The optimism triggered by Lesotho's transition from military dictatorship to multiparty democracy and the reform of the electoral system from the first-past-the-post (FPTP) system to the mixed member proportional (MMP) system may be fizzling out. In 1993 the country underwent an historic transition from military dictatorship to embrace multiparty democracy through an epoch-making election. Since then it has held four multiparty elections. The first two (1993 and 1998) were held on the basis of the FPTP electoral system, while the latest two (2002 and 2007) were held on the basis of the new MMP system. However, the extent to which these multiparty elections have added value to democratisation in the country still remains moot. Almost all the elections held under the FPTP system were contentious and their outcomes evoked both violent and non-violent responses from defeated parties. Following the introduction of the MMP system there were high expectations that levels of violent conflict would subside. This was indeed the case after the 2002 general election, but this trend changed after the 2007 election, which was marred by violence which triggered directintervention from the Southern African Development Community.


A self-powered hybrid rectifier based on the association of series synchronized switch harvesting on inductor (S-SSHI) and synchronous electric charge extraction (SECE) is proposed for piezoelectric (PE) energy harvesters, aiming to achieve a good balance between the rectifier peak output power (RPOP) and optimal rectified voltage range (ORVR). The theory and simulation of the hybrid rectifier are presented with a good agreement. The measurements demonstrate that the prototyped hybrid rectifier can output the peak power of 0.28 mW and obtain the maximum end-to-end efficiency of 72.8% under PE open-circuit voltage of 6 V. It can achieve 1.55 times the RPOP of the SECE rectifier and 4.58 times the ORVR of the S-SSHI rectifier. The balance between the two indexes grasped in the hybrid rectifier is better than the others in the test. According to the estimation of FoM, $\text{BW}_{0.9}$, and $\text{RoI}_{0.9}$ factors, the overall performance of the hybrid rectifier is at the same level compared to state-of-the-art rectifiers. Additionally, the hybrid rectifier is easy to implement with some simple discrete components, which can be an alternative rectifier solution for PE harvesters.


Emerging evidence indicates that astrogliosis is involved in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative disorders. Our previous findings suggested cannabinoids and Autacoid Local Injury Antagonism Amides (ALIAmides) attenuate glial response in models of neurodegeneration. The present study was aimed at exploring palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) ability to mitigate β‐amyloid (Aβ)‐induced astrogliosis. Experiments were carried out to investigate PEA's (10−7M) effects upon the expression and release of pro‐inflammatory molecules in rat primary astrocytes activated by soluble Aβ1–42 (1 μg/ml) as well as to identify mechanisms responsible for such actions. The effects of Aβ and exogenous PEA on the astrocyte levels of the endocannabinoidsand of endogenous ALIAmides were also studied. The peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor (PPAR)‐α (MK886, 3 μM) or PPAR‐γ (GW9662, 9 nM) antagonists were co‐administered with PEA. Aβ elevated endogenous PEA and d5–2‐arachidonoylglycerol (2‐AG) levels. Exogenous PEA blunted the Aβ‐induced expression of pro‐inflammatory molecules. This effect was reduced by PPAR‐α antagonist. Moreover, this ALIAmide, like Aβ, increased 2‐AG levels. These results indicate that PEA exhibits anti‐inflammatory properties able to counteract Aβ‐induced astrogliosis, and suggest novel treatment for neuroinflammatory/ neurodegenerative processes.


A new method for the determination of trace iron by ion exchange resin phase spectrophotometry was developed.The colored complex formed by iron and pyrocatechol violet is concentrated on the styrene anion exchange resin(201×4),whose diameter is from 0.177 to 0.250 mm,and then iron can be determined directly by making thin layer at 648 nm.Besides Bi3+,Sn4+,most other coexisting ions didn't interfere in the determination. Over allowance amount of Bi3+,Sn4+ could be masked by 2,3-two sulfhydryl propanol.Beer's law is obeyed in the range of 0.004-0.24 μg/mL for iron.The detection limit is 4.1 μg/L.The method has been successfully applied to determine iron in water with RSD of 2.0%-2.3% and recovery of 98%-99%.


Eleutherodactylus rosadoi, new species, is named from a lowland locality in Provincia Esmeraldas, Ecuador. It had previously been confused with E. roseus (Boulenger), a species which occurs only in the central Chocoan lowlands of Colombia. Eleutherodactylus katoptroides, new species, is de- scribed from a lower montane rainforest locality in Provincia Pastaza, on the Amazonian slopes of the Andes of Ecuador. It had been previously confused with E. crucifer (Boulenger), which is known only from three cloud forest localities on the Pacific slopes of the Andes of Ecuador. Both of the new species are members of the E. crucifer assembly of the unistrigatus group. The relationships of the two new species within the crucifer assembly are unclear. Both of the new species have color patterns identical to particular crucifer assembly species, but differ markedly from those particular species morphologically, and the problems this presents in interpreting relationships is explored.


A study was undertaken to estimate the role of the liver in digoxin metabolism and excretion in dogs with experimental cholestasis. Eighteen dogs were divided into 3 groups: a control group (C) of sham operation, a group (L) ligation of the common bile duct, and a group (P) of ligation of the common bile performed 2 weeks after phenobarbital treatment. They were injected intravenously of with a single dose of digoxin. Plasma digoxin (PD) concentrations were measured by radioimmunoassay. Pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated by least square regression analysis. The PD concentration time curve for individual subjects and for mean data was best described by the sum 2 exponents. The mean correlation coefficients between the measured and calculated digoxin value were 0.997 or more, indicating an excellent fit, in each group. In group C, the mean biological half-life of PD (T1/2p) was about 20 hours. The distribution volume estimated by extra-


We describe a software implementation of a multi-channel, multi-frequency Lock-in Amplifier (SILIA) to extract modulated signals from noisy data distributed over multiple channels of arbitrary number and size. This software implementation emulates the functionality of a multi-channel, multi-frequency lock-in amplifier in a post-processing step following data acquisition. Unlike most traditional lock-in amplifiers, SILIA can work with any number of input channels and is especially useful to analyze data distributed over many channels. We demonstrate the versatility and performance for extracting weak signals in spectroscopy and fluorescence microscopy. We also discuss more general applications and exhibit a method to automatically estimate error from a lock-in result.


. During the last 300 years, the cultural landscapes of Kassari Island (West Estonia) have been developing under changing human activities and natural factors. Shore displacement has caused alterations in the size of the island and the distribution of agricultural lands. Concurrently, changes in land use have shaped the cultural landscape. A comparison of geographical maps from 1709, the late 19th century, 1900, 1956, and 1990 revealed a general tendency towards an increase in forested areas, which replace former grasslands or wooded meadows. Arable lands have, as a rule, remained in the same place over the whole period studied. Relationships between landscape changes, socio-economic conditions, and natural background are discussed. The superposition of maps was carried out using the GIS package IDRISI.


LiMn02 compounds with rhombohedral structure were prepared by the low-heating solid-state reaction method at the temperature range of 350-700℃. The powder X-ray diffraction technique was applied to investigate the structures of the obtained samples. XRD result shows that the structures of these samples are the same as that of LiCoO2- Compared with LiCoO2 and LiCo0.8Ni0.2O2 prepared by the same method, the lattice parameter of r-LiMnO2, c/α, is relatively smaller due to the Jahn-Teller deformation. Selected-area electron diffraction and XRD results indicate the existence of the cubic spinel impurities in the r-LiMnO2 samples sintered at 600℃ and 700℃. The tests of charge/discharge show that the samples prepared above 600℃ have two voltage plateaus of 3V and 4V, of which the plateau at 4V is related to the cubic spinel impurities. Whereas, the samples obtained below 500℃ present only one plateau of 3V. Especially, the sample obtained at 500c℃ exhibits good structural stability in lithium-ion intercalation/deintercalation processes.


Let G be a complex connected semisimple group, whose simple components have type A or D. We prove that wonderful G-varieties are classified by means of combinatorial objects called spherical systems. This is a generalization of a known result of Luna for groups of type A; thanks to another result of Luna, this implies also the classification of all spherical G-varieties for the groups G we are considering. For these G we also prove the smoothness of the embedding of Demazure.


As an important part of autonomous driving intelligence perception, pedestrian detection has high requirements for parameter size, real-time, and model performance. Firstly, a novel multiplexed connection residual block is proposed to construct the lightweight network for improving the ability to extract pedestrian features. Secondly, the lightweight scalable attention module is investigated to expand the local perceptual field of the model based on dilated convolution that can maintain the most important feature channels. Finally, we verify the proposed model on the Caltech pedestrian dataset and BDD 100 K datasets. The results show that the proposed method is superior to existing lightweight pedestrian detection methods in terms of model size and detection performance.


Studies have identified the interference of contextual factors that inhibit the effective implementation of Competency-based Management (CM) under the National Personnel Development Policy (NPDP) in the Brazilian public sector, though organizations have overcome these factors through various initiatives. This article proposes an integrated model that relates the factors that interfere with CM implementation with the initiatives adopted by public organizations to circumvent and overcome them. This qualitative study through documental research and interviews with those responsible for implementing CM in six organizations within the Brazilian public sector. Pre and post-categorical analysis have enabled the establishment of a relationship between the 20 categories identified and divided into four kinds of interfering factors and the 20 adopted initiatives identified in seven categories. It was identified that the organizational and departmental factors are the ones that most interfere with the implementation of CM in the public sector. The strategic role of the HR unit, capable of carrying out structural changes, was identified as the most important initiative to induce the implementation of CM. This study provides a model that integrates strategic, political, and instrumental thematics, showing how these aspects impact the effective implementation of CM, which helps HR managers to recognize the factors that are under their control and how to face them.


Aqueous zinc-ion batteries are a promising option for rechargeable energy storage devices. However, their performance is limited by the growth of zinc dendrites that can cause short circuits. Our research shows that adding a certain percentage of hydrogen peroxide solution to the electrolyte can effectively inhibit the irregular and non-planar growth of zinc dendrite crystals. This additive alters the deposition pattern of zinc and reduces surface roughness. Our experimental results indicate that the electrolyte with H2O2 can increase the cycle life by about 13 times compared to the electrolyte without the additive, extending it to 1057 h. The mechanism analysis reveals that H2O2 replaces H2O in forming hydrated zinc ions and facilitates zinc deposition during charging. Additionally, H2O2 significantly lowers the over-potential for zinc dendrite nucleation and suppresses the tip effect, leading to a uniform zinc morphology. This simple and eco-friendly electrolyte additive provides a strategy to regulate the deposition behavior of zinc.


Background: Infected non-union of bone of the upper extremity remains a difficult problem to treat with limited options. Management must address chronic osteomyelitis and skeletal instability caused by the non-union. We present our experience with a staged approach in five patients. Methods: The study cohort consisted of five males with an average age of 38 years and 4 prior procedures for infected non-union of the humerus (1) radius(1), ulna(1), ulna and radius(1) and metacarpal(1). The first stage consisted of aggressive debridement of all infected devitalized bone, bone cultures, removal of hardware, placement of antibiotic impregnated cement and stabilization with an external fixator (4 of 5 patients) followed by culture specific antibiotics. This was followed by definitive reconstruction using a free vascularized fibular flap and a course of post-operative antibiotics. Results: The average bony defect measured 8.6 cm. All flaps survived, one required re-exploration for venous thrombosis 72 hrs post-operatively and was successfully salvaged with a re-do anastomosis using a vein graft. The average time to bony union was 14 weeks. There was one hypertrophic non-union from proximal hardware failure which required repeat surgical intervention. At an average of 5.1 years follow-up all patients remain infection free and were working. Conclusions: A stage approach to the treatment of infected non-union of bone consisting of aggressive debridement, antibiotic cement, culture specific antibiotic followed by a vascularized fibular transfer is an effective treatment to a complex problem with limited alternatives. Keywords: Infected non-union of bone, Osteomyelitis, Microsurgery, Antibiotic cement, Free vascularized fibula flap.


We present a method for converting denoising neural networks from spatial into spatio-temporal ones by modifying the network architecture and loss function. We insert Robust Average blocks at arbitrary depths in the network graph. Each block performs latent space interpolation with trainable weights and works on the sequence of image representations from the preceding spatial components of the network. The temporal connections are kept live during training by forcing the network to predict a denoised frame from subsets of the input sequence. Using temporal coherence for denoising improves image quality and reduces temporal flickering independent of scene or image complexity.


Students' difficulty to deal effectively with real-life business problems, questions the effectiveness of current
practice and requires the adoption of a different teaching approach. To address this problem at undergraduate level, this paper proposes a pedagogical model that promotes intentional learning, action learning and cooperative learning and suggests a switch from passive to active learning environment. The model aims to help students develop all necessary managerial skills by collaboratively and actively participating in the learning process through the use of printed and real-time business case studies, as well as simulations, games & role-play(SGRP).


The possibility of removal of copper(II) complexes with ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) from waters and wastewaters by the chelating ion exchangers Lewatit TP 214, Lewatit TP 260 and Diaion CR-20 as well as the mechanism of their sorption onto them were investigated. In order to describe the sorption process of Cu(II) ions in the presence of EDTA, the FT-IR/PA spectra of the abovementioned chelating ion exchangers were recorded.


A far‐infrared collective scattering system has been installed and is operational on the DIII‐D tokamak. The system consists of a 245 GHz (λ= 1.22 mm) twin frequency laser and uses heterodyne detection techniques which enables us to determine the propagation direction of fluctuations in the laboratory frame of reference. At present, three receiver channels are available to study poloidal propagating fluctuations along the entire midplane of DIII‐D in a wave number range of 2≤ k ≤16 cm−1. The beam geometry of the system dictates a wave number resolution of Δk ≊ 0.7 cm−1 and a radial spatial resolution of ± 20 cm at k=10 cm−1. Fluctuation spectra and propagation direction measured during Ohmic operation were found to depend on plasma parameters. Large plasma toroidal rotation was measured which correlated with modifications in the fluctuation spectra. During H‐mode operation, a dramatic drop of low‐frequency fluctuations (< 250 kHz) is observed coincident with the drop in D‐alpha light. This is followed by ...


The Transportation Laboratory is engaged in a study of the effects of deicing salts on roadside vegetation in and around the Lake Tahoe Basin. The portion of the study dealing with soil chemistry, salt application rates, ozone, and precipitation, was reported in an Interim Report dated January 1976. This Appendix Report contains the backup data for that Interim Report.


The invention provides a surface treatment shape evaluation system surface treatment shape of existing concrete can short time to accurately assess. A Measurement of the amount of unevenness of the surface of existing concrete after the surface treatment by the measuring device 10 at a predetermined pitch, measured amount of unevenness is the feature quantity of rollup has been surface-treated shape of the existing concrete by CPU21 It is calculated. Then, automatically surface treatment shape evaluation results of the comparison by the feature quantity of an ideal surface treatment shape stored in advance in the data ROM22 and feature quantity calculated CPU21 by CPU21 is obtained. The evaluation results can be confirmed instantly or printed by or printer 50 displayed on the display device 40. The ideal surface treatment shape, a 13-35% of the maximum particle size of the average height aggregate of unevenness of existing concrete surface, and the oblique length ratio of the existing concrete surface is 1.13 or more, 2 mm or more unevenness of a height of the surface treatment shape which occupies more than 14%.


The Yantang CuMo deposit is located in a breccia pipe of northeast Wuzhishan uplift,Hainan Island.The forming of the pipe is controlled by the SN and EW tectonomagmatic belts,closely related to the Cretaceous monzonitic granodiorite and granodioriteporphyry.Industrial orebodies are mainly distributed along the pipe and its outer contact zone.Twentythree CuMo orebodies of different sizes are found.The orebodies located 10 to 400 meters below the surface as lens or veins.Ore emerge veinuledisseminated structures with Cu grade ranging from 0.4% to 0.9% and Mo grade ranging from 0.01% to 0.1%.Alteration zoning consist of potassic,silicicsericitic and propylitic zone.According to the above features,the Yantang CuMo deposit is regarded as a porphyry deposit.


The major challenge in polysomnographic (PSG) analysis is finding the compromise between the speed and the accuracy of determination of sleep parameters. All laboratory PSG acquisition software incorporates algorithms for some level of automated scoring. However, for sleep stage scoring at least, the implemented set of algorithms is not accurate enough, and data are usually additionally scored by sleep technicians. In this study, we discuss results of automated stage scoring, generated with commercial software for Alice4 (Respironics, USA), and MEPAL (MAP, Germany) devices, on visually- scored test databases. Test databases contain 30s epochs of PSG signal from S1, S2, SWS and REM sleep stages, derived from 20 healthy male subjects, as well as epochs from 18 male patients with obstructive sleep apnea. All epochs are equally scored by 2 independent experts. Sensitivity and specificity of automatic detection for particular sleep stage and for particular subject group is discussed.


Background:The cultivation of fundamental statistical literacy should be a key in the learning area of mathematics at the stage of compulsory education. The emphasis on the expression and communication of charts, the understanding of preliminary concepts of sampling and probability, and the accurate application of statistical data to real life should be the blueprint of the thematic instruction. To effectively achieve the research objectives and test the research hypotheses, the nonequivalent pretest posttest control group design model is utilized for the experimental research.Material and methods:Total 208 students in Fuzhou University are sampled for the 15-week experimental instruction, 3hr per week for total 45 hours.Results:The research results are summarized as below. 1. Multiple memory strategies reveal significant effects on learning outcomes. 2. Multiple memory strategies appear remarkable effects on learning gains. 3. Computer-assisted instruction presents notable effects on learning outcomes. 4. Computer-assisted instruction shows significant effects on learning gains. 5. Matching multiple memory strategies with computer-assisted instruction could remarkably promote learning outcomes. 6. Matching multiple memory strategies with computer-assisted instruction could notably enhance learning gains.Conclusions:suggestions are proposed to help the statistics instruction in mathematics and promote students' statistics learning achievement.


With the strong development of the technologies of computer networks, the technology of using Geographic Information System (GIS) through the internet (That is WebGIS ) is making great progress too. A way of Approaches to the reality of WebGIS is Using Active Server Page (ASP) technology combining with GIS components, which has been developing rapidly. Browser\Server (B\S) structure is mainly adopted by this WebGIS technology, which needs only a connection to the Internet with a web browser without using any GIS software for an Internet user. In this paper, we will mainly discuss two topics on combining with GIS components and web page, which are listed below: Technology of GIS components; the method of integrating GIS components with Internet. Developing WebGIS software is an important way to make use of Internet/Intranet. Using Active Server Page (ASP) technology combining with GIS components is adopted by us. In this paper, we will firstly introduce the main content of WebGIS, and then detail some topics of WebGIS respectively. KEYWORD: WebGIS, VBScript, ASP


Canine hepatozoonosis is a disease caused by protozoan Hepatozoon sp., recently discovered in Brazil, with few cases. It is transmitted mainly through ingestion of Rhipicephalus sanguineus with oocysts of H. canis. Pathogenicity and symptoms are variable depending on the age of the animal, the degree of infection and the association with other diseases. The symptoms can present in lethal asymptomatic. The diagnosis of hepatozoonosis is based on blood smears, biopsy, serology and PCR. The objective is to describe the clinical and laboratory findings in two dogs with hepatozoonosis met in Fortaleza, Ceara. The first case, male, 3 months old, showed aggression, circling, lethargy hind limbs, anorexia, seizures,


Teaching materials are one of the supportive facilities in achieving successful learning. This study employed teaching materials characterized by Multiple Representations and Contextual Teaching Learning. This research intended to reveal the understanding of redox concepts taught in grade X. This study was an implementation of the results referring to the 4D (Define, Design, Develop, and Disseminate) model. The data collection methods adopted were observation, questionnaire, test, and documentation. The data was analyzed by using the descriptive-qualitative method. The teaching materials have been declared valid, practical, and useful. The users also gave a positive response to the teaching materials. Students' conceptual understanding was analyzed through each item and indicator. The overall students' concept mastery was 53.33%, and their understanding of each indicator was 50.214% for interpreting, 77.78% for exemplifying, 53.472% for classifying, 52.78% for guessing,  52.78% for comparing, and 62.5% for explaining.


We apply rigorous coupled transverse-mode integral equation (CTMIE) formulation using both TE to y and TM to y modes to conduct full-wave modal analysis of rectangular-like dielectric waveguides such as the ridged waveguide.


Despite extensive search efforts, direct observations of the first (Pop III) stars have not yet succeeded. Theoretical studies have suggested that late Pop III star formation is still possible in pristine clouds of high-mass galaxies, coexisting with Pop II stars, down to the Epoch of Reionization (EoR). Here we reassess this finding by exploring Pop III star formation in six 50h−1 cMpc simulations performed with the hydrodynamical code dustyGadget. We find that Pop III star formation (∼10−3.4 − 10−3.2 M⊙.yr−1.cMpc−3) is still occurring down to z ∼ 6 − 8, i.e. well within the reach of deep JWST surveys. At these epochs, $\gtrsim 10 \%$ of the rare massive galaxies with M⋆ ≳ 3 × 109 M⊙ are found to host Pop III stars, although with a Pop III/Pop II mass fraction $\lesssim 0.1 \%$. Regardless of their mass, Pop III hosting galaxies are mainly found on the main sequence, at high star formation rates, probably induced by accretion of pristine gas. This scenario is also supported by their increasing star formation histories and their preferential location in high-density regions of the cosmic web. Pop III stars are found both in the outskirts of metal-enriched regions and in isolated, pristine clouds. In the latter case, their signal may be less contaminated by Pop IIs, although its detectability will strongly depend on the specific line-of-sight to the source, due to the complex morphology of the host galaxy and its highly inhomogeneous dust distribution.


Understand "Customer Needs" and "Does customer satisfy about your work?" are important topics for continuous improvement for all firms. However, the internal measurement of quality-related performance indices in traditional companies are basically focused on abnormality detection, prevention and improvement. Service function-oriented indices are rarely seen for evaluating the performance from the user's point of view. In order to understand the satisfaction for customers, and obtain the suggestions to improve and evaluate the service level of Quality Control department. This study investigates the service quality performance of assembly process inspection for service function-oriented executing department internally. It's expected that the cost can be reduced by conducting resource management and allocation efficiently and the performance of business operation cane be improved to gain profit ultimately. This study applies Kano Model to explore and classify the service quality features in the assembly process inspection, and discusses the difference between the user's expectation and satisfaction based on Important-Performance Analysis (IPA). Based on two customer satisfaction coefficients calculated from the Kano questionnaires, two-dimensional graph can be constructed to understand how the service features affect customer satisfaction. Then, an Important-Performance matrix can be established to understand the importance and actual performance status of each process inspection feature. Finally, combining the results of Kano Model and IPA with two-dimensional properties status and satisfaction coefficients, several guidelines with their improvement are made for the case company as a reference. Keyword:Process Inspection, Service Quality, Kano Model, Important-Performance Analysis.


The Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) sector is a rich environment, involving the use of expertise at various levels with much intensity and in unique situations. In the attainment of sustainable construction, construction sustainability performance is indispensable. The participants implementing sustainable construction practices are key to a sustainable construction sector. This study seeks to understand the level of sustainability expertise in the Irish AEC sector which is part of an ongoing research at the Dublin Institute of Technology, within the School of Surveying and Construction Management. The early explorative phase of this research involves getting a depth of understanding as to the level of sustainability expertise in the Irish AEC sector. The study adopts a bibliometric review as its method to explore how the sector has begun to change its practice around addressing sustainability expertise and performance. The outcome of this review confirms that a number of gaps do exist in the Irish AEC sector with regard to sustainability expertise in skills shortage and the need for skills development.


Among the various warpage measurement techniques, digital fringe projection (DFP) technique is recent trend because of its noncontact, full-field, and high-resolution measurement capabilities for measuring the warpage of chip packages, printed wiring boards (PWBs), and PWB assemblies (PWBAs). When using the DFP technique, reflective painting is generally sprayed on a sample surface to ensure uniform surface reflectance and to obtain better image contrast for the measurement process. However, because painted samples may no longer be reused, and the spray-painting process is not suitable inline, warpage measurement of unpainted chip packages, PWBs, and PWBAs using the DFP technique is required. One of the important tasks for measuring the warpage of unpainted PWBAs is segmentation of the chip package and PWB regions in unpainted PWBA images so that separate warpage of the chip packages and the PWBs can be determined. This paper presents a novel automatic segmentation method, region-growing method (RGM), whi...


ABSTRACT The success story of Korean economic development is intimately linked with the so-called developmental state; and education policy, as part of centrally orchestrated industrial policy, played a critical role in the country's rapid industrialisation, which allowed for high employment rates, relatively modest social inequality and remarkable social mobility. However, the Korean success story has started to show 'cracks' – with labour market dualisation, rising inequality and 'over-education'. While acknowledging the importance of the East Asian financial crisis as external shock for the Korean political economy, we suggest more fundamental problems in the socio-economic and socio-political underpinnings of the developmental state and its education and skills formation system for understanding how Korea's economic and education miracle turned into 'education inflation', skills mismatch and social polarisation.


A quasioptical theory has been developed to produce an approximate solution of an H plane right-angled corner in overmoded rectangular waveguide operating in the H10 mode. From this, the mode conversion in the forward and backward directions, the loss due to mode conversion, the reconversion effects and the frequency response, have been deduced. Measurements were made on two corners in waveguides of different sizes both operating at around 8.6mm. These show good agreement with the theory.


Guided-mode resonance sensors employing modal-polarization diversity are presented. In an application example, we quantify the variations in the refractive index of an attaching biolayer and show that the background is stable.


Mackenzie Canyon, in the southeastern Beaufort Sea, is a site for strong upwelling compared to the adjacent continental shelf and slope and potentially supplies the shelf with significant levels of nitrate. Research regarding the circulation and upwelling mechanisms in submarine canyons has previously been limited to dynamically narrow canyons, and most studies have used numerical models with idealized bathymetry. The main goal of the study presented in this thesis is to describe the circulation and upwelling in Mackenzie Canyon, which is classified as a dynamically wide canyon. This study also identifies key flow features that act as significant modifiers of upwelling, examines differences between idealized and realistic model simulations, and estimates the canyon-induced upwelling of nitrate. To address these goals, the circulation and upwelling associated with an upwelling event induced by an impulsive wind forcing in Mackenzie Canyon was simulated using a nested-grid modelling system configuration based on the Nucleus for European Modelling of the Ocean framework. Numerical simulations were conducted using realistic and idealized bathymetry and three cases of wind stress forcing. The model performance was evaluated using observational data from Mackenzie Canyon during an upwelling event. This study finds that near-geostrophic flows are topographically steered around the Mackenzie Canyon walls. Strong cyclonic vorticity is generated on the upstream corner of the canyon mouth and evolves into a closed, cyclonic eddy, which becomes a site for strong upwelling. A coastal trapped wave (CTW) is induced on the downstream side of the canyon and propagates upstream. It is characterized as a shelf wave using a model that searches for the free wave solutions of CTWs along straight coastlines. An upwelling signal in the canyon exits the canyon and propagates along the slope with the CTW. Unlike narrow canyons, upwelling in Mackenzie Canyon is stronger on the upstream side than on the downstream side, likely as a consequence of the upstream propagation of the CTW. The nitrate flux


A 29-year-old woman (gravida 1 para 0) presented to the emergency department with a complaint of sudden onset of right-sided lower abdominal pain in the setting of a recent positive home pregnancy test. Her last known menstrual period was 10 weeks days prior to her presentation. She had no history of pelvic inflammatory disease or fertility treatment. On physical examination, she was hemodynamically stable with a blood pressure of 110/60mmHg and heart rate of 82 beats/min. Abdominal examination demonstrated a distended abdomen with diffuse abdominal tenderness that was maximal in the right iliac fossa with rebound tenderness and signs of peritonism. Cervical tenderness was elicited during bimanual examination, with cervical excitation maximal in the right adnexa. Per speculum examination demonstrated a long, closed, posterior cervical os with no bleeding.


a scholar whose concepts and writing style do conduce. In its format and presentation, Dworkin's first book is disappointing while individual essays retain substantial value. For a first effort, correlativity should have had higher priority. Nevertheless, in the wake of the human rights corsair launched from the Potomac shore by the Annapolis graduate currently commanding American political offensive strategy, the book will probably be sold and read on the basis of its cleverly contemporary title as well as content which should prove enlightening if not inspiring to the lay public. Since the work is mainly geared to American jurisprudence and not as a worldwide crusade for human rights, the book should have appeal for the scholar, legal profession, and citizenry with an interest in natural rights philosophy. Of special currency is the Dworkin essay on reverse discrimination in which he attempts


Using loan-level data, we analyze the quality of subprime mortgage loans by adjusting their performance for differences in borrower characteristics, loan characteristics, and macroeconomic conditions. We find that the quality of loans deteriorated for six consecutive years before the crisis and that securitizers were, to some extent, aware of it. We provide evidence that the rise and fall of the subprime mortgage market follows a classic lending boom-bust scenario, in which unsustainable growth leads to the collapse of the market. Problems could have been detected long before the crisis, but they were masked by high house price appreciation between 2003 and 2005.


Unsupervised 2D image-based 3D shape retrieval aims to match the similar 3D unlabeled shapes when given a 2D labeled sample. Although a lot of methods have made a certain degree of progress, the performance of this task is still restricted due to the lack of target labels resulting in tremendous domain gap. In this paper, we aim to explore the discriminative representation of the unlabeled target 3D shapes and facilitate the procedure of domain adaptation by taking full advantage of multi-view information. To achieve the above goals, we propose an effective self-supervised auxiliary domain alignment (SADA) for unsupervised 2D image-based 3D shape retrieval. SADA mainly contains multi-view guided self-supervised feature learning and two auxiliary domain alignments, including intermediate domain alignment and multi-domain alignment. Firstly, we group multiple views of each 3D shape into two sub-target domains based on the view similarities and regard each other as the constraint to optimize the feature learning in an unsupervised manner. To reduce the difficulty of directly aligning the domain discrepancy, we combine the source labeled samples and target samples (pseudo labels) with the same category to generate an intermediate domain, which translates the source-target alignment into source-intermediate and intermediate-target alignments. Moreover, to explore the inner characteristics of target 3D shapes and provide more clues for better adaptation, multi-domain alignment is proposed to convert the source and single target domain alignment to the source and multiple target domain (one target domain and two sub-target domains) alignments. The adversarial training and semantic alignment are employed to fully excavate the relations between source domain and multiple target domains. Experiments on two challenging datasets show that the proposed method achieves competing performance in the unsupervised 2D image-based 3D shape retrieval task.


The present invention relates to a dermatological composition comprising a combination of hydroquinone, fluocinolone acetonide, and tretinoin for the treatment of hyperpigmentation of pathological scars and hyperpigmented scars.


Promotion media is a way to communicate a products, services, image, company or other thing to the public. It can be found in the Shopping Mall, Airports and public places, one of that promotion media is information Kiosk. In this case the Department of Tourism and Culture in Poso still using the classic promotion media like brochures, posters and other printed advertisements. It becomes difficult to distributed when the Department of Tourism and Culture in Poso have a promotion activities in a suburb. Looking at these facts, in this research made a promotion media in a Kiosk that can provide a wide range of travel information which can be easy to carry everywhere. The planned of the Department of Tourism and Culture in Poso are implemented into a Kiosk that can provide information such as maps, photos, video, sound, and text with an attractive view.


Here the authors investigate an evolutionary path from parasitism to mutualism using a host-symbiont simulation model. While previous work has investigated the transition to mutualism in systems where symbionts are vertically transmitted, the present work studies this transition when symbionts disperse freely. Analysis of simulated results demonstrates that, alongside spatial structure emerging via the evolution of local dispersal, host competition plays a key role on this evolutionary path to mutualism.


Aquaponic toxicity relies on the combinations of its pollution parameters that are dissolved in water and emitted in air. Ammonia is considered as an important indicator affecting aquaculture species, water nutrient imbalance and air pollution. Trophic state of aquatic body is measured by ammonia. In this study, the suitability of metaheuristic models, namely, genetic algorithm, simulated annealing, water cycle algorithm, enhanced vibrating particles system and particle swarm optimization, in determining the optimum condition of ammonia factor for providing minimal toxicity and oligotrophication was determined by varying its corresponding hyperparameters. The parameters that were optimized are water temperature and pH level. These parameters significantly affect ammonia factor that is an essential contributor to eutrophication. The optimized genetic algorithm yielded the practical-ideal fitness function value for ammonia factor as to compare with other optimized metaheuristics based on optimizing time. It selected the 50 fittest individuals based on their fitness score with the rate of 0.2 and proceeds to recombination process to extract characteristics from parent chromosomes with crossover rate of 0.8. The mutation rate of 0.01 was injected to form diversity and to test if the global solution was attained. The tournament size is 4 and the reproduction elite count is 2.5. The best condition of the ammonia factor was extracted when the number of generations has been reached. The GA results showed that the optimum condition for ammonia factor that will prevent eutrophication and provide ecological balance in aquaponic system needs a temperature of 29.254 °C and pH of 7.614.


4536 Background: NEPC is an aggressive variant of prostate cancer that can arise de novo or from existing prostate adenocarcinoma (PCA), and is promoted by the use of hormonal therapy. We sought to better understand the molecular transformation of NEPC and identify new drug targets.

METHODS
Using Next Generation RNA sequencing and oligonucleotide arrays, we profiled 7 NEPC, 30 PCA, and 5 benign prostate (BEN), and validated findings on tumors from a large cohort of patients (30 NEPC, 118 PCA, 30 BEN) using IHC and FISH. Functional studies were performed using NCI-H660 (NEPC), VCaP and LNCaP (PCA), RWPE (BEN).

RESULTS
ERG rearrangement was present in 47% of NEPC, but ERG protein expression was absent and corresponded with lack of AR. There were significant molecular differences between NEPC and PCA, with 936/25932 genes differentially expressed (P<0.001). Aurora kinase A (AURKA) and N-myc (MYCN) were overexpressed in NEPC vs PCA (P<0.001), and both genes were amplified in 35% of NEPC, 5% of PCA, and none of BEN. Transfection of MYCN induced AURKA expression and kinase activity in vitro, and AURKA induced MYCN. Either MYCN or AURKA induced expression of neuroendocrine markers (SYP, NSE) in RWPE and LNCaP, and N-myc directly binds promoters of NSE, SYP, and AR to regulate their expression (and downstream androgen regulated genes). After validating NCI-H660 as model of NEPC, we observed enhanced in vitro and in vivo sensitivity to the Aurora kinase inhibitor PHA-739358 compared to LNCaP and VCaP, with > 50% tumor shrinkage in NEPC and minimal to no effect in PCA. Phospho-H3, a downstream marker of Aurora kinase activity, was inhibited in the treated NCI-H660 and not in PCA. Notably, NE marker expression was suppressed in the treated NCI-H660 xenografts, again supporting a role of Aurora kinase in modulating the NE phenotype.

CONCLUSIONS
There is likely clonal origin of NEPC from PCA (with ERG fusion in both), but ERG expression limited to PCA and driven by AR signaling. We discovered significant overexpression and amplification of AURKA and MYCN in NEPC and a small subset of PCA, and evidence that that they cooperate and induce a NE phenotype in prostate cells. In vitro and in vivo data confirms that these are novel drug targets for NEPC.


Focusing on the disturbance of ocean reverberation in active sonar detection, this article researched the characteristics of vector ocean reverberation when vector hydrophones were the receivers. By experiments and theoretic analyses, scalar and vector ocean reverberation was gained when transmitting signal with different frequencies, impulse widths, receivers at different depths, and the source levels and laws of energy attenuation were analyzed statistically. By comparison, reverberation received by vector hydrophones was found to have characteristic of lower reverberation levels and faster attenuation, thus, vector hydrophones have the ability of anti-reverberation. Introduction In active sonar detection, ocean reverberation is the primary background disturbance, which affects the ability of target detection and identification of active sonar greatly. Based on the scalar information of ocean reverberation received by pressure hydrophones, laws of energy evolvement, frequency spectrum, statistical characteristics of phase, correlation of time and space are studied in traditional reverberation research[1][2]. With the abroad application of vector hydrophones, vector parameters of underwater sound field can be measured, such as point velocity, pressure gradient, and acceleration. Methods of signal processing evolve from single scalar method processing to scalar and vector methods combined processing. Measuring and analyzing characteristics of energy and frequency of ocean vector reverberation field, conduces to improving abilities of detection and identification of underwater acoustic devices based on vector hydrophones[3][4]. Equivalent plane wave reverberation level Reverberation follows on the heels of impulses transmitted by active sonar system, and is like a series of long, slowly attenuating, trembling sounds. In the active sonar equation, reverberation is denoted by RL----equivalent plane-wave reverberation level[1]. Defining now the equivalent plane-wave reverberation level RL as the intensity, in decibel, of an axially incident plane wave producing the same hydrophone output as the observed reverberation, we obtain 0 log 10 I I Rl  (1) Where I is the intensity of the plane wave, 0 I is the reference intensity of a plane wave whose virtual pressure is 1 uPa. Therefore RL describes the strength of reverberation disturbance when reverberation is the primary limitation of active sonar system. Vector hydrophones In the ocean channel, the sound field has information of scalar pressure and vector particle velocity, which approximately meets the acoustic Ohm law, also pressure and particle velocity are at the same phase. Vector hydrophones could gain the pressure and particle velocity information of the underwater sound field by one measuring action. The measured pressure ) , ( t p r and the three International Power, Electronics and Materials Engineering Conference (IPEMEC 2015) © 2015. The authors Published by Atlantis Press 34 orthogonal subsets of particle velocity ) , ( t r v come as following [5]:     ) ( exp ) ( ) , ( r r r      t i A t p (2)


Abstract : The objective is to identify loss and degradation mechanisms relevant to the frequency control resonator performance as the resonator dimensions reduce to the nanodimensional spatial scale. The Department of Army interest in scaling such devices into the nanodimensional region stems from the technical projection that such resonators can operate at frequencies into the low GHz spectral region thus providing a low cost, integratable NEMS solid state device option for frequency control electronic applications relevant to secure communications. The key questions regarding NEMS resonator performance are the fundamental physical limitations that arise in quality factor Q and noise figure as the resonator is reduced to nanodimensions in order to achieve the higher frequencies of device operation. Such physical limitations may also present barriers in other NEMS smart actuator and sensor electronic device applications. The technical approach considers non-equilibrium heat generation and redistribution processes from mechanical strain during high frequency NEMS operation beyond the conventional heat diffusion and local temperature approximation. A semiclassical phonon dynamical picture is introduced to go beyond the conventional models. Scaling laws relevant to the appropriate phonon transport regimes and their transition boundaries are delineated, analyzed, and compared with results of detailed microscopic descriptions. Thus, the research approach involves scaling analysis, coupled with analytical and numerical modeling of phonon flow and heat redistribution in nanoscale resonators.


The reaction of 2,4,6-tris(2-pyridyl)-1,3,5-triazine (tptz) with Cu(BF4)(2)(.)3H(2)O and N,N-bis(3-aminopropyl)methylamine (Medpt) yielded the monomeric complex [(tptz)Cu-II(Medpt)](BF4)(2)(.)2MeOH (1) whereas reaction of tptz with CuCl2-2H(2)O yielded the dinuclear complex [{(CuCl2)-Cl-II}(tptz){(CuCl2)-Cl-II(MeOH)}] (2). The molecular structures of 1 and 2 were established by single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies. The copper ion in complex I is elongated octahedral with the nitrogen atoms of Medpt and the triazine nitrogen atom of tptz in the equatorial positions, and the two pyridyl nitrogen atoms of tptz in axial positions. The two Cu-II ions in complex 2 are bridged by tptz, coordinating to Cu1 in a terpyridine-like fashion and to Cu2 in a bipyridine-like coordination mode. The triazine nitrogen atom bound to Cu1 is coordinated in an equatorial position whereas the triazine nitrogen atom bound to Cu2 is situated in the apical position. The equatorial plane of Cu1 is coplanar with the 1,3,5-triazine plane whereas the equatorial plane of Cu2 is perpendicular to the 1,3,5-triazine plane. Intermolecular interactions in the solid state result in both compounds in "dimeric units" due to hydrogen bonding. Both complexes were investigated by variable-temperature magnetic susceptibility measurements. Through-space dipolar couplings and/or weak through-bond interactions in complex I result in a small intermolecular antiferromagnetic interaction (J = -0.09 cm(-1)). The intramolecular exchange coupling in the dinuclear complex 2 is antiferromagnetic (J = -2.5 cm(-1)). This antiferromagnetic interaction was analyzed in view of the molecular structure considering spin-polarization, superexchange and orbital-orthogonality. A spin-polarization pathway seems to be the leading contribution which does not involve the 1,3 bridging pathway. (C) Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2004.


Abstract Background Heart transplant recipients show a high risk of developing major depression with an increased risk of post-transplant morbidity and mortality. Heart transplant specialists and patients face unprecedented challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, which have enormous clinical implications such as the increased risk of COVID-19 as well as visitor restrictions with social isolation during the post-transplant inpatient treatment. Case summary We present a case of a 64-year-old woman with end-stage heart failure caused by non-compaction cardiomyopathy who received an orthotopic heart transplant (OHT) without any intra-operative complications. Post-operatively, she showed acute psychotic symptoms in the intensive care unit (ICU) with improvement after switching intravenous tacrolimus treatment to an oral intake. Furthermore, the patient developed severe depressive symptoms with malnutrition and had a prolonged hospitalization. Standard medical care was complemented by intensive psychocardiological treatment to overcome the crisis. Conclusion High complexity of the post-transplant management after OHT underlines the importance of multidisciplinary teamwork, involving heart transplant specialists and allied mental health professionals. This collaboration led to an excellent long-term result. Facing the COVID-19 pandemic, the hospital visitor policies may be scrutinized, carefully looking at the role of social isolation, post-operative experience in the ICU, and medical complications after OHT.


In order to accurately predict the daily gas production of large and medium-sized biogas projects, the improved BP neural network algorithm was used, and the PSO algorithm was introduced to optimize the parameters. According to the anaerobic fermentation mechanism and the actual engineering operation status, a prediction model was established with temperature, daily feed volume, NH3, TS concentration and pH value as input layer nodes, and daily biogas production as output layer nodes. The 116 sets of data obtained by remote data acquisition are used as training samples and test samples of the model, and the simulation is carried out by Matlab software. The results show that the PSO-LM-BP neural network has good predictive ability for the daily gas production of biogas. The established biogas daily gas production prediction model not only converges fast but also has high accuracy.


Objective
To investigate the application value of ultrasonography in the differential diagnosis of benign and malignant thyroid nodules in the elderly.

Methods
The ultrasonography data of 117 elderly patients with thyroid nodules confirmed by surgery and pathology were analyzed retrospectively from Jan. 2013 to Feb. 2015. Their sonogram features were summarized.

Results
Among 117 cases, there were 82 cases (70.1%) with benign thyroid nodules and 35 cases (29.9%) with malignant thyroid tumors according to pathological diagnosis. The accordance rate of ultrasonography for diagnosing the benign and malignant thyroid nodules was 88.0%, and only 14 cases were misdiagnosed.

Conclusions
Ultrasonography has a good application value in the differential diagnosis of benign and malignant thyroid nodules in the elderly.

Key words:
Thyroid nodule; Thyroid neoplasms; Ultrasonography


Topicality. The comparative study on effectiveness of several methods of popping popcorn from Zea Mays L. everta Sturt. is important and relevant. Technological indicators of popcorn kernels depend on many factors, including the method of popping. Purpose. To compare the technological characteristics for popcorn kernels obtained by two methods of popping the grain: frying in a frying pan and heating with air-popping appliances. Methods. The initial material for research was kernels of popcorn lines bred by the Laboratory of Maize Breeding for Food Use at SE Institute of Grain Crops of NAAS. According to the first method of popping, one layer of popcorn kernels were placed on an aluminum pan heated to 175 ºC and fried without oil, shaking the kernels every 5–6 seconds. For the second popping method, Clatronic PM 3635 electric popcorn maker having a capacity of 1200 W was used. Results. In the first method of producing popcorn, the dominant type of popcorn flakes was unilaterally expanded; the average percentage of unpopped kernels was 3.5 %; the coefficient of kernel volume expansion varied from 16.4 to 29.7; and eating qualities were from 3 to 4.5 points. In the second method, the dominant type of popcorn flakes was bilateral expanded; the average percentage of unpopped kernels was 18.2 %; coefficient of kernel volume expansion ranged from 23.4 to 45.2; and eating qualities were from 3.5 to 5 points. For the first popping method, the coefficient of kernel volume expansion had an inverse average correlation with the percentage of unpopped kernels; for the second popping method, it had a direct average correlation with the thousand kernel weight. Conclusions. The method of popping popcorn affects the technological indicators of popcorn such as the number, weight and percentage of unpopped kernels; volume and weight of popcorn flakes; coefficient of kernel volume expansion; type of popped flakes and flavor of popcorn. Lines RB 20, RK 1, RK 44, RK 6 with kernel volume expansion coefficient over 40 and popcorn taste qualities of 5 points were selected. Key words: breeding, line, technological indicators, coefficient of kernel volume expansion, unpopped kernels, type of popped flakes, correlation


By the time of the outbreak of the Civil Wars, may educated British Protestants considered Roman Catholicism to be an anti-religion; indeed, the Cambridge divine William Fulke went so far as to equate it with devil worship. Wealthy and powerful English Catholics attracted extreme hostility in moments of political crisis throughout the early modern period, but in 1642, fear of Roman Catholicism was even used to legitimate the terrible act of rebellion. Keith Lindley has emphasized the civil war neutrality of English Catholics, while many current historians, nervous of displays of religious prejudice, have portrayed the anti-Catholic fears of parliamentarians as cynical propaganda. Michael Finlayson has condemned anti-Catholicism as 'irrational paranoia', to be compared with anti-Semitism, which might, had it not been for the growth of liberal traditions in nineteenth-century England, have led to some sort of 'Final Solution'.


The roof comprises a front element (10) articulated to a rear element (12) whose rear end is articulated with respect to the vehicle, these two elements (10, 12) being stored in the boot (14) vehicle so that the front element (10) is folded over the rear element (12) connected to its articulation (13) relative to the rear vehicule.L'element (12) comprises a central member (15) s extends to the joint (11) between the front elements (10) and rear (12), said central element (15) being articulated relative to the rear element (12) and cooperating with means which, storage position in the boot, maintain the central element (15) at a distance above the rear element (12).


Part I: Science and Philosophy of Pacing Chapter 1 What Is Pacing? Chapter 2 Understanding Pacing Strategies Chapter 4 Psychology of Pacing Chapter 5 Adapting Pacing Strategies Part II: Applications for Sport Chapter 6 Swimming Chapter 7 Cycling Chapter 9 Running Chapter 10 Olympic and Ironman Triathlon Chapter 12 Football Chapter 13 Tennis and Squash.


A test program was undertaken to understand the changes and degradation of the space solar array panel components in their integrated form after multiple years (up to 15) of simulated Earth geosynchronous (GEO) space environment. The solar array coupon panel design included its electrostatic discharge (ESD) mitigation design features. A set of multi-junction GaAs/Ge solar array test coupons was subjected to 5-year increments of combined environmental exposure tests. These tests consisted of: simulated ultraviolet (UV) radiation, ESD, electron/proton particle radiation, thermal cycling, simulated ion thruster exposures, and simulated ion thruster interaction with ESD events on the solar array. Before and after each increment of combined environmental exposures, the coupons underwent visual inspection using high power magnification and electrical tests that included characterization by LAPSS, dark I-V, insulation resistance, and electroluminescence. This paper discusses the test objective, test methodologies, and preliminary results after 5 years, 10 years and 15 years of simulated combined environmental exposure tests.


The question of how much we should spend on the NHS, and by what means, seems to have reached new urgency. Over the past week the BBC's NHS Health Check series of special reports has given graphic form to a rising tide of concern, as waiting lists lengthen, increasingly sick and elderly patients queue inside and outside emergency departments, and overburdened doctors and nurses speak openly about their fears for patients' safety. Patients and relatives are asked what's to be done. Their …


Research on Japanese language and gender has mainly focused on standard language practices (see Miyazaki 2004 as an exception). This scholarship has grown to encompass non-normative speakers of Japanese (e.g., lesbians in Tokyo, is but one example), shedding much needed light on linguistic practices of non-standard language communities. Our understandings of Japanese women's speech practices have flourished over the past thirty-plus years as more and more investigations – of various methods and theories – have added insight into the linguistic practices (both real and imagined) of Japanese women. However, regional women have not enjoyed the same scrutiny and yet, arguably, have a greater repertoire of forms from which to choose and play with as they live their lives in a constant state of potential indexicality. Various questions arise then about how speakers with access to a regional dialect use language at the everyday local level. To what extent does standard Japanese language ideology impact their speaking styles? How do regional women use language as a means to access or reject larger ideals of what it means to be a "Japanese woman"? This paper explores the speech practices of Japanese women in the Western part of Japan.
 The dialect recognized in the Western part of Japan (often referred to as "Kansai ben") is considered a prestige yet non-standard dialect. It is an easily recognized dialect, with whole TV programs conducted in it (usually those comedic in nature). In contrast to other regional speakers (e.g., Tohoku (Northeastern) dialect), Kansai dialect speakers claim pride in their language style and deny switching to Standard Japanese regardless of situation or context. This paper examines naturally occurring conversations drawn from informal conversations collected among women in the Kansai area. Do female speakers of the Kansai dialect rely on Standard Japanese forms in particular instances? If so, what forms and what contexts drive this choice? Moreover, since dialect is often associated with solidarity, how is intimacy created linguistically – are standard or dialect forms selected?
Using empirical data drawn from naturally occurring informal all-female conversations among groups of Kansai women (ranging in age from thirty to seventy), this paper aims to shed light on the speech practices of non-standard speakers of Japanese. Sentence final forms are the specific focus of the current investigation. Prescriptively, the Kansai dialect is not known for female-specific sentence final forms; however, in Standard Japanese there are final forms which are considered strongly stereotypically feminine. There is a question, then, as to whether or not regional speakers use these highly feminine forms; and, if they do, to what end. Sentence final forms are known to index stereotypical gender but to the extents to which regional Japanese women employ these forms are not well investigated.

Miyazaki, Ayumi. 2004. Japanese junior high school girls' and boys' first-person pronoun use and their social world. In Shigeko Okamoto and Janet Shibamoto Smith (eds.) Japanese Language, Gender, and Ideology: Cultural Models and Real People. New York: Oxford University Press. 256-274.


Modeling of watersheds greatly benefits from high spatial resolution of soil data. The models need to be compatible with a format in which soil data is delivered. In the United States, the Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) database provides higher-spatial resolution soil data, but AVSWAT and ArcSWAT, two GIS-enabled interfaces for preparation of input data and post-processing for the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT), are compatible only with the State Soil Geographic (STATSGO) database which is normally prepared with 10 to 20 times coarser scale. Available SSURGO processing tools currently work with AVSWAT, but not with the latest version of ArcSWAT. This study developed a utility for ArcMap GIS that is capable of processing SSURGO soils data into a modified STATSGO format that is readable by ArcSWAT. The SSURGO-ArcSWAT utility was tested for regional soil misclassification in the state of Kansas.


The introduction of advanced features, provided by the emerging next generation networks based on the Generalized Multiprotocol Label Switching (GMPLS) protocol framework in grid computing systems, promises to significantly improve the performance of distributed applications and services. An accurate experimental analysis of the main GMPLS features, such as the different reliability solutions, is then required. In this paper, we present the experimental implementation of different reliability solutions in the Metrocore/VESPER field trial, the high-performance network infrastructure located in Pisa, Italy. Protection and restoration schemes are investigated both at the IP/MPLS and physical layer.


Myxovirus para-influenzae 3 was first recovered from children with acute respiratory disease in the late 1950's (2, 3, 9, 15). Since then, this virus has been shown to be a very common cause of respiratory tract disease, especially in very young children. In adults it is capable of causing a cold-like syndrome. Reinfection with the virus is a common event, even in the presence of circulating antibody, but febrile disease seldom occurs, the illness being mild and self-limiting. In 1959, Reisinger et al. (12) isolated this virus from the nasal mucus of calves showing clinical signs of shipping fever. Experimental infection with the virus, which was given the name SF-4, produced mild respiratory disease in susceptible calves. Later, infection with the virus proved to be widespread as shown by serological surveys in the United States (1) and Canada (10). This report is concerned with the isolation of a strain (RE 55) of Myxoirus para-influenzae 3 from thoroughbred horses, the clinical syndrome observed, and serological surveys of horses in the Toronto area. Subsequent papers will discuss the biological and serological properties of the virus.


Malaria remains a global health burden, inflicting millions of people worldwide. Both CD4+ T cell- and humoral-mediated immunity are crucial to help control parasites in vivo. The induction of a robust and long-lasting immunological memory response forms the basis of an effective vaccine, which is unfortunately lacking in the case of malaria. This necessitates the need to have a deeper understanding of how host immune responses are regulated during malaria. This thesis aimed to contribute to this knowledge gap by defining the molecular pathways underlying the development of effector and memory CD4+ T cell responses during Plasmodium infection in vivo.To assess how Plasmodium-specific CD4+ T cell responses are controlled in vivo, CD4+ T cell receptor transgenic PbTII cells were used in this thesis. PbTII cells were previously established in the lab to differentiate into two effector T helper subsets, T helper 1 (Th1) and T follicular helper (Tfh) cells. Two transcription factors, p53 and T cell factor 1 (TCF1) were also predicted previously to be associated with Tfh responses during Plasmodium infection in vivo, both of which have not been assessed thoroughly in malaria. By generating PbTII cells that lacked either p53 or TCF1, TCF1 was confirmed to be required for optimal Tfh responses in vivo, while the role of p53 remained inconclusive. P53-deficient PbTII cells were able to undergo initial proliferation, effector differentiation, and were retained long-term comparably to their p53- sufficient counterparts. While the absence of TCF1 in PbTII cells had no impact on the initial clonal expansion phase, PbTII cells that lacked TCF1 had reduced expression of several Tfh signature molecules.Next, the development of memory CD4+ T cell responses during Plasmodium infection in vivo was explored. PbTII cells were firstly confirmed to persist long-term in vivo and developed functional memory recall responses by the end of the first month of infection. PbTII cells spanning the first four weeks of infection were then subjected to single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNAseq) analysis to model the transcriptome dynamics underlying memory PbTII cell responses. An exploration of a previously published T central memory precursor (Tcmp) gene signature in PbTII cells was conducted to reveal that Plasmodium-specific CD4+ T cell memory responses developed in the absence of a Tcmp population. Memory responses instead were shown to be derived from effector cells along the same lineage, in which memory phenotypes were further enhanced in the absence of a persisting infection.In vivo testing of the transcriptomic framework then validated the proposed model. Th1 and Tfh effector cells persisted along the same lineage as they gradually transitioned into memory cells, with minimal plasticity observed. The relationships between memory Th1 and Tfh PbTII cells with other CD4+ T cell subsets such as type 1 regulatory T, germinal center Tfh, effector memory T, and central memory T cells were also characterised. Single-cell epigenomics data further confirmed that substantial heterogeneity in chromatin accessibility amongst effector cells was partially reset in memory cells, consistent with the transcriptomic model. Finally, all scRNAseq data from this thesis are provided on an online graphical user interface platform for easy public access for future exploratory work.In summary, work from this thesis provided novel molecular insights for how CD4+ T cell responses are regulated in vivo during experimental blood-stage malaria. This work also identified many previously unstudied molecular targets with the potential for improving long- term immunity against malaria.


Power consumption and Area reduction play a major role in sequential circuit design. A novel design and analysis of a shift register using pulsed latches with reduced power and area is proposed. To reduce the area the traditional data flip-flops are substituted with pulsed latches. The use of various non-overlap delay pulsed clock signals substituted by the traditional single pulsed clock signals by this design solves the timing issues in pulsed latches. In the standard system, shift register uses a single pulsed clock signalfor data transition, which consumes additional power. The shift register uses a small number of the pulsed clock signals and combines the latches to many sub shifter registers and exploitation further temporary storage latches. To minimize power consumption various non-overlaps delayed pulsed clock signal design is proposed for data synchronization in an exceedingly multi-bit shift register. The proposed system is designed by using aHspice tool.


This article explores some of the implications of the current ideational definition of culture. If culture consists of shared ideas, then the findings of cognitive psychology concerning the limits of shortterm memory necessarily constrain the size and complexity of cultural units. Wierzbicka's universal linguistic primes or primitives would then be the atomic units of culture. Although this approach has much to recommend it, problems remain concerning the relation of cultural ideas to their physical manifestations in artifacts and actions, and a classification of the kinds of relations cultural ideas have to their physical manifestations is presented. Finally, the notion that the collection of cultural items held by the members of a society form any kind of entity is critiqued, and the argument is made that there is just one common culture for all humans.


Metrology is one of the driving forces to the development and maturity of engineering disciplines. Measurement and metrics play an important rule in software engineering. This paper explores the fundamental theories for engineering measurement and their applications in software engineering. An axiom-based measurement theory is presented, and a generic measurement methodology is explored. The relational measurement theories for software engineering, particularly the relation-based empirical and formal measurement systems, are systematically developed. This paper demonstrates that a software measurement system can be described by an algebraic system, therefore new measures may be derived based on a core set of meta measures.


Woodstock has a population of 5500, and is located about 50 miles north west of Chicago. It is the county seat of McHenry County, a farming district. The water consumption is mostly domestic with the usual commercial consumption, and an industrial consumption of about 50,000 gallons per day. The industrial consumption is mostly taken by the Borden Dairy Company and The Woodstock Typewriter Company. The average water pumped is 526,000, and the maximum about 800,000 gallons per day. The water supply is secured from two gravel packed wells, each 200 feet deep. These wells were drilled in 1926. Recent tests show that 1000 gallons per minute can be pumped from one, and 900 gallons per minute from the other well, to the ground surface. The recent dry years do not seem to have affected the production of the wells. The additional head required for pumping water to the softening plant reduces the quantity pumped from the wells, with the existing deep well pumps, to 850 and 750 gallons per minute, respectively. The wells are about 150 feet apart.


This essay argues that a central force that mediates the relation of modern consumption to individuals is the figuration of the Far East Orient in America. The paper suggests how the Orient (as object and concept) acts both as an agent for and a palliative against the contradictions activated by modern consumption. The first part of the essay looks into the agendas of collectors, taste professionals, and travel writers such as William Griffis, Edward Morse, Clarence Cook, and Robert Blum that brought the Far East closer to the American consumer. Both the pedagogical and performative aspects of the Oriental object reveal how the Orient comes to be almost exclusively associated with things, things that can gather the problematics of the Orient both inside and outside America and things that can showcase the modernist dialectic of distance and proximity within the registers of history and geography. The traffic in aesthetic Oriental objects—and their absorption into the very homes of middle-class consumers—occasions an intimacy with the other, and the essay will go on to show how this process creates destabilizations in the time and space of the self and its attendant culture even as it ostensibly promises self-aggrandizement.The essay also captures the infiltration of the Orient-as-object into the disciplinary procedures of ethnography, and delineates how an aesthetic discourse of beauty epitomizes the ahistorical, apolitical engagements with the Far East that permeated both scholarly texts and mass media. The paper suggests that an aesthetic ethnography (exemplified by the travel narratives of Lafcadio Hearn and Eliza Ruhamah Scidmore) has the power to mediate the commensurability of the modern and the Oriental. Finally, the essay investigates a few exemplary popular and literary texts for their seminal figurations of the Orient(al) within the nexus of modernity and consumption. Readings of short stories by Beatrice Grimshaw and Frank Norris dramatize the intimate and reciprocal relation between the Orient and the modern. The texts demonstrate how fungible the Orient-as-concept can be within modern narratives of cultural translation and purification, the moral crisis of being possessed by objects, and the unsettling consciousness of experiencing the "past" and the "present" as coeval in everyday life. The paper also examines Cecil B. DeMille's The Cheat to capture the overdetermination of the American Orient in the film and how deftly the narrative stabilizes the dangers of overconsumption and the fears of a publicly traded material world. Consumption, capitalism, and questions of modernity are crystallized in the figure of the modern Oriental.


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Red-eyed treefrog embryos hatch to escape from a snake. Photo credit: Karen M. Warkentin.

Enclosed in a case of moist jelly, most minute frog embryos take their time emerging from the protective coating; but not the spawn of tree-dwelling Agalychnis callidryas (red-eyed


THE REAL TEST OF THE NURSING SPIRIT. It is very significant to not? in the lay papers how widespread is the recognition among members of the public that Edith Cavell's spirit was that principle of love to which nurses dedicate their lives. She is hailed everywhere as the true type of nurse. Every one who knew nurses recognised in her actions and mind the realisation of something which they had seen nurses to be striving for. The fragrance and strength of her memory hold something supernatural, the essence of that voca-


Summary

Geometric morphometries are a set of recently developed techniques in the study of biological forms. In this paper these techniques are used in the characterisation of shape changes of the cranial region during growth of the Adriatic sturgeon Acipenser naccarii. Species identification in sturgeons is sometimes difficult, biased by morphological plasticity, by individual variability, complicated by human intervention and manipulation, such as aquaculture, hybridisation, pollution and shape changes during growth (allometry). Characteristic changes in head morphology during subadult growth concern the relative shortening and the lateral stretching of the entire head region. These and other observed shape changes were never previously visualised nor reported in the literature. Geometric morphometries is proposed as a good candidate to became the universal methodology in the morphometrical analysis of sturgeons.


Abstract The Cold Lake oil sands occur in the Lower Cretaceous Mannville Group, covering an area of almost 3,500 sq mi (9065 sq km) in East Central Alberta. Topographic expression of the Pre-Mannville surface influenced paralic sedimentation. A comparison of oil sand occurrence with gross sandy facies indicates that the distribution of the best oil-saturated sands is controlled by depositional environment and basin configuration. The proved reserves of the Cold Lake oil sands are estimated to be in the order of 160 billion barrels (25.4 × 109 m3) of oil in-place. The oil sands were classified into three categories — Rich, Intermediate and Lean — according to minimum oil saturation limits of 10, 5 and 3 per cent by weight. The oil saturations of the sands were determined by core analyses and log resistivity data from 412 wells. A factor of approximately 2 was used to convert oil saturation from weight per cent to volume per cent. Other factors of about 23, 15 and 8 per cent were derived from the Rich, Intermediate and Lean categories, respectively, to convert volume of mapped oil sands to volume of oil in-place.


The aim is to obtain the rule of initial prestress of mega brace in prestress-mega-braced steel frame structure through studying the work principle of prestress-mega-braced steel frame structure.By gradually increasing the prestress value in numerical model in SAP2000,and simulating the work process of prestressed mega braces,the mechanical theory is analyzed.The results indicate that prestressed mega brace can improve lateral stiffness of structure.Under determinate direction load,compression brace has adverse effect on controlling lateral displacement.However,X mega braces can be used due to uncertain direction load.Initial prestress value should comply with the rule that residual tension in compression brace is near to zero under exterior loads.


Extracellular ion concentrations change during seizures in seizure models. [K+]o increases and [Ca2+]o decreases, resulting from population discharges, enhanced neuronal excitability, though not obviously before seizure onset. In acute pharmacological epilepsy models, there are striking increases in preictal high‐frequency (gamma) electroencephalographic (EEG) activity. It is not known whether enhanced gamma EEG results in ionic changes, because gamma and ions have not been measured simultaneously. In this study, unanesthetized, paralyzed rats were given intravenous injections of kainic acid or picrotoxin to induce EEG discharges. Changes in EEG, [K+]o, and [Ca2+]o in cortex and hippocampus were recorded. Kainic acid caused small [K+]o fluctuations, without a temporal relationship of these with increased gamma EEG or with onset of discharges. Gamma EEG increases after picrotoxin also failed to affect [K+]o and [Ca2+]o. Picrotoxin‐induced electrical discharges led to [K+]o rises of >9 mM and [Ca2+]o falls of 0.1–0.2 mM. Kainic acid‐induced discharges generated only moderate (2–3 mM) rises in [K+]o and no changes in [Ca2+]o. In both models, there were large potassium rises (15–80 mM) and calcium falls (>0.5 mM), suggesting spreading depressions. Small [K+]o fluctuations after kainic acid are consistent with disruption in potassium homeostasis, possibly because of depolarization of astrocytes. To reveal possible latent [K+]o or [Ca2+]o changes, we injected fluorocitrate intracortically to impair astrocytic function, before administering picrotoxin. Even fluorocitrate did not cause gamma‐related ion changes but did cause low‐magnitude, transient, potassium increases and slower potassium homeostasis during discharges, minor changes consistent with involvement of both astrocytes and neurons in [K+]o regulation. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


2. Filocamo MT, Li Marzi V, Del Popolo G et al: Effectiveness of early pelvic floor rehabilitation treatment for post-prostatectomy incontinence. Eur Urol 2005; 48: 734. 3. Goode PS, Burgio KL, Johnson TM 2nd et al: Behavioral therapy with or without biofeedback and pelvic floor electrical stimulation for persistent postprostatectomy incontinence: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA 2011; 305: 151. 4. Gromley EA, Lightner DJ, Burgio KL et al: Diagnosis and treatment of overactive bladder (non-neurogenic) in adults: AUA/SUFU guideline. J Urol, suppl., 2012; 188: 2455. 5. Cornu JN, Merlet B, Ciofu C et al: Duloxetine for mild to moderate postprostatectomy incontinence: preliminary results of a randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Eur Urol 2011; 59: 148. 6. Poon SA, Silberstein JL, Savage C et al: Surgical practice patterns for male urinary incontinence: analysis of case logs from certifying American urologists. J Urol 2012; 188: 205. 7. Kim PH, Pinheiro LC, Atoria CL et al: Trends in the use of incontinence procedures after radical prostatectomy: a population based analysis. J Urol 2013; 189: 602. 8. Westney OL, Bevan-Thomas R, Palmer JL et al: Transurethral collagen injections for male intrinsic sphincter deficiency: the University of TexasHouston experience. J Urol 2005; 174: 994. 9. Gomes CM, Broderick GA, Sanchez-Ortiz RF et al: Artificial urinary sphincter for post-prostatectomy incontinence: impact of prior collagen injection on cost and clinical outcome. J Urol 2000; 163: 87. 10. Kaufman JJ: Surgical treatment of post-prostatectomy incontinence: use of the penile crura to compress the urethra. J Urol 1972; 107: 293. 11. Schaeffer AJ, Clemens JQ, Ferrari M et al: The male bulbourethral sling procedure for post-radical prostatectomy incontinence. J Urol 1998; 159: 1510. 12. Madjar S, Jacoby K, Giberti C et al: Bone anchored sling for the treatment of post-prostatectomy incontinence. J Urol 2001; 165: 72. 13. Comiter CV: The male sling for stress urinary incontinence: a prospective study. J Urol 2002; 167: 597. 14. Rehder P and Gozzi C: Transobturator sling suspension for male urinary incontinence including post-radical prostatectomy. Eur Urol 2007; 52: 860. 15. Rehder P, Haab F, Cornu JN et al: Treatment of postprostatectomy male urinary incontinence with the transobturator retroluminal repositioning sling suspension: 3-year follow-up. Eur Urol 2012; 62: 140. 16. Collado Serra A, Resel Folkersma L, Dominguez-Escrig JL et al: AdVance/AdVance XP transobturator male slings: preoperative degree of incontinence as predictor of surgical outcome. Urology 2013; 81: 1034. 17. Kumar A, Litt ER, Ballert KN et al: Artificial urinary sphincter versus male sling for post-prostatectomy incontinencedwhat do patients choose? J Urol 2009; 181: 1231. 18. Lentz AC, Peterson AC and Webster GD: Outcomes following artificial sphincter implantation after prior unsuccessful male sling. J Urol 2012; 187: 2149. 19. Bauer RM, Soljanik I, Fullhase C et al: Results of the AdVance transobturator male sling after radical prostatectomy and adjuvant radiotherapy. Urology 2011; 77: 474. 20. Bauer RM, Gozzi C, Hubner W et al: Contemporary management of postprostatectomy incontinence. Eur Urol 2011; 59: 985. 21. Comiter CV, Nitti V, Elliot C et al: A new quadratic sling for male stress incontinence: retrograde leak point pressure as a measure of urethral resistance. J Urol 2012; 187: 563. 22. Scott FB, Bradley WE and Timm GW: Treatment of urinary incontinence by an implantable prosthetic urinary sphincter. J Urol 1974; 112: 75. 23. Gousse AE, Madjar S, Lambert MM et al: Artificial urinary sphincter for post-radical prostatectomy urinary incontinence: long-term subjective results. J Urol 2001; 166: 1755. 24. Raj GV, Peterson AC, Toh KL et al: Outcomes following revisions and secondary implantation of the artificial urinary sphincter. J Urol 2005; 173: 1242. 25. Lai HH and Boone TB: Complex artificial urinary sphincter revision and reimplantation casesdhow do they fare compared to virgin cases? J Urol 2012; 187: 951. 26. Elliott DS and Barrett DM: Mayo Clinic long-term analysis of the functional durability of the AMS 800 artificial urinary sphincter: a review of 323 cases. J Urol 1998; 159: 1206. 27. Henry GD, Graham SM, Cleves MA et al: Perineal approach for artificial urinary sphincter implantation appears to control male stress incontinence better than the transscrotal approach. J Urol 2008; 179: 1475. 28. Sandhu JS, Maschino AC and Vickers AJ: The surgical learning curve for artificial urinary sphincter procedures compared to typical surgeon experience. Eur Urol 2011; 60: 1285. 29. Kjaer L, Fode M, Norgaard N et al: Adjustable continence balloons: clinical results of a new minimally invasive treatment for male urinary incontinence. Scand J Urol Nephrol 2012; 46: 196. 30. Gotoh M, Yamamoto T, Kato M et al: Regenerative treatment of male stress urinary incontinence by periurethral injection of autologous adiposederived regenerative cells: 1 year outcomes in 11 patients. Int J Urol 2014; 21: 294.


Chinese petai (Leucaena leucocephala folium) and aloe vera (Aloe vera L.) have medicinal properties among the plants.  The objective of this study was to determine the number of inhibitory zones produced by the ethanol extract of Chinese petai and aloe vera on the growth of Escherichia coli. The research method was In-vitro Experimental Laboratory research design with the Kirby Bauer method. The samples used was Chinese petai and aloe vera with pure strains of E. coli. One Way ANOVA was used to compare the differences in inhibition of Chinese petai and aloe vera on the growth of E. coli. The results of a combination of Chinese petai and aloe vera extract test showed that there were significant differences in the concentration of 25 g, 50 g, 75 g, and 100 g (p <0.05). The ethanol extract of Chinese petai and aloe vera can inhibit the growth of E. coli. From the results of this study found that there was an interaction on the combination of ethanol extract of Chinese petai and aloe vera inhibiting the growth of E. coli with the most effective concentration being 100 g/mL. This study can find out the benefits of petai cina and aloe vera also the public will know the benefits and efficacy of Chinese petai and aloe vera leaves in medicine.


The spike-and-slab methodology for variable selection has been widely used in statistical data analysis since its inception more than two decades ago. Developments for varying coefficient models have not yet received much attention. Here, we address the problem of dynamic variable selection in time series regression, where the set of active predictors is allowed to evolve over time. To capture time-varying variable selection uncertainty, we introduce new dynamic shrinkage priors for the time series of regression coefficients. These priors are characterized by two main ingredients: smooth parameter evolutions and intermittent zeroes for modeling predictive breaks. More formally, our proposed Dynamic Spike-and-Slab (DSS) priors are constructed as mixtures of two processes: a spike process for the irrelevant coefficients and a slab autoregressive process for the active coefficients. The mixing weights are themselves time-varying and depend on a lagged value of the series. A key distinguishing feature of DSS priors is that their stationary distribution is fully known and characterized by spike-and-slab marginals. This property guarantees marginal stability and probabilistic coherence. We characterize dynamic selection thresholds for MAP smoothing and implement a one-step-late EM algorithm for fast calculations. We demonstrate, through simulation and a topical high-dimensional macroeconomic dataset, that DSS priors are far more effective at finding signal and improving forecasts compared to other existing strategies.


Objective To analyze the delivery mode of the re-pregnant women after caesarean section.Methods We Retrospectively analyzed the delivery mode of 167 cases of the re-pregnant women after caesarean section(RCS) between Dec.2006 and Dec.2011.At the same time,we compared those cases with the 92 cases of the first caesarean section(PCS) in the same period.Results In 167 cases,108 cases adopted trial of vaginal labor,with 75 successful cases(the success rate was 69.4%),33 cases of re-caesarean section,2 cases of threatened rupture of uterus.The average days of hospitalization of the RCS were more than that of the PCS.The quantity of the postpartum hemorrhage and the rate of pelvic adhesion were more than those of the PCS,with statistical significance(P0.05).Conclusion Caesarean birth history is not the absolute indication of a caesarean birth.If the pregnant fits for the indications of vaginal trial production,vaginal delivery is possible under the intensive monitoring.


This paper is concerned with the existence and the nodal character of the nontrivial solutions in the entire space for some semilinear elliptic equation involving critical Sobolev exponent.


Background: Arylamine N-acetyltransferase 2 (NAT2) polymorphism was previously reported to have association with the risk of drug toxicities and the development of various diseases. Previous research on the Indonesian population, especially Javanese and Sundanese, showed that there were 33% NAT2 slow acetylator phenotype. The aim of this study was to map the NAT2 variation in the Malay ethnic to gain a deeper insight into NAT2 haplotypic composition in this ethnic. Methods: 50 healthy samples from the Indonesian Malay ethnic were obtained. They were interviewed about their ethnic backgrounds for the last three generations. DNA was extracted from peripheral blood and NAT2 genotyping was done using the PCR direct Sequencing. Data were compiled according to the genotype and allele frequencies estimated from the observed numbers of each specific allele. Haplotype reconstruction was performed using PHASE v2.1.1 software. Results: We found 7 haplotypes consisting of 6 SNPs and 14 NAT2 genotype variations in Indonesian Malay population. The most frequent allele was NAT2*6A (38%) which was classified as a slow acetylator allele. According to bimodal distribution, the predicted phenotype of the Malay population was composed of 62% rapid acetylator and 38% slow acetylator. According to trimodal distribution, the predicted phenotypes for rapid, intermediate and slow acetylators were 10%, 52% and 38% respectively. Conclusion: Our result indicates the presence of the allelic distribution and revealed the most frequent acetylator status and phenotype for the Indonesian Malay population. The result of this study will be helpful for future epidemiological or clinical studies and for understanding the genetic basis of acetylation polymorphism in Indonesia.


In order to optimize the processes for the collection of ISCOMs,and find the immunity of aerolysin and aerolysin ISCOMs.The aerolysin gene of Aeromonas hydrophila ZN1 was orientationally inserted into the prokaryotic expression Vector pET32a(+).The recombinant plasmid was transformed into E.coli BL21(DE3).After being induced with 1mmol/L IPTG for 4h,the Trx-Aerolysin(Trx-AerA) fusion protein was expressed with inclusion bodies from and up to 65.5% in total recombined bacterial proteins.After being centrifuged at 40 000×g for 4 h,Trx-Aerolysin was divided into 5 groups for making ISCOMs: Group 1 was mixed with QuilA,Mega-10,lecithin,cholesterol,Group 2 was mixed with QuilA,Mega-10,Group 3 was mixed with QuilA,lecithin,cholesterol,Group 4 was mixed with QuilA,Group 5 only contained TrxAerolysin.All groups were centrifuged at 38 000×g for 20 h,centrifugal sedimentation was collected for analysis.After being analysed for protein concentration,SDS-PAGE and ultrastructure,the results showed that the protein yield rate of the five groups was 10.46%,7.23%,3.17%,1.82%,and 0.53% respectively.The protein yield rate of the five groups had significant difference(P0.05),Mega-10,lecithin,cholesterol improved the yield rate of ISCOMs.Next,eels were divided into 4 groups for immunization.Group 1 was injected with Trx-AerA fusion protein ISCOMs,Group 2 was injected with Trx-AerA fusion proteins,Group 3 was injected with Trx ISCOMs,and Group 4 was injected with Tris-Cl.After 30d,the immune effects were evaluated,five eels were selected from each group for the detection of the value of sera antibody while the others were challenged with Aeromonas hydrophilla ZN1.The results showed that the RPS of the eels immunized with Trx-AerA ISCOMs,Trx ISCOMs,Trx-AerA was 83.3%(13/15),50%(9/15),and 0(3/15)after being injected with 2.0×106 CFU Aeromonas hydrophilla ZN1.The values of sera antibody to aerolysin during the group immunized with Trx-AerA ISCOMs and the group immunized with AerA were significantly higher than that of the group immunized with Trx ISCOMs(P0.05).These results suggested that the non-specific immune response might contribute greatly to eel immunity except in the case of sera antibody.


Because of the paucity of hard facts in our knowledge of early texts such as the Mozi, we inevitably have had to rely on assumptions when interpreting these texts. These assumptions have contributed to the portrayal of Mo Di as a philosopher, the founder of Mohist thought, and promoter of a coherent thought system in Ten Core Ideas. We can read the Mozi in a novel way by methodologically putting these assumptions on hold, not necessarily by rejecting them. This approach draws attention to the differences among the Ten Core Ideas, their not quite fixed forms, and their remarkably poor presence in the Mozi. It leads to another, equally plausible portrayal of Mohist thought as gradually shaped by its authors and editors along with the formation of the book.


C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP), one of the natriuretic peptides (NPs) family, plays an important role in mediating cardiovascular homeostasis and maintaining the cardiac structure. As a remarkable polypeptide hormone, CNP has been demonstrated capacilities to regulate fluid volume, water and salt balance. CNP also possesses vasorelaxing, anti-proliferation, and anti-hypertrophic properties, which may be related to heart failure, coronary artery disease, pulmonary artery hypertension, left ventricular hypertrophy and cardiocerebral events. In the review, we described CNP structure, characteristics, receptors, and relative signaling pathway. This review is aimed to summarize the role of CNP in the circulation system and cardiovascular system. Furthermore, CNP-based drugs may provide a promising therapeutic strategy for preventing and treating heart failure, pulmonary artery hypertension and coronary artery disease.

Key words:
C-type natriuretic peptide; Circulation system; Cardiovascular disease


This chapter examines the contribution to foreign policymaking under Harold Macmillan and Sir Alec Douglas-Home of their foreign policy private secretary, Philip de Zulueta in the context of de Zulueta''s wider career.


By March 1989 approximately 400,000 general‐purpose computers were in use: these could be found in various fields including financial systems, traffic control, medicine, factories, official registration systems and so forth. It could be said that more or less all important activities depended on computers. Reflecting the wide‐ranging computerisation of business quite a lot of computer‐related crime had appeared that could not be easily dealt with under the provisions of the Japanese penal code as then in force. So a bill to amend the penal code was passed into law in the course of the 108th session of the Diet on 27th May, 1987. The new Act contains provisions amending the penal code so as better to cover computer‐related crime. These provisions came into force on 22nd June, 1987. As a consequence it has become necessary to study various procedural issues that pertain to computer‐related crime.


The invention relates to a method in an automated system for handling at least two versions of an application. The system comprises a controller 8 for automation of a process by means of the application stored thereon in bidirectional connection with a communication server 2. The communication server 2 is in turn in bidirectional connection with at least two clients. By means of the method an improved communication between a communication server and several clients are provided. Graphics and images can be displayed without reconfiguration when a new version of an application is used. The invention also relates to such system.


Abstract Solutions are developed for the conductive heat flow in the xy plane where there is a uniform flow at infinite values of y, and where y = 0 represents the interface between two materials. This interface consists of an arbitrary pattern of perfectly conducting strips and non-conducting gaps. It is assumed that thermoelastic effects are negligible. The solution takes the form of an equation with one unknown parameter per gap, and these unknowns can be found by a simple solution process involving numerical integration. The effective resistance of the interface can then be determined by a simple numerical integration.


Wireless communication systems suffer from the destructive effects of channel fading. In this paper we propose a nonlinear signal processing method for diversity combining based on a Hammerstein type filter to mitigate the fading effects. In the present work, frequency selective Rayleigh fading channels in presence of additive white gaussian noise (AWGN) are considered and BPSK modulation is employed. Comparison of simulation results based on our proposed technique with the results obtained when linear equalizing filters are employed, shows that our technique leads to a considerably better BER performance at higher SNRs. We also show that our method has a lower complexity than the linear structure. Especially, we do not use any memory in our system that is a valuable advantage in many practical applications.