The drum–buffer–rope (DBR) is a scheduling mechanism under the Theory of Constraints (TOC) philosophy. In DBR, 'drum' is a production schedule on the capacity-constrained resources (CCRs), which controls the speed of production for the whole system; 'rope' is a mechanism to release the required material to the CCRs; and 'buffer' is used to protect the CCRs from starvation due to statistical fluctuations. For a non-identical parallel machine flow-shop environment, estimating an efficient rope and time buffer for DBR implementation is not an easy task because of the complexity of non-identical parallel machine loading. This paper proposes a new scheduling method, which is called the modified DBR (MOD-DBR). It applies a backward finite capacity scheduling technique, including machine loadings and detail scheduling, instead of the rope mechanism in DBR. The scheduling performances of MOD-DBR are evaluated under variable processing time situations. The experimental results indicate that the MOD-DBR without a time buffer outperformed the DBR with a considerable level of buffer on the average flow time, while they have the same performance on tardiness, constraint resource utilization, and throughput.


With the development of tourism in Fenghuang Ancient Town,local tourism revenues increased year by year.The resident′s quality of life greatly improved.But the local environment,the cultural custom and so on also encountered the varying degree the destruction,caused the ancient town contaminated the commercialization color.This article attempted the commercialization phenomenon which appears through the inquisition Fenghuang ancient town traveling,analyzed the reason which the commercialization appearsed analyzed the Fenghuang ancient town commercialization existence question,then put forward the corresponding proposal,thus causes Fenghuang′s tourism to develop toward the moderate commercialization direction.


The competition for the tenancy of productive lands in the region of the pampas was a constant that, through different forms, crossed the 20th century. The changes in the protagonism of rural tenants and owners as soon as the increasing intervention of the State in the fortieths have a prominent role in those transformations. The elaboration of an specific rentals rural legislation and the goodwill to apply them, show signs of that. Numerous demands that found expression in the different judicial ambits, allowed us appreciate the conflict and know daily relations between the social actors in the rural space.


A new video segmentation algorithm using a combined seg- mentation measure for content-based coding is presented. The com- bined segmentation measure is a weighted sum of intensity, motion, and a change segmentation measure. The change segmentation measure is defined from a change image, which is obtained from the proposed change detector. The proposed change detector performs morphological erosion filtering to eliminate many inaccurate components, included in the resulting image obtained from a conventional change detector. Since the change segmentation measure is defined as an absolute change value difference between a pixel and its neighboring region, it can be an efficient segmentation measure for the accurate segmentation of neigh- boring moving objects and static background regions. Therefore, the pro- posed combined segmentation measure can determine exact bound- aries even though the estimated motion vectors around the boundaries of moving objects and static background regions are inaccurate and the intensities around the boundaries are similar. From the experimental re- sults for a video segmentation, since the combined segmentation mea- sure can accurately segment the boundaries between moving objects and static background regions, the motion compensated images pro- duced by the proposed segmentation algorithm show improved image quality compared to the conventional segmentation. © 2000 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers. (S0091-3286(00)01208-3)


Mylonas sends a manuscript to Swindler on vases within the Washington University collection at St. Louis. He adds remarks on a work on Olynthus and wishes Swindler well for her own book's completion.


Studies on the dissolution of stressed crystals have shown that stress corrosion can lead to roughening of interfaces. The corrosion pattern develops due to gradients in elastic energy along a free crystal surface with an initial roughness. Dissolution will cause further increase in elastic energy, which in turn will speed up dissolution, the so-called Asaro-Tiller-Grinfeld instability. We present a numerical model in order to study the effect of stress corrosion that is observed in physical experiments of interface roughening of brittle salt crystals. In the simulations a salt crystal that is immersed in saturated brine is stressed and dissolution patterns develop. Stress corrosion can lead to an Asaro-Tiller-Grinfeld instability that develops into cusp instabilities and crack-like structures or anti-cracks. The system breaks its symmetry and produces a secondary instability where the number of growing anti-cracks is reduced. This coarsening of the surface roughness is due to stress-shielding effects of growing anti-cracks. Finally, one single anti-crack remains on each side of an initial hole as a "superstructure". The large anti-crack grows at an almost constant speed and eventually leads to brittle failure of the crystal. This mechanism may be important not only for dissolution-precipitation creep but also other phase-transitions and may lead to large scale brittle failure that can be associated with earthquakes.


One way to form compounds in Spanish is to combine a third-person singular verb form with a following noun. This study examines a family of compounds based upon this principle. I will attempt to show the semantic categories of such compounds and will argue with informant evidence that speakers of Spanish, for systematic reasons, intuitively categorize unfamiliar guarda compounds according to their existing repertoires. Lastly, I will examine why some apparently well motivated guarda compounds might be rejected. 1.1. The verb guardar originated in the Germanic word ward6n meaning roughly 'to keep vigil,' 'to await' (Corominas). In Spanish, it has developed several related meanings including 'to keep,' 'to take care of,' 'to protect,' 'to store,' 'to respect,' and 'to abstain from." In compound nouns, however, the semantic patterning of guarda can be more strictly specified. There is, for example, a set of guarda compounds which contain the concept 'protect' and which employ nouns that embody a 'potential agent of harm'-that which some unmentioned entity is to be protected from as in: guardahumo, 'firescreen.' This compound means: "that which protects some vulnerable entity [unnamed] from 'smoke' [named agent of harm]." We might also note that it is possible to protect by either "shielding" or by outright "containment." In the case of containment consider the word guardarropa, "cloakroom" which names the place where clothes are actually contained or stored. In order to differentiate between these two types of protection, I will use the features [-tContainment]. In terms of features, words of the guardahumo set can be classified as [-Containment, -Vulnerable Entity, +Agent of Harm]. The plus and minus features relating to the vulnerabe entity and to the agent of harm should be interpreted as meaning respectively that such elements are either mentioned or that they are not. The following is a partial inventory of those words of which guardahumo is a member; I shall refer to them as Set One:2


Erythema multiforme (EM) is an acute hypersensitivity reaction characterized by distinctive skin lesions and mucous membrane involvement that has a spectrum of severity. It occurs in two forms: the more common "minor" type and the more severe "major" type, also called Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS). Sometimes EM includes toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) or Lyell disease. EM minor first was described completely by von Hebra in 1866; Stevens and Johnson described the major variant in 1922. EM occurs more often in males, and 20% to 50% of cases occur in the pediatric age group, although rarely in those younger than age 3 years.


This guide includes links and tutorials to help you make the most of Brandon U's library resources for health studies students in the nursing and psychiatric nursing programs.


We examine the dynamics of a Bianchi IX model with three scale factors on a 4-dim Lorentzian brane embedded in a 5-dim conformally flat empty bulk with a timelike extra dimension. The matter content is a pressureless perfect fluid restricted to the brane, with the embedding consistently satisfying the Gauss–Codazzi equations. The 4-dim Einstein equations on the brane reduce to a 6-dim Hamiltonian dynamical system with additional terms (due to the bulk–brane interaction) that avoid the singularity and implement nonsingular bounces in the model. We examine the complex Bianchi IX dynamics in its approach to the neighborhood of the bounce which replaces the cosmological singularity of general relativity. The phase space of the model presents (i) two critical points (a saddle-center–center and a center–center–center) in a finite region of phase space, (ii) two asymptotic de Sitter critical points at infinity, one acting as an attractor to late-time acceleration and (iii) a 2-dim invariant plane, which together organize the dynamics of the phase space. The saddle-center–center engenders in the phase space the topology of stable and unstable 4-dim cylinders R × S3, where R is a saddle direction and S3 is the center manifold of unstable periodic orbits, the latter being the nonlinear extension of the center–center sector. By a proper canonical transformation the degrees of freedom of the dynamics are separated into one degree connected with the expansion/contraction of the scales of the model, and two rotational degrees of freedom associated with the center manifold S3. The typical dynamical flow is thus an oscillatory mode about the orbits of the invariant plane. The stable and unstable cylinders are spanned by oscillatory orbits about the separatrix towards the bounce, leading to the homoclinic transversal intersection of the cylinders, as shown numerically in two distinct simulations. The homoclinic intersection manifold has the topology of R × S2 consisting of homoclinic orbits biasymptotic to the center manifold S3. This behavior defines a chaotic saddle associated with S3, indicating that the intersection points of the cylinders have the nature of a Cantor set with compact support S2. This is an invariant signature of chaos in the model. We discuss the connection between these properties of the dynamics, namely the oscillatory approach to the bounce together with its chaotic behavior, and analogous features present in the BKL conjecture in general relativity.


This paper explains how to compute normalized interval type-2 fuzzy sets in closed form and explains how the results reduce to well-known results for type-1 fuzzy sets and interval sets. Such normalized interval type-2 fuzzy sets may be needed in linguistic probability computations or multiple criteria decision analysis under uncertainty.


Douglas Dunn published his latest poetry pamphlet, Invisible Ink, in 2011. While it continues familiar themes and motifs that he introduced much earlier in his poetry, it is also a lyrical appendix to The Year's Afternoon (2000), his last full collection. This essay describes instances and forms of dialogicity between domestic allegiances and large-scale temporalities within his oeuvre while the poems record a growing disengagement from social issues. Dunn's tone ranges from weary nostalgia to sharp self-irony even as he paints uncompromisingly candid images of increasing existential alienation from the familiar environment which has been his main source of lyrical consolation.


Catalytic asymmetric reduction of two simple ketones has been achieved by the use of a RhI complex with an optically active phosphine as ligand.


The rational construction and design of supercapacitors (SCs) with electrochemically favorable structural configuration and appreciable cyclic performances are highly demanding. Herein, a novel Ga-...


Objective. To analize perceived meanings of masculinity and power related to sexual violence among adolescents. Material and Methods. A qualitative study was carried out between 1998 and 2000 in the metropolitan area of Guadalajara, Mexico, among 155 junior high and high school male/female students. Information was collected from 12 focal groups in two-hour sessions. Data collection instruments included: interviews, observation, and instruction guides. Data were recorded using notes and tape recordings. Oral and written information was transcribed, categorized, and coded, in order to construct matrixes and interpret results. Results. Symbolic explanatory concepts related with rape included: constructivism vs. naturalism, heteronomous moral posture, and early exchange towards respect and human rights. Females were perceived as the real and potential victims. Males were perceived as violent by nature or under challenge, and prone to be victimized only if they were children, unmanly, or homosexual. Analysis objects included


A body structure in the node construction according to the present invention has at least two frame profile parts made of fiber composite material and a node element connecting the frame section parts together. The junction element has receptacles for the frame profile parts. The junction element is formed of at least two metallic sheet-metal shells. Accordingly, the junction element is made from either a metal casting or from a fiber composite material.


Abstract Background Atrial tachycardia (AT) can be treated by medical or electrical cardioversion but the recurrence rate is high. Three‐dimensional electro‐anatomical mapping, recently described in horses, might be used to map AT to identify a focal source or reentry mechanism and to guide treatment by radiofrequency ablation. Objectives To describe the feasibility of 3D electro‐anatomical mapping and radiofrequency catheter ablation to characterize and treat sustained AT in horses. Animals Nine horses with sustained AT. Methods Records from horses with sustained AT referred for radiofrequency ablation at Ghent University were reviewed. Results The AT was drug resistant in 4 out of 9 horses. In 8 out of 9 horses, AT originated from a localized macro‐reentrant circuit (n = 5) or a focal source (n = 3) located at the transition between the right atrium and the caudal vena cava. In these 8 horses, local radiofrequency catheter ablation resulted in the termination of AT. At follow‐up, 6 out of 8 horses remained free of recurrence. Conclusions and Clinical Importance Differentiation between focal and macro‐reentrant AT in horses is possible using 3D electro‐anatomical mapping. In this study, the source of right atrial AT in horses was safely treated by radiofrequency catheter ablation.


Cyphocharax aninha, new species, is described from the Rio Mopeco, a left tributary of the Rio Paru, left of the lower Rio Amazonas. Cyphocharax aninha differs from its congeners by having the infraorbital sensory canal absent or greatly reduced, even in large individuals (more than 30.0 mm SL), and fleshy or osseous canal restricted to infraorbital 5; the presence of a broad ellipsoid, vertical elongate spot over the caudal peduncle and the base of the caudal-fin rays, between the dorsal and ventral margins of the caudal peduncle. The new species can also be distinguished from all congeners by the combination of morphometric, meristic, and pigmentation characters. Comments on other small species and possible relationships of the new species with its congeners are presented.


This paper focuses on the vibration characteristics of the bladed-disk subjected to the dry friction damping under periodic excitation. Firstly, the multi-harmonic equation basing on the frequency-domain analysis is established to predicate the steady response of the bladed-disk. Then, the algorithm to solve the nonlinear multi-harmonic balance equation is given step by step. In the numerical simulation, a simplified lumped parameter model of a turbine bladeddisk as well as the elastic Coulomb friction model between the root and disk contacting surfaces are applied. The normal load level of the friction interfaces, which are the focal points of the bladed-disk design, is analysed for the nonlinear vibration characteristics of the blades. The results show that vibration response of bladed-disk is affected significantly by normal load, and there exists an optimal value of the normal load under the operating condition of the turbomachinery, which can provide a qualitative assessment for the design practice of friction dampers.


The utility model discloses an optical identification monomer learning pen with hidden codes, which comprises a rod-shaped casing. The utility model is characterized in that the utility model also comprises a circuit board of a signal processing circuit which is arranged in a cavity of the casing, a sensing head which is arranged on the front end of the casing and a plurality of control keys which are arranged on the casing, wherein the sensing head is electrically connected with the circuit board; the control keys are electrically connected with the circuit board; a loudspeaker and an output jack are also arranged in the casing; the side face of the casing is provided with a socket of a memory card; the rear part of the casing is provided with a power supply source. Compared with the existing ordinary scanning learning pen with bar codes, the utility model has the advantages of quick and accurate identification, simple operation of contact reading, no need of learning, hidden two-dimensional codes, no influence on the original design and the beautiful appearance of a carrier, magical effect of contact reading vocalization of the hidden codes, positive significance of merchandise popularization, compactness, portability and beautiful appearance. The utility model has two playing modes of earphones and sound boxes. The utility model is suitable for learning and sound reading anywhere at any time.


ABSTRACT Owing to their highly ordered crystalline structures and ease of introducing different electroactive meta ions and ligands, metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have emerged as promising electrical and ion conducting materials. In this minireview, we highlighted recent advances in guest-induced electronic and ionic conductivity of MOFs, which are otherwise insulators or poor conductors. Examples of conductivity enhancement upon guest-induced framework oxidation or reduction, π-donor/acceptor stack formation, crosslinking of coordinatively unsaturated nodes, and binding of mobile Li+ and Mg2+ with the MOFs are discussed. Graphical abstract


1. The range of variation in full extension at the interphalangeal and metacarpo-phalangeal joints of the thumbs of 133 male and 100 female Europeans, and of 31 male Indians and 30 male Africans, has been investigated. 2. There is considerable variation between individuals in the maximum extension of both joints of the right and left thumbs in all groups studied. 3. The distribution for each joint in both thumbs in all groups is fairly symmetrical. 4. There is a high correlation between the right and left thumbs for both joints in all groups 5. The mean angle of extension at the right and left metacarpo-phalangeal joints in all groups is similar. Female Europeans, however, show a significantly greater mean angle than male Europeans. 6. The mean interphalangeal angle of extension in male Europeans is significantly greater than that in female Europeans and the mean in the Indian and African groups is significantly greater than in the male European group. 7. There is slight negative correlation between the metacarpo-phalangeal angle and interphalangeal angle in each thumb in the European groups. 8. Many subjects in all groups can increase extension at the metacarpo-phalangeal joint after flexing the carpo-metacarpal joint. Marked hyperextension (over 40°) is more frequent in the left than in the right thumb, in females than in males, and in male Indians than in male Europeans and Africans. 9. Maximum extension at the interphalangeal joints is not related to the presence of a sesamoid bone in the anterior part of the capsule of the joint. 10. The surfaces of the metacarpo-phalangeal joints vary considerably in shape. Those which are flat form about 10 per cent. of the sample and do not show hyperextension. 11. The factors influencing the amount of extension at the interphalangeal joint is the degree of laxity of the anterior capsule. The problem at the metacarpo-phalangeal joint is more complex; both the capsule and the shape of the joint surfaces play important roles.


Rates of nitrosation of 1,2-dimethyl-, 2-phenyl-, 2-methyl-, 2-methyl-5-nitro-, 5-cyano-, 5-nitro-, and 1-methyl-5-nitro-indole in dilute aqueous acid under various conditions are reported. Reaction to form the 3-nitroso-product may be brought about by various reagents, including nitrous anhydride, the nitrous acidium ion, and nitrosyl chloride, depending on the conditions. Examination of kinetic hydrogen isotope effects and chloride ion catalysis shows that these reactions follow the expected A–SE2 pathway characteristic of aromatic electrophilic substitution, but that the rate-limiting step depends on the basicity of the substrate. For basic compounds (pKA–3·5) either formation of the reagent (in the case of nitrous anhydride) or diffusion of the reactants is rate limiting: molecular rate coefficients for the reaction of nitrosyl chloride with the neutral substrate are of the order of 1010 l mol–1 min–1 at 0 °C. For less basic compounds (pKA⩽–6·0), proton expulsion from the Wheland-type intermediate is slow as is usual for aromatic nitrosation. Generally, indole compounds are much more reactive than aromatic amines (diazotisation) towards these nitrosating agents, and this suggests that nitrosation of the former may involve initial substitution of the heterocyclic N atom, with rearrangement to the 3-nitroso-product.


1* National Center for Natural Products Research, School of Pharmacy, The University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677, USA 2 Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Minia University, Minia, Egypt 3 Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt 4 Department of Pharmacognosy, School of Pharmacy, The University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677, USA 5* Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmacy, The University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677, USA


Today's work world demands a set of competencies that are key and highly valued, among them, digital skills. Within this framework, the paper presents data about the digital skills of current students. A total of 454 students from different university degrees (engineering, economics and humanities) and from a secondary school participated in the research. They responded to a questionnaire on ICT uses and self-perceptions of their digital competencies for the performance of activities that require the use of technology. The results show different levels of mastery (high, medium and low) with respect to 18 activities consulted. In the same way, 10 of the 18 activities showed differences when groups where compared. Engineering students generally reported greater mastery. Discussion revolves around highlighting the importance of generating, from academic contexts, opportunities for the development of different digital skills.


We suggest the existence of systems in which the statistics of a particle changes with the quantum level it occupies. The occupation numbers in thermal equilibrium depend on a continuous statistical parameter that interpolates between bosonic or fermionic and ghost-like statistical dis-tributions. We call such particle states "ninions": they are different from anyons and can exist in 3+1 dimensions. We suggest that ninions can be associated with coherent angular momentum states. In the Euclidean imaginary-time formalism, the ninionic statistics can be implemented via the rotwisted boundary conditions, which are associated with the rigid global rotation of the system with an imaginary angular frequency. The imaginary rotation is characterized by a PT -symmetric non-Hermitian Hamiltonian and possesses a well-defined thermodynamic limit. The physics of ninions in thermal equilibrium is accessible for numerical simulations on Euclidean lattices. We provide a no-go theorem on the absence of analytical continuation between real and imaginary rotations in the thermodynamic limit. The ground state of ninions shares similarity with the θ -vacuum in QCD. The ninions can produce negative pressure and energy, similar to the Casimir effect and the cosmological dark energy. In the thermodynamic limit, the dependence of thermal energy of free ninions on the statistical parameter is a fractal.


This paper deals about an attempt to evaluate the different policies against desertification carried out during a twenty five year period (1978-2003) in the eight municipalities which compound the river Guadalentin catchment (Murcia, Spain). The approach is based on DEA and the European Environmental Agency indicator studies, the former to measure the efficiency and the second to select the best environmental indicators. The analysis has been reiterated with three different sets of outputs related to the different levels and aspects of the desertification process- from the merely soil losses to the overall desertification process in which population losses are considered. As a result a set of efficiency indexes has been obtained for each municipality, which show clearly the contribution of each action against desertification. These results are very valuable to establish future long term desertification policies in similar territories.


The article studies the connotation of service innovation in libraries,analyzes libraries' main innovation method,including recombination,innovation,ad hoc innovation,formalization innovation and technical innovation,on the basis of service innovation theory.At last,the paper points out advice for the library service innovation.


Steam reforming of hydrocarbons is one of the most important methods for hydrogen production at present.Methane,gasoline and diesel can be applied to different scale hydrogen production as typical hydrocarbons.The catalyst,process as well as mechanism and kinetics in hydrogen production from steam reforming of methane,gasoline and diesel,are reviewed.It reveals that nickel-based catalyst modification,reactor design and optimization of reaction conditions should be considered in the future development of steam reforming of methane.Catalysts for steam reforming of gasoline and diesel must have excellent tolerance to sulfur and resistance to carbon deposition.In addition,studies on mechanism and kinetics should be intensified.


This study investigates the Big 4 auditors' conservatism using Japanese firms' abnormal accruals. We focus on two types of auditors' conservatism, namely, the preference for income decreasing accounting choices and having lower thresholds for issuing going concern opinions. We find that the Big 4 auditors choose the most effective way from among several types of conservatism in order to reduce their litigation risk and/or preserve their reputations. For firms having incentives to increase reported earnings, the Big 4 auditors are conservative by making their client recognize income decreasing accounting choices. On the other hand, for firms facing serious financial problems the Big 4 auditors are conservative by having lower thresholds for issuing going concern opinions. These results indicate that Big 4 auditors' conservative actions vary depending on their clients' situations.


In this study, the overall management procedure for transportation assets are discussed. The performance of the assets is evaluated based on quality of service and system effectiveness to meet the expectation of the users, productivity and efficiency, resource utilization and cost-effectiveness. A guideline is established with performance standards and specifications. It is incorporated in lease contract to ensure that a desired minimum performance standard is maintained over the lease period and at the end of lease. The main information required to determine the leasing process and costs are presented in this study which should be an operate-maintain-upgrade contract. In practice a competitive bid from different contractors would give broader sense of the actual cost, since it is generally complained that public agencies are not prudent in cost control. This guideline for performance standards includes a set of performance indicators with a simplified costing procedure to evaluate functional performance of the asset and its components and the quality of service provided by the facility.


Objective:To explore the application of transumbilical single-port laparoscopic surgery in the liver and gallbladder diseases,and summarize its feasibility and limitations.Methods:Retrospective analysis was made on clinical data of 24 cases of transumbilical single-port laparoscopic cholecystectomy,2 cases of hepatic hemangioma,3 cases of liver cyst and 1 case of splenic cyst.A 1.5cm curved incision was made at the lower edge of umbilicus,from which 3 5mm Trocars were inserted.Tri-Port was used in 2 cases of hepatic hemangioma.Multi-angle separating clamp was used in all patients.Results:Thirty patients underwent completely transumbilical single-port laparoscopic surgery.The hospital stay of 24 gallbladder patients was 1.2d.The hospital stay of 5 liver and 1 spleen surgery patients was 4d.No complications such as biliary fistula or bleeding occurred.Conclusions:The transumbilical single-port laparoscopic surgery is safe,feasible,with less pain,small scar and better cosmetic result.The laparoscopic instruments should be further developed.


Sports professionals and others in the general community are concerned that children are spending too much of their leisure time hunched over a computer or electronic game - and not enough time running around outside.


In this paper, we develop a composite pulse-multipath channel estimation approach for impulse radio-ultra wideband (IR-UWB) system. The approach is realized by means of the nearest neighbor (NN) estimation algorithm. This reconstructed signal is subsequently used as a reference template in a correlator-based detector. The bit error rate (BER) performance of the proposed approach is analyzed and compared to that of traditional correlator-based detector. Extensive simulations show that for different propagation scenarios and transfer rates, detectors based on NN composite pulse-multipath channel estimation outperform traditional correlator-based detector.


One of the main results of the article [2] says that, if a ring R is semiperfect and ϕ is an authomorphism of R, then the skew Laurent series ring R((x, ϕ)) is semiperfect. We will show that the above statement is not true. More precisely, we will show that, if the Laurent series ring R((x)) is semilocal, then R is semiperfect with nil Jacobson radical.


The question of how national loyalty should be manifested, or to whom one owes loyalty, is at the center of the conflict between governments and oppositions in the nation-state. In the age of nationalism, loyalty to the nation-state has become the strongest imperative for members of the national community. Hence almost all contestants for power in the state, ruling governments and their opposition, regard support for their claims to domination as the clearest manifestation of "national loyalty." The aspirants tend to discredit their rivals as "nationally disloyal."' The contestants' attempts to portray support for their particular claims to power as an expression of "national loyalty" is primarily known in politics as the process of "legitimation."2 This paper explores the predicament of political exiles when their native country is at war. By focusing on exile politics in times of war, I undertake to demonstrate the power and limits of "national loyalty" in the conflict between governments and oppositions in the nation-state. The discussion centers around exile groups that struggle to overthrow and replace their home countries' native regime. These groups can be distinguished from exile movements that struggle for self-determination against colonial rule and also from movements that resist their country's foreign occupier. The loyalty dilemma inherent in exile politics in times of war manifests the advantage of governments in exploiting national sentiments while confronting their opposition; they force their opponents abroad to calculate carefully the consequences of their foreign alliances. The wide range of historical and contemporary examples are used as illustrations. Most of the references are drawn from well-known and well-documented events. They include the Bolsheviks and the Mensheviks in exile during the Russo-Japanese conflict and World War I; Italian anti-Fascist exiles during Mussolini's war in Ethiopia; the German Social Democratic Party (SPD) in London and the German Communist Party (KPD) in Moscow during World War II; and the Russian exiles of the Vlasov Army.


Incidental pulmonary nodules or incidental mediastinal masses are a common situation in general practice, and always represents a clinical challenge, despite most of these lesions will be benign; the opportunity to diagnose cancer on curable stages should not be overlooked.


Thank you very much for reading introduction to crime analysis basic resources for criminal justice practice. Maybe you have knowledge that, people have search numerous times for their chosen novels like this introduction to crime analysis basic resources for criminal justice practice, but end up in infectious downloads. Rather than reading a good book with a cup of tea in the afternoon, instead they cope with some harmful bugs inside their desktop computer.


Mediation is a popular process to prevent conflicts over common resources, but there is little clean insight into its effectiveness and mechanisms. Our experimental approach allows for a comprehensive analysis of third-party intervention into potential conflicts and circumvents key problems linked to the analysis of field data. A mediator who credibly threatens punishment in the case of uncooperative behavior achieves the efficient solution in most cases. Similar results are obtained even if the mediator is biased toward one party or has no incentive to intervene. When cooperation fails, communication without credible punishment threats leads to particularly low payouts for the "losing" party.


Summary Nine human monoclonal antibodies (MoAbs) recognizing 7 different antigenic structures of blood‐stages of the human malarial parasite P. falciparum (Pf) were produced by Epstein‐Barr virus transformed B‐cell lines (EBV‐TCL) with or without fusion to the lymphoblastoid cell line KR4. The peripheral blood B‐lymphocytes were obtained from 8 Gambian donors immune to Pf malaria. Two of the EBV‐TCL could be expanded and maintained for more than 6 months but neither one could be cloned. Six additional EBV‐TCL were stabilized after fusion with the KR4 lymphoblastoid cell line. All resulting hybridomas permitted easy cloning. Some of the MoAbs produced distinct fluorescent staining patterns of asexual Pf blood‐stage parasites when using high‐resolution digitized video‐intensified fluorescence microscopy. Antigens on 195 kD and 155 kD proteins were recognized by 3 and 1 MoAb, respectively, using Western blotting and immunoprecipitation techniques.


Global warming is currently a major concern to the sustainability of earth's ecosystems.To mitigate this effect,it is essential to provide policy makers with accurate information on the distribution and dynamics of carbon sources and sinks.However,one important challenge in the estimation of forest carbon is how to quantify its spatial distributions and corresponding uncertainties.This study developed a general methodology for mapping forest carbon sinks by combining existing National Forest Inventory(NFI) plot data and satellite images.This method was based on sequential Gaussian co-simulation to spatially combine and up-scale plot data and satellite images from small(30 m×30 m) to large map units 900 km×900 km.Those large units are usually required for mapping forest carbon at regional,national and global scales.The proposed method was applied to mapping forest carbon using the 2004 NFI plot data and Landsat Thematic Mapper images for Lin'an County,Zhejiang,China.Results showed that the proposed method accurately reproduced the spatial distribution of the NFI plot data.However,the simulated average carbon was 24.9% lower than that of the NFI plot data.This study also provided quantitative information on variability in forest carbon and uncertainty of its estimates,including variances and probability that estimates would be larger than a threshold value.This information will in turn be useful in further uncertainty propagation modeling and analysis,and management of forest carbon markets.In conclusion,this study provided the solution to overcome some of the current significant gaps in the generation and assessment of forest carbon products and its uncertainty.


The Covid-19 pandemic has been an unprecedented catalyst for the scaling up from f2f to online teaching and learning.  This editorial suggests that the post-pandemic period will be dominated by three primary groups – The New Kids in Town, The Savvy Shifty Shifters, and the Retrenchment Innovators.  Leaders in these groups will need to make major organizational decisions about their future in the online learning market.  Leaders will need to lead their organizations through three main phases – Phase 1 - emergency response; Phase 2 – decision matrix; and 3) embedding the new organizational culture.  Leadership will be crucial to navigating a highly competitive higher education landscape where more providers in online learning will create more options for students to pursue their higher education goals.   Competition will be fierce and intense in higher education. Leaders will need to differentiate their organization from competitors and ensure that culture and context are considered in their vision.  The game changer in this new normalcy will be visionary and transformational leadership.


• Daily infections in the last week decreased to 64,000 per day on average compared to 68,000 the week before (Figure 1.1). Daily hospital census in the last week (through August 4) decreased to 160 per day on average compared to 190 the week before. • Daily reported cases in the last week decreased to 32 per day on average compared to 41 the week before (Figure 2.1). • Reported deaths due to COVID-19 in the last week remained the same at zero per day on average compared to the week before (Figure 3.1). • Total deaths due to COVID-19 in the last week decreased to six per day on average compared to seven the week before (Figure 3.1). This makes COVID-19 the number 28 cause of death in Uganda this week (Table 1). Estimated total daily deaths due to COVID-19 in the past week were 18.2 times larger than the reported number of deaths. • The daily rate of reported deaths due to COVID-19 is greater than 4 per million in no countries (Figure 4.1). • The daily rate of total deaths due to COVID-19 is greater than 4 per million in one country (Figure 4.2). • We estimate that 98% of people in Uganda have been infected at least once as of August 29 (Figure 6.1). Effective R, computed using cases, hospitalizations, and deaths, is greater than 1 in 21 countries. Effective R in Uganda was 0.9 on August 18 (Figure 7.1). • The infection-detection rate in Uganda was close to 0% on August 29 (Figure 8.1). • Based on the GISAID and various national databases, combined with our variant spread model, we estimate the current prevalence of variants of concern (Figures 9.1-9.5). We estimate that the Alpha variant is circulating in 35 countries, that the Beta variant is circulating in 32 countries, that the Delta variant is circulating in 40 countries, that the Gamma variant is circulating in 22 countries, and that the Omicron variant is circulating in 42 countries.


A comparative study of three steam plant governors is made using MATLAB. Such an exercise trains students in using engineering software for simulation. It also adds motivation to learning control as a subject by showing the practical application of the theory taught in class.


Background: Research into depression in the medically ill has progressed without sufficient attention being given to the validity, in this group, of the taxonomic categories. We aimed to describe, using qualitative interviews, the experience of 'being depressed', separating experiences that are unique to depression from experiences that are common to being ill and in hospital. Method: Forty-nine patients hospitalized for medical illness underwent a 30-min interview in which they were asked to 'Describe how you have been unwell and, in particular, how that has made you feel.' From the transcripts, a 'folk' taxonomy was constructed using a phenomenological framework involving four steps: frame elicitation to identify the important themes, componential analysis to systematically cluster the attributes into domains, a comparison of the experiences of patients screening depressed and not-depressed, and a theoretical analysis comparing the resulting taxonomy with currently used theoretical constructs. Results: Experiences common to all patients were being in hospital, being ill or in pain, adjusting to not being able to do things, and having time to think. In addition, all participants described being depressed, down or sad. Patients who were identified by screening as being depressed described unique experiences of depression, which included 'having to think about things' (a forceful intrusive thinking), 'not being able to sleep', 'having to rely on others', 'being a burden' to others (with associated shame and guilt), feelings of 'not getting better' and 'feeling like giving up'. Theoretical analysis suggested that this experience of depression fitted well with the concept of demoralization described by Jerome Frank. Conclusions: Demoralization, which involves feelings of being unable to cope, helplessness, hopelessness and diminished personal esteem, characterizes much of the depression seen in hospitalized medically ill patients.


Fishing for Clarity in Hyperdocuments with Enhanced Fisheye-Views K. Tochtermann, G. Dittrich UniversiQ of Dortmund Department of Computer Science, LS 1 P.O. Box 500500 D-4600 Dortmund 50; Germany e-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com?glormutik.um"-dortmund.de Phone: ++49-231-7556326 It is known that fisheye-views prove beneficial to users who get lost in hyperspace. Until now, the fisheye-view strategy, introduced by Fumas, is only applicable in structures where the necessary components of the fisheye-view function can be defined. Unfortunately, directed graphs are structures where the fisheye-view function of Furnas cannot be applied. Therefore the fisheye-view concept was of limited value in hyperdocuments represented by such graphs. To overcome this lack, this paper proposes an enhancement of Furnas' function to allow its application in hyperdoeuments of that kind. We will begin with a short review of Furnas' well-known fisheye-view concept. Thereafter, we wilt discuss the problems that arise when one attempts to apply the concept in so-called ,,unstructured" hyperdocuments. The results of this discussion lead to the development of a function which satisfies the requirements of the concept, and allows its use in hyperdocuments of almost any structure. To show that the fisheye-view concept of Fumas remains fulfilled, an appropriate theorem is formulated. The result is that the benefits of the fisheye-view concept can now be appreciated in ,,unstructured" hyperdocuments. In closing, we offer a detailed example, which illustrates the behavior of the enhanced fisheye-view function. Permission to copy without fee all or part of this material is granted provided that copies are not made or distributed for direct commercial advantage, the ACM copyright notice and the title of the publication and its date appear, and notice is given that copying is by permission of the Association for Computing Machinery. To copy otherwise, or to republish, requires a fee and/or specific permission. @1992 ACM O-89791-547-X/92 /0011/0212/ $1.50


The precipitation mechanism of strengthening phase in super-saturated solid solution of Cu-3.2Ni-0.75Si-0.30Zn alloy during aging was studied with microstructure,microhardness and electric conductivity.The results show that in the early aging(at 250~450℃),super-saturated solid solution will transformed by means of spinodal decomposition.As a result,the solute atoms-poor region and rich region are formed.With the prolongation of aging time,the ordering appeare in solute atoms-rich region,and with matrix semi-coherent the strengthening phase(Ni_2Si)is formed.If aging continues,and the strengthening phase is precipitating and growing,the semi-coherent relation will be destroyed.In the end,under action of surface tension,strengthening phase will be spheroidized.Meanwhile,the increasing tendency of electric conductivity and microhardness is slowed.


Congress passes and the president signs a few dozen laws every year; meanwhile federal departments and agencies issue well over 3,000 rules and regulations of varying significance. A weekday never passes without new regulation. What we have less grasp on is the amount of and cost of the many thousands of other executive branch and federal agency proclamations and issuances such as memos, guidance documents, bulletins, circulars, announcements and the like with practical if not always technically legally binding regulatory effect. Along with numerous presidential executive orders and memoranda, there are hundreds of "significant" agency guidance documents now in effect, plus thousands of other guidances and proclamations going by various names that receive little scrutiny or democratic accountability. This report is a preliminary effort at outlining the scope of this "regulatory dark matter." It concludes with steps for Congress to address dark matter and to halt the over-delegation of legislative power that has permitted it.


This paper introduces a multi-locomotion robot which has multiple types of locomotion. The robot is developed to achieve a bipedal walk, a quadrupedal walk and a brachiation, mimicking locomotion ways of a gorilla. It therefore has higher mobility by selecting a proper locomotion type according to its environment and purpose. In this paper we focus on brachiation mode and propose a control algorithm to realize stable and efficient continuous brachiation while the ultimate purpose of this study is to develop a unified control architecture which realize multiple types of dexterous locomotion like an animal as well as motion stability and efficiency. Swing control of brachiation according to the total energy of the system is one of key issues in order to realize the continuous brachiation, because the brachiation can be modeled as a pendulum-like motion and the amplitude of the oscillation determines whether the robot can grasp the target ladder or not. We propose an energy-based control algorithm and install it into the swing action controller. Experimental results show that the robot can successfully achieve smooth and continuous brachiation


Within the development of software systems, the development of web applications may be one of the most widespread at present due to the great number of advantages they provide such as: multiplatform, speed of access or the not requiring extremely powerful hardware among others. The fact that so many web applications are being developed, makes enormous the volume of information that it is generated daily. In the management of all this information, the entity reconciliation (ER) problem occurs, which is to identify objects referring to the same real-world entity. This paper proposes to give a solution to this problem through a web perspective based on the Model-Driven Engineering paradigm. To this end, the Navigational Development Techniques (NDT) methodology, that provides a formal and complete set of processes that bring support to the software lifecycle management, has been taken as a reference and it has been extended adding new activities, artefacts and documents to cover the ER. All these elements are defined by a process named Model-Driven Entity ReconcilIAtion (MaRIA), that can be integrated in any software development methodology and allows one to define the ER problem from the early stages of the development. In addition, this proposal has been validated in a real-world case study helping companies to reduce costs when a software product that must give a solution to an ER problem has to be developed.


The paper introduced that the essential oils was obtained from Mikania micrantha H.B.K.by supercritical CO2 extraction method.The optimum condition was determined by the orthogonal experiments.The extraction was analyzed by GC/MS,and the fungicidal activities were preliminarily tested.The results showed that the optimal conditions for the improved supercritical CO2 extraction of essential oil were determined as follows:Static extraction time 20 min;Dynamic extraction conditions:extraction temperature 55℃,extraction press 35 MPa,volume of CO2 40 mL/g,CO2 flow rate 0.5~1.0 mL/min.Under these conditions,the essential oils contained 64 kinds of compounds and 79.80% of its main components were terpenoids,alcohols,fatty acids,esters and steroidal compounds.The test of the inhibition rate against the mycelial growth showed that the essential oil had strong inhibitory on growth of Fusarium graminearum and Rhizoctonia cerealis,which EC50 value was 119.55 mg/L and 78.27 mg/L.


This paper analyses the village of forest in Tana Toa, the locality of South Sulawesi that is headed by the Ammatowa. The Ammatoa is a term which describes a society who live in the area of Tana Toa, is divided into Ilalang embaya, who have maintained their exclusiveness and sharp borders, and the Ipantarang embaya, who have mixed with other members of the surrounding society. Among the Ilalang embaya there is a set of adat regulations based on pasang that demands obedience to is detailed. Prescriptions in such contexts as shape, size, and orientation of housing that must be built. The force of adat allows possibilities of empowering local institutions for managing forest resources in the context of the future scenario of regional autonomy. This paper considers the question of the extent to which the institution of Ammatoa leadership and is associates adat constitute an institution that has fully been used for the village forest in this locality of South Sulawesi. It mainly considers the question of how these institutions can be updated and contextualized througe a process of reflective mutual understanding to cope with the context of regional autonomy. The paper concludes by investigating the reality of changes in the Ammatoa system as it responds not only to the expansion of the forest resource management requirements but also the imperatives to transform into an open community.


Gas sensors based on metal-oxide-semiconductors are predominantly used in numerous applications including monitoring indoor air quality and detecting harmful substances such as volatile organic compounds. Nanostructures, e.g., nanoparticles, nanotubes, nano-domes, or nanofibers, have been widely utilized to improve the gas sensing properties of metal-oxide-semiconductors by increasing the effective surface area participating in the surface reaction with target gas molecules. Recently, 1-dimensional (1D) metal oxide nano-structures fabricated using glancing angle deposition (GAD) method with e-beam evaporation have been widely employed to increase the surface-to-volume ratio significantly with large-area uniformity and reproducibility, leading to promising gas sensing properties. Herein, we provide a brief overview of 1D metal oxide nanostructures fabricated using GAD and their gas sensing properties in terms of fabrication methods, morphologies, and additives. Moreover, the gas sensing mechanisms and perspectives are presented.


ately in his will, thereby showing, to borrow a famous phraseof Gibbon about Belisarius, "either lessor more than the characterof a man." For nine days before he died he lay unconscious andbabbledin delirium. On the morning of May 5, 1821, Montholon thought he heard the words: "France. armee tete d'armee." The dying Emperor thrust Montholon from his side, struggled out of bed and staggeredtowards the window. Montholon overpoweredhim and put him back to bed, where he lay silent and motionless till he died the sameevening. The man who had fought about sixty pitched battles, all of which he had won, I believe, but two; who had causedthe deathsof threemillions of his own men and untold millions of his enemies,died as peacefully in his bed as any humble labourer of Woolloomooloo. What dim memories passedthrough his clouded brain as he tried to say "Head of the army?" A great tropical storm was threatening Longwood. Did he recall the famous "sun of Austerlitz" beneathwhose rays the "grande armee' had elevated its idolized head to the highest pitch of earthly glory? Who can follow the queer paths taken by associatedideasin the humanbrain? •


This paper investigates the impact of co-channel interference (CCI), imperfect channel state information (CSI) and pilot contamination for multi-pair massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) two-way relay networks (TWRNs). We consider a multi-cell TWRN system consisting of single-antenna user nodes and amplify-and-forward (AF) relay nodes having very large antenna arrays. Under the aforementioned channel imperfections, the asymptotic signal-to-interference-noise ratio and asymptotic sum rate expressions are derived in closed-form whenever the number of relay antennas grows unbounded with respect to the number of user nodes. For perfect CSI case, the transmit power at the user nodes and the relay can be scaled down inversely proportional to the number of antennas at the relay. Moreover, for the imperfect CSI case, these transmit powers can only be scaled down inversely proportional to the square-root of the relay antenna count. Thus, even with imperfect CSI, the benefits of employing a massive MIMO-enabled relay on transmit power savings are significant. Moreover, our analysis shows that although the detrimental effect of CCI can be asymptotically negated completely, the residual interference due to pilot contamination cannot be mitigated even in the limit of infinitely many relay antennas.


The electron microscope, introduced in 1938 by von Borris and Ruska, opened a new dimension to man's vision. Although its main impact in biomedical sci ences has been in the world of viruses, the instrument is also rewriting the mor phology of the intricate contents of cells, normal and malignant. A new vocab ulary of structures is evolving and the structures correlated to functional activities. Two examples of the application of the electron microscope to human neo plasms appear in the October issue of Cancer Research. R. L. Olson et al., of the University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma City, describe their observations on four cases of Bowen's disease, intradermal squamous cell carcinoma. R. A. Erland son, et al. of the Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research, New York City, record the appearance of three sacrococcygeal chordomas, tumors of the embry onic notochord. In the future, ultrastructure undoubtedly will be an important ancillary to conventional histology. Until a few years ago, chemical carcinogens were predominantly derivatives of human industrial processes: the polycyclic hydrocarbons from soot, tar, and other combustion products of vegetable material, coal tar dye analogs, and the aminofluorenes being among such examples. The discovery in 1960 of afiatoxin, a powerful hepatotoxin and a carcinogen, elaborated by the fungus, Aspergillus flavus, turned scientific attention to the "¿ natural― sources of carcinogens, such as among plants. The November issue of Cancer Research includes a symposium on Carcinogens of Plant Origin, sponsored by the International Union Against Cancer and held at the National Institutes of Health in April 1968. Participants from seven countries presented 27 formal reports. The papers include two on afiatoxin and two on bracken fern, a summary on cycasin, and two papers on tobacco carcino genesis; these are examples of well-established carcinogens of plant origin. Current work includes the search for additional carcinogens among fungal species, and among edible or medicinal plants used in areas of the world with unusual occurrence of hepatic or gastrointestinal cancer. These studies involve identification of other toxic fractions, including materials that are teratogenic and mutagenic. The dangers to man which confront him in nature still exceed the dangers man imposes upon himself.


ABSTRACT
Aceticlastic and hydrogenotrophic methanogens were comparatively investigated by 16S rRNA-based fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) technique combined with Confocal Scanning Laser Microscopy (CSLM) to evaluate temperature influence on two functional groups of methanogens. Microorganisms were grown in the form of anaerobic granular sludge in two lab-scale Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Bed (UASB) reactors fed with synthetic wastewater and operated at psychrophilic and mesophilic temperature conditions. Since hydrogenotrophic and aceticlastic methanogenesis are known to play a crucial role, digestion may be effectively blocked if these processes are ceased due to unfavorable environmental temperature conditions. Mesophilic (35 ± 2C) and psychrophilic (10 ± 1C) reactors were inoculated by the same mesophilic granules taken from a full-scale UASB reactor. According to FISH results, Archaea representing methanogens were found dominating at bottom sampling ports of reactors and dominant member of Archaea was the genus aceticlastic Methanosaeta (MX825). Other aceticlastic methanogen such as Methanosarcina-like (SARCI645) species were also identified which were higher in psychrophilic granules. Members of order Methanobacteriales (MB310) constituted the major hydrogenothrophic methanogens in both reactors, whereas other hydrogenothrophic methanogens members of order Methanococcales (MC1109) and Methanogenium (MG1200) relatives were absent. Abundance of originally mesophilic Methanosaeta-related Archaea under low temperature conditions demonstrated the adaptive capacity of microorganisms to psychrophilic conditions. This might be attributed to enzymatic alterations in Methanosaeta cells originating from seed sludge, which were exposed to sub-mesophilic temperatures at start-up and then to psychrophilic conditions during gradual temperature decreases. Both sludge granules remained undisturbed and kept their rigidity even after exposure to very low temperatures. Quantification study was done using Image Pro-plus Version 4.0. Archaeal cells detected with probe ARC915 were found around 60% of the 4,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole stained cells at both reactors. Methanosaeta spp./Archaea ratios for mesophilic and psychrophilic UASB reactors were calculated as 71% and 84%, respectively. FISH and CSLM results together with quantification study showed that the microbial community of anaerobic granular sludges was dominated by Methanosaeta spp. which was identified as the major methanogenic Archaea.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS
Since effects on bioreactor performances were correlated to variations in microbial diversity, investigation of methanogenic diversity in anaerobic reactors is important during operation. Identification of microorganisms should be done for formation, stability, and physiological properties of the biomass in bioreactors, which is a key factor during process performance evaluation. Monitoring the changes in dominant archea of seed added at start-up, gives information on system performance. A detailed investigation on diversity, structure and function of mixed microbial communities in anaerobic reactors is necessary to improve treatment efficiency and stability against inhibitory compounds. Among 16S rRNA based microbial identification techniques, FISH is a well-known technique that helps determination of dominant species by giving a detailed analysis of microbial populations while CSLM is the most appropriate method for monitoring the formation of 3-D structure of microbial biomass. In this study, temperature influence on aceticlastic and hydrogenotrophic methanogen groups was evaluated using FISH coupled with CSLM.


Windows are one of the major means by which building occupants control indoor environment. This paper explores the improvement of acoustic, visual, olfactory and thermal occupant comfort thought window opening/closing operations in a selected naturally conditioned classroom without mechanical ventilation in a Nordic climate. The survey gathered 425 records of actual sensations and their corresponding thermal parameters. Participants reported 196 adaptive actions taken to improve comfort. Most of windows manipulations were related to thermal comfort. Pleasant Temperature represents the temperature range where occupants are satisfied by the thermal environment and show that the percentage of dissatisfaction against thermal sensations is lower than the one expected by standard. This study supports the theory that the width of temperature range can be highly variable when adaptive opportunities such as window opening are provided.


The microstructural characteristics of a shear zone developed in Plio-Pleistocene mudstones of the Southern Apennines have been analysed by means of XRD, SEM, optical microscope observation and a consolidation test. XRD analyses indicate that the wall rock contains mixed layer illite/smectite while the fault gauge contains illite only. The distribution patterns of smectitic and illitic mudstones is analysed thanks to a simple peeling technique that allows observation with optical microscope and SEM. The consolidation test provides indications on the depth at which deformation occurred.


Background & aim: Some natural and synthetic compounds have antioxidant properties which protect the liver tissue against toxins such as lead. they also plays an important role in reducing the harmful effects of heavy metals and pesticides. The aim of this experimental study is to investigate the protective effects of Tragopogon pratensis leaves extract (TPE) in male rats. Methods: In this study 36 male Wistar rats weighing 220±250g were randomly divided into six groups: control group, toxicant group received 0.5g/L lead acetate in tap water, treatment groups (1,2 and 3: received 0.5gr/L lead acetate in tap water and 200,400,800 mg/kg TPE ) respectively. positive control received 400mg/kg TPE gavaged . At the end of examination the blood samples were collected and liver enzymes, total protein, albumin, MDA, total bilirubin and direct bilirubin were analyzed. The data were analyzed by SPSS software and one-way ANOVA and Tukey ́s test. Results: Serum levels of liver enzymes (AST, ALT, ALP) increased significantly in the acetate group compared with the control group (P<0.001).The serum levels of albumin and total proteins were reduced and MDA was increased significantly compared with control group (P<0.001). The serum levels of liver enzymes were reduced significantly in treatment groups compared with toxicant group (P≤0.001). Conclusion: The effective ingredients in Tragopogon pratensis extract are probably due to the presence of antioxidant compounds reduce the production of released radicals which can stabilize the membrane of the hepatocyte membrane and reduce the release of liver enzymes in the blood.


In this paper, we will be discussing about the parking system in a city which is embedded with various features like automated, rotary parking and nearest parking slot allotment using IoT and sensor technology. As we know that parking is one of the major problems especially in cities due to lack of required amount of parking area, maintenance facility and lack of proper guidance to park the car. Also there are situations which lead to chaos between people due to lack of proper guidance between them while travelling in the parking area to park the car. In this, we will be providing an algorithm which provides an effective and efficient solution to park the car by using hybrid parking mechanisms to provide more parking efficiency and cost effective with less maintenance and power consumption. Here, we will be using the CMOS sensors for number plate identification, speed sensors for speed detection, ultrasonic sensors for vehicle detection, softwares working OCR, arduino as a microcontroller and Raspberry Pi to interface all the components. The paper focuses on the effective and efficient smart working methods along with guided user safety.


The combination of democratic promotion and democratic consolidation has long become a catch phrase for states to be recognized as high-achievers and their societies to be labelled as free. The West, the driving force of both processes, has underestimated the risk that the fruits of democracy promotion would be used for more nefarious goals than to aid its direct beneficiaries. However the democratization process opens «windows of opportunity» for external actors to meddle via political parties and vibrant civil society, and find it relatively easy to breed agents that influence public opinion through country's media freedom. This paper argues that Georgia should keep a close eye on Russia's actions in the West to learn the Kremlin's strategies to undermine democracy; known Russian tactics include exploiting popular dissatisfaction, deepening internal divisions and promoting civil society actors that are not necessarily pro-Russian but are illiberal and radical.


Simple Summary Immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy has proven effective for many cancer patients, but predicting which patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC) will respond has been challenging. We analyzed clinical characteristics and molecular parameters of a cohort of patients with RCC treated with anti-programmed death 1 (PD-1)/PD-L1 therapy to determine factors that correlate with patient outcome. We found that the composition of circulating immune cells in the blood, development of immune-related toxicities, and gene expression patterns within the tumor correlate with patient response. In addition, we see that high expression of PD-L1 and lower numbers of unique T cell clones in RCC tumors are associated with improved survival. In summary, our findings corroborate previously published work and introduce new potential factors impacting response to ICI therapy that deserve further investigation. Abstract Predicting response to ICI therapy among patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC) has been uniquely challenging. We analyzed patient characteristics and clinical correlates from a retrospective single-site cohort of advanced RCC patients receiving anti-PD-1/PD-L1 monotherapy (N = 97), as well as molecular parameters in a subset of patients, including multiplexed immunofluorescence (mIF), whole exome sequencing (WES), T cell receptor (TCR) sequencing, and RNA sequencing (RNA-seq). Clinical factors such as the development of immune-related adverse events (odds ratio (OR) = 2.50, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.05–5.91) and immunological prognostic parameters, including a higher percentage of circulating lymphocytes (23.4% vs. 17.4%, p = 0.0015) and a lower percentage of circulating neutrophils (61.8% vs. 68.5%, p = 0.0045), correlated with response. Previously identified gene expression signatures representing pathways of angiogenesis, myeloid inflammation, T effector presence, and clear cell signatures also correlated with response. High PD-L1 expression (>10% cells) as well as low TCR diversity (≤644 clonotypes) were associated with improved progression-free survival (PFS). We corroborate previously published findings and provide preliminary evidence of T cell clonality impacting the outcome of RCC patients. To further biomarker development in RCC, future studies will benefit from integrated analysis of multiple molecular platforms and prospective validation.


This volume presents reported truck and rail operating data and analytical methods developed to estimate changes in transportation prices attributable to specific sets of truck size and weight limits. A system of cost based "rates" (or average shipment charges) is developed for differentiating among specific truck and rail transport services by allocating full economic cost to appropriate vehicle payloads. The affects of various truck size and weight limits are examined in terms of changes in the competitive relationships among various highway and rail carrier services.


Among the places where prevalence studies' of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) with Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire (SPAQ) took place, Sarasota, Florida (27"N), was at the most southern latitude. In the present study, the seasonal mood change of workers in Quezon City, the Philippines (15"N), is surveyed with SPAQ and the result is compared with those of the studies in the United States.


A 64-year-old woman was transported to emergency room, with intense breast pain with impending shock. She had been diagnosed with mammary carcinoma, and pheochromocytoma was discovered during preoperative examinations. Reduced ejection fraction (EF; 30%) with apical ballooning indicated acute coronary syndrome or Takotsubo cardiomyopathy,1 we inserted an intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) after confirming intact coronary arteries via sequential coronary angiograms.

Seven hours after use of the IABP started, …


The paper presents the result obtained by the authors in non-contact measuring of various holes drilled into an aluminum shell. The image is taken using a CCD camera with 1280×1024 pixels resolution. The image is then saved in an .jpeg file. Many data processing images are applied to the original image in order to obtain the value of the surrounding hole's circle. The image and the measured data are then saved in a database for further use. The measuring device has been integrated into a larger equipment that comprise a PLC component with HMI device, an linear moving axis and mechanical devices for image commissioning. The human operator can instruct the equipment to perform an automated cycle of motion and detection or may use the manual mode, which is suitable for testing.


The discipline of dental implant-ology is developing steadily. Nowadays, "high-tech" approaches are becoming increasingly common, which optimizes clinical treatment successes. Where implants were originally hands-free installed, today a large part of the interventions uses computer-guided surgery or even navigated implantation. Also, the complete digital workflow, including DVT technology, intraoral scanners and 3D printers, is getting well established now. However, not only surgical and prosthetic concepts continue to develop, but there is also a rethinking of materials into the direction of more biocompatible and esthetic approaches. This article shows how ceramic dental implants can be the ideal alternative to replace 2 lost upper front teeth.


Macrolide antibiotics, such as clarithromycin (CAM), provide not only antibacterial activity but also anti-inflammatory effects. Several recent studies have reported the successful treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and polymyalgia rheumatic (PMR) using CAM due to its anti-inflammatory effects. Herein, we also report two cases of PMR treated using CAM. Case 1: An 83-year-old man with PMR was treated using prednisolone (PSL) (15 mg/day) and CAM. When muscle pain disappeared and C-reactive protein (CRP) decreased, the PSL dosage was reduced. When PSL was reduced to 5 mg/day, CAM was discontinued. However, following this discontinuation, muscle pain returned and CRP became positive. Therefore, CAM was successfully readministered. Case 2: A 68-year-old woman with PMR was treated using PSL (15 mg/day). When muscle pain disappeared and CRP decreased, the PSL dosage was reduced. When PSL was reduced to 7 mg/day, muscle pain returned, and CRP became positive. CAM was successfully added and the PSL dosage could be decreased to 5 mg/day. These two cases suggest that treatment using CAM may be effective in some cases of PMR.


Due to internal symmetries of its ghost sector, the Poincare' generators of the GZ-model are not unique. The model apparently has two linearly independent symmetric and conserved energy momentum tensors. We show that these energy-momentum tensors are physically equivalent and differ by unobservable conserved currents only. There is a single physical energy-momentum operator that is invariant under all symmetries of the ghost sector, including BRST. This resolves concerns about Poincare' invariance raised by the explicit $x$-dependence of the BRST operator. The energy, momentum and angular momentum of physical states are well-defined quantities that vanish for the ground state of this theory. We obtain and discuss the physical Ward identities resulting from Poincare' invariance.


Objective To study the pathogenesis rate of neonatal ventilator associated pneumonia(VAP),risk factors,etiology,drug sensitivity and preventive measures.Methods A retrospective analysis of January 2009to January 2013in our hospital neonatal intensive care unit(NICU)with mechanical ventilation(MV)treatment of 84cases neonatal clinical data.According to complicating with VAP or not, they were divided into VAP group(n=34)and non VAP group(n=50).The study protocol was approved by the Ethical Review Board of Investigation in Human Being of Dujianyan Prople′s Hospital.Informed consent was obtained from the parents of each participating neonate.There had no significance difference between two groups among mode of delivery,day age(10 min-25d)by MV continuous treatment(P 0.05).Results VAP incidence was 40.5%in this study.The occurrence of VAP had closely related with premature birth,low birth weight,duration of MV continuous treatment,intubation times,primary pulmonary disease,whether or not early use of human immunoglobulin for intravenous injection(IVIG)and early use of pulmonary surfactant(r=0.412,r=0.331,r=0.115,r=0.561,r=0.398,r=0.412,r= 0.158;P0.05);and had no correlation with gender of neonates(r=1.235,P0.05).Pathogenic bacterias in VAP group were Gram-negative bacilli,accounting for 79.4%,among them Klebsiella pneumoniae,Pseudomonas aeruginosa,Escherichia coli,Acinetobacter were most common,and they were more for drug-resistant bacterias.Conclusions The longer duration of MV continuous treatment,the higher incidence of VAP.Prevention of VAP basically should adopt comprehensive prevention measures.The pathogenic bacteria causing VAP mainly Gram-negative bacterias.Reasonable selection of antimicrobial agents can improve the success rates of VAP treatment.


Abstract As Eric Blair, the young George Orwell served in the Indian Imperial Police in Burma from 1922 to 1929, a time of growing Burmese discontent with British rule. He wrote about Burma in a novel, Burmese Days, and a number of non-fictional writings. This article considers the nature of the law-and-order regime Orwell served in Burma, especially in the light of racial self-interest and Britain's commitment to the principle of the rule of law, and traces the issues of race and the law to his last novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four.


Moelleriella pumatensis, a fungal pathogen infecting scale insect nymphs (Hemiptera), is described and illustrated as a new species from Pu Mat National Park in Vietnam. This species is unique in producing a golden yellow spore mass surrounding the stroma. In surveys throughout the year in Vietnam, only the anamorphic state has been found in the natural forest. Morphological characters and phylogenetic analysis of translation elongation factor 1-alpha (tef1) reveals this species as an anamorph of Moelleriella.


Detailed demagnetization experiments isolated a characteristic remanent magnetization in ten stable sites from the upper Cretaceous Winthrop and Midnight Peak Formations in the Methow-Pasayten belt of north-central Washington. This remanence agrees best between opposite limbs of a fold (the Goat Peak syncline) when corrected for 46% of tilt. This is consistent with magnetization acquired during deformation. Synfolding magnetization may have been facilitated by a thermo-chemical event associated with synkinematic intrusions along the axis of folding. The mean direction (D=12.0°, I=61.1°, Alpha-95=4.8°) is highly discordant with respect to the expected direction for north-central Washington. This discordance points to about 1,400 km of poleward transport and 48° of clockwise rotation between 93 and 45-48 Ma.


In this article, an ultra-wideband antenna has been presented for medical applications which have a resonant frequency of 10.35GHz and offers a bandwidth of 1400MHz with a return loss of -19db. The presented antenna is low-cost lightweight and can easily be integrated inside the circuit. As this antenna is designed for medical applications its size is compact and is fed utilizing a coaxial feeding technique which is especially plentiful for operative radiotherapy applications. The designed antenna is rectangular and covers an overall size of 24x12mm with a thickness of 1mm. The proposed antenna is designed using CST studio as a simulation tool, the extracted results of important parameters like return loss, surface current, reference impedance, and far-field have achieved remarkable results which are illustrated in the article. which makes it suitable for radiotherapy. A high epsilon valued ε r = 4.8, tan δ = 0.02 substrate GT-008 has been employed as a dielectric material whereas copper is being used for the ground and radiating patches. The performance of the antenna in the X-band is satisfactory which makes it suitable for radiotherapy.


A field study to assess the efficacy of florfenicol (FFC) against enteric septicemia of catfish (ESC) was conducted with pond-reared channel catfish fingerlings held in 0.1-acre earthen ponds. Fish were challenged with Edwardsiella ictaluri in a natural pond outbreak or by cohabitation with E. ictaluri-infected fish held in netpens. Fourteen ponds were assigned in equal number to two treatment groups, that is, either treated (with 10 mg FFC/kg body weight in medicated feed) or not treated (control) for 10 consecutive d. The threshold for enrollment into the study was 0.3% cumulative mortality attributed to ESC. Treatment was initiated on different dates for each pond because each pond was enrolled when 33 fish/pond were diagnosed with ESC based on clinical signs, lesions, or positive cultures. Mortality was monitored during the 10-d treatment period and during a 14-d posttreatment observation period. At the end of the 14-d posttreatment observation period, all fish were euthanized, and 20 fish from each pond were examined by gross necropsy and evaluated for the presence of E. ictaluri by bacterial culture. The odds of a mortality in the control group were 2.20 times the odds of a mortality in the FFC-treated group. Significantly fewer (P≤ 0.05) FFC-medicated catfish died in comparison to unmedicated catfish. The minimum inhibitory concentration of FFC for this strain of E. ictaluri was 0.25 μg/mL in all fish that were assayed. The mean zone of inhibition (Kirby Bauer) was 36.8 mm from E. ictaluri isolates of test fish. There were no FFC treatment-related lesions seen on gross pathology. FFC was efficacious and safe for control of mortality from E. ictaluri infection in catfish.


DR. PATTERSON has filled what has long been an irritating lacuna in the average chemist's library. Certain scientific and technical terms are by no means easy to translate from the German, and recourse to the dictionary usually available is generally hopeless. The book under review should therefore be eagerly welcomed by the steadily increasing number of young chemists in England and America and by those who, even if they have already a good working knowledge of the language, are occasionally at fault. Not only is it a good general dictionary of the German language, but it contains also a very complete collection of chemical terms belonging both to the pure science and to technology.A German-English Dictionary for Chemists.By Dr. A. M. Patterson. Pp. xvi + 316. (New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.; London: Chapman and Hall, Ltd., 1917.) Price 9s. 6d. net.


[Objective] In order to improve the detection efficiency of high-pathogenicity island(HPI) in avian Escherichia coli isolates, investigate the homology of its int genes and irp2genes, and finally reveal the transfer regularity of HPI in avian E. coli. [Methods] Orthogonal experimental design was used to optimize multiple-PCR amplification system for irp2 and fyuA, which belong to the core genes of HPI, and avian E. coli clinical isolates were detected with this method. The genetic homologies of irp2 and int genes amplified from seven detected HPI-positive E. coli strains were analyzed. The distribution characteristic of int was analyzed comparing with the ERIC-PCR result of the seven HPI-positive E. coli strains. [Results] The core genes of HPI were specifically amplified by the multiple-PCR method. ERIC-PCR analysis shows that the degree of difference between the HPI-positive strains was higher than5%. A great conservation(higher than 99% homology) of irp2 genes in HPI-positive E. coli strains was found, and all of the int genes were located in the vicinity of asn-tRNA, but not all of them were highly conserved. [Conclusion] We have established a multiple-PCR method which can be applied to the laboratory diagnosis test and epidemiological investigation of HPI,and suppose that the way of HPI horizontal transfer may be mainly based on the homologous recombination in the HPI-adjacent sequences.


This paper deals with an optimal number of segments in container vulcanizing mould for the tire tread with a complicated groove pattern and solves its removal from the mould. The principle of removing the tire from the mould cavity is in kinematics of tool formed by coupled movements. During demoulding, firstly, the top container plate with segments, which are fixed by means of grooves, moves up through the driving mechanism, in a radial direction from the centre of tire. After, this motion is followed by an axial stroke of the whole top part with the segments. The problem may occur, at the beginning, if the seg-ments are not moved in the radial direction, due to the high adhesion caused by an exces-sive number of negative angles in the tread grooves of the tire, but they move in an axial direction or slantwise. This may result in a damage of surface pattern. The aim of this work is to carry out how the angle between segment shoe and fixing plate, as well as the amount of segments in mould, will influence the maximum generated stress. Design of the groove pattern, segments and container was designed in 3D CAD program Catia V5R19. To ob-tain a maximum stress in the groove patterns, the mechanical analysis by using the finite element method was performed in the same program. From the results of mechanical analy-sis, it was observed that the higher number of segments represents lower Von Misses stress. On the other hand using smaller number of segments with have an influence on complexity of the mould design and its price. That is why an appropriated compromise has to be found.


Objective: To examine the acculturation–health relationship using metabolic syndrome biomarkers. Method: Cross-sectional sample data. Participants: 1,789 Mexican Americans (60 years and older) from northern California. Main Outcome: Biomarkers (waist circumference, blood pressure, fasting plasma glucose, triglycerides, and high-density lipids) were used to construct the metabolic syndrome indicator using American Heart Association criteria. Main Predictor: Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans-II scores. Results: Higher acculturation scores were associated with a significantly lower risk for the metabolic syndrome for foreign-born, but not U.S.-born, Mexican Americans. Conclusion: Immigrant health advantages over U.S.-born Mexican Americans are not evident in older adulthood. Higher acculturation was associated with lowered metabolic syndrome risk among older foreign-born Mexican Americans. This suggests that the prevailing acculturative stress hypothesis may not apply to the health of older adults and that any negative relationship between acculturation and health found in younger adults may yield to different developmental health influences in later adulthood.


Newly hatched autumn-spawned herring larvae Clupeu lzurengus were released in two 2500-m' outdoor mesocosms and reared over a 2-month period. Hydrographic conditions were similar in the two mesocosms, but the average plankton density was initially more than 10 times higher in mesocosm B compared to mesocosm A (>1 1 Half-way through the experiment the feeding conditions reversed with three times higher average densities in mesocosm A than in mesocosm B (>3 1 ~ ' v. - 1 1 ~ '). Herring larvae were sampled with a 0.3-m2 two-chambered net twice weekly, and survivors were harvested by draining the mesocosms at the end of the experiment. Otolith growth trajectories of individual larvae were determined by relating radial otolith size with number of increments from the outer edge of the otolith (days before capture). The increment widths during the first 3 weeks after hatching, including the first-check size, were generally wider among larvae from mesocosm B (relatively good initial feeding conditions) than among those from mesocosm A (poor initial feeding conditions). The otolith growth pattern also confirmed that the surviving herring in mesocosm A belonged to the upper size range of larvae in the mesocosm after only 2-3 weeks from hatching; no such trend was found in mesocosm B. In both mesocosrns the otolith size-at-age indicated that with the present sampling gear, herring larvae larger than 20--25 mm were underrepresented in the net samples. The information obtained from otolith-size-at-age is compared with other morphometric and biochemical measures of size and condition of larvae


Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine satisfaction level among food retail employees concerning their pay and to compare pay referent and pay level satisfaction of employees in supermarkets and discount stores in the UK.Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire was used to gather data from a sample of 246 higher, middle level management and shop floor staff. The study selected ten leading retail organisations, five each from the supermarket and discount sectors. All had strong perceived image and quality, selling both national and own‐brands. All were located in London.Findings – The study revealed that generally, UK retail employees are not satisfied with their pay. However, supermarket employees recorded higher levels of satisfaction compared with their counterparts in the discount stores.Research limitations/implications – The results are limited to the UK food retail sector and, therefore, should not be generalised or be regarded as an indication of the general reaction of the UK worke...


ABSTRACT This paper interrogates the creation and afterlife of socialist beliefs and practices in the biographies of a cohort of people educated to become homens novos, conceived of as new socialist citizens. Its empirical part is based on a case study of the School of Friendship (SdF), an education project between Mozambique and East Germany. The paper demonstrates that the SdF was successful in creating a cohort of people for whom socialist solidarity was a key component of their identity. At the same time, they interpreted what a socialist citizen should be in their own way, thus using their education as what Bourdieu calls a strategy-generating institution. This enabled protagonists to navigate the post-socialist political order, not simply regarding socialism as the nostalgic reminder of a golden past. But the majority live and celebrate socialist citizenship among themselves, and hardly engage with political contestation in present-day Mozambique.


This is an op ed for Space News. It's based on work we did for the NRC study on Earth observations


Summary. Colposcopic, histological and cytological characteristics of 168 consecutive patients attending a colposcopy clinic were reviewed. A group of patients demonstrated a cluster of histological features previously related to possible human papilloma virus infection of cervical epithelium, including particularly koilocytosis, double nucleation and dyskeratosis. These patients had a significantly greater occurrence of colposcopic 'finger‐like' lesion outline and colposcopic impression of warty change, but not of other specific colposcopic features. Over two‐thirds of patients with histological warty features did not show these colposcopic changes. Cytological changes previously related to warty lesions did not occur commonly, and appeared to underestimate the histological occurrence of such changes. Histological changes considered to represent CIN were uncommon in patients who said that they had begun sexual activity less than 10 years ago, whereas patients with warty characteristics on histology showed no such bias.


Development of numerical Iowa — Heterogeneous energetic materials like plastic bonded explosives (PBX) have very detailed and non-uniform microstructure. The heterogeneity is mainly because of presence of HMX crystals embedded in a polymer binder matrix. Also, manufacturing defects often creates pores and cracks in the material. Shock interaction with these heterogeneities leads to local heated regions known as hot spots. It is widely accepted that these hot spots are predominantly the cause of triggering reaction and eventually ignition in these energetic materials. There are various physical phenomenon through which hot spot can be created such as pore collapse, inter-granular friction in HMX crystals, shock heating of HMX crystals and binder etc. Hence, microstructural heterogeneity can play a vital role for shock initiation in PBX. In the current work, a general framework has been es-tablished for performing mesoscale simulations on heterogeneous energetic material. In order to get an accurate representation of the microstructure, image processing algorithms have been employed on XCMT images of PBX microstructure. The image processing framework has been built up with massively parallel Eulerian code, SCIMITAR3D. Shock simulation on PBX microstructures has been performed and the effect of microstructure geometry has been studied for different shock strengths case. The simulation results have been shown to resolve hot spots created due to various heterogeneities present in the microstructure.


Providing security has become more and more urgent and necessary in embedded systems. To support the functionality security in embedded systems, the issues of the cost of executing the cryptographic algorithms and flexibility concerns must be solved. In the paper, we focus on the three most commonly used cryptographic algorithms, AES, DES and RSA to design a reconfigurable hardware for accelerating the executing the three algorithms. The reconfigurable hardware can be switched its behaviors by the control of configuration contexts to execute the functions of cryptographic algorithms. We first analyze the operation of the three cryptographic algorithms and classified them into three categories. The three modules, permutation and combination unit, computation unit and memory unit, are then designed for processing the three categories of functions. The computation is the main processing module in this architecture and is consisted of many processing elements. In order to design a better processing element for the cost effectively, we design four candidates for the design of the processing elements and evaluate them by using the benchmark. A cost function is also defined to analyze space-time product of the reconfigurable hardware compared with the ASIC design. The experimental result indicates the reconfigurable hardware only use the cost of 78% compared with the ASIC design with the same benchmark. Furthermore, if we take off the internal SRAM in both design and use the system storage area for computation, the reconfigurable design has the cost of only 70% compared with the ASIC design.


Objective To investigate the condition of human resources,equipments, work performance and performance quality in each level of laboratories in Hunan Province,and to provide a decision-making basis for laboratory network construction during the Twelfth Five-Year Plan period. Methods Questionnaires were distributed to prefecture-level and county-level laboratories,and the retrieved questionnaires were statistically analyzed. Results All kinds of work were carried out in the provincial laboratory according to the national requirements,only blind rechecking test was carried out in prefecture-level laboratories and sputum smear microscopy was performed in most of county-level laboratories.There were 199 staff members in all laboratories of Hunan Province.69.8% of the staff members had junior college degree or bachelor degree.44.2% of the staff members had elementary professional title and 31.7% had intermediate professional title.The staff members with a laboratory medicine major accounted for 79.9%.As for the equipments of all laboratories,the percentages of laboratories with bio-safety cabinet,solidification machine device, incubator,refrigerator and autoclave sterilizer were 28.37%,0.71%,36.88%,48.94% and 37.59%,respectively. Conclusions The current condition of the TB laboratories such as human resources,equipments and work performance do not meet the national requirements;hence the relative departments of the government need to increase investment so as to strengthen laboratory network construction and meet national requirements during the Twelfth Five-Year Plan period.


We confined actin and giant DNA mixture in a phospholipid coated micrometer scale (cell size) closed space (PMS) as a cell nuclear model system. We report the appearance of a spatially segregated state in PMSs between actin filaments and giant DNA molecules. When the diameter of a PMS was below 15 μm, DNA molecules are excluded toward the surface by forming an assembly with actin filaments. Furthermore, when the coexisting actin concentration was high enough, the aggregation of actin and DNA were still observed on the surface of a PMS whose diameter was above 15 μm. With a decrease in the actin concentration, actin filaments tend to dissolve within the sphere whereas DNA molecules remain to be excluded onto the surface. When the actin concentration becomes still lower, DNA molecules dissolve within the sphere by avoiding surface attachment. We interpreted these results in terms of the generation of a depletion zone near a surface with actin filaments in a PMS.


Angular distributions of Auger electrons and of photoelectrons emitted at high (>500 eV) and low (<100 eV) kinetic energies are compared. The high-energy patterns can be interpreted as forward-projected images of real space crystal geometry. At low energies, the angular distributions are dominated by diffraction effects, and the structural information is no longer obvious. On the other hand, the sensitivity to the geometry and the atomic composition of the surface is here dramatically enhanced. Moreover, the angular momentum character of the source wave strongly influences these patterns


Selenium is an important testing tool for software quality assurance. In recent days number of websites are increasing rapidly and it becomes essential to test the websites against various quality factors to make sure it meets the expected quality goals. Several companies are spending a lot of bucks for the testing tool while Selenium is available completely free for the performance test. The open source tool is well known for its unlimited capabilities and unlimited reach. Selenium stands out from the crowd in this aspect. Anyone could visit the Selenium website and download the latest version and use it. It is not only an open source but also highly modifiable. Testers could make changes based upon their needs and requirements.


CONTEXT
Regional fat distribution rather than overall obesity has been recognized as important to understanding the link between obesity and cardiovascular disease.

OBJECTIVE
We examined the associations of abdominal visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) with cardiovascular risk factors in a Caucasian population of men and women with normal glucose tolerance, prediabetes, or screen-detected diabetes.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS
The study was based on cross-sectional analysis of data from 1412 adults age 45-80 years. VAT and SAT were assessed by ultrasound. The associations of VAT and SAT with blood pressure and lipids were examined by linear regression analysis adjusted for age, sex, smoking, alcohol, physical activity, glucose tolerance status (GTS), medication use, and body mass index. Effect modification by GTS and sex was examined, and stratified analyses performed.

RESULTS
Independent of SAT and overall obesity, VAT was associated with higher triglyceride and lower high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels in both men and women and additionally associated with higher total cholesterol in men. SAT was independently associated with higher total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels in both sexes, and SAT was additionally associated with higher triglyceride and lower HDL cholesterol levels in women and with higher blood pressure in participants with diabetes.

CONCLUSION
Both abdominal VAT and SAT are independent of overall obesity associated with cardiovascular risk in a population of men and women at low to high risk of diabetes or with screen-detected diabetes.