This article deeply discusses and studies the importance and the necessity of modern logistics in large physical games,the characteristics and the application of logistics,and the relationship between the logistics in large physical games and city planning by documental methods and logic analytical methods. And the result shows that the modern logistics is necessary for large physical games and can avoid the waste of resource in physical games,and the combination of modern logistics and larges physical games plays an indispensable role in city planning.


Recently in some considerations connected with the distributivity laws of fuzzy implications over triangular norms and conorms, the following functional equation appeared f(min(x + y, a)) = min(f(x) + f(y), b), (1) where a; b are finite or infinite nonnegative constants (see [1]). In [2] we considered a generalized version of this equation in the case when both a and b are finite, namely the equation f(m1(x + y)) = m2(f(x) + f(y)), where m1, m2 are functions defined on some finite intervals of ℝ satisfying additional assumptions. In this article we enhance the results from [2], [3] and consider generalized versions of the equation (1) in the cases when a or b is infinite. We show that some well known solutions of several functional equations, that we presented earlier in [1], [4], can be obtained as corollaries of these new facts.


Thin films of gallium oxide (Ga2O3) are prepared by using a new gallium precursor, dimethylgallium isopropoxide (DMGIP), employing both atomic layer deposition (ALD) and metal-organic (MO)CVD. The gallium precursor DMGIP, a gallium analogue of dimethylaluminum isopropoxide (DMAIP) that has been successfully used for MOCVD and ALD of aluminum oxide, is likewise a non-pyrophoric liquid at room temperature with a reasonably high vapor pressure. Using water as the oxygen source, DMGIP shows an ALD temperature window in the range 280–300 °C with a growth rate of ∼0.3 A per cycle. On the other hand, using oxygen as the reactant gas in the MOCVD of Ga2O3, films are grown in the temperature range 450–625°C with the apparent activation energy of 225.5 kJ mol−1. This study shows that DMGIP can be utilized as a new source for the preparation of Ga2O3 thin films.


One method of controlling aircraft is to assign each a given track, the distance between successive tracks being sufficiently great to ensure that the collision risk is very low. Most approaches to the problem of stipulating what this spacing should be, assume that the possible divergences of an aircraft about its preassigned path follow a Gaussian distribution with a standard deviation obtained by considering all the usual sources of navigational error (e.g. compass error and fixing error) together with meteorological errors due to inaccuracies in forecasting.


This work intend an original methodology, newly established by the authors, to design typical pipe systems by using hydraulic criteria equations, excluding the determination of the relevant Darcy factor. Therefore, it can be eliminated the necessity for searching iterative solutions of such problems. The established equations are easy to use, in terms of mathematical processing, which guarantees their proper application in solving engineering problems. It is considered for the proposed physical relations (equations) concerning the determination of the pipe system resistance characteristics to be highly useful in engineering practice, as for example: in determining a hydraulic machine work regime, used in a system transporting fluids, as well as in performing a synthesis and analysis of such systems or in accomplishing an energy analysis of pipe systems. A comparative analysis between the results found after applying the classical methods of calculations and by using a licensed specialized software product indicates that a highly sufficient (for engineering calculations) overlapping is achieved.


The Mission-Aransas Reserve celebrated its 10th anniversary on National Estuaries Day, September 24, 2016. The event was commemorated with a festival focused on the wonders of our estuaries. We had a great turn-out with lots of hands-on activities, educational booths and seminars. Visitors learned about the wonders of the oyster, protecting our beaches, and much more. This festival was a partnership from many local organizations focused on our coasts and estuaries. The festival is sponsored by The University of Texas Marine Science Institute, Mission-Aransas National Estuarine Research Reserve, Animal Rehabilitation Keep, Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Surfrider Foundation, Texas A&M University Corpus Christi Center for Coastal Studies, Texas State Aquarium, Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the National Park Service.


The purpose of this study is to identify and describe recurrent patterns of composition in the twenty two major panegyrics Mutanabbi wrote to Sayf al-Dawla during his stay at the hamdanid court in Aleppo between 337/948 and 345/956. It discusses the types of utterance used in endings and in cadential lines before definable internal boundaries, the organising conventions of the passages that lead into and out of chronicles of military campaigns, the non-random placement of certain crescendo motifs, various means of local organisation in poems without events, etc. It also considers brief differences in technique between the Aleppo period and Mutanabbi's earlier and later work, and casts a glance at possible predecessors. Based on a sizable and coherent sample of poetry, this study demonstrates that compositional rules and predilections played a pervasive role in Mutanabbi's writing in the years when his career was at its height.


This paper presents a publish/subscribe system that accepts sample face images from the subscribers to autoencode a person in emergent pursuit or tracking. Autoencoders trained on the fly based on a convolutional neural network are deployed to publish/subscribe brokers in the form of subscriptions. Face captures sent from the surveillance cameras are injected into the autoencoders to detect the person in search. We discuss the matching accuracy and the overhead of the training process to obtain the autoencoders.


A novel two-stage scheme of pornographic image detection is proposed in this paper. Specifically, we first apply the content-based image retrieval technique to find out whether human are present in the images. Then a detailed skin color analysis is performed to affirm the presence of pornographic content in the images. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm performs well and fast in detecting pornographic images.


The immense computation and huge memory requirement are challenging the computation efficiency of today's systems. Consequently, neuromorphic systems have become a topical subject in research to mimic the brain's power efficiency and computational speed. There have always been certain major bottlenecks in the conventional architectures. In this paper, we develop a Network-on-Chip based Spiking Neural Network (NoCSNN), having a highly parallel architecture for the neuromorphic computing systems. It also benefits from the use of NoC in terms of scalability, latency and speed. The neurons in our proposed SNN model communicates through NoC architecture. Our proposed model consisting of 64 neurons is synthesized in 28nm technology node achieving a power dissipation of 29.22 mW and a die area of 1.61 mm2. The NoC model is also explored in terms of latency, throughput and energy.


Glasgow Herald of 4th October, 1898:? " This announcement, which has been anticipated for some time, will be received with mingled feelings of pleasure and regret by the citizens of Glasgow, to whom Dr. Russell has given so many years of faithful and valued service?pleasure that he should receive the highest honour in the department of his profession to which he has devoted his life, and regret that it will entail the severing of his official connection with Glasgow. In many quarters there is a strong feeling that it would have been fortunate indeed if the University had been


Analyzing the failure characteristics of steel deck plate paving and the actual use of the testing section which uses epoxy asphalt at Jiangyin Yangtze River Bridge, this paper decides to use epoxy asphalt concrete as the repairing material to prevent pavement from deteriorating. It proceeds to introduce in detail the project and constructing process of epoxy asphalt mixture paving, and provides the performance indexes of preventive repairing materials. The related information can serve as references of domestic repairing technology for steel deck plate paving.


We determined the cytokine messenger RNA (mRNA) expression pattern of blood mononuclear cells in 45 patients with the relapsing-remitting form of MS and 32 patients with other neurologic diseases. Using a semiquantitative polymerase chain reaction method, we detected significantly higher levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha and lymphotoxin mRNA in patients with relapsing compared to those with stable disease (p < 0.001), but transforming growth factor-beta and interleukin-10 mRNA expressions were higher in patients with stable disease.


Diabetes is a metabolic disease that has become a serious problem of modern society due to the severe long-term health complications associated with it. Diabetes is also an oxidative stress related disorder and is emerging as a pandemic. One of the therapeutic approaches which involves decreasing hyperglycemia aims at inhibiting the enzyme alpha amylase. Potent inhibitors found in some vegetables, herbs and fruits have been known to be effective for control and prevention of diabetes. The aim of the present study was to investigate the in vitro αamylase inhibitory kinetics and free radical scavenging activities of Momordica charantia. Ethyl acetate extracts of Momordica charantia seeds and Momordica charantia flesh showed effective αamylase inhibition of 94.2 % and 92.6 % respectively. Mechanism of inhibition and its kinetics studied by the method of Dixon Plot and CornishBowden plot showed that the inhibition was found to be non competitive type by both the extracts. DPPH, Nitric oxide, Hydroxyl radical and Superoxide radical scavenging assays studied showed that ethyl acetate extracts of Momordica charantia flesh and seeds have potent free radical scavenging capacity. The combined effect of α-amylase inhibitory and radical scavenging activity exhibited by Momordica charantia shows promising scope in control and prevention of complications in diabetes.


ABSTRACT Objectives To determine the efficacy of paracetamol and tramadol analgesia via patient controlled pump and intermittent administration using the Short-Form McGill Pain Questionnaire after L4/L5 discectomy in neurosurgical patients. Methods Fourteen months prospective quantitative study with 200 neurosurgical patients' participation who underwent elective discectomy of the L4/L5 intervertebral disc extrusion. The study was conducted due to a patient-controlled analgesia pump and intermittent analgesia application. Pain was assessed using the Short-Form McGill Pain Questionnaire in the Croatian language during the zero, first, and second postoperative day. Results Perception of pain was reduced in patient controlled analgesia pump groups after the second measurement during the first postoperative day [95% CI: −3.89, −0.76], regardless of administered analgesic (p< 0.001). After the final measurement, at 7 PM on the second postoperative day, the differences were not significant (p= 0.070). This study results are registered and allocated in the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR). Discussion Analgesia administration via patient-controlled pump contributes to the alleviation of postoperative pain after L4/L5 disc extrusion surgery regardless of administered analgesic.


BACKGROUND
Left ventricular ejection time (LVET) measured in central arteries is modified during hypovolemia. We compared modifications of the pulse wave in a central artery (carotid) and in a peripheral artery (digital) during central hypovolemia induced by lower body negative pressure (LBNP) in conscious volunteers.

METHODS
Hypovolemia was simulated with progressive LBNP (baseline, -10, -20, and -30 mm Hg) in nine young healthy volunteers. The carotid arterial pressure waveform was recorded using a Millar tonometric method. The digital pulse wave was measured with a volume-clamp method (Finapres) and the stroke volume with a thoracic impedance method (Biomed).

RESULTS
Mean arterial pressure did not change during LBNP. Compared with baseline values, heart rate increased significantly at the -30 mm Hg level (68 +/- 13 beats/min vs. 59 +/- 11 beats/min), and stroke volume decreased as soon as -10 mm Hg was achieved (113 +/- 41 mL vs. 127 +/- 35 mL). Both carotid and digital LVET decreased significantly at the -10 mm Hg level (337 +/- 26 and 339 +/- 24 ms vs. 360 +/- 35 and 361 +/- 24 ms, respectively).

CONCLUSION
Peripheral LVET could reflect variation of central LVET during LBNP and be a reliable noninvasive parameter for monitoring hypovolemia.


Three kinds of mineralisation appear in Lower Cretaceous volcanic units in the la Serena area, which have undergone very low metamorphism (prenhite+pumpellyite, with albite, epidote and chlorite): a) Stratiform Mn mineralisation enclosed in sandstones interlayered with andesites. The ore mineralogy consists mainly of silicates composed of braunite, piemontite and minor pyrolusite. b) Stratabound Cu-(Ag) mineralisations ("Mantos tipo Chile"), associated with lappilli tuffs with bitumen. The major phases are bornite and chalcopyrite, with minor fahlore, sphalerite, galena, stromeyerite, cobaltite and hematite. Besides stroomeyerite (AgCuS), there is Ag in minor quantities of Cu-bearing minerals, especially bornite (up to 0,33% at. Ag). c) Ba-Ag mineralisation in veins crosscutting volcanic rocks. The ore mineralogy consists of silver-bearing minerals (native Ag±Hg (87,4 93,4% at. Ag and 5,6 – 10,0 % at. Hg), Ag chloride (bromide), acanthite, and Ag-Cu sulphide (Ag0,77-2,69Cu0,90-1,44S1)), and copper-bearing minerals (bornite, Cu sulphide, and fahlore). The systematic spatial relationship among the different kinds of mineralisations, the basic magmatism, the very low-grade metamorphism, and the intrusion of granitic bodies suggest a genetic link among the different phenomena. 1 GEOLOGICAL SETTING As summarized in previous papers (i.e., Morata & Aguirre 2003, Morata & Morales 2002), the Lower Cretaceous stratified sequences (predominantly volcanic) in the Coastal Range of Chile form an almost continuous, north-trending belt c. 1200 km in length (from 25o30' to 35o30' S) and up to 100-150 km wide. Thick, volcanic plagioclase-rich porphyritic high-K calc-alkaline to shoshonitic basaltic andesites and andesites (known locally as "ocoites") sequences are present (Aguirre 1985, Vergara et al. 1995). In the La Serena region (29o30' to 30o00' S), the Lower Cretaceous volcanism is represented by the Arqueros Formation (Hauterivian-Barremian, Aguirre & Egert 1965) and the Quebrada Marquesa Formation (Upper Barremian-Albian, Aguirre & Egert 1965). Unconformably overlying these formations is the late Cretaceous Vinita Formation (Aguirre & Egert 1965, 1970). All these formations are slightly folded, block-faulted, and locally intruded by calc-alkaline and oversaturated granitoids (e.g. the Santa Gracia granitoids, with KAr ages in biotites ranging from 89 ± 0.6 to 98.0 Ma, Aguirre et al. 1974). Within the Arqueros Formation five members, three volcanic units (Ka1, Ka3, Ka5) separated by two sedimentary units (Ka2, Ka4) containing shallow-water marine fauna, have been identified (Aguirre & Egert 1965). Ar/Ar Caplagioclase radiometric ages give concordant weighted ages of 117.0 ± 0.6 Ma and 114.3 ± 0.7 Ma (Morata et al. 2001), interpreted as the best estimate for the age of this volcanism. In the Quebrada Marquesa Formation, volcanic rocks are mainly present in the lower units (Aguirre & Egert 1965). The petrology and geochemistry of the Lower Cretaceous lavas from the La Serena region have recently been defined by Morata & Aguirre (2003). Petrographically, the highly porphyritic (20-30% phenocrysts) lavas are dominated by almost unzoned Ca-rich plagioclase (An57-54Ab40-42Or3-4), clinopyroxene (Wo40En43Fs17), magnetite, and minor idiomorphic, altered olivine. They have a characteristic relatively high geochemical homogeneity, with high Al2O3 (≥ 17% wt) and low This is a postprint version of the original paper: Carrillo Rosua, J., Morales Ruano, S. & Morata Cespedes, D. (2003) Mineral features of Cu‐Ag‐Ba‐Mn mineralisations of La Serena, Chile. In Eliopoulos D.G. et al., (eds.) Mineral exploration and sustainable development. Millpress, Rotterdam, 953‐956. MgO (< 5% wt) contents, classified as high-K calcalkaline basaltic andesites to andesites. Their trace element geochemistry is typical of lavas generated in active convergent margins, with high LILE contents (Ba up to 1000 ppm and Sr up to 800 ppm), and a marked Nb-Ta trough. The isotopic geochemistry of these lavas is characterized by highly homogeneous low initial Sr ratios ((Sr/Sr)o c. 0.7036) and positive Nd values (Nd = +2.9 to +4.7, (Nd/Nd)o c. 0.5127). A non-Andean modern setting dominated by subduction associated with intra-arc extension, subsiding at high rates, is proposed as the geodynamic setting on which this Lower Cretaceous volcanism took place. 2 VERY LOW-GRADE METAMORPHISM The mineral phases of very low-grade metamorphism appear in certain metadomains, specially the pseudomorphism of magmatic primary phases, in the matrix and in open spaces. In the first metadomain, the most significant metamorphic phases are sericite and albite as a result of the transformation of calcic plagioclase. Chlorite, magnetite and occasionally pumpellyite appear as olivine pseudomorphs. In the matrix, the neoformed mineral phases belong to the mafic phyllosilicates, while prehnite and calcite are common in the filling of amygdale. In some of them, tiny acicular crystals of pumpellyite and idiomorphic hydrogarnet (hydrogrossular) crystals have been observed, with chlorite, epidote and albite. The presence of prehnite+pumpellyite, together with albite, epidote and chlorite, limits metamorphism to the prehnite-pumpellyite facies at around 200-270oC and P < 4kb.


Abstract : The bibliography is a supplement to a previously issued bibliography (AD-649 862) and includes all of the bibliographic material on electron collisions that has been added to our files since the previous publication. The literature for JILA Information Center Report No. 10 was searched from October, 1966, through October, 1969. Additional references from 1969 may be included. The Electron Collision Cross Section Bibliography is divided into three main sections. The first section codes the data which are in the references included in the bibliography. The second section lists the title, authors and complete reference for the paper cited. These are ordered by their 'file' number. The third section consists of an alphabetical author index.


Due to availability of abundant data on web, searching has a significant impact. On-going researches place emphasis on the relevancy and robustness of the data found, as the discovered patterns proximity is far from the explored. Inspite of their relevance pages for any search topic, the results are huge to be explored. Also the users' perspective differs from time to time from topic to topic. Usually ones' want is others unnecessary. Crawling algorithms are thus crucial in selecting the pages that satisfies the users' needs. This paper reviews the researches on web crawling algorithms used on searching.


Background : Disease relapse and graft vs host disease (GvHD) following alloHSCT are major causes of treatment (Tx) failure in patients (pts) with MDS and AML (Paietta, 2012). Studies of parenteral azacitidine, an epigenetic modifier, have shown efficacy in preventing post-transplant relapse in MDS and AML pts, and possibly reducing GvHD severity (Platzbecker, 2012; de Lima, 2010). Azacitidine maintenance after alloHSCT may enhance graft vs leukemia (GvL) effects and reduce GvHD by expansion of regulatory T cells (Goodyear, 2010, 2012). CC-486 is a novel oral formulation of azacitidine which, as well as potentially allowing easier administration over extended schedules, could increase the duration of drug exposure to residual malignant cells. We now report preliminary results from a prospective phase I/II dose-finding study of CC-486 as maintenance Tx after alloHSCT in pts with MDS or AML.

Objective : To evaluate the maximum tolerated dose (MTD), dose-limiting toxicities (DLT), pharmacokinetics (PK), and safety outcomes of CC-486 following alloHSCT in pts with MDS or AML.

Methods : Pts with WHO-defined MDS or AML who have undergone alloHSCT with myeloablative (MAC) or reduced-intensity conditioning (RIC) regimens and who had sibling or unrelated donors with ≤1 antigen mismatch at the HLA-A, -B, -C, -DRB1 or -DQB1 locus, are enrolled. CC-486 Tx is initiated between days (d) 42 and 84 after alloHSCT. Pts receive prophylactic Tx for GvHD and infections per institutional standard. A standard 3x3 MTD design is being used to evaluate 4 dosing schedules: CC-486 200 mg or 300 mg QD, administered for 7 d (Cohorts 1 and 2) or 14 d (Cohorts 3 and 4) of repeated 28d Tx cycles. MTD determination is based on DLT that occur during the first 2 Tx cycles (pts are not evaluable if unable to complete 2 Tx cycles for reasons other than a DLT). Adverse events (AEs) are graded using NCI-CTCAE v4.0. Pts are followed for safety, incidence of acute and chronic GvHD, and relapse. PK of azacitidine after CC-486 administration, alone or with standard concomitant medications, are evaluated on d 1 of CC-486 Tx cycles 1 and 2.

Results : At data cut-off (7/17/2014), outcome data were available for 7 pts enrolled in the first 2 cohorts ( Table ): 1 pt had IPSS Int-2 MDS and 6 had AML with high-risk features. Stem cell source was from bone marrow (n=2) or peripheral blood (n=5) from unrelated (n=5) or sibling (n=2) donors. Two pts had 1 antigen mismatch and 5 had a full match.Conditioning included MAC (n=3) and RIC (n=4) regimens. One pt in Cohort 2 was not evaluable for DLT or PK assessments due to early discontinuation (AML relapse) during the first CC-486 Tx cycle. Of the 6 evaluable pts, 4 completed ≥6 CC-486 Tx cycles and 2 ongoing pts had not reached 6 cycles on-study at data cut-off ( Table ). One pt who had GvHD before CC-486 Tx subsequently withdrew from the study after developing febrile neutropenia and diarrhea related to GvHD of the bowel; 1 pt withdrew for personal reasons; and 1 pt discontinued after 6 Tx cycles due to relapse. At data cut-off, 3 pts remained on-study, all with continued CR ( Table ). No pt in Cohort 2 developed GvHD. For all pts, most AEs were grade 1-2. Grade 3-4 AEs were reported for 2 pts: both had nausea and vomiting, which were controlled with antiemetic agents upon onset; 1 also had device-related infection and dyspnea, and 1 also had febrile neutropenia and rash. No DLT emerged with these CC-486 regimens and no pt experienced secondary graft failure. Overall azacitidine plasma concentration profiles ( Figure ) and PK parameters were similar following CC-486 given alone or with concomitant medications, and were within range of values observed following similar CC-486 doses in pts with MDS, CMML, and AML (Garcia-Manero, 2011). The AUC range for oral CC-486 is ~10% of that seen with subcutaneous azacitidine administered at 75 mg/m2 (Garcia-Manero, 2011).

Conclusion: Preliminary data from this analysis suggest that CC-486 administered at doses of 200 or 300 mg QD for 7 days every 4 weeks is safe and well tolerated in the post-transplant setting. Overall, azacitidine plasma concentration profiles and PK parameters were not affected by use of concomitant medications. No DLT and a low rate of GvHD support the ongoing evaluation of 14d extended CC-486 dosing regimens in this ongoing study, as a preliminary to a prospective, randomized trial of this new agent post-transplant.

![Figure 1][1]

Figure 1

![Figure 2][1]

Figure 2

Disclosures de Lima: Celgene: Consultancy. Champlin: Celgene: Consultancy. Giralt: Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau. Scott: Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding. Hetzer: Celgene: Employment, Equity Ownership. Wang: Celgene: Employment, Equity Ownership. Laille: Celgene: Employment, Equity Ownership. Skikne: Celgene: Employment, Equity Ownership. Craddock: Celgene: Honoraria, Research Funding.

 [1]: pending:yes


Igneous dikes may be looked upon as paleostrain indicators, and; hence, as aids in reconstructing the strain history (and, ideally, the stress history) of a region. As part of a larger study, dikes intrusive into Proterozoic (Helikian), granulite-facies rocks near Rand Hill in the northern Adirondack Mountains were investigated. Three types of dike rocks were observed: olivine diabase, diabase, and trachyte. Dike trends range from N 60/sup 0/ E through E--W to N 75/sup 0/ W, and dike widths vary between 0.15 and 0.80 m. Crosscutting dikes were dated at three locations by use of the conventional K/Ar whole-rock method, and all corroborated the relative ages deduced from crosscutting field relationships. Ages are (528 to 578) +- 11 m.y. for olivine diabases, 536 +- 11 m.y. and 392 +- 8 m.y. for diabases, and 366 +- 7 m.y. for the trachyte. The olivine diabase dikes, and one diabase dike, have K/Ar ages which range from Uppermost Proterozoic to Middle Cambrian. Their trends are between N 60/sup 0/ E and N 77/sup 0/ E, suggesting that the greatest extensional strain in the area at that time was NNW--SSE. In similar manner, a second dated diabase dike suggests that the greatest extensional more » strain in the Lower Devonian was NNE--SSW. A dated trachyte dike suggests that the axis of maximum extensional strain by Middle Devonian time was NS. This study is in preliminary stages; as more data are accumulated on dike trends, types, and K/Ar dates, a more complete paleostrain record will emerge. Controlled speculation on Paleozoic and Mesozoic structural events in the northern New York region may then be possible. 7 figures, 1 table. « less


References AVELLA, J., BINDER, H.J., MADSEN, J.E. & ASKENASE, P.W, (1978) Effect of histamine H2 receptor antagonists on delayed hypersensitivity. Lancet, i, 624. BIANCO, C. PATRICK, R . & NUSSENWEIG, V. (1970) A population of lymphocytes bearing a membrane receptor for antigen-antibody complement complexes. Journal of Experimental Medicine. 132, 702. COMMENS, C.A. & GREAVES, M.W. (1978) Cimetidine in chronic idiopathic urticaria in a randomized double blind study. British Journal of Dermatology. 99, 675. COOK, J. & SHUSTER, S. (1979) Lack of effect of H2 blockade in chronic urticaria. British Journal of Dermatology. 101, (suppl. 17), 21. CORBETT, R . & GREAVES, M.W. (1979) Histamine H2 receptor antagonists inhibit enzymatic histamine degradation in human skin. Clinical and Experimental Dermatology. 4, 99. GIFFORD SR. R.R.M., HATFIELD, S.M. & SCHMIDJKE, J.R. (1980) Cimetidine induced augmentation of human lymphocyte blastogenesis by mitogen bacterial antigen and alloantigen. Transplantation. Feb. 29, (2) 143. GREAVES, M.W., MARKS, R . & ROBERTSON, I. (1977) Receptors for histamine in human skin blood vessels. A review. British Journal of Dermatology. 97, 225. JOHNSON, H.H., DEOREO, G.A., LASCHEID, O . P . & MITCHELL, F . (1960) Skin histamine levels in chronic atopic eczema. Journal of Investigative Dermatology. 34, 237. JONDAL, M . , HOLM, G . & WIGZELL, H . (1972) Surface markers on human Tand B lymphocytes. Journal of Experimental Medicine. 136, 207. JORRIZO, J.L., SAMS JR. W.M., JEGASOTHY, B.V. & OLANSKY, A.J. (1980) Cimetidine as an immunomodulator, chronic mucocutaneous candidasis as a model. Annals of Internal Medicine. Feb. 92 (2) 192. KAISER, H.B. (1979) Cimetidine in chronic urticaria. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 63,3, 187. MARKS, R. (1980) Treatment of chronic urticaria (letter.) British Journal of Dermatology. 102, 240. MARKS, R . & GREAVES, M.W. (1977) Vascular reactions to histamine and compound 48/80 in human skin: suppression by a histamine H1 receptor blocking agent. British Journal of Clinical Dermatology. 4, 367. MATTHEWS, C.N.A., Boss, J.M., WARIN, R.P. & STORARI, F . (1979) The effect of HI and H2 histamine antagonists on symptomatic dermographism. British Journat of Dermatology. 101, 57. PHANUPHAK, P., SCHOCKET, A. & KOHLER, P . F . (1978) Treatment of chronic idiopathic urticaria with combined H1 and H2 blocker. Clinical Allergy. 8, 429. RING, J., SENTER, T., ARROYARE, CM., CORNELL, R . & TAN, E.M. (1978) Role of complement and histamine in atopic dermatitis. Clinical Research. 26, 210. WIDE, L. , BENNICH, H . & JOHANNSON, S .G. (1967) Diagnosis of allergy by an in-vitro test for allergen antibodies. Lancet, ii, 1105. WIDE, L. & PORATH, J. (1966) Radioimmunoassay of proteins with the use of sephadex coupled antibodies. Biochemica et Biophysica Acta. 130, 257.


The activity of Arylsulfatase A (ASA) is about two times higher in blood and urine of women with benign cystic ovarian tumors than in healthy subjects. It rises one week after surgical removal of tumor and falls four weeks later to the level before the surgery. Six months after the operation ASA activity reaches the same value as in the control group. ASA cannot be a marker of malignant ovarian neoplasms, because its activity rises also in benign ovarian tumors and during the process of healing after operation. These results agree with previous research showing that ASA is not a specific organ enzyme or tumor marker. The study was supported by Wroclaw Medical University grants from Polish State Committee for Scientific Research.


Image quality is the most important performance of optical lithography tool and it is influenced by many factors. Temperature stability of projection lens is one of the main factors. It is difficult to control temperature stability of the projection lens because of its features of big inertia, multi-time-delay and multi-perturbation. Temperature control unit (TCU), which is used to control the projection lens temperature, is required to operate far away from projection lens, otherwise it will increase COO of lithography tool and its vibration will affect the performance of projection lens. So a remote temperature control method is proposed. A two-input and two-output intelligent algorithm is presented to improve convergent rate and steady-state accuracy of the temperature control system for projection lens. Control process is divided into five phases according to the ideal dynamic response curve. A nonlinear PI algorithm is recommended to precisely adjust temperature and an intelligent decision decides the switch of five multi-phases. The experiment results show that ±0.006°C temperature stability can be realized and the algorithm has advantage of quick convergent rate, strong robustness and self-adaptability. This algorithm has been used in optical lithography tool with 100nm CD and has achieved good temperature stability.


This research aims to analyze of this study is to determine how much influence Liquidity,
Asset Quality, Sensitivity and Profitability of the Capital Adequacy Ratio. The population of this
research is to Go Public Bank listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange during the period 2011-
2016. The sample in this study consisted of four Bank Go Public. The sample selection using
purposive sampling method and data sources used in this research is secondary data. The results
of this study indicate that the variable Loan to Deposit Ratio significant negative effect on
Capital Adequacy Ratio, Investing Policy Ratio positive effect is not significant to the Capital
Adequacy Ratio, Non Perfoming Loan it remained positive effect was not significant to the
Capital Adequacy Ratio, Earning assets positive effect was not significant to the Capital
Adequacy Ratio, Interest Rate Risk significant positive effect on Capital Adequacy Ratio, Net
Open Position positive effect is not significant to Capital Adequacy Ratio , Oerating Expenses
and Operating Income significant negative effect on Capital Adequacy Ratio and Return On
Assets significant positive effect on Capital Adequacy Ratio. The coefficient of determination
showed by 51.6% due to the variables in the study of LDR, IPR, NPL, APB, IRR, PDN, ROA and
ROA, while the remaining 48.4% influenced by other factors outside the research.

Keywords: LDR, IPR, NPL, APB, IRR, PDN, ROA, ROA and CAR.


The effect of oscillating population size and partial initialization of the population on the robustness and computational efficiency of a simple GA is examined. The results are compared with those of constant population size and equivalent computing time. The algorithm is applied to the reliability based optimal design of a 25 bar truss. The problem is solved for two crossover types and two different reproduction schemes. Parametric studies for various initial population sizes and crossover probabilities are performed. Oscillations of population size enhance the capacity of the algorithm in finding optimal solutions and improve the robustness. 1. INTRODUCTION Genetic Algorithms are search algorithms based on the concepts of natural selection and survival of the fittest (1) . They guide the evolution of a set of randomly selected individuals through a number of generations that are subjected to successive reproduction, crossover and mutation, based on the statistics of the generation. The efficiency of the whole process is problem dependent and relies heavily on the successful selection of a number of parameters, such as population size, probability of crossover and mutation, method of crossover etc. In this work, the effect of oscillating population size on the robustness of the GA scheme is studied for different values of the amplitude and return period of oscillation in an attempt to improve the capacity of GA in refining the optimal solutions, especially at the later stages of the process, where usually the performance is poor. Two crossover methods are tested, Single Point Crossover (SPC) and Double Point Crossover (DPC) and the optimization process is repeated for various values of the initial population size and crossover probability. In addition, two different reproduction schemes are considered. The algorithm is applied for the reliability based optimal design of a 25-bar truss. Improvements with regard to the efficiency of the algorithm in finding good optimal designs are observed. 2. GENETIC ALGORITHMS


Many tropical regions in Southeast Asia have experienced extensive habitat modification, creating a mosaic of forested and agricultural land. The capacity of these human-modified tropical landscapes to support biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services is of considerable practical interest. Decomposition of plant material is a key process maintaining the nutrient cycle in both natural and agro-ecosystems, but few studies have documented the relative contributions of different guilds of decomposers, acting on different plant substrates, across different tropical land-uses. We measured decomposition of leaf litter and cellulose across a gradient of anthropogenic habitat modification (forest, shrubland, and corn farmland) within Panua Nature Reserve, Sulawesi, Indonesia. The influence of fungi and the litter invertebrate community were investigated experimentally. Decomposition of both substrates was significantly lower in corn plantations than in forest sites. Partial exclusion of litter invertebrates, but not fungi, significantly reduced decomposition, but the feeding guild composition of the litter invertebrate community did not differ significantly across habitat types. Our results confirm that even small-scale agricultural areas adjacent to forest fragments can experience impaired ecosystem functions. These changes can be linked to reduced invertebrate activity, apparently independent of the functional structure of the litter invertebrate community. Effective management of human-modified landscapes will be needed to maintain nutrient cycling, even in areas where agroecosystems and tropical forests occur in close proximity. Highlights Habitat modification alters litter and cellulose decomposition Small-scale agriculture near forest fragments can impair ecosystem functions. Exclusion of litter invertebrates, but not fungi, significantly reduced decomposition. Maintaining nutrient cycling requires effective management of human-altered landscapes.


The invention relates to a textile big data management system based on the internet of things. The textile big data management system based on the internet of things comprises a data analysis unit, a data processing unit, a database, an RFID unit and an alarming unit, wherein the data management system collects equipment information, raw material basic information, machining processing information and product information of textile equipment through a data collector, stores the collected data information to the database and processes the stored data, the problems of the basic condition of the equipment and products can be found through data analysis of a system processor, the purpose of real-time monitoring is realized, comprehensive and omnibearing management on data of a textile enterprise is realized, the link with problems can be conveniently found out, and therefore corresponding measures are taken.


This thesis describes the development of a landslide hazard map for the island of Puerto Rico through the use of Graphical Information System (GIS) tools. Parameters considered in this study are elevation, slope aspect, slope angle and land use. This study employed data for a total of 2,966 landslides. The elevation and land use analysis was conducted on the entire landslide dataset, while the slope aspect and slope angle analysis was conducted on a smaller subset (366 landslides). This work builds on previous landslide studies in Puerto Rico by employing a 5-m Digital Elevation Model (DEM) for the slope angle and slope aspect analysis. The major steps involved in the landslide hazard map generation are: a categorization analysis to determine relative hazards for each parameter, assignment of weights to each parameter based on their range of relative hazard values, and a consolidation of results from each parameter that is analogous to a multi-factorial analysis. Results indicate that slope angle is the dominant factor (87.5%) in determining landslide hazard, followed by elevation, slope aspect and land use. The slope angle results were found to be very sensitive on the choice of sampling methodology and data resolution. . In particular, the 5-m DEM provides significantly more detail than available for previous analyses and results in much greater sensitivity of risk to slope angle. Further study is recommended into issues relating to the resolution at which the landslide data is obtained and normalized, as well as an inclusion of other parameters (such as soil type and geology) into this landslide hazard assessment. Thesis Supervisors: Rafael Bras Title: Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Peter Shanahan Title: Senior Lecturer, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering


The purpose of this paper is to analyze existing knowledge on how
 organizations learn using multilevel comparison perspective of intra- and
 inter-organizational learning and to offer deeper understanding of the role
 that organizational design properties have in inter-organizational learning.
 Using Argote and Ophir (2005) findings on similarity vs complementarity fit
 developed for intra-organizational learning as an anchor, we analyze the role
 similarity vs complementarity fit of organizational configuration and
 coordination properties in inter-organizational settings. Our intention is to
 explicitly express the role of interorganizational design fit in
 inter-organizational knowledge management. Framework developed here
 systematizes and explains how strategic objectives of network creation
 (exploration or exploitation) should be aligned with learning mechanisms
 (learning by doing or learning by listening/observing) and organizational
 design properties. From the point of organization theory, this paper advances
 knowledge about the influence organizational design as intra-organizational
 property has on knowledge transfer between organizations and
 inter-organizational learning. Our framework helps managers understand how
 inter-organizational design fit can influence inter-organizational learning
 within the network. With regard to policy making, knowledge networks are
 becoming increasingly important as a mechanism of industrial development
 support, economic growth, increase of employment and poverty reduction and
 this paper points to mechanisms of inter-organizational design that can be
 used in managing these networks.


The studies on which this paper is based were undertaken in an effort to explain the great frequency of negative roentgen-ray observations on films of the shoulder joint. Roentgen-ray examination is too often negative even with the best technic. In table 1 the roentgen-ray observations in 450 consecutive shoulder cases are tabulated. As can be seen, a negative diagnosis was made in 300, or two thirds of the cases. It was this high percentage of negative results that stimulated further study. The clinical study of the cases was carried on in the roentgen-ray and orthopedic departments of the Massachusetts General Hospital. Access was had to the outpatient and house records of the patients, as well as an opportunity to be present at the operation when such was indicated. Anatomic dissections were made on four shoulders through the kindness of the department of anatomy at the Medical School of Harvard University.


We consider growth-induced pattern formation within the framework of a growing, planar, elastic rod attached to an elastic foundation. Through a combination of weakly nonlinear analysis and numerical methods, we identify how the shape and type of buckling (super- or subcritical) depend on material parameters. We then examine the effect of heterogeneity on buckling and post-buckling behaviour, in the context of heterogeneous substrate adhesion, elastic stiffness, and growth.


Modern methods of detection and identification of structural damage direct the activities of scientific groups towards the improvement of diagnostic methods using for example the phenomenon of mechanical wave propagation. Damage detection methods that use mechanical wave propagation in structural components are extremely effective. Many different numerical approaches are used to model this phenomenon, but, due to their universal nature, spectral methods are the most commonly used, of which there are several types. This paper reviews recent research efforts in the field to show basic differences and effectiveness of the two most common spectral methods used for modelling the wave propagation problem in terms of damage detection.


Seaweed is one of the marine resources as capital for livelihood development in addition to the fishermen catch fish. Seaweed cultivation can support the survival of fishermen especially in Bluto Sumenep. Seaweed also can produce a wide variety of products that can provide benefits to the villagers. Seaweed farming activities is not only performed only by men, but women (or wives) can do as well. The purpose of this study is try to describe the characteristics of fishing seaweed; describe the division of labor between husband and wife fishing seaweed; analyze differences in access to and control over production resources between husband and wife; and the contribution of women to the household incomes of seaweed fishermen. The methods used quantitative method that is supported by qualitative method. The role and contribution of the wife can be seen from the amount of time devoted to each activity carried out both on productive activity, reproductive, and social activities. Wifes involvement in productive activities also contribute income to their household income. Wife revenues can contribute the household expenses when their husbands are still missing. Husband tends to play a role in productive activity, whereas the wife role in reproductive and social activities.


Water utilities across the globe are concerned with the inspection and replacement of buried metallic water pipes due to corrosion-related structural damages. Internal pipe linings are commonly used as a renewal method to improve structural strength as they are regarded to be a less expensive alternative to costly and time-consuming pipe replacements. However, linings are also prone to failure as well. Therefore, water authorities regularly monitor lining performance, where defect evolution over a long period of time is an important parameter to note. It requires an accurate in-pipe robot localization technology. In this article, we propose a novel method for in-pipe robot localization and tag mapping that uses battery-free ultra high frequency (UHF)-radio-frequency identification (RFID) sensor wireless signals. It utilizes a signal mapping approach in combination with a tailored pose-graph simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) algorithm. Evaluation results of a field-extracted pipe sample from Sydney Water's distribution network show that the proposed approach is capable of localizing the robot within 2.5 cm accuracy in a 50-m equivalent pipe with an unknown UHF-RFID distribution. The proposed approach outperformed other reported similar work in the literature.


Annotation The method of constructing trigonometric Hermite splines, which interpolate the values of some periodic function and its derivatives in the nodes of a uniform grid, is considered. The proposed method is based on the periodicity properties of trigonometric functions and is reduced to solving only systems of linear algebraic equations of the second order; solutions of these systems can be obtained in advance. When implementing this method, it is necessary to calculate the coefficients of interpolation trigonometric polynomials that interpolate the values of the function itself and the values of its derivatives at the nodes of the uniform grid; known fast Fourier transform algorithms can be used for this purpose. Examples of construction of trigonometric Hermite splines of the first and second orders are given. The proposed method can be recommended for practical use.


This paper aims to study the possibility of integration between Lean Manufacturing (LM) and Industrial Revolutions 4.0 (IR4.0). LM is generally known and acknowledged as a feasible system in the industrial sector. However, a new paradigm of IR4.0 has influenced manufacturers to look further into how LM could be implemented and adopted. It drives the integration of an intelligent factory to control machines, humans, products, and cloud solutions along the value chain. Manufacturers, especially in the automotive industry such as Toyota Company, have been using lean concepts and methods for so many years to eliminate wastes, reduce operational costs, and improve production performance. By integrating LM with IR4.0, the manufacturers could enhance productivity and quality by using the implementation chain. Besides, it enables self-management operational processes that could ensure the customer's quality of production.


An algorithm is given to compute a normal form for hyperelliptic curves. The elliptic case has been treated in a previous paper. In this paper the hyperelliptic case is treated.


Insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) are one of the most critical components in the Electric Vehicles (EVs) because of their complex running environment, high power dissipation and frequent junction temperature fluctuation. Therefore, it's essential to predict the lifetime of IGBTs by considering the actual factors in applications. The aim of this paper is to present a lifetime prediction method during a long-term driving cycle by considering multiple influence factors of IGBTs. The lifetime prediction model includes motor drive system, electro-thermal coupling model, and lifetime analysis. Then, taking China as an example, the multiple influence factors to the result of lifetime prediction of IGBTs such as the ambient temperature, the driving cycle, and the degradation of thermal resistance are taken into consideration. The researches show that the percentage growth to lifetime prediction for these three factors is λT=108.4% λC=124.9%, and λR=69.9% respectively. The predicted lifetime of IGBTs considering three influence factors in China is 3.66×105 km, which is nearly 5% lower than its original lifetime that is 3.87×105 km.


After many highway bridges were surveyed, causes of the possible damage to the highway bridges were analysed. Taking Jinghong Bridge as an example, some good suggestions about how to detect and reinforce the bridges in advance are presented here in order to resolve the bridge-damaging problems efficiently and easily.


Carbon dioxide is shown to be an effective additive to standard Li-ion electrolyte for extending the cycle life of full pouch cells containing an engineered silicon alloy. CO2 was introduced to pouch cells by adding a few milligrams of dry ice to cells before sealing. The cells contained composite negative electrodes formulated with 15 to 17 wt% of an engineered silicon alloy and a LiCoO2 positive electrode. Parasitic electrolyte reactions were measured in-situ by isothermal micro-calorimetry and high precision coulometry and compared to cells containing 1-fluoro ethylene carbonate (FEC). Extended cycling of cells containing CO2 were compared to cells containing FEC. Cell gas generation and gas consumption were measured by applying the Archimedes principle. A new approach using small tubes in pouch cells to differentiate volume changes from gassing and solid expansion is introduced. Cells with CO2 showed significantly lower parasitic thermal power, improved coulombic efficiency and better capacity retention compared to cells containing electrolytes with FEC. The gas generation/consumption experiments showed that Si alloy reacts with CO2 during cycling until it is fully consumed. Combining FEC and CO2 reduces the consumption rate of CO2. Microscopy of cross-sectioned cycled electrodes showed a thin SEI layer and minimal silicon alloy erosion. The combined work establishes CO2 as a powerful precursor to an effective SEI layer on silicon alloys. Finally, CO2 is shown to be an effective SEI former for graphite in EC-free electrolytes. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by ECS. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (CC BY, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse of the work in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. [DOI: 10.1149/2.1121712jes] All rights reserved.


Functional materials, of which an example is ferroelectric, ferroelastic monocrystal of molybdate (III) gadolinium (VI), are often used in the micro-motor operators (micro-servo motors) working in changeable environment conditions. Most frequently this change refers to temperature. That is why the important practical problem is the precise measurement of the value of piezoelectric tensor elements in dependence on the temperature of a particular monocrystal. In the presented article for this kind of measurements, the use of X-ray diffractometer has been shown. The advantage of the method presented is that, apart from precise dependence measurement between the temperature of a monocrystal and the value of piezoelectric tensor elements, it enables synchronous measurement of the value of thermal expansion tensor elements for a monocrystal.


I WISH to thank A. R. Wadia for his interest and remarks concerning my Note. In general, I am in agreement with the ideas expressed in his Comment, but I should like to add the following discussion and to answer the questions posed. The definition of the Navier-Stokes region used in Ref. 1 is, as Wadia points out, restrictive in that it presupposes that flow reversal does not occur outside of the cavity. If this is true, then addition of the interaction with the third layer—the potential outer flow—is usually sufficient to account for the upstream propagation of disturbances through the subsonic portion of the boundary layer as well as to calculate the correct downstream behavior of the disturbed layer. Such a method was described in Ref. 2 and its use illustrated in Refs. 2 and 3. For the relatively low injection rates into the supersonic boundary layer in Ref. 1 (v/U^ =0.02 for the outer flow of M^ =2.25) the two-layer approach, as well as the simple choice of the rectangular Navier-Stokes region, were found appropriate for the purposes of that paper. The disturbed nature of the boundary layer downstream of the slot is evident nevertheless in the results obtained in Ref. 1. The qualitatively correct behavior of reduced shear downstream of the injection slot, and increased shear downstream of the suction slot, was reproduced. The computed values of the u velocity component is one grid interval above the horizontal wall (which is linked to du/dy at the wall) normalized by the corresponding value of this parameter upstream of the slot are persented in Table 1 for three x steps, starting at the downstream corner, and are intended for qualitative comparison only. It was shown in the Comment that for a subsonic flow with a relatively high rate of injection (v/Ux =0.25) a separation bubble can form downstream of the injection slot. To treat such a flowfield adequately using the interactive method of Refs. 1-4, the Navier-Stokes domain should be extended downstream (and perhaps upstream) of the slot to include at least all the regions of flow reversal, as Wadia recognized. If the incompressible equations are to be retained in the recirculation region and the outer flow is supersonic or highly subsonic so that the incompressibility assumption fails in a significant part of the boundary layer, then the matching region may no longer be specified a priori using a simple, rectangular geometry. Instead, curved matching boundaries, which can evolve as the solution proceeds, are necessary. Such a self-adaptive approach to the construction of the matching region is, at present, beyond the capability of the model, but is a natural subject for further work in extending the method. The vorticity at the two convex corners of the slot was determined along the vertical walls for Navier-Stokes region Slot width


In this paper, a local simulation method is employed to investigate the heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics of several kinds configuration pin fin casing tube heat exchanger unit. The empirical correlations of heat transfer and flow friction loss for gas longitudinal flow to these pin fin casing tube are obtained.On the basis, the experimental results of different configuration parameters for these pin fin casing tube are anaysed and the effects on heat transfer and pressure drop for commonly used pin fin geometry and pitch arrangement in pin fin casing tubes are compared. The results obtained in this paper can be used in the design of pin fin casing tube heat exchanger.


Abstract Sediments of 13 piston cores from opposite continental slopes of the South China Sea, off southern China and Sabah (northern Borneo), were analyzed by sedimentological methods and dated by oxygen isotope stratigraphy. Sediments mostly consist of hemipelagic clay with 20% carbonate off Sabah and 40% off China. We calculated terrigenous and carbonate accumulation rates for up to 11 time-slices from the Holocene to oxygen-isotope stage 6. Terrigenous accumulation rates generally increase with water depth and reach a maximum at the middle slope off Sabah and at the lower continental slope off China. During glacial and interglacial times this distribution pattern did not markedly change, despite an increase of accumulation rates for glacial periods by a factor of 2 to 5 compared to interglacial periods. Rates are negatively correlated with positions of sea level, which controls the partition of fluviatile terrigenous material for deposition on shelf, slope, and abyssal plain. Carbonate accumulation rates are higher off China by a factor of 2 compared to Sabah, probably indicating higher calcareous plankton productivity.


This paper focuses on the development of a spring-suspended suction cup with buckled plate spring. The proposed idea is that the buckled plate spring is used for adjusting negative pressure of suction cup. Moreover, the stored elastic energy in the plate-spring compensates pressure loss when air inflow happens in the suction cup. Existing passive suction cups are difficult to keep attachment to rough surfaces, where there exists air inflow, however, the proposed idea is able to continue attachment in a small air inflow environment without any actuator or energy source. Therefore the spring-suspended suction cup is able to decrease weight, size, and energy consumption of the attachment mechanism. This paper presents calculation of attachment time of the spring-suspended suction cup, input energy needed to start attachment, and estimation of air inflow to suction cup. From numerical comparison and experimental verification, it is confirmed that the proposed idea maintains attachment force for a longer time than the volume-fixed suction cup that is commonly used.


Photograph of an exterior view of Plessala Brothers Number Two grocery store on Gulfway Drive. An awning hangs over several display windows in the front of the building. Signs along the top of the building say "Grocery Market," "Plessala Bros. No. 2," and "Fruits & Vegetables." A car is parked to the side of the building. In the background, there are houses and people standing in a yard.


A model is developed to evaluate the thermal conductivity of semiconducting compounds as a function of their atomistic structures during phase transformations induced by mechanical loading. The approach uses atomistic configurational information and interatomic interactions as input. The harmonic and anharmonic behaviors of phonons are captured through force constants which are sensitive to structural changes. The calculations focus on changes in thermal conductivity of GaN nanowires in response to deformation and phase transformation. Results show that the model yields results consistent with data obtained using the Green-Kubo method and is 50 times more efficient than calculations based on molecular dynamics.


In the histopathological images, there was a homogenous population of immature lymphoid cells: small lymphocytic cells, of circular type and with little cytoplasm, with nuclei from round to elliptical and with some notches. We also observed the presence of necrosis in the tumor tissue and disorganization of the original tissues (lung and myocardium). The histopathological diagnosis was thymic lymphoma (Figure 1–3). Figure 1 Chest radiograph, lateral incidence. There is an increase in the radiodensity of the cranial thoracic region with soft tissue density, suggestive of cranial mediastinal mass (dotted line). The lungs are compressed towards the dorsal (white star), which explains the severe dyspnea. The mass does not allow seeing the cardiac silhouette.


IntroductionDifferent definitions of gharar are provided by the Muslim scholars. Gharar defined as uncertainty means the non-existence of the contract's subject matter (Ali and Ahmad, 2007, p.54). (Al-Qarafi, 1998, p.275) provides a similar definition, and the Hanafi and Shafi'i doctrines also adopted this view (Al-Saati, 2003, p.6). In following this gharar meaning, Ali and Ahmad (2007, p.54) state that gharar is "deception, danger, and risk", and misrepresents one of the contract elements, such as price, quantity, and contract performance, to the other party so that they enter the contract under excessive risk (p.303). Interpreting gharar as risk or uncertainty established an opinion that minor gharar is allowed because it does not seriously affect the contract, which would remain valid. On the other hand, excessive gharar is prohibited because it causes conflict and problems between contracting parties. With this perception, it has been stated that gharar does not affect gratuitous or donation contracts (Al-Dareer, 1997). This paper tries to critically examine different views attempting to directly consult the Qur'an and linguistic understanding, as will be demonstrated in the following discussion.Gharar, an unstable and confused conceptAs mentioned above, some of the Muslim scholars consider the contract valid if it involves minor gharar, because their concept of gharar is restricted to the level of risk or uncertainty. This means that they allow minor risk or uncertainty. It would not be the same situation if gharar was considered to mean misrepresentation, which is haram (prohibited) (Hayder, 1991, p. 191 ). Gharar meaning misrepresentation is not classified into clear categories such as innocent, negligent, or fraudulent, as under English contract law. Islamic law does not deal with minor or excessive gharar as fraud or misrepresentation because it is considered to be a "serious moral wrong" (Rayner, 1991, p.206).Discussing more definitions of gharar reveals serious levels of difference and confusion between the scholars. For example, it can be found that (Ayyash 2003, p. 13) classifies gharar as an ambiguity, which is interpreted by others as jahalah (Ghuddah, 1985, p.39), but (Faruqi 2005, p.346) interpreted jahalah as ignorance. Al-Sanhuri defined jahalah as a lack of knowledge, implying that there is a point of distinction between jahalah and gharar. He suggested that gharar occurs when selling something with unknown existence, whereas jahalah occurs when selling something that already exists but with unspecified quantity. In fact, saying that the subject matter of a contract does not exist, as a meaning of gharar, would be different from saying that the subject matter does exist but with some uncertainty regarding the other elements of the contract. It is clear that many of the scholars confuse both terms, attributing the same meaning to them and using the words interchangeably (Al-Sanhuri, 1955, p.232), as is mentioned above. The concept of gharar and the differences between its definitions has attracted critical opinions with regards to the distinction between jahalah and gharar.Saleh (1986, as cited in Hasanuzzaman, 1991, p. 122) stated that gharar refers to the nature of the contract, but jahalah refers to the defective description of the contract. He added that when the contract involves jahalah, it will be voidable, but if the contract involves gharar, it will be void. In the case of gharar, all the parties would be affected, but in the case of jahalah only one party would be affected. According to this perspective, gharar and jahalah are clearly not the same, and do not have either the same rules or concepts. This shows that gharar is different from jahalah. A worthy opinion to note with regards to ignorance suggests that gharar would be established when the contracting parties use deception to induce the other party into ignorance (Sarker, na, p.2), but ignorance itself would not be considered as gharar. …


Parturients with uncontrolled hyperthyroidism presenting as urgent cesarean section are at high-risk. A 34-year-old, G4P3 parturient, at 34+5 weeks of gestation, with uncontrolled hyperthyroidism presented for urgent cesarean section. A combined spinal-epidural anesthesia was performed. Intravenous dexmedetomidine, as an adjuvant, was specifically administered during and after the surgery. Approximately 30 min after administrating of dexmedetomidine, materal heart rate and blood pressure gradually remained stable. The baby was delivered 36 min after infusion of the dexmedetomidine with a total use of 83 μg. The Apgar score was 7 at 1 min and 10 at 5 min, respectively. The fetal concentration of dexmedetomidine (608 pg/mL) indicates significant placental transfer, but significant adverse neonatal effects were not observed. Dexmedetomidine was very effective in the control of the sympathetic hyperactivity with no adverse effects on both mother and neonate in this case.


ease of an individual. One of the more striking results in the article by de Haan et al is the apparent ineffectiveness of a risk score composed of 31 SNPs compared with another composed of only 5 SNPs with the highest individual odds ratio for venous thrombosis (Factor V Leiden, PT G20210A, A1 blood group, 1 SNP in the Fibrinogen gene, 1 in the Factor XI gene).1 Remarkably, these 5 genetic variants have a direct or indirect functional effect on hemostatic proteins, highlighting the role of coagulation on thrombosis risk. Considering that all 31 SNPs are independently associated with thrombotic risk, although sometimes small, a better predictive power should be expected when increasing the number of SNPs in the model. We hypothesize 2 explanations for this paradox. Perhaps some of the proposed SNPs are false-positive. More likely, new and more powerful mathematical tools to integrate all of this multiplicity of genetic information are needed. To date, only classical methods of logistic regression have been applied. These methods are unable to cope with the interaction among risk factors. It is also possible that other variables play an important role in thrombotic risk. In this sense, a limitation to the study by de Haan et al is the exclusive use of common genetic variants in the analysis of the risk. Using these variants, only a very small portion of the disease susceptibility is explained and this is one of the more frustrating findings of the giant genomic studies published to date.6 One germane question is where the "missing heritability" underlying the complex and common diseases lies. Very probably, other rarer genetic variants, of the utmost importance at the individual level, must be included in the risk score of venous thromboembolic disease. The clinical implications derived from the article by de Haan et al are clearly relevant because predictive medicine should be a high priority in prevalent diseases, such as cardiovascular disease and venous thromboembolic disease. The ability to objectively classify high-risk individuals will allow the best preventive strategies, both in asymptomatic individuals and in already affected patients (secondary prophylaxis). de Haan et al have placed one of the cornerstones of the edifice. To continue the construction of this building, given the enormous difficulties in addressing the complexity of the underlying disease, it is essential to use more and better items, such as the following: ● New, not yet known, genetic risk factors. It is necessary to continue searching. ● Incorporation of the rare genetic variants into the analysis of risk, with stronger effects in the carriers. Some of these rare variants are also affecting hemostatic factors, such as the A384S in the SERPINC1 gene,7 the R67X in SERPIN10 gene,8 or Ser219Gly in the PROCR gene.9 ● In addition, all the protective factors should be incorporated to better estimate the actual individual risk of suffering the disease. ● In terms of clinical practice, new laboratory methods for DNA genotyping and performing simultaneous and fast multiple SNP testing (diagnostic chips) would be welcome. ● Use of other available biologic information, beyond DNA data, such as potential new markers based on plasma intermediate phenotypes such as thrombin generation, thromboelastometry, dynamics of the activated partial thromboplastin time, platelet volume, plasma levels of Factor VIII, and so on. ● More specific mathematical models able to integrate this multidimensionality of variables (clinical, genetic, genomic, and biologic) will be necessary to accurately estimate the individual risk. Conflict-of-interest disclosure: The authors declare no competing financial interests. ■ REFERENCES


The difference in the methodology of conducting military operations by Russian and Ukrainian troops during the war ongoing since February 2022 is striking. It does not result only from the adopted convention of conducting these activities but is conditioned on a much deeper mental level resulting from cultural conditions. They determine the perception and understanding of the phenomenon of war. In other words, the operational and tactical methodology can be adapted to changing realities, provided that the essence of such a change is understood in terms of achieving the assumed military and non-military goals. Furthermore, these goals could be achieved by conducting military operations according to a completely different methodology, probably with much greater effectiveness. Why, in such a perspective, did the Russian side choose such a barbaric way of conducting war, characterising the methodology of military actions of the past decades or even centuries? This paper aims to answer the research question: What premises condition the Russian methodology of military action in the Russian-Ukrainian war of 2022? Empirical methods were employed to obtain an answer to this question.


Differential cross sections of top-quark pair production are measured in dilepton decay channel with proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. The measurement is performed with a RunII data using CMS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. In this analysis, we measure the differential cross sections with respect to kinematic variables of leptons, bjets, and top-quarks. Presented at TOP2015 8th International Workshop on Top Quark Physics First measurement of differential cross sections for ttbar production in dilepton final state at 13 TeV collisions Youn ROH∗Korea University (KR) E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com on behalf of the CMS Collaboration Differential cross sections of top-quark pair production are measured in the dilepton decay channel with proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. The measurement is performed with a Run II data using CMS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. In this analysis, we measure the differential cross sections with respect to kinematic variables of leptons, b jets, and top-quarks. 8th International Workshop on Top Quark Physics, TOP2015 14-18 September, 2015 Ischia, Italy


The increasing applications of minicomputers as components of engineering systems require the introduction of suitable courses into engineering curricula to allow students to incorporate computers in their designs in a knowledgeable manner. This paper describes a course which has been developed with this goal, and its developmental modifications which have occurred over the past several years. The course involves both lecture and laboratory work, organized to emphasize the properties of computer operation that must be understood to allow useful computer-augmented systems to be designed. It is felt that this description may be helpful for departments that are planning or developing similar courses.


Adhesive joints and composite materials share the common characteristics of consisting of two or more phases and interfaces between them. The loss of strength of either an adhesive joint or of a composite material by the action of a long term stress, an aggressive environment or the conjoint action of both, may be due to failure processes which occur in either of the phases or at the interface. The objective of this review is to describe the nature of these failure processes and to indicate their importance in the control of the long term strength of composite and adhesive structures.


Digestion of citrus wastes by pectolytic and cellulolytic enzymes was compared to the currently employed lime method of solubilizing solids from citrus peel. Maximal soluble solids removed from the pressed peel occurred after 6 hr incubation at 45°C with a pectinase concentration of 1.0 PGu/g peel mixture. Decreasing the particle size of the peel caused a 4 - 10% increase in solids removal after enzyme treatment. Addition of cellulase enzyme (20 CEu/g peel mixture) to pectinase enzyme (1.0 PGu/g peel mixture) removed an additional 15% soluble solids from peel. Glucose, fructose, arabinose, and xylose were the major sugars extracted from enzymetreated peel, while sucrose was the major sugar in lime-treated peel samples. Organic acids (citric, malic, and quinic) were present at higher concentrations in lime-treated peel extracts than in enzymetreated peel extracts.


Special needs education is a field of study that focuses on providing educational services to children with special needs who have learning and developmental challenges. The goal of this research is to combine mapping analysis with the VOSviewer app. The Publish or Perish application is used to find publications that are relevant to the keywords that have been entered. The term "Special Needs Education" was utilized in this study as a keyword. According to the search results, 400 relevant articles were published between 2017 and 2021. The number of publications published on "Special Needs Education" has declined every year, according to the research findings. This study should aid researchers in conducting and determining the research theme.


Abstract: Faced with home foreclosures, a stagnant economy, and weakly-effective federal programs of relief, Richmond, California, considered using eminent domain to acquire mortgages, modify loans to be more affordable, and thus prevent further erosion of the tax base. Strong objections have been lodged against such alteration of property rights, except through bankruptcy and foreclosure processes. The Richmond proposal is considered in the historical context of changes in the use of eminent domain as described by John R. Commons. Just as economic change forced U.S. courts to change the working definitions of property in the late nineteenth century, current contradictions in the way in which we think of households, and the systemic consequences of their management of debt, may produce changes in law and should alter the way in which economists analyze aggregate consumer spending and borrowing.


Particle swarm optimization(PSO) algorithm is a stochastic global optimization technique and has become the hotspot of evolutionary computation because of its excellent performance and simplicity for implementation.In light of the fact that it is hard to determine the parameters of a constitutive model—cohesion weakening and frictional strengthening(CWFS) model,which performs excellently in modeling the extent and depth of brittle failure zone for hard rock under high in-situ stress condition,a new method is presented to identify parameters of CWFS model using PSO.At first,the stochastic values of parameters are initialized and the difference in failure zone between the value computed and the datum measured is regarded as fitness value to evaluate quality of the parameters.Then the parameters are updated continually using PSO until the optimal parameters are found.Thus parameters are identified adaptively during computation.The results of applications to two real tunnels,i.e.,Mine-by tunnel in Canada and Taipingyi tunnel in China,show that the method is feasible and efficient for identifying constitutive parameters and predicting the extent and depth of brittle failure of hard rock under high in-situ stress condition with high precision.


The development of new methods to identify influential spreaders in complex networks has been a significant challenge in network science over the last decade. Practical significance spans from graph theory to interdisciplinary fields like biology, sociology, economics, and marketing. Despite rich literature in this direction, we find small notable effort to consistently compare and rank existing centralities considering both the topology and the opinion diffusion model, as well as considering the context of simultaneous spreading. To this end, our study introduces a new benchmarking framework targeting the scenario of competitive opinion diffusion; our method differs from classic SIR epidemic diffusion, by employing competition-based spreading supported by the realistic tolerance-based diffusion model. We review a wide range of state-of-the-art node ranking methods and apply our novel method on large synthetic and real-world datasets. Simulations show that our methodology offers much higher quantitative differentiation between ranking methods on the same dataset and notably high granularity for a ranking method over different datasets. We are able to pinpoint—with consistency—which influence the ranking method performs better against the other one, on a given complex network topology. We consider that our framework can offer a forward leap when analysing diffusion characterized by real-time competition between agents. These results can greatly benefit the tackling of social unrest, rumour spreading, political manipulation, and other vital and challenging applications in social network analysis.


In this paper, it will be provided a case report for the Zara case. This case report will include the strategies applied by Zara, its competitive advantages, its IT management, and SWOT analysis in the context of which it will be discussed the problems that the company may face. In the last part of this assignment, it will be recommended solutions that are well implementable to resolve potential pitfalls.


User-centered Design (UCD) and User Experience (UX) have become important keywords when developing and designing products and services that aim to be successful and competitive on the market. In the area of entertainment oriented services, like interactive TV, new challenges arise, shifting the focus from taskbased usability to highly personal, context-dependent use experiences. In order to improve UX design and assist designers by providing valuable feedback in various development stages, we propose the usage of a set of UX evaluation methods dedicated to the evaluation of entertainment oriented services.


The drawability evaluation of thin sheet for stamping requires assessment of tools and techniques to modern ways measure and to evaluate complexity of the advanced construction materials characteristics such as mentioned thin metal sheets. Press forming is a complex issue to assess by applying classical methods of mechanical and physical properties study, such basic and technological tests. More and more are being developed comprehensive characterizations of charges for stamping like thin sheet metals, e.g. in the range of forming limit curves or diagrams. The development of those curves is possible through the use of image analysis techniques for indexing and distorted grids use digital software such as strain analysers AutoGrid system, and an older one - Asame system. However, extensive opportunities to develop methods of drawing, starting from cutting through the bending and shaping by using rigid tools, hydroforming or explosives, require computer support through product design and production technology. In this field are used several programs for modeling and simulation of stamping processes such as finite element method (FEM). The paper presents the application of the strain analyser AutoGrid to determine local strain distributions on drawpieces made of Inconel 625 alloy sheets. These strain distributions were compared with the simulation result of forming of the same shape drawpieces obtained with the use of software eta/Dynaform 5.8. Comparison of qualitative and quantitative results showed good correlation with the actual simulation results of the drawing. The use of computer techniques in both cases facilitates the development of drawability properties characteristics and allows you to design and predict the results of stamping without most expensive production trials used to start the process of producing new stampings.


Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) play an essential role in various applications, such as transportation and intelligent environmental sensing. However, due to camera motion and complex environments, it can be difficult to recognize the UAV from its surroundings thus, traditional methods often miss detection of UAVs and generate false alarms. To address these issues, we propose a novel method for detecting and tracking UAVs. First, a cross-scale feature aggregation CenterNet (CFACN) is constructed to recognize the UAVs. CFACN is a free anchor-based center point estimation method that can effectively decrease the false alarm rate, the misdetection of small targets, and computational complexity. Secondly, the region of interest-scale-crop-resize (RSCR) method is utilized to merge CFACN and region-of-interest (ROI) CFACN (ROI-CFACN) further, in order to improve the accuracy at a lower computational cost. Finally, the Kalman filter is adopted to track the UAV. The effectiveness of our method is validated using a collected UAV dataset. The experimental results demonstrate that our methods can achieve higher accuracy with lower computational cost, being superior to BiFPN, CenterNet, YoLo, and their variants on the same dataset.


Construction technology has been rapidly developing nowadays which often requires the use of higher ductility of structural elements. All structural members, especially columns as primary structural components should have higher ductility so that it can delay the collapse of the buildings during earthquake. There is a significant difference in behavior between unconfined and confined concrete columns. Confined concrete columns show higher ductility compared with those unconfined. To accommodate the analysis, a computer program called MoCurv v.1.2 is developed. This program is an improvement of the earlier developed program called MoCurv v.1. This program can be used to analyze circular column sections with NSC and HSC. Five major factors are dominantly control the value of curvature ductility, i.e. transverse reinforcement spacing, number and size of longitudinal bars, strength of concrete, column size, and axial loading. Parametric study has also been done to compare the effectiveness of each parameter. It can be concluded that the most influencing parameter to the value of curvature ductility is the spacing of transverse reinforcement.


Integer Programming is of course closely connected to integer lattices and the geometry of numbers. Especially the algorithms in small dimensions which have theoretical performance guarantees are based on shortest vectors and good bases for integer lattices or at least approximations of them. The most notable instance is the polynomial-time algorithm of H. W. Lenstra [9] for integer programming in fixed dimensions. For integer programming in two dimensions, there are a number of different algorithms, the nicest (from a geometric viewpoint) being perhaps the algorithm of Kanamuru, Nishizeki and Asano [5]. All these algorithms, in one way or another, eventually boil down to some sort of continued fraction expansion or greatest common divisor computation. This is no surprise, since the greatest common divisor of two numbers a and b can be formulated as an integer programming problem


On March 27, a dog kept in Toride, Ibaraki Prefecture, died after manifestation such clinical signs as intense pruritus and self-mutilation. As Aujeszky's disease had been prevalent in swine since 1981 in the area, a canine case was suspected. At autopsy, no significant gross visceral lesion was observed but histopathological observations revealed moderate perivascular cell infiltration, gliosis and neuronophagy in the medulla oblongata and cervical cord. Two rabbits inoculated with a mixture of the brain and spinal cord homogenates and a mixture of the lung and spleen homogenates, respectively, died 4 days after showing pruritus. A cytopathic agent was recovered from the spinal cord of the affected dog in PK-15 cell cultures. The cultures of PK-15 and MA-104 cells inoculated with the agent showed clear cytopathic effect of cell rounding and large syncytia, in which intranuclear inclusion bodies were seen after Giemsa's staining. Electron microscopic observations of the concentrated culture fluid of infected PK-15 cells revealed many particles characteristic of Herpesviridae. The agent was immunologically identified as Aujeszky's disease virus by immunofluorescence.


The 2017 edition of the EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard (the Scoreboard) comprises the 2500 companies investing the largest sums in R&D in the world in 2016/17. These companies, based in 43 countries, each invested over €24 million in R&D for a total of €741.6bn which is approximately 90% of the world's business-funded R&D. They include 567 EU companies accounting for 26% of the total, 822 US companies for 39%, 365 Japanese companies for 14%, 376 Chinese for 8% and 370 from the rest-of-the-world (RoW) for 13%. This report analyses the main changes in companies' R&D and economic indicators over the past year and their performance over the past ten years. It also includes results from additional complementary studies on companies' productivity, their development of ICT-related technologies and scientific publication activity.


The utility model discloses a liquid crystal panel detecting and mounting device comprising a substrate convey belt for conveying the substrate, a detecting slide way provided in side of the substrate convey belt, a movable sliding block for depositing the liquid crystal panel on the detecting slide way, a position sensor for positioning the slide block on the detecting slide way and a mechanic hand mounted to the substrate for conveying the liquid crystal panel of the positioning sensor, the sliding block provided with a stack box for positioning the liquid crystal panel. The device is highly integrated, which reduces work sequence, saves work time and improves work efficiency; cost of the whole device is lowered related to original cost; the whole device is coherent in sequence, reduces failure rate and improves rate of finished products.


Three-dimensional microelectronics focuses on the design and fabrication technology for 3-D integrated circuits. The concept, ideas, structures, merits, fabrication technology, challenges and applications of 3-D integrated circuits are reviewed in the paper. 3-D microelectronics is becoming an emerging science and technology for the future.


Due to limits on the availability of the energy source in many mobile user platforms (ranging from handheld devices to portable electronics to deeply embedded devices) and concerns about how much heat can effectively be removed from chips, minimizing the power consumption has become a primary driver for system-on-chip designers. Because of their superb characteristics, FinFETs have emerged as a promising replacement for planar CMOS devices in sub-20nm CMOS technology nodes. However, based on extensive simulations, we have observed that the delay vs. temperature characteristics of FinFET-based circuits are fundamentally different from that of the conventional bulk CMOS circuits, i.e., the delay of a FinFET circuit decreases with increasing temperature even in the super-threshold supply voltage regime. Unfortunately, the leakage power dissipation of the FinFET-based circuits increases exponentially with the temperature. These two trends give rise to a tradeoff between delay and leakage power as a function of the chip temperature, and hence, lead to the definition of an optimum chip temperature operating point (i.e., one that balances concerns about the circuit speed and power efficiency.) This paper presents the results of our investigations into the aforesaid temperature effect inversion (TEI) and proposes a novel dynamic thermal management (DTM) algorithm, which exploits this phenomenon to minimize the energy consumption of FinFET-based circuits without any appreciable performance penalty. Experimental results demonstrate 40% energy saving (with no performance penalty) can be achieved by the proposed TEI-aware DTM approach compared to the best-in-class DTMs that are unaware of this phenomenon.


A plasmonic nanopore sensor enabling detection of bimodal optical and electrical molecular signatures was fabricated and tested for its ability to characterize low affinity ligand-receptor interactions. This plasmonic nanosensor uses a Self- Induced Back-Action (SIBA) mechanism for optical trapping to enable SIBA-Actuated Nanopore Electrophoresis (SANE) sensing through a nanopore located immediately below the optical trap volume. The ligand-receptor model consisted of a Natural Killer (NK) cell inhibitory receptor heterodimer molecule CD94/NKG2A that was synthesized to target a specific peptide-presenting Qa-1b Qdm ligand. The latter interaction pair was used as a simplified model of lowaffinity interactions between immune cells and peptide-presenting cancer cells that occur during cancer immunotherapy. A cancer-irrelevant GroEL ligand was also targeted by the same receptor in control experiments to test for non-specific interactions. Although the analysis of different pairs of bimodal SANE sensor signatures enabled some level of discrimination between specific and non-specific interactions the separation was not complete, which suggested the need for multi-dimensional data analyses in future work. Nevertheless, the SANE sensor showed ability to quantify the fast dissociation rate (koff) in this low-affinity model system that was previously shown to be challenging to quantify with commercial technologies. The koff value of targeted peptide-presenting ligands is known to correlate with the subsequent activation of immune cells in vivo, suggesting the potential utility of the SANE sensor as a screening tool in cancer immunotherapy.


OBJECTIVES
This study was undertaken to assess the pharmacokinetic profile of puerarin, the major isoflavone found in a kudzu (Pueraria lobata) extract after acute and repeated administration.

METHODS
Participants were given either single or repeated doses of kudzu extract, and blood samples were collected for either 8 or 72 hours for subsequent pharmacokinetic analyses of puerarin.

RESULTS
Using WinNonlin pharmacokinetic data analysis software, puerarin was found to be rapidly absorbed via the oral route, reach peak levels at 2 hours, and have a half-life of approximately 4.3 hours. The elimination half-life was not significantly altered after repeated administration.

CONCLUSIONS
A formulation of kudzu extract delivers a large amount of the principal isoflavone in a rapid manner. The elimination rate constants and the mono-exponential decline in blood levels suggest that a one compartment model adequately explains how puerarin is handled by the body. Three times a day dosing is recommended as accumulation will not occur, and plasma levels remain at levels that are biologically active, even 8 hours after the last steady-state dose.


pounds, their physico-chemical properties, analytical detection and measurement, environmental transport and transformation, and their effects on marine, freshwater and terrestrial organisms (including humans). TBT compounds are used as molluscicides, as antifoulants (e.g. on boats, ships, quays, buoys and fishing nets), as wood preservatives, as slimicides on masonry, as biocides (e.g. in power station cooling towers) and in pulp and paper mills. TBT is not used in agriculture because of high phytotoxicity, and many countries have restricted the use of TBT antifouling paints because of observed effects on shellfish. High levels of TBT in water, sediment and biota have . been found close to pleasure boating activity, especially in or near marinas, boat yards, dry docks, fishing nets and cages treated with antifouling paints, and cooling systems. TBT is highly toxic to marine molluscs and biological effects (the development of imposex in gastropods) are believed to occur at TBT concentrations below the lower limit of analytical detection; freshwater organisms are also sensitive to the toxic effects of TBT compounds. . Exposure of terrestrial organisms other than humans to TBT results primarily from its use as a wood preservative. Occupational exposure of workers occurs principally during the manufacture and formulation of TBT, the application and removal of TBT paints, and from the use of


In the present paper calculation of CuInSe2(CIS)/ CdS solar cell efficiency is presented. The influence of the thickness and the optical band gap of CdS and CIS layers on the solar cell performances are investigated. The thickness of CdS buffer layer, wh ich is generally neglected is taken into account. The solar cells performances calculat ions are based on the calculation, by means of developed software written with Matlab, o f photocurrent from the resolution of the well known three coupling equations: continuity equation for holes in the CdS (n-region) and fo r electrons in the CIS (p- region) and Poisson equation. The obtained results indicated that the solar cell efficiency can be improved by reducing the CdS thickness or by increasing the CIS thickness. The efficiency increasing rates are 0.01 %/ n m and 0.5 %/n m for CdS and CIS layer thickness respectively. The CdS layer alters the shorter wavelength of the solar spectrum, wh ile the CIS layer alters the longer wavelength. CIS layer optical band gap is the most crucial parameter by co mparison to the optical gap of CdS layer.


This work evaluated the behavior of the briquettes during burning and to improve the determination of the combustion index of biomass briquettes ICOM, proposed by Quirino and Brito (1991), through a computer application with automated collection of data. The briquettes used in the tests were cotton bark, eucalyptus stump, sugarcane bagasse and pine wood and were produced specifically for the determination of the new combustion index called ICOMa. ICOMa was more sensitive than ICOM in observing the relationship between mass consumption and heat generation, and allowed to observe statistically significant differences between materials with different temperature curves, different from ICOM. The highest ICOMa was 0.97 K h g and the lowest 0.75 K h g, while the ICOM (dimensionless) were 0.55 and 0.43, respectively. The highest Pearson correlation observed for ICOMa occurred with time to reach the maximum temperature.


Using the methods of analysis, the task of minimizing the specific operating costs for oil production by submersible ESP units was formalized. The analysis of the multidimensional parameter space of the "ESP-well" system made it possible to isolate the vector of controlled parameters, determine the range of admissible parameters, and also to simplify the problem of finding an extremum up to the three-dimensional case. An application of the method of Lagrange multipliers to the solution of the problem is considered.


This paper describes extension to the core based tree (CBT) protocol to maintain a multicast tree with userspeci ed QoS properties. Speci cally, it describes enhancements in the member join/leave and state update/refresh procedures to facilitate the deployment of additive (e.g., endto-end delay bound), multiplicative (e.g., packet loss ratio along a path) and concave (e.g., minimum bandwidth avail-


Critical-sized bone defects are a difficult problem in both human and veterinary medicine. To address this issue, synthetic graft materials have been garnering attention. Abundant in vitro studies have proven the possibilities of poly(lactic-acid) (PLA) scaffolds and poly(lactide-co-glycolide)/hydroxyapatite (PLGA/HAp) nanofibres for treating bone defects. The present study aimed at conducting an in vivo assessment of the biological performance of a three dimensional (3D)-printed PLA scaffold filled with a PLGA/HAp nanofibrous scaffold to estimate its potential applications in bone defect reconstruction surgery. Defects were created in a 20 mm-long region of the radius bone. The defects created on the right side in six Beagle dogs (n = 6) were left untreated (Group 1). The defects on the left side (n = 6) were filled with 3D-printed PLA scaffolds incorporated with PLGA/Hap nanofibres with gelatine (Group 2). The other six Beagle dog defects were made bilaterally (n = 12) and filled with the same material as that used in Group 2 along with recombinant bone morphogenetic protein 2 (rhBMP-2) (Group 3). Both the radiological and histological examinations were performed for observing the reaction of the scaffold and the bone. Micro-computed tomography (CT) was utilised for the evaluation of the bone parameters 20 weeks after the experiment. The radiological and histological results revealed that the scaffold was biodegradable and was replaced by new bone tissue. The micro-CT revealed that the bone parameters were significantly (P < 0.05) increased in Group 3. Based on these results, our study serves as a foundation for future studies on bone defect treatment using synthetic polymeric scaffolds.


Deep reflection surveys carried out by the Consortium for Continental Reflection Profiling (COCORP) are revealing major structures within the continental crust in a variety of tectonic settings across the U.S. In many cases, these structures bear directly upon such geologic problems as the state of stress during large scale crustal deformations, the migration of magma, and the nature of the crust-mantle transition zone. COCORP, formed during the U.S. Geodynamics Project and funded by the National Science Foundation, has surveyed eight different localities along lines totalling over 800 km in length. The VIBROSEIS technique has been used in all cases and has proven to be a flexible and effective tool for deep crustal exploration. Among the more significant observations made thus far are: (1) the details of the extensional structure of the Rio Grande Rift; (2) evidence for at least 21 km horizontal and 13 km vertical displacement along the Wind River Thrust, which dips uniformly at about 30 degrees and extends to a depth of at least 25 km; (3) evidence for at least 225 km displacement along a major subhorizontal thrust system beneath the southern Appalachians, in which the Brevard Zone appears to be rooted; and (4) the apparently discontinuous nature of the Moho or crust-mantle transition zone, which has been observed to some degree at most of the sites studied. Taken together, the results of all surveys analyzed thus far demonstrate a much larger degree of heterogeneity in crustal structure than is indicated by more conventional geophysical techniques for exploration of the basement.