Background Diclofenac sodium is an NSAID that is often used to treat musculoskeletal pain, such as rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, spondiloartritis, and gouty arthritis. The side effects were reported in 30% of patients in the form of impaired renal function. This drug is known to cause oliguria caused by a decrease in renal blood flow and glomerular filtration rate of the kidneys. Aim To know the effect of diclofenac sodium 1,4 mg/kgBW and 2,8 mg/kgBW oral administration toward serum levels of urea of wistar rats. Methods Experimental study Post Test Only Control Group Design. The samples were 21 male wistar rats, randomized in to 3 groups. Group I was not given diclofenac sodium (control), Group II was given diclofenac sodium 0,6 mg and Group III was given diclofenac sodium 1,2 mg. Administration through gastric instillation thrice a day for 14 days. Blood samples were collected at the 15th day through retroorbital vascular and the urea levels were measured using standard methods. Data analysis used One-Way ANOVA Test and Post-Hock Test. Statistical analysis was conducted by computer program. Results There was no significant increase in the average value of the urea levels from the control group toward Group II and Group III. One-Way ANOVA test showed that there was no significant difference (p=0.819) among all of groups. Post-Hock test also showed that there were no significant differences in the control group toward Group II (p=0.554), control group toward Group III (p=0.649), and Group II toward Group III (p=0,889). Conclusion Administration of diclofenac sodium 1.4 mg/kgBW and 2.8 mg/kgBW for 14 days did not cause a significant increase in urea levels.


A pilot study presented this weekend at EULAR suggests that electro stimulation of the vagus nerve reduces rheumatoid arthritis symptoms.


Dubai's Kafala system regulates the lives, labors, and mobility of migrant domestic workers who have seen no new rights with reforms. this is how they resist.


Ultrasonic waves transmitted through piezoelectric transducers has been widely used in many chemical and industrial applications due to the bidirectional function of converting the electrical power to mechanical vibration. Different drivers have been proposed for the transducer to study the quality of the power signals in terms of controlling the output frequency and load voltage. However, the passive and nonlinear components of the driving system were shown to negatively affect the Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) and the system Power Factor (PF) of the connected grid. As a part of a wider research work related to the use of ultrasonic waves in chemical pollutants destruction, the ultrasonic generator and connected transducers, were to be tested in terms of the quality parameters of THD and PF, before further experimentation is performed. Considering these requirements, this paper propose a solution through inserting an intelligent controller based on Artificial Neural Network. The collected results guarantees a PF value close to unity and THD level lower than 5% as well. The collected records is a promising step for the implementation of the ultrasonic waves in future application in the water treatment and industrial application without the concern of issues related to the connectivity with the grid.


Abstract Accurate documentation is important in all library areas, especially as workflows change quickly to adapt to new technologies, policies, and practices. Many library faculty and staff use online tools and in 2019, the author conducted a survey to learn if and how colleagues use internal LibGuides to maintain accurate internal documentation. This article presents the survey results and analysis, covering both internal LibGuide use and current library documentation practices more generally.


We present a case study on the use of magnetic amplitude inversion for identification of igneous rocks that are buried deep in a superimposed sedimentary basin and have remanent magnetization. To tackle the difficulty due to the presence of the remanent magnetization in igneous rocks and weak anomalies due to large source depths in the basin, we combine the use of the preferential continuation for magnetic anomaly separation with magnetic amplitude inversion. The resultant distribution of effective susceptibility not only correlates well with the locations of Cenozoic igneous rocks known previously through drilling and seismic imaging, but also identifies the large scale distribution of Mesozoic igneous rocks at greater depth in the west of the basin.


In this paper, we propose a new approach for MC-CDMA system in rich scattering environment. For our proposed system, an efficient MIMO technique, called as V-BLAST (vertical Bell Laboratories layered space-time), is applied in order to increase the capacity of uplink multi-carrier code division multiple access (MC-CDMA) system. High speed transmission can also be achieved by using a low spreading factor. In this system, different users can use the same spreading code, so system capacity can be increased significantly. Different from most of the V-BLAST related researches which assume the perfect knowledge of the channel, we also consider the effect of the practical channel estimation to the system performance. In this paper, we investigate the performance of this system in both rich scattering channel and low scattering channel. We show that this system can be used efficiently in rich scattering environment. In low scattering environment, the performance of this system is too close with original MC-CDMA system. In addition, the result of the simulation with the estimation error shows that this system is suitable for practical implementation.


AIM: To observe the efficacy of alprostadil (Lipo prostaglandin E 1) in treating acute cerebral infarction. METHODS: Ninety eight patients with acute cerebral infarction were divided into two groups. Alprostadil group of 52 patients (M 30, F 22; age 64 a± s 9 a) received alprostadil 10 μg in sodium chloride injection 10 mL, iv, qd, and panax notoginseng saponins 0.6 g in sodium chloride injection 250 mL iv, gtt, qd, and conventional therapy (mannitol, piracetam, citicoline, ATP, coenzyme A, nimodipine, etc.) for 2 wk. Other 46 patients of the control group (M 27, F 19; age 65 a±11 a) only received panax notogmseng saponins 0.6 g in 5% glucose injection 250 mL or sodium chloride injection 250 mL iv.gtt,qd, and conventional therapy for 2 wk. RESULTS: The total effective rate in the alprostadil group (94%) was higher than that in the control group (89%, P 0.05). Changes of all hemorheological characters were very significant in two groups ( P 0.01). CONCLUSION: alprostadil (lipo prostagland in E 1) is a valuable drug in treating acute cerebral infarction.


Congress. The complete Proceeding.r appeared in the January, 1965, issue of Interr~atio,nal Social Work. In this issue, we present a summary of the highlights of the Congress as given by Dr. Herman Stein at a session of the International Conference of Social Work and the reports of the English-speaking and French-speaking discussion groups organized by the International Association of Schools of Social Work as a part of the study group programme at the International Conference. The participants in the two study groups made excellent use of the background materials and papers that served to make the International Congress of Schools one of the best in its history.


Strains of Ascochyta rabiei which are pathogenic to chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) readily catabolized the main chickpea isoflavone biochanin A (5,7-dihydroxy-4′-methoxyisoflavone). 3′-Hydroxylation and O-demethylation reactions led to the isoflavones pratensein, genistein, and orobol, which were rapidly further degraded. Dihydrogenistein and p-hydroxyphenylacetic acid were also identified as catabolites. Biochanin A-7-O-glucoside was degraded, leading to aglycone and pratensein. Biochanin A-7-O-glucoside-6″-O-malonate, the main phenolic constituent of chickpea, was very slowly degraded without subsequent accumulation of catabolites.


In this paper,mercury intrusion porosimeter(MIP)was used to test pore size distribution and porosity of the mortar incorporating crumb rubber.The effect of crumb rubber on pore structure of mortar was investigated.The air-entraining ability of crumb rubber was analyzed based on the relationship between crumb rubber content and poros-ity and air content.The test results show that mode pore diameter,mean pore diameter,median pore diameter and porosity of the mortar increase after crumb rubber is incorporated,but the distribution of pore size reveals a uniform distribution tendency.The air-entraining ability of crumb rubber is enhanced as its content increases.


Dantrolene is a muscle relaxant used to treat spasticity in persons with neurological injuries. At our acute rehabilitation unit, there have been anecdotal reports of patients developing dysphagia after starting dantrolene. The objective of this study is to investigate association between dantrolene and dysphagia in addition to other side effects of dantrolene. A retrospective chart review was performed on patients 18 years old or older that were started on dantrolene for spasticity during their acute rehabilitation admission. Exclusion criteria included any patients that have missing data, were started on dantrolene for reasons other than spasticity, or were started on dantrolene outside of their inpatient admission. Between 2015-2018, 62 out of 1,542 inpatients were started on dantrolene. Fifty patients tolerated the medication, and 12 patients discontinued the medication due to dysphagia (n=2), fatigue (n=3), elevated LFTs (n=1), lack of effect (n=3), and other complications (n=3). Demographic comparisons and regression models revealed no significant predictors of dysphagia and other side effects. Relatively high percentage of patients (19.4%) who were started on dantrolene discontinued the medication due to side effects or lack of efficacy. These findings can provide clinicians with insight into expected side effects when using dantrolene to treat spasticity.


This essay examines a brief and little-known composition by Erasmus of Rotterdam, a poem dedicated to St. Genevieve. The presence of a votive composition dedicated to a saint is an atypical occurrence among Erasmus' humanistic writings, which generally reduce the importance of saintly devotion and worship. However, the poem presents a captivating case that sheds light on Erasmus' understanding of the role of women and the feminine element in his philosophy of Christ. In this context, it can be argued, women become the ideal vehicles for disseminating key tenets of his thought, including imitatio Christi, accommodatio, and Philosophia Christi. Furthermore, the text provides valuable insights into Erasmus' stance on the veneration of saints, which consistently remains subordinate to his Christocentric perspective.


This paper describes the implementation of a simple kernel providing concurrency for the C programming language1. The kernel provides services for process creation and termination, process synchronization, handling of interrupts, and mutual exclusion. It runs under UNIX2 (bsd 4.2) and is almost entirely implemented in C([2]).


Cross-laminated timber (CLT) is an engineered timber composite that is finding increasing structural application in construction today. Analysis of the structural behavior of CLT can be carried out by various analytical and numerical methods. Due to the complex behavior of CLT, use of numerical modelling such as the finite element method (FEM) offers a convenient approach to analysis. In this paper, simulation of the elastic behavior of 1-way and 2-way spanning CLT panels using the FEM program ABAQUS is presented. Various modelling choices are explored numerically with the results being evaluated against those from either a 3D analytical method known as the state space approach (SSA) or existing experimental data. Among the case studies examined is a novel boundary condition for the SSA solution. In general, the optimum finite element model produced reasonable levels of accuracy with an average relative error equal to 3% in comparison to the SSA and a maximum of 10% in comparison to the experimental results.


Training strategy and aims in yearly macrocycle require aggregate data on training process mesocycles, assessment of adaptation phases, fitness level, sportsmen' recovery rate. This differentiation involves morphological status assessment; assessment of aerobic power in ergospirometric step-test (cardiopulmonary test) with acquisition of phases of adaptation, fatigue and recovery; strength capacity assessment with polydynamometr; assessment of capacity, efficiency and effectiveness at telemetric assessment of multifunctional state (12 leads of ECG and respiratory data); technical readiness assessment through registration of kinematic indicators and integrative analysis (spatial and rhythm properties of the cycle, amplitude of motor actions (MA) etc).Term control of operative and present condition including spinal scan, urine analyzer, non-invasive system analyzer, functional tests with breath-holding, special readiness test, posturologic assessment of sense of equilibrium. Ski race specialization (sprinters, distance racers, «relay racers», «finishers») requires differentiated assessment of adaptive state phases, loading graduation, training means content, integrated control and accelerated recovery.Abrupt dynamics of training effects is a part of qualitative assessment of trainingprocess (TP) characteristics leading to high sport performance. However, such regimen can be achieved only through systematic increase of training effects (TE) at special preparatory stage. Basic component of this preparation includes concentrated development of local regional muscle endurance (LRME). Whole cycle of LRME development including interference stage lasts from 2.5 up to 3.0 months. It provides formation of multifunctional ability reserve that allows for preserving prolonged phase of stable adaptation at decrease in scope and increase in intensity that sometimes exceeds competitive speeds.The article presents fragment of factors defining sport performance (atmosphericpressure, aggregate assessment of local temperature, peripheral blood).


Type of funding sources: None.

 Cardio-cerebral vascular diseases are a leading cause of deaths worldwide.
 Stroke is a potential complication in high-risk patients who had non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI).

 Identify high-risk patients with stroke and their prognosis in the setting of NSTEMI.

 Based on a multicenter retrospective study, data collected from admissions between January 2013 and January 2020. Patients without data on previous cardiovascular history or uncompleted clinical data were excluded. Patients were divided in 2 groups (G): G1 – patients who suffered stroke; G2 - patients without stroke. Logistic regression and survival analysis were performed.

 7180 patients were admitted with NSTEMI, stroke occurred in 35 patients (0.49%). Regarding epidemiological and past history G1 was older (72±9 vs 66±12, p= 0.004), had more females (54.3% vs 45.75, p<0.001), had higher rates of type 2 diabetes mellitus (51.3% vs 35.2%, p=0.05), previous strokes / transient ischemic attack (24.2% vs 7.0%, p=0.007) and dementia (3.3% vs 0.8%, p<0.001). Arterial hypertension (77.1 vs 72.8%, p=0.56), dyslipidaemia (61.8% vs 63.0%, p=0.88) and smoking (17.6% vs 26.0%, p=0.27) were similar between groups. Patients who presented with chest pain (72.7% vs 92.0%, p<0.001) and patients who were not revascularized were more likely to suffer a stroke (43.3% vs 17.5%, p<0.001).
 Logist regression only confirmed that females were more likely to have a stroke (p<0.001, OR 4.13, CI 1.87-9.15) and patients who presented with chest pain (p=0.001, OR 0.23, CI 0.10-0.54). One year event-free survival was higher in patients who did not have stroke (95.3% vs 80.0%, p=0.005, OR 4.50, CI 1.43-14.15)

 Since sex gender and form of presentation of NSTEMI are not modifiable factors we cannot prevent strokes from happening in the context of NSTEMI.


BACKGROUND
The abuse of chemical fungicides not only lead to the toxic residues and resistance of plant pathogenic fungi, but also cause environmental pollution and side effects on humans and animals. Based on the antifungal activities of berberine, alternative seven different types of berberine derivatives (A1~G1) were synthesized, and their antifungal activities against six plant pathogenic fungi were evaluated, such as Rhizoctonia solani, Botrytis cinerea, Fusarium graminearum, Phytophthora capsici, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, and Magnaporthe oryzae.

RESULTS
The results of antifungal activities in vitro showed that berberine derivative E1 displayed good antifungal activity against R. solani with EC50 value of 1.77 μg/mL, and berberine derivatives F1 and G1 demonstrated broad-spectrum antifungal activities with EC50 values ranging from 4.43 to 42.23 μg/mL against six plant pathogenic fungi. In addition, berberine derivatives (E2~E29, F2~F18, and G2~G9) were further synthesized to investigate the structure-activity relationship (SAR), and compound E20 displayed significant antifungal activity against R. solani with EC50 value of 0.065 μg/mL. The preliminary mechanism studies showed that E20 could cause mycelial shrinkage, cell membrane damage, mitochondrial abnormalities, and accumulation of harmful reactive oxygen species (ROS), resulting in cell death of R. solani. Moreover, in vivo experimental result showed that the protective effect of E20 was 97.31% at 5 μg/mL, which was better than the positive control thirluzamide (50.13% at 5 μg/mL).

CONCLUSION
Berberine derivative E20 merits further development as a new drug candidate with selective and excellent antifungal activity against R. solani. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.


Existing techniques for total hemoglobin concentration [THb] monitoring are invasive and cannot be used continuously and in real time. We developed and built a novel, light-weight (2 lb), low-cost, optoacoustic system for noninvasive, accurate monitoring of [THb]. The system incorporates an optoacoustic probe designed for sensitive probing of blood vessels with high signal-to-noise ratio at low energy of laser diode pulses. We developed a new algorithm for accurate monitoring of [THb] in the radial artery with this system. We tested the system in human subjects with different [THb]. The studies confirmed the capability of the system to accurately monitor [THb].


Americans to act and the ways they do act. This disjuncture provides an opening for change. Her claim is that in order to revise or change policies to benefit different populations, the role of the family in the policy must be evaluated. The family-state relationship, rather than the status of individual families, must be placed at the center of political analyses. While the author offers many insights into new directions in gender and politics and indeed policy studies, there are some areas where she could have expanded on the implications of her arguments. Is there a relationship between the function of the family politically and the roles of gender in public policies and in the state? In addition, I wanted her to say more about why the family is so central. Finally, if the state uses the family in this way, is the family still private in any way? Is there a line between the state and family? What does her work mean for our notions of privacy? While those not familiar with the public policy literature may find All in the Family a bit overwhelming in its theoretical detail, this drawback in no way detracts from the careful work Strach has done to clarify and analyze the ways family is at the heart of the workings of United States public policy.


In order to solve the multidimensional energy flow optimal scheduling problem in integrated energy system (IES), this paper proposes an IES optimal scheduling method based on NSGA-II-MOABC. Firstly, an IES topology framework including electric and heat subsystems is constructed. Secondly, for the different subsystems in the system, the dynamic electricity price control strategy and the hierarchical energy supply control strategy based on the energy market are formulated to achieve the collaborative control of the overall system. Then the non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm-II (NSGA-II) and multi-objective artificial bee colony algorithm (MOABC) are improved by sorting and classifying the population crowding. A new algorithm named NSGA-II-MOABC is proposed and applied to the model of IES. Finally, the convergence of the algorithm is verified by simulation of example, and the optimal results of the model are analyzed from the energy efficiency and economic revenue. The result shows that multi-strategy collaborative control used in this paper can improve system energy efficiency, and optimal scheduling method based on NSGA-II-MOABC can raise system economic benefits from multiple perspectives.


As a new field in the service industry, logistics is growing rapidly and is regarded as a fundamental industry in a national economy. Its development is an important symbol of a country's modernization and national strength. It also works as an accelerator in economic development. At the initial stage of transforming traditional logistics service to a modern logistics service in China, logistics enterprises have encountered many difficulties and problems including an imbalanced supply and demand, distempered industrial structure, faultiness of serving process and backwardness of logistics technology since 2005.Compared with developed countries, there is a great gap between Chinese logistics enterprises and advanced countries' in the aspects of service concepts, model, and content and techniques. Therefore, based on the service innovation driving model theory, the authors analyze the integrated innovation model of logistics enterprises, logistics technology and network model, and the value-added service model. The authors select Shenzhen China Overseas Logistics Co. LTD (COL) as the empirical object to analyze its operation of technology and non-technology innovation and summarize its inner and outer driving force on promoting service innovation.


Taste and colour of fruit juices and nectars are the major requirements consumers have. Generally, the latter is one of the most important attributes of food and beverages and one of the main criterions for identification and quality judgement. Due to chemical reactions anthocyan content, colour and quality of red juices is not stable during storage. For this reason, a modified rapid anthocyan screening method to describe those changes will be introduced: the "Monomeric Index" method. This method is based on a decolouration reaction of anthocyanins with sulfite. In acidic milieu (pH ∼1) anthocyanins exist as red flavylium ions and, thus, can be photometrically measured at 520 nm (total anthocyanins). By adding a sulfite solution a non coloured anthocyanin-sulfite complex occurs. Polymeric and condensed anthocyanins as well as other anthocyan adducts cannot react with sulfite and remain as coloured pigments (polymeric anthocyanins). The corresponding concentration of the monomeric anthocyanins can be calculated as difference between both measured extinctions. The ratio between the monomeric and polymeric anthocyanins is expressed as Monomeric Index. Thus, the Monomeric Index method can be used as a rapid and cheap screening method regarding the colouring pigments in red fruit juices and concentrates. Fresh red juices mainly contain monomeric anthocyanins and their concentration decline while new ageing products are rapidly formed during storage. For this reason, the Monomeric Index might be useful for the fruit juice industry to judge the quality and/or the age of raw materials for beverages on the basis of colour. Different parameters such as pH, bisulfite concentration or reaction time and their influences were analyzed to optimize this method. Beyond this, quantitation by means of the monomeric index method was conducted and compared to HPLC results. Possibilities for industrial applications are finally shown and discussed.


Multi-year variations in atmospheric CO2 are linked to the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Although the climatic linkage between CO2 and ENSO has been modelled, the spatial extent and relative importance of different processes remains uncertain. Here, we use cross-spectral analysis to provide such a differentiation of the various processes depending on region. At the ENSO timescale of 2 to 6 years, gridded records of precipitation and Normalised Difference Vegetation Index – as a proxy for top-leaf photosynthesis are linked to CO2 in few regions. However, variations in temperature records are coherent with variations in CO2 over far larger areas including most of the equatorial and southern tropics. A land surface modelling study confirms that temperature and not precipitation provides the dominant areal influence on ENSO-related land CO2 flux fluctuations, especially in the Amazon basin and central Africa. Session "Climate Feedbacks on the C and N cycle" CL9 Poster Presentations 2 Cross relationships between ecosystem carbon and water fluxes detected by means of multichannel Singular System Analysis Miguel D. Mahecha (1), Markus Reichstein (1), Holger Lange (2), Dario Papale (3) (1) Biogeochemical Model-Data Integration Group, Max-Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena, Germany (2) Norsk Institutt for Skog og Landskap, Ås, Norway (3) Dept. of Forest Science and the Environment, University of Tuscia, Italy Max-Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Hans Knöll Str. 10, 07745 Jena, Germany email@example.com


SANTOS, A. G. (2003). Study of the resilient behavior of three soils from Campo Grande-MS and analysis of the equations among resilient modulus and initial tangent modulus from compressive strenght tests. Sao Carlos, 2003. 146p. Master's thesis. Escola de Engenharia de Sao Carlos – Universidade de Sao Paulo. The resilient modulus knowledge (MR) is fundamental for pavement design, once it is necessary for stresses, strains and deflections calculus in its layers and subgrade, as well as, the analysis of system performance. Although field tests may be used to determine the dynamic behavior of soils, most of researchers favor laboratory tests, based on the fact that such tests are less constrained because of their carefully controlled conditions. Because laboratory procedures are considered complex and highly expensive, it is desirable to establish relationships among MR and other index properties that are relatively simple and usual in pavement construction. In this research, cyclic triaxial tests were performed to determine MR of three soils used in Campo Grande-MS roads'. The performance of the models most commonly adopted to represent resilient modulus as a function of state of stress were verified. A mathematical expression among MR, obtained from the cyclic triaxial tests, and the initial tangent modulus, obtained from unconfined compression strength tests, were developed considering different states of stress. Finally, were analyzed the existence of relationships among soils studied in this research, and soils used in previous studies developed at EESC-USP. Results show that this type of empirical correlation presents a satisfactory results, however incisive conclusions cannot be taken without a large number and variety of soils.


In 1856, Charles-Edouard Brown-Sequard demonstrated that adrenalectomy was fatal in laboratory animals (1). He interpreted these experiments as evidence that the adrenals produced substances that are essential for life. The early crude adrenal extracts contained several properties: stimulating hepatic glycogenolysis, increasing blood pressure (BP), increasing sodium retention, and even some androgenic activity. When techniques to isolate organic compounds became available around the turn of the century, Takamine identified epinephrine as the hypertensinogenic substance from the medulla (2). Kendall and coworkers (3) and Reichstein (4) independently isolated cortisone from the cortex, which was the primary "cortin" controlling carbohydrate metabolism. Selye, however, had introduced the terms "glucocorticoid" and "mineralocorticoid" to distinguish these properties and to suggest that different compounds possessed these activities (5). Kendall and others noted that the sodium-retaining hormone or "electrocortin" activity was concentrated in an "amorphous polar fraction" generated during cortisone preparation from adrenal extracts. In the early 1950s, Simpson, Tait, Reichstein, and their coworkers isolated aldosterone from this fraction (6, 7), and its secretion from the zona glomerulosa under angiotensin II (AngII) stimulation was later documented (8). Thus, the reninangiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) was identified as a closed-loop system, in which renin derived from the kidney during volume depletion catalyzed AngII generation, which stimulated aldosterone production, which then acted on the kidney to increase sodium retention and volume expansion, thus attenuating renin secretion. When Conn described hypertension and hypokalemia as a syndrome of autonomous electrocortin secretion from an adrenal tumor about the same time as aldosterone was isolated (8), the entire physiology of aldosterone appeared to be explained by the RAAS, invoking the adrenal and kidney alone. The 2 papers I have chosen as classics in cardiovascular endocrinology for Endocrinology are landmark papers that demonstrate aldosterone actions outside the RAAS. The first paper (Gomez-Sanchez [9]), explored the action of aldosterone on the brain. Models of mineralocorticoidinduced hypertension such as metyrapone treatment of dogs (10) and deoxycorticosterone acetate implants in pigs (11) sometimes found increases in cardiac output and peripheral vascular resistance, which were opposite the predicted changes from volume expansion alone. Studies with radiolabeled steroids found aldosterone binding sites not only in the kidney and colon but also in vascular smooth muscle cells (12) and several brain regions (13). Could aldosterone directly act on the brain to increase BP? To answer this question, Gomez-Sanchez (9) treated Sprague-Dawley rats after single nephrectomy with intracerebroventricular (ICV) low-dose (5 ng/h) aldosterone infusion or vehicle and compared the BP changes induced in these animals to those with peripheral infusion of low or high dose (5 or 500 ng/h) aldosterone for 4 weeks. All animals received 0.9% sodium chloride instead of drinking water and standard chow, and systolic BP (SBP) rose from 103 to 121 or 123 mmHg in the vehicle-treated control animals or animals receiving 5-ng/h aldosterone peripherally, respectively. In contrast, the rise in SBP was significantly higher with ICV infusion of 5-ng/h aldosterone to 146 mmHg, even compared with peripheral infusion of 500-ng/h aldosterone (136 mmHg). To demonstrate the specificity of these results, a second experiment was performed in which the SBP rise in response to ICV infusion of aldosterone was blocked by coadministration


I read with interest the items on violence towards staff (editorial, news June 6). I have worked in NHS security for seven years and my wife is an A&E nurse. There is already a law of trespass to deal with trouble-makers, so any new legislation may make little difference.


In this paper, the properties of two recently proposed frequency-domain subspace-based algorithms to estimate discrete-time cross-power spectral density (cross-PSD) and auto-power spectral density (auto-PSD) matrices of vector auto-regressive moving-average and moving-average (ARMAMA) models from sampled values of the Welch cross-PSD and auto-PSD estimators on uniform grids of frequencies, are illustrated by numerical and real-life application examples. The latter is concerned with the modeling of acoustic spectra for detecting faults in induction motors.


ABS>The direct coupling of the bands of odd nuclei with DELTA K > 1, together with consideration of the coupling through several bands, was studied on the basis of angular momentum projection. The results agree well with spectroscopic data. (2 tables) (tr-auth)


The review includes data on the pathogenesis of cardiorenal syndrome (CRS) in patients with heart failure (HF). Renal hypertension has been identified as an important cause of its development and progression. The mechanisms of its formation in patients with low cardiac output are considered. In this setting, renal vasoconstriction, due to neuroendocrine activation, and external parenchymal compression, due to increased intra-abdominal pressure, developed. Both mechanisms were responsible for the decreased glomerular filtration rate. Hypokalemia has often accompanied by CRS. Potassium deficiency aggravated the decrease in cardiac output and provoked arrhythmias. This increased renal hypertension. High doses of furosemide in the treatment of acute decompensated HF sometimes damaged the kidneys due to hypovolemia and hypokalemia. Such side effects of furosemide as a neuroendocrine activation with subsequent vasoconstriction and the development of endothelial dysfunction due to oxidative stress are considered. Two directions of prevention of nephrotoxic effects of the drug are proposed. The proposed prevention methods have shown encouraging results.


There has always been a traditional and ever-changing subject in the development of science education, namely the practical application of science stories in science teaching. Meanwhile Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS) is a professional data statistical analysis software, mainly used for statistical analysis operations, data mining and predictive analysis and decision support. This study combined the two together. The development of science stories teaching in China and abroad was investigated and compared, as well as SPSS was used to statistical analyze and discuss the science textbooks at home and abroad. The results showed that there are some differences in the practical application of science stories in the classroom by teachers in science teaching in China and abroad. Some suggestions were also made for science stories teaching in China based on the statistical analysis of data.


A smoothing technology that is able to estimate original stationary signals or states of systems more accurately from the measured noisy signals or states based on a filtering process that is considered as an inverse system in the noisy environment is described. The noise treated is white Gaussian. The signals are various artificial voices, types of music, and moving pictures in robots. The part of the software that will be implemented in a special device is introduced, and results obtained are shown, including an explanation of a method of how to implement smoothing technologies by artificial neural networks or neurochips.<<ETX>>


Acid sensing ion channels (ASICs) and large conductance calcium and voltage‐activated potassium (BK) channels are expressed in normal glia as well as glioma tumors. At reduced pH, ASIC channels are activated and the inhibition of BK is relieved (Petroff et al., 2008). Lactic acidosis has been associated with cerebral trauma and tumors (Andersen et al. 1988 and Wike‐Hooley 1984). Our previous studies suggest that pH‐dependent relief of BK inhibition by ASICs increases cell proliferation in glial cells. We hypothesized that the activation of BK channels by a decrease in pH and may also promote cell migration. PC12, a rat pheochromocytoma cell line that expresses both ASIC and BK channels, was used as a model system. The cells were cultured at physiological pH 7.4 and reduced pH (7.0), in the presence and in the absence of 200nM of charybdotoxin, a BK channel blocker, and assessed for cell migration. Our data show that activation of BK channels by reduced pH or inhibition of BK channels by charybdotoxin have no effect on PC12 cell migration. These results indicate that in PC12 cells, the molecular mechanism involved in cellular proliferation by activation of BK channels might be independent from the mechanisms involved in cell migration. This work is supported by the R15 NIH grant to E.P.


Studies of 3D temporal characteristics of earthquake ground motions are definitely motivated by seismic damage to structures. It is well known that six degree-of-freedom-correlated dynamic forces can cause complicated structural damage and the uni-directional based indexes may only capture the damage potential of a ground motion that can be observed in the projected direction. However, most of the currently used ground motion indices largely simply the essential kinematics relationship of the 3D time histories, no longer contain sufficient information to differentiate the various causes and formations of the damage characteristics of the underlying ground motions. In this paper, using the recently developed 3D temporal characteristics analysis, we examine the typical features of 47 near field motion records from Chi-Chi earthquake. Some interesting phenomena are found to be very useful, such as the acceleration pulses are kinematically independent of the velocity PVs and are not the causes of the velocity pulses, the PA of the largest acceleration spike immediately follows the PV of the largest velocity pulse and the large velocity pulse is due to prolonged positive tangential acceleration accumulation. In comparison to the acceleration temporal characteristics, velocity time histories often show more of the ground motion characters that affect a larger area such as wave propagation and attenuation.


HIV-infected patients may be faced with a variety of renal problem patterns. HIV-associated nephropathy is a unique pattern of sclerosing glomerulopathy and represents the most rapidly progressive form of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis. This study involved the examination of 32 renal biopsies: by light, immunofluorescence, and electron microscopy, in order to determine the most accurate and reliable diagnostic procedure. The findings show that the most sensitive and accurate procedure is electron microscopy, capable of detecting specific EM changes very early on, which is sufficient for the diagnosis of HIV-associated nephropathy.


We study the effects of heavy Higgs bosons on the top-pair production process at photon linear colliders. The interference patterns between the resonant Higgs-production amplitudes and the continuum QED amplitudes are examined. The patterns tell us not only the CP nature of the Higgs bosons but also the phase of the $\gamma\gamma$--Higgs vertex which gives new information about the Higgs couplings to new charged particles.


RMG sector is the most influential economic contributory sector in Bangladesh. Fifty percent and more revenue in GDP approximately are generated from this sector. Therefore, it is very much important to analyze the socio-business consideration of garment sector in Bangladesh. So far, since 80's garment industries had been booming in Bangladesh. These types of industries face challenges and take the advantage over different opportunities throughout more than three decades. Here, this paper suggested that the socio-economic as well as the business-statistical review of the garment industries in Bangladesh by providing some field research. This paper attempted to provide an overview of the industry in monitoring, standard of living, mix assessment and compliance (which is provided by foreign buyers) aspects.


Abstract : Near-UV irradiation of H2Os3(CO)10L yields conversion to the known coordinatively unsaturated H2Os3(CO)9L for L = PPh3 or PPh2Et in alkane solution at 298 K. Likewise, near-UV irradiation of an alkane suspension of (Si02)-L'Os3(CO)10H2 yields (Si02)-L'Os3(CO)9H2 where (Si02)-L'Os3(CO)10H2 is the solid prepared by reaction of high surface area Si02 with H2Os3(CO)10-(PPh2CH2CH2Si(OEt)3). The same photochemistry results at 77 K in rigid alkane glasses, but the initial (less than 5% conversion) product is not derived from loss of CO. Continued irradiation at 77 K yields H2Os3(CO)9L and CO, but H2Os3(CO)9L is only found in approx. 50% yield based on the amount of H2Os3(CO)10L consumed. Warming the irradiated sample to 298 K yields some regeneration of H2Os3(CO)10L and some additional H2Os3(CO)9L.


The invention discloses Melittin, a micro-molecular polypeptide of amino acid type antibacterial / mAb with the formula of INLKAIAALAKKLL-NH2. The invention can be applied for the preparation of medicaments for eradicating bacteria and treating pyaemia.


Preliminary bone scans have been performed on all patients with early breast cancer. The incidence of positive scans has been recorded and several factors determining scan status have been enumerated. Particular attention has been focused on the natural history of scan positive and scan negative patients. Eighteen per cent of stage I and 41 per cent of stage II cancers had positive bone scans. Scan results were correlated with age, menopausal status, tumour position, tumour size and histological node status. Postmenopausal patients were found to have a significantly increased risk of being scan positive (P < 0·01). Follow‐up studies have confirmed that the lesions demonstrated by scanning actually represent metastatic foci. At 18 months 85·7 per cent of scan positive patients had evidence of disseminated disease compared with only 11·4 per cent of scan negative patients (P < 0·01). Clinically overt advanced disease evolves from positive scan lesions.


Computer routines are described that can be used with the APT system to obtain centroids and inertias of plane surfaces and solids of revolution. (auth)


121-Antimony Mossbauer and e.s.r. spectroscopies have been used to examine Sb2WO6, Sb2MoO6, and Sb2Mo3O12. In Sb2WO6 the cations are SbIII and WVI, but in Sb2MoO6 and Sb2Mo3O12 the antimony is present as both SbIII and SbV. This implies that some of the Mo exists in an oxidation state, or states, lower than VI. This is confirmed by e.s.r. spectroscopy.


Received: 10 December 2019 Accepted: 5 April 2020 This paper attempts to improve the real-timeliness and value of financial services, and realize scientific decision-making in financial processes. For these purposes, the application mechanism of big data technology in the financial field was discussed in details, and the procedure of financial data preprocessing was explained. Based on user portrait of financial behaviors and machine learning (ML), the authors established a financial big data analysis (BDA) model, in which weight coefficients are assigned reasonably to three networks, namely, Bayesian network (BN), backpropagation neural network (BPNN), and autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) network. In this way, the proposed model combines the merits of all three networks. Experimental results show that the proposed user portrait greatly facilitates the construction of causality in a large sample set, and the prediction curve of the proposed combinatory prediction model achieves the smallest prediction error.


A major source of ionic copper (Cu(I) and (II)) trace metal contamination in the marine environment is the copper containing antifoulant coatings on ship hulls. Tracing this contamination is difficult. Difficult because the ionic copper released from the coatings complexes rapidly with organic and inorganic ligands in the water column. This research examines the potential for using the organic dye 2,9-dimethyl-4,7-diphenyl-1, 10-phenanthroine (BCP) embedded in the ionomeric polymer, Nafion 117, as a membrane probe sensor for quickly measuring ionic copper in seawater. Results of this study show the Nafion 117 containing BCP measures Cu(I) within 17 percent of measurements made with the Standard Method bathocuproine di-sulfonic acid (BCS) procedure. To measure total ionic copper with the membrane probe, the reductant, hydroxylamine-hydrochloride, is added to the sample. The use of the polymer with BCP allows for a rapid optical measurement. Optical measurements are possible in two ways, as a comparator and as a modification to a fiber optic probe. Response times for these devices depend on the size of the membrane used. Presently, the optical comparator using a 2 X 3 membrane takes 20 minutes to develop color. The fiber optic probe uses a 0.5 cm diameter membrane that takes 1 minute. A comparator has no electronic parts and requires only a comparison of color depth to determine the level of ionic copper in the sample. This makes it useful for monitoring. The fiber optic probe is more suitable to buoy installation and long term monitoring where data logging and archiving are needed. Therefore, the Nafion 117 polymer impregnated with BCP is a rapid method useful for detecting ionic copper released in to the marine environment.


In order to prove up the orientation rationality of international travel heahhcare organization in China,the validity of management recent several years,the adaptability to the market situation;probe the future of de- veloping scientifically. The authors analyzed the historical orion,the law according to,the transitional reason of the interna- tional travel healtheare organization with scientific development viewpoint. The authors consider that the international travel healtheare organization in China now implement the surveillance function on infectious diseases at port according to《The frontier quarantine law of people' s re- public of China》;its orientation is not clear,there is no scientific rationality;no clear logic eonsecution in the management procedure,the efficiency is not high,the expanding direction swing around,its malpractice will emerge day by day along with the market economy goes on. The authors raise that power organ should investigate the actual situation of the international travel healtheare organization in China to find the problem that prevent the organization go forward;make accurate orientation according to clear law item;make the expanding direction clear.If not,with time goes on,our inspection and quarantine will be affected definitely.The international travel healthcare organization is very good at community medical service.Entering into this field can make a very bright future.


In this paper, from the point of view of Man-machine system engineering, the evaluation method of the display and control system is studied based on fuzzy comprehensive evaluation. The determination of the factors system, the weighted value of the factors, the fuzzy evaluation matrixes and the method of overall evaluation is preliminarily expounded. At last, an example is given to show that the proposed method is effective and applicable. It provides a theoretic reference to the integrated display console interface of armored vehicle developing and designing. Introduction As the exchange window of information between the crew and armored vehicle, the display and control system is the main channel for access to vehicle information. However, with the information technology widely used in armored vehicles, the display and control interface become increasingly complex. This increases the crew's workload. The lack of an effective system analysis and evaluation during man-machine design process is one of the most important factors [1]. On the basis of comprehensive analysis of the display and control system characteristics, the paper proposes a fuzzy comprehensive evaluation model of the integrated display console interface. The model combines the qualitative and quantitative analysis, compensates the defects of the previous evaluation method. It provides a new approach for the evaluation of complex man-machine system [2]. Evaluation Index System of the Display and Control System Display and Control System Structure Model. In order to analyze the basic structure of the display and control system, clear the process of human-machine interaction, understand the human-machine operating characteristics, the paper builds the display and control system structure model. As the Figure 1 shows, the display and control system is divided into seven subsystems, they are machine perception, machine thinking, actuating mechanism, person perception, manual handing, locomotory and man-machine interface. The subsystems are interrelated and interact on each other. This indicates that, in order to build the index system, not only the hardware and software of the system, but also the crew should be equally important considered. Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference On Systems Engineering and Modeling (ICSEM-13) Published by Atlantis Press, Paris, France. © the authors, 2013 0177 Fig. 1 Structure model of display and control system Evaluation Index System. The synthetic display level and the composite control level do direct impacts on the implementation and completion of the combat missions. Meanwhile, the crew and vehicle interaction ergonomics has a direct reflection of the comfort of the cockpit environment. The level of man-machine cooperation reflects the rationality of the system man-machine function assignment. In the process of completion of the display and control tasks, technological advance is the guarantee. Through the above analysis, the primary factor sets are as follows: synthetic display level, integrated technical level, composite control level, man machine effectiveness level and coordination level. The secondary factor sets determined and so on, as shown in Figure 2. Fig. 2 Evaluation index system Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation Model All Levels of Factors Set and Evaluation Set. First, the primary factor sets are created: U={U1,U2,U3,U4,U5}.The secondary factor sets are as follows: U1={U11,U12, U13,U14},U2={U21,U22,U23},U3={U31,U32,U33,U34,U35},U4={U41,U42,U43,U44,U45,U46,U47,U48},U5={ U51,U52,U53}. Then, the evaluation set is divided into five categories: V={V1,V2,V3,V4,V5} ={good, better, general, worse, bad}.Percentage system grading method is used to the evaluation results. The fractional intervals middle value is as the level geometric parameter of the display and control system [3]. And the score interval and the grade parameter are shown in Table 1. Table 1 Score interval and grade parameter Evaluation Set V Reviews good better general worse bad Score interval [90-100] [80-90] [70-80] [60-70] [50-60] Grade parameter 95 85 75 65 55 Weight Set. As a fuzzy subset, the weight set reflects the degree of importance of the event in the system [4].. In order to give the weighting certain creditability, the weighting coefficients are graded. The weights range[0,1] is divided into five levels, they are [0,0.2],[0.2,0.4],[0.4,0.6],[0.6,0.8],[0.8,1]. For each evaluation index, the probability is counted in the weighted interval. And then draw weight vector composed of each evaluation index by Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference On Systems Engineering and Modeling (ICSEM-13) Published by Atlantis Press, Paris, France. © the authors, 2013 0178 calculating the expected value. So the weight vector can be determined as: { } 1 a [0,1], a a , , a , a ω n 1 i i j n 2 1 = ∈ =  =  . Fuzzy Evaluation Matrix. A fuzzy mapping is established from the factor set to the evaluation set. ( ) V F U → : f , m im 3 3 i 2 2 i 1 1 i i v / r v / r v / r v / r u  + + + → , 1 r 0 ij ≤ ≤ , n 2 , 1 i , , = m 2 , 1 j , , ,  = .Then, fuzzy evaluation matrix ( ) m n ij r × = R is generated based on ij r . Application Examples Determine the index weight. Based on the above evaluation steps, a fuzzy comprehensive evaluation on man-machine display and control system of a new type armored vehicle is conducted. Six experts who are familiar with the display and control system of the armored vehicles are invited in the evaluation process. The results of index weights are given by the experts in accordance with the method for determining the weight set. 10 experienced armored vehicle crews responsible for different duties are invited to vote for the evaluation of the factors set combined with typical combat missions[5]. The weights and scores of factors set of human-computer display and control system are shown in Table 2. Establish the levels of fuzzy evaluation matrixes. According to Table 2, we can get the evaluation matrix   


A Primer on Setting Cut Scores on Tests of Educational Achievement is timely and useful given the greater emphasis today on using test scores to make important decisions. It is part of ETS' s mission to help advance quality and equity in education through the organization' s research, and this publication advances this goal by providing practitioners a guide on what to consider when setting standards of proficiency on tests of educational achievement. Marianne Perie and Mike Zieky note that while there is no perfect way to set cut scores, there are certain steps to follow and established methods to use that will produce sensible and useful cut scores. The authors also emphasize that cut scores must be validated and that practitioners should be prepared to make changes if experience shows that the cut scores are not meeting their intended purpose. Purpose We created this primer for educators and policymakers who need a basic understanding of the issues that must be faced and the decisions that must be made in setting cut scores on widely used tests of educational achievement, such as district and state assessments. No knowledge of measurement or statistics is required of readers. Overview Cut scores are selected points on the score scale of a test. The points are used to determine whether a particular test score is sufficient for some purpose. For example, student performance on a test may be classified into one of several categories such as basic, proficient, or advanced on the basis of cut scores. The setting of cut scores on widely used tests in educational contexts requires the involvement of policymakers, educators, measurement professionals, and others in a multi-stage, judgmental process. Cut scores should be based on a generally accepted methodology and reflect the judgments of qualified people. The primer has three main sections: The major steps that must be followed to set reasonable cut scores, including: • determining if cut scores will be useful • appointing staff for the tasks involved • selecting the performance levels to be reported (e.g., basic, proficient, advanced) • describing what students need to be able to do to reach each performance level • setting provisional cut scores • establishing operational cut scores • documenting the process • evaluating the results of using the cut scores Important issues to consider in setting and using cut scores, including the: • necessity of making judgments when setting cut …


(Thermo-)Mechanical properties It has been reported that the crystallization behavior of polymers connected with UPy end group via a urethane linker is influenced by the UPy stacking. The additional presence of urethane moieties stabilizes the stacks in the lateral direction via additional hydrogen bonding [66]. At contrast, bulky groups near to the UPy moieties can disrupt this crystallization. It was demonstrated that good mechanical properties of the formed network were dependent of the presence on the crystalline stacks. As shown in Table 1, PU (3) which presents the lower PCLcontent, exhibits a low molecular weight, i.e. ~ 15 000 g mol-1, meaning that its mechanical properties are most probably close to the oligo-PCL precursors, especially in terms of brittleness. Indeed, PU (3) based compressed films were very brittle, preventing any further characterizations. Therefore, only PU (1) and PU (2) were considered as candidates for supramolecular SMP design.


Original electricity magnetic field of organism itself, which's combined with external electricity magnetic field, can produce new electricity and magnetic field under electromagnetism radiation. Generally speaking, traditional method used to add these two electricity and magnetic fields in vector dimension. However, this method failed when analyzing the original and external one that it absorbs. In this essay, the new electromagnetism is put into the Maxwell equation and Greene function so as to calculate both electric and magnetic field on some point of the organism. Through the calculation, echo and transmission are taken into account when electromagnetic wave comes into the organism, so the result is close to the real value


ABSTRACT Introduction Candida species have been regarded as global health threats due to their ability to cause invasive infections. It is challenging to treat Candida bloodstream infections, which are associated with high mortality levels. Monotherapy with antifungals is sometimes not effective against severe Candida infections, and combination therapy is needed in clinical practice. Areas covered This review was undertaken based on data from a PubMed search for English language reports published before March 2021 by using the terms 'caspofungin,' 'Candida species,' 'combination therapy,' 'antifungal effect,' and 'novel antifungal agent.' Expert opinion Combination therapy is an empirical strategy for treating refractory Candida infections. Caspofungin has been recommended to treat candidaemia. Caspofungin in combination therapy has some applications, while the efficacy of combination therapy in the treatment of refractory Candida infections needs more study, such as randomized controlled trials. In addition, novel compounds or drugs with potential antifungal activities have been examined, and some of them exhibit synergistic interactions with caspofungin. Thus, the antifungal activity of caspofungin in combination with antifungals or non-antifungals against Candida species in vitro and in clinical therapy is summarized.


From last few decades there is an increased use of herbal medicines all over the world and now there is need to study herbal drugs on scientific basis to develop their monographs. The present research work was an attempt to establish parameters for identification of Parthenium hysterophorus L. (Fam. Asteraceae) according to guidelines of WHO, by studying its morphological and organoleptic characters, detailed microscopic evaluation, histochemical studies, fluorescence analysis, loss on drying, extractive values, swelling index, foaming index and preliminary phytochemical screening of flower heads, leaves, stem and root. Although conventional, but it is simple, easy and quick way for identification and standardization of herbal substances affordable even in developing countries. This is the first report on pharmacognostical and physicochemical studies on this plant which can be helpful in establishing pharmacopoeial monograph of this plant.


The interaction between electromagnetic radiation and infinite plane shield having finite thickness d, placed in free space in the plane waves region depends on material/shield macroscopic parameters (ε, μ, σ), its thickness, radiation frequency and incidence angle. Lately, entirely new classes of materials have been developed. Knowing the characteristics and the behavior of nanomaterials inside different media creates wide opportunities for a variety of industrial applications. For that reason, a simple method to determine their electromagnetic field (EMF) attenuation properties is also necessary. This paper presents experimental methods for the investigation of nanomaterials behavior inside the EMF.


'Women have grown up', asserted Mrs M. Warhurst during the regular United Associations of Women radio broadcast on 2GB in Sydney in January 1944. 'Troublous times and serious tasks have served to show what little effort was required for the needs of the community and the needs of the nation to crowd out personal desires from the needs of women.' Her opening set the backdrop for the more specific discussion that followed on the increased importance of Australian feminism in the 1940s. She noted that at the recent Australian Women's Charter Conference in 1943, 'there was evidence on every hand of the awakening and increasing interest of women in vital problems. There was evidence of a desire to co-operate and make whatever contribution possible towards winning the war and peace ... Those present were united in the belief that every nerve must be strained to win the war and eradicate fascism if we would continue to live in a world in which equality, liberty and justice exist. They voiced the belief that the Government should make fuller use of the vision, enthusiasm and practical wisdom and capabilities of women.' (1) Thus Mrs Warhurst voiced the common rhetoric of many Australian feminists during World War Two--let us prove ourselves, we have what it takes. When she announced that 'women have grown up', Mrs Warhurst wished to signal the coming of age of Australian feminism. This is a story about what happened to Australian feminism during the 1940s, a decade in which Australian feminists frequently spoke of coming of age. Contemporary and retrospective representations of that time reveal how Australian feminism responded to, recorded and revised the idea of historical significance in a period in which the idea of making history was itself especially pronounced and ideologically inscribed. As an alternative political and/ or social movement that sought to express itself within the mainstream discourses of the time, both to secure legitimacy and out of genuine ideological commitment, Australian feminism was also profoundly affected by historical change in the 1940s. By the end of the decade, earlier discussions about the validity and efficacy of the Australian women's movement had exploded into a series of severed or fragile alliances, with representation and ideology as the key issues at stake. This pattern of a rhetorical faith in feminism's 'coming of age', in continual tension with actual disagreements about who should represent Australian women and how it should be done, is best exemplified in the troubled history of the Australian Women's Charter Movement. During the 1920s and 1930s, Australian feminists had explored various options as to how to create a feminist history. During the World War Two they simply seized the opportunity to take to the historical stage. If war made men out of boys, it also made feminists out of women. The oft-stated alignment between the work of women's organisations and the needs of the nation made possible the expression of a new relationship to capital H 'History'. Rather than look to the past for evidence of Great Women or female activity to legitimate contemporary feminism, women's organisations in the 1940s seized on the present moment in order to project feminist demands onto a general vision of the New World Order. Whether this process represented the sort of disavowal of the past that characterised feminist activity a generation later is debatable, but it certainly represented something new in the relationship between feminism and history. Its implications would have profound effects on the women's movement of the 1950s and 1960s. For if the time had come for feminism to assume a position of proper responsibility, commensurable with the new opportunities for women the form this feminism would take was to become hotly contested. More than anything, the 1940s attested to the price of maturity. It is hardly surprising that of the 'between-the-waves' period of the history of Australian feminism, the 1940s alone have enjoyed considerable attention. …


We review the latest calculations of the next-to-leading ∆S = 1 effective Hamiltonian, relevant for K → ππ transitions. Numerical results for the Wilson coefficients are given for different regularization schemes. Predictions of ǫ ′ /ǫ, obtained using different approaches to evaluate the relevant hadronic matrix elements, are compared. Given the present value of the top mass, m t = (174 ± 17) GeV, all the analyses, in spite of the large theoretical uncertainties, indicate that the value of ǫ ′ /ǫ is smaller than 1 × 10 −3 .


The history of relations articles, history of legal and illicit love, marriage, a variety of forms, customs and traditions of interpersonal communication, expression of feelings and implementation of sexual energy - is the most important aspect of social life of people, an important component of the formation of gender culture, which have an impact religion, subcultural factors traditions of national culture. With this diversity of interests at all times followed the diversity of sexual, moral beliefs and tenets. Analyzing the history of the school as the main institution forming gender culture and education in the first civilizations, it should be noted that in most countries of the Ancient East and the ancient Greek girls were unable to get an education. According to the situation of women in Athens girls receiving education at home supervised by mothers or other women in the women's half of the house hinekeyi. Here they acquired the basic skills of needlework, playing a musical instrument, sometimes reading and writing. Humanism XVI. changed the medieval attitudes toward women, at least to the representatives of the higher social strata. For the first time in the history of the men recognized the need for female education. In a new idea sounded equal education for both sexes in the Enlightenment and the French Revolution period (1789-1794). The reason for the backwardness of women French educator KA Helvetius (1715-1771) saw in the social position they occupy. Interest in women's education was not lost during the Ukrainian Renaissance. This was in 1652, wrote Paul Aleppo "Almost all Ukrainian and most of them women and daughters can read ... Nuns Ascension Monastery, most of the wealthy and large families, all were not only literate, but even highly educated themselves wrote many scientific and other works


Sri Lanka has recently seen an upsurge in aggression towards ethnic minorities, and Muslims in particular, by newly formed extremist Sinhala-Buddhist nationalist groups. The politicisation of Buddhism is not new but the development and use of social media for political purposes and for advancing ethno-nationalist agendas is a recent feature of Sri Lankan public and political life. This study explores the parallel emergence of new media technologies and the most recent forms of ethno-nationalism among Sri Lankan youth. A campaign known as SinhaLe is used as an entry point to explore broader issues of identity, religion and politics. The article uses an anthropological approach that combines digital ethnography with in-depth interviews and pays close attention to individual narratives. The article concludes that social media is offering a new forum for the expression of identity that not only mirrors 'what is out there' but also provides opportunities to (re)produce viral politics as a form of 'everyday nationalism' created from below.


Steiner systems are statistical designs that permit the comparison of all pairs of objects in a set in groups of three or more. Graph based evolutionary algorithms are a method of improving evolutionary algorithm performance by imposing a geography, in the form of a combinatorial graph, on the evolving population of solutions. The graph limits mate choice and information flow in the population. The choice of combinatorial graph that yields improved performance is highly problem dependent. This paper demonstrates that performance on the problem of locating difference sets that yield Steiner systems can be improved as much as 9-fold by using the graph based technique. For six different cases of the Steiner difference set problem the same graph yields the best result, suggesting that the problem is one for which the choice of best graph remains the same as the problem scales. Performance for the best graph versus that of a standard evolutionary algorithm is tracked beyond the six cases used and verifies that the improved performance scales. The results of these scaling experiments exhibit increasing many-fold improvement.


Existing peer-to-peer systems rely on overlay network protocols for object storage and retrieval and message routing. These overlay protocols can be broadly classified as structured and unstructured - structured overlays impose constraints on the network topology for efficient object discovery, while unstructured overlays organize nodes in a random graph topology that is arguably more resilient to peer population transiency. There is an ongoing discussion on the pros and cons of both approaches. This paper contributes to the discussion a multiple-site, measurement-based study of two operational and widely-deployed file-sharing systems. The two protocols are evaluated in terms of resilience, message overhead, and query performance. We validate our findings and further extend our conclusions through detailed analysis and simulation experiments.


The aim of this study is to clarify the stereotypical images that students have of scientists. Also, gender differences and differences between different grade levels were foci of interest. Draw-A-Scientist Test-DAST (Chambers, 1983) was used in order to measure the students' images of scientists. As Rosenthal (1993) mentions, drawings have become one of the most important research instruments in understanding students' images of scientists since Chambers (1983) described his results from the DAST. The sample of the study consists of 254 female and 153 male students (TV=443) from different grade levels. Analysis of the drawings shows that stereotypical characteristics portrayed by the students overlapped with the ones clarified in other societies with some minimal differences. In terms of the characteristics shown, there were no important differences between girls and boys except in the gender of the scientist. The results of the study contribute information related to the values Turkish students at different grade levels give to scientists.


Generation of real-valued digital-subcarrier-multiplexed PCS-256QAM is demonstrated using a 120 GSa/s BiCMOS analog multiplexer. A record per-modulation-dimension spectral efficiency of 3 bit/s/Hz is achieved supporting a net data rate of 360 Gbit/s after 10 km IM/DD transmission.


The nonbrittle fracture of composites consisting of ex poly-carbosilane SiC (Nicalon) fibers in a SiC matrix prepared by chemical vapor infiltration is strongly dependent on the presence of a pyrocarbon layer at the fiber/matrix interface (Nicalon/C/SiC composites). The mechanical properties of such materials are known to be influenced by oxidation reactions. Elastic modulus measurements, using ultrasonic wave propagation in the ''long bar'' mode, have been used to show the influence of the environmental parameters temperature, atmosphere, and pressure on the mechanical behavior of bidirectional Nicalon/C/SiC. In situ measurements of elastic modulus performed in parallel with thermogravimetric analysis allow examination of oxidation mechanisms which affect interfacial properties. Results showed the modulus to be affected by two interfacial oxidation mechanisms: (1) oxidation of pyrocarbon coating and (2) closure of the resulting interphase gap by silica formation.


PANCHAYAT IN ANCIENT INDIA The panchayat system is a precious heritage which has been passed down to us from the ancient times. Panchayati Raj literally means that 'rule of five' or the 'government by the village elders', elected by the villagers. It represents system under which innumerable village Republics of India were governed. It seems that the village was considered as the basic unit of local self-administration. The activities of village administration were to manage tanks, pastures, temples, markets, dispensation of justice and taxation etc. The administration of village was controlled by the village panchayat headed by ' Gramik' and ' Gramini' (Rajput and Maghe, 1984:46). It was through the agency and on the initiation of a headman that the whole work of a village was executed. He was the keystone of the village structure and wielded wide authority over it. Since a village had to be self-reliant in its defense, the most important duty of a headman was to defend the village with the help of local men. The collection of revenue was his next important duty. It was the headman's duty to collect revenue from individuals and pay it to the state. As the fountain head of justice, he possessed considerable judicial power (Purwar, 1960:1-2).


The advanced and high-functional activities of magnesium oxide and copper oxide nanoparticles encourage the extensive use of these metal oxides as remarkable electroactive materials in electrochemical and sensing detections. The current study described a comparative sensing activity and selectivity of modified coated wire membrane sensors enriched with magnesium oxide and copper oxide nanoparticles for quantifying the breast cancer medication letrozole (LTZ) in its pharmaceutical form and human plasma. The fabricated sensors were based on the incorporation of LTZ with phosphomolybdic acid (PMA) to form the electroactive complex letrozole-phosphomolybate (LTZ-PM) in the presence of o-nitrophenyloctyl ether (o-NPOE) as a solvent mediator. Under optimum conditions, the modified sensors LTZ-PM-MgONPs and LTZ-PM-CuONPs demonstrated linear relationships of 1.0 × 10−8–1.0 × 10−2 and 1.0 × 10−10–1.0 × 10−2 mol L−1, respectively. Least square equations were calculated as EmV = (56.4 ± 0.7) log [LTZ] + 569.6 and EmV = (58.7 ± 0.3) log [LTZ] + 692.6 for LTZ-PM-MgONPs and LTZ-PM-CuONPs, respectively. The conventional type LTZ-PM showed a potential response EmV = (53.3 ± 0.5) log [LTZ] + 451.4 over concentration range of 1.0 × 10−6–1.0 × 10−2 mol L−1. The suggested sensors were successfully used to determine LTZ in pharmaceutical formulations and biosamples. Method validation ensured the suitability of the suggested potentiometric sensors.


One of the key tasks of the modern Russian state and society is the preservation of cultural heritage. Cultural heritage includes a wide range of tangible and intangible objects that need constant study and preservation. This task is especially relevant for the maintenance of ethnic cultures of peoples that demonstrate unfavorable dynamics of ethnodemographic processes, which is typical in particular for the Finno-Ugric peoples of the Russian Federation. Based on the experience of implementing the master's program "Finno-Ugric World in historical, cultural and socio-political aspect" at Udmurt State University, the role of educational institutions in the institutionalization and preservation of the cultural heritage of the Udmurt people is studied.


This paper reports that an mathematical model of droplet combustion in surroundings of hot gas with a uniform free stream motion is made from the numerical solution of the conservation equations of heat, mass and momentum in both the carrier and droplet phases. The gas phase chemical reaction between fuel vapor and oxidizer is assumed to be a single-step irreversible one. The phenomena of ignition is recognized by the sudden rise of temperature in the temperature-time histories at different locations in the carrier phase. The relative influences of pertinent input parameters, namely initial Reynolds number Re{sub i}, ratio of free stream to initial drop temperature T{sub infinity}, and the ambient pressure on: the ignition time lad, extinction characteristics, and life histories of burning fuel drops have been established.


Although many secure computations in finite fields are known, few secure computations that can be performed on real numbers have been proposed. Particularly, division of real numbers is difficult for secure computations in a finite field, and there are many inefficient processes (e.g., repeated approximations). In this study, we propose a secure computation method that can directly compute four arithmetic operations, including division, using real numbers. By multiplying the secret information by a random number and rounding off real numbers, the proposed method can evaluate the calculation error in the case of secure computation using real numbers in detail, which has not been done in previous studies. We show that the proposed method has a low error rate and achieves efficient and fast processing, particularly in division.


Many researches on the relation of emotion and cognitive tendency have been done in cognitive psychology during these two decades.Most of them focus on attention,memory and judgment.The researches into emotion indicate that people tend to notice what is in accordance with their mood.Those of memory propose the theory of memorization with congruent emotion and attention while the researches on judgment preference display the tendency in accordance with emotion.But there still exist some different results.The research of emotion effects on psychological tendency will go further on the different objects,different priming method,and explore the physiological mechanism.ey words:emotion;cognitive tendency;positive;negative


During field surveys conducted in Albania in 2014, we encountered 90 species of butterflies. Anthocharis damone Boisduval, 1836 is a new species for the fauna of Albania while Apatura metis Freyer, 1829 is confirmed for the country. With these discoveries the number of butterfly species known to occur in Albania has risen to 200 and our surveys added many new sites for species considered rare and local in Albania. In addition, the life cycles of Lycaena ottomana (Lefebvre, 1830) and Apatura metis from Albania are documented and discussed.


Every writer has a place in space and time. Historical events and his own experiences will be reflected in one way or another, consci ously or unconsciously, in his work. This feature is specially noticea ble in the works of Hemingway. His books are an expression of the socie ty of his time and a reflection of most situations he has experienced in his life time. Hemingway used to say that he was mainly a reporter and as such he wrote his books. His books, written in the same direct and objective style of his reports, depict himself, his wives, his fami ly and his friends and all the experiences they have lived.


This study aims at finding the accuracy level of financial distress prediction on companies in the property, real estate, and building construction sectors. The financial distress prediction models employed here are Z-score, Springate, and Zmijewski. The research population involved all property companies registered at the Indonesian Stock Exchange in the period of 2014-2018. Purposive sampling was used to collect 45 companies. The number of observations taken was 225. The data used were the secondary data taken from the Indonesian Stock Exchange website. The findings showed that the models with high accuracy to predict financial distress in the property, real estate, and building construction sector were the Altman Z-Score model, followed by Zmijewski and Springate models.


Consortium purchasing of electronic resources has become a new way of resource procuring, the article talks about the necessity and the difficulties of consortium purchasing of electronic resources.Finally, it talked about the problems in consortium purchasing at present.


A novel gene fragment(OaN2F,Genbank accession number:GQ244478) of MHC region in ovine was cloned and fusion expression was performed in order to obtain its specific antibody and provide a basis for further study on expression profile and function.The first strand cDNA was synthesized by reverse transcription PCR in Chinese fine-wool Merino sheep as template was amplified by PCR.The products of PCR was constructed the recombinant plasmid and induced with IPTG for expression of fusion protein.Fusion protein with glutathione S-transferase tag could be purified by glutathione-agarose affinity chromatography.Purified protein was identified by SDS-PAGE.The result shows the cDNA of OaN2F was successfully cloned,and the length of cDNA fragment was 111bp.The fusion protein GST-OaN2F(30kD) was expressed and purified.The conclusion is that the cloning of OaN2F and the expression of GST-OaN2F provide a basis for preparation of specific antibody.


In this study it was defined the influence of breed, age and season on libido of boars exploited in insemination station. It was found that libido of hybrids (Duroc x Pietrain), (Pietrain x Duroc) and PIC is indeed higher than that of pure breed boars Pietrain, Duroc, wbp and pbz. Boars of Pietrain and pbz breed showed changes of sexual activity according to the exploitation season. Libido of boars was significantly higher in summer and autumn. The reaction of breeders to phantom in mention seasons was 2,75 min. The fastest reaction to phantom (2,4 min.) and the indeed shortest time to start ejaculation (4,6 min.) comparing to remaining age groups was shown by boars in ages above 36 months. Specimen in this age group didn't shown any significant changes in sexual activity in each exploitation season. Received results can find use in practice. The acquaintance of boar's libido will permit on his rational exploitation and improvement of organization of collecting the semen.


Resource searching and peer management are hot topics of unstructured Peer-to-Peer (P2P) network. Many searching strategies, grouping schemes facing the unique security problems like high turnover rate, free riding, whitewashing, etc. and can not achieve their expected performance and efficiency. This paper proposes an open community management framework capable of dealing with these problems. Our primary work are: (1) a new community management framework as well as the corresponding protocols and the Double-deck Tree structure and (2) Cache-based shortcuts and Critical Topology-aware community grouping techniques for optimizing resource searching. Performance evaluation shows that the proposed framework has better searching performance, openness and ability to confront P2P problems.


Abstract Despite calls for aspects of the self to be examined while the individual is engaged in a natural social situation or in response to a task, self-presentation effects have been found predominantly in laboratory settings. The present study of 69 American workers, in contrast, investigated factors related to reported self-presentation in a frequently occurring natural social situation, namely, answering the telephone at work. Results indicated that workers higher in positive affect, lower in negative affect, and perceiving less role ambiguity presented a more formal telephone response. There was some evidence of an interaction between positive affect and role ambiguity in predicting category of response.


We have previously found that a significant number of hematopoietic progenitors accumulate in engrafted bones with the same major histocompatibility complex (MHC) as the transplanted bone marrow cells. In the present study, to further clarify the MHC restriction between hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) and microenvironment, we carried out cobblestone colony formation assays by culturing HSCs with MHC‐matched or ‐mismatched stromal cell monolayers. The formation of cobblestone colonies under MHC‐mismatched stromal cells significantly decreased in comparison with MHC‐matched stromal cells. However, the decrease in cobblestone colony formation under MHC‐mismatched stromal cells was not significant when using MHC class I‐deficient HSC or stromal cells. Taken together with the results using B10 congenic strains, it is suggested that the MHC preference is restricted by MHC class Ia molecules. Treatment with monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against MHC class Ia molecules of stromal cell phenotypes significantly enhanced the cobblestone colony formation, whereas treatment with mAbs against HSC phenotypes significantly inhibited it. The expression of cytokines to promote hematopoiesis was enhanced by the mAbs against stromal cell phenotypes. The enhancement of cytokine expression was also observed when stromal cells and HSCs were MHC‐matched. These results suggest that signaling via the MHC molecules augments stromal cell activity and elicits the MHC restriction.


Gardner (1990) has done a fine job of illustrating the potential for computermediated communication for scientific publication. However, there are reasons of both organization and efficiency for questioning the appropriateness of the model chosen. The model presented seems more appropriate for a student of the discipline than for a researcher. That is, there are at least two ways to use computer-mediated conferencing. One is the archive or book approach, and the other is the meeting or argument approach (Stodolsky, 1990). With the archive or book approach, the user wants the received wisdom, presented in as clear and noncontroversial a manner as possible. With the meeting or argument approach, the user wants to develop his Dr her reputation and will therefore seek errors and controversial material so that a response can be contributed (before it is done by others). It may be too strong a criticism to say that Gardner's model is inappropriate, since it is actually the way of approaching the exact same information, which is crucial. What will be argued here is that the greatest benefits will occur from the extension of computer mediation to include and, in fact, restructure the process of peer review. Gardner (1990, abstract) argues that "the primary advantage of electronic publishing is not the inexpensive delivcry of text, but the use of a centralized archive to concentrate resources for dis:overy and utilizing information. The ar-hive would provide a platform for programs embodying knowledge . . . about t . . the intellectual goals of individual users." I will argue that the quantitative reduction in distribution costs is so great that it will lead to fundamental qualitative changes in scientific communication. And that the centralization of re-


Bacillus pumilus NCIMB 13374 and Pseudomonas fluorescens NCIMB 13373 inhibit the growth of Botrytis cinerea , the cause of grey mould of strawberries. Both antagonists increased the pH of the growth medium from pH 6 to pH 8-8.5 and both produced antifungal agents. The compound(s) produced by B. pumilus had a fungicidal effect during conidial germination, whereas the compound(s) produced by P. fluorescens had a fungistatic effect. There was no evidence for the production of inhibitory volatile compounds. Both isolates also showed the ability to inhibit other strawberry fungal pathogens, and have potential for a wider range of biocontrol of plant diseases.


Mitogen‐Activated Protein Kinase (MAP kinases) transduces signals that are involved in a multitude of cellular pathways and functions in response to variety of ligands and cell stimuli. Aberrant or inappropriate functions of MAPKs have now been identified in diseases ranging from Cancer to Alzheimer disease to Leshmaniasis however the pathway is still growing and little is known about the dynamics of the pathway. Here we model the MAPK metabolic pathways and thus find the key metabolites or reactions involved on perturbing which the transcription factors are affected. The approach, which we used for modeling of this pathway, is Flux Balance Analysis (FBA). Further we established the growth factors EGF, PDGF were also responsible for the determination of downstream species concentrations. Tuning the parameters gave the optimum kinetics of the growth factor for which the downstream events were at the minimum. Also the Ras and Braf steady state concentrations were significantly affected when the Growth facto...


In this note, we obtain a formula which leads to a practical and efficient method to calculate the number of partitions of n into parts not divisible by m for given natural numbers n and m . Our formula is a generalization of Euler's recurrence for integer partitions which can be viewed as the case m = 1 of our formula. Our approach primarily involves the principle of inclusion and exclusion. We also use our approach to obtain a natural combinatorial proof of a identity of Glaisher which generalizes a classical theorem of Euler.


Aeromagnetic surveys and mineral investigations are planned or in progress in ten areas of northwestern Turkey (fig. 1). This report reviews results obtained from August 1967 to January 1, 1968, through aeromagnetic interpretation and field investigations in four of the areas (Areas 2,3,4 and 5). Aeromagnetic interpretation identified 27 prominent anomalies, 17 of which were checked in the field. The majority of these anomalies were found to be caused by minor amounts of magnetite in igneous rocks, including granite stocks, mafic flows, and mafic dikes. Other anomalies are caused by magnetite in metamorphic rocks or by topographic effects. However, massive magnetite boulders were observed in three adjoining localities (Anomalies E2, E3, and E4, fig. 2) in area 2, and magnetite partly replacing a line a cone boulder was found in area 3 (Anomaly CK3, fig. 3). Further study of these magnetite exposures is planned. ~~ In addition, two iron prospects and one lead prospect were briefly examined. All the prospects were considered small and not worthy of further study at this time.


Background: Vitamin D deficiency (VDD) affects the health and wellbeing of millions 27 worldwide. In high latitude countries such as the United Kigdom (UK), severe complications 28 disproportionally affect ethnic minority groups. 29 Objective: To develop a decision-analytic model to estimate the cost-effectiveness of 30 population strategies to prevent VDD. 31 Methods : An individual-level simulation model was used to compare: (I) wheat flour 32 fortification; (II) supplementation of at-risk groups; and (III) combined flour fortification and 33 supplementation; with (IV) a 'no additional intervention' scenario, reflecting the current 34 Vitamin D policy in the UK. We simulated the whole population over 90 years. Data from 35 national nutrition surveys were used to estimate the risk of deficiency under the alternative 36 scenarios. Costs incurred by the health care sector, the government, local authorities, and the 37 general public were considered. Results were expressed as total cost and effect of each 38 strategy, and as the cost per 'prevented case of VDD' and the 'cost per Quality Adjusted Life 39 Year (QALY)'. 40 Results : Wheat flour fortification was cost-saving as its costs were more than offset by the 41 cost-savings from preventing VDD. The combination of supplementation and fortification 42 was cost-effective (£9.5 per QALY gained). The model estimated that wheat flour 43 fortification alone would result in 25% fewer cases of VDD, while the combined strategy 44 would reduce the number of cases by a further 8%. 45 Conclusion: There is a strong economic case for fortifying wheat flour with Vitamin D, alone 46 or in combination with targeted vitamin D3 supplementation. 47


The mechanical analyses results of spacecraft control system ef< fector are obtained. Experimental check of calculation results showed the reliability of models, simulating the device operation.


BEFORE considering this second series of tables of cases of primary cancer of the Fallopian tube, I will relate a case in my own operative practice. From the dates in the following report, it will be seen that I have not published it until after prolonged deliberation. M.M., aged 60, a laundress, single, was sent to me on February 16, 1899, by Dr. D'Olier, of Arundel, on account of a large abdominal swelling. The patient stated that she had first noted it five months previously, and that it had increased rapidly, especially during the last three weeks before I exaluiued her. It had also become very painful, particularly on the right side, and there was dysuria. The urine was of high specific gravity and loaded with urates. Early in January Dr. D'Olier opened a suppurating cavity, resembling a sebaceous cyst, in the posterior fornix. The patient looked much older than sixty, but was not cachectic. The abdomen was considerably distended by a very tense tumour which reached nearly to the ensiform cartilage. The girth at the umbilical level was 31) inches, and three inches lower 33 inches ; the distance from the ensiform cartilage to the umbilicus was 6 inches, from the umbilicus to the pubes 82 inches. The fundus of the uterus could be defined immediately above the pubes in front of the tumour. The uterus was displaced a little towards the right, and the tumour descended into Douglas's pouch and the left fornix; the right was free. The catamenia had ceased at about the age of forty-seven. The patient informed me that a regular show of blood began again when she was fifty-seven, and that the last show was observed about six months before I first saw her. There was no rise of temperature or pulse, but the patient suffered from two rather acute attacks of abdominal pain on February 17 and 21. The patient was a unipara.


PURPOSE: To transfer units of data between transaction systems at a high speed in environment of DBMS sharing disks. CONSTITUTION: An owner-side system which updates pages generates an update number for a page to be stored together with a lock processed by the owner-side system. When a requester-side system requests a record of the page, a requester- side request inhibits a display showing that a version newer than the page is needed for a local memory. An element of the buffer manager of the DBMS transfers pages between memories from the owner-side DBMS using an overhead communication protocol of low order to the requester-side DBMS with the assistance of a lock manager. The transfer of the pages requires neither the I/O processing of disks nor the I/O processing of a log for the update of the pages. COPYRIGHT: (C)1992,JPO


A vector is called sparse when most of its components are zero. Many natural signals admit sparse representations with respect to some bases. This dissertation deals with the problem of recovering a sparse signal from a small number of measurements formed by computing the inner product of the signal with the rows of a measurement matrix. The task of recovering a sparse signal from its small number of measurements is a problem of finding the sparsest solution of a underdetermined system of linear equations. The problem can be solved by using a l0 norm based optimization problem which is NP-hard in general. Some recent researches have demonstrated that the NP-hard problem can be solved tractably by using linear programming approach under some reasonable conditions. However, real-world applications often demand more efficient algorithms which are robust to measurement noise. To this aim, an efficient sparse signal recovery algorithm is developed in the first part of the thesis. The proposed algorithm uses a convex-concave procedure to optimize its cost function. A range of theoretical results are presented. The theoretical analysis of the algorithm gives a bound on the run-time estimation error. In many real world problems the resulting sparse signals exhibit additional structures. The proposed algorithm is then extended to exploit the structures of sparse signal. Experimental results demonstrated that in most settings the extended algorithm outperforms other conventional algorithms with a large margin. Finally an interesting sparse signal recovery approach is considered when a part of the support of the sparse signal is known in advance. A maximum a posteriori (MAP) estimation framework is considered to deal with the issue. Second part of the thesis explores the applicability of the proposed algorithms for solving some practical problems. In some cases, the proposed algorithm exhibits additional advantages. For example, in the broadband direction of arrival (DOA) estimation problem, the proposed algorithm allows relaxing the half-wavelength sensor spacing restriction, which leads to a significant performance improvement. In some applications, the proposed algorithm can exploit underlying structure of the linear system. For example, in frequency estimation problem, it is possible to exploit the structure of the Fourier basis to achieve a significant reduction of the computational complexity.


Advancement in new technologies and methods of producing foaming agents have resulted in enhanced possibility of a structurally performing lightweight concrete. Lightweight foamed concrete (LWFC) is a cement based composite material that has shown remarkable potential as a replacement to Normal Weight Concrete (NWC) for structural applications. LWFC stands as a low self-weight building material relatively compared to its counterpart, NWC. Other than reduced self-weight, it also possesses desirable properties such as good thermal insulation, excellent fire resistance, and high workability and self-levelling. Technical and engineering unfamiliarity of LWFC has contributed to inhibiting the material's wider use and advancement for structural application. In addition to the above, limited literature on the material's durability properties and performance under exposure to aggressive elements such as carbon dioxide and chlorides contribute as a drawback. This thesis reports on a durability study on LWFC undertaken at Stellenbosch University (SU). LWFC beam specimens were exposed to cyclic wetting and drying periods using NaCl solution under controlled humidity and temperature conditions. The performance of two types of surface treatment agents in LWFC against preventing accelerated penetration of chloride ions and consequently chloride induced corrosion was the main focus. Chloride penetration was investigated by silver nitrate testing, and reinforcement corrosion was monitored via a nondestructive linear polarisation method using commercially available GECOR 10 corrosion rate measuring equipment. The results indicated that inclusion of fly ash in reinforced LWFC reduces risk of dry shrinkage cracking, limiting localised corrosion on cracked locations. The surface applied silane-based water repellent treatment agent was effective in preventing moisture penetration, leading to the low reinforcement corrosion rates and chloride ion penetration depths. Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za


The links are explored between competitive rivalry and market structure using a convenient sample of FMCG markets of known structure (91 per cent response). Competing rivalry is analysed for each company using an American model which is then further developed into an "Index of Market Rivalry". The findings indicate that marketing managers in FMCG markets would do well to analyse their strategies in relation to market share goals. Mix element usage should correspond to share goals. Competitive and market rivalry measures, given further development, will prove useful tools in market analysis.