has, for p = 0, a periodic solution which is strongly stable, then the solution can be continued to a small p interval and it will have the same smoothness as$ This statement cannot be extended to include invariant manifolds unless further assumptions are made. The presence of stationary points on the unperturbed manifold ~(0) may cause the perturbed manifold ~(p) (whenever it exists) to be non-smooth, even for arbitrarily small perturbations. An example of this is discussed by McCarthy [2] and Kyner [3] in which the differential equation and ~(0) are C" smooth but ~(p) is a curve possessing a discontinuously turning tangent. This is accomplished by placing an attracting stationary point on ~(0) in such a way that the attraction of solutions in the manifold (tangential flow) is greater, in a certain sense, than the attraction of nearby solutions toward the manifold (normal flow). As we shall see, the relative strength of these flows is the essential ingredient in obtaining the existence and smoothness of an invariant manifold for the perturbed equation. We assume ~(0) to be an rn-dimensional torus in (m + n) -dimensional Euclidean space. Let x = (xl , * . - , x,) be periodic variables on ~(0) which we assume to be the surfacey = 0, wherey = (yl , - - - ,yn). In a neighborhood IyI = (Cyf)1'2 5 1, suppose we have the vector field


In 2000, the authors commenced a randomised, controlled trial to improve the risk of bleeding associated with warfarin. The 68 patients randomised to usual care were managed by their general practitioner in the normal way. This provided an opportunity to examine anticoagulation management in current routine clinical practice. They received an extra visit 8 days after discharge to measure anticoagulant control. (non- author abstract)


Cyber crimes is a new millennium threat to society nowadays which brings by developments of technology and information. Various forms of cyber crimes exist either theft and fraud involving money and property or safety threat involving contamination of dignity. Therefore, this study will identify cyber crimes related to women in Malaysia for cases of theft and fraud of money and property through cyberspace. Cyber crimes will be identified and classified according to cases that often occurred in Malaysia and legal protection provided to the victim. The results showed lack of awareness about cyber security transactions and the provision of existing law that exists for cyber crime cause women to be victims of cyber crime.


OBJECTIVE
To develop and validate a rapid and sensitive method that can be used to detect emergence of HIV-1 drug resistant viruses in HIV-infected patients receiving highly active antiretroviral therapies (HAART).

METHODS
HIV-1 viral RNA was extracted from plasma and amplified by nested RT-PCR. Nucleotide sequences of the reverse transcriptase (RT) and protease (PR) genes were determined by automated DNA sequencing.

RESULTS
RT and PR sequences can be reliably determined with a minimum 2,000 copies/ml of viral RNA in plasma. Emergence of drug resistant viruses can he detected as soon as it reached to > 25% of the total viral populations. By using this method, drug-resistant viral populations were found to correlate with rebound of viral RNA level after prolonged antiretroviral therapies in HIV-infected children.

CONCLUSIONS
This rapid and sensitive HIV-1 genotyping method can be used to predict and confirm emergence of HIV-1 drug resistance in HIV-infected patients receiving HAART.


The method involves generating a signal and modifying the signal by a conversion component at an electricity consumption meter (10) between a power input (12) and a power output (14) of the meter. Another signal is analyzed between the component and the power output. Presence or absence of a shunt (15) between the power input (11) and the power output (12) of the meter is deduced. Intensities of currents circulating in power conductors between the input and the output are determined, where individual values of current and/or a vectorial sum of the currents and/or a differential value are determined. Independent claims are also included for the following: a method for locating fraud by derivation of an electricity consumption reading meter placed on an electricity distribution network a device (14) for detecting shunt between power input and power output of an electricity consumption meter.


According to the economic advancement, the position of service industry in GDP has increased. Development of service industry has solved the employment issue and derived the activation of the internal market. It has contributed to demand creation in health care, education, and culture, enhancing competition of the manufacturing industry and entire economic development. By the development of information communication technologies, improvement of the quality of life from those, and changes in the competitive environment, customers, from businesses and public agencies, or the customer's needs are increasing. In these circumstances, companies are operating non-face-to-face contact call center for the purpose to communicate with customers, handle customer complaints, attract and retain new customers. In this study, to improve the performance of the non-face-to-face contact call center, this study tried to derive the call center's 'Service Process Modeling' and future policy assignment by analyzing the problem from the research of the service and process summary, performance evaluation, call center evaluation and etc.


Glacier retreat and advance is general phenomenon in Himalayan region due to change in climatic conditions. For quantifying the global warming effects on local scale glacier system monitoring and estimating its dynamic geophysical parameters viz. movement and volume change are important. In this study glacier movement estimation is attempted in north western Himalayan region using spaceborne InSAR technique, which is based on preserving the coherence between two acquisitions of the same scene. It is observed that ERS-1/2 tandem data give high correlation over Gangotri glacier and Siachen glacier and movement in LOS direction is deciphered. However, with the use of SAR Speckle tracking method two dimensional (Azimuth and range directions) velocities of glaciers can be obtained. In this study attempt has been made to measure 2-D velocity components of Gangotri glacier. New generation TerraSAR-X (TS-X) high resolution spotlight mode (HS), single look slant range complex (SSCs) data of 28th August, 2008, 08th September, 2008, 19th September, 2008 and 30th September, 2008 are exploited for this study. Interferogram, coherence image and intensity image are generated. It is observed that Interferometric SSC data of 28th August, 2008 and 08th September, 2008 give some fringes outside glacier area and complete decorrelation is shown on the Gangotri glacier due to high movement of glacier.


In the course of current urbanization in China, the informal education institution in city has brought about negative impact on the educational development of mobile children. Firstly, it violates the education interests of mobile children; secondly, there is a "secondary assessment standard" of "identity" in school education, which disturbs the mobile children's development. Therefore, people should pay high attention to the impact of city informal education institution in educational development.


This paper presents sulfuric acid attack of fly ash-based geopolymer mortar. Precursor used in this study was fly ash, and activator used was NaOH and Na2SiO3. The ratio of activator/precursor, ratio of Na2SiO3/NaOH, and ratio of fine aggregate/precursor is 0.42, 2.00, and 2.00, respectively. The molar concentration of NaOH which was used were 8, 10, 12, 14, and 16 M. This study used cube specimen with 5 cm x 5 cm x 5 cm. The results showed that the higher the molar concentration of NaOH, the lower the weight loss. Maximum percentage of weight loss is 3.54% occured for the specimen with molar concentration of NaOH 8 M. The compressive strength for all specimens decreased due to the longer duration of immersion in sulfuric acid solution. However, this percentage of decreasing for compressive strength will be as lower as increasing the molar concentration of NaOH used. The maximum percentage of decreasing is 35.49% for specimen with NaOH 8 M with 90 days of immersion.


This paper tries to clarify the question of whether foreign exchange market interventions conducted by the Bank of Japan are important for the dollar-yen exchange rate in the long run. Our strategy relies on a re-examination of the empirical performance of a monetary exchange rate model. This is basically not a new topic; however, we put our focus on two new questions. Firstly, does the consideration of periods of massive interventions in the foreign exchange market help to uncover a potential long-run relationship between the exchange rate and its fundamentals? Secondly, do Forex interventions support the adjustment towards a long-run equilibrium value? Our overall results suggest that taking periods of interventions into account within a monetary model does improve the goodness of fit of an identified long-run relationship to a significant degree. Furthermore, Forex interventions increase the speed of adjustment towards long-run equilibrium in some periods, particularly in periods of coordinated forex interventions. Our results indicate that only coordinated interventions seem to stabilize the dollar-yen exchange rate in a long-run perspective. This is a novel contribution to the literature.


An ecological study was conducted to determine the association of macroinvertebrates with 12 species of submerged aquatic plants common in central New York. The abundance and kind of animals associated with each plant species and with their substrates were determined. An Ekman dredge vas used in obtaining the samples, which totaled 543 for the plants and 181 for the combined plant-sub- strate samples. These were taken in the shallows of five aquatic areas during the period of April- October, 1966. A total of 114 different taxonomic categories of animals was collected. Some plants harbored a larger biomass, greater numbers, and a greater taxonomic diversity than other hydrophytes. Three plant species harbored nearly 60 percent of the animal species found. Macroinvertebrates ap- peared to be many times more abundant in vegetated areas than in non-vegetated areas. On the average, 1 g of animal life was found associated with 100 g of plant material. Hydrophytes believed to be poor waterfowl food p)ants almost assuredly are indirectly important to waterfowl production, because they harbor large quantities of macroinvertebrates which furnish a source of animal protein.


2560 Background: It has been observed, that the caudal Axilla on the border to pectoralis muscle is predicive for the sentinel node. The sono-morphology of lymph nodes has been the subject of multi...


The deep inferior epigastric perforator (DIEP) flap may be associated with less long‐term donor‐site morbidity compared with free muscle‐sparing transverse rectus abdominis myocutaneous flap (MS‐TRAM) flap. However, DIEP flaps may have longer operative time and higher rates of acute postoperative complications. We performed a cost‐effectiveness analysis (CEA) that compared the long‐term costs and patient‐reported outcomes between the two flaps.


Engineering students need to be prepared for future work environments in which transdisciplinary collaboration and innovative behaviour are key to sustainable success. Classical technical skills will not be sufficient to find adequate solutions to complex and dynamic challenges. This work derives a set of ten behavioral aspects that are additionally required for new product developement and innovation. It presents a novel behaviour-centric concept for engineering education that seeks to systematically foster the required behaviour. It is tested in a university course with 41 students.


South Africa's 1998 National Water Act created a progressive framework for water management in the country that promoted equitable and sustainable use of water resources. The Act set out to repeal the discriminatory water policies of the apartheid era, which restricted access and allocation of water resources to black and Coloured South Africans. This was to be achieved via public participation and decentralized decision-making at the catchment level, through catchment management agencies. These bodies are supported by public forums, intended to initiate participation and identify key stakeholders. This process, similar to that of other countries, however, has yielded only marginal success and the reality of climate change is putting additional pressure on water resource decisions. This paper reflects the author's work on water governance in both South Africa and Canada.


It has been demonstrated that endophyte-infected (EI) ryegrass performed better in response to N deficiency than its endophyte-free (EF) counterpart. When P is considered, there is a lack of related information. In this study, Lolium perenne L. infected with Neotyphodium lolii was employed to establish EI and EF populations. Soil-grown EI and EF ryegrass were tested for their responses to P deficiency. The results showed that the endophyte infection improved the adaptability of ryegrass to P deficiency. When P was limited, EI roots were significantly longer (EI, 398.8; EF, 323.4 m/pot) and heavier (EI, 30.58; EF, 23.20 g/pot) than EF roots; the root: shoot ratio of EI plants was greater than that of EF plants (P < 0.05). The content of total phenolics and organic acids was significantly greater for EI roots than for EF roots at low P supply; the concentration of both, however, was not improved by the endophyte infection. This suggested that it was the higher root dry weight (DW) that contributed to the higher content of total phenolics and organic acids for EI plants, and the endophyte infection might have negligible effects on chemical modification of perennial ryegrass. Endophyte infection did not increase P uptake rate but did significantly improve P use efficiency of ryegrass in response to P deficiency (EI, 0.734; EF, 0.622 g DW/mg P).


As a very important indicator for the supervisors to evaluate a bank, bad asset ratio has much effect on the capital ratio of a bank. This is especial ly true for China's four state-owned commercial banks. The author tries to produ ce a model to relief the supervisors of their troubles where they have to combin e the common measure and the incremental measure imposed by the historical facto rs in their appraisal work,thus "artfully integrating the common measure and th e incremental measure",as is required by Mr. Zhou Xiaochuan,the president of t he People's Bank of China,China's central bank.


The present study was undertaken with the objective to evaluate the effect of rumen bypass fat with chromium supplementation on milk yield and milk fat per cent in dairy cows. Total 12 normal healthy advanced pregnant cows (1 week before expected parturition) was selected and divided randomly into two equal groups. One group (Group I) was kept without supplementation of bypass fat and given only basal diet as a control group. The second group (Group II) was supplemented with rumen bypass fat @ 100 g per animal per day along with basal diet for one week prepartum and upto the period of 4 weeks after parturition. The milk yield and milk fat per cent recorded before supplementation ('0' day) and on 7 th , 14 th , 21 st and 30 th day after supplementation of bypass fat, respectively. The milk yield was increased by 12.73 per cent in group supplemented with bypass fat (Group II) as compared to control group (7.02%) on 30 th day post supplementation. The milk fat per cent was higher (4.18%) in group supplemented with bypass fat (Group II) as compared to control group (3.75%) on 30 th day of post supplementation. The study concluded that, the supplementation of rumen bypass fat @ 100 g per cow per day for one week before expected parturition and upto 4 weeks after parturition improved milk yield and milk fat per cent and proved to be beneficial in fulfilling the energy demand for milk production.


Delaying the dream: Southern senators and the fight against civil rights, 1938-1965. By Keith M. Finley. (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2008. xii, 340 pp. $40.00, ISBN 978-0-8071-3345-3.)


In November, 1803, "Citizen" John Thelwall, the once-notorious Jacobin orator, stopped at Grasmere and Keswick on his way to Scotland to deliver elocutionary lectures. According to biographers, this visit marked the definitive end of Thelwall's friendship with Wordsworth and Coleridge, and of their "radical years." Thelwall sank into obscurity as an elocutionist and pedagogue, and Wordsworth and Coleridge rose to become the foremost poet-critics of their generation. I have been working to fill in the blanks in Thelwall's virtually undocumented later career, a quest crowned by my discovery in 2004 of both his hidden hermitage in Llyswen, Wales, and a one-thousand-page manuscript of his complete poems, never known to have existed, in Derby. These discoveries prove that Thelwall's poetry is more ambitious and original than he has been given credit for, that his connections with the Wordsworth Circle are more extensive and long-lived, and that his 1803 visit to the Lake District was not a chance event. Not merely passing through, Thelwall had recently settled his family in nearby Kendal, where they would remain for over a year, where he would return between lecture tours, and where he would write poetry that continues the formative dialogue with Wordsworth and Coleridge that began in 1796. (1) Not counting work towards his ambitious but unfinished epic The Hope of Albion, Thelwall wrote at least twenty-five poems between 1803 and 1805, most intended for the unpublished volume of Wordsworthian Poems, Chiefly Suggested by the Scenery of Nature that makes up the core of the Derby manuscript, and appears to originate at this time. (2) My paper draws on this manuscript (which I am editing) as well as research into Kendal social history (including evidence of the reception of Thelwall's lectures), to answer my title question. Why did Thelwall choose Kendal? What does his residence there mean for his own poetry, and that of the "Lake School" (which was tarred by Thelwall's brush with Jeffrey in Edinburgh)? What kind of poetry did he deliver to the citizens of Kendal, and how was he received? How does Romantic poetry look when viewed from the perspective of a market town on the dissenting margins of the Lake District rather than a rustic cottage at its loyal shepherd's heart? If English Romanticism is forever associated with Lake District, then Kendal like Thelwall is forever knocking on its door. This "gateway to the Lakes" (3) is a market town and transportation hub now famous not for literary but consumer landmarks, from mint cake to shoes. Two hundred years ago, Kendal was not so different: when the town is mentioned in the lives of the poets, it is as a place to catch the London coach, or to purchase books and commodities (like the famous 'black drop' opium) not available locally. In short, Kendal then as now was a place of mobility, sociability and commerce, a threshold or bridge between the pastoral tradition and tranquility that Wordsworth sought out and celebrated in his poetry, and the rapidly growing mill towns and mass markets that he wrote his poetry in opposition to, but still depended on, in that uneasy relationship between literary and popular culture that also defines Romanticism. Kendal was a threshold. in social structure as well. Unlike the mountain heart of the Lake District, where the sturdy self-reliance of Wordsworth's idealized shepherds was rooted in a quasi-feudal deference to the high-and-mighty Lowther interest, Kendal was characterized by the political independence and class mobility that marked the emergent northern powerhouses of this industrial revolutionary age. According to social historians, Kendal's "historical lack of resident gentry and nobility" (Brown 3), along with its large number of skilled artisans and independent tradesmen, and the fact that its leading families were dissenters, Quakers and Methodists, all meant that Kendal was never an established "county" town (Dyhouse 4-5. …


In an efficient search for evidence to address clinical questions, clinicians consult trustworthy collections of critically evaluated evidence when those resources exist. The "5S" hierarchy organizes these resources in terms of their usability in clinical practice and suggests which sources to consult first. When relevant evidence cannot be found in one of the more developed resources, the clinician's ability to conduct an effective and efficient search of the health care literature to locate evidence is a crucial skill for evidence-based practice. Two features of literature database search engines are particularly helpful: subject headings and clinical queries. Subject headings are specific terms assigned by an indexer to describe a topic or concept, in addition to whatever terms the author actually used. This allows the searcher to retrieve all the literature on that topic with a single search term. Clinical queries act as filters, retaining only evidence described as coming from the strongest designs to answer questions of a specific domain. These "expert searches" are available for therapy, diagnosis, prognosis and harm (etiology) question domains in several databases and may be offered at different rates of selectivity. The searcher who uses these features in evidence-rich databases is likely to be successful in locating relevant evidence when it exists.


When serving as the Attending Physician on the Cardiology Service it has been a common occurrence over the years to admit patients with the initial episode of acute heart failure. My standard teaching approach with the medical students and house staff was to ask for a differential diagnosis for the etiology. Most commonly the answer I received was a limited list of specific disorders. At that point I usually say that a better approach is to consider the etiologies of heart failure in terms of the anatomic structures that can be affected. When asked to identify the cardiac structures that should be considered as the site of disease, the first response is usually the coronary arteries. In view of the prevalence of disease, this response probably should not be surprising. Some will point to the heart valves, or the pericardium, or the electrical system, or the aorta/pulmonary artery for hypertension. However, the myocardium itself is almost invariably the last structure mentioned, if mentioned at all. For some reason, when we think of cardiovascular disease structurally, we don't include the myocardium as a cardiac structure. Due to its predominant prevalence, atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease has usually received the bulk of the attention of the medical community. Moreover, the treatment of vascular disease involved medical, interventional, and surgical approaches, whereas disorders of nonvascular structures generally required surgical therapy, or were not amenable to therapy at all. Interventional cardiology meetings were almost entirely devoted to coronary artery disease and its complications. That all changed, of course, with the advent of Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR) and the birth of the field of structural heart disease. However, just as primary myocardial disorders were not usually considered in the spectrum of vascular disease, they somehow have not been perceived as an integral part of structural heart disease either. The lack of attention to primary myocardial disease is perhaps related to the focus on the percutaneous procedures which have created the field of structural heart disease and been responsible for most of its most exciting innovations. Thus, TAVR and transcatheter edge to edge mitral repair (TEER) have brought focus to valve disease, atrial septal defect and patent foramen ovale closure brought attention to congenital heart disease, and left atrial appendage occlusion devices have brought emphasis to electrical and thromboembolic disorders, among others. In fact, work and publication regarding the interventional aspects of structural disorders has been substantially greater than efforts regarding their pathophysiology, natural history, and non-interventional aspects. This has been reflected in Structural Heart Journal, in that the vast majority of submissions have dealt with interventions. The one primary myocardial disease that has generally be included in structural disorders is hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, perhaps due to the interventional aspects of septal myectomy. The lack of attention to primary myocardial diseases by the structural heart community has had implications for Structural Heart Journal. As mentioned above, most of the submissions to the Journal have been devoted to percutaneous interventional procedures. This has raised a question as to whether we should even consider publishing manuscripts dealing with myocardial diseases. It is possible that our readership would not be interested in such topics. I cannot believe that this could be the case; the physicians working in structural heart disease that I know have an interest in the broad field of cardiology. Structuralists come from a wide variety of specialties including intervention, imaging, surgery, anesthesia, and general cardiology among others. The challenges presented by heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, which led to the conception of interatrial communication devices, exemplify the interdependence of all cardiovascular disciplines. In fact, the emerging percutaneous interventions in heart failure patients is an even better example. Moreover, including non-interventional content will help attract a wide variety of readers and provide even greater exposure to innovative percutaneous and surgical procedures. I, for one, firmly believe that the myocardium is a cardiac structure, and should be an integral part of structural heart disease. We are open to and are soliciting manuscripts dealing with primary myocardial disorders. We believe that structuralists are interested in all aspects of cardiovascular disease, and that knowledge of noninterventional subject matter will provide the substrate for interventional procedures to address these pathologies. We recognize that the excitement and greatest innovation in structural heart disease is related to interventional, particularly transcatheter, procedures, and that manuscripts focused in this area will continue to predominate


Analytical results relating errors in transfer-function coefficients for a second-order model to errors in the resulting time-domain response, via the integral of the squared error (I.S.E.), are presented. Such information is valuable in assessing the application of transfer-function approximations, such as the continued fraction expansion. The nature of the transfer function, i.e. overdamped or underdamped, has a significant effect on the time-domain I.S.E. Both impulse and step responses are considered.


Author(s): Cech, Jennifer Nell | Advisor(s): Bocian, Maureen | Abstract: This study determined how often cancer is reported in prenatal three-generation family histories at our center. It also examined if there was a change between the years 2010 and 2016, given changes noted in cancer awareness over the last 10 years. Using a retrospective chart review, we found that 59% of 437 prenatal pedigrees from 2016 reported cancer, a 19% increase from 2010. Using a generalized cancer scoring system, there was a 48% increase in maternal high-risk, 175% increase in maternal intermediate-risk, 16% increase in maternal low-risk, and a 43% increase in paternal low-risk cancer families between 2010 and 2016. This study also assessed current practice protocols of prenatal genetic counselors to identify if there is uniformity in how they evaluate and respond to families with reported cancer history. A survey of 104 prenatal genetic counselors revealed that the majority ask about age at diagnosis when cancer is discussed, but only 53% address cancer every time they take a three-generation family history. When given sample pedigrees, prenatal counselors responded differently to maternal vs. paternal lineage high cancer risk; 24% elected to refer to cancer genetic counseling for a paternal high-risk family compared to 62% for a maternal high-risk family. Taken together, the results of this study support the importance of obtaining comprehensive three-generation pedigrees that include cancer in the prenatal setting and developing institutional protocols for prenatal counselors to evaluate, respond, and relay information regarding cancer genetic risk assessment to prenatal patients.


Audio description is a translation technique designed to make visual content available to visually impaired people. It combines certain aspects of lingual and intersemiotic transfer, which places it among new means of translation, such as audiovisual or multimedia translation. The description of the appearance of a multidimensional object, such as a building, requires using methods of presenting visual content belonging to various categories of description, accompanied by measures allowing visually impaired people to "see" a vast multitude of forms of expression that architecture employs. The purpose of this paper is to introduce consecutive stages of creating audio description of an architectural object. Literature research on the subject demonstrates that audio description of architecture remains the least discussed variant of this technique in Polish expert publications. Due to the insufficient literature database, the author attempts to conduct an autonomous study of this topic. The analysis includes a comparison of selected examples of audio description as well as comments on descriptive strategies and their connection with established audio description standards. Due to the wide scope of the subject, the research is concentrated on the audio description of the architecture of exterior structures. Firstly, the definition and position of architecture as a variety are considered. Secondly, what follows is a brief description of architectural details, which visually impaired persons are unable to comprehend without audio description. The main part of the analysis is focused on the description of each phase of script creation / recording. In compliance with the aforementioned assumptions, this paper should be considered as a guideline for the correct use of this particular audio description variety.


The invention discloses a total nutrient fortified flour of vegetables and wild vegetables. In the invention, multi-stem and leaf vegetables and better palatable wild vegetables which are edible for people are processed, then are added into flours such as wheat and the like in proportion, thereby the content of nutritional components such as various of vitamins, macroelements and microelements, amino acids and the like is increased generally, so that the total nutrient fortified flour of vegetables and wild vegetables is more beneficial to ensuring the physical health.


In two papers published in this issue of the Journal [1, 2] and presented at the last EACTS Annual Meeting, the group from the National Heart Institute of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, discuss their long-term experience of repair for rheumatic mitral valve regurgitation, with the aim of identifying predictors of durability and of comparing them with repairs for degenerative mitral valves, in one of the manuscripts, and to analyse a particular aspect of the technique of repair—leaflet extension, in the other. Mitral valve repair for rheumatic disease is commonly believed to yield poorer results by comparison with other aetiologies, especially degenerative. This is a natural consequence of the evolutive nature of the rheumatic process, which continues to distort the valve apparatus even beyond a successful repair. These rheumatic populations from developing countries are characterized by the low mean age of 20–30 years (32 years in the current series) [3], which renders them susceptible to further bouts of the disease. Hence, antibiotic prophylaxis must be continued until a much older age, at least to 40 years, and the WHO now recommends life-long prophylaxis in patients with severe valve disease or who have had valve surgery [4]. But it is essential to recognize that valve replacement in rheumatic populations also has poorer outcomes, in some reports clearly worse to those of repair, mainly due to deficient socio-economic conditions. My own experience with a similar population in Johannesburg, South Africa, attests to the superiority of repair in these patients [5]. Others have reported similar experiences [6]. It is, however, necessary to distinguish between the rheumatic disease of these patients and that of series originating from developing countries. The latter, now a rarity, represents a different stage of the disease and the mean age of the patients is much higher ( 50 years) [7]. In this case, the histological process has stabilized and most patients only have dilatation of the annulus. Hence, in the absence of significant calcification, the feasibility of repair is higher and the results better. During a 14-year period, the group from Kuala Lumpur repaired the mitral valves of 627 patients, predominantly with regurgitation, a number similar to that done for other aetiologies, and found that the actuarial freedom from valve failure for rheumatics at 5 and 10 years was 85.6 ± 2.3 and 72.8 ± 4.6%, respectively, similar to that for degenerative valves. Although this study has the limitation, acknowledged by the authors, of being a single-centre non-randomized series, it certainly adds to the evidence that contemporary repair of the rheumatic mitral valve is possible in the majority of patients and has excellent results, hence should be the procedure of choice also for this pathology and in these populations. What has changed in recent years that so significantly improved the outcomes? In my opinion, the use of artificial chordae made of polytetrafluoroethylene, to replace ruptured chordae or to re-inforce elongated chordae, has had the most impact. The majority of patients with rheumatic regurgitation have prolapse of the anterior leaflet due to elongated chordae tendineae. In the past, this was treated by one of the techniques of chordal shortening or transfer, as originally described by Carpentier [8]. But with progression of the rheumatic process, the chordae continue to elongate or rupture, causing the repair to fail. For this reason, most surgeons, lately also Carpentier, have turned to the artificial chordae to re-level the free edges of the leaflets to promote adequate coaptation. This can be used even in the younger and smaller patients, and several studies have confirmed the superiority of the results [9]. Another technical alternative which has evolved in the past two decades is leaflet extension, to increase leaflet area and coaptation surface, which is the subject of the second paper authored by the Kuala Lumpur group. The authors treated 62 of 446 rheumatic patients by leaflet extension with glutaraldehydetreated autologous pericardium as part of their mitral repair. The authors analysed prospectively the clinical and echocardiographic data of the patients and found the estimated 5-year freedom from reoperation and valve failure to be 96.8 and 91.6%, respectively, but the follow-up extended for only a little over 3 years, which is much too short to draw definitive conclusions. Leaflet extension is not new. It was used extensively by some of us in the late 1970s and early 1980s, but the results then reported were not very encouraging, most patients developing mixed regurgitation and stenosis due to shrinkage and thickening of the pericardium. But in those days the autologous pericardium was used untreated. The glutaraldehyde-treated pericardium was introduced later as a sequel of the utilization of the similarly treated bovine pericardium, for different uses. The current study of Dillon et al.


Turbing draft tube is one of the core parts of hydropower station.In this paper,combining with the profile data of draft tube preliminary design,using UG software to undertake three-dimensional model and CFD simulation calculation,obtaining the satisfactory results,and proving the draft tube design is consistent with the actual requirement of power station.


Indonesia is a country with the largest tropical peatlands in the world. utilization of peatlands has been widely associated with fires and environmental issues like carbon dioxide emissions because of the highest land-use. The reduction or loss of the peat forest ecosystem for the development of dry land plants on a massive scale has reduced the quality of the environment, so that the function and benefits of the peat ecosystem as a hydrological buffer for the surrounding area are disturbed. This paper aims to synthesize all research results qualitatively to explore the potential for developing agroforestry systems on peatlands in an effort to increase food security and protect the environment. This review paper uses the Qualitative Review Systematics method with stages: 1) formulation of questions, 2) literature search, 3) screening and selecting appropriate research articles, 4) analyzing and synthesizing qualitative findings, 5) presenting finding. Agroforestry has the potential to have a real impact on food security, climate change including mitigation and adaptation, and preserving the environment. Some research results show that the agroforestry systems can be an effective buffer in peatlands in fire control because the peat stabilization process requires control materials to maintain the elemental composition, carboxyl (COOH) and OH-phenol functional groups, so that the peat conditions become stable.


To improve the accuracy of insulation state detection of power equipment, an intelligent method for power defect information processing using knowledge map technology is proposed in this paper. By optimizing the general process of constructing knowledge map, this scheme proposes to use graph search to identify defects and record errors. To improve the utilization of data and mine the related information affecting the insulation state of equipment, Neo4j's power big data modeling method is used to store the text data of insulation state of power equipment based on graph database. The experimental results show that the insulation equipment defect detection based on graph database and knowledge map has high recognition efficiency and meets the real-time requirements of the system.


Purpose: Analysis of the current regulatory and methodological framework on control of doses from intake of 14C for the personnel and the public living in the control area of the nuclear power plant (NPP). Identifying the most informative methods of controlling radiation impact of 14C on a human being.
Material and methods: Research literature on radiation impact of naturally occurring 14C; 14C entering the environment as a result of nuclear weapon tests; and 14C entering workplaces and the control area of NPP has been reviewed. Dose coefficients and other radiation characteristics of 14C provided in IAEA, ICRP and UNSCEAR publications have been summarized.
Results: According to UNSCEAR, annual radiation burden caused by global 14C is the highest one (about 80 %) among radiation burdens associated with four critical naturally occurring cosmogenic radionuclides: 3H (0.01 µSv/year), 7Be (3.0 µSv/year), 14C (12 µSv/year) and 24Na (0.2µSv/year). The main way of 14C intake is the alimentary one when this isotope enters the human body with food. Dose from this kind of intake of global 14C can reach 40 µSv. The annual dose caused by aerogenic (inhalation) way of intake of global 14C does not exceed 1 µSv.
The most informative methods of dose assessment for the personnel of NPP and the public living in the control area involve measurement of content of 14C in top soil, vegetation and food products.
Conclusions: Significant amount of 14C enters the environment within the control area during operation of NPP, which causes the public radiation dose exceeding the dose from global 14C. The most informative objects characterizing content of technogenic 14C in the control area of NPP are top soil (humus) and vegetation. The liquid scintillation spectrometry involves sample preparation by burning of samples in oxygen with capturing of generated carbon dioxide and its transfer into organic solvent. This is the most technologically viable method for mass control of 14C content in samples of top soil and vegetation.


Few studies have been conducted on the factors and distribution of soil organic carbon (SOC) in plantation forests in arid mountainous regions, especially in orchards. We aimed to unravel the SOC distribution among land‐use types and the effects of altitude gradients and rock fragment content (RFC) on SOC accumulation and sequestration in the Upper Min River Arid Valley, China. The differences in SOC distribution among land‐use types were quantified. The correlation analysis of SOC with various factors, such as altitude and RFC, was conducted. The variation percentage in SOC content and stocks was explained by the factors' contribution using mixed‐effects models. SOC distribution was characterized by high content and low stocks in native forests and shrubs, high content and high stocks in eco‐forest, and low content and high stocks in orchards. At the surface (0–30 cm), SOC content and stocks in orchards (cherry, plum, and apple) were significantly lower than those in eco‐forests. There was a significant positive correlation between altitude and SOC content at the surface but not at the subsoil (30–60 cm). With RFC increased, the surface SOC content decreased in native forests, shrubs, and eco‐forests, while it increased in orchards. Our results suggest that land management is the main factor controlling the variation in SOC distribution. Enhancing the surface SOC stability in orchards by land management is a priority for soil carbon pool management in the Arid Valleys.


Points out the deficiency in the design of detector stand,elevating table and console,analyzing the common failures and operating flow of multi functional DR-EIDOS3000.Puts forward some solutions for troubleshooting.


We study the problem of computing the reliability of a network operated using the OSPF protocol where links fail with given independent probabilities. Our measure of reliability is the expected lost demand in the network. Computing this measure is #P-complete, so we developed approximation methods based on related work for circuit-switched networks. Preliminary results show the robustness of optimized OSPF weights compared to commonly used weight settings.


Skin diseases are common in rural communities and flood affected areas. Preferably, skin disease should be treated without delay by a dermatologist. But due to shortage of expertise in rural areas, it is impossible so far. An expert system is capable of providing timely and correct diagnosis, that's why building an expert system is a potential challenge. In this book we will present a design of fuzzy expert system for the detection of skin (erythemato squamous) diseases. Because uncertainty and impreciseness among the symptoms in diagnosis process, we choose fuzzy logic based design. For implementing the system, we use MATLAB fuzzy logic toolbox. Fuzzy logic controller generates a result from given symptoms using Mamdani MIN-MAX inference mechanism and for defuzzification uses centroid (COG) method.


The objective of this research is to investigate the direction of the relationship between job satisfaction and organizational commitment. We conducted a survey in Brazilian organizations to answer the research question and to test the hypothesis. This study contributes to existing literature by providing encouraging evidence that job satisfaction ultimately affects organizational commitment. To practitioners, the findings suggest that managers could also enhance employees' commitment by increasing job satisfaction within five dimensions. The main contribution of this research is to provide a basis for a longitudinal approach to determine the causal ordering between job satisfaction and organizational commitment.


The corpora allata (CA) of mated female Diploptera punctata showed an increase in cell number from 6000 cells/CA on the day of emergence to a maximum of about 9000 cells/CA by day 5. The number of cells per CA then declined and, by day 8, the CA was composed of about 6000 cells. In the normal mated animal, the previously established increase in biosynthetic activity of the CA correlated with the increase in number of cells in the CA. In virgin females no significant change in cell number was observed during this period and this correlates with the demonstrated low and constant rates of juvenile hormone (JH) biosynthesis. Following ovariectomy, however, an increase in cell number occurred (to 10 000 cells/CA) by day 5 and cell number remained elevated until at least day 8. Low rates of JH biosynthesis have been observed previously in ovariectomized females and thus the increase in cell number observed in these females is not accompanied by a corresponding increase in biosynthetic activity. The cell number ...


(57) Abstract: The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display device having a birefringent compensator. The liquid crystal display device according to the present invention includes, having a twisted nematic liquid crystal display screen is classified as Type II (1). The at least one hand the surface of the screen (10, 11), and biaxially birefringent film having an empty theory anisotropy (2), uniaxially birefringent film having an optical axis inclined with respect to the liquid crystal display screen ( 3) and is provided. Preferably, the biaxial film (2) is a plastic film that is stretched, said uniaxial film (3) is a holographic grating. Further, the biaxial film (2, 2 ') and one biaxial film (3, 3') is provided on both sides of the screen. Unit consisting of which are sandwiched between polarizing plates (4, 4 ') that the polarization directions cross. Elements of the screen, relative orientation is specified. It was possible to expand the viewing angle in the horizontal and vertical directions.


This study aims to deconstruct the limits of conceptual context. We start from Systemic Functional Linguistics (LFS) of Halliday (1970, 1978), which does not cease to score in Critical Discourse Analysis (ADC) (Fairclough, 2001), and we use them for voices of philosophy of language (Wittgenstein, 1989) and pragmatics (Austin, 1962), whose interfaces move in the counterflow of dualisms between the semantic dimension as abstract-formal and the pragmatic dimension as an empirical context. And a road of argument, we get the impossibility of establishing conceptual categorizations (Rajagopalan, forthcoming), due to the fluidity in the sense of context falls.


Typically, incumbent providers enjoy a demand-side advantage over any entrant. However, market entrants may enjoy a supply-side advantage in costs over the incumbent, since they are more efficient or operate on innovative technologies, such as the voice of internet protocol (VoIP) telephony. Regulation with a supply-side asymmetry has rarely been addressed. Considering both a supply-side and a demand- side asymmetry, the present model analyzes the effects different regulation regimes. Regulation may have adverse effects on subscribers, market shares, and profits. If providers can discriminate between on-net and off-net prices, asymmetric regulation has no local effect on market shares, independent of any demand- and supply-side asymmetry. Otherwise, with reciprocal termination charges, price discrimination leads to qualitatively same effects than nondiscriminatory pricing.


In today's technological age, fraud has become more complicated, and increasingly more difficult to detect, especially when it is collusive in nature. Different fraud surveys showed that the median loss from collusive fraud is much greater than fraud perpetrated by a single person. Despite its prevalence and potentially devastating effects, collusion is commonly overlooked as an organizational risk. Internal auditors often fail to proactively consider collusion in their fraud assessment and detection efforts. In this paper, we consider fraud scenarios with collusion. We present six potentially collusive fraudulent behaviors and show their detection process in an ERP system. We have enhanced our fraud detection framework to utilize aggregation of different sources of logs in order to detect communication and have further enhanced it to render it system-agnostic thus achieving portability and making it generally applicable to all ERP systems.


The article analyzed the benefit of methane electricity generation on pig farm according to the eco-engineering project of actual methane environment protection.The results showed: the anaerobic fermentation methane generated by the sewage with the millions of pigs increased profit by 73,656 yuan in one year,with the good ecological and social benefits.Methane electricity generation is an important measure for constructing the green environment protection engineering,with great potential for development.


Objective A study of X- ray manifestations of cystic lesions of jaws. Methods In total 63 patients with cystic lesions of jaws, confirmed by pathology were enrolled in the study, were examined under appropriate X- ray projections. Results Ameloblastoma, keratinous cyst and dentigerous cyst were the most commonly seen, accounting for 70% cases. Cystic lesions arising from mandible accounted for 74.6% cases, while lesions arising from maxilla were found in the other (25.4% ) cases. Cystic lesions of jaws manifested solitary or multilocular bone destruction. Conclusion Appropriate projection, characteristic X- ray findings and logical diagnostic approach will improve the accuracy of the diagnosis of cystic lesions of jaws.


A scenario is "a synopsis of a dramatic plot of a drama dealing with certain aspects of the future. The plot is based on a current condition and depicts potential actions and events in likely order of development." It is an extraordinarily flexible device. It is an extrapolation of future events or trends based on either current conditions, or variations and changes in current conditions, or on new conditions arbitrarily imposed as a means of assessing their impact.


Columns are one of the most vital segments in bridgessince its post-seismic behaviour is of much importance. The retrofitting methods and rehabilitation strategies of bridges mainly rely on the identification of the failure mode of columns. It has been witnessed in various studies on columns that the mode of failure highly depends on section and material properties and there is no specific boundary between the modes, which makes their identification more sophisticated. This paper uses an artificial neural network to predict the modes of failure by analysing the effects of such soft computing methods. In this study, machine- learning models were generated from the experimental data of 253 columns of rectangular cross-section and its accuracy of failure mode prediction was evaluated by considering failure modes mainly flexure, flexure-shear, and shear. The optimal input parameters have also been evaluated for the machine-learning algorithm that enhances the efficiency of failure mode prediction.


ABSTRACT The effect of timing of the first feeding (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 days post-hatch, dph), on survival and on growth of laboratory-reared obscure puffer (Takifugu obscurur) larvae was examined. Larvae began to feed exogenously at 2–3 dph (2.96±0.05 mm in total length) at 24 °C. Survival of larvae initially fed at 2, 3, 4, and 5 dph was similar (73.2–78.8%), while survival decreased sharply for those larvae whose first feeding was at 6 dph (22.1%), and no larvae were able to survive when food was not offered until 7 and 8 dph. The feeding incidence of larvae fed for the first time at 2, 3.4, and 5 dph reached 100% in 24 h, whereas the feeding incidence decreased gradually in the larvae fed for the first time at 6 and 7 dph, and no feeding occurred in the larvae introduced to food at 8 dph. According to the feeding incidence, the point of no return occurred between days 6 and 7 after hatching. After 18 dph, no statistically significant differences in mean total length were detected among the larvae fed for the first time at 2, 3, 4, and 5 dph, while the larvae fed for the first time at 6 dph were significantly smaller. To ensure a successful transition from endogenous to exogenous feeding, timing of first feeding of obscure puffer larvae must be before 5 dph.


When climate began to change, water resources are the most affected sectors. Of all the consequences of climate change, the biggest impact is on hydrological cycle and water resources management and social-economic system. Social and economic condition of the community is very influential on the adaptation of society. Adaptive capacity is characterized by the ability of communities to adapt to the changes occuring. This study aims to determine correlation between the willingness to pay and the indicators of education, income, and distance to water sources in Palu'e, NTT and Kembangbahu, East Java. Chi-square analysis method was used to analyze questionnaire result from 46 respondents in Kembangbahu and 28 respondents in Palu'e. The calculation result shows that the three adaptation indicators do not have a correlation with the willingness to pay. This variable indicates the level of adaptation. However, local wisdom significantly affects the adaptation of society.


J Hambsch, S Georg, F De Bock Mannheim Institute of Public Health, Social and Preventive Medicine, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany University Children's Hospital Mannheim, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany Contact: email@example.com Background Early childhood is a key developmental phase with implications for social, academic and health outcomes throughout life. In Germany, a nationwide standardised documentation of children's development and health in early preschool is currently missing. The Early Development Instrument (EDI) is a teacher-completed questionnaire covering five developmental domains. It has been validated internationally with adoption in more than 10 countries. We aim to evaluate the psychometric properties of the German version of the EDI in Germany. Methods The EDI was translated and backtranslated. A pretest with five preschool teachers was performed and cultural validity assessed. For further validation, we recruited 23 preschools in south-west Germany with around 1000 eligible children (3-6 years). We will assess internal consistency, re-test reliability as well as factor structure with a planned sample of about 570 children. Associations between the EDI and 1) the German version of the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and 2) the revised version of the Dortmunder Entwicklungssecreening für den Kindergarten (DESK 3-6 R) will assess concurrent validity. Results Besides the final German EDI we will present the pretest results regarding comprehensibility of items, appropriateness of prompted skills, acceptability of the questionnaire in preschools as well as the barriers during recruitment. The first results of reliability and validity assessments will also be shown. Conclusions There is a lack of nationwide data about the development of preschool children in Germany. The EDI might for the first time provide local authorities in German-speaking countries with comprehensive information about school readiness in preschools.


This article is devoted to the search for the most effective design of sun protection devices (SPD) using solar maps and shadow masks. The design algorithm of the SPD using solar maps and shadow masks is considered. At the same time, the position of the shading elements - lamellas depends on the facade orientation. The examples of calculating the SPD geometric parameters with the vertical, horizontal and inclined position of the lamellas are given. A number of SPD projects are implemented in the buildings in Crimea.


Enhancement-mode GaN-HEMT devices with a newly developed recessed-gate structure were fabricated. These devices were capable of operating at up to 30 MHz switching. A wireless power transmission (WPT) was adopted for a potential application of these GaN devices, because high-frequency (f) switching devices are expected to improve the power-transfer efficiency (η) of the WPT. A GaN-based E-class amplifier WPT system achieved 10W output power and η =63.5 % under the operating conditions of f =13.56 MHz, duty=50%, and a load resistance of 10Ω.


The spring-mass system studied in undergraduate physics laboratories may exhibit complex dynamics due to the simultaneous action of gravitational and elastic forces in addition to air friction. In the first part of this paper, we describe a laboratory experiment aimed at beginner students which also gives those with a more advanced background an opportunity to explore more complex aspects of the motions involved. If students are not given predefined apparatus but are allowed instead to design their own set-up for the experiment, they may also learn something about the thought processes and experimental procedures used in physics. In the second part of this paper, we present a systematic study of the parametric behavior of the system because teachers have to master its dynamics. The non-linear interaction between the vertical and the pendular oscillations in a vertical spring-mass system depends on the ratio between the frequencies of the two motions and on the motion's excitation. Systematic experimental investigations, coupled with relevant simulations, highlight the many aspects of physics involved in the partition of energy transfer between the two modes. The different motion waveforms obtained by sweeping through the resonance curve and by applying small and strong excitations are presented and analyzed. The influence of the unavoidable spurious motions is investigated. An analogy between the parametric interaction in a spring--mass system and that found during frequency conversion in non-linear optical crystals is discussed.


The thesis is concentrating on the problem of multicultural society and its development round the world and in the Czech Republic. The first part deals with the concept of multiculturalism, with the birth of multicultural society and its benefits and risks. The second part focuses on questions of integration of Romany inhabitants and foreigners in our society. Attention is paid also to state policy connected with this issue. The third part introduces nearer the problem of multicultural education in our country. One of the components of the thesis is also sociological research focused on identification of relationship of pedagogical workers at elementary schools towards multicultural education. The aim of this research was to check if there is provided enough space for application of multicultural education at schools and to find out to what extent became the tutorial programmes, targeted upon multicultural education, a part of education at elementary schools.


The mass transfer performance of SO2 absorption in an aqueous solution of a newly proposed organic amine absorbent, N,N′-bis(2-hydroxypropyl)piperazine (HPP), was studied by the dynamic absorption method in a θ-ring packed column. The absorption performance was interpreted in terms of the overall mass transfer coefficient, KGa. The experimental results showed that the KGa value increased with an increase in the liquid flow rate, concentration, and initial pH of HPP absorbent. However, it decreased with an increase in temperature, SO2 partial pressure, and gas flow rate. An empirical correlation for the overall mass transfer coefficient is subsequently developed as a function of the process parameters. The obtained KGa from empirical correlation is found to be in relatively good agreement with the experimental results with a mean relative deviation of 6.6%, which could be used for engineering design.


The invention discloses a film pressure thermal dehydration method and equipment for high-moisture sludge, and belongs to the technical field of sludge dehydration. The method is characterized by comprising the following steps of: spreading the sludge subjected to conventional mechanical dehydration into a film of 1 to 10mm, regulating hot extrusion temperature and pressure for partition wall hot extrusion dehydration, separating out moisture in a liquid form, and further applying the sludge after the moisture is separated out. The invention has the advantages that: the energy consumption is low, and the energy utilization rate is high; in the dehydration process, seamless compression is adopted, and a wall-sticking phenomenon of conventional equipment is avoided, so that the whole dehydration process is smooth and feasible; and the process flow is simple and high in feasibility, other substances are not introduced, and the further treatment and recycle of the sludge are not influenced.


While pre-COVID-19 data indicated that the massive public
health effort to fight the opioid epidemic was beginning to
gain ground, the record-breaking surge of overdose deaths
during the pandemic revealed that the underlying state of our
addiction prevention and care system remains insufficient.
This reality has demanded a rethinking of approaches – both
policy-based and scientific – to accelerate the reversal of the
crisis. Evolving harm reduction policies based in a greater
appreciation for the neuroscience of addiction represent a
positive shift in our approach to addressing addiction. Yet,
there is still much opportunity for improvement, especially
in expanding the use of medication assisted treatment (MAT)
to treat opioid addiction. Moreover, emerging neuroscience
research may offer new paths to treatment and prevention.
Collectively, these efforts have the potential to significantly
tip the balance in the battle against drug addiction in
America.


Exploiting differential interstate-branching deregulation across contiguous counties of adjacent states, we investigate the effect of entry threat on incumbent banks' loan-loss provisions. Incumbents exposed to entry threat have offsetting incentives; lower provisions make their loan-underwriting quality appear better, deterring entry, but make local economic conditions appear better, encouraging entry. We find that the incentive to increase apparent loan-underwriting quality dominates on average. We further find that this incentive is stronger in counties with a higher proportion of heterogeneous loans, while the other incentive dominates in counties with both low heterogeneous loans and highly volatile economic conditions.


This paper is designed to explain the role of education in changing the society in Iran from Pahlavi up to Khomeini's period with special reference to women. Education as an instrument for social transformation and social development is widely recognised. In Iran education played an important role in promoting social and occupational mobility. It provides the means for empowering the disadvantaged and marginalised groups and promoting their inclusion in society. Education was used to awaken the people and influence society. The education system is more formidable apparatus that manipulates society indistinctively. Both the regimes make use of Education to initiate social development by bringing about a change in the outlook and attitude of a man. Education is considered a top priority in the development plans of the country. It is one of the most powerful instruments for reducing poverty and in equality in the society. It promotes social justice and is a force for change.


The invention provides an anti-drying whiteboard pen. A refill is compound cylinders, a thin cylinder is disposed at the front end, and a thick cylinder is arranged at the rear end. A nib comprises a water delivery pen core and a water delivery pen core fixer, and external threads are arranged on the outside of the water delivery pen core fixer. A connector is arranged between the nib and the refill and is a circular cylinder, two symmetrical circular protrusions are arranged at the top end, and two circular pits corresponding to the circular protrusions are formed in the tail end of the thin cylinder of the refill, so that the connector is prevented from slipping. Internal threads are arranged on the inner wall of the connector, the water delivery pen core fixer can be fixed on the connector through rotation. A spring is arranged on the connector, a sliding button is arranged on a pen holder and is connected with the connector through a connection rod, and the nib is exposed by sliding the button towards the nib and is contracted into the pen holder by sliding the button reversely. A circular partition layer is arranged at the top end of the pen holder, and two blocking plates are arranged in the circular partition layer and are in a string sheet shape. The two blocking plates are distributed symmetrically in the circular partition plate, and magnets are arranged at the string edges of the blocking plates. The blocking plates can be closed automatically after the nib is contracted to close a pen hole.


Urinary tract infections are common type of pathogenic infections in body. Essential oils of Coleus aromaticus and two varieties of Ocimum sanctum (Rama Tulasi and Shyama Tulasi) were compared for antibacterial activity against urinary tract infection (UTI) causing bacteria; Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella oxytoca, Proteus vulgaris, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Proteus mirabilis. Ocimum sanctum (Rama Tulasi) and Coleus aromaticus oils showed remarkable activity, later being more active. Least activity was observed in Shyama Tulasi variety of Ocimum sanctum. Constituents of the oils were analyzed by GC-MS and GC-FID. The essential oils have promising inhibitory effect with minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) ranging from 0.5μl/ml -6μl/ml. The essential oils of two varieties of Ocimum sanctum have differences both in chemical composition and MIC values against UTI infection causing pathogens.


Visual Fields . By Neil Choplin, Russel Edwards. Pp 255. £26.95. Thorofare, NJ: Slack, 1998. ISBN1-55642-363-2

This book is largely aimed at visual field technicians with the intention of providing them with the knowledge and skill required to produce visual field examinations of good quality.

Although several techniques and machines are discussed, emphasis is mainly on the use of the Humphrey visual field analyser. The authors introduce the reader to a brief description of the anatomy of the visual system with illustrations of basic defects patterns, then proceed to explain, in great detail, how to organise a visual field clinic and also give clear guidelines on how to administer the test. The instructions are full and comprehensive, including data storage and retrieval, setting up the machine, selecting corrective lenses, patient information, and a 15 point checklist for technicians.

The next section deals with errors in visual field testing and how to avoid them. It covers maintenance of automated and Goldmann perimeters, stimulus selection, monitoring of false positive responses, and others.

The last section is an "Atlas of common visual fields defects" covering glaucoma, retinal and neurological disease.

As an instructional book on how to use the Humphrey visual field analyser, it should be welcomed by technicians with limited experience in automated perimetry. However, regrettably, the Swedish Interactive Thresholding Algorithm (SITA) is not mentioned.

The latest issue of Community Eye Health (no 30) discusses external infections of the eye. Included are papers on conjunctivitis, corneal ulcer, and transmission and control of …


This paper proposes a real-time optimization based on the cooperative distributed MPC framework to achieve economic and energy dispatch for a neighboring multi-microgrids system in off-grid operation. The optimal control strategy can efficiently manage the microgrids plant using the exchanged information among the microgrids. The idea of coordination is adopted to reduce the gap between the power supply and the user demand using the surplus energy from the nearby microgrids, allowing efficient exploitation of the storage system and renewable energy resources, along with reducing the dependency on the controllable distributed generators. The cooperative control (DMPC-EMS) provides a proper tracking for the customer demand with an optimal and economic scheduling A case study is employed to verify the effectiveness of the proposed approach, the results show the reduction of the operating cost while satisfying the consumer comfort and demand compared to the case where the microgrids operated independently with non-cooperative robust MPC optimization . The simulation results illustrate the efficiency of the proposed method.


Hydrogenation of cinnamaldehyde was performed in a supercritical carbon dioxide–water biphasic catalyst system, which eliminates gas–liquid–liquid mass transfer and gives better activity and selectivity.


Psoriasis is associated with significant morbidity, which negatively impacts upon quality of life. Sleep disturbance is reported to be common in patients with psoriasis and is associated with physical and psychological variables, although there is little published work in this area. Understanding sleep and the factors involved in its disturbance in psoriasis is a potentially important clinical area given the role of sleep in health and disease processes.


Subject. This article deals with the issues of implementation of digital transformation of enterprises in order to improve their core competitiveness and achieve high rates of development.
Objectives. The article aims to analyze and assess the baseline conditions and opportunities for the digital transformation of natural resources sector enterprises.
Methods. For the study, we used analytical, quantitative, and expert assessment methods and techniques, and the systems approach.
Results. Based on a comparative analysis of the digital infrastructures of Russian natural resources sector enterprises and Chinese industrial sector enterprises, the article reveals a significant lag between Russian and Chinese enterprises in terms of IT-technology, -network, and special software supplying and upgrading. The article emphasizes the importance of training highly qualified natural resources management experts and specialists that have new information and network skills and competencies.
Conclusions. The next-generation model of industrial development based on the comprehensive application of next-generation digital technologies, contributes to the creation of a digital world that is changing conventional management and business models. The necessary business management software should primarily be based on home-grown products to manage production in the natural resources sector, rather than on the software used in other economies.


Some people see difficult issues as setbacks, as problems, as setbacks that will stop them from reaching their goals. Other people see the same kinds of issues as natural challenges of life and approach these problems as opportunities to grow. People like Dweck (2006), Duckworth (2013), and Johnson and Johnson (2013) believe that students can be taught to approach hurdles in life with positive and productive attitudes. They believe that students can learn how to approach issues in their academic in different ways. Student intelligence, talents, abilities, and potential are not written in stone at birth and through strategic effort and perseverance students can change their attitudes and perspectives on difficult issues. In this study we utilized cooperative learning techniques (Johnson & Johnson, 2013) to observe and analyze student data to determine whether or not young students were willing to contemplate their perspectives in relation to working through complex academic challenges. The results indicate that young students are willing and able to change their mindsets from a fixed to growth perspective. The results also indicated that those students who began the process with a positive mindset maintained their positive outlook and approaches to academic challenges. These results engender promise for our ability as instructors to help students learn to be strong willed and approach issues with a mindset to strategically work as hard as they have to learn and become successful.


The beta‐adrenergic (β2‐AR) receptor is a prototypical GPCR that controls important functions in the nervous, pulmonary, and cardiovascular systems. β2‐AR signaling involves multiple factors in both G‐protein dependent and independent signaling, resulting in diverse signaling outcomes. To understand the complexity of this pathway, we have performed the first unbiased, high‐throughput functional genomics screen of β2‐AR signaling using cAMP reporter and CRISPR interference (CRISPRi) silencing. We generated a reporter cell line using a construct encoding cAMP‐response element (CREB) fused to a ProteoTuner destabilizing domain and green fluorescent protein and another construct encoding catalytically‐dead Cas9 (dCas9) fused to the transcriptional repressor KRAB. Reporter cells were transduced with genome‐wide lentiviral sgRNA library to silence individual genes. After induction of β2‐AR signaling, we sorted the edited cells based on reporter expression and subjected them to deep sequencing and statistical analysis of sgRNA enrichment. We obtained 32 positive and 14 negative β2‐AR/cAMP signaling modulators enriched in factors involved in transcription initiation, RNA splicing, and RNA metabolic processes. We validated TP53 and NUP93 as novel positive modulators of β2‐AR signaling using dual luciferase cAMP assay and RT‐qPCR of cAMP‐dependent target gene, consistent with our cAMP reporter result. We found that the TP53‐dependent modulation of this pathway can partially be explained by lower transcription and surface expression of the β2‐AR receptors. These findings demonstrate a successful application of our reporter in a high‐throughput approach to identify previously uncharacterized modulators of the β2‐AR/cAMP pathway. This study reveals broader potential applications of our cAMP reporter as a platform to understand other aspects of GPCR signal transduction such as biased signaling, receptor‐specific molecular mechanisms, and drug discovery.


Aspidosperma brasiliense , a new species from Brazil and widely distributed in the country, is described and illustrated here. A comparative table based on morphological data and an identification key to Aspidosperma brasiliense and its related species are also provided.


The conventional portrait of Thomas Hobbes that emerged in twentieth century histories of philosophy is that of the quintessential mechanical philosopher, who openly broke with philosophical tradition (together with René Descartes). Hobbes's scholars depicted a more correct and detailed panorama, by analyzing Hobbes's debt towards Aristotelian and Renaissance traditions, as well as the problematic nature of the epistemological status that Hobbes attributes to natural philosophy. However, Hobbes's connection to modern Galilean science remains problematic. How and in what way did Hobbes take inspiration from Galileo? In this article, I analyze Hobbes's natural philosophy by addressing three topics: (1) his connection with some aspects of seventeenth-century Aristotelianism; (2) differences and analogies between Hobbes's and Galileo's epistemological approaches; and (3) the Galilean foundation of Hobbes's philosophy. Through this analysis I want to show in which sense Hobbes can be properly defined a "Galilean philosopher".


The purpose of the present study was to scrutinize the effect of glyphosate and atrazine (herbicide) on blood biochemical and hematological parameters of common carp, (Cyprinus carpio), including plasma glucose (RBS), cholesterol (CH), serum protein (SP), creatinine phosphates (CPK), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), WBC, hemoglobin (Hb), platelets (PT), lymphocytes (LP), monocytes (MT), esinophils (EN), and neutrophils (NT), and on behavioral aspects for (24, 48, 72, 96) hours under doses of (0.1, 0.07, 0.05, 0.02) and (0.2, 0.15, 0.1, 0.05)mlL-1 respectively of glyphosate and atrazine. For analysis of biochemical and hematological parameters, the protocol of biochemical analyzer set (Merck Micro Lab 300 biochemistry analyzer) and hematological analyzer (Mindray BC-2300 Hematology Analyzer) was followed in the laboratory. An upturn in RBS, CH, and WBC concentration was observed while SP, LDH, LT, MT, and EP concentrations were decreased against both herbicides. CPK and Hb concentrations were increased against atrazine, while against glyphosate the concentrations were decreased. PT and NT showed momentous upturn in concentrations against glyphosate, while showing a decline against atrazine. Both herbicides affected the blood biochemical and hematological parameters of the selected fish. Behaviorally, changes were observed *e-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com DOI: 10.15244/pjoes/62698 1996 Khan A., et al.


Negotiating sloped surfaces is a challenge in our daily environment that places unique demands on the neuromuscular system. This task has been studied in detail using quadruped models in order to gain insight into neural control of locomotion (CarlsonKuhta, 1998; Smith, 1998). Similar studies in humans would enhance our understanding of possible strategies employed by the neuromuscular system to successfully navigate challenging environments. An initial step towards this goal would be to characterize the changes in mechanical demand and muscular activity that occur in the lower extremity during slope walking. The purpose of this study was to focus on such changes at the knee and hip, and in particular, on biarticular muscles acting at these adjacent joints.


The results are given of a numerical simulation of the processes in laser targets due to transfer of energy by plasma radiation. The results obtained are compared with experimental data. A comparison is also made with the results of numerical simulations carried out using other mathematical programs.


This chapter critically reviews seminal literature on PPPs, in order to identify core congruent issues, motif, basics and environment as necessity to answer the quests for quality service delivery so rampant world over. It draws out a number of key themes to better understand why the quest for PPP has turned out to be the 'driving tone' for all governments, even though successive reports/news prints, have uncovered many challenges in their implementation. Acknowledging that there is no one clear definition, strategy or template for the effective partnering, findings from extant literature highlight principles and critical success factors (CSFs) deemed integral to augmenting PPP performance and success. So, whilst governments invariably conducts their businesses with a smaller ration of strategic partnerships than commonly believed, and accepting private partners dominance has predominantly remained, it is advocated that there is an exigent need to disentangle the PPP initiative through some form of proper risk analysis in the project phases. The case for this is presented through a relationship schema that maps the fabric, reliance and drivers for PPP success.


"Seen as somewhat futuristic, there is a certain amount of hype about (powered) exoskeletons in the media. On paper, these devices are seen as a way of making strenuous or repetitive tasks easier for their users. But is that really the case? What side effects do they have? A spotlight on these new-style devices."


Development of both marketing and culture sector has a multi-directional nature showing relationships with the concept of sustainable development that should be considered on various levels of management of cultural sector, i.e. on the level of cultural policy of the state or region, and on micro-scale – in cultural institutions. This is because not only natural environment, economy and technology, but also society and culture constitute the area of sustainable development.   Considering the assumptions of sustainable development by cultural institutions is related to implementing in this sphere the marketing concepts that are the expression of adoption of market orientation (on culture participant). The objective of the paper is to show the role of marketing in cultural institutions in the context of assumptions of sustainable development concept. The paper is based on literature studies and results of empirical research of quantitative character, which was conducted on a sample of 451 people managing cultural  institutions in Poland. The research included general managers, managers and artistic directors, managers of marketing, promotion and sales departments, as well as owners of cultural institutions. Analysis of research results shows that culture participant has the highest position among groups of consumers of actions conducted by cultural institutions and development of offer diversity, comprised in the concept of sustainable development, emerges as factor stimulating development of culture market that is closely related to growth of the quality of cultural institution offer.


The bluegill sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus) in small ponds feeds on relatively large prey associated with the vegetation. However, in the presence of the green sunfish (L. cyanellus) it shifts to feeding on smaller, less preferred prey in the open water column. The mechanisms responsible for this habitat shift were examined by experimentally confining both species, alone and together, in homogeneous patches of the preferred habitat (vegetation). When confined together in the vegetation the green sunfish exhibited higher survivorship, growth rates, and amount of food in the stomachs than the bluegill. The bluegill fed on smaller items and consumed more benthic prey than did the green sunfish. The presence of the congener did not alter the food habits of either species or the growth rates of the green sunfish in relation to species stocked alone. Presence of the congener did affect the growth rates of the bluegill. Overlap in the diet was 70o when these species were confined to the vegetation as compared to 44% in an earlier study where habitat separation was permitted. The green sunfi'sh is more of a sit-and-wait predator and is able to utilize a wider food size spectrum than the bluegill. This results in a strong asymmetry in the competition function favoring the green sunfish in the vegetation. However, in the open water column the distribution of food sizes is truncated and this provides a competitive refuge for the bluegill which handles small foods more efficiently. The bluegill appears to be more flexible in its habitat use while the green sunfish is more aggressive and limited in the habitats utilized. Comparisons with studies of habitat shifts in salmonids suggest that the competitive mechanisms outlined are of general relevance in fish communities. Consideration of the relation between habitat structure, the correlated distribution of food sizes, and species morphology provides a framework for specifying the occurrence of habitat shifts and which species of the interactive set will shift.


Garima Sharma 1 Bikram Manandhar 2 ABSTRACT Climate change is the globally generated issues of greenhouse effects that actually have changed temperature and rainfall pattern as the average weather experienced in region over a long period of time. Although Nepal has a negligible share in the global emission of GHGs, it is vulnerable to climate change due to its fragile ecosystem. A case study entitled "Climate Change Impacts   and Local Adaptation Strategies at Chitlang, Thaha municipality, Makwanpur" was conducted to access the impacts of CC on livelihood, local people perception on climate change and the local adaptation measures used. Both primary and secondary data were collected. 60 households were selected by simple random sampling for household survey. Other method like Key informant interview, Focus group discussion and direct observation were also used for data collection. The data were interpreted along with simple table, pie charts, bars and graphs. Ms Excel and SPSS were used to analyze the information. The meteorological data shows annual maximum and minimum temperature is in increasing trend whereas annual rainfall is erratic in nature. The study revealed that the major threats in the study area were drought, storm, thunder and lightning, pest attack on crops and outbreak of disease. The impacts were clearly seen on agriculture, water resources, livestock and forest. Decreased agricultural production shortage of water, increased livestock disease and forest fires were the problems faced. Although majority of people were not aware about the climate change and its adaptation strategies, they have been traditionally practicing adaptation strategies like change in cropping pattern, change in crop varieties, use of more organic fertilizer, supplemental irrigation, rainwater harvesting, improving livestock shed and ponds removal of invasive species etc. Key words: Climate change, impacts, Adaptation, Rainfall, Temperature ……………………………………………………………………………….. 1Correspondence Author: email@example.com 2lecturer, Institute of Forestry, Hetauda campus, Hetauda, Nepal


Objective To estabolish a convenient,sparing and accurate DNA extraction and gene identification method of hSOD1-G93A transgenic mice.Methods B6SJL-Tg(SOD1-G93A)1Gur/J hemizygote male mice were mated with B6SJLF1 female mice.About 1mm of the tip of mice tail was cut and DNA was extracted.hSOD1 gene segment was PCR amplificated.The genotype of the mice was determined by electrophoresis,and PCR product was purified and sequenced to verify the mutantion.At the same time,DNA of 50~100μl blood from each mice tail was used as positive control to test the accuracy of tissue DNA.Results hSOD1-G93A positive mice were 54%,basically consistent with Mendelian inheritance rule.The results of tail and blood DNA identification were completely coincident.Conclusion DNA extraction and gene identification from tail tip tissue was a convenient,cheap and accurate method.


Objective To investigate the anesthetic management for intraoperative magnetic resonance(iMR) image-guided neurosurgery.Methods Twenty-two neurosurgical patients received intracranial tumor resection via iMR image-guided system under genernal anesthesia in operation room.HR,SpO2,IBP,CVP,PETCO2 and blood gas analysis were monitored intraoperatively.Results Total tumor resection rate increased from 60.0% to 86.4% with iMR image-guided system.The operation time was prolonged for 1 to 3 hours resulting from 2 to 5 times iMR scan in each patient.No anesthesia or iMR-related complications and accidental events occurred intraoperatively in 22 cases.Conclusion Focusing on iMR-related procedure,operative enviroment,choice of anesthetic techniques and regimens as well as vigilant care are all important for the patients undergoing iMR image-guided neurosurgery.


Neotrigonia (Molluscs, Pelecypoda). the only surviving genus of the once diverse and widespread Trigoniacea, was collected live from depths of 6–80 m on sandy mud bottoms off southeastern Australia. The two species collected. Neotrigonia gemma Iredale, 1924 and Neotrigonia margaritacea (Lamarck), 1804, are structurally similar and differ mainly in size and coloration.

Neotrigonia has such primitive features as an unfused mantle and filibranchiate ctenidia. Its foot is large, active and muscular and the ctenidial ciliary pattern resembles that of the Unionacea. The shell is non-streamlined and has pronounced radial omamentation.

Neotrigonia lives infaunally near the sediment surface, filter feeds. and is capable of fairly rapid burrowing. The burrowing facility, conferred by the foot, is unexpected in light of shell morphology. This suggests that shell morphology alone is not necessarily a reliable guide to the life habits of fossil trigoniaceans.


Planar equiangular spiral antennas (PESA) are modeled by the RGW edge element models. The surface current of the antenna is solved by the Method of Moment (MoM). The input impedance, transfer function and radiated pulse waveform of the antenna are presented. The results show that, in the interest band, its input impedance is in good agreement with the theoretical value of that of Self-Compensated antennas (as defined by Babinet-booker' principle[1]). Its transfer function has a flat amplitude response and a linear phase response over very wide band. PESA can be used as a ultra-wide band (UWB) pulse antenna. Radiating electric field waveform is similar to that of second derivative Gaussian pulse.


Stools of 100 bats trapped in the town of Anhembi, State os São Paulo, Brazil, were examined bacteriologically. Hemolityc and non hemolytic strains of Escherichia coli were found most frequently (29.5%) followed by Proteus group (27%) and Staphylococcus (20%). From nine samples of stools the authors isolated Salmonella typhimurium.


St Rev. Andreas, Kim, Dae-Geun(聖金大建神父) is the first Korean Catholic priest He was beheaded at Saenamteo(沙南基) on September 16 in 1846, and proclaimed the first Korean Catholic Venerable(可敬者) in 1857. After He became one of the 79 Beautifications(福者) on July 5 in 1925 at St Peter's Basilica at Rome by the Pope Pius XI. He was declared the great patron Saint for the Korean clergy on November 25 in 1949. And the memorial day of St Rev. Andreas, Kim, Dae-Geun was fixed on July 5. Finally on May 6 in 1984, he was canonized as one of the 103 Korean Catholic Saints by the Pope John Paulus Ⅱ. There are many of biographical writings and documents of himself, and the catholic church scholars have been paid attention to them. And so his birth site, the villages in which he accomplished his pastoral duties, martyred site Saenamteo and the site on which his grave had been located were developed the historical places. Therefore these places have been focused on continuously by the Korean Catholic pilgrims. I considered in this paper the memorial places as the birth place, the baptism station Eunni and the catholic villages where he said masses after his pastoral ordination on August 17 in 1845 at saenghai(上海) in China. Until nowadays, it was recognized that his birth place was Solmoe(松山) at Ugangmyeon Dangjingoon in the province of Choongcheong-namdo(忠南 唐津郡 牛江面 松山里). This was from the record in the deposition that St Rev. Mobant(羅伯多錄) had sent to the theological school in Macao. The record was that Kim, Dae-Geun Andreas was from Solmoe at Ugangmyeon Dangjingoon in the province of Choongcheong-do. Besides this record, many of the witnesses said that he was from Solmoe or from the district Naepo(內浦), likewise St Rev. Mobant. But in the record in 'Ilseong-lok' when the authority arrested him and examined, Kim Dae-geun is from Yong-in(龍仁). Whereas th records of St. Rev. Mobant and of other witnesses were all the third person's, the record when he arrested and examined was of his own direct statement. Owing to this fact I proved it in many ways and aspects. And I consider the fact that after pastoral ordination he went back to his native villages and met his mother in Eunni station(陰里公所) and stayed t.~ere with her until Easter, then he went to the shore of Hwang-hae province for search the way inviting priests and he was arrested to martyr. I also considered the Catholic villages neighboring the Eunni station and the martyrs there.


ABSTRACT This paper examines whether the legislative adoption of performance-based budgeting (PBB) limits budgetary slack. Based on the model of slack-maximizing bureaucracy, we predict that the enactment of PBB laws is likely to shore up the legislature's ability to control budgetary slack. By providing more information about the production costs of public services to the legislature as budget sponsors, the legislative adoption of PBB can mitigate the information asymmetry between bureaucrats and the legislature, which leads to more effective control of budgetary slack by budget sponsors. In US states, we document that the budgetary slack is reduced after a state legislature legally mandates the use of performance information in the budgetary deliberation. This finding suggests that the legislative adoption of PBB facilitates the budget sponsors' use of prior-period budgetary slack information to reduce current-period slack, consistent with the notion of PBB as analytic tools for budget sponsors.


Abstract:

Martine van Elk on Mary Wroth's Poetry: An Electronic Edition, The Pulter Project: Poet in the Making, and Margaret Cavendish's Poems and Fancies: A Digital Critical Edition


Huang-Huai-Hai region is the second largest soybean producing areas of China,which planting pattern is very rich,such as winter wheat-summer soybean,winter wheat-summer soybean intercropping maize and winter rape-summer soybean.This paper use energy analysis,nutrient balance and economic analysis method to evaluate Huang-Huai-Hai region' major soybean planting patterns from the perspectives of economic,ecological and social benefits.Results suggest the winter wheat-summer soybean intercropping maize had the best comprehensive benefits,and is worthy of popularization in Huang-Huai-Hai region.


This paper investigates major features of cotton related companies with the specific detailed analysis of the impact of the implementation of the budget. Moreover, the paper explores status quo of cotton enterprises in economy and the contribution on budget as completely. For this, sub-sectors of cotton organizations are analyzed using both theoretical and practical knowledge. Budget performance analyzes volumes of produced and sold products in value and real terms, and their performance in relation to the previous year. The paper makes important implications for the cotton enterprises. Finally, stated outcomes and shortcomings of the issue direct to further possible investigations.


Data on the reaction ..pi../sup -/p..--> pi../sup 0/..pi../sup 0/n at momenta 2--50 GeV/c in the dipion mass region M/sub ..pi pi../ < 1 GeV have been used to determine the pion trajectory. It has many features in common with other known trajectories: It is linear over a wide range of squared 4-momentum transfer t (like the rho and A/sub 2/ trajectories), and it is characterized by the same universal slope ..cap alpha..' as other trajectories. (AIP)


Due to recent progress in digital signal processing, radars, sonars, or ultrasound displays can now handle a large amount of antennas at the same time. Consequently, the quality of the detection and imaging has been greatly improved in simple media. Nevertheless, imaging in complex media is still very challenging. Indeed, in such media, echoes of targets can be strongly and randomly distorted. In this special issue, we focus on a specific problem: detecting or imaging an object which is embedded in a random collection of scatterers. The multiple scattering induces two concomitant effects that blur images. First, ballistic echoes from objects are strongly attenuated. Second, complex interferences between scatterers produce strong clutters. To efficiently image a target in such media, new approaches are proposed. The most efficient ones use multiple antennas, playing both the role of transmitters and receivers and giving access to the so-called multi-static inter-antenna matrix. In the case of a wide-band reference signal, even more information on the medium can be collected. To take benefit of all this information, original array processing techniques have been developed. All of them are based on a coherent analysis of the inter-element array matrix. One of the oldest is beamforming, where the received signals are simply time-shifted before being summed coherently. At the position of the object, the time-shifted signals coherently interfere. In more complex media, where the propagation does not only induce time shifting, adaptive beamforming has to be used. Then the Green's functions of the medium, which are assumed to be known, at least partially are used as steering vectors. Apart from these two basic approaches, much more efficient imaging techniques are being developed in terms of resolution, signal to noise ratio, etc. Many of them are based on the singular value decomposition (SVD) of the inter-antenna matrix. This generalization of the diagonalization of non-squared matrices is related to a physical invariant. The singular vectors worked out from SVD are the time-reversal invariants of the system, even in the presence of strong multiple scattering. One of the well-known applications of SVD is MUSIC (MUltiple SIgnal Classification). MUSIC takes benefit of the noise to localize a scatterer. The resolution of this nonlinear algorithm overcomes the diffraction limit. However, this technique is very sensitive to mismatch, non-Gaussian noise, etc. The five articles of this special issue provide a rather complete overview of the recent developments on this topic. Four of them are theoretical and numerical papers and the last one is an experimental one. The work of Park and Lesselier shows a non-iterative algorithm based on SVD and a rigorous asymptotic expansion formula of the scattering amplitude in the presence of inclusions. Thanks to a wide-band


The Wendelstein 7-X experiment, which is now under construction in Greifswald (Germany), is the basis for Helias reactor (HSR) studies. A straightforward extrapolation of W 7-X towards a power reactor leads to a 5-period machine with a major radius of 22 m. In order to reduce the size and the cost of the reactor, 4(HSR4, 18m) [1] and 3-period (HSR3, 15m) options have been investigated. The main optimisation principles of the Helias reactor line remain the reduction of the Pfirsch-Schluter currents and the Shafranov shift [2], while maintaining an MHD stability limit of 4%, and good confinement of trapped -particles. Equilibrium and stability properties with respect to the Mercier and resistive interchange criteria have been considered for HSR3 and HSR4 devices for different pressure profiles and several β values. Simulation has shown that the Shafranov shift is sufficiently small for both, 3and 4-period, configurations. The maximum limit is around 4%.