Bacterial decomposition of organic matter in soils is generally believed to be mainly controlled by the access bacteria have to their substrate. The influence of bacterial traits on this control has, however, received little attention. Here, we develop a bioreactive transport model to screen the interactive impacts of dispersion and bacterial traits on mineralization. We compare the model results with two sets of previously performed cm-scale soil-core experiments in which the mineralization of the pesticide 2,4-D was measured under well-controlled initial distributions and transport conditions. Bacterial dispersion away from the initial substrate location induced a significant increase in 2,4-D mineralization, revealing the existence of a regulation of mineralization by the bacterial decomposer density, in addition to the dilution of substrate. This regulation of degradation by density becomes dominant for bacteria with an efficient uptake of substrate at low substrate concentrations (a common feature of oligotrophs). The model output suggests that the distance between bacteria adapted to oligotrophic environments is a stronger regulator of degradation than the distance between these bacteria and the substrate initial location. Such oligotrophs, commonly found in soils, compete with each other for substrate even at remarkably low population densities. The ratio-dependent Contois growth model, which includes a density regulation in the expression of the uptake efficiency, provide a more versatile representation than the substrate-dependent Monod model in these conditions. In view of their strong interactions, bioreactive and transport processes cannot be handled independently but should be integrated, in particular when reactive processes of interest are carried out by oligotrophs.-The impact of spatial distributions on decomposition depends on bacterial traits-Decomposition can be reduced by competition between bacteria even at low densities-Bacterial density regulation counterbalances substrate accessibility regulation-Regulation of decomposition by bacterial density is more acute for oligotrophs


We examine the steady state electron-positron pair creation rate for supercritical electric potentials with arbitrary spatial dependence. The numerical optimization algorithms predict that the set of external fields that can maximize the production rate for positrons with a given energy take non-trivial spatial shapes. We explain the underlying physical mechanisms based on a simple analytical model that exploits resonances among the negative energy eigenstates of the Dirac Hamiltonian. The results are rather encouraging from an experimental perspective as they suggest that one does not require unachievable infinitely large fields to maximize the possible pair creation yield. In fact, in many cases smaller electric fields lead surprisingly to larger yields for given energy ranges.


We present an experimental study of impact cratering and fragmentation processes onto low density materials by means of high velocity impact experiments using a twostage light-gas gun, the impact facility of CISAS "G. Colombo" of the University of Padova (http://cisas.unipd.it/lgg/lgg.html). The goal of our experiments is to obtain a better comprehension of the impact processes on different materials in order to analyze the evolution of the surface of the solid bodies and the collisional evolution of the minor bodies of the Solar System. The results of this research are also aimed to contribute to the data interpretation of the groundand space-based observations, in particular in view of space missions such as Smart1, MarsExpress, VenusExpress, BepiColombo, Cassini-Huygens, Rosetta, Dawn.


In this paper the course of the man-made leather was introduced,PU synthetic leather was compared with PVC artificial leather,then the application and development trend of PU synthetic leather and PVC artificial leather in the vehicle inner decoration were analyzed,and some opinions were presented finally.


Objective To establish a simple sensitive and stable method for determination of urea in serum byspectrophotometry with o-phthalaldehyde. Methods o-phthalaldehyde was used as a coloring reagent. 4aminoantipyrine as a accelerating reagent and ammonium metavanadate as a shifting reagent in the acidity systemto determine urea by spectrophotometry. Results The linearity wa 0~60 mmol/L. The average rate of recovery was 98. 2%. Witkin-run CV was 2. 28% and between run was 3. 19%. Compared with diacetyl monoxime,we obtained good correlation(r=0. 999). Conclusions The sensibility of the method, the stability and low costare better than that in diacetyl monokime's. The method is suitable for the routine manual or automatic analysisof urea in serum.


OBJECTIVE
To study ARID1A expression and its role in pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors.

METHODS
51 cases of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors were collected from July 2003 to May 2012 from Peking Union Medical College Hospital.Eighteen normal pancreatic tissues were used as positive control. HE staining method was used to observe general clinicopathological features. ARID1A expression was detected immunohistochemically by EnVision method. The relationship between ARID1A expression and tumor grade and stage was analyzed.

RESULTS
The level of ARID1A expression was not associated with patients' gender, age, TNM stage, and tumor size (P>0.05); but showed significantly negative correlation with tumor grade (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS
Low ARID1A expression was significantly related to the high grade level of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. It has a certain effect on the clinical classification of pancreatic neuroendocring tumors. ARID1A may play a role as a tumor suppressor gene.


In this paper we define an autopilot to make vertical circular loops, making the centripetal acceleration, Gf , to vary through the loop and maintaining a constant engine thrust, although it varies a little bit with altitude. We prove that this autopilot could be implemented easily in the flight computer of an F16, F15, F18, or in any other aircraft with a high GonSetRate, the positive derivative in order to the time of Gf , greater than 0.62 g/s. Then we define an autopilot to make horizontal circular loops varying only the centripetal acceleration. We found that this autopilot can be deployed on any aircraft with the negative derivative in order to the time of Gf , GoffSetRate, such that |GoffSetRate| > 1g/s, which includes almost all aircrafts. Finally we revise and correct our previous work where we define the GLOC risk in a flyup, and we obtain the exact G-LOC risk in a loop. In the near future we plan to design a system of planning aerobatic flights based on our model of G-LOC risk.


Initial blood sugar levels were related to diabetes mellitus in a 17 year follow-up of the pioneer study in Oxford, Mass. Clinical diabetes was found 5 and 15 times more frequently for initial postprandial blood sugars (Folin-Wu) of 140 to 169 mg and 170 mg/100 ml and higher, respectively, than for those below 140 mg/100 ml. Glycosuria was important only when the blood sugar was above 170 mg/100 ml. A confirmatory repeat blood sugar level ≥140 mg/100 ml proved valuable in defining a high risk group for diabetes. The risk of diabetes in overweight persons was significant only when the blood sugar was above 140 mg/100 ml. The similar weight experience of the participants, regardless of their initial blood sugar level, makes it unlikely for obesity to be causally related to diabetes mellitus. The apparently contradictory results from postprandial and postglucose blood sugars are discussed.


Abstract : On the second day of the Gulf War in 1991, U.S. defense officials claimed that air strikes the previous night had dealt a crippling blow to Iraqs small nuclear weapons program, though later analysis would find the program to be much larger than, and not as damaged as, it appeared. In March 1993, the South African government announced that it had not only researched the means to build nuclear weapons, but had in fact constructed a handful of the devices and then voluntarily disassembled them all without the international community becoming aware of the weapons existence. The Indian government would also surprise the world several years later, in May 1998, when they conducted a nuclear test of which U.S. officials first learned through CNN coverage. In each of these cases, U.S. officials were aware of the states desire for nuclear weapons and its potential capability to build them. That awareness was not accompanied by an understanding of the states motivations for pursuing nuclear weapons, its intentions for their use, or the success the state was having in research and development (R and D). A lack of complete knowledge is understandable due to the extreme secrecy that surrounds such efforts. But each of these programs was protected by more than secrecy. Each involved a coordinated deception effort that spanned years, involved thousands of individuals, and confused the efforts of U.S. analysts to present policymakers with timely and accurate information. Intelligence analysts, military planners, and scholars often define deception in strategic, operational, or tactical terms. This dissertation proposes that the long-term deception surrounding these R and D efforts is distinctive in its characteristics and calls for new methods mitigate its effects.


The Sakai-Sugimoto model is the leading model of holographic QCD. It has an effective five-dimensional description in which baryons correspond to the bulk topological solitons of a Yang-Mills-Chern-Simons theory. However, the large dimensionality of the model means studying soliton solutions either analytically or numerically is difficult.

Sakai-Sugimoto solitons in the high density limit should provide an analogue of cold, dense QCD. Two competing theories for high-density solutions are the dyon salt model, in which the appropriate crystal is a salt-like arrangement of dyons, and the baryonic popcorn model in which a series of transitions occurs where the three-dimensional soliton crystal develops extra layers in the holographic direction.

In this thesis we consider a range of low-dimensional analogues and approximations to the Sakai-Sugimoto model. We first investigate an O(3) sigma model stabilised by vector mesons, and a baby Skyrme model in pure AdS spacetime, before moving on to consider homogeneous ansatze in both the holographic baby Skyrme and full Sakai- Sugimoto models. In each case we look for analogues of the dyon salt and baryonic popcorn configurations, and find evidence for new features in the high-density regime of holographic QCD.


A 6×6 array of four-arm spiral antennas is presented for satellite receiver applications at 18 GHz. The array provides a wide-angle elevation scanning with a high gain right handed circularly polarized (RHCP) radiation beam. Each spiral element has four spiral arms with four feeding ports. The four arms are arranged symmetrically with respect to the center of the antenna. When one of the four ports are excited and other ports are open-circuited, the spiral element provides an RHCP tilted beam (θmax= 51°) with a gain of 8.4 dBi. By switching the excitation among the four feeding ports, the spiral element can switch the beam in four different quadrants in space. It is demonstrated that by combining these four unit-patterns, the 6×6 array of four-arm spirals provides an elevation scanning range of −70°≤ θ ≤ 70° with a maximum gain up to 20.6 dBi.


I take it for granted that sense experiential states provide reasons for empirical beliefs; indeed, this claim forms the first premise of my central argument for (CC). The subsequent stages of the argument are intended to establish that a person has such a reason for believing something about the way things are in the world around him only if he is in some mental state or other with a conceptual content: a conceptual state. Thus, given that sense experiential states do provide reasons for empirical beliefs, they must have conceptual content. The plan of the essay is this. After characterizing as precisely as possible conceptual content itself, I offer an argument for the claim that sense experiential states provide reasons for empirical beliefs only if they have conceptual content. As I say, I assume without argument that sense experiential states do indeed provide such reasons. So this constitutes my prima facie argument for (CC) (section I). Then (in sections II and III), I consider a number of recent critical discussions of (CC).


On the basis of analyzing the damping force calculation model of magneto-rheological damper an analytical discussion was carried out on the electric controlled characteristic equation.By means of studying the main modules of the excitation source,data collection system and electric current controller etc.of the controlling system,a kind of testing method was designed based on the control system of the magneto-rheological damper of MTS810 material testing machine.The experimental result was accord with the theoretical calculation model.This method is very effective on the semi-active control of magneto-rheological damper,the mechanics performance testing and the research of structural improvement.


The Mid‐Cretaceous was characterized by long‐term and stabilized high temperatures confirmed by numerous palaeoclimatic information from marine sedimentary archives. However, few terrestrial records have yet been employed to verify the terrestrial humidity under this long‐term hot climate. The Liupanshan Basin, located in central China during the Cretaceous contains thick Aptian‐Albian sediments. Here, we reconstructed a long‐term palaeovegetational record during late Aptian to Albian from the Huoshizhai Section and Sikouzi Section, Liupanshan Basin. Five palynological assemblages were defined from the bottom to top of these strata, and a total of 124 types of palynomorphs including 47 spore species and 77 gymnosperm pollen species were recognized in the palynological assemblages. Sporopollen analysis revealed that the spore‐pollen spectra of Huoshizhai Section were dominated by Perinopollenites and Bisaccate pollen. In Sikouzi section, the Classopollis content dominate in all samples (average 63.8%), with a few other pollen, including conifer bisaccates types, Perinopollenites, Jiaohepollis, Ephedripites, Cycadopites and a few spores. The sporopollen assemblage reflected that the flora of the central Asia continent gradually changed from Taxodiacean‐dominated to Cheirolepidiaceae‐dominated in the late Aptian and the Albian, which further indicates that the central Asia continent palaeoclimate gradually changed from a wet and cold climate to a long‐term dry and hot climate with small fluctuation. In addition, the Classopollis content also presented a slightly increased trend from late Aptian to late Albian, which probably indicated a gradually intensified hot and dry climate. The thermophilic floral changes and warmer/cooler ratio of the Sporomorph Ecogroup Model at the middle Madonghshan Formation also shows slightly decreased trends which correspond to the global short‐term cooling events at the Aptian‐Albian transition.


An optimal harvesting control problem for nonlinear stochastic population dynamic model is studidied.When the external environment impact on the system,The necessary condition for the optimization and its optimality system was obtained,which extends a result in the deterministic population system.


Standard therapy for advanced head and neck carcinoma is surgery and radiation, and the subsequent 5‐year survival with this treatment has been less than 50%. New combined modality treatment strategies are being tested to improve survival. New chemotherapy combinations are being developed and administered simultaneously with, or sequenced with, radiation and surgery. This article reports the Phase I results of administering paclitaxel and carboplatin preoperatively. The authors' objective was to develop an outpatient chemotherapy that would downstage tumors and allow organ preservation with equal or improved survival as compared with standard therapy.


According to the State Council,constructing an international metropolis is the new orientation and requirement to Xi'an city.It is also a grand project in "Outline of the Twelfth Five Year Plan for Xi'an Economic and Social Development".To realize this,a large number of international talents are needed.Institutions of higher education shoulder the unshirkable duty of personnel training.This paper clarifies the training targets and requirements by hackling the connotation elements of internationalized talents.Meanwhile,this paper also does some theoretical exploration in training conception,management mechanism,curriculum and practice teaching system,in order to achieve a breakthrough in the cultivation ideas,implementation scheme as well as methods and measures szo as to make the contribution to the cultivation of internationalized talents.


It might happen that the statue and the constituent lump of clay come into existence at the exact same time. Gibbard (1975) imagines that the artist makes "a clay statue of the infant Goliath in two pieces, one the part above the waist and the other the part below the waist," and once the two halves are finished, the artist sticks them together, "thereby bringing into existence simultaneously a new piece of clay and a new statue" (p. 191). Also imagine that a day later, dissatisfied with his work, the artist destroys the statue by smashing it to bits, simultaneously bringing an end to the piece of clay. The complete spatio-temporal coincidence tempts us to say that in such a case, the statue (call it Statue) is identical with the lump of clay (call it Clay). This case is clearly atypical. In the typical case, Gibbard (1975, p. 190) notes, the lump of clay exists prior to being molded into a statue. In that case, the statue is obviously not identical with the lump of clay. It seems there is no reason to deny that the situation with Statue and Clay could have been more like the typical case, and if it could have, then


The increasing incidence of HIV infection in the pediatric population is of concern for the practicing dentist. Long incubation periods of the virus, combined with difficulty in detection, results in many undiagnosed cases of prenatal and natal infections with HIV. As a result, many dentists will unknowingly treat HIV-positive children. This article presents most common features of pediatric HIV infection, placing special emphasis on manifestations which affect the head, neck, and oral tissues.


This chapter explores the idea of the bluestockings and other women writers and how they were partially enfranchised by the expansion of print culture in the 18th century. Many of the bluestockings were published writers. Indeed, Elizabeth Montagu and Elizabeth Carter showed that women could succeed in areas traditionally defined as areas where men excelled. Regardless of the success of these women writers — and probably as a result of it — at the start of the 19th century, the combined social and intellectual prominence of so many intelligent women was responded to with both resentment and disgust by many men. Nevertheless, the establishment of a recognized and significant presence of women in the 'world of letters' paved the way for a wide range of social and political commentary from women writers such as Jane Austen, George Eliot, and, later, Virginia Woolf.


major challenge in Computer-Integrated Manufacturing (CIM) is the integration of computer-controlled complexes of robots, automated machine tools, material handling devices and guided vehicles on the shop floor with engineering design and plant management databases and inter-person information processing (for example, electronic mail) across local and remote stations [l-41. The architecture and performance of the network that interconnects these diverse functions are of paramount importance to the efficient and reliable operation of integrated design and manufacturing processes. Lack of interoperability, reliability and flexibility in the network design can cause chain reactions of delay and congestion resulting in loss of control of safety and productivity. Although a large body of analytical research in the general area of network control and communications protocol development has focused on modelling and performance analysis as well as on designing flexible systems for accommodating future growth [ 5- 111, the specific challenges presented in CIM have not yet been fully addressed. The future research in this area needs to utilize the existing knowledge in computer networking by identifying, modifymg, and validating the theories, that are relevant to


This study was aimed to investigate the effect of docosahexaenoic acid on learning and memory abilities in rats and to explore the relevant molecular mechanism. A total of 32 neonatal male SD rats were randomly divided into 4 groups: negative control group, positive control group, low(370 mg/(kg · d)) and high dose DHA group(740 mg/(kg · d)). After 8 weeks of feeding, the enzyme activities of acetylcholinesterase(AChE) and nitric oxide synthase(NOS) in brain tissue of rats were analyzed. The mRNA expressions of N-methylD-aspartate receptor subunit(NR1), cAMP responsive element binding protein( CERB), immediate early gene( c-fos) in the hippocampus of rats were determined by RT-PCR. Results showed that compared to the negative control group, DHA at both doses was able to significantly increase AChE and NOS activities in brain tissue as well as the mRNA expression levels of NR1, CREB and c-fos while the low dose presented higher effect. In summary, DHA could remarkably improve learning and memory abilities in rats in a dose-dependent manner. The mechanism might be involved with the upregulation of NR1, CREB and c-fos mRNA expression by DHA in the hippocampus of rats.


The objective of the present study was to assess the impact of baseline thymic volume on the CD4 cell repopulation induced by highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in HIV-infected adults. Therefore, 37 previously untreated HIV-1-infected adults were prospectively followed from August 1998 to September 2001. All patients underwent a thorax CT scan at starting HAART to measure thymic volume. The median follow-up time was 189 [87.5–498.5] days. CD4 cell repopulation was considered as an increase ≥200 cells/mm3 above baseline count. Twenty-one (57%) patients achieved this CD4 repopulation. Baseline thymic volume was the main independent factor associated with CD4 repopulation (P=0.016); this factor was a positive predictor (adjusted hazard ratio: 1.25 [95% confidence interval 1.1–1.4]). Although, CD4 cell count and non-AIDS diagnosis at baseline were associated with CD4 cell repopulation on the univariate analysis (P=0.03 and P=0.02, respectively), no statistical signification was found on the multivariate test. In summary, baseline thymic volume is a predictor of early CD4 cell repopulation in adult HIV-1-infected patients taking HAART.


Aluminum doped zinc oxide (AZO) has attained prominence as being a very good transparent conducting oxide for optoelectronics and photovoltaic applications. In this work, we report on the synthesis and characterization of AZO films with c-axis preferred orientation using magnetron radio frequency (RF) sputtering. It was found that the degree of the c-axis preferred orientation can be controlled by varying the growth conditions, such as working pressure, RF power, and substrate temperatures. The preferred orientation increased as the working pressure decreased, while it increased as the RF power and substrate temperature increased. Electrical and optical measurements have revealed that the growth conditions and c-axis preferred orientation have strong influence on the physical properties of the synthesized AZO thin films. The thin films with increased c-axis preferred orientation exhibited enhanced carrier mobility.


Abstract : In 1999, the l06th Congress enacted military retirement reform for personnel entering the military after 31 July 1986. This thesis examines the process by which this reform was enacted and its impact on defense spending. To conduct the analysis, a review of articles, journals, government reports, and legislation related to retirement reform was completed. The estimated cost of reform was $796 million for FY 2000 and totaled nearly $6 billion by FY 2004. Congress modified military retirement by offering members the choice of remaining under Redux and receiving a $30,000 bonus or retiring under the High Three Plan. The 1999 Emergency Supplemental appropriated $10.9 billion dollars to improve military readiness, including funds for retirement reform assuming that it would improve retention and readiness. Congress approved the changes in the 2000 Authorization Act. Reform was facilitated by the designation of the funds as an emergent requirement to improve readiness and the emergence of an on-budget surplus of $14 billion for FY 2000.


Abstract The equation for the temperature of ferroelectric (ferromagnetic) phase transition is obtained within the renormalization group method. In the case of the site dilute model the bounderies of the concentration region, where the phase transition exists are discussed.


Observations are presented from retrospective analyses of the crystallization strategies deployed at the SGC, Oxford during its first decade of existence, providing practical guidelines for the design of screening experiments.


ZnO and related II-VI compound semiconductor alloys are emerging as important materials for numerous optical and electronic devices. The wurtzite structure of ZnO differs from the cubic rock-salt structure of the binary compounds CdO and MgO.The ability to integrate and alloy these binary oxides allows a wide range of bandgap engineering for device applications. It is desirable to integrate other cubic oxide materials, such as ferroelectric perovskites, with semiconductors. However, most cubic oxides have an inherent chemical incompatibility with semiconductors due to problems associated with oxidation. ZnO presents an exciting possibility for the integration of a wide range of oxides with a semiconducting oxide material for novel multi-functional device applications. In this work, we have studied the growth of ZnO thin films by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) on cubic MgO. X - r ay diffraction (θ‐ 2θ) measurements indicate a single ZnO cry s t a l l i n e orientation for growth on MgO (100) corresponding to a cubic ZnO (1010) phase (m-plane orientation). Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images confirm m-plane ZnO epitaxy on MgO (100), as well as abrupt interfaces with minimal interdiffusion. This project was supported byAFOSR under contract number FA9550-04-1-0390.


Google Play which is the most popular Android app market in Fraudulent behaviours is the fuel search rank abuse and malware proliferation. But Google Play App recommendation is not efficient in recent days. Genuine apps do not have a proper Ranking in playstore.This is all due to the Fraudulent developers who frequently exploit crowdsourcing sites. This behaviour is called as search rank fraud. The proposed system deals with slight variation apps which means some fraudulent developer may release hundreds or even thousands of nearly identical apps with the different set of permissions (may be created using app maker tools) that provide the same functionality with slight variation and the non-programmers and nondevelopers may also create apps by app maker tools. This project uses k-means technique and Kernel weight method which involves comparison of permission weights of the apps, block the malware apps and thus improve ranking of genuine apps.


ABSTRACT Asphalt deposits are distributed in many areas on earth and released natural asphalt of various chemical composition. Rheological properties of natural asphalt are usually improved by the addition of synthetic additives to convert it into a useful material for various industrial applications. In this work, the chemical composition of natural asphalt obtained from Al-Qayyarah/Iraq was analysed to detect its alluvial system using column chromatography and infrared spectrophotometer. Moreover, Natural asphalt was then treated by the addition of food waste product particularly eggshell powder (ESP) and commercially available low density polyethylene (LDP) in different ratios. The asphalt was separated into four main parts using column chromatography in a manner called SARA. The relative amounts of the paraffin compounds (28.58%), aromatic (29.34%), resins (19.88%) and asphalt (20.04%) determined the quality of asphalt system. The study showed that the aromatic and resin parts ratio were higher than the asphaltene part added to the negative value of penetration index. The results indicated that natural asphalt has a colloidal system of SOL type and its rheological properties were improved by the addition of both additives (ESP and LDP). This was confirmed by the application of various thermal and physical tests (softening, penetration, ductility, viscosity and water absorption tests).


Opioid-dependent individuals are frequently incarcerated and relapse rates following their release are high. Evidence of the effectiveness of prison-based treatments and community aftercare is limited. We report the preliminary findings of a randomized controlled trial that encountered specific challenges inherent in prison research. Naltrexone implants were compared with methadone maintenance treatment among pre-release inmates. Naltrexone implants have not previously been evaluated in prison settings. Approximately 41% of eligible inmates volunteered to participate; 27 of the total 46 participants commenced treatment according to the protocol. Although most inmates intended to remain abstinent from heroin after their release, the relapse rates among individuals who had not commenced treatment were high. Naltrexone implants were regarded as a valuable treatment option. During the study, several problems were encountered regarding enrollment, treatment initiation and aftercare. These findings have important implications for future prison research. Random allocation to the fixed interventions was inefficient in limiting the risk of selection bias. Alternative approaches should be considered, such as sequential multiple assignment randomized trials.


Varying-speed Tilting Flywheel(VSTF) is an innovative device that combines the actuating capabilities of the control moment gyro with the rate sensing capabilities of the tuned rotor gyro by using a spinning flex-gimbal system. Precession and nutation stability of high-speed rotor is the primary factor determining stability of the VSTF system. In this paper, a simplified mathematical model of VSTF is established, based on which the complex coefficient transfer function is derived and the classical Nyquist criterion using Bode diagram can be extended to the complex coefficient frequency domain. Then, the double-frequency Bode diagram and the Nyquist criterion are used for analyzing the stability of the VSTF system and designing the parameters of the PD controller and adaptive nutation damper. Simulation results are presented to verify the effectiveness of two distinct control schemes and the proposed stability analysis method.


Obsessive compulsive disorder is defined as the presence of either obsessions or compulsions, cause marked distress, is time- consuming, or significantly interferes with person's normal routine or functioning. Many methods of therapy have been used like drug therapy, behaviour therapy, psychotherapy, combination of drug therapy and behaviour therapy etc. In present study 'Growth Oriented Therapy' which includes 'Humming','Nonverbal expressive therapy,' Breathing Exercise, and 'Attitudinal Changes' has been used for the treatment of 27 years old unmarried male suffering from obsessive compulsive disorder who did not improve on above mentioned methods. Patient was assessed by using Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale and depressive scales before treatment and after one year follow up. The patient became well and functioning nicely.


Semiconductor switches, and with a high has a reverse conduction performance, withstanding voltage of the voltage-driven switching element main element, the secondary element is in the withstand voltage is low voltage-driven switching element than the main element, having a high speed free-wheeling diode with an equivalent withstanding voltage as the main element and the direction to connect the main element the negative electrode and the negative electrode of the secondary element, the positive electrode of the main element as a positive electrode terminal and toward the positive electrode of the secondary element to the positive terminal from the negative terminal between a negative terminal and a positive terminal and a negative terminal It is connected in parallel to the high-speed free-wheeling diode to be forward. The semiconductor switch, the main element, the auxiliary element, free-wheeling diode


aerobicacidophilicproteobacteriumAcidiphiliumrubrum; this spices uses Zn, instead of Mg as the central atom of bacteriochlorophyll in its photosynthetic apparatus. Energy dispersiye X-ray analysis (EDX) of the cell surfaces gaye peaks of P, S, Si and Mg. Transmission electron micrograph images showed a high density globule of O.11 ian in diameter in each 1.1XO.3 pan celt. An EDX analysis of the b]ack precipitate that was coltected after the centrifugation of disrupted celts showed high amounts of the heayy metals Fe, Cr, Ni and traces of K, Ca, P, Si and Al in the order of atomic content. An X-ray powder diffraction anal-


Writing in the March issue of the newsletter of the Product Liability Committee, Stephen E. Scheve and Manual Lopez of the Houston office of Shook, Hardy & Bacon reflect on new developments in the unanimity requirement for federal court juries: Rule 48 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure requires jury verdicts in civil cases to be unanimous, unless the parties agree otherwise. In a decision that distinctly helps civil (as well as criminal) defendants, the Ninth Circuit recently confirmed that a jury's verdict must be unanimous as to the defendant's affirmative defenses, not just as to the basic elements of the plaintiff's causes of action. Jazzabi v. Allstate Insurance Co., 278 F.3d 979 (9th Cir. 2002). As a practical matter, this ruling should prevent juries from rejecting affirmative defenses merely because they cannot reach a unanimous decision about them. Defense of arson The facts in Jazzabi were straightfor ward. The plaintiff, Jazzabi, lost his house in a fire. He subsequently made a claim against Allstate, his insurance company. It refused to honor its fire insurance policy, arguing that Jazzabi intentionally burned down his house. So Jazzabi sued Allstate for breach of contract. The parties agreed that Jazzabi met all of the elements of his cause of action: he had a valid insurance policy, and Allstate refused to honor a claim within the scope of coverage. Allstate's sole defense was arson, which it pleaded as an affirmative defense. This appeared to be the proper procedure under Oregon law, which governed the case. The parties even agreed that there was arson. The only fact question for the jury was, as the court put it, "whether Jazzabi was the arsonist." Not surprisingly, the jury unanimously found that the plaintiff met all of the elements of the cause of action. The jury, however, was hung on the defendant's affirmative defense. Of course, this meant that the jury could not resolve the only genuine fact issue before it-whether Jazzabi was the arsonist. The jury sent a note asking for clarification of the unanimity requirement. It asked whether it needed to reject the affirmative defense unanimously in order to reach the damages question. The trial judge conferred with counsel and initially decided that, yes, the jury needed to reach a unanimous verdict on the affirmative defense, one way or the other. It gave the jury a supplemental instruction to that effect. After the jury retired again, the court changed its mind and concluded that the jury could come back with no decision on the affirmative defense. This result would merely indicate that Allstate failed to meet its burden of proof on its affirmative defense. Before the court could instruct the jury on its new decision, the jury came back with a unanimous verdict in favor of Allstate. The court went ahead and gave the jury a subsequent instruction, informing them that they could reach damages even if they could not reach a unanimous decision on the affirmative defense. So the jury retired again and came back with a verdict for Jazzabi. The trial court entered judgment on this verdict. Square question on unanimity Because the final judgment was based on a jury verdict that lacked a unanimous decision about a potentially decisive affirmative defense, the subsequent appeal squarely presented the question of whether the unanimity requirement applies to affirmative defenses. The Ninth Circuit panel rejected Jazzabi's arguments. First, it cited the common rationale favoring unanimous verdicts: they foster thorough jury deliberations. Allowing the jury to reach a verdict when it has failed to resolve one of the major fact questions at issue provides the jury with an easy way to avoid deciding difficult questions. This case presented a particularly dramatic example of this point because the parties agreed on every other relevant fact besides arson. Allowing the jury to return a verdict without deciding arson was allowing it to side-step its only duty. …


It is clear that the overall quality of any scholarly journal depends to a large degree on the quality of the peer review employed by the editor for making publication decisions, and that, in turn, depends almost exclusively on the people who do the actual reviewing of submitted manuscripts – the reviewers. When properly done, reviewing of manuscripts submitted to scholarly journals is a difficult and time-consuming activity. Being a good reviewer of a research paper requires not only deep knowledge pertaining to the subject of the paper but also honesty, perseverance and tolerance. Regardless of what his/her publication recommendation is, a good reviewer always explains in detail reasons behind the recommendation and, when appropriate, provides the author with constructive comments and suggestions. After serving as editor of this journal for 36 years, I can unequivocally state that my main challenge over all these years has been to find good reviewers for the various areas covered in the journal. This has been particularly difficult due to its cross-disciplinary and multi-disciplinary orientation. At this time, my primary source of good reviewers is the editorial board, which consists of leading experts in the various areas pertaining to the aims and scope of the journal. Whenever feasible, I choose members of the editorial board to review papers. It is thus typical that I ask each member of the editorial board to review a few papers (usually three to five) each year. One reason for writing this editorial is to express my gratitude to these outstanding individuals for their vital support in this regard. Although members of the editorial board are the principal reviewers of submitted manuscripts, it is often inevitable for various reasons to search for qualified reviewers outside the board. With a growing number of journals, this has been an increasingly difficult and time-consuming task. Thus far, fortunately, we have always been able to find qualified individuals to review papers that could not be reviewed by members of the editorial board. These individuals have been essential for maintaining the high quality of the journal and I am very grateful to them for their effort. We gratefully recognise the following individuals who have recently served as reviewers for this journal:


Provided in the embodiments of the present invention are a communication signal transceiving component, a terminal and a signal transceiving method, relating to the field of network transmission. The transceiving component comprises: a common antenna, a first communication chip, a second communication chip, a coupler, and a switch module. The first communication chip and the second communication chip are connected to the coupler by means of the switch module. The coupler comprises a first branch and a second branch and is connected to the common antenna to transceive communication signals from the first communication chip and/or the second communication chip. The present invention solves the technical problem in the related art that a time-division mechanism, which needs to be utilized when a BT signal and a WLAN signal need to be transmitted simultaneously because the BT and the WLAN use in common the same antenna, may severely affect the data throughput rate of the WLAN, achieving the effect that two kinds of signals may be transmitted simultaneously to enhance the data throughput rate.


Key Points Question Are family physicians less likely to accept people with opioid use disorder as new patients than people with diabetes? Findings In this randomized clinical trial conducted in Ontario, Canada, assessing 383 family physicians, were almost 3 times less likely (4% vs 11%) to offer a new patient appointment to a prospective patient with opioid use disorder than those with diabetes. Meaning These findings suggest that physician discretion in accepting new patients contributes to poor primary care access for patients with opioid use disorder, indicating a need for health system changes.


Prospective cohort studies have provided some evidence that circulating vitamin D is associated with risk of, and survival from, renal cell carcinoma (RCC), but it is unclear whether concentrations of vitamin D at the time of diagnosis of RCC are associated with prognosis. We conducted a case–cohort study of 630 RCC cases, including 203 deaths, from a multicenter case–control study in Eastern Europe. Vitamin D was assessed as 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 [25(OH)D3], and we used weighted Cox models to estimate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) by categories of season-adjusted 25(OH)D3. Higher concentrations of 25(OH)D3 were associated with lower risk of death after adjusting for stage, age, sex, and country (HR highest vs. lowest category 0.57; 95% CI, 0.34–0.97). The inverse associations of 25(OH)D3 with death were most notable among those who died from non-RCC causes and those diagnosed with early-stage disease. In summary, 25(OH)D3 concentration at diagnosis of RCC was inversely associated with all-cause mortality rates, but not specifically with RCC outcome. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 24(8); 1277–81. ©2015 AACR.


unintentionally. Because communication is essential, the use of language becomes the main thing for social life. In line with this, the use of language in each nation also has its characteristics. One is in Japan, which has a unique way of communicating, Aizuchi. Aizuchi is a form of response so that the speaker feels heard and understood by the listener. In this era of globalization, when technology is increasingly sophisticated, it is also easier for humans to communicate through podcast media as one of the audiovisual media that can be listened to anywhere and anytime because the platform for listening or watching it is straightforward to access. This study's data source was taken from the Yuyu no Sekai Podcast in the episode "[Gesuto: Chō-san] Vol. 01 - Myanmā tte don'na kuni?". This study aims to find out the differences in the use of aizuchi in Japanese and Myanmar people fluent in Japanese in the episode "[Gesuto: Chō-san] Vol. 01 - Myanmā tte don'na kuni?". The theory used in this researchis the theory of Mayumi Kutoba. This research method uses a descriptive qualitative type, with the collection method being the listening and Simak Bebas Libat Cakap listening techniques. The data contained in this study amounted to 51 data divided into 10 Kiiteiru to iu shingou functions, 14 Rikaishiteiru to iu shingou functions, 10 Doui no shingou functions, 9 Kanjyou noshingou functions, 6 Ma wo motaseru shingou functions, 1 Hitei no shingou function and 1 Jyouhou wo tsuika, teisei, youkyuu no shingou function.


The metamiat state of ziraons was investigated with the aid of infrared absorption spectra. It was found that the metamiat deaay of zircons becomes apparent in the deformations of the SiO/sub 4/-tetrahedrons. The alteration in the ziraon lattiae, i.e., the aaaumulation of deformed SiO/sub 4/tetrahedrons, occurs propcrtional to the increase of uranium aontent in the samples in the aonaentration interval 1x 10/sup -3/% to 1%. The state of the arystalline ziraon lattice with an uranium aontent of about 1% is aompletely metamiat. It was asaertained that during the metamiat transformation of ziraon a dissoaiation into oxides does not oaaur. It is shown that zirtholites are in a metamiat way altered ziraons, that the water in them is of a moleaular, absorbed nature. The investigation of infrared speatra is a very sensitive method for asaertaining the depth of metamiat ziraon transformation and therefore may be successfully used in the election of samples suitable for the determination of absolute roak age. (auth)


Requirements traceability has long been recognized as an important quality of a well-engineered system. Among stakeholders, traceability is often unpopular due to the unclear benefits. In fact, little evidence exists regarding the expected traceability benefits. There is a need for empirical work that studies the effect of traceability. In this paper, we focus on the four main requirements implementation supporting activities that utilize traceability. For each activity, we propose generalized traceability completeness measures. In a defined process, we selected 24 medium to large-scale open-source projects. For each software project, we quantified the degree to which a studied development activity was enabled by existing traceability with the proposed measures. We analyzed that data in a multi-level Poisson regression analysis. We found that the degree of traceability completeness for three of the studied activities significantly affects software quality, which we quantified as defect rate. Our results provide for the first time empirical evidence that more complete traceability decreases the expected defect rate in the developed software. The strong impact of traceability completeness on the defect rate suggests that traceability is of great practical value for any kind of software development project, even if traceability is not mandated by a standard or regulation.


Rationale Arginase probably plays an important role in asthma development, severity and progression. Polymorphisms in arginase 1 and arginase 2 genes have been associated with childhood asthma and FEV1 reversibility to β2 agonists. Objectives We investigated the association between arginase 1 and arginase 2 polymorphisms and adult asthma, asthma severity and treatment response in a longitudinal cohort of 200 asthma patients. Methods Patients were studied during 1962–1975 and reexamined during 1990–1999, together with their families. Longitudinal data on lung function and treatment were extracted from medical records. Associations between haplotype-tagging polymorphisms in arginase 1 (n=3) and arginase 2 (n=8) and asthma, asthma severity, acute response to bronchodilators and chronic response to inhaled corticosteroids were analyzed. Measurements and main results Two polymorphisms in arginase 2 (rs17249437 and rs3742879) were associated with asthma and with more severe airway obstruction. Increased airway hyperresponsiveness and lower β2 agonist reversibility, but not anticholinergic reversibility, were associated with both arginase 1 and arginase 2. Inhaled corticosteroids slowed down the annual FEV1 decline, which was significantly less effective in homozygote carriers of the C-allele of the arginase 1 polymorphism, rs2781667. Conclusion We show that previously reported associations between arginase polymorphisms and childhood asthma are also present in adult asthma and the previously found associations with lower reversibility are specific for β2 agonists. Furthermore, we identified associations of arginase 1 and arginase 2 genes with asthma severity, as reflected by a lower lung function, more severe airway hyperresponsiveness, and less long-term response to inhaled corticosteroids. Studies on the functionality of the polymorphisms are warranted to further unravel the complex mechanisms underlying these observations.


George Pastor opened this workshop by listing the things that UMTA hoped would come out of it. He wanted to know what a small bus is--a definition UMTA sought when it sponsored the small bus requirements study. This definition was fairly well addressed in this workshop. He wanted to know what UMTA should do or what its policy should be with regard to the small bus program. Should it sponsor development of a heavy-duty small bus? Where will the 16b2 program be handled in the future? What is the split between the high-density and low-density small buses? The accessibility mandate by Congress has also had considerable discussion. Should UMTA be sponsoring an accessible heavy-duty small bus? Should its full development be sponsored by UMTA? Should UMTA develop only a chassis? Should it set forth specifications for the integrated bus or let industry go its own way? UMTA certainly does not want to hinder the orderly development of small buses, paratransit vehicles, or articulated buses that we are going to need to respond to the emerging requirements for public transportation. We must develop different ways of doing things. UMTA will do its best to be properly responsive to the guidance provided by the Workshop on Small Buses regarding these questions. (Author)


Abstract Flyash as an adsorbent was found to be effective for the removal of heavy metals after generation with 2.3% HCl at about pH 6. Iron, lead, manganese and chromium ions were studied for their adsorption efficiency. In the experiments with metals separately lead showed maximum 93% adsorption. In a mixture iron showed maximum adsorption and for lead adsorption was reduced to 28%. Chromium showed minimum adsorption 6.3% in individual experiment and 13.03% in mixture. On the basis of data presented in this communication flyash may be tested at pilot plant level instead of slow sand filtration, for its potential for the treatment of drinking water.


Abnormal foot postures during gait are common sources of pain and pathologies of the lower limbs. Measurements of foot plantar pressures in both dynamic and static conditions can detect these abnormal foot postures and prevent possible pathologies. In this work, a plantar pressure measurement system is developed to identify areas with higher or lower pressure load. This system is composed of an embedded system placed in the insole and a user application. The instrumented insole consists of a low-power microcontroller, seven pressure sensors and a low-energy bluetooth module. The user application receives and shows the insole pressure information in real-time and, finally, provides information about the foot posture. In order to identify the different pressure states and obtain the final information of the study with greater accuracy, a Deep Learning neural network system has been integrated into the user application. The neural network can be trained using a stored dataset in order to obtain the classification results in real-time. Results prove that this system provides an accuracy over 90% using a training dataset of 3000+ steps from 6 different users.


The success of training and personal development in the educational environment of a university largely depends on the subjectivity of students, i.e., their personal activity / passivity. Based on some research of experimental data, we analysed the factors influencing the development of the subjective, objective and negative position of students when working in the environment of e-learning and online education. The aim of this work was to undertake a comparative study of the tendency to adopt a subject / object position among students (for example, students from five Moscow universities). The interaction of students with the information environment was analysed. The ideas of Russian psychologists about children's active position in the learning process, developed by S.L. Rubinstein (student-centered approach), became the methodological basis of the study. The process of the formation of the personal inclination of learners to adopt an active (subject) or subordinate (object) role position in interactions with the educational environment and its subjects (teachers, students and parents) is not studied well enough. A sample of 390 students answered the questions about their attitude to education and learning. The findings revealed that the level of subject, object and negative position is different. Subject position is more expressed, but object position to education also has a significant level. We found that the students with a high level of computer skills are tending to have the higher developed subject position. The statistically significant difference was also found between the higher level of object position and a positive attitude towards distant leaning and online education.


Vagnozzi et al constrained the additional parameter of spacetimes with a photon sphere from the observation of the shadow of Sagittarius A* under the assumption that a distance to the Sagittarius A* and its mass parameter was estimated from other observations. They claimed that a Damour–Solodukhin wormhole with an additional parameter λ is not an asymptotically-flat spacetime and that they gave the first robust observational constraint on the parameter λ of the Damour–Solodukhin wormhole. However, they overlooked the fact that: (A) the Damour–Solodukhin wormhole spacetime is asymptotically flat, (B) the throat of the Damour–Solodukhin wormhole works as an effective photon sphere for λ>2/2 , and (C) not only a usual mass parameter but also the parameter λ contributes the mass of the Damour–Solodukhin wormhole. Because of the overlook (C), we realize that their constraint on the parameter λ is invalid. This is because their method corresponds to the following way: They estimated the mass parameter from the other observations under the assumption λ = 0 even though the value of the parameter λ strongly affects the determination of the mass parameter, and then, they used the value of the mass parameter to constrain λ from the observation of the shadow. We conclude that we should constrain the mass parameter and λ from the shadow observation and other observations without the assumption λ = 0.


An experiment was carried out to study the Effect of training level on growth and yield of Capsicum (Capsicum annuum L) hybrid buffalo under natural ventilated polyhouse during September, 2016 to February, 2017 at Hi-Tech Horticulture, R.P.C.A.U Pusa, Samastipur, Bihar. There were three levels of training level viz. P1 (two shoots), P2 (three shoots) and P3 ((four shoots). The experiment was laid out in factorial randomized block design with three replications. Among the different training level, the maximum plant height (132.23 cm), number of leaf (119.61), leaf area (99.95 dm2), number of branches (8.93), number of flower per plant (11.41), number of days for fruit set (66.75 days), number of fruit per plant (20.31), yield per plant (3.20 kg), yield (95.01t/ha), and B:C ratio (6.21) was recorded under P3(four shoots) rest of treatments. maximum fruit weight was recorded under P1, and least number of days to first harvest, early flower initiation as well as 50 per cent flowering was recorded under training level P1 (two shoots). maximum fruit weight(175.91 g) was recorded under P1, and least number of days to first harvest (89.36 days), early flower initiation as well as 50 per cent flowering (52.71 days) was recorded under training level P1 (two shoots)


The purpose of this study is simultaneously to obtain plural pole figures using imaging plate (IP) which is a a two-dimensional X-ray area detector. Since more than one Debye-Scherrer rings are simultaneously recorded on an IP, plural pole figures are drawn from one X-ray measurement. Diffraction data recorded on IP are also detected as digital data, so that it is easy to analyze them by a computer. In the present paper. this method was applied to a textured dual phase stainless steel sheet which consists of coarse grains. Results are summarized as follows : (1) Plural pole figures are simultaneously obtained. (2) By applying a computer smoothing process to diffraction data containing spotty Debye-Scherrer rings, pole figures which elearly show the state of preferred orientation are obtained.


WT5BZ]In view of the Guangxi flood proofing existing situation of communication and computer application developing quickly, but management and maintaining talent disposition stagnating and influencing every system normally running, the author researched the talent demand and disposition and searched the FPCCA talent using rule suitable for Guangxi situation.


A good power quality can be an important prerequisite to achieve a sustainable society. Scandinavia's electrical system is in many respects superior, and Sweden has a fossil free electricity genera ...


A dual-five-stroke encode method for entering Chinese characters features use of strokes as primary means and pronunciation as secondary one. The Chinese characters must be splitted into non-duplicate units as many as possible and then encodedbased on splitted strokes. Each bit in encode is correspondent to two stroke. For the Chinese characters which can not be splitted, at most the first 6 strokes are taken to form 3-bit code. For the Chinese characters able to be splitted, the first 4 strokes for non-last unit or the first 6 strokes for the last unit are teken to encode. The code length can not be more than 5 bits.


This is a conference contribution, it was a 45 minute lecture part of the series of technical lectures on the application and use of microscopes. It was presented at the Microscience Microscopy Congress 2014 organised by the Royal Microscopy Society.


A rapid, quantatative, and trace-metal-clean method of seston removal from Nuclepore filters by acetone soaking is described. The removal efficiency of this technique is > 97% by weight.


On a leafy, sun-dappled front porch in a suburb of Washington, D.C., are two women. The younger woman is not young; she is tiny, silver-haired, and 65. Her mother is there, too, and she is even tinier, far more frail, and 97 years old. The mother is severely demented, and has not spoken a word for several years. She lives here, in the modest split-level home she has owned for many years, with a home attendant. Her daughter visits daily. The daughter has taken advantage of this warm, early spring day to settle her mother comfortably in the sun, outside on her porch, where she has not been for many months. The daughter tucks an afghan blanket carefully around her mother's legs. The mother knit this blanket herself in cheerful colors and happier times, many years ago. Seeing her mother so nicely settled, and proud of her efforts at taking such good care of her, the daughter says, "There, Mother. How is that?" The mother looks her daughter straight in the eyes. Her face is struggling. She makes a sound; she is trying to speak. At last the mother produces a single word, said with clarity and fierce intensity. She says, "Lousy." This word was my grandmother's last. It came in the last year of the long life of Mercedes Phelan Hayden, a life that was full of many events and satisfactions. The word was spoken to my mother, and it is unlikely it would have been spoken at all but for the presence of my mother, there with her mother on that day. It cost something for my grandmother to summon the strength to say her word; it surely cost something for my mother to hear it. An isolated word, after years of silence, takes on depth. Language can be like a broth, simmering for years, reducing and condensing into sharper and deeper flavor with every day that passes, until finally there is just the one word that stands for all that has happened and that has needed saying. The word could have meant that my grandmother didn't like sitting in the sun on her porch that one day, but my mother took it to have wider implications. My mother took the word as a summary of the experience of being demented, 97, and Voice: Cognitive Impairment and Medical Decision Making


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The nullification by actinomycin D (Act D) of the inhibitory effect of estrogen on the castration-induced rise in plasma luteinizing hormone (LH) level was studied in rats. Plasma LH levels were measured in ovariectomized rats injected with 3 mg testosterone or 50 μg estradiol benzoate and 25 mg progesterone 72 hr before sacrifice. It was found that ip administration (20 hr before sacrifice) of 100 Mg Act D/100 g bw caused a rise in plasma LH levels in ovariectomized rats treated with estrogen and progesterone, but not in those given testosterone. Act D did not increase plasma LH levels in normal rats or potentiate the effect of saline, plasma or LH in the ovarian ascorbic acid depletion (OAAD) assay. Act D did not block the response to LH-releasing factor (LRF), nor affect the uptake of 3H-estradiol, by the hypothalamus or the anterior pituitary. Act D (100 μg/100 g bw), given to estrogen and progesterone treated spayed female rats 20, 10 and 1 hr before sacrifice, nullified the estrogen and progesterone...


Urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) was isolated from the camel urine. One proteinous band had been isolated by gel filtration sephadex )G-100) and DEAE-Cellulose ion exchange from the proteinous supernatant produced by ammonium sulfate saturation (65%) after dialysis. The apparent molecular weight of the isolated uPA using gel filtration chromatography (55246 + 350) Dalton and using SDS-PAGE giving two band (31002) and (24200) Dalton respectively. Study the protective effect of uPA against atherosclerosis by measuring of lipid profile (Total cholesterol, HDL-C, LDL-C, VLDL-C and triglyceride) by intraperitoneal injection of 21 male albino white rats classified into 3 groups. The rats were treated with 0.5 mg/kg/day (Group II) and 1mg/kg/day (Group III) of isolated uPA injected intraperitonealy for 5 successive days. The results showed a significant reduction (p<0.05) in the levels of total cholesterol, LDL-C, VLDL-C and triglyceride in comparison with the normal group (Group I) and significantly elevated in HDL-C for the group II and group III in comparison with the group I. Iraqi National Journal of Chemistry Journal homepage: http://iqnjc.com/Default.aspx Iraqi National Journal of Chemistry 2015; 15(2) 150 Conclusion, the uPA isolated from camel urine, its may be has pharmacological role of heart protection against lipids.


We provide experimental evidence to show that the onset of constriction of the active discharge region is the major cause of premature pulse termination in a long pulse duration (270 ns FWHM), resistively ballasted, XeCl* laser. The observation that the discharge invariably becomes more unstable against constriction as the partial pressure of the electron attaching component (HC1) in the gas mixture is increased is contrary to the predictions previously published theories of instabilities in RGH laser discharges. These theories cannot be reconciled with the experimental results presented here because they do not take explicit account of the intrinsically spatial nature of the constriction mechanism.


Professional tax preparers, fasten your seatbelts. CPAs, already buffeted by wrenching acquisitions that have left many of them software orphans, now face a new technological challenge: the Internet. Tax software vendors must meet the challenge or face possible extinction. This tax year, at least one vendor--RIA--will put its complete GoSystem Tax software product on its own remote servers, and tax preparers will have the option of doing their clients' returns remotely via direct highspeed communication links or the Internet rather than have the tax software run on their own systems. Both the tax software and the clients' data will reside on RIA's remote computers. At least one other vendor also expects to be online this year, and next year--if these forays into online service make money--competitors surely will follow. Setting up computer banks for high-speed servers and communication hardware is not cheap, and because smaller vendors will be hard put to finance such a venture, it seems likely that the wave of consolidation that has shrunk the industry for nearly a decade will accelerate. BACK TO THE FUTURE The move to online tax prep creates a certain back-to-the-future irony by echoing a process popular from the 1960s to 1980s. That was when most professional tax preparers not only didn't have tax-preparation software, but many didn't even have computers. Instead, they sent their clients' tax data to service bureaus, where mainframe computers calculated clients' returns. The new online system will be the 21st-century equivalent of the service bureaus of yesteryear. From the tax preparers' vantage point, little will appear different. Their computer screens will look as they do when the tax software is loaded on their own systems. The only difference will be that clients' tax data, although keystroked into the preparer's computer, will now be transmitted to the vendor's remote computer, calculated and then zipped back to the CPA's workstation for printing the finished return. According to RIA, the data roundtrip will be so fast it will seem as if the software is running locally. Online tax service isn't new--but it is new for professional tax preparers. Last year, individual taxpayers who prepared their own returns had access to two Internet-based online services: OneTax (www.onetax.com) and Universal Tax System (www.securetax.com). And this year Intuit will introduce WebTurboTax (www.web turbotax.com). It's not clear how such online services for the nonprofessional will affect the business of professional preparers. Forrester Research, the technology market research firm, predicts that some 250,000 taxpayers will do their returns online next year. And within three years, the consulting firm expects that number to exceed the number of individuals who prepare their own taxes by loading tax software on their computers--either by plugging floppy disks or CDs into their computers or by downloading the files from the Internet. FINANCIAL ADVANTAGE What makes online tax preparation so attractive to both vendors and users? From the software vendors' point of view, there are financial advantages to centralized service. Aside from their investment in new hardware (computer servers and communication gear)--which admittedly is an expensive initial outlay--it hardly costs them much more to provide the service to one customer than it does to provide it to 1,000 or even a million. Once the tax application is loaded on the servers, any number of users can access it. The power of the servers and the communication gear are the limiting factors. More vendor savings are expected to come from a sharp drop in the need for technical support. Since the software will not be on customers' computers, the software will be optimally formatted. Such is not the case when an application is installed on customers' computers, each of which is set up slightly differently. …


Fluids and Electrolytes. Shock. Burns. Malignant Disease in General. Radiation Therapy. Postoperative Complications. Skin and Subcutaneous Tissues. Head and Neck. Thyroid Disoeders. Parathyroid. Breast. Lymphatics and Thymus. Chest and Lungs. Vascular. Oesophagus and Diaphragm. Stomach and Duodenum. Bowel Tumours. Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Diverticular Disease. Perianal Disease. Appendicitis. Peritonitis. Intestinal Obstruction. Liver. Gallbladder and Bile Ducts. Pancreas. Spleen. Hernias. Adrenal Glands. Nervous System. Index


As more field networks, typified by F OUNDATION TM Fieldbus, are made practicable, requirements for use of field networks have been gradually increasing for plant instrumentation based on a distributed control system (DCS). Whereas, DCS control with traditional 4-20 mA input/output signals is also indispensable to mission-critical plant instrumentation where high reliability and operation over a long term are needed. This means growing importance for DCSs to flexibly meet the requirements from each customer's standpoint, and connect to conventional input/output devices and various innovative field network devices. In Yokogawa's CENTUM CS 3000 R3, configuration of a DCS consisting of such diverse input/ output devices has been implemented on the basis of integrated engineering functions, which allows users to easily configure applications whatever the types of inputs/outputs of the controlled objects. The CENTUM CS 3000 R3 also provides a consistent operation environment in which users may not be conscious of whether each object is controlled by the CENTUM CS 3000 R3 or a fieldbus device.


The aim of this work is to explore the possibilities of extending the Sierra de Tineo wind farm. We study the location chosen, the wind resource in the area and simulate the wind regime with computer tools. The economic and sensitivity study of the investment, as well as the new Legislation of the Principality of Asturias is also considered.


According to the fact that tolerance information of CAD model in existence can't sustain CAM, three types of methods that are modeling in tolerance center, altering compensation of tools and obligating offset of tolerance center, are provided in Mastercam in order that NC programme automatic compiled in CAD/CAM can meet dimension tolerance of parts. There are characteristic in these methods.


The phenological phases of some perennial plants (forest and fruit trees) and wild herbaceous plants as well as the stages of field work operations have been analysed at the Gospic mountain station during the available periods (mainly 1962-2004). The Gospic meteorological station was established at the end of 1872 and has the longest time series of observations in the Croatian mountain area.The results of the linear trend analysis indicate a significant earlier cutting of winter crops (3 days/10 years) and flowering (2-6 days/10 years) for plants which bloom in the second half of April and in May. Progressive analyses showed the beginning of earlier flowering phenophases in the middle or late 1980s, and these trends became significant in the mid-1990s. These variations are the consequence of a significant increase in winter and spring insolation and extreme air temperatures and a decrease in the number of freezing days. A significant positive trend in mean annual air pressure and negative trends in annual precipitation amount and the number of days with precipitation over 10 mm indicate a progressive growth in the persistence of dry weather in the Croatian mountain area.


Objective To investigate the main mechanism of losartan in treatment of insulin resistance in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. MethodsThe model of insulin resistance in 3T3-L1 adipocytes was induced by dexamethasone.Model control group(without treatment with any drug),losartan group(treatment with 1 μmol/L,10 μmol/L and 100 μmol/L losartan for 48 h respectively) and wortmannin+losartan group were divided.Adipocytes in wortmannin+losartan group were pretreated with 100 nmol/L wortmannin,phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase(PI3K) inhibitor for 20 min,and were treated with 100 μmol/L losartan for 48 h.The size of adipocytes was observed,glucose oxidase method was employed to measure the glucose concentration in supernatant of culture fluid,and Western blotting was adopted to detect the expression of PI3K and insulin receptor substrate 1(IRS-1) and level of IRS-1 serine phosphorylation in adipocytes. ResultsCompared with model control group,the size of adipocytes significantly reduced(P0.01),the glucose concentration in supernatant of culture fluid significantly decreased(P0.01),the expression of PI3K and IRS-1 significantly increased(P0.01).The level of IRS-1 serine phosphorylation significantly decreased compared with model control group(P0.01),but the effect could be blocked by wortmannin. ConclusionLosartan could significantly decrease the cell size and increase the consumption of glucose in 3T3-L1 adipocytes with insulin resistance,and the mechanism might be associated with PI3K pathway.


The wide application of phasor measurement units (PMUs) increases the interdependence between the smart grid and wide-area measurement systems (WAMS). However, the end-to-end (ETE) delay that the data experienced from PMUs to the phasor data concentrator (PDC) has become non-negligible. A significant delay may affect the data completeness received by the PDC, thereby affecting the performance of the WAMS application, e.g., state estimation (SE). The previous research focuses on centralized path planning to mitigate the physical distance between PMUs and the PDC. Few studies have considered addressing the data completeness problem using the distributed algorithm from the aspect of the ETE delay. This article proposes a distributed bias min-consensus-based approach in path construction to minimize the ETE delay. Simulation results demonstrate the advantages of the proposed approach in addressing the data completeness and enhancing the SE performance. Also, it is computationally efficient in path reconstruction when the links suffer cyber-attacks.


Purpose Success of new cancer therapies relies strongly on effective selection of the target patient populations. We hypothesize that computational analysis of imaging data can be used for patient enrichment in clinical trials and hence aimed to establish the appropriate framework for this analysis. was sarcoma of with doxorubicin We tested lung 4 The study presents a first of its kind clinical-radiomic approach for patient enrichment in clinical trials. We show that, had an appropriate model been used for selective patient inclusion, SARC021 trial could have met its primary survival objective for patients with metastatic STS. patient selection guide actionable, personalized, image-based, survival prediction.


In order to improve the diagnostic accuracy of digital circuit, the fault diagnosis method based on support vector machines (SVM) is proposed. The input is fault characteristics of digital circuit; the output is the fault style. The connection of fault characteristics and style was established. Network learning algorithm using least squares, the training sample data is formed by the simulation, the test sample data is formed by the untrained simulation. The method achieved the classification of faulted digital circuits, and the results show that the method has the features of fast and high accuracy.


In the main factory building structure of large-scale firepower plant,high-rised reinforing steel concrete structure as well as other heavy industrial building structure, the columns generally bears large vertical loads, hence the axial compressive ratio is a very important factor in columns design.In order to study the axial compressive ratio overrun of the RC frame columns,which was the protruding problem in the design of the main factory building structure of large-scale firepower plan,three columns specimens with compound ties of high axial compressive ratio under frequency cyclic loading were experimented.The failure process and mechanism of the frame columns were studied, and the factors such as the high axial compressive ratio and the stirrup ratio that affected the hysteretic characteristics and ductility of the RC frame columns with compound ties were studied. The limitation of the axial compressive ratio of the frame columns was analyzed systemically, which was chiefly directed to research and study the problem that the limit value of the axial compressive ratio required by the "Structure Design Code in Firepower Plant" was higher than that required by the "Concrete Structure Design Code(GBJ10-89 )".


A number of serious well failures in recent years led to investigations of well integrity issues. The Petroleum Safety Authority Norway (PSA) performed a "pilot well integrity survey" based on supervisory audits and requested input from seven operating companies, 12 pre-selected offshore facilities, and 406 wells. The wells were a representative selection of production and injection wells with variation both in age and development categories. The pilot project indicates that 18% of the wells in the survey have integrity failure, issues, or uncertainties and 7% of these are shut in because of well integrity issues. The selection of wells and the number of companies involved indicate that the statistics are representative. The well incidents in the past and the results of the "pilot well integrity survey" revealed that the industry needs to increase focus on the barrier philosophy. Control of barrier status is an important HSE factor to avoid major incidents caused by e.g., unintentional leaks and well control situations. Knowledge of well integrity status at all times enables the companies to take the right actions in a proactive manner and thereby prevent incidents. The paper presents the results and the conclusions from the pilot survey. In addition a number of technical well failures will be presented, identifying critical elements such as corrosion, leaks and operational factors. In particular, the understanding of barrier regulations, standards, and implementation was found to be inadequate.


A polarographic investigation of mimosine was made in order to obtain more information on its polar structure. The polarographic behaviour of mimosine is abnormal, but it is possible to give a reaction scheme explaining these phenomena.


The structural and electronic properties of the Sn/Si~111!A33A3 surface are determined by means of all-electron local density full-potential augmented plane wave thin film calculations. We find strong similarities with the more extensively studied isolectronic systems ~Sn/Ge and Pb/Ge! as far as the relaxed structure and the electronic properties are concerned. In analogy with these systems, we find, within the local density approximation ~LDA!, two surface states weakly dispersed in the Brillouin zone which are responsible for the hexagonal patterns observed in scanning tunneling microscopy ~STM! experiments. When our calculated results, including STM images, are compared with available structural data and STM images, we find that the LDA predictions well reproduce the electron distribution at the surface and the structural properties, leading to a complete description of this system at room temperature.


The amount of industrial waste has grown exponentially over the last hundred years. In 2014, the economic entities of the Sverdlovsk region formed about 170 mln tons of industrial waste. By the end of 2014 on waste disposal facilities and on the sites of business entities there were accumulated in total about 8 billion tons of such waste. The land area occupied by industrial waste disposal facilities is more than 15 000 hectares. These lands are not only derived from land use, but the wastes placed on them have a negative impact on the environment. The article deals with the normative documents regulating relations in the field of waste handling, environmental protection and the legal status of the land areas. Certain gaps in the existing method of calculation standards for waste and limits on their placing have been spotted. Calculations and practical experience have shown that when establishing limits on waste disposal for an enterprise the environmental situation in the area is not taken into account. To reduce the anthropogenic impact on lands and soils it is proposed to use the standards governing management of a specific piece of land the waste disposal facility. Application of the proposed standards is considered appropriate for monitoring environmental conditions and confirming the rational use of specific pieces of land disposal facilities for the 4-5th hazard class waste products of the mining and smelting complex for the storage period of more than 3 years. Based on these standards an executive body of state authority or a local government body can regulate the handling of waste in the territories under their administration.


Objective To discuss clinical characteriistics of APE and therapeutic effect of thrombolysis or anticoagulation so as to reduce false or misdiagnosis rate and improve survival rate.Methods The clinical data of 122 inpatients with APE were reviewed.Results The most common risk factors were deep venous thrombosis,age over 60 years old,cardiac disease,surgical operation,diabetes,fracture,long-term immobilization,etc.The most frequent symptom was dyspnea.D-dimmer measure had high sensitivity.By means of color Doppler echocardiography,spiral computed tomography,pulmonary ventilation/perfusion scanning,the cases were finally diagnosed.Positive treatment of thrombolysis and anticoagulation could reduce mortality.Conclusion As clinical manifestations of APE are non-specific,clinician should be alert.D-dimmer measue could be screening.The standardized treatment can improve prognosis significantly.


A significant variation is observed in the response rate to chemotherapy amongst patients with pancreatic cancer. Current guidelines advocate treatment regimes based purely on the patient's level of fitness. Such an approach fails to acknowledge the individual's tumour biology. Our aim was to assess whether patient derived cancer avatars could be used to deliver personalised therapy.

 Individual avatars were created from resected tumours and were cultured ex vivo either under novel perfusion culture conditions or conventional static culture. Serial assessment of avatar proliferation capacity and metabolic function was performed to determine viability over time. Avatars were treated with chemotherapy and treatment sensitivity was determined. Avatar response to chemotherapy was subsequently compared to the patient's response in order to determine whether the patient's avatar could predict a clinically meaningful response to therapy.

 Patient derived cancer avatars (n=13) were successfully cultured for 12 days ex vivo. Perfusion culture of avatars was associated with a preservation of proliferative capacity (p < 0.01), metabolic function (p < 0.01) and a reduction in apoptosis rates (p < 0.05) when compared to conventional static culture. Avatars were treated with Gemcitabine and different response rates were observed varying from treatment sensitivity to resistance. A positive correlation was noted between the avatar's response and the patient's clinical response whilst on adjuvant Gemcitabine therapy.

 Patient derived cancer avatars provide a window of insight into the tumour's response to chemotherapy and may allow for a paradigm shift in the long-term survival rates for this disease.


The first regional total electron content (TEC) model over the entire African region (known as AfriTEC model) using empirical observations is developed and presented. Artificial neural networks were used to train TEC observations obtained from Global Positioning System receivers, both on ground and onboard the Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate satellites for the African region from years 2000 to 2017. The neural network training was implemented using inputs that enabled the networks to learn diurnal variations, seasonal variations, spatial variations, and variations that are connected with the level of solar activity, for quiet geomagnetic conditions (−20 nT ≤ Dst ≤ 20 nT). The effectiveness of three solar activity indices (sunspot number, solar radio flux at 10.7‐cm wavelength [F10.7], and solar ultraviolet [UV] flux at 1 AU) for the neural network trainings was tested. The F10.7 and UV were more effective, and the F10.7 was used as it gave the least errors on the validation data set used. Equatorial anomaly simulations show a reduced occurrence during the June solstice season. The distance of separation between the anomaly crests is typically in the range from about 11.5 ± 1.0° to 16.0 ± 1.0°. The separation is observed to widen as solar activity levels increase. During the December solstice, the anomaly region shifts southwards of the equinox locations; in year 2012, the trough shifted by about 1.5° and the southern crest shifted by over 2.5°.


Increasing the proportion of renewable energy— particularly solar energy—in global energy consumption will increase the electricity generated and consumed in the vicinity of consumers thereby limiting the role of centralized power grids to only assure the security of electricity. The inherent features of renewable energy, including the fluctuation in the amount of electricity generated and the time at which electricity can be generated, call for the need of large energy storage systems. Drastic changes would be required not only in the architecture but also in the business models of electricity supply systems. We propose a platform called a "virtual grid system" as a foothold originating from a disruptive innovation strategy to create renewable-energy dominant infrastructures. The system is designed for powering systems comprising IoT devices connected by USB Type-C cables with power delivery protocol (USB-C PD) and for replacing the proliferating primitive off-grid solar systems to provide electricity access to more than 360 million people worldwide. The virtual grid system dynamically creates a power distribution subsystem called a "virtual grid" to be included in an IoT application system. It controls electric flows from power source devices to be synthesized and distributed to load devices in the virtual grid via hub devices called "virtual grid hubs (VG-hub)." A method is developed to control electric flows with concise demand descriptions, and it achieves an optimized flow setting over VG-hub networks using graph theoretic algorithms. A distributed implementation of the virtual grid hub is discussed to increase the distributable power, while the current virtual grid hubs handle too small power for main stream power customers.


In view of the vast range of meanings attributed to the popular concept of civil society, this article sets out to explore in-depth study of the works of J. Keane, one of the most renowned thinkers in the field of current political theory. His work significantly contributed to the rebirth of the concept dur ing the final decades of the 20th century. This article not only explores the meaning of civil society as set forth in Keane's writings, but also relates it to another series of elements linked to his general philosophical proposal to arrive at a model of democracy that the author interprets through an effective, and new, conjunction of state and civil society that pursues the maximum respect for a wide social plurality.


Effects of three crop residue management practices (crop residue incorporation, residue burning and residue removal) with two levels of nitrogen (100 and 150 kg N ha−1) and three levels of potassium (0, 30 and 60 kg K2O ha−1) fertilization on nutrient uptake and yield of rice (Oryza sativa L.)-wheat (Triticum aestivum L. emend. Fiori and Paol.) system was studied at Pantnagar, Uttarakhand. Incorporation of crop residue resulted in higher uptake of nitrogen (123.6 kg ha−1) and potassium (179.5 kg ha−1) in rice crop over the other treatments. In case of wheat, N and K uptakes were 11.7% and 7.9% higher with the incorporation of residue than with residue removal. But the response was at par with the burning of residues in both crops. Nitrogen @ 150 kg ha−1 resulted into higher nitrogen uptake (20%), potassium uptake (9.11%) and crop yields of rice (6.4%) and wheat (13.7%) over 100 kg N ha−1. Potassium @ 60 kg K2O ha−1 resulted into significantly higher nitrogen uptake (6%), potassium uptake (8.3%) and rice yield (3.2%) as compared to control. Application of potassium (60 kg ha−1) increased K uptake and yields of both the crops with respect to 30 kg K2O ha−1 application.


This study explores women's attrition from male-dominated workplaces based on Norwegian public administrative records, covering individuals born 1945–1983, in the period between 2003 and 2013. It examines sex differences in rates of attrition and tests the significance of two commonly proposed explanations in the literature, namely the degree of numerical minority status and motherhood. It also investigates whether these explanations vary by occupational class. Selection into male-dominated workplaces is accounted for by using individual fixed effects models. The results show that attrition rates from male-dominated workplaces are considerably higher among women than among men. Moreover, the risk of female attrition to sex-balanced workplaces increases, regardless of occupational class, with increases in the percentage of males. Childbirth is associated with an increased risk of attrition to female-dominated workplaces, while having young children (⩽ 10 years old) lowered the risk. This association, however, was primarily evident among working-class women in manual occupations.


ABSTRACT Coal pitch is the main product of coking process, which has a huge production. Ways to make full use of coal pitch could have broad appeal because of its unsatisfactory utilization rate presently. Learning from the technology of coal water slurry, our team developed the concept of coal pitch water slurry (CPWS), it was prepared based on a certain particle size of coal pitch powders and dispersant. The adsorption quantity and zeta potential of Cn-m-Cn on the surface of coal pitch have been studied, and the appropriate dispersants were selected. Cn-m-Cn Gemini surfactants could significantly change the wettability of the coal pitch surface. With the increase in surfactant concentration, zeta potential on the surface of the coal pitch was increased, from negative to positive, and finally leveled off. The adsorption capacity also increased rapidly at the beginning and then trended to flatten out. The concentration at the zero potential was lower than critical micelle concentration, at least an order of magnitude. The apparent viscosity of CPWS was decreased with the increase of shear rate, and when the shear rate remained unchanged, the viscosity would increase with the increase of slurry concentration. The stability of the CPWS prepared by Gemini surfactants of Cn-8-Cn was better than that of the CPWS prepared by Gemini surfactants of C12-m-C12.


Department of Chemistry, Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Tirunelveli ,Tamil Nadu, India ISSN: 0976-3031 RESEARCH ARTICLE GREEN SYNTHESIS OF SILVER NANOPARTICLES FROM HELICTRES ISORA SYNTHESIS AND ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY 1Paramanantham,M., 2Murugesan, A., 3Muthu,M.K and 4Ramamoorthy, R 1,3Department of Chemistry, Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Tirunelveli ,Tamil Nadu, India 2Department of Chemistry, Sriram Engineering College, Chennai 4Department of Sericulture, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore


RECENT reports suggest that the scope for dental health education in the dentist-patient consultation ought to be enhanced. It is pertinant to question how far, or whether or not, dentists are equipped, able and prepared to deliver education in the surgery. Inter views with 28 dentists offer an insight into the prob lems that such a preventive approach might encounter. Difficulties which dentists perceive are found to relate to their communication with patients, and the receptiveness of the patients to professional advice.


Mud jacking at bottom of pile is a technique namely embedding mudjack pipe into piles,then pressing cement mud into bottom of pile after some degree of strength of bored pile cement is achieved,which will take effect of filtering,cleavage,filling,compression and concretion on settled material at bottom of pile,supporting course of pile end and mud coat at pile circumference,thus the bearing capacity of signal pile is heightened,the post-construction settlement is reduced.The construction of Hu-Ning Expressway forerunner section reveals that the technique of mud jacking at bottom of pile has a certain effect on advancing the bearing capacity of pile foundation,which is an effective measure for reducing pile foundation's post-construction settlement.


Chemical Physics
Vibrational energy transfer (VET) between solute molecules is generally unfavorable in liquids because of weak intermolecular forces. Xiang et al. measured the two-dimensional infrared spectrum of a molecular mixture, W(CO)6 and W(13CO)6, with saturated concentrations in a binary solvent embedded in an optical microcavity. This experiment showed that the VET between the asymmetric stretch vibrations of two solute molecules is enhanced via polaritonic intermediate states formed by a strong coupling with the cavity mode. The efficiency is modulated by the cavity lifetime, which provides an opportunity to control the VET process in the liquid phase. This could lead to various practical implementations.

Science , this issue p. [665][1]

 [1]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.aba3544


RNA, Catalytic Properties of Andrej Luptak Associate Professor, Departments of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chemistry, and Molecular Biology and Biochemistry University of California, Irvine Enzymes are hallmarks of living systems, catalyzing the vast majority of chemical transformations in all life forms with high precision and efficiency, accelerating chemical reactions by many orders of magnitude at physiological conditions. This remarkable catalytic property was initially assigned only to proteins and the terms protein and enzyme were often used interchangeably; however, with the discovery of the genetic code and structured ribonucleic acids (RNAs) such as transfer RNAs (tRNAs) and ribosomal RNAs, a hypothesis that RNA played a central role in the origin of today's biosphere was put forward. This "RNA World" hypothesis stipulates that some or perhaps all chemical transformations in the early biosphere were catalyzed by RNAs, which could serve as both information carriers and structured macromolecules capable of enzymatic catalysis (Gilbert 1986). Early arguments for the plausibility of catalytic RNAs came from the discovery of the genetic code, which describes how genetic information is transcribed from DNA into messenger RNA (mRNA) and then translated into proteins (Crick 1968). RNA is central to this process, not only in form of the informational molecule, mRNA, but also as the adaptor (tRNA) matching each codon to the right amino acid, thus translating the DNA into a protein sequence. Ribosomesmacromolecular machines responsible for both mRNA decoding and peptide bond formation during protein synthesisare mostly made up of RNA. This observation suggested that RNA may be directly involved in peptide synthesis, solving a chicken-and-egg problem for the origin of proteins. One other observation suggested an intimate link between RNA and catalysis: Many co-factorssmall molecules that aid enzymes in catalysisare derivatives of ribonucleosides, supporting early adaptation of nucleic acids for chemical transformations. While the proposal of an RNA catalyst arose from the discoveries of the genetic code and the ribosomes in the 1950s and 1960s, it took until 1982 for the first catalytic RNAs to be discovered, and until 1992 for the first experimental evidence that ribosomal RNA is responsible for polypeptide synthesis. The First Ribozymes In the 1970s, messenger RNAs of eukaryotes were shown to be spliced out of much longer precursors, removing introns (typically, non-coding sequences interspersed among the


Oscillatory condition in LTI dynamic systems is generally expressed as possessing purely imaginary solutions by their characteristic equations. Dealing with the class of fractional order systems, such a condition is equivalently restated as owing complex roots with specific arguments by a polynomial defined based on the system characteristic equation. The degree of this polynomial can be unboundedly high. Consequently, such statement for the oscillatory condition in fractional order systems, which is based on arguments of the roots of a polynomial with an unbounded degree, cannot be viewed as a closed-form expression. To tackle this challenge, this brief introduces an approach to obtain a closed-form oscillatory condition for electrical circuits containing two fractional order elements. It is shown that the obtained results are helpful in analytically finding the oscillatory curves in parametric regions. Moreover, it is discussed whether the existence of more than one frequency in the frequency content of steady-state oscillations produced by the considered class of fractional order circuits is possible.


Through all the ages,there had been many annotated texts for Essays and Criticism,but there are still a number of doubtful points demanding further exploration when the texts had been read in detail.This paper is to give a regular trim concerning the reflections on the essays of Virtue and Diction.Any criticism and correction are welcome.


The prolonged application (>20 min) of local vibration (LV) on muscles or tendons is known to reduce maximal isometric strength. However, the effect of short vibration durations (≤6 min) is still unknown. In fourteen participants, the changes in maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) were measured after 1, 3, and 6 min of rest (CONT) or local vibration (LV) over the quadricipital tendon (frequency: 100 Hz; amplitude: 0.5 mm). Before and after each condition, the amplitude of the twitch induced by a 100 Hz potentiated electrical doublet (PDPOT); the relative electromyographic activity of the vastus medialis and rectus femoris muscle during the MVIC (RMSMVIC.M−1); the torque developed 50 ms after the onset of contraction (T50); and the voluntary activation level (VAL) were evaluated. None of the three LV durations significantly changed the MVIC compared with the control condition (p = 0.379). The indices of central (i.e., VAL, T50, RMSMVIC.M−1) and peripheral (e.g., PDPOT) fatigue were unaffected (p > 0.147). In conclusion, a short-duration LV (≤6 min) on a voluminous muscle group does not impair maximal force production or induce any central or peripherical fatigue.