8013 Background: Addressing emotional distress and unmet needs in informal caregivers (CGs) of cancer patients (PTs) is crucial to alleviate burden associated with advanced cancer. Multiple CG unmet needs (informational, social, practical, emotional and spiritual) have been reported but the barriers to addressing needs have rarely been explored. This exploratory study identified services that CGs believed would address their needs, and barriers to service receipt.

METHODS
CGs (N = 46) of out-PTs with advanced cancer completed a distress thermometer (DT; 0=no distress to10=extreme distress) and depression scale(CES-D). CGs identified desired services and potential barriers to service receipt from a list of 17 possible services (e.g., physician and nurse visits, counseling and spiritual services) each linked to a barriers checklist (e.g. finances, transportation, time constraints, privacy, confidence in the service, the PT's desires).

RESULTS
The mean age was 56.6 (range31-75) and 21.7% were male. The DT score was >5 in 43.4% and CES-D ≥16 in 37.0% of CGs. Frequently desired services were a "conversation alone with oncologist"(56.5%), "conversation alone with oncology nurse"(47.8%), personal physician for own care (47.8%), counselor/therapist (47.8%) and visiting nurse at home (39.1%). The barriers checklist revealed multiple barriers to service receipt. Lack of confidence in the quality of at least one service was cited by 41.3% of CGs, time constraints by 15% and PT barriers by 15%. No one service was clearly linked with one vs. another barrier.

CONCLUSIONS
Caregivers are often not considered part of the unit of care but they need access to services for their own personal support and for PT care delivery at home. In this exploratory study, CGs commonly requested preferences for services that are not traditionally offered and for which system-based reimbursement barriers exist. Multiple barriers were identified by CGs and depression itself may be a barrier. This study sought to create awareness of a mismatch between desire for, and availability of CG services and of barriers to service receipt. Larger studies are needed on this topic. No significant financial relationships to disclose.


The master thesis is concerned with the investigation of void fraction distributionsacross BWR fuel assemblies without spacers in minor scale design and with theinvestigation of the influence of di ...


The objective of this study is to compare the spray characteristics of aged injectors using diesel/bio-diesel with a new one based on the spray pattern and performance of the injectors r. The experiments are conducted using a 6-holes injector manufactured by BOSCH. The fuel is injected into the chamber and is measured using laser-based imaging technique. The measured spray characteristics in environments of different pressures can suitably provide bases for diesel engine modifications and fesibility verification for bio-diesel applition.


The architecture of a multiprocessor machine designed specifically for simulating large digital neural networks is described. The single-input multiple data (SIMD) machine comprises a host computer for high-level control and software development, a network controller which has data distribution and control responsibilities, and multiple processor arrays which carry out most of the computation for the network. Each processor array comprises a high-performance reduced instruction set computer (RISC) as a controller and 20 processing elements, each of which consist of a custom VLSI floating point processor and 1.5 Mbytes of private high-speed memory. The peak processing rate for a single processor array is 500 MFLOPS which can be sustained for relatively long vectors.<<ETX>>


A case of a sixteen-year-old male who had suffered from irreparable brachial plexus paralysis caused by motor-cycle accident was reported. The diagnosis of irreparable total brachial plexus paralysis was made by cervical myelography, presence of Horner's syndrome and other neurological deficits. At four weeks after the injury, surgery was performed by means of a nerve crossanastomosis using the third and fourth intercostal nerves with the musculocutaneous nerve. Twenty months after the surgery, active flexion of the elbow was returning and arthrodesis of the shoulder was added.


In this work, we numerically investigate the effects of geometrical deformations due to the fabrication process on propagation loss of the fundamental mode (FM) and modal content in Hollow-Core Tube-Lattice Fibres (HC-TLFs). HC-TLFs are gaining more and more ground in applications (high power beam delivery [1], low latency communications [2], gas-optics [3], and quantum optics [4]) requiring low propagation loss, single-mode operation, and high quality and polarization purity of the propagating light. In the last year, thanks to an intense research activity, these requirements have been fulfilled, at least for ideal geometries. Experimental results show there is still a gap between ideal and measured performance, due to non-idealities introduced by the fabrication process, in particular geometry deformations and silica surface roughness.


Positive-ion methane chemical ionization (CI) mass spectra were obtained for seven underivatized tricyclic amines: amitriptyline, nortriptyline, protriptyline, imipramine, desipramine, cyclobenzaprine and cyproheptadine. Some discrepancies in previously reported spectra were noted. Spectra of protriptyline, cyclobenzaprine and cyproheptadine are reported for the first time. Comparisons are made among the CI spectra and with electron ionization spectra, and relative abundances of major CI ions among the seven compounds are rationalized in terms of substituent and geometric effects.

In most cases low-mass iminium ions from anion abstraction were more abundant than [MH]+. Hydride abstraction and adduct formation with reagent-gas ions were important. The three heterocyclic amines gave abundant [M]+˙ by electron transfer. Protonation at the nitrogen atom on the side chain followed by amine elimination gave tricyclic aromatic fragment ions.


Let be a smooth Riemann surface foliation on , where M is a complex manifold and is a closed set. Fix a hermitian metric g on and assume that all leaves of are hyperbolic. For each leaf , the ratio of , the restriction of g to L, and the Poincaré metric on L defines a positive function η that is known to be continuous on under suitable conditions on M, E. For a domain , we consider , the restriction of to U and the corresponding positive function by considering the ratio of g and the Poincaré metric on the leaves of . First, we study the variation of as U varies in the Hausdorff sense motivated by the work of Lins Neto–Martins. Secondly, Minda had shown the existence of a domain Bloch constant for a hyperbolic Riemann surface S, which in other words shows that every holomorphic map from the unit disc into S, whose distortion at the origin is bounded below, must be locally injective in some hyperbolic ball of uniform radius. We show how to deduce a version of this Bloch constant for .


The function words have important rhetoric function in Ancient Chinese.We study it in three aspects:1.the rhetoric status;2.the rhetoric function;3.the principles and the methods.


Background
Primary squamous cell carcinoma of the thyroid gland (PSCTC) is a rare malignancy, but demonstrates a very aggressive behaviour and has a poor prognosis. The best treatment is radical surgery and postoperative chemo- and radiotherapy, although there are some reports that this tumour is resistant to conservative therapy.
Patients often present with a large tumour mass on the neck with a solid consistency. Diagnosis is usually set during the operation - on a frozen section.
Case report
We present a case of a 71-year old man with weight loss and rapidly growing neck mass for the last two months. MRI showed a tumour of the left lobe of the thyroid gland, compressing the trachea and the adjacent structures. A left thyroidectomy with isthmectomy has been performed. Frozen section showed primary squamous cell carcinoma. Tumour recurrence two months later led to the second operation with the same effect. The patient died in a couple of months.
Conclusion
Because of its rarity and poor biology, treatment of PSCTC remains unsatisfactory. There are still many challenges on its origin, behaviour and prognostic factors. The results of postoperative chemo- or radiotherapy are controversial.


Graphene is an excellent thermoacoustic material due to its small heat capacity per unit area. However, there is obvious thermal leakage from the substrate which lower the sound emission efficiency. Here, in order to improve the efficiency, vertical graphene has been used as thermoacoustic device. In this paper, the high-quality vertical graphene was prepared by the MPCVD method, and the height of the vertical graphene was about 3.4 μm. Then a thermoacoustic device was fabricated based on vertical graphene. Compared to graphene, the unique structure of vertical graphene makes the device less area to substrate with less thermal leakage and can produce a higher sound pressure level (SPL) per unit area under the same height, the SPL value can reach as high as 60 dB at a measure distance of 0.3 cm with input power of 1.2W. This sound device based on vertical graphene is potential to be used in a wide range of applications.


Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report findings on an initiative set up by The Welsh Assembly Government to provide free, healthy breakfasts to primary school children throughout Wales.

Design/methodology/approach – The research employed a cluster randomised controlled trial design with 58 schools in South, West and North Wales. Quantitative measures were taken at baseline, four months and 12 months.

Findings – With the injection of more money and effective services it was found that the free school breakfast initiative could help improve health and social inequalities.

Originality/value – This paper provides some of the background to the initiative, describes the evaluation and highlights some of the key methodological issues that arose during the course of the research.


Patient selection for autologous tissue transfer for postmastectomy breast reconstruction often utilizes body mass index (BMI) to risk stratify patients, though it only estimates fat content and does not address fat distribution. This study aims to identify a measurement of abdominal subcutaneous fat thickness (ASFT) from preoperative computed tomography (CT) angiography imaging to better predict complications.


The interaction of the public library with the environment is analyzed based on an empirical study of six California public libraries. Two adaptive responses are defined: changes in the organization and attempts to change the environment. Both kinds of techniques are described, followed by an analysis of the factors influencing library behavior.


The study of preservice elementary teachers' knowledge of fractions is important because fractions are notoriously difficult to learn and teach. Unfortunately, studies of preservice teachers' fraction knowledge are limited and have focused primarily on division. The present study included all four operations to provide a more comprehensive understanding of this knowledge. Because knowledge is complex, it was examined in five ways: computational skill, basic concepts, word problems, flexibility, and transfer. To further capture the complexity of knowledge, solution methods were examined for patterns that might reveal understandings and misconceptions. Data were gathered before and after a course designed to deepen preservice teachers' knowledge. Quantitative and qualitative shifts occurred during the semester, but flexibility and transfer were low. Implications for teacher education are discussed.


With changing demand in Bangladesh, the tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) has recently gained popularity among farmers. Since mortality play a vital factor in culture system and profitability, the present study was conducted to estimate the mortality in relation to stocking density of hormone treated tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) in hapa culture systems. Pond preparation was done before the experiment was conducted with three treatments i.e. three different stocking densities namely T1, T2 and T3. Initial average weight of fish was 0.09g. A commercial powdered feeds fed at the rate of 35% body weight up to first seven days and then gradually it was readjusted to 25, 15 and 10%, respectively up to 28 days. The water quality parameter such as temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, were monitored at seven days interval. At the end of the trial, the growth performances were evaluated by comparing mean final body weight, specific growth rate (SGR) and mortality rate. The mean total weight gain of T3 (1170 ± 2.00g) was significantly higher than T1 (1148.00 ± 2.00g), followed by T2 (1345.00 ± 5.00g). Significantly (P<0.01) the higher SGR value (11.56) was recorded in treatment T2 whereas the lower SGR value (10.52) was obtained in T3. The values of mortality were recorded as 3.38, 12.50 and 20.96% in T1, T2 and T3, respectively. The highest mortality (20.96%) was found in treatment T3 whereas the lowest mortality (3.38%) was found in T1. The production was found 5.252 kg/hapa/28days, 4.899 kg/hapa/28days and 4.881 kg/hapa/28days from T1, T2 and T3, respectively.


ABSTRACT Supernatural narratives sustain popularity partly due to the way they speak to threats, such as the idea that the appearance of the monster heralds the inevitability of large–scale human destruction or transformation. The theme of apocalypse has become increasingly prevalent in popular culture, widely rehearsed in Anglo–American television horror since the 9/11 attack on New York City – with its concomitant sense of vulnerability amongst Western nations and growing ethos of social and political extremity. In the third season of John Logan's Penny Dreadful (Showtime/Sky), Christian Camargo portrays the all–powerful vampire, Dracula, disguised as a charming museum curator, who entrances the female lead, Vanessa Ives, with his terrifying vision of an evolutionary 'end of days' (S3:E6). Vanessa's struggle to resist the compulsion of Dracula's fatalistic embrace speaks to issues of pressing immediacy in our own time, including the ambiguities of human agency in the face of a transfigured world. This paper will interrogate the theme of compulsive apocalypse and the sublime in John Logan's Penny Dreadful.


Sea traffic is confined within a 2D sea surface. Although there inevitably exists an intersec- tion, boundaries of the intersection are vague as a result of free sailing of vessels on the sea surface. The Global Positioning System (GPS) and the Automatic Identification System (AIS) are now in service and they enable mutual communication among vessels in passage about their positions and speeds with their identities. The AIS can also provide various binary messages for traffic control by the Vessel Traffic Service Center (VTS). The VTS, therefore, can provide effective information to vessels in passage to avoid collision dan- ger and for the smooth and efficient sea transportation. The conventional VTS gathered sea traffic informa- tion with Radio Detecting and Ranging (RADAR) systems and voice communication through Very High Frequency (VHF). The AIS provides precise information about vessels within the objective sea area of the VTS. It is possible for the VTS to indicate much safer courses and speeds to vessels in passage based upon the precise information with the AIS. We have developed a sea traffic simulation system (SEATRAS) for maritime safety assessment and development/improvement on navigation support systems and aids to navi- gation. As the SEATRAS has already supported the AIS communications, it is ready to be used for the VTS simulation for checking algorithm of a sea traffic control. On the SEATRAS we define an intersection zone and four neighboring zones. The VTS agent is also joined to the SEATRAS to gather status information of vessels in these zones with the AIS. The VTS makes an optimal set of navigation plans and gives orders or recommendations for the optimal plans to the respective vessels. We perform a simulation study using the SEATRAS and investigate on the safety and the efficiency of the sea traffic around an intersection..


Computational models in DOE-relevant applications contain several inputs representing physical parameters—e.g., boundary conditions or material specifications. To be credible, scientific studies that employ these models must explore the model's predictions over a suitable parameter space—e.g., numerically estimated integrals in uncertainty quantification (UQ) or numerical optimizations in computer-aided design. A hero calculation at a single, nominal parameter value (i) cannot claim robustness to input parameter uncertainty and (ii) provides no insight into the essential model components that affect the prediction.


Curcumin, the constituent of Curcuma longa, is considered a very promising anticancer agent due to its potent and pleiotropic antineoplastic activity and low nonspecific toxicity to normal cells (1). However the clinical realization of its potential has been limited due to its poor aqueous solubility (11ng/ml) and very low systemic bioavailability. A possible aproach to overcome these limitations is the design of nanosized vechicles of curcumin.
The present work reports the preparation, characterization and in vitro evaluation of antineoplastic activity of curcumin loaded calixarenes-in liposomes nanoparticles.


Accumulating research suggests individuals with subjective cognitive concerns (SCC) and Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) experience subtle but noticeable functional changes, despite diagnostic criteria emphasising predominantly intact daily functioning to differentiate them from more severe stages of decline, i.e. dementia. This study investigates how factors associated with cognition, general health, and psychosocial wellbeing relate to functional change longitudinally in older adults with early‐stage cognitive change.


Ductile fracture investigations are an important part in current research. The simulation of fracture by means of numerical codes needs precise material data that may be reached from accurate mechanical testing. In order to predict failure processes, the stress state history as a function of strain development has to be known. In this work tensile tests on HY80 steel were performed under quasistatic and high strain rate loading conditions at room temperature using smooth and notched specimens. The force-time and displacement-time behaviour was measured during testing. Additionally, scanning electron microscopy was used to investigate the fractured surfaces. Furthermore, different models were applied to describe the failure process. FE-calculations were used to receive the stress state in the material in the region of the notch as a function of strain development.


This paper concerns the development of a new type of force sensor called Gyroscopic Force Measuring System (simply called GFMS) for measuring a force vectorialy. The GFMS realized a highly accurate measurement using an estimator for the unknown angles of incidence of a force vector. The estimator, however, assumed an exact knowledge on the dynamical equations in the steady-state. This caused much degradation in the measurement accuracy unless the steady-state of the GFMS could be attained. The estimation errors of the angle of incidence directly affect the accurate measuring of the force. We can get the better performance by choosing the adequate damping coefficient of gyroscope (for high frequency mode). From the error analysis, some essential information for designing the GFMS is obtained.


Everyone has moral responsibility, and the strong or weak sense of moral responsibility has direct bearing on the level of moral value the college students would choose. The right understanding of career, study, human relations and money is the concrete expression of the students' understanding of the world, life and value, so it can be the fundamental aspect to be dealt with in moral responsibility educaion. The basic task moral education should fulfi is to make clear the confused ideas in the students' minds , and help students understand the positive effect of the performance of moral responsibility on their lives and growth and help them develop a strong sense of moral responsibility.


We calculate the moments of inertia of D‐dimensional spheres and spherical shells, where D is a complex number. We also examine the moments of inertia of fractional‐dimensional geometrical objects such as the Cantor set and the Sierpinski carpet and their D‐dimensional analogs.


It is the core of Eliminating Ineffective Work (EIW) of Industrial Engineering (IE), which stores in IE itself, that has been generalized in this paper, having been dated back to the theory upon " husbanding labor & simplifying labor" established by Adam Smith as a classical economist, to the management idea upon " eliminating dawdling work" & " eliminating ineffective motion" expounded by F.W.Taylor as a pioneer of IE, to the management thinking upon " eliminating waste(Muda)" extracted by TOYOTA Production and Lean Production, to the " methods and applications of Life Cycle Cost" discovered by Mrs. Mary Earles as a logistic expert, and so on; And it is pointed out that the nature of IE core of EIW is to liberate the productive forces; And the task in the primary stage of IE is to liberate physical labor with classical IE methods and the objective during the higher stage of IE is to liberate mental labor.


An augened, strongly flasered, and multiply folded monzonitic gneiss occurs in a structural dome in the Black Bear Island Lake region of northern Saskatchewan, within the ca. 1850 Ma Paleoproterozoic southern Rottenstone Domain of the Trans-Hudson Orogen (THO). A sample of this rock has yielded thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS) and sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe (SHRIMP) zircon data consistent with a formation age of at least 2500 Ma. Zircons also show somewhat younger, ca. 2380 Ma overgrowths, indicating a complex history. The Nd model age (TDM) of 2726 Ma also confirms the late Archean age of the rock, as does the isotopic composition of common Pb from a K-feldspar sample. U–Pb analyses of titanites yield ages of ca. 1800 Ma, indicating recrystallization during terminal closure of the THO. It is unlikely that the Archean rocks are a part of the Archean Sask craton in the Glennie Domain, for Lithoprobe seismic sections indicate that the Sask craton dips westward beneath the La Ronge a...


Eryngium pyramidale Boiss. & Hausskn. is one of the species of the Apiaceae family, which is used as a spice in Iranian food. In this work, we aim to assess the phytochemical profile and antibacterial activity of the aerial parts of Eryngium pyramidale. The essential oil was obtained by hydrodistillation using a Clevenger apparatus. Then, it was qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed by GC-MS and GC-FID respectively. The antibacterial activity of the essential oil was evaluated against six gram-positive and three gram-negative bacteria by the disc diffusion method and the broth microdilution assay. The phenolic and flavonoid contents of the methanolic extract were assessed using the UV spectrophotometry and HPLC-DAD. A total of 56 compounds representing 94.08% of the total oil were identified, among which sesquicineole (28.49 ± 1.2%) and (Z)-falcarinol (18.04 ± 0.7%) were the major ones. Based on the results, the oil was active against both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria in comparison with standards. The phytochemical screening of the extracts revealed the presence of flavonoids, steroids, glycosides, and phenols in the methanolic, ethyl acetate, and n-hexane extracts. The total phenolic content of the methanolic extract was 0.36 ± 0.01 mg of gallic acid equivalents per g of dry plant materials, and the total flavonoid content of the methanolic extract was 0.90 ± 0.05 mg of quercetin equivalent (QE) per gram of dry plant materials. Five phenolic and flavonoid compounds in the methanolic extract including naringenin, rutin, apigenin, caffeic acid, and gallic acid were identified and quantified.


Purpose
This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.

Design/methodology/approach
This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.

Findings
Stakeholder management in open innovation contexts is even more difficult than with conventional R&D projects that typically involve fewer stakeholders. However, adoption of various measures that include careful selection and engagement of diverse stakeholders together with relevant conflict management techniques better positions project managers to overcome the challenges and meet project objectives.

Originality/value
The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.


The orientation of the academic work must be the integration of new methodology as strategy of the learning process, particularly when using the Electronic Portfolio. The schools which took parts in this implementation (as a trial) were the Escuela de Bibliotecologia, Documentacion e Informacion (Library Science School) and the Escuela de Literatura y Ciencias del Lenguaje (Literature and Language Science School) both of them from the Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica (National University of Costa Rica). Portfolio's main objective is to collect evidences from the student in which they demonstrates their own learning process and the professor's role is analysis and evaluates


This collection contains thirteen papers delivered at Macerata in December 1987. The title, which invites comparisons with the excellent Entretiens Hardt on the same theme held four months earlier, rather misleads. The editors announce a broad scope, embracing the diverse areas of contemporary perspectives on fourth-century Christianity, institutional and cultural transformations and ' l'elaborazione storiografica successiva fino ai nostri giorni'. But although their own pieces (Aldo Nestori on Eusebius' architectural vocabulary and Giorgio Bonamente's painstaking examination of the evidence for continuity of imperial apotheosis under the first Christian rulers) nicely represent their first two categories and suggest the value of a multi-pronged approach to the Christian empire, the collection as a whole lacks clear definition or common purpose. Stimulating and important papers like Frank Kolb's on the novelty and coherence of Diocletian's religious policy and Francois Paschoud's on the pagan identity crisis reflected in the Historia Augusta bear only indirectly upon the Christians; while even the generous scope advertised struggles to accommodate Carlo Tibiletti's account of the persecutions or Lorenzo Braccesi's discussion of Ugo Foscolo's anti-Roman polemic.


Problems of transformation of modern Russian statistics in future historical statistics about our time are considered. Existence of serious obstacles on the way of this transformation is noted, their reasons are analyzed. Requirements to that part of historical statistics about our time which data are used for the analysis of economic dynamics are discussed. Measures for the situation improvement are offered, estimated consequences of their implementation or failure are analyzed.


It is important for the audience to be able to relate to the tragic protagonist at some level, sympathize with the character and have some amount of pity for the protagonist during their journey. This should be possible despite the flaws of the tragic protagonist and all the evil they are capable of. All Shakespearean tragedies have achieved this tragic sense of waste and loss of potential. Macbeth is no exception. One feels a sense of great talent and potentiality being wasted at the end of the play, because the protagonist could not control his inordinate ambition and chose the path of crime, aided of course, by the prophecy of the witches and the provocation of his wife. If it works in the dramatic text, it is expected to work in a filmic text that is derived from it as well. However, critics have repeatedly expressed their disappointment in the filmic adaptations of Macbeth based in a gangster setting, arguing implicitly or explicitly that in the modern adaptations of Macbeth set in the crime world, the hero is shown as part of a criminal organization and it is not possible to sympathize with an individual who already leads a life devoid of conventional morality. Critic Judith R. Buchanan, for instance, complains: "As a performance interpretation of Macbeth ... it morphed the central character into a different being. In the world of Shakespeare's Macbeth, others may be morally innocent but it is Macbeth who is dramatically sympathetic. In the world of Men of Respect, nobody is either innocent or sympathetic" (Buchanan 2014, 108). Michael Wilmington finds the premise of Men of Respect being presented as an adaptation of Macbeth problematic because he thinks that "... there's a fatal flaw in the notion: Shakespeare's play is about the dark usurpation of


High-speed communication using the copper network, originally installed for telephony, is one of the dominant Internet access techniques. Several variants of a technology referred to as digital subscriber line (DSL) have been developed, standardized and installed during the last two decades. Essentially, DSL achieves high rates by exploiting wide bands of the copper cable channel. The shorter the cable, the wider the band that can be used efficiently for communication. Current DSL standards foresee the use of bands up to 30MHz. Cable properties have been studied by means of measurements, characterization and modeling up to frequencies of 30MHz. Recent investigations have shown that it is feasible both from technical and from economical point of view to exploit very short cables (up to 200m) even further and use bands above 30MHz. A prerequisite for further evaluation and the design of such ultra-wideband copper (UWBC) systems is the extension of existing cable models to higher frequencies. This paper presents wideband measurement results of insertion loss and crosstalk coupling in a 10-pair cable of various length values for frequencies up to 200MHz. We compare the results with extrapolations of cable models that are established in the 30MHz-range.


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Minimally invasive interventions become popular surgical approaches due to the significant advantages including cosmetic appearance, less blood loss and shorten hospital stay. Robotic assisted minimally invasive surgeries have benefited not only patient on improved surgical performance, but also surgeon on comfortable operation through flexible mechanism. In order to obtain necessary flexibility adopting for different workspace, we developed a new flexible manipulator with a variable curvature bendable joint for surgical intervention. The surgical manipulator consists of an Omni-directional bendable joint, a rigid translational base rod, while their central axes are coincide with each other. The bendable joint is composed of a machined spring, which guarantees a continuous bending motion driven by four tendons with circumferential distribution. The rigid translational base rod is located in the internal channel of the bendable joint, and adjusts the bending curvature of the bending joint by varying the coupling length. The unique design allows the flexible manipulator can quickly adjust the bending curvature of the end effect, which enlarges its surgical application in the workspace of difference volume.


In 47 previously untreated patients with nasopharyngeal cancer, curative doses of linear accelerator radiation were administered. The absolute survival rate without clinical evidence of disease was 27/47 (58%). More deaths resulted from intercurrent disease and metastases (11 patients) than from persistent primary and/or regional nodal disease (9 patients). Aggressive therapy of clinically involved and uninvolved cervical node disease is supported by 76% (28/37) and 98% (38/39) control rates, respectively. Curative irradiation by a variety of techniques resulted in an average survival of three years after retreatment, with only one local tumor recurrence at death. Second primary tumors occurred in 6 of 58 patients (10%).


The dynamics of Thirring optical solitons, with spatio-temporal dispersion, is studied in this paper. Bright, dark, and singular optical solitons are obtained by the ansatz method. There are constraint conditions that naturally emerge from the mathematical analysis.


The research performs an accurate radiography regarding the measures the European Mediator unfolds in the Human Rights protection but also with regard to the social impact upon the European citizen. The European Mediator is a complement to the ombudsmen existing in each State. However, its competence is limited only to the European Union authorities, as it does not involve the ones of the Member States. Any possible reports between the European Mediator and the equivalent institutions from the European Union Member State can only be mutually supported as long as every ombudsman aims the fulfilment of the same main function, namely that of administration control and citizen protection.


This article analyses the pictures that compose the series Microcosmo, from the sports section of the digital version of the Folha de S.Paulo newspaper and that refers to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Through a formal analysis of the images, we investigated the didacticism present in this particular edition, its resultant polysemy and the way photography contributes when creating discourses.


This study take the car multimedia fiber as the entry point,Analysed the MOST of automotive multimedia systems in many aspects.The basic framework and system from the system's four research areas described in depth and detailed car MOST multimedia system based on the superiority;combined system advanced,innovative and economic,social analysis,proof of vehicle based on MOST multimedia systems,can quickly standardize Chinese automotive aftermarket,the line into a mature industry specifications,helping improve the car's overall technological level of after-loading,optimize trade management system.


Pyrylium Compounds. XXVIII. Specifically Deuterated Carbo- and heterocycles via 2,4,6-Triaryl[3,5-2H2]pyrylium Salts

On heating with catalytic amounts of bases(e.g. triethyl amine) in deuterated alcohols such as methan[2H]ol or ethan[2H]ol pseudobases of 2, 4, 6-triarylpyrylium salts 1 undergo fast1H/2H isotopic exchange reaction affording 1, 3, 5-triaryl[2, 4, 4-2H3]pent-2-ene-1,5-diones which with [2H] perchloric acid give highly deuterated 2, 4, 6-triaryl-[3, 5-2H] pyrylium perchlorates 8. These salts are obtainable also directly from 1 through a one-pot procedure by ring opening of the latter with deuterium oxide under the above-mentioned1H/2H isotopic exchange conditions followed by recyclization of the formed 1, 3, 5-triaryl[2, 4, 4-2H3]pent-2-ene-1, 5-diones with [2H]ClO4. Ring transformations of 2, 4, 6-triphenyl[3, 5-2H2]pyrylium perchlorate (8a) to 2, 4, 6-triphenyl[3, 5-2H2]nitrobenzene (9) 2, 4, 6-triphenyl[3, 5-2H2]pyridine (10), 1, 2, 4, 6-tetraphenyl[3, 5-2H2]pyrydinium perchlorate(11), 2, 4, 6-triphencyl[3, 5-2H2]thiopyrylium perchlorate(12), 2-benzoyl-3, 5-diphenyl[4-2H]furan (13), and 3, 5, 7-triphenyl-[4, 4, 6-2H3]4H-1, 2-diazepin (14) demonstrate the usability of pyrylium salts of type 8 as starting materials for syntheses of specifically deuterated carbo- and hetrocycles.


The pseudo-linear variable-stiffness actuator (PLVL-VSA) is a variable stiffness actuator with a mechanical stiffness adaptation. It has a nearly linear torque deflection characteristics and an energy efficient stiffness variation. However, this stiffness variation efficiency is reduced at higher mechanism deflections, which manifests as a higher torque required to retain the desired mechanism's stiffness. In this work, a modification that decreases the stiffness varying motor torque, thus increasing mechanism's energy efficiency, is proposed. The main design parameters are optimized with respect to the highest torque/deflection workspace, while staying below the peak torque constraints of both motors' gearboxes. The effect of the modification is analysed and compared to the original mechanism. The new configuration requires less torque and energy to vary the stiffness compared to the original mechanism in a slightly reduced mechanism stiffness range.


Microcontroller (12) having a final stage which is assigned for the control of each component (14-1, 14-2), the operating voltage is monitored. During an overvoltage occurs, the final stage (14-1, 14-2) is switched off. Depending on the technical requirements two voltage monitoring device operating (22, 24) are provided at different operating voltages regions, on the one hand, the combination of the two voltage monitoring device (22, 24), very to be able to achieve accurate switch-off limit, on the other hand, it can achieve a large area for the operating voltage to be monitored. Thus, the last stage (14-1, 14-2) can be switched off reliably when the error occurrence of overvoltage.


The orientation of in situ tectonic stress was deduced from borehole breakout analysis of 22 wells from onshore Sicily. The results allow us to distinguish the stress field of different geological units: (1) A nearly NNW (148°) orientation is detected in the Hyblean Plateau. (2) A NNE SHmax direction characterizes the Gela area. To the north, within the thrust belt (around Mount Judica), the SHmax direction swings to NE. In the northeastern segment of the foredeep, the Catania Plain, the direction of SHmax is roughly parallel to the NE trending grabens that mark the northern margin of the Hyblean Plateau. (3) The southwestern segment of the foredeep has no preferential SHmax orientation and may act as a transition zone with isotropic horizontal stresses. (4) In western Sicily a SHmax orientation from N–S to NW–SE is observed. This fits well the kinematics of the SE migrating Egadi and Adventure thrust belts and the direction of shortening inferred from the modern seismicity of the area. A three‐dimensional finite element modeling, including the most important tectonic features, was performed. Modeling results of the stress field indicate that the NNW trending SHmax is locally influenced by the variation of crustal thickness and local zones of weakness. In addition, the Pantelleria Rift causes a rotation of the regional NW–SE stress orientation to NNE along the northern rim of the rift system, including large on‐shore areas in the adjacent central south Sicily.


A two‐dimensional mathematical model of flame spread and solid burning is presented. For the gas phase, it consists of variable density, fully elliptic Navier‐Stokes momentum, energy and chemical species mass equations. Combustion processes are treated according to a one‐step, finite‐rate, reaction. The solid phase model describes a porous cellulosic fuel for a range of thicknesses from the thermally thin to the thermally thick limit. Conductive and convective heat transfer takes place as the solid degrades, by two first order Arrhenius reactions, to volatiles and chars. Variations of solid phase densities account for fuel burn‐out. Effects of gas phase and surface radiation are also included. A steady formulation of gas phase equations with respect to the unsteady solid phase mathematical model is proposed, gas phase characteristic times being much shorter than those of the solid phase. The non‐constant density Navier‐Stokes equations are formulated in terms of vorticity and stream function, avoiding the...


Recently, normal-mode helical antennas (NMHA) are employed as very small antennas for metal plate proximity uses [1] ~ [3]. In order to o btain efficient radiation, the self resonant condit ion of a NMHA should be satisfied. In this condition, t he inductive reactance and the capacitive reactance of a NMHA are cancelled. As for the induc tan e, Wheeler presented an equation employing structural parameters [4]. As for capacit ance, any useful expression was not found. Therefore, the design equation based on structural par meters is not clarified. How to establish the design equation of self resonance is left questiona ble. In this paper, authors pay attention to calculated results of the total wire lengths of antennas at self resonances. First, resonant wire lengths are o btained through electromagnetic simulations. Next, an approximate equation for resonant length data ar e obtained. By utilizing the approximate equation the design equation for self resonances ar established. Comparisons of the design equation and simulation results are compared. Moreo ver, electromagnetic field distributions around the resonance are obtained. Interesting electric fi eld distributions are clarified.


IN A series of papers (1, 2, 3, 4) the principal author and several associates have contributed evidence establishing the clinical effectiveness of various testosterone compounds in the treatment of a highly specific endocrine deficiency, primary male hypogonadism or eunuchoidism. In successive reports the various modes of administering testosterone have been discussed and compared with regard to the convenience of dosage necessary for originating improvement and the maintenance of the benefits achieved. These publications included convincing photographic (before and after treatment) proof that the intramuscular injection of testosterone propionate, the implantation of methyl testosterone pellets, the peroral swallowing of methyl testosterone tablets and the sublingual absorption of testosterone compounds dissolved in propylene glycol—all were successful in correcting the severe genital retardation of primary hypogonadism. In the last paper of this group (4) testosterone propionate, methyl testosterone an...


Collaborative information services on Web 2.0 are used by Internet users not only to produce digital information resources, but also to furnish the contents of the resources with their own keywords, so-called tags. Whilst doing so the user is not required to comply with rules, as is necessary with a library catalogue. The amount of user-generated tags in a collaborative information service is referred to as folksonomy. Folksonomies allow users to relocate their own resources and to search for other resources. This book deals with collaborative information services and folksonomies both as a method of representing knowledge and a tool for information retrieval.


Based on the physical analysis and calculation,we design a simulation experiment of the Compton effect by means of Mathematica.Using this program,the scattering process of the photon and electron can be shown vividly.


A new species, Lachnus pseudonudus Kanturski & Wieczorek, sp. n., associated with Quercus ithaburensis subsp. macrolepis is described and figured in detail from specimens collected in Turkey. The lectotype and paralectotypes of L. crassicornis, a species associated with Quercus ithaburensis subsp. ithaburensis, are designated. The taxonomic position of L. chosoni, a poorly known species from Korea previously treated as a synonym of L. pallipes, is discussed. Morphological and biometric characters of the studied species are given. An identification key to species belonging to the "pallipes" group is provided.


Are we about to enter a new era of public management? There are good reasons to think that this may be the case. This special issue of the International Journal of Public Administration on "Public ...


In this paper, we introduce a fire detection system using context-aware sensor. In existing weather and based on vision sensor of fire detection system case, acquired image through sensor of camera is extracting features about fire range as processing to convert HSI(Hue, Saturation, Intensity) model HSI which is color space can have durability in illumination changes. However, in this case, until a fire occurs wide range of sensing a fire in a single camera sensor, it is difficult to detect the occurrence of a fire. Additionally, the fire detection in complex situations as well as difficult to separate continuous boundary is set for the required area is difficult. In this paper, we propose an algorithm for real-time by using a temperature sensor, humidity, Co2, the flame presence information acquired and comparing the data based on multiple conditions, analyze and determine the weighting according to fire it. In addition, it is possible to differential management to intensive fire detection is required zone dividing the state of fire. 키워드 화재 감지 응용 시스템, 가중치, 센서, 상황인식 한국정보통신학회 2015 춘계종합학술대회


Background Many additives have been added to local anesthetics in PBA to decrease the time of onset and increase the duration of analgesia to suit the relatively long vitreoretinal surgery with limited success. Dexmedetomidine has been added to local anesthetics for such purpose. Patients and methods Sixty consented ASA I-II adult patients undergoing vitreoretinal surgery were enrolled in this randomized, double blind, controlled study. Patients were randomly and evenly assigned to three groups to receive one of three anesthetic solutions for PBA: group C, group D25, and group D50. Patients in group C received 6 ml of 0.5% levobupivacaine with 10 IU/ml hyaluronidase in addition to 1 ml of normal saline. Patients in groups D25 and D50 received the same mixture but with replacement of the normal saline with 25 and 50 mcg dexmedetomidine, respectively. Intraoperative recordings included onset and duration of corneal anesthesia and globe akinesia, hemodynamics, intraocular pressure (IOP), and Ramsay sedation score. Postoperative recordings included time to first rescue analgesia and number of doses required, pain score, and patient and surgeon satisfaction score. Results The onset of corneal anesthesia and globe akinesia was significantly shorter in group D50 than in group C (1.05 ± 0.50 and 6.90 ± 1.94 vs. 1.68 ± 0.78 and 9.10 ± 2.14); in group D25 the onset was insignificantly shorter. Duration of anesthesia was significantly longer in both groups compared with control, as was the time to first rescue analgesia. IOP was also significantly lower in both groups compared with control. Conclusion Addition of two different doses of dexmedetomidine (25 and 50 mcg) to levobupivacaine/hyaluronidase mixture shortened the onset and prolonged the duration of peribulbar block in patients undergoing vitreoretinal surgery. It also lowered the IOP and provided sedation with patient′s cooperation, leading to better patient and surgeon satisfaction.


Here, for an electrochemical cell, in particular a separator (10) as well as corresponding manufacturing method for a lithium battery is disclosed. In order to provide a separator having a dendrite increased resistance, particularly ion conductivity of the particles (14), is introduced into the pores (12) in the polymer layer (11, 12), and a pore (12) polymeric wall portion defining (13) is frictionally bonded to sandwiched between. Furthermore electrochemical cell with it here also disclosed.


As more purchases are made over the Internet, states are looking for new ways to collect taxes on online sales. There is a common misperception that the U.S. Constitution prohibits states from taxing Internet sales. This report discusses "Amazon laws", which try to capture uncollected taxes on Internet sales and yet still comply with the Constitution's requirements.


The invention discloses an adjustable combined bolt which comprises a bolt main body (1) provided with threads on the surface of the bolt main body (1); the combined bolt further comprises a screw (2); a blind hole (3) is arranged on the end face of one end of the bolt main body (1); the maximum cross section area of the screw (2) is matched up with the size of the blind hole (3), and the surface in the blind hole (3) and the surface of the screw (2) are provided with mutually adapted anti-skidding structures; by using the anti-skidding structures, the screw (2) is rotated to drive the bolt main body (1) to rotate together after entering the blind hole (3); an adjusting nut (4) is further sleeved on the bolt main body (1), and a rotation stopping structure is arranged on the adjusting nut (4), the rotation of the adjusting nut (4) together with the bolt main body (1) is stopped by the rotation stopping structure. The adjustable combined bolt, provided by the invention, is simple in structure, suitable for industrial production and easy to popularize, and can be processed and formed in different dimensions according to the structure of this invention and used for the ceiling installation of installing bodies with different sizes and weights; furthermore, the combined bolt has wide application range.


Military and other national security agencies have been denied unfettered access to the National Air Space (NAS) because their unmanned aircraft lack a reliable and effective collision avoidance capability. To overcome the constraints imposed on UASs use of the NAS, a new, conformable collision avoidance system has been developed - one that will be effective in all flyable weather conditions, overcoming the shortfalls of other sensing systems. Upon implementation this system will achieve collision avoidance capability for UASs deployed for national security purposes and will allow expansion of UAS usage for commercial or other civil purposes.


Recently the design of experiments is used to decide optimum processing conditions. However when the control factor interaction between the several control factors becomes large, the calculated accuracy using the design of experiments becomes very bad. Then everybody should check the results regarding the best and the worst conditions in the experiments. If differences between the calculated vale and the experimental value for the best and the worst conditions become large, the results using the design of experiments are never used. Therefore, in the previous research, we have developed the tool for easily finding the control factor interaction in the design of experiments. This control factor interaction between the several control factors action is large fault, an obstacle for innovation and disliked by everybody. However when the reaction between the several control factors becomes large effect which is surpassed the estimate, the control factor interaction becomes the synergistic effect which is liked by everybody, the synergistic effect finally brings large profit, excellent license and innovation. Therefore in this research, the tool for easily finding the synergistic effects between the control factors was developed and evaluated using the program in the previous research. The program was the tool for finding the control factor interaction in the design of experiments, it was improved for the easily finding the synergistic effects by using the new algorithm, and was evaluated by the several mathematical models and the experiment. It is concluded from the result that (1) the new program can clear the synergistic effects between the control factors, (2) the program also can clear the complex multiplier effects and (3) the program can clear the synergistic effects with innovative profit in the actual example.


A technique for motion estimation of large moving objects is presented. This technique is based on analyzing the Hartley transform spectrum of the image sequence directly, instead of using it to compute other transforms. In this technique, the fast Hartley transform (FHT) is applied to the image sequence and followed by a peak detection procedure. The location of the peak is related to the velocity of the moving object. Dividing the temporal frequency (f/sub p/) corresponding to the detected peak by the corresponding spatial frequency (k/sub p/) gives the velocity of the moving object. The Fourier spectrum for a spatial frequency of k/sub p/ is then computed. This is followed by a peak detection of the Fourier spectrum to validate the previous results and find the direction of the velocity of the moving object. This method is faster than other techniques based on the Fourier transform. >


Cholon, Ho Chi Minh City, as main gathering place of Chinese in Vietnam, since the history recorded, in the course of hundreds of years exploring development history in Cholon, Ho Chi Minh City, with high historical and cultural value, abundant Chinese Guild halls are inherited, as precious wealth and witness of hundreds of years development history of Chinese people in Cholon. These guild halls are important carriers for the study of Chinese social and community production and life in Cholon area.


The defining trait of magnetars, the most strongly magnetized neutron stars (NSs), is their transient activity in the X/γ-bands. In particular, many of them undergo phases of enhanced emission, the so-called outbursts, during which the luminosity rises by a factor ∼10–1000 in a few hours to then decay over months/years. Outbursts often exhibit a thermal spectrum, associated with the appearance of hotter regions on the surface of the star, which subsequently change in shape and cool down. Here we simulate the unfolding of a sudden, localized heat injection in the external crust of an NS with a 3D magnetothermal evolution code, finding that this can reproduce the main features of magnetar outbursts. A full 3D treatment allows us to study for the first time the inherently asymmetric hot spots that appear on the surface of the star as the result of the injection and to follow the evolution of their temperature and shape. We investigate the effects produced by different physical conditions in the heated region, highlighting in particular how the geometry of the magnetic field plays a key role in determining the properties of the event.


In the paper by Hodel and Hall, the authors introduce a variable-structure proportional-integral-derivative controller with antiwindup features and compare it with other simple antiwindup methods. It is pointed out here that the conclusions reached from the comparative example are incorrect as the performance of the controllers is not appropriately compared.


Objective To explore the methods of establlishment of airway allergic inflammation model of C57BL/6 mice sensitized and challenged with house dust mite extract.Methods\ C57BL/6 mice were divided into control and model groups,eight mice in each group.Mice of model group were sensitized with house dust mite extract at day 0,7,14,21 by intraperitoneal injection,and challenged by aerosol inhalation of house dust mite extract after day 10 of sensitization.PBS instead of house dust mite extract was used in the control group.Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid(BALF) was taken at 24 h after the last time of challenge,and the pathological manifestation of the lung,cell counts and differential count and IL-4,IL-5 and IFN-γ levels in BALF were assessed.Results\ There was airway eosinophilic inflammation in the mice of model group sensitized and challenged with house dust mite extract.Compared with the control group,total cells count,eosinophil count and IL-4,IL-5 levels in BALF enhanced significantly while IFN-γ level decreased in the model group.Conclusion\ An airway allergic inflammation model of C57BL/6 mice has been established by sensitizing and challenge with house dust mite extract.


Text interpretation in listening English is based on not only on decoding vocabulary and sentences but also on linking the text with its context.When interpretation is blocked by some words,contextualization cues can help to eliminate the barriers.Moreover,motivating schema in the cognitive environment through inference can guide the listeners to interpret the text.This paper addresses three issues:(1)the way to acquire the situational meaning of some homonyms and homophones by relying on contextualization cues or to eliminate ambiguity by motivating schema and inference;(2)the way to set up or use context in listening English;(3)putting context into teaching English listening as a teaching tactic.


The invention discloses a non-local mean de-noising method for a natural image, which belongs to the technical field of image processing and mainly solves the problem of inaccurate similarity calculation in the non-local mean de-noising of the conventional natural image. The method comprises the following processes of: (1) performing wavelet transformation on the input noise-containing natural image; (2) performing variance normalization on high-frequency information; (3) calculating the similarities of a pixel point x and a pixel point y in a search area to obtain weights of all pixel points in the search area; (4) performing weighted average on all the pixel points in the search area to obtain gray values of the corrected pixel points according to the calculated weights of all the pixel points in the search area; and (5) substituting the gray values of the corrected pixel points for the gray values of the pixel points in the input noise-containing natural image to obtain a de-noised image. The method is superior to other de-noising methods on overall performance, can keep the details of the natural image such as edges, textures and the like at the same time of better smoothing the noise, and can be used for de-noising the natural image.


A method for determining, by use of less information bits, a communication apparatus that is recognized by a nearby communication apparatus in an ad hock network. Each of a mobile device and a cradle incorporates a UWB radio apparatus. While the mobile device is housed in the cradle, the antennas of the UWB radio apparatuses are fixed in such attitudes that their directivities of electromagnetic wave face each other and in such a manner that they are in a very close range independent of the surrounding environment. When the mobile device is housed into the cradle and then the distance-measuring functions of the UWB radio apparatuses are used to determine that the apparatuses enter into a predetermined distance range, an operation of wireless data transmission is initiated, thereby achieving a high-rate, high-quality transmission.


We present an approach for automatic 3D reconstruction of outdoor scenes using computer vision techniques. Our system collects video, GPS and INS data which are processed in real-time to produce geo-registered, detailed 3D models that represent the geometry and appearance of the world. These models are generated without manual measurements or markers in the scene and can be used for visualization from arbitrary viewpoints, documentation and archiving of large areas. Our system consists of a data acquisition system and a processing system that generated 3D models from the video sequences off-line but in real-time. The GPS/INS measurements allow us to geo-register the pose of the camera at the time each frame was captured. The following stages of the processing pipeline perform dense reconstruction and generate the 3D models, which are in the form of a triangular mesh and a set of images that provide texture. By leveraging the processing power of the GPU, we are able to achieve faster than real-time performance, while maintaining an accuracy of a few cm.


Black-wall reaction zones are produced by metasomatism between an ultramafic body and another body of rock to produce a sequence of mineral zones. Syros is home to several occurrences of serpentinite matrix mélange. Here, serpentine has reacted with mafic exotic blocks located within the mélange to produce reaction zones rich in glaucophane, chlorite, actinolite and talc (Dixon and Ridley, 1987; Difilippo and Brady, 2000; Hernandez, 2001). Many of the exotic blocks are believed to have originated from an olistostrom and have been metamorphosed into ecologites. Others are ophiolitic metagabbros that have a greenschist overprint (Dixon and Ridley, 1987).


The present invention discloses a method and apparatus for automatically putting a reference mark on an object to pay attention to. A server device which provides a virtual reality space to multiple client devices connected to the server device via a network detects movement of an avatar related to a client device, the movement indicating an object in the virtual reality space displayed on a screen of the client device, as a trigger for generating a reference mark. In response to detection of the movement of the avatar, the server device generates a reference mark to be put on the object. The server device notifies another client device of the presence of the generated reference mark. Accordingly, the other client device is guided to the object by selecting the notification displayed on the screen.


This article proposes a model to track contenders (jockeys) in horse races from broadcast videos based on the colour property of contenders. To overcome the effects of background noise and occlusion the proposed system merges contextual information of the horse race into a colour-based tracking framework (mean shift). There are two improvements. The first is the design of a model, specifically for horse races, to extract the contenders from the background. The second estimates reliability of a trajectory by building a model called "network structure". The proposed algorithm is tested on eleven broadcast videos of horse races where the mean length in time of video is 51s. To evaluate the proposed model, the races are divided into five intervals and the percentage of correct tracking (PCT) is calculated at the end of each interval. A comparison study of the proposed method, with a mean shift tracking method, shows that network structure improves tracking in the videos.


Hot alkaline solutions of potassium salts have been widely used for removing carbon dioxide in industry,but they have disadvantages of poor absorption rate and high regeneration load.So developing new types of thermal alkaline potassium solutions is important.A series of experiments was performed to study the absorption and desorption of carbon dioxide from flue gas with potassium carbonate solution and different proportions of potassium carbonate-DETA(diethylene triamine) complex solution.The relationships between absorption rate,absorption capacity,pH and time were determined by analyzing the initial escape temperature of CO2,the regeneration temperature,regeneration rate,and pH decline during regeneration.The experimental results show that the best absorption effect(in which the absorption capacity was 0.80 mol · L-1) was obtained using a binary complex system 0.6:0.4 K2CO3:DETA.The highest regeneration rate was about 95.5% at the lowest regeneration temperature,107 ℃.Compared with potassium carbonate-MEA(ethanolamine) and potassium carbonate-DEA(diethanolamine),the potassium carbonate-DETA system(with the same molar ratio) can be more effectively regenerated.A positive interaction occurs between potassium carbonate and DETA solution during the process of absorption of carbon dioxide.


Background: In current times epidemic drug resistance has renewed interest in drugs belonging to the yesteryears, most importantly Nitrofurantoin for urinary tract infections. Studies have reported that more than 90% of urinary tract infections are due to enteric Gram-negative organisms, of which more than 80% are E.coli.Objectives: To study bacterial profile in Gram-negative urinary isolates and evaluate the role of nitrofurantoin.Methods: We retrospectively evaluated 500 consecutive Gram-negative bacterial isolates for bacteriological profile and nitrofurantoin sensitivity of patients of urinary tract infections at a tertiary care facility in India between January and June of 2022.\Results: We had a total of 500 Gram- negative urinary isolates. 383 (76.6%) of these were found to be susceptible to nitrofurantoin. E. coli alone constituted 343 (68.6%) of total 500 Gramnegative isolates, 264 (76.96%) of which were sensitive to nitrofurantoin. 20 (4%) Proteus and 05 (1%) Citrobacter species were isolated and found to be resistant to nitrofurantoin. 12 (80%) out of the 15 Acinetobacter isolates were resistant to nitrofurantoin. All 12 (100 %) Pseudomonas isolates tested resistant to nitrofurantoin.Conclusion: E. coli is the most common of uropathogens and despite rise in antibiotic resistance, it continues to be sensitive to nitrofurantoin. Resistance to nitrofurantoin is also being reported and this calls for judicious further use of this drug based on culture reports and local prevalence data.International Journal of Human and Health Sciences Vol. 07 No. 02 April'23 Page: 162-165


Background: COVID-19 is a respiratory disease transmitted through respiratory droplets and has a high transmission rate. There is still no effective and approved antiretroviral treatment or vaccine, so preventative measures remain the key to contain this pandemic. Portugal is now in phase 3.2 of the mitigation of COVID-19, with it being imperative to understand the health literacy of our country and prevent a lack of information through community empowerment. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study with a sample from a primary care facility was conducted. We collected demographic and epidemiological data and carried out a questionnaire by phone call. Descriptive statistics and nonparametric tests were used to assess associations between the independent variables and the level of health literacy. The level of significance was set at p < 0.05. Results: Our sample included 222 subjects (median age 62 years), mostly females (n = 131), undergraduates (n = 193), and with at least 1 risk factor for COVID-19 (n = 144). Overall, younger individuals, females, graduates and the nonrisk group appeared to have higher levels of health literacy, with some exceptions. Conclusions: We observed a well-informed population. However, it being a pandemic situation, our intention was to identify and correct outliers/misconceptions. This work allowed a perspective of the current state/pattern of health literacy as well as its possible predictors. Furthermore, it raised awareness of the relevance of specific communication approaches. Further studies to understand the predictors of health literacy are necessary.


Horia Vintilă fictionalizes in his novel, Dieu est ne en exil, Ovid's diary, a Latin writer of the 1st century who, exiled from Rome, finds his freedom in Tomes, a town which is now in the Rumanian territory and it is named Constanţa. The empiric author, exiled himself too, imagines the last eight years of Ovid's life that represented a time of waiting, remaking his faith, renouncing of the gods in favor of God, and even more, a time of finding himself. With his novel, Horia Vintilă was both included in and excluded from the French society, continuing thus the condition of the exiled writer.


In Iran, English second language (ESL) instruction is increasing rapidly. Generally, the instruction is structural and the focus is on grammatical features. Structural and grammar-translation methods of teaching are most common, and change is resisted. Against this background, however, some college instructors of the new generation have begun to test out the functional approach through research in three areas: Teaching functional controlled writing, translation tests as measures for assessing comprehension of functions in written discourse, and teaching functions in conversation. Results have implications for ESL instruction in Iran, but instructional practice should be tailored to the students' needs. Many high school and college students have limited occasion to use functional language and are not motivated to learn it. However, othlr learners of English would benefit from functional language instruction. These include translators, translation students, professors and the clergy; in fact, the clergy and the revolutionary young generation comprise the main group of Iranian English learners. Writers of ESL instructional materials should prepare texts containing educated discourse that is relevant to students' subject areas and geared to their proficiency level; this may mean simplification. Iranian English learners badly need appropriate authentic texts, workbooks, and audio-visual materials in which persuasive discourse is taught for the academic, not conversational, context and from which cultural bias is removed. Teaching guides to accompany the materials are essential. (Contains 12 references.) (MSE) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ***********************************************************************


The objective of this study was to characterize the genetic diversity of a natural population Eugenia dysenterica DC, in southern Piaui, from the morphological characteristics of fruits and seeds. Seven phenotypic characteristics were evaluated for 200 fruits and the diversity of 10 adult individuals was estimated. Biometric data were analyzed using univariate statistics and deviations from normality of data were confirmed by the Lilliefors test, for use of non-parametric Spearman correlation. The genetic divergence between the individuals observed was based on the dendrogram, through the average euclidean distance matrix, which was obtained from the values of the biometric variables. Regarding the asymmetry, there was a left distribution for the variables: fruit weight, pulp and peel weight. The other variables presented positive values. The number of seeds per fruit and the weight of the pulp and peel showed a kurtosis measure smaller than the normal distribution, K <3. According to the dendrogram that evaluated the similarity between the individuals regarding biometric characteristics, there was greater similarity between individuals 1 and 3, with maximum dissimilarity between individuals 7 and 8. Most correlations between biometric variables were not significant, except between the weight of the fruit and the weight of the seed; fruit weight and pulp and peel weight; seed weight and seed number. The results obtained in this study were relevant, as they will serve as subsidies for studies related to pre-breeding and genetic conservation of the species.


A typical rotatory bio-motor protein, E. hirae V1-ATPase, has been studied crystallographically and computationally. It is composed of three identical A1B1 subunits and a central stalk DF complex. Interface between each A1B1 has one ATP binding site and its hydrolysis drives the DF rotation. Within the rotation cycle of the ATPase, three dwell states, catalytic, ATP-binding, and ADP-release dwells, have been shown. In this new report, a new dwell state, Pi-release dwell, after catalytic and before ATP-binding dwell, is identified as Al-F4 inhibited ATPase crystals. Using molecular dynamics simulation, the Pi-release path through the subunit interface is proposed, which seems to induce the long distance conformational change through subunit interfaces and finally to produce the next dwell state, ATP-binding dwell. Furthermore, the elastic nature of the DF stalk seems essential for the Pi-release and the conformational changes. Therefore, this report adds one step further insight into the chemomechanical coupling mechanism of bio-energy transducing machineries. Qeios, CC-BY 4.0 · Review, December 14, 2021


It is shown that, for a certain model of many‐channel potential scattering, there exists, under rather general conditions, a single function from which both the potential matrix V and the corresponding S matrix can be constructed. This function is the Fredholm determinant of the Lippmann‐Schwinger equation for the physical wavefunction of a system having a potential matrix which is identical with V in the interval from the origin out to a distance r, but which vanishes identically beyond this distance. A one‐channel and a two‐channel example are discussed.


Through calculating employment elasticity of Chongqing's industries,this paper points out that Chongqing has the phenomenon of the inexistence of employment growth.By analyzing the phenomenon,the real countermeasures are put forward for promoting harmonious development of Chongqing.


Welcome to the 11th Workshop on Modeling in Software Engineering (MiSE 2019), colocated with ICSE 2019 in Montreal, Canada. The goal of MiSE 2019 is to understand, through critical analysis, the current and future uses of models in the engineering of software-intensive systems. By fostering exchange of ideas between the MDE and software engineering communities, the MiSE-workshop series has continuously served as an effective forum for discussing modeling techniques from both software and systems engineering perspectives. We also hope to analyze successful applications of modeling techniques in relevant areas such as Cyber-Physical Systems, Internet of Things, Big and Smart Data, learning machines, and determine how the participants experience can be carried over to other domains.


We study the long-time effect of noise on pattern formation for the aggregation model. We consider aggregation kernels that generate patterns consisting of two delta-concentrations. Without noise, there is a one-parameter family of admissible equilibria that consist of two concentrations whose mass is not necessary equal. We show that when a small amount of noise is added, the heavier concentration "leaks" its mass towards the lighter concentration over a very long time scale, eventually resulting in the equilibration of the two masses. We use exponentially small asymptotics to derive the long-time ODE's that quantify this mass exchange. Our theory is validated using full numerical simulations of the original model -- both of the original stochastic particle system and its PDE limit. Our formal computations show that adding noise destroys the degeneracy in the equilibrium solution and leads to a unique symmetric steady state.


The effectiveness evaluation of ship-borne communication equipment (SCE for short) is studied. The existing methods of equipment effectiveness evaluation are summarized. In view of the fuzziness, uncertainty and difficulty in quantifying the management factors of SCE by probability and statistics method, the overall effectiveness evaluation of SCE is carried out by using fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method. Considering the use characteristics of SCE, Availability Dependability and Capability (ADC for short) method is used to evaluate the service capability index, and the results are integrated into the overall evaluation of the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method. Two case calculations and simulation results are given, and the corresponding decision-making reference is given according to the results.


As a means of integrating resources and increasing efficiency, MA of corporation has been an active market behavior, with the basic motive in the expected positive effects, or the created value. Valuation of the target corporation is a decisive factor in the success of MA. As a result, we should not only learn the features of various valuation methods, but also select the proper method and adjust it from the perspective of value creation. It helps to make the right MA decision.


This article is the first of three reviews in which economic geography is viewed through the lens of crises. This article focuses on the resurgence of uneven development as a political problem, which has led to public policy debates and responses in which economic geography is an underpinning construct. The article focuses on the UK where public policy responses have engaged with the problems caused by uneven development. Arguments made over many years about the long-term damaging impacts of geographical inequalities in opportunity and income have broken through into the political mainstream and gained traction. The article explains how this happened, as an already unbalanced regional economy was exacerbated first through growth led by financial services and then austerity-led decline. There are opportunities for economic geography in this public policy conjuncture, although it will require an ability to engage competently and critically with mainstream economics, and a willingness to work with political actors and a challenging, frustrating, and uncomfortable political process. Moreover, it also requires that the problem of uneven development remains adequately defined and attended to, so that appropriate public policy responses may be formulated, and continues to garner sufficient political attention, to allow both time and opportunity for intervention in public policy.


For an \begin{document}$N$ \end{document} -body system of linear Schrodinger equation with space dependent interaction between particles, one would expect that the corresponding one body equation, arising as a mean field approximation, would have a space dependent nonlinearity. With such motivation we consider the following model of a nonlinear reduced Schrodinger equation with space dependent nonlinearity \begin{document}$\begin{align*}-\varphi''+V(x)h'(|\varphi|^2)\varphi = λ \varphi,\end{align*}$ \end{document} where \begin{document}$V(x) = -χ_{[-1,1]} (x)$ \end{document} is minus the characteristic function of the interval \begin{document}$[-1,1]$ \end{document} and where \begin{document}$h'$ \end{document} is any continuous strictly increasing function. In this article, for any negative value of \begin{document}$λ$ \end{document} we present the construction and analysis of the infinitely many solutions of this equation, which are localized in space and hence correspond to bound-states of the associated time-dependent version of the equation.


Provided are a method and device for performing registration based on an authentication device. The method comprises: a client acquiring a uniform resource identifier, obtaining an application ID according to the uniform resource identifier, and sending to a server a device registration request obtained according to the application ID and a user identifier input by a user; receiving registration data returned by the server, and obtaining a client data object according to a challenge value in the registration data and the application ID; respectively performing a hash operation on the client data object and the application ID, so as to obtain a challenge parameter and an application parameter, and sending registration request information composed of the challenge parameter and the application parameter to an authentication device; receiving registration response information returned by the authentication device, and sending to the server a key registration request composed of the registration response information, the client data object and a session ID in the registration data; and receiving information returned by the server, and determining whether the information is success information, if so, determining that the registration succeeds, and otherwise, determining that the registration fails.


Biologically inspired solutions are a novel way of solving the complex and real world problems. Due to the advanced nanoscale manufacturing processes and the complex communication requirements of the processing elements (PEs) various faults have occurred on NoC. The complexity and communication requirement of the NoC has also increased due to the heterogeneous devices. To support the complexity of NoC, the physical device sizes are scaled down, which have contributed to faults. Various fault tolerant techniques have been proposed in the literature to address the temporary faults. But all these algorithms have drawbacks in terms of adaptiveness and robustness. Bio-inspired NoC using Time division multiplexing (TDM) is based on the characteristics of biological brain. The technique is fault tolerant as it detects and bypass the faulty interconnects. With the help of TDM, multiple connections are possible between multiple sources and multiple destinations, which efficiently utilize the NoC bandwidth between PEs. To the best of our knowledge, TDM based bio-inspired NoC is the first algorithm to address the fault tolerance using the TDM approach as the average packet latency is increased by 2.45%, while the average bandwidth and throughput is reduced by 1.86% and 14.05% respectively during the recovery of faults. Also, the accepted traffic (flit/cycle/node) of the proposed bio-inspired technique is better than traditional fault tolerant techniques by 68.45%.


Abstract : The report gives results of an evaluation of the shell-side heat transfer performance of hydrofluorocarbon (HFC)-236fa, which is considered to be a potential substitute for chlorofluorocarbon (CFC)-114 in Navy shipboard chillers, for both conventional finned (1024- and 1575-fpm (fins-per-meter)) tubes and high performance enhanced (Turbo-CII, -B, and -BII) tubes. Condensation of oil-free HFC-236fa was conducted on 1024- and 1575-fpm, and Turbo-CII tubes. Pool boiling on four tube types (1024- and 1575-fpm, and Turbo-B and -BII) was tested not only for pure HFC-236fa but also for HFC-236fa mixed with 1 and 3% lubricant by weight. The polyolester lubricant used has a viscosity of 340 SSU at 37.8 deg C (100 deg F) and the trade name of Castrol Icematic SW-68. The above tubes, which have nominal outside diameters of 19.1 mm (3/4-in.), were evaluated at a saturation temperature of 40 deg C for condensation and 2 deg C for pool boiling over the heat flux range of 15 to 40 kW/sq m. Heat transfer was improved for HFC-236fa by using the high performance enhanced tubes. Specifically, the Turbo-CII tube performed better than the two conventional finned tubes in the condensation testing, while the performance of the Turbo-B and -BII tubes was superior to the two conventional finned tubes in the pool boiling testing.


A geometric model of a new method of delivering a fire extinguishing agent to a fire zone located at a considerable distance is proposed. The delivery idea is based on a mechanical throwing operation. For this, a substance (for example, a fire extinguishing powder) is placed in a hard shell - a special container. After being delivered to the fire site by means of a starting device, the container must release the substance, which will help extinguish the fire. In the known method for the remote delivery of a fire extinguishing agent, an air gun with a cylindrical container is used. During delivery, the cylinder must rotate around its axis to ensure stability of movement. A special turbine is used to untwist the cylinder as it passes by the muzzle of the cannon. During the operation of the turbine, it becomes difficult to regulate the distribution of compressed air flows. In addition, you need to monitor the tightness of the pneumatic part of the gun. The new delivery method uses a two spaced cargo container similar to a sports dumbbell. The initiation of the dumbbell movement is carried out due to the simultaneous action of explosive impulses directed at each of its loads in a pre-calculated manner. The result is a rotational-translational movement of the container. To describe the dynamics of the dumbbell movement, a Lagrangian was determined, and a system of Lagrange differential equations of the second kind was compiled and solved. The examples of modeling the trajectories of the centers of mass of the dumbbell weights with allowance for air resistance are given. The proposed method is planned to be the basis for a new fire extinguishing technology. This is evidenced by a new scheme for launching a dumbbell using explosive impulses of charges from two squibs. The results obtained make it possible to estimate the values of explosive impulses necessary for throwing, as well as to estimate the corresponding values of the dumbbell delivery distances


The purposes of this research are to describe the population of prospective students in Indonesia by identifying market segments based on the use of social media as their information source to make decision in choosing a state university and to explain the relationship between the factors that influence the choice to use media and social media. The research method used in this research is qualitative with qualitative observations and questionnaires. The results of this study indicate that the use of social media among students is increasingly important, especially to search for university and selection. The reason for the popularity of this media is because it can provide information from three different sources: direct information from universities, trusted information from social networks or reference groups and real time information from university sites. The conclusion of this study is that social media serves as a source of information and has an impact on student choice university. These sources include information directly from the university and also social media is more important in the stage to find information and to evaluate alternatives because the search for information is a key element of the consumer decision-making model. Keywords—social media; university; decision; university


This paper proposes a face recognition method based on PCA and LVQ neural networks. PCA is applied to get the eigen vector of the images, then these eigen values are used as the input of the learning vector quantization networks, and the output of LVQ networks are the result of classification. Experiments on Cambridge ORL database are provided, The promising results clearly demonstrate the effectiveness of this method.


The objective of this study was to increase the income and safeness of a forestry enterprise by converting trees into wood multiproduct using integer programming. The data used in this experiment are related to the planting of a hybrid clone of Eucalyptus grandis x Eucalyptus urophylla, at 7 years of age of a farmer from Minas Gerais, Brazil. To perform the optimized conversion, information from alternative commercialization of the wood produced in the settlement and the characteristics of products were used. Four alternative destinations of the logs were taken into account: energy, cellulose, anchor and sawmill, with different dimensions and the required minimum and maximum diameters and length of logs. The problem consisted in meeting the optimal combination based on two proposed scenarios: a) maximization of the total volume obtained, and b) optimization of the overall revenue obtained. The comparative order was destined to a single forest product with no study of optimization. The comparison of results demonstrates the economic benefits achieved by planting in multiproduct conversion when compared to single use, with an average increase of 33.69% in average revenue achieved by just one product. The maximization of total revenue obtained had an increase of 20.6% and 16.3%compared to revenues obtained by the allocation of settlement anchor and maximization of the volume respectively. Therefore, it is concluded that optimization of the overall revenue proved to be the best choice for income from forest settlement.


Optical and photonic techniques provide a unique capability to spatially process microwave and millimeter-wave signals in ways that will provide novel capabilities for broadband antenna array transmitter and receivers. Initial flight tests of such arrays for passive millimeter-wave imaging applications have proven successful and further work is expanding the capabilities of these arrays to RADAR and communications transceivers.


Objectives: To explore the contribution of epidural indomethacin application in different time to the paw withdrawal mechanical threshold (PWMT) in rats. Methods: Autologous disc harvested from the coccygeal vertebrae of the rats was applied to the left L5 dorsal root (DR) to develop an animal model of radiculopathy. A fine tube was inserted epidurally and indomethacin was given at different time in order to observe the effects of early prophylactic and late remedial epidural indomethacin in the PWMT of the rats. Results: Compared with control group,early prophylactic indomethacin application almost inhibited the decrease of PWMT of the rats in 2 weeks, which implies that COX may be involved in radiculopathy induced by disc herniation in the early stage. But when the PWMT decreased to the peak at 3 weeks, remedial epidural indomethacin application had no effects on the PWMT. Conclusions: The present data suggest that COX plays an important role in radiculopathy induced by disc herniation in the early stage and prophylactic epidural indomethacin therapy can relieve pain effectively. But at the late stage mechanical compression become the main course of pain and remedial epidural indomethacin therapy has no effects on PWMT.


In order to investigate the effects of grain size and porosity on the modulus of elasticity of a mechanically alloyed, particle reinforced ultrafine grained metal matrix composite, a phase mixture model was considered in which the composite is treated as a mixture of a matrix phase, a reinforcing particle phase and a porous boundary phase. The boundary phase was assumed to have the mechanical properties of a quasi-amorphous material. Hill's rule of mixtures in conjunction with the phase mixture model was employed. The calculated Young's modulus was compared with the experimental results. The effects of the volume fraction of the reinforcing particles, the overall effective density, the grain size of the matrix, and the density of the boundary phase on the overall modulus of elasticity are discussed.


This study of selected passages from Platonov's The Foundation Pit (1929) and Chevengur (1927-29) attempts to account for some of the unusual mental pains, surprises and reassurances often experienced by Platonov's readers by looking in detail at stylistic devices and incongruities. As has been shown by at least three other commentators on Platonov's style, several kinds of insecurity, anxiety or inscrutable horror are provoked in the reader, but so are (practically by the same devices) hope, relief and the pleasures of lyricism.


This thesis investigated how enzymes called phosphodiesterases control changes in contractility mediated by noradrenaline and adrenaline through activation of β1- and β2-adrenoceptors in live human heart tissue from patients with advanced heart failure undergoing transplantation. The study compared patients who had been administered β-blocker medicines metoprolol or carvedilol or no β-blocker treatment. This work helped to further elucidate the complex roles of target receptors and enzymes that are integral to the progression of heart failure, to compare the mechanisms of action of β-blockers currently used to manage heart failure and to identify new drug targets for heart failure treatment.