, raw data of the "Regional Resident Needs Survey for Establishment of the 4th Local Social Security Plan" conducted in Sinan-gun, Jeollanam-do in 2018 was used. After allocating 'eup' and 'myeon' for the survey, a researcher visited the area and conducted a direct visit. And in the final analysis, the data of 195 people were analyzed using SPSS version 23.0. Logistic regression analysis was performed to analyze factors affecting life satisfaction. Based on the research results, practical and policy suggestions were presented to improve the satisfaction of life for the elderly in the island area.


Heterorhabditid nematodes are known to be very poor anhydrobiotes and there is considerable variation in desiccation tolerance among different heterorhabditid isolates. An attempt was made to elucidate the causes for the variation in desiccation tolerance among heterorhabditid strains. The following parameters were considered: Desiccation survival- Exposure of each of the nematode strains to 97% r.h. caused a 10-25% reduction in nematode viability. After additional exposure to 85% r.h. for 24 h, survival rates among heterorhabditid strains were drastically reduced, whereas no further loss in viability was recorded in steinernematid strains. Water content- Initial water content of each of the nematode strains tested ranged between 61% and 67% w/w. After 72 h at 97% r.h., the water content of all strains was reduced by 20%-25% w/w. After further exposure to 85% r.h. for 24 h, the heterorhabditid strains lost an additional 22-24% of their water content, whereas the steinernematids did not lose any significant amount of water. Trehalose and glycogen levels- The concentration of trehalose in the hydrated heterorhabditid strains tested in this study was lower than that of the steinernematids, ranging from 0.17 to 0.23 μg mg - 1 protein. Following 72 h at 97% r.h. no significant increase in trehalose concentration was observed with the exception of the SIS-15 strain of Steinernema feltiae. The trehalose level in the latter increased 2.5-fold. Under the same desiccation conditions the levels of glycogen decreased significantly in all of the nematodes tested. While decreases of 2-2.5-fold in glycogen concentration were recorded among the heterorhabditid strains, only 20-30% reduction was measured in the steinernematids.


Line laser measurement technology has been widely used in the field of modern measurement due to quickly and efficiently collect the three-dimensional information of entities. In order to evaluate the measurement results of line laser, a measurement system based on line laser scanning is established in this paper. The sources of uncertainty of the measurement system are analyzed from two aspects: error traceability and value statistics. The measurement results are modeled by value statistics, the dimension of the standard gauge block is used as the evaluation object, the uncertainty of the measurement results is evaluated by GUM method and MCM method. The experimental results show that the uncertainty results obtained by the two methods are consistent, the distribution of the dimension calibration measurement results follows the trapezoidal distribution, and the uncertainty component introduced by temperature compensation is small, which can be ignored.


Bargala is one of the most important antic town in Macedonia which name ethimology connect with Bregalnica River. This town is located 12 km west-eastern from Stip town among the Kozjacka River below the Plackovica mountain. Web-page for Bargala is unique way to represent and show what is Macedonia, what is history and civilization by centuries earlier. Basic colour which is set on the back is aproximatively dark brown (#1D1A15) and used combination with red colour (#9D1014). The dimension of the Web-page is 900 px (width) and 680 px (height). In the upper part are shown eight separately squares: Start, Position, History, Artefacts, Galery, Panorama, Exacavated objects and Contact. All of them are programmed.


Farmers' educational background directly influences the speed of construction of a well-off society in the countryside, and will become an important factor influencing the economic growth and sustainable development in China. The village population of Baoting makes up 81.5% of the total population in the county, and their education will decide the development of agriculture and rural economy. The analysis showed that the education background of male householders had a significant influence on the economic income of a family. Therefore, it is imperative for the male householders in the countryside to receive vocational and technical education and cultural trainings although it is also important for the female householders in the countryside to be educated.


The conditions of ceramic nanopowder compaction essentially influence the quality and properties of sintered ceramics. Methods for determination of important parameters of nanopowder dry compaction with regard to powder body elastic properties are presented for the following parameters: powder body elastic modulus and sound velocity; Poisson ratio; coefficients of internal friction, wall friction, lateral pressure; elastic aftereffect in height and diameter; density uniformity; green compact quality parameter. The influence of ultrasound action of different power on these characteristics is shown. The experimental dependences of the compaction parameters of ZrO/sub 2/-Y/sub 2/O/sub 3/ nanopowder on compaction pressure, ultrasound power are analysed. Conclusions about the effective range of nanopowder ultrasonic compaction are obtained.


A bus-priority traffic signal has been studied. The traffic signal was studied both with and without special priority for buses, and a comparison is made between the two cases. Bus priority in this traffic signal is called active bus priority with signal groups in cyclic order. This means that all signal phases are connected in each cycle, even if a bus gets priority. The bus priority does not give complete advantage to buses, they only get a better passability. The parameters studied are: number of vehicles, driving time for vehicles through the crossing, length of vehicle queues, cycle length, green time for pedestrians, walking against red light and delay for pedestrians. The values of the parameters have been taken from video recordings and from manual studies in each approach. The conclusion is that bus priority gives the buses shorter driving time without any greater effect on other road users. (Author/TRRL)


In this work, we present methods to speed-up the sketch computation. Sketches are randomized algorithms that use small amount of memory and that can be computed in one pass over the data. Frequency moments represent important distributional characteristics of the data that are required in any statistical modeling method. This work focuses on AGMS-sketches used for the estimation of the second frequency moment.
Fast-AGMS sketches use hash functions to speed-up the computation by reducing the number of basic estimators that need to be updated. We show that hashing also changes the distribution of the estimator, thus improving the accuracy by orders of magnitude. The second method to speed-up the sketch computation is related to the degree of randomization used to build the estimator. We show that by using 3-wise independent random variables instead of the proposed 4-wise, significant improvements are obtained both in computation time and memory usage while the accuracy of the estimator stays the same. The last speed-up method we discuss is combining sketches and sampling. Instead of sketching the entire data, the sketch is built only over a sample of the data. We show that the accuracy of the estimator is not drastically affected even when the sample contains a small amount of the original data.
When the three speed-up methods are put together, it is possible to sketch streams having input rates of millions of tuples per second in small memory while providing similar accuracy as the original AGMS sketches.


With the increasing level of the construction industry, teaching method and construction technology of traditional construction aren't suitable for the development level of society today. So reform research of construction courses is now put on the agenda in Higher Vocational Colleges. Several suggestions are given including improving teacher strength,improving school equipment, giving correct guidance to students and improving them learner autonomy, reasonable curriculum configuration and optimizing teaching system to the disadvantages of teaching mode. The feasibility of reform is demonstrated in the paper.


As social scientists we want to make contributions that can help us better understand and possibly change the world, even if in small ways. We endeavor—in our field of psychology of aesthetics, creativity, and the arts—to understand and contribute insights into fundamental and complex aspects of the human experience. In my new role as Editor for the Journal of Creative Behavior (JCB), my editorial team and I have a unique opportunity and responsibility to support this goal. As the oldest journal dedicated to creativity research, we aim to continue the journal's legacy as one of the primary outlets where scholars turn to share their contributions. We also hope to do our part to ensure that the work published in our journal is meaningful and of the highest quality. Now is as exciting a time as ever to be a scholar who studies aesthetics, creativity, and the arts. Our field is burgeoning with activity. It seems timely, therefore, that Makel's (2014) article calls us to start taking stock of where we are and how we might better ensure that our efforts are headed in meaningful directions. The task that Makel sets for us is to reflect on how our "empirical march" toward understanding is impeded by bias and error in the research we conduct and in the norms of disseminating our work. He points out common pitfalls that can result in bias and error and offers suggestions aimed at establishing a more unified approach for addressing these problems. Makel's article represents a potentially important catalyst for our field. Beyond sparking initial conversations and responses in this issue of Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, his article may pay out in helping initiate changes that can improve and strengthen the knowledge we generate through our scholarly efforts. In order for this to happen, however, I believe we need to zoom out a bit and reflect on the broader terrain of our scholarly endeavors. Makel meets us at a specific juncture in our scholarly effort: the deductive and (dis)confirmatory phase of our work. It is there that he couches his arguments. His ultimate aim is to "increase the tempo of our march by decreasing bias and error and increasing understanding about generalizability and boundary conditions of constructs." To be sure, without shoring up our confirmatory efforts our progress will be slowed. However, aiming to increase the tempo of


Pregnancy is a stressful transition for women as well as a normal physiological life cycle. In this process, any situation that makes pregnancy risky results with increased stress and anxiety. It is important to use effective methods of coping with stress, especially for risky pregnancies during pregnancy, as the body's physiological response to stress complicates control of risky pregnancies. One of these methods is music therapy. Music therapy is both cheap and easily accessible method. Studies in high-risk pregnancies with certain bed rest indicate that stress and lethargy are decreased for an expectant mother. Vital symptoms are more stable, fetal heart rate is normal and fetal health is improved with musical therapy. In this review, the effect of music therapy on coping with stress in high risk pregnancies is investigated.


We give a brief introduction to the Gauge Theory of Arbitrage [1]. Treating a calculation of net present values (NPV) and currencies exchanges as a parallel transport in some fibre bundle, we give geometrical interpretation of the interest rate, exchange rates and prices of securities as a proper connection components. This allows us to map the theory of capital market onto the theory of quantized gauge field interacted with a money flow field. The gauge transformations of the matter field correspond to a dilatation (redefinition) of security units which effect is eliminated by a proper tune of the connection. The curvature tensor for the connection consists of the excess returns to the risk-free interest rate for the local arbitrage operation. Free quantum gauge theory is equivalent to the assumption about the lognormal walks of assets prices. In general case the consideration maps the capital market onto QED, i.e. quantum system of particles with positive (securities) and negative ("debts") charges which interact with each other through electromagnetic field (gauge field of the arbitrage). In the case of a local virtual arbitrage opportunity money flows in the region of configuration space (money poor in the profitable security) while "debts" try to escape from the region. Entering positive charges and leaving negative ones screen up the profitable fluctuation and restore the equilibrium in the region where there is no arbitrage opportunity any more, i.e. speculators washed out the arbitrage opportunity.


Education is widely seen as one of the most promising paths for individual to realize better, more productive lives and as one of the primary drivers of national economic development. According to the Ministry of Education's Management Information System (EMIS), the number of public and private primary schools increased from 6,058 in 1963 to 27,489 in 2010. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the influence of teacher pupil ratio on learners' performance in public primary schools in Mau Division of Narok County. This study used descriptive survey design which is appropriate because it facilitates data gathering by administering questionnaires from a sample of individuals. The study adopted purposive sampling technique since the head teachers, class teachers and zonal Pupils are believed to be having reliable information relevant for this study. Documents from the education offices were also analyzed. The study used two instruments namely Questionnaires and observation schedule. The researcher analyzed the data by use of the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS). The study used quantitative techniques (measures of central tendency) and qualitative techniques which are basically descriptive. The study therefore concludes that most of the schools had huge classes for the teachers to effectively deliver. The research also concludes that those schools with inadequate staffing recorded low mean score but those schools which were adequately staffed reported higher performance. The researcher recommends that to bridge this gap school management should look for more donors to pay teachers hired by the schools. The teachers' service commission should employ the large number of trained teachers who are jobless to improve the schools performance. This should also be done with caution as numerous researches show that small classes do not always translate to high performance. The head teachers should be more accountable in their supervisory role. They should ensure that teachers who absent themselves from schools are disciplined by the Teachers Service Commission.


Multicasting can be done in two different ways: source based tree approach and shared tree approach. Protocols such as Core Based Tree (CBT), Protocol Independent Multicasting Sparse Mode (PIM-SM) use shared tree approach. Shared tree approach is preferred over source-based tree approach because in the later construction of minimum cost tree per source is needed unlike a single shared tree in the former approach. In this paper, we present a candidate core selection approach for shared tree multicasting so that in a multicast session different senders can select different cores from the candidate core set based on the senders' physical locations to allow an efficient multicore multicasting approach.


This issue brings together a diverse array of articles that speak to the breadth and depth of the futures and foresight field. From experiential futures to analyzing emerging issues and teaching futures to artificial intelligence, there is something for everyone. In "Dialectical Waves of Change: Using dialectics, emerging issue analysis and the futures wheel to develop a tool for applied futures research," Dujardin demonstrates the utility of building upon dialectical approaches to forge a new tool aimed at mapping and exploring emergent contradictions. In "Monitoring Emerging Issues: A Proposed Approach and Initial Test," Hines et al. provide a much-needed and prescient innovation with regards to how horizon scanning can andmight add value across the life of a project or, perhaps more importantly, provide inputs for strategic responses. Providing an overview of a case for the US Forest Service, Hines et al. fill an important gap in the field that offers a starting point for further research to strengthen this mainstay practice. In "Extending the participant's voice to guide artificial intelligence transformation using futures methodology and layered user story analysis," Farrow outlines a participatory workshop approach to ideating guiding principles for AI design. Using Causal Layered Analysis, Farrow offers not only a solid case for this widely-used approach but also makes a case for futures literacy as an essential component for any and all explorations of AI. In "Teaching Futures Studies from a Disciplinary and Student Perspective," Klay and Campos revisits one of the longstanding tensions in the futures and foresight field: is it truly a social science discipline? Using focus groups, the authors engaged with students to ascertain unique perspectives on what can and should be taught to those learning futures and foresight. In "Co-Creating Possible Futures of Light, beyond Lighting: A hybrid approach," Bevolo and Rosenius provide a rich history of a foresight practice developed through a series of events and interventions. The authors demonstrate the value of the "Think-in-a-Tank" approach and offer a clear case for how foresight can add value to an organization seeking to "shed light" on futures possibilities. This double issue stands as a testament to the vitality of the futures and foresight field, which boasts academics and practitioners looking to advance both theory and method from an array of approaches.


Global climate change has already had observable effects on the environment. Glaciers have shrunk, ice on rivers and lakes is breaking up earlier, plant and animal ranges have shifted and trees are flowering sooner. According to Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change the net damage cost of climate change are likely to be significant and is likely to be increase over overtime.Carbon dioxide is a big cause of global panic as its concentration has been rising alarmingly in the atmosphere. On the other side it has created a global carbon market also. Hence with growing concerns owing to Kyoto Protocol amongst countries to curtail pollution levels along with sustaining their economic growth, the Emission Trading (ET) industry has started actively providing support to bring down green house gas emission by allocating a monetary value and is expected to come forward as a massive market of global emission trading. The developed countries are supposed to meet certain carbon emission targets fixed by their respective governments. Conversely if they are unable to do so they have an option of buying these in the market from those companies which have surplus of them. This practice is known as carbon trading. Even for developing nations it is a very lucrative as it endow them with fiscal gains for swapping carbon credits with latest technology. This modified technology ultimately facilitates them to condense carbon emanation. In India it's trading started in Multi Commodity Exchange of India from the month of April, 2008. The main objective of the paper is to discuss information spillover in the carbon emissions derivative market in India under the VAR framework and to understand volatility spillover in the future and spot market by using bivariate E-GARCH model. The results reveal that there is a co-integrating relationship between future and spot prices of Carbon Emission Reduction (CER), traded on MCX. The error correction mechanism exhibits bi-lateral adjustments to attain equilibrium with more adjustments in future prices is seen, and to add robustness in the results of VECM, Variance Decomposition and Impulse response were also conducted. To understand the direction of causality, Granger causality test was done, the results of which show bi-lateral causality in the price pairs. The results signify that this market is informationally efficient with the lead role of spot market. Volatility dynamics also show bilateral spillover i.e. from future to spot market and vice versa. Generally, our findings demonstrate numerous imperative inferences for portfolio hedgers in creating optimal portfolio allotment, appealing in risk management and forecasting Carbon market potential volatility.


After acute otitis media, it may be normal to have effusion in the middle ear for several weeks. The term chronic otitis media with effusion (OME; or secretory or serous otitis media, glue ear ) is used if effusion in the middle ear persists for more than 3 months continuously.


Canine ehrlichiosis is an infectious disease that affects mainly dogs caused by Gram-negative bacteria of the genus Ehrlichia and Anaplasma, strictly intracellular, transmitted by the Rhipicephalus sanguineus parasites. Clinical signs and laboratory findings are variable. We evaluated hematological samples of 356 dogs, of which in 25 stained blood smears were observed blood inclusions mostly in mononuclear cells and rarely in polymorphonuclear. This study aimed to determine the frequency of infection by E. canis in pet dogs, in Jatai, GO, from August 2012 to July 2013. The samples were analyzed in the Veterinary Clinical Laboratory of the Universidade Federal de Goias in Jatai in that period. The 356 whole blood samples with 10% EDTA collected from dogs, regardless of breed, gender and age, were used to prepare the blood smears and papa leukocyte, following the Panoptic kit technique. Intra-leukocyte morula of E. canis and inclusions of Anaplasma platys intra-platelets were observed in thin blood smears or papa leukocytes in leukopenic dogs. From the 356 slides, 25 were positive for Ehrlichia canis (7.02%) while 20 were positive for Anaplasma platys (5.62%). This study confirmed that canine ehrlichiosis is a disease of great importance in the clinic of small animals. The frequency of canine ehrlichiosis in blood smears of dogs in Jatai was 7.02%. Since the disease is transmitted by the tick that parasitizes mainly dogs, management and control measures should be intensified.


This paper presents data on the use of Stainless Steel (SS) foils, coated with 3 to 5µm silicone based resin (SBR) developed by Dow Corning Corporation (DCC) for Cu(InGa)Se2 based PV devices. The substrate validation was performed by the device performances on R2R deposited Cu(InGa)Se2 via elemental evaporation and, to a limited extent, on Cu(InGa)Se2 films from metal precursor selenization. Initially, it is shown that a 430SS base is preferred to others due to a better thermal expansion match to Cu(InGa)Se2. The SBR-coated SS was found to be an excellent substrate in terms of (i) the adhesion of Mo and Cu(InGa)Se2 films, (ii) its surface smoothness, and (iii) its operational stability up to 600 °C. Na was introduced into the R2R deposition process by co-evaporating NaF during deposition. Presence of Na in the films was determined by SIMS depth profiling. The highest small area device performance from R2R deposition was 15.2%. In addition, 9ft and 29ft long 8″ wide Cu(InGa)Se2 webs fabricated in the reactor showed machine direction center line, and efficiencies that averaged more than 10%. Precursor selenization process gave the highest efficiency of 12.3% with 10nm NaF deposited on the SBR or on the precursors. Work on developing monolithically integrated 3″×3″ mini-modules has been initiated. Encouraging results were obtained in laser scribing the Mo back contact.


In this paper, the variance‐constrained H∞ synchronization control problem is investigated for a class of discrete time‐delayed complex dynamical networks. Considering the case where a dynamical network cannot achieve the synchronization by itself, the feedback controllers are added to drive the network toward a desired orbit. To further decrease both the frequency of controller update and the energy consumption, an intermittent pinning strategy is developed to control only a small part of the network nodes. The purpose of the addressed synchronization control problem is to design a set of feedback controllers such that the closed‐loop system achieves both the prescribed H∞ disturbance attenuation level and the variance constraints. By resorting to a combination of the Lyapunov stability theory and the switching system approach, a sufficient condition is obtained under which the dynamical network reaches the overall synchronization. Furthermore, the expected gains of the intermittent pinning controllers are parameterized by solving a set of linear matrix inequalities. Finally, a numerical example is exploited to verify the effectiveness of our proposed theoretical results.


In this paper we present a 2GSps 12bit current steering digital-to-analog converter (DAC), in 100G Ft 0.18μm SiGe HBT technology. An improved switching sequence is proposed to compensate the gradient error and reduce the impact of cell-dependent-delay-variation. According to measured results, the test chip achieved a DNL/INL of 0.6/0.95 LSB respectively. The measured SFDR at low frequency is above 72dBc, and the lowest SFDR up to Nyquist frequency is above 57.5dBc.