The correlation dimension method is applied to investigate the presence of chaos in the evapotransporation ET_0 time series obtained from the Zangbei Station,located at the Haihe River basin.The time series is calculated by using FAO56 Penman-Monteith model according to the daily weather data.The finite and low correlation dimension characteristic of the ET_0 indicates the existence of chaos and a chaos model is established.The embedded dimension and time delay are calculated by using auto correlation method and correlation dimension method respectively.On this basis the phase-space can be reconstructed.A local approximate method is established to carry out the chaotic prediction of the variation of evaprotranspiration.It is found that the result is not as good as that calculated by BP neural network model based on weather data,but it is better than that simulated by AR model.This encouraging result indicates that the chaos theory provides a new method for ET_0 prediction without weather data.


To the Editor.— I would like to report a case of bursitis causing a soft-tissue mass at an unusual location in a break dancer. Report of a Case.— An 18-year-old male break dancer was referred for evaluation and treatment of a tender soft-tissue mass. This mass was located posterior to the vertebral column at the 12th thoracic vertebra. The patient could not recall any trauma to the area, but he gave a history of learning to break dance during the previous six months. Several maneuvers in break dancing require the dancer to spin around using the high lumbar-low thoracic portions of the spine, much like the tip of a spinning top. These maneuvers include the "back spin" and the "windmill." 1 The patient gave a history of performing these and other maneuvers while learning to break dance during the previous six months. During the month before admission, a tender soft-tissue


The core idea of this seminar is to present the Landau phenomenological theory of continuous phase transitions from the group-theoretical point of view. We begin by a brief review of secondorder phase transitions and introduce several important phyisical concepts that are relevant for futher discussion. In the second part of the seminar we begin from an entirely different setting, namely with the basis of an underlying symmetry group of a system. We restrict our discussion to symmetries in crystals. In the last part we present an example in order to support the theory from more practical perspective. Nevertheless, our intention is not to provide a comprehensive formulation of the theory, but rather an illustration of the importance of symmetry restrictions in many physical processes. Therefore it is assumed the reader is well familiar with basic concepts of group theory, accompanied with some essentials of solid state physics.


We propose a segmentation method different from active contours, which can cope with incomplete edges. The algorithm has been developed to segment heart cavities, but may be extended to more complex object shapes. Due to the almost convex geometry of heart cavities we are using a polar coordinate system with its origin near the cavity's center. The image is scanned from the origin for potential edge points. In order to assess the likelihood of an edge point to belong to the myocardial wall, region based information, such as visibility and local wall thickness, is included. The local information (edge points) progressively is expanded by first grouping the edge points to line segments and then selecting a subgroup of segments to obtain the final closed contour. This is done by means of minimizing a cost function. The plausibility of the result is checked and, if needed, the contour is corrected and/or refined by searching for additional potential edge points. For multidimensional images the algorithm is applied slice-by-slice without the need of further user interaction. The new segmentation method has been applied to clinical ultrasound images, the result being that the myocardial wall correctly was detected in the vast majority of cases.


Spectroradiometric determination of wheat canopy biophysical variables: Comparison of several empirical-statistical methods. Remote sensing has been proven to be a valuable tool for monitoring vegetation surfaces. Canopy parameters can be derived from spatial continuous remote sensing data providing for example information relevant for crop management within the precision farming concept. The objective of this study is to compare the performance of several empirical-statistical methods to derive vegetation parameters from hyperspectral data. We analyzed shifts in the inflection point, normalized differences, monovariate linear regressions and partial least square regressions with reflectance spectra and first derivatives as input variables. A data set has been acquired, comprising top of canopy reflectances and the corresponding canopy parameters of four wheat canopies over the full phenological crop cycle. The assessment of the different approaches showed reliable retrieval performances for the leaf area index (LAI), leaf chlorophyll content (Cab) and canopy chlorophyll content (Cab x LAI). The results of the Partial Least Square Regression (PLS) were nevertheless the most stable with cross-validated r 2 between 0.8 and 0.9. Percent RMSE were for this method in the range between 12,8 and 14,1 %.


Two different Ka-band single-pole, double-throw (SPDT) switch circuits using monolithic GaAs epitaxial p-i-n diode technology are presented. The lowest insertion loss is 0.7 dB at 35 GHz, and isolation is better than 32 dB from 30 to 40 GHz. The power-handling capability is at least +38 dBm pulsed and +35 dBm continuous wave. Switching speed rise- and fall times are 2 ns. >


: 3-(dicyanomethylene)-5,5-dimethyl-1-(3-[9-(2-ethyl-hexyl)-carbazol]-vinyl) cyclohexene (DCDHCC) is one of a series of organic dyes with good emission performance in photoelectric devices. The absorption and emission spectra of DCDHCC were computed using PBE0, BMK, and M06 hybrids in the frame of time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) in combination with polarizable continuum models (PCMs). Linear-response (LR) and state-specific (SS) PCM approaches were used as well as 6-31G( d ) and 6-31+G( d , p ) basis sets. The absorption and emission spectra were calculated in benzene, tetrahydrofuran, and acetone and compared with experimental observations. On the one hand, choice of hybrids was found to have a greater effect on the absorption spectra than the basis sets or the solvent model and BMK was established to be a suitable functional for the calculation of the absorption spectra of DCDHCC, on the other hand, the basis set used had a significant impact on the geometries of the excited states and thus the emission spectra, and the 6-31+G( d , p ) basis set was necessary for the optimization of the excited states. It is envisaged that our calculations may be of assistance in the design of analogous emitters.


Structural and index decomposition analyses allow identifying the main drivers of observed changes over time of energy and environmental impacts. These decomposition analyses have become very popular in recent decades and, many alternative methods to implement them have become available. Several of the most popular methods have been developed earlier in index number theory, a context in which each particular method is defined by adhering to a set of properties. The goal of the present paper is to review the main results of index number theory and discuss its connection to decomposition analyses. By doing so, we can present a decision tree that allows users to choose a decomposition method that meets desired properties. We report as hands-on example an empirical case study of the carbon footprint of the Netherlands in the period 2004–2005.


The classifications of soft drinks and its units of applying production license in Quality Safety Certification of the products were introduced in this paper, and the related national and industrial standards for soft drinks that have been established were listed. A company standard referenced text based-on these standards for fruit-flavoured beverage was proposed. We also hope that this referenced text will promote the developments of the fruit-flavored beverages companies.


The characteristic point,characteristic curves and phase region in the iron- carbon alloy phase diagram were classified into three,three allotropic transformation,three horizontal lines and three solubility curve group by classification method. On this basis,phase diagram analysis was easy. First of all finding Fe3 C and marking out the L phase,then marking δ phase,α phase and γ phase according the iron's allotropic transformation,finally,using the method of " left phase and right phase",the two-phase region can be rapidly annotated. This method makes the phase diagram more rational in teaching and learning and it has better auxiliary function for the analysis of the crystallization process of the iron carbon alloy.


(57) Abstract: The present invention relates to a device for removing air bubbles or gas bubbles from an ink-jet pen. The apparatus and ink cartridge bound gas accumulated chamber (10) (26), and a gas inlet port communicating (46) with respect to the flow and the chamber, septum said inlet port to seal the port including the (50). Gas storage chamber and the gas storage unit (44), extends in the binder to the cartridge body of the cartridge (12), with a gas storage device to draw gas from the cartridge body into the chamber through the inlet port and a energizing biasing member (42). Gas storage device, the new ink cartridge is automatically activated when it is installed to the cartridge body, therefrom by Hosse forced air bubbles or gas bubbles in the ink cartridge and cartridge body ink feed port (116) Remove.


Drilling operation of horizontal well Du84-XingH73 in Shi1 Block was highly difficult due to the restraint of adjacent wells. MWD had been used to monitor hole trajectory. The trajectory had been effectively controlled through changing drill assembly, adjusting drilling method, altering drilling parameters. In this well, all the indices of drilling and completion have met the design requirement. This is a reference to related field operation.


Turbulent boundary layer over an underwater vehicle is formed when it moves underwater and wall pressure fluctuation within the turbulent boundary layer generates flow-induced noise by exciting the elastic hull of the underwater vehicle. One of the methods to reduce this flow noise is to attach a compliant layer on the surface of the vehicle. In order to observe the possibility of noise reduction in the water when the compliant layer treatments are applied on the surface, three types of specimens those are a bare steel plate, a steel plate coated with neoprene and a steel plate with polyurethane coating material are tested at various flow speeds in a low noise cavitation tunnel. This paper presents the results of measurements and analysis of wall pressure fluctuations which is a main source of flow noise, within the turbulent boundary layer on three specimens. Its results could be shown that about 10dB reduction of wall fluctuation pressure at high frequencies was achieved due to the dissipation of turbulent energy by the compliant coating while it makes the turbulent boundary layer thicker and changes the behavior of turbulent flow in the layer.


This paper proposed a novel Coupling and Self-adaptive (COSA) grasping mode, aiming to overcome the disadvantages of the two main kinds of under-actuated fingers: coupled finger and self-adaptive finger. The COSA grasping mode includes 2 stages: coupling grasping and self-adaptive grasping. A 2-joint COSA finger (COSA-RB finger) was developed to demonstrate the new grasping function, based on a gear-rack mechanism and a pulley-belt mechanism. Force analyses and structure optimization rules of the new finger are given and discussed in detail. The experimental results show that the COSA grasping mode of the finger is effective. A highly under-actuated humanoid robot hand (TH-COSA-RB Hand) is designed based on the COSA grasping mode. The hand is more similar to human hand in appearances and actions, able to more dexterously and stably grasp different objects than traditional coupled or self-adaptive hands.


In this research, the fourth axiom to improve the well-defined examination of similarity measures is studied, where the measures have a symmetric structure. We first provide a theoretic enhancement of three correlation coefficient similarity measures that were proposed by a source paper. Second, we use the same numerical example proposed by the source paper for pattern recognition problems to illustrate that the weighted correlation coefficient similarity measure is dependent on the set of weights. Finally, we demonstrate that the correlation coefficient similarity measure in the intuitionistic fuzzy set environment can address the issue of practical fault diagnosis when solving the turbine engine problems using similarity measures with symmetric characteristics.


Cloud computing is a rapidly growing paradigm which has evolved from having a monolithic to microservices architecture. The importance of cloud data centers has expanded dramatically in the previous decade, and they are now regarded as the backbone of the modern economy. Cloud-based microservices architecture is incorporated by firms such as Netflix, Twitter, eBay, Amazon, Hailo, Groupon, and Zalando. Such cloud computing arrangements deal with the parallel deployment of data-intensive workloads in real time. Moreover, commonly utilized cloud services such as the web and email require continuous operation without interruption. For that purpose, cloud service providers must optimize resource management, efficient energy usage, and carbon footprint reduction. This study presents a conceptual framework to manage the high amount of microservice execution while reducing response time, energy consumption, and execution costs. The proposed framework suggests four key agent services: (1) intelligent partitioning: responsible for microservice classification; (2) dynamic allocation: used for pre-execution distribution of microservices among containers and then makes decisions for dynamic allocation of microservices at runtime; (3) resource optimization: in charge of shifting workloads and ensuring optimal resource use; (4) mutation actions: these are based on procedures that will mutate the microservices based on cloud data center workloads. The suggested framework was partially evaluated using a custom-built simulation environment, which demonstrated its efficiency and potential for implementation in a cloud computing context. The findings show that the engrossment of suggested services can lead to a reduced number of network calls, lower energy consumption, and relatively reduced carbon dioxide emissions.


Several biochemical indicators were evaluated as monitoring techniques in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) exposed to No. 2 fuel oil (2FO) for their ability to predict the exposure concentration. The principal factor affecting the response of the ratio of liver weight to body weight, microsomal and cytosolic protein, reduced glutathione (GSH), 7-ethoxyresorufin O-deethylation (EROD) and metallothionein (MTN) was the length of exposure, not the exposure concentration. Two patterns of response were observed, depending on the length of exposure. In rainbow trout exposed for 3 d to 12 to 100 mg/L 2FO, cytoplasmic protein and EROD activity were elevated and GSH was depleted; in fish exposed for 21 d, liver size, microsomal and cytoplasmic protein, EROD activity, GSH and MTN were all increased. The appearance of an MTN response due to 2FO exposure causes us to question the use of this protein as a metal bioindicator. Furthermore, we did not observe a dose-dependent response in any of the biochemical responses and suggest that toxicity was responsible for the lack of concentration dependence. This lack of a concentration-dependent response will complicate the use of these biochemical indicators in a biomonitoring program.


The effects of heavy ion irradiation on the electrical response of HfO2-based ferroelectric capacitors have been studied. All the hysteresis loops measured from the irradiated samples shifted toward the positive voltage. The remanent polarization and relative permittivity of the capacitors decrease with increasing ion fluence. The leakage current exhibit negligible change after irradiation. The main reason causing the phenomena is swift heavy ions (SHIs) induced the pinning of domain walls, attributed to the phase transition. This work provides the possible physical mechanisms of SHIs irradiation on HfO2-based ferroelectrics, which is of significance for the space application of HfO2-based ferroelectric random access memory.


A sampled-data (SD) control is introduced for passivity of reaction-diffusion neural networks (RDNNs). With an appropriate Lyapunov functional (LF), a SD control design is developed based on linear matrix inequalities to guarantee the passivity of closed-loop RDNNs. Lastly, we provide a numerical example to support the presented method.


Polycrystalline SiGe (Poly-SiGe) thin films are of interest for the fabrication of thin film transistors in optoelectronic devices. The crystallization of a-Si 0.8 Ge 0.2 thin films induced by Ni was investigated by in-situ transmission electron microscopy. For the Ni-induced crystallization, NiSi i precipitates were first formed then migrated along a straight line in a-Si 0.8 Ge 0.2 . The crystallization of a-Si 0.8 Ge 0.2 was induced along the path. The reversal of the growth direction of the needle-like crystallites was also observed. It appeared that the NiSi 2 precipitates migrated along the interface of the crystallized and amorphous regions. The results are different from the branching needle-like structure for Ni-induced crystallization of a-Si.


II.-THE MEIOSTAGMIN REACTION. REGARDING this reaction, tlle rationale of which is difficult to explain, there has been a remarkable agreement amongst those who have employed it as to its worth as a diagnostic mnethod. The technique is very simple, though the description be somewhat involved. Starting from the original observation of Traube that the addition of toxin to antitoxin produced a lowering of the surface tension, Ascoli and his pupils establislied the fact that in certain diseases, such as typhoid fever, syphilis, tuberculosis, and other infectious diseases as well as in echinococcosis, a mixture of the serum with suitable dilutions of the appropriate antigen produced the phenomenon of diminution of the sturface tension of these fluids. To this reaction Ascoli gave the name of "meiostagmin reaction " (from 1LLELCOv smaller, and o-ra-ylia a drop). In collaboration with Izar,' he endeavoured to prepare an antigen from cancerous tuiniours wlhich might give the characteristic reaction with the serumi from cancer patients. The experiments were in the first case performed with the serum of sarcomatous rats and the antigen was prepared from rat sarcoma, and afterwards the results were applied to the case of human


The purpose of the research was to compare the investment performance of green and non-green stocks across four investment styles. Recent literature suggests a lack of consensus among researchers in respect of the performance of green investing, Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues, or Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) relative to more traditional forms of investing. Previous research has focused predominantly on the performance of funds thereby taking into account the skills of fund managers in selecting stocks. Additionally, the existing literature's focus has been on SRI relative to traditional investing or green relative to SRI investing. This research therefore contributes to closing a gap in the literature by investigating the performance of green stocks versus non-green stocks in the market.

Monthly investment returns of green portfolios for four investment styles were compared to their non-green equivalent, over four different time periods. Time weighted returns and Sharpe ratios, to measure risk-adjusted returns, were also computed for further analysis.

The research indicated that there was no significant difference between the monthly returns of green portfolios versus non-green portfolios in the four investments styles over all periods investigated. Time weighted returns showed that green portfolios outperformed non-green portfolios in 14 of the 16 style/periods investigated. The Sharpe ratios showed risk-adjusted returns were consistent with the findings of the time-weighted returns. However, the non-green value/mid-cap portfolio was the only portfolio to have positive returns and Sharpe ratio for the 2008-2009 crisis period.

The importance of the research is to discover performance trends of green and non-green stocks within different investment styles, irrespective of fund manager skill, which may be informative and helpful for investors when choosing which stocks to invest in.


Several methods to reduce the axial length of a printed quadrifilar helix antenna (PQHA) are presented and compared. Using variable pitch angle techniques and different meander techniques, the axial length of the conventional PQHA is reduced by 35% making it practical for implementation on a handheld terminal.


SINCE Lempert presented his observations concerning the tympanic plexus and its functional importance and his experience regarding the effect of tympanosympathectomy, this subject has been the object of an ever-increasing general interest. A number of surgeons have attempted the operation under different pathologic conditions. To be sure, some successful cases could be recorded, but nevertheless, on the whole, their conclusions are rather pessimistic. For my part, I consider that something of value could very well be hidden within the theories presented by Lempert, especially if the possibility of a connection between two different phylogenetic sound systems is admitted, as Samuel Rosen points out. Without ascribing a positive significance to the tympanic plexus in the origin of tinnitus, I have, however, adopted Lempert's idea as a working hypothesis and performed tympanosympathectomy for a large number of conditions, among them Meniere's disease and otosclerosis. In order to explain my own point of


The stability and the basin of attraction of a periodic orbit can be determined using a contraction metric, i.e., a Riemannian metric with respect to which adjacent solutions contract. A contraction metric does not require knowledge of the position of the periodic orbit and is robust to perturbations. In this paper we characterize such a Riemannian contraction metric as matrix-valued solution of a linear first-order Partial Differential Equation. This will enable the explicit construction of a contraction metric by numerically solving this equation in future work. In this paper we prove existence and uniqueness of the solution of the PDE and show that it defines a contraction metric.


ABSTRACT We consider the Euler transform for a class of Pfaffian systems. We show that the form of a system of the class is invariant under the Euler transform with respect to one variable analogously to the system of Okubo normal form.


This report is a comprehensive annotated bibliography of substantive books, monographs, articles, and documents treating the origins, evolution, and current operational characteristics of the U.S. electoral college system, as well as proposals for its reform or abolition. An explanatory introduction is provided for readers unfamiliar with the issue.


Digital watermarking can be used as a technology for linking printed products and material of digital media. The simple use case is a quick one-touch access to the specific internet site with the aid of printed image and camera phone. The main goal of this study was to prepare at least an approach for the simulation model which can be used to evaluate the specific watermarking technology used in the linking applications field. In addition, one goal was to find out how the different parts of the printing and imaging channel are affecting the performance of the embedded watermark. The inputs to the prepared simulation model were lens distortions, spatial sampling, noise and response function parameters. The outputs were the bit error rates measured by different parts of the printing and imaging channel. Based on the results, the response of the printer and imaging device had the most significant effect on the performance.


1 7 LA 4864 Los Angeles, City of Safe Routes to School Infrastructure Improvements for Sheridan Street Elementary School and Breed Street Elementary School This project will create pedestrian and bicycle linkages along several streets serving Sheridan ES and Breed ES in the City of Los Angeles. The Network-level improvements will be focused within 1-4 mi of each school following the 2010 Bike Plan street designated as Bicycle Friendly Streets. $ 5,092 $ 5,092 $ 814 $ 204 $ 4,074 $ 814 $ $ 4,074


Topological insulator (TI) thin films can exhibit multiple parallel conduction channels for current transport. Beside the topological protected surface states (TSS) there can be other channels, i.e. the interior of the not-ideally insulating TI film, the interface layer and the substrate. It is a crucial task to minimize the influence of these parasitic parallel channels on the total current transport for taking advantage of the special properties of the TSS. We present a method for the determination of the conductivity of the interface between the substrate and the TI film by distance-dependent surface-sensitive four-probe measurements performed with a multi-tip STM using the example of the Te/Si(111)-(7$\times$7) interface. Moreover, the conductivity of the interior of the TI thin film (bulk) is difficult to access by measurements. We propose here an approach for calculating the near-surface band bending and the mobile charge carrier concentration inside the TI thin film based on data from surface-sensitive measurements, e.g. (gate-dependent) four-point resistance measurements and ARPES. Usually the amount of unintentional dopants inside the TI thin film is unknown, but it turns out that in the thin-film limit the band-bending is largely independent on the dopant concentration. This allows to give an estimate of the total mobile charge carrier concentration and the conductivity of the interior of the TI thin film.


PURPOSE:To provide the phase inversion current multiplying/dividing circuit which can considerably decrease offset currents and prevents the polarity of signals from being inverted when any compounder is used. CONSTITUTION:First and second active load differential amplifiers 22 and 24 composed of differentially connected bipolar transistors and current mirror circuits are symmetrically constituted, and the plus input terminals of the first and second active load differential amplifiers 22 and 24 are set at the same potential. Then, those minus input terminals are set at the same potential, and the output terminal of the first active load differential amplifier 22 is used as a current input terminal. The common connected emitter of the first active load differential amplifier 22 is used as a divided current input terminal, the common connected emitter of the second active load differential amplifier 24 is used as a multiplied current input terminal, and the output terminal of the second active load differential amplifier 24 is used as a current output terminal.


In this paper a spatial interpolation approach, based on polar-grid representation and Kriging predictor, is proposed for 3D point cloud sampling. Discrete grid representation is a widely used technique because of its simplicity and capacity of providing an efficient and compact representation, allowing subsequent applications such as artificial perception and autonomous navigation. Two-dimensional occupancy grid representations have been studied extensively in the past two decades, and recently 2.5D and 3D grid-based approaches dominate current applications. A key challenge in perception systems for vehicular applications is to balance low computational complexity and reliable data interpretation. To this end, this paper contributes with a discrete 2.5D polar-grid that upsamples the input data, ie sparse 3D point cloud, by means of a deformable kriging-based interpolation strategy. Experiments carried out on the KITTI dataset, using data from a LIDAR, demonstrate that the approach proposed in this work allows a proper representation of urban environments.


According to the data sources of "Ningxia Statistical Yearbook" of 1998-2009,index system of ecological suitability is built;using the methods of AHP and expert advice and fuzzy mathematics,ecological planning of cities along the Yellow River in Ningxia is designed.Results show that the suitability index is 0.29-0.61 for city belt along the Yellow River in Ningxia;and based on technology of GIS,the city belt along the Yellow River in Ningxia can be divided to five ecology functional zones which is consisted of ecology harmonize zone,ecology guide zone,ecology control zone,ecology sensitive zone and ecology frangible zone;then scheme for further ecology planning of different functional zones is proposed.


The term word association is used in a very particular sense in the psycholinguistic literature. (Generally speaking, subjects respond quicker than normally to the word nurse if it follows a highly associated word such as doctor.) We will extend the term to provide the basis for a statistical description of a variety of interesting linguistic phenomena, ranging from semantic relations of the doctor/nurse type (content word/content word) to lexico- syntactic co-occurrence constraints between verbs and prepositions (content word/function word).The present study explores the associations second language users make between words in their mental lexicon by carrying out the word association test as outlined in McCarthy (1990:152). The data were collected from 21 English learners (elementary, intermediate, and advanced) at the Kish English Institute in Kashan. All subjects were asked to take a word association test and jot down the very first words to come to their minds for each stimulus. The results were interpreted according to McCarthy's three points of evaluation and revealed that word association tests provide interesting information on how learners make mental links between learned words. Furthermore, the study illustrated that the types of associations made were not necessarily a factor of respondent level or word characteristic alone but rather of the frequency with which respondents actively had used the stimulus word. Another significant result was that Iranian Students had a tendency toward syntagmatic responses Finally, it was shown that multiple-response WATs are a more accurate means of investigating the ways in which learners make connections between words they have learned.


In this paper we generalize some constructions and results due to Cayley and Hilbert. We define the concept of Ω–process for an arbitrary algebraic monoid with zero and unit group G. Then we show how to produce from the process and for a linear rational representation of G, a number of elements of the ring of G-invariants, that is large enough as to guarantee its finite generation. Moreover, we give an explicit construction of all Ω-processes for general reductive monoids and, in the case of the monoid of all the n matrices, compare our construction with Cayley's definition.


............................................................................................................................ x Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................ xiii Publications and presentations ....................................................................................... xv Table of contents ........................................................................................................... xvii List of figures ................................................................................................................... xx List of tables .................................................................................................................... xxi List of abbreviations ...................................................................................................... xxii


A function of flame atomic emission spectrometric analysis (FAES) has been developed from the atomic absorption spectrometer. The method for determination of Li 2O in Shielding slag by FAES was established. This method was no interference from spectra and the detection limit was 0.001μg/mL.


In this paper a new concept of passive loop technique called "High Magnetic Coupling Passive Loop" (HMCPL) is presented. The proposed shielding technique is characterized by high performances and takes all the advantages of passive and active shields. In the present paper the proposed shielding is deeply analysed. Thanks to the experience obtained installing 10 HMCPL systems on high voltage power lines realized from the most important cable producers and installers in the world all the technical improvements that can be adopted during the installation will be described and discussed. Finally, the actual performances one HMCPL system will be detailed showing: measurement on magnetic flux density without and with the shield and thermal analysis.


From December 2001 till December 2004, the Science, Innovation and Media Department of the Ministry of the Flemish Community (Belgium) and the State Committee for Scientific Research of the Republic of Poland funded a cooperation project (Bilateral Scientific and Technological Cooperation Project BIL01/80) between two Flemish and two Polish research centres. The Flemish partners were the Centre for Logic and Philosophy of Science of Ghent University and the centre with the same name of the Free University of Brussels. The Polish partners were the Chair of Logic and Philosophy of Science of the University of Zielona Gora and the Group of Logic and Cognitive Science of N. Copernicus University (Torun).


Objective:To survey the therapeutic effectiveness of BCG-Polysaccharide Nucleic Acid (BCG-PSN) in the treatment of patients with chronic urticaria and the influence of the drug on the level of serum IgE in the patients. Methods:78 patients with chronic urticaria were randomly divided into two groups. Patients of the treatment group( n =48) were given each 1 mg of BCG-PSN injection I.M.,q.o.d.. The course of treatment comprised 18 injections. In the meantime,each of the patients was given 3 mg of astemin PO q.d.. Patients of the control group( n =30) were treated only with astemin in the same manner and same dosage as in patients of the treatment group. The course of treatment in the 2 groups was also the same. The clinical therapeutic effectiveness was assessed according to the level of pruritus,number and size of wheals,etc.. The levels of serum IgE of all the patients were determined before and after the treatment. Results:The effective rates were 58.3% and 33.3% in the treatment group and control group,respectively( P 0.05),while the cure rates were 18.8% and 10.0% in the treatment group and control group,respectively( P 0.05). The serum IgE levels were significantly lower after the treatment as compared with those before the treatment in patients of the treatment group( P 0.05). Conclusion:BCG-PSN was shown to be fairly effective in the treatment of chronic urticaria. The mechanism may be related to modulation of the level of immunity by the drug.


This study deals with the generalized second moment of area (GSMA) of regular polygon cross-sections for the Ludwick type material and its application to cantilever column buckling. In the literature, the GSMA for the Ludwick type material has only been considered for rectangular, elliptical and superellipsoidal cross-sections. This study calculates the GSMAs of regular polygon cross-sections other than those mentioned above. The GSMAs calculated by varying the mechanical constant of the Ludwick type material for the equilateral triangle, square, regular pentagon, regular hexagon and circular cross-sections are reported in tables and figures. The GSMAs obtained from this study are applied to cantilever column buckling, with results shown in tables and figures.


This paper describes the climatology and interannual variability of dynamical quantities and ozone mixing ratios during the southern hemisphere spring. Analyses are made mainly for 6 years, from 1979 to 1984, September through December, using the temperature and geopotential height data provided by the National Meteorological Center (NMC) and the ozone mixing ratio data derived from the solar back-scatter ultraviolet (SBUV) instrument on board the Nimbus 7. The seasonal variation of temperature in the southern hemisphere lower stratosphere is rather repeatable, indicating that means over a few years should provide a useful estimate of the climatology. The zonal mean quantities show that the coldest temperatures and zonal winds move poleward and downward from September through November, probably in response to wave forcing. A steep decrease in zonal mean ozone mixing ratios is observed around 60° S toward the south pole in September. With time, this high-latitude ozone minimum (or "ozone hole") gets shallower in association with minor warmings and a final warming. Climatological synoptic charts in the lower stratosphere show the circumpolar circulation in the geopotential height field and a prominent planetary wave 1 in the temperature and ozone fields. The phases of the temperature and ozone waves in the lower stratosphere are very similar. The year-to-year variations of the ozone mixing ratio at high latitudes is related to that of the wave activity during the winter and spring. When the wave activity is vigorous, there are weaker westerlies, higher temperatures and higher ozone mixing ratios at high latitudes. The seasonal evolution and the year to year variation appear to be clearly related to wave activity. It is possible that the long term changes in the lower stratosphere are also related to a long-term trend in wave activity, although the evidence is not clear. Because the wave activity in 1979 was very vigorous, a simple comparison of atmospheric states between the 1979 and other recent years could lead to misleading conclusions on the rate of ozone decrease over the Antarctic. A long-term chemical effect is not precluded.


The present study was intended to investigate EFL learners' attitudes towards demotivating factors in vocabulary learning in Tehran. A mixed-method approach was employed to conduct the study. In the qualitative analysis, EFL learners' attitudes towards learning vocabulary were investigated through semi-structured interviews including 36 participants and subsequently, a 65-item 'demotivation for vocabulary questionnaire' (DVQ) was constructed and administered to 70 language learners in the pilot study and 315 language learners in the main study. In the quantitative analysis, a factor analysis through the varimax rotation method extracted four demotivating factors as classroom-related factors, learnersrelated factors, teachers-related factors, and teachers' competence factor. On the basis of the findings, the most prominent demotivating factors were classroom facilities, teaching method, and materials respectively. The findings also revealed that in DVQ, significant differences were detected between males and females in terms of the factors they regarded to be demotivating in learning vocabulary. KEYWORDS: Demotivation, Vocabulary learning, Attitude, Mixed-method, English as a foreign language (EFL) INTRODUCTION Demotivation is considered as another side of motivation (Dornyei & Ushioda, 2011; Falout, 2005; Sakai & Kikuchi, 2009) and has a negative role in learning a language. Demotivation has been said to be the dark side of motivation (Rastegar, Akbarzadeh, & Heidari, 2012) and is a crucial issue for EFL learning (Dornyei, 2001; Falout, 2005; Falout, Elwood, & Hood, 2009). Therefore, it needs to receive more attention in language learning research due to its direct effect on pedagogy in general and learners' foreign language learning outcomes in particular. Logically speaking, the learners' failure in acquiring a language may be related to some demotivational factors which should be considered by language teachers to help them diminish these negative factors and re-motivate the learners. International Journal of Language Learning and Applied Linguistics World (IJLLALW) Volume
  7
  (1),
  September
  2014;
  179-‐197

  Arefinezhad,
  H.,
  &
  Golaghaei,
  N EISSN:
  2289-‐2737
  &
  ISSN:
  2289-‐3245

  www.ijllalw.org


The prediction of bursty events on the Internet is a challenging task. Difficulties are due to the diversity of information sources, the size of the Internet, dynamics of popularity, user behaviors.. . On the other hand, Twitter is a structured and limited space. In this paper, we present a new method for predicting bursty events using content-related indices. Prediction is performed by a neural network that combines three features in order to predict the number of retweets of a tweet on the Twitter platform. The indices are related to popularity, expressivity and singularity. Popularity index is based on the analysis of RSS streams. Expressivity uses a dictionary that contains words annotated in terms of expressivity load. Singularity represents outlying topic association estimated via a Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) model. Experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposal with a 72% F-measure prediction score for the tweets that have been forwarded at least 60 times.


Breast cancer affects women at relatively high frequency (1). We mined published microarray datasets (2, 3) to determine in an unbiased fashion and at the systems level genes most differentially expressed in the primary tumors of patients with breast cancer. We report here significant differential expression of the gene encoding the denticleless E3 ubiquitin protein ligase homolog, DTL, when comparing primary tumors of the breast to the tissue of origin, the normal breast. DTL mRNA was present at significantly higher quantities in tumors of the breast as compared to normal breast tissue. Analysis of human survival data revealed that expression of DTL in primary tumors of the breast was correlated with overall survival in patients with luminal A and luminal B type cancers. DTL may be of relevance to initiation, maintenance or progression of cancers of the female breast.


AbstractThis paper describes the effect on intelligibility in radio telephone channels when restricted speech frequency characteristics are employed. It is well known that advantages like improvement of intelligibility and reduction of adjacent channel interference are obtained when restricted frequency characteristics are used. The set-up to provide restricted speech characteristics and the procedure adopted to study their effect on intelligibility in radio telephone channels are described. It has been practically verified that a speech frequency band of 1000–2400 c./s. with specific cut-off characteristics provides good intelligibility in the case of radio telephone channels in general and aeronautical radio telephone channels in particular.


Version anglaise dans la bibliotheque: External review of the Connectivity and Equity in the America / Institute for Connectivity in the Americas Program


Steel structure residence is a new residence. In order to promote development and application of steel structure residence and speed up the residence industrialization in China, the significance and present status of developing steel structure residence are introduced. Advantages and problems of developing steel structure residence are analyzed. Some advices on the present problems were put forward. The typical engineering applications are also introduced. In the near future, development of steel structure residence will achieve a qualitative leap. It will become a main modernized residence in China.


Burg's maximum entropy spectral analysis is used in order to study monthly and annual mean values of absolute elements of the geomagnetic field at a number of world observatories. After removal of a parabolic trend, which accounts for most of the secular variation of internal origin, the residual variations clearly exhibit a worldwide character. A test study of monthly mean values at three sample observatories is first performed; earlier conclusions on both the origin and the geometry of the annual and semiannual variations are discussed. Annual mean values from approximately 30 observatories are next analyzed; most of the power found in the spectra, for periods between 2 and approximately 20 yr, is clearly related to the solar cycle (peaks around 10–12 yr and the first two harmonics). No peaks that can be related to phenomena of internal origin are found. The accuracy and resolving power of these data concerning the problem of the conductivity distribution in the deeper mantle are found to be rather disappointing.


This paper presents a reduced-hardware (RH) version of the promising NORec Hybrid TM algorithm. Instead of an all-software slow path, in RH transactions, part of the slow-path is executed using a short hardware transaction. The purpose of this hardware component is not to speed up the slow-path (though this is a side effect). Rather, using it we are able to eliminate virtually all of the instrumentation from the common hardware fast-path, requiring it to only access the shared "clock" of the NORec STM at the end of the hardware transaction. This improves on all prior work, including our own prior RH work, by presenting for the first time a Hybrid Transactional Memory that provides opacity with low hardware abort rates. Moreover, the "mostly software" slow-path is obstruction-free (no locking), privatizing, allows complete concurrency between hardware and software transactions, and uses the short hardware transactions only to write values during the software commit. We provide a simple slow-slow path in the unlikely case that both the hardware and mostly software paths fail. For the concurrency levels we are able to test (a 4-core 8-way Haswell chip) the new algorithm exhibits promising performance.


Services sector plays an important role in the Indian economy. It is observed that the share of services sector in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the Indian economy shows an increasing trend. It was 28.49 per cent in the year 1950-51 then it rose to 31.88 per cent in the year 1970-71 and subsequently 42.80 per cent in the year 1996-97. The objective of this paper is to study the role of services sector by identifying the services intensive industries and its relation with the rest of the economy. To build a relation of the services sector with the rest of the economy, the economy is divided into two separate blocks of industries - services and non services. An index is constructed to show the expansionary potential of the services sector on non-services sector. Empirical work is carried out with the input-output data of India for the year 1991-92.


Abstract Nitrogenase is the only enzyme that can convert N2 to NH3. Crystallographic structures have indicated that one of the sulfide ligands of the active‐site FeMo cluster, S2B, can be replaced by an inhibitor, like CO and OH−, and it has been suggested that it may be displaced also during the normal reaction. We have investigated possible proton transfer pathways within the FeMo cluster during the conversion of N2H2 to two molecules of NH3, assuming that the protons enter the cluster at the S3B, S4B or S5A sulfide ions and are then transferred to the substrate. We use combined quantum mechanical and molecular mechanical (QM/MM) calculations with the TPSS and B3LYP functionals. The calculations indicate that the barriers for these reactions are reasonable if the S2B ligand remains bound to the cluster, but they become prohibitively high if S2B has dissociated. This suggests that it is unlikely that S2B reversibly dissociates during the normal reaction cycle.


In this paper,by constructing one special vector,we discuss what condition the parallel vector of geodesic without conjugate points should be satisfied.We also discuss sufficient condition of geodesic without conjugate points.


Abstract : Historically, the United States has adjusted its resource allocation as it emerges from a period of conflict. The Department of Defense has typically seen an average reduction in resources of approximately 30%, in what has been termed a peace dividend. Our current National Military Strategy expresses the intent to maintain a forward presence while pursuing an active engagement strategy. The Pacific area of responsibility will play a key role in this strategy, but it will necessitate several tough decisions in the face of diminishing resources. This paper will explore the impacts that resource constraints will have on our long-term Pacific strategy and provide recommendations for changes to this strategy that take those resource constraints into account.


Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) is an active microwave sensor that has attracted widespread attention due to its ability to observe the ground around the clock. Research on multi-scale and multi-category target detection methods holds great significance in the fields of maritime resource management and wartime reconnaissance. However, complex scenes often influence SAR object detection, and the diversity of target scales also brings challenges to research. This paper proposes a multi-category SAR image object detection model, CCDS-YOLO, based on YOLOv5s, to address these issues. Embedding the Convolutional Block Attention Module (CBAM) in the feature extraction part of the backbone network enables the model's ability to extract and fuse spatial information and channel information. The 1 × 1 convolution in the feature pyramid network and the first layer convolution of the detection head are replaced with the expanded convolution, Coordinate Conventional (CoordConv), forming a CRD-FPN module. This module more accurately perceives the spatial details of the feature map, enhancing the model's ability to handle regression tasks compared to traditional convolution. In the detector segment, a decoupled head is utilized for feature extraction, offering optimal and effective feature information for the classification and regression branches separately. The traditional Non-Maximum Suppression (NMS) is substituted with the Soft Non-Maximum Suppression (Soft-NMS), successfully reducing the model's duplicate detection rate for compact objects. Based on the experimental findings, the approach presented in this paper demonstrates excellent results in multi-category target recognition for SAR images. Empirical comparisons are conducted on the filtered MSAR dataset. Compared with YOLOv5s, the performance of CCDS-YOLO has been significantly improved. The firstname.lastname@example.com value increases by 3.3% to 92.3%, the precision increases by 3.4%, and the firstname.lastname@example.com:0.95 increases by 6.7%. Furthermore, in comparison with other mainstream detection models, CCDS-YOLO stands out in overall performance and anti-interference ability.


This article is a theoretical reflection on the processes of creativity and children's creativity in an effort to enlighten the reader about recent studies on the subject with a special focus on the historical-cultural theory of Vigotski. Creativity is understood as a psychic process which, in the child, stars very early and developes alongside other superior functions as imagining, thinking, remembering and playing. The ability to create is linked to the historical, familiar, and school context and also to the wealth of experiences lived out by the child. And as human activity, it is semiotically mediated by culture.


The physical parameters of two products widely used in the confectionery industry – peanuts and cocoa beans – have been studied. The hydrodynamic characteristics of these products, influencing the fluidized bed roasting regime, have been determined. The hydrodynamics of a rotating-pulsed fluidization of the cited materials has been examined. Dependences are derived for calculating the bed pressure drops and the initial fluidization velocity of the particles during rotating-pulsed creation of fluidization.


In ancient times the Greco-Roman world, in its adherence to a system of dotal marriage, distinguished itself from the barbarians who hovered on its borders and who gave bridewealth for their wives, not dowry to their daughters. Aristotle-perhaps recalling Homeric accounts of marriages like that of Hector, who married Andromache out of the house of Edtion &dquo;when he provided great bridewealth [hedna]&dquo; (Iliad, XXII:472)'-claimed that the Greeks had


This thesis is going to give you a glance of collateral debt obligation (CDO), some credit derivative. In the following chapters, we will introduce you what CDO is, the evolution of CDO product, why CDO is popular nowadays, and how to evaluate CDO product. We compare two different results of CDO evaluating, normal copula and t copula and found that t copula is more suitable in pricing CDO. T copula can catch extreme event more easily. Finally, we introduce the first synthetic CDO in Taiwan, Silk road issued by Fubon Security.


Objectives: Purpose of this paper is to review all the phases that involved, for the first time, the SC of Hematology and the SC of Transfusion Medicine, specifically, the CSE Processing laboratory, in implementing an innovative operative protocol of gene immunotherapy due to the inclusion of the first patient, affected by diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), stage IV, into the CAR-T therapeutic program. The program took place within the SS Antonio e Biagio e Cesare Arrigo Hospital of Alessandria.Methods: Firstly, lymphocytes are taken from the patient through a technique called lymphocytoapheresis and inserted into a blood bag. The blood bag is sent to the CSE Processing laboratory, where, after sampling, the following steps are carried out: cell manipulation, possible cryopreservation of the product and subsequent dispatch to specialized production centers, called: Cell Factory. In this laboratory, lymphocytes will be genetically manipulated to be able to express the CAR receptor and co-stimulating factors and, finally, expanded. After 4 weeks, the engineered lymphocytes will return as drug to the CSE Processing laboratory to be reinfused to the patient.Results: At the end of the operative procedure a report is compiled. The report is issued by the laboratory and contains all the information of interest to the clinician.Conclusions: The purpose of my annual experience as a graduate student was to describe the role of the CSE Processing laboratory within the drug production chain. Being experimental and extremely innovative, T-cell-based gene therapy cannot be considered a routine practice. The centers authorized to administer the CAR-T are identified by the Regions and must possess specific organizational and infrastructural requirements. Even the manufacturers of CAR-T therapies have a qualification path that involves inspection by the company's monitors and a final audit. The Processing laboratory, together with the Apheretic collection laboratory, Pharmacy and Hematology, obtained the qualification of "European site Qualified for KYMRIAH® (tisagenlecleucel) and YESCARTA® (axicabtagene ciloleucel)" in 2021.


A new method for extracting clay\|alteration information from ETM images was applied in three main steps. First, based on the linear unmixing model of MSA, this paper managed to get the vegetation abundance of the study area; second, making some supplements to the basic linear model of MSA, a new multi\|band data set was reconstructed containing no vegetation information; third, get the clay\|alteration information by making TM5/TM7 ratio image in which the shadow information was dramatically compressed. Field survey and other information have shown that the practice of this paper is right and can be adopted to extract thematic information for such areas as with medium vegetation cover. Compared with the methods mainly based on PCA~ratio combination, this method is more effective and offers a more universal frame to follow to extract clay\|alteration information in medium vegetation areas.


Today greenhouses are transformed. In the middle of the past century, they were almost glazing buildings above the ground. Due to the development of planting technologies, including mats or trays with substratum, aero – and hydroponics, etc., greenhouses now can be anywhere, including underground. This gives impetus for urban agriculture with optimal logistics (growing near consuming). Indoor green structures become more and more popular. The illumination of them is very important because plants lose decorative properties in unfavourite conditions. At the beginning of this century, there was an analysis of a lot of failed attempts to create winter gardens on underground floors. The illumination was calculated successfully by today's norms, but the plants withered. This is because the norms were developed for natural-illumination greenhouses. Usually, the illumination is measured in lux or μmol/day. The first unit is weighted by wavelength according to the people's eyes sensitivity. The second one accumulates all photons. But the plants have another photosynthetic activity curve. They use two photosynthetic substances – chlorophyll and beta-carotenoid (active on the green light). The chlorophyll changes its absorption curves dependent on solvent presence (a and b). This allows some variability for adapting to the light spectrum, which is used by water plants. Thus, both units do not apply to artificial illumination. In this work, we analyse the curves of solar and phytolamp spectrums, averaged sensibility and spectral luminous efficiency for photopic vision. Integration of the curves allows recalculation of the lux-meter reading to the equivalent solar illumination or the last one to the phytolamp power. We propose a new unit system – phytocandela-phytolumen-phytolux – according to the photosynthesis efficiency curve that is numerically equal to candela-lumen-lux under sunlight. This shows that lux may not be a base unit because it is related to a single biological species but not a physical property.


We present an efficient algorithm for real time collision detection between complex deformable objects with closed surfaces by using graphics hardware. The algorithm adopts an effective use of the rendering buffers and the occlusion query operation, and can also be applied to detect self-collision. Though our current algorithm has some limitations, it requires neither expensive preprocessing nor complex data structures and is directly applicable to all kinds of models which are ready to render. In contrast to most existing methods, the proposed algorithm is completely implemented in graphics hardware and does not perform time consuming framebuffer readbacks from GPU. This significantly improves the performance, especially in high image resolution.


The present invention provides a nickel paste in which the nickel superfine powder is dispersed in a state of less agglomeration, and a method of manufacturing the nickel paste by a simple process. The nickel paste according to the present invention contains at least a nickel powder, a dispersion transition promoter and a vehicle. The vehicle has an acid amount of 20 to 300 占 퐉 ol / g of a binder resin as a raw material and a content of a dispersion transition promoter of 100 parts by mass , The nickel concentration is 50 to 70 mass%, and the viscosity of the paste is 8 to 150 Pa 占 퐏. This nickel paste is obtained by a process comprising the steps of obtaining a vehicle containing a dispersion transition promoter by adding a dispersing transition promoter to a vehicle and then mixing the mixture with a nickel flocculant slurry added to the vehicle thus obtained, .


This community service aims to help business actors, both MSMEs and home-based businesses in Kerinjing Village, in the use of E-Commerce and Digital Marketing in order to increase the added value of a product. In the face of increasingly difficult business competition, especially in this COVID-19 pandemic situation, business players need a creative and innovative idea in marketing their products, so that their business can survive. Therefore, this service activity is carried out to provide assistance and training to business players in Kerinjing Village in utilizing E-Commerce and Digital Marketing. Service activities are carried out starting from the introduction and providing an understanding of E-Commerce and Digital Marketing, followed by training on the use of E-Commerce where results of the activities will be monitored and evaluated further. This Community Service activity was attended by 35 participants, consisting of business players and MSMEs in Kerinjing Village.


Accessible online at: www.karger.com/pps Four decades ago, Victor Herbert [1] treated successfully his self-induced folate deficiency syndrome (insomnia, irritability, impaired memory and fatigue) by folate supplementation. However, our understanding of the role of folate in mental disorders is still insufficient to make practical recommendations. Most studies on folate and depression are cross-sectional and compare folate status in depressed patients with the status in patients with other mental disorders or in healthy subjects. These studies suggest that low folate status is associated with depression, especially with more severe forms, prolonged episodes and weak treatment response [2]. The limitations of these studies are related to a lack of longitudinal design, small sample size, highly selected patients and a lack of adequate control groups. Notably, two population-based studies [3, 4] controlling for possible confounders demonstrated no association between folate status and depression. The population-based study by Morris et al. [5] published in this issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics demonstrates an association between folate status and lifetime depression. However, the association was significant only in the group who had recovered from depression during the previous year, and not for the group of currently depressed subjects. They observed no association between low folate status and loss of appetite, weight loss or underweight, but rather a positive relation to overweight and weight gain. However, one certainly can question the diet quality in obese subjects. Indications that folate deficiency increases the risk for depression have been obtained from biochemical and in vitro studies (fig. 1). Folate metabolism is linked to biopterin-dependent neurotransmitter synthesis [6] and methFig. 1. Components of one-carbon metabolism and CNS functions. Hcy = Homocysteine; Met = methionine; MS = methionine synthase; 5mTHF = 5-methyltetrahydrofolate; 5,10mTHF = 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate; SAH = S-adenosylhomocysteine; SAM = S-adenosylmethionine; THF = tetrahydrofolate.


TRESS IS A CONDITION of human existence and a factor in the expression of disease. A broader view of stress is that it is not just the dramatic stressful events that exact their toll but rather the many events of daily life that elevate activities of physiological systems so as to cause some measure of wear and tear. This wear and tear is called "allostatic load," and it reflects the impact not only of life experiences that are stressful, but also of genetic constitution; individual habits reflecting items such as diet, exercise, and substance abuse; and developmental experiences that set life-long patterns of behavior and physiological reactivity. 1 Thus, lifestyle is as important a factor in allostatic load as are the experiences that we classify as stressful, and the effects of allostatic load on body shape, size and function are often gradual and almost imperceptible as they develop over months and years. In many cases, the physiological and behavioral aspects of lifestyle and stress interact with each other, such as when we grab a bag of potato chips or smoke a cigarette while experiencing psychological stress due to an important event or deadline. Allostasis, a term coined by Sterling and Eyer 2 means literally "achieving stability, ie, homeostasis, through change." It reflects the active process of coping physiologically and behaviorally with challenges to the individual. Hormones associated with allostasis and allostatic load protect the body in the shortrun and promote adaptation, but in the long run allostatic load causes changes in the body that lead to disease. These hormones include the so-called "stress hormones" of the adrenal medulla and adrenal cortex, the catecholamines, and glucocorticoids. However, many other cellular mediators in tissues, such as excitatory amino acid neurotransmitters, as well as other circulating hormones, show similar patterns of promoting short-term adaptation but promoting pathophysiology if they are overproduced or not properly regulated. This general principle can be illustrated for the immune system and brain. Acute stress actually enhances the ability of the immune system to respond to pathogens and it does so by facilitating the "trafficking" of immune cells to tissue where they are needed. Adrenal steroids and catecholamines act as mediators of this trafficking, in addition to their role in enhancing the delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) response.3-5 In


Foreword Preface Greetings A Christian Spirituality of Peace and Justice in a Violent World Overcoming Violence: An Ecumenical Christian Task Violence, Religion and Globalisation Peace, Human Development and Overcoming Violence New Paths in Spirituality and Peacemaking Inter-religious Discourse: Hermeneutics and Fundamentalism Non-violence in the Orthodox Tradition Witnessing the Peace of God in a Violent World Branding Identity for the twenty-first Century: Church as Neighbourhood Centre for Forgiveness and Reconciliation and for Restorative Justice Christian Anthropology for a Culture of Peace: Considering the Church in Mission and Dialogue Today Spirituality and Suffering Violence and the Freudian "Death Instinct": A Christian Orthodox Point of View Domestic Violence: Violence Against Women Domestic Violence: Orthodox Pastoral Perspectives Domestic Violence at Home: Cursory Observations An Ecumenical Perspective on Domestic Violence A Dickensian Era of Religious Rights: Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox Contributions Ecumenical Perspectives on Religious Freedom and Human Rights: Response to John Witte A Trinitarian Approach to Ecumenical Peace Church Ecclesiology Ambivalence, Subjectivity and Spiritual Life Blessed are the Peacemakers for They Shall be Called the Children of God Forgiveness and Reconciliation According to the Patristic Tradition Experiencing the Justice of God in the Liturgy The Saints: An Embodied Presence of God's Peace The Spirit of Compassion in the Canonical Tradition of the Church Spirituality, Violence and the Desire for Non-violence: Another View and Perspective.


Many problems in artificial intelligence involve the searching of large trees of alternative possibilities—for example, game-playing and theorem-proving. The problem of efficiently searching large trees is discussed. A new method called "dynamic ordering" is described, and the older minimax and Alpha-Beta procedures are described for comparison purposes. Performance figures are given for six variations of the game of kalah. A quantity called "depth ratio" is derived which is a measure of the efficiency of a search procedure. A theoretical limit of efficiency is calculated and it is shown experimentally that the dynamic ordering procedure approaches that limit.


Divorce in women who already have children certainly raises more complex problems than those who do not have children. This study aims to find out the description of the resolution of conflicts carried out by early adult women who already have children after experiencing divorce. This study used a qualitative method carried out with purposive sampling consisting of 4 early adult women aged between ± 27-36 years. The method of data collection in this study uses semi-structured interviews. Validity of data using member check. The analysis was carried out through thematic analysis. The results of this study indicate that the conflict resolution of early adult women after experiencing divorce consists of 3 sides, including a) In the psychological side of early adult women, that is giving up on the problems experienced by turning the problem into positive things. b) conflict resolution on the economic side, namely to end economic inequality by actively working and getting help from the closest people. c) then for the social side, that is by not responding to neighbors' conversations, establishing good relations with individuals who do not sneer and resolve problems experienced with their own abilities.


Excessive fat in modern broiler strains is one of the major problems faced by the broiler industry. This experiment was conducted to study the effect of feed restriction at early age on broiler chicken performance, meat quality, abdominal fat content, and serum lipid prole. Two hundred, Cobb500 day-old broiler chicks were randomly assigned into five treatments; T1: ad-libitum feeding (control), T2 and T3: 75 and 50% of ad-libitum feeding from day 8 - 14, respectively, T4 and T5: 75 and 50% of ad-libitum feeding from day 15 - 21, respectively. All birds were fed with ad-libitum before and after the completion of the respective restriction periods. Total feed intake was significantly lower (p 0.05) were observed in weight gain, feed conversion ratio, and dressing percentage among the treatments. Abdominal fat and muscle crude fat contents in birds fed with restricted diets from day 8 - 14 were significantly lower (p 0.05) of treatments on organ weights, muscle protein contents, and serum lipid profile. In conclusion, 50% feed restriction during day 8 - 14 is a better solution to reduce the fat deposition without interfering on growth performances of broiler chicken with lower cost.


Surface Electromyography Signals( sEMG) is a biological signal of nerve and muscle activity. This paper,starting from the root of signal generation,establishes FIR model,in which the input of the signal source is immeasurable. In order to overcome the deficiency,it presents a method of identifying model coefficient by blind identification,identifies and classifies six kinds of gestures by taking the coefficient as the features of sEMG. The experiment shows that the method is characterized by light computational load and good classification ability.


So far the factors of influencing the performance of parallel genetic algorithms are always analyzed by experiments. Therefore, the conclusions generally lack convinced theoretical basis. Proposed the key factors of influencing parallel genetic algorithms by analyzing the speedup formula of coarse-grained parallel genetic algorithms. It is proved that using migration rate as its performance index is not reasonable and furthermore the correctness is proved by the experiments. The conclusion of the paper provides a reliable basis for improving the parallel efficiency of genetic algorithms.


The least discussed element of District of Columbia v. Heller might ultimately be the most important: the battle between the majority and dissent over the use of categoricalism and balancing in the construction of constitutional doctrine. In Heller, Justice Scalia's categoricalism essentially prevailed over Justice Breyer's balancing approach. But as the opinion itself demonstrates, Second Amendment categoricalism raises extremely difficult and still-unanswered questions about how to draw and justify the lines between protected and unprotected "Arms," people, and arms-bearing purposes. At least until balancing tests appear in Second Amendment doctrine—as they almost inevitably will—the future of the Amendment will depend almost entirely on the placement and clarity of these categories. And unless the Court better identifies the core values of the Second Amendment, it will be difficult to give the categories any principled justification.


The portable type data storage device includes following parts: a main body with an opening on side; a circuit board collocated inside the main body; being connected to the circuit board electrically, a connector collocated inside the main body can be slid outside the main body through the opening along a sliding direction; a cover body in use for covering the opening; a rope in use for connecting the main body with the cover body; a magnetic element collocated inside the cover body; being collocated around the opening, magnetic polarity components though guidance make the cover body cover the opening on the main body. Thus, the invention reaches purposes of automatic adding the cover body, reducing design for positioning mechanism, omitting user's operation to put the cover body. Moreover, being connected to the main body through rope, thus the cover body will not be come off.


Abstract Although state constitutional conventions in the United States were once called frequently and brought about significant changes in governance, recent decades have seen little convention activity. I examine the contrast between the earlier regularity of conventions and their recent absence, but from a different perspective than is usually taken—not by explaining the recent absence but rather explaining the regularity from the 1770s through 1970s. I investigate why legislatures in prior eras agreed to call conventions and how legislators' traditional opposition to conventions was overcome on a regular basis. After identifying the state constitutional conventions held in the US and setting aside conventions that were called to join, leave, or rejoin the Union or were instigated by institutions other than legislatures, I focus on 82 conventions called at the discretion of legislators and for reasons unrelated to joining, leaving, or rejoining the Union. I identify the issues and circumstances that were responsible for legislators' willingness to overcome their traditional opposition to holding conventions, thereby contributing to a better understanding of both the challenges in calling conventions and the occasions when these challenges can be overcome.


n engl j med 374;2 nejm.org January 14, 2016 193 by cold or exercise) — for which we found the strongest genetic effect in our study. As noted by Leow, several authors, including Tews et al.,3 argue that the FTO locus acts on obesity through the m6A epitranscriptomic function of the FTO protein. However, only IRX3 and IRX5 showed a significant difference in their levels of adipocyte expression between risk-allele carriers and nonrisk allele carriers. Moreover, several manipulations described by Tews et al. may have altered IRX3 and IRX5 expression levels (which were not reported), possibly explaining the resulting phenotypes. Last, patients who have homozygous loss-of-function mutations affecting the FTO protein have severe growth retardation and multiple malformations but no effect of obesity,4 indicating the FTO protein is unlikely to be a primary phenotypic mediator, irrespective of the tissue of action. As suggested by O'Rahilly et al., we also use analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) to compare the energy expenditure of Irx3 dominant-negative (aP2-Irx3DN) and control mice, with adjustment for lean body mass with the use of ANCOVA. We continue to find significant differences in energy expenditure (Fig. 1), which support our initial conclusions. Last, we agree that additional studies are needed to continue the process of elucidating the ways in which genetic variants in the FTO locus affect obesity beyond the ARID5B– rs1421085–IRX3/IRX5–browning axis elucidated in our study.


Based on the abilities demand of enterprise Java software development positions, the construction of Java course group consists of 6 courses including Java language procedure design, Java skills program practice training, Web development technology, Web curriculum practice, JavaEE and Java projects training, which covered main application fields of Java technology. The practice of programs is connected step by step, rich in the form of extra-curricular activities, and is equipped with three-dimensional teaching materials, which makes the teaching view of "technology first"carry through.


Objective To investigate the risk factors of infants with wheezing in Guangzhou.Methods The clinical data of 101 infants with wheezing were analysed by case-control study,and the univatiate analysis was used to screen out the possibly significant risk factors,then the forwardlogistic regression analysis was applied to identify the independent risk factors.Results The risk factors of infant wheezing were associated with allergic family history,individual allergic history,virus infection,pneumonia myco-plasma infection,passive smoking of pregnant women and pregnant age (P0.01),and not with feeding,sibings,delivery pattern and infant gender by the univatiate analysis.The forward logistic regression analysis was found that allergic family history (OR=13.0258,95% CI 2.8951-58.6060,P0.001),viral infection (OR=38.8702,95% CI 7.4108,P0.001),pneumonia mycoplasma infection (OR=10.5962,95% CI 2.5356-44.2810,P0.01 ),passive smoking of pregnant women (OR=17.6636,95% CI 4.4270-70.4772,P0.001),pregnant age (OR=1.4139,95% CI 1.0955-1.8248,P0.01) were the independent risk factors of infants wheezing.Conclusions The risk factors of infants wheezing are individual allergic history,allergic family history,virus infection,pneumonia mycoplasma infection,passive smoking of pregnant women,and the last four fctors are the independent risk factors.


In this paper, the optical phase shift introduced by the fiber Bragg grating is investigated analytically using coupled mode theory. A simple expression for intensity dependent transmittivity as well as optical phase shift has been obtained by incorporating the Kerr effect in nonlinear coupled equations. The behavior is studied as a function of the incident intensity at various detuning wavelengths. It has been found that the nonlinear phase shift increases stepwise with increasing input intensity and such phase modulation of the beam distorts the transmittivity of the grating.


In the article the description of the experiments upon the generation and investigation of free radicals and triboelectricity with the help of mechanochemistry is outlined. It is shown, that the generation of radical and triboelectricity correlates between each other. It is proved, that usage of some radical traps (I, some salts and complexes of the transition metals, such as Cu, Fe, Cr, Co) leads to the considerable lowering of the static electrization of dielectrics. With the help of computer simulation it is shown, that energetically the most profitable are donor-acceptor interactions between radicals, that lead to the charge generation. It is supposed, that radical pairs of association plays the essential role in tribolectrization.


The aim of the paper is to provide a clear overview of existing research in the field of the meetings industry in international space and to open an academic discussion on the issues of this field in Slovenia. Through the method of literature analysis, we determine the position of the meetings industry in relation to business tourism and leisure tourism, explaining the most frequent definitions of meetings and pointing to the fragmentariness of the meetings industry, recognising it as a special research challenge. The existing research on the meetings industry is focused on five basic areas (economic impact of meetings, convention site-selection process, destination marketing, convention and visitors bureau (CVB) operations, and advances in technology). We also acknowledge the emergence of a completely new question of sustainability of meetings, or the "greening" of meetings. Due to lack of research on the meetings industry in Slovenia, researchers face some issues and challenges, and the increasing importance of the activities in the tourism sector creates a gap in research that needs to be filled, starting with the need to consider the depth and breadth of research. Due to the fragmentation of the meetings industry, we first need to establish appropriate terminology and conduct an in-depth analysis of the conditions in the area of the supply and demand of meetings facilities, perform an economic evaluation of the possible impacts of meetings and analyse the decision-making factors that shape the processes of selecting convention sites. Researchers in Slovenia also need to tackle new questions such as the greening of meetings. We have no doubt that the tradition of the meetings industry in Slovenia makes it necessary for us to encourage its development with research and ensure the continuing expansion of knowledge.


Bill Clinton, the Democratic governor of Arkansas, was elected presidentofthe United States Tuesday, with 43 percent of the national popular vote. Incumbent President George Bush received 38 percent of the popular vote, and independent candidate Ross Perot received 17 percent. Projections indicate that Clinton will receive 370 electoral votes and Bush will receive 168. Both College Democrats and College Republicans were active this fall. campaigning on campus and working in the community for their presidential candidates, as well as their respective state and local party candidates. Another active political organization was Americans for Democratic Action, a non-partisan grass-roots organization that supported Clinton. Both the Democrats and ADA were pleased with the Clinton victory. "We were really excited about Bill Clinton's strong showing nationally," said senior Lisa Shannon, the president of College Democrats. The Republicans were disappointed with Bush's defeat, but junior David Johnson, co-chairman of the campus chapter, said Bush's strong showing in North Carolina and the Senate victory of Republican Lauch Faircloth made the Republican effort worthwhile. While both partisan groups attribute much of Clinton's success to the ailing economy. freshman Shane Evans, the treasurer of ADA, said support for Clinton also came as a result of "major changes in the Democratic Party, which make it more appealing to the American people." Johnson. however, said he remains doubtful that the Clinton victory signals any major shift in voter opinion. "I do not feel that the election was a specific 'mandate' from the voters," he said. Johnson said the faltering economy was the main factor that pushed independent and undecided voters. as well as the so-called "Reagan Democrats,'' to vote for Clinton. Democrats and Republicans alike believe that the candidacy of Perot affected the political race by drawing votes from both Bush and Clinton. ·'Perot received nearly 20 percent of the popular vote, which is very impressive for an independent candidate," Shannon said. All three groups agree on the importance of young, first-time voters in the outcome of the election. Evans said II percent of the total vote was cast by voters between the ages of 18 and 25. Evans attributed the large youth vote to "the work nationally by organizations like Rock the Vote and Americans for Democratic Action in rl'!cruiring young voters on and off campuses," a's well as to Clinton's generational appeal. Shannon said Clinton's plans to create new jobs and to establish new college loan programs pulled many young people into the Clinton coalition. Johnson said Bush should have tried See Clinton, Page 5


Consumption-based environmental impact trends for the Swedish economy have been generated and analysed in order to determine their levels compared to official production-based data, and to determine whether or not the Swedish economy has decoupled growth in domestic final demand from worldwide environmental impact. Three energy resources (oil, coal and gas use, as well as their aggregate fossil fuel use) and seven emissions (CO2, CH4, N2O, SO2, NOx, CO and NMVOC, as well as the aggregate CO2 equivalents) were studied. An augmented single-regional input–output model has been deployed, with world average energy and emission intensities used for products produced abroad. A new method for updating input–output tables for years missing official input–output tables, was also developed. For each of the resources and the emissions, two time series were generated based on two different revisions of Swedish national accounts data, one for the period 1993–2003, the other for the period 2000–2005. The analysis uses a recently revised time series of environmental data from the Swedish environmental accounts, as well as recently published global environmental data from the IEA and from the EDGAR emissions database (all data from 2010 or later). An index decomposition analysis was also performed to detect the various components of the time series. For fossil fuels consumption-based data don't differ much from production-based data in total. For the greenhouse gases there is a clear increase (CO2eq emissions increase approximately 20 % from 1993–2005, mainly driven by an increase in CH4 emissions), resulting from increased emissions abroad due to the increased demand for imported products. This suggests Sweden has not decoupled economic growth from increasing greenhouse gas emissions – contrary to what the slightly decreasing official production-based UNFCCC data say. For the precursor gases (SO2, NOx, CO and NMVOC), emissions are generally decreasing, with the exception of SO2 and NOx which increase in the second time series. For all emissions studied, consumption-based data lie at much higher levels than the official production-based UNFCCC data. However, further research is needed regarding the resolution of the data of the energy use and the emissions generated abroad by the Swedish domestic final demand. Also, extension of the time series and of the environmental parameters to such things as material use is needed to find out with more certainty to what extent Swedish growth has been sustainable or not.


E RNEST O RLANDO L AWRENCE B ERKELEY N ATIONAL L ABORATORY Los Angeles Air Force Base Vehicle to Grid Pilot Demonstration Nicholas DeForest 1 , Chien-Yu Jacqueline Ko 1 , Ed Koch 2 , Sila Kiliccote 1 , Paul Lipkin 2 , Jason MacDonald 1 , Chris Marnay 1 , Markus Muller 3 , and Michael Stadler 1 Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Akuacom Bosch Software Innovations Environmental Energy Technologies Division Presented at CalCharge Battery Consortium Kick-off Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA May 3 rd 2013 http://eetd.lbl.gov/publications This work is funded by the U.S. Department of Defense under its Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP) by grant number 12 EB-EW1-032/EW-201243, and by the California Energy Commission grant number 500-11-025. Additional support from the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability's Smart Grid Program under contract No. DE-AC02-05CH11231.


Based on a vector-bundle formulation, we introduce a new family of nonlinear subdivision schemes for manifold-valued data. Any such nonlinear subdivision scheme is based on an underlying linear subdivision scheme. We show that if the underlying linear subdivision scheme reproduces $\Pi_k$, then the nonlinear scheme satisfies an order k proximity condition with the linear scheme. We also develop a new "proximity $\Rightarrow$ smoothness" theorem, improving the one in [J. Wallner, Constr. Approx., 24 (2006), pp. 289–318]. Combining the two results, we can conclude that if the underlying linear scheme is $C^k$ and stable, then the nonlinear scheme is also $C^k$. The family of manifold-valued data subdivision scheme introduced in this paper includes a variant of the log-exp scheme, proposed in [I. U. Rahman et al., Multiscale Model. Simul., 4 (2005), pp. 1201–1232], as a special case, but not the original log-exp scheme when the underlying linear scheme is noninterpolatory. The original log-exp scheme uses th...


Non-mass enhancing lesions (NME) constitute a diagnostic challenge in dynamic contrast enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) of the breast. Computer Aided Diagnosis (CAD) systems provide physicians with advanced tools for analysis, assessment and evaluation that have a significant impact on the diagnostic performance. Here, we propose a new approach for the specific problem of NME detection and segmentation, by taking advantage of independent component analysis (ICA) to extract a data-driven dynamic characterization of tissue. A set of independent sources was obtained from a dataset of patients, and the dynamic behavior of the different tissues was described by multiple dynamic curves, together with a set of eigenimages describing the scores for each voxel. A new test image is projected onto the independent source space using the unmixing matrix, and each voxel is classified by a support vector machine (SVM) that has already been trained with manually delineated data. A solution to the high false positive rate problem is proposed by controlling the SVM hyperplane location. The CAD system is trained and validated, reaching a DSC coefficient of 0.7215 for NME segmentation.


Exploration drilling forms an integral part of the mining value chain and is essential when validating and understanding the geology of potential new projects. Why then is the drill operator's safety such a neglected area.


Elemental sulfur was successfully impregnated in an activated carbon (AC) matrix obtained from sisal fibers. The impregnation of sulfur in the activated carbon (S-AC) matrix was confirmed by XRD, SEM and Raman analyses. The sulfurized activated carbon (S-AC) composite electrode was employed as a cathode material for lithium–sulfur (Li–S) cell. The Li–S cell delivered a discharge capacity of 950 mA h g−1 at 0.1C-rate. The electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements were carried out for the Li–S cell before and after cycling and also at different depth of discharge and depth of charge. A stable cycling was achieved at 1C-rate.


Over the last decade, there has been progress in understanding one-dimensional non-Markovian processes via analytic, sometimes exact, solutions. The extension of these ideas and methods to two and higher dimensions is challenging. We report the first exactly solvable two-dimensional (2D) non-Markovian random walk model belonging to the family of the elephant random walk model. In contrast to Lévy walks or fractional Brownian motion, such models incorporate memory effects by keeping an explicit history of the random walk trajectory. We study a memory driven 2D random walk with correlated memory and stops, i.e. pauses in motion. The model has an inherent anisotropy with consequences for its diffusive properties, thereby mixing the dominant regime along one dimension with a subdiffusive walk along a perpendicular dimension. The anomalous diffusion regimes are fully characterized by an exact determination of the Hurst exponent. We discuss the remarkably rich phase diagram, as well as several possible combinations of the independent walks in both directions. The relationship between the exponents of the first and second moments is also unveiled.


intermittent myoclonus with lack of verbal output and any purposeful physical activity (akinetic mutism). The clinical presentation, radiological findings and laboratory evaluation were consistent with diagnosis of probable sporadic CJD (sCJD). Given the poor prognosis of the patient's condition, his goals of care were changed to comfort measures only. The patient died on hospital day 16, and no autopsy was carried out as per his family's wishes. Prion diseases cause degeneration of the central nervous system and account for >60% of RPD according to some studies. Sporadic CJD is the most common prion disease in humans (85%), with a worldwide incidence of one per million population per year. Definitive diagnosis is based on brain biopsy, although it is rarely pursued early in the disease. All patients with symptoms suggestive of CJD should undergo EEG and MRI testing along with CSF analysis. The classic EEG findings of 1–3 Hz spike wave discharge activity is not a sensitive or specific indicator of CJD. Diffusion weighted imaging MRI sequence showing increased signal intensity involving the deep gray matter and basal ganglia is highly sensitive and specific for CJD. A noninflammatory CSF picture along with elevated 14-3-3 protein is also highly supportive of the diagnosis. No effective treatments are currently approved for CJD, and the disease is universally fatal. We report a case of sporadic CJD, which was initially suggested by a subacute cognitive decline and subsequently confirmed by radiological findings and laboratory testing of the CSF. A comprehensive work-up to establish diagnosis is essential not only for differentiating reversible causes of RPD, but also for prognostication to help set realizable goals of care. Disclosure statement


Quasi-isothermal temperature-modulated differential scanning calorimetry was employed in a study of thermoreversible structural changes in the melting range of semicrystalline polymers. The results indicated a reversible melting and crystallization process occurring at the fold surfaces of crystallites of polyethylene and poly(ethylene oxide). For polyethylene, good agreements were found with reported small-angle X-ray scattering data and Fischer's theory. Surface melting and crystallization depend on the ability of the chains in the crystals to carry out a sliding diffusion. This was shown by a comparison of polyethylene and poly(ethylene oxide) with other polymers such as poly(ethylene terephthalate), polycaprolactone, isotactic polypropylene, and syndiotactic polypropylene. When the longitudinal chain mobility in the crystals is much reduced or completely absent, only a small or no excess reversing heat capacity is observed. The special performance of short-chain poly(ethylene oxide) is indicative for ...


The concept of service oriented architecture (SOA) implies a rapid construction of a software system with components as published Web services. How to effectively and efficiently test and assess available Web services with similar functionalities published by different service providers remains a challenge. In this paper, we present a step-by-step fault injection-based automatic test case generation approach. Preliminary test results are also reported


There exist numerous, web-based water portals that provide links to a variety of water data. We have developed a list of those sites highlighted by the papers in this special issue. Accessing and using water data is a metric of success. Further research needs to be conducted to determine what audiences are using these data and how "user-friendly" such sites are. This represents just a slice of the global water "data landscape." Appendix 1 of Gallaher and Heikkila's paper provides a table of a sample of water agencies examined in the U.S. that provide city, local, and regional state data.


As China witnesses constant development of its market economy and gradual deepening of reform in its medical and health cause,the ability of domestic hospitals to adjust their operational management strategies in due course is crucially related to their survival and development amidst market competition.Hospital managers,while stressing quality and economic control,should attach special importance to the brand effect of their hospital and step up hospital brand building,the focus of which lies in patient satisfaction and loyalty and hospital popularity and reputation.Only in this way can they constantly create advantages,enhance core competitiveness and put their hospital in an invincible position amidst market competition.


Based on the practice of the construction of top-quality course "Cargo Transportation on Sea" ,this paper introduces some teaching philosophies,contents and methods,curriculum resources,building of teacher teams and teaching management in order to provide a reference for curriculum development and curriculum reform.


Objective To investigate the outcome of using modified HOS test for the selection viable sperm in patient treated with ICSI.Methods The fertilization and pregnancy rate was compared in two groups: modified HOS group vs morphological group.Results The results in modified HOS group showed a higher fertilization and pregnancy rate.Conclusion The modified HOS test could get better clinic results compared with morphological selection.


For low-voltage circuit breakers, arc breaking by squeezing the arc in a narrow insulating slot is an interesting alternative to the conventional technique of using arc chutes with steel plates. The performance of a switching device based on this principle was experimentally investigated. The influence of slot dimension, switching speed, insulating material, and other test parameters on the arc breaking characteristics was determined. The results show that the arc voltage in the slot chambers depends mostly on the arc length (moving speed of the plate) and the cross-sectional area of the slot, while the influence of the insulating material and the shape of the slot plays only a minor role. By using a simplified ar model the curves of arc voltage and arc current can be simulated. There is a good agreement between the experimental and the calculated results.<<ETX>>


In Reply.— Dr Arndt apparently misinterpreted our statement that "similar blisters of the skin have not been described in comatose patients unrelated to drug overdose." In the context of our article, "similar blister" is defined as blisters with histologically demonstrated underlying sweat gland necrosis. "Comatose patients unrelated to drug overdose" excludes patients with carbon monoxide poisoning and includes only patients who are comatose secondary to a neurologic disease and who are not being treated with drugs. We stated in our introduction that blisters with sweat gland necrosis were reported in cases of carbon monoxide poisoning and provided a reference to a description that may be more complete than the report by Napoleon's surgeon. The review by Arndt et al failed to demonstrate the presence of sweat gland necrosis in patients in coma secondary to neurologic disease in whom bullous lesions developed. Since histopathologic studies were not performed in the cases cited