To the Editor: Feeding dependency and oropharyngeal dysphagia are common conditions among frail and demented elderly patients on long-term care with a prevalence reaching up to 60% ( 1 , 2 ). Feeding is further complicated by the medical conditions of these patients (poor cooperation, refusal) and by institutional factors (understaffing and insufficiently motivated personal) ( 3 , 4 ). With time feeding becomes increasingly difficult for the patient, inefficient and even dangerous, thus bringing the issue of tube-enteral feeding into consideration. This decision involves medical, emotional and ethical issues that confront medical staff as well as the families of patients ( 5 ). Therefore, it may take time, creating a vulnerable period that could expose such patients to the adverse consequences of undernutrition ( 6 ). On the other hand, hesitations could be related to the fact that the clinical benefits of prolonged tube feeding to prevent aspiration and improve survival have been questioned in recent years ( 7 , 8 ). Likewise follow up of accepted laboratory (albumin level, hemoglobin) and anthropomorphic markers (BMI) were both described as insufficient ( 9 , 10 ). So, while the main focus is put on the question whether to tube feed or not, some patients could develop nutritional deficits. A state of subclinical undernutrition could develop in spite of apparent satisfactory standard nutritional parameters and be masked by the multiple comorbidities that characterize these patients. Two studies we completed in the last few years suggest this assumption with regard to homocysteine ( 11 ) and CD4 ( 12 ). In these studies we compared complex longterm care patients on naso-gastric tube feeding with similar orally fed complex long-term care patients in various stages of oropharyngeal dysphagia. The results show that in spite apparently satisfactory classical nutritional parameters, orally fed patients had high levels of homocysteine and low CD4 counts. The consequences of these two conditions may be related to worsening of the cardiovascular and the cognitive status and the deterioration of immunocompetence ( 13 , 14 ). The status of the trace elements, as we have recently shown, also seems to affect the vulnerability of this population ( 15 ). Moreover, the risk of developing pressure wounds in frail elderly patients is high and closely connected with our ability to address nutritional deficiency as early as possible ( 16 , 17 ). Thus, the question should be not only to initiate enteral feeding or not but when we should do it in order to avoid deterioration and complications beyond an irreversible point. It is possible that in some cases, decisions to initiate tube-enteral feeding are taken too late. This is also a weak methodological point of those studies that suggest that it is a futile procedure. Their monitoring starts on the day the feeding tube is inserted, without satisfactorily documenting the period of feeding difficulties that preceded it. We suggest that the point of when should be defined before the yes-or-no discussion and that clinical guidelines for this purpose should be developed. Prof. Arthur Leibovitz MD Geriatric Department and the Research and Medical Education Unit, Shmuel Harofe Hospital, POB 2, Beer-Yaakov, Israel 70300 Affiliated with the Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com


Objective: To investigate correlation between intelligence and behavior of children with learning disabilities. Methods:208 cases(IQ70)with average scores below the tenth percentile in the class for 2 consecutive years in observation group, 200 cases in the control group with average scores of middle or higher level and the same age with the observation group. Both groups were tested and evaluated with Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist(CBCL), Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised(WISC-R)and self-designed questionnaires. Results: There was significant difference(P0.001)between full intelligence quotient(FIQ), verbal intelligence quotient(VIQ)and performance intelligence quotient(PIQ)of the observation group and the control group. Subtests of block(P0.002)and jigsaw(P0.005)also showed significant difference between the two groups(P0.001). Conclusion: There existed unbalanced development of intelligence structure, often accompanied by psychological and behavioural problems among learning disabled children. The society, teachers and parents should accept them psychologically and give them more care and understanding so that they could grow up healthy.


The AVO processing and analysis of walkaway VSP data at Ross Lake heavy oilfield, Saskatchewan is described in this report. A walkaway VSP geometry has advantages for AVO analysis: True amplitude processing is feasible and undesired wave-propagation effects can be minimized. At the top and the base of the target channel sand, the synthetic seismogram and walkaway VSP processing results show a similar amplitude variation with offset for the reflections of both PP and PS waves. These results indicate the promise of rock properties inversion using AVO gather from walkaway VSP. INTRODUCTION Due to its geometry, a VSP survey has some advantages for AVO analysis (Coulombe et al., 1996): (1) VSP data generally have a broader bandwidth than comparable surface seismic data due to the short travel path from the source to receiver, especially only one-way through the near surface; (2) the S/N (signal-tonoise ratio) is higher than that of surface seismic data due to the quiet borehole environment; (3) a deterministic waveshaping deconvolution operator can be designed because the downgoing wavefield is also recorded, thus wave-field propagation effects such as multiples and attenuation along the incident travel path can be removed; (4) the downgoing (incident) waves and upgoing (reflected) waves are both recorded near the interface and largely free of undesirable wave propagation effects, thus a good estimate of the reflection coefficient of an interface is relatively easy to obtain. The walkaway VSP geometry is especially suitable for AVO analysis. FIG 1 shows how a walkway VSP geometry can be used to record data specifically for AVO analysis of a reservoir zone. The source positions of the walkaway VSP are located at increasing offsets from the borehole to obtain seismic reflections over a range of incident angles. By locating the receiver directly above the reflector, the same reflection point is imaged by each source position and the reflection travel path is short to minimize undesired wave-propagation effects. In relatively flat geological areas, the reflection travel path is small and the reflection point is close to the borehole when the receiver is near the reflector. Seismic reflection coefficients can be obtained by taking the ratio of the incident and reflected wave amplitudes. A direct-arrival raypath and reflection raypath for an arbitrary interface are shown in FIG 1. The amplitude of the recorded P-wave direct arrival and the amplitude of the P-wave incident on the interface are approximately equal as they have nearly identical travel paths. The ratio between recorded upgoing (reflected) and downgoing wave amplitudes is a good approximation to the band-limited reflection coefficient of the interface. This ratio is independent of most wave-propagation effects such as attenuation, transmission losses, multiples and spherical spreading, since the travel path of the reflected wave is small, and the travel paths of the two downgoing Pwaves are approximately the same. This ratio process also removes source directivity Zhang, Stewart, and Lawton 2 CREWES Research Report Volume 22 (2010) and source or receiver coupling effects, as the reflection amplitude is normalized by the amplitude of the incident wave. FIG 1. Schematic diagram of the advantage of walkaway VSP geometry for AVO processing. Since the receivers are located very close to the reflectors, the incidence wave amplitude Ai approximately equal to the downgoing wave amplitude Ai'. Thus the reflectivity R can be calculated by dividing the upgoing wave amplitude Ar by downgoing wave amplitude Ai. Shots at varied locations give different incidence angles, therefore AVO gather can be built. Considering all these advantages, walkaway VSP data were acquired and processed for AVO analysis at the reservoir interval at the Ross Lake, Saskatchewan. The Ross Lake heavy oilfield (operated by Husky Energy Inc.) is located in southwestern Saskatchewan. The exploration target is the Cretaceous channel sand in the Dimmock Creek member of the Cantuar Formation of the Mannville Group. The Mannville Group sandstones and shales unconformably overlie Jurassic sediments, and underlie the Joli Fou Formation of the Colorado Group. The Cantuar Formation of the Mannville Group is composed mostly of sediment developed within ancient valley systems (Christopher, 1974), which carved into the Success Formation and the Upper Jurassic Vanguard Group (FIG 2). The channel sands in the Dimmock Creek member have high porosities, of about 30%, and very high permeability (up to the 3 Darcy range). The produced oil is about 13° API gravity. For detailed mapping of the Cantuar Formation channel reservoir, the CREWES Project, Husky Energy Inc., and Schlumberger Canada conducted a multi-offset VSP survey in well 11-25-13-17W3 in June 2003, to enhance the interpretation of surface 3C-3D seismic survey acquired in 2002. The locations of the VSP source and the well are shown in FIG 3. All the surveys were conducted with a downhole five-level, three-component VSP tool. The zero-offset VSP survey used both vertical and horizontal (inline) vibrators as sources. A vertical vibrator only was used for the faroffset VSP surveys, and the walkaway VSP surveys. The processing of offset VSP AVO processing of walkaway VSP data CREWES Research Report Volume 22 (2010) 3 data was previously described by Zhang and Stewart (2007). In this report, AVO processing and analysis of walkaway VSP data are described. FIG 2. Stratigraphic relationship of the upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous sediments from southwestern Saskatchewan (from Christopher, 1974). FIG 3. Locations of the well and VSP sources. 699200 699400 699600 699800 700000 5555050 5555250 5555450 5555650 5555850 Easting (m) N or th in g (m ) VSP source location well Zhang, Stewart, and Lawton 4 CREWES Research Report Volume 22 (2010) In addition to the four source locations of the walkaway survey, the zero-offset VSP and two far-offset VSP data sets were also processed using the same workflow and included in the AVO analysis. The source and receiver locations for these VSP shots are listed in Table 1. The top receiver of the walkaway VSP is 954m, which is above the Viking Formation and within the Lower Colorado Group. The top of the studied reservoir sand is approximately 1048m from the surface. The bottom receiver of all the VSP shots is in the channel sand. Table 1.VSP surveys for walkaway VSP processing. Survey Type Source Offset (m) Number of Receivers Top Receiver Depth (m) Bottom Receiver Depth (m) Receiver Spacing (m) Zero Offset 54 130 (14) 197 (954.5) 1165 7.5 (15) Offset 399 130 (14) 197 (954.5) 1165 7.5 (15) 699 130 (14) 197 (954.5) 1165 7.5 (15) Walkaway 150 14 954.5 1165 15 250 14 954.5 1165 15 558 14 954.5 1165 15 997 14 954.5 1165 15 Note: the numbers parenthesized in the table are the values actually used for AVO processing. PROCESSING THE WALKAWAY VSP DATA The walkaway VSP data were processed using a workflow described by Coulombe et al. (1996, as shown in FIG 4). The processing of the 558 m offset will be used as an example to illustrate the processing procedure. First, each shot was processed individually with a workflow similar to that for offset VSP. Horizontal rotation (described in appendix) was applied initially to correct for tool spin. The resultant Hmax (horizontal radial direction) and Hmin (horizontal transverse direction) for the 558 m offset VSP are shown in FIG 5. Upgoing and downgoing P and SV waves were separated from Hmax and Z component data by "wave-by-wave" algorithm (Blias, 2007). A significant merit of the "wave-by-wave" algorithm compared with a conventional median filter or FK filter methods is that the separated wavefields are largely noise free. FIG 6 displays the downgoing and upgoing P waves, and SV waves, derived from the Hmax and Z component data. Then deterministic deconvolution was applied to the upgoing wavefield using the deconvolution operator designed on the downgoing P wave for each shot. FIG 7 shows the comparison of the downgoing P wave before and after deconvolution, respectively. After deconvolution, the downgoing P wave was compressed to a real zero-phase wavelet, its corresponding amplitude spectrum was whiter that for the raw data. The deconvolved upgoing P and SV waves using the operator designed form downgoing waves are shown as FIG 8. AVO processing of walkaway VSP data CREWES Research Report Volume 22 (2010) 5 FIG 4. The walkaway VSP processing workflow for AVO analysis (modified after Coulombe et al., 1996). Each offset was processed individually to get a reflectivity trace from each shot, and then all shots were combined to form an offset-dependent gather for AVO analysis. Horizontal rotation Wavefield Separation Waveshaping Deconvolution


In order to produce hygienically unobjectionable drinking water from surface water it is necessary to disinfect with chlorine, chlorine dioxide or ozone. Besides halogenated hydrocarbons and halogenated phenols, organic acids, aldehydes and ketones may be formed as disinfection byproducts and may lead to abnormal odour. Two methods using liquid-liquid or solid phase extraction followed by gas chromatographic separation and MS detection are described to identify these polar disinfection byproducts. Further information is given on the occurrence of 49 compounds in untreated water and on their formation during disinfection with chlorine or chlorine dioxide, using the above mentioned method. Their odour and odour detection threshold concentration may be helpful for the identification of uncommon odour in abnormal samples.


This paper summarizes issues with using mobile power generators (MEPs) with automatic test equipment. MEPs are used on the flight line and at AF bases worldwide where facility power is unavailable. MEPs generate high power, connect directly to ATE with no current limiting devices in between, and are often left ungrounded. With these MEP issues ATE should be designed to detect power on its chassis.


The living lab concept is identified as having the potential to provide a platform to test technologies and support energy transition. However, the application of the concept to the energy sector is limited, though emerging. This study undertook a systematic literature review to understand the extent of the application of the living lab concept, with the particular aim of informing the processes to establish such a platform in urban Africa. Using a sample of 35 papers, only 17 papers were related to energy-living labs, while 18 papers were outside the energy field. The scale and contexts of the application of living labs were diverse. However, not all initiatives that defined themselves as living labs were characterised by elements typical of the concept of a living lab. Further, how the stakeholders were identified, and the stakeholder recruitment process in energy living labs was unclear in the sampled studies. A recommendation is to improve transparency in the stakeholder identification, engagement, and recruitment process in energy living labs and to incorporate gendered issues into the setup and management of urban energy living labs.


As India and Pakistan have entered into a peace process, termed 'irreversible' despite all perceptible hinges, sooner or later the question of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) will take the centre-stage. In this context it is important to keep in view that Kashmir issue does not revolve around only the Kashmir valley or the present Indian state of J&K but also those parts of the princely state across the Line of Control (LOC) that are controlled by Pakistan. There is a need to understand that Kashmir signifies the erstwhile princely state of J&K that existed as a single entity during partition of the Indian subcontinent in late 1940s.


The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the discussion of the effects of published school rankings based on average scores obtained by students on national exams. We study the effectiveness of this (low-stakes) accountability mechanism; we analyze whether students react to these rankings, by moving in or out of high-schools according to their scores and examine the movements of closing of schools. Our results suggest that families react strongly to published rankings. We also look at the changes in the socio-economic background of students of poorly performing schools in order to evaluate whether the publication of rankings has increased inequality, as feared by many observers. According to our results, published rankings do in fact reinforce stratification by income.


The antibacterial activity of phlorotannins from Sargassum thunbergii Kuntze was investigated by means of Plate Growth Inhibition Assay.The results showed that the phlorotannins can inhibit the growth of tested bacteria remarkably except Escherichia coli,and the effect was closely related to their concentration and molecular-weight.Among them,the inhibition of the high molecular-weight part of phlorotannins on two kinds of marine bacteria--Vibrio anguillarum and V.alginolyticus,the low molecular-weight parts of phlorotannins on two kinds of marine bacteria--V.parahaemolyticus and V.anguillarum,were especially striking.


Professors Cho and Gott's article, "The Racial Sovereign," makes a powerful argument that both sovereignty and national security are racially contingent and racially subordinating concepts. In this brief commentary, I would like to offer some thoughts that both complement and supplement their work. Complements: Of Theorists, Philosophers, and Commentators As Professor Angela Harris has observed, "Race … has long been central to the exercise of sovereign power in the United States." In "The Racial Sovereign," Professors Cho and Gott trace the sovereign's historic use of the emergency power to subjugate Native Americans, African-Americans, Asian-Americans, and its current extension to Arab-Americans, Muslims, and Latino/as. Although their paper is well supported, it could be complemented by the works of additional commentators – some less conventional, but others who, in fact, are planted firmly in the traditional binary framing of sovereignty and emergency that Professors Cho and Gott seek to reject. In some instances the commentator's additional support is express, while in other instances it requires inferential links, but the support is there nevertheless. Historically, a particularly prominent theorist and philosopher in the traditional study of sovereignty and emergency is Michel Foucault, who expressly discussed race and the sovereign in his work. Foucault Michel Foucault, perhaps the most prominent French philosopher of the 1970s and 1980s, discussed race and the sovereign in an express and direct manner that both parallels and encompasses Professors Cho and Gott's work – a somewhat surprising commonality of viewpoints that might not ordinarily be expected of a French philosopher and a critical race scholar. However, a brief overview of some of Foucault's work illustrates the point.


Background and objectives : Vegetables are one of the most difficult categories of food to introduce in children's diet (Cooke & Wardle, 2005) and children's low consumption of vegetables is pointed as a major source of public health concern in many developed countries. A better understanding of children sensory preferences could help to improve children's vegetables acceptance.


ABSTRACT Solar radiation is the main source of energy for the survival of life and its associated activities. It is important to know accurate solar radiation value in areas such as agricultural activities, solar energy systems, heating, and meteorology. In this study, we present a model for the estimation of solar radiation value with other meteorological parameters in cases where solar radiation cannot be measured or not available. This model is based on the relationship between solar radiation and measured air temperature and visibility extremes. As is known, the incident global solar radiation is attenuated by clouds, aerosols, ozone layer, water vapor, etc.. In the model, the attenuation of the solar radiation is expressed by dew point temperature, visibility, and the maximum and minimum air temperatures. Dew-point temperature refers to the effect of water vapor on solar radiation, air temperature extremes are used to signify cloudiness. Visibility also gives the effect on the attenuation of solar radiation by air pollutants and aerosols in the model. The model was applied to the data taken from meteorological stations in Turkey. Error analysis was performed and compared with the models in the literature and satisfactory results were obtained. Abbreviations H: Daily total global solar radiation, units of MJ • m−2 • day−1; H0: Extraterrestrial solar radiation, units of MJ • m−2 • day−1; Hm: Measured daily total global solar radiation, units of MJ • m−2 • day−1; Hc: Calculated daily total global solar radiation, units of MJ • m−2 • day−1; Tmin: Daily minimum temperature, units of °C; Tmax: Daily maximum temperature, units of °C; RH: Tdew: Relative humidity, units of %rh; Dew-point temperature, units of °C


Ouring routine outgassing of scrap uranium-aluminum cermet cores, unexpected exothermic reactions released sufficient energy to melt nine cores. In the subsequent investigation, compounds in the scrap uranium were identified, the history of the material was defined, and thermal analysis studies were made. The incident was initiated by reactions at ~350°C between powdered aluminum metal and sodium uranate salt, Na2U207. These reactions released sufficient energy to initiate aluminothermic reduction of (NH4)3U02Fs, NaN03, U03, and U30B. The energy release from aluminothermic reduction reactions was sufficient to melt the cermet cores.


The morphology, life history, and the geographical distribution of Spongomorpha spiralis Sakai in Hokkaido, Japan, was studied. The thallus is characterized by its digitate tufts (bundles) of slender filaments with hooked branchlets. The diameter of the filaments is usually 20‐50 μm in the basal portion, 50‐130 (70‐110) μm in the middle portion of main axes, and 30‐150 μm in the upper portion. The diameter of the middle portion of the main axes varies from locality to locality. At Muroran, for example, the range is 70‐130 μm (average approximately 100 μm), while at other localities it is 50–100 μm (average approximately 70 μm). The diameter of filaments in the upper portion decreases toward the end of the growing season. The cells are multinucleate with four chromosomes in each nucleus of the haploid plant. The manner of cell division is identical to the process reported previously for the Spongomorpha‐Acrosiphonia complex. Sexual reproduction is isogamous with anteriorly biflagellate gametes. Plants are unisexual. The life history involves an alternation of heteromorphic generations: the gametophytic phase is a macroscopic, filamentous thallus and the sporophytic phase is a microscopic, ellipsoidal or club‐shaped cell. Optimal culture condition for growth and reproduction of both stages was 5°C and long daylength. The gametophyte developed abnormally at 15°C. The sporophyte developed normally at 15°C, but did not produce zoospores.


s of Plenary Sessions and Posters Accepted for Presentation at the 2009 Annual Meeting of the Society for Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics


...Reflecting on basic notions of 'What is [design]' in such venues opens up a new space for proposing 'This could be...'. These exhibitions feature not (or not only) familiar mass-produced design objects, but often those produced as 'one-offs' or in limited editions, perhaps with the specific intention to be exhibited. Many of the objects have thus been crafted to make explicit certain unique or speculative ideas, often with the intention of reflecting or countering mainstream or traditional design practice. Collected and carefully related to one another in an exhibition, the objects may suggest new or aggregate possibilities – in Extra Ordinary, for instance, the exhibition is carefully curated to suggest a different sort of everyday living environment. Thus, 'What is...' may be posed as a dialog between emerging and established practices, the object and the collection, the contributors to the exhibition and its audience...


Magnetic viscosity experiments have been performed in order to investigate the magnetization reversal in Sr nanoferrite particles (nanoscale SrFe12O19) and interacting Sr/Co nanoferrite particles (SrFe12O19–CoFe2O4 nanocomposites). The magnetic viscosity S = d M ( t ) / d l n ( t ), where M ( t ) is the magnetization as a function of time, has been collected. For Sr nanoferrite S shows a maximum close to the coercive field, reflecting the relation between S and the energy barrier distribution. We evidence that magnetic viscosity experiments on Sr nanoferrite and interacting Sr/Co nanoferrite particles provide reliable qualitative results for the different magnetic field sweep rate and saturating field H s a t considered. In addition, the activation volumes extracted from the magnetic viscosity experiments performed at different temperatures on Sr nanoferrite are quantitatively correlated to anisotropy changes.


A project to design an interactive program to teach accounting techniques is described. The four major goals of the project are discussed and a review of the literature on teaching machines and computer-assisted-instruction is included. The system is implemented on the CTSS time sharing system at M.I.T. and uses an ARDS graphic display. The software design of the system is described in detail. A typical session with the tutor is also described. Appendices include complete system documentation.


Diabetes has become a major concern for medical feternity being one of the most common disorders and associated with a high mortality and morbidity because of the complications associated, dyslipidemia being one of them. Need of the hour is to study the prevalence, patterns and risk factors associated with the condition of dyslipidemia in diabetes. Materials and methods: A survey study was carried out on 220 subjects visiting the O.P/I.P, Department of Kayachikitsa, Rajiv Gandhi Government Post Graduate Ayurvedic Hospital, Paprola (HP) on a pre-designed questionnaire. Observations and results: Prevalence of dyslipidemia was found to be 92.72% which was on higher side in females (96.92%) as compared to males (86.67%). Mixed diet and lack of physical exercise were also found to be one of the major risk factors. Anthropometric parameters studied in the survey were on higher side as compared to suggested cut off values. Glycemic status of the patients was found to be significantly correlated with S. Cholesterol, S.Triglycerides and VLDL. Conclusions: Present study revealed high prevalence of Dyslipidemia among Diabetic subjects. Thus, awareness should be made in healthcare providers as well as in patients of Diabetes regarding changing the lifestyle, dietary modifications and regular follow ups to offer a better management of the disease.


tional world economy, will finally be exceeded by rising rates of consumption. The only plausible response to the gathering crisis, as our author so persuasively argues, is a transition to a sustainable economy. (But please, no nonsense about ''sustainable growth''!) And the key term is ''transition,'' since any resort to the sudden, violent, or revolutionary is certain to be disastrous. Johnson is sensible enough to avoid discounting the political and psychological barriers to the necessary transformation and refrains from offering more than the sketchiest of road maps. But he does lobby for the virtues of the Family Assistance Program (FAP) that was haltingly introduced in the early 1970s as a device for lubricating the process of weaning Americans away from the rat race (pp. 182–87). He also provides fleeting glimpses of a peaceful, sustainable society, one with smaller, more compact cities, with an economy based more firmly on local and regional resources and less reliant on world trade. What is absolutely essential to Johnson's vision of a desirable, livable future is a religious reformation to supplant the Market Faith, an alternative ethos undergirding an economic and ecological realignment. Reading between the lines, it is obvious how Johnson yearns for reversion to the pristine Christianity of the first and second centuries a.d. Quoted and praised at length are the radically humane economic and behavioral precepts of the Founder—and the strikingly parallel teachings of the Buddha. There is nothing but scorn here for the un-Christian radical Christian Right and impatience with the relative complacency of mainline denominations. I remain skeptical. Despite the stridency and surging numbers of the fundamentalists and the fact that at least 60 percent of Americans claim some level of church affiliation, the truth is that ours is an intensely secularized society, only nominally religious in the conventional sense, a nation in which only a tiny minority of men and women actually live a life permeated by the godly in anything like the way life was lived a thousand years ago. There is little basis here for any reversion to a traditional mode of believing and behaving. Of course, we do have a scattering of experimental fringe groups testing the boundaries of the possible, but none of them seems about to achieve takeoff velocity. Yes, the world Johnson craves cannot come to pass readily without a major psychic alteration, an immersion in some sort of transcendent religion. What I question is whether a hopelessly fragmented Christianity (or latter-day Islam, Buddhism, or whatever existing church you prefer) can do the job, or indeed whether any faith based on supernatural principles can be effective nowadays. But there is at least the remote chance of an earthbound faith rising to the challenge. The example of the Chinese ethnic religion, one only slightly tinged with the otherworldly, is worth considering. It has succeeded for so many generations in solidifying so vast a community and helping maintain it at an enviable level of cultural sophistication while grounded in a viable ecological system. What, then, to make of this profoundly disturbing, yet inspiring opus? I find myself in the unaccustomed role of cheerleader rather than dispassionate critic, tendering nothing but praise for a perceptive diagnosis of a specieswide malady while reserving judgment as to the efficacy of the prescribed therapy. In any event, I commend it to the broadest possible readership. We have here a geographer whose vision and curiosity transcend the walls of parochial disciplines, and a work traversing great chunks of time and space in the heroic tradition of Gibbon, Humboldt, Spengler, Toynbee, Mumford, and Blaut. The language and argumentation are so lucid that everyone, from the bright high-school freshman up to the most erudite of pundits, will find much—perhaps too much— to think about.


This article proposes the high-frequency link three-phase integrated-optimized power electronic transformer (PET) for electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure in the distribution network. The structural elements and configuration of PET significantly affect its design and performance. However, the different topologies of PET available in the literature did not consider the influence of the circuit's structural elements with their parasitic components. Consequently, it violates the value of control variables which fails to accomplish essential control characteristics required for EV charging infrastructure in the smart distribution network. Therefore, in this article, detailed modeling and analysis of the proposed PET are carried out at each stage by incorporating its structural effect to analyze the circuit behavior during different operating conditions. As a result, it provides the design and operating constraints for the proposed PET, employed in the design procedure and control algorithm. Furthermore, the dual-degree control (DDC) method is proposed to utilize the structural framework and dual control variables of the proposed PET to meet out significant aspects of EV charging infrastructure in the distribution network such as wide range of voltage regulation, active control over the power flow, and soft-switching operation. Finally, a 4-kW prototype of the proposed PET is built up, which has a bidirectional power flow feature and isolated dc dual-port output terminals. Hardware testing and experimental results verify the effectiveness of the proposed PET based on the DDC method.


Recent advances in wireless sensor network and GPS have made constantly-evolving data a new type of data which bring new challenge for the data processing methods. Data broadcasting is an effective means for data dissemination in an asymmetric communication network, like wireless network. Definition of the mean uncertainty ratio of data is presented and an on-line broadcasting scheme CEDB is proposed for constantly-evolving data dissemination. Simulation results show that CEDB can reduce the uncertainty of the broadcasted constantly-evolving data effectively at the cost of minor increase in data access time, in the case of no transmission errors, presence of transmission errors, and multiple broadcast channels.


Thi8 study deals with age-relatedfunctionalchange8in the eye of quail. Measurementsof lens refractivestate and transmission,as well as pupil diameter,showedthat the quail'seye became more myopicwith increasingage, but no changecouldbe detectedin lens transmissionand pupil diameter.Threeaspectsof thepatternelectroretinogram(PERG) werestudiedaftercorrectingfor ocular refraction:(i) spatialcharacteristics(visualacuity and contrastsensitivity);(ii) maximal amplitude;and (iii) peak latency. The PERG results suggestedthat the visuaJacuity was ageindependentfor both sexes.However,the contrastsensitivityof the old quail (16-20 months)was muchlower(1.5-3 times)thanthat of the young(3-6 months)at low to intermediate(<2 c/d),but not at highspatialfrequencies.The peaklatencyof the PERGresponsewas3-4 mseclongerin the old birdscomparedwith the young,whilethe maximalamplitudeof the PERGresponsewas ageindependent.These results clearly suggestedthat at least some of the age-inducedchangesare locatedin the neuralretina. @ 1997ElsevierScienceLtd.All rightsreserved


In this paper, the single machine scheduling problem for a common due date with arbitrary earliness/tardiness penalties is discussed. The objective is to determine the common due date and processing sequence of new jobs together with the re-sequencing of old jobs to minimize the sum of total earliness/tardiness (E/T), completion time, and due date (dd) related penalties. We propose a new approach Tabu-Geno-Simulated Annealing (TGSA) by hybridization of three well-known metaheuristics, which have proven to be effective for this non deterministic polynomial time (NP) hard scheduling problem, namely, genetic algorithms (GA), tabu search, and simulated annealing (SA). Computational results have shown the effectiveness of the proposed approach in comparison with the ad-hoc heuristics on various single-machine scheduling problems. The assessment of the proposed hybridization indicates the efficiency in both the result and the time versus the other methods.


The morphology of cells and expression status of specific surface markers [cluster of differentiation (CD)], such as CD5, CD19, CD20, CD38, and CD45, have long been considered as the essential indicators for the diagnosis and prognosis of B‐cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B‐CLL). Clinically, it is difficult to simultaneously obtain cell morphology and distribution of surface markers with flow cytometry, especially for some surrogate markers such as CD38. Here, as an alternative and complementary prognostic method, fluorescence microscopy and image processing method are introduced to directly visualize the cells from patients and to quantitatively determine the expression status of surface markers. In this study, the morphological parameters of B‐CLL cells were measured to establish the correlation between the cellular morphology and the surface marker expression. It was clear that the CD38+ and CD38− B‐CLL cells from the same CD38+ patients had hardly any size differences; however, an increase in perimeter was observed for CD38− patients. Moreover, the expression level of the receptors on the cell was independent of the cell size. There was no evidence showing that the expression intensities of CD19 and CD38 were related to each other for the CD38+ B‐CLL cells. On the same cells, CD5 was more selectively expressed on the cell membrane; however, the expression patterns suggested that the cell membrane of CD38− B‐CLL cells contained the least expression level of CD19. Microsc. Res. Tech. 76:1147–1153, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


To evaluate the application of reverse staining in proteomic research,the same protein samples were run by two-dimensional electrophoresis,then the gels were dyed by reverse staining and coomassie Brilliant Blue(CBB) staining.The reverse staining and CBB staining gels were compared,eight pairs corresponding protein spots from the two different gels were cut out,digested by trypsin and analyzed by MALDI-TOF/TOF.Image analysis showed that the reverse staining gel could display more protein spots than the CBB staining one.Seven of eight protein spots on reverse staining gel were effectively identified by MALDI-TOF/TOF,and eight protein spots on CBB staining gel.So,we consider that the sensitivity of reverse staining is higher than the CBB staining,and its compatibility with MALDI-TOF/TOF is good.Therefore,the reverse staining method can be used to set up the reference map of 2-DE,but not suitable to use on the comparative of proteins.


This paper deals with an experiment with the material of AISI 309 with thickness of 15 mm, to carry out the research into material vibration phenomena as the tool of the online controlling of surface texture created by abrasive waterjet. Vibrations of the material were collected by accelerometers of PCB IMI 607 A11. The generated topography on material was measured with optical profilometer MicroProf FRT and the data were confronted with the resultant vibration parameters. A new parameter VRa [g] is proposed to detect the surface texture by vibration. New equations for detecting the surface quality were derived.


In a recent paper in this journal, Dow (1999) offers a number of general arguments concerning the relations between philosophy, methodology, and economic (especially Post Keynesian) theory. Dow's arguments on the importance of method and philosophy are poignant and telling, given that these subject areas are still considered peripheral by many (Lawson, 1997, pp. 11-14). Her assessment of the history of the relations between methodology, Post Keynesianism, and the mainstream is enlightening. Furthermore, Dow's argument for a closer examination of the links between various levels of analysis-such as ontology and epistemologyis persuasive.' In addition to these arguments, Dow puts forward two important theses regarding critical realism. First, Dow argues that critical realism "provides a very definite answer as to the basis for identifying distinctive schools of thought within a wider critical realist approach to economics: ontology" (p. 25). According to Dow, this focus on ontology is "what critical realism specifically can contribute" to the discussion of schools ofthought (p. 25). Second, Dow argues that critical realism can be aligned with Hume's philosophy (p. 28). These two theses are contested below. In opposition to Dow's first thesis, it is argued below that the critical realist contribution to a discussion of nonmainstream schools of thought is neither "very definite" nor distinctive. According to this argument, it is, in fact, questionable whether critical realism would suggest a focus on ontology, for debates of this nature, at all. A corollary is that Dow's conception of the relationship between ontology and economic theory is onesided. Against Dow's second thesis, it is argued that Hume and critical


The invention relates to a method for operating a hybrid drive of a vehicle, especially a motor vehicle, the total torque of the engine adjusted by using at least one engine and at least one first electrical machine as a driving machine of a first drive train of the vehicle and an associated first transmission in a shifting of the transmission is to reduce the load on the gear and / or change speeds corresponding to the new gear ratio and / or the torque gradient of the engine is limited in a transition between push-pull operation to a predeterminable, maximum torque gradient of the resultant total moment of the driving motors of the first drive train , It is contemplated that the addition resulting in adjusting and / or at the boundary by an enhanced regenerative operation of the first electric machine electrical energy from at least one other, second electrical machine for driving at least one further drive train for driving the vehicle is used, or the when adjusting and / or in limiting for reinforced motor operation of the first electric machine additionally required energy is additionally generated by the second electric machine or less consumed. The invention further relates to a control unit for performing the method.


Allow me to express my appreciation to the University of the Netherlands Antilles, which in collaboration with the "Nationaal Comite" and the "Oranje Comite" organized this series of seminars culminating in a conference whose central theme is "The Comprehensive Development of the Islands of the Netherlands Antilles." In particular, the social dimension of the seminars' sub-themes and the link with the universal reference point for poverty reduction, the Millennium Development Goals (MDG)[1] of the United Nations is a welcome addition toward better understanding of the financial-economic challenges of our country.


Resonant switched capacitor converter (RSCC) has the advantage of zero-current switching, however, the regulation of output voltage is poor. A new PWM control method for RSCC is presented in this paper. In the proposed method, the discharging time is fixed and the charging time is variable, good output voltage regulation for large changes in input voltage and/or load values can be obtained by adjusting the ratio of charging time. Almost all switching devices keep zero-current switching. The proposed PWM scheme has the advantages of low switching current and low EMI. A step-down RSCC is used as an example in this paper. The circuit operation principle and steady-state characteristics are described in detail. A 12V/5V/2A prototype based on the proposed method has been implemented, theoretical prediction of its regulation is verified experimentally.


Acknowledgements Acknowledgements We would like to thank the members of the Evaluation Core Group of DAC members for their cooperation in the preparation of this report and their constructive comments. We would also like to thank Alison Evans and Irene Guijt for their helpful comments and Roo Griffiths for her excellent editorial assistance. Full responsibility for the text of this report rests with the authors. In common with all evaluation reports commissioned by DFID's Evaluation Department, the views contained in this report do not necessarily represent those of DFID or of the people consulted.


............................................................................................................................ 20 Chapter One ...................................................................................................................... 22 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 22 1.1 Solar cells as renewable energy sources ............................................................... 23 1.1.1 Solar cells as energy source .............................................................................. 23 1.1.2 Photovoltaic panel configuration ..................................................................... 24 1.1.3 Solar cell operation (Efficiency and fill factor) ................................................. 25 1.2.2 Thin film solar cells ........................................................................................... 30 1.3.1 CIGS ................................................................................................................... 30 1.3.2 CIGS device structure ....................................................................................... 31 1.3.3 Availability ........................................................................................................ 34 1.3.4 CIGS Defect States .......................................................................................... 35 1.4 Production Methods ............................................................................................... 35 1.5.1 CIGS electrodeposition literature Review .......................................................... 36 1.6 CIGS device fabrication ........................................................................................... 44


Objective:There are different results on low grade inflammation and metabolic syndrome in patients with OSA. We investigated the relation between low grade inflammation and metabolic syndrome in patients with OSA. Method:The study included 78treatment-naive OSA patients and 28 control group. Clinical information, BMI, SF-36, Epworth Sleepiness Scale, and serum CRP were collected. Overnight polysomnography and blood sampling was taken for glucose, insulin, cholesterol, triglycerides. Metabolic syndrome was defined according to NCEP criteria. Each patient was assigned a metabolic score according to the number of discrete components of metabolic syndrome. Results: The components number and percentage of the metabolic syndrome and CRP levels were significantly higher in the patients with OSA than control group . The component number of metabolic syndrome was correlated with theCRP, AHI and desaturation index. The component number of metabolic syndrome increased with an increase in AHI and desaturation index in multivariate analysis independently obesity. Conclusion: OSA is associated with metabolic syndrome and low grade inflammation. The severity of the metabolic syndrome increased with an increase in OSA severity. Therapeutic approaches to OSA may decrease cardiovascular risk by decreasing frequency of metabolic syndrome in patients with OSA.


Using bracteata chestnut shell as cultivating material, the experiment was conducted by using of clinker and bag cultivation pattern. By ways of comparative analysis, the biological efficiency and economic benefits of cultivating Pleurotus ostreatus and Pleurotus cunucopiae were exploited. The result showed that the mycelia of Pleurotus ostreatus and Pleurotus cunucopiae grew well, and the biological efficiency of Pleurotus ostreatus was higher than that of Pleurotus cunucopiae, but the economic benefits of the latter was obviously higher than that of the former.


Maogang ZHANG, Naoki MISHIMA and Shigemitsu HATANAKA In this study, a series of experiments on drying shrinkage of porous concrete was carried out to examine the influence of various factors, i.e. void ratio, rock type and size of aggregates, compaction strength level, etc. It was found that the influence of designed void ratio and rock type of the aggregate on the final amount of drying shrinkage of the porous concrete was significant, while the effect of compaction strength level was insignificant. Based on the experimental results, a geometrical model of the porous concrete was proposed to represent the drying shrinkage characteristics. It seems possible to predict the influence of the various factors on the drying


Aim\ Aiming at the important role of information in enterprise, we introduced decision support systems (DSS) based on supply chain management (SCM). Methods\ Based on the principle of SCM and used data warehouse, on line analytical processing and data mining , we have made a way to establish DSS. Results and Conclusion\ It will be universally and practically available in enterprise management.


Although the subject of an appeal to the Court of Appeal, the decision in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region v Du Jun is nonetheless noteworthy for two key reasons. First, the judgment of the District Court may be viewed as a harbinger of insider dealing enforcement to come in Hong Kong in the wake of perceived abuses and scandals of the global credit crisis of 2008. Secondly, it may be heralded as proof of the unequivocal intent of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission to deter market manipulation through strict enforcement of its securities laws.However, the Du Jun case also emphasises certain weaknesses in the regulation and enforcement of insider dealing in Hong Kong. In particular, it highlights the questionable effectiveness of deterrence attempts that punish individuals while leaving their employers untouched. In the opinion of the authors, this omission raises important policy issues which, if left unrectified, might lead to the perception that there are, in practice, two sets of securities laws in Hong Kong.


In previous work a RANS based simulation technique for the simulation of broadband slat noise was established. Good agreement was found between predicted and measured slat noise spectra. These predictions were based on 2D CAA computations and a connection to 3D measured
data is only possible assuming a certain functional behavior of the spanwise coherence of the essential slat noise source. For this purpose, results from trailing edge noise measurements were used. In this work the simulation strategy is extended to 3D CAA computations, resolving the spanwise slat noise coherence as part of the CAA computations. The considered wing span is one main-chord, which is large enough to establish a realistic 3D problem for the turbulence as well as for the sound radiation. The Fast Random Particle Mesh (FRPM) method is applied for this study to generate fluctuating sound sources from steady RANS turbulence statistics. The study is conducted for the 30P30N airfoil with 0.457m main chord.
The Mach number is 0.17 and the angle of attack is 4∘. Good agreement is found between the previous 2D and the 3D results as well as with unsteady simulations published in the literature. The influence of sweep on slat noise generation is studied.


This paper discusses robot coalition formation in the large-scale multi-robots system including loosely and tightly-coupled tasks. A task allocation mechanism based on Ant Colony Algorithm is proposed. This method adopts hierarchical architecture. In the high level, we employ Ant Colony Algorithm to find optimal allocations. Namely, each ant forms a task allocation so as to choose an undertaker for every task. In the low level, each ant forms a task-oriented robot coalition to perform a tightly-coupled task. Simulation results show that the task allocation mechanism is feasible and valid.


Marine ecosystems and their associated populations are increasingly at risk from the cumulative impacts of many anthropogenic threats that increase the likelihood of species extinc- tion and altered community dynamics. In response, marine reserves can be used to protect exploited species and conserve biodiversity. The increased abundance of predatory species in marine reserves may cause indirect effects along chains of multi-trophic interactions. These trophic cascades can arise through direct predation, density-mediated indirect interactions (DMIIs), or indirect behavioural effects, termed trait-mediated indirect interactions (TMIIs). The extent of algal cover and the abundance of 4 primary consumers were determined in Lough Hyne, which was designated Europe's first marine nature reserve in 1981. The primary consumers were the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus, the topshell Gibbula cineraria, the oyster Anomia ephippium, and the scallop Chlamys varia. The abundances of 3 starfish species (Marthasterias glacialis, Aste- rias rubens, and Asterina gibbosa) were also determined, as were 2 potential crustacean preda- tors, Necora puber and Carcinus maenas. These data were compared with historical data from a 1962 (prey) and a 1963 (predator) survey to determine the nature of community interactions over adjacent trophic levels. The present study reveals a breakdown in population structure of the 4 surveyed prey species. Marine reserve designation has led to an increase in predatory crabs and M. glacialis, a subsequent decrease in primary consumers, especially the herbivore P. lividus, and an increase in macroalgal cover which is indicative of a trophic cascade. The study shows that establishing a Marine Reserve does not guarantee that conservation benefits will be distributed equally.


Silicon-On-Insulator (SOI) technology is a potential technology for future VLSI system implementations. SOI technology offers MOS devices with suppressed CMOS latch-up, higher packing density and higher speed. SOI MOSFET structures offer many advantages over conventional Bulk MOS transistor. In this paper, ground plane effect on FD SOI MOSFET has been discussed. There are two ways to insert the ground plane in FD SOI MOSFET structure, ground plane in substrate and ground plane in BOX. On the basis of ION/IOFF both structures are compared in this paper. GPB structure has high on current and off current ratio in comparison to GPS Structure. Further partial and continuous length ground plane are discussed and its effect on current driving capability and leakage current are studied. In last with the help of Subthreshold curve concluded that the leakage current is minimum in the GPB based structures. The work is carried out at 25 nm technology. The design & Simulations are done using ATLAS framework of SILVACO TCAD tool.


With the continuous growth of energy consumption, the rationalization of energy has become a priority. The photovoltaic energy sector remains a major occupation for researchers in the field of production optimization or storage methods. The concept developed in this work is a mixed optimization approach for energy management during battery charging with a duty cycle. A selective collaborative algorithm intervenes to choose and use the appropriate results of the few techniques to optimize the charging time of a battery and estimate its state of charge by using the minimum possible tools. This is done using a collective database that is accessible in real time. It also effectively allows the synchronization of information between several customers. This approach is performed on a mobile application on android, through a Google Firebase platform that allows us to secure collaborative access between multiple customers and use the results of the calculations of some algorithms. It gives us the values obtained by the various sensors in real time to accelerate the charging speed of the battery. The validation of this approach led us to practice a few scenarios using an Arduino board to show that this approach has a better performance.


A millimeter-wave transition from a waveguide to two microstrip lines and the design methodology are proposed. A rectangular patch element in a short-terminated waveguide is analyzed by the cavity model of a patch antenna and the dyadic Green's function of the waveguide. The analysis points out that the rectangular patch element has an optimum width for wideband, which only has the function of the broad wall width of the waveguide. The transition also works as a divider. A numerical investigation of a transition having two microstrip lines validates the analytical model in terms of wideband, and indicates that the distance between the two microstrip lines has an optimum length for suppressing higher order modes. A prototype transition exhibits an insertion loss of 0.5 dB from 76 to 77 GHz, and a bandwidth of 6.9% (5.29 GHz) for the reflection coefficient below -15 dB for the waveguide port


This study was conducted to test the resistance for acetolactate synthase (ALS) inhibiting herbicides and to select effective herbicides to Sagittaria pigmaea Miq. collected in paddy fields of Korea. A biotype of Sagittaria pigmaea Miq. from Seocheon showed strong resistance of 189 and 88 fold compared to Milyang biotype, based on values determined in shoot fresh growth for two sulfonylurea herbicides such as bensulfuron and pyrazosulfuron-ethyl. However, it showed low resistance of 4 fold for triazolopyrimidine sulfonamide herbicide such as penoxsulam. A biotype of Sagittaria pigmaea Miq. from Seocheon was survived at the recommended dosage of the other sulfonylurea herbicides such as azimsulfuron, imazosulfuron, cinosulfuron, ethoxysulfuron, halosulfuronmethyl, cyclosulfamuron and flucetosulfuron. The herbicides contained carfentrazone-ethyl such as carfentrazone-ethyl+clomazone, carfentrazone-ethyl+butachlor, carfentrazone-ethyl+thiobencarb, carfentrazone-ethyl+pyrazosulfuron-ethyl+pyriminobac-methyl and pyrazolate+butachlor applied at 9 days after puddling (0-1 leaf stage) had excellent weeding effects for the two biotype of Sagittaria pigmaea Miq.


Abstract : Currently, there are a number of models capable of predicting hydrodynamic and bathymetric evolution across the nearshore profile. These models encompass horizontally 1-dimensional and 2-dimensional evolution. Also, there are a number of hydrodynamic and bathymetric data sets, which span time periods of days E.G., Birkemeier and Thornton, 1994 to decades E.G., Wijnberg, 1995. Yet, the skill of existing nearshore process models at predicting observed nearshore bathymetric change over a range of time-scales has not been well described.


Orientation: Research on reward preferences remains inconclusive. Total reward theories often do not take the role of intrinsic psychological rewards into consideration. Further to this, there are not only limited instruments available to measure reward preferences but also ease of access to psychometrically sound measures is further challenging.Research purpose: The aim of this study was to develop and validate an instrument to measure reward preferences in the working environment.Motivation for the study: Organisations require tools to enhance waning motivational levels in the workplace. The measurement of reward preferences appears essential to determine what employees ultimately want from their work to improve levels of motivation. Major limitations exist regarding current reward preference instruments.Research approach/design and method: Quantitative scale development procedures were employed to construct the 32-item instrument. Data were collected from South African employees (N = 639) and processed using both Factor and Rasch analysis procedures.Main findings: The factor analysis revealed a 3-factor structure (Non-financial rewards, Financial rewards and Benefits and growth opportunities). Items evidenced good factor loadings and dimensions demonstrated high internal consistency. The dimensions and overall scale performed mostly well in accordance with Rasch Model expectations. Based on the overall results, one can confirm that the new instrument has satisfactory psychometric properties.Practical/managerial implications: The instrument can help employers and scholars to measure, understand and explore what employees value and seek from the working environment.Contribution/value-addition: The study expands on limited pre-existing theory and empirical research pertaining to the measurement of rewards preferences. A unique and psychometrically sound reward preference instrument is provided for use by scholars and employers.


This paper examines storytelling as a technology of teaching foreign languages with the help of fascinating stories in the inclusive environment. The relevance of developing inclusive education, i.e. integrating students with different individual characteristics (in particular, disabilities) into the learning process, is highlighted. In this regard, the concept of cognitive learning styles and Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences are characterized as not quite suitable for the role of a general foundation of language teaching methodology in an inclusive classroom. Krashen's Monitor Model, in its turn, is adopted as the theoretical basis of the modern approach to second language acquisition, emphasizing the importance of comprehensible input (received speech material) and emotional filter (psychological barrier) as key factors in the development of speech competence. In light of this, the advantages of a multisensory approach to language learning, and, in particular, the inclusive potential of using multisensory stories and creating students' own stories with the support of a teacher (storybuilding), are clarified. Storytelling, thus, is considered by the authors of the article as a universal method for developing both receptive and productive speech skills in a foreign language for all kinds of students, including children with disabilities. The paper contains methodological recommendations regarding the implementation of storytelling technology in an inclusive classroom, including the conditions for effective assimilation of educational material by students with special educational needs. The principles of scaffolding (teacher support), mutual cooperation, clarity of instructions, sequence of material presentation, individualized information delivery forms, emotional involvement and integration are also explained. Based on the research literature on psychology, inclusive pedagogy and language education (Vygotsky, Rubinstein, Asher, Krashen), as well as some case studies featuring diverse students with varying disabilities, the authors argue for the need to gradually shift from skill-building to implicit teaching (and learning).


For investigating self-diagnosis applicability, a method based on monitoring the changes in the electrical resistance of hybrid FRP (having electrical property) reinforced concrete has been tested. Then after examining change in the value of electrical resistance of carbon fiber in CFRP (non-hybrid type) and CFAFRP (hybrid type) before and after the occurrence of cracks and fracture in non-hybrid and hybrid FRP reinforced concrete at each flexural weight-stage, the correlations of each factors (the changes in electrical resistance and load as a function of strain, deflection and e.t.c) were analyzed. As the results, it is clarified that when the carbon fiber tows fracture, the electrical resistance of it increase largely, and afterwards hybrid FRP composites can be resist the load due to the presence of the reinforced fiber, for example, glass fiber or aramid fiber tows. Therefore, it can be recognized that hybrid FRP (including carbon fiber) reinforcing rods could be applied for sensing and selfdiagnosing of fracture in reinforced FRP concrete.


Outlets is a kind of marketing retail mode from American.In North America,Europe,Japan and other developed economic regions and countries,Outlets has become a booming business trend of globalization.The experts think that stores and factory stores is still in the initial stage as a new business model development in China,and its prospect is considerable.This paper analyses Outlets formats,summarizes the development limitations of Outlets pattern in our country,and put forward the corresponding suggestions,as the research background of Outlets development status in China.


The is a novel alternative, providing in with and improved This study to compare by evaluat-ing patient related outcome measures (PROMs) and cost implications of both.


Summary. The effect of oral (100 mg/kg) and intraperitoneal (10 mg/kg) administration of (+)-INPEA on contractions of the isolated rat uterus evoked by PGE1, PGE2 and PGF2\g=a\ has been investigated. Administration of (+)-INPEA by both routes increased the sensitivity of the uterus to each of the prostaglandins studied. Since (+)-INPEA appears to be non-toxic, its potentiating action may enable clinicians to use smaller doses of prostaglandins for therapeutic abortion or for the induction of labour. The effect of optical isomers of INPEA (jV-isopropyl-/>-nitro-phenyl-ethanolamine hydrochloride) on the contractions of the isolated rat uterus evoked by oxytocin (Saini & Sharma, 1971) or by prostaglandins (Rao & Sharma, 1972) has been reported. Laevo ( —)-INPEA exhibited a weak antioxytocin activity but had no effect on the responses evoked by prostaglandins. By contrast, ( + )-INPEA potentiated the action of oxytocin and prostaglandins when added to the bath fluid at a concentration of 1 IO-5 g/ml. This study was undertaken to determine whether or not oral and intraperitoneal administration of ( + )INPEA in the rat would also potentiate the contractions of the uterus evoked by PGE15 PGE2 and PGF2<t. Eighty-four female albino rats of the Charles-Foster strain weighing 150 to 200 g were used in the study. Oestrus was induced by a subcutaneous injection of 200 µg oestradiol dipropionate 15 hr before starting the experiment. Three sets of experiments involving the three prostaglandins, PGE1; PGE2 and PFG2a, were performed, using seven animals in each group for each mode of administra¬ tion. The first group of animals served as controls, the second group received orally 100 mg ( + )-INPEA/kg in 10 ml distilled water and the third group received intraperitoneally 10 mg ( + )-INPEA/kg in 5 ml normal saline (0-9% w/v), 1 hr before starting the experiment.


Drawing from Pierre Bourdieu's conceptual "toolbox", this article focuses on intercultural capital as an increasingly significant type of cultural capital and marker of sociocultural distinction. It first introduces different forms of intercultural capital, with a particular interest in the potential benefits of its embodiment. Subsequently, the critical question as to why some people can be considered as better positioned to realize intercultural capital than others is being addressed. The remainder of the discussion looks at possible operational "measures" for the concept of intercultural capital and how these may be applied to examine the conditions and potential impact of its realization.


Background: Sepsis is a complex condition defined by the systemic response to infection. Severity assessment scoring systems are used to aid the physician in deciding whether aggressive treatment is needed or not. In this study, two severity assessment scoring systems, namely Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) and CURB65 were compared to assess their sensitivity and specificity. Aim of Study: To compare the efficacy between CURB65 and APACHE II in assessment of the severity of sepsis and predicting mortality in critically ill geriatric patients. Patients and Methods: This prospective comparative study was conducted on patients admitted at Critical Care department of Ain Shams University Hospitals, Cairo, Egypt, for 3 months duration. Patients admitted to the general ICU of Ain Shams University Hospitals with sepsis or septic shock of both sexes Results: The simplicity of calculation of CURB65 demonstrated superiority over other complex severity scores utilized in crowded emergency rooms. Furthermore, the CRB65 score, which does not require a blood urea level, is more suitable for use in gross-roots hospitals. In the current study, CURB-65 score was statistically significantly higher in the non-survivors as compared with the survivors (1.79 ± 1.26 and 0.65±0.43 respectively) (p<0.001). Moreover, in our study, the cutoff point of Curb-65 score to differentiate between non-survivors from survivors was >2 with 59% sensitivity and 92.3% specificity. Unfortunately, no much data is available to describe the prognostic ability of CURB65 in patients with sepsis, as the score was originally developed to assess the prognosis in pneumonia patients. Conclusion: Sepsis is a life threating condition and is one of the leading causes of death. Mortality was reported in 55.7% of patients by the end of the study period. APACHE II was predicting mortality with 84.6% sensitivity and 64.5% specificity, 78.8% PPV & 86.4% NPV and 82.2% accuracy. The length of hospital stay was significantly longer in nonsurvivor group. CURB-65 was statically significantly higher in the non-survivors as compared with the survivors with 59% sensitivity and 92.3% specificity but no much data available to describe prognostic ability of CURB-65 in-patient with sepsis as in pneumonia patients. Correspondence to: Dr. Sherif Y. Ibrahim, E-Mail: firstname.lastname@example.com


Helicobacter pylori‑initiated chronic gastritis is characterized by the cytotoxin‑associated gene (Cag) pathogenicity island‑dependent upregulation of pro‑inflammatory cytokines in gastric epithelial cells, which is largely mediated by the activation of nuclear factor (NF)‑κB as a transcription factor. However, the precise regulation of NF‑κB activation, particularly post‑translational modifications in the CagA‑induced inflammatory response, has remained elusive. The present study showed that Helicobacter pylori CagA, an important virulence factor, induced the expression of P300/CBP‑associated factor (PCAF) in gastric epithelial cells. Further study revealed that PCAF was able to physically associate with the NF‑κB p65 sub‑unit and enhance its acetylation. More importantly, PCAF‑induced p65 acetylation was shown to contribute to p65 phosphorylation and further upregulation of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)‑α and interleukin (IL)‑6 in gastric adenocarcinoma cells. In conclusion, the results of the present study indicated that Helicobacter pylori CagA enhanced TNF‑α and IL‑6 in gastric adenocarcinoma cells through PCAF‑mediated NF‑κB p65 sub‑unit acetylation.


Bilingual teaching can help students learn their professional course as well as improve their English level.It is the important and difficult point of teaching reform in Chinese colleges and universities.The significance of implementation of bilingual teaching in the course Vehicle and Traffic Engineering has been discussed.Based on the analyses of the existing problem of bilingual teaching,it suggests that the bilingual material should take inner English materials combined with the related translated professional books in order to keep the essence of English material and grasp the teaching emphasis of Chinese text.When arranging teaching modes,3 teaching modes including bilingual teaching,Chinese teaching,and English-only teaching will be used alternately according to the English level and comprehension of students and teaching contents.For the teaching methods,the traditional methods and multimedia technology should be combined according to teaching practice and the students' cognitive ability and thinking characteristics.


This study aims to identify Partnership Program to provide assistance to the SME community in Jambi province; to analyze the perceptions, motivations and barriers in participating in the partnership program; to analyze the influence of partnership on the welfare program participation of SMEs in Jambi province; and to analyze the level of well-being before and after the Partnership Program.
This research used descriptive and quantitative approach using primary data collected through surveys. The respondence is determined by random sampling technique, namely to SMEs assisted partner PT. AP II Airport St. Taha Jambi. The sampling technique classified probability sampling using the formula Slovin (e = 5%) obtained 156 respondents. The data collection was done by interview through a questionnaire. Data analysis was performed using analysis across.
The results of this study can be concluded that the partnership program to provide assistance to the SME community in the province of Jambi were successfully conducted in accordance with the mandate of the regulation of the Minister of State Enterprises, perceptions and motivations significant effect on the partnership program, while barriers no significant effect on the partnership program, participation program partnership a significant effect on the welfare of SMEs in the province of Jambi and changes in the level of welfare significant effect on the SME Partnership Programme.


To the principles of least action and minimum error, for determining the time evolution of the parameters in a variational wave function, we add a third: continuous collapse dynamics. In this formulation, exact time evolution is applied for an infinitesimal time and is followed by projection of the state back into the variational manifold (``collapse''). All three principles lead to the same equations of motion when applied to complex parameters but take two distinct forms when the parameters are real. As an application of these principles, we study the time evolution of two variational wave functions for superfluids. The first wave function, containing real parameters, was considered by Kerman and Koonin [Ann. Phys. (N.Y.) 100, 332 (1976)] and leads to the Euler equation in the hydrodynamic limit. The equation for our second wave function, a coherent state of Feynman excitations with complex parameters, has essentially the same hydrodynamic limit. The latter wave function, however, has a significant advantage in that the equation it generates is useful and meaningful on a microscopic scale as well.


The paper deals with the problems of developing tracing software for hard real-time systems. Currently, almost every real-time operating system (RV OS) has event tracking software. The goal of this software is to search for «ordinary» software errors (which traditional debuggers cannot handle) and real-time errors. In this case, it is necessary to analyze not only the sequence of events, but also the «memory leak», the dynamics of the processor states and control flows (profiling), the states of semaphores, mutexes, and other synchronization tools, as well as the queue of control flows waiting to release the resources they need. The methodology for designing programs for viewing and analyzing event logs (traces) generated by RTOS-based software systems is regarded. Specifics of visualizing RTOS events and time diagrams of states of objects in Godunov A.N., Chemerev F.N. Tracing Tools for «Baget» Family RTOS. Trudy ISP RAN/Proc. ISP RAS, vol. 31, issue 4, 2019, pp. 7-28 8 the analyzed systems, represented by data sets containing a large number of records are discussed. A formal specification is proposed to the tracing data models, the methods for their visualization and for filter management of trace records and object states. The effectiveness of these models and methods is confirmed by the operating experience of the Tool for Viewing and Analyzing the Event Logs for RTOS for «Baget» family developed with the toolkit GTK+ for creating graphical user interfaces.


INITIAL observations on a prison-based project aimed at rehabilitating young offenders are 'overwhelmingly positive', according to the Scottish Prison Service. The 'Paws for Progress' programme is based at HM Young Offender Institute (HMYOI) Polmont and is a collaboration between the Scottish Prison Service, Dogs Trust and Rebecca Leonardi, a postgraduate student at the University of Stirling. The programme aims to help young offenders to address their behaviour and develop employment skills in preparation for their release. It was inspired by a similar programme, Project Pooch, in the USA, and, at a seminar organised by the Society for Companion Animal Studies last year, Ms Leonardi discussed what she hoped to achieve with Paws for Progress (VR, July 30, 2011, vol 169, pp 115-117). The programme is now underway, and runs in eight-week cycles. A small group of prisoners takes part in three training sessions each week, two of which involve rescue dogs from the Dogs Trust's West Calder rehoming centre. Participants are paired with a dog, and are responsible for its development and accountable for its behaviour. As well as working with the dogs, they also learn teamworking and social skills, and some become volunteer assistants and peer mentors for the programme. It is hoped that, by completing the programme, offenders will enhance their employability, develop social skills and gain the confidence to be positive about their future prospects. They can also gain a Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) certificate which, for many, is often their first qualification. The offenders complete two portfolios during the project – one covers their dog's development, the other their own development. The canine portfolios are used by Dogs Trust and shared with potential owners, to help them make an informed decision about whether the dog is Benefits for both parties . . . the Paws for Progress project aims to help young offenders address their behaviour and develop employment skills, while the training they provide for the dogs in their care may increase the chance of the animal being rehomed suitable for them. The charity believes that the training the dogs receive could increase their chances of being rehomed. Susan Tonner, manager of Dogs Trust West Calder, explained: 'We're very excited to be part of this groundbreaking project. The dogs taking part benefit from extra training and socialisation which, in many cases, increases their appeal to potential owners. It's great to tell prisoners that their hard work with a specific dog has helped us to find a new loving home. We're looking forward to lots more success stories.' While it will be some time before the impact of the programme can be fully evaluated, initial observations have been positive. 'This has been a mutually beneficial project for all involved,' said Kate Donegan, governor at HMYOI Polmont. 'The young men at Polmont have enhanced their employability and literacy skills and, as a result of their involvement in Paws for Progress, have even been awarded an SQA certificate. I look forward to reading Ms Leonardi's findings in the future and seeing how this research can be utilised to improve the efficiencies of the prison estate.' doi: 10.1136/vr.e1120


The structure, magnetic properties and magnetostriction of PrxTb1-x(Fe0.6Co0.4)1.9 alloys were investigated. It was found that PrxTb1-x(Fe0.6Co0.4)1.9 alloys with x<0.4 were composed of single cubic Laves phase, while a mass of PuNi3-type phase appeared when the Pr concentration was higher than 0.4. The magnetization measurement showed that there were two different magnetic phases in Pr0.2Tb0.8(Fe0.6Co0.4)1.9 alloys. The saturation magnetostriction of Pr0.2Tb0.8(Fe0.6Co0.4)1.9 alloys at 900 kA·m-1 is 1765×10-6, which was higher than that of Tb0.27Dy0.73Fe2(1600×10-6). The spontaneous magnetostriction λ111 showed a maximum value at x=0.3.


The present article mainly focused on the ethnomedicinal plants used by the community living in and around Dhaka to manage the diabetes. Ethnomedicinal data were collected using semi-structured interviews with key informants during June 2017 to July 2018 followed by field interviews, plant interviews, checklist interviews and group discussion techniques. A total of 92 ethnomedicinal plant species under 46 families have been documented. These species were used to treat 55 ailments through 200 formularies. Herbs are the most common medicinal plants in the study area followed by trees, shrubs and climbers. Leaf is mostly used for the preparation of herbal medicine. Among the total 92 ethnomedicinal plants, 11 species have been used for diabetes management by the community people. Disease category diabetes showed maximum factor informant consensus value. Most cited ethnomedicinal plant species for the diabetes management are Gynura nepalensis DC., Coccinia grandis L. Voigt, Aloe vera (L.) Burm. f., Syzygium cumini (L.) Skeels, Swietenia mahagoni (L.) Jacq., Momordica dioica Roxb. ex. Willd., Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don, Streblus asper Lour., Bryophyllum pinnatum (Lamk.) Oken, Tamarindus indica L. and Scoparia dulcis L. The results in the present study for diabetes management were very preliminary and based on which sound conclusion was not possible. Further ethnopharmacological study is very essential on such species to validate their efficacy in the management of diabetes. Our findings also provide baseline data to establish a connection between the traditional users of medicinal plants and scientific communities, which can be substantial in novel drug discovery. Furthermore, ethnomedicinal data is of significant value for conservation managers and policy makers for sustainable management of ethnomedicinal plant species, which are under threat due to rapid urbanization. Introduction Diabetes is an increasingly serious health disorder to the mankind. It is related to other life killing diseases. The management of diabetes is a global problem until now and successful treatment is not yet discovered. Searching for new antidiabetic drugs from natural plants is still attractive because they contain substances which take alternative and safe effect on diabetes. Dhaka is the dwelling place for more than 20 million people. Due to inappropriate lifestyle, maximum people here in Bangladesh have been suffering from diabetes (Akter et al. 2014). All diabetic patients have not got access to modern medicines because of high cost and less availability. Poor sections of diabetic patients are bound to look for medicinal plants as an alternative source of medicine. They even get medicinal plants from vendors selling in the footpaths of Dhaka city. Unfortunately, knowledge on medicinal plants in and around Dhaka city is hard to be found in written form. However, some knowledge has been transferred orally from Corresponding author: firstname.lastname@example.com


Programmes on public administration and/or public management are continuously challenged to evaluate their programme content and didactical approaches. Much time and effort is invested in the adjustment of these programmes and courses to the needs of students. Equally important, however, is tuning in with external demands and in particular the public sector as current or future employer of the graduates. An important objective of programmes on public administration is the development of knowledge and skills that graduates can use in their working life. Therefore, the impact on the daily work in public organizations should be taken into account in the evaluation of the programme. In this paper, we investigate the level of transfer of the training to daily work. This paper discusses part of an evaluation study of the Master of Science in public management and policy of the K.U.Leuven, Belgium. A survey was conducted with four cohorts of graduates, who all followed a similar programme since the time the new Bachelor‐Master structure was fully put into place in the academic year 2007‐ 2008. Instead of investigating the level of transfer on a general level – programme‐wide – it was decided to analyze transfer at the course level: thus providing a complete overview of contents. We thereby focused on knowledge and skills and not on attitudes. Including the latter would have required a more complicated design, which fell outside the scope of our evaluation. The respondents were asked to indicate for each content how enriching and how useful it is in their daily activities. The results of this study indicate the utilization of our teachings and reveal a large level of transfer with the alumni. Almost 78% indicates that they use the contents from the master programme in their daily work. A general trend that can be derived, is the lower (average) scores for usefulness/usability compared to the scores for interest. Systematically, courses are found to be interesting and enriching, however, the specific topics are not easily used on or transferred to the work floor. Ideally, the results are a first input for teaching staff to consider adapting their programmes more towards the needs of employees.


This paper investigated the influences of Free Cash Flow, Tobin's q, and Price-earnings ratio on the investment decisions by using North American monthly data from January 2000 to March 2017. Correlation Analysis and three Generalized Linear Models (GLM) are employed in this empirical research. The company size effect and within industry effect are controlled, and the reverse causality issue in the regression is considered. The reasons and implications of the strong cash flow/investment relationship are explored and discussed. Tobin's q and cash flow/investment relationship are combined to identify the liquidity constraint and the over-investment of the free cash flow. Moreover, the CEO Pay Slice, which contains the CEO compensation information, are included in the regression model to investigate the impact of the CEO on the capital spending decision of the company.


Abstract The swimming performance of hatchery-reared, juvenile shovelnose sturgeon Scaphirhynchus platorynchus and pallid sturgeon S. albus was studied in a laboratory swim tunnel at 20°C and 10°C. The mean 30-min critical swimming speed was not significantly different between species at either temperature (36.9 cm/s for shovelnose sturgeon and 35.9 cm/s for pallid sturgeon at 20°C, 19.4 cm/s for shovelnose sturgeon and 15.0 cm/s for pallid sturgeon at 10°C). Free swimming (swimming without contact with the substrate) was observed less than 18% of the time at speeds greater than 15 cm/s. As speed increased, pallid sturgeon swam significantly less in the water column at 20°C; however, speed had no effect on percent free swimming among shovelnose sturgeon at 20°C. The results of this study indicate that, over the temperature and size range tested, shovelnose sturgeon and pallid sturgeon probably do not segregate in rivers due to different swimming or station-holding abilities


Abstract Background: Stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) for pulmonary oligometastatic disease achieves excellent treatment outcomes in terms of local control and toxicity. Patients treated with SBRT are often elderly and have multiple co-morbidities. This subset of patients may experience different survival as compared to young and fit patients subjected to radical metastasectomies. The purpose of this retrospective study was to evaluate OS and identify factors associated with OS for inoperable pulmonary oligometastases treated with SBRT. Material and methods: Criteria used for selection of patients with oligometastases included: metastases limited to ≤2 organs and in total ≤5 metastases at the time of treatment. Peripheral tumors were treated with 51 Gy to 60 Gy in three fractions or a single fraction of 30 Gy. Central tumors received a dose of 45–60 Gy in 5–8 fractions. Survival probabilities were estimated by means of Kaplan–Meier method and the relation between potential prognostic factors and OS was studied by means of Cox regression analyses. Results: In this study, 327 inoperable pulmonary oligometastases in 206 patients were treated with SBRT from the year 2005 to 2015. Primary sites of pulmonary oligometastases included colorectal carcinoma (n = 118), lung carcinoma (n = 36), melanoma (n = 11), sarcoma (n = 10), breast carcinoma (n = 7), and other tumors sites (n = 24). Median follow-up was 26 months. Median survival was 33 months. The 2-year and 5-year OS rates were 63% and 30%, respectively. On univariate analysis synchronous oligometastases (HR 0.59) and colorectal primary (HR 0.64) were associated with improved OS. On multivariable analysis synchronous oligometastases (HR 0.56), colorectal primary (HR 0.62) and tumor size <3 cm (HR 0.68) were independently associated with OS. Conclusions: SBRT to pulmonary oligometastases was associated with a 2-year OS of 63%. Tumor size <3 cm and colorectal primary tumors experienced improved OS compared to tumors >3 cm and non-colorectal primary tumors.


Distillation reactor is one of the important equipment to improve the reaction conversion limited by the chemical equilibrium, however, the design of distillation reactor in industrial scale is still challenging due to the lack of efficient catalytic packing with corresponding kinetics. This work developed the novel catalytic packing consists of the structured ZSM-5@SiC foam catalyst and corrugated sheet, which used in distillation reactor for synthesis of ethyl levulinate (EL). The kinetic of structured ZSM-5@SiC foam catalyst was measured and model regarding the "structure factor" of ZSM-5@SiC catalyst and fluid flow conditions. Furthermore, the design of distillation reactor in industrial scale has been performed based on the developed kinetics, which demonstrated an excellent performance in the designed distillation reactor (EL yield 37.65% with energy consumption 3695 kJ/kg) are achieved. X-ray CT characterization revealed that the ZSM-5 coating thickness has the significantly effects on the kinetics and performances of distillation reactor.


of policy making within a new and developing realm of governmental responsibility. There are, of course, limits to the flexibility of case studies. But, in truth, this book is really not a case study. Students of the Johnson presidency will be disappointed to find that this is a book about technoscience policy that makes reference to the Johnson administration rather than the other way around. This, despite the fact, that the book is third in a series commissioned by the University of Texas Press to chronicle the administration of Lyndon Johnson. For the specialist or the general reader interested in technoscience policy, however, this book provides a compelling if not conceptually complete framework for analysis. For one thing, it is not entirely clear what are the bounds of technoscience policy. Included in the 24 cases the author has chosen to examine, are issues as diverse as the Mohole Project (intended to get a core sample of the Earth's mantle) and the ABM. Obviously it would be difficult to suggest that many of the same principles apply to the consideration and implementation of these very different projects. Herein lies both the strength and weakness of this book.


The length, weights and proportions of different parts of the alimentary tract were defined in roe-deer (n= 8 cTcT) and red deer ( n = 6 cfcT and 5 $ $ ) from One shoot in the north of Poland. The weight of the alimentary tract, together with contents, varied from 5.5 to 38.8% of the weight of the carcass. Measurements and indices of the intestines exhibit considerable individual variations, making splanchnometric characters unsuitable for descriptions of populations.


Output variations of individual cylinders of a normally operating engine cylinder be detected via an analysis of crankshaft speed fluctuations. In the detection phase, the engine is operated in a steady state at low idle, and the engine speed data is recorded over a plurality of engine cycles. These data are then averaged, filtered and compared with expected engine speed data. A substantial deviation from the expected speed data in the region of the crankshaft angle, which is adjacent to a single cylinder during its power stroke associated to its top dead center, showing a power level deviation in this cylinder. The size of the power level deviation may then be evaluated by a similar method, where the engine speed data recorded determined, filtered, and compared to expected engine speed data, when the engine operates in a steady nominal operating state.


The objective of this study was to identify secular change in Australian all-cause mortality over the period 1907-1998. The authors found that there was a decreasing trend in all-cause mortality, with five phases, over the study period. Phase I: 1907 to 1916, with relatively stable, but high, mortality rates. Phase II: 1917 to 1929, with great variations. Phase III: 1930 to 1943, a more stable period with lower mortality. Phase IV: 1944 to 1970, a slightly decreasing trend, with stagnation over the period 1958-69. Phase V: 1971 to 1998, with continuous decline. The mortality trends for major causes of death including infectious diseases, respiratory diseases, circulatory diseases, cancers, and injury are discussed. Possible reasons for the secular changes are explored.


The Mg65Cu25?xNixTb10(x=0,5,10) bulk amorphous alloy rods with 3 mm diameters were prepared by copper mold casting technique,and the effect of Ni addition on the glass forming ability(GFA) and mechanical properties of Mg65Cu25?xNixTb10(x=0,5,10) alloys were studied by to X-ray diffractometry(XRD),differential scanning calorimeter(DSC),compression tests and scanning electron microscopy(SEM).The results show that the glass transition temperature(Tg) of the Mg65Cu25?xNixTb10 alloys increases slightly whereas the onset temperature of crystallization(Tx),decreases slightly with the increase of Ni content,which results in the decrease of the supercooled liquid region and the glass forming ability.However,an appropriate substitution of Cu by Ni(5%,mole fraction) in Mg65Cu25Tb10 significantly improves the mechanical properties.


Advancements to give security to this hitech world are the most encouraging thing now days. We as a rule catch wind of blemishes and violations because of secret key spillage PIN burglary and so on. With the various passwords one needs to recollect keeping in mind the end goal to verify her, they are regularly overlooked, lost or stolen. As there is an issue there must be an approach to wave out those issues. There ought to be some philosophy that can recognize every human exclusively, and the bio-measurements are the one. Bio-measurements are the branch of science that arrangements with investigation of human physical and behavioral qualities like unique mark, iris filter, confront acknowledgment, voice acknowledgment, DNA and so on. We are such a great amount of worried about the security that we are utilizing this verification purposes in managing an account area, air terminals security, online validation and then some. As the greater part of the organizations (governments and NGOs) is moving towards bio-metric based confirmation, an immense measure of bio-metric information is to be put away and dealt with. What's more, here comes the enormous word "Cloud". We utilize cloud computing to store and process these enormous measures of data. Cloud registering is the capacity to use the colossal energy of disseminated stockpiling and calculation. Subject of one nation can go to another nation and she may utilize the administrations there by confirming herself utilizing bio-measurements. This is an incredible preferred standpoint of utilizing cloud computing for bio-measurements. We are utilizing different advances of cloud computing and bio-measurements together for better execution of the confirmation framework.


In this paper, we account for approaches of sparse recovery from large underdetermined linear models with perturbation present in both the measurements and the dictionary matrix. Existing methods have high computation and low efficiency. The total least-squares (TLS) criterion has well-documented merits in solving linear regression problems while FOCal Underdetermined System Solver (FOCUSS) has low-computation complexity in sparse recovery. Based on TLS and FOCUSS methods, the present paper develops more fast and robust algorithms, TLS-FOCUSS and SD-FOCUSS. TLS-FOCUSS algorithm is not only near-optimum but also fast in solving TLS optimization problems under sparsity constraints, and thus fit for large scale computation. In order to reduce the complexity of algorithm further, another suboptimal algorithm named D-FOCUSS is devised. SD-FOCUSS can be applied in MMV (multiple-measurement-vectors) TLS model, which fills the gap of solving linear regression problems under sparsity constraints. The convergence of TLS-FOCUSS algorithm and SD-FOCUSS algorithm is established with mathematical proof. The simulations illustrate the advantage of TLS-FOCUSS and SD-FOCUSS in accuracy and stability, compared with other algorithms.


There have been significant recent advances in our understanding of the mechanisms that maintain potassium homoeostasis and the clinical consequences of hyperkalemia. In this article we discuss these advances within a concise review of the pathophysiology, risk factors and consequences of hyperkalemia. We highlight aspects that are of particular relevance for clinical practice. Hyperkalemia occurs when renal potassium excretion is limited by reductions in glomerular filtration rate, tubular flow, distal sodium delivery or the expression of aldosterone-sensitive ion transporters in the distal nephron. Accordingly, the major risk factors for hyperkalemia are renal failure, diabetes mellitus, adrenal disease and the use of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, angiotensin receptor blockers or potassium-sparing diuretics. Hyperkalemia is associated with an increased risk of death, and this is only in part explicable by hyperkalemia-induced cardiac arrhythmia. In addition to its well-established effects on cardiac excitability, hyperkalemia could also contribute to peripheral neuropathy and cause renal tubular acidosis. Hyperkalemia—or the fear of hyperkalemia—contributes to the underprescription of potentially beneficial medications, particularly in heart failure. The newer potassium binders could play a role in attempts to minimize reduced prescribing of renin–angiotensin inhibitors and mineraolocorticoid antagonists in this context. increasing excitability and conduction velocity. This manifests as T wave peaking on the ECG as a mass of ventricular cardiomyocytes undergo (synchronous) early repolarization. In severe hyperkalemia, voltage-dependent inactivation of Na v 1.5 channels and activation of inwardly rectifying potassium channels (K ir ) lead to reductions in conduction velocity and can render cells refractory to excitation. This manifests as broadening of ECG complexes and/or conduction blocks. This figure represents an idealized model, as there is poor correlation between ECG features and the degree of hyperkalemia.


Effective communication between infants and parents lies at the heart of their developing relationship, and provides the foundation for later language development. Research into parental communication shows that responsiveness is the key ingredient for the development of the child's communication and healthy attachment. Some parents may need support to develop a positive relationship with their baby, and may benefit from being involved in practical experiences with their babies that help them to identify what positive communication feels like, and how it relates to child development.