Cellulosic biofuels are an alternative to petroleum-based liquid transportation fuels. However, manufacturing costs of cellulosic biofuels are high partially due to low density and sugar yield of cellulosic biomass. Previous studies show that UV-A pelleting can increase the density and sugar yield of cellulosic biomass. A hypothesis for UV-A pelleting to increase the density and sugar yield of cellulosic biomass is that UV-A pelleting can reduce biomass particle size. To test this hypothesis, biomass particle sizes before and after UV-A pelleting need to be compared. Soaking pellets in water is an efficient and non-invasive method to separate pellets into particles. However, water soaking itself might change biomass particle size. This paper reports an investigation on effects of water soaking on biomass particle size. The biomass particle sizes before and after water soaking are measured and compared. Results show that effects of water soaking on biomass particle size are dependent on the initial particle size (particle size before water soaking) and time period of water soaking.Copyright © 2012 by ASME


Adult Congenital Heart Disease(ACHD) patients are an increasing population with known high risk for thromboembolic events.Validated scores are uncertain in this population. Although apparently safe, data is scarce about the use of NOAC.

 To evaluate all patients on-NOAC followed in an ACHD outpatients clinic and observe its safety and efficacy during a median follow-up of 34 months (IQR 7–60 months). Major bleeding was defined according to types 3 to 5 in BARC scale. Adverse event was defined as ≥ 1 of the follows: death, stroke, myocardial infarction, systemic embolism or major bleeding.

 A total of 65 patients were included, with a mean age of 52 ± 14 year-old, 66% female. Most frequent ACHD were atrial septal defect (22%) and tetralogy of Fallot (22%), followed by atrioventricular septal defect (17%) and transposition of great arteries (9%). Most patients had preserved biventricular function, 20% presented systemic ventricle systolic dysfunction and 12% subpulmonic ventricle systolic dysfunction. Atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter (AF/AFL) were the major reasons for anticoagulation (94%); the remaining were on NOAC due to previous ischaemic stroke, intra-cardiac thrombus or deep venous thrombosis. At the time of NOAC initiation, 49% had a CHA2DS2-VASc score ≥ 2 (median 1, IQR 1-3) and median HAS-BLED score was 0 (IQR 0-2);43% were medicated with apixaban, 29% with rivaroxaban,22% with edoxaban and 6% with dabigatran.During a median follow-up of 34 months, none had ischaemic complications or major bleeding and one patient died after pulmonic prothesis dysfunction surgery. Concerning time-to- adverse-event analysis, all patients kept uneventful after 2 years and more than 95% continued event-free after 8 years on-NOAC.


The potential for countries which currently have a nominal nuclear energy infrastructure to adopt thorium-uranium-fuelled nuclear energy systems, using a once-through "open" nuclear fuel cycle, has been presented by the International Atomic Energy Agency. This paper highlights Generation III and III+ nuclear energy technologies that could potentially adopt an open thorium-uranium fuel cycle and qualitatively highlights the main differences between the open thorium-uranium and open uranium fuel cycles. Furthermore, 28 indicators (and corresponding metrics) have been identified that could elucidate the advantages and disadvantages of nuclear energy systems which utilise thorium-uranium fuels in an open cycle. Such systems will be compared to an AREVA EPR operating with a once-through uranium fuel cycle. The indicators determined in this work have been drawn by grouping 270 indicators from eight previous studies of indicators associated with holistic and specific appraisals of the various life-cycle stages associated with the nuclear fuel cycle. The 28 indicators cover technoeconomic, environmental, waste, social, and proliferation-resistance themes and can be determined quantitatively, either by explicit determination or from an appropriate sensitivity analysis.


The article is based on the expert analysis of state programmes on education development of the Russian Federation and the Vologda Oblast. It highlights the benefits and drawbacks of these documents and proposes a number of measures aimed at bringing the legal framework of the regional educational policy into line with the current requirements of society's development.


What ideological views toward citizenship education do teachers possess? Does a teacher's Civic Education Ideology relate to how and what they teach? This study addresses these questions by developing a psychometric scale measuring teachers' level of conservative, liberal, and critical Civic Education Ideology in one Midwestern state in the United States. After establishing the Civic Education Ideology scale, these views are compared to teachers' reported practices inside of school and curriculum emphasized in the classroom. The findings indicate that both conservative- and liberal-oriented teachers were more likely to support curriculum based on civic institutions. In contrast, teachers with a critical orientation were less supportive of civic institutions and more likely to endorse curriculum based on social institutions and an open classroom climate. These findings indicate that a teacher's ideology relates to their reports of how and what they teach. In addition to these findings, the goal is for the Civic Education Ideology scale to be adapted and applied in future studies to uncover important connections.


A recently proposed method for t matrix Lippmann-Schwinger-type equations is reexamined and is investigated numerically. The method relies on the introduction of an auxiliary equation containing an arbitrary function, whose kernel is free from the fixed point singularity of the original equation. In the present work we rewrite the final result of the method in such a way that it has all the important features of a related method by Kowalski and Noyes and is simple to use in practice. With special choices of the arbitrary function the present method can be considered as an off-shell extension of methods of Bolsterli, of Kowalski, and of Sasakawa. The method also readily gives a practical way of calculating K matrix elements. Using the iterative solution of the auxiliary equation, the method is tested numerically to compute off-shell t matrix elements for three commonly used nucleon-nucleon potentials for various choices of the arbitrary function.


The physical phenomena in self-blast circuit breakers at interruption of heavy fault currents strongly differ from that in puffer type devices. The pressure which is generated by the intensive ablating nozzle wall causes a heavy backflow of hot PTFE-vapor with a temperature of about 5000 K. This backflow is accompanied by shock waves which excite Helmholtz-oscillations in the pressure chamber and the backflow channel. Depending on arcing time, fault current, contact velocity and interrupter chamber geometry the blow temperature may rise up to 2000 K. To understand the mixing process of the hot gas cloud with the cold SF6, simulations of the high current period have been performed. In earlier investigations the interrupter geometry has been subdivided into several relevant volumina for which the balance equations of mass and energy have been integrated. The gas flow between these volumina has been described by one dimensional Bernoulli flow and the inhomogenous mixing process has been considered by introducing movable boundaries, driven by the pressure difference on both sides, between the hot and the cold gas. CFD-codes facilitate a very fine discretisation of the geometry so that the mixing process can be determined much more accurately. The presented calculations have been performed with the software package FLOW3D, which is commercially available. (3 pages)


The article presents the results of research of lead environmental pollution and how lead influences on health of children in the some aimak and cities of Mongolia. As a result of research it is established, that there is high level of lead environmental pollution in Ulaanbaatar, and lead content in blood of children is directly connected with lead content in the enviroment


There is debate on whether schooling causes increases in productivity or whether the estimated relationships reflect ability, knowledge, tastes etc., that are associated with schooling. This paper examines the impact of women's schooling on women's health and nutrition with and without controls for unobserved childhood background factors related to ability and motivation. Random andfixed effects models are estimated using data on adult sisters. Both sets of estimates reinforce the relationships found in standard estimates-that women's schooling positively


Partial Discharges (PDs) are reported as one of the main reason of insulation degradation and its measurement is most effective, non destructive test often applied to know the insulation condition. Among many available methods acoustic method of PD test is quite popular due to several advantages.In the presented work, a Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) based sensor has been developed for on-line condition assessment, capturing the acoustic wave produced by the PD event in a prototype power transformer. A variation in acoustic pressure, changes the wavelength of the FBG reflected light, which gives the indication of PD activity. Developed FBG based sensor is found to be superior over conventional PD sensors.


These days, sources such as the internet and digital libraries contribute to a mountain of text. Managing textual information in accordance with user needs is becoming increasingly important as textual data continues to grow. Document clustering is a method for organising massive amounts of text data into manageable chunks. To solve the problems of polysemantic ambiguity and synonymousness that plague current methods, this research introduces a robust framework that employs WordNet to guarantee text homology. Once again, Fuzzy WordNet is employed as the basis for the document representation in order to enhance the document clustering performance. K-means, the simplest clustering technique, is used to group similar text texts together. The traditional k-means clustering approach has the drawback of include all variables in the analysis, regardless of whether or not they contribute to the clustering pattern. This is unsatisfactory in high-dimensional cluster evaluation. By adding an adaptive group LASSO penalty term to the cluster vertices, k-means clustering can be regularised. The proposed methodology enhances clustering performance.


An object of the present invention is to provide an optical fiber ribbon with a priority tear part for separating the optical fiber ribbon in the sub-unit. A first sub-unit and the optical fiber ribbon and a second subunit. The first and second sub-units includes a respective optical fiber of the plurality bound by each of the primary matrix. The first and second sub-unit is approximately aligned along a plane, the secondary matrix is in contact with a portion of the first and second subunit. Secondary matrix has at least one intermediate portion and at least one end portion. The at least one intermediate portion and the at least one end portion of the secondary matrix are separated by a gap along at least a portion of the longitudinal axis, thereby forming a preferential tear portion. In another embodiment, the at least one intermediate portion is recessed with respect to the at least one end portion. .FIELD 2


The production of wind generation has expanded considerably today. The main problem with wind generation system is to regulate the voltage at wind turbine terminals even under abnormal grid conditions.This is mainly as a result of consumption of non active power from the grid during grid disturbances. This paper investigates an improved Synchronous Reference Frame control; Dual Decouple Synchronous Reference Frame (DDSRF) based control for Dynamic Voltage Restorer (DVR) to upgrade the dynamic response of wind energy system. The proposed method uses  DDSRF PLL for extracting clean grid voltage and  phase angle even under adverse grid conditions. The proposed control scheme provides the ability for fixed speed wind generator to ride through under voltage interruptions in the grid to meet the latest grid codes. The proposed control is competent of stabilising  the voltage at the wind turbine terminals under symmetrical sag/swell and asymmetrical fault conditions. simulation studies have been peformed in MATLAB/SIMULINK to manifest the effectiveness of proposed control strategy


A strong correlation has been observed between the 0 degrees and 180 degrees excitation functions for the 12C(16O, alpha )24Mg reaction leading to the 13.2 MeV 8+ level. The possibility that this is due to exciting intermediate structure peaks at Ecm=13.7, 14.7, 16.0 and 18.0 MeV, is considered. It is concluded that the reaction most probably excites a narrow resonance ( Gamma approximately=70 keV) with Jpi =9- or 10+ at Ecm=13.7 MeV. Weak evidence supporting the existence of anomalies at Ecm=16.0 and 14.7 MeV is presented. The possibility that the reaction excites a band of quasi-molecular states is discussed. An alternative explanation of the strong correlation in the data, based on the assumption that the reaction proceeds preferentially through either even or odd angular momentum states, is also considered.


DVD playback MPEG decoding IC equipment, decodes the update for the software that have been read from a CD-ROM, the transmission signal conversion IC includes a television using the InfoFrame of supplementary data decoded update software through the data line and transmits it to the receiver. The microprocessor of DVD playback equipment, to instruct the software update to the microprocessor of the television receiver. The memory of the television receiver, the microprocessor software is stored. The microprocessor updates the software of the memory by using the update software received by the reception signal conversion IC.


It is a practical step for us to take to make an effective analysis of the scale economy in our insurance industry,which scholars at home and abroad have both explored advantageously.We have studied the scale economy in Shenzhen's insurance industry by way of the quantitative and qualitative methods of analysis and especially the Total Factor Productivity Calculating Approach and we have found through this study that in the past,in the development of this industry in Shenzhen there were diseconomy of scale,a small contribution of technological progress and unmarked contribution of total factor productivity,etc.Therefore,it is suggested that the China Insurance Regulatory Commission should try to perfect its policy system,and the decision-making departments should be active in carrying out the mixed operation so as to promote the co-operation between the insurance companies and at the same time strengthen the cultivation of the professionals in this trade so that a scale economy can become true in the industry in Shenzhen and in the whole country.


To improve the control accuracy of fuzzy controller, the paper proposes a kind of hybrid parameter self-tuning fuzzy PID controller in combination with the advantages of conventional PID controller and fuzzy controller. The controller consists of three parts: the conventional PID controller, the gain-tuning fuzzy controller and the direct-action fuzzy controller, and can adjust the controller parameters with the variation of controlled objects. The functions and parameters selection of every part in the hybrid controller are described in detail. The simulation experiment on the control of hydraulic system shows that the hybrid fuzzy PID control method is effective, and the contrastive results with conventional PID controller shows that the control algorithm can improve the response and the robustness of controlled system.


WHO grade II (atypical) meningiomas are treated with surgical resection, often followed by adjuvant fractionated radiation therapy (FRT). The increased availability of frameless stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) presents an opportunity to offer patients a high biological effective dose over fewer fractions. Here we study the patterns of care and outcomes of these two forms of adjuvant RT.

 Patients with atypical meningioma were abstracted from the National Cancer Database (NCDB). Descriptive statistics were reported, and differences between treatment groups were assessed using either a chi-square test or ANOVA. Patients were grouped by treatment type and Kaplan Meier (KM) analysis was performed to compare overall survival (OS) using a log rank test. Univariable (UVA) and multivariable (MVA) cox regression analyses were completed.

 Of 10,015 cases diagnosed from 2004-2016, 7,153 received surgery alone, 2,059 received surgery and adjuvant FRT (S+RT), and 362 received adjuvant SRS (S+SRS). The use of adjuvant RT increased by 71.8% for S+RT and 97.8% for S+SRS. In 2004, 15.1% of 443 registered patients received S+RT and 2.26% received S+SRS, while in 2016 these figures were 26.0% and 4.47%, respectively, for the 1051 registered patients (p< 0.001 and 0.022, respectively). For the 8,636 patients with survival data there was no significant difference in median OS between S+RT and S+SRS (130 months vs. 125 months, log rank p=0.935). On UVA, S+RT conferred better survival compared to surgery alone (HR 0.81 [0.72-0.91], p< 0.001) while S+SRS trended towards better survival (HR 0.82 [0.64-1.06], p=0.124). On MVA, no significant OS benefit was seen with S+RT (HR 0.96 [0.85-1.08], p=0.491) or S+SRS (HR 0.90 [0.69-1.16], p=0.413) versus surgery alone.

 While the use of adjuvant RT for atypical meningioma has increased substantially since 2004, OS is comparable between FRT and SRS. The data presented here support further prospective investigation of adjuvant SRS.


The spreading of a liquid over a solid material is a key process in a wide range of applications. While this phenomenon is well understood when the solid is undeformable, its "soft" counterpart is still ill-understood and no consensus has been reached with regards to the physical mechanisms ruling the spreading of liquid drops over soft deformable materials. In this work we show that the motion of a triple line on a soft elastomer is opposed both by nonlinear localized capillary and visco-elastic forces. We give an explicit analytic formula relating the dynamic contact angle of a moving drop with its velocity for arbitrary rheology. We then specialize this formula to the experimentally relevant case of elastomers with Chasset-Thirion (power-law) type of rheologies. The theoretical prediction are in very good agreement with experimental data, without any adjustable parameters. Finally, we show that the nonlinear force balance presented in this work can also be used to recover the classical de Gennes model of wetting.


Cold-mixed, cold-laid (CMCL) rehabilitation or cold recycling is a technically promising and cost effective method for improving distressed asphalt pavements. Unlike hot mix recycling, cold recycling lacks field and laboratory performance data. Also, there is no widely accepted CMCL design and testing standards available. This study has generated useful field and laboratory data on pavement overlay constructed with 100% recycled asphalt pavement (RAP) and the CMCL technique. The laboratory tests conducted in this study include physical property, strength and performance-related tests. While property tests include moisture content, gradation, specific gravity, emulsion content, aggregate properties, coating and adhesion; strength and performance tests include resistance, indirect tensile strength, moisture-induced damage susceptibility, and rutting. In addition, two field case studies are conducted; one overlay job was quite successful but the other exhibited relatively poor performance. Causes of differential performance are examined. BACKGROUND


Twenty-five observers were asked to report what attracted their attention while driving along a 21·9 km route through a suburban district. A second group of equal size made similar reports in the laboratory while watching a movie film of the same route. The results obtained from the laboratory trial closely parallelled those obtained in the field and it is concluded that laboratory studies using a movie simulation provide a satisfactory means of studying the distribution of attention using a concurrent verbal report technique. It is noted that the absence of a driving task has no substantial effect on attentive behaviour suggesting that the visual information presented by the movie film is sufficient to generate attentive processes characterstic of driving. It is found that advertising attracts a good proportion of attention but in those sections of the route where there was little advertising attention was directed to an even greater extent to other objects not related to driving. It seems that some 30 t...


Abstract Most studies on Taiwanese women's leisure life mainly focus on lifestyle and leisure behaviors that fail to discuss the symbolic meanings or meaning-making process of participating in social leisure activities. This study applies the social exchange framework to examine the social leisure activities of Taiwanese urban women from two aspects: the meaning making of social leisure to them, and what they can attain through social leisure participation. The study found that Taiwanese urban women participating in social leisure activities are driven by extrinsic and intrinsic motivations. Social leisure activities are not only the settings for leisure but also the settings for expanding social relations and networks, in which leisure activities are primarily emotional and social in nature. Results show that to sustain positive effects of satisfaction and happiness from participating in social leisure, positive emotion and commitment matter to gain gratification through participating in social leisure activities.


Many studies have been done experimentally and theoretically for the general instability of a cylindrical shell reinforced with ring stiffeners caused by external hydrostatic pressure. In the case of shallow stiffeners, it has been found that the theoretical model has a goodagreement with experimental results for a cylinder simply supported at both ends. However, these theories do not work well for the problem where the ring stiffener become large.An effective breadth of cylindrical shell with the ring stiffener has also been studied by several researchers. However, the equations derived by them for determining the breadth do not have strong theoretical background.In this paper, a reinforced cylindrical shell with ring stiffeners is analyzed based on, the energy method, where local deformation between ring stiffeners is superposed on overall buckling mode as in the same manner as Kendrick's research. As far as the continuity conditions at the junction of the shell plate and ring stiffeners is concerned, displacement compatibility is imposed in the present paper instead of strain continuity conditions employed in the many previous researches. The present method accurately determines the critical pressure not only for shallow but also for deep ring stiffeners. Several problems are solved and compared with experimental results and the solutions by other reseachers. These comparisons show that the proposed method is effective for determing the critical pressure of the reinforced cylindrical shell. The effecive breadth of shell plate is also determined from the results of critical pressure.


Background: AIDS has killed more than 25 million people since it was first recognized in 1981, making it one of the most destructive epidemics in recorded human history. HIV is most transmitted sexually and from mother to child during birth or breastfeeding. The epidemic among adolescents is the fastest growing partly because of their vulnerability and low use of preventive services. This study assessed HIV risk-related behaviours and knowledge of HIV/AIDS and its prevention among unmarried adolescents in Kano metropolis.
Methodology: A descriptive cross sectional study design was used to examine 288 randomly selected adolescents in Kano from April to June 2011 using a pre-tested interviewer-administered questionnaire. Their responses were collated and analyzed using Epi Info 3.2.05 computer statistical software.
Results: Majority of the respondents were in their late adolescence (80.5%), males (50.7%), Hausa/Fulani (90%), and had at least secondary school education (86.5%). Most had heard of HIV/AIDS (93.3%), and 53.9% had good knowledge of HIV/AIDS and its prevention. Less than a quarter (11.7%) had initiated sexual intercourse before the age of 15 years; 9.2% had multiple sexual partners; and condom at intercourse was inconsistent in 13.1%. Alcohol consumption was reported by 9(3.2%), and 7(2.5%) admitted having sexual intercourse while drunk. Similarly, 8 (2.8%) reported injecting or taking illicit drugs; and 7 (2.5%) reported having sexual intercourse while under the influence of drugs.

Conclusion: HIV/AIDS risk behaviours are high among adolescents in Kano despite their fair knowledge of HIV/AIDS and its prevention. There is need for targeted behavioural change interventions for at risk families as well as vulnerable adolescents in schools and out of schools.


Nowadays, people have entered the digital age, and the development of digital technology has changed the traditional production methods and promoted industrial upgrading. With the continuous deepening of information construction, digital auditing has begun to be widely used in financial auditing. This paper analyzes the current situation of financial auditing under digital conditions and puts forward measures for the effective application of digital auditing in financial auditing based on the current situation. On this basis, this paper expounds the framework and composition of university financial digital platform construction, and then analyzes the specific application methods of university financial digitalization, including financial information digitalization, financial management process digitalization, business digitalization, etc. made some suggestions. Through the research, I hope to provide some help and inspiration for the application of financial digitization in colleges and universities.


been disrupted, for Labour politicians clung to nineteenth-century notions of enlightened citizenship, viewing the development of mass society with suspicion well into the middle of the century. Indeed, it was the Conservatives who first adjusted to mobilizing and campaigning among the masses. In contrast, the section on social welfare, as detailed by Pat Thane and Joop Roebroek, highlights the initial differences rather than the commonalities of the two national experiences. In Britain, the welfare state developed more from pressures exerted on the state from below, initially aided by champions among the national elite. Dutch welfare provision was at first fragmented by the confessional and ideological pillars, but after the upheaval of the Second World War, the British and Dutch welfare states followed broadly similar paths, with successive emphases on full employment, broader social provisions in the 1960s, and then a retrenchment into neo-liberal austerity in the late 1970s and 1980s. The essays on media, leisure and youth focus on bourgeois apprehension about the rise of mass culture and its promulgation. For most of the twentieth century, the Dutch public sphere was dominated by Christian and middle-class moral values, quite at odds with the political needs of mass society and the spectacle and sensation of mass culture. As Frank van Vree and Theo Beckers note, with slightly differing emphases, until the 1950s the idea of mass culture, whether in the form of media or leisure, was regarded as a danger to society. Piet de Rooy shows that the interwar attempt to create a 'youth establishment' which challenged all forms of 'adult' authority was dead by the mid 1960s, because the growth of the welfare state, mass leisure and liberalized media meant that there was no longer a clear vision of what 'youth' actually was or what 'youths' represented. All three essays demonstrate that the rise of individual tastes and values transversed not only the former political/confessional boundaries, but also the youth–adult divide. In Britain, as Kevin Williams, Douglas Reid and Bill Osgerby demonstrate, early twentieth-century elite apprehension about mass culture was typified in fears about the growth and scale of sports spectatorship – particularly soccer – because it was presumed that this would undermine the critical faculties of the individual. This was replaced in the interwar years by apprehension over the size of cinema audiences, and then, after the Second World War, by fears about the power of television. In each case, however, there were always voices to the contrary: those who advocated the democratizing tendencies of leisure. Reid, like Beckers, argues that the rise of mass leisure in Britain was 'irreducibly a question of time, for free time was its indispensible condition' (135). Yet, it was also a question of money and the interlocking growth of mass leisure, mass media, and youth culture was clearly a market-driven phenomenon. Overall, this useful collection of synthetic essays shows the rise of mass society as bringing about pretty much what elitist contemporary critics feared – an undisciplined mass of individual consumer-citizens – if not the dire consequences they also predicted would be the result.


This paper provides an integrative analysis of the drivers of vertical scope, using analytical and computational methods. I propose a model with two vertical segments (upstream and downstream), with firm populations that have heterogeneous capabilities, and an intermediate market subject to transaction costs, where firms can choose whether to be integrated or vertically specialized. By varying the level of transaction costs and changing the structure of the correlation between upstream-downstream capabilities in the industry, as well as economies of scale; learning curves; and the way in which profitability leads to capability improvement in the upstream and downstream segments, I generate numerical results to explain how vertical integration evolves over time. The results suggest that (a) without capability differences, even if transaction costs are nil, firms remain integrated; (b) differences in economies of scale in the two segments may create or dampen specialization, depending on the underlying capability heterogeneity structure; (c) transaction costs catalyze the underlying capability differences to drive scope; (d) dynamic factors, such as learning curves; returns to investment in capabilities; or limits to expansion exacerbate small, random capability differences and as such promote specialization; and finally, these dynamic factors can just by themselves lead to substantial specialization when they differ between the upstream and downstream segments. The model also provides a new rationale for mixed governance (concurrent use of both the market and integration), as well as for the initial period of vertical integration, followed by specialization, both regularities that are often observed in practice.


Due to the effects of the earth's rotation and the satellite's elliptical orbit, the Doppler centroid varies along the orbit in geosynchronous earth orbit synthetic aperture radar (GEO SAR). With an ultrahigh orbit height, the beam may illuminate outside the earth surface with a rotation angle large than 9 degrees. Therefore, the usual attitude steering methods to minimize the Doppler centroid in low earth orbit SAR (LEO SAR) may not be suitable for GEO SAR. Considering the above two effects of GEO SAR and the beam illuminating restriction, a beam determination method to minimize Doppler centroid in GEO SAR is proposed in this paper. Guaranteeing that the beam not illuminate outside the earth surface, the proposed method can drastically decrease the Doppler centroid and the equivalent squint angle.


The Rel/NF-κB and TGF-βSMAD signal transduction pathways are essential for maintaining homeostasis, controlling cell proliferation and survival in every species studied and in many different cell and tissue types. Both pathways are implicated in numerous cancers resulting from their abnormal regulation. For instance, constitutive Rel/NF-κB activity leads to continous pro-survival stimulation allowing cancer cells the opportunity to continue growing in otherwise detrimental conditions. Also, due to its role in growth suppression, TGF-β-insensitivity has been reported in a majority of tumor types. Until recently, however, very few studies have attempted to determine whether there are interactions between the signaling members of each of these pathways. Therefore, this study was designed for this purpose. -- The tetracycline-inducible system (Tet-On) was chosen to control the expression of a constitutively active Rel/NF-κB member, Xrel3, in CaSki human cervical carcinoma cell lines. The responses to TGF-β stimulation were measured in Xrel3-expressing and non- expressing CaSki cells to investigate whether the presence of Xrel3 affects TGF-β signaling. This thesis provides evidence that Xrel3 is able to block the TGF-β-induced growth inhibition, and PAI-1 and p21 induction, but not SMAD2 phosphorylation or p15 induction in CaSki cervical cancer cells. A mutated form of Xrel3, mutNLS, was not able to affect TGF-β responses of growth inhibition or marker induction. These results suggest that constitutive Rel/NF-κB activity may be responsible for the loss of sensitivity to TGF-β and may provide insight for therapeutic strategies for treating tumors which display this activity.


Why do our intuitive knowledge ascriptions shift when a subject's practical interests are mentioned? Many efforts to answer this question have focused on empirical linguistic evidence for context sensitivity in knowledge claims, but the empirical psychology of belief formation and attribution also merits attention. The present paper examines a major psychological factor (called 'need-for-closure') relevant to ascriptions involving practical interests. Need-for-closure plays an important role in determining whether one has a settled belief; it also influences the accuracy of one's cognition. Given these effects, it is a mistake to assume that high- and low-stakes subjects provided with the same initial evidence are perceived to enjoy belief formation that is the same as far as truth-conducive factors are concerned. This mistaken assumption has underpinned contextualist and interest-relative invariantist treatments of cases in which contrasting knowledge ascriptions are elicited by descriptions of subjects with the same initial information and different stakes. The paper argues that intellectualist invariantism can easily accommodate such cases.


This paper presents the basic theory and part of the evaluation of a "traffic adaptive control for over-saturated intersections" strategy or TACOS. TACOS is a hybrid optimization and rule-based strategy that addresses, at least in part, the problems of existing adaptive control strategies by having attributes such as: (1) The information used for decision-making processing is more reliable because it is not dependent on a forecasting model, (2) Intersection utilization is used explicitly as an objective function, (3) Phase sequencing is optimized, and (4) Detection of operational anomalies and ability to respond to anomalies have been incorporated. In its present form TACOS applies to single signalized intersections


This contribution critically addresses the "green" H2 production issue. After introducing the topic and the limits of the production of H2 from electrolysis, some examples of alternative methods are discussed, highlighting the possibility of reducing costs, carbon footprint and intensity of use of renewable energy compared to electrolysis.


Indomitable vomiting of pregnant women is often accompanied by changes in urine, which MI Gorvits considers symptoms that depend on hunger. The author also describes a case where, in his opinion, indomitable vomiting was caused by nothing else but changes in the kidneys (also called Schwangerschaftsniere).


In this chapter, the author analyzes students' abilities to understand aural texts while accessing annotated information in a multimedia-based environment. In particular, the study examines inferencing in the aural environment and students' abilities to infer meaning from an aural text when processing it in one of four treatments: the aural passage 1) with no annotations; 2) with pictorial annotations only; 3) with written annotations only or; 4) with written and pictorial annotations. Overall, students who accessed pictorial and/or written annotations most often inferred meaning significantly better compared to those who did not access such annotations. And too, while the relationship of recall and inferencing was highly correlated based on annotation type, the relationship between vocabulary knowledge and inferencing based on annotation type was not strong.


Thick fluoropolymer films are being evaluated as a potential 'disposable' debris shield to protect high-peak-power laser optics from x-ray and target debris generated in inertial- confinement fusion-ignition experiments. Two obstacles to implementation are optical uniformity and damage threshold. To understand the damage characteristics, transmittance of single 1053- or 351-nm laser pulses has been measured for commercial fluoropolymer films in vacuum. Samples were tested at fluences up to 105 J/cm2 at 351-nm. Both the total transmitted energy for a single shot and the temporal energy transmittance profile during the shot were measured as a function of fluence. In addition, the total focusable transmitted energy was recorded for 351-nm pulses. Results show that transmittance decreases slowly during a single-pulse irradiation, allowing much of the energy to be transmitted at fluences which cause noticeable degradation to the film. The film transmits greater than 90 percent of the 351-nm energy delivered in a beam with spatial average fluence of 8 J/cm2 with modulation up to 15 J/cm2. For 1053-nm laser light, the films do not begin to exhibit noticeable transmittance loss until average fluences exceed 40 J/cm2.


This study aims to examine the effect of work environment and self-efficacy on employee performance. The object of this research is a historical and tourism site in the Semarang City, namely the Sam Poo Kong Temple and Lawang Sewu. The research was conducted in quantitative method by distributing questionnaire to the employee in the both locations. The sampling method that purposive sampling technique with the criteria of respondents are employee has been working for at least one year. Based on the data collection, a sample of 107 employees was obtained to be analyzed. The data were analyzed using regression analysis method. The results of the study strengthen the findings of previous studies that work environment and self-efficacy have a positive effect on employee performance.


Objective:To evaluate diagnostic value of PET/CT in gastric adenocarcinoma(GA) and to compare with gastroscope.Methods:The data of PET/CT and gastroscope of 15 patients with GA were reviewed retrospectively.All patients underwent PET/CT examination.14 patients underwent gastroscope examination.Results:PET/CT detected increased fluorodeoxyglucose(FDG) uptake in the primary tumours in 14 patients.The sensitivity was 93%.The maximum standardized uptake value(SUV) was 5.92±3.11 and the average SUV was 3.17±0.89.PET/CT detected 41 metastatic sites with increased FDG uptake in 11 patients simultaneously.The maximum SUV was 5.03±2.74 and the average SUV was 2.76±1.01.The diagnostic accordance rate was 100% of gastroscope combining with biopsies.Conclusion:PET/CT is an effective examination in the diagnosis for the patients with contraindication of gastroscope and the staging of GA.


PARALLEL PATTERN: A FAMILIAL LEGACY OF CARE By Diana Antohe, Master of Fine Arts A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2019. Major Director: Hilary Wilder, Associate Professor, Painting and Printmaking Department My work revolves around exploring identity of the in-between, occupying the Venn diagram middle of two cultures. As a Romanian-born, American-raised artist, I want to preserve and broadcast links to the cultures of my upbringing and birthplace. In attempts to ground and define my own "in-between" identity, I look to my parents and grandparents for cues on how they made home for themselves wherever they went, reflecting their experiences with voluntary and involuntary displacement. This text connects the research and influential family practices that shaped its companion exhibition, ranging from the role of portability in emotional transnationalism to the lasting mythology the soap opera "Dallas" holds in Romania.


Due to the increasing pressure from energy-saving and emission reduction, buildings of Ultra-low energy targets and Near-zero energy targets based on passive techniques are promoted rapidly in China. As the final link of building energy conservation, the efficient operation and control of energy systems are quite important for passive buildings. In this paper, as for the well-used integrated ground source energy systems, physical simulation and actual measurements are carried out to compare the adaptability of different operation strategies. Specifically, after calibrated via measurements, three typical controlling strategies are simulated and compared, including temperature control, temperature difference control and timing starting control. When making comparison, indexes of Predicted Mean Vote (MPV) and Predicted Percentage Dissatisfied (PPD) are adopted. Finally, by comparing the thermal comfort and energy consumption under different control strategies, the optimal operation strategy of different seasons was suggested for passive buildings in the cold region of China.


Trace levels of Pu, Am, Cm, and U in an acidic plume have been traveling through a surface aquifer underlying the Savannah River Site, Aiken, SC, at rates appreciably greater than anticipated. The objective of this study was to determine the extent to which each of these actinides was associated with groundwater colloids, a potential cause for the apparent enhanced transport. Contaminated groundwater was recovered along a 1.02 km transect at approximately the rate of groundwater flow, passed though an ultrafiltration system, and then chemically characterized. The filterable (>500 molecular weight) fraction of nuclides increased with reported nuclide distribution coefficients (Kd values): Pu > Th > U > Am = Cm > Ra > tritium. The filterable fractions of the strongersorbing nuclides (Pu and Th) increased, whereas those of the weaker-sorbing nuclides (Am, Cm, and Ra) generally decreased with increasing pH (3.4 to 4.0) and distance from the point source. Uranium was equally divided between the dissolved and filterable fractions throughout the transect. At the farthest sampling point in the contaminant plume (0.55 km), all the Pu and Th and none of the Am and Cm were in the filterable fraction. Plutonium appears to have a much greater potential than Am or Cm for moving through the study site in association with mobile colloids. However, Am and Cm pose a much greater threat than Pu of migrating through this system, because almost all of the Pu and relatively little of the Am and Cm were retained by the matrix.


In order to develop an alternative and reliable model for further study of human hepatic apolipoprotein CⅢ receptor, and to elucidate the physiological function and regulation of apoCⅢ receptor, whether or not there were apoCⅢ receptors of HepG2 cells by radioligand binding assay was first studied. Addition of increasing concentration of 125I-apoCⅢ to HepG2 cells revealed a saturable binding to HepG2 cells with a K d of (9 53±1 03)×10 -9 mol/L. The maximum specific binding capacity (B max) was (3 28±0 31) μg/g. The results showed that there were specific, saturable, and reversible binding site of apoCⅢ on HepG2 cells, and it was identified that HepG2 cell line was a useful model for the study of human hepatic apoCⅢ receptor. In the following, the effects of insulin and glucagon on apoCⅢ receptr of HepG2 cells were examined respectively. The results showed that insulin had no effect on the K d value, but significantly increased the B max value of apoCⅢ receptor; and glucagon had no effect on the B max, but decreased the affinity constant of apoCⅢ receptor. These results indicated that human hepatic apoCⅢ receptor was possibliy under the different regulations of insulin and glucagon.


Differences in K,Si and fiber contents between super hybrid Pei'ai64S/E32 and 3 line combination Shanyou63 were found as follows: super hybrid has the significant dominance in total quantity of K, Si and fiber; there is not obvious difference in the rate of dry matter of K between the two hybrids, while Si in node and fiber both in node and sheath remain significant dominace in super hybrid; super hybrid accumulates more K and Si after heading stage,and not much K decreases in leaves;the quantity of K,Si and fiber in super hybrid increase under sufficient fertilizer conditions, esp.in the sheath, while the percentages of all elements decrease with the percentage of Si dropping the most.


We report optical amplification in Al2O3:Er3+ with a gain bandwidth of 80 nm and peak gain of 2.0 dB/cm at 1533 nm, data transmission at 170 Gbit/s without added bit-error penalty and monolithic integration of these active Al2O3:Er3+ waveguides with passive silicon-on-insulator waveguides.


For two months, Sam Burich had sat at East Point, on the jagged edge of Saturna Island, staring across the Strait of Georgia and waiting for killer whales. The thirty-eight-year-old Croatian immigrant was not a whaler but a sculptor by trade, though he dabbled in fishing to make ends meet. He had come to East Point at the behest of the Vancouver Aquarium to harvest a whale, not for its blubber or meat but for its body—its form. To pass the time, he played his harmonica, carved hieroglyphs in the sandstone, and chatted with his assistant, twenty-six-year-old fisherman Josef Bauer. On this Thursday, July 16, 1964, just after 11:00 a.m., orcas came into sight. It was J pod, making its way north in pursuit of Fraser River chinook. Bauer saw them first and raced over to load their mounted harpoon gun. Then Burich took over. He knew he would have only one shot as the orcas passed. Most of them were out of range, and Burich needed to hit a whale small enough to kill. Soon he spotted his target, a youngster bobbing along playfully just ninety feet away. Burich took aim and pulled the trigger, detonating the one-and-a-half-ounce powder charge. The steel harpoon, four feet long and two inches thick, hit home. At first, Burich couldn't believe it, but Bauer's shouts convinced him. Struck just behind the head, the animal appeared stunned. Burich and Bauer rushed to their boat, the forty-foot Corsair II, moored in a nearby cove. As the men approached the whale, they found a surprising scene. Rather than fleeing from danger, the other orcas had surrounded their injured podmate, raising it to the surface to breathe. It was a touching sight, but Burich knew the reputation of these beasts. Worried the whales would retaliate, like those shot by Marineland's collectors two years earlier, he and Bauer hung back. Within an hour, the pod had left, and the two men moved in for the kill. But the little orca didn't want to die.


The Albian Upper Qamchuqa Formation in NE Iraq is part of an extensive dolomitized carbonate platform developed during the Barremian – Albian over the passive continental margin of NE Arabia. Recent drilling at the Taq Taq oilfield in Kurdistan has renewed interest in this formation as a reservoir unit. In this paper, the reservoir and petrophysical characteristics of the Upper Qamchuqa Formation at Taq Taq are described using data from wireline logs, cores and thin‐sections from four wells.


The paper is in line with some concerns in the specialty literature regarding the role of the detention institutions in the re-education of people confined and effect of the applicable prison regime. In this sense, a series of international, European and national regulations, as well as the measures and practices in prisons built to reduce the risk of relapse are explored.


Given a field K, a quadratic extension field L is an extension of K that can be generated from K by adding a root of a quadratic polynomial with coefficients in K. This paper shows how ACL2(r) can be used to reason about chains of quadratic extension fields Q = K_0, K_1, K_2, ..., where each K_i+1 is a quadratic extension field of K_i. Moreover, we show that some specific numbers, such as the cube root of 2 and the cosine of pi/9, cannot belong to any of the K_i, simply because of the structure of quadratic extension fields. In particular, this is used to show that the cube root of 2 and cosine of pi/9 are not rational.


Investigations of LiNbO3 waveguides using the non-standard Z-propagation are presented. Due to the isotropic refractive index of the bulk material and a small residual TE/TM modal birefringence, this orientation seems to be well suited for passive, polarization-insensitive devices with increased power handling capability. The measured wavelength response curves of BOA-type wavelength multiplexers, fabricated with Z-propagating waveguides on X-cut LiNb01, however, indicate the presence of increased waveguide birefringence. This results in an opposite shift of the sinusoidal TE/TM transmission curves of nearly 180A'°, which can not be verified by theoretical calculations (device simulation by the beam propagation method BPM ). The determination of the refractive index profile by m-line spectroscopy leads to gaussian profiles with polarization dependent 1/e-widths and maximum index increases An. BPM-simulations based on these profiles show results, which correspond well to the measurements.© (1989) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.


The article is devoted to the study of the levels of formation of ecological competence in preschool children. Based on the selected criteria (knowledge of nature, the right behavior in nature; natural motivation, positive emotions and feelings from the relationship with nature; manifestation of volitional qualities; basic values; natural behavior, environmental actions), we identified indicators and selected appropriate methods and techniques of diagnostics. Among them: observations, conversation, «Incomplete sentences» method, icons, didactic game, problem solving. Experimental data have shown that preschool age children have difficulty in identifying the essential features of living objects, in establishing cause-and-effect relationships. Often attribute plants to inanimate nature, because they do not move, and human is not perceived as component of nature, putting it separately. The vast majority of preschoolers have a pragmatic emotional-affective motivation for action in nature, and only one-fifth of children have cognitive motivation. In general, children are emotionally sensitive, sympathize with living beings, show kindness, sensitivity to nature, joy and admiration when meeting with objects of nature. In the rank of values, nature is not in the first place, giving way to toys, delicious food. The consolidated results showed that 25% of children are at a low level of environmental competence, 50% are sufficient, a high level is typical for 25%. The child is rarely the initiator of helping nature, but most accept the task set by the adult, solving it under his guidance. In general, the children showed an unstable interest in nature. Therefore, we conclude that special attention should be paid to the formation of value-motivational and, of course, behavioural sphere.


In this paper, a new classification of acrylic resin splints to be used for the treatment of maxillofacial fracture was proposed. This classification was based mainly on the state of remaining teeth, which are important for the restoration of occlusion. The classification includes intermaxillary-, lingual-, and buccolingual-type splints which hold dental arch in addition to a splint covering dental arch.The indications of these types are as follows: Intermaxillary type is applied for multiple teeth defect cases, lingual type for cases with suspected intraversion of bone fragment and bucco- lingual type and covering type for cases with deciduous or mixed dentition.When these type splints were used in our 43 patients according to this classification, successful results could be obtained. In addition, the usefulness of these acrylic resin splints as intraoral apparatus was discussed.


Soil stabilization is one of the most popular techniques used for improvement of poor subgrade soils like black cotton soil and silty soil. Black cotton soil has high shrinkage and swelling behaviour with variation in moisture content, due to which failure of pavement occur. In silty soil slaking and dispersion occurs leading to formation of voids as proper bonding between individual particles are lacking. To overcome these problems it is necessary to improve the properties of soil by reinforcement or by replacing the soil itself. Replacing the existing soil might not be an economically viable option. The reinforcement materials used are in the form of fibers which are randomly oriented or in the form of sheets which are placed in layers in soil. Geosynthetics are man-made materials formed from synthetic fibers like polypropylene, polyethylene, polyester or natural fibers like coir, jute and ramie. More recently the use of geosynthetics in particular geotextile made of synthetic fiber in machine direction and natural fiber in cross machine direction (hybrid) are coming up. This paper describes the available knowledge on the use of geosynthetics in soil reinforcement applications particularly in the field of soil subgrade stabilization. The different categories of geosynthetics and their functions were also discussed.


The Musee Cognacq-Jay, a collection of eighteenth-century painting, furniture and decorative arts, opened in Paris seventy-one years ago. For the self-made founder of one of the city's largest department stores, Ernest Cognacq (1839-1928), collecting did not represent a discrete area of activity. Indeed, a look at the history of this museum shows how the parameters in which the collection was displayed were continually shaped by the cultural pretensions of grand magasins. Culminating in a series of exhibitions held in Cognacq's Samaritalne between 1925 and 1927, this juxtaposition of fine art and luxury commodity seemed to Justify contemporaries' concerns at the end of high art's cordon sanitaire


Compressive sensing (CS) has successfully been applied to reconstruct sparse signals and images from few observations. For multi-component nonstationary signals characterized by instantaneous frequency laws, the sparsity exhibits itself in the time-frequency domain as well as the ambiguity domain. In this paper, we examine CS in the context of nonstationary array processing. We show that the spatial averaging of the ambiguity function across the array improves the CS performance by reducing both noise and cross-terms. The corresponding time-frequency distribution which is reconstructed through L1 minimizations yields significant improvement in time-frequency signature localizations and characterizations.


Differential cross sections for the reactions /sup 3/H(/sup 7/Li,..cap alpha..)/sup 6/He, /sup 3/He(/sup 7/Li,..cap alpha..)/sup 6/Li, and /sup 3/H(/sup 6/Li,/sup 3/He)/sup 6/He have been measured at energies of /sup 7/Li and /sup 6/Li ions 31 and 65 MeV respectively in the angle range 12--30, 10--18/sup 0/, and 10-16/sup 0/ in the laboratory system, respectively. In the energy spectra of ..cap alpha.. particles from the reactions /sup 3/H(/sup 7/Li,..cap alpha..) and /sup 3/He(/sup 7/Li,..cap alpha..), besides the well-known low-lying levels in the /sup 3/He and /sup 6/Li nuclei, groups are observed corresponding to excitation of states near the triton thresholds at E/sub x/ = 13.6 and 17.4 MeV. The level in the nucleus /sup 6/Li with E/sub x/ = 17.4 Mev has been observed for the first time. The angular distributions obtained have been analyzed on the basis of the distorted-wave method. The conclusion has been drawn that in these states the structures /sup 3/H+/sup 3/H and /sup 3/H+/sup 3/He predominate


In order to solve the lower gain problem of dielectric microstrip antenna group array,some theories were applied,for example,the electromagnetic wave propagation theory of dielectric,electromagnetism coupling theory of microstrip antenna,dielectric embedded antenna technology and circular polarization technology of microstrip antenna.Some methods were adopted,for instance,putting the antenna array elements in different parts with the same dielectric,feeding the antenna by coaxial line,and putting the feeding point in the diagonal line of driven patch,appending the degeneracy separation element in the driven patch.The low gain problem of dielectric embedded microstrip antenna array was solved by the designed antenna.The results of simulation calculation and practical antenna testing show that the performance of the antenna array can satisfy the needs of Beidou antenna,the simulation gain is 10.45 dB and the testing gain is 9.2dB,which is close to the gain of 2-element microstrip antenna of the same type.


The special self-addressing forms of "NP+我"(A)and"我+NP"(B) have different pragmatic functions.A is a kindness-building form used to shorten the psychological distance between the speaker and the addressee.B is an estrangement-building form used to express the speaker's dissatisfaction or surprise.These differences are related to the information resource and the information value of the NPs in A and B.Both A and B are special constructions used to convey subjectivity.


A method of navigating items on a display on a computing device with a touch sensitive input device is disclosed. Similar to a bike wheel, the list of items will rotate in relation to the velocity of the input applied including speed up, slow down, stop and change directions.


Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) stereocomplexes have high potential as renewable materials for advanced polymer applications, mainly due to their high melting temperature (Tm, typically 230–240°C). The properties of PLA stereocomplexes consisting of linear high molar mass homopolymers have been studied extensively in the past, but the available information about the possibilities to affect the thermal properties of the stereocomplex by varying the structure of the blend components has not been sufficient. Novel stereocomplexes containing linear or star-shaped D-lactic acid (D-LA) oligomers and high molar mass poly(L-lactide) (L-PLA) were thus prepared. The Tm and melting enthalpy (ΔHm) of the racemic crystallites were found to depend strongly on both the blending ratio and the arm-length of the D-lactic acid oligomer. The preparation method of the oligomers, i.e. step-growth polymerization or ring-opening polymerization (ROP), did not affect the Tm or ΔHm of the blends significantly. Slightly higher ΔHm values were, however, obtained, when linear oligomers were used. The results thus indicated that the Tm and ΔHm of PLA stereocomplexes could be optimized, simply by selecting a D-LA oligomer having a suitable arm-length and structure as the other blend component. The possibility to adjust the melting behavior of the stereocomplex blend is a significant advantage and could make PLA suitable for a wider range of products used at elevated temperatures. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


The main research in the fields of pedagogical didactics and learning has as a common denominator the marginalization of an aspect that is fundamental in the implementation of strategies aimed at improving teaching practices (particularly in the classroom). The emphasis so far has been focused much more on the person who teaches and their teaching tools than in the auditorium that receives it: the students. Often the references to the student body suffer from a characterization that takes into account the most relevant features that these present; elements that really makes the difference in what refers to the mode of transmission and reception of the communicational act that consists, to a large extent, the teaching practice. This fundamental character rests on the auditory cognitive patterns –that C. G. Jung defined in his 1921 work (Psychological Types or The Psychology of Individuation) as "irrational functions"– those through which the information of the world that surrounds us is entered into consciousness.
In the present work reference is made to the most relevant research in the area, in order to point out this absence in general in the visualization and treatment of students' cognitive patterns (the Jungian irrational functions) as an essential feature. At the same time, it is intended to claim this cognitivist perspective as an area of research that should be explored and addressed in this context, in order to have new inputs that help improve current teaching strategies.


The unit (1) comprises a transport body (10) with a rotary portion (12), used to support and move the objects being transported, and a drive mechanism for the rotary portion. The drive mechanism comprises a rotary drive body (40) having a rotation axis oriented in a different direction to a rotation axis for the rotary portion. Rotary torque is transmitted from the drive body to the rotary portion via a pair of cooperating bevel gears (23, 43), one of which is located on the drive body. The transport body contains a cavity for locating the other bevel gear and this cavity is provided in an internal surface of the rotary portion. Independent claims are also included for the following: Roller conveyor unit for transporting e.g. boxes, comprising a transport body with a rotary portion, used to support and move the objects being transported, polyurethane being provided on at least a portion of the external surface of the rotary portion; #Cassette for use in a conveyor for transporting e.g. boxes, comprising more than one of either of the above roller conveyor units; and #Conveyor apparatus for transporting e.g. boxes comprising more than one of either of these cassettes.


Purpose: To compare the success rates between silicone tube intubation using a lacrimal endoscope and using a conventional nasal endoscope alone in adult patients suffering from epiphora. Methods: We conducted a retrospective chart review of 80 eyes of 55 patients who underwent silicone tube intubation from January 2014 to June 2017. Patients were preoperatively diagnosed with syringing and dacryocystography. The silicone tube was removed 3 months after surgery and success rates were evaluated at 4 and 12 months. Success rates were analyzed by dividing the patients into two groups, according to lacrimal endoscope use. Results: A lacrimal endoscope was used in 40 eyes. In the group using a lacrimal endoscope, preoperative diagnoses were partial obstruction in 26 eyes and complete obstruction in 14 eyes. In the group without lacrimal endoscope use, preoperative diagnoses were partial obstruction in 35 eyes and complete obstruction in 5 eyes (p = 0.018). The success rates at 4 and 12 months after surgery in the two groups (with and without lacrimal endoscope use) were 87.5% and 80.0% and 72.0% and 62.1% (p = 0.546 and p = 0.565), respectively. The success rates of patients with partial obstruction in the two groups were 92.3% and 82.9% at 4 months and 71.4% and 69.2% at 12 months (p = 0.448 and p = 1.000), respectively. The success rates of patients with complete obstruction in the two groups were 78.6% and 60.0% at 4 months and 72.7% and 33.3% at 12 months (p = 0.570 and p = 0.505), respectively. Site differences, the degree of obstruction, and lacrimal endoscope use had a significant impact on the success rate at 4 and 12 months (p = 0.001 and p = 0.022, respectively). Conclusions: Although silicone tube intubation using a lacrimal endoscope cannot guarantee a significant success rate, it is possible to observe the anatomical structure of the nasolacrimal pathway in real time, such that the appropriate diagnosis and treatment can be performed simultaneously. Because patients diagnosed as having a complete obstruction had a good success rate, we can extend indication of silicone tube intubation as a less invasive approach. J Korean Ophthalmol Soc 2018;59(11):1001-1008


Ocular chemical burns are among the most critical and true ocular emergencies in dogs and cats, with destructive consequences on the ocular surface and intraocular tissues. Platelet alpha granules are an important reservoir of growth factors that can stimulate chemotaxis of inflammatory cells, mitosis, migration and differentiation of cells. On the other hand, tetracyclines and their derivatives exhibit non-antimicrobial properties, such as affecting inflammation, immunomodulation, cell proliferation and angiogenesis. The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of intrastromal platelet rich plasma (PRP) in combination with oral doxycycline in the healing process of the cornea. Thirty six New Zealand rabbits were used in this experimental study. Alkali burns were created by applying a round filter paper soaked in NaOH. PRP was prepared by centrifugation of autologous blood. The rabbits were allocated to four groups (9 animals each). Group 1 served as the control group without any treatment. Group 2 received doxycycline (5mg/kg b.w.) orally once a day throughout the study. Group 3 received an intrastromal injection of PRP (0.5ml) in the cornea, and group 4 received intrastromal PRP combined with oral doxycycline. Treatments had varied levels of success, with PRP combined with oral doxycycline producing the best results regarding corneal healing. Animals in the control group had epithelial defects for the whole duration of the study, and 3 animals presented corneal perforation. Groups 3 and 4 had smaller mean defect area, compared to groups 1 and 2. On the 7th day, neovascularisation was lower in treatment groups compared to the control group. Groups 3 and 4 also had less corneal oedema compared to the control group on day 3 and 7. Group 4 exhibited the best wound healing, with less neovascularization and better collagen arrangement, as shown by the histopathological evaluation. To the authors' knowledge this is the first experimental study that intrastromal PRP is combined with oral doxycycline for the management of corneal chemical burns. This combination is a simple, safe and economical therapeutic approach that promotes corneal healing.


C-band SAR has been used for natural oil seep detection in Australia. There is generally a low level of confidence associated with natural oil seeps identified on SAR images over Australian coastal waters due to poor characterisation of false positives that produce low-backscatter features on SAR. The availability of high resolution TerraSAR-X data provides an opportunity to establish the effectiveness of X-band SAR for natural oil seep detection in Australian waters. The focus of this study was to assess low-backscatter features observed in the TerraSAR-X images. In this paper, we report preliminary results from initial evaluation of single polarised X-band data products from TerraSAR-X over two study areas. Our evaluation of TerraSAR data is independent of C and L-band polarimetric data from other sources being evaluated over the same study area.


How should we assess the achievements of the ACTU's Change the Rules campaign? Was it a waste of time or a bold transformative agenda? What direction should the union movement take now that the Coalition has been re-elected?


The utility model relates to a highly-effective horizontal ring die roll type biomass fuel forming machine, which comprises a feeding system, a ring die rolling system, a cooling packing system and a dust removing system, and is characterized in that the feeding system comprises a material draught fan, a cyclone separating type material storing hopper and a speed-regulating type belt feeder, wherein the ring die rolling system comprises a motor, a big belt wheel and a ring die rolling host machine, the cooling packing system comprises an air-cooled type belt discharging machine, and the dust removing system comprises a dust removing flue arranged on a dust collecting point. The forming machine fully considers combining the integral production flow process of biomass forming fuel of crushing, dying, forming, cooling, dust removing, packing and the other processes, and realizes the integral design of feeding, forming, discharging and dust removing, has the characteristics of compact combination of processing technique of straw forming fuel, reasonable process arrangement, good dynamic production environment-protecting performance and low energy consumption of devices.


Through carrying capacity test of CFRP strengthened test beam and unstrengthened comparison beam under corrosion of chlorine ion, thispaper analyzes the shear resistance and durability of CFRP repaired and strengthened concrete beam. Crack generation, deflection, electrochemical index and deformation of reinforced concrete beam under service are comparedand analyzed. It is indicated that CFRP can play a favorable screening role and can effectively prevent crack development. There is no shear failure after load is applied. So CFRP can obviously improve the shear bearing capacity and durability of reinforced concrete beam. Besides, different strengthening methods have relatively obvious influence of its durability.


Key indications are that the industry decline that began in 1982 has bottomed out in central and southern Africa. Seismic in 1984 was up more than 10% from 1983. Wildcatting and total drilling were down slightly, but production posted a 13% increase. The total number of wildcats decreased from 86 in 1983 to 83 in 1984; however, if Nigerian activity is excluded, wildcats actually increased to 71 from 62. Production is up principally because existing fields were expanded and new ones came on stream. It increased from 1.85 million BOPD in 1983 to 2.1 million BOPD in 1984. The increase in development drilling led by Cameroon and Nigeria should result in a continuation of this rise unless world conditions override.


PURPOSE: To enable a positioning to be carried out accurately in the cross direction of an adjacent semi-cycloidal pattern and to be formed its accurate arrangement by controlling a supplying means and a gas introducing means, and by bringing each associated material flow to a selected track in the direction of a moving body. CONSTITUTION: A nozzle assembling body 10 forms a continuous flow 11 of a hot melt adhesive 12, and a gas jet forms a gas flow and gives a spiral motion to the material flow 11. A pump and a pressure control valve control each material flow 11 and gas flow rate, and bring the material flow 11 to a selected track in the direction of a base body 14. A base body web 14 moves at a selected speed forming a cycloidal pattern on the base body 14 depositing the material. The side fringe 94 of semi-cycloidal adhesive pattern has a change in the cross direction not exceeding about ±0.125 inches to a specified and desired position along the cross direction preventing substantially the interference between the air flow produced by each nozzle unit and the flow of adhesive. COPYRIGHT: (C)1990,JPO


Stable microbial colonization of the skin depends on tight control by the host immune system. The lipid-dependent yeast Malassezia typically colonizes skin as a harmless commensal and is subject to host type 17 immunosurveillance, but this fungus has also been associated with diverse skin pathologies in both humans and animals. Using a murine model of Malassezia exposure, we show that Vγ4+ dermal γδ T cells expand rapidly and are the major source of IL-17A mediating fungal control in colonized skin. A pool of memory-like Malassezia-responsive Vγ4+ T cells persisted in the skin, were enriched in draining lymph nodes even after fungal clearance, and were protective upon fungal re-exposure up to several weeks later. Induction of γδT17 immunity depended on IL-23 and IL-1 family cytokine signalling, whereas Toll-like and C-type lectin receptors were dispensable. Furthermore, Vγ4+ T cells from Malassezia-exposed hosts were able to respond directly and selectively to Malassezia-derived ligands, independently of antigen-presenting host cells. Reactivity of human γδ T cells against Malassezia spp. confirmed the relevance of this fungus-specific response across different host species. The fungal moieties detected were shared across diverse species of the Malassezia genus, but not conserved in other Basidiomycota or Ascomycota. These data provide novel mechanistic insight into the induction and maintenance of type 17 immunosurveillance of skin commensal colonization that has significant implications for cutaneous health. AUTHOR SUMMARY Malassezia is the most abundant fungus living on our skin and is usually harmless, but this microbe has also been shown to play a role in pathological conditions such as eczema and dermatitis. Here, we investigated how a population of Vγ4+ γδ T cells protect mouse skin against fungal overgrowth. While generally considered part of the innate immune system, we found that γδ T cells were maintained long after Malassezia was cleared from the skin of experimentally-infected animals. These cells displayed memory-like features and were highly efficient at fighting the fungus after a secondary challenge. We observed that classic fungal pattern recognition receptors were not involved, and that antigen-presenting cells were not required to generate Malassezia-protective γδ T cells. Finally, we confirmed that γδ T cells can recognise Malassezia, both in mice and human hosts. The fungal structure that triggers these responses was highly specific to Malassezia and was not conserved among other fungi. Our results highlight for the first time an important role for γδ T cells in preventing uncontrolled growth of the most abundant skin fungus. These findings have implications for several Malassezia-associated pathologies including eczema, dermatitis, and potentially even cancer.


Detailed geological studies across the highland-lowland boundary in north central Arabia Terra, Mars provide constraints on the age and nature of processes responsible for a complex array of structures and landforms. The area studied is bounded by 27.5° and 47.5°N, 330° and 335°W. Highland basement was formed in Early Noachian and was extensively resurfaced in Late Noachian. Materials underlying highland plateaus were emplaced in Middle Noachian. Erosion responsible for fretted terrane and fretted channels most likely occurred in Early Hesperian but definitely prior to the middle of the Hesperian and during or after Middle Noachian. There is good evidence for the involvement of liquid water in fretted channel formation. Within the area mapped, the presence of fretted terrane correlates with evidence for extensive development of large grabens. All lowland materials were emplaced after the erosion that formed fretted terrane and channels; the earliest of these materials were emplaced in mid-Hesperian, and the youngest were emplaced in Late Amazonian. Morphological evidence supports debris flow or rock glacier processes for the formation of the youngest materials. Debris flow materials on the floors of fretted channels are much too young to be related to channel formation. The entire region exhibits a northerly tilt of ∼0.1°–0.15° that formed after deposition of the oldest lowland materials but before emplacement of Upper Hesperian and younger debris flow/rock glacier materials. The nature and ages of structures and landforms in this region are not consistent with the presence of a Late Noachian to Early Hesperian convergent plate boundary in northern Arabia Terra.


Sentiment Analysis deals with identifying and aggregating the sentiment or opinions expressed by the users. Sentiment Analysis could be carried out by techniques that may or may not use a lexicon for polarity identification. Training data set i.e. already tagged opinions may or may not be used. Some sentiment analyser could be language dependent or some could be language independent, also called as multilingual sentiment analysers. A detailed survey on different techniques used in Sentiment Analysis is carried out. These techniques are then compared on the basis of usage of lexicon, requirement of training set and language dependency. These are then summarised and analysed. General Challenges are also discussed.


In this paper, we give a new characterization of the split-complex numbers as a vector space $LC_2= \{xI+yE : x,y \in \mathbb{R},\, E^2=I \}$ of operators, where $I$ is the identity operator and $E$ is the unit shift operator that are operating on the space $\mathbb{P}_2$ of all real-valued $2$-periodic functions. We also characterize the field of the complex number $\mathbb{C}= \{x+yi: x, y \in \mathbb{R}, i^2 =-1 \}$ as the space of linear operators of the form $ \{xI+yE, E^2 = -I \}$, where $I$ is the identity operator and $E$ the unit shift operator that are regarded as operating on the vector space $\mathbb{AP}_2 $ of all real-valued $2$-antiperiodic functions. In an analogy to the polar form of complex numbers, we form the hyperbolic form of some subset $ \mathcal{H} $ of the elements of $LC_2 $. We study some properties of the elements of $LC_2$, the trace, the determinant, invertibility conditions, and others. We study some elementary functions defined on subsets of $LC_2$ as compared and contrasted with the usual complex functions. We study properties like continuity, differentiability and define the holomorphic condition of $LC_2$ functions in a different sense than complex functions. We establish the line integrals of the vector-valued functions in $LC_2$ and compare them against the well known results for complex functions of a complex variable.


The paper makes an introduction to a failure case of parallel locomotive of shipping diesel-driven generator,analyzes its reasons and presents the concrete measures concerning its maintenance and improvement as well.


Sapporo City planning streets including parkways were decided in 1936. Over half the width of each parkway was given to green open space of trees, promenade and river. Scenic zones were designated in 1939 including parkway buffer zone to create the park system. And new parks were laid out near the parkways and scenic zones in 1942-1943. Before 1945, among major cities in Japan Sapporo was the only one to adopt park system theory entirely and make street network plan link to land use control for urban landscape. These progressive plans were abolished after 1945.


Unusually severe structural damage was reported during the 2010 M7.0 Haiti earthquake in the vicinity of Hotel Montana, located on top of a ridge in the district of Pétionville. Prompted by the observations, USGS seismic stations were deployed, and aftershock recordings indicated ground motion amplification on the top of the hill compared to adjacent stations on reference site conditions. The presence of topographic relief has been shown to significantly aggravate the consequences of strong ground motion during past events, and topographic amplification was therefore brought forward to justify the observations. To test this hypothesis, we conduct numerical simulations of the foothill ridge response on homogeneous halfspace, which quantitatively disagree, however, with the field data both in amplitude and in frequency. Conversely, our one-dimensional ground response analyses for the site conditions at the hilltop predict amplification in same frequency range as the field data, yet of significantly lower amplitude. We then conduct realistic simulations of the foothill ridge seismic response with soil layering, and qualitatively demonstrate that the recorded amplification can be attributed to a phenomenon here referred as topography-modified site amplification, which describes seismic waves trapped in the soft soil layers of the near surface and simultaneously subjected to site amplification, diffraction and scattering. Parametric investigations of the topography-soil amplification coupling effects are then conducted, and our results show that when accounting for a soil-bedrock interface at 100m depth, predictions are in excellent quantitative agreement with the observed motion


Semiotics is the meta-science of researching the general theories of symbols.Design is the result of the production practice of the human society,and what are designed is to meet the first demand of the human society and is the most important cultural creation;i.e.,the material cultural creation.All the cultural phenom ena are symbol phenomena,so the design phenomenon is also a kind of symbol phenomenon.The ecological aesthetics is a new aesthetic form,studying ecology itself,and it develops from the ecological aesthetic standard.This paper attempts to illustrate the relation of the two fields and find out how to realize sustainable development with the lead of the social values and the mainstream culture.


This paper aims to show how to mobilise resources through Islamic financial instruments in the context of international trade. Throughout the paper there would be five entities namely, Bank-A, Bank-B, Bank-C, Importer and Exporter. Bank-A and Bank-B are recognised financial institutions and they operate internationally while the operations of Bank-C are limited to domestic market. It is Bank-B which mobilises resources from Bank-A through Mudaraba and alternative Reverse 2-Step Murabaha agreements. The details of disbursement for line of financing provided by Bank-B to Local Bank-C through 2-Step Murabaha Agreement are also provided for Letter of Credit and Documentary Collection settlements.


the collocates are consistent with gendered stereotypes in society. Chapter 7 demonstrates how multiple corpus techniques and multiple corpora could be used to triangulate research findings. The author compiles three corpora from the website Craigslist where heterosexual men posted adverts to seek women in Australia, India, and Singapore. The semantic tags in the corpora and the collocational networks of self-descriptors show that men in these countries represented themselves in fairly similar ways, although slightly different emphases are also noticeable. The analysis of the concordance lines containing WOMEN reveals problematic discourses constructed against women. In the concluding chapter, Baker provides a reflexive account to remind readers of the limitations of the corpus approach and the importance of triangulating corpus findings with contextualized knowledge. He also calls upon researchers' efforts to engage a larger audience and to disseminate findings in gender and language to those outside the academic circle.


A critical performance metric of multi-hop wireless networks is the end-to-end throughput of a multi-hop wireless path. When the packets of a traffic flow originating from a source node are relayed by intermediate nodes (relay nodes), competition between the nodes on the multi-hop routing path incurs transmission delays from the carrier sensing mechanism, as well as packet drops and retransmissions due to hidden terminals. Owing to this complicated interaction between nodes, problems in the throughput performance analysis of multi-hop networks have not been fully resolved. In this paper, we propose an optimization approach to compute the throughput at each individual link in addition to the end-to-end throughput in an IEEE 802.11 DCF-based multi-hop wireless network. To this end, we first analyze a multi-hop chain topology with a single flow by taking into account transmission collisions from hidden terminals, and then formulate the optimization problem to obtain the end-to-end throughput performance of multi-hop networks. Through extensive ns-2 simulations, we then show that the proposed approach accurately predicts the throughput performance obtained by the simulations, within a discrepancy of less than 10-12 % in the worst case scenario under a variety of chain and cross topologies.


The universal technique of concrete structure designing, taking into account hardening conditions of products and also influence of chemical additives is offered in the article.


Data mining technology can help people discover clues hid behind information and provide services for forecast and decision making,thus finding wide applications in many fields.It is favorable to better meet readers' needs and enhance libraries' computerized service level to apply data mining technology to the informatization construction of libraries,forecast readers' needs,master their reading law,and provide decision-making supports for libraries in purchase,circulation,website construction,reader service,etc.The article introduces the basic idea and functions of data mining technology,expounds the roles of the technology in library informatization construction,and states how to apply the technology to the library informatization construction.


: The naphthalene-catalysed lithiation of 3-chloro-2-(chlo-romethyl)prop-1-ene, in the presence of symmetrically substituted ketones, led to the corresponding methylenic homoallylic diols, which upon treatment with iodine and silver(I) oxide in dioxane/- water furnished a series of 1,6-dioxaspiro[3.4]octanes. These compounds are structural units present in some natural compounds such as clementeins and subexpinnatins


We investigate the heat dissipation mechanism in the Benzene molecular junctions. Using the tight-binding model and the generalised Green's function formalism, heat dissipation in the electrodes is studied numerically. Results reveal a strong dependence of heat dissipation on the transmission characteristics and the bill polarity. For a pure Benzene molecular junctions, regardless the electrodes positions, namely meta, ortho and para configurations, heat dissipates in a symmetric fashion at both electrodes and does not rely on the bias polarity. This feature is a consequence of a symmetric transmission function over the energy spectrum of incoming electrons. Introducing a single impurity on the Benzene molecule, we force the model to lose its particle-hole symmetry and a drastic change occurs in the heat dissipation of the junction. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT


A series of reports has been published previously for several last years on the nonlinear hyper-Rayleigh (HR) collisional light scattering in molecular media composed of interacting atomic and atomic-diatomic compounds. The presented study continues and extends these theoretical and numerical analyses. Especially, a careful insight into the spectral properties of the most recent case considered - the HR scattering in H2-Ne gas mixtures -is given by calculating and examining a complete set of spectral line contributions related to symmetry adapted (SA) components of the collisional first hyperpolarizability tensor ΔβΛL(K). The influence of the ΔβΛL(K)(R) functional behavior on the HR spectral line shapes is found and characterized in details. A possibility of estimating numerical values of the SA contributions is discussed. Moreover, the long distance functional dependencies of Δβ(R), obtained by means of the numerical quantum chemistry methods, are confronted with those derived on the basis of an analytical approach within the molecular interaction models proposed at the early stage of development of the collisional nonlinear spectroscopy by Kielich and coworkers.


Some of the main obstacles to the conquest and colonization of America by European powers were the scarce knowledge of the territory and the hostility of indigenous ethnic groups to its presence. Over the years, remarkable characters played the role of explorers and applying empirical methods began the survey of the territory, using the data collected and with the methods available on that time the first maps were delineated. Nearly two centuries passed and maps of South America with the Amazon River and its hydrographic basin as one of the centrals elements began to be produced by religious and scientific personalities. The purposes were totally different, but the expected result was a reliable representation of the area. Through the use of geographic information system programs and specialized software in map comparison, a temporal and comparative analysis of five old maps of the region published in the eighteenth century was carried out, with which in a graphical way the reader can visualize the updates of the mapped geographic elements and the accuracy of the work. Likewise, the selected area was digitalized and the basic cartography of each map with its respective database was created. In order to visualize the information generated through a virtual environment, a Story Map Journal in ArcGIS Online was created, it includes a summary about the life of each author, a description and the bibliographic reference of the map made, and the map compared to current data.


Flow path on the highway is longer, driving exits the more dangerous. Based on the mechanical theory, the calculation models of the flow path length in different sections were built by FDM and multiple linear regression method. The flow path length of different section and different longitudinal slope was studied. The results show that: in addition to straight line and circle curve, when the number of lane is more than 4 and longitudinal slope is greater than 4%, the flow path length at other sections almost exceeded the prescribed value. Made the flow path length as control index, the amendment value on the maximum longitudinal slope of highway is proposed.


Today the use of Internet services as a means to obtain information is increasingly being used. Because of the wide-reaching. Internet is ideal when used as a means to advertise a product information website is one of the de- velopment of a computer by using programming languages ??such as HTML, Java Script, and so on. Writing scienti c papers discusses about creating a Website of Kubiel Motor, with the domain www.autokubiel.com and in making the author using Dreamweaver Mx. Penamaan File: 32102233


Serine-129 phosphorylated α-synuclein (p-α-syn), accounting for nearly 90% of α-synuclein (α-syn) found in Lewy bodies (LBs), is linked to the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD). The molecular targets for the cytotoxic effect of p-α-syn are not fully understood; however, so we sought to determine the role of p-α-syn in cell injury and describe the underlying molecular mechanism. Mitochondrial dysfunction was observed in primary neurons from Thy1-SNCA transgenic mice. Using co-immunoprecipitation coupled with mass spectrometry, we screened the p-α-syn interacting proteins in the midbrains of TG mice and validated the interaction with vesicle-associated membrane protein-associated protein (VAPB) and protein tyrosine phosphatase interacting protein 51 (PTPIP51), which are both located in the mitochondrion-associated endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane. VAPB binds to PTPIP51 tethering ER and mitochondria and has an important role in the transport of calcium. We showed that inhibition of α-syn phosphorylation at ser 129 increased the interaction between VAPB and PTPIP51. Moreover, we also demonstrated that inhibition of α-syn phosphorylation at ser 129 alleviated ER and mitochondrial calcium overload. These findings suggest that p-α-syn is involved in regulation of the ER and mitochondrial calcium, which provides new insight into the mechanism by which p-α-syn induces cellular toxicity and neurodegeneration.


21st century envisages the increase in prospecting new oil and gas fields on the arctic shelf of Russia with special attention being paid to purposeful location of oil fields in internal (coastal) shelf not only of the Pechora sea but also of the southern parts of the Kara and Laptev seas.


Background The intracellular storage and utilization of lipids can play an essential role in maintaining energy homeostasis when normal sources of energy are restricted, as can occur in starvation or stress, leading to autophagy [1]. During autophagy, intracellular proteins and organelles are sequestered in double-membrane vesicles (autophagosomes), and degraded by fused lysosomes to produce energy. This process allows cancer cells to prolong survival in hostile environments and aids recovery once the stress was removed. There is increased interest in studying this effect as a cellular reaction to cancer therapeutics. [2]. However, the detailed mechanisms and intracellular lipid changes in drug-induced autophagy are still unknown. Aim To exam the lipid profiles of drug-induced autophagy in cancer cells using H NMR.


Drawing on a Bakhtinian idea of unfinalizability and a semiotics lens of multimodality, the authors conceptualize children's everyday narratives as chains of living stories that emerge at home and in early childhood education settings. In this study, the authors interpret the living stories and emergent identities of Dylan, a five-year-old Vietnamese boy, in Aotearoa New Zealand. Two narrative chains of Dylan's living stories were selected to represent his intersecting and emergent identities around the significant event of the birth of his sibling, when he became the eldest brother. The findings will inspire early childhood educators and researchers to value learnings derived from stories and use the pedagogy of unfinalizability in their interactions with young children.


Motivation:
Induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) lines arise from the need of seeking alternative sources of stem cells for cellular and genetic
therapies to avoid ethical aspects related to the use of embryonic stem cells. Urine represents a rich source of epitelial cell that
can undergo a dedifferentiation process to generate iPSCs (Zhou et al, 2011). Interestingly, the method to obtain iPSC from
urine derived cells (UDC) requiers a non-invasive technique that avoids biopsies and other surgical techniques.
In others reports, iPSC derived from UDC are been used to produce cardiomyocites (Feng et al , 2018), retinal cells (Clegga et
Foltza, 2019) and beta cells (Maehr, 2011) , for the treatment of such as myocardial infarctions, degenerative retinal diseases
and type 1 diabetes, respectively, among other diseases.
Methods:
For isolation and cultivation of UDC, we used the protocol described by Zhou et al. Specific culture media were used for the
selection of UDC colonies suitable for transfection and for iPSC culture maintenance. The most remarkable tecnique used was
a commercial ,non-integrative, viral system, named Sendai, for the transfection of UDC with transcription factors (hKlf4, hOct3/4,
hSox2, cMyc).
Once iPSC line was stabilized, it was characterized by techniques such as alkaline phosphatase assay, PCR,
immunofluorescence, flow cytometry for nuclear (OCT-4, SOX-2, NANOG, TELO) and surface (TRA-1-60, TRA-1-81 and
SSEA4) pluripotency markers. Differentiation potential of iPSCs into the three germ layers was performed using STEMdiff
Trilineage Differentiation Kit protocol (STEMCELL Technologies)
Results:
Cultured urine epithelial cells were successfully transfected and formed colonies iPSC-like. Characterization of these colonies
confirmed expression of pluripotency markers and alkaline phosphatase. The absence of exogenous pluripotency vector
expression was verified by PCR.
Conclusions:
So far, we can accept that it has been possible to isolate, cultivate and transform UDCs into iPSCs. Now, we need to further
characterize our iPSC line, by studying its karyotype and testing its ability to form teratomas in vivo. To apply this procedure in
cell therapy, we should repeat all culture processes under Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP). The generation of iPSC lines
represents a great advance for cell therapy and tissues bioengineering.


The vibration test results of Zhaoqing Bridge are analyzed.And the vibration's influence on the bridge deck surface is discussed under the circumstances of train load or none train load.It is proved that the vibration caused by train loads has little effect on the surface,cracks of the bridge deck are mainly caused by irrational pavement materials and their gradation,as well as construction processes.