To the Editor : RAS proto-oncogenes (KRAS, HRAS and NRAS ) encode GTPases, and their role in cancer, as somatic mutations, is well known (1, 2). Germline mutations in genes within the RAS/MAPK signaling pathway are responsible for a group of phenotypically overlapping developmental disorders (RASopathies) (3), including Noonan syndrome (NS) and Noonan-related disorders: NS with multiple lentigines, cardio-facio-cutaneous syndrome and Costello syndrome (CS) (4). Tumor risk in RASopathies is not yet fully established, and more studies are needed (5, 6). NS patients harboring PTPN11 germline mutations have a 3.5-fold increased risk compared to the general population (6). CS patients carrying HRAS mutations have a higher incidence (approximately 15%) of certain solid tumors, especially rhabdomyosarcomas, and a screening surveillance protocol has been proposed (7, 8). Here, we describe the presence of multiple diffuse schwannomas in a patient harboring a germline KRAS mutation (p.K5E), previously reported on (9). The proband is a 23-year-old female with clinical features compatible with a RASopathy phenotype (Fig. 1a). She was initially evaluated in our service at 8 years old. At the age of 22, she started to experience difficulty in relaxation of the hand muscles, fatigue, abdominal pain and nausea. Six months later, a superficial nodule in her forth right intercostal space was palpable. An exploratory magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan of her cranium, thorax and abdomen showed diffuse enlargement of all nerve roots of the spine, brachial plexus, radial, ulnar and median nerves, as well as masses on the retroperitoneum (Fig. 1b), suggesting an overgrowth of peripheral nerve sheaths, compatible with a schwannoma or neurofibroma. No brain abnormalities were found by MRI scanning. Histopathological and immunohistochemical analysis of an excised thoracic nodule were compatible with the diagnosis of schwannoma (Fig. 1c). Combining histological and MRI findings, our final diagnosis was multiple diffuse schwannomas. In otherwise healthy patients, benign tumors of the peripheral nerve sheath typically occur singly. In rare cases malignant transformation occurs. The presence of multiple schwannomas in an individual suggests an underlying tumor predisposition syndrome, more particularly neurofibromatosis type II (NF2) or schwannomatosis (SMARCB1 ) (10). Comprehensive NF2 and SMARCB1 mutation analysis was performed on DNA extracted from blood and tumor. Analysis included sequencing of the entire coding region, dosage analysis by Multiplex Ligation Probe Assay and Loss of Heterozygosity analysis using 15 microsatellite markers along chromosome 22q. No pathogenic NF2/SMARCB1 mutations were identified. A novel NF2 benign intronic variant was identified in blood and tumor: c.88615C>T. This alteration replaces a non-evolutionary conserved pyrimidine by another pyrimidine at the splice acceptor of exon 10 and was proven not to affect splicing through RNA analysis in blood, in agreement with results from in silico splice predictions. Thus, the co-occurrence of a KRAS -associated phenotype and NF2/schwannomatosis caused by mutations in NF2 or SMARCB1 genes is highly unlikely. Therefore, KRAS could be in itself the tumor predisposing gene leading to diffuse schwannomas in our patient. As it is known that SMARCB1 mutations are only found in a minority of the NF2 -negative schwannomatosis patients (11, 12), we further performed sequence analysis of all KRAS exons in eight NF2/SMARCB1 negative schwannomatosis patients, but no mutations were found, indicating that KRAS might not be a major contributing gene in NF2/SMARCB1 -negative schwannomatosis patients. However, the presence of schwannoma has been reported previously in an NS and a CS patient, though this was prior to the identification of the genes causing these disorders (13, 14). Exacerbated growth of peripheral nerve sheaths (neurofibromas) is also observed in neurofibromatosis type 1 patients carrying NF1 mutations, another tumor suppressor gene of the RAS/MAPK pathway. Activation of this pathway regulates mTOR which is phosphoinositol 3′ kinase (PI3K) dependent, a critical effector pathway involved in disease pathogenesis (15). Although functional studies are not available for the mutation p.K5E found in our patient, a different gene


Clinicians have long observed that treatment with one anticancer drug can confer resistance to that drug and to other anticancer drugs with different chemical structures and mechanisms of action. This is the multidrug resistance (MDR) phenomenon, which frequently occurs in the absence of previous chemotherapy in primary cancer of the liver, colon, kidney and other organs and after chemotherapy in virtually any malignancy. Study of the MDR phenomenon has revealed important information regarding molecular and cellular mechanisms of membrane transport, drug resistance and chemotherapy. Interest in the structure and function of this system was further stimulated by its discovery in normal liver and other tissues


Real time aerial and marine surveillance is one of important method which could insure the domain security of our country. In long-term period, the complex aerial and marine surveillance data didn't have more effect visualized ways, also lack data utilize and mine means in further long views. To find a solution to this problem, this paper research how to implement real-time aerial and marine state visualization based on virtual geography environment and have the function that query and analysis aircraft or watercraft message, remind of danger factor, emphatically clarifies the key technique realization or optimize of large-range entity collision detection, route monitoring. The system have satisfied the requirement of control real-time aerial and marine state, improve the data use level of information-based.


Summary. An aim of work is an analysis of results of inspection and treatment of patients with the hemodynamically meaningful defeat of carotids in combination with pathology of other organs and systems. Materials and methods. The results of treatment are analysed 187 patients with hemodynamically by meaningful stenosis of carotids in SI «Zaycev V.T. IGUS of NAMSU» from 2015 for 2018 on a background forthcoming surgical treatment of chronic ischemia of lower limbs, ischemic heart  or pathology of gastrointestinal tract trouble. Patients are divided into 3 groups. The first group was made by patients with the chronic ischemia of lower limbs of 2-Д degree - 167 patients. 7 patients entered a group with pathology of gastrointestinal tract. 3 a group was made by 13 patients with ischemic heart trouble. Results and discussion. The direct results of operation we estimated complex on the basis of degree of change of clinical status and presence of postoperative complications. At 161 the patients of the first group in a postoperative period are not educed complications, for a 2th patient thrombosis of anastamosis and ischemic stroke, at 4th paresis of n. Hypoglossuss. In the second group for all operated patients concerning stenosis of carotid, complications were not in a postoperative period. For one patient with the cancer of stomach, that was not execute a reconstructive operation on a carotid an ischemic stroke developed in connection with bleeding. In 3 cases in a postoperative period observed symptomatology of stroke for patients operated concerning  ischemic heart, carotid endarterectomia was not executed these patients. Conclusions. To the patients with general atherosclerosis and stroke in anamnesis it is necessary to conduct carotids screening. At hemodynamically meaningful stenosises patients with heart diseaseby and pathology of abdomen of must execute carotid endarterectomia of the first stage, that reduces the risk of ischemic stroke in a postoperative period at treatment of basic pathology.


This paper is the result of personal reflection on computing literature and on the implementation of ZMS. The study has been conducted by the writer using ethnographic methods (participant observation, interviews, group discussion and document analysis) in order to sensitize practitioners to common, recurrent problems in technology introduction. It attempts to shed light on the commonality of human and organizational problems in computer applications, both in business and education. The paper shows why human and organizational issues are minimized in systems implementation in terms of technical culture, the perceptions of programmers, and lack of management support. Despite the importance of human and organizational issues, research in Management Information Systems (MIS) is still technology-led. Yet, computing problems are in the main organizational problems. Attention given to the role of human and organizational issues in information systems is still minor. In business and education, computing infrastructure is taken for granted. The problem requires educators and managers to question current approach to computing so that MIS and educational technology resources can be used effectively.


High homogeneity of the CR (collector ring) dipole magnet for FAIR (Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research) project at GSI is essential. The two optimized and analysis methods are introduced in detail. In order to obtain an ideal integral magnetic field distribution, the complicated end chamfer has been designed. By chamfering the removable pole, the distribution tolerance of high magnetic field is optimized to +/- 2 x 10(-4). The method of adding a mirror plane is suitable for the high magnetic field and it doesn't fit the low one. The OPERA is used to optimize the dipole magnetic field.


As the Internet banking service has become popular, many users have been able to exchange goods online. Even though this offers advantage, there are cases of incidents in the Internet banking service arising from security threats. In order to counteract this problem, various security techniques have been applied over the whole area of the Internet banking service. In this paper, we analyze the results of security techniques applied in the user terminal area. In detail, we classify the existing security technologies into network domain, financial institution domain, and user terminal domain, to ensure the security of the Internet banking service. This paper focuses on security techniques in the user terminal domain. Specifically, we classify the security technologies in the user terminal domain into secure keyboard program, PKI applications, E2E encryption, antihacking program, personal firewall, removable media security, and antireverse engineering technique and describe detailed and key techniques of each security technology. For easy understanding and security analysis of security technologies, we describe each security technology in detail and explain each technology by way of example. We consider that this paper will provide criteria for evaluating the security of Internet banking services.


In the event of a natural disaster, geo-tagged Tweets are an immediate source of information for locating casualties and damages, and for supporting disaster management. Topic modeling can help in detecting disaster-related Tweets in the noisy Twitter stream in an unsupervised manner. However, the results of topic models are difficult to interpret and require manual identification of one or more "disaster topics". Immediate disaster response would benefit from a fully automated process for interpreting the modeled topics and extracting disaster relevant information. Initializing the topic model with a set of seed words already allows to directly identify the corresponding disaster topic. In order to enable an automated end-to-end process, we automatically generate seed words using older Tweets from the same geographic area. The results of two past events (Napa Valley earthquake 2014 and hurricane Harvey 2017) show that the geospatial distribution of Tweets identified as disaster related conforms with the officially released disaster footprints. The suggested approach is applicable when there is a single topic of interest and comparative data available.


Objective To investigate patients' aggressive behaviors perceived by psychiatric nurses and analyze the related factors. Methods A total of 184 nurses were recruited from a psychiatric hospital in Beijing. They were investigated with the Perception of the Prevalence of Aggression Scale composed of 16 items and two questions related to patients' aggression. Results Verbal aggression and mild physical violence were experienced by most of the psychiatric nurses during the past one year. Nurses with different characteristic have diverse perception (P 0.05). Multiple liner regression revealed that sex, professional titles and training were related to the perception of aggression,which explained for 13.9% variance. Conclusion Mild violence is prevalence in psychiatric setting. Male nurses and the intermediate grade nurses are at most risk. Nurses participated in training program perceived less aggression than other nurses. It is suggested to pay attention to nurses' physical and mental health,and provide training program to assist nurses to identify,prevent and manage patients' aggression effectively.


Conventional methods for liquefaction assessment using engineering indices such as Factor of safety against Liquefaction (FL) tend to overestimate liquefaction hazards. The soil dynamics analysis-based assessment with automatic modeling is more rational and robust. Soil properties are known for large uncertainties. Rather than deterministic soil models, statistical models for soil parameters should be considered. With automatic modeling, a large number of statistic models can be generated without difficulty. The problem becomes how to assess liquefaction hazard with statistic models in an efficient way. Using high performance computing, we develop an efficient liquefaction assessment method for statistical modeling of soils. A high parallel efficiency can be achieved and a large number of statical models of the order of 104 can be simulated within a reasonable time span. The method developed in this paper can be used as an efficient tool for unravelling critical parameters of soil liquefaction.


In this article the problem of implementation of criminal law is analyzing. The problem of implementation of criminal responsibility is seen as an integral part of the mechanism of implementation of criminal law. It is concluded that the identification of operating status of abstract models, indicating the specific content and structural and functional interdependence processes of law implementation is impossible without creating a coherent mechanism for implementing the concept of not only criminal law, but criminal responsibility.


Direct-method phase extension has been applied to two-dimensional electron diffraction data of the protein streptavidin. Structure-factor amplitudes from electron diffraction were combined with phases from the corresponding electron micrographs. Maximum-entropy discrimination and cluster analysis were used to derive a solution from a large number of random trials. The phase extension from 0.3 to 0.25nm led to substantial improvement of the reconstructed projection image quality.


The fatal effects of forcing air into the blood-vessels of the animal body have been long known. The experiment of blowing or injecting air into the veins of animals is one now of considerable antiquity. But the circumstance of the spontaneous introduction of air into a wounded vein daring an operation is a new fact. The phenomena observed in the inspection of dead bodies led to the question, whether air could be developed in the blood-vessels during life, whether the presence of such a substance could


The novel analysis technique for resonant converter (RC) control is developed that is based on converter performance evaluation on the state plane and in discrete-time domain. This technique allows one to predict the steady state regime existence and its important features through graphical state-plane consideration. To examine control dynamics, a new effective approach to RC nonlinear difference equations analysis is advanced that reveals converter small and large signal stability as well as transient character and speed. The proposed method was employed for comparative analysis of accustomed control methods in application to series RC and led to deeper insight of their operation.<<ETX>>


One of the more effective tools corporations have to affect the business environment is litigation. If a company cannot secure effective regulation in the political environment of Congress and legi...


Summary. The margina l value formu l a in convex optimization holds in a more restrictive region of stability than that recently claimed in the literature. This is due to the fact that there are regions of stability where the Lagrangian multiplier function is discont i nuous even for l i near models.


Puhui New-Year pictures of Gaomi with its unique production technique wasn't a follower of other New –Year pictures in China.This article studied historical development,and cultural background and particular technical methods of the Puhui New-Year pictures of Gaomi,and then explained its unique artistic characteristics.


Volkovskite has been identified from the potash deposits in New Brunswick. A chemical analysis gave: K2O 3.8, CaO 17.5, SrO 0.4, B2O3 60.5, Cl 2.8, H2O 13.5, Sum 98.5,less O =Cl 0.6, Total 97.9 wt.Vo. The empirical formula @ased on 47 O+Cl) is: K1.q1(Ca3.91Sro.os)r:.seBzr.rz O46.0lHl8.77Cb.e. These data and the results of a complete crystal-structure determination (R= 1.990) gave the following structural formula: KCa4[85O6(OH)]4[B(OH)3]2C1. 4H2O. The structural study also showed that volkovskiSe is triclinic, Pl with a 6.575(2), b 23.921(8), c 6.5f,2(2) A, cu 90.58(3)' , B 119.10(2)' , r 95.56(3)' , I /890.Is At, z : l. The cell parameters, refined from the X-ray powde;rdiffraction data, are: a 6.580(4), b 23.937(8), c 6.521(3) A, o 90.40(6)", B 119.09(5)' , t95.67(5)", V891.3(5) 4", Z : l. The stro$gest six lines in the X-ray powder-diffraction pattern [d in A (4 (hkl)j are; 11.89(Zb)(020), 7.91(9)(030), 5.40(?(l l0), 3.39(0(070), 3.26(10) 0 02) and 2.641 (O(090). It is optically biaxial (+), a 7.523, B 1.530, 1 1.596, 2V(calc.) 37o. The measured and calculated densities are, respectively, 2.nQ) and2.28 g/cmt. The Gladstone-Dale compatibility is -0.034, /.a., excellent. A redefinition of volkovskite, using data obtained from the New Brunswick material, has been approved by the Commission on New Minerals and Mineral Names, I. M. A. A specimen of this material is designated as the neotype.


A fault-tolerant dynamically-reconfigurable SEC-DED RAM system with a built-in Self-Testing-And-Repairing 'STAR' engine is presented and analysed. The STAR engine with a single reconfiguration unit provides on-line fault detection, correction, and repair of the memory system without destroying useful data stored in memory. The system utilizes a hardware parallel comparator array for providing rapid processing of incoming address stream without degrading the original memory access time. The flexible STAR architecture and the low hardware overhead enables utilization of the proposed approach in VLSI memory chips as well as in WSI and large memory modules. Computer analysis of the presented system show significant reliability and system life-time enhancement over conventional and SEC-DED RAMs.


Abstract Application of piscicide is a commonly used method to remove nonnative fishes from streams for restoration of native fishes. In remote or inaccessible areas, transport facilities are limited and equipment must be portable and durable. We used 5-gal plastic buckets with sealable lids and readily available commercial hardware to construct a constant-flow device modeled on the Mariotte bottle. The device dispenses a selected steady flow of liquid piscicide over a 1–4-h period. It is economical, easily transported, and simple to construct.


Records of a small collection of Odonata from Norfolk Island are presented. Differences between exuviae of Hemicordulia australiae from Norfolk Island and New Zealand are illustrated.


Introducing XML and Database communication technology in the system for reimbursement of software implementation and to investigate the XML data in the control system under the authority to amend the methods and strategies to achieve data integrity.


Based on the angle of fictitious economy,this paper puts forward that nowadays the essence of the economic globalization is the globalization of the fietitious economy and studies how the fictitious economy as a whole influences the economic safety.This paper also points out that nowadays the economic trend is fictitionalization and under this globalization of fictitious economy background,both domestically and internationally economic competition has already changed from the real economy to fictitious economy.Therefore,the center of the economic safety should also change to guard against the systematic risk of fictitious economy.At last,this paper puts forward the corresponding policy measures in order to guard against this fictitious risk and eventually to support the economic safety.On the one hand,a nation must alleviate the system risk domestically,including to exalt the ability of controlling the fictitious capital;to set up an early-warning system of the national security and to establish a base of fictitious economy in order to realize the internationalization of Renminbi.On the other hand, a nation must strengthen the coordinating monitoring between domestically and internationally.


Tephrosia is a pan-tropical and subtropical genus of perhaps about 300 species. The most common facies in the genus is that of a herb or sometimes subshrub with imparipinnate leaves, terminal or axillary racemes with more than one flower at each node (a 'pseudoraceme'), and long flat many-seeded pods. Occasionally, however, the leaves may be reduced to a single leaflet, the flowers may appear to be all axillary instead of in racemes, or the pods may be single-seeded and then short and subglobose, and the usual facies of the genus is thus strikingly modified. As is the case in many large genera, there has been a tendency for taxonomists to chip off the more extreme modifications of the general pattern to give recognition to small segregate genera. The case for splitting off or lumping four of these satellite genera found in Africa is considered here.


Rationale: CD4+ natural killer T (NKT) cells augment atherosclerosis in apolipoprotein E–deficient (ApoE)−/− mice but their mechanisms of action are unknown. Objectives: We investigated the roles of bystander T, B, and NK cells; NKT cell–derived interferon-&ggr;, interleukin (IL)-4, and IL-21 cytokines; and NKT cell–derived perforin and granzyme B cytotoxins in promoting CD4+ NKT cell atherogenicity. Methods and Results: Transfer of CD4+ NKT cells into T- and B-cell–deficient ApoE−/−Rag2−/− mice augmented aortic root atherosclerosis by ≈75% that was ≈30% of lesions in ApoE−/− mice; macrophage accumulation similarly increased. Transferred NKT cells were identified in the liver and atherosclerotic lesions of recipient mice. Transfer of CD4+ NKT cells into T-, B-cell–deficient, and NK cell–deficient ApoE−/−Rag2−/−&ggr;C−/− mice also augmented atherosclerosis. These data indicate that CD4+ NKT cells can exert proatherogenic effects independent of other lymphocytes. To investigate the role of NKT cell–derived interferon-&ggr;, IL-4, and IL-21 cytokines and perforin and granzyme B cytotoxins, CD4+ NKT cells from mice deficient in these molecules were transferred into NKT cell–deficient ApoE−/−J&agr;18−/− mice. CD4+ NKT cells deficient in IL-4, interferon-&ggr;, or IL-21 augmented atherosclerosis in ApoE−/−J&agr;18−/− mice by ≈95%, ≈80%, and ≈70%, respectively. Transfer of CD4+ NKT cells deficient in perforin or granzyme B failed to augment atherosclerosis. Apoptotic cells, necrotic cores, and proinflammatory VCAM-1 (vascular cell adhesion molecule) and MCP-1 (monocyte chemotactic protein) were reduced in mice receiving perforin-deficient NKT cells. CD4+ NKT cells are twice as potent as CD4+ T cells in promoting atherosclerosis. Conclusions: CD4+ NKT cells potently promote atherosclerosis by perforin and granzyme B–dependent apoptosis that increases postapoptotic necrosis and inflammation.


Aitik is a disseminated Cu-Au deposit with an annual production of 18 million metric tons of ore containing 0.38 percent copper and 0.22 parts per million gold. It is situated in northern Sweden in ...


The current financial and economic crisis is of unprecedented proportions and intensity. Given the piecemeal approach of the EU institutions to economic policy, their reaction to the mounting crisis has been slow and hesitant. The much feared financial meltdown in the E.U. has been avoided. However this came at the cost of increasing pressure on public finances in most member states, leading to a public debt crisis in a number of them. Financial liberalization and the lagging financial policy reform exacerbated such pressure, bringing certain member states such as Greece to the verge of default. Even more importantly, the stability of the eurozone appears to be in danger. This has led to an avalanche of new measures, including the newly instituted "European Stabilization Mechanism", as well as proposals for the adjustment of fiscal policy co-ordination, under the general heading of 'reinforcing economic governance in Europe' as announced by the European Commission in May 2010. So, what next? Past experience confirms that a financial crisis is usually followed by a sovereign debt crisis. Is this what is happening in the EU? With what social and economic implications? Further, what are the implications of rising sovereign debt for economic policy? These are some of the questions we discuss in the present article. In particular, we examine (i) the concept of the sovereign debt and its relevance to the EU and to the eurozone; (ii) the historical experience of crises; (iii) the response of the EU to the current crisis and (iv) the prospects for policy.


The dataset consists of dissolved inorganic carbon system parameters (total inorganic carbon, alkalinity and pH) and supporting parameters (nutrients, oxygen etc.) which have previously been publically unavailable. The bulk of this data-set was collected from 2000 and onwards. It also contains data from a cruise as early as 1974 (admittedly very few samples with regards to the carbon system), and data from 10 cruises in the 80s and 90s. Undoubtedly, this dataset would be a very valuable contribution to the scientific community. The data coverage in the Arctic, even though it has greatly increased during the later years, is still far from sufficient neither in time nor space.


Conceptions of truth in relation to the sciences vary extensively along two dimensions. The first concerns the applicability of the notion of truth to scientific knowledge, resulting in a number of contentions regarding the relevance or importance of truth in this context. The second dimension concerns the particular theory of truth one might think applicable, and here one finds a variety of preferences, including: truth as coherence, especially suited to historicist and sociological approaches to science; truth as utility, described by pragmatist approaches to science; and truth via correspondence or truth-making, especially in the context of various forms of "realism" in connection with scientific knowledge. This chapter travels along the first dimension in the direction of increasing commitment to the applicability of truth, and in each case explores the second dimension: how different views of scientific knowledge appeal, explicitly or implicitly, to different theories of truth.


In total edentulous treatment can be used a variety of means capable to reconstruct through artificial prosthetic devices the edentulous dental arches, in an individualized manner depending on the clinical situation, objectives and criteria for treatment. The present study was intended to evaluate the effectiveness of general treatment with vitamin B12 and the effectiveness of local treatment, achieved through complete dentures and to emphasize the much easier and cheaper way to do the same treatment over the same time period.


Objective To identify subsets of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients who are more protected from exacerbations with the use of an inhaled corticosteroid/long-acting β2 agonist (ICS/LABA) combination, compared with the use of LABA monotherapy. Design Post hoc cluster analysis of patients from two randomised clinical trials of salmeterol/fluticasone propionate (SFC) and salmeterol (SAL) that had primary endpoints of moderate/severe exacerbation rates. Setting Centres in North America. Participants 1543 COPD patients were studied. Interventions SFC 50/250 µg or SAL 50 µg, twice daily. Primary and secondary outcome measures The analysis identified clusters of COPD patients more responsive to SFC versus SAL with respect to the annual rate of moderate/severe exacerbations and compared their baseline clinical characteristics. Results Overall, SFC significantly reduced the annual rate of moderate/severe exacerbations as compared with SAL alone (rate ratio (RR)=0.701, p<0.001). Three-patient clusters were identified: COPD patients receiving diuretics (RR=0.56, p<0.001); patients not receiving diuretics but with forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) reversibility ≥12% (RR=0.67, p<0.001) exhibited a substantial reduction in the annual rate of moderate/severe exacerbations relative to SAL. A third cluster, consisting of patients not receiving diuretics and without FEV1 reversibility, demonstrated no difference for SFC versus SAL. Patients receiving diuretics had a significantly higher prevalence of comorbid cardiovascular disease. Conclusions COPD patients receiving diuretics and those not receiving diuretics but with FEV1 reversibility >12% at baseline were significantly more likely to experience a reduction in COPD-associated exacerbations with SFC versus SAL alone. Trial registration NCT00115492, NCT00144911


Substituted p-nitrobenzylideneanilines (I) react with hydrogen cyanide in methanol by consuming an equivalent amount of oxygen to give the corresponding α-phenylimino-p-nitrobenzyl cyanides (III) in ca. 50% yields viaα-anilino-p-nitrobenzyl cyanides (II). The other substituted benzylideneanilines give α-anilinobenzyl cyanides, but no dehydrogenation product was obtained. The reaction proceeds by consecutive pseudo-first-order steps (I)+ HCN →(II); (II)+ O2→(III). For the first step the polar effect is expressed as a ρ value of –1·60. The second step involves base-catalysed dehydrogenation by atmospheric oxygen with a ρ+ value of –0·36. These results suggest a mechanism involving a hydrogen abstraction or an electron transfer from the conjugate base of (II).


Partial chromosome triplications are relatively rare and may be mistaken for duplications using conventional cytogenetic techniques. Most reported triplications are de novo and many contain an inverted middle repeat. Both duplications and triplications are thought to arise by nonhomologous recombination in areas rich in low-copynumber repeats. We report on a 34-year-old woman with a 10q triplication [46XX trp(10)(q22.3q23.2)] inherited from a parent with a 10q duplication [46XY dup (10) (q22.3q23.2)].


In view of the weld cracking after assembly welding of the bedplates on the turnouts of 250 km/h passenger dedicated railway line,the appearance quality and microstructure of weld,crack morphology,physical and chemical properties of each related assembly welded parts were analyzed.The results showed that because of the thickness of bedplate weld cracking position was small,when the weld was too large and the temperature of welding was too high,the weld of bedplate was vulnerable to form the crystal crack.With the premise of satisfy the technical design requirements,the weld crack can be avoided by reducing the weld seam size when bedplate welding.


Abstract Background: People with mental illness and substance use problems form a significant subgroup of the homeless population. International research has begun to document the complex experiences of this vulnerable group; however, less attention has focused on those living in rural areas. Aim: This study sought to determine the experiences of people with mental illness and/or substance use issues, experiencing significant housing problems in rural areas. Methods: Within a qualitative framework, individual interviews were conducted with 40 respondents in Australia. Results: Themes generated a discussion around three main areas; (1) current housing problems, (2) pathways into unsuitable housing, and (3) factors contributing to appropriate accommodation. Conclusion: The need for agency staff to identify and assist with the housing issues of their clients is underscored.


Abstract : Paper are presented under three headings: The structure of atmospheric shear flows; Basic problems related to atmospheric shear flow; and Industrial problems.


Journal of Ecology was established by the British Ecological Society in 1913. It is the oldest international, peer-reviewed ecological journal, currently publishing its 93rd volume. Journal of Ecology has published many of the classic papers in plant ecology. It has always had a tradition, still clearly in evidence, of attracting papers from the world's most prominent, influential and inspirational ecologists. As Journal of Ecology continues to develop to meet the needs of authors and readers, it is timely to provide an update on our activities. Journal of Ecology accepts papers on all ecological subjects that are plant-related and that present strong, original ecological messages that transcend the limits of case studies. The Journal is well known for its coverage of population and community ecology but we also publish papers on other topics including biogeochemistry, ecosystems ecology, plant–animal interactions, microbial ecology, climate change, molecular genetics, physiological ecology and the ecology of mycorrhizas.


Perfect translucent to transparent crystals of calcite occur in limestone at Pedra do Sino, State of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Habit of crystals are rhomboedral and scalenohedral predominantly as shown in the figures 1 and 2


This research adopts a two-stage network DEA model to measure marine green economy efficiency from 2006 to 2018 and employs the panel Tobit model to analyze the influencing factors. The results indicate that total efficiency and production efficiency of China's marine green economy generally show a fluctuating downward trend. Further investigation of influencing factors shows that foreign direct investment and opening up have a significantly positive effect on total efficiency of the marine green economy, while industrial development level and marine economy development level have a negative effect on it. Additionally, these variables have varying impacts on different stages of the marine green economy. Our findings help identify the operational characteristics of the marine green economy at different stages and can assist policymakers in optimizing the development pattern of the marine economy.


As developmental education practitioners in the midst of North Carolina's Developmental Reading and English Redesign, we are interested in researching best practices for instructional design and application. We discovered that the principles of reflective practice pervade much of the literature on program planning and practice, so we began to question whether those principles were guiding our redesign efforts. We intentionally incorporated reflective practices to discover whether our experience mirrored this contemplative theory. In this article, we present an overview of our experiences incorporating reflective practice into our redesign efforts. In recent years, the phrase reflective practice has been increasingly used in teaching and learning literature. The notion of reflection in teaching practice was introduced in 1910 when John Dewey published How We Think, a book that centered on reflection as the predominant mode of reason. It is widely accepted that effective teaching skills are learned over time and are honed by applying effective techniques, often involving thoughtful collaboration with fellow practitioners. Thus, reflection in itself may lead to enhanced skills in practice. Brookfield (2002) proposed that improvement happens as a result of intentional collaborative reflection. He suggested intentional collaboration would help teachers overcome a sense of isolation and, therefore, improve their instructional practice (Brookfield, 2002). In North Carolina, redesign efforts in developmental education are presenting community college instructors with new opportunities to engage in collaborative reflection. In 2010, the North Carolina State Board of Community Colleges began the SuccessNC initiative, which called for a redesign of the state's community college developmental education programs, claiming that in the best interest of students the existing format was in need of an overhaul. In an effort to improve student persistence and reduce dropout rates, North Carolina commissioned a task force to determine how to best combine and accelerate developmental education courses in reading and English. This task force outlined basic parameters for institutions across the state to follow in their reading and English courses. The task force also developed a list of Student Learning Outcomes for community colleges to use statewide. The parameters notwithstanding, planning in North Carolina's developmental education programs has been widely varied as colleges redesigned their developmental courses. Over the past year, we employed intentional reflective practice while engaging in our course redesign work. As part of these efforts, we participated in and documented our reflections through a collaborative online journal. Following our collaborative efforts, we invited our department to participate in our own reflective activities. Theory of Reflective Practice As part of our ongoing planning and reflection during our redesign efforts, we have explored many aspects of reflective planning and practice. In doing so, the theoretical works of Stephen Brookfield informed what we did, as we considered him a leader in examining learning through reflective practice in educational contexts. Through this lens, we endeavored to operate in a reflective atmosphere while resisting the natural barriers of time constraints and exposure that present themselves over time. We felt that, with the right intention and meaningful reflection, program planning could result in better teaching practices fostered by committed instructors. NADE Digest | Winter 2016 | Volume 9 | Issue 1 9 Brookfield (2002) contends that community college teachers can capitalize on critical reflection through the use of four lenses: the autobiographical lens, the perspective of one's students, the perspective of one's colleagues, and the lens of educational scholarship itself. In using the autobiographical lens, the teacher reflects on his or herself as a learner and explores the ways in which learning increases subject knowledge and skills and influences teaching. Through the student's perspective, the teacher gathers feedback and gauges progress on a regular basis, enabling the instructor to get a snapshot of where the learners are in the process and thus make any adjustments. Brookfield (2002) views the third lens, colleague experience, as one in which "teachers use one another as critical mirrors and sounding boards" (p. 34). It is through the development of interpersonal relationships and the discussion and sharing of ideas with colleagues that teachers can view their own practice as one not in isolation but in the context of community. In the fourth lens of educational scholarship, Brookfield (2002) contends that by turning to the literature and developing a research/teaching nexus, teachers can find sources that address challenges they face. At the heart of Brookfield's (2002) assertion is the belief that reflection occurs contextually, critically, and with intent to examine the assumptions that frame one's teaching practice. What We Coordinated Brookfield's theory informed our efforts as we began the yearlong process of redesigning our developmental reading and English courses. Each stage of our development progressed through two of Brookfield's four lenses, including an online collaborative journal that promoted subject knowledge and skills, and departmental work that encouraged interpersonal relationships. We were not able to utilize the student lens at this point, as we had not implemented the redesign yet. We also did not formally utilize the theoretical lens because many instructors in our department were working on a master's degree and thus were exposed to the theory and research in our field. For us, we felt the autobiographical lens and colleague lens were the two areas that needed the most attention. Online Collaborative Journal The primary means of reflection during this time was a journal [name withheld] and [name withheld] shared using Google Docs that we based on Brookfield's first lens of "autobiographical experience." The journal originated during an online independent study course we were taking together. We both committed to commenting in the journal twice a week during our semester-long course. We took turns beginning the conversation and responding to one another. Our conversation followed the content of the textbook we were reading together on program planning and the questions and concerns that surfaced during the development of our new reading and English curriculum. We began to feel free to question one another on what we were doing with the redesign. The question and answer dialogue proved to be the most useful because it prompted us to address topics and issues on the redesign, such as what textbook we would use and how our lab time should be designated. Our subject knowledge and skills in the redesign began to develop and helped us take a more critical look at our planning. Departmental Reflective Work Our secondary step was to involve our colleagues in our department with emphasis on Brookfield's third lens, encompassing collaborative reflective work. To do so, we planned and incorporated reflective activities in our department meetings and began to explore reflection as a tool to open doors for improvement. In one activity, we created a brief questionnaire to prompt reflective thought. Each instructor spent fifteen minutes answering the reflective questions alone. After we recorded our thoughts, we shared our answers through a guided discussion. Conversation grew and crossed avenues we did not imagine when NADE Digest | Winter 2016 | Volume 9 | Issue 1 10 developing the activity. After an hour, the large group discussion transformed into smaller group discussions amongst colleagues with similar concerns. Important aspects of the redesign were questioned during this forum. As a department, we delved into the areas of vocabulary and grammar instruction and the refinement of our grading schema for the new pass/retake aspect of Developmental Reading and English. Because we specifically set up time to focus on reflection and to foster interpersonal relationships, we were able to clarify important aspects of the redesign before implementing it. What We Discovered: Experiences with the Online Collaborative Journal Utilizing an electronic journal to reflect during the planning process was both useful and practical. Because of our commitment to the journal, we were able to communicate several times a week when our otherwise busy schedules may not have allowed us to have face-to-face conversations. Collaborative journaling has been an important tool in our quest to build our knowledge and skills while incorporating reflection and action. Lupinski et al (2012) supported our choice, explaining, "The literature clearly states that reflective journal writing for teachers/students undertaking their field work experiences is a key component to becoming a skillful reflective practitioner" (p. 84). Our journaling informed choices we made in our group planning and helped us develop goals and stay focused on reflection. Using our online journal in Google Docs, we discussed ways we could integrate new methods in our redesigned classes. Because there are so many elements involved in integrating traditional Developmental Reading and English, such as how to fit in all required SLO's, reduce two sixteen-week courses to one eight-week course, and choose a textbook and create curriculum, instructors can easily overlook important elements like how to teach grammar in planning. Following is an example of a journal exchange that led to a discussion of incorporating experiential learning into the redesigned courses. Emily: p. 53, Experiential Learning: The idea of doing a formal needs assessment or target audience analysis intrigues me, and I guess those are covered in chapters five and thirteen. I do a very informal assessment of my students' experiential


consists of three articles published by outstanding researchers in the field. The review by Alex Langford-Smith and his colleagues [8] presents a timely overview on the role of complement in macular degeneration. The article summarizes the recent findings on the role of complement factor H on eye inflammation which show that polymorphism in protein factor H has a significant impact on the development of age-related macular degeneration. The reader will learn that this affects the interaction of factor H with heparin sulfate, which in turn contributes to chronic eye inflammation. The other two contributions are original research articles. Mélanie Verneret and coworkers [18] show that complement factor C1q interacts with surface-exposed calreticulin on early apoptotic cells. The authors describe that this leads to an important role of C1q in regulating the inflammatory responses of dying cells. Joseph O'Flynn and collaborators [14] are also working with phagocytes. In their article it was found that several neutrophil-derived proteins, including myeloperoxidase, elastase, lysozyme and cathepsin G, interact with properdin, a member of the alternative part of the complement system. Interestingly, only the interaction with myeloperoxidase leads to a subsequent activation of the complement system as measured by C5b-9 deposition. Together, these articles show that the complement system still bears many unknown sides that need to be discovered and will enhance our knowledge of one of the first-reported humoral parts of the innate immune system. Heiko Herwald, Lund Arne Egesten, Lund Complement activation was probably one of the first observations in humoral innate immunity and this field of research would not have been evolved without the pioneering work of Jules Bordet (1870–1961) [1] . Bordet, who started his scientific career in Metchnikoff's lab at the Pasteur Institute, discovered that, apart from a cellular immune response (phagocytosis), serum also has the ability to kill bacteria. In recognition of these findings, Bordet was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 'for his discoveries relating to immunity' as early as 1919. Today, our knowledge about the complement system has advanced enormously and, with the discovery of the lectin pathway [2] , it was thought that its role in innate immunity was completely unraveled. However, as with many other areas in life science, recent discoveries point to additional roles for the complement system in various pathophysiological processes, including rheumatic diseases and organ transplantation [3, 4] , making the complement system an interesting therapeutic target in drug discovery [5, 6] . Thus, within the last couple of years, Journal of Innate Immunity has published several articles dealing with different functions of the complement system, such as its role in inflammation [7] , agerelated macular degeneration [8] , chronic renal failure [9] and the lectin pathway [10] , as well as its interactions with eukaryotic cells [11–14] and microbial pathogens [15– 17] . In this issue of Journal of Innate Immunity , Uday Kishore, Kenneth B.M. Ried and Robert B. Sim have edited a thematic focus section entitled 'Unexpected and Novel Functions of Complement Proteins'. The section Published online: May 20, 2014 Journal of Innate Immunity


Objective To explore the value of thrombocytopenia,hyperglycemia and their time course in evaluating prognosis in critical ill patients.Methods 176 critical ill patients in ICU were divided into thrombocytopenia group and non-thrombocytopenia group according to the platelet count,or survivor group and non-survivor group according the prognosis,retrospectively.Blood routine examination,blood glucose and acute physiology and chronic health evalutionⅡ(APACHEⅡ)score 3,5,7,10 days after hospitalization were recorded.Results(1)Thrombocytopenic patients had higher APACHEⅡ scores,level of blood glucose,incidence rate of MODS,hospital mortality and longer duration of hospitalization than non-thrombocytopenic patients(all P0.05~0.001);(2)APACHEⅡscores and the level of blood glucose at admission in survivor group were significantly lower than those of non-survivor group,but the platelet count was higher in the survivors than in the nonsurvivors(P0.001);(3)The platelet count in survivors increased continuously,it was higher significantly than in the nonsurvivors(all P0.001);(4)In the survivors,the level of blood glucose decreased continuously after admission,it was significantly lower than in the nonsurvivors(P0.001).Conclusion The platelet count and level of blood glucose are sensitive indicators of poor prognosis and severity of critical ill patients,especially dynamic changes in platelet count and blood glucose have more predictive value.


Epidemiological and Clinical Aspects of Dysmenorrhea in Young Girls at School in Lome
Objectives: To describe the epidemiological and clinical aspects of dysmenorrhea in young girls at school. Materials and Methods: This is a prospective cross-sectional descriptive study, conducted from 25th January to 10th April, 2012. The collection of data was made by indirect interview using a survey form completed by the girls, individually in confidence and anonymously. The data were analysed by computer processing with Epi info7 software, and comparison of some of the data was made by Chi-square Exact Test of Fischer with significance level at p<0.05 and by calculating the odds ratio. Results: Dysmenorrhea had concerned more than three quarters of girls at school. The most proven bracket age was that of 14-18 years (49.1%). Familial history of dysmenorrhea has been noticed in 11.7%. Primary type of dysmenorrhea was dominant (64.3%) and the pain onset much with the first day of blood flow (48.0%). Secondary dysmenorrhea, was significantly associated with the history of a pregnancy (69.04 vs 7.04; p <10-10, OR=29.42) and an age over twenty. Non steroid anti-inflammatory drugs were the most used therapeutics in severe dysmenorrhea (35.42% vs 5.56%; p<10-5). Truancy related to dysmenorrhea was about 39.3%. Conclusion: Dysmenorrhea is a real problem with regards to its impact on the wellbeing and social life of girls at school. There was a need to do more sensitizations among school girls and to identify the medical causes of this affection in order to better manage it.


We develop a squeezed-field path-integral representation for BCS superconductors utilizing a generalized completeness relation of squeezed-fermionic coherent states. We derive a Grassmann path integral of fermionic quasiparticles that explicitly includes the collective degrees of freedom of the order-parameter dynamics governed by the classical Anderson pseudospin model. Based on this method, we analyze the spectral function of the single-particle excitations, and show that the squeezed-field path integral for the BCS Hamiltonian describes a bosonic sideband branch that corresponds to the Higgs amplitude mode of BCS superconductors, in addition to reproducing the quasiparticle and quasihole excitation branches described by the BCS mean-field approximation.


Selim Özdoğan is a German-Turkish author who was born and raised in Cologne (Köln) in 1971. He grew up bilingual, studied ethnology, English and philosophy, but dropped out of university. He has published literary works since 1995, such as.: Es ist so einsam im Sattel, seit das Pferd tot ist (1995), Im Juli (2000), Trinkgeld vom Schicksal (2003), Die Tochter des Schmieds (2005, Heimstrasse 52 (2011), Wieso Heimat, ich wohne zur Miete (2016), Wo noch Licht brennt (2017). The novel "Die Tochter des Schmieds" is the first volume in the novel trilogy. In all the abundance of treatises on typical problems and motives in intercultural literary works, the motif of fate will be examined in the novel "Die Tochter des Schmieds", independent from the other volumes (Heimstraße 52, (2011) Wo noch Licht brennt (2017). The motif of fate may not be a typical motif in intercultural literature, but it is a universal motif that Özdoğan used in his work. The aim of this work is to show how the motif of fate was processed in the novel with the hope of providing useful insights into the literary work. Keywords: Intercultural literature, die Tochter des Schmieds, motif of fate.


ABSTRACT Canada ranks high among the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries in terms of advanced education with 66% of Canadians having completed some form of postsecondary education. Yet, students from indigenous and immigrant backgrounds face several psychosocial and institutional barriers that hinder their academic progress. The current study used a qualitative approach to examine the experiences and challenges faced by indigenous and immigrant learners who were enrolled in a postsecondary human services program in Western Canada. Findings suggest that despite 40 years of a multicultural approach to education these students continue to experience several barriers to continuing their study programs. The need for radicalizing teaching by using alternate critical decolonizing discourses and pedagogy is discussed.


This overview will become a part of an international symposium sponsored by the World Health Organization's Commission on Social Determinants of Health (CSDH). This symposium is to be held in Adelaide in April 2007


Abstract Background Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (alloHSCT) recipients are at substantial risk for Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) due to prolonged hospitalization and alteration of the intestinal mucosa and gut microbiota from conditioning regimens, antimicrobials, and immunosuppressants. CDI in alloHSCT recipients has also been associated with higher rates of acute graft versus host disease (aGVHD). Review of the literature revealed that three institutions have published studies demonstrating oral vancomycin prophylaxis prevents CDI. However, more studies are needed to evaluate the impact of prophylaxis on CDI incidence, resistant infections, and other transplant-related outcomes. Methods We conducted a retrospective review to compare the effectiveness of prophylactic oral vancomycin versus no prophylaxis in 40 alloHSCT recipients in the prevention of CDI at our institution. The prophylactic intervention was initiated June 2020, and 20 patients have undergone alloHSCT as of April 2022. Patients received twice daily oral vancomycin starting the day of admission for transplant until discharge. The prophylaxis group was compared to a control group of 20 consecutive alloHSCT recipients prior to initiation of the intervention. The primary outcome was the incidence of CDI. Secondary outcomes included incidence of vancomycin resistant enterococcus (VRE) infection and incidence of aGVHD. Results During admission for transplant and at +100 days post-transplant, 5/20 (25%) of patients in the control group developed CDI compared to 0/20 (0%) in the prophylaxis group (p=0.0471). Prophylaxis was not associated with higher rates of VRE infection through day +100 post-transplant (2/20, 10% vs 0/20, 0%, p=0.487). Use of oral vancomycin was not associated with increased incidence of aGVHD, which occurred in 10/20 (50%) of patients in the control group versus (7/20) 35% in the prophylaxis group (p=0.523). Conclusion Prophylaxis with oral vancomycin was associated with a significant reduction in CDI. Use of prophylaxis was not associated with an increased risk for VRE infection and there was no change in incidence of aGVHD. Our review supports the use of prophylaxis, and we will continue to monitor for resistant infections and evaluate the impact on survival. Disclosures Alfred Luk, MD, Karius: Grant/Research Support.


We theoretically investigate the combined effects of the chirality and the finite total thickness of nematic cholesteric liquid crystals on the Casimir-Lifshitz torque. We find that, the larger the thickness, the more sinusoidal the angular dependence of the torque becomes. We use a Fourier decomposition to quantify this result. The general direction of the torque depends on whether the configuration of two cholesterics is heterochiral or homochiral.


The huge information gathers huge volume of information; it is extraordinary computational test for the huge Hadoop information to keep up and process this information and furthermore removes valuable data in a proficient way. Land occasions will occur far and wide as one of the primary worldwide risks expanding under worldwide environmental change lately. Which raise the significance of avalanche events, with the point of diminishing their results we are utilizing Guide Lesson for dissecting these occasions in various regions in like manner with period.


Objective:To develop a new rapid,sensitive,multiplexed technology for pathogens detection and identification.Meth- otis:According to sequences from GenBank,four sets of specific primers and four probes were designed and synthesized for ail gene of Yersinia enterocolitica,hly gene of Listeria monocytogenes,cpe gene of Clostridium perfringens,and 3a gene of Yersinia Pestis.The four gene fragments were synthesized by overlapping PCR,and inserted into cloning vectors and recombinant plasmid.Using the constructed plasmid DNA as the template,the four gene fragments were simultaneously amplified by the multiplex PCR,and the PCR conditions were optimized.The multiplex PCR product was detected by xMAP technology in which the reaction condition was analyzed and opti- mized.The multiplex PCR product from the pathogens genomic DNA,and the specificity and sensitivity of this method were identified. Results:The multiplex PCR products amplified from the plasmid DNA and the bacterial genomic DNA were detected by the xMAP tech- nology,and the results were similar to the multiplex PCR.This new method which was more specific and sensitive than PCR was capable of simultaneous detection of four pathogens in 3.5h,and its sensitivity was up to 200CFU/mL.Conclusions:The xMAP technology pro- vides a more efficient and useful method for rapid,multiplex detection of pathogens.Further more,it indicates that the xMAP liquid chip method is valuable for exploitation and application.


This paper aims to describe and analyze the references and allusions made by the authors who write about the Soviet Gulag to Dostoevsky and to his text written after his imprisonment in the tsarist prison in Omsk, The House of the Dead (1860- 1862). Starting from the premise that The House of the Dead has a special status as it is a text that makes the transition from the classical and vaguely defined genre of prison literature (i.e. literature written in prison or related – however not always explicitly – to the prison experience) to that of testimonial literature (i.e. literature related to a traumatic experience of a collective nature that is able to testify on behalf of those who remain to suffer in prisons or concentration camps), I will emphasize the testimonial character of Dostoevsky's writing. Subsequently, I will analyze how the authors who write about their experiences in the Soviet camps (Gustaw Herling-Grudziński, A World Apart, Julius Margolin, Journey into the Land of Zeks and Back, Varlam Shalamov, Kolyma Tales, Yevgenia Ginzburg, Journey into the Whirlwind, Within the Whirlwind, and Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, The Gulag Archipelago) relate to Dostoevsky's text. At first, the references to Dostoevsky highlight the continuity between the two repressive systems: the tsarist katorga and the Soviet Gulag (Gustaw Herling-Grudziński). Later, however, the differences between them become apparent, as the Gulag writers all highlight in their writing the extent and intensity of the suffering experienced by those who lived through the hell of the repressions in the Gulag. In this way, they enter in an ironic and polemical dialogue with the nineteenth-century Russian writer. In the end, this polemical separation from Dostoevsky shows how the Gulag writers abandon the messianic and humanistic innocence of the nineteenth-century prison literature in the context of the totalitarian and repressive system of the twentieth century.


The term child abuse covers a wide range of actions that cause physical, emotional or mental harm in children. The conceptualization of child abuse as an inadequate treatment of children as developing beings is a consequence of a change in the power relations within the family structure and a greater recognition of children's rights to grow in an environment healthy. The present work aims to know the methodology used by the social worker to intervene in these cases of vulnerability, and this is a personal and social challenge that this professional assumes when interacting with children, performing a meticulous work protecting in the first place their rights and socio-affective development, this article was done through a descriptive-analytical investigation, which allowed to know the index of child abuse that exists in the communities of San Pablo and the community of Floron # 8 belonging to the city of Portoviejo , considering that child abuse is a psychosocial problem that affects all the countries of the world and all social classes and is a product of many associated factors and has important consequences in the later development of the subjects.


ronto-area hospitals. The other three went to a local, privately owned radiology clinic, which claims to have "state-of-the-art" equipment I believe them. In two cases the radiologists consulted by the surgeons at their teaching hospitals concluded that the positive mammograms were not suspicious enough to warrant biopsy. To their credit, the surgeons arranged follow-up mammography in 6 and 8 months, by which times the lesions were obviously carcinomas. I draw two conclusions from my experience. First, mammography is very useful in the early diagnosis of breast cancer in a family physician's office. I will continue to order it yearly or every 2 years, depending on the family history. This requires astuteness, perseverance and even forcefulness with some patients, but it is worth the effort in view of the yield; subsequent reduction of the terrible disability that metastatic breast cancer brings is very gratifying. Second, gynecologists and internists doing primary care would be well advised to consider screening mammography. I no longer depend on these consultants to order the procedure but suggest it myself when my patients visit for other reasons.


The fundamentals and developments of information processing hardware systems using high-dimensional complex dynamics are explained. In particular, how I conceived the idea of the information processing paradigm through nonlinear complex hardware systems and how I implemented the real-number computation with noise in analog integrated circuit systems are described together with my personal experiences. In addition, it is shown that the constructive approach, in which complexity is handled as complex as it is, is effective for the analysis and design of nonlinear complex engineering systems, where both reductionism and holism would fail, which are usually employed for linear and digital computing


The NiII atom in the title compound shows a square-planar NiN2O2 coordination with the imine N and phenolate O atoms of the two Schiff base ligands. C—H⋯O and C—H⋯π interactions result in the formation of sheets of molecules parallel to the ac plane.


Nowadays Float Car Data (FCD) is playing an important role in real-time traffic information systems. However, traffic signal control in urban road network will cause random delay on float cars, and this kind of delay will result in considerable fluctuation of travel time. Thus, the accuracy of FCD system is seriously affected. In this paper, float car refining models are proposed to calculate the stopped-time delay by means of low-sampling-rate FCD. And then, the classification of controlled delay and non-controlled delay is performed in order to remove traffic signal control's affection, and to obtain the data which can truly reflect the traffic flow characteristics. The contrast experiments indicate that the accuracy of the FCD system has achieved significant improvement after applying the new processing model.


Physics phenomena underpin many techniques and technologies that are used for both diagnosis and treatment of a variety of diseases. This is the case for radiotherapy, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), and Positron Emission Tomography (PET) that are based on our knowledge, respectively, of how particles interact with matter, of how atomic nuclei behave in oscillating magnetic fields, and of how positron decay.


Photoalignment is a simple technique for the manipulation of molecular orientations, which has been widely used in liquid crystal displays. Here, we propose a novel photoalignment method, in which an azobenzene dye thin film is deposited by thermal evaporation and in situ exposed to linearly polarized light simultaneously. We obtain polarizers with a dichroic ratio of up to 62, which is the highest value ever realized by a photoalignment method. Moreover, the polarizing thin film has a thickness of just 200 nm, compatible with flexible substrates, making it perfect for use as a dichroic polarizer in ultrathin and flexible displays.


Science has made great breakthroughs in understanding of our universe. Science has some limitations. It has done lots of research in material dimensions of matter and energy and a small part in time. Science has not acknowledged the existence of the dimension of Consciousness. There are a number of phenomena apparently without explanation on earth and in the universe. Some of these can be explained incorporating this dimension. The limitation of modern day science is it doesn't have any laboratory support for this dimension. This is the controlling dimension for life and for universe and without knowing this aspect understanding of science is bound to be limited.


An electronic paper writing device, wherein the writing means includes an array substrate, a main control module, an input module is connected electrically with the main control module and a control module electrically with the main drive module connected to the array substrate, the the array substrate and the driving module electrically connected to the array substrate, the array substrate and the upper surface of the electronic paper to be electrically connected to the writing, the input module for inputting operation instructions to the main control module, the the main control module controls the operation instruction array substrate according to the driving module to drive the write operation of the array substrate. The present invention further provides a system comprising an electronic paper label said writing means of the electronic paper. Thus, the writing device according to the present invention provides the electronic paper label system is particularly suitable for applications not required (e.g., numbers, commodity price tag, etc.) frequent replacement tag information.


Case teaching in management, which emphasizing the interaction between the teacher and the students, attaching importance to training students? ability of autonomous learning, cooperative learning, innovation, healthy personality and team awareness, will build up a bridge between management theory and practice and is bound to becoming the major trend of teaching with strong vital force in the teaching of management. This paper summarizes the main problems in the actual operation of case teaching and then puts forwards the relevant countermeasures to promoting the effectiveness of case teaching.


We propose and study a data completion algorithm for recovering missing data from the knowledge of Cauchy data on parts of the same boundary. The algorithm is based on surface representation of the solution and is presented for the Helmholtz equation. This work is an extension of the data completion algorithm proposed by the two last authors where the case of data available of a closed boundary was studied. The proposed method is a direct inversion method robust with respect to noisy incompatible data. Classical regularization methods with discrepancy selection principles can be employed and automatically lead to a convergent schemes as the noise level goes to zero. We conduct 3D numerical investigations to validate our method on various synthetic examples.


State-of-the art negative electron affinity cathodes are being considered as promising high-frequency photoemitters because of their reasonably high external quantum efficiency and low mean transverse energies. However, their large-scale application is still limited by their instability and complex fabrication process. In this work, we have designed and fabricated an electronically tunable hot electron laser assisted cathode using negative electron surfaces by employing a facile exsitu fabrication technique. Despite the lack of any optimization, the proof-of-concept device has demonstrated excellent air stability and an external quantum efficiency of ~0.5%. This study can provide insight into the prospects and challenges of designing novel negative electron affinity photocathodes with high quantum efficiency.


Abstract : This thesis addresses how an alternate surface fleet comprised of aircraft carriers (CVNs), guided missile destroyers (DDGs), and enhanced San Antonio class amphibious transport dock ships (eLPD 17s) of an equal replacement procurement cost compare in 14 measures of capabilities to the planned 2040 U.S. fleet, and how the two fleets compare in Asian Pacific Theater operations. The estimated procurementcosts for the proposed eLPD 17 class ship and for the Navys planned 2040 fleet, and the composition of the equal procurement cost alternate fleet, The Advanced Surface Force Fleet, are determined. The two fleets are then compared using three different matrices: 14 measures of capabilities, the capability to conduct humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations, and the capability to defeat an adversary in a maritime conflict. The Advanced Surface Force Fleet has more offensive capability than the Navysplanned 2040 fleet. Furthermore, the eLPD 17 provides the Navy with an amphibious ship that can act autonomously in contested environments, with more surface ships that have offensive capability, and with a warship that can perform conventional surface combatant roles while maintaining the ability to perform traditional amphibious lift capabilities.


There are enough grass resources in ashang plateau of Zhangjiakou.But There are many problemsin old animal husbandry,The article analyzes the future development of green-animal husbandry by sparing cultivated land to recover grass.


In this paper, we study an optimization problem with equality and inequality constraints, where the corresponding functions have quasidiffer- entiable gradients. Two second-order necessary optimality conditions for this problem are proposed. The differences for convex compact sets proposed by Demyanov, and by Rubinov and Akhundov are used, respectively.


As the commercial, industrial, and military applications for lasers expand, so do the demands that customers place on the calibration services that NIST provides. Calibration services in the CW Laser Radiometry Project of the Optoelectronics Division at NIST meet many of these needs and continue to expand to meet new needs. This Project focuses on selected critical parameters intrinsic to sources and detectors, especially the calibration of optical-fiber power meters and laser power or energy meters at commonly used wavelengths and powers or energies. In addition, special test measurements are available for linearity, spectral responsivity, and spatial and angular uniformity of laser power meters and detectors. This presentation will explore recent developments in laser sources and standards for improving calibrations of laser power and energy.


By revealing the propensity of elected governments to indulge in self‐interest at the expense of the people's liberty, public choice theory provides powerful arguments in favour of an appointed House of Lords rather than an elected upper chamber.


Atrial fibrillation (AFib) is the most common tachyarrhythmia of the heart in adults and is associated with an increased risk for stroke and heart failure. It can be described as irregularly irregular, foci in the atrium that set up chaotic atrial circuits and irregular rapid contraction of the atrium with loss of consistent atrio-ventricular synchrony due to decremental conduction at the atrio-ventricular node. The challenge was to identify predictive features of ECG signals with variable time and spatial components. These features were extracted from 8528 single lead ECG recordings and then input to a gradient boosting classifier. The trained model could classify AFib with an F1 score of 0.83. Present in the dataset were three other rhythm classes; Normal Sinus Rhythm, Other, and Noisy. The F1 scores achieved for these classes were 0.91, 0.77, and 0.66 respectively.


objective To investigate the mechanismof Modified Sijunzi Decoction inmice with lung cancer and the digestive systemof the mice affected by lung cancer.Methods After the Lewismice model with lung cancersuccessfully established, theywere administrated by gavage with Modified Sijunzi Decoction for14 days,and theywere killed by cervical vertebra dislocation on the 15th day.We took out the tumor tissue and detected the expression of HIF-1α,CXCR4 byReal-time PCR method;we extracted serum to detect D-xylosebyphloroglucinol.Results After Modified Sijunzi Decoction interveningthe Lewismice model with lung cancer,HIF-1α、CXCR4mRNA of lung cancer group and reinforcing spleen with cancer group were significantly different(P 0.01);the two of lung cancergroup and reinforcing spleenwith cancergroupwere both significantly different from normal group(P 0.01).Conclusion Modified Sijunzi Decoction has an inhibitory effect on lung cancer,Lung cancer can reduce the digestion and absorption function in mice.


Important and significant revisions in the theory of Abe and Mikoshiba are made, with great emphasis on the first‐order particle trajectory in the integral expressions of the solution to the Boltzmann equation. Finally correct expressions are obtained for the amplification constant.


As a continuation, an experimental program to assess wind tunnel stability of binary pressure sensitive paint samples has been conducted in 0.3m tunnel on two newer paint formulations developed by Surface Engineering Division . This report summarises the details of these paints along with results .


On September 7, 2008, the Federal National Mortgage Association, more commonly known as Fannie Mae, and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, known as Freddie Mac, were placed into conservatorship, marking one of the most drastic government interventions in the private financial market in decades.' The two entities together had $5.4 trillion of guaranteed, mortgage-backed securities ("MBS") and debt outstanding, and their market share of all new mortgages reached over 80% earlier in 2008.2 The startling federal takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac was followed by the sale of Merrill Lynch to Bank of America, the Lehman Brothers collapse, and an $85 billion federal loan to American International Group to avoid bankruptcy.3 Most troubling, the week of October 6, 2008, was one of the worst weeks for the stock market with the Standard and Poor's 500-stock index and the Dow Jones industrial average each losing 18% of their value.4


Background and Purpose This study aimed to investigate the knowledge of community general practitioners (GPs) and nurses about pre-hospital stroke recognition, treatment and management and secondary stroke prevention; to identify the sociodemographic and educational factors influencing knowledge. Methods A self-designed test questionnaire was applied in a self-administered close-exam setting among 480 GPs and nurses working in community health centers (stations) in eight urban districts of Chongqing. Results A total of 331 (69%) valid test questionnaires were returned. Of the 331 participants, 39% were aware of the clinical guidelines for cerebrovascular diseases, whereas 48% considered themselves to have stroke management capabilities. The correct rate of answering questions of pre-hospital recognition and management knowledge was as low as 24%, the correct rate of secondary stroke prevention knowledge was only 38%. In terms of the total score for stroke prevention and treatment knowledge, there were significant differences between the medical staff with different specialties before engaging in community health services and whether they have received GP training (P <0.05). Conclusion The community GPs and nurses in the urban districts of Chongqing clearly lack knowledge of stroke, and the levels of stroke prevention and treatment urgently need to be improved.


The invention provides an interaction method, an interaction device and an interaction system for interaction information in the Internet, which are applied in the field of the Internet. The method comprises the following steps of: when the condition that the interaction information is required to be initiated by an initiator is determined, prompting the initiator to input a contact address of a participator of the interaction information; and transmitting electronic information of a universal resource locator (URL) address of a command code which comprises the content of the interaction information and identifies the participator to the contact address of the participator. By the technical scheme provided by the invention, the method, the device and the system have the advantages of increasing the interaction mode of the interaction information, along with small limitation on the participator of the interaction information.


We describe a method to interpret potential fields, which gets one-dimensional models by inversion of vertical soundings of potential field data. The vertical soundings are built through upward continuation of potential field data, measured on either a profile or a surface. The method assumes a forward problem consisting of a volume partitioned in layers, each of them homogeneous and horizontally finite, but with the density changing vs. depth. The continuation errors, increasing vs. the altitude, are automatically handled by determining the coefficients of a third-order polynomial function of the altitude.Due to the finite-size of the source volume, we need a priori information about the total horizontal extent of the volume, which is estimated by boundary analysis and optimized by a Markov Chain process. For each sounding, a 1D inverse problem is independently solved, by a non–negative least-squares algorithm. Merging of the several inverted models finally yields approximate 2D or 3D models, which are h...


Introduction: Studies have shown antibacterial activity of anise and on the other hand, Listeria monocytogenes, one Gram-positive pathogen is responsible for listeriosis. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the effect of subcutaneous administration of anise essential oil and oral administration of its aqueous extract and also comparison of their effects in BALB/c mice infected with listeriosis. Methods: Two units, by using insulin syringe, of Listeria monocytogenes prepared in 0.5 McFarland standard was intraperitoneally administrated to mice and agglutination test was done to ensure before anise administration. BALB/c mice (n=50) infected with listeriosis received anise aqueous extract (AAE) (5 g/100 g drink water) and 1-unit anise essential oil (AEO) by using insulin syringe was subcutaneously administrated to other mice (n=50) for 1 week. Other mice (n=24) were considered as control. Results: Results showed that AAE and AEO could improve mice contaminated with listeriosis, although mice treated with AAE were efficiently cured than those who received AEO (37 vs. 12). Conclusion: On the basis of the results, it can be recommended that the use of AAE for treatment of listeriosis is tenable.


When we think of discrimination we often think of barriers that minorities face in the hiring process or impediments to receiving equal pay for equal work. We may typically think that this stems from antipathy towards minorities, or what we economists call "taste-based" discrimination. But it may also derive from priors that people have about the average productivity of minorities. If the prior does not match with the minority candidate that's applying to the job this can also create discrimination. We call this statistical discrimination and though it does not result from animus, it can be just as insidious.


We present a novel appearance model for paper. Based on our appearance measurements for matte and glossy paper, we find that paper exhibits a combination of subsurface scattering, specular reflection, retroreflection, and surface sheen. Classic microfacet and simple diffuse reflection models cannot simulate the double‐sided appearance of a thin layer. Our novel BSDF model matches our measurements for paper and accounts for both reflection and transmission properties. At the core of the BSDF model is a method for converting a multi‐layer subsurface scattering model (BSSRDF) into a BSDF, which allows us to retain physically‐based absorption and scattering parameters obtained from the measurements. We also introduce a method for computing the amount of light available for subsurface scattering due to transmission through a rough dielectric surface. Our final model accounts for multiple scattering, single scattering, and surface reflection and is capable of rendering paper with varying levels of roughness and glossiness on both sides.


Abstract The western corn rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), is a major pest of corn in Kansas. Planting Bt corn hybrids resistant to this pest is being tested as a method to control the larval stage of corn rootworms. These hybrids express Cry3Bb1 toxin and are expected to only directly impact chrysomelids and possibly related taxa. Soil samples were examined to evaluate the effect of Bt corn for corn rootworm control on soil microarthropods and nematodes in Kansas in 2000 and 2001. Soil samples from soil close to Bt corn and to its isoline were taken on three occasions (early, mid, and late season) from eight locations in 2000 and three locations in 2001. Soil mites and Collembola were extracted using a modified Tullgren high-gradient extractor. Nematodes were extracted using a centrifugal-flotation procedure. In general, numbers of soil mites (Prostigmata, Mesostigmata, and Oribatei), Collembola, and nematodes were similar in soil planted with Bt corn and soil planted with its isoline.


The structure and morphology of coating carbon play an important role in improving the electronic conductivity of lithium iron phosphate.LiFePO4/C composites were synthesized using an in-situ solid state method while polypropylene and glucose were used as carbon sources.Ferrocene was used as a catalyst precursor to graphitize the pyrolytic carbon.The microstructure and morphology of lithium iron phosphate together with the amounts and structure of the coating carbon were investigated in detail.It is shown that the pyrolysis of polypropylene forms well graphitized carbon-coatings and thus improves the high-rate performance of the material.Ferrocene is effective in optimizing the carbon structure.A LiFePO4/C composite with an excellent high-rate capacity of 145 mAh·g-1 at 10C(1C=170 mA·g-1) was synthesized.


Background The investigation results of the T-joints stress state located at operating pipelines are presented. T-joints of two bullet receiving stations of the «Cherkassy» pumping station have been selected as objects for research. Earlier fractures along the welded seam between the pipe and the branch of such T-joints were observed and were eliminated by welding reinforcing rings. Aims and Objectives Based on the analysis research of welded T-joints stress state, to determine the changes caused by reinforcing ring on unreinforced T-joint to stress state that was before failure. Metods The stress state investigation was held by means of strain measurement method with the help of strain gauges glued to the pipe surface of T-joints in the most typical segments. Results As it was proved by analysis of the research, reinforcing of destroyed joints by rings does not eliminate the danger of re-destruction, because scheme and cycle of pipeline operation, significant stress state variation and stress concentrators are not eliminated.


This paper investigates the development of oil and gas accounting,the evolution and controversy of SE and FC,the relevant theoretical and empirical studies in America.And based on the above investigation,the paper analyzes and evaluates the choice of accounting method in our newly-issued oil and gas accounting standard,explores its applicability and puts forward some suggestions.


The test results are presented of an initial cold helium ejector design that can be installed on a closed cycle refrigerator to provide refrigeration at temperatures below 4.2 K. The ejector, test apparatus, instrumentation, and test results are described. Tests were conducted both at room temperature and at cryogenic temperatures to provide operational experience with the ejector as well as for future use in the subsequent design of an ejector that will provide refrigeration at temperatures below 3 K.


This research is a development research that aims at discovering (1) the interactive media profile using animation in solid figure learning, (2) the practicality of interactive media using animation in solid figure learning, (3) the effectiveness of interactive media using animation in solid figure learning. The product produced by this study is interactive media using animation in solid figure learning at SMPN 1 Mallusetasi based on PowerPoint Microsoft software. The media development employed DDD-E (Decide, Design, Develop, and Evaluate) development media.
The results of the study obtained (1) the development of learning media was conducted through four stages of development. The first stage was decision making which included determining the type of software, hardware, and media title. The second stage was the design creation which included material analysis, making Flowchart, Storyboards, and research instruments were in the forms of evaluation questionnaires for material expert, media expert, teacher's response questionnaire, and student's response questionnaire. The third stage was media development which included collecting and making the necessary elements and continued with making media with PowerPoint Microsoft software. The fourth stage was evaluation conducted in two stages, namely the stage before the media is tested on students by media experts and the stage after the media had been tested on students by the Mathematics teacher.
The feasibility of learning media was based on material expert validation with 84 % which was in very valid category. While the feasibility of learning media based on media expert validation was 96 % in very valid category. The practicality of interactive media using animations was discovered based on the results of students' responses by 94 % and the result of teacher's response was 96 % categorized as practical categories or suitable to be applied in learning. The effectiveness of interactive media using animation was discovered based on Mathematics learning outcomes which obtained 89 % in high ability category.

Keywords: Interactive media, PowerPoint Microsoft, DDD-E.


The flying worlds of science fiction films and series from the 1960s to the 1980s, popular on both sides of the Iron Curtain, today appear at least as alien to us, if not more so, than they did fifty years ago. However, their current alienness is usually described as "retro" or "nostalgic", sometimes even (naively?) humanist as opposed to futuristic. Apart from a certain design or aesthetic, nostalgia for the space age of the twentieth century (https://slate.com/technology/2012/05/space-program-s-future-and-landing-on-the-moon-how-nostalgia-for-the-apollo-program-doesn-t-help.html) is often linked to assumptions about a brighter, happier future that were once widespread and now are gone for good. This kind of "nostalgia for the past future" is commonly associated with Eastern European former socialist societies (https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9780230274358) and their popular cultural production. As films, television series, and music videos become increasingly accessible to wider audiences on digital streaming platforms, they transition from the "archive" to the "exhibition window", inviting reassessment, including of collective memory, genre, and utopia. In this context, Soviet space utopias (https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt6wrcn2) attract a significant amount of attention, fuelling speculation about communism's projected futures, Amero-Soviet cultural exchange, and details about the production and reception contexts of famous films, such as Andrei Tarkovsky's Solaris (1972). Popular-cultural references point to various aspects of the bygone space age, particularly its cultural and socio-political dimensions, and allow us to decode what kinds of philosophical, popular-scientific, aesthetic, technological, as well as the political and national imaginaries to which a particular space age belonged. At the same time, all of these imaginaries have evolved and been integrated into our collective memory (https://www.


Compression of the trachea and the oesophagus by anomalous development of the aorta or its branches is well recognised as a cause of airway obstruction.' Right aberrant subclavian artery is one of the anomalies which allegedly does not usually cause any respiratory difficulty.2 3We report a patient with right aberrant subclavian artery who had persistent respiratory difficulties from one week of age, in whom bronchoscopy revealed marked tracheal compression.


In this paper, a Fuzzy Transshipment problem is defined in which the origin and destination consist not only the equality but also of greater than or equal to or less than or equal to type constraints. An algorithm is proposed to change the mixed constraint fuzzy transshipment problem into a standard fuzzy transportation problem. The optimal solution for the fuzzy transportation problem is the optimal solution for the mixed constraint fuzzy transshipment problem.


In today's microprocessors, the cache architecture is highly optimized for one particular design and cannot be changed after fabrication. While allowing efficient implementations in dedicated logic, this inflexibility also implies that new techniques cannot be deployed in the field. This paper presents Flex Cache, a flexible cache architecture that uses on-chip reconfigurable fabric to enable new extensions to be added in the field after fabrication. We evaluate the flexibility and efficiency of the architecture through an RTL prototype implementation of the cache along with example extensions such as cache performance counters, side-channel protection, prefetching, various replacement policies and computation acceleration. The results show that various types of extensions can be realized on Flex Cache with minimal impact on performance, power, and area.


A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Agriculture of Ahmadu
Bello University in partial fulfillments for the award of
the degree of Master of Science in Crop Breeding in the
Department of Plant Science, Faculty of Agriculture.
MAY 1985.


Thirty years ago Watson and Crick described the structure of the B form of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and accurately predicted that the complementarityofpaired bases in the double helix provided "a possible copying mechanism for genetic material" (I). The discovery (initially described in thisjournal (2)) of a variety ofcomplementary stereochem- ical relationships between DNA and diverse biologically active small molecules (steroid hormones, phytohormones, neurotransmitters, pher- omones, vitamins, mutagens, etc.) (3-10) implied that there were addi- tional features of fundamental biological importance inherent in the structure of DNA. Namely, the precise structural specifications for the chirality and framework of molecules involved in cellular function ap- peared to be reflected in the physicochemical properties and unique configuration ofDNA. Our extension ofthe principle ofcomplementar- ity beyond base pairing to other aspects of the double helix suggested that there was a fundamental, logical stereochemistry embodied in gene structure. We have decided to term this discovery the "stereochemical logic" of gene structure. The stereochemical logic is defined as those unique features of DNA structure that ultimately dictate constraints on the structure, function, metabolism, and biological activity of small molecules (8).


THEconnections betweeneducation andtherelations ofeconomic, political, and culturalinequality in the largersocietyis a subjectI haveexamined in a seriesof volumes. I I haveurgedusto thinkaboutcurriculum and teaching notpsychologically,but socially, as embodiments and the resultsof the class, race,and gender dynamics that organizesociety. In this way, we can see the curriculum not as a neutral set of "thats, hows,and los," but as knowledge related to conflictsand compromises overpowerand control?


Contemporary Sensorimotor Theory presents a collection of papers that analyse the philosophical foundations of sensorimotor theory and explore its application to various empirical domains. In this review, I examine the contributing chapters and offer some comments, based on these contributions, on the role of sensorimotor theory within modern cognitive science as well as its place within embodied/enactive cognitive science.


In the last decade, Ecuadorian universities actively participate in the challenges of Higher Education raised by the Government of the Republic: the transformation of academic institutions of teaching centers, in research centers. In that sense, privately funded universities face a greater number of challenges, since, unlike those with public funds, they have a limited number of human and material resources. With this work, we will show the results of a ten-month observation in an emblematic private institution of Ecuador: the University of the Americas (UDLA). The conclusions reflect the structural problems confronted by some universities that, like the UDLA, must evolve towards the articulation of initiatives based on social interest and not on economic benefit.


Now over 10 research unit s or universities in China have int roduced t he EBSD ( Elect ron Back Scattering Diff raction) analyzing systems mounted on elect ron scanning microscopes for determi2 nation of crystallograp hic st ruct ures and orientations on micro - scale in crystalline materials. This pa2 per describes briefly t he hardware configuration of t his system , t he orientation data acquisition , t he principle of automatic detection of Kikuchi band t hrough Hough t ransformation and t he data process2 ing , and particularly t he main application of t his system , i. e. orientation mapping. Examples are pro2 vided for demonst rating t he feat ures of local orientation dist ribution.


Objective
To apply the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle in glucose management in inpatients with diabetes, in order to decrease the incidence of hypoglycemia and related complications.

Methods
517 inpatients with diabetes were divided into 4 groups according to the quarter, the monthly incidence rates of hypoglycemia were collected.The association of monthly incidence of hypoglycemia with age (≥65 years), longer diabetic history (≥ 5 years), lower C-peptide (<0.370nmol/L), receiving combined regimen (basal insulin plus 3 doses of pre-prandial short-acting insulin) were analyzed.PDCA cycle was applied for hypoglycemia detection and etiology control in order to achieve quality improvement via effective glucose control measures.The χ2 test was used to analyze the incidence of the hypoglycemia in each group.The hypoglycemic incidence based on different characteristics, were also compared with the overall hypoglycemic incidences of all patients.

Results
The incidence of hypoglycemia was significantly reduced with the application of PDCA cycle in inpatients with diabetes, from 44.09% in the first quarter to 13.04% in the fourth quarter(χ2=32.815, P<0.001). The annual hypoglycemic incidence rate was 26.89%.The patients with low C-peptide or receiving combined regimen had significantly higher incidence rate of hypoglycemia (53.57% and 31.88%) as compared to general inpatients with diabetes(χ2=35.721, 7.105, all P<0.05).

Conclusion
The application of PDCA cycle can effectively decrease the incidence of hypoglycemia, and it can be a great asset for management of inpatients with diabetes.

Key words:
Quality control; Hypoglycemia; Insulin; Diabetes