The article presents the concept and origin of the ideal rule of law in the theory of law and the characteristics that depend on the quality of positive law. The welfare of the rule of law depends on law and accomplishment in human affairs. Emphasis is also placed on the practical concept of universal values and application at the national and international levels. The central thesis is that the rule of law needs to be strengthened through preventive and promotional measures as a constitutional and common European value. The reason for that is the high degree of distrust of citizens in the rule of law and specifically in the judicial system of Bosnia and Herzegovina. A weak justice system poses a risk to the rule of law and democracy. This is the cause of instability of society, lack of protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, lack of support in socio-economic development, fight against corruption, investment, and legal security. Consequently, we are far from making progress in achieving European standards and meeting the obligations of the Stabilization and Association Agreement. In stable systems, reforms strengthen citizens' trust in their institutions. There is no such leading force in the reform processes and responsibility toward the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The challenges for the rule of law in Bosnia Herzegovina that we are failing to deal with are justice in the service of citizens, the right to justice and a safer environment for the rule of law, ensuring integrity, efficient and independent judiciary, and weaknesses in the constitutional framework. At the EU level, respect for the rule of law is a shared responsibility of the Union's institutions and the Member States. The European Commission has prepared a review of the rule of law with measures to further strengthen it, especially in those Member States where weaknesses have been identified.


The room temperature deposition of self-assembling silica nanoparticles onto D-shaped optical fibres ("D-fibre"), drawn from milled preforms fabricated by modified chemical vapor deposition, is studied and preliminary results reported here. Of various techniques explored, an automated "dip-and-withdraw" approach is found to give the most reproducible layers. Vertical dip-and-withdraw produces tapered layers with one end thicker (surface coverage < 0.85) than the other whilst horizontal dip-and-withdraw produces much more uniform layers over the core region. The problem of induced fracturing is shown to originate from the sides of the D-fibre flat, attributed to an extended, linear "coffee stain effect", and is greatest for horizontal dip-and-withdraw. Under optimal preparation conditions they can be minimised and prevented from extending over the core region. Alternatively, these structures can be made periodic potentially enabling some unique structures to be fabricated since post-deposition of functional species will be highest in these cracks.


In the first reported use of MHz‐frequency acoustics to study small‐scale bedforms in the near shore zone, Dingler and Inman were able to observe the evolution of transition ripples under energetic groupy waves near the flat bed threshold. They found that these low‐relief, long‐crested bedforms appeared to be obliterated under the largest waves in a group, and subsequently reformed in one or two wave periods [J. Dingler and D. Inman, Proc. 15th Coastal Conf., Vol. II, 2109–2126 (1976)]. More recently, measurements of linear transition ripples were made during an autumn storm event using scanning wide beam and fixed narrow beam sonars, as well as a high resolution laser‐illuminated video system. These observations also indicate the occasional apparent disappearance of these ripples, and also their reformation at the same locations. The question arises as to whether the disappearance is apparent (the result of increased near bed sediment concentration and the definition of bed elevation based on reflection ...


In this work, the potential of a passive solar heating system with a Trombe wall with phase change materials for the climatic conditions of Uzbekistan was evaluated. A dynamic mathematical model has been developed, and validation has been carried out by comparing experimental data. The annual thermal characteristics of a three-room residential building, a three-room residential building with a Trombe wall, a three-room residential building with a Trombe wall with phase-change heat accumulator materials are determined. Calculations show that the specific energy consumption for heating a 3-room residential building is 211 kW·hr/m2·year, and the energy consumption for heating such an object with a Tromba wall installed on the southern wall is 134.3 kW·hr/m2·year, the energy consumption for heating such an object with the Trombe wall installed on the southern wall with phase change materials are 91.8 kW·hr/m2 year. This means that the use of the Trombe wall system will lead to a reduction in energy consumption by at least 36%. The average value of the thermal efficiency of the Trombe wall for the heating period is 37.08%, and the average value of the thermal efficiency of the Trombe wall with phase change materials for the heating period is 52.6%.


After years of talking about it, valuebased marketing of beef has become a reality. As a result, carcass traits are receiving increased emphasis when breeding decisions are made. There is some debate within the beef industry whether too much emphasis is being placed on the end-product. This question is raised because unit cost of production, reproduction, and early growth are still the factors that have the greatest impact on profitability in cow-calf herds. But as the industry moves toward true value-based marketing and more cattle are sold on grids or formulas, traits related to the end-product will likely increase in economic importance.


The search for efficient use of renewable energy is on a high focus to meet the energy demand. The vertical axis wind turbine for generating electricity in highways proves to be a valuable wind energy generation. Enormous amount of wind energy is generated by the moving vehicles on the highways. With the help of this energy, electricity can be produced by using the force of air from the moving vehicles. The savonius wind turbine helps in producing the high operating torque at the low speed of wind. This turbine can be installed in the middle of the highway, so that the wind force can be obtained from both sides of the highways. The wind turbine rotates effectively on it's own axis in only one direction i.e, clockwise direction. The DC generator is connected to the lower part of the wind turbine to convert mechanical energy to electrical energy. The generated electrical power is stored in the battery. The stored power can be utilized for automatic lighting system. This method can be used to harness wind energy for street lighting, signal lighting, and toll gates. Everywhere in the world, theft is a major issue on a daily basis. To enhance the security concern, fixing an anti-theft security system with GSM module, helps to send alert messages to the control room.


Levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), mirex, and pesticides were 10–100 times higher in migratory adult American eels, Anguilla rostrata, sampled at Kamouraska, Quebec, in 1990 than in eels f...


Resource constraint video decoding is critical for the next generation cost-driven multimedia devices. In this paper, we present a DCT-based computational complexity scalable video decoder via properly pruning the DCT data. Experimental results showed that the complexity can be scaled from 100% to 38% and the output quality is gracefully degraded.


Exertion tests for predicting maximal oxygen uptake (VO 2 ) intend to estimate the person maximum performance. Some articles mention the verbal encouragement in their protocol to reach it, while others do not. The objective of the present study is to observe the influence of verbal encouragement every 60 s used by a coach on maximal oxygen uptake, distances covered and final heart rate of adolescents. 12 young male volunteers (aged 16.7±0.45 years) were subjected to a multistage 20 m shuttle run test twice, with a week interval between each test. Half of the sample was given incentives during the first test, and the other half, only in the second test. Significant differences in maximal oxygen uptake (Δ% = 5.14%, p = 0.009), distances covered (Δ% = 9.23%, p = 0.03) and final heart rate (Δ% = 3.21%, p = 0.03) were observed between the two groups, with and without verbal encouragement. The verbal encouragement improved the performance in the test for the three parameters analyzed.


Contrast associated acute kidney injury (CA-AKI) is recently evidenced with lower frequency although yet worldwide its incidence ranges from 0-24%. Recent studies and meta-analysis have reported that hyperuricemia seem to be a useful biomarker in the early prediction of CIN incidence. The role of urine PH and spot uric acid to creatinine ratio (UACR) provide controversial evidence on the occurrence of CA-AKI. This research aims to gather evidence on the effect of uricemia, urine PH and UACR on the development of CA-AKI in acute conditions like primary percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI).

 A sample of 100 patients who underwent emergency coronary angiography in Cardiology Intensive Care Unit/UHCN-Tirana/Albania from October 2021- March 2022 were enrolled. Among these patients CA-AKI incidence was monitored, while CA-AKI was defined as an increased creatinine levels of more 25% of the baseline in a time window of 48-72h after the contrast. The analyses of the results were performed using ANOVA test for differences in parameters among CA-AKI/Non – CA-AKI patients. In order to understand the effect of each factor on the probability of experiencing CA-AKI a binary logistic regression model was constructed. Statistical analyses were performed using R-software.

 The general incidence of CA-AKI is 40%, while being different for men and women, with men incidence being 60%. The mean age for the patients observed was age 64.7 years old. The ANOVA analyses showed that incidence of patients experiencing CA-AKI is significantly different for chronic kidney disease patients (p (0.001, OR = 32.67 (95%CL 9.65-110.55), patients with diabetes (P 0.0033, OR = 4.64 (95%Cl 1.69-12.68) and hypertension (p 0.055, OR = 7.80 (95%Cl 0.96-63.56). The binary logistic regression showed that probability to experience CIN is significantly impacted by UACR post contrast model 1 :3.123 (2,385) with marginal effect 22.72, BMI index model 1: (−0.850) 0.25 with marginal effect 1.28, Uricemia model 1: (1,128) 0.52 with marginal effect 1.68 and Natremia level before contrast model 1: (−1,831) 0.0011 with marginal effect 7.81. Statistical significance for these results is 99% (as manifested by p-value).

 CA-AKI post PCI is still the Achilles Heel of interventional cardiology. The results confirm that the increase of uricemia and BMI doubles the risk for CA-AKI. Uricemia is confirmed as an important prognostic factor for development of CA-AKI. High urinary uric acid levels post contrast define UACR independent early risk factor for CA-AKI.


The detection and control of free radical antioxidant diphenylamine cations (DPAH˙+), a typical organic industrial waste water byproduct, is important for environmental safety and protection.


Abstract In order to advance our goal of highlighting intersectional work and the importance of centering critical praxis we felt it was necessary to make a visible contribution to the Mid-South Sociological Association's journal, Sociological Spectrum. While there are issues of general sociology journals that focus on "race, class, and gender" there are few instances of these same journals dedicating an entire issue to "intersectionality." Never before has Sociological Spectrum published a special issue totally dedicated to intersectional research, analysis, and praxis. We begin with a rationale for this special issue, then follow with a brief review of intersectionality, highlighting the seminal research and the variety of applications. Next, we summarize the articles in this special issue to demonstrate the versatility of intersectionality. We end with a call to recognize the importance of intersectional scholarship and application to social justice work


Due to their intrinsic intermittent and random nature, renewable energy sources can dramatically influence the short-term scheduling of distributed energy resources (DER) and if their uncertainties are not properly handled, the operation strategies of DER may deviate from the optimal ones. In order to overcome this issue, this paper presents a comprehensive method for modeling uncertainties of solar power generation through a scenario-generation approach and historical data for a specific area of interest. The proposed approach is particularly suitable to be used in smart grid environment for stochastic operation optimization of DER. The Roulette Wheel mechanism has been used for generating an initial set of scenarios, and a reduction process based on Fast Forward method has been then applied in order to preserve the most representative ones, while reducing the computational efforts of next potential stochastic optimization phase. A sensitivity analysis has been carried out to evaluate the effects of key parameters on the solar irradiance generated scenarios. The results could be useful as a guide to tune scenarios' generation process aimed at obtaining scenarios with specific characteristics. Moreover, case study results show that the proposed method allows generating plausible scenarios for solar power generation to be used as input for DER stochastic optimization purposes. Moreover, its high flexibility allows to estimate the behavior of stochastic operation optimization of DER in the presence of more fluctuating, but ever plausible, solar irradiance patterns.


People can be motivated in numerous ways. Researchers state that motivation is "a process through which a person makes use of available resources, time, talent, and energy, and distributes them in a way they choose". This study presents an interpretive result that has been made in the investigation of the baseball participants` and spectators` motivations those affect participating and spectating at the baseball games. In addition to the investigation their motivations to participate and spectate at the baseball game, this study also examines the relationships among their motivations. Survey methodology was employed to distribute the questionnaire to 437 participants. Group A who only watched baseball games consisted of 211 spectators. Group B who both participated and watched baseball games consisted of 226 participants. The survey questionnaire for this study was translated from English to Korean versions by three experts who were bilingual in both languages. Data analyses for this study included a confirmatory factor analysis for testing the validity of the motivation items, a Cronbach`s α for evaluating the internal consistency of the motivation construct, a multiple regression analysis for investigating the relationships between motivations, commitment, and involvement, and a MANOVA for revealing motivation differences between baseball participants and spectators. Results indicate that there are important research findings in this study. First, with respect to the comparisons of differences between motivation constructs and game attendance levels, all five motivation constructs were defined as factors that positively influenced game attendance. Among five constructs, Stress Reduction accounted for the most significant amount of variance in attendance. Second, there are group differences between baseball spectators and participants in terms of their spectator and participant motivations. The research result indicates that all motivation constructs(Self Actualization, Stress Reduction, Aggression, and Affiliation) except for one construct(Skill Mastery) are statistically significant between groups. The research founds evidences of differences between baseball spectators and participants in terms of their motivations that affected their sport related behaviors. It is recommended that future research investigate motivations with more research participants as well as differences among different sports in terms of inspecting motivations affecting sport consumer behaviors.


In this work, an electroless plating technique was used to prepare Pd-Cu coated ceramic alumina membranes tube. The composition, surface morphology and cross-section of the Pd97Cu7/Al2O3 membrane is investigated by energy-dispersive spectrometry (EDS), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Hydrogen permeation and selectivity across a membrane is measured using pressure difference (1.05-1.5) at a temperature range (573-773 K). The reported membrane obtained a high flux of 3.4 mol H / ms at a temperature of 723 K, while the selectivity is above 75 for H2 / N2.


The relationship between cognitive impairment, fine motor deficits, and T2-weighted MRI intensities in neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) was investigated in 100 patients and 100 healthy controls in a study at University Hospital of Munster, Germany.


The article offers an approach to aspects of the translation into Portuguese of Adrienne Rich's Twenty-One Love Poems (1929-2012), incorporated in The Dream of a Common Language (1974-1977). Concentrating on the rhythmic ambivalence, it verifies the use and the rejection of the language and the tradition in this composition, which can be considered the first sequence of lesbian poems written by a great North American poet.


The article presents the results of applying a combination of two antimicrobial agents for medical treatment and filling of root canals of teeth with periodontitis. A study of the nature of the microflora of root canals in 128 patients aged 25 to 54 years. In the treatment of periodontitis used a combination of trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (TMP/QMS) and its combination with metronidazole. Analysis of clinical observations have shown that the use of TDM/QMS and its combination with metronidazole in the treatment of periodontitis has a positive effect for 88,7% of patients.


Introduction: HIV counseling and testing are regarded as a vital preliminary interventional step aimed at reducing the spread of HIV infection. Therefore, the present study was designed to determine the attitude of health care professionals towards voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) for HIV/AIDS at Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital. Materials & Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional prospective study, a self –administered structured questionnaire was used, which contained sections on bio-social variables aimed at fulfilling the objectives of the study. The study participants consisted of medical doctors, nurses, medical laboratory scientists, radiographers, social workers and pharmacists.The data were collated, inputted into a computer and statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software(ver, 22). Descriptive variables were summarized using percentages and proportions for the categorical variables. Moreover, bivariate analysis was performed to test the association between categorical variables using the chi square test and p value of < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Multiple logistic regressions were performed to identify the predictive variables appropriate for the association between socio-demographic and willingness to go for screening. Results: In the present study, questionnaires were administered and statistically analyzed. The study participants consisted of workers who were mostly females (55%) aged 21-30 years. Regarding the bio-social variables (47.8% of the participants were married, 52.5% were Christians, 96.2% were medical doctors, and 49.2% were of Esan extraction. The participants' marital status and occupation significantly influenced their attitude towards voluntary counseling and testing for HIV/AID. A good percentage of the respondents revealed a right attitude towards VCT of HIV/AIDS. Conclusion: This study finding revealed that a good percentage of the respondents had a right attitude towards VCT of HIV/AIDS, while a lesser proportion was reported to have a negative attitude.


Estimating the economic impacts of high speed rail (HSR) on regional development is a largely unresolved issue. This paper will provide an overview of the basic issues, the contributions of empirical literature, the modelling approaches used until now, a multiregional framework and how that might be applied in an Australian context. The proposed multiregional framework focuses on the inter-industry relationship and the assessment of changes on a transportation network, with the analytical methods employed being twofold: a multiregional input-output (IO) model and a transportation accessibility evaluation index. By using this analytical framework, the economic impacts from developing an Australian HSR system can be estimated and evaluated on hypothetical scenarios relating to any future HSR project.


The influence of teacher's ability on teaching result is very important in high vocational colleges.Therefore,we should strengthen it.This paper puts forward a few methods that train teacher's ability.Being a teacher one not only has enthusiasm but also have to strengthen the ability's development.


In the preceding article, Prof. Edward C. Bursk, editor of the Harvard Business Review, describes the need to adopt a marketing position or attitude in business. Whether or not you as a hotel-motel administrator are convinced that marketing is your cup of tea-or a way of life for your hotel company or motor inn operation- only you can answer. It is my sincere hope that when you have read his article and mine, you will recognize that there is a more knowledgeable, scientific, and intelligent approach to doing business-one that is now being used by America's most successful industries. Perhaps I should add that if you don't accept the marketing hypothesis, you may well be shutting your door not only to opportunity —but barring your own survival.—W.M.


The tragic events which had place in the Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari in November 1997 delayed by a few weeks the start of the sixth consecutive season of conservation and restoration works by a joint Polish-Egyptian expedition. Changes on the staff precluded the previously planned engineering work on the protection of the Northern Chapel of Amun and the Upper Chapel of Anubis. Instead, taking advantage of the dramatic decline in tourist visits to the site, a full conservation of the southern wall of the Portico of Punt was carried out. All the other planned works in the program approved by the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities were executed in full.


Although commercial internet has been around for over a decade, and a vast amount of practitioner and scholarly literature on internet marketing activities of firms has accumulated, relatively little empirical work has been undertaken on the branding strategies of internet companies. From a global branding perspective the international aspects of such e-branding activities have received even less systematic research attention. This study covers the e-branding context in Bangladesh through some statistical evaluation. In our country though the infrastructure of the ICT is not very well, but the growing information technology provides the organization to enroll e-branding in order to survive in the market The analyses provide that e-branding is cost effective in our country and it is recommended that the ICT infrastructure should be expanded to get actual benefit from e-branding. Key words: e-branding, branding, digital branding


Medicine is changing fast. It has become increasingly scientific, technological, commercialised  and commoditised (Starr and Bellman, 1992). Doctors are burdened by the knowledge dilemma, with medical knowledge doubling every five years, of which 85% is obsolete within fifteen years  (Robinson, 1993). Managed care, medical liability, cost control, the pressure to see more patients, and consuming paperwork have created significant stressors for doctors (Theodosakis and Feinberg, 2000). As a result, Pelligrino claims that the modern doctor has become deprofessionalised, bereft  of the essentials of the character traits associated with good doctoring (Pellegrino, 2002). This  hardening of the heart (Newton and O'Sullivan, 2008) seems to begin early in medical school when medical students are handed scalpels to dissect the cadaver, the ideal patient, since it can't be  killed, never complains and never sues (Fadiman, 1997, p. 23).    Medical curriculum designers, including those of the University College Cork (UCC) medical  school, have been addressing these issues, through a number of pathways. The first was  through an integrative curriculum that eliminated the barriers between subspecialties  (horizontal integration), and introduced a systematic apprenticeship-based clinical exposure  from the onset of medical training (vertical integration of basic sciences and clinical practice).  The second thrust, in response to the knowledge-overload dilemma, was towards improving  problem solving abilities and critical reasoning. The third focus intended to promote humanism  in emerging doctors by expanding and enhancing the role of the humanities in medicine and to explicitly address the so-called 'hidden curriculum' of medical professionalism.    Humanism, which generally refers to the quality of being human, is a particular approach to  medical professionalism. The ABC mnemonic (Altruism, Beneficence and Compassion) is useful  way to remember some of the positive qualities of the humanistic physician, who has been  defined by Louisa Coouts and John Rogers as one who:   •Respects patient's viewpoints and opinions in a shared partnership of care;  •


The segregation of alloying element of gear steel 20CrMnTi has significant influence on the machining accuracy of gear.The macro segregation law of C、Mn and Cr in 20CrMnTi billets that were produced with different MEMS process was studied with the method of original position statistic distribution analysis(OPA).2-D and 3-D distribution figures of alloying elements were obtained,and the quantitative description of the homogeneity of material was figured out.The results showed that when other conditions were not changed,the degree of segregation was the least when the current of the mould electromagnetic stirring was 400 A,and with the frequency of 2.5 Hz.


Low nickel austenitic stainless steel (ASS) has attracted much attention worldwide because of its economical price. This study aims to investigate the effect of different corrosive environments on the corrosion behavior of chrome-manganese (Cr-Mn) ASS. The tests were carried out as a function of H2SO4 concentrations, temperature and addition of ammonium thiocyanate (NH4SCN) (0.01 M). Potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) techniques were used to study the corrosion behavior of Cr-Mn ASS. It was observed that with increasing H2SO4 concentration, temperature and with the addition of NH4SCN solution, icorr, icrit and ipassive values increased. EIS data show decreasing charge transfer resistance value with increasing concentration and temperature. Higher corrosion rate with increasing temperature and concentration of H2SO4 is related to the anions (SO42−), which is responsible for reducing the stability of passive films. With the presence of 0.01 M NH4SCN thiocyanate (SCN− anion), there is a higher dilution of the passive film resulting in a higher corrosion rate. Energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) analysis reveals the adsorption of sulfur on the surface in NH4SCN containing a solution. The significant presence of counter ions and the adsorbed sulfur species on the steel surface play a vital role in corrosion behavior.,All the experiments were performed on a 3 mm thick sheet of Cr-Mn ASS (202 ASS) in hot rolled condition. The samples were then annealed at 1,050°C for 1 h, followed by water quenching. For microstructural examination, they were electrochemically etched in 10 Wt.% oxalic acid solution at 1 amp for 90 s. A computer-controlled Potentiostat (Biologic VMP-300) was used. After the cell was set up, the working electrode (WE) was electrostatically cleaned at −1 V vs saturated calomel electrode (SCE) for 30 s to remove the air-formed film. Then, WE were allowed to attain stable open circuit potential (OCP) for 1 h, following by the EIS test and potentiodynamic polarization test. The polarization test was started from a cathodic potential (−1.2 V vs SCE) and continued up to an anodic potential (1.6 V vs SCE) a scan rate of 0.1667 mV/s. EIS experiment was conducted on the same instrument by using a sinusoidal AC signal of 10 mV in a frequency range of 1,000,000 to 0.01 Hz at OCP.,Potentiodynamic polarization graph shows that with the increase in sulphuric acid concentration. Increasing temperature from 20°C to 80°C in 0.5 M H2SO4 solution increases the corrosion rate (icorr) of Cr-Mn ASS. On the addition of 0.01 M NH4SCN to the sulfuric acid solution (0.1, 0.5 and 1 M) the corrosion rate increases drastically almost four to five times. EDS and XRD analysis shows the presence of sulfur over the oxide film and preferential site for dissolution of Cr and Mn at the steel surface when NH4SCN is added to the sulfuric acid solution.,A study on the corrosion behavior of Cr-Mn ASS is scanty according to the author's knowledge. Therefore, the present study will investigate the corrosion behavior of Cr-Mn ASS on SO4−2 anions, temperature and the addition of SCN− ion in sulfuric acid.


Zinc and cadmium concentrations were determined in 36 first trimester intact human embryos and in liver, brain, and kidney of 14 second and 1 third trimester fetuses. Zinc was found in all first trimester specimens. It increased sevenfold between the 31st and 35th day of gestation. Cadmium was present in 57% of specimens in concentrations from 0.032μg/gm to 0.07μg/ gm of wet tissue. In second trimester specimens, mean zinc concentration in brain was 5.6μg, in kidney 15.7μg, and in liver 167.7μg. Cadmium was present in 80% of livers (mean, 0.113μg/gm), 28% of kidneys (mean, 0.05μg/gm), and 17% of brain specimens (mean, 0 140μg/gm). Mothers of these abortuses did not live in areas of Japan where endemic cadmium poisoning exists; however, higher cadmium content of the average Japanese diet may be reflected by cadmium concentration in these specimens.


We present a film-based interface that has some attractive features for browsing a film in the context of user contributed annotations. Separately, we describe a desired interaction profile that supports opportunistic hypertext browsing through constructed essays built from these annotations. A challenge is in how to integrate the two functions without losing the best qualities of each.


Field studies were conducted at the Maricopa Agricultural center to evaluate the effectiveness of Accelerate when used in combination with other defoliants. In


2509 Background: AZD9291 is an irreversible, mutant-selective EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) developed to have potency against EGFR mutations, including T790M, while sparing wildtype EGFR. In the previous phase I study of AZD9291, EGFR-mediated toxicity was reduced compared to available EGFR-TKIs. We hypothesized that the safety profile of AZD9291 would permit combinations with other targeted therapies in a tolerable fashion. Methods: TATTON (NCT02143466) is a multi-arm phase Ib trial studying AZD9291 in combination with MEDI4736 (anti-PD-L1 mAb), AZD6094 (MET inhibitor) or selumetinib (MEK1/2 inhibitor; AZD6244, ARRY-142886). Eligibility required advanced EGFR-mutant lung cancer, progression on any prior EGFR-TKI, measurable disease, adequate PS (0-1) and organ function, and tissue for correlatives. In each combination, AZD9291 was dosed at 80 mg daily and the 2nd agent was escalated from a dose below the phase II monotherapy dose. Using a rolling 6 design, patients (pts) were randomly allocated to...


In present study, rheological properties of polypropylene impact copolymer (PPcp) and polyolefin elastomer (POE) blend melts were evaluated on a capillary rheometer under shear and elongational flows. The flow and melt elastic properties (die swell and first normal stress difference) studied at varied extrusion conditions were correlated with blend morphology and elastomer content by means of image analysis and theoretical models. Dispersed particle break-up and coalescence were observed to be influenced by POE content and the viscosities of the constituent polymers which were in turn affected by the capillary extrusion conditions (shear rate in particular). The blend melts demonstrated typical pseudoplastic behavior obeying Cross model under shear flow. The elongational flow also corroborated well with the shear flow behavior. All the blends illustrated prominent dependence of melt elastic properties on POE content and the capillary extrusion conditions. The melt elastic properties were also found to critically rely on the inter-particle distance of the POE phase.


This issue of Policy & Politics features a series of articles addressing recent developments in intergovernmental relationships in the advanced Western democracies. There is today, we believe, sufficient uniformity in these developments across different jurisidictions to allow a discussion on the causes, mechanisms and consequences of a new or emerging type of relationship between institutions at different levels. While it is also true that intergovernmental relationships in each individual country are developing to some extent according to the trajectory of institutional relationships which is typical of that national context, we suggest that the triggering mechanisms have been, on the whole, fairly similar across the western world. What we are thus witnessing is a gradual institutional – and inter-institutional – change reflecting both similar problems facing countries in different parts of the world and, at the same time, the trajectory of institutional change in each national context. The emergence of multi-level governance challenges much of our traditional understanding of how the state operates, what determines its capacities, what its contingencies are, and ultimately of the organisation of democratic and accountable government. Acknowledging the risk of idealising times past in order to exaggerate changes over time, we could say that we are moving from a model of the state in a liberal– democratic perspective towards a state model characterised by complex patterns of contingencies and dependencies on external actors (Pierre, 2000). Political power and institutional capability is less and less derived from formal constitutional powers accorded the state but more from a capacity to wield and coordinate resources from public and private actors and interests. Put slightly differently, we have been witnessing a development from a 'command and control' type of state towards an 'enabling' state, a model in which the state is not proactively governing society but is more concerned with defining objectives and mustering resources from a wide variety of sources to pursue those goals (Pierre and Peters, 2000). These are obviously changes and developments which are of considerable magnitude and significance. The gradual shift from a government towards a governance perspective reflects the new role of the state which has become typical of western politics in the past decade or so. Multi-level governance is to some extent merely a logical extension of these developments. However, it also signals a growing awareness among elected officials of the decreasing meaningfulness of speaking about sovereignty and autonomy in a political and economic order increasingly characterised by international political, economic and administrative coordination, economic global isation and growing subnational assertiveness vis-a-vis the state in many countries. Multi-level governance is also manifested in a growing number of exchanges between subnational and transnational institutions, seemingly bypassing the state (see, for example, Beauregard and Pierre, 2000). The remainder of this introduction is organised as follows. First, we will discuss in closer detail the definition and meaning of the concept of multi-level governance and what might explain the emergence of such governance. Following that we will assess the impact of multilevel governance on traditional models of institut ional relationships and highligh t the strengths and weaknesses of such governance as compared to more traditional, hierarchical models of government. In the closing section of the introduction we briefly present the other articles in this issue.


Both the government national security policy community and the academic community are concerned with problems of political terrorism. A major gap exists, however, between these two communities in terms of cooperation and information flow. This gap reflects differences in primary mission, role definition, professional training, and career considerations. The government practitioner's requirement for dealing with crises and producing immediate results leads to a truncated time frame which insufficiently considers long‐term causes and consequences. Moreover, he tends to place overly great reliance on classified information, insufficiently attending to understandings which may derive from open sources. This is a function of role, not training, for the academic who moves from the university to the government quickly adopts the government practitioner's orientation. The academic, on the other hand, may be inhibited by career considerations from cooperating with the government, for in some institutions this woul...


Esophageal cancer is a clinically challenging disease, seriously affecting the quality of life and prognosis of patients. Autophagy is a basic intracellular event that can maintain cell homeostasis by degrading damaged or degenerate proteins and organelles. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are a class of RNA transcripts with a length greater than 200 nucleotides that participate in fundamental biological processes and tumor progression. However, whether autophagy-related lncRNAs can be used to predict the survival of patients with esophageal cancer still needs in-depth research. The Human Autophagy Database19 (HADb) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database were used to identify autophagy-related lncRNAs. Univariate and multivariate COX analyses were performed to establish a prognostic risk score model. Kaplan–Meier curves and ROC curves were carried out to evaluate the prognostic value of the autophagy-related lncRNAs signature. 1757 autophagy-related lncRNAs in esophageal cancer were identified based on specific screening criteria and four key lncRNAs (ZFAS1, AC092687.3, AC083799.1, AL080317.1) were selected to construct a novel prognostic model. Particularly, the risk score for each patient could be calculated based on the expression levels of these four lncRNAs, and a high risk score was positively associated with shorter survival time and poor prognosis of esophageal cancer patients. The autophagy-related lncRNAs signature constructed in this study can be used as a novel risk score model to predict the survival and prognosis of patients with esophageal cancer.


By using a diamond tip of 2 μm in curvature radius,the tribological properties of GCr15,304 stainless,superelastic and shape memory effect NiTi alloys were investigated under 5 μN~80 mN with an(atomic) force microscopy and nano-scratch tester,respectively.The results indicate that the load exhibits a strong effect on the friction mechanism of materials.When the load is below 80 μN,no obvious damage is observed on four samples and the interfacial friction should be dominated.While the load increases to 100~150 μN,the plough friction becomes dominated.As the load attains 80 mN,more than 90% of the friction force is induced by plough.Also,the hardness and elastic modulus of materials reveal a significant effect on their friction behaviors.The higher the hardness of material,the more difficult to be ploughed the material,and the larger the translation load between interfacial friction and plough friction. In addition,when the material has higher ratio of elastic modulus to hardness, the plough should be more dominant during the scratch process.


This paper presents a Localized Ridgelet Transform(LRT) to detect ship wakes in Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images. The key element of this technique is a localization of the ridgelet transform, whereby the intensity integration is performed in small windows rather than across the entire image. In this algorithm, the transform space is subjected to processing which server to isolate and locate the response of linear features and suppress the responses of false alarms. This algorithm is tested on both synthetic images corrupted by various levels of noise and on actual SAR images of ship wakes. The results of this testing demonstrate the algorithm's robustness in the presence of noise, as well as its ability to detect and localize linear features that are significantly shorter than the image dimensions.


Brightness enhancement film includes a base film, stress retardation gradient of the base film is calculated to be less 50 nm / in, first surface of the base film is textured, the light redirecting structure of the base film It is provided to one surface. .FIELD 1


The 1972 Convention Text mentioned the need to pursue collective assistance for the safeguard of cultural and natural heritage considered of Outstanding Universal Value. As of 2021, 52 properties are inscribed as World Heritage in Dan- ger. The most recent such nomination in Europe is the cultural site of Roșia Montană Mining Landscape (Romania), listed as World Heritage in July 2021. The paper will pose a reflection over the simultaneous status of Roșia Montană as World Heritage mining cultural landscape and as a productive system still in use, tackling the social and environmental issues that derive from the analyzed context. Furthermore, it will be investigated the conceptual transformation of the cultural landscape in relation to the mining legacies and their methodological approach within the patrimonial acknowledgement, stressing the role that the UNESCO label can play while negotiating at local and regional level such aspects of the multi-scale territorial legacies.


ONE OF THE concerns of those involved in teaching by correspondence is that of defining the role of the teacher. Inmost correspondence schools the student is provided with a syllabus i n which there are work sheets or assignments that the student works out and sends to the correspondence school for evaluation. The teacher in the corres pondence school reads the material and returns it to the student with corrections and comments. The teacher also corrects the tests which the student takes periodically under the supervision of someone in his community, usually a professional person. When the student completes the required work of a course he receives a grade based on his perform ance in the assignments and the tests. The syllabus is regarded as the pri mary teach ing device in the correspondence course. In the syllabus the objectives of the course are outlined along with a plan of study that guides the student to ward achieving the objectives of the course. The syllabus also contains assignments in texts or other study materials along with explanatory material, study aids, and self-check tests. These last serve to emphasize important points and concepts and provide the student with an opportunity to check his own progress. Although the basic guidance for an individual in studying a course is thought to be provided by the syllabus, the teacher in the correspondence school is also considered to be an integral part of the cor respondence study method. The teacher is assigned the task of evaluating the work of the student and by making corrections and comments on the paper or other submitted material the teacher will help guide the student in his learning of the material. The teacher may correct wrong answers or clear up points that seem to be vague in the student's mind by either requesting that the student read certain material or by explaining the material directly. The teacher also makes comments on the papers that are designed to encourage the student to continue work ing and to stimulate him to do the work he is capable of doing.


The droop controller is widely used for the parallel operation of inverters. However, the conventional droop controller has a trade-off between the power sharing and the regulations of the output voltage amplitude and frequency. In order to remove this trade-off, a new droop controller is presented in this paper. This method adopts the structure of the robust droop controller and utilizes the transient droop characteristic, which enables proportional power sharing without output voltage amplitude or frequency deviation. Simulation results are provided to demonstrate the feasibility and excellent performance of the proposed controller.


Abstract An empirical model which is the actual basis for calculating energy requirements for dual purpose heifers in Denmark is presented. The model describes the relationship between daily gain, daily energy intake, and live weight for healthy with at least three months to calving. The data used for model selection and parameter estimation derive from five Danish experiments with a wide range of daily energy allowance. Non-linear parameters were estimated by simulation. The residual standard deviation was calculated for a preselected range of values for the non-linear parameters. Parameters which minimized the residual standard deviation were chosen. The data consist of repeated measurements on the same animal. The impact of repeated measurements on the parameter estimation was evaluated using random sample technique. One observation from each animal was chosen by random creating a data set with independent observations. The average parameter estimates from twenty samples were not significantly differen...


The gamma rays emitted during the capture of thermal neutrons by As/ sup 75/ were studied with a scintillation spectrometer in the low-energy range. Energies of 450 plus or minus 10, 403 plus or minus 13, 311 plus or minus 8, 249 plus or minus 8, 205 plus or minus 4, and 172 plus or minus 4 kffound. (tr-auth)


The traffi cking in persons is a violation to human rights that requires special attention by the State. Colombia has shown the will to fi ght effectively t...


The article discribes the content of a target component of system of professional and methodical training of future math teachers. The target component presented in the form of 9 groups of the teacher competences. In each group the invariant component and a variable part is allocated. The variable part represents those professional and methodical abilities which are necessary for successful work for the mathematics teacher of national school in the conditions of a bilingualism.


An account is given of the development of a laboratory coolant test rig for the evaluation of corrosion inhibitors for both water and antifreeze diesel engine coolants. This paper also comments on the rig operating experience gained so far and reports on the variety of coolant problems investigated with the test rig. It is emphasized that laboratory corrosion studies can only give meaningful results if they ensure that experiments take reasonable account of all factors likely to affect corrosion under service conditions. These factors are itemized together with their likely effects on corrosion. Attention is also drawn to the fact that inhibitors must not have an adverse effect on heat transfer, even if they effectively prevent metals corroding. Details of a number of engine tests are given and comparison of engine and rig inhibitor depletion rates can be made to verify the validity of the rig test procedure. An unusual experience is quoted to illustrate the importance of cleanliness in an engine's cooling system prior to the introduction of coolant.


The problem of anthropogenic impact of the Tudakul reservoir has not been spared. In the first years of the reservoir's existence, its ichthyofauna was formed by the fish of the Zarafshan River, which were represented by both rheophiles and limnophiles, and initially it consisted of 11 aboriginal species and introduced fish. This paper gives a brief physical-geographical, hydrological, hydrochemical, hydrobiological characteristics of the Tudakul reservoir. An assessment of the ecological state of the reservoir, ichthyofauna and fish catch in it over the past decade is given. Recommendations for the rational use of the Tudakul reservoir are given.


The application of the incompressible three-dimensional momentum integral equation to a finite wing is reviewed. The objective is to interpret the resulting equations in a way that suggests an alternate experimental method for determining the span-wise distribution of lift. Consideration is given to constraints that must be placed on the character of the vortex wake of the wing to provide the familiar relationship between lift and bound vorticity. A novel technique is then presented for obtaining, from behind the wing, the spanwise lift distribution from velocity surveys that are made over only a short distance above and below the wing trailing edge. The necessary formalism is developed to use these measured values to obtain the actual span loading by using an equivalent single horseshoe vortex model to account for the unmeasured portion of the downward (or upward) momentum. The results of a numerical simulation are presented for a typical loading distribution. The technique is then verified experimentally using laser velocimeter data for the flow field around a model wing.


Even in high antiquity people realized that wings were required for flying. That idea, which originated as a result of watching birds, can be traced to legends and mythology of numerous nations. Eventually, men felt a strong desire to realize this dream of flying. The way to achieve that seemed evident: one should create artificial wings resembling those of birds, attach them to the arms and imitating the flapping movement of the birds wings, rise off the ground. The materials for wing manufacturing such as sticks, straps, feathers were available to an ancient man, and attempts to fly "like a bird" were made, apparently, even before the Common Era. But practice and researchers' conclusions proved the impossibility of flight using manpowered artificial wings, and while there are 14 known attempts at this in 1580–1679, in the following hundred years only 7 attempts to "fly like a bird" were made. The "classical" ornithopter concept crisis led to the idea of using a fixed surface such as a parachute or a kite along with a moving one. That allowed slowing the airplane descent and reduce the energy required for flight. This innovation was the most important moment in the airplane concept development. First mention of an airplane with a fixed wing and propellers can be found in the studies by a Dutch engineer and scientist H. Huygens. A drawing in his hand, dated approximately 1689, depicts in essence an airplane model with propellers driven by twisted animal sinews [1].


The present study was conducted to explore the weed flora in crop fields of Satlasana taluka, district Mehsana, Gujarat. Satlasana taluka is under cultivation of different ravi, jayad and kharif crops by a natural rain and a network of canal system. Weeds typically produce large numbers of seeds, assisting their spread. Seeds spread into natural environments, including waterways, via wind, people, vehicles, machinery, birds and other animals. Usually weeds grow faster than native plants and successfully compete for the available nutrients, water, space and sunlight. During the present study the authors have reported a total of and 99 species of weeds belonging to 74 genera and 32 angiosperm families.


: Two predatory mite species, Typhlodromus ( Anthoseius ) caucasicus (Abbasova) and Neoseiulus reductus (Wainstein) (Acari: Phytoseiidae) are re-described and illustrated, based on specimens collected from strawberry plants on Gökal Plateau at 1450 meters above sea level in Tokat Province, Turkey. Typhlodromus ( A .) caucasicus is a new record for the Turkish mite fauna. In addition, our examination revealed that N. reductus has a reticulated dorsal shield, as opposed to a smooth dorsal shield in its original description and in some re-descriptions. Apparently, the reticulation on the dorsal shield was not taken into consideration in some of the previous descriptions. Furthermore, this species may have been reported as N. cucumeris (Oudemans) in some previous studies from Turkey. The relative length of peritremes and the shape of pre-anal solenotomes are among the differences between N. reductus and N. cucumeris . The re-descriptions provided in this study are important for the further diagnosis of N. reductus and T . ( A .) caucasicus .


Dipole moments of a series of para-substituted N-phenylsulfonyl-N'-allylthioureas were determined. Comparison of the experimentally found dipole moments with those calculated by vector addition of bond and group moments has shown that (E) conformation at the N-C bonds is preferred. The same result was obtained from the N-H stretching vibrations. The results are compatible with a synperiplanar arrangement at the C-C bond of the allyl moiety.


Abstract : The mutagenic potential of 1,4-BIS3-(1-PHENYLMETHOXYMETHYL) IMIDAZOLIUM butane dichloride hemihydrate was assessed by using the Ames Salmonella/Mammalian Microsome Mutagenicity Test. Tester strains TA97, TA98, TA100, TA102, TA1535, TA1537, and TA1538 were exposed to doses ranging from 1.0 mg/plate to 0.00032 mg/plate. The test compound was not mutagenic under conditions of this test. Mutagenicity, Genetic toxicology, Ames test, Oximes, Imidazoles, Butanes, Phenyl radicals.


FDA has approved Bristol-Myers Squibb's Opdivo (nivolumab) in combination with Yervoy (ipilimumab) for the treatment of patients with metastatic melanoma.


Recently, the implementation of federated learning (FL) in wireless networks becomes a hotspot due to its flexible collaborative learning methods and privacy-preserving benefits. However, most of the existing works overlook the impact of user mobility on the learning performance, which is critical. Specifically, the mobile users may roam among multiple edge access points (APs) during the local training procedures, leading to incompletion of inconsistent FL training. In this paper, we theoretically study the impact of user mobility on the FL in hierarchical wireless networks. In our system model, the network consists of one cloud server, several edge APs, and multiple mobile users that have their positions vary over time. During the local training process, users may stay in or move out of the coverage area of the originally attached edge AP. In such a practical context, we analyze the convergence rate of the FL algorithm and provide experiments to evaluate the learning performance under different network parameters. Our results provide insights in further improvements of FL in hierarchical wireless networks.


The object of the present paper is to evaluate two integrals involving multivariable Gimel-function defined here. The integrals are quite general character. A number of integrals can be evaluated by appropriately reducing the multivariable Gimel-function involved into simpler functions.


The mismatch in thermal expansion coefficient (TEC) between copper and silicon causes serious problems in three-dimensional (3D) packaging. The common problem is TSV pumping when TSV is exposed to high temperature (400oC-600oC) during the wiring process. The copper pumping destroys wiring above TSV and leads to the failure of electronic devices. Other problem is the area on silicon around the TSV where the transistors cannot be formed due to stress caused by copper when annealing. With our low TEC additive (additive A), copper pumping height in 5× 20 μm p-TEOS TSV was reduced to 0.5 μm from 2.0 μm in case of conventional copper. We also investigated the effect of polyimide which is used as liner layer in the TSV on copper pumping reduction. The first screening result showed that the pumping height of conventional copper in polyimide TSV was only 0.8 μm., compared to 2.0 μm p-TEOS TSV and 1.2 μm O3-TEOS TSV.


PURPOSE: A reference frame composing and indexing apparatus and a method thereof are provided to allocate a reference frame index according to the processing method. CONSTITUTION: A reference image configuration and indexing apparatus(400) comprise a reference image configuration unit(410) and an index assignment unit(420). The reference image configuration processes the reference image through various different methods. The reference image configuration part arranges the reference frame by the processing method. The index assignment unit allocates the reference frame index by the reference image configuration part.


Background and Objectives: Evaluation of irrigation systems consists of analyzing the measurable performance of the system in operation conditions, is a management tool that allows the system users to make the best use of the irrigation systems. Since various regions in Iran have arid and semi-arid climates, obtaining the actual wind drift and evaporation losses and also making optimized use of water towards sustainable water resources management has a great importance. Since estimation of evaporation and wind losses that has been presented in different climatic conditions has different results, and it is not possible to present a reference model, so the purpose of this study is to investigate the effective climatic parameters on evaporation and wind losses of the Center Pivot system and to present an optimal model using multivariate regression in the study area. Materials and Methods: This research has been carried out in the city of Pars-Abad in Ardabil province. The study was conducted in Part of the Moghan Agro-Industrial Complex, at wind speeds of 0-3 and 3-6 meters per second with three replications. Experiments were performed on two Center Pivot Irrigation System in sections 5 and 6 of Moghan Agro-Industrial Complex (1-4-6 and 1-8-6), which included two design treatments. The average altitude of this area is 32 meters above the sea. Results: Results indicated that the efficiencies of the system at wind speeds of 0-3, 3-6 meters per second were 89.47, 84.47 percent, respectively, and wind speed, temperature, relative humidity, nozzle diameter, and vapor pressure deficit (saturation deficit) were among the factors that influenced wind drift and evaporation losses. Base on the results, the wind factor had the most and vapor pressure deficit had the least effect on wind drift and evaporation losses. Also, the equation of wind drift and evaporation losses was also obtained with the atmospheric conditions of the region, which had the best fit with the measured values. Results shown that the difference between results of the model and observed data was not significant in 1% level of confidence. Moreover, the measured and the modeled percentages obtained for wind drift and evaporation losses varied from 7 to 18 and from 10 to 18 percent, respectively. Conclusion: The results show a direct relationship between the evaporation and wind losses with wind speed in the region. So that at wind speeds of less than 3 m/s the parameters of Coefficient of Uniformity, Distribution Uniformity and potential and Application Efficiency of the low quarter are in the appropriate range, and at medium and high wind speeds, evaluation parameters are not in the desired range, it is indicating the importance of center pivot system design in windy regions. Materials and Methods: This research has been carried out in the city of Pars-Abad in Ardabil province. The study was conducted in Part of the Moghan Agro-Industrial Complex Province at wind speeds of 0-3 and 3-6 meters per second with three replications. For the experiment, two rows of cans at an angle of 3 were positioned radially along the center of the centripivot system 10 m apart. The sprayer used in this study was F33AS 11/64˝ with 26 m of spraying diameter and operating pressure of the sprinklers varied from about 2 to 2.5 bars. Results: Results indicated that the efficiencies of the system at wind speeds of 0-3, 3-6 meters per second were 89.47, 84.47 percent, respectively, and wind speed, temperature, relative humidity, nozzle diameter, and vapor pressure deficit (saturation deficit) were among the factors that influenced wind drift and evaporation losses.


The thermal noise of multi-input SC-integrators is studied. An analytical expression for the sampled noise of a multi-input SC-integrator is obtained. It is shown that the correlation between the sampled noise voltages increases the amplifier noise contribution.


The paper analyzes the policy implementation effect of the mobility of urban and rural teachers in the compulsory stage by using the data from P province in China. We find that there are some problems in the process of the implementation of the teacher mobility policy, including passive attitude toward teachers, insufficient capital investment, ineffective implementation and so on. The main reason is that there is failure on the part of the government about government policy supply and the actual implementation. Based on this, we propose appropriate policy recommendations.


A FIR filter includes an input pipeline IP with a sequence of input delay cells DI;, each for storing an input sample, and a plurality of N input tap points TP;. An output pipeline includes a sequence of output delay cells DO;, each for storing a sample, a plurality of N summating elements Si for adding at least two samples, and an output switching network OSN for accumulating output values from the summating elements. A sequence of N taps T; are used for coupling the input pipeline to the output pipeline. Each tap includes a respective multiplier Mi for multiplying a sample from an input tap point by a coefficient. At least N-1 of the taps include a switching element for directing a sample from an input tap point through the multiplier to a summating element. The switching elements are arranged to enable supply of a sample from any tap point TPj to a summating element Si, where j < =i.


Over the past two decades, a considerable amount of intellectual vigor and conceptual innovation has characterized the study of comparative politics. This dynamism resulted largely from attempts by American political scientists to free themselves from the ethnocentric legal/institutional mold of traditional comparative government studies and to devise frameworlcs capable of accommodating the polities which emerged after World War II. These endeavors produced a number of approaches and typologies which strove for universal applicability.' Coinciding with these attempts to create broadly based "theories" which would comprehend political processes in both Western and non-Westem states were a number of country studies stimulated by the desire to understand the political systems of specific new nations.2 The study of comparative politics appeared to be emerging from its parochial prewar status and to be establishing itself as a valid intellectual discipline possessing, if not


Remanufacturing can not only extend life cycle of products, but also has tremendous resource environment benefits. The relevant elements in the matrix for simplified life cycle, environment burden in the process of iron and steel raw material production and environment burden of original manufacture and remanufacturing for mechanical products (parts) are analyzed. The results show that the resource environment advantages of remanufacturing products is reflected on raw material acquisition and production stages. The remanufacturing of parts mainly uses all kinds of surface technology to repair and strengthen the local failed position, saves the majority of resource and energy consumptions and waste materials discharge in the original manufacture of metallic materials and blanks, and subsequent cutting and treating processes. Its corresponding gross is generally lower one or two orders than that of original manufacture, and resource environment benefit of the whole product reduces with the increasing replacement rate of new parts.


We in Editorial Board of Acta Dermatovenerologica Croatica (ADC) are very proud to have a journal that has a good place in the world of indexed journals. In 2006, all ADC issues were put on web site where copies of the articles published in ADC are available. PDF offprints are provided free-ofcharge to corresponding authors. On-line submission and review process is much easier this way. In each ADC issue, 8-9 articles were published, tending to upgrade the index level. We hope the ADC impact factor is on a rise, having reached approximately 0.22 in the last year. With ADC, we have established fruitful collaboration all over the world. It is a wonderful feeling to be close to colleagues from different countries around the world. More information on ADC can be found at http:// adc.mef.hr. I am very proud as Editor-in-Chief to be invited to the International Advisory Board of the Hautartzt journal, and to have an opportunity to exchange ADC with such a prestigious journals as Hautartzt and JDDG. I would like to thank some of the key persons from the ADC Editorial Board who have invested great effort in writing papers and doing expertise for ADC, among them Professors R.A. Schwartz, R. Wolf, F. Gruber, I. Dobrić, Th. Ruzicka, E. Aberer, A. Prohić, J. Szepietowski, A. Pašić, A. Katsambas, and also our Correspondent Editor B. Marinović, English Language Editor A. Redovniković, and Editorial Assistant G. Dučkić. What will ADC offer in addition in Volume 15? More opportunities for publishing scientific research articles by young researchers, articles for column correspondence and Letters to the Editor, as well as the best scientific presentations from our continuing medical education courses planned to be held in 2007.


In allusion to the disadvantage that traditional PID controller parameter cant be adjusted timely,this paper introduces a PID control algorithm based on the BP network by melting the regular PID controller and the self-automatic learning nerve network.Through the communication between industrial control computer and PLC,the nerve network developed by users can adjust the PID controller parameter and achieve the function of regulating speed of electric motor with higher speed and less errors.


A kind of well-logging pulse data acquisition system based on universal serial bus(USB) was designed.The well logging pulse data acquisition is driven by depth sub-system.And pulse code modem(PCM) telemetry interface is remained in the system.The system is composed of hardware design of chip microprocessor,firmware design of chip microprocessor,device driver and application software design.In hardware designing,complex programmable logic device(CPLD) is used to control the gain of pulse signal and the discharge switch of peek-value holding circuit during pulse data acquisition,and is used to check out synchronous frame of PCM signal and convert the serial signal data to parallel data,which save system resource of chip microprocessor. Chip microprocessor controls the whole course of well logging pulse data acquisition system,and realizes USB communication,sends data to host computer when being required.The system passed examination in laboratory.Its transmission speed is up to 300 kb/s,and its control function is flexible.Also,the system can be extended easily.


We report the optimisation of a periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN) optical parametric oscillator (OPO) pumped by a diode-pumped, Q-switched multiaxial TEM00 mode Nd:YAG laser operated at 1064 nm. Total conversion efficiency exceeding 66 % was achieved. This OPO is used in a coherent spectrophotometer for optical component characterisation.


Many scientific studies focus on large-scale landslides as they are easier to image in detail than smaller failures, which may be close to the resolution limits of some of the more widely-available imaging techniques. These larger events are often also considered to pose a greater risk to human lives in, for example, their greater tsunamigenic potential, and as such are the focus of more academic attention. However, even the small landslides can pose hazard to seafloor infrastructure and their combined influence on net sediment transport may be as significant as a single larger slope failure event. As a result, the degree of risk posed by the smaller submarine failures may equal or surpass that of larger seafloor mas movement events.


We report the case of a 30-year-old man who had Hodgkin's disease of the nodular sclerosing type and subsequently developed mycosis fungoides. The Hodgkin's disease was treated with radiation therapy and chemotherapy, and the patient was in complete remission. Seven years later mycosis fungoides occurred and rapidly became progressive. Autopsy revealed that the mycosis fungoides involved multiple organs without any evidence of Hodgkin's disease. The possible significance of the association of these two diseases is presented.


The article focuses on scholars with disabilities reimagining communication. The trans disciplinary department of Communication, Cultural, and Media Studies in an Australasian university lies within a university that routinely asks what members of the university community need for functioning, and provides the communication facilitation, attendant and personal care, and other support, seeking to integrate these with community support, without seeking to place the financial burden of such support upon the individual or their family. Significant research projects are conducted with, and within, diverse communities, with which the university has equal and continuing relationships, as well as in the everyday interactions on campus, in the virtual communities fostered within the department, and with the wider community. Disability and deafness studies, have become an essential part of the teaching and learning as well as the research program. However, rather than some grand scenario being the epitome, it is in the day to day relationships of scholars and students drawn from communication, cultural, and media studies and people with disability.


C10H14CoN4O12 ,t riclinic, P1 (no. 2), a =5 .009(1) A, b =8 .130(2) A, c =9 .550(2) A, * =7 4.44(2)°, ) =8 4.72(2)°, ' =8 8.89(2)°, V =3 73.0 A 3 , Z =1 , Rgt(F) =0 .059, wRref(F 2 ) =0 .158, T =2 96 K. Source of material Am ixed solution of 2,4-dihydroxypyrimidine-5-carboxylic acid (0.1 mmol) in CH3OH (10 ml )w as carefully layered on top of a H2 Os olution (15 ml) of Co(NO3)2 , 6H2 O( 0.1 mmol) in at est tube. Pink single crystals of the title complex suitable for X-ray analysi sa ppeare da tt he tube wall afte rc a. tw ow eeks at room temperature (yield 43% based on Co). Elemental analysis —f ound: H, 3.14 %, C, 27.25 %, N, 12.63 %, O, 43.57 %; calculated for C10H14CoN4O12 :H ,3 .20 %, C, 27.22 %, N, 12.70 %, O, 43.52 %. Experimental details The C-bound hydrogen atom sw ere included in calculated positions and treated as riding atom sw ith d(C—H) =0 .93-0.96 A with Uiso(H) =1 .2 or 1.5 Ueq(C). Discussion


A criterion was proposed for the prediction of the multiaxial fatigue strength of specimens containing small holes. The criterion was applied to nodular cast irons containing graphite nodules and small casting defects such as microshrinkage cavities. Combined axial and torsional fatigue tests were carried out to examine the influences of torsional shear stress amplitude, axial normal stress amplitude, the ratio of these stress amplitudes, phase difference, and mean stress. The materials investigated were nodular cast irons with a ferrite matrix, JIS FCD400, and a pearlite matrix, JIS FCD700. A method for the prediction of the lower bound of fatigue strength was presented. Reasonable agreement between predictions and experimental results was obtained.


We recently presented our Efimov K-theory of Diamonds, proposing a pro-diamond, a large stable (∞, 1)-category of diamonds D , and a localization sequence for diamond spectra. Commensurate with the localization sequence, we now detail four potential applications of the Efimov K-theory of D : to emergent time as a pro-emergence (v-stack time) in a diamond holographic principle using Scholze's six operations in the 'etale cohomology of diamonds; to a pro-Generative Adversarial Network and v-stack perceptron; to D cryptography; and to diamond nonlocality in perfectoid quantum physics.


We present millimeter interferometric observations of the molecular envelope around the red supergiant VY CMa with the Submillimeter Array (SMA). The high angular resolution (<2'') allows us to derive the structure of the envelope as observed in the 1.3 mm continuum, 12CO(2-1), 13CO(2-1), and SO(65-54) lines emission. The circumstellar envelope is resolved into three components: (1) a dense, compact, and dusty central component, embedded in (2) a more diffuse and extended envelope, and (3) a high-velocity component. We construct a simple model, consisting of a spherically symmetric slowly expanding envelope and bipolar outflows with a wide opening angle (~120°) viewed close to the line of sight (i = 15°). Our model can explain the main features of the SMA data and previous single-dish CO multiline observations. An episode of enhanced mass loss along the bipolar direction is inferred from our modeling. The SMA data provide a better understanding of the complicated morphology seen in the optical/IR high-resolution observations.


The financial health of railroads is measured by revenue adequacy, i.e., a rate of return on investments to provide railroad service that is at least equal to the average cost of the investment capital. The Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 and the Staggers Rail Act of 1980 directed the now abolished Interstate Commerce Commission to establish standards for determining revenue adequacy of railroads. The Surface Transportation Board (STB) is currently responsible for making those determinations on an annual basis. This article explores and analyzes the guidelines, policies, and methodology used by the STB in carrying out these determinations.


This text focuses on five novels by the leading Spanish writer, Juan Goytisolo. Drawing on a range of critical material, it examines the complicated nature of Goytisolo's writing and pays special attention to the crisis of representational language, sexual politics, terrorism and anarchy, race, religion and nationalism, and the ties between aesthetics, ethics, and politics.


Abstract This study develops theory and empirically tests the influence of heterogeneity (the degree of standardization or customization) of firm outputs on the globalization entry mode decisions, and receipt of revenues from foreign markets. To insure sufficient variance in the sample while also controlling for extraneous sectoral and national variables, this study obtained and analyzed cross-sectional data from 190 U.S. based firms in the environmental control industry. The findings indicate that the outputs of global firms are significantly less heterogeneous than the outputs of domestic firms, but that heterogeneity is not significantly related to the receipt of foreign revenues, or to the use of a higher control entry mode. These findings suggest that firms with more standardized outputs are more likely to globalize, but that standardization fails to help firms create any additional value in international markets compared to firms with more heterogeneous outputs.


In this letter, a novel design of a switchable microstrip antenna is proposed for circular polarization diversity. The proposed antenna has a simple construction of inner and outer corner-truncated radiating circular patches for switchable circular polarization. By controlling the state of two PIN diodes, left- and right-hand circular polarizations are easily alternated. The results of experiments show excellent switching radiation performances at the resonant frequency and good agreements with the simulated ones.


In this Editorial I discuss implications arising from the novel interpretation of the human microbiota as integral part of the immune system with the ability to learn, memorize and have consciousness. The ship of Theseus as example of continuity as it relates to immortality is discussed. Finally, analogies between the human microbiota and the rhizome as proposed by Deleuze and Guattari are explored.


Monitoring of protected areas to curb illegal activities like poaching and animal trafficking is a monumental task. To augment existing manual patrolling efforts, unmanned aerial surveillance using visible and thermal infrared (TIR) cameras is increasingly being adopted. Automated data acquisition has become easier with advances in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and sensors like TIR cameras, which allow surveillance at night when poaching typically occurs. However, it is still a challenge to accurately and quickly process large amounts of the resulting TIR data. In this paper, we present the first large dataset collected using a TIR camera mounted on a fixed-wing UAV in multiple African protected areas. This dataset includes TIR videos of humans and animals with several challenging scenarios like scale variations, background clutter due to thermal reflections, large camera rotations, and motion blur. Additionally, we provide another dataset with videos synthetically generated with the publicly available Microsoft AirSim simulation platform using a 3D model of an African savanna and a TIR camera model. Through our benchmarking experiments on state-of-the-art detectors, we demonstrate that leveraging the synthetic data in a domain adaptive setting can significantly improve detection performance. We also evaluate various recent approaches for single and multi-object tracking. With the increasing popularity of aerial imagery for monitoring and surveillance purposes, we anticipate this unique dataset to be used to develop and evaluate techniques for object detection, tracking, and domain adaptation for aerial, TIR videos.


The spectaculary results obtained led to initiate an observational and prospective study in other patients whose diabetes was thought to require liraglutide, and for whom the same protocol of clinical and biological follow-up was applied. Then 11 type 2 adult diabetic patients including this woman were included. Data were compiled before and after one year of treatment by liraglutide. For statistical analyses a wilcoxon matched-pairs signed rank test was used ; p<0,05 was considered significant. Statistical analyses were performed with GraphPad Prism® software. For the 31 year-old woman, and before liraglutide initiation, HbA1c was 8.6%, ASAT 45IU/L, ALAT 58 IU/L, GGT 174IU/L. After only 3 months HbA1c dropped to 6.5%, ASAT 42IU, ALAT 52IU, GGT 92IU/L, as her weight was still 79.4 kg. At 1 year the results were: HbA1c 6.7%, ASAT 17 IU/L, ALAT 18 IU/L and GGT 26 IU/L. Triglycerides level decreased from 2.63 to 0.8 mmol/L. The FIBROMAX score indicated initially an important SH, which greatly improved at one year (Steatotest=1 vs 3, Nashtest=1 vs 2, Actitest=0 vs 1 to 2), while her weight was 74kg. Some data suggest a favorable effect of Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 (GLP-1) on steato-hepatitis (SH) in type 2 diabetes. We report here a case of improvement of SH in a patient treated by liraglutide, suspected to be independent of weight loss.


FIELD: medicine, pharmaceutics. SUBSTANCE: invention concerns pharmaceutics, more specifically a prolonged-release composition of tedisamil or its pharmaceutically acceptable salt to be used in prevention and treatment of atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter and myocardial ischemia, containing 5 to 40 wt % of tedisamil or its pharmaceutically acceptable salt, 30 to 85 wt % of a water-swellable polymeric matrix containing hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC) of high or medium viscosity and hydrohyethyltcellulose (HEC) of high or medium viscosity in the ratio HPMC/HEC=1/0.85-1/1.2, 2.5 to 5 wt % of a salt capable to recover carbon-dioxide gas in the gastric medium, and 0.5 to 10 wt % of alginic acid. EFFECT: invention allows providing tedisamil composition expressing improved bioavailability and causing less by-effects of gastrointestinal tract. 5 cl, 6 ex, 4 tbl, 2 dwg


The samples of soils and vegetables were collected from the vicinity of non-ferrous metals mining and smelting areas in the districts of Changsha,Zhuzhou,Hengyang and Chenzhou of Hunan Province. The fractions of heavy metals in soils were analyzed by three-stage BCR sequential extraction procedure,the characteristics of clay mineral in soils and the contents of heavy metals in soils and vegetables were determined in order to elucidate the availability and potential environmental risk of metal fractions in contaminated soils. The ratios of total extractable fraction content to the total content for Cd,Cu and Pb are 61.71%,43.14% and 48.84%,respectively. The active fractions of Cd in soils mainly exist as acid-extractable forms,those of As,Cu and Pb mainly exist as reducible forms,and those of Zn mainly exist as acid-extractable and reducible forms. The results show that the combined pollution for active fractions of As,Cd,Cu,Pb and Zn in soils are significant,and the significant relationships between total extractable contents of Cd,Cu and Zn in soils and total contents of those in vegetables are also found through clustering analysis and correlative analysis.


Activated platelets generate an eicosanoid proposed to be 8-hydroxy-9,10-dioxolane A3 (DXA 3 ). Herein, we demonstrate that signi fi cant amounts of DXA 3 are rapidly attached to phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) forming four esteri fi ed eicosanoids, 16:0p, 18:0p, 18:1p and 18:0a/DXA 3 -PEs that can activate neutrophil integrin expression. These lipids comprise the majority of DXA 3 generated by platelets, are formed in ng amounts (24.3 ±6.1 ng/2×10 8 ) and remain membrane bound. Pharmacological studies revealed DXA 3 -PE formation involves cyclooxygenase-1 (COX), protease-activated receptors (PAR) 1 and 4, cytosolic phospholipase A 2 (cPLA 2 ), phospholipase C and intracellular calcium. They are generated primarily via esteri fi cation of newly formed DXA 3, but can also be formed in vitro via co-oxidation of PE during COX-1 co-oxidation of arachidonate. All four DXA 3 -PEs were detected in human clots. Puri fi ed platelet DXA 3 -PE activated neutrophil Mac-1 expression, independently of its hydrolysis to the free eicosanoid. This study demonstrates the structures and cellular synthetic pathway for a family of leukocyte-activating platelet phospholipids generated on acute activation, adding to the growing evidence that enzymatic PE oxidation is a physiological event in innate immune cells.


Along With the progress of computer games, a considerable variety of game has appeared. There is an increasing demand of digital entertainment. It is common for game players to pursuit a better game interaction experience and visual experience. Game art designers pay more attention to achieve realistic effects. In these years, particle effects are widely used in game development. In this article, through the analysis of the basic principle and application method of Unity3D particle system, we design and implement common game scene effects and characters skills effects, mainly simulation and realize the effect of rain fall and design the Special "lightning" effects of characters skills.


The main floristic and vegetational features of the Soqotra Archipelago are outlined. The theo ries of vicariance and dispersal are commented with the support of examples suggesting the idea that both are complementary in the establishment and evolution of the flora of Soqotra. Finally the relation of alien vs natural elements of the flora is analyzed.


1) A role of aldosterone in the etiology of essential hypertension is yet obscure ; except severe and malignant hypertension which have an increased renal damage. However in the latter two diseases aldosterone has some significance in the maintenance of hypertension. 2) We have found the cases with primary aldosteronism showed a normokalemic stage especially in their initial stadium. 3) In our experienced cases of primary aldosteronism there were some cases of so-called secondary primary aldosteronism with bilateral adrenocortical hyperplasia (zona glomnerulosa). 4) In diagnoses of primary aldosteronism only the suppression of P.R.A. response is not satisfied and the existence of hyperaldosteronism must be recognized, because not a little percentage out of essential hypertension show often a low P.R.A. and P.R.A. response to sodium restriction and upright position. More sensitive and accurate method of determining plasma renin is necessary to resolve the problem which include a true incidence of primary aldosteronism in essential hypertension. 5) From our cases histologically the following possibility was considered that first zona glomerulosa caused hyperplasia and thereafter gradually transit to adenomatous hyperplasia and matured adenoma.


An initial study was conducted to identify the strengths and weaknesses of an ingrown toenail removal simulation we developed in collaboration with the Kent State College of Podiatric Medicine. In this paper, we describe the methods used in 3D modeling and haptic rendering development of the simulation with virtual reality and bimanual haptic feedback. The simulation utilizes dual Geomagic Touch Devices. These stylus-based devices sense force magnitude and movement responding with motor resistance. Multiple tasks of ingrown toenail surgery were simulated including anesthesia, elevation, and cutting. An evaluation experiment was conducted and data was recorded through a post-simulation questionnaire accompanied by a NASA Task Load Index inquiry. The results demonstrate that the developed system is acceptable for training medical students who need to practice podiatric surgery procedures.


The article contains design algorithm developed SAW oscillators. The simulation of the SAW oscillator circuits, the results of some experiments are presented.


The effect of changes in suction on the microstructure of the Callovo-Oxfordian claystone along wetting and drying paths was investigated by using mercury intrusion porosimetry. Based on a simplified brick model, the changes of the average thickness of the platelets that constitute the clay matrix (50%) are interpreted as the consequence of the successive adsorption of ordered layers of water molecules along the smectite surfaces, as demonstrated on pure smectites for a long time. This shows the predominant role played by the smectite phase in the overall response of the Callovo-Oxfordian claystone when submitted to suction changes under no stress.


This Research was undertaken to explore and better understand the perceptions of SMME owners, in South Africa, of the financial and non financial barriers and facilitators to the formalization/transitioning process. The study was motivated by the lack of data on the South African context of the barriers and facilitators of the formalization process. The conversion of enterprises from informal to formal concerns is not well researched and understood. In the absence of hard data, experienced observers and practitioners in the small business field express extreme skepticism about the efficacy of attempts to convert informal businesses to formal ones, (Bernstein, 2004). The research was conducted, mostly in Alexandra township Johannesburg, by means of 20 in-depth, semi-structured, face to face interviews with SMME owners; 10 operating informally and 10 who formally were, but have since transitioned/formalized. The resulting findings showed that lack of access to information on formalization and limited access to cash or credit are the major non financial and financial barriers respectively. Improved access to information on formalization is the major non financial facilitator and ability to access a bigger market plus increased access to cash or credit are the major financial facilitators. These findings also indicate that there may be a difference in the barriers and facilitators to formalization in South Africa as compared to what's reported internationally in the literature.


In the recent past, cooling via thermoelectric technology has arisen to be as one of the capable cooling technology which helps in lowering the energy intake in a device. In this study, the performance enhancement of cooling system for the computer processor using thermoelectric cooler is investigated. An open loop cooling system was taken into consideration, where the main parameters are focused on computer load conditions, temperature carried by nanofluid or output temperature of nanofluid at water block and heat flux. The thermoelectric cooler (TEC) made of Bismuth Telluride (BiTe3) material for pn junctions is used with Delta Tmaxof 67 O C in this analysis to extract the heat from processor. The Aluminium Oxide (Al2O3) and copper oxide (CuO) ranging from 40nm 50nm size dispersed in distilled water with various volume concentrations were used for dissipation of heat from the hot surface of the TEC. Liquid flow is varied from 0.1LPM 0.9LPM. Results demonstrate that by maintaining the lower Delta Tmax value, higher Coefficient of performance (COP) is achieved. There is a considerable reduction in operating temperature of processor when using the nanofluids. Both the nanofluids exhibited higher thermal conductivity on comparing with base fluids. The enhancement observed in output temperature is about 15 O C to 20 O C by using nanofluids. Higher the flowrate used higher the heat flux generated.


ABSTRACT Background and Context: While assessment of computational thinking concepts, practices, and perspectives is at the forefront of K-12 CS education, supporting student communication about computation has received relatively little attention. Objective: To examine the usability of process-based portfolios for capturing students' communication about their computational practices regarding the process of making electronic textile projects. Method: We examined the portfolios of 248 high school students in 15 introductory CS classrooms from largely underserved communities, using a formal rubric (top-down) to code computational communication and an open-coding scheme (bottom-up) to identify computational practices described. Findings: Students demonstrated stronger abilities to communicate about computation using text than visuals. They also reported under-assessed CT practices like debugging, iterating, and collaborating. Students of experienced e-textile teachers performed substantially better than those with novice e-textile teachers. Implications: Portfolios provide a viable addition to traditional performance or survey assessments and meet a need to promote communication skills.


We investigate the question of whether or not the orbit of a point in A/Q, under the natural action of a subset S of Q, is dense in A/Q. We prove that if the set S is a multiplicative semigroup which contains at least two multiplicatively independent elements, one of which is an integer, then the orbit under S of any point with irrational real coordinate is dense.


ing of man, but of different kinds, is reached by those anthropologists who study man's biological nature; and those who address themselves to the study of language, tool-making or foodproduction and economics learn something of man in the aspect of his nature that appears in the activity chosen for particular attention. But here I try to say something about the nature of man as it appears to those of us who look upon the total, traditionally organized life-ways of many a human group, as these occur in bands, tribes, peasant villages, and rural or urban communities, in any part of the world and at any time in history to which we have access for understanding. The unit of consideration is a whole way of life in some group distinguishable from all others, and the question becomes: What do we learn as to the nature of man as many such life-ways are examined and compared? Every way of work opens paths to understanding, but also shuts us away from something in the reality excluded by the interests and assumptions of that way. Therefore it may be fair, before making any positive assertions as to the nature of man, to mention, not only the advantages, but also some of the limitations which inhere in reaching understanding of mankind by this way of work.


Objective To evaluate the technical feasibility of animal model of avascular necrosis of femoral head(ANFH) with transcatheter arterial embolization(TAE).Methods Twenty experimental pigs were random1y divided into experimental group and control group(each n=10).Experimental group: A 5F Cobra catheter was inserted into left femoral artery,and the feeding arteries of femoral head were superselectively inserted.The feeding arteries were embolismed through transcatheter arterial injecting the segments of silk measuring about 500 μm.Control group: The arterial embolization was not performed,and the other treatment was identical to experimental group.The articulation of hip in all pigs underwent plain X-ray examination,CT and MR scanning 2 weeks and 4 weeks after treatment,respectively.Histological examination was made in 4 weeks to evaluate volume of bone trabecula(TBV) and percentage of bone lacuna(PBL) at unit area under microscope.The data were compared between the two groups.Results In experimental group,CT and MRI showed swolling in hip soft tissue and high T1 in hip joint cavity,while no obvious abnormalities were found in plain X-ray film 2 weeks after feeding arteries were embolized.Four weeks after feeding arteries embolization,plain X-ray film,CT and MR showed typical necrosis of femoral head in the experimental group,while no obvious abnormalities were found in control group.The histology examination revealed there were obvious karyopyknosis and anachromasis in the bone cells.The quantity of bone cells decreased obviously or disappeared.PBL increased and TBV decreased significantly compared with those of control group(P0.05).Conclusion The animal model of ANFH in pigs can be induced by TAE.It can preferably mimic the pathological situation of ANFH.


Kallistatin is an endogenous protein that exerts pleiotropic effects, including vasodilation and inhibition of angiogenesis, inflammation, oxidative stress, apoptosis, fibrosis, and tumor progression. Through its 2 functional domains—an active site and a heparin-binding site—kallistatin regulates differential signaling pathways and a wide spectrum of biological functions. Kallistatin's active site is key for inhibiting tissue kallikrein activity and stimulating the expression of endothelial nitric oxide (NO) synthase (eNOS), sirtuin 1 (SIRT1), and suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 (SOCS3). Kallistatin via its heparin-binding site blocks signaling pathways mediated by growth factors and cytokines, such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), high-mobility group box-1 (HMGB1), Wnt, transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), and epidermal growth factor. Kallistatin gene or protein delivery protects against the pathogenesis of hypertension, heart and kidney damage, arthritis, sepsis, influenza virus infection, tumor growth, and metastasis in animal models. Conversely, depletion of endogenous kallistatin by neutralizing antibody injection exacerbates cardiovascular and renal injury in hypertensive rats. Kallistatin levels are markedly reduced in rodents with hypertension, sepsis, streptozotocin-induced diabetes mellitus, and cardiac and renal injury. Kallistatin levels are also diminished in patients with liver disease, septic syndrome, diabetic retinopathy, severe pneumonia, inflammatory bowel disease, obesity, and prostate, and colon cancer. Therefore, circulating kallistatin levels may serve as a new biomarker for human diseases. This review summarizes kallistatin's protective roles and mechanisms in vascular and organ injury and highlights the therapeutic potential of kallistatin for multiple disease states.

Kallistatin was discovered in human plasma as a tissue kallikrein–binding protein.1 Sequence analysis indicated that tissue kallikrein–binding protein is a novel serine proteinase inhibitor (serpin) and was later designated kallistatin because of its ability to inhibit tissue kallikrein activity.2–9 Tissue kallikrein is a serine proteinase that cleaves low–molecular weight kininogen substrate to release vasoactive kinin peptides.10 The …


Note by editors of Sovetskaia literatura: Today he would have been fifty. And how many muses would have been present at the banquet table: that of the writer of literary prose and of movie scripts, of the film actor and director, and of the playwright.


Temporary corrosion protectives are designed to prevent corrosion of metal surfaces of equipment during transport and storage. They are in many cases removed from the surfaces before the equipment is put into operation, and one of the features which distinguishes them from permanent protectives such as paints, is that they are readily removable. There are broadly 10 different types of temporary protectives; the outlet for some of them is small and the major demand is confined to oils, solvent‐containing fluids and soft solids. The three types of product will in turn be discussed in this and two subsequent issues of ANTI‐CORROSION METHODS AND MATERIALS.


We present time-resolved methods that rely on near-infrared photons to image the optical properties and distribution of fluorescent probes in small laboratory animals. The scanner assembled in our laboratory is described. The coupled diffusion equations of excitation and fluorescence photons in highly scattering tissues were solved using the three-dimensional Finite Element Method (FEM) provided by Comsol. The computed results allowed to yield photon density maps and the temporal profiles of photons. Simulations were carried-out on two test objects: a resin cylinder and a mouse phantom. The latter required taking into account the straight propagation of photons between the optical fibers and the animal phantom. The results demonstrate the potential applications of the method to pre-clinical imaging.