The article deals with the problem of the development of intercultural competence, which is one of the key competences in foreign language education. The focus lies on examining the opportunities available to use the topic of German Trails in Ukraine as a material for developing intercultural competence. The theoretical foundations on which the research was conducted are analyzed: the essence of intercultural communication, the conditions of its smooth flow; the essence of intercultural competence, its constituents and the relations between them; the role of country studies (both the country of the target language and its own history) in the acquisition of background knowledge, the ability to compare cultures, to tolerate differences between them, and furthermore. Considering that the development of intercultural competence at a level that would ensure the effective implementation of intercultural communication is primarily due to the presence, in addition to language acquisition, of intercultural knowledge, perceptions of the rules of communicative behavior and the positive disposition of learners, an important element is the approaching of the target culture, the removal of prejudices about the "alien". This can be achieved through the inclusion in the educational process of materials from the immediate environment of learners. For exemple, the theme "Traces of the Germans in Ukraine" is used, in which work, on the one hand, reveals facts of the history of the Germans and Germany in the European format, and on the other, the facts of the history of their own country, the history of their immediate surroundings, at the expense of which the story of "alien" is transferred to the personal sphere. Among the possible forms of work on the topic focuses on three: work with texts containing information, the history of the Germans as a motivation for communication, the implementation of an interdisciplinary approach to training of project activities.


A study was undertaken to assess the influence of organic and inorganic amendments on growth parameters of black gram. The results from the experiment revealed that the various organic and inorganic amendments added to the soil had significantly influenced the germination percentage in black gram. Among the various amendments added to the soil, it was observed that application of Spent Wash @ 5.0 lakh litres ha (T6) recorded the highest germination percentage and Leaf Area Index of 93 and 4.84% respectively which was followed by T7 (Pressmud @ 8 tonnes ha) recording 82 and 4.33% respectively. Among the various amendments added to the soil, it was observed that application of Spent Wash @ 5.0 lakh litres ha (T6) recorded the highest root length and shoot length of 7.7 and 11.54 cm respectively which was followed by T7 (Pressmud @ 8 tonnes ha) recording 6.2 and 10.82 cm respectively. Based on the present study, it can be concluded that application of spent wash @ 5.0 lakh litres ha significantly influenced the growth parameters of black gram.


The prevalence of overweight/obesity is high resulting from prolonged imbalance of energy intake and energy expenditure and has shown to be associated with significant co-morbidity in addition to increased economic costs. Current clinical guidelines recommend behavioral based programs, which target energy restriction and increasing energy expenditure to produce clinically relevant weight loss of 5% or more of initial body weight. However, weight loss continues to be problematic for individuals who are overweight or obese in part because of numerous barriers preventing participation in weight management programs, including cost, transportation, time, as well as family and job commitments. Alternate strategies to deliver weight management programs targeted to reduce the burden for both provider and participant in addition to reaching large groups of individuals are critical. Over recent years, the use of internet-delivered health care has greatly expanded. Similarly, there has been a dramatic increase in individuals pursuing information, sharing experiences, asking questions and providing support to peers about health online. The dramatic increase in technology has led to recent interest in online social networks as a possible delivery platform to deliver weight management programs that could have an impact on health care at the population level. However, the use of online social networks for delivery of weight management is in the early stages of development and the available literature on the effectiveness of this delivery system is limited.


When it comes to diversity in an organization, people usually think it involves counting, adding, or in some way having a representation of people with different skin color or gender. However, diversity is much more than that. Diversity is more than a theoretical concept ‐ it is putting into practice every day the familiar humanist statement ‐ We are all equal.


We present in this paper an approach for computing the homogenized behavior of a medium that is a small random perturbation of a periodic reference material. The random perturbation we consider is, in a sense made precise in our work, a rare event at the microscopic level. It, however, affects the macroscopic properties of the material, and we indeed provide a method to compute the first- and second-order corrections. To this end, we formally establish an asymptotic expansion of the macroscopic properties. Our perturbative approach shares common features with a defect-type theory of solid state physics. The computational efficiency of the approach is demonstrated.


The article deals with the issue of understanding civil legal reality that has not been studied in civil law. The author suggests that any definition of law has ontological origins. This fact brings into focus the development of ontological issues of law not only for the specialists in the sphere of philosophy and general theory of law, but also for the scientists in the sphere of sectoral sciences including civilists.


101 cases(115 ears)with secretory otitis media in our department from Dec.2000 to Dec.2005 were treated by compound furacilin nasal drops,drug anti-inflammation,auripuncture,partial inferior turbinectomy,maxillary sinus puncture,tympanic membrane replacement under ear endoscope and so on.In 101 cases(115 ears),except 3 cases(5 ears)with nasopharyngeal carcinoma were transfered to superior hospital,the other 98 cases achieved good effect,among them,86 ears were cured,16 ears had obvious effect,6 ears had effect,and two ears had no effect.


New acyclic tripodal mono- and 1,1′-bis-substituted amide-linked cobaltocenium ligands have been prepared. Proton NMR spectroscopic and cyclic voltammetric anion co-ordination investigations reveal that the combination of a positively charged cobaltocenium unit together with an amide N–H group are the essential components for the molecular and electrochemical recognition of anionic guest species. Correlations were found to exist between Hammett σp values of electron-donating and -withdrawing substituents of monosubstituted aryl amide cobaltocenium derivatives and relative magnitudes of halide-anion induced perturbations of the amide proton NMR chemical shift and cathodic shift of the respective cobaltocenium–cobaltocene reduction redox couple.


The purpose of the foregoing articles is to consider a specific approach to education: a systems approach. A school system consists basically of a collection of individuals connected together through the community. The system may be the entire school, the common room, one class, one class plus its teacher, one pupil plus one teacher, etc. The number and types of systems within a school are many, and because education deals with the brains and minds of individuals, it is dealing with the complex probabilistic system in every person and their complex probabilistic inter-relations. It is an environment in which control is apparent, and, therefore, well suited to a cybernetic study using a systems approach.


The paper analyzes the competitive state and its significance in sources of manuscripts,readers,staff who run a periodical,trade advertisements and then sets forth a cooperative situation and its functions in the exchange of experience,resource sharing and intensive managemmet.It points out that the competition and cooperation between periodicals will contribute to the long-term development of periodicals.


Of concern are steady two-dimensional periodic geophysical water waves of small amplitude near the equator. The analysis presented here is based on the bifurcation theory due to Crandall-Rabinowitz. Dispersion relations for various choices of the vorticity distribution, including constant, affine, and some nonlinear vorticities are obtained.


During the past 5 years significant progress has been made in predicting long‐range sound propagation in the atmosphere using numerical methods based on the parabolic approximation to the Helmholtz equation. The theory for the parabolic approximation is discussed starting from the one‐way wave approximation to the two‐way (Helmholtz) wave equation. The application of the theory for practical numerical algorithms is briefly reviewed, and some results are presented for sound propagation in a turbulent atmosphere. Finally, a new Green's function approach to the parabolic equation is presented. The new method is approximately 100 times faster than existing parabolic equation methods for outdoor sound propagation. Hence the new algorithm has the potential for useful calculations in the field using a desktop computer. [Work supported by NASA.]


This present assay is a personal research the author to found the process of morphogenesis of architectural space at the theoretical level. It follows earlier work that the current space demands require experiences that only you can answer the limit of a treaty as an architectural surface topological space. The space today is influenced by the concept of convergence, connectivity, continuity, neighborhood, etc.


A catalyst surfaced on Ag/Al2O3 substrate for the selective catalyst reduction (SCR) of NOx by ethanol was evaluated in a diesel engine, and the effect of the catalyst on the reduction of NOx from the diesel engine under the EURO Ⅲ ESC test modes was also investigated. The reductant injecting device was designed by means of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis, and the engine test bench including the reductant injection system for the evaluation of the NOx-SCR catalyst performance was established. On the bench, the SCR catalyst with the ethanol reductant was tested at different temperatures and space velocities (SV), and integrated with an oxidation catalyst to reduce the diesel exhaust emissions of NOx, HC and CO. Under the conditions of the SV=30,000 h -1 and the exhaust temperature range of 350~420℃,the NOx conversion efficiency is high over 90% and low beyond the temperature range. The catalyst performance will be greatly deteriorated when the space velocity is large than 40,000 h -1 . With the increase of the ethanol injection quantity, the NOx conversion is increased, but the CO and THC emissions are undesirably increased simultaneously. By optimizing the strategy of the ethanol dosing, the integration of the NOx SCR catalyst and the CO/HC oxidation catalyst can reduce the emissions from the diesel engine to meet more stringent emission regulations.


What happens to our stuff when we die? How might we reimagine the family tree? Childlessness raises, among others, questions about legacy, inheritance, our relationship with future generations, our ability to shape the future, and the narratives we tell about the past and the future. The author examines several life stories to help readers begin to envision childlessness within a new paradigm of meaning. This chapter encourages readers to consider new metaphors for how they think about childlessness. It ends with considerations about the deep and necessary connections between the childless and the childful within the quest for human flourishing.


The role of proton shell effects in the structure of the N=28 isotones 45Cl and 44S has been studied via one-proton knockout from 45Cl. We compare measured γ-ray intensities, inclusive and partial knockout cross sections, and the inclusive momentum distribution of outgoing 44S particles with shell-model and reaction-theory predictions. The strong population in this reaction of the recently identified 41+ state in 44S, identified through its subsequent γ-ray decay energy, makes a compelling case for a Jπ=3/2+ ground state in 45Cl.


As a new idea of urban risk management, building resilient cities with the ability to resist, eliminate, and adapt to uncertain risks is of great importance to mitigate risk impacts and promote sustainable urban development. Based on the adaptive cycle model and the characteristics of an urban system, this study analyzes the resilience levels of cities, urban agglomerations, and provinces and their adaptive stages. The results show that (1) the comprehensive resilience of cities in the five provinces of northwest China is on the rise and that the differences between cities are gradually narrowing. The development stages of the urban adaptive cycle can be divided into six stages: the rapid exploitation stage, exploitation-conservation stage, stable conservation stage, conservation-release stage, development reorganization stage, and reorganization-exploitation stage. (2) The spatial distribution of the comprehensive resilience of urban agglomerations is "high in the southeast and low in the northwest," and the development stage of the adaptive cycle is consistent with its central city or central region. (3) The level of resilience varies greatly among provinces, and the development stage of the adaptive cycle is equivalent to the average level of all cities in the province and is closely related to their respective development forces and urban problems. These findings can provide reference for policymakers to formulate scientific resilience building strategies to achieve regional sustainable development.


Background May 1985, injury surveillance was initiated at Harstad Hospital. Coding was done by the Nordic system for upstream variables. Data from 1985–86 (baseline) showed high thermal burn risk in children 0–4 years old. The consumption of hospital resources for treatment was also high, particularly for scalds in terms of grafting, hygienic precautions, treatment infections and support for patients and parents. Methods Quasi-experimental design. Harstad (main intervention), six surrounding communities (intervention diffusion) and Trondheim (reference). Based on data on where, when and how injuries occurred, prevention was targeted with a mix of passive and active strategies. Participants interventions: e.g. public health nurses, plumbers, electric appliances stores, politicians, media and the hospital. Scalds caused the most serious burns and were prevented by lowering tap water temperature, installing cooker safeguards and informing parents through home visits and regular health checks for 0-4 children (four yearly). Results After 10 years burn rates decreased from baseline by 51.5% (p < 0.05) in Harstad and 40% in the six municipalities (n.s.) Rates in Trondheim increased by 18.1% (n.s.). Long term results: The rate scalds/contact burns decreased gradually during 30 years. The serious scalds from receptacles with boiling foodstuff pulled down from the stove were mostly eliminated. Mean yearly hospital bed consumption for burns in children 0–4 years from Harstad and the six communities was 26.8 during 1985–94 and 2.1 during 1995–2014. During the last two decades, asylum seekers were overrepresented. Conclusions Programs targeting burns in children can be effective and sustainable. Local injury data provided stimulus for community action.


With the short period of the sowing process, we observed an increase in the seeder speed set in several soil management systems that may result in decreased soybean yield and problems with penetration resistance. We aimed to assess the penetration resistance (PR) and agronomic characteristics of soybean on soil tillage and sowing speed. The randomized block design in split plot with four replications was used. The treatments consisted of six management systems, applied to the plots: no tillage (NT), no tillage and chiseling (NTc), no tillage and cross chiseling (NTcc), conventional tillage (CT), reduced tillage (RT) and conservation tillage (CsT) and four speeds, (4.6; 5.5; 7,3 and 7.8 km h-1) applied in the subplot at the time of soybean seeding. We observed in the deep layers 0.0 – 0.10; 0.10 – 0.20 and 0.20 – 0.30 m significant effect of tillage systems on the PR of the soil. The NT system showed the highest value of PR compared to other management systems studied. In the NT should be used sowing speeds above 5.5 km h-1 to decrease the compression. Low speeds favor higher yield by improving pods per plant. Speeds in the working range (5-7 km h-1) promote higher productivity by improving the number of pods per plant, and provide better stand.


Synthetic aperture radar utilizes coherent microwaves to produce images of the earth's surface. Due to the interference of coherent wavelets, the images appear speckled. This reduces the performance of per-pel classifiers. One way to increase the performance is to filter the image first, then classify the filtered image. For this purpose, several novel filters that have been reported in the literature are investigated. These are the geometric filter, adaptive LMMSE filter, and linear approximation filter. For comparison, conventional mean and median filters are also considered. It is found that the mean filter with seven iterations gives the best result. The overall performance increased from 65.2 to 88.9 percent. The capability of these filters to preserve edges in the original image are also assessed. It is seen that the geometric and median filters are the best in preserving edges, and that the linear approximation and adaptive LMMSE filters are the best in discriminating roads. Prefiltering the image effectively provides contextual information to the per-pel classifier. An alternate approach is to directly design a contextual classifier. A new contextual classifier based on sequential decision theory is proposed. With this classifier, it is found that the overall performance increases to 89.5 percent.


A liquid syringe (100), wherein the syringe (210) in the suction state of sucking the liquid from the liquid container (200) while in a liquid state is injected into the injection the patient, the connection switching mechanism (105 in the suction state ) the syringe duct (103) connected to the container tube (102) is connected to the injection state switching mechanism (105) the syringe duct (103) connected to the patient tube (101). Since the connection switching means (105) blocking the patient tube (101) from the liquid does not flow back to the patient in a state of the suction cylinder (210). Since in the injection state of the container tube (102) is blocked liquid does not flow back into the liquid container (200) from the syringe (210). It is possible to provide a liquid injector (100), the syringe (210) and draw liquid injected into the patient's structure capable of preventing reflux of liquid from the syringe to the patient from the liquid container (200) (210) or the liquid container ( 200).


The aim of this paper is to evaluate the system level performance of point-to-multipoint (p-t-m) multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS) performance over high speed downlink packet access (HSDPA) scheme. MBMS was introduced in 3GPP Release 6 to provide efficient transmission mode for multimedia delivery and Point-to-Multipoint transmission through secondary common control physical channel (S-CCPCH) or point-to-point (p-t-p) transmission using e.g. HSDPA. As S-CCPCH lacks of power control it would seem feasible to provide p-t-m transmission over HSDPA as it supports flexible link adaptation methods. Usage of HSDPA for p-t-m MBMS delivery could be useful from link efficiency point of view as well as it would give flexibility to allocate capacity between MBMS and other services. In this paper p-t-m MBMS over HSDPA scheme is presented and its performance is evaluated with dynamic system level simulations. P-t-m MBMS over HSDPA scheme without any link adaptation is compared to a method where number of transmissions is changed based on UE reported feedback. Although link adaptation performance in p-t-m transmission is found to be heavily dependent on number of subscribers in the network, achieved gains ranges from 25% to 70 % in terms of saved transmission resources.


Vibration response is examined in the work process of opening a hydraulic automatic rolling gate under the hydrodynamic pressure,to reveal the distribution law of the vibration acceleration and displacement on the surface of cylinder placed transversely in the water.The circle flow field around the surface of a transverse cylinder which is in water changes complicatedly.At present,there is not a ready-made method for calculating the vibration response due to the complicated variation of water flow field around the cylinder.Based on the experimental study of physical model,the result shows that the vibration acceleration on the surface of a cylinder continues to show significant trends,at the certain opening under the cylinder,when the upstream water level continues to rise,and the growth in the vibration acceleration increases rapidly when the water level in the upstream reaches the top of cylinder and the water flows downward at the same time from the top and the bottom of the cylinder.Being different from the variation of the vibration acceleration,the measured values of vibration displacement on the surface would be the maximum after the upstream level is at the top level of cylinder without any binding effect of additional water mass.


IN SEVERAL respects the public welfare program in Massachusetts is unique. In sharp contrast with many states, the town and city still retain nearly complete independence in the administration of most forms of public assistance. The administrative independence of the local unit had not been even temporarily suspended during the history of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, for in the commonwealth, the federal administration set up its own organization, ignoring the machinery of the State Welfare Department and of the local welfare boards. In addition, Massachusetts is one of the very few, if not the only, industrial states in which the state government did not make an appropriation for direct relief. Except for the relatively small sums paid by the state as its proportional cost for categorical aid, the direct relief burden was carried by towns and cities, chiefly from the real estate


In order to ensure that the smart grid backbone communication network architecture model has a good universality, a two-layer QoS (Quality of Service) optimization modelling method of the backbone communication networks for power protection services is proposed. Firstly, taking the communication network capacity as a constraint, the minimum value of time-QoS of the system protection service is the optimization goal, and a two-layer capacity optimization model of service quality assurance is constructed. Secondly, the optimization model is simplified and a simulation experiment is designed. The validity of the proposed method is verified by numerical examples. The simulation results of the optical layer and the electrical layer satisfy the power system protection time delay specified in the power system protocol should meet the requirement of less than 50 ms.


Historians, sociologists and political scientists have long been interested in riots, rebellions and revolutions. More recently, however, they have focused attention upon quieter, less dramatic confrontations between oppressors and the oppressed. They have pointed out that resistance can occur in "everday" forms. The specific shapes of everyday resistance are both determined by, and an aspect of, various socio-economic and cultural practices. The present volume explores and analyzes instances of everyday resistance in South Asian history and society. The eight essays cover groups from peasants to urban labourers, and from women to merchants. Several of the essays use unconventional sources and methods to supplement archival research while depicting the processes of the sorts of non-confrontational behaviour which contest existing structures of power. Seen as a whole, the volume suggests that the notion of resistance can be rethought and extended to take in and understand large areas of social activity.


In present world that mining large amounts of security data can help generate actionable intelligence and make the understanding of Internet attacks better. To deal with internet attacks what we really need is cyber situational and attack attribution. Cyber situational awareness is attracting much attention. Practical clustering algorithms require multiple data scans so we need a scalable multi criteria clustering. Big Data is a new term which identify the datasets which cannot be managed due to their large size with typical software tools. Data mining is a process to find the data from the large databases for analysis . This security data mining process involves a considerable amount of features interacting in a non-obvious way, which makes it inherently complex. To deal with this challenge, we introduce MR-TRIAGE. The MR-TRIAGE workflow is made of a scalable data integration. The results will demonstrate that we can efficiently handle large datasets with our algorithm.


A method for the genetic modification of dendritic cells (DC) was previously established based on the in vitro differentiation of embryonic stem (ES) cells to DC (ES-DC). The unavailability of human ES cells genetically identical to the patients will be a problem in the future clinical application of this technology. This study attempted to establish a strategy to overcome this issue. The TAP1 or (cid:1) 2 -microglobulin ( (cid:1) 2 m) gene was disrupted in 129 (H-2 b )-derived ES cells and then expression vectors for the H-2K d or (cid:1) 2 m-linked form of K d ( (cid:1) 2m-K d ) were introduced, thus resulting in two types of genetically engineered ES-DC, TAP1 (cid:2) / (cid:2) /K d ES-DC and (cid:1) 2 m (cid:2) / (cid:2) / (cid:1) 2 m-K d ES-DC. As intended, both of the transfectant ES-DC expressed K d but not the intrinsic H-2 b haplotype-derived MHC class I. (cid:1) 2 m (cid:2) / (cid:2) / (cid:1) 2 m-K d and TAP1 (cid:2) / (cid:2) /K d ES-DC were not recognized by pre-activated H-2 b -reactive CTL and did not prime H-2 b reactive CTL in vitro or in vivo. (cid:1) 2 m (cid:2) / (cid:2) / (cid:1) 2 m-K d ES-DC and TAP1 (cid:2) / (cid:2) /K d ES-DC had a survival advantage in comparison to (cid:1) 2 m (cid:3) / (cid:2) / (cid:1) 2 m-K d ES-DC and TAP1 (cid:3) / (cid:3) /K d ES-DC, when transferred into BALB/c mice. K d -restricted RSV-M2-derived peptide-loaded ES-DC could prime the epitope-specific CTL upon injection into the BALB/c mice, irrespective of the cell surface expression of intrinsic H-2 b haplotype-encoded MHC class I. (cid:1) 2 m (cid:2) / (cid:2) / (cid:1) 2 m-K d ES-DC were significantly more efficient in eliciting immunity against RSV M2 protein-expressing tumor cells than (cid:1) 2 m (cid:3) / (cid:2) / (cid:1) 2 m-K d ES-DC. The modification of the (cid:1) 2 m or TAP gene may therefore be an effective strategy to resolve the problem of HLA class I allele mismatch between human ES or induced pluripotent stem cells and the recipients to be treated. The Journal of Immunology, 2008, 181: 6635–6643. indicating that the H-2 b -reactive CD8 (cid:4) T cells had not been well primed. These results suggest that the in vitro priming of allo-MHC class I-reactive T cells by ES-DC can be reduced through the genetic modification of (cid:1) 2 m or TAP1.


This paper outlines a project that intends to investigate the link between the occurrences of weeds in pasture hay crops and weed seeds in bales. Noxious weed in particular pose a threat to the livelihoods of primary producers in this manner. As an example of a noxious weed, this project will investigate Nassella neesiana, Chilean needle grass. This species is a restricted (noxious) weed that infests roadsides, native grasslands and pastures that may be baled for hay. In Victoria it has the potential to cause significant economic harm to agricultural areas and the trade in fodder and hay. This project aims to develop methods for the detection of weed seeds in hay bales and provide more information about the role of hay machinery in their spread. Later, we will investigate the extent of seed shedding from hay bales during transportation by road. This project will attempt to correlate the percentage cover of N. neesiana prior to harvest with the seed content of bales. Trial core samples from bales indicate that seeds of N. neesiana and other grass species were present. However, a correlation has not yet been established between weed biomass and the seed content of bales.


Abstract The method of measuring ground state electron momentum density through the Doppler broadening of Compton scattered radiation is reviewed. The representation of electron density in terms of momentum rather than position is carefully explained with regard to atomic, molecular and solid state behaviour. Next the Compton scattering cross-section is compared with the other competing scattering processes and the experimental method is outlined. Finally, the scope and limitations of the technique, as revealed by recent work, are discussed and contrasted with established methods of probing electron density distributions.


Although lithium anodes offer many attractive features such as high energy density and high negative electrode potentials, the advantages may be overshadowed by the disadvantages. The use of sodium anodes may be an attractive alternative therefore that is explored in the present research. Apart from work on the Na/S battery, the investigation of sodium secondary battery systems has been slow because of the stability problems experienced by the sodium anodes in most organic electrolytes. In this paper, the behavior of the cell Na/PEO/sub 8/.NaCF/sub 3/SO/sub 3//V/sub 6/O/sub 13/, operating at 95{sup 0}C is described.


SYNOPSIS. Cardiovascular variables in developing amphibians are affected by both allometry and organogenesis. Blood pressure, cardiac output, and stroke volume increase during development, whereas peripheral resistance decreases. Invariably, resting heart rate changes as development proceeds from embryo through larva to adult. The pattern of change, however, varies between species and does not even correlate with family. The mechanisms underlying these varying patterns of developmental changes in heart rate of anuran amphibians larvae awaits complete description. Cardiovascular variables in adult vertebrates are influenced by nerves and hormones as well as intrinsic factors. However, information on the development of cardiovascular control systems is scarce, but receptor sensitivity apparently develops before functional innervation becomes apparent. The amphibian heart responds to acetylcholine and adrenaline several stages before functional innervation becomes evident, and in some species the cholinergic and adrenergic sensitivity of the cardiac pacemaker changes with development. As in mammals, acute hypoxia results in different cardiovascular responses depending on the developmental stage of the animal. The different responses reflect the relative maturity of neurohormonal mechanisms operating within the cardiovascular system.


Erosion tests are carried out on cemented carrbide(YT15),SG4 and B 4C ceramic blasting nozzles using SiC,Al 2O 3(white and brown)abrasive particles.The effect of abrasive particles on the lifetime of blasting nozzle is discussed.It may be helpful for the selecting of blasting nozzle in engineering application.


This paper elaborates on the justification and need for integration of OLTP (online transaction processing) and OLAP (online analytical processing) data environments for the purpose of real time data analysis, and reviews potential implementation methods and architectures for integration of these disparate environments. A body of relevant literature is reviewed to answer a central question on the efficacy of OLTP and OLAP integrated environments, and the central question is made tractable by its decomposition to the essential questions that must be answered regarding the feasibility of various methods and architectures for integrating data architectures. Additional coverage is given to proposed architectures and methods for real time data warehouses in the context of OLTP and OLAP data integration. This qualitative study uses an interpretivist epistemology to reach conclusions about the literature's treatment of the topic and the justification and need for data integration to accomplish real time data analysis in the business enterprise.


The aim of the present study was to compare the phytochemical and radical scavenging activities in the stem and leaf fractions of two species in Amaranthaceae family Amaranthus tristis and Alternanthera sessilis. Total flavonoids and phenolics were estimated using aluminium chloride and Folin-Ciocalteau methods, respectively; radical scavenging activities of the extracts were determined by 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay. Our results showed that A. sessilis had higher levels of flavonoids (70.42 mg/100 g) and phenolics (103.75 mg/100 g), when compared with A. tristis that had relatively lower levels of flavonoids (62.87 mg/100 g) and phenolics (96.89 mg/100 g) in leaf fractions. The stem and leaf fractions of A. sessilis showed more DPPH and FRAP values indicating the higher radical scavenging activity of the extract, when compared to A. tristis. It was also found that the flavonoids and phenolics content are directly proportional to the radical scavenging activities of both vegetables. The results concluded that A. sessilis have relatively more phytochemicals and radical scavenging activities and it also reveals that the leaf fraction has more flavonoid and phenolic content than the stem fractions in both vegetables. It is clear that both plants have definitely more antioxidant properties making it an ideal dietary antioxidant supplement.

 Key words: Phytochemicals, antioxidants, total flavonoids, total phenolics, radical scavenging activity.


Abstract
 This chapter describes the instigation of control methods to an established endemic infectious disease or outbreak. Outbreak and epidemiological investigation, surveillance, control and eradication, campaigns and integrated health care, social factors in control programmes, and health promotion are discussed.


The invention discloses a concentrating photovoltaic assembly on-line testing device comprising a parallel light simulation assembly. The parallel light simulation assembly comprises a plurality of light sources and lenses used for converting the light irradiated by the light sources into the parallel light, which are from top to bottom sequentially arranged. The plurality of light sources are arranged in a dot matrix. The light sources and the lenses are respectively disposed on a light source frame and a lens frame. Four corners of each of the light source frame and the lens frame are correspondingly and fixedly provided with four nuts, and four bolts are disposed correspondingly in the four corners of each of the light source frame and the lens frame, and pass through the corresponding nuts of each of the light source frame and the lens frame from bottom to top, and in addition, the nuts are engaged with the corresponding bolts. The bottom part of every bolt is provided with a supporting leg. A concentrating photovoltaic assembly is disposed under the lenses. The concentrating photovoltaic assembly comprises a concentrating photovoltaic assembly housing, the bottom part of which is supported by an on-line testing platform. Four corners of the on-line testing platform are disposed on the bolts by platform assembly nuts in an engaged manner.


This paper describes how an analysis of the maintenance and investment costs was carried out to contribute for traffic operations. Based on the concepts of resilience or deformability of the asphalt mixtures, the sensibility of the maintenance costs in some reference pavement structures in which the asphalt layer has different values for resilient modulus were analyzed. In the methodology under use, the variation in the loading time was taking into account in order to obtain the value of the resilient asphalt modulus, by simulating the variation of the vehicle speed in situ. The application of the capacity and service level concepts of the Transportation Research Board (TRB) made possible to quantify the increment in the maintenance costs based on the decreased capacity in the transversal section of the highways. It is also presented the evolution of the maintenance costs due to highway traffic increase at different service levels.


5. Michael Curtis "Oil and gas digital investment set to surge as efficiency drive intensifies" (2019) URL: https://www.ey.com/en_gl/news/2019/01/oil-andgas-digital-investment-set-to-surge-as-efficiency-drive-intensifies 6. Huawei "DIGITALIZATION:THINK, ACT, ACCOMPLISH" (2017) URL: https://www.huawei.com/~/media/CORPORATE/PDF/white%20paper/ embrace-digitalization-en-v2.pdf 7. Richard Suhr "Four ways organizations can prepare for a digital future" (2018) [Electronic resource]. Access mode: https://www.ey.com/en_gl/digital/fourways-organizations-can-prepare-for-a-digital-future 8. Giacomo Arcaro "Why Big Companies should Invest in Startups" (2017) URL: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-big-companies-should-invest-startupsgiacomo-arcaro 9. I-SCOOP "Digitization, digitalization and digital transformation: the differences" (2017) URL: https://www.i-scoop.eu/digitization-digitalizationdigital-transformation-disruption/ 10. Manish Patel "Digital technology investment leads to greater profitability" (2019) URL: https://hginsights.com/blog/digital-technology-investmentresearch/


This study examined the previous research on the mechanical properties of
 reinforced composites of aluminium-matrix, manufactured by stir casting.
 Stir casting has been reported as the most economical fabrication method
 currently in use for producing Aluminum Matrix Composites because of its
 accessibility, portability, adaptability to be utilized for large-scale
 manufacture, and easy operation of the application to conventional shape
 casting foundry procedures. Apart from the minority report that recorded a
 reduction in ductility, yield strength, ultimate tensile strength, and
 modulus of elasticity but with an increase in hardness of the SiC
 particulate reinforced aluminium matrix composites following the increase in
 reinforcing material, the majority of work has shown that the mechanical
 properties increase with the increase in the addition of the reinforcing
 material. Reinforcing materials like silicon carbide, tungsten carbide,
 alumina, boron carbide, and multi-walled carbon nanotubes have been used in
 various compositions to manufacture aluminium-matrix composites. The
 highest reported ultimate tensile strength of 489 MPa was obtained after
 stir casting 10 vol% of SiC - aluminium matrix composite. The maximum
 tensile strength of 401 MPa was attained with 20% B4C - Al-matrix composite.
 Various uses of metal-matrix composites have been identified in the making
 of hypersonic aircraft, sporting equipment, and automobile engine parts.


Industrial manufacturers are increasingly being challenged to minimize the environmental impacts of their products. With rapid improvements in technology, most computers are disposed of within two years, rather than at the end of their functional life cycle of approximately 10 years. The problem of electronic waste (e-waste) is not only its growing volume but also its toxicity. The use of toxic metals and materials in computers results in environmental and health risks when computers are manufactured, incinerated, landfilled, burned or melted down during recycling. By looking at the Design for the Environment (DfE) and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) aspects of the European Union's Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment (WEEE-IT) approach compared to see what is required for sustainability design to improve the North American product stewardship approach, particularly in Manitoba, Canada.


The reactions of Na{sub 2} with O{sub 2} were studied in a crossed-beam experiment at collision energies (E{sub c}) of 8 and 23 kcal/mol. The formation of NaO{sub 2} + Na was observed at both collision energies, with the angular distributions of NaO{sub 2} in the center of mass coordinates peaking strongly forward with respect to the direction of the O{sub 2} beam, suggesting that the reaction is completed in a time scale that is shorter than one rotational period of the molecular system. From the velocity distribution of the products, the authors found that the newly formed NaO{sub 2} molecules are internally excited, with less than 20% of the available energy appearing in the translational motion of the separating products. These results indicate a ``spectator stripping`` mechanism for the reaction, with the O{sub 2} stripping one Na off the Na{sub 2} molecules. At E{sub c} = 23 kcal/mol the cross section for this reaction channel is estimated to be 0.8 {angstrom}{sup 2}. Another reaction channel which produces NaO + NaO was seen at E{sub c} = 23 kcal/mol. The angular distribution for NaO is broad and forward-backward symmetric in the center of mass frame. A substantial fraction of the available energy is released into the relative motion of the products. This reaction is likely to proceed on an excited potential energy surface since a charge transfer to the excited O{sub 2}{sup {minus}} orbitals seems necessary for breaking the O-O bond. The measurement yields a bond energy of 60 kcal/mol for the Na-O molecule, and a total cross section of 2 {angstrom}{sup 2} for this reaction channel at E{sub c} = 23 kcal/mol.


The present work proposes a biomechanics and performance analysis of an electromyography (EMG) signal during the squat exercise. More specifically the tests were made considering different angles of knee flexion, 90° and 130°. The results showed considerable differences between right and left side when power and muscular performance were compared. This result leads us to believe that weight training is not enough to achieve muscle balance. It is suggested that to improve results and performance on both sides a neurological adaptation is necessary. In addition, it was possible to determine with precision the moment when the muscle fibers are more recruited during the execution of the squat in both angles.


The articles in this general issue of Continuum cover a diverse range of topics and themes. Nevertheless, the prevailing thread throughout the papers is its focus on space, place and the body. Furthermore, the majority of articles focus on aspects of Australian culture, which signify the importance of localized perspectives within a global context. This issue provides an interesting and stimulating engagement with topics relating to race, identity, gender and the environment. Rod Giblett's article 'Shooting the Sunburnt Country, the Land of Sweeping Plains, the Rugged Mountain Ranges: Australian Landscape and Wilderness Photography' is an exploration of the aesthetics of landscape photography. Giblett argues for a shift away from the aesthetics of landscape photography of the sublime and picturesque, which is very much part of the American tradition, 'towards what could be called a conservation counter-aesthetic of photography for environmental sustainability'. He suggests that this can evoke the formation of new Australian identity, with its focus on communities working the land in ways that conserve biodiversity. Issues relating to the land and communities are raised in the article 'Discursive Australia: Refugees, Australianness, and the Australian Public Sphere' by Jane Mummery and Debbie Rodan. Their article provides a critical analysis of letters to the editor published in The Australian and The West Australian in the period of the Woomera Detention Centre hunger strikes of early 2002. They contend that these (often emotive) 'letters have foregrounded–and perhaps even ratified–clearly binarized attitudes as to what being Australian–or indeed being un-Australian–does and should mean'. Nevertheless, Mummery and Rodan consider the possibility of 'articulation' of the varying discourses. They suggest that difference need not end in divisiveness. In his article '"Can I Tell You What We Have to Put Up With?": Stinky Fish and Offensive Durian', Alan Han investigates the tensions between food as benign symbolism of multicultural tolerance and as abjection. Notions of Australianness and racial construction are highlighted. He discusses the point 'in which an Australian "place" is premised on the disciplining of the "wild" native landscape'. He then asks 'how might we also see connections between the consumption of food as involving the consumption of space and place-making in Australia?' Han provides an engaging discussion on the construction of whiteness in the consumption of food. Consumption practices in relation to music in Australia are highlighted in Jon Stratton's article '"All Rock and Rhythm and Jazz": Rock 'n' Roll Origin Stories and Race in Australia'. Whereas Han's stimulating article on the themes of race and identity


DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS Two reviewers independently extracted data. Narrative synthesis was conducted for all trials. Quality of life, symptom burden, and survival were analyzed using random-effects meta-analysis, with estimates of QOL translated to units of the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy–palliative care scale (FACIT-Pal) instrument (range, 0-184 [worst-best]; minimal clinically important difference [MCID], 9 points); and symptom burden translated to the Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale (ESAS) (range, 0-90 [best-worst]; MCID, 5.7 points).


Background: Medical education across the globe is perceived as being inherently stressful. Studies on psychological problems such as stress, depression and anxiety among medical students have found that these disorders are under diagnosed and under treated. In this background the present study was undertaken with the objectives to assess the magnitude of depression and its association with stress among medical students. Methods: A Cross sectional study was undertaken among 235 medical students in a private medical college, Pondicherry. Tools similar to General Health Questionaire (GHQ-12) and Beck depression Inventory (BDI) was used to screen psychological stress and depression respectively. Results: The prevalence of depression was 71% among medical students. Psychological stress was associated with depression. Conclusion: Emphasize should be laid on the importance of screening for depression of medical students on a regular basis for early detection and rendering appropriate intervention like group counseling, stress management training etc. to protect the future professionals.


Abstract : Recent experimental information on low-level atmospheric turbulence is first reviewed. It is suggested that the assumptions of homogeneity and isotropy customarily adopted for high altitudes are still useful in this regime, and that the integral scale is roughly equal to 9/10 of the altitude up to about 1000 ft. Next, the previously published theory of the 'power-series approximation' as applied to the vertical component of the gust is extended to include all three velocity components simultaneously. Fourteen different one- dimensional input power spectra and cross spectra are found of which only five are important. Of these five, only one is a cross-spectrum involving two different velocity components (u and v). Formulae for them are calculated and curves are presented. The 'gust derivatives' required for calculating airplane response are defined and discussed, and the most important ones are shown to be simply the negatives of classical stability derivatives. Methods of approach for calculating the remaining ones are suggested.


Abstract : In this project, we developed methods for adaptive design of signals transmitted by radar or communication systems. The proposed methods optimize the performance in the presence of time-varying environmental conditions and, in the case of radar, respond to unknown parameters of static and dynamic targets. We devised algorithms that exploit the waveform diversities in multiple dimensions, such as time, space, frequency, phase, power, and polarization. We demonstrated thorough analysis and numerical examples that our proposed methods provide dramatically improved performance over existing systems. We considered various aspects, including waveform design, environment modeling, algorithms for target detection and tracking, waveform adaptivity in communications, compressive sensing and through-the-wall radar. Our contributions reflect the multidisciplinary subjects of the project and composition of our team of experts in mathematics, statistics, engineering, and physics.


This research looks for software to control the health of homes. The emergence of issues more efficient than the effects of declining the drastic effects of growing and disorderly human occupation has integrated studies and guidelines to drive the development of cities in a more sustainable way. However, access to such global processes has been restricted to constructions in countries with greater capital resources and investments in technology. Thus, based on the idea that the high performance of Brazilian residential construction tends to focus on economically privileged minorities, one of the greatest challenges in contemporary times is the transposition of the term Sustainable Development, in face of existing social inequalities, as well as insufficient Availability of technology production in Brazil. For this, fundamental categories were raised to the analysis of health of the housing-based building in Espírito Santo, thereby creating a synoptic picture of intersection between the categories and the subsystems of the building. Then, it was observed that each category inspired the use of a specific measuring instrument, which should be considered in the software program. Finally, these elements were constituted in software, through the Arduino. In this way, a cross-disciplinary approach was sought to integrate concepts from the health area to civil construction, both of which were implicated in software which, in turn, proved possible under material conditions to promote people's quality of life.


Interest in the role of insulin sensitizing drugs (ISDs) as
a means of reducing compensatory hyperinsulinemia in
the hope of improving metabolic and reproductive functions
in women with PCOS has grown measurably over
the past decade. Metformin is believed to lower fasting
serum insulin levels in insulin-resistance.
For the management of ovulatory infertility in the nonobese
PCOS population (BMI < 30kg/m2), there is moderate-
quality evidence demonstrating that metformin
monotherapy improves the odds of ovulation and chance
of achieving clinical pregnancy.
There is moderate-quality evidence demonstrating the
absence of reproductive benefit when metformin is combined
with CC therapy in the non-obese population of
women with PCOS-related subfertility. CC-alone therapy
remains the mainstay pharmacological therapy for this
group.
For obese women (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2) with PCOS-associated
subfertility, there is low-quality evidence showing
the failure of metformin monotherapy to improve reproductive
endpoints. In view of the considerable side effect
profile, metformin monotherapy may not be recommended
for fertility management in this group of women.
There is moderate-quality evidence to support a beneficial
effect of metformin in combination with CC therapy
in increasing the likelihood of ovulation and clinical pregnancies.
For women with CC-resistant subfertility, there
is moderate-quality evidence to support that metformin
co-treatment increases ovulation rates. There is also
low-quality evidence demonstrating that metformin/CC
combination therapy may be associated with higher live
births than laparoscopic ovarian drilling. Women with
CC-resistant PCOS may be given the benefit of a trial of
medical ovulation induction using combination therapy
prior to committing to the more invasive and expensive
alternative of LOD.
For women with PCOS undergoing IVF/ICSI treatments,
there is moderate evidence to support the failure of metformin
co-administration to improve the clinical outcomes
of live births, clinical pregnancies, or miscarriages. There
is moderate evidence demonstrating a significant reduction
in the risk of OHSS with metformin co-treatment,
when hCG is used to trigger final oocyte maturation.


Purpose: To investigate the changes in axial length with the combined effect of accommodation and angle of gaze (convergence and downward gaze) over 5 minutes in groups of myopes and emmetropes. Methods: A total of 31 subjects (nine emmetropes, 10 low myopes, and 12 moderate to high myopes) aged from 18 to 31 years were recruited. To measure ocular biometrics in inferonasal gaze with accommodation, an optical biometer (Lenstar LS900) was inclined on a tilt and height adjustable stage, with the subject's chinrest mounted on a rotary stage to induce various levels of convergence by rotation of the subject's head in primary or downward gaze. Initially, the subjects performed a distance viewing task in primary gaze for 10 minutes to provide a 'wash-out' period for prior visual tasks, and then the subject's axial length and ocular biometrics were measured in nine different combinations of gaze/accommodation over 5 minutes. These nine sessions for all gaze measurements (i.e. three levels of accommodation 9 three levels of convergence) were completed across 3 days of testing (one accommodation condition on each day).The nine combinations of gaze/accommodation were based on those required to view the centre, right and left edges of a distant TV at 6 m in primary gaze, an intermediate task (i.e. computer at 50 cm in 10° downward gaze) and a near task (i.e. reading A4 page at 20 cm in 20° downward gaze). Subjects were wearing a custom built three-axes head tracker throughout the experiment that monitored subjects' relative head movements (roll, pitch and yaw) during measurements. Results: A significant increase in axial length occurred with the combined effect of accommodation, convergence and downward gaze (repeated measures ANOVA, p 0.05). Moderate to high myopes had a greater change in the axial length (mean change 40 ± 11 lm after 5 minutes of near task) than that of emmetropes (mean change 29 ± 15 lm after 5 minutes of near task) and low myopes (mean change 29 ± 16 lm after 5 minutes of near task) associated with time (p = 0.02) and accommodation by time (p = 0.03). Conclusions: The combination of accommodation, convergence and downward angle has a significant short term effect on axial length over time. The near task in downward gaze with convergence caused a greater change in axial length than the intermediate and distant visual tasks. The greater axial elongation measured in the infero-nasal direction with accommodation is most likely associated with a combination of biomechanical factors such as, extraocular muscle forces and ciliary muscle contraction.


Objective: The purpose of the present study was to test the protective effects of migrant caregiver's monitoring and left-behind caregiver's monitoring on reducing children's antisocial behavior and loneliness.Methods: Participants included 207 rural Left-behind children were selected from a town in Henan province.They were asked to complete Scales of Children Loneliness,Delinquency,Caregiver's monitoring,and Left-home hassles.Results: ①The level of leftbehind caregiver's monitoring on children from father migrant families was higher than monitoring on children from twoparent migrant families,and there was no significant difference in migrant caregiver's monitoring between the two groups.②The higher the level of migrant caregiver's monitoring and left-behind caregiver's monitoring,the more ameliorated the Left-behind-children's loneliness.③Higher levels of left-behind caregiver's monitoring could attenuate the relationship between left-home hassles and antisocial behavior for children from father migrant families compared with children from two-parent migrant families.Conclusion: The protective role of caregiver's monitoring varies as the status of parent's migration.


Leadership is a personal relationship in which one person directs, coordinates and supervises other in the performance of a common task. The social contract of leadership is viewed as a myth that functions to reinforce existing social believes and structure about the necessity of hierarchy and leaders in organization. Leadership seems to be a matter of aligning people towards common goals and empowering them to take the actions needed to reach them. The ability to influence a individuals/group towards the achievement of common goals.


The Gravitational field-flow fractionation (GFFF) in combination with the conventional gas chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography were applied in order to study the effect of temperature (15°, 20°, 25°, and 30°C) on the fermentation kinetics and the proliferation of the alcohol-resistant and psychrophilic Saccharomyces cerevisiae (AXAZ-1) yeast strain, in the presence or absence of wheat starch granules as immobilization carrier. The results indicated that both systems (free and immobilized cells) performed better at 30°C, whereas at lower temperatures decreases in the fermentation rate and in the number of viable cells were observed. The duration and the rate of the fermentation process were shorter in the case of immobilized cells as compared with free cells, which is in accordance with literature. Moreover, wheat starch granules proved to be capable and efficient for the immobilization process as it is a cheap material, of food grate purity, available in large amounts. The activation energy for the fermentation process (Ea) was reduced in the case of immobilized cells as compared with free cells.


A manifestly diffeomorphism invariant exact renormalization group requires extra diffeomorphism invariant ultraviolet regularisation at some effective cutoff scale Λ. This motivates construction of a 'Parisi-Sourlas' supergravity, in analogy with the gauge theory case, where the superpartner fields have the wrong spin-statistics such that they can become Pauli–Villars regulator fields after spontaneous symmetry breaking. We show that in contrast to gauge theory, the free theory around flat space is already non-trivial and in a sense already displays some spontaneous symmetry breaking. We show that the fluctuating fields form multiplets whose mass matrices imply that the fields propagate into each other not only with the expected 1/p 2 but also through propagators with improved ultraviolet properties, namely 1/p 4 and 1/p 6, despite the fact that the action contains a maximum of two space-time derivatives.


Taking into account the needs of decision makers inside the companies, marketing research is meant to provide the best information that really can to help the adoption of the best decisions. In this respect a lot of methods of data analysis can be used but the researcher has to choose those results that minimize the errors. This paper proposes an instrumental research regarding the using of Boxplot analysis to identify certain outliers that can alter the information. In order to attain the objective of this research, we exemplified the Boxplot analysis on data related to the GDP recorded in 2014 by Romanian counties. Key-words: Boxplot analysis, marketing research, outlier identification, GDP analysis, instrumental research, extreme values analysis


Financial inclusion has become an important policy for many countries, including the developed and developing nations. Financial inclusion realisation is promoted by the easy and convenient access to financial services, quality of financial services, and efficient and effective utilisation by all segment of society, delivered with fairness and zero discrimination. The achievement of financial inclusion is supported by essential pillars that are interconnected with each other and form a composite economy ecosystem to ensure stability and sustainable development. One of these critical pillars is micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs); the development of MSMEs pillar is deemed crucial due to its capability in absorbing more considerable workforce compared to larger enterprises and contributes significantly to the gross domestic product (GDP). Therefore, the growth of MSMEs pillar will surely reduce poverty, lessen the unemployment, and lower the income disparity. In this respect, since Islamic banking represents the core of the Islamic financial system that encourages entrepreneurship, the institution is expected to take the lead in serving the needs of MSMEs sector and assisting them from all types of financial constraints. The primary objective of this chapter is to explore and investigate the critical issues and challenges of MSMEs financial inclusion achievement through the role of Islamic banking institutions, particularly in Indonesia. The chapter suggests several problems that hamper the role of the Indonesian Islamic banking institution in serving the needs of MSMEs and numerous issues and challenges in achieving MSMEs financial inclusion.


Investments in water use efficiency and water storage capacity are two common approaches to tackling water scarcity and adapting to climate change. We show that they are not always substitutes. Efficiency improvement can increase the demand for storage capacity in two scenarios: (1) if it increases water demand; (2) if, as a result of re-optimization of water inventory control, it increases the probability that the storage capacity will be exhausted. We identify properties of water demand and productivity under which the two scenarios will happen, and illustrate the potential complementarity using an empirical example of the California State Water Project. The results are also applicable to choices among infrastructure investment, improved consumption efficiency, and conservation of other storable resources, for example, energy.


statement in direct speech, were often used carelessly, or in a non-literal sense, to introduce a palpable paraphrase. Conversely sentences which from thenlanguage can be recognized as verbatim quotations were not infrequently given in indirect speech. Thus sentences extracted from the Aristotelian commentators Elias and Asclepias (Capizzi, frr. 1 and 2), though formally direct I quotations, are almost certainly mere summaries of judgements in Aristotle, , given in a direct form by their authors perhaps with the object of impressing, or of lending variety. In the case of Capizzi's fr. 3 there are not even formal reasons to recommend it as a verbatim quotation. Consisting of the words OVK I iariv avrtAeyeiv, it is extracted from Diog. L. ix. 53, where it is simply given as } the content of a Xoyos: Diogenes derived this information, as he himself said, j from Plato's Euthydemus. To count this as a new fragment, then, is without I justification. It is more serious, perhaps, that Capizzi's fr. 8, a list of Protagoras' j. works, from Diog. L. ix. 55, is made to begin as follows: ' Ilepl irdXrjs, irepl T<OV I iJ.a6rjfia.Twv . . . ' : here Capizzi has simply suppressed the first item on Diogenes' [ list, namely Texyi] epiariKwv, not even indicating the omission with dots, since r he considers this not to have been a real book title. To these and similar faults ! in the selection of texts must be added frequent mistakes in the printing of the I Greek (especially the use of e for ij and off for £), as well as an unattractive 1 and confusing layout.


OBJECTIVES
To investigate the association of circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] levels with mortality among adults with prediabetes.

METHODS
This retrospective cohort study included 15195 adults with prediabetes (aged ≥20 years) from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) III and NHANES 2001-2014. Mortality from all causes, cardiovascular disease (CVD), and cancer was linked to National Death Index mortality data.

RESULTS
The median (interquartile range) concentration of serum 25(OH)D was 60.5 (45.3, 77.4) nmol/L, and only 23.1% had sufficient vitamin D (≥75 nmol/L). Elevated serum 25(OH)D concentrations were significantly associated with lower levels of insulin, HOMA-IR, triglyceride, and C-reactive protein, and higher levels of high-density lipoprotein at baseline (all Ptrend<0.05). During a median follow up of 10.7 years, 3765 deaths (including 1080 CVD deaths and 863 cancer deaths) were identified. Compared with participants with 25(OH)D <30 nmol/L, the multivariate-adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for participants with 25(OH)D ≥75 nmol/L were 0.66 (0.53, 0.82) for all-cause mortality (Ptrend<0.001), 0.66 (0.48, 0.89) for CVD mortality (Ptrend=0.001), and 0.82 (0.49, 1.35) for cancer mortality (Ptrend=0.32). For per unit increment in ln-transformed 25(OH)D, there was a 27% lower risk of all-cause mortality and a 34% lower risk of CVD mortality (both P<0.01).

CONCLUSIONS
These findings suggested that higher serum 25(OH)D concentrations were associated with lower all-cause and CVD mortality among individuals with prediabetes.


The paper highlights potential areas of energy saving in the field of thermal energy, presents their grading in terms of the payback period. It discusses the problems encountered in the implementation of energy saving measures and suggests the most efficient solutions. The paper presents a list of the most efficient energy saving projects implemented by the educational and scientific centre "Mordovian Energy Saving Centre"


Using phosphate salt series,the surface of magnesium alloys is phosphated and phosphating formula is optimized.Scanning electron microscope(SEM) is adopted to study phosphate conversion films and polarization curve method is used to analyze the ccorrosion resistance of phosphate conversion films produced by using different technologies.The results show that phosphate conversion film of themagnesium alloy surface which is optimized is uniform,fine and compact.In addition,the film composed of manganese phosphates is rich in oxygen,phosphor and manganese,without any Mg or Al.When this magnesium alloy surface is dipped in liquor,3.5 per cent of which is NaCl for 24 hours,the corrosion resistance is considerably improved.The optimum conditions are that temperature is 60 ℃,time 60 minutes,pH value 3.


The paper focuses on the analysis of the Euler projection Galerkin finite element method (FEM) for the dynamics of magnetization in ferromagnetic materials, described by the Landau–Lifshitz equation with the point-wise constraint $|{\textbf{m}}|=1$. The method is based on a simple sphere projection that projects the numerical solution onto a unit sphere at each time step, and the method has been used in many areas in the past several decades. However, error analysis for the commonly used method has not been done since the classical energy approach cannot be applied directly. In this paper we present an optimal $\textbf{L}^2$ error analysis of the backward Euler sphere projection method by using quadratic or higher order finite elements under a time step condition $\tau =O(\epsilon _0 h)$ with some small $\epsilon _0>0$. The analysis is based on more precise estimates of the extra error caused by the sphere projection in both $\textbf{L}^2$ and $\textbf{H}^1$ norms, and the classical estimate of dual norm. Numerical experiment is provided to confirm our theoretical analysis.


The ultimate goal of Student Affairs Assessment is promoting students' development in America universities.Aside from assessment of professional and non-governmental organizations,many universities have set up student affairs office of assessment.The assessment subjects include specialists,students,the public,colleagues and so on.The assessment methods include quantitative and qualitative data analysis.The steps of assessments include asking a question,establishing assessment index system,information gathering,processing and analysis,drawing assessment conclusions and making recommendations.Student affairs assessments contain three contents: agency assessment,activities assessment and personnel assessment.We can draw lessons from student affairs assessment of colleges and universities in America.


The results of surgery in 29 patients with 'lymphangioma circumscriptum' have been reviewed 2–8 years after operation. They show that in regard to management there are two varieties: small lesions, < 7 cm diameter, in favourable sites of the body, which are potentially curable; and large lesions, > 7 cm diameter on the skin with an even larger area of subcutaneous cysts, in which complete excision of all the skin and subcutaneous vesicles would require skin grafting. Nine patients had small lesions excised. Seven have had no recurrence. Twenty patients had large lesions treated by a radical excision of all or as much of the cyst bearing subcutaneous tissues and skin as possible, but leaving enough skin to permit a primary suture, even though it meant leaving skin vesicles. The lesion was controlled and the cosmetic appearance improved in 16 patients. Subsequent regression of many of the vesicles not excised supports the aetiological hypothesis of the skin lesions proposed by Whimster.


The sequential addition of 4-cyanobiphenyl moieties to a silyl core unit results in a modification of the molecular shape of the molecules from rod-like to cross-shaped. The variation of molecular size and shape determines the nature (interdigitated SmAd or monolayer SmAl) and the stability range of the liquid-crystalline phases of these materials.


Traditional methods of biofuel production using vegetable oils and aliphatic alcohols have a number of disadvantages. A new method of transesterification of vegetable oils with alkyl acetates because they act as promoters of diesel fuel combustion. A method of improving both technology of alcoholysis and esterolysis by modifying the temperature range is proposed. Chemical and technological bases of two-stage process of vegetable oil transesterification are developed. In the first stage, the oils are treated with glycerol  in order to convert tri-acyl-glyceros of oil into mono-acyl-glycerols. The second stage is alcoholysis of mono-acyl-glycerols with ethanol  or esterolysis of mono-acyl-glycerols with ethyl acetate. The temperature range of the transesterification process is improved using heat-transfer solvents. Comparison of material balances of technologies of one- and two-stage ways of ethanolysis and esterolysis showed a significant increase in the selectivity of the process, yield and quality of biofuels. Analysis of the obtained biofuels and mixtures, which contain 20 % of biofuels and 80% of diesel fuel showed  the best physical, chemical and operational characteristics. Therefore, the  blended fuels are promising area of biofuel technology.


Extending prior research on the characteristics potentially associated with adolescents' tendencies to be a moral rebel, the present study found that adolescents themselves, their peers, and their teachers agreed on adolescents' tendencies to (a) possess a moral identity, (b) possess moral courage characteristics, and (c) be a moral rebel. Although moral identity (when considered independently and in combination with the moral courage characteristics) did not consistently predict the tendency to be a moral rebel, all indices of the adolescents' moral courage characteristics positively predicted the tendency to be a moral rebel.


Smith Lever funds from the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under Agreement No. 2005-06-081


We report fifty seven CW FIR emissions observed in NH3, by resonant pumping with a CO2 laser. Exact coincidences between IR absorption lines of the gas and emission lines of the CO2 laser have been carried out by Stark tuning. IR frequency shifts, up to 30 GHz, have allowed the pumping of forty three NH3 transitions.These FIR emissions correspond to thirty one different wavelengths in the 50–400 μm range; eighteen ones of them are new emitted wavelengths by pumping with the CO2 laser.


The present invention, the grinding elements (6) by being provided stirrer shaft 8 is arranged, is formed between the grinding chamber 10, grinding vessel 4 and the agitator shaft 8, crushing into the grinding chamber and (6) is extended, at least one inlet channel (12) for grinding material to the dynamic separation device 14 is provided for the crushing chamber inside the cylinder, and crushed inside the grinding chamber secondary body, in this case, the dynamic separation device 14 is related to a stirred ball mill (2) having a grinding bowl (4) is provided with a recess 16 for feeding back the pulverized secondary body, a stirred ball wheat, should be designed to improve the distribution of the grinding auxiliary bodies in the grinding chamber 10. For this purpose, according to the invention, the agitator shaft (8) has at least one recess 18 is provided extending into the extension of separation apparatus 14 and grinding chamber 10 in the axial direction.


Approximately 52% of the 380,000 tons of fish landings in Iran come from the northern Persian Gulf, with a total of 108,000 fishermen and 8900 fishing vessels (2003 data). The fishery in the region is very important for the local economy, but the major problems facing the Iranian fisheries are an uncertain availability of fish and over-fishing. The Persian Gulf is a sensitive marine ecosystem. The Gulf is a partially enclosed sea with an average depth of 35 metres and replacement of waters take some three to five years. Environmental factors have a major effect on fish stocks and fisheries in such a sensitive ecosystem. This study examines the influence of environmental changes in water temperature, rainfall, wind and sea level pressure on fish stocks in the northern Persian Gulf and estimates the maximum sustainable yields for fisheries management. Multivariate data and surplus production bio-economic models with environmental parameters are used to determine optimal harvest and forecasting. The study found that rainfall, water temperature and wind had significant positive effects whereas sea level pressure had a negative effect on the fisheries in the northern Persian Gulf. It is concluded that environmental parameters should be monitored concurrently with the fisheries to allow a greater understanding for fisheries management in the Persian Gulf.


The degradation rate analysis of 38 commercial crystalline-silicon (c-Si) photovoltaic (PV) power plants fielded for up to 16 years in a hot-dry climate of Arizona has been evaluated. Based on the metered kWh data and modeled weather data of these systems, the linearity and degradation rate analyses of PV modules are statistically determined using three different performance approaches: PR (Performance Ratio), PI (Performance Index), and Raw kWh. The evaluation approaches developed and used in this work are validated using the in-field current-voltage measurements previously performed in four commercial systems.


This study clarifies the mental workload of VTS Operator; by understanding their characteristics during carrying out their task, with a physiological index. The objective is to determine VTS Operators' mind stress that might trigger any human error based on their mental workload during their watches. For this purpose, Heart Rate Monitor (HRM) is utilized as physiological index. The VTS Operators fitted the HRM and all of them have experience as a Master Mariner. During the all experiments, their heart rates and behaviours were recorded on the Event Record Form based on the time scale. After getting the heart rate variability, it is matched with the events, and then Operators' behaviour is understood as the mental workload due to such kinds of events. Furthermore, these workloads include the Operators' mind stress and their decisions under these circumstances. This study provides the fundamental information for understanding the VTS Operators' characteristics.


In shallow lakes, energy and matter transfers often occur mediated by currents, diffusive processes and organisms, particularly fish. In Pampean shallow lakes, "Sabalito" (Cyphocharax voga), an omnivorous feeder, is a common species in the open water and near the shoreline. There is increasing evidence that, when available, periphyton is an important source of carbon for secondary production in the pelagic thus, insights on factors affecting periphyton production are extremely important for evaluating possible limitations within fish yield. To clarify the interactions between littoral and pelagic food webs in shallow lakes, mediated by the presence of C. voga, a 32 day mesocosm experiment was conducted examining the response of the pelagic and periphytical sub-systems to different densities of C. voga. Cyphocharax voga did not affect the macrozooplankton community neither on its biomass as a bulk nor by promoting inner changes in the relative proportion of cladocerans and cyclopoids or in its average individual size. Within the fish densities evaluated, no cascading "top-down" effects were observed. Nevertheless, C. voga pressure affected the peripheric community: on one side, treatments with higher number of individuals exhibited lower periphytic algae biomass; on the other, a positive and a negative effect on attached chironomid larvae occurred. Cyphocharax voga feeding strategy might include periphytical elements as an important source of food. Thus, moving in and out open water and shoreline, it can promote energy and matter transfers between littoral and pelagic zones in Pampean shallow lakes.


【Objectives: This study is designed to evaluate the influential factors of career decision-making self-efficacy and career identity by health science college students on their job preparation beaviors. Methods: The total 714 questionnaires were distributed to juniors and seniors of health science college, and the result was statistically analyzed through IBM SPSS statistics 20.0. Results: 1. There was no significant difference of job preparation behavior between male students and female students, and while seniors showed highly active job preparation behaviors, those who had high satisfaction level toward their major studies, high academic achievement, and outgoing personality had highly active job preparation behaviors. 2. Students with high satisfaction level toward their major studies, high academic achievement, outgoing personality, and high expected salaries showed high career decision-making self-efficacy level. 3. Students with high satisfaction level toward their major studies, high academic achievement and highly outgoing personality showed high level of career identity. 4. Subsidiary factors of career decision-making self-efficacy were collection of job information, goal setting, planning, and self-assessment, and all of them showed correlation with job preparation behaviors. 5. Among subsidiary factors of career decision-making self-efficacy, "self-understanding" and understanding of job information showed correlation with job preparation behaviors. Conclusion: For improvement on career decision-making self-efficacy and career identity of health science college students, individual support, psychological support, educational support and other supports regarding job employment to provide wide paths and methods for job preparation behaviors are essential, and through various job employment education program and graded counseling, job preparation behaviors shall be promoted as a great strategy.】


Two transformation techniques have been applied to two groups of boys aged 7 at their very entry to school system. The tasks were specially programmed in the experimental group (131 testeee) and the instructions were performed by PE teachers. The control group (n=118) was included in the standard school programme of teaching performed by primary school teachers. The children were controlled through three control points with 12 motoric tests which were designed to cover that field well. The results showed that the experimental programme was many times efficient because much better values had been recorded through the second and third control point with the tendency to increase the difference to the advantage of the experimental group. Some better results can be registered in three levels: 1) the level of effectiveness of cardiovascular system, 2) the level of sinergy regulation of motion especially marked with speed and flexibility and coordination to some extent and in 3) the level of engagement of a larger amount of energy of static and repetitive type, too. It can be concluded with certainty that the experimental programme showed much better results in the field of motoric dimensions and that it represents much better base for the gradual involvement of children into sport schools (e.g the schools of gymnastics, swimming, athletics, sport games, martial arts, etc.) by any standard.


For the multilingual ad-hoc document retrieval track (TEL@CLEF) at at the Cross-Language Retrieval Forum (CLEF) Trinity College Dublin and Dublin City University participated in collaboration. Our retrieval experiments focus on i) investigating document expansion using an entry vocabulary module, ii) translating queries with Google translate and a statistical MT system, and iii) investigating language modeling as a retrieval method. The major results are that the document expansion approach did not increase MAP; topic translation using the statistical MT system resulted in about 70% of the mean average precision (MAP) achieved when using Google translate for topic translation, and language modeling performs equally or better in comparison with BM25. The bilingual retrieval French and German to English experiments obtained 89% and 90% of the best MAP for monolingual English.


Fourteen reported patients with more than a 2-year survival of untreated cryptococcal meningitis were analyzed, and an untreated patient with a 13-year survival was added. Comments are made on the only known "untreated" cure of this disorder. The tendency to occasional remission but not cure of the disease without treatment is noted, and it is pointed out that the rare long survival without treatment usually occurs in young and otherwise healthy individuals.


In this work do a analytic study on the local boundedness of the solution of
di usion - reaction equation with nonlinear boundary conditions lean in two
constructions, the solutions of equation of elliptic type with blow up boundary and
of the concept of minimal proper solution for equations of parabolic type.
Show, if the boundary conditions and the nonlinear factor of di usion - reaction
equation are bounds potency in a neighborhood of domain, the solution is bounds
in this neighborhood.
The conclusion is what la boundedness is possible and local, and generally
depend of nonlinear factor, the boundary condition and domain. Also contrast the
result obtain with others and examine the possibility of extend the boundedness on
the boundary to all domain.
Moreover present numerics experiments of the solutions of particular
di usion - reaction equations whose results are contrast with the analysis make


Empiricist and hypothetico-deductive traditions have served well in the development of the understanding of hydrologic and erosion processes across a range of disciplinary backgrounds. Because data are hard-won, there is a tendency to give emphasis to them in developing understanding, but this emphasis often ignores the conceptual underpinning of the data leading to a range of problems such as the affirmation of the consequent. Realist approaches have more recently stressed the importance of multi-methodological and iterative approaches in producing more coherent process understanding. A range of interdisciplinary work on ecohydrology and ecogeomorphology has also started to focus on the limitations of approaches grounded in general systems theory as producing inherently static representations of the environment. Increasingly, complex systems theory has been applied to these fields in order to represent the dynamics of the environment, interactions across different spatial scales, and the evolution of its parts. These developments have occurred in parallel with critiques of understanding and managing environmental systems based on equilibrium concepts. A second strand of progress relates to technological advances. Across a range of scales, methods such as satellite and airborne remote sensing and particle imaging have made observations about the detail of environmental patterns clearer, which has helped challenge or clarify existing interpretations, e.g. of flow processes. Increasing miniaturization and computational advances are also enabling many flow and erosion processes to be instrumented and analyzed at appropriate spatio-temporal scales. This presentation will draw on both conceptual and technological advances to evaluate how these two strands are intertwined. It will use a range of examples to evaluate how process conceptualization affects measurement and how numerical and hardware modelling can be used as a means of integrating and strictly testing process knowledge. Based on these evaluations, it will conclude with an overview of some of the key challenges for the next decade.


The way a child spends their free time has a great influence on the development of their personality. The parents in Valasske Meziřici can rely in this area on the experience of local leisure center organization "Domecek". Their history dates back to 1952 but for the last few years the scale of their activities appears to be declining. This work aims to address this issue by analyzing their environment and then suggest steps that the organization should take in order to overcome the future threats. One of the main problems in the environment appears to be the instability and the most threatening future factors include demographic change. It is suggested that the right path in future development lies in cooperation with both private and public sector organizations.


In all aquaculture practices the detrimental effects of
cohabiting organisms are either by predation, competition,
disease or parasitism. Hanson (1974) stated that
limited predation can serve to weed out some diseased
members of a crop and also help in controlling epizootic
infections. But large-scale mortalities result in economic
loss by reduction in the tended stock. Control of
predation also means additional expense on the production
cost (Mackenzie, 1970a). While evolving culture
methods for fish or shellfish, identifying and proper
use of methods to prevent and control numerous
predators of cultivable organisms is absolutely essential
to maximise production.


The COVID-19 pandemic, which emerged in the last quarter of 2019, has seriously affected the global economy, including sectors such as the energy and building industries. Studies of COVID-19 transmission indicate a direct relationship between the number of occupants in a building and the risk of infection. The aims of this study were to focus on workplace density strategies as a primary, overlooked factor that can affect energy consumption and the risk of transmission of viruses within buildings and to determine optimal workplace density strategies to reduce energy consumption, especially in commercial buildings. To this end, the practical approach was used by applying COVE.TOOL technology and data from COVID-19 tracking projects to the proposed occupant density after new design considerations for the food court of the Mall of Arabia – the most famous shopping mall in Egypt. This approach was also used to evaluate customer visits to reduce the spread of disease and improve their energy efficiency.


Twenty seven isolates of Rhizoctonia solani causing Banded Leaf and Sheath Blight in maize were collected from different maize varieties and one from rice grown in various regions of Telengana State, India for easy breeding task. The isolates were analysed for their morphological and genetic characterization. The hyphal width varied from 5.00 (RS2, RS20) to 7.97 μm (RS10) of rice isolate (7.34 μm). The isolates RS7, RS 8, RS9 (Karimnagar), RS10, RS11, RS12 (Khammam) RS16 (Krishna) and RS26 (Kurnool) and one rice isolate RS28 produced barrel shaped monilioid cells. The clamp connection was present only in RS1 isolate from Pragnyapur mandal of Medak district. The three isolates RS16, RS17, RS18 from Krishna district and rice isolate RS28 recorded maximum colony growth of 90.00 mm within 48 h of incubation. The colour of most isolates varied from light grey to brown while the rice isolate showed a typical yellowish brown shade. The sclerotial number per 5.00 mm culture disc of test isolates ranged from between (7.00) to (17.67). Their size varied between 0.21 μm (RS 24) and 1.57 μm (RS11). The rice isolate RS28 recorded highest (19.00) sclerotial count compared to that of maize isolates. Sclerotial colour in all isolates except for RS 24 was yellowish brown to dark reddish brown whereas the rice isolate was dark yellowish brown. Molecular characterization of the test isolates using RAPD markers with UPGMA exhibited two major clusters with 66 to 90% genetic similarity. Art ic le History


AbstractThis study presents the experimental and analytical investigations carried out on high-strength concrete beam-column joints with Grade 700 longitudinal bars in beams and columns. Seven full...


RESEARCH AIM This research brief addresses an important shortcoming in the existing literature on the impacts of climate change on human migration. By highlighting the role that migration might play as an adaptation to climate change by Indigenous people, with a particular focus on remote communities in the north of Australia.


A novel measurement technique is used to extract two physically distinct "permanent" (long lived on our experimental time scale, ≤12 000 s) and one recoverable charge components of the negative bias temperature instability in p-channel metal–oxide–semiconductor field effect transistors under inversion and n-channel devices under accumulation. The results suggest that the permanent components are present in both cases, while there is little, if any, recoverable charge present in the case of the n-channel device. A physical explanation is provided involving the band energy diagram to explain these observations.


Service life of cyclically loaded components is often determined bystage I-crack propagation, which is highly influenced by microstructural features suchas grain boundaries. A 2D-model to simulate the growth of these short fatigue cracks ispresented discretising the crack by displacement discontinuity boundary elements. Theyallow an opening and slide displacement of the crack flanks. The direct boundary ele-ment method is used to mesh the grain boundaries which only carry out absolute dis-placement. A superposition procedure allows to employ these different types of bound-ary elements in one model. Being enclosed by elements, individual elastic properties ofthe grains can be considered. Stress intensity factors are determined to verify the elasticmodel. To simulate short crack propagation the plastic deformation in front of a cracktip is modelled as slip on individual slip planes. Displacement discontinuity boundaryelements which only allow a slide displacement mesh the activated slip band. Its lengthis limited by the distance between crack tip and grain boundary. In the neighbouringgrain, stress increases while the crack tip progresses to the grain boundary. If a criticalshear stress intensity is reached on a potential slip plane of the adjacent grain, thisplane is activated and the plastic zone overcomes the boundary. Varying elastic proper-ties influence the direction of maximum shear stress and therefore the highest loadedslip plane which is activated can differ. Furthermore a change in crack tip slide dis-placement determining stage I-crack propagation is observed.


The location of the flexible membrane coupling is specified within metallic intermediary elements couplings area, depending on various parameters: nature of components, capability to handle installation misalignments and the magnitude of torque transmission. The main aspects are presented regarding the mechanical strength calculus and verification of the main components of the elastic coupling (inner and outer rivets, fixing bolts and membranes spokes). Calculation schemes at various loads are suggested to determine the stress state in the area of fillet root of the membrane spokes. Computation is performed to determine the number of membranes from the elastic pocket. This calculus is used to a detailed further analysis of the stress and strain state through the finite element method, analyze that will be the subject of other papers. Key-Words: Elastic oupling, Metallic flexible membrane, Mechanical strength analysis


The present paper deals with localized necking in stretched metal sheets using the initial imperfection approach. The first objective is to study the effect of kinematic hardening on the formability of a freestanding metal layer. To this end, the behavior of the metal layer is assumed to follow the rigid-plastic rate-independent flow theory. The isotropic (resp. kinematic) hardening of this metal is modeled by the Hollomon (resp. Prager) law. A parametric study is carried out in order to investigate the effect of kinematic hardening on the formability limits. It is shown that the effect of kinematic hardening on the ductility limit is noticeably different depending on the strain path considered. The second aim of the paper is to analyze the effect of an elastomer substrate, perfectly bonded to the metal layer, on the formability of the whole bilayer. It is found that the addition of an elastomer layer substantially enhances the formability of the bilayer, in agreement with earlier studies.


Objective
To investigate the prevalence of urticaria among children aged 2-6 years in Nanjing city.

Methods
A questionnaire survey was carried out in children aged 2-6 years in 5 main districts of Nanjing City.

Results
The number of valid questionnaires was 13 610, accounting for 92.8% of total respondents. Among the 13 610 respondents, 1 116 were diagnosed as urticaria, including 565 boys and 551 girls, with the total prevalence rate being 8.54%. No significant difference was observed in the prevalence rate of urticaria between boys and girls(8.49% vs. 8.60%, χ2 = 0.04, P = 0.832)or among children of different age groups(χ2 = 1.84, P= 0.17). The prevalence of urticaria increased with age, and positively correlated with parents' educational level(rs = 0.96, P = 0.000). Children born in urban areas showed higher prevalence of urticaria than those in rural areas(8.79% vs. 5.56%, χ2= 13.98, P = 0.000).

Conclusions
The prevalence of urticaria has increased among children aged 2-6 years in recent years. More studies should be carried out to investigate into the pathogenesis and relevant factors of urticaria, so as to facilitate its prevention and treatment.

Key words:
Urticaria; Prevalence; Child


High dose intravenous immunoglobulin therapy is becoming the established maintenance treatment for several neurological conditions. Therapeutic immunoglobulin is expensive and its administration is time consuming. Efficacy is variable and must be closely monitored. Here, we show that self infused immunoglobulin at home, combined with daily functional strength diaries to predict dose and dosage intervals, is effective, time saving, and convenient for both patients and medical staff.


Expectation maximization clustering of received nonlinear spectral data from solitonic pulses is used to reduce bit error rates. Simulations over a 1800 km Raman amplified fiber link demonstrate the effectiveness of the method.


One of the promising point-to-point or point-to-multipoint communication systems is Free Space Optical (FSO) systems. Due to its advantageous features, it has evolved into versatile technology for broadband access in future. With the advancements made in technology there still exists some environmental factors like fog, smog, rain, clouds, dust with other suspended particles which may cause interference of the communication channel. Further, this may affect the transceiver performance and the attenuation coefficient of the medium. Also, the increase in levels of attenuation results in increased losses and need to be carefully monitored. Therefore, to overcome these challenges faced by FSO-OFDM point to point laser communication system, 16-PSK-OFDM-FSO communication system is proposed. The proposed communication model is examined and analyzed under cloudy and rainy weather conditions. This paper thoroughly investigated and simulated the attenuation of the atmosphere under various situations and assessed the impact of these conditions. Further, the efficiency and efficacy of the proposed model is examined with the help of SNR, constellation diagrams and attenuation curves as a function of visibility. Additionally, the SNR vs. BER curve for various weather conditions showed that the value of BER decreases more for cloudy than for rainy weather reaching 10–20 for rain and 10–25 for cloud, respectively.


Transparent hybrid organic methacrylate capped zirconium oxo-clusters (ZOCs) with thiol-ene monomers. The vinyl capping groups potentially enable the ZOCs to become an integral part of the thiol-ene network. The ZOCs are reasonably soluble in the thiol-ene monomers yielding a loading of 1 wt. -%. The resulting polymer composites were highly transparent in the visible region and exhibited significant enhancement in the refractive indices with measured values ranging from 1. 714 to 1. 744. Moreover, dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) revealed that all the composites exhibited good mechanical strength and were robust enough to undergo machining and/or polishing without fracture.