Transforming growth factor–beta1 (TGF‐β1) is a pleiotropic cytokine with pivotal roles in the regulation of cellular functions and immune responses. In this study, we found that TGF‐β1 was able to effectively suppress hepatitis B virus (HBV) replication. In the presence of TGF‐β1, the level of viral replicative intermediates was dramatically decreased, both in actively dividing cells and in confluent cells. At the same time, the levels of viral transcripts, core protein, and nucleocapsid were significantly diminished by TGF‐β1 treatment. Interestingly, the inhibitory activity of TGF‐β1 was associated with preferential reduction of the level of pregenomic RNA compared with pre‐C mRNA. Further analysis indicated that TGF‐β1 might exert its antiviral effect primarily through reducing expression of the HBV core protein by transcriptional regulation instead of posttranscriptional modification. Conclusion: TGF‐β1 may play a dual role in HBV infection, in the suppression of immune responses against viral infection and in the direct inhibition of viral replication, resulting in minimization of liver damage in patients with chronic hepatitis. (HEPATOLOGY 2007.)


In today's increasingly competitive market, the life cycle of the product is significantly shortened, the product homogeneity phenomenon is becoming more and more serious, the development of product has become a very important task in the business operation in order to get a more stable position in the market. But how to develop a successful product welcomed by the market becomes a new subject. So it requires the use of the product development model to help companies solve this problem, but before that, a correct understanding of product development is an important pre-class work that helps companies successfully use patterns.


Lattice QCD has generated a wealth of data in hadronic physics over the last two decades. Until relatively recently, most of this information has been within the "quenched approximation" where virtual quark–anti-quark pairs are neglected. This review presents a descriptive discussion of the effects of removing this approximation in the calculation of hadronic masses. 1 The Quenched Approximation In a quantum field theory involving gauge and fermion degrees of freedom, such as QCD, we have the following path integral formalism for the expectation value of a quantity Ω:


Facial detection is an extremely important topic in biometrics. In particular, its application in uncontrolled environments presents a great challenge for the various existing techniques. This work aims to present and evaluate recent studies on facial detection applied in uncontrolled environments through a systematic review of the literature that addresses what are the main techniques and bases of faces used, as well as what are the main uncontrolled scenarios explored in them. Were formulated three research questions and 85 papers were selected for analysis. Based on the analysis of these works, it can be concluded that the techniques based on convolutional neural networks are the most explored techniques in the literature and that the FDDB face database is the most used in the experiments and specific scenarios present in uncontrolled environments, as occlusion and variation of illumination, are still little investigated.


Because of the weakly scattering nature of the marine organisms, the Distorted Wave Born Approximation (DWBA) has been successfully used in modeling the acoustic backscattering by zooplankton [Stanton et al., J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 94, 3463–3472 (1993); Wiebe et al., IEEE J. Ocean. Eng. (in press)]. However, in the cases where the scattering‐induced attenuation is noticeable, the previously used DWBA‐based solutions fail to predict the attenuation since they ignore the imaginary part of the scattering form function and result in a zero extinction cross section. In this paper, a revised DWBA‐based approximation is presented to include the imaginary part of the scattering form function. In deriving the revised solution, phase compensation based on ray paths is used. The solutions are compared with the exact solutions, and the agreements between the approximate solution and the exact ones are reasonably good. The results from this study can be applied to bioacoustic applications where the attenuations due to scattering or/and multiple scattering by zooplankton are significant.


The sparse matrix multiplication (SpGeMM) increased its importance in the last years due to its data science and machine learning applications. Consequently, considerable research has focused on accelerating this kernel in GPUs. Designing massively‐parallel algorithms for the SpGeMM is a challenging task since the computation pattern is highly irregular, and the required memory and operations depend on the interaction between the nonzero layout of the inputs. One strategy to attack this kernel consists of proposing new sparse matrix storage formats that contribute to mitigating this irregularity. In previous work, we commenced a study of the recently proposed bmSparse matrix format, suggesting several modifications to the SpGeMM algorithm. This work integrates the previous extensions and proposes new improvements to unleash bmSparse's full potential before comparing it to more consolidated options. In particular, we enhance one of the most computationally demanding stages with an adaptive technique, apply optimizations to achieve more efficient data accesses, and analyze the effect of using Tensor Cores to accelerate the multiplication stage of the algorithm. The experimental results on a set of real‐world sparse matrices show that the optimized implementation largely outperforms vendor implementations such as NVIDIA cuSparse Intel MKL‐CSR variant, while being competitive with MKL's‐BSR.


Introduction: Teenage pregnancy gains growing attention in the healthcare field, given the increase in its frequency and the risk that represents, both for the mother-to-be as well as for the infant. Studies have shown a greater prevalence of prematurity and low birth weight among teenage mothers of a low social-economic level; nevertheless, few analyze the morbidities of the different tracts and systems among such infants. Objective: To assess the influence of the mother s age over neonatal morbimortality. Method: A transversal observational study was carried out. The sample was comprised of born-alive infants and their respective mothers under age 20 and between ages 25-29. Data collection was based on a mother's interview, the pre-natal card, medical record


Studies on seasonal incidence of leaf webber, Nephopteryx eugraphella Ragonot (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) were carried out at new orchard, Agriculture College, Dharwad and Saidapur farm, KVK, Dharwad, University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad, Karnataka during 2013–2014. Observations were recorded from four sapota genotypes viz., Cricket ball, Kalipatti, DSH-1 and DSH-2. The incidence of pest was high (2.27 to 3.79%) during August to November. Whereas it was low (0.00 to 1.58%) during December to July. The percentage of damaged leaves on four different genotypes of sapota was high (2.17%) on Cricket ball and it was low on DSH-1 (1.35%).The overall mean percentage of damaged leaves irrespective of the genotypes varied from 0.00 (May) to 3.79(October). The correlation studies of leaf webber with weather parameters showed that there was a positive correlation between leaf webber damage and maximum temperature in DSH-2 hybrid similarly minimum temperature had positive correlation in Cricket ball and DSH-2 hybrid. The morning relative humidity had positive and significant correlation with leaf webber incidence in Cricket ball, Kalipatti, DSH-1 and DSH-2. The evening relative humidity showed positive and significant correlation with leaf webber incidence. There was a positive correlation between rainfall and leaf webber incidence in all the genotypes except DSH-2 hybrid grown in new orchard, College of Agriculture, Dharwad.


Objective: To develop a new, simple, accurate, precise, linear and rapid Reverse Phase High Performance Liquid Chromatographic (RP-HPLC) method for the simultaneous quantitative estimation of Efavirenz, Lamivudine and Zidovudine in tablets as per ICH guidelines. Methods: The optimized method uses a reverse phase C18 column, Enable C18G (250 X 4.6 mm;5μ), a mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile:0.02M potassium dihydrogen orthophosphate buffer adjusted to pH 3.2 in the proportion of 30:70v/v, flow rate of 1.0 ml/min and a detection wavelength of 275nm using a UV detector. Results: The developed method resulted in Efavirenz eluting at 2.01 min, Lamivudine at 2.90 min and Zidovudine at 7.52 min. The linearity of the method was over the range of 75-450µg/ml for Efavirenz, 18.75-112.5µg/ml for Lamivudine and 37.5-225µg/ml for Zidovudine. The method precision was exemplified by relative standard deviations of 0.15 % for Efavirenz, 0.24% for Lamivudine and 0.37% for Zidovudine. Percentage Mean recoveries obtained during accuracy were in the range of 98‐102. The limit of detection (LOD) was obtained as 20ng/ml for Efavirenz, 1ng/ml for Lamivudine and 2ng/ml for Zidovudine.. The limit of quantitation (LOQ) was obtained as 50 ng/ml for Efavirenz, 2.5ng/ml for Lamivudine and 5ng/ml for Zidovudine. Conclusion: A new, simple, accurate, precise, linear and rapid RP-HPLC method was developed and validated for the simultaneous estimation of Efavirenz, Lamivudine and Zidovudine mg in tablets as per ICH guidelines. Hence the method can be used for the routine analysis in various pharmaceutical industries.


Objective: Study the effects of intermittent hypoxic training(IHT),muscle fatigue and its recovery process on the H-reflex.Methods: We made Two weeks of IHT Training on eight sprint athletes by inspiring 10~11%O2 self-made hypoxic gas mixture The parameters of H-reflex were recorded pre and post IHT and also during the recovery process of muscle fatigue.Result: Amplitude of M wave increased but the latency of H wave increased pre and post IHT training significantly.There was noticeable decrease during the first three minutes of recovery process and it recovered gradually after this.But it increased significantly at the fifteenth minutes during the recovery process.Conclusion: H-reflex is a sensitive index to the effects of sports fatigue and intermittent hypoxic training on the nervous system of sprint athletes.There might be some changes of H reflex due to the adaptability of the H reflex pathway in spinal cord.


Background Gut microbiota dysbiosis in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) causes an increase in the metabolite, trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO) that contributes to increased cardiovascular disease risk and exacerbates hyperglycemia. Aim The aim of this study was to assess serum TMAO and its relation with insulin resistance (IR) and cardiovascular risk indices in type 2 diabetic patients. Patients and methods This case–control study was conducted on 60 type 2 diabetic patients and 28 healthy age- and sex-matched individuals. Patients were divided into two groups according to the presence of ischemic heart disease (IHD). Fasting and 2-h postprandial blood glucose, total cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, glycosylated hemoglobin, fasting serum insulin, and serum TMAO were measured. Assessment of IR index by using Homeostatic Model Assessment HOMA-IR was done. Neck ultrasound was done to assess carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT). Results All diabetic patients had significantly elevated TMAO values than controls. TMAO levels correlated positively with fasting serum insulin and HOMA-IR in IHD-diabetic patients, and correlated negatively with CIMT in diabetic patients both with and without IHD. Conclusion Serum TMAO levels were significantly higher in type 2 diabetic patients than controls. TMAO showed a positive correlation with fasting insulin and HOMA-IR in the IHD-diabetic patients and a negative correlation with CIMT in diabetics both with and without IHD. Serum TMAO more than 7 ng\ml may be considered a potential diagnostic biomarker for T2DM with IHD in Egyptians with T2DM. HOMA-IR level of more than 1.25 can be used for the diagnosis of IR.


The reform era demands that governments run governance by being based on good governance. This research aims to prove empirically the influence of internal control system implementation and accountability of regional financial management to the efforts to realize good governance in Minahasa district. The type of research used is quantitative research with a descriptive approach. The population in this study was 211 Echelon III in 33 SKPD in Minahasa District as well as sample selection using purposive sampling technique. Data collection is conducted by spreading questionnaires on 65 respondents in 32 SKPD. Data is processed using SPSS program version 25. Data analysis methods use multiple linear regression analyses and t tests to partially test hypotheses. The results showed that 1) the internal control system has a positive and significant effect on the efforts to realize good governance. 2) Accountability of regional financial management has no positive and significant effect on the efforts to realize good governance.


This paper aims to provide a comprehensive review of organizational inertia, including its influencing factors, practical implications, future trends, and development directions. A systematic literature review is employed to analyze and synthesize the existing body of knowledge on organizational inertia. The review highlights the complexity and multifaceted nature of organizational inertia, its impact on change and adaptation, and potential strategies for overcoming it. This study offers a holistic perspective on organizational inertia by integrating findings from various disciplines and addressing limitations in the current literature. Current research on organizational inertia faces limitations in research methods, content, application scenarios, and conceptual scope, necessitating future exploration in these areas. The findings of this review provide valuable theoretical and practical guidance for organizational reform and development, aiding organizations in overcoming inertia and fostering innovation.


In the paper we consider the cardinality constrained portfolio optimization problem. Constraint on the number of assets in portfolio leads to the mixed integer optimization problem. Effective frontier is constructed using the metaheuristic approach by genetic algorithm.


To alert diabetes patients of incipient hypoglycemia, we developed a hypoglycemia prediction algorithm and elicited design inspiration for new glucose management software. To identify the predictive factors, we conducted surveys, interviews, and diary studies, and developed a prediction model that uses self-monitored blood glucose. We tested the accuracy of prediction algorithms achieved by different machine learning methods, and found that the proposed algorithms have potential to predict hypoglycemia. Based on the proposed algorithm, we designed a new mobile application concept to support patients' self-care, especially to avert hypoglycemia.


Despite favorable absorption characteristics, borondipyrromethenes (BODIPYs) often lack thermal stability preventing their application in vacuum‐processed organic solar cells. In this paper, the replacement of the BF2 unit by borafluorene as a new functionalization strategy for this molecule class is explored. This approach is applied to a set of prototype molecules and demonstrates improved thermal stability, strong absorption in the red and near‐infrared region of the sun spectrum, as well as excellent solar cell performance. Synthesis is realized from free ligands via complexation with 9‐chloro‐9‐borafluorene giving high yields up to 81%. Planar heterojunction cells of these complexes exhibit high fill factors of more than 70%. Bulk heterojunction solar cells with C60 are optimized yielding power conversion efficiencies up to 4.5%, rendering the investigated prototype compounds highly competitive among other NIR‐absorbing small‐molecule donor materials. Comprehensive experimental material characterization and solar cell analysis are carried out, and the results are discussed together with simulations of molecular properties. Based on this analysis, additional performance improvements are proposed by engineering the intramolecular steric interactions towards further red‐shifted absorption.


A reverberation-imparting device includes a delay line for storing a signal to which a reverberation effect is to be imparted. The delay line has at least one reading location determining timing for reading out the signal stored therein. An address generator generates basic reading address values for determining the at least one reading location. The basic reading address values are modulated by at least two different random numbers generated by a random number generator to determine reading address values. At least two signals read from the delay line are cross-faded, based on the modulated reading address values, such that the at least two signals are alternately intensified and attenuated with a predetermined phase difference. In a preferred application of the invention, the cross-faded at least two signals are output and delivered to a suitable reverberation-imparting device.


While the anatomy of the coronary arteries in complete transposition of the great vessels has been studied by several authors, the overall problem of adequacy of the coronary blood supply in this condition has received less attention. Spitzer (1923) described the probable embryological basis for partial or complete transposition of the coronary arteries. Astley and Parsons (1952) thought that myocardial ischmmia was an important factor in causing cardiac-enlargement in cases of complete transposition of the great vessels. Keith et al. (1953) dissected the coronary arteries in 37 cases of complete transposition, and in 1958 reviewed their anatomy in 80 cases, differentiating them into four main patterns. With the development of techniques for the correction of complete transposition of the great vessels such considerations are of considerable importance. Apart from the anatomical abnormalities that may occur, e.g. a single coronary artery, an ischaemic myocardium may be partly responsible for the high mortality from any form of surgical procedure in cases of complete transposition. The object of this paper is to report the cases of complete transposition of the great vessels seen in Guy's Hospital in whom any abnormal feature of the coronary arteries, the myocardium, or the endocardium was found at autopsy. Other reports about this are reviewed, and the probable explanation of myocardial ischwmia in cases of complete transposition is discussed.


Backgrounds: Rituximab 375 mg/m2 weekly for 4 wks has significant activity in adults with primary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP). In this setting, several evidences support the possible use of lower doses of rituximab. Objectives: To investigate the activity of low‐dose rituximab as salvage therapy in previously treated symptomatic ITP. Methods: Forty‐eight adult patients were treated prospectively with rituximab 100 mg weekly for 4 wks. Results: Overall and complete responses (CR) (platelet level ≥ 50 and 100 × 109/L) were 60.5% and 39.5%, respectively. In responders, the median time to response was 35 d (range: 7–112 d). The median time of observation was 18 months (range 3–49 months). Sixteen of 29 responding patients (55%) relapsed and 14 needed further treatments. The 12‐ and 24‐month cumulative relapse‐free survival was 61% and 45%, respectively. In univariate analysis, CR rate was in inverse relation with weight OR = 0.95, CI95% [0.91; 0.99] (P = 0.019) and age OR=0.96, CI95% [0.93; 0.99] (P = 0.047). Cox regression model showed that relapse probability increases as weight (HR = 1.06, CI95% [1.0031; 1.111]) and period between diagnosis and rituximab therapy (HR = 1.01, CI95% [1.002; 1.017]) increase. One patient developed an interstitial pneumonia 1 month after the end of rituximab treatment. No other infectious, hematologic or extra‐hematologic complications were documented during follow‐up. Conclusions: Low‐dose rituximab is active in ITP but has moderate long‐term effect. A comparative study with standard dose is warranted.


The invention discloses a spherical hinge which is provided with a large operating space. The spherical hinge is characterized in that a double-lug supporting frame (10) and a lower supporting rod (11) are fixedly connected with a supporting ball socket (1) into a whole, the double-lug supporting frame (10) is rotationally connected with a U-shaped shifting fork (3) through pins (2 and 9), the U-shaped shifting fork (3) is installed at the outer side of the double-lug supporting frame (10), a rotating supporting frame (6), the pins (7 and 7`) on the rotating supporting frame and supporting rollers (8 and 8`) are nested on an output rod (5) together, and the lower end of the output rod (5) is fixed with a ball head (4) centrally and is arranged in the supporting ball socket (1); the U-shaped shifting fork (3) is a semicircular arc cylindrical combined body, pin holes are arranged at both ends of the U-shaped shifting fork, and a radial sealed long groove internally and externally transparent and taking the middle plane of axial width as a symmetrical plane is arranged along the circumferential direction; the output rod (5) penetrates through the sealed long groove and can swing reciprocally in the sealed long groove. The spherical hinge has the advantages that the swinging space of the output rod is large, the structure is simple, and the volume is small, etc. The important basic unit in mechanism, namely the performance of the spherical hinge is changed in the spherical hinge, thereby bringing important influence to the mechanical design in engineering.


1.0 chapter overview Classical cognitive science adopts the representational theory of mind (Pylyshyn, 1984). According to this theory, cognition is the rule-governed manipulation of internal symbols or representations. This view has evolved from Cartesian philosophy (Descartes, 1637/1960), and has adopted many of Descartes' tacit assumptions about the nature of the mind (Devlin, 1996). For example, it views the mind as a disembodied entity that can be studied independently of its relationship to the world. This view of the rational mind as distinct from the world has also been used to distinguish humans from other organisms. That is, rational humans are viewed as being controllers or creators of their environment, while irrational animals are completely under the environment's con-The purpose of this chapter is to explore this view of the mind, in preparation for considering alternative accounts of cognition that will be developed in more detail as the book proceeds. We begin by considering the representational theory of mind, and how it is typically used to distinguish man from other organisms. We consider examples of animals , such as beavers and social insects, that appear to challenge this view because they create sophisticated structures, and could be viewed to some degree as controllers or builders of their own environment. A variety of theories of how they build these structures are briefly considered. Some of these theories essentially treat these animals as being rational or representational. However, more modern theories are consistent with the notion that the construction of elaborate nests or other


Considering a cycle (or periodic point) of an n-dimensional map, a bifurcation occurs when at least one of its multipliers crosses the unit circle in the complex.plane. This paper presents a necessary and sufficient condition for the bifurcations occurring when r pairs of complex multipliers cross the unit circle. Among this kind of bifurcations, the most known is the Neimark's bifurcation corresponding to the case when r is equal to one. From the established condition, an algorithm to trace out these bifurcation curves in a parameter plane of the considered map is displayed.


The present invention provides a crosslinked poly -e- lysine polymers. The poly -e- lysine and crosslinker are linked by an amide bond, the crosslinking agent has at least two functional groups capable of reacting with the alpha carbon amine poly -e- lysine. The polymer is suitably insoluble in water and other solvents, are provided in granular form. The present invention provides a granular support comprising a crosslinked poly -e- lysine polymers, the polymer, may also provide particles themselves, or the particles may be coated, for example, on silica. The polymer, a wide variety of applications, for example, wound healing, medical diagnostics comprising a particulate support and a functional material that is bonded or held on the support member, as well as peptides, oligonucleotides, solid phase synthesis of oligosaccharides species immobilized, cell culture, as well as in the chromatographic separation.


A nCk sequence is a sequence of n-bit numbers with k bits set. Given such a sequence C, the difference sequence D of C is subject to certain regularities that make it possible to generate D in 2|C| time, and, hence, to generate C in 3|C| time.


The study was carried out to determine the prevalence of some skin diseases among pupils in primary schools, in this case, class five students aged between 12 - 16 years were used. Skin diseases which include athlete's foot, ringworm and scabies which are common on African children were studied. A simple questionnaire The was designed and administered to each of the randomly selected pupils, in addition, the pupils were also interviewed to establish a relationship between their responses and what the interviewer gathered and observed from the pupils body as these diseases can be seen physically by the interviewer. Out of the 500 pupils sampled, one hundred and fourty seven (147) an equivalent of 24.9 % suffered from one or two of The medical name for athlete's foot caused by a fungus isTinea pedis. Athlete's foot is a common skin infection that affects the sole of the foot and the skin between the toes. It is usually a scaly, red, itchy eruption and occasionally may be weepy and oozing. It affects the feet of athletes and non-athletes alike. Although it is frequently caused by a fungal infection, other causes may be indistinguishable without proper testing (1).There are a variety of fungi that cause athlete's foot, and these can be contracted in many locations, including gyms, locker rooms, swimming pools, security lines, and from contaminated socks and clothing. The fungi can also be spread directly from person to person by contact. Most people acquire fungus on the feet from walking barefoot in areas where someone else with athlete's foot has walked. Some people are simply more prone to this condition while others seem relatively resistant to it. Another colorful name for this condition is "jungle rot," often used by members of the armed services serving in tropical climates(1). Scabies is a skin disease caused by Sarcoptes scabiei. It is an infestation by the itch mite and it is highly contagious skin disease. The mites are small eight-legged parasites (in contrast to insects, which have six legs). They are tiny, just 1/3 millimeter long, and burrow into the skin to produce intense itching, which tends to be worse at night. The mites that infest humans are female and are 0.3 mm-0.4 mm long; the males are about half this size. Scabies mites can be seen with a magnifying glass or microscope. The scabies mites crawl but are unable to fly or jump. They are immobile at temperatures below 20 C, although they may survive for prolonged periods at these temperatures. Scabies infestation occurs worldwide and is very common. It has been estimated that, about 300 million cases occur worldwide each year. Human scabies has been reported for over 2,500 years. Scabies has been reported to occur in epidemics in nursing homes, hospitals, long-term care facilities, and other institutions. In the U.S., it is seen frequently in the homeless population but occurs episodically in other populations of all socioeconomic groups as well (1).


Amsterdam, Netherlands--Three-dimensional computed tomography reconstruction of the pelvicalyceal system helps in the planning and execution of percutaneous nephrolithotomy, but the relative value of each reconstruction method is not known.


Review of some intervention models used in patients experiencing clinical symptoms related to psychotic structures. The subject's recuperation of sense and subjectivity was sought in all cases. Works taken from a psychosis and psychoanalysis research incubator gave rise to some reflections based on Lacan's structural theory to indicate the place of listening and its effects on the therapeutic approach to psychosis. Parallels between some symptoms associated with psychosis are proposed, demonstrating how they are not only part of a concrete structural condition but may be present in neurosis and even in various emotional states in everyday life. A reflection on proposed therapeutic models from ecotherapy and some therapies with pure psychoanalytic orientation are conducted finding some common axes but at the same time seeking the ethical support for therapy itself in the case of psychoses.


Important Findings Studies on highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus pathogenicity in ducks have been limited, and there is no clear explanation of why the pathogenicity of some H5N1 HPAI viruses has increased. The data in this study shows that, under experimental conditions, exchanging the nonstructural protein (NS) gene had minimal effect on the virus pathogenicity, and it suggests that other viral genes, or combination of genes, are most likely contributing to the increased virulence of H5N1 HPAI viruses in ducks.


Sino-British Hong Kong relations during the final troubled five years of British rule in the former British colony provide the context for this case study in cross-cultural political discourse analysis. Application of a model of Chinese face proposed by Bond and Hwang (1986) provides a means for explaining certain aspects of the breakdown in communication that occurred between the Chinese and British Hong Kong governments during that period. The study contributes to an understanding of an important real-world issue, while demonstrating the explanatory power of Bond and Hwang's model. At the same time, the study highlights problems with 'universal' models of face because of their lack of emphasis on cultural relativity.


Opacity is an intrinsic characteristic of Otjiherero praise poetry: it simultaneously enables and complicates reception. This essay analyzes a piece of Herereo praise poetry (omutandu) that was created for the burial of the victims of the so-called "Windhoek Shooting" in 1959 and preserved until today by means of oral transmission. It explores the poetic response of the Herero community to the forced removal of Africans from the vicinity of Windhoek, their articulation of resistance against the aims of apartheid, and the expression of grief and dismay about the killing of several people at the escalation of violence in 1959. At that time, the performers expressed, in coded diction, their collective will not to move to the newly built township, Katutura. Today the poem projects a version of history that contradicts the reading of colonial history contained in the archival.


by J. F. THACKERAY Department of Archaeology, University of Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch 7600, South Africa. 16 v 86 Faunal remains from a complex of caves at Klasies River Mouth in South Africa include fragmentary hominid material in late Pleistocene and Holocene contexts (Singer and Wymer 1982). The precise dating of this material is of particular interest to an understanding of hominid evolution and behaviour. Binford (1984) has expressed doubt that faunal material associated with Homo sapiens from Cave 1B is as old as faunal samples associated with the MSA I industry from Cave 1, considered to have an earliest date of ca. 120,000 B.P. Responding to comments from Singer and Wymer (CA 27:56-5 7), he has stated that "ungulate species grouped by ecotype place the Shelter 1B fauna between Howieson's Poort and MSA III." This statement is reviewed here in the light of another statistical analysis of the relative abundance of ungulates represented in Caves 1, 1A and 1B, based on data published by Klein (1976). I have undertaken exploratory studies of faunal data from the Klasies cave complex, using multivariate ("factor") analyses. Klein (1976) has also produced a factor analysis of faunal data from Klasies, but his concentrates on the identification of only those taxa that had extreme positive loadings on the first six components (i.e., loadings greater than or equal to 0.71). In this study only the first wo components (hereafter eferred to as Fl and F2), which account for most of the variance in the data set, have been taken into consideration, the value of loadings ranging between 1.00 and 1.00. Results indicate that alcelaphines (wildebeest and hartebeest), reedbuck, vaalribbok, and buffalo have the highest loadings on F1. These taxa are associated with grassland habitats. By contrast, fauna with the lowest loadings on this component are eland, bushbuck, and grysbok, all of which are associated with relatively closed habitats. Although one may be dealing with paleoenvironments for which there are no modern analogues, the variability associated with Fl may be related to a dichotomy between open grassland and more closed habitats, irrespective of differences in body size of the animals concerned. Large ungulates (including eland and buffalo) have the highest loadings on the second component (F2). By contrast, smaller taxa (notably grysbok, reedbuck, and vaalribbok) have the lowest (negative) loadings on this component. Summary statistics ("factor scores") have been calculated for each assemblage by summing the products of the relative abundance of each taxon and its corresponding factor "loading." These indices are referred to as SSF1 and SSF2, being summary statistics based on Fl and F2 respectively. They have been standardised on an arbitrary scale between 0 and 100, as recommended in a description of this approach which has also been applied to the analysis of faunal assemblages from other archaeological sites (Thackeray n.d.). The SSF1 scale could be interpreted in terms of a gradient in environmental conditions (such as degree of vegetation cover),


When China acceded to the World Trade Organization (''WTO'') Agreement in 2002, Article 15(a) of the Accession Agreement authorized other WTO members to use a special methodology to determine price comparability in antidumping investigations under Article VI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (''GATT'') for a period of fifteen years. Pursuant to this authority, the European Union adopted a special antidumping methodology for nonmarket economy (''NME'') imports, at issue before the Court of First Instance of the European Communties in Zhejiang Xinan Chemical Industrial Group Co. Ltd v. Council of the European Union. In Zhejiang, the Court annulled an affirmative dumping determination regarding imports of glyphosate from China because the Council failed to take into account evidence showing a lack of state interference in determining company costs and prices. Since Chinese exporters are the primary targets of antidumping investigations worldwide, this decision presents an opportune occasion to review the use of the special methodology authorized by the Protocol of Accession.


AMONG psychotic patients the manic-depressive has probably gained most from recent advances in treatment. In spite of this improving outlook, there has been a disappointingly small increase in our understanding of the nature of the disease itself. A real contribution to this understanding is made in this report of the epidemiology of manic-depressive psychosis in a Swedish county between 1919 and 1948. All patients admitted to hospital wvith the diagnosis during the thirty-year period became the propositi, and their extended families yielded miiaterial for genetic and social study. Tlhere wvere 216 patients in the original sample (90 males and 126 females), and soime 2,000 of their relatives were investigated. Among the relatives, 72 secondary cases were found, giving "morbidity risks" of 14 per cent. among siblings, 7.5 per cent. among parents, and 17 per cent. among the children of the propositi. The total morbidity risk for manic-depressive psychosis in Sweden is about 1 per cent. No important difference was demonstrated between the occurrence of other mental disorders in this group of relatives and the general population. It is suggested tentatively that adverse environmental conditions in childhood might influence the emergence of psychosis among relatives of manic-depressives, and this is supported to some extent by the figures which are quoted. The author agrees with other writers that the mode of inheritance of manic-depressive psychosis may be through a single autosomal dominant gene and cites thirty instances of successive generation attack from his study to support this He suggests that an "incomplete manifestation" of the disease may account for the discrepancy between the expected frequency among near relatives (50 per cent.) and that found in this and other studies (about 15 per cent.). Most British geneticists would probably be more conservative in their interpretation of this data and be inclined to think in terms of multiple gene inheritance. However, there is no doubt that the interaction of environment and the weight of inherited predisposition determines to some extent the "penetrance" or degree of expression of a clinical syndrome. In 83 per cent. of the cases which were investigated the first attack wvas a depression, and it is encouraging to find that only half of all the manic-depressives in the study had more than one attack of the illness. The report does not belittle the immense technical and methodological difficulties of a retrospective enquiry of this sort, and there is a full and …


Rotational perturbations between the C'C' and ~'1~1 states are observed in the C-X bands of BeH and BeD and in two new A-X bands of BeH (4-4 and 5-5) which have also been observed and analyzed. These perturbations are treated by a matrix approach and yield a value for the interaction matrix element (A'~/L'IC~C') = 0.88. The C-X bands analyzed involve the higher vibrational levels of the x'C' state rand allow, therefore, a substantial improvement of the ground state molecular constants to be made and a good Rydbcrg-Klein-Rees (RKR) potential energy curve to be calculated. The limiting curve of the predissociation confirms the previous value of the dissociation energy (D: = 17 426 r 100 cm-I) and indicates that a small maximum, less than 200 ern-.', could exist at r = 3.3 A in the ground state potential energy curve. Franck-Condon factors for the c'C+-x'Z' bands of BeH and BeD are also calculated.


Weather patterns in the North Western province (NWP) the home of the coconut industry, once producing high yields, has today faced a situation where a hostile climate, together with environment degradation, damage to ecosystems in the name of development and third generation coconut being taken on, have cumulatively eroded the potential of coconut as mono crop in much of this land mass amounting to around 450,0000 acres. With the changing climate, unfortunately drifting to becoming drier, the supportive input of water conservation does not appear to be able to conserve soil water to a level that would meet the coconut palms water demands which varies from 40 to 100 litres per day in the NWP. The water deficit (ie: stress) rain-free periods of 4 months or more are common, where the soil water storage in the root zone of coconut is sufficient for about 45-90 days.


the Nankai Trough region, which is a site where great subduction-zone earthquakes have repeatedly occurred and are expected to occur in the near future.?To realize our goal, our strategy consists of the following three schemes: (1) understanding over-all framework of the Nankai Trough seismogenic zone, (2) revealing materials, and mechanical and hydrologic properties of seismogenic faults, and (3) construction and verification of a comprehensive model for pre- and co-seismic processes. We have organized three research groups dedicated to these three schemes, each of which further consists of two sub-groups tackling two complementary tasks.


Objective: To investigate and analyze the clinical application of anti-diabetic agents of outpatient in our hospital and to conduct the analysis and evaluation on the results.Methods: 3650 cases were statistically analyzed in sum,DDDs and daily cost of anti-diabetic agents based on internet methods.Results: The insulin injection was main usage for inpatients in our hospital.Glimepiride,Metformin Hydrochloride Tablets and Miglitol were ranked the top frequency of oral hypoglycemic drugs.drug's utilization index were less than 1.Conclusions: Application of hypoglycemic drugs in our hospital was basically rational.However,it is essential to apply for a appropriate choice of drugs in accordance with the specific circumstances of patient,take into account the costs and effects of drugs and reduce adverse drug reactions to the purpose of drug safety,effective and economic.


INTRODUCTION The study of racial discrimination in professional sports has been an actively studied topic for decades, though much of this work has been done in sports other than the National Football League (NFL). However, the NFL itself has become highly conscious of discrimination in both hiring and compensation by race since the early 2000's. The NFL created a diversity committee in October of 2002 expressly to hunt for discriminatory practices and offer recommendations to reduce racial discrimination of all types in the league. Recommendations from the diversity committee included training and development programs aimed expressly at minorities. For instance, one recommendation, the so-called 'Rooney Rule' named after the chair of the committee Dan Rooney, ensures that at least one minority coach must be considered for every high level coaching position that opens in the league. The opportunity to discriminate against either coaches or players, however, cannot be fully eradicated by such rules. Though this paper does not deal with coaches, there exists the possibility of compensation discrimination by race as long as there is the possibility of collusion again black players or coaches. Without collusion, teams not discriminating would be able to hire talented black players at lower cost and increase their winning record, effectively bidding out most of the discrimination among teams (assuming teams put winning as a top priority). The incentive to break collusion of this type is strong, however, because even a single extraordinarily talented player can make a huge impact on a team. When it comes to discrimination, Becker (1973) discusses the three classic types or 'tastes' of discrimination. They are employer discrimination, employee discrimination, and customer discrimination. Employer discrimination represents the situation where an employer simply has a preference for hiring one type of employee and pays that group more than the non-favored group. The second type of discrimination mentioned by Becker, that of employee discrimination, is more subtle. In that case, one group of employees displays such a strong preference not to work with someone from a non-favored group that the resultant discord essentially forces the employer to discriminate to prevent the loss of overall productivity from attempting to mix the groups. The third form of discrimination is customer discrimination, in which customers have such strong preferences that they that they change their purchasing habits significantly enough to provide an incentive for employers to discriminate against the non-favored group in order to maintain market share and profits. Discrimination should be non-profit maximizing as a rival could hire the non-favored employees and create higher profits (in this case team wins, likely driving team revenue and profit), presumably driving the discriminating producer out of business. There have been suggestions, however, that discriminatory practices may not result in a negative outcome for the discriminators fast enough to bid it out of the market rapidly (Hellerstein, Neumark & Troske, 2002). Professional sports, like any other for-profit business, define success by making profits. One way to make profit is to have a winning season. Having the best players is one way to attempt to have a winning record. Indeed, an argument can be made that in sports even one player can make a difference in a season record, a much stronger impact than a single employee is likely to make for a firm in other output markets. Therefore, there is a strong incentive for teams to find and retain the best talent available, regardless of race. This reduces the likelihood of employer discrimination in a for-profit scenario where profit hinges on having talented players. A team's talent scout or general manager who does not accomplish this will not retain his job. Should a team discriminate by pay, the rookie experiencing such discrimination will be highly unlikely to remain with that team after his initial contract expires and he becomes a free agent, so that discriminatory teams will be unable to retain the best talent. …


Nuclei change their shape and size during cell growth in Arabidopsis thaliana. This work identifies a component of the plant nuclear envelope, KAKU4, which affects nuclear shape and size, possibly by regulating nuclear envelope expansion. In animals, the nuclear lamina is a fibrillar meshwork on the inner surface of the nuclear envelope, composed of coiled-coil lamin proteins and lamin binding membrane proteins. Plants also have a meshwork on the inner surface of the nuclear envelope, but little is known about its composition other than the presence of members of the CROWDED NUCLEI (CRWN) protein family, possible plant lamin analogs. Here, we describe a candidate lamina component, based on two Arabidopsis thaliana mutants (kaku2 and kaku4) with aberrant nuclear morphology. The responsible gene in kaku2 encodes CRWN1, and the responsible gene in kaku4 encodes a plant-specific protein of unknown function (KAKU4) that physically interacts with CRWN1 and its homolog CRWN4. Immunogold labeling revealed that KAKU4 localizes at the inner nuclear membrane. KAKU4 deforms the nuclear envelope in a dose-dependent manner, in association with nuclear membrane invagination and stack formation. The KAKU4-dependent nuclear envelope deformation was enhanced by overaccumulation of CRWN1, although KAKU4 can deform the nuclear envelope even in the absence of CRWN1 and/or CRWN4. Together, these results suggest that plants have evolved a unique lamina-like structure to modulate nuclear shape and size.


Despite increased recognition of the need for timely advance care planning and goals of care conversations during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic,1 implementation of these discussions has not become easier. In addition to known barriers to delivering effective serious illness communication, COVID-19 has led to novel challenges, including restrictions on family presence, reliance on technology for conversations, prognostic uncertainty, public misinformation, and increased health system distrust due to long-standing social and racial inequities. During this same time, a debate has emerged regarding the value of advance care planning in general (based on evidence acquired prior to the pandemic), and whether the failure to consistently show improvements in patient and caregiver outcomes is because it is truly ineffective or a failure of implementation, outcomes selection, or both.2 COVID-19 offers an important case study of one particular area where implementation of advance care planning and associated communication guides largely miss the mark – that is, in the context of acute serious illness. Although prominent advance care planning communication guides were modified to address the specific pandemic challenges,3 the evidence for appropriateness and effectiveness of advance care planning in acute illness writ large remains unknown. By exposing this evidence gap, COVID-19 motivates a renewed focus on how to optimally communicate about values, goals, and care preferences with patients afflicted with myriad acute serious illnesses and their caregivers. Herein, we discuss how acute and chronic serious illness communication needs diverge, who may benefit from a novel advance care planning conversation framework for acute serious illness, and what next steps should be taken.


Minimizing the weight of an edge set satisfying parity constraints is a challenging branch of combinatorial optimization as witnessed by the binary hypergraph chapter of Alexander Schrijver's book ``Combinatorial Optimization"(Chapter 80). This area contains relevant graph theory problems including open cases of the Max Cut problem and some multiflow problems. We clarify the interconnections between some of these problems and establish three levels of difficulties. On the one hand, we prove that the Shortest Odd Path problem in undirected graphs without cycles of negative total weight and several related problems are NP-hard, settling a long-standing open question asked by Lov\'asz (Open Problem 27 in Schrijver's book ``Combinatorial Optimization''). On the other hand, we provide an efficient algorithm to the closely related and well-studied Minimum-weight Odd $T$-Join problem for non-negative weights: our algorithm runs in FPT time parameterized by $c$, where $c$ is the number of connected components in some efficiently computed minimum-weight $T$-join. If negative weights are also allowed, then finding a minimum-weight odd $\{s,t\}$-join is equivalent to the Minimum-weight Odd $T$-Join problem for arbitrary weights, whose complexity is still only conjectured to be polynomial-time solvable. The analogous problems for digraphs are also considered.


The present invention provides compositions for, genetic engineering, including liposomes, and adeno-associated biruseu (AAV) materials comprising the lipid material. Typically, the material comprises AAV terminal repeat units of the plasmid and, AAV genome. The invention describes a method for introducing the genetic material in the cell by using an AAV liposomes. Therefore, by introducing the genetic material it integrates them in stem cells, T cells, tumor cells or tumor cell lines RAW.


Abstract Different methods for characterizing the morphology of multiphase blends were applied to a blend of thermoplastic polyurethane with 20 wt% polypropylene as the dispersed phase. Optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and light scattering were compared. The microscopy methods were evaluated with respect to their suitability for quantitative image analysis for determination of the particle size distribution. Comparison of the particle size distributions revealed that the dependence of the measured particle size on the method of preparation and technique was not very pronounced. The main difference resulted from cutting the particles outside their maximum diameter. The measured particle sizes determined with methods that analyze the whole particles, such as SEM on separated particles and laser light scattering, are larger than those measured on cut specimens. The factor 4/π valid in monodisperse systems for the ra...


The article is an overview of the geographical aspects of the demographic transition and more precisely of the change from high to low fertility....The decline is examined in the Third World countries where it is in process and where its impact varies considerably from one country to another. It is next studied within the industrialised countries where it took place especially between 1870 and 1930 but at very different speeds. The study ends with the enigmatic case of France where the decline was exceptionally early but where the diffusion was remarkably slow. (SUMMARY IN ENG) (EXCERPT)


The PLEIADI Project (acronym for "Portale per la Letteratura scientifica Elettronica Italiana
su Archivi aperti e Depositi Istituzionali", a portal for Italian scholarly e-literature in open
archives and institutional repositories) was born within the framework of a collaboration
between two major Italian university consortia, CASPUR and CILEA, as part of a project
called AEPIC (http://www.aepic.it). PLEIADI's goal is to promote national awareness in the
Open Access scenario and provide centralized access for scholarly literature archived in
Italian institutional repositories (or "data providers" in the OAI - Open Archives Initiative
architecture). PLEIADI also aims at providing end users (mainly the academic and research
community) with a personalized environment, user profiling, an area to save searches and
articles, e-mail alerts. The portal enhances users' awareness on Open Access issues through
several information services (news, RSS, forum), and promotes self-archiving of scholarly
articles in institutional repositories. The service, available at the URL
http://www.openarchives.it/pleiadi/, was launched in November 2004, during a national event
held in Messina, which marked the "official starting point" for the Open Access movement in
the Italian academic community.


We study architectural diverse features of the pars rustica of the villa of Catarroja, isolated during the archaeological urgency campaign 2007-2008. Associating them with the architectural features, also of services, of previous campaigns, we fix their datation in the phase I of the villa, that of more wealth (end of the century I BC approximately first half of the century II).


tion of our cropland base (Hexem and Anderson 1984). The intensity of cropland use increased and land that had not recently been cropped was brought into production, increasing soil erosion. Conflict between production goals and conservation goals in USDA farm programs was a persistent theme in public participation meetings and a public opinion poll conducted in conjunction with the 1980 Resource Conservation Appraisal (Fischer, et al.). Conversion of land for crop production in the face of growing crop surpluses was of particular concern in the early 1980s. The label "sodbusting" attached to this process because of conversion from rangeland to cropland in the Western Great Plains (Grieves). Government pricesupport and credit programs were presumed to be an important factor in the decision to convert land to crop uses. Critics argued that erodible newly converted cropland should not qualify for farm programs in view of conservation and setaside programs to remove such land from crop production. In 1984, legislation was introduced in both houses of the 98th Congress to deny farm program benefits to operators who convert erodible land to crop production. Senate (S.663) and House (H.R.3457) versions were similar and were tabled for further study as Congress ended. A version of this legislation was included as Title XV of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1985. The sodbuster bills were designed "To prohibit the payment of certain agriculture incentives to persons who produce certain agricultural commodities on highly erodible land" (H.R.3457). Under the legislation, an operator was ineligible for price support payments, farm storage facility loans, crop insurance, disaster payments, and insured or guaranteed loans for any crop year in which an annual crop was produced on a field which is predominantly highly erodible. In the legislation, highly erodible land was defined to be land in USDA land capability classes IVe, VIe, VII, and VIII, or any other land determined to have an average erosion rate higher than those classes. An operator retained eligibility if the land was cropped between 1973 and 1984, already planted before enactment, or planted using a conservation system conforming to technical standards set forth by the Soil Conservation Service (SCS). The proposition that subsidies provided under farm programs should not be paid to those producing program crops on highly erodible land is central to the concept of sodbuster legislation. This implies that government subsidy makes the difference between profit and loss on newly converted land. In the theory of the firm, firstand second-order conditions for profit maximization are expressed in terms of marginal cost, which is independent of fixed costs by differentiation. Fixed costs have significance for short-run profit maximization in the special case where a positive output level results in a loss greater than the level of fixed costs (Henderson and Quandt 1980, 87). In this case, the producer is better off ceasing production (or not initiating it) unless total revenue at least exceeds total variable cost, a situation termed "minimally feasible" or "rewarding" in this paper. If the assumption regarding sodbuster legislation is correct, elimination of program eligibility for highly erodible land should cause it to go out of production as unsubsidized revenues fall below


Four 4`-hydrazone derivatives of 2,2`:6`,2 ``-terpyridine which vary in their N- and C-substitution in the R`NN=CRPh unit have been prepared and structurally characterized. Protonation studies and solution behaviour of these compounds are described, as well as representative crystal structures of mono- and diprotonated derivatives. In the solid-state structures of each neutral compound, the tpy domain adopts the anticipated trans, trans- conformation, and intramolecular steric factors compete with pi-stacking effects to control the amount to which the C-phenyl substituent twists out of the plane of the tpy unit. When R` = H, the imine NH group engages in hydrogen bonding interactions in the solid state, except where R = Ph. In solution, variable temperature H-1 NMR spectroscopy shows that on going from R = Me to Ph (with R` = H), the barrier to rotation about the Cpy-Nimi_ bond increases; with R = R` = H, the hydrogen bonding capabilities of the solvent to the imine NH influence this dynamic process. In the N-methyl derivative (R = H and R` = Me), rotation about the C-py-N-imine bond is facile at room temperature. Protonation of the derivative with R = R` = H results in an increase in the activation barrier to rotation, consistent with a greater pi-contribution to the C-py-N-imine bond.


Objective Chronic kidney disease(CKD) the United States National Foundation K/DOQI guide to staging and CKD based on acute kidney injury(AKI) combined with multiple organ dysfunction syndrome(MODS) continuous renal replacement therapy(CRRT) prognosis.Methods 30 cases of CKD based on AKI of patients with MODS,according to K/DOQI guide CKD stage divided into group A(n = 9),group B(n = 15),group C(n = 22),group D(24 cases),giving continuous venovenous hemofiltration(CVVH) treatment.Comparative analysis of four groups of patients with organ recovery and mortality.Results 4 patients of CKD1,CRRT after treatment of organ function were basically stable;2 patients in 7 cases,1 cases died,the mortality of 14.29%;3 of 12 patients,4 cases died,the mortality of 33.33%;4 of 7 cases,4 died,57.14% mortality.P 0.05,the difference was statistically significant.Conclusion In accordance with the CKD staging,CRRT involved sooner is better prognosis.


Graphite (C) and catalyst (Ni/Y)-contained graphite (C-Ni/Y) substrates were processed by a welding torch arc in both DC and AC mode under open air. Multiwall carbon nanotubes were obtained at the arc spot surface on C-Ni/Y substrate for DC and AC arc, and on C substrate for AC arc. The field emission abilities of these arc spot surface were tested in a diode system. The emission current increased in the order of the surfaces of C-Ni/Y substrate for AC arc, of C substrate for DC arc, and of C-Ni/Y substrate for DC arc. This order was the same as the increase of nanotube density and the decrease of coexisting nanoparticle density.


The electrocatalytic oxidation of methanol at the Titanium oxide (TiOx, x<2) film modified with Pt microparticles has been studied. The results show that the modified electrodes exhibit a significant electrocatalytic activity and good stability for the oxidation of methanol. Under the optimal conditions, the peak current density at 0.58 V for the oxidation of methanol in the positive-going sweep is about 526 mA/cm(2) at the scan rate of 5 mV/s in 0.5 mol/L CH3OH and 0.5 mol/L H2SO4 solution and the over potential of the methanol oxidation at the modified electrode increases about 30 similar to 40 mV after 70 minutes at the current density of 100 mA/cm(2) and 50 mA/cm(2). The enhanced electrocatalytic activity and good stability are ascribed to the high dispersion of Pt microparticles in and on the TiOx film and the synergistic effect between Pt microparticles and TiOx.


Objective To investigate the relationship between caspase-12 activation and ER stress mediated apoptosis of primary mouse hepatocytes. Methods Mouse hepatocytes were isolated by modified 2-step collagenase perfusion method. The optimal TG concentration and incubation time for inducing cell apoptosis was determined by morphological analysis and agarose gel electrophoresis presented as cell apoptotic percentage in DNA ladder and flow cytometry. Expression of procaspase-12 during the process was measured by Western Blot. Results When the primary mouse hepatocytes were treated with 4 μmol TG, the percentage of apoptotic cells increased. The percentage of apoptosis was 50% at the concentration of 4 μmol of TG after 30 hours incubation. The protein level of procaspase-12 determined by Western Blot declined in a time dependent manner.Conclusion 4 μmol TG incubation for 30 hours can induce half of the primary hepatocytes underwent apoptosis. Procaspase-12 was activated into a cleaved form resulting in decrease of procaspase-12. These results suggest that procaspase-12 activation is closely related with ER stress mediated apoptosis and might play an important role in that.


The paper analyzed the market position of the enterprises on the basis of the elaboration of the destructive innovation theory and the example of American small iron and steel companies which destructed the integration of the iron and steel corporations,thereby got the conclusion that the enterprise should think out an appropriate market position strategy according to the customer demand and the product characteristics under the environment of destructive innovation.Finally the accurate market position on the angle of destructive innovation was discussed.


The Antarctic dipole (ADP) depicts the leading mode of interannual variability over the Antarctic region in both sea ice and surface air temperature (SAT) fields. The ADP is superimposed on the long‐term climatic trends, modulating the response of the mean climate to external forcing by modifying the signal‐to‐noise ratio. The response of the ADP to greenhouse warming is unknown. Based on the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 models that capture main characteristics of the ADP, we find a robust reduction in variability of ADP under greenhouse warming. The warming‐induced sea ice loss limits the magnitude of ADP SAT variability through surface albedo feedback. The El Niño‐Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) are two main triggering mechanisms of the ADP on interannual time scale. In a warmer climate, decreased variability of the SAM contributes to weakened ADP but increased ENSO variability plays an offsetting role.


THE ASTOUNDING GROWTH OF money market mutual funds (MMMFs) in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and their interaction with regulated financial institutions, has become a classic case study of the prpcess of financial market innovation and consumer economic education. MMMFs grew from $2.2 billion in assets at the end of 1974 to $74.4 billion in assets at the end of 1980. By the middle of 1982, they have further tripled in asset size to over $200 billion. Money market mutual funds arose primarily because of deposit rate ceilings and other liability regulations which prevented the traditional financial intermediaries from offering the public a market rate and a highly liquid deposittype account. The growth of MMMFs, however, was caused not merely by the availability of a more desirable financial instrument, but was actually accelerated by the piecemeal nature of the financial deregulation process. The introduction of the money market certificate (MMC) at commercial banks and thrift institutions appears to have greatly accelerated consumer interest rate sensitivity. The massive advertising campaign for money market certificates that accompanied the introduction of the MMCs not only led to a large growth in these account types, but also led to an explosive spillover growth in money market mutual funds. Thus, the partial deregulation of deposit liabilities meant to alleviate the competition of MMMFs appears to have greatly accelerated their appeal to the consumer. In attempting to control the slow hemorrhaging of the regulated financial institutions, the regulators (or deregulators as the case may be) created a new highly pressured environment which has resulted in a massive leakage of funds from financial institutions. By deregulating only short-term liabilities of regulated financial institutions, the regulators, in essence, allowed most consumers to receive market interest rates only on short-term deposits. This piecemeal deregulation, in conjunction with an inverted yield curve, led to a surge in the supply of funds to the short end of the market. This shortening of the liability structure of financial institutions has substantially worsened the maturity mismatch of these financial institutions. This is especially true of thrift institutions whose ability to acquire assets other than long-term fixed rate mortgages was greatly restricted until recently. It is in this environment that we examine the growth of the MMMF.


This paper presents the design and construction of a sample of Marx pulsed generator based on boost converter (BC) pulse-forming networks (BCPFNs). BCPFN is used instead of the conventional Marx floors for constructing this pulsed generator. BCPFN is carried out by connecting inductors and capacitors in series and parallel modes, respectively, by using solid-state switches, and during this procedure the pulsed generator converts to BC temporarily and increases the voltage of capacitors uniformly to a considerable value. This technique causes an increase in the discharging voltage level to the load that is many times more than its dc voltage source by charging the capacitors to a greater level. In order to take advantage of the benefits of Marx generator and PFN, this paper suggests a new circuit with the minimum number of switches. It means, to compose BCPFN and Marx, we have tried to design the circuit with fewer switches and instead of it we have achieved our desired performance with changing the operating mode in the states of BC, PFN, BCPFN, and BCPFN Marx. The results are simulated with MATLAB software. At the end, the experimental results of the construction of the above-mentioned system at low-power levels are presented, and the topology's accuracy is proved by comparing them to the results of simulation.


ISO based Quality Management System in healthcare facilities in Poland is no longer a novelty. Its implementation, however, requires medical personnel to expand their knowledge and accept the fact that medical service is a medical product. In order for a medical service to be of high quality, personnel should be familiar with medical services marketing. Processes used as a result of standards' implementation are a significant change for healthcare workers but having a quality management system certificate became a standard. The aim of this work was to present the state of knowledge concerning nursing personnel readiness to implement the standards. In this work a diagnostic survey method was used, questionnaire was the technique used and as a research tool - the authors' own survey questionnaire consisting of both closed and open questions. The study was conducted among nursing personnel working in hospital wards before and after the introduction of ISO 9001 based Quality Management System. Own studies revealed that before the implementation of ISO the nursing personnel was apprehensive about the changes related to it (53.22%), with only 28.65% unconcerned about it and 18.13% unable to decide. The research showed that the nurses surveyed were likely to claim that their work organization improved after the introduction of the Standards (48.54%), with only 19.30% thinking it did not change, and 32.16% claiming it improved to a small degree. According to the nurses, implementation of the standards in hospitals encourages people to pursue education or learn by themselves (67.84%), with 18.71% respondents saying it does not encourage them and 13.45% were undecided. The respondents most often thought that implementation of standards will contribute to increase of customer satisfaction with the quality of the offered services (82.46%), while 17.54% respondents thought the opposite.


Determined in this work is the energy of surface states related with polarization charges at the interfaces. This energy was compared with that of electron internal states. Dipole momentum matrix elements of the interlevel transition were also determined. The value of interlevel absorption coefficient versus the electromagnetic wave frequency was calculated.


An approximate method is proposed for determining the aerodynamic effect of coherent vortex structures (CVS) of atmospheric turbulence on an aircraft. As a source of the CVS the vortex wind wakes arising when the atmospheric wind flows around the mountain massif of the Son Tra peninsula, located near the Da Nang airport, and the vortex wake behind the Su-27 type aircraft in the landing configuration are considered. Modeling the formation of a vortex structure is carried out by the grid method within the framework of the boundary value problem for the Reynolds-averaged Navier—Stokes equations. The evolution and stochastics of the far wake are modeled in a two-dimensional approximation by discrete Rankine vortices. The assessment of the increment of forces and moments from the effect of the vortex system on the aircraft was carried out within the framework of the panel method. The situation is considered when a light transport aircraft gets into a vortex wake behind an aircraft with a swept wing and a passenger aircraft of the MS-21 type, approaching for landing at the CVS from a mountainous terrain.


The results of sequential internal mammary artery (IMA) grafting in myocardial revascularization, with special emphasis on IMA-related morbidity, have been evaluated over a 2-year period. Between June 1,1991 and July 1,1993,638 patients underwent isolated coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) at our institution, using the IMA as a conduit. In 541 patients, one or both IMAs were used as a single coronary artery bypass conduit (group 1) and, in the remaining 97 patients, sequential IMA grafting was performed (group 2). The mean age was 60.1 ± 9.2 years and 82% of the patients were male. There were 16.6% repeat CABG in group 1 compared to 3.1% in group 2 (p


Enhanced Meteosat wind data sets are provided every 90 minutes together with the Quality Indicator (QI) derived during the quality control of the Meteorological Product Extraction Facility (MPEF) at EUMETSAT. All three channel Cloud Motion Winds (CMW) and clear sky Water Vapour Motion Winds (WVMW) have been passively monitored by comparison to the ECMWF background field. The evaluation of the relationship between the MPEF QI and the background departures indicate possible benefits to be gained from the use of the QI within the observation screening of the assimilation system. The atmospheric motion winds (AMW) with 90 minute time sampling have been implemented into the ECMWF assimilation system. The MPEF quality indicator is used as a selection criterion within the screening. The applied thresholds are restricted in the Tropics compared to the extratropical regions where the threshold for high level winds has been relaxed below the Automatic Quality Control (AQC) at MPEF. The overall effect is an increase of active Meteosat winds by a factor of two.


Students taking the paper-based Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) mathematics test are permitted to bring and use their own hand-held calculators, and this policy was continued for the computer-adaptive tests (CAT) designed for use in talent search programs. An on-screen calculator may also be used with the CAT. The bring-your-own option has raised some fairness concerns (because all students cannot afford the most sophisticated calculators) as well as security concerns (because questions could be entered into a calculator's memory and taken from the testing session), but forcing all students to use an unfamiliar on-screen calculator raises different fairness issues. This study of the computerized SAT compared the performance of 360 students tested under the current policy (bring-your-own or on-screen) with the performance of 373 students who had only an on-screen calculator available. These students had already taken a national administration of the SAT and were invited to participate. Across ethnic, gender, and ability groups, students who had to use the on-screen calculator performed as well as students who were permitted to use their own calculators. Nevertheless, students expressed a strong preference for using their own calculators. (Contains eight tables and one figure.) (Author/SLD) ******************************************************************************** Reprodudtions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ******************************************************************************** Effects of an On-Screen Versus Bring-Your-Own Calculator Policy On Performance on the Computerized SAT I: Reasoning Test in Mathematics PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY


Abstract : The major discoveries of the program include: 1) discovery of high-performance materials based on compositionally-graded materials with figures of merit 3-12-times larger than traditional materials; 2) study of candidate high-performance materials possessing strong lattice-polarization coupling and electric-field response and insights into how strain can be used to deterministically tune important parameters; 3) quantification of intrinsic, extrinsic, and secondary contributions to thermal response of polydomain films; 4) quantification of elastocaloric effects in materials that cause the total pyroelectric and electrocaloric coefficients to be different and is related to the piezoelectric effect which causes a lattice expansion which subsequently lowers the frequencies of the lattice vibrations and, in tum, increase the vibrational entropy; 5) development novel, microfabrication-based platforms which provide multi-dimensional control and manipulation of materials. Based on our measurements we conclude that minimizing the resistive heating in these thin films is critical for electrocaloric refrigeration applications.


Embedding Machine Learning enables integrating intelligence in recent application domains such as Internet of Things, portable healthcare systems, and wearable devices. This paper presents an assessment of approximate computing methods at algorithmic, architecture, and circuit levels and draws perspectives for further developments and applications. The main goal is to investigate how approximate computing may reduce the complexity and enable the feasibility of embedded Machine Learning (ML) systems. Though ML is a powerful paradigm for applications in the perceptual domain (i.e. vision, touch, hearing, etc.), their computational complexity is very high and consequently real time operation and ultra-low power are still very challenging objectives. On the other hand, approximate computing has emerged as an effective solution to reduce hardware complexity, time latency and to increase energy efficiency.


Wagayehu Bekele, 2003. Economics of Soil and Water Conservation: Theory and Empirical Application to Subsistence Farming in the Eastern Ethiopian Highlands. Doctoral Thesis. ISSN 1401-6249, ISBN 91-576-6433-1 The Ethiopian highlands, inhabited by the vast majority of the Ethiopian human and livestock populations, are under continuous threat from soil erosion. Land degradation induced by soil erosion is considered to be among the major factors responsible for the recurrent malnutrition and famine problems in Ethiopia. Conservation efforts during recent decades have succeeded neither in triggering voluntary adoption of conservation practices nor in mitigating soil erosion problems. The purpose of this thesis is, therefore, to understand the socio-economic aspects underlying soil and water conservation decisions in the context of subsistence farmers in the Eastern Highlands of Ethiopia. In articles I, III, and IV, the farmers' decision problem is modeled as a utility maximization problem, and econometric models are used to link the statistical model of observed data and the economic model. Stochastic dominance criteria are used, in article I, to determine whether adoption of a conservation practice results in higher expected grain yield and income and/or reduced variability. Limited dependent variable econometric models are used in articles III and IV in order to determine factors that influence farmers' decisions on soil and water conservation, and their preference for types of development intervention. In article II, the decision problem is modeled as an intertemporal net benefit maximization problem, and a dynamic programming optimization model is applied to determine the optimal path of investment in soil and water conservation. Findings in article I suggest that conservation results in higher expected grain yield and income, but does not support the hypothesis that conservation unambiguously results in less variability than no-conservation. In article II, it is shown that the optimal path of investment in soil and water conservation depends on the discount rate and grain prices. The results also suggest that erosive agricultural practices yield higher return in the short-term, whereas conservation yields a higher and sustainable return in the long-term. The need to design incentive mechanisms that encourage farmers to have a longer planning horizon are among important suggestions proposed in articles I and II. Results, in article III, suggest that specific physical conditions of plots and socioeconomic characteristics of farm households influence the soil and water conservation decision behavior of farmers. Article IV suggests that the perceived priority of farmers with regard to agricultural problems and socio-economic characteristics, determines their preference for the type of development intervention. The results also suggest that there exists a complementarity between different interventions and hence a need to address them simultaneously to ensure a higher return from interventions. An important lesson to be drawn from articles III and IV is that differences in farming conditions and complementarities between policy programs need to be noted in any intervention program.


Universities are evolving from the traditional, residential student population to institutions with a large populatoin of commuter students. This study investigated the stress factors and methods of coping for these commuter students during their university experience as compared to residential students along with the time management capabilities of both sets of students. A survey was conducted at a four-year southwestern state university that was projectable to the entire student population. Respondents were queried with regard to demographics, stressors and coping behaviors. The research indicates that commuter students experienced differing work/family/school role responsibilities than their residential counterparts which related to differing levels of stress and methods of coping between the two groups of students.


A method for sealing cable sleeves surrounding the cable sections in the assembly environment, comprising a sleeve surrounding the cable and an adhesive patch. Wraparound sleeve having a longitudinally extending portion and a first longitudinal edge and a second opposite longitudinal edges. When the cable wrapped around the sleeve portion, defining a longitudinally extending portion of the cable around the cable section extending cavity portion. Cable adhesive patch disposed on the inner surface of the longitudinal portion and extending across the longitudinally extending portions extending laterally. Cable adhesive patch is configured and positioned to engage the cable sections in the cable section when wrapped around the sleeve and form a continuous peripheral seal around the cable section to the environment.


Recently, a number of attacks have been demonstrated (like key reinstallation attack, called KRACK) on WPA2 protocol suite in Wi-Fi WLAN. In this paper, we design and implement a system, called kTRACKER, to passively detect anomalies in the handshake of Wi-Fi security protocols, in particular WPA2, between a client and an access point using COTS radios. A state machine model is implemented to detect KRACK attack by passively monitoring multiple wireless channels. In particular, we perform deep packet inspection and develop a grouping algorithm to group Wi-Fi handshake packets to identify the symptoms of the KRACK in specific stages of a handshake session. Our implementation of kTRACKER does not require any modification to the firmware of the supplicant i.e., client or the authenticator i.e., access point or the COTS devices, our system just needs to be in the accessible range from clients and access points. We use a publicly available dataset for performance analysis of kTRACKER. We employ gradient boosting-based supervised machine learning models, and show that an accuracy around 93.39% and a false positive rate of 5.08% can be achieved using kTRACKER.


The cooking and eating qualities of rice are some of the problems facing by rice producers and consumers around the world. In this study we investigated the cooking and eating qualities of Basmati 385 and Hua Jing Xian 74. Both are rice cultivars with different phenotypic traits.
The results show that Basmati 385 increased by an average of 102.14% after cooking while Hua Jing Xian 74 increased by an average of 69.91% after cooking. Basmati 385 had a pasting temperature of 78°C, while Hua Jing Xian 74 had a pasting temperature of 84°C. However, Hua Jing Xian 74 had a final viscosity of 4,686 cP while Basmati 385 had a final viscosity of 3,514 cP. The amylose contents of the two cultivars were also different; Hua Jing Xian 74 had an amylose content of 19.4%, while that of Basmati 385 was 18%. We also discovered that the starch granule morphology of the two cultivars were remarkably different.
The lower pasting temperature of Basmati 385 positively correlated with good cooking qualities of rice. However, Hua Jing Xian 74 appears to have relatively better eating qualities due to its higher viscosity and higher amylose content. It would be pertinent to do more research about hybrid lines resulting from a cross of Hua Jing Xian 74 and Basmati 385, to see if they possess the good cooking qualities of Basmati 385 and the good eating qualities of Hua Jing Xian 74.


Consumption of blue/purple fruits and vegetables (B/P) was examined in children (5–18 years) and adults (19+ years) using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1999–2002). B/P users (n=1,559) were individuals consuming Produce for Better Health Foundation defined B/P during the 24 hour recording period. Compared to non‐users, children B/P users had significantly (p<0.05) increased intakes of total fruits (2.9 vs 1.2 servings), dietary fiber (14.6 vs 12.8 g), vitamin C (111 vs 85 mg) and potassium (2644 vs 2285 mg). Adult B/P users, compared to non‐users, had increased intake of total fruits (3.1 vs 1.3 servings), dietary fiber (19.9 vs 15.2 g), vitamin C (130 vs 90 mg) and potassium (3156 vs 2695 mg). Adult B/P users were significantly (p<0.01) less likely to be overweight (BMI>25) or obese (BMI>30) In adults, consuming B/P was associated with (OR; 95% CI) significantly reduced risks of: elevated systolic blood pressure (BP) (≥130mm Hg) (0.71; 0.59 – 0.86), elevated diastolic BP (≥85mm Hg) (0.63; 0.48 – 0.82), low HDL (<40 mg/dL men and <50 mg/dL women) (0.70; 0.58 – 0.84), and elevated waist circumference (>102 cm men and >88 cm women) (0.66; 0.56 – 0.79). Consumption of B/P was associated with increased total fruit and nutrient intake in children and adults. In adults consumption of B/P was associated with reduced risk of three factors that define the metabolic syndrome.


The way in which organizations manage the knowledge that underlies their capabilities can be a powerful tool in explaining their behavior and competitiveness. While much research in knowledge management has illuminated the understanding of knowledge management, little is understood about the attributes of implementing a system that helps to create, mobilize and diffuse knowledge. Aiming at narrowing this gap, our research examines the experiences of a major oilfield services company in transforming itself to overcome a hierarchical knowledge flow to support its operations in the oil fields by putting into operation a system that facilitates the creation, mobilization and diffusion of knowledge in the technical service delivery process. By adopting the Abductive Strategy, and utilizing the means-end model with its laddering technique, the study reveals the attributes in operationalizing "InTouch", the system that supports the process.


BACKGROUND
Hydrogen sulfide is a colorless, odorless gas that may cause rapid loss of consciousness and respiratory depression without warning. It has produced toxicity in workers in numerous industries and occupations.

METHODS
A review of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (USBLS) Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) for occupational deaths related to hydrogen sulfide from 1993 to 1999 was performed.

RESULTS
Fifty-two workers died of hydrogen sulfide toxicity in this 7-year period. Deaths were most commonly reported in workers who were white (85%), male (98%), and in their first year of employment with the company (48%). Common industries included waste management, petroleum, and natural gas. In 21% of cases, a co-worker died simultaneously or in the attempt to save the workers.

CONCLUSIONS
Hydrogen sulfide toxicity is uncommon, but potentially deadly. Toxicity is predominantly in new workers and co-worker fatalities occur in a significant minority of cases. Proper training and education on the warning signs of hydrogen sulfide toxicity may help reduce worker fatalities.


The philosophical horizon of this essay is theoretically comparative and hermeneutically dialogic. Its main philosophical and theological tonality expresses, in first person and through three discursive moments, the differentiated fusion of horizons between phenomenological and grammatical description and understanding of experience. After a philosophical overture—outlining the éthos of the dialogic problematic and situating it within the contemporary diverse and dialogic dynamic of phenomenology—I will expose the consistent, possible modalities of convergence between Husserlian phenomenology and Wittgensteinian grammar of the mystical shapes of experience. The tense, responsorial dialogue among Husserl, Heidegger, Levinas, and Wittgenstein's styles of thinking, far from being anymore limited to the debates between the analytical and phenomenological, will be considered from the crossed categorial spaces of Austrian philosophy and German culture in general. In a second section, I will show how the styles of phenomenology today are advancing into a cautious micro-logical grammar of comparative inquiry. This thematization will first consider some precise semantic clarifications: Experience, the mystical, extasis, evidence, and truth; in a second section, the theoretical levels of grammar and phenomenology of mystical experience are heralded in the context of the Christian theological dialogue, where I emphasize the rebirth of French theological thinking and dialogic transcendence, beginning with Maritain and de Chardin to Marcel, de Lubac, Levinas, and Marion. Finally, I consider the aesthetic expressions of mystical experience, both from the visual and musical dimensions. I will conclude this talk by highlighting theological perspectives drawn from my research in musico-philosophical problematics, through an awakening to the resonance of Being and the Divine in sonic and musical life. Through a theology of the musical λογος, the grammar of mystical experience reveals the sacramentality of music and the mystery of silence.


The article addresses three main issues: First, the new interest for cities and urban development shown by European institutions—the Parliament, the Council of Ministers for territorial affairs, the Commission—in the second part of the last decade. This interest is justified, in the absence of a specific competence on the subject, by the recognition of the relevance of sound urban structures for the cohesion, competitiveness and sustainable development of territories. Second, it considers the evolution of urban form and urban functions in recent years, as a consequence of deep processes of economic and social transformation, evolution of life-styles and mobility patterns. Cities increasingly experience dispersion and sprawling trends, with increasing social segregation and environmental decay. Third, all this requires new forms of urban governance, both in terms of planning (with a renewed co-operation between different planning authorities, working at different spatial scales) and in terms of decision ma...


In a recent work we demonstrated that a novel X-ray scaling method, originally introduced for Galactic black holes (GBHs), can be reliably extended to estimate the mass of supermassive black holes accreting at a moderate to high level. Here we investigate the limits of applicability of this method to low-accreting active galactic nuclei, using a control sample with goodquality X-ray data and dynamically measured mass. For low-accreting AGNs (LX/LEdd 6 10 4 ), because the basic assumption that the photon index positively correlates with the accretion rate no longer holds the X-ray scaling method cannot be used. Nevertheless, the inverse correlation in the LX/LEdd diagram, found in several low-accreting BHs and confirmed by this sample, can be used to constrain MBH within a factor of � 10 from the dynamically determined values. We provide a simple recipe to determine MBH using solely X-ray spectral data, which can be used as a sanity check for MBH determination based on indirect optical methods.


Purpose – The deployment and strategic use of e‐business, from basic e‐mail utilization to total enterprise integration, involves the commitment of financial and technical resources. The resources have to be financed. The purpose of this paper is to ascertain the views of trade promotion organizations, donors, export associations and banks on e‐business financing in Ghana's non‐traditional export (NTE) sector, with the view to making policy contributions to the e‐business financing phenomenon in a developing economy (DE) context.Design/methodology/approach – The research design is qualitative since this is an exploratory study and deep preliminary insights were sought about a hitherto under‐researched information systems topic from a developing country perspective. Officials from the trade promotion; export association, donor and financial communities were interviewed to generate insights to help understand the phenomenon under investigation.Findings – Some banks find it difficult financing e‐business in ...


Studies of the rapid penetration of intravascular tritium labelled norepinephrine into mouse brain are described. The most intense localization of norepinephrine is seen in the median eminence of the hypothalamus, and this is discussed in terms of the mechanism of stress activation of ACTH release. Autoradiographs showing localization of norepinephrine in the hypophysis, hypothalamus, pineal, choroid plexus, and blood vessels are also shown.


We consider the number of paths that must pass through a subset $X$ of vertices of a network $N$ in a maximum sequence of independent paths connecting two vertices $y$ and $z$. We show that when $X$ is a singleton, that number equals the difference between the maximum flow value from $y$ to $z$ in $N$ and the maximum flow value from $y$ to $z$ in the network obtained by $N$ setting equal $0$ the capacities of arcs incident to $X$. We show that this does not happen when $|X|\geq 2.$ Consequently, we define two distinct group centrality measures involving paths and flows and satisfying monotonicity, inspired by the flow betweenness centrality.


This paper expatiates on the concepts of classical music and Baroque, discusses the distinctive features of classical music during Baroque period: "intense contrast with slight exaggeration", "diversifiable presenting forms", and the classical music of this period developed greatly with a large number of excellent composers emerging.


In today's world, wireless sensor network(WSN) plays a vital role in wireless communication. The major challenges in wireless sensor network is the effective utilization of energy resources. WSNs is consist of numerous small sensor node, which are scattered in a geographical area. Main task of sensors is to sense the environment and send the sensed data to the sink node. These sensors have some limitation in terms of battery life, memory and transmission range. Most of the protocol in WSN are designed for homogeneous network where all the sensors have same capabilities in term of energy, memory, processing and transmission range. However, the recent advancement in WSN has provided us with the capability of assigning different energy level to different nodes. This type of network is called Heterogenous network. Again, data transmission through multi-hop is an effective method that lower the energy consumption. To optimize the lifespan of the network two type of nodes with different energy levels are used. Simulation result show that the proposed protocol gives a better result in term of performance then the existing protocol in term of efficiency, network lifespan and stability.


Abstract The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of the interaction between feeding level (FL) and body condition score (BCS) on the reproductive parameters of Pelibuey hair sheep (Ovis aries). The experimental units (64 ewes) were randomly assigned to one of four treatments: low feeding level and low body condition score; high feeding level and low body condition score; low feeding level and high body condition score; and high feeding level and high body condition score. The effect of sheep body condition score was significant on the pregnancy and lambing rates. The effect of feeding level was significant on the ovulation, estrus returning, pregnancy, and prolificacy rates. The interaction effect between BCS and FL was significant on the ovulation, estrus returning, pregnancy, lambing, and prolificacy rates. The reproductive function is more sensitive to the better nutrition effects in sheep with a low body condition score.


Certainly for those companies that are free to select their auditor, there are some characteristics and criteria for selecting an auditing institution. It is evident that such characteristics and criteria can be different in any society. This study aims to identify criterion used by Iranian Companies. So, in this study we want to find some characteristics of desirable audit institution from the view of Iranian companies. In fact, here the question is, what features of audit institution can be desirable from the view of an Iranian company? In other words, an Iranian company regards what features for audit selection? The results of the study reveal that majority of the respondents agreed on the suggested selection criterion of an audit firm.


This paper reports on characterization and numerical modelling of dual-collector magnetotransistors with suppressed sidewall injection (SSIMT) fabricated in silicon on insulator (SOI) technology. This process allows to eliminate, by design, the undesirable high substrate current usually present in conventional bipolar or CMOS fabricated SSIMT's. Two-dimensional simulations reveal that the device operates like a PIN diode rather than as a true transistor, as expected. The presence of an electron-hole plasma in the active device region inhibits a proper transistor behavior. The magnetic performance of the SSIMT is improved by reducing the minority carrier lifetime and by redefining the doping profiles of the process.<<ETX>>