Play is essential for children's learning. Children have the right to play in order to explore new things, build relationships and develop meaningful environment especially in early mathematical learning. However, children nowadays receive less support for play because most preschool teachers focus on completing academic syllabus. Preschool teachers are well informed about the importance of play in children's learning but most of them lack knowledge on how to conduct teaching and learning through play. Therefore, a Learning Through Play (LTP) Module was developed along with a series of teaching and learning activities in order to guide preschool teachers to enhance children's understanding in number concept. The LTP module was developed using module development steps by Mayer. This module was based on the combination of Piaget's and Vygotsky's Cognitive Development Theories. Based on these theories, the play activities provided in this LTP module were implemented cooperatively. This module was tested using quasi-experimental design at four Annex preschools (2 experimental groups, 2 control groups) for ten weeks. The research samples consisted of 4 preschool teachers and 96 children. The research findings showed that children from both groups were found to be homogeneous in the pre-test. Outcome from the post test revealed that there was significant difference in the children's level of understanding in number concept in the experimental group but not in the control group. Results showed that the LTP module is suitable for fun learning experience that promotes children's understanding of number concept thus enables children to learn better.


The immunocytochemical localization of insulin‐like growth factor I (IGF‐I) and platelet‐derived growth factor A (PDGF‐A) chain ligands, PDGF‐chain receptors, and the intermediate filaments cytokeratin, desmin, and vimentin in the tissue reorganization and development during the establishment of the porcine epitheliochorial placenta was studied at light and electron microscopic levels in sections of endometrium and/or placenta of gilts during early pregnancy up to day 40 postmating. The endometrial epithelia (surface and glandular) as well as the trophoblast showed PDGF‐A and IGF‐I labelling. The only temporal difference was seen regarding IGF‐I labelling, this being more uniform in the glands during precontact and early contact stages (days 7‐12) compared to later stages. Cytokeratin labelling was conspicuous in all epithelia, including the trophoblast. The endometrial stroma showed strong labelling for the PDGF receptors and the intermediate filament vimentin, staining being enhanced along with the increase in the vascular bed during the establishment of the placenta. The maternal endothelium immunoreacted to IGF‐I, to both PDGF‐A and PDGF receptors, to vimentin and to von Willebrand factor (Factor VIII). Desmin was also expressed in the capillary bed underneath the maternal surface epithelium. In larger blood vessels, desmin was detected in the smooth muscle layer but not in the endothelium. The vascular smooth muscle also reacted with IGF‐I, PDGF‐A, and PDGF‐receptor antibodies. The results suggest the involvement of both growth factors, IGF‐I and PDGF, in the early nutrition of the pig embryo and the tissue reorganization that encompasses placentation. IGF‐I appears to be related to the secretory tissue compartment (formation of histotrophe), whereas PDGF might play a role in the reorganization of the stroma, particularly during placental angiogenesis. Desmin and von Willebrand factor immunolabelling appears to be useful to monitor the development of the subepithelial capillary bed in the porcine placenta. Microsc. Res. Tech. 38:165‐175, 1997. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Reconstruction of continental palaeoclimate and palaeohydrology is currently hampered by limited information about isotopic patterns in the modern hydrologic cycle. To remedy this situation and to provide baseline data for other isotope hydrology studies, more than 4800, depth‐ and width‐integrated, stream samples from 391 selected sites within the USGS National Stream Quality Accounting Network (NASQAN) and Hydrologic Benchmark Network (HBN) were analysed for δ18O and δ2H (http://water.usgs.gov/pubs/ofr/ofr00‐160/pdf/ofr00‐160.pdf). Each site was sampled bimonthly or quarterly for 2·5 to 3 years between 1984 and 1987. The ability of this dataset to serve as a proxy for the isotopic composition of modern precipitation in the USA is supported by the excellent agreement between the river dataset and the isotopic compositions of adjacent precipitation monitoring sites, the strong spatial coherence of the distributions of δ18O and δ2H, the good correlations of the isotopic compositions with climatic parameters, and the good agreement between the 'national' meteoric water line (MWL) generated from unweighted analyses of samples from the 48 contiguous states of δ2H=8·11δ18O+8·99 (r2=0·98) and the unweighted global MWL of sites from the Global Network for Isotopes in Precipitation (GNIP) of the International Atomic Energy Agency and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) of δ2H=8·17δ18O+10·35.


Material and Methods: According to the study protocol, individuals included in the study were divided into 2 groups; non-smoking healthy individuals (group 1) and smoking helthy individuals (group 2). Probing depth (PD) measurements were performed for all implants and teeth of the study subjects. Subgingival microbiological samples were taken from the implants and teeth for the evaluation of the content of subgingival microflora. The samples obtained were analyzed by PCR (polymerase chain reaction) method. For comparing clinical and laboratory findings, Oneway Anova test was used for quantitative data whereas Chi-square test, Fisher's Exact Chi-square test, Continuity (Yates) correction and Fisher Freeman Halton test were used for qualitative data.


Sclerotinia blight caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum is an important disease of brinjal (Solanum melongena L.) in eastern U.P. Efficacy of fungicides, plant extracts and biopesticide were tested in vitro and in vivo. Bavistin (0.1%), Vitavax (0.1%), and Topsin-M (0.15%) proved to be the most effective in inhibiting the growth of pathogen in vitro and controlling the diseases in the field. Biopesticide, Nimbidine was also proved effective, but slightly less effective than systemic fungicide except Chlorothalonil. Nimbidine being a safe eco-friendly and economical bioproduct which can be used in the management of the disease. Evaluation of different fungicides and biopesticides against Sclerotinia blight of brinjal (Solanum melongena L.) RAMESH SINGH, P.C. SINGH, NARENDRA SINGH AND ALKA See end of the article for authors' affiliations


&NA; This study reports the results on psychomotor functioning of D‐ and L‐fenfluramine alone, and in combination with D‐amphetamine, in a placebo‐controlled trial on 12 normal male volunteers, in order to investigate their CNS activity in humans. The major findings were that D‐amphetamine increased alertness, L‐fenfluramine increased unhappiness whilst D‐fenfluramine decreased hunger and increased the critical flicker fusion threshold. D‐Amphetamine in combination with D‐fenfluramine increased the critical flicker fusion threshold and in combination with L‐fenfluramine the alerting action was diminished. The differing actions of the fenfluramine isomers and their interactions with D‐amphetamine suggest that D‐fenfluramine is predominantly serotonergic in its activity, whereas L‐fenfluramine may be causing dopamine blockade, reducing certain actions of amphetamine possibly mediated by dopamine receptors. The significance of these results in relationship to the psychopharmacology of serotonin, dopamine, and noradrenaline is discussed.


Respiratory and systemic diseases are the most common and costly diseases in nursery and finishing pigs. On one hand, there is a multitude of microorganisms that have the ability to cause or exacerbate respiratory/systemic diseases in swine and, on the other hand, adoption of intensive swine production methods may have contributed to the development of respiratory/systemic disease complexes. One of these systemic complexes is postweaning multisystemic wasting syndrome (PMWS), a multifactorial disease in which the involvement of porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) is strictly needed but not sufficient (Segales et al., 2005).


The article focuses on integration and disintegration processes in CIS; the author argues that economic relations of the countries that belonged to the Soviet Union in the past get more and more oriented to the European Union as well as the borderline trade with the so-called "far abroad" countries. The reason for this is that CIs exports raw materials and imports goods with high added value. The identical structure of export-imports turnover proves the CIS countries play the role of competitors, not allies, on the international market


Nanoparticles comprising an outer surface including an interior region, and pure metals including mixed metal oxides. In some embodiments, the mixed metal oxide comprises aluminum oxide and metal pinning agent. In some embodiments, a pure metal of the outer surface is the same as the metal pinning agent mixed metal oxide in the inner region. In some embodiments, the catalyst nanoparticles are attached to the pure metal of the outer surface. In some embodiments, the internal region and the outer surface is formed by using the plasma gun. In some embodiments, the internal region and the outer surface is formed by using a wet chemical process. In some embodiments, the catalyst nanoparticles are attached to the pure metal using a plasma gun. In some embodiments, the catalyst nanoparticles are attached to the pure metal using a wet chemical process.


mild bronchial spasm could be effectively prevented by Phenergan or Anthisan given beforehand. An example is given in fig. 1. If a severe attack was induced, no protection was achieved. This is in accordance with clinical experience. The antihistamines have no influence in violent asthmatic attacks, but they are often able to protect the patient from recurrent nocturnal attacks in the mild chronic asthmatic state. The individually effective antihistaminic substance and its dosage must be found in each case by trial and error. When it has been found, night doses of antihistamines can be combined with day doses of ephedrine, whilst superimposed acute attacks can be checked by aleudrin. This combination has been used successfully in a number of patients who have been rendered fit for regular employment.


Consumer Price Index (CPI) is an important indicator used to determine inflation. The main objective of this research was to compare the forecasting ability of two time-series models using Zambia Monthly Consumer Price Index. We used monthly CPI data which were collected from January 2003 to December 2017. The models that were compared are the Autoregressive Integrated Moving average (ARIMA) model and Multicointegration (ECM) model. Results show that the ECM was the best fit model of CPI in Zambia since it showed smallest errors measures. Lastly, a forecast was done using the ECM and results show an average growth rate for food CPI at 6.63% and an average growth rate for nonfood CPI at 7.41%. Forecasting CPI is an important factor for any economy because it is essential in economic planning for the future. Hence, identifying a more accurate forecasting model is a major contribution to the development of Zambia.


The core question of this paper is "How, to this point, has the pandemic affected torture and ill-treatment?". By "affected" we mean: modality, victim and perpetrator type, and prevalence. We begin with a brief outline of how and why certain behaviors and practices seen during the pandemic qualify as torture and/or ill-treatment. One can think of the framework of legal norms relating to torture as one type of antecedent to the critical juncture that is the pandemic. We then use an original six-path framework to explore torture-related occurrences around the world during the pandemic and, at the end of each section, derive testable hypotheses. Once enough time has passed for observational data to become available, these hypotheses can help serve as a guide for scholars systematically studying the torture-related dynamics of the pandemic. In our conclusion, we offer some thoughts on the anticipated legacy of the crisis: what pandemic-era dynamics might or might not be expected to persist once COVID-19 is brought under control.


This column presents statistical principles useful to practitioners in compliance and validation. We hope it will become a useful resource. Barriers to the understanding and use of statistical principles include the complex mathematics, abstract ideas, relationship to real applications, required assumptions, unfamiliar terminology, and Greek symbols. This column presents statistical principles with these barriers in mind. It is our challenge to explain statistical concepts in a meaningful way so that our readers understand these important topics and are able to apply statistical concepts to work situations. The first issue of "Statistical Viewpoint" (1) presented basic probability distribution concepts and Microsoft Excel tools useful in statistical calculations. The second (2) reinforced these concepts and tools through eight scientific decision-making examples. In this issue, the scientific knowledge-building process will be illustrated from a statistical estimation point of view. Reader comments, questions, and suggestions are needed to help us fulfill our objective for this column. Suggestions for future discussion topics or questions to be addressed are requested. Discussion topics and case studies demonstrating applications of statistics to problems in validation and compliance submitted by readers are also most welcome. We need your help to make "Statistical Viewpoint" a useful resource. Please email your comments and suggestions to the coordinating editor at email@example.com.


There is a strong interest in expert systems to assist in complex defect identification procedures. To increase accuracy, attempts are made to enhance traditional human inspection by automated visual systems, which employ cameras and image processing routines. It is important that the software core of such a system is based on a robust, fast texture segmentation technique. Many texture segmentation techniques have been pre sented in the literature. Unfortunately, despite the fact that they achieve good results, they are computationally complex and therefore not suitable for real-time applications, since as the complexity of an algorithm grows, it becomes more and more difficult to execute the image examination in real time. This paper presents a detailed description of a fast algorithm for defect detection in textile surfaces and an evaluation of the experimental results for 137 digitized images of representative defects in woven fabrics collected from a larger sample provided by textile companies.


Legal education is divided into three broad stages: a first academic phase, a second professional training phase, and a third post-admission phase of continuing legal education. English has become an important tool for teaching law in a globalized world and as a common root language for students across borders. There is a trend toward a globalized curriculum. This report sets a framework for comparison of disparate legal education regimes and details the results in two exhaustive charts. It also takes a very close look at the pedagogy of practice and details on a regional basis each country's approach to experiential or clinical training of law students.


The present paper is based on the objective to measure the joint effect of demographic variables on the extent of use of ICT among small and medium enterprises: Evidence from the selected industrial town of Haryana, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. Small and medium Enterprises in India are known as the backbone of the economy rather SMEs play a central role in the overall growth of the industrial economy of the country. The reason behind is that these enterprises are employing about 40% of India's workforce and contributing 45% to India's manufacturing output, they play a significant role in generating millions of jobs, especially at the low-skill level. The current scenario clearly states that the growth of our economy is impossible without the growth and development of these enterprises, but these enterprises are far behind the larger counterparts in the economy.


This thesis examined medical leadership from several perspectives using a theory-driven, mixed methods and multi-disciplinary approach. We showed that medical leadership is a loosely defined concept that is susceptible to many different interpretations. It is considered a panacea for various problems in health care and is currently implemented throughout the health care system, competency based medical education in particular. There are several institutional, educational, occupational and organizational forces at play which may constrain medical leadership development that are currently partly overlooked. The second part of this thesis focused on 'speaking up'. To increase the quality of care for patients, it is important that medical residents are able to speak up and share their valuable frontline experiences. However, the results showed that residents do not automatically speak up or proactively engage in the organization of health care. They could feel that speaking up is risky and believe that it will not make a difference. This thesis shows that it is important to realize that a hesitance to speak up is not merely a flaw of individual health care workers who are not able to behave proactively, but an outcome of several social, regulatory and educational processes that cause employees to feel that speaking up is not always welcomed and fostered. It is therefore important to proactively engage residents in proactive behavior while remaining aware of the pitfalls of medical leadership development as described in this thesis.


The invention belongs to the technical field of daily life articles and provides a hard negative pressure sucker. The main body of the sucker is made of hard material. The center of the main body of the sucker is provided with a vacuumizing mechanism. The cavity of the main body of the hard sucker is vacuumized through the vacuumizing mechanism. The atmospheric pressure acts on the surface of the hard sucker and then the pressure is transmitted to a highly elastic soft rubber ring or a highly elastic C-shaped soft rubber ring on an annular groove at the peripheral edge thereof. The highly elastic soft rubber ring or the highly elastic C-shaped soft rubber ring is extruded into a gap on the surface of a sucked object so as to fill the gap on the surface of the sucked object and produce the effect of closed circumference. Therefore, the hard sucker can cling to the surface of the sucked object and is not easy to slide down. The supporting power is also increased. The invention mainly solves the problem of automatic slide of the sucker caused by air entrance due to rugged, unpolished or unprocessed, apertured surfaces of ground glasses, timber or ceramic tiles. The invention has advantages of strong adsorptive power and wide scope of application.


Pulsar-timing analyses are sensitive to errors in the Solar-system ephemerides (SSEs) that timing models utilize to estimate the location of the Solar-system barycentre, the quasi-inertial reference frame to which all recorded pulse times-of-arrival are referred. Any error in the SSE will affect all pulsars, therefore pulsar timing arrays (PTAs) are a suitable tool to search for such errors and impose independent constraints on relevant physical parameters. We employ the first data release of the International Pulsar Timing Array to constrain the masses of the planet–moons systems and to search for possible unmodelled objects (UMOs) in the Solar system. We employ 10 SSEs from two independent research groups, derive and compare mass constraints of planetary systems, and derive the first PTA mass constraints on asteroid-belt objects. Constraints on planetary-system masses have been improved by factors of up to 20 from the previous relevant study using the same assumptions, with the mass of the Jovian system measured at 9.5479189(3) × 10^(−4) M⊙. The mass of the dwarf planet Ceres is measured at 4.7(4) × 10^(−10) M⊙. We also present the first sensitivity curves using real data that place generic limits on the masses of UMOs, which can also be used as upper limits on the mass of putative exotic objects. For example, upper limits on dark-matter clumps are comparable to published limits using independent methods. While the constraints on planetary masses derived with all employed SSEs are consistent, we note and discuss differences in the associated timing residuals and UMO sensitivity curves.


In Eastern Siberia, there are large, developed urban agglomerations (cities and suburban settlements), which have developed almost traditional forms of relationship, both at the level of legal, economic space, and at the level of everyday, ordinary, common perception of the "relationship" of the two cities, suburbs. In the North-East of Russia, where there are special climatic and natural conditions, we assume the existence of certain forms of urban agglomerations – seasonal. This article is an attempt to identify the hypothesis of the existence of a "seasonal urban agglomeration" in the Republic of Sakha(Yakutia). The author relies on the features of the" interaction " of the capital Yakutsk and suburban Nizhny Bestyakh.


In this paper we discuss the optimal design of logical topology with QoS constraints in IP over WDM network. We first propose the procedures of optimizing the logical topology that guarantees the end-to-end QoS requirements, and then formulate it as a nonlinear programming problem. Some numerical results indicate the optimal design of logical topology with QoS constraints can utilize the network resources efficiently.


We establish by exact, nonperturbative methods a universality for the correlation functions in Kraichnan's ``rapid-change'' model of a passively advected scalar field. We show that the solutions for separated points in the convective range of scales are unique and independent of the particular mechanism of the scalar dissipation. Any nonuniversal dependences therefore must arise from the large length-scale features. The main step in the proof is to show that solutions of the model equations are unique when square integrable, even in the idealized case of zero diffusivity.


Background: Dispatching centres were fused into one of the 112 entity, which caused concerns regarding whether the medical calls could be processed effectively also in the new centre. We evaluated the effects of the reform on key performance criteria in medical calls.


Given the increasing pressures on the private sector to be competitive in the world marketplace, governments and industry have come to understand the importance of encouraging research which directly addresses industrial problems. To this end, new organisations have appeared which directly address technology development and technology transfer. Le Centre de recherche informatique de Montreal (CRIM) is one such organisation, created in 1985 to respond to the needs expressed by corporations, universities, and the and the Quebec government to pool resources and together perform R&D activities in certain key areas of information technologies. The authors attempt to present not just CRIM but also its context, by describing some of the complementary organisations in Canada and in Quebec.<<ETX>>


RECENTI-Y {British Journal of Dermatology and Syphilis, xlvi, Jtino, 1934, p. 267) one of us described a remarkable case of multiple primary skin cancer in a young man, W. A—, with spontaneous healing of many of the lesions, and no sign of metastasis in a period of seveti and a half years. In sections one found in the early stages a highly malignantlooking picture, and as the lesion grew older, differentiation of the cells became greater, the epithelial pearls became more completely cornifted, and ultimately healing took place, with replacement of the coriimi by scar-tissue, in which here and there degenerate remnants of epithelial pearls might be detected. The normal pattern of the corium was lost, and the elastic tissue largely destroyed. The case was put forward as probably unique, but a more recent case has compelled a reconsideration of this opinion.


The rapid adoption of electric vehicles in the near future will require significant efforts in the field of battery technology. An integral part of this is to provide a reliable diagnosis for a variety of information required. Impedance spectroscopy is one suitable and efficient method to obtain the required information. It provides information on the condition of the battery that can be used in the energy management of the vehicle as well as for a state monitor during the whole life cycle of the battery. Determination of state of charge or battery capacity can be supported by impedance spectroscopy. The driving range of the vehicle depending on load conditions can be determined by time domain simulations. The use of the battery can be controlled while simultaneously minimizing aging. Various models for batteries can be used, for example, on the basis of ordinary, nonlinear differential equations, digital filters or equivalent circuits together with the corresponding methods for system identification in the time or frequency domain. Fast measurement methods of impedance spectra and stochastic methods for nonlinear parameter optimization are supporting an efficient and reliable information retrieval. Thereby a significant advantage over the prior art in terms of shorter measuring and computing time and higher reliability of the algorithms can be achieved.


Calculations on the experimental zero power reactor Zenith have been carried out for two plutonium cores of widely different fissile/moderator atom ratio. The fuel contained only 2.49% of the Pu-240 isotope, though even at this rather low concentration, the reactivity held in the Pu-240 was about 5% in the harder spectrum core. The calculations cover the effective multiplication factor for the two cores and in case of the harder spectrum core also fission rate distributions and core and reflector temperature coefficients. Satisfactory agreement with experiment has been obtained for the effective multiplication factors and the fission rates distributions. The core temperature coefficients are not directly comparable with experments, because DOPPLER broadenings of resonances and thermal expansion of the reactor core were neglected in the calculations. The reflector temperature coefficients are 20-35% lower than experimental figures. (auth)


Based on previously published work and data from elite interviews, this thesis identifies four challenges for settings-based health promotion - clarifying theory; building bridges; reconfiguring for the 21st century; and promoting a culture of evaluation, learning and development. It concludes by mapping future directions for health settings research, policy and practice.


ObjectiveTo assess the correlation between expectations of recovery and whiplash patients' perceptions of injury severity using a simplified instrument. Expectations of recovery have been shown to predict rate of recovery from whiplash injury in population-based studies. The perception of having more severe pathology or more ominous diagnostic labels has also been associated with a worse prognosis.MethodsConsecutive patients with whiplash-associated disorder grade 1 or 2, presenting in the acute stage to a primary care centre, were asked "do you think that your injury will…" with response options "get better soon; get better slowly; never get better; don't know." Injury severity perception (ISP) was measured with a numerical rating scale which ranged from 0–10, on which subjects were asked to rate how severe (in terms of damage) they thought their injury was. The anchors were labeled "no damage" (0) and "severe, and maybe permanent damage" (10). The primary outcome measure was the correlation between the subject's ISP score and expectation of recovery.ResultsA total of 94 subjects (34 males, 60 females, and mean age (40.6±10.0) years, range 19–60 years) were included. The initial responses to expectation of recovery were: get better soon (29/94); get better slowly (22/94); never get better (11/94); don't know (32/94). The mean ISP score was 4.9±1.7 (range 2–9 out of 10). There was a high correlation between expectations and ISP scores (Spearman's rank correlation coefficient 0.68). Those who expected to recover soon and those who expected to get better slowly had the lowest ISP scores.ConclusionsThe more slowly whiplash patients expect to recover, or the less sure they are of recovery, the more severe their initial perceptions of injury.


To introduce the sources and hazards of volatile organic compounds in industrial waste gas,emphasize the prin-ciples and research progress of the treatment technologies for volatile organic compounds,and discuss their development prospects and research direction.


Workload test aims to the experienced users, with the purpose to investigate that under the Real-Task situations, how many spare resources are in the brain. The emergent maintenance shelter is not up to the grade if that is just enough to complete the main task. The Field-Test methods presented in the paper include virtual Real-Scene Sub-Task test, NASA-TLX scale and subjective workload rating, which are all proved to have good reliability and validity by experiments in the field test.


A rainbow colouring of a connected graph G is a colouring of the edges of G such that every pair of vertices in G is connected by at least one path in which no two edges are coloured the same. The minimum number of colours required to rainbow colour G is called its rainbow connection number. Chakraborty, Fischer, Matsliah and Yuster have shown that it is NP-hard to compute the rainbow connection number of graphs [J. Comb. Optim., 2011]. Basavaraju, Chandran, Rajendraprasad and Ramaswamy have reported an (r+3)-factor approximation algorithm to rainbow colour any graph of radius r [Graphs and Combinatorics, 2012]. In this article, we use a result of Guruswami, Hastad and Sudan on the NP-hardness of colouring a 2-colourable 4-uniform hypergraph using constantly many
colours [SIAM J. Comput., 2002] to show that for every positive integer k, it is NP-hard to distinguish between graphs with rainbow connection number 2k+2 and 4k+2. This, in turn, implies that there cannot exist a polynomial time algorithm to rainbow colour graphs with less than twice the optimum number of colours, unless P=NP.

The authors have earlier shown that the rainbow connection number problem remains NP-hard even when restricted to the class of chordal graphs, though in this case a 4-factor approximation algorithm is available [COCOON, 2012]. In this article, we improve upon the 4-factor approximation algorithm to design a linear-time algorithm that can rainbow colour a chordal graph G using at most 3/2 times the minimum number of colours if G is bridgeless and at most 5/2 times the minimum number of colours otherwise. Finally we show that the rainbow connection number of bridgeless chordal graphs cannot be polynomial-time approximated to a factor less than 5/4, unless P=NP.


OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the relationship between body mass index and reproductive hormones (FSH and LH) in infertile females. STUDY DESIGN: Analytical Case Control study. METHODOLOGY: One Hundred and fifty (150) normal, overweight and obese infertile females aged 20 to 39 years, who had ovarian and tubal blockage and causes of infertility, were included in the study. They were sub-divided into three groups in accordance with World Health Organization (WHO) classification for Body Mass Index (BMI). Each group comprised of fifty (50) subjects. After detailed history and general physical examination, samples of blood were drawn on day three (3) of the menstrual cycle in the subjects for the assay of serum reproductive hormone levels. RESULTS: Effect of increased BMI on serum hormone levels in normal, overweight and obese groups are observed in table below. Serum FSH was highly statistically significant (p=0.001**).Serum LH was statistically significant (p=0.048*). Analysis of Variance test revealed that serum FSH and LH levels were significantly associated with BMI in all the three groups. CONCLUSION: Increased BMI leads to significant negative association with reproductive hormones (FSH and LH) in infertile women.


Environmental information systems have gained more importance both in the public administration and industry since the beginning of 1990. For example, in the public administration every state in the Federal Republic of Germany has developed a type of environmental information system. National and European legislation demanding far reaching transparency in the state of the environment encouraged this development. In industry on the other hand, environmental information systems are used for costand product-specific recording of waste flows. These are used to point out weak points within the companies' processes.


A new deep-water Hawaiian hermit crab, Trizopagurus hawaiiensis n. sp., is described and illustrated. Observations on its behavior, feeding habits, and growth rates have been obtained from a specimen kept in the laboratory for more than a year. 17-2 Trizopagurus hawaiiensis new species Figures 1-3 cited, without description, a second new species, Trizopagurus krempji, which he described subsequently in a more complete review of the genus (Forest 1952b). An eighth species, Trizopagurus shebae Lewinsohn, recently has been described from the Red Sea (Lewinsohn 1969). Heretofore, in the Hawaiian fauna, Trizopagurus has been known only from T. strigatus (ef. Edmondson 1925, 1946, 1952, as Aniculus strigatus). From the collections of the Bernice P. Bishop Museum and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) research vessel Townsend Cromwell (TC), a second, and new, species has been discovered. A living specimen, collected during one of the NMFS cruises, was given to one of the authors (JHB) who was able to maintain it in the laboratory for 21 months, during which time observations on feeding habits and molting frequencies were made. The holotype and female paratype have been deposited in the collections of the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution (USNM). Additional paratypes have been deposited in the collections of the Bernice P. Bishop Museum (BPBM), Honolulu, Hawaii, and the Allan Hancock Foundation (AHF), University of Southern California.


Objective To gain insight into the epidemic characteristics of hand-foot-mouth disease clustered cases in Beijing,so as to discuss the epidemiological rules of HFMD.Methods Analysis was made on the data of HFMD clustered cases in Beijing in 2009,and descriptive epidemiology was used to analyze the data.Results All of the outbreaks occurred in kindergartens.There were more clustered cases in the areas where the economic developed more quickly.Clustered cases could be ended earlier when the prevention and control measures were taken sooner,but the outbreaks were not like that.The pathogenic distribution of ordinary clustered cases and the outbreaks was coincident.Conclusions The prevention and control measures of HFMD should be different for registered and unregistered kindergartens.The number of infants per class should be limited to prevent outbreaks in registered kindergartens.CDC should intervene each clustered cases to prevent continuous diseases.


INTRODUCTION This study assessed impact of nighttime (NT) and early morning (EM) symptoms on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and work productivity of employed COPD patients. METHODS Employed patients ≥40 years with ≥1 ICD-9-CM COPD diagnosis code medical claim or ≥1 COPD maintenance medication pharmacy claim were identified from the HealthCore Integrated Research Database. Respondents completed a survey assessing HRQoL (Short Form-12 version 2 [SF-12v2], COPD Assessment Test [CAT]) and productivity (Work Productivity and Activity Impairment [WPAI] questionnaire); indirect costs were calculated by monetizing WPAI items. Respondents were classified based on NT and/or EM symptom experience in the past week and enrollment was stratified based on NT/EM symptoms. Groups were compared via ANOVA and chi-square. RESULTS Respondents (N=437) reported having both (39.6%), either (33.4%), or neither NT/EM symptoms (27.0%). Compared to respondents without NT/EM symptoms, those with both/either reported worse HRQoL (lower PCS, MCS scores, higher CAT scores; p CONCLUSIONS COPD patients with NT and/or EM symptoms had lower HRQoL, while those with both reported greater work productivity loss and greater activity impairment vs patients with no symptoms. Improved disease management may lower the economic impact on patients, employers, and the healthcare system.


We consider the problem of real analytic parameter dependence of solutions of the linear partial differential equation P (D)u = f , i.e., the question if for every family (fλ) ⊆ E{ω}(Ω) of ultradifferentiable functions of Roumieu type (in particular, of real analytic functions or of functions from Gevrey classes) depending in a real analytic way on λ ∈ U , U a real analytic manifold, there is a family of solutions (uλ) ⊆ E{ω}(Ω) also depending analytically on λ such that P (D)uλ = fλ for every λ ∈ U, where Ω ⊆ R an open set. We solve the problem for many types of differential operators following a similar method as in the earlier paper of the same author for operators acting on spaces of distributions. We show for an operator P (D) on the space of real analytic functions A (Ω), Ω ⊆ R open convex, that it has real analytic parameter dependence if and only if its principal part Pp(D) has a continuous linear right inverse on the space C∞(Ω) (or, equivalently, on D ′(Ω)). In particular, the property does not depend on the set of parameters U . Surprisingly, in all solved non-quasianalytic cases, it follows that the solution is positive if and only if P (D) has a linear continuous right inverse.


We present an alternative way to compute and interpret quantum tunneling in a one-dimensional double-well potential. For large transition time we show that the quantum action functional gives an analytical expression for tunneling amplitudes. This has been confirmed by numerical simulations giving relative errors in the order of 10{sup -5}. In contrast to the classical potential, the quantum potential has a triple well if the classical wells are deep enough. Its minima are located at the positions of extrema of the ground state wave function. The striking feature is that a single trajectory with a double instanton reproduces the tunneling amplitude. This is in contrast to the standard instanton approach, where infinitely many instantons and anti-instantons have to be taken into account. The quantum action functional is valid in the deep quantum regime in contrast to the semiclassical regime where the standard instanton approach holds. We compare both approaches via numerical simulations. While the standard instanton picture describes only the transition between potential minima of equal depth, the quantum action may give rise to instantons also for asymmetric potential minima. Such a case is illustrated by an example.


The present invention provides a degradable polymer composition comprising: (a) a polyolefin; (B) two or more compounds of transition metals in a total amount of 0.15 to 0.6% by weight, (c) a carboxylic acid C14-C24 mono- or polyunsaturated, or an ester, anhydride or amide thereof, in an amount of 0.04 to 0.08% by weight; (D) a synthetic rubber in an amount of 0.04 to 0.2% by weight; and optionally: (e) dry starch in an amount of 0 to 20% by weight; and / or (f) calcium oxide in an amount of 0 to 1% by weight; and / or (g) a phenolic antioxidant stabilizer in an amount of 0 to 0.2% by weight; in which two or more transition metal compounds are selected from compounds of iron, manganese, copper, cobalt and cerium, and wherein the transition metals in two or more compounds of transition metals are different.


Edible oils of plant origins are fundamental components of human diet, and are essential for various industrial applications, such as in food, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical industries. Of increasing interest is the utilization of edible oils obtained from plant parts such as peels, seeds, rinds, leaves, flowers, and fruits, which are usually regarded as wastes. This study investigated the usability of edible oil extracted from avocado pear seed by assaying its bioactive constituents and mineral composition. The bioactive compounds in the oil were determined by Gas Chromatography Mass Spectroscopy (GC-MS), while the mineral content was assayed using Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (AAS). Results of the GC-MS analysis showed the presence of twenty nine compounds, with 18-Nonadecen-1-ol (13.20%) being the most predominant, and 3,7,7-Trimethyl-1,3,5-cycloheptatriene (0.24%) the least. Compounds such as 10-Undecyn-1-ol, 7-Hexadecenoic acid methyl ester, 14-methyl Pentadecanoic acid methyl ester, and Linolelaidic acid, methyl ester, identified in the avocado seed oil, have previously been reported to possess various biological activities, including antifungal, antioxidant, antimicrobial, hypocholesterolemic, antiandrogenic, hemolytic, anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory activities. Results of the mineral analysis showed that potassium (13.09 ± 0.22 mg/100 g) was the major element, while copper (0.06 ± 0.11 mg/ 100 g) was the least; cadmium and lead were not detected in the oil. The presence of pharmacologically important phytochemicals and essential minerals in avocado seed oil suggests its potential as a nutraceutical substance, with applications in food and drug preparations.


REFERENCES AND WEB LINKS. [1] IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) 2001, Ramaswamy,V., Boucher,O., Haigh,J. , Hauglustaine,D., Haywood,J., Myhre,G., Nakajima, T., Shi, G. Y. and Solomon,S., Chapter 6, "Radiative Forcing of Climate Change", In: Climate Change 2001, The Scientific Basis, Contribution of Working Group I to the Third Assessment Report of the International Panel on Climate Change, J.T. Houghton et al. (Eds.), pp. 349-416, Cambridge University Press, 2001. [2] Mishchenko M.I., Geogdzhayev I.V., Cairns B., Rossow W.B. and Lancis A.A, "Aerosol retrievals over the ocean by use of channels 1 and 2 AVHRR data: sensitivity analysis and preliminary results", Applied Optics, Vol 38, No. 36, pp 7325-7341, 1999. [3] Torres, O., P.K. Bhartia ,J.R. Herman, A. Sinyuk and B. Holben, "A long term record of aerosol optical thickness from TOMS observations and comparison to AERONET measurements", Journal of Atmospheric Science, Vol. 59, pp. 398-413, 2002. [4] Kaufman Y. J., Tanre' D., Remer L. A., Vermote e. f., Chu a., Holben B. N., "Operational remote sensing of tropospheric aerosol over land from EOS-Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer", Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 102, pp. 17051-17067, 1997. [5] Diner, D.J., Beckert, J.C., Bothwell, G.W. and Rodriguez, J.I.: "Performance of the MISR Instrument During Its First 20 Months in Earth Orbit." IEEE Transaction Geoscience and Remote Sensing. Vol. 40 (7), pp. 14491466, July, 2002. ABSTRACT:


Abstract Land degradation is presently an important environmental issue in many regions of the Globe, including Central South-Eastern Europe, where Romania is located. This study aims to quantify areas with significant sensitivity to degradation at national level, based on data provided by the European Environment Agency, obtained relatively recently through the DISMED project (Desertification Information System for the Mediterranean) in the Mediterranean and Central South-Eastern regions of Europe. The analysis is based on extracting SDI index (Desertification Sensitivity Index) information for the country's entire territory, as well as for certain major regional, natural (landforms) and anthropogenic (counties) units. Thus, the areas corresponding to the most representative classes for land degradation potential in Romania were extracted, i.e. the ones with moderate and high sensitivity. The study also attempts to differentiate the degradation / desertification processes spatially, by delimiting drylands, for which the land degradation process is considered to be equivalent to desertification. The results showed that, at national level, there are ~ 72 000 km2 of lands with moderate and high degradation potential (30% of the country's total surface), of which 80% (~ 57 000 km2) can be classified as sensitive to desertification. It was noticed that most degradation-prone areas are concentrated in the Romanian Plain (~ 30000 km2 moderate sensitivity) and the Dobrogea Plateau (~ 4150 km2 high sensitivity), in terms of the natural criterion, and in Braila (~ 4200 km2 moderate sensitivity) and Constanta (~ 3200 km2 high sensitivity) counties, in terms of the anthropogenic one. It was also found that land degradation in these areas corresponds to desertification, considering the existence of dry sub-humid and semi-arid climates, which are components of dryland systems.


twist we get -, another twist -6, etc. Some of our cones, then, fall into the phyllotaxis of opposite leaves the same as though the stem were more or less twisted. The single cone of the European larch which indicated the fraction 1(a fraction requiring a division of numerator and denominator by three to reduce it to its lowest terms) falls under decussate whorls of three for its simplest fraction. I leave any further consideration of this matter showing the relations of the fractions to each other, etc., to those who have a greater skill in mathematics than myself. My examples indicate thatwe may look for some curious series of fractions by diligently examining the phyllotaxis of a great number of plants of many different species. It would be interesting to know whether there are any cones which fall into series beginning with decussate whorls of four or more scales.


Correlation and path analysis were carried out in ten different okra hybrids for fruit yield and its component traits. The correlation analysis indicated that fruit yield was significantly associated with fruit length, fruit girth, fruit weight, number of fruits per plant, plant height and duration at both genotypic and phenotypic level, indicating mutual association of these traits. Path coefficient analysis revealed that number of fruits per plant had maximum direct contribution (0.698) towards total yield followed by fruit weight (0.467), fruit girth (0.075) duration (0.042) and plant height (0.014). However, days to first flowering and fruit length exhibited negative direct effect. Hence, selection should be practiced for these characters in order to isolate superior plant types for improvement of fruit yield.


This paper deals with the application of deposition analysis to an unusual type of features in the Late Bronze Age settlements in Central Europe. These are long narrow trenches (referred to as 'long pits ' in this text) with characteristic standard form and alignment, as well as find contents, including high amounts of secondary-burned pottery fragments. In the context of prehistoric research, these features represent a relatively new phenomenon that has attracted attention in the last two decades due to new excavations in Bohemia and Bavaria. Based on the finds from B ˇ reznice (Czechia), the authors conclude that the long pits were connected with the closing rituals following the abandonment and burial of dwellings. Although no houses were directly documented on this site, their presence must be assumed, and their cultural biography can be reconstructed from the depositional characteristics of the accompanying finds. In order to fully understand the processes of deposition, the authors find it useful to focus not only on human agency but also on the relationships between the things themselves. This way, houses are understood as the central element of a hybrid actor-network. Their role may have been strengthened by their ontological status of living beings.


Neutron single-event upsets (SEUs) induced by elastic scattering were investigated by an experiment using 2 MeV neutron beams and by a calculation based on scattering cross-section data and angular distribution data from the evaluated nuclear data file (ENDF). The SEU rates obtained by the calculation and experiment are in fairly good agreement if the region sensitive to the SEUs (sensitive volume) is properly defined. Adopting the calculation to atmospheric neutrons, the fraction of the SEU rates induced by elastic scattering accounted for approximately 26 to 32% of the total fast-neutron-induced SEUs in the atmospheric neutron environment. Reducing well depth will effectively reduce the number of SEUs.


The control of temperature is applied in various situation.A universal intermediate temperature control system was designed.The C8051F020 singlechip was used as the controller,and the method of PID based on fuzzy was used in the system.The system can avoid the disadvantage of general temperature control system based on singlechip,and acquire perfect control result.The control principle based on fuzzy PID of the system is expatiated,the hardware structure of the system and the software flow chart are introduced.


Abstract : Effects of water temperature and flavoring on fluid consumption were studied in fourteen unacclimatized males (21-33 yrs) during 6h of treadmill exercise in a hot environment. Subjects consumed each of four iodinated beverages (15 C water, 40 C water, 15 C raspberry-flavored water and 40 C raspberry-flavored water0 on four non-consecutive days. We identified two groups of individuals by body weight (BW) loss during the cool water trial: drinkers (D) who lost less than 2% initial BW and reluctant drinkers (RD) who lost more than 2%. D consumed 31% more cool water and experienced smaller BW losses relative to RD. Warm water reduced 6h consumptions in both D and RD and also increased BW loss. Flavoring enhanced warm water consumption and reduced BW loss in RD only. Reduced consumption of warm water increased rectal temperature, heart rate and plasma osmolality in both groups. Keywords: Voluntary dehydration; Fluid consumption; Flavoring; Temperature regulation; Palatability; Dehydration; Drinking water.


[1] Paul Dirac, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series A 123(792), 714 (1929). [2] Margaret Wertheim, Pythagoras's Trousers: God, Physics, and the Gender War (Norton, 1997). [3] Once regarded as a branch of mixed mathematics, mechanics was separated from mathematics and combined with calorifics, optics, electricity, magnetism which were separated branches of experimental natural philosophy during the early half of the 19th century. This "mechanization" is analyzed by Peter Harman, Energy, Force and Matter: The Conceptual Development of NineteenthCentury Physics (Cambridge University Press, 1982). Physics and Her Daughters


Texture analysis and classification play an important role in many multimedia and computer vision applications. Local binary patterns (LBP) form a simple yet powerful texture descriptor characterising local neighbourhood properties, and consequently LBP variants are widely employed. In this paper, we demonstrate that through appropriate construction of a multiple classifier system, improved texture classification based on LBP features is possible. In particular, we employ a classifier ensemble where each classifier (a support vector machine) is trained in conjunction with a different feature selection method. The ensemble is then pruned based on a diversity measure, and the remaining models are combined using a neural fuser. Experimental results, obtained on Outex benchmark datasets and employing four LBP variants, confirm that our proposed approach leads to statistically significantly improved texture classification.


This paper proposes an FPGA implementation of Integer transform and quantization blocks of H.264 video encoder. The algorithm and architecture of the components of the integer transformation, quantization was developed, designed and coded in VHDL. The above specified blocks of H.264 were coded in Matlab in order to verify the results of VHDL implementation. The processor is implemented on a Xilinx Virtex-2P XCV30 FPGA. And the implemented blocks occupied around 4322 slices out of 13696, 7391 LUTs out of 27392, 89 IOBs out of 416 and achieved speed of 103MHz.


This paper presents a new fast and stable simulation algorithm for switching power converters. This algorithm satisfies all requirements for the algorithm, such as accuracy, speed, stability and easiness. Especially, this algorithm automatically optimizes a time step to get fast simulation, and it converges the simulation in any type of converters. 1. INTORODUCTION Recently switching power converters must satis@ all demands of high efficiency, high power factor, low noise, small size and so on. Eventually simulation techniques are definitely required to design the switching power converters with that high performance. However no existing simulators satisfjr all requirements for a practical simulator, such as accuracy, speed, stability and easiness. Some simulators such as SPICE and SABER have problems of simulation speed and convergence stability"'. Other simulators may have problems of accuracy and easiness. For instance, some of fast simulators employ an averaged device model of switch , do not determine an onoff transient time exactly, or are difficult to set parameters including a time step, etc. The proposed algorithm satisfies not only the requirements of accuracy and speed but also those of stability and easiness. This algorithm is so fast and stable that we can always get the simulation results in a very short time. Moreover the time step is automatically optimized so that we do not have to set 0-7803-4489-8/98/$10.00


It is well known that the native oxide on GaAs is responsible for Fermi level pinning and has hindered the development of GaAs MOSFETs. We report significant improvements in the electrical characteristics of Au / Si x N y / n-GaAs structures with NH 3 plasma treatment of GaAs prior to Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (PECVD) of a Si x N y dielectric film followed by annealing at 450 °C. The variation of electrical properties was studied with NH 3 / SiH 4 ratios of 1.3, 4, 12.67, 25 and 40 for nitride deposition. It was observed that N -rich dielectric films gave the lowest interface state density. Au / Si x N y / n-GaAs MIS structures were thus fabricated with interface state density of 1.1 x 10 11 eV -1 cm -2 as determined from G-V measurements. Post-deposition annealing showed marked improvement in device characteristics with decrease in frequency dispersion, conductance and hence interface state density as revealed from C-V and G-V measurements.


The primaiy mortgage market has had very large scale and will grow fast rapidly. The investing environment of Mortgage Backed Securities is being perfected gradually As to commercial banks, the housing Mortgage Securitization is expected to be the solid backing to the grant credits. Therefore, to perform Mortgage Backed Securities is feasible in our country.


Preface Summary of volume 1 6. Twistors 7. Null congruences 8. Classification of curvature tensors 9. Conformal infinity Appendix References Subject and author index Index of symbols.


The properties of a carbon nanotube are dependent on its atomic structure. The atomic structure of a carbon nanotube can be defined by specifying its chiral indices, (u, v), that specify its perimeter vector (chiral vector), with which the diameter and helicity are also determined. The fine electron beam available in a modern transmission electron microscope (TEM) offers a unique probe to reveal the atomic structure of individual nanotubes. This review covers two aspects related to the use of the electron probe in the TEM for the study of carbon nanotubes: (a) to understand the electron diffraction phenomena for inter-pretation of the electron diffraction patterns of carbon nanotubes and (b) to obtain the chiral indices, (u, v), of the carbon nanotubes from the electron diffraction patterns. For a nanotube of a given structure, the electron scattering amplitude from the carbon nanotube is first described analytically in closed form using the helical diffraction theory. From a known structure as given by the chiral indices (u, v), its electron diffraction pattern can be calculated and understood. The reverse problem, i.e. assignment of the chiral indices from an electron diffraction pattern of a carbon nanotube, is approached from the relationship between the electron scattering intensity distribution and the chiral indices (u, v). We show that electron diffraction patterns can provide an accurate and unambiguous assignment of the chiral indices of carbon nanotubes. The chiral indices (u, v) can be read indiscriminately with a high accuracy from the intensity distribution on the principal layer lines in an electron diffraction pattern. The symmetry properties of electron diffraction from carbon nanotubes and the electron diffraction from deformed carbon nanotubes are also discussed in detail. It is shown that 2mm symmetry is always preserved for single-walled carbon nanotubes, but it can break down for multiwalled carbon nanotubes under some special circumstances. Finally, determination of the handedness of carbon nanotubes using electron diffraction is reviewed and discussed with both theoretical analysis and experimental examples.


The data processes in middleware are analyzed.Then,two allocation policies,static allocation and dynamic allocation,in shared memory are referred. After discussing the importance of management of shared memory in middleware system,all kinds of relationship between message dispatcher and message queue adopted by shared memory management technology are put forward.Finally,the characteristics of all kinds of message dispatcher and message queue technology are summarized and compared


This paper proposed a solid-duty-control technique in the boost converter to keep a constant duty control to reduce dip voltage during load transient period. Besides, due to variable transient enhancement controller, fast transient response is achieved. The proposed SDC technique can provide a stable and regulated output for edge-lit LED backlight systems. Compared to conventional design without any fast transient technique, experimental results show the undershoot voltage and recovery time are improved 30 % and 80 %, respectively.


There is evidence that traditional timedomain measures are not sensitive to the changing dynamic properties of the postural control system [1]. Frequency domain measures such as the spectral characteristics associated with sway may be more effective in detecting important but not easily identifiable changes in the physiological control systems underlying balance [1]. Frequency domain analysis has not yet been performed to study standing balance in AIS but has been applied on the ground reaction forces developed during gait by Giakas et al. [2] in scoliotic and healthy individuals. The objective of this study was to use time and frequency domain analyses to test if the Boston brace affect balance in AIS.


Algorithms in robotics typically tend to expose several parameters for the user to configure. This allows both reusability and fine tuning of the algorithm to a particular setup, but at the expense of significant effort in tuning, since this task is typically done manually. However, recent results in parameter optimization have shown to be quite successful, namely in automatic configuration of boolean satisfiability problem solvers, contributing to a significant increase in scalability. In this paper we address the applicability of these methods to the area of mobile robot localization. In particular, we applied a sequential model-based optimization method to the automatic parameter tuning of the well-known Adaptive Monte Carlo Localization algorithm. Our results show a statistically significant improvement over the default algorithm values. We also contribute with an open source experimental setup, based on the popular Robot Operating System ROS, which can be easily adapted to other algorithms.


TAMPERE UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY Master's Degree Programme in Electrical Engineering HARTIKAINEN, PEKKA: Design of an Electric Drum Module with an Audio Playback from an SD Memory Card Master of Science Thesis, 46 pages November 2012 Major: Electronics Product Design Examiner: Professor Karri Palovuori


William G. Dever and William A. Ward joined forces to present a third volume of the Studies on Scarab Seals series to update the material collected since the appearance ten years ago of volume 2 of that series, by Tufnell and Ward (Tufnell 1984). Ward and Dever invested enormous effort to locate the earliest scarab-bearing archaeological contexts of the Middle Bronze period in Syria/Palestine. In the current volume-entitled Scarab Typology and Archaeological Context: An Essay on Middle Bronze Age Chronology-Dever reanalyzes and presents these contexts in charts of relative as well as absolute chronology, assuming that they are contemporary with the 12th Dynasty of Egypt. The 79 scarabs from these contexts (pp. 95-101) comprise the newly defined Period IIA in the history of scarabs, which Dever and Ward date to the MB I and transitional MB I/II periods (p. 95). In comparing Dever's previous studies of the Middle Bronze period to the present one, two major issues stand out: the assignment to MB I or MB I/II of some of the contexts that previously have been dated to MB II and a renewed attempt at defining the "transitional MB I/II" phase. These issues are summarized in charts of diagnostic ceramic types: fig. 3:7 for the MB I and fig. 3:9 for the transitional MB I/II. For the most part, Dever's analyses are found in chapter 3 of the volume. In the present review article we shall discuss his methodology, examine a sample of his restudy of those archaeological contexts, and consider the question of the beginning of scarab use in Palestine.


Contraception helps many people achieve their desired fertility. Pharmacological or mechanical contraceptive methods by themselves do not lead to successful contraception. Once empowered through education or improved socioeconomic status to realize their ability to limit their family size, women's options are abstinence (including delaying the marriage age), contraception (including surgical sterilization and natural family planning methods), or abortion. Most people in the US trying to avoid pregnancy use surgical sterilization. The reversible methods most used, in order of frequency, are the pill, the condom, and the diaphragm. The 10% of couples who use no method make up slightly more than 50% of unplanned pregnancies, while the 90% of those who use contraception make up the remaining 50% (i.e., contraceptive failures). If used properly, modern contraceptives are very effective. Methods with low failure rates (IUDs, implants, and injectables) are used by only 2% or fewer of US contraceptive users but are more widely used elsewhere. More than 50% of pregnancies in the US are unplanned. Most adolescent pregnancies are unplanned. Contraceptive users account for about 50% of induced abortions. Reducing unwanted pregnancies has helped people achieve their desired fertility and greatly reduces the induced abortion rate. The US has the highest adolescent pregnancy rate in the Western world, partly due to the time lag between initiating sexual activity and initiating contraceptive use. Reasons for unplanned pregnancies among youth include lack of counseling and contraceptive failure. Contraceptive development should focus on improving use-effectiveness. The implant is the newest contraceptive method. A variety of male and female contraceptive methods are currently under study (e.g., immunological methods, postcoital pills, skin methods [patches, creams, and gels], improved IUDs, and improved male condoms). Leaders should consider unplanned pregnancy as a serious public health problem and take steps to reduce unplanned pregnancies.


In this paper, design and analysis one of the proposed Optical Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) for Visible Light Communication has been conducted. The chosen design is Generalized LED Index Modulation Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (GLIM-OFDM), with its proposed scheme that avoid Hermitian symmetry and DC bias. Thus, by utilizing the properties of complex data signal and the bipolar index with spatial modulation Multi Input Multi Output (MIMO) configuration. System generator is used to design the GLIM-OFDM. The design is targeted into Arty Board with Xilinx Artix-7 FPGA. Analysis and comparison are covering in the arithmetic option of unscaled and scaled for its effect on precision, performance, and resource usage. The designed system is proven to work according to theory of operation scheme. To verify that, the reversible design has been designed to ensure the processed data in the transmitter side with the origin data signal. The unscaled option performs slightly faster than the scaled option. Both arithmetic option has same precision of data representation. The GLIM-OFDM design used less resource in unscaled option compared with the design in scaled option.


mances relativos a la historia de Espafia." The first section, one of the most extensive, is called "Romances moriscos novelescos." Although it contains a handful of excellent ballads, such as "La morilla burlada," this is one of the dreariest divisions of the collection. For more than a hundred pages, if the reader can endure them all, pseudoMoorish lovers spread their plumes before their ladies, complain and go through almost identical maneuvers from ballad to ballad. In nearly every case the theme is love, the action is slight, ornamental features are predominant, and the sentiments expressed are artificial and formalized. When the section is finished, the reader is apt to agree completely with the anonymous bard of No. 245:


Chemical oxidation of dense nonaqueous-phase liquids (DNAPLs) by permanganate has emerged as an effective remediation strategy in fractured rock. Our objectives in this research were to carry out a sequence of experimental, computational and theoretical tasks aimed at improving current understanding of permanganate oxidation in fractured rock systems, and also develop modeling tools that can be used for preliminary design of oxidation schemes at field sites. Our research focused on both free-phase entrapped DNAPL in variable-aperture fractures and dissolved DNAPL in the rock matrix. In the first section of our research, we present high-resolution experimental investigations in transparent analog variable-aperture fractures to improve understanding of chemical oxidation of residual entrapped trichloroethylene (TCE) in fractures. Four experiments were performed with different permanganate concentrations, flow rates, and initial TCE phase geometry. The initial aperture field and evolving entrapped-phase geometry were measured quantitatively. We present results on the time-evolution of fracture-scale TCE consumption and DNAPL removal rates for all the experiments. In the next part of this work, we developed theoretical understanding of the reaction front dynamics in the case of chemical oxidation of aqueous-phase DNAPL within fracture-matrix system, backed up by numerical simulations. We also consider the influence of NOD consumption and contaminant sorption to solid aquifer materials in our models. Based on the


The reliability of horizontal current features such as tidal ellipse, residual currents, divergence and rotation detected by the DBF ocean surface radar were evaluated through comparison with other research works in Ariake Bay. The results showed that the feature of the principal tidal components M2 was widely coincided well with other ADCP field observations. Based upon the continuous current data by the DBF ocean radar, the characteristics of the divergence, rotation and inflow were precisely investigated on the line of Isahaya Bay mouth. Besides, the daily and seasonal fluctuation of noise floor level on the receiving signals was analyzed. The results indicated that the increase of the noise level ~15dB around 7a.m. and 7p.m. to 9p.m. affected on the decrease of the maximum detection range of the velocity ~10km. The property of the noise level fluctuation can be incorporated into the auto-detection algorithm of the velocity in ocean radar systems.


The effects of different percentage concentrations (5%, 10%, 20% and 30%) of ground seeds of Picralima nitida on the concentrations of ascorbic acid (AA), glutathione (GSH) and the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) of albino rats after 28 days were investigated. Albino rats fed without ground seeds of Picralima nitida served as the control. The concentrations of AA, GSH and the activities of SOD, CAT and LDH from groups of albino rats that were fed with different concentrations of ground seeds of Picralima nitida were determined/assayed using standard methods. Results showed that there were no significant (p<0.05) difference in the concentrations of glutathione of rats fed with 5% feed-formulated with ground seeds of Picralima nitida when compared to those of the control. However, there were significant (p<0.05) differences in the concentrations of AA and activities of SOD, CAT and LDH in the rats fed with 5%, 10%, 20% and 30% when compared to those of the control. Also, there was a significant (p<0.05) reduction observed in the glutathione concentration of rats fed with10%, 20% and 30% feed formulated with ground seeds Picralima nitida. The values obtained showed that, as the percentage concentration of ground seeds Picralima nitida in the formulated feed increased, the concentrations of ascorbic acid and glutathione decreased in contrast to the activities of SOD, Original Research Article Nwaogu et al.; ARRB, 8(2): 1-9, 2015; Article no.ARRB.18829 2 CAT and LDH indicating that these changes are concentration-dependent. The high concentrations of the ground seeds of Picralima nitida in the formulated feed might have caused the observed changes in these oxidative stress parameters in the serum of experimental albino rats.


In recent years,the U.S.Financial Accounting Standards Board(FASB) and International Accounting Standards Board(IASB) strongly advocate fair value for accounting measurement that is present and future-oriented,market-based. After the implementation of the new accounting standards in our country since 2006,our country introduced fair value measurement attribute with the aim of meeting the international standards of,which leads to the coexistence phenomena of historical cost and fair value measurement attribute in the relevant guidelines. Many students and finance staff are confused about the historical cost and fair value measurement attribute used in the daily teaching process,so I talk about the application of double measurement attributes involving financial assets available for sale to eliminate the confusion of the financial staff on the issue.


Objective To establish the 3D FEM model of laser welding on dental titanium alloy.Methods The 3D model of a three-unit framework of PFM(Porcelain fused to metal) was established with modeling software; the numerical simulation of temperature field and the welding residual stress analysis of laser welding field of the framework were studied with ANSYS software.Results A 3D FEM model of laser welding for dental titanium alloy was established.Conclusion The residual stress was found in welded joint after laser welding.


Based on meteorological observation data,NOAA-17 and EOS/MODIS satellite remote sensing image data,37 sea fog examples were analyzed.The statistical characteristics of sea fog,atmospheric and oceanic background conditions which were helpful for sea fog formation in Dandong coast were revealed.A synoptic forecasting method was developed.


Method and device for testing an electrical component. The invention relates to a method for testing an electrical component 1 with a voltage terminal 22, a data connection 23 and a ground connection 24, being connected the voltage connection 22, for easy and quick check, via a voltage line 5, a power supply 26 and being connected data connection 23, through a data line 9, in an evaluation device, the component 1 to verify is driven with a voltage power from the power supply 26 and the evaluation device calculates a voltage level depending on the height of an electric current through the line 9. Further details, the invention relates to a device for verifying a electrical component 1, which has a voltage connection 22 with a tension line 5, a data connection 23 to a data line 9 and a ground connection 24.


Background: Hyperglycemia occurs frequently in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. It has been identified as a risk factor for increased peri-operative morbidity and mortality. Aim: To review the evidence of the correlation of peri-operative hyperglycemia with mortality in cardiac surgery patients and to discuss the main results in order to provide evidence-based knowledge for the appropriate glycemic control. Methods: We searched the electronic databases MEDLINE, CINAHL and EMBASE in June 2010. The material of our study was articles published between 1 January 1990 and 31 May 2010, which investigated the correlation between peri-operative hyperglycemia and in-hospital and/or 30-day cardiac surgery mortality. Results: Out of the 16 reviewed articles in our study, 12 (75%) significantly associated hyperglycemia and inadequate blood glucose control with increased mortality. In addition, four of the reviewed articles were controlled randomized trials and among them only one demonstrated strong correlation between poor glycemic control and mortality. No study was multi-centre and the reviewed articles were characterized by different definitions of peri-operative hyperglycemia, different intensity and duration of the applied therapy and heterogeneity of the population. Conclusion: It is clear that peri-operative hyperglycemia is harmful for cardiac surgery patients. The significant shortage of randomized controlled trials, the absence of multicentre studies, the different definitions of peri-operative hyperglycemia, the different intensity and duration of the applied insulin therapy protocol and the heterogeneity of the studied population (diabetics and non-diabetics) are significant limitations, which could explain the inconsistent findings of the literature. These limitations indicate the need for further research.


The latest version of international commercial terms, Incoterms ® 2010, which is employed by firms during foreign trade transactions from sales contract to letter of credit and was prepared by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), came into effect on the 1 st of January, in 2011. With this regularization in lieu of the old version, Incoterms has been structurally altered. In our study, "Incoterms 2000" and "Incoterms ® 2010" are tried to be explained comparatively. Besides the lacks regarding the implementation of both old and new versions will be presented with examples from Turkey and other parts of the World and solution methods will be discussed in this study.


In order to assess the efficacy of novel HIV-1 treatments leading to a functional cure, the time to viral rebound is frequently used as a surrogate endpoint. The longer the time to viral rebound, the more efficacious the therapy. In support of such an approach, mathematical models serve as a connection between the size of the latent reservoir and the time to HIV-1 rebound after treatment interruption. The simplest of such models assumes that a single successful latent cell reactivation event leads to observable viremia after a period of exponential viral growth. Here we consider a generalization developed by Pinkevych et al. and Hill et al. of this simple model in which multiple reactivation events can occur, each contributing to the exponential growth of the viral load. We formalize and improve the previous derivation of the dynamics predicted by this model, and use the model to estimate relevant biological parameters from SIV rebound data. We confirm a previously described effect of very early antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation on the rate of recrudescence and the viral load growth rate after treatment interruption. We find that every day ART initiation is delayed results in a 39% increase in the recrudescence rate, and a 11% decrease of the viral growth rate. We show that when viral rebound occurs early relative to the viral load doubling time, a model with multiple successful reactivation events fits the data better than a model with only a single successful reactivation event. Author Summary HIV-1 persists during suppressive antiretroviral therapy (ART) due to a reservoir of latently infected cells. When ART is stopped, HIV generally rebounds within a few weeks. However, there is a small fraction of patients that do not rebound over a period of months or years. A variety of treatments are being tested for their ability to reduce the size of the latent reservoir, to induce effective immune responses against the virus, or to prevent or prolong the time to viral rebound after ART interruption. These novel treatments are typically first tested in SIV infected macaques, and the efficacy of the treatment assessed by interrupting ART and measuring the time to viral rebound. Here, we develop and test a mathematical and statistical model that describes the process of viral rebound. The model can be used for statistical inference of the efficacy of newly developed treatments. Importantly, the model takes into account that multiple recrudescence events can precede rebound. We test the model using data from early treated SIV infected macaques.


Objectives To assess the use and outcomes of "sandwich technique" to preserve internal iliac artery flow in endovascular repaire of abdominal aortic aneurysms.Methods With endovascular aneurysm repair(EVAR) procedure for a patient suffered from abdominal aortic aneurysm involving iliac arteries whose bilateral internal iliac arteries should be cover to obtain better outcome of reducing the risk of aneurysm rupture,we utilized "sandwich technique" to preserve the blood flow of left internal iliac artery.Results The blood flow of internal iliac artery was preserved successfully and the abdominal aortic and common iliac artery aneurysms was repaired by the cover stent graft.Conclusions Endovascular repair combined with "sandwich technique" for abdominal aortic aneurysms involving iliac artery should be a feasible way to protecting internal iliac arteries.


The study of drag and lift forces on natural or manmade physical objects in confined domains owns both practical and theoretical importance in the field of general sciences, which particularly includes physical science. In this regard, this work is the numerical effort to examine drag and lift coefficients for the moving liquid stream at a low Reynolds number in the Convergent–Divergent (CD) channel. The liquid stream flows with the parabolic profile from the inlet and interacts with the case-wise infinite cylinders as barriers in the right vicinity of CD throat. The differential formulation is designed toward CD channel for the flow area, and the numerical solution is stated using the hybrid meshed finite element method. The contour and line graph analysis was conducted for a greater understanding of the involved flow variables. The comparative analysis is enclosed by setting a fixed Reynolds number for the hydrodynamic forces against mounted obstacles in a CD throat. It is seen that the square-shaped cylinder experienced the greater drag force as compared to the circular obstruction.


The Middle Income Trap has been one of the most debated issues in economic literature in recent years. The Middle Income Trap (MIT) is widely studied, although it is still a new issue when it is considered within the context of economic growth and development. The situation in which the countries which have difficulty in raising the per capita national income level above a certain level and who are stuck at this income level is caught is called the middle income trap. Especially in recent years, it is known that many developing countries have difficulty in increasing the income level to developed countries. One of the countries are forced to exit the middle income trap, in this context it is also Turkey. Middle income trap suggestions from the location of the output in terms of Turkey's economy and middle-income trap are the subject of this study.
That it is determined to be in the middle-income trap to Turkey to escape from this income group; measures such as increasing national saving rates, increasing the share of R & D investments in GDP and innovation capacity, increasing investments in education and increasing women's labor force participation rates and economic efficiency. Turkey also create new spaces created in the services sector, increase the share of value-added GDP and university-based technology with state technologic cooperation will be necessary.


This paper discusses how simulation models are being used on the Central Artery/Third Harbor Tunnel Project to develop incident response plans and to evaluate the design of the Integrated Project Control System. This simulation effort is comprised of four phases: use of the INTEGRATION Network Simulation Model to develop incident response plans; (2) use of the MIT Dynamic Traffic Model to test and evaluate the proposed control system design; (3) further development of the MIT model to be used as a tool in the operations control center (OCC) for fine-tuning incident response plans; and (4) development of a concept for a future predictive simulation model to be used on-line in the OCC. The first two of these efforts are underway, the third is being evaluated, and the fourth represents a possible future implementation in the OCC.


This research endeavors to undertake a comparative study delving into the realms of fashion design and theatrical costume design. The primary objective is to explore the similarities, differences, and potential avenues for interdisciplinary exchange between these two captivating disciplines. By thoroughly analyzing the creative processes, influences, objectives, and execution methods employed within fashion design and theatrical costume design, this study aims to illuminate the interconnectedness and distinctive characteristics that define each field. To accomplish this, an extensive review of scholarly papers and diverse sources including reputable journals and research publications serves as the foundation of this research. By conducting a comprehensive analysis, key themes, theories, and findings emerge, providing valuable insights into the shared elements and divergent perspectives between fashion design and theatrical costume design. Furthermore, this research delves into the profound impact of cultural influences, historical contexts, and pragmatic considerations on the design processes and outcomes within both disciplines. By exploring these aspects, the authors gain a deeper comprehension of the underlying factors that shape and mold artistic endeavors within the realms of fashion and theater. Ultimately, the purpose of this study is to foster a heightened appreciation for the creative pursuits inherent in fashion and theater. By shedding light on the intricate nuances of these disciplines, we aspire to inspire novel possibilities for imaginative expression, propelling the boundaries of creativity even further.


To create a pediatric rheumatology Top 5 list as part of the American Board of Internal Medicine Foundation's Choosing Wisely campaign.


Abstract : The present paper is primarily a report on an attempt to ascertain the participation of Coulomb excitation in the observed disintegration of Li6 in its collisions with Au197. The ground state may probably be thought of in some sense as a configuration of a deuteron and an alpha particle in an l = 0 state. This view is supported by the close agreement of the deuteron and Li6 magnetic moments. There seem to be three excited states of spin and parity 3(+), 2(+), 1(+), with primarily d, alpha structure, which play a role in d, alpha scattering. These may be members of an l = 2 triplet, in which case one may expect electric quadrupole transitions to these three levels. The d, alpha model of the four states is not essential, however, for some of the considerations to be presented. Electric dipole transitions between d, alpha configurations are forbidden by the equal charge-to-mass ratios for the deuteron and alpha particle, and quite generally by the parity selection rule. One visualizes the electric disintegration taking place after Coulomb excitation of Li6, to the 3(+) level at 2.184 Mev, for example. This state then decays into an alpha particle and a deuteron, both of which closely follow the original hyperbolic orbit of the Li6, since the energy available in the d, alpha center of mass is 2.18 - 1.47 = 0.71 Mev, which is small compared with the incident lithium energy of 30 to 60 Mev.


Kupilikula: Governance and the Invisible Realm in Mozambique by Harry G. West. Chicago, IL, and London, UK: The University of Chicago Press, 2005.


The laser action on chromosomes of living cells in the presence and absence of exogenous chromophore (ethydium bromide) was studied. Also investigated was the possible role of the endogenous chromophores, such as riboflavin, in this mutagenic action. We show that riboflavin induces DNA strand cleavages at N2-laser irradiation. First the nonlinear mechanism of DNA cleavage by laser in the presence of riboflavin has been proven. Quantum yield of DNA strand cleavages by laser in the presence of riboflavin has been calculated.


Abstract Prairie dogs are considered to be both a keystone species and an ecosystem engineer in grasslands. To partially test these hypotheses we evaluated burrow densities, soil removal, and mammal (i.e. rodents and carnivores) species composition, richness, diversity, and abundance in grasslands with and without prairie dogs ( Cynomys ludovicianus ) in north-western Mexico. We measured habitat heterogeneity as a function of burrow density. As predicted, density of burrows was much higher in areas with prairie dogs. Soil mix was also much higher in prairie dog colonies. Grasslands with and without prairie dogs differed in small mammal species composition, richness, density, and diversity; four species were exclusively found in areas with prairie dogs. Interestingly, carnivore communities were similar in areas with and without prairie dogs. Our results support the hypothesis that prairie dogs and their activities enhance regional species diversity, and thus are an important component of the grassland ecosystem.


The League for Programming Freedom Software patents threaten to devastate America's computer industry. Newly-granted software patents are being used to attack companies such as the Lotus Development Corporation and Microsoft for selling programs that they have independently developed. Soon new companies may be barred from entering the software arena, because the cost of licensing the dozens of patents necessary for a major program will make such a project economically impossible. As programmers, we believe that if the United States Patent and Trademark Office continues to grant software patents, we will soon be effectively forbidden from writing programs that are useful.


The reason for baryon asymmetry in our universe has been an open question for many years. This note shows that the holographic principle requires a charged preon model underlying the Standard Model of particle physics and, in consequence, requires baryon asymmetry. The baryon asymmetry predicted by a specific charged preon model in our closed inflationary Friedmann universe is consistent with observations.


We consider a two dimensional stationary Lamé system with variable coefficients. We prove the uniqueness in the inverse source problem of determining polygonal supports of distributing force by observations of surface displacement and stress. Our method is based on the regularity property of solutions to the Poisson equation in a polygonal domain.


3. Humanity, as well as all forms of life, originated from God on Earth. Thus they all have the right to live with full respect for free will and the dignity of the Soul. 4. Humanity has the right to the innate wholeness and plenitude that Divine Mother Nature provides with endless love through the land, sea and forests, the natural resources and the elements that hold and revitalize regenerate life on the planet: oxygen, water, biodiversity, fertile soil, and food.


ABSTRACT In order to solve the problem of redundant interference in the data mining process of the electric power system in cloud computing platform. Therefore, this paper proposes data mining method of electric power system based on Hadoop cloud computing platform. Firstly, we introduced the design process of mining algorithm in Hadoop cloud computing platform, then used the establishment and processing function of HDFS distributed file system and the data processing mode of Map Reduce core architecture to mine the data of electric power system in Hadoop cloud computing platform. The experiment results show that the maximum error of the proposed method is 0.2%, and the proposed data mining model is feasible and practical.


The air traffic control radar beacon system problems and solutions to these problems are discussed. Residual problems, their extent, and their impact on future systems are described. The results of a system model are related to the possible fixes.


Due to the intensive system of broilers production, high amounts of residues with polluting potential such as poultry litter are generated. Anaerobic digestion is an interesting technology for the treatment of residues from the Brazilian agroindustry. However, when applied to poultry litter, it has limitations because of its recalcitrant characteristics. In this way, it is recomended to apply pretreatments to improve the hydrolysis rate, reduction of hydraulic retention time and higher production of biogas/methane. The present study aimed to evaluate the influence of the pretreatments with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and ultrasound (US) on the kinetic parameters of methane production from poultry litter. Biochemical Methane Potential (BMP) were performed using an automatic apparatus device (AMPTS II, Bioprocess Control), following the international standard VDI 4630 test.Modified Gompertz model was applied for a better understanding the kinetics of the process after the pretreatments. Three pretreatment conditions were tested with 0.14% v.v H2O2 and 700 W US for 3 minutes. In the first test condition the sample was pretreated only with ultrasound, in the second condition it was pretreated with hydrogen peroxide and in the third condition it was pretreated with peroxide followed by ultrasound. Although the maximum methane production did not present a significant difference (p≤0.05) between the pre-treatments, the pre-treated sample with ultrasound showed a reduction in the lag phase of the anaerobic digestion process of the poultry litter.


Abstract: This chapter considers the ways in which composite parts can deviate from their intended performance due to issues arising in design and manufacture. It covers the variability of manufacture and the interactions between design, materials and processes, and indicates the level of property reductions that can be experienced. It concludes with future trends in materials and manufacture.


The United Kingdom can claim the credit for organising the first comprehensive accident service in the world. In 1888 Sir Robert Jones was appointed consultant surgeon to the Man? chester Ship Canal. This major project linking the Port of Liverpool with the city of Manchester employed 20 000 workers on its 35-mile stretch. It took many years to build and exacted a high toll in serious injury. In one five-year period there were 3000 accidents. In order to cope with these emergencies the canal was divided by Sir Robert into three independent sections each with a chain of first-aid stations and each with its own hospital. Each hospital was staffed with a resident doctor and nurses. The hospitals were linked by a railway running the length of the canal that was used to convey the injured to the hospitals. They were also linked by wireless telegraphy to Sir Robert's Hospital in Liverpool so that he could be summoned whenever he was needed.


The concept of carbon footprint controllable product is put forward firstly which means to prepose the controlling for carbon footprint to the stage of product development and configuration, different from the postcontrol traditionally. Thus the control objectives can be more quantified and easy realized. Product characteristics (indicators), including carbon footprint have no certain relation between each others. In order to obtain the optimal product configuration scheme based on the constraint of carbon footprint, three-stage theory is proposed which includes the functional configuration, the carbon footprint compliance evaluation, and the optimal comprehensive evaluation. After above-mentioned stages, function feasible solution set, CFP conforming set and the optimal scheme are generated respectively. Grey relation analysis is verified effective on comprehensive benefit evaluation by an example of small reducer.


Macrobius Ambrosius Theodosius, in his Saturnalia, draws upon the Platonic archetype in making overt allusions to the Symposium and yet follows Athenaeus, whose work he seems to know thoroughly, albeit does not acknowledge its influence openly. Besides the Greek paradigms, Macrobius used Roman models, i. e., Cicero's dialogues, to infuse his literary banquet with Roman flavour. The author of Saturnalia was severely criticised, especially by representatives of the Quellenforschung movement in the second half of the 19th century, for allegedly being a poor plagiarist. His compilatory method is described in this article, and two other plausible Macrobius' sources are proposed: Juvenal's Satires and Seneca the Younger's On Tranquility of the Mind. In Roman History Ammianus Marcellinus depicted the people inhabiting Rome of his times as degenerate parasites hostile to any form of intellectual activity who fritter away time on vulgar entertainment and obsessively overfeed themselves. Many scenes of so-called sober merriment shared by the prominent Roman personages of the IV c. AD were, in all probability, introduced to Saturnalia to counterbalance Ammianus Marcellinus' harsh criticism of Roman morals. Macrobius's familiarity with both Juvenal and Seneca manifests itself in the list of similes, yet, as the author of the present article proposes, there are passages in the oeuvre of both writers that may have instilled the vision of frugality typical of Romans in Macrobius's mind, so that he may have used images borrowed from both earlier writers to Saturnalia.


Several typical management systems of community health service centers were studied through literature analysis. The analysis results showed that the management system also presented the diversified development trend because of the different communities and circumstances. Although some achievements have been achieved by all management systems,they had both advantages and disadvantages. The article is helpful to provide certain theoretical basis for establishing a relatively perfect management system of community health service centers.


The nutritional composition of Protaetia brevitarsis(Lewis) 3 instar larvae was analyzed. The content of protein,fat and amino acid were 49.90%,15.42% and 38.90% of dry samples respectively. Furthermore,sampled insects contain 17kinds of essential amino acids,including 7 kinds of human essential amino acids,and essential amino acids comprised 39.43% of the total amino acids. The ratio of essential to nonessential amino acids was 65.11%.Methionine was the first limiting amino acid in larvae protein. The organic matter,nitrogen,P2O5 and K2O rate content were 34.10%,1.42%,1.31% and 1.33% in the worm dung dry matter.Based on these data,the potential for utilization of Protaetia brevitarsis(Lewis) 3 instar larvae was evaluated.


The limited thermal stability of commonly used nickel alloys is an obstacle to further increases in operating temperatures in aircraft gas turbine engines. Alternative solutions that overcome the limitations of the operating temperatures of the gas in front of the turbine can be achieved using ceramic materials, including ceramic composites used for manufacturing blades and rotor. Due to a number of design and technological limitations associated with the production of fully ceramic parts of gas turbine engines, the option of connecting metal impellers with blades made of monolithic ceramic material deserves attention. A design of a model steel impeller with blades made of silicon carbide ceramics with reinforcing diamond particles is proposed. To determine the bearing capacity of the 'dovetail' type lock joint, bench tests were carried out. A computer program for probabilistic evaluation of the strength of ceramic parts is developed. A conclusion is made about the required characteristics of ceramic materials for the use in turbine impellers.


This paper examines the potential for Participatory Rural Appraisal techniques to contribute to community development and empowerment in a deprived rural community in the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa. A series of participatory workshops was undertaken in which various new techniques were used to identify people-environment relationships and, in particular, the community perception of the value and problems relating to the river and riparian zone. The workshops led to the community taking positive action to address the problems identified. The study indicates the value and role of participatory research among disempowered communities in rural Africa. This article is hosted by our co-publisher Taylor & Francis.