Objective To explore the perioperative experiences of congenital heart disease in infants.Methods From Jan.2000 to Aug.2006,109 patients with congenital heart disease were operated in our department,their clinical data were retrospectively collected and analyzed.The patients′ age ranged from 31 days to 3 years old (13.6 months).The body weight ranged from 2.1 to 16 kg (8.6 kg).Ninety-three patients were operated under hypothermic anaesthesia with cardiopulmonary bypass(CPB).Sixteen patients underwent deep thermal and low flow CPB.Ultrafiltration was used in 62 patients.Results There were 8 deaths and the operative mortality was 7.3%,4 cases caused by low output syndromeclos(LOS),3 cases caused by pulmonary hypertension and 1 case caused by lung intection.The morbidity was in 25 cases(22.9%),the main complications were LOS in 6 patients and respiratory complications in 18 patients,hydropericardium in 1 case,respectively.Conclusion To improve the operative and CPB technique,and to improve the skills of the postoperative managements of LOS and respiratory complications are the main points in the success of the cardiac operation in infants.


Objectives: To express and purify human antithrombin Ⅲ in yeast Pichia pastoris and to evaluate its functions. Methods: The eukaryotic expression vector incorporated with AT-Ⅲ gene was transformed into P.pastoris GS115 by electroporation. The transformants were selected by growth on G418 and detected for AT-Ⅲ expression by SDS-PAGE and Western blot.The AT-Ⅲ secretion levels were estimated by biochemical methods, AT-Ⅲ biological activity was assayed by a functional assay respectively.The purified protein was obtained by chromatography: Heparin-hyperD. Results: The Western blot analysis showed that the recombinant products could bind to McAb. The recombinant AT-Ⅲ had natural AT-Ⅲ biological activity. Conclusion: The recombinant human antithrombin Ⅲ is successfully expressed and purified in P.pastoris.


In 1994, the U.S. Congress passed the Schoolto-Work Opportunities Act providing federally funded grants to the States and to local partnerships of business, government, education, and community organizations to develop "school-towork systems." The law encouraged the States and their local partners to develop models that would work best for their particular situations. As a result, the features of school-to-work programs often vary from grant to grant and thus are difficult to describe in general terms. The Act did, however, outline three core elements that all school-to-work programs must entail:


nloaded als originating from cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAF) may positively regulate proliferation and tuenicity in prostate cancer. In this study, we investigated whether CAFs may regulate the biology of prosncer stem cells (CSC) by using a conditional Pten deletion mouse model of prostate adenocarcinoma to both CAF cultures and CSC-enriched cell fractions from the tumors. CSCs that were isolated possessed newal, spheroid-forming, and multipotential differentiation activities in tissue culture, segregating with fraction exhibiting a signature expression phenotype, including SCA-1 (high), CD49f (high), CK5 (high), igh), Survivin (high), RUNX2 (high), CD44 (low), CD133 (low), CK18 (low), and Androgen Receptor (low). pheroid–forming efficiency was differentially influenced by the nature of fibroblasts in a coculture sysompared with mouse urogenital sinus mesenchyme or normal prostate fibroblasts, CAFs enhanced id formation, with the spheroids displaying generally larger sizes and more complex histology. Graft ments showed that CSCs admixed with CAFs produced prostatic glandular structures with more ous lesions, high proliferative index, and tumor-like histopathologies, compared with those formed in numer the presence of normal prostate fibroblasts. Together, our findings underscore a significant role of CAFs in CSC biology. Cancer Res; 70(18); 7294–303. ©2010 AACR.


Research and development are intended to determine the feasibility and the responses of students and educators to the development of e-modules using flip pdf professional on temperature and heat material. The method used was adopted from Borg & Gall development model. The validation product of e-modules using flip pdf professional as learning media have fulfilled very good criteria with a percentage of material expert evaluations of 92,08%, media experts of 89,1%, and religious experts of 90%. While the responses of students and educators obtained very good criteria with percentage for small group trials of 88.15%, field trials of 88.03%, and educator response tests of 85.96%. Based on the results, the development of e-module using flip pdf professional can be used as a learning media.


The research related to micro- and nanoelectronics can be grouped in three main directions, i.e., More Moore, Beyond CMOS and More than Moore. For each of them some general trends and challenges are addressed. The convergence of the top-down technology, with bottom-up methods derived from fundamental disciplines such as materials physics, chemistry and biotechnology is opening a totally new world of applications. The diversity of the `More than Moore' domain, includes applications related to ambient intelligence, automotives, molecular electronics, nano-biotechnology, polymer electronics, sustainable energy based on photovoltaic cells and human healthcare.


Direct determinations of U content in igneous rock were correlated with determinations based on Ra content. With U contents of (1 to 5) x 10/sup -4/%, results from the two methods were within 5 to 7%. With larger Ra contents, the accuracy was improved. Assays of mixed-rock and undisturbed granite samples indicate that U determination by Ra content is feasible. (R.V.J.)


An analytical method combining microwave assisted micellar extraction (MAME) followed by solid-phase microextraction (SPME) and high-performance liquid chromatography–ultraviolet high-performance liquid chromatography with UV detection–detection is implemented for the determination of six organochlorine pesticides in different mud samples collected on Gran Canaria Island (Spain). This method allows detection limits to be reduced with respect to MAME extraction and also enables target organochlorine pesticides to be determined in complex matrices due to the clean-up procedure. Several new variables that affect the MAME–SPME process were introduced and optimized. A non-ionic surfactant, polyoxyethylene 10 lauryl ether, and a 60 µm polydimethylsiloxane-divinylbenzene fibre were used for this approach. After systematic investigations, the optimum experimental parameters were fixed. The optimized method provided satisfactory precision (relative standard deviation less than 10%), good recoveries (79.78–117.70%) and detection limits ranging between 28 and 136 ng g−1 for the pesticides studied. The proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of target organochlorine pesticides in several kinds of mud samples of different physico-chemical characteristics and areas. The MAME–SPME method was also validated and applied to a certified reference material.


Long-ago and lurid allegations. Joe Biden's are ignored; Brett Kavanaugh's spark a media frenzy. Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has been accused of sexual assault by a former staffer named Tara Reade. Such a serious allegation against a presidential candidate would normally be a loud, leading, global story. Instead....


Structural modification of a compound discovered during screening using an HRE-dependent reporter assay has revealed a novel class of HIF-1 inhibitors, which potently inhibit the HIF-1alpha protein accumulation and its target gene expression under hypoxic conditions in human hepatocellular carcinoma Hep3B cells.


Employing a narrative approach, the aim of this study was to contribute to an understanding of how women academics experience career success and challenges, what factors impact success, and how their choices and challenges impact on their career advancement. To investigate the experiences of women academics, a thematic analysis was used in the analyses of six audio-recorded interviews from six women academics consisting of early, mixed and experienced careers in one higher education institute. The findings disclose that women's academic experiences of success were mostly attributed to both hard work and karma (past deeds), and challenges were mostly related to balancing their personal and professional responsibilities. However, the study also reveals that women academics manage their challenges by sharing, staying emotionally stable, and being strictly professional. The findings also indicated that certain religious and spiritual beliefs affect their decision; for example, the adoption of particular practices influence their decision in terms of availing opportunities or overcoming obstacles.


Schoenolirion Torrey and Hastingsia S. Watson are both representatives of a distinctly North American subtribe of lilies, the Chlorogalinae. The two species groups have been considered to be congeneric in a number of previous publications, but a comparison of morphological traits provides strong support for their generic separation. Comprehensive descriptions of the two genera are provided, along with a synopsis of species included in each.


Raman linewidths of v 2 at 2083 cm-1 of cyclohexane-d 12 were measured in 40 solvents. The theoretical linewidths, calculated on the basis of the dephasing model, have been fitted to the experimental linewidths by adjusting the collision diameters of the solvent molecules. Most of the diameters thus determined are in good agreement with literature values, which indicates that the present model of the vibrational dephasing explains well the solvent dependence of Raman linewidths.


Effects of the organic bean dregs powder and ammonium tartrate dibasic at the concentration of 1%,2%,3%,4% and 5%on the production of ligninolytic enzyme system under solid-state co-fermentation of Ganoderma lucidum and Candida utilis in cole stalk medium were studied.The results showed that compared with the control team,it did not affect the activities of laccase,manganese peroxidase and lignin peroxidase significantly,when nitrogen sources was bean dregs powder of 1%,2%, 3%and 5%.However the activities of laccase,manganese peroxidase and lignin peroxidase were increased significantly when nitrogen sources was 4%bean dregs powder,and the activities of three enzymies were 440.33 U·L~(-1),473.33 U·L~(-1) and 98.48 U·L~(-1) respectively which were 2.03,2.16 and 2.86 times compared to the control team.Compared with the control team,it did not affect the activities of laccase,manganese peroxidase and lignin peroxidase significantly,when nitrogen sources was 1%, 2%,3%,4%and 5%ammonium tartrate dibasic.Organic bean dregs powder was better than the ammonium tartrate dibasic as nitrogen sources,whose best concentration was 4%.


Fluctuating asymmetry as an indirect deviation in the difference between the right and the left bilaterally symmetrical traits is considered an indicative symptom of stress. The results of urban populations studying Betula pendula, Tilia cordata, Quercus robur and Acer platanoides using the conventional normalizing method and the geometric morphometrics are presented. The relationship between the environmental stress of an urbanized area and asymmetry values was analyzed. 8-10% of the samples | R – L | / (R + L) had a normal distribution (K-S test, p <0.01). Only one trait in birch and one in linden significantly (p <10−4) reflected the stress effect in a direct relationship. Q. robur and A. platanoides had a wider range of FA, and the traits reflecting stress were different. No correlation was found between the FA and GMFA integral indices. High heterogeneity of values (R – L) was accompanied by the significance of directional asymmetry. The GM method extinguished the kurtosis in trait and showed a significant value of GMFA at kurtosis values γ < 2.5. The high heterogeneity (γ >2.5) accompanied by insignificant fluctuating asymmetry in Procrustes ANOVA. The authors emphasize that the toxic effect of pollutants can be associated with the relief and protection from winds in urbanized areas. The heterogeneity of the genotype of plantings from different nurseries increases the factor diversity, which makes the results of the analysis of developmental stability much more critical.


Two strains of yeast, a haploid and a diploid one, were irradiated with x rays, and survival curves were obtained by colony counts. In haploid yeast, the viability decreased exponentially with increasing x-ray dose, whereas the diploid strain exhibited a plateau in the dose-response curve similar to that previously described by other workers for haploid yeast. The number of survivals and the shape of the survival curves varied with the physiological condition of the cells at the moment of irradiation. Thus, for example, in baker's yeast, deprivation of a source of nitrogen prior to irradiation resulted in a certain degree of protection, when compared with the survival of fresh nonstarved cells. Considerable protection was further afforded in both strains of yeast if cells were grown and irradiated in high concentration of substrate (55% fructose). Lastly, nitrogen deprivation interposed between irradiation and plating also favored recovery. Reasons are suggested for these changes in support of the view that indirect effects of irradiation contribute to a large extent to loss of viability in yeast. (auth)


The Gulf of Alaska (GOA) was divided into 5 offshore and 2 inshore regions (see Fig. 1 in manuscript). Offshore waters past the 500 m isobath were defined as the "slope", while offshore regions over the GOA shelf in waters less than 500 m bottom depth were defined by longitude: EGOA, eastern shelf (134° to 140° W); CGOA, central shelf (140° to 147° W); NGOA, northern shelf (147° to 154° W); WGOA, western shelf (154° to 165° W). The two inshore regions included: SEAK, southeast Alaska inner waters (e.g. Glacier Bay, Cross Sound, Sitka Sound), Yakutat Bay, and Icy Bay; SCAK, southcentral Alaska (Cook Inlet, coastal embayments along the Kenai Peninsula, and Prince William Sound).


Aquifers and spring complexes within the arid and semi-arid karst Edwards Plateau region of Texas are evolutionary refugia supporting a large number of endemic flora and fauna. Spring fishes, many of which are endemic, are associated with the spring complexes, whereas river fishes generally avoid spring complexes. Purposes of this study were to experimentally test affinities of spring fishes and river fishes for spring complexes and rivers among six independent spring-river systems of the Edwards Plateau and to quantitate relationship among spring fishes, river fishes and spring flow magnitude within spring complexes. We found that spring fishes did not exclusively use spring complexes but were more abundant in spring complexes than rivers and that species richness, relative abundance, and density of spring fishes were directly related to spring flow magnitude. Patterns in affinities for river fishes were less distinct. Quantitation of fish–habitat relationships will assist efforts in conserving aquatic resources within the Edwards Plateau and provides predictive models to assess biological integrity of other spring complexes. In addition, consistency in distributional patterns of spring and river fishes provides a framework for testing underlying processes of species segregation and diversification, establishes boundaries of aquatic evolutionary refugia, and expands the value of evolutionary refugia from historical refugia to contemporary and future refugia for Edwards Plateau aquatic biota.


This paper describes the use of spiral groove gas lubricated bearings in a very high speed cryogenic expansion application. Previous experience using externally pressurized and tilting pad gas bearings is described followed by a qualitative description of the analytic methods used to predict the behavior of a rotor supported on spiral groove journal and thrust bearings. This involved not only the calculation of bearing stability and rotor critical speeds, but also detailed thermal and structural calculations to determine the changes in the small clearances. It is shown how, under certain cooling conditions, the bearing clearance reduced to unacceptable values, and shows how a simple increase in bearing clearance avoids this problem allowing successful operation. The paper concludes that modern theoretical techniques for both hydrodynamic and structural behavior are essential in the use of these high speed gas bearings. Presented at the 43rd Annual Meeting in Cleveland, Ohio May 9–12, 1988


A latest content providing system and a service providing method thereof are provided to automatically update the latest contents to a content player from a content service server connected through the mobile network by providing only the latest contents through a mobile automatic registration mode. A relay(140) is connected to the content player(110) and provides the latest contents received through the mobile network(130) to the content player. The content service server(120) updates the latest contents and provides the updated latest contents to the content player through the mobile network by a request of the content player or a periodic mobile automatic registration mode. The content player includes a receiver(111) receiving the latest content from the content service server, a storing unit(113) storing the received contents, a playing unit executing the received contents, an operation state notifier(117) notifying the content service server of operation state information of the content player and a data transmitter(119) providing data inputted from the outside to the content service server.


Abstract The article identifies orthographic, lexical and textual Serbisms in the western Bulgarian Curzon Gospel (c. 1354) and proposes three plasts of Serbian influence on the manuscript: Serbian-type spellings of specific words traceable to the hypothetical common ancestor for the Curzon Gospel and its two close relatives, the western Bulgarian Dobrejšo and Banica gospels; sporadic Serbian orthographic and lexical features, and textual parallels with Serbian long lectionary gospels, in the Curzon Gospel's independent first half of Matthew; and sporadic Serbian-type orthographic features, and hypercorrections of perceived Serbian spellings found in the Curzon Gospel alone that were transmitted from its immediate antigraph.


Excerpt Although it is not uncommon to encounter occasional oval, elliptical or even rod-like erythrocytes in blood smears from perfectly healthy persons, a predominance of such forms in the absenc...


The good will of house to all initiative by Government has been face with serious setback due to the high cost of building materials. This is what necessitate the conducting of this research work forthe recycling and conversion of plastic and saw dust wastes into construction materials. Moreover this approach would in addition to making these materials affordable as well as promoting a hazard free environment. The First operation would be getting the amount of both plastic and sawdust to be used for the work and make necessary preparation. Plastic waste would first of all be collected, washed and then placed in a purpose made container in an incinerator system for burning using charcoal with an air blower in order to facilitate the process, this would be achieved using a temperature reader attached with the incinerator system. A simple chained lifting pulley would be used to empty the liquid content from the container in a separate place which would be mixed with sawdust and allow so as to be cooed for some time .The two constuents would be mixed together and cut in to pieces to form light weight gravels, which would be used for light weight concrete production, back fillings ,, landscaping, land fill process etc. this will be repeatedly done depending on the amount of work to be carried out, time, cost and the required quality. Key Wards: Environment, Construction, Plastics and Wood Wastes --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Date of Submission: 29-01-2021 Date of Acceptance: 14-02-2021 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Electrostatically designing materials opens a new avenue for realizing systems with user‐defined electronic properties. Here, an approach is presented for efficiently patterning the electronic structure of layered systems such as graphene by means of collective electrostatic effects. Using density‐functional theory simulations, it is found that lines of polar elements can strongly modify the energy landscape of this prototypical 2D material. This results in a confinement of electronic states in specific regions of the sample and, consequently, in a local energetic shift of the density of states. The latter is also directly reflected in the details of the band structure of the electrostatically patterned sample. Finally, it is shown that the approach can also be successfully applied to other 2D materials such as hexagonal boron nitride, where the effects are predicted to be even more pronounced than in graphene.


The Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance developed this short guide for communities organizations and individuals who want to help children who are living with HIV. This advocacy guide is intended for use by teachers parents youth leaders and others.


Statoil is working on a solution for the Luva gas field in the Norwegian Sea offshore mid-Norway. The field lies in deep waters far from production infrastructure, and in a harsh environment.


Mlinus strands determined by annealing the denatured radioactive samples in 2.5 for min at 850 with at least a 20-fold excess of Q8 RNA, at 500 14g/ml, and assaying for RNase-resistant radioactivity. 17 When sucrose gradient fractions (containing A\Ig++) are analyzed, it is not easily possible to denature the samples adequately. Under these conditions, analysis of material containing labeled plus strands in a double-stranded form too for minus strands. the case the assays of the gradient fractions experiments Figures 2 error less than 15%7 as judged by accurate determinations of double-stranded


When the directed graph of an n–by–n matrix A does not contain a Hamilton cycle, we exhibit a formula for detA in terms of sums of products of proper principal minors of A. The set of minors involved depends upon the zero/nonzero pattern of A.


Purpose. This study aims at reviewing extant literature on social media marketing (SMM) in B2B service contexts, scrutinizing and categorizing potential benefits, which originate from the adoption of SM tools by B2B service firms in conservative industries. The study also empirically investigates two relevant B2B service sectors, which show some of the typical characteristics of commodity-based service industries. Methodology. We performed a systematic literature review to achieve a deeper understanding of the current state of knowledge on social media in B2B services. For this purpose, we scrutinize leading peer-review international journals using the Scopus database and performing ad-hoc queries with pre-defined keywords. In addition, an empirical research is conducted on 60 firms, i.e. tanker shipping companies and ocean carriers, bringing some descriptive statistics on their SM activity on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Findings. The outcomes from sample firms unveil the adoption rate of the most diffused social media tools, the broadness of the digital networks of stakeholders (number of followers), the intensity of the communication activity (number of posts, shares, photos, videos) and the activated reactions (number of likes and shares). Practical implications. Empirical evidence suggest to managers that social media might be an easy-accessible and low-cost option for keeping the pace of sectorial transformations and creating a competitive advantage even in conservative sectors. Originality/value. This paper, by investigating B2B service sectors, addresses an interesting gap in SMM literature as prior studies mostly focused on B2C industries and manufacturing contexts.


After briefly reviewing a history of quantum dot lasers, the current state of the arts and current issues are discussed including low threshold quantum dot lasers with photonic crystal nano-cavity. In addition, recent advances in quantum information devices based on the quantum dots such as single photon emitters and entanglement photon pair generators, such as 200 k operation of single photon emitters using GaN quantum dots and single photon emitters at 1.5 mum will be presented. In the lecture, physics of correlated electrons in the quantum dots will be also discussed for quantum information devices.


Received 20 November 2003 Accepted 11 February 2004 Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) has the ability to promote cell cycle progression following the initial infection of primary resting B-lymphocytes and to cause cell cycle arrest at the onset of the viral replicative cycle. Various mechanisms have been proposed for the proliferative effects, including the up-regulation of cyclin D2 by the viral EBNA-2 and EBNA-LP proteins, direct binding of EBNA3C to the retinoblastoma protein (pRb), and down-regulation of the p16 tumour suppressor by the viral LMP1 product. To try to gain insight into the relative importance of these mechanisms, the ability of EBV to immortalize lymphocytes from an individual who is genetically deficient for p16 was examined. From detailed analyses of the resultant lymphoblastoid cell lines it is concluded that p16 status has little bearing on EBV's ability to manipulate the cell cycle machinery and a model to accommodate the previously proposed routes taken by EBV to bypass the restriction point is presented.


We compared sedation levels in children following administration of intranasal dexmedetomidine. One hundred and sixteen children aged between 1 and 8 years were enrolled in this prospective, randomised trial. Children were assigned to receive either intranasal dexmedetomidine 1 μg.kg−1 (Group 1) or 2 μg.kg−1 (Group 2). Thirty‐one (53%) patients from Group 1 and 38 (66%) patients from Group 2 were satisfactorily sedated at the time of anaesthetic induction. Logistic regression showed a significant interaction effect (p = 0.049), with the odds ratio between Group 2 over Group 1 estimated as 1.1 (95% CI 0.5–2.7) for the 1–4 year age group, and 10.5 (95% CI 1.4–80.2) for the 5–8 year age group. Both doses produced a similar level of satisfactory sedation in children aged 1–4 years, whereas 2 μg.kg−1 resulted in a higher proportion of satisfactory sedation in children aged 5–8 years. There were no adverse haemodynamic effects. We conclude that intranasal dexmedetomidine in a premedication dose of 2 μg.kg−1 resulted in excellent sedation in children.


Video-text retrieval has greatly benefited from the massive web video in recent years, while the performance is still limited to the weak supervision from the uncurated data. In this work, we propose to leverage the well-represented information of each original modality and exploit complementary information in two views of the same video, i.e., video clips and captions, by using one view to obtain positive samples with the neighboring samples of the other. Respecting the hierarchical organization of real-world data, we further design a hierarchical cross-modal pre-training method (HCP) to learn good representations in the common embedding space. We evaluate the pre-trained model on three downstream tasks, i.e. text-to-video retrieval, action step localization and video question answering and our method outperforms previous works under the same setting.


Dr. Nurol Arik, Ondokuz Mayis Universitesi, Tip Fakültesi, Hemodiyaliz ve Nefroloji Bölümü, TR-55139 Samsun (Turkey) Dear Sir, Transplantation is the optimal treatment for patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). In Turkey, renal transplants (RTs) are mainly obtained from living donors. Unfortunately, due to the insufficient availability of cadaveric grafts and compatible living donors, RTs have to be obtained from abroad. Some units in South-East Asia have run RT commercial programmes for many years [1-4]. Several patients with ESRD have gone to Bombay for RT from unrelated living donors and have returned to Turkey for posttransplantation follow-up. The purpose of this report is to evaluate the results of RT from unrelated living donors in Turkish patients with ESRD and to discuss the ethical and social aspects of organ transplantation. Sixty-three patients (38 males, 25 females, mean age 38.4 years, range 17-63) from 4 Transplantation units were investigated retrospectively. All transplantations were performed in 1992 and 1993. Mean duration of dialytic therapy before transplantation was 26.1 months (range 0-96). Sixty patients have received primary and 3 patients have received secondary grafts. Mean follow-up time after transplantation was 12.1 months (range 1-25 months). Patient data were collected from the hospital file during transplantation in Bombay and regular follow-up in Turkey. All the donors were males with a mean age of 25.4 years (range 23-30). Mean preoperative period for patient preparation was 5-7 days in most of the patients and mean hospitalization time after operation was 10-12 days. Most of the transplanted patients had been admitted to transplantation units in Turkey at 10-15 days after transplantation. The immunosuppres-sive protocol was as follows at the time of admission: cyclosporine 7-10 mg/kg, aza-thioprine 1-2 mg/kg and prednisolone 1 mg/ kg. Dipyridamole, salicylic acid, polyvita-min tablets, iron supplements, 7⁄8 receptor blockers and antacids were other medications in most of the patients and 1 patient was


The rapid socio-economic development of the Republic of Azerbaijan is conditioned by many factors, including the sphere of services in various sectors of the economy, including the catering market.
In recent years, the catering market in the country has expanded significantly. During 2000-2015 alone, the catering turnover in the country increased from 18.4 million manat to 1111.2 million manat.
Such a pace of development of catering services has not been observed in any other sector of the economy. The growing role of the catering market in the country fully justifies the fact that the welfare of the country's workers has significantly increased, which is an important element in the integrated assessment of the development of society. To solve many complex problems of the catering market, we need a scientific basis based on modern research methods, including complex marketing research.
In addition, in order to solve a large number of such complex problems, it is necessary to pay special attention to regulatory issues, reducing the level of production costs, rapid development of market infrastructure, raising the level of service culture. Ultimately, this will ensure that tactics and strategies improve the performance of market services in line with market conditions. We believe that a scientific approach to complex marketing research will help solve many problems in the catering market.


Among the many collagen-rich tissues, we studied rat-tail tendon in detail since it is composed of highly-organized type I collagen fibrils. We devised a confocal microscope that measures the second harmonic light generated from rat-tail tendon. Since SHG is sensitive to the linear polarization of the excitation pulse, a mathematical model was developed to investigate the relationship between linear polarization, the direction of the collagen fibrils, and the intensity of the generated second harmonic light. Also, the effect of collagen organization on the second harmonic intensity was studied.


The hydraulic turbine governor is an important control equipment of a hydropower station. The dynamic performance of a hydraulic turbine governing system is determined by the parameters of the hydraulic turbine governor. Traditional parameter optimization methods of the hydraulic turbine governor exhibit some obvious disadvantages in terms of convergence speed, accuracy and robustness. This paper proposed an improved particle swarm optimization algorithm based on average position and applied the algorithm into the parameter optimal design of a hydraulic turbine governor. Based on the field data of a hydropower station, the improved particle swarm optimization algorithm was examined against different working conditions by virtue of computer simulation. The simulation results demonstrate that the improved particle swarm optimization algorithm can effectively improve the dynamic performance of the hydraulic turbine governing system.


Presenteeism is believed to be a bigger problem than absenteeism and is associated with mental health symptoms. Gaining a better understanding of the construct we are studying—job stress-related presenteeism—may be useful for health professionals interested in the prevention and treatment of workplace mental health. Objective Presenteeism can result from a variety of causes, one of which is job stress. This study examined the factor structure and validity of the Job Stress-Related Presenteeism Scale (JSRPS). Methods Using three organizational samples, the study aimed to determine the factor structure of the JSRPS, its relationship to a sickness presenteeism scale, and the association between the JSRPS and associated concepts. Results Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported a reliable 6-item, 2-factor model for the JSRPS. JSRPS scores were associated with higher levels of psychological distress, workplace harassment, and turnover intentions and lower levels of job satisfaction, and work engagement. The JSRPS had stronger associations with psychological distress and workplace harassment than did the Stanford Presenteeism Scale. Conclusions Results suggest that the JSRPS provides a valid measure of presenteeism resulting from job stress.


In this issue of Tobacco Control , Agaku, Omaduvie, Fillipidis and Vardavas ( see page e233 ) make an important contribution to the case for stronger tobacco product regulation. Using data from the 2012 Eurobarometer survey, the authors analyse the influences of cigarette design and marketing elements on European smokers' current brand choices, initiation to smoking and beliefs in less harmful cigarettes. The study is timely, because the International Tobacco Control Community needs to reinvigorate the conversation about which directions we should take in advocating for new tobacco control measures. There are good reasons for taking much stronger action to regulate the contents and construction of cigarettes, as there are limits to what can be achieved with a continuing focus on the packaging and labelling of cigarettes, and public education as the twin means for countering smokers' misperceptions.1–4 Regulation of contents and construction could provide important additional means for discouraging initiation and facilitating cessation. It would do so in two ways: first, by making …


Among the possible structural damages during an earthquake, the seismic induced pounding also has been one of the commonly observed phenomena. This is because the separation gap between many adjacent buildings is inadequate to accommodate the relative motions, so buildings vibrate out of phase and collides. Despite the fact that the seismic pounding between nearby structures is considered in the codal procurements, the act of development is still an issue in numerous metropolitan zones where the structures are built with no adequate partition separation which brings about their pounding. In this study E-Tabs nonlinear software is used for simulation of adjacent multi-storeyed RC frame buildings of G+14 and G+9 storey, the provisions that may reduce the effects of pounding like the separation distance, addition of shear walls, lateral bracings and variation in storey height of the buildings have been considered for analysis. And the responses like storey-displacement and pounding force by considering both fixed base and base-isolated conditions are arrived.


We describe a user study of a mHealth prototype system based on a wellbeing scenario, exploiting the quantified-self approach to measurement and monitoring. We have used off-the-shelf equipment, with opensource, web-based, software, and exploiting the increasing popularity of smartphones and self-measurement devices in a user study. We emulate a mHealth scenario as a pre-clinical experiment, as a realistic alternative to a clinical scenario, with reduced risk to sensitive patient medical data. We discuss the efficacy of this approach for future mHealth systems for remote monitoring. Our system used the popular Fitbit device for monitoring personal wellbeing data, the Diaspora online social media platform (OSMP), and a simple Android/iOS remote notification application. We implemented remote monitoring, asynchronous user interaction, multiple actors, and usercontrolled security and privacy mechanisms. We propose that the use of a quantified-self approach to mHealth is particularly valuable to undertake research and systems development.


The article assesses electrical safety in electrical installations, considers the risks and factors affecting a working person. Electrical injury, compared with other types of industrial injuries, is a relatively small percentage, however, the number of injuries with severe and fatal outcomes occupies a leading place. That is why electrical safety issues need to be given the closest attention. To ensure safe working conditions during the operation of electrical installations, it is necessary to know how electric current acts on the human body, conditions of exposure to hazardous voltage, protection measures against electric shock. The topic of the article is of great practical importance both for those interested in electrical safety issues and for employees and enterprises of the energy industry.


The author studies such aspects of the topic as political cooperation between Thailand and Russia from 2014 till present. The concepts of national interests, the balance of power and neoliberalism are used as the analytical framework of the study. The current bilateral cooperation has positive dynamics in the political field which is demonstrated by the visits of the heads of government since 2015. These visits have led to the development of cooperation for the both countries in all aspects and dimensions. However, the political leverage hasn't achieved the optimum level, and the cooperation between the two states faces particular problems. The author outlines some of them: first of all, political instability in Thailand affects cooperation. Several transformations in the government of Thailand, which had taken place from 2006 till 2014, as well as domestic problems caused by the coup, have affected the foreign policy of the country. The author arrives at the conclusion that the main factors, influencing Thailand-Russia relations, are the political and diplomatic mechanisms. High-level visits and bilateral discussions help deepen and strengthen the connections between the two states. Nevertheless, these relations will not progress if Thailand fails to solve its domestic problems.


Many countries, including Poland, are currently dealing with a second wave of COVID-19 infections. There is a pressing need to adapt to the new reality and develop new ways of working in order to deliver essential services safely. In the medical sector, there is a special need to deliver uninterrupted high quality care while minimising the risk of disease transmission. In this article, we summarise the evidence on the transmission dynamics and ophthalmic features of COVID-19 and suggest a hierarchical approach to infection control, in order to help practitioners understand and mitigate the risks they face each day.


CELL BIOLOGY
Proteins destined for insertion into or across a membrane carry a sequence, usually at the N terminus, that distinguishes them from soluble cytosolic proteins. The signal sequence interacts with the targeting machinery and the protein translocation apparatus, called the translocon,


Ultrashort-pulse lasers are, in many ways, the ideal light source for diverse applications. A particularly appealing ultrashort-pulse laser technology is diode-pumped erbium-fiber13. Fiber-based systems easily offer milliwatt-level femtosecond pulses with electrical-to-optical conversion efficiencies of several percent, while laboratory demonstrations have pushed these limits to watt-level4 average powers and pJ pulse energies5; electrical-to-optical conversion efficiencies in the 10's of percent range should be possible. However, despite their appeal, these and other ultrashort-pulse laser systems offer only limited selections of output wavelengths. Nonlinear optical frequency conversion is often used to extend the useful wavelength range of available laser sources. However, in many cases, inadequate properties of conventional nonlinear materials have prevented the application of frequency conversion to low power sources such as diode-pumped fiber lasers. Recent advances in nonlinear materials, particularly that of the quasi-phasematching (QPM) technique, have enabled the generation of an increasing range of wavelengths with improved efficiencies and with lower power laser sources. Most of the previous work on QPM frequency conversion has focused on continuous-wave (OW) or nanosecond-pulse lasers, while the work described in this summary focuses on the ultrashortpulse regime.


Purpose: To investigate the magnitude and kinetics of repopulation in a moderately well differentiated UT‐SCC‐14 human squamous cell carcinoma [hSCC] in nude mice. This question is of interest because clinical data indicate a higher repopulation capacity in those SCC that have preserved characteristics of differentiation, which appears to be in contrast to results on FaDu and GL hSCC previously reported from this laboratory. Methods and Materials: UT‐SCC‐14 tumours were transplanted subcutaneously into the right hind leg of NMRI nu/nu mice. Fractionated radiation treatments were delivered, either under clamped hypoxia at 5.4 Gy/fraction or under ambient conditions (consistent with an OER of 2.7). Tumours were irradiated every day, every 2nd day, or every 3rd day with 6, 12 or 18 fractions. 1, 2 or 3 days after the last fraction, graded top‐up‐doses under clamped conditions were given for the purpose of estimating the 50% tumour control dose (TCD50). A total of 22 TCD50 assays were performed and analysed using maximum likelihood techniques. Results: The data demonstrate a slow but significant repopulation of clonogenic cells during fractionated irradiation of UT‐SCC‐14 hSCC. The results under hypoxic conditions are consistent with a constant repopulation rate, with a clonogenic doubling time (Tclon) of 15.6 days (95% CI: 9.7, 21.4). This contrasts with ambient conditions where Tclon was 68.5 days (95% CI: 124, 161). Both Tclon values are longer than the 6‐day volume doubling time of untreated tumours. Conclusions: Less pronounced repopulation for irradiation under ambient compared to clamped hypoxic conditions might be explained by preferential survival of hypoxic and therefore non‐proliferating clonogenic cells. Taken together with previous studies on poorly differentiated FaDu and moderately well differentiated GL hSCC, the results are consistent with considerable variability in the magnitude and kinetics of repopulation in different experimental squamous cell carcinomas, and with a relationship between reoxygenation and repopulation during fractionated irradiation. The differentiation status of hSCC growing in nude mice does not to appear to correlate with the proliferative capacity of clonogenic tumour cells during treatment. The results do not support the hypothesis gained from clinical data of higher repopulation in well‐differentiated tumours.


Utility analysis procedures offer organizational decision-makers useful information regarding the relative values of different interventions. Years of research have resulted in a number of practically viable utility models and extensions. There is a continued need for research to examine the accuracy of utility estimates and to further compare the different models. A more recent research concern is that of low levels of acceptance of utility analysis results by practitioners. Many researchers are turning their attention to ways in which this acceptance may be increased. This article reviews different utility models as well as a number of important extensions. It then discusses current utility analysis issues, such as the aforementioned acceptance problem and the introduction of a multi-attribute utility model. The article concludes with suggestions for future utility analysis research.


Alterations of the fragile histidine triad (Fhit) gene were investigated in rat hepatocarcinogenesis induced by a choline‐deficient L‐amino acid–defined (CDAA) diet. Males of the F344 strain, 6 wk of age, were fed a CDAA diet, and subgroups were killed at 2, 4, 12, 20, and 75 wk after the beginning of the experiment. Fifteen hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs) were noted in rats by the last time point; they were dissected free from the surrounding tissue. Normal control liver specimens were obtained from 6‐wk‐old rats. Total RNAs were extracted from whole livers of animals fed the CDAA diet for 2, 4, 12, and 20 wk and from HCCs, for assessment of aberrant transcription of the Fhit gene by reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction. Aberrant transcripts were detected in livers of rats fed the CDAA diet for 4, 12, and 20 wk, but not 2 wk, as well as in 11 of 15 HCCs (73.3%). Southern blot analysis showed a genomic DNA abnormality in one of seven informative HCCs (14.3%), while Western blot analysis showed reduction of Fhit protein expression in seven of nine HCCs (77.8%). No abnormal expression was evident in the livers after exposure to the CDAA diet for 2–20 wk. These results suggest that Fhit alterations may play important roles in hepatocarcinogenesis due to choline deficiency in rats. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Purpose- In recent years, with the support of urban regeneration movements, the real estate sector has become one of the locomotive sectors in terms of economic and social development, particularly for the developing countries. When the real estate sector is examined, it is seen that the housing sector, which directly touches to the end user and is considered sometimes for use sometimes for the investment purposes, comes to the forefront. It is observed that the competition among the developer firms also increased in parallel with the investments made. In this study, the 2004-2017 period was examined, the statistical models were created to help the developers in developing the housing marketing strategies, the marketing strategies affecting the house sales trends and the external factors were highlighted. Our paper is the first academic study that identifies this relationship in Turkish housing market. Methodology- Within the scope of this study; R programming language and Wilcoxon Rank was used to analyze the different housing marketing campaigns of one of the pioneer real estate firms in Turkey and their effect on the sales figures; the rank sum test was conducted; and, the VAR models were constructed and Impulse Response analysis, Pearson Correlation Coefficient were used for the relationship analyses. Findings- According to the results of the study, it is seen that the social events, long-term holidays, rainfall and snowfall, campaigns of the competitors have no statistically significant effect on the net sales and gross income. However, it was determined that the Ramadan period and the digital marketing had a significant effect on the net sales and gross income. It is determined that the use of outdoor billboard, which is expected to affect the housing sales, was inversely proportional to the net sales and gross income, that is, it had a negative effect when applied. Conclusion- It is thought that this study can be more improved as a result of including the followings into the model: more detailed classification of the social events, remodeling the Ramadan periods according to either they coincide with the summer month or the winter month, assessment of the effect of rainfall and snowfall considering the climate zone Turkey is in, more detailed analysis of the effect of the campaign of competitors, that the effect of digital marketing will be higher as the technology develops. It is expected that the modeling of the findings reached in this study (or which will be detailed in later studies) by using an algorithm will provide a cost-benefit optimization.


In this study we applied an empowerment model that focuses on (a) the need for empowerment in light of organizational strategy, (b) job design issues such as job enlargement and job enrichment that facilitate empowerment, and (c) the abilities, and (d) the attitudes of workers that make empowerment work. We applied the model in the manufacturing department of a firm that produces catheters for medical use and interviewed managers and supporting staff and surveyed 231 operators. The leading performance indicators in this firm are efficiency and quality. The reassignment of 12 out of 33 tasks was believed to contribute to these organizational objectives. For most workers, their abilities and their attitudes toward empowerment proved to be no major barrier to the reallocation of these tasks. However, for temporary workers, mainly working in a "short shift," the leeway to learn skills is limited, which probably impedes empowerment. The study shows that our model helps to diagnose the need for empowerment, to design work structures that facilitate empowerment, and to select appropriate human resource management practices. Further validation in other organizational settings is desirable. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.


Multi video super-resolution algorithms reconstruct high spatio-temporal resolution video by exploiting complementary information in multiple low-resolution video sequences. Aiming at improving spatio-temporal resolution of video for real-world applications, an algorithm is proposed using Maximum Posterior Likelihood - Markov Random Field (MAP-MRF) and implemented on camera array. Compared with the current algorithms for super-resolution reconstruction, the suggested algorithm is advantageous in keeping the edge sharpness and detailed texture, and robust against the noises. The experimental result has confirmed the effectiveness of the proposed method under the practical conditions such as large displacement and motion aliasing.


I have recently finished my GP registrar training. It has been the best experience of my professional career so far and I feel I have found my niche in general practice after years of floundering within the NHS. But my training was not without its hitches—one of which left me unable to work for five months. Let me explain.

"I always advise new registrars to send in their paperwork at the start of the job". This was the advice I received four months after finishing my training. I had naively waited until all my paperwork was complete at the end of my training to submit it to the deanery and then on to the JCTGP (Joint Committee on Training in General Practice). Nothing prepared …


An experimental investigation was made of parametric generation of ultrashort light pulses in KDP and ADP crystals pumped with the third and fourth harmonics of single picosecond pulses emitted from a YAG:Nd3+ laser. The frequency width of the parametric superluminescence ranged from 10 to 5300 cm−1 depending on the phase conditions in the three-frequency interaction and the focusing parameters of the pump radiation. The efficiency of conversion of the pump radiation reached 10–15%. The results demonstrated potential usefulness of the parametric superluminescence continuum in picosecond spectroscopy.


The effect of coprecipitated MgO-Al2O3, MgO-Cr2O3 and MgO-Fe2O3 gel on the strength retainment properties of magnesium oxysulphate cement based basic castables has been investigated. Incorporation of MgO-Al2O3 gel is found to be most beneficial for the improvement and retainiment of both the room temperature and high temperature strengths. SEM studies have been conducted to get an idea about the microstructure of castables cured at room temperature and heated at high temperature.


Petiolus Nelumbinis, branches of lotus leaf or lotus flower is a traditional oriental herbal medicine widely used for treating a superheat or disorder of qi flow. Although there are many clinical results and literature study, it has been rarely conducted to evaluate the immuno-biological activity. The present study was conducted to examine the anti-inflammatory effects of PNM (Petiolus Nelumbinis MeOH extract) in vitro. To determine cytotoxic concentration of PNM, the cells were treated with PNM for 24 h after LPS addition, and the cell viability was tested by MTT assay. Both of dosages (30 and 100 ) of PNM had no cytotoxicity. In these concentrations, PNM significantly reduced the elevated levels of NO and by LPS. These inhibitory effects of PNM were due to the reduced expressions of iNOS and COX-2 protein. TNF-, IL-1 and IL-6 are frequently encountered pro-inflammatory cytokines, and LPS plays a key role in inducing to the massive production of these cytokines. Thus, we next determined the levels of these cytokines. Although PNM had no significant inhibitory effect on the production of TNF-, the elevated levels of IL-1 and IL-6 by LPS were dose-dependently reduced in PNM-treated groups. These results demonstrate that PNM has anti-inflammatory effects by inhibiting the production of proinflammatory cytokines, NO and in LPS-activated macrophage. Moreover, the reduction of NO and levels was due to the inhibition of iNOS and COX-2 protein expression by PNM.


Summary Relatively short periods of fasting result in the rapid disappearance of glycogen from the liver and skeletal muscle of hypophysectomized animals. The present experiments have demonstrated that, in spite of the depletion of carbohydrate reserves in the starved hypophysectomized castrate rat, estrogen promotes the deposition of glycogen in the uterine musculature in amounts comparable to those deposited in well-nourished animals. In this respect this action of estrogen on the uterus is analogous to that of certain of the hormones of the anterior hypophysis and adrenal cortex on the deposition of glycogen in the liver and skeletal muscle.


This study aims to determine the incidence of surgical site infection leading to reoperation for sepsis following minor hand procedures performed outside the main operating room using field sterility in the South African setting.The investigators retrospectively reviewed the records of 485 patients who had WALANT-assisted minor hand surgery outside a main operating theatre, a field sterility setting between March 2019 and April 2023. The primary outcome was the presence or absence of deep surgical site infection that required reoperation within four weeks. Cases included where elective WALANT minor hand procedures, a minimum age of 18 with complete clinical records.The patients were mostly female (54.8%), with a mean age of 56.35 years. The majority of cases were trigger finger and carpal tunnel release. An overall 485 cases were reviewed, the deep surgical site infection rate resulting in reoperation within 4 weeks post-operatively was 1.24% ((95% Confidence Interval (CI) 0.0034 to 0.0237); p = 0.009).Minor hand procedures performed under field sterility using WALANT have a low surgical site infection rate. The current study's infection rates are comparable to international surgical site infection rates for similar surgeries performed in main operating rooms using standard sterilisation procedures. Field sterility is a safe and acceptable clinical practice that may improve work efficiency in public sector.


Hair sprout of potato tubers is only sporadic in its oceurrence in Minnesota potatoes. In miost years it is not promllinenit but in the crop of 1938 the frequenicy was sufficiently imiiportant to decrease the value of potatoes for seed purposes. The hair sprout conditioni does lnot decrease the value of table stock, in fact from coiimmon experien-ce hair sprout tubers keep better in storage than normiial tubers, and there is nio discolorationi detectable. The opinion of growers is that it appears especially duringc a-ears in whiich the yield is very high. It is most prominent in Bliss Triuimph, being greater in late than in early strains, and White Rose, with less oecurrenlee in Cliippewa, Warba, Green Mountain, and Burbank Russet. Accurate data oni occurrenee and varietal susceptibility are not available, because it is sporadic, unpredictable from field conditions or plant appearaniee, anid has niot been possible of artificial production.


BACKGROUND:An analysis of the current state of production of dairy cattle products shows that the effective development of this industry can only be ensured at a breakthrough technological level. There is a wide variety of automatic feeding systems (AFS) on the market, differing in the level of automation, technical complexity and other parameters. They are actively used on foreign farms, however they are not widely used in Russia, mainly because of their high cost.
AIMS:Development of a conceptual model of an automatic cattle feeding system based on a wheeled robotic feeder for servicing animals on domestic farms and plants.
METHODS:The development was based on the following studies: the analysis of products made by manufacturers of systems for the preparation and distribution of feed mixtures at cattle farms; studying the works of foreign scientists devoted to the research of automatic feeding systems; modeling the operation of a robotic feeder and a mobile feed mixer-distributor using the developed mathematical apparatus based on graph theory; the experiments carried out at Russian farms with functioning automatic feeding systems and at farms that are potential consumers of these technologies.
RESULTS:The paper presents the results of statistical processing of information obtained during the review of robotic feeders made by the worlds leading manufacturers. It is noted that the existing AFSs are suitable for relatively small European farms. For Russian farms, capable to contain 800 or more cows, the structure of the AFS with two main configurations is proposed. A description of each of the configurations is given, the schematic implementation plan for one of the configurations is given.
CONCLUSIONS:The proposed AFS makes it possible to effectively use robotic feed dispensers with a relatively small amount of required technological equipment. Its efficiency increases with an increase in the number of livestock serviced, especially in farms with combined animal husbandry, as the specific costs of technological equipment per head decrease.


Internal combustion engine research on alternative fuels has gained momentum because of growing awareness about energy security and environmental issues worldwide. Biodiesel offers an ideal solution to these problems and is an excellent partial replacement to mineral diesel. In this study, Karanja biodiesel blended with mineral diesel has been investigated for macroscopic spray characterization vis-à-vis baseline mineral diesel by varying fuel injection pressures (50, 100 and 150 MPa). Spray developed with relatively narrower spray angle for KB20. Injector needle movement for energizing and real injection durations were also compared for diesel and KB20 at fuel injection pressures of 50, 100 and 150 MPa. Needle movement was slightly higher for KB20 because of its relatively higher viscosity. However, with increasing fuel injection pressure, the difference reduced and showed quite similar results. A 2.2 L common rail direct injection sport utility vehicle EURO-IV diesel engine was used for the experiments. Engine performance, emissions and combustion characteristics of KB20 were compared with baseline mineral diesel at (1) the rated engine speed (2500 r/min) with varying engine loads as well as (2) at the rated load at varying engine speeds (1500–3500 r/min). Brake thermal efficiency of KB20 was lower than mineral diesel. Brake-specific carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide emissions decreased with increasing brake mean effective pressure and showed increasing trend with increasing engine speeds. KB20 showed emission of higher number of particles compared to mineral diesel at all engine operating conditions. Higher oxygen content of biodiesel resulted in shorter ignition delay and slightly higher peak cylinder pressure. KB20 showed relatively longer combustion duration compared to mineral diesel at 2500 r/min engine speed.


BACKGROUND: Oral combined hormonal contraceptives (CHCs) are one of the most used contraceptive methods worldwide, however, their use may have accessory effects that can generate metabolic, inflammatory, and vascular alterations.OBJECTIVE: To


Prefabrication has tradition. The advantages of prefabrication were recognised and utilised for building as early as in antiquity. Cluny - An example of modern prefabrication (BFT 1/1995) was to us an impressive example of what we can learn from this tradition for the future. For prefabrication offers outstanding opportunities for any form of building. All industries involved in building bank on prefabrication - automobile industry (see Lopez in BFT 4/99), ship building and aircraft manufacture. The pacemakers of new technologies also count on this prefabrication and utilise modular methods of design. Only in building there is a lack of trust to use prefabrication convincingly and with enthusiasm. A professor of architecture, some years ago, held up the mirror to our industry, praised the abilities of the building material concrete and chastised its maker for their inability by making the following comparison : A student of theology failed his examination. The professor asked the bishop: Why? He knew everything! - Yes, he knows it - but he does not believe it!. And this exactly is our problem. Because of this, a look back to the times when precast concrete components were still a vision for the avantgarde of architecture. This is where we have to take our lead from today. And this is why the BIBM Congress in Venice has chosen this paper as the opening presentation. We must once again become of aware of what is really natural - this will lead to creativity.


Field placements in social work education are considered pivotal in providing students with the opportunity to integrate what they have learnt in the classroom with that which can be achieved in practice (Cleak & Wilson,2007; Parker, 2007), but maybe more importantly, they also create a liminal space in which the student can explore, acquire and demonstrate a professionally recognized identity (Bowles, 2010; Hawkins and Shohet, 2000). While much attention is placed by Universities on ensuring that particular professional and educational standards are met so that their graduates can meet qualifying requirements, they also recognise the need to provide appropriate guidelines and tools which can facilitate and support a learning process by which the students can move towards performing and recognising themselves as beginning practitioners (Bowles, 2010). However, developing a tool that can both facilitate and best assess a student's capacity to meet the goals of the field placement experience can be challenging - especially when students are placed in diverse practice settings that are also facilitated by individual supervisors who have different levels of experience and understandings of what a pass grade may entail.

Up until recently, James Cook University (JCU) social work program relied on paper based assessments to undertake this task. However following largely negative feedback from key stakeholders about the cumbersomeness and linear nature of these assessments, we decided to explore e-portfolio assessment tools with the aim of creating an instrument that would include both formative and summative evaluation of the students learning (Taylor, Thomas & Sage, 1999). Rather than provide a linear experience, it was hoped that the e-portfolio would: (1) help students 'join the dots; between what they had learnt in the academy, the AASW professional standards and what they experience in practice, and (2) an opportunity to 'colour in the emerging spaces' with their own individually developed learning goals towards becoming a social worker. With the support of a teaching and learning grant received in 2012 and with continuing consultation with key stakeholders, an e-portfolio tool was developed and is in the process of being trialled and evaluated in 2013. This paper briefly describes the background and context in which the tool has been developed; the tool itself and the artefacts it includes; and an overview of how it meets the accreditation requirements of the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW).


In the course of experiments aimed at deciphering the inhibition mechanism of mycophenolic acid and ribavirin in hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, we observed an inhibitory effect of the nucleoside guanosine (Gua). Here, we report that Gua, and not the other standard nucleosides, inhibits HCV replication in human hepatoma cells. Gua did not directly inhibit the in vitro polymerase activity of NS5B, but it modified the intracellular levels of nucleoside di- and tri-phosphates (NDPs and NTPs), leading to deficient HCV RNA replication and reduction of infectious progeny virus production. Changes in the concentrations of NTPs or NDPs modified NS5B RNA polymerase activity in vitro, in particular de novo RNA synthesis and template switching. Furthermore, the Gua-mediated changes were associated with a significant increase in the number of indels in viral RNA, which may account for the reduction of the specific infectivity of the viral progeny, suggesting the presence of defective genomes. Thus, a proper NTP:NDP balance appears to be critical to ensure HCV polymerase fidelity and minimal production of defective genomes.


In this paper, we apply a multi-start local search heuristic based on column generation to the binary multicommodity flow problem. One solution is represented as a set of paths, one of each commodity. A neighbor solution is obtained by selecting a differ ent path for one commodity. We discuss and present computational results for alternative ways of using primal and dual information from the linear programming (restricted) master problem in construc ting and evaluating heuristic integer solutions. The local search heuristic, although described and tested for the binary multicommodity problem, can b e applied in general column generation models where the master variables are binary and there are convex ity constraints, since it does not depend on the subpro blem structure.


This paper employs advanced GNSS receiver architectures to more quickly reacquire the carrier phase data after a loss of lock. Specifically, a piece-wise control method and a phase prediction architecture are proposed. The piece-wise method takes advantage of different parameters in the control system to produce different transition performance within the tracking loop. With this in mind, the approach divides the reacquisition process into separate periods each with different control system parameters in order to achieve a faster transition process. In the phase prediction architecture, carrier phase measurements are predicted for satellites that have lost lock by integrating the estimated Doppler computed from the navigation solution. Predicted phase quality is evaluated in both empirical and theoretical ways. All algorithms are tested using real data collected under mild to moderate operational conditions.


To study the method of selecting the optimal duration of the prefix OFDM-symbols in satellite communication channels, the original model of the communication line "Aircraft satellite-ground station" was built. The adaptive modulation model consists of an information source, an aircraft transmitter, an uplink / downlink, a satellite transponder, and a ground station receiver. OFDM technology for combating the effects of multipath is considered. The method of combating intersymbol interference based on the use of OFDM technology has been improved.


THE Microchipping of Dogs (England) Regulations 2015 will hopefully contribute to improved appreciation regarding the value of microchips as an identification tool. The legislation has introduced some issues and one important area has been confused and omitted from the recent news article in Veterinary Record (April 25, 2015, vol 176, pp 425-426).

While notification of migration of microchips from their original implantation …


Abstract To have a comprehensive understanding of protection and thermal comfort performance of a broad range of protective clothing materials, barrier and air/moisture vapor permeabilities of 36 materials commonly used for personal protective equipment were examined. Samples included nonwoven, woven, microporous membrane, and laminated fabrics. Protection performance was evaluated using three pesticide mixtures that represent a range of surface tension and viscosity. Air permeability and water vapor transmission were assessed as indications of thermal comfort performance in hot, humid environments. The overall observation of 36 materials on protection performance and air permeability showed that in general a negative relationship exists between these properties. Nonwovens covered a wide range in both air permeability and barrier performance, whereas wovens used for typical work clothing showed a narrower range. Thick, tightly woven fabrics exhibited fairly high protection performance across the pesticide mixtures and showed low air permeability. Although microporous materials exhibited relatively high barrier efficacy, less protection performance was observed against the challenge liquid of low surface tension and high viscosity. A general negative trend was observed between water vapor transmission and solid volume fraction of nonwoven and woven fabrics. Through-pore size distribution measurements indicated that pore size could play an important part in the transmission of moisture vapor, given the same solid volume fraction.


Benthic oxygen demand rates in rivers ranged from 0.10 gm/m to 5.30 gm/sq m/day and were found to increase linearly with dissolved oxygen concentrations in the water overlying the sediment deposits. The oxygen uptake was found to be more closely related to the nutrient composition of the interstitial water of the sediments than to the nutrient composition of the sediment solids. Ammonia nitrogen release rates ranged from an apparent net uptake of 44 mg/sq m/day to a release of 505 mg/m, whereas total dissolved phosphorus exchange rates varied from a net uptake of 13 mg/sq m/day to a release of 138 mg/sq m/day. The release of ammonia nitrogen was related to the nitrogen content of both the interstitial water and solids portions of the sediment and it appeared that biochemical mechanisms were principally responsible for ammonia nitrogen exchange processes. The exchange of total dissolved phosphorus was unrelated to measured nutrients within the sediments or overlying waters but was related to oxygen depletion, consistent with the widely accepted view that phosphorus exchange is controlled principally by oxidation-reduction reactions with iron, manganese, or sulfur, or all three.


Objective: Considering the published manuscripts on this subject, it is thought that IL-1B and azurocidin may be diagnostic and prognostic factors in severe COVID-19 disease. This study aimed to determine whether azurocidin and IL-1β are useful biomarkers and are associated with disease exacerbation in patients needing advanced treatment options. Material and Method: Our study was performed retrospectively. The data of a total of 291 patients followed in the hospital due to COVID-19 were collected. Among these patients, 66 randomly selected patients were included in this study. The control group consisted of 24 healthy individuals referred to the infectious disease outpatient clinic who weren't no diagnosis of COVID-19 infection or any other infection. After the samples were taken into tubes without anticoagulant, they were kept at room temperature for 30 min. Afterwards, it was centrifuged at 1000xg for 15 min at +4° according to the instructions of the ELISA kit we used. The remaining serum was transferred to Eppendorf tubes and stored at −80° throughout this study. Results: A statistically significant strong positive correlation was determined between IL1β and azurocidin. A statistically significant weak positive correlation was found between IL1β and CRP, ferritin and neutrophil count, weak negative correlation with albumin, and moderately strong positive correlation with leukocyte count. Moreover, a statistically significant weak positive correlation was found between azurucidin and CRP, ferritin, and neutrophil counts. Conclusion: Azurocidin and IL-1β may serve as a potential therapeutic target for patients at risk of developing systemic multi-organ failure, with improved patient prognosis and prevention of death in severely ill patients. Although these results may contribute to the improvement of the follow-up and treatment of the patients and reduce mortality rates, there is a need for randomized controlled studies with a larger number of patients to be performed in the future.


The objective of this research was to evaluate the pathogenicity of Metarhizium anisopliae isolates on Scaptocoris carvalhoi (BECKER 1967), and to determine the average Lethal Dose (LD50) and the average Lethal Time (LT50), under laboratory conditions. The bioassays were conducted at Embrapa Western Agriculture in Dourados, MS, Brazil, during the year 2003. Suspensions of four M. anisopliae isolates (Ma7, Ma69, Ma283, and Ma 342) were made at 104, 105, 106, 107 e 108 conidia mL-1 and 5ml of each concentration were inoculated topically on S. carvalhoi and corresponded to 50, 500 5,000, 50,000, and 500,000 conidia stinkbug-1, respectively. After inoculation, the insects (ten adults and five nymphs per plot) were placed into gerboxes and kept in growth chambers at 26±1oC and 85% relative humidity, under darkness conditions. At the highest dose (500,000 conidia insect-1), a significant increase in stinkbug mortality was observed, regardless of the isolate. The lowest LD50 were observed with the Ma69 and the Ma7 isolates, and the highest with the Ma283 isolate. The LT50 ranged from 0.32 to 5.84 days, with no significant differences. The isolates Ma69 and Ma7 showed potential for S. carvalhoi control under field conditions.


Abstract : Two major considerations to be taken into account when using brazed aluminum heat exchangers for military environmental control units are highlighted from the corrosion observations. The standard brazed aluminum construction must have an organic or equally resistive coating for protection against high salt atmospheres which exist in many areas of the world. An improvement in corrosion resistivity through material and construction changes is also desirable to add to the benefits obtainable through protective coatings, such as use of Alclad for the prime surface.


Article is devoted a complex of the problems which topical character at the present stage of development of the Russian society is obvious. In the given publication the author, first, underlines a high economic urgency of development of an average and a small-scale business in the country, and secondly, carries out the detailed analysis of legal behaviour of the state and their relation, subjecting to the fair criticism a number of discrepancies in the legislation and even their discrepancy.


Based on the investigation data of 12 sampling plots of Platycladus orientalis artificial forests in karst area of Guizhou province,using the factor analysis method of SPSS statistical software,the influence of eight factors in Platycladus orientalis artificial forest on the number of saplings in natural regeneration was studied.The results showed that the number of Platycladus orientalis new saplings in unit area was positively related with crown density,number of trees and slope aspect.Eight factors affecting the natural regeneration of Platycladus orientalis forest could be summarized as stand structure,soil condition and topographic condition,their role in regeneration was stand structure soil condition topographic condition.


Abstract In most welfare states, home care for elderly and disabled persons relies on a combination of private and public responsibilities, with gatekeepers adjudicating access to publicly funded care. Unlike other governments, the Dutch government has codified an explicit 'customary care principle' that defines the 'normal daily care that partners, parents, co-resident children or other household members are supposed to offer each other' (CIZ, 2013a) to calculate entitlements to publicly funded care. But the norms set by the Dutch government do not always mirror what citizens consider normal. Using national statistics and interviews with family care-givers, care recipients and assessors, we find that while the norm of customary care can sometimes protect citizens from taking on too Corresponding author: Jan Willem Duyvendak, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Amsterdam School for Social Science Research, University of Amsterdam, Oudezijds Achterburgwal 185, 1012 DK Amsterdam, The Netherlands.Email: email@example.com


The quantitative forecasting of hyperspectral system performance is an important capability at every stage of system development including system requirement definition, system design, and sensor operation. In support of this, Lincoln Laboratory has been developing an analytical modeling tool to predict end-to-end spectroradiometric remote sensing system performance. Recently, the model has been extended to more accurately depict complex natural scenes by including multiple classes in the target pixel through the use of a linear mixing model. Additionally, a linear unmixing algorithm has been implemented to predict retrieved fractional abundances and their associated errors due to both natural variability and corrupting noise sources. This paper describes the details of this multiple target class model enhancement. Comparisons are presented between the model predictions and measured spectral radiances, as well as unmixing results obtained from data collected by NASA's EO-1 Hyperion space-based hyperspectral sensor. Additionally, results of an analysis using the enhanced model are presented to show the sensitivity of end member fractional abundance estimates to system parameters using linear unmixing techniques.


The study of the collateral circulation of the lung is assuming new significance as methods are being developed for its clinical evaluation, and as its implications concerning the work of the heart are becoming understood. A great and rapid rise in the amount of blood circulating through the bronchial arteries in the dog after ligation of the pulmonary artery was demonstrated in bronchospirometric studies reported elsewhere.' The anatomical changes in the lungs of such animals are the subject of the present report. Schlaepfer,23 in similar experiments, observed that the bronchial arteries were greatly enlarged, but he did not follow them far into their intrapulmonary ramifications. Observations dealing with the effect of ligation of the pulmonary artery to a single lobe were made by Mathes, Holman, and Reichert.4 By means of a roentgenographic technic involving the injection of bismuth oxychloride in acacia (Hill's mass), and in a specimen cleared by the Spalteholz method, they demonstrated the great increase of the collateral circulation and the retrograde filling of the pulmonary artery with this material. The early work has been reviewed by Berry, Brailsford, and de Burgh Daly.5 For an accurate study of the relations of the vessels it is advantageous to see them in the round and to be able to manipulate them. The preparation of durable casts of the bronchovascular structures serves this purpose and was employed in the present observations.


China's monetary policy disposes of two sets of monetary policy instruments: Instruments of the central bank, the People's Bank of China (PBC) and non-monetary policy instruments. Additionally, the PBC's instruments include price-based indirect and quantity-based direct instruments. The simultaneous usage of these instruments leads to various distortions that ultimately prevent the interest rate channel of monetary transmission from functioning. Moreover, the strong influences of quantity-based direct instruments and non-monetary policy instruments question the approach of indirect monetary policy in general.


The spectacular growth of cellular telephone networks has proven the ubiquitous demand for personal communications. Large regions of the world are too sparsely populated to be economically served by terrestrial cellular communications and geography frequently prohibits the installation of terrestrial networks. Furthermore, there are also many regions of the world which lack a basic telecommunications infrastructure, whether wireline or wireless. The Odyssey System is an economical approach for providing high quality, wireless, communications services worldwide via satellites. A constellation of 12 satellites will be orbited in three planes, each inclined at fifty degrees, at an altitude of 10,354 km (5591 nautical miles) to provide seamless coverage of the globe. The Odyssey orbit lends itself to high line-of-sight elevation angles that minimize obstructions by terrain, trees and buildings. Each satellite generates a multibeam antenna pattern that divides its coverage area into a set of contiguous cells. The communications system architecture employs spread spectrum CDMA on both the uplinks and the downlinks which optimize the use of the mobile link spectrum. Signal processing is accomplished on the ground at the satellites' earth stations. The satellites' "bent pipe" transponders simplify the space segment design and provide the flexibility to exploit future enhancements in vocoder and waveform technologies. The ground network will employ a minimum of earth stations worldwide connected via leased lines. Calls to and from the Odyssey handsets will be routed globally employing the Odyssey network and the existing public switched telephone networks (PSTNs). Localities will be able to regulate Odyssey traffic via local "Gateways" connected to the Odyssey System.


The nucleation of calcium phosphate crystals from a weakly supersaturated calcium phosphate solution on the surface of polyelectrolyte multilayers was investigated in dependence on the chemical nature of the outermost layer. Scanning angle reflectometry was used to follow in situ the initial stages of the nucleation kinetics. The multilayers were constructed by alternate adsorption of poly(styrene sulfonate) (PSS) and poly(allylamine) (PAH), leading to oppositely charged surfaces. It was verified that films terminating with either PSS or PAH exhibited a negative or positive ζ-potential, respectively. Surprisingly, both types of surface layers induced a nucleation process for supersaturations smaller than the one observed on the bare silica surface. According to the literature, such an effect should only be expected on a negatively charged surface. Infrared spectroscopy showed that the nucleated crystals are hydroxyapatite (OHAP) or octacalcium phosphate (OCP) but not dicalcium phosphate dihydrate (DCDP) w...


Liquid-solid fluidization characteristics of irregularly shaped Biobone particles were studied in a fluidized bioreactor column 2.35 m high and 0.1 m dia. The wet Biobone particles had a density of 1,890 kg/m{sup 3}. Two size ranges were studied: 1.70--2.36 mm and 1.25--2.36 mm. The Biobone is a natural cheap material composed of collagen, which is a strong protein structure, embedded with microcrystals of hydroxy apatite and calcium phosphate, and it is an excellent matrix of commercial importance used for the immobilization of enzymes, whole cells and other biocatalysts. Fluidization characteristics of Biobone particles, which include measurements of pressure drops, holdups, minimum fluidization velocities, particle entrainment, and residence time distributions at different water superficial velocities, are reported. Because of the highly irregular shape of Biobone particles, new fluidization behavior was observed, which was much different from the fluidization behavior of spherical particles reported in the literature. A new channeling index is proposed to quantify the channeling characteristics of fluidized Biobone particles, and a new parameter was developed to distinguish the transition between fixed and fluidized states of the Biobone particles. Fluidized bioreactor systems are used in bioprocessing for the production of high-value medicinal products, ethanol and beer production, food processing andmore » beverage, wastewater treatment, and other environmental applications.« less


Being a member of the Lamiaceae family, Teucrium orientale (named Maryam Nokhodi in Iran) grows in Iran, Turkey, Iraq, Caucasus, Syria, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Central Asia, Europe, and North Africa. Among the pharmacological effects, Teucrium orientale is confirmed to have antidiabetic, antihemorrhoidal, antidysmenorrhea, antioxidant, antipyretic, antibacterial, anticandidal, and pesticide effects. The genus Teucrium comprises many bioactive compounds, including flavonoids, monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes, diterpenoids, phenolic acids, and fatty acid esters. In this work, in order to investigate the phytochemistry of Teucrium orientale, the aerial parts of the plant were extracted by maceration. The column chromatography technique was used to fractionate the acetonic extract. Purified compounds were obtained by smaller chromatography columns and techniques, including preparative thin layer chromatography, precipitation, and recrystallization. Chemical structures of compounds were identified by NMR and FT-IR spectroscopy and also elemental analysis. The compounds were elucidated as sclareol, quercetin, and luteolin. Furthermore, the antioxidant activity of the isolated compounds was evaluated.


In the past decades, the evolution of wireless technologies has brought significant changes in modern communication networks through its wireless extension of wired networks. Wireless communications offer organizations and users many benefits such as portability and flexibility, increased productivity, and lower installation costs. However, risks are inherent in any wireless network. As the technologies of next generation wireless networks are emerging, security has become a primary concern in order to provide dependable and secure communication between the wireless nodes in a hostile environment. The next generation wireless networks face many unique challenges in security such as open network architecture, shared wireless medium, limited resource constraints, and highly dynamic network topology. This special issue in Security and Communication Networks presents current research focusing on the standard or protocol related security, attacks and defense applications, security architecture and frameworks, and theories and methodologies in security in next generation wireless networks. In view of this, we selected eight papers on security in next generation wireless networks to this special issue. The papers are either selected from open submissions or the best paper in 2008 International Workshop on Network and System Security (NSS 2008), held on 18–19 October 2008, in Shanghai, China. All the papers were selected on the basis of their originality, technical quality, and significance. Each paper was under rigorous technical review by at least three international reviewers. The selected papers are summarized below. Routing security contexts via an IP network imposes new challenging requirements of secure crosshandover services and security context management. In the first paper, Kim and Shin present a context router that manages security contexts in an all-IP network, providing seamless and secure handover services for the mobile users that carry multimediaaccess devices. The proposed predictive routing mechanism improves seamless and secure cross-handover services. Trust establishment and management are essential for any security framework of MANETs. In the second paper, Dahshan and Irvine propose a robust self-organized, public key management for MANETs. The proposed scheme relies on establishing a small number of trust relations between neighboring nodes during the network initialization phase. Simulation results show that the proposed scheme is robust and efficient in the mobility environment of MANET and against malicious node attacks. A mobile node in a MANET must be assigned a free IP address before it may participate in unicast communications. This is a fundamental and difficult problem in the practical application of any MANET. In the third paper, Zhou, Mutka, and Ni propose a secure autoconfiguration algorithm, namely secure prophet address allocation, to perform prophet address allocation while considering the requirements of communication overhead, latency, and scalability. It is demonstrated that the proposed approach is able to maintain uniqueness of address assignment in the presence of IP spoofing attacks, 'state pollution' attacks, and Sybil attacks. In the fourth paper, Babu and Venkataram present a security techniques selection scheme for mobile transactions, called the Transactions-Based Security Scheme (TBSS). The TBSS identifies a suitable level


The nontbrmal relationships in companies with Russian and foreign management and ownership and "office romances" as example of these relationships are discussed.


: According to FAO, "Organic agriculture is a unique production management system which promotes and enhances agro-ecosystem health, including biodiversity, biological cycles and soil biological activity, and this is accomplished by using on-farm agronomic, biological and mechanical methods in exclusion of all synthetic off-farm inputs." Organic farming had a modest pick-up but was gradually adopted world over. The practice which excludes the use of chemicals, provides consumers with healthier and safer food. However, the system often does not match conventional agriculture in yield and price of the product; the prices being mostly out of reach of a common consumer. For such reasons, there has been a need to bring innovation in organic farming which is now talked about as sustainable organic agriculture. This involves integrated system of agriculture aiming at maximizing production through optimal use of local resources while improving soil health. Two major problems faced in agriculture are the occurrence of weeds and need to conserve water. Mulch provides a second line of defense against weeds and has become an integral part of sustainable farming and directly relates to the key goals of sustainable agriculture. Mulching with inorganic and especially the organic materials can do more than just enrich the soil, as it promotes soil health and biodiversity, conserves water, reduces the needs of pesticides and fertilizers, and lowers input costs. However, the use of inorganic mulches such as plastic films is now discouraged, as these mulches are not sustainable. The market is now flooded with new biopolymers from renewable sources being sold as eco-sustainable alternatives to petroleum based plastic films. Some of the products such as thermo-extruded Mater-Bi and sprayable water-borne polysaccharide based coatings are new entrants in organic farming.


Objective: To study the methods of dignosis and treatment for low back pain resulting from chronic compartment syndrome. Methods: 65 patients with chronic lumbar pain induced by chronic compartment syndrome, male 31, female 34, their mean ages were 43.7 years, and mean durations of chronic lumbar pain were 19 years. Intramuscular pressure in rest state, during movement, and within 6 min after movement in lumbar erector spinae were measured. Lumbar erector spinae osteo fascia compartment was decompressed using mini invasive surgery and rehabilitive exercises of lumbar erector spinae muscles were used two days after operation. Results: After operation, low back pain was alleviated significantly. Intramuscular pressure in rest state, during movement, and with 6 min after movement was(0.9±0.1), (21.6±1.6), and(0.9±0.1)kPa, respectively [pre operation was(1.4±0.1), (24.9±1.5), and(1.8±0.2)kPa, respectively, P 0.05 or P 0.01]. Results of ultrasonic Doppler on lumbar muscle showed that the maximal blood flow and mean blood flow velocity increased (0.17±0.02) kHz and (0.09±0.01) kHz, respectively after operation( P 0.05). Conclusions: Measurements of intramuscular pressure and decompression of lumbar erector spinae for dignosis and treatment of low back pain by chronic compartment syndrome are useful.


The high rate of urbanization of Latin American countries presents itself as a business opportunity to the Purever Group, which can provide an efficient response to the existing demand for rapid construction, through the development of its modular dwellings. Given the current socio-economic situation, buildings are responsible for one third of global energy consumption and, therefore, subjects as energy efficiency and environmental impacts of buildings have become extremely important and discussed worldwide. The company intends not to overlook this subjects regarding its modular houses. Concerning this context, this study features three different evaluations of the company's product: technical knowledge, investments potential and environmental impacts. In order to achieve this, six cities were considered which represented different climates: three South American capitals and three Portuguese cities. On the first evaluation, technical knowledge, it was determined how the thermal behaviour of the modular building was influenced by different climates and what changes could be made on it in order to become more efficient and achieve a Zero Energy Building classification. On the second analysis, regarding the economics of the company, the modular building was compared to the typical Portuguese and Latin-American buildings. It was taken into account the materials, the method of construction and the thermal behaviour of the different dwellings. A SWOT analysis was also performed to analyse the exporting potential of the modular house to the different cities. Finally, it was determined the possibility of getting an energy certification through the application of the LEED international rating system. It is the most widely recognized instrument of environmental assessment and could enforce a positive impact to the company's product, particularly, at Latin America. After these analysis, it was concluded which markets the company should explore and whose have more possibility to achieve an efficient building. It was concluded that the investment should be directed to the Hispanic market, not only due to the aforementioned opportunities, but also because of the better thermal behaviour of the modular dwelling compared to the typical construction of this region. Moreover, on hot climates, such as Caracas, through minor changes, the building could achieve a ZEB designation. Finally, on the Portuguese market, the modular building has no chance of competing with the current traditional building. In one word, the investment should be directed primarily to Latin American countries, with special attention to hot climates, due to the adaptability of modular buildings on these kind of climates. Desenvolvimento e aplicação do conceito nZEB em construções de habitação modular


Based on the fact that methylene blue(MB) was decolorized by oxidants,the color-fading of MB in its reaction with the fenton reagent proved that the hydroxyl free radical produced in the reaction was an oxidant.Furthermore,it was found that the decrease of color intensity of MB was directly proportional to the concentration of hydroxyl free radical and that the linearity between the decrease of color intensity of MB and the amount of fenton reagent added kept quite well when the mole ratio between H2O2 and MB varied in the range 1 to 20.An indirect method of photometric determination of hydroxyl free radical,by measuring the decrease of color intensity(ΔA) of MB at 660 nm,was proposed.This method was also applied to the determination of hydroxyl free radical produced during the process of ultrasonic treatment.It was found that the amounts of hydroxyl free radical produced were directly proportional with the time of ultrasonic treatement.


Rainbow Ridge, a 1950 m deep upthrusted ultramafic block along the axis of the Mid‐Atlantic Ridge, has an active hydrothermal vent system at 2400 m on its western slope. However, within 1 km from the vent excessive temperatures are barely measurable, probably due to strong turbulent mixing. This mixing is studied here using a 400 m long high‐resolution temperature sensor array moored with a 600 m ranging 75 kHz acoustic Doppler current profiler. Rich internal wave turbulence was recorded, characterized by 100–200 m upshoots and >200 m large overturning in particular near the end of the warming phase of the up and down moving tide. These highly nonlinear internal waves of tides interacting with buoyancy frequency waves extend up to 400 m above the sloping bottom of the ridge. While a turbulent "bottom boundary layer" could barely be defined, the more intense turbulence higher up in the water column is suggested to lead to the strong dispersion of the hydrothermal plume.