The lower part of the Jialu Formation is characterized by alluvial/pluvial facies sphenoid basal conglomerate, and is unconformable on the Mesoproterozoic Sibao Group and the Gangbian granite, which intruded into Mesoproterozoic Sibao Group in southeast Guizhou, China. By large-scale section survey and crowding sampling,we have found out the overlap relationship between the Jialu Formation and the Sibao Group -- the Gangbian granite, and set up thesedimentary sequence of the Xiajiang Group. At the same time we have gained one SHRIMP U-Pb zircon age 823±12Ma from the Gangbian granite underneath the Jialu Formation, which is consistent with the Motianling granite TIMS U-Pb zircon age 825.0±2.4Ma. It is suggested that the age of the initialized deposition in the Neoproterozoic rifting system was about 823±12Ma, but the beginning of deposition of Neoproterozoic rifting system in the southeast Guizhou was a little younger than it. It is indicated that the studied area might be deficient in the strata of 1000~820 Ma, corresponding to Tonian.


J ''Examination of Bulge Test for Determining Residual Stress, Young's Modulus, and Poisson's Ratio of 3C-SiC Thin Films,'' describe their study of a test that is based on plate mechanics, and illustrate its capabilities within their work on silicon carbide fabrication. Another important topic within MEMS ~and its nanoscale counterpart, NEMS! research is biochemical sensing, for which dissolvable hydrogels can serve as indicators. Aluru and his colleagues from the University of Illinois, in a paper entitled ''Mathematical Modeling and Simulation of Dissolvable Hydrogels,'' present a mathematical model for hydrogel behavior with comparisons between model and experimental results. Three papers are contributed by researchers in the MEMS community describing the development of devices that can revolutionize aerospace and civil engineering practice. My colleagues from Carnegie Mellon, Xie ~now at the University of Florida! and Fedder, report on the development of vibratory gyroscopes in a paper entitled ''Integrated MEMS Gyroscopes.'' In a paper entitled ''Capacitive Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducers: Theory and Technology,'' Khuri-Yakub and his coworkers from Stanford give the reader comprehensive insight into the design, behavior, and performance of ultrasonic transducers. Liu and his coworkers, from the University of Illinois, contribute a paper entitled ''Two-Dimensional Micromachined Flow-Sensor Array for Fluid Mechanics Studies'' in which they describe the development of two novel sensors for use in fluid mechanics; they start with the physical concepts, show the development of the MEMS process and the device design, and then illustrate the results with experimental studies. I wish to thank the authors of these papers, as well as others who responded with interest and whose papers may appear in future issues of this Journal. The ideas they describe are stimulating, their research practices are exemplary, and their writing is excellent. They set a high standard and we are the beneficiaries. Irving J. Oppenheim Carnegie Mellon University


Results of an experimental research of a drive with the rolling bearing inner race fault are presented in this paper. Measured mechanical vibration signals are analyzed using the wavelet transform. Based on the presented results, the assessment of the suitability of the wavelet analysis for the detection of the bearings faults is made. Analysis of the diagnostic signals is made in application designed in LabVIEW allowing the detection of the bearings faults. (Application of wavelet analysis for detection of the rolling bearing faults). Słowa kluczowe: analiza falkowa, uszkodzenia łożysk tocznych, silnik indukcyjny


H4IIE hepatoma cells transfected by recombinant adiponectin adeno-associated virus vectors were effectively mediated adiponectin gene expression and enhanced the ability of suppressing glucose production of H4IIE cells at low concentration of insulin.Improvement of the insulin sensitivity in hepatocytes may contribute to the glucose-lowering effect of adiponectin.


We introduce and study concurrent One-Way Protocols in social networks. The model is motivated by the rise of online social networks and the fast development of automation features in them. In a One-Way architecture, used, e.g., by Twitter, participants can publish status updates and send messages only to their followers. Based on this asymmetric model, we define network consistency, and consider the scenario in which participants make consistent decisions based on their friends' decisions, like in Facebook 'Events'.
 Independent changes in decisions may render the network inconsistent. We use protocols to coordinate such changes, so as to ensure consistency. We present methods for controlling concurrent execution of multiple protocol instances operating on the same participants. Unlike standard concurrency control, we use semantics, and are therefore able to provide consistency even in cases where the execution is not equivalent to any serial execution of individual protocol instances. The complexity of a closely related problem is characterized to be NP-Complete. Finally, we present a proof-of-concept implementation using Twitter's API, which runs protocols on real Twitter accounts.


We examined the importance of browse and grazing
in the diet of 28 African buffalo Syncerus cafferl/Ig from
Chobe National Park, Botswana, through analysis of
stable isotope ratios of tooth collagen. Carbon isotope
levels indicated that the assimilated diet was wholly
dominated by grasses. Variations in nitrogen isotope
values were consistent with variation in individual
d 13 C values being due to variations in the small
proportion of non-grasses in the diet. There were no
significant sex differences in diet.


The lipophilic anti-inflammatory and immunoregulatory gold (I) complex, 2,3,4,6-tetra-O-acetyl-l-thio-β-D-glucopyranosato-S-[triethylphosphine] gold (auranofin) is now widely used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (1). Although the specific biochemical action(s) of auranofin are not known, the drug has been shown to react readily with thiol groups (2). Such interactions may alter the activity of key enzymes either by direct involvement with the catalytic site or through allosteric effects. Several reports have indicated that auranofin can modulate cellular activation responses which involve the Ca2+-activated, phospholipid-dependent protein kinase (PKC). For example, low concentrations of auranofin (< 1 μM) enhance–and higher concentrations inhibit–the production of superoxide in neutrophils incubated with phorbol ester 12-0-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA), a known activator of PKC (3).


II-VI semiconductor nano particles are presently of great interest for their practical applications in many areas like photonics and optoelectronics. Modification in these properties result due to confinement of charge carriers within the nano particles. Reproducible and good quality (Zn-Cd)S: Cu are deposited on microscopic glass substrates by chemical bath deposition (CBD) technique. Characterization of these films mixed with KI/LiF/CdCl2 is done to fabricate high efficiency electroluminescent (EL) & photoluminescent (PL) devices. The crystal structure and grain size of the particles are studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The UV-visible absorption spectra and photoluminescence (PL) spectra of various samples mixed with KI/LiF/CdCl2 are reported and discussed.


The two Cryptophis species are moderate-sized (up to 1 m length) nocturnal ven- omous snakes of northern and eastern Australia. Examination of 600 museum specimens provided data on body sizes, sexual size dimorphism, reproductive cycles and food habits. Males attain larger body sizes than females in C. nigrescens, but not in C. pallidiceps. Both species are viviparous, with a mean litter size of four. Parturition occurs in late summer (Feb.-Mar.) in southern populations, but may be earlier in snakes from tropical areas. Relative clutch mass averaged 60% in captive C. nigrescens, and offspring averaged 152 mm SVL and 2.3 g mass at birth. Male combat was recorded in C. nigrescens. Both Cryptophis species feed on reptiles, especially scincid lizards (89% of all prey items found). A wide range of skinks is taken, but most are diurnally-active forms. Like many other Australian elapids, Cryptophis forage nocturnally for sleeping skinks. The absence of frogs from the diets of such elapids is a consistent but puzzling phemonenon. Relative eye size in Cryptophis is similar to that in other nocturnal elapids. The proteroglyphous snakes of Aus- tralia are best-known for their highly toxic venoms; several of the large elap- ids are more deadly to man than are any snakes from other continents (Broad et al., 1979). However, these large and spectacular species constitute only a mi- nor part of the radiation of the Elapidae in Australia. Most elapids are small and secretive; although they may be abun- dant, they have attracted little popular or scientific attention. The present study


Digital Corpora and their Applications in Semantic Studies and Lexicography The paper describes the first Bulgarian-Polish digital resources — parallel and comparable corpora, and their applications in the semantic studies and lexicography for creation of Bulgarian-Polish digital dictionary, a significant part of these bilingual resources. Some examples show how valuable the links between the bilingual aligned corpus and the digital dictionary are. The first Bulgarian-Polish digital resources are the main result of collaborative work between the Institute of Mathematics and Informatics of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IMI-BAS) and the Institute of Slavic Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences (ISS-PAS), established for the first time in 2006.


Objective: To explore the effect of Filodepine on insulin sensitivity of hypertension (HT) patientsMethods: The old HT patients were dreated with calcium antagonist Filodepine Before and after treatment the oral glucose tolerance test of the old HT patients was done the concentration of blood sugar (SG) and blood insulin (IS) were determined, the area under curve (AUC), and IS sensitivity were calculatedResults: IS sensitivity was reduced and glucose load hyperinsulinemia was observed whether these HT patients had normal glucose tolerance (NGT) or abnormal glucose tolerance, the condition was more distinct in low glucose tolerance group After Filodepine was taken, the symptom disappeared as the blood pressure of the patients reduced to normal In low glucose tolerance group the level of IS and SG, and AUC were lower than those before treatment in the condition of both oral and after glucose load, IS sensitivity increased and glucose tolerance had been improved. In normal glucose tolerance group there was no significant difference in glucose tolerance and IS senstivity except that the level of blood IS decreased when glucose load was 1 hour and 2 hour Conclusion: Filodepine can improve the glucose tolerance and IS resistance, and increase IS sensitivity of HT patients with low glucose tolerance


Currently, tourist destinations are, more than ever, confronted with specific challenges and also negative impacts arising from overarching developments. In order to address such challenges and to reduce negative impacts resulting from tourism, sustainable development has emerged as a widely accepted approach. Under special consideration of seemingly successful destinations, this article aims to identify complementary strategies towards sustainability in tourism, instead of developing completely new strategies which replace the existing ones. This will be done in the course of endogenous values and structures within a destination. To discuss this issue, the Canary island of Lanzarote is used as case in point, via a qualitative interview series consisting of eleven interviews with different direct and indirect tourism stakeholders from the island, which have been evaluated according to the GABEK®-method (German abbreviation for "GAnzheitliche BEwältigung von Komplexität": holistic coping of complexity). The results show that aspects of mass tourism have a negative impact on the island and therefore a seemingly successful destination, at least in quantitative terms, is confronted with issues of sustainability and a need for action. In this field, diversification regarding both new offers and target groups is helpful to enable tourism and regional development to be more sustainable. In consequence and from a conceptual point of view, alternative product development as a new approach towards sustainability in tourism within established destinations will be presented.


The use of CPE techniques for metal speciation has become more important ..A study has been carried out to determination of Cr(VI) and Cr(III) in water sample after cloud point extraction. The method is based complexation of Cr (VI) with 1,5-Diphenylcarbazid,Cr(II) is convert to Cr(VI) by reduction agent and forms complexationthen then in the optimum condition is measured with specterophotometric method in 540 nm. The cloud point extraction was used by surfactant of Triton-x114 for preconcentration and determination of Cr(VI).The determination of Cr(III) in the sample was achieved by absorbance difference total cromium and Cr(VI).The effective parrameter such as ,pH solution ,organic solvent, surfactant concentration, ligand concentration, extraction time temperature were investigated and optimized. Under the optimum condition the enrichment factor obtained 10.The calibration curve was linear over the range 2-200 ng m l -1 with relative standard deviation(RSD)0.3%(n=10 at 100 ng m l ). The interference effects of some cations were studied. The performance of the proposed technique was evaluated for the determination of Cr (VI) and Cr (III) in the water sample (tap water and waste water). Introduction Chromium is one of the most abundant elements on Earth. The amount of chromium in the environment has gradually been increased predominantly by industrial activities especially from tanneries, mines and incinerators [1]. Chromium exists in Cr(III) and Cr(VI) oxidation states in aqueous solutions [2], [3] and [4]. The properties of these species are different [1]. Trivalent chromium, the main chemical form found in foods, is essential for maintaining normal glucose metabolism [4] and [5]. Cr (VI) oxidation state is detrimental to health as it may be involved in the pathogenesis of some diseases like liver, kidney, lung and gastrointestinal cancers. Industrial processes such as plating, tanning, paint production, pigment production and metallurgy involve the use of Cr(VI) compounds and are therefore the most frequent source of hexavalent chromium [5] and [6]. The importance of chromium speciation is governed by the fact that the toxicity and reactivity depend on the chemical form or oxidation state of chromium [7-9]. Separation and preconcentration based on cloud point extraction (CPE) are becoming an important and practical application of surfactants in analytical chemistry. The technique is based on the property of most non-ionic surfactants in aqueous solutions to form micelles and become turbid when heated to a temperature known as cloud point temperature. Above cloud point temperature, the micellar solution separates into a surfactant-rich phase of a small volume and a diluted aqueous phase, in which the surfactant concentration is close to the critical micellar concentration (CMC). Any analyte solubilized in the hydrophobic core of the


This chapter explores the overwhelming presence of reading in To the Lighthouse. Richardson argues that the act of being read is a major concern in the novel, including measuring intellectual achievement, literary disputes, and concerns about the endurance of authors over time. Most characters are inadequate readers, disparate from Woolf's own passionate experience as a reader.


Objectives: To investigate the effect of fish consumption on iodine and vitamin of Omani School Children. Methods: Omani school children aged 9 and 10 years were recruited from two schools in Muscat Governorate in Oman. The children were randomly divided in


A bstract This study aims to determine the effect of the cmc and the starter for the quality of probiotic drinks. This study uses a complete Randomized Design (CRD) with factorial (2) of two replicates. Factor I is the number of CMC with a password (C) which consists of four standards are: C0 = 0%, C1 = 0,2% , C2 = 0,4% and C3= 0.6%. Factor II is the starter with a password (S) consisting of 4 standard, namely S1 = 2%, S2 = 4%, S3 = S4 = 6% and 8%. The parameters observed include: TSS, total acid, organoleptic aroma and flavor. This study uses yellow sweet potato extract as a source of prebiotic, and starter L. casei as a source of probiotics. Sinbiotik fermented milk made from a combination of prebiotics and probiotics with pasteurized milk as a medium (substrate). CMC provides a number of different influences highly significant (P 0.05) for TSS, total acid, organoleptic aroma and flavor. Keywords: prebiotic, probiotic, Ipomoea Batatas, CMC, Lactobacillus casei


Being in the field when a crisis occurs cannot be planned. According to the literature, it is in those moments that the structure becomes more evident [18]. This case study provides an opportunity for such research, its particularity being that the crisis state develops following a sudden awareness about the project critical situation. This awareness is caused by the unexpected arrival of a new executive, forcing a rapid change in the analytical framework. This change, combined with radical actions taken by that individual, provokes swift changes in discourses followed by the outbreak of a crisis. Our results show how the development of unmanaged problems within the project, and the permanent organization, may gradually lead the project trajectory into a negative spin, until a crisis triggers. Furthermore, our reuse of some notions coming from the crisis management literature enables us to deeper our understanding of crises in projects.


Papers of native and foreign scientists dedicated to the creative accounting have been analyzed. The existence of relatively creative direction of accounting has been proved; its essence and place in the accounting structure have been defined.


A comparative study of patients in a day hospital versus an inpatient treatment setting showed results that in most respects confirmed findings of previous investigations. Thus, day patients were younger, more frequently having personality disorder and numerous social problems, whereas inpatients most frequently had affective illness. Further differences were found with regard to duration of treatment and outcome, physical health, level and improvement in social skills, and overall use of psychotropic medication. These findings provide further support for conclusions drawn from previous studies that psychiatric day patients are not generally representative of the inpatient population, and that these two alternative means of treatment have separate optimal fields of functioning for different patient populations. Furthermore, it is suggested that referral sources and admission procedures encourage a selection bias, in terms of both the patients' illness and socioeconomic circumstances. It is proposed that d...


Provided are: an epitaxial wafer for hetero-junction bipolar transistors, said epitaxial wafer making it possible to reduce the resistance of a sub-collector layer without reducing a current amplification factor; and a hetero-junction bipolar transistor. In a hetero-junction bipolar transistor epitaxial wafer 100 that is provided with a sub-collector layer 102 formed of an n-type GaAs, the sub-collector layer 102 contains an n-type impurity having a smaller covalent radius than a substitution site, and an n-type impurity having a larger covalent radius than the substitution site.


Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs) are complaints that a person feels in the skeletal muscles ranging from very mild to severe complaints. If in this case the muscles receive static loads repeatedly and for a long time, it can cause damage to the muscles, nerves, tendons, joints, cartilages and inter-vertebrate discs. From the observation process of identifying physiotherapy problems in family community  by Lecturer and Physiotherapy Study Program students of the Faculty of Health Sciences, Pekalongan University by interviewing family members, it was found that the problems experienced by family members were disorders of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) which were caused by not paying attention ergonomic attitude when doing activities. Situation analysis in the form of observation made by team  in the family community, kebojongan village, comal sub-district, pemalang district in the form of interview with the family community in identifying physiotherapy problems in ergonomic attitudes to redurs using lecture and question and answer methods. The purpose of this activity is to increase knowledge about ergonomic attitudes that can reduce the occurrence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). The solution offered to partners is physiotherapy counseling methods on ergonomics to reduce the occurrence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). The implementation of extension activities was attended by four participants. Before extension, participants were given a pre-test and a post-test was given after counseling was carried out as a measure of participants' understanding of extension. The results of the pre test and post test proved that the level of understanding of the participants increased after physiotherapy counseling. It can be concluded that after being given physiotherapy counseling there is a significant increase in understanding the role of physiotherapy regarding ergonomic attitudes and musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). Keywords: Ergonomic Attitude, musculoskeletal disorders


A suretyship can be defined as a contract whereby a person, namely the surety, undertakes to the creditor of another person, the principal debtor, that as accessory to the principal debtor's liability, the surety too will be liable for the debt. In this article we will be dealing with two aspects: the principal obligation of a suretyship and incorporation by reference in respect of a suretyship.


This photo is just one example of a recent upsurge in Internet activism in Russia. Polis Summer School student Anna-Verena Nosthoff reports. The road is quiet. A single girl stands there, her hair up, jet black like the thin tights beneath her short coat. She has little in the way of effective protection against the chill of a Moscow winter. The woolly white gloves are holding a single placard proclaiming autonomy. The brown eyes above the sign are those of an accuser. Olesya Shmagun's gaze is a visual call to an internet-minded, global, anonymous community of people.


Rational: Government of Indonesia posted trained midwives in villages to improve the accessibility to skilled attendants particularly for poor mothers and to reduce maternal mortality. Recently the government established a fund called 'insurance for the poor' to pay the midwives for delivery care services to poor mothers. These are well supported strategies for safe motherhood for achieving the Millennium Development Goals in maternal health. Inequality in access to and financing of the obstetric care at the community may still persist among the deprived population and deprived regions. Objectives: The research aims to examine and measure the degree of inequality of utilizations of midwifery services and public facilities among different socio-economic groups, and among villages located in urban and remote areas. The study also examines whether payment for the obstetric care makes the poor household worse off or not despite of the establishment of government's funds for insurance for the poor. Methodology: A household survey was conducted in two districts of Banten Province in Java to collect information from 1234 mother on utilisation of midwifery services and public facilities for antenatal (ANC) and delivery care. Economic status was determined on the basis wealth score using principal components analysis, and on the basis of household expenditure following principles of living standard measurement surveys. The degree of inequality of utilization measured using concentration index. For a sub-sample (671), the impact of financing the obstetric care on household income was assessed by comparing with the subsistence level income. The progressitivity and patterns of distribution of payments were measured using Kakwani index. Results: The concentration index measure suggests that there is disproportionate concentration of obtaining ANC (CI=-.392) among the poor mothers, and utilization of midwives' services were concentrated among richer women (CI=0.3089). ANC by skill attendants are also disproportionately concentrated among the rich. Home delivery persists among the poor mothers (CI= -0.137) where midwives' private practice and private health care facilities as place of delivery are more concentrated among the rich (CI=.5702 and .8133 respectively). A similar situation of inequality in utilization of skilled provider for delivery care was found. The richest quintile are spending a greater proportion of their subsistence income than the poor but the estimate of Kakwani index for payment (.3227) for the obstetric care suggest that distribution of payments progressive. This is because poor mothers are buying cheap delivery care from unskilled providers, having a smaller number or no ANC visits. Most mothers are making out of pocket payments for delivery care, only 7% are been covered by insurance or reimbursement of expenditure. Only 11% of the sub sample mothers are covered by government funds for the poor. Conclusion: Village midwifery services care has reached mostly the rich who can afford to pay, leaving the poor obtaining unskilled obstetric care. Government has sufficient funds available for buying midwives' services. However, this funds needs to be effectively utilised to remove the financial barriers in obtaining skilled obstetric care.


restlessness which often accompanies early schizophrenic reactions, and is thought to be of greater value in any type of condition whose causation is more exogenous than endogenous or constitutional. It cannot be too strongly emphasized that the administration of continuous narCOSIS does little by itself to cure the disorder, but merely renders the patient able to benefit from the psychotherapeutic endeavours of the physician. R. S. ELLERY, M.D. (Melbourne), Honorary Psychiatrist to the Alfred Hospital; Consulting Alienist to the Women's Hospital, Melbourne. •


In recent decades, numerical simulation methods have become increasingly important in car body engineering to achieve the high dimensional quality requirements for closure assemblies like bonnets, doors and tailgates. In order to model the entire manufacturing process, latest research works have been focusing on combining the finite element-based simulation models. These complete process chain simulations are able to predict the springback behaviour of the assembly before the physical realization of the tools and processes. The purpose of this study is to introduce a method to use finite element process chain simulations to analyse the structural springback behaviour of car body closure assemblies. Therefore, the numerical process chain simulations are combined with statistical and stochastic tools in order to develop a meta-model, which represents the dimensional accuracy of the investigated assembly. The presented method will then be schematically advanced to be ultimately used in different application areas like robustness and tolerance analyses.


In this paper, we present an architecture to fuse different data from onboard sensors (LiDAR and Camera) for real-time navigation of Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV). The proposed system architecture comprises three main interacting modules; line and obstacle detection module, path planning and tracking module, and a real-time motor driving processing module. While these modules were developed individually on different platforms, however, the integration framework that we developed allowed these modules to coexist and interact seamlessly. The UGV prototype was put to the test in a variety of outdoor environments, both cluttered and uncluttered, to navigate safely within limited area bounded by lines. While the work on the proposed architecture is ongoing, this paper shows initial results of system platform development, modules integration framework, and real-time control accuracy and performance.


This paper reviews, structures and evaluates the moral issues generated by efforts to commercialize university research by means of university spin-offs. University spin-offs are new ventures founded to exploit university research. First, I review the advantages and disadvantages of commercialization of science as appearing from studies on university spin-off creation. This review suggests that spin-off creation has three substantial advantages: 1) knowledge utilization, 2) economic growth, and 3) learning from the other 'culture'. Furthermore, three significant disadvantages are identified: 1) the potential change in research directions, 2) the anti-commons effect, and 3) the threat to objectivity. Subsequently, these arguments are evaluated by deontological and teleological ethical theories. These ethical evaluations result in different evaluations of the university spin-off phenomenon. Based on these ethical evaluations a balancing reflective equilibrium is constructed. Commercializing science by means of university spin-offs appears to be ethically desirable under the condition that disadvantages can be mitigated by designing the right organizational structures.


Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) is commonly performed as a treatment for gastric neoplasms. However, sedation with midazolam (MDZ) often does not reach satisfactory sedation levels during the procedure and the drug may suppress respiration and blood pressure. This study aimed to investigate the safety and efficacy of dexmedetomidine (DEX) with on‐demand MDZ (the DEX group) in comparison with MDZ alone (the MDZ group) as a sedative during ESD of gastric neoplasms.


A valve is a mobile, thin sheet of tissue present in a pathway, and maintains a unidirectional flow through the passage. The heart valves become insufficient, or they get stenosed. Patients with damaged aortic valves are managed with medicines, aortic valve repair, surgical or transcatheter aortic valve replacement. Prosthetic heart valves used for replacement of damaged aortic valves are of two types, mechanical and bioprosthetic. Three common types of mechanical heart valves are disc valves, bi-leaflet valves, and ball and cage valves. Bioprosthetic valves are further divided into xenografts (from animals), homografts (from the same species), and autografts (from the same individual). Bioprosthetic valves can be stented on metallic support or can be attached directly to the aorta.Stent placement reduces the lumen of the aortic valve and is not favorable hemodynamically, but there is no difference in the clinical outcomes of two types of valves. The selection of prosthetic valves depends upon the patient's choice, age, anticoagulation tolerance, risk of valve deterioration, anticoagulation status, future pregnancy plans, etc. Different types of bioprosthetic valves have similar mortality and reoperation outcomes. Transcatheter aortic valve replacement is a comparatively safer option for patients who cannot undergo an open-heart valve replacement procedure.


In the book The Origin of the Family, Private Property, and the State (1884), which, as Lenin pointed out, is of such importance for the Marxist world-view, Engels notes that he had written this work to some extent as a completion of Marx's message. The scientific foundation of the book was the work by the American anthropologist and archeologist L. Morgan, who studied the kinship ties among the North American Indians and some aspects of ancient Greek, Roman and German history. Engels added many of his own studies of the ancient Germans and Celts to Morgan's material, after having reformulated Morgan's economic arguments.


The Bakwena of south-east Botswana are but one of the groups encircling the major white industrial enclave of the Witwatersrand for whom labour migration has long been significant. What follows is not an attempt at comparison with these other peoples; rather, a firmer basis of comparison is sought, despite the death of written records. The task is therefore an exploration of economic change among the Bakwena during the days of the Bechuanaland Protectorate, with a focus on labour migration. Perhaps the most important economic factor in the history of the Bakwena in Botswana has been the marginal productivity of the land they occupy. In pre-colonial trade, the Bakwena took advantage of their middleman position on the edge of the Kgalagadi semi-desert to exchange ivory, skins and karosses for worked metal, and later beads, and then finally guns and manufactures.1 A very recent oral history of the Kweneng2 has supplied evidence that until the Difaqane (time of Zulu dispersion), the Bakwena were primarily pastoral, supplementing their diet of milk and meat with game, wild foodstuffs and crops of sorghum and pumpkins. The frequency and severity of drought kept reliance on cultivation of the soil at a minimum. But with the arrival of refugees from the Difaqane and Boer intrusions, the economic system of the Bakwena underwent important changes. The rapid increase in population rendered obsolete their semi-nomadic pastoralism. The pasture and livestock resources of the area could only support the now more numerous Bakwena with a much greater contribution from settled agriculture, which was doomed to precariousness. The Bakwena were now too many to scatter and eke out a living from the veld upon failure of the crops. Thus by the time of the declaration of the Protectorate in 1 885, the Bakwena motse (village) was no longer a small-scale political and economic unit. It had now become a large village which afforded both protection in numbers and a supply of guns and other trade goods through contact with traders and missionaries, whose infiltration had been led by David Livingstone. From this central village, people cultivated their now essential fields. Their settlement at last resembled those of the Batswana groups in the better-watered Transvaal from which the Bakwena had separated generations before3. It is in light of this recently transformed economy and marginally productive environment that Bakwena reaction to colonial rule and cash employment must be viewed. Several years elapsed after the declaration of the Protectorate before the British authorities attempted to institute a regularized administration and the means to pay for it. Borders between territories of current recognized dikgosi (chiefs) were delineated in March, 1899,4 immediately followed by the imposition of a hut tax that same month.5 The demarcated reserves, including the 15 000 square mile Bakwena Reserve, were thereafter looked upon by both British and Afrikaner authorities as reservoirs of cheap labour for the South African economy. Colonial policy regarding the population of these rural areas was mainly concerned with the control of trade, the collection of tax, and the supervision of labour recruitment. Direct intervention in Bakwena economic affairs was first aimed at the control of trade. The decree of 1891 stating that traders obtain licenses from the colonial authorities6 was vehemently contested by the Bakwena kgosi, to the point of armed confrontation in !892. Accommodation was eventually reached, however, with the Bakwena authorities submitting,


The synthesis of three octapyrrolic, 8-10, and four dodecapyrrolic, 15-18, oligomers is reported. They are linear poly(dipyrromethene)s and potential ligands as building blocks for supramolecular architectures through self- assembly. Octapyrrolic oligomers 8-10 were prepared in 90-95% yields by condensation of 2 equiv of a tripyrrolic compound 4 with 1 equiv of diformyldipyrrolic compounds 5-7. A similar procedure, involving the condensation of 2 equiv of a pentapyrrolic starting material 13 with 1 equiv of 5-7 or 14, was found to give rise to the corresponding dodecameric systems 15-18 in 41-56% yields.


OBJECTIVE To separate and puriy flavonoid aglycones from the extracts of ginkgo biloba leaves,and the optimal conditions for separation and purification were obtained.METHODS The acidity ratio of GBE weight to solvent volume,time of hydrolysis time,alcohol degree,hydrolysis temperature,extraction solvent and conditions,and the crystallization of flavonoid aglycones of the extracts were studied.RESULTS The optimized procedure was as follows:ratio of alcohol to HCl was 8:2,ratio of GBE weight to solven t volume(g·mL-1)was 1:50,hydrolysis for 2 h at 60 ℃,the extraction solvent was the ether and ethyl acetate(3:7)recrgstallization using methanol.90% of the flavonoid aglycones could be obtained by optimized process.CONCLUSION It is feasible to obtain 90% of the ginkgo flavonoid aglycones from the ginkgo biloba leaves using the process mentioned above.


Members of Calophyllum (Calophyllaceae) are commonly used as herbal medicine in Indonesia from the beginning of civilization. Due to their tremendous potential as a source for pharmaceutical industry, we selected 11 Calophyllum species for the current anti-oxidant and anti-bacterial studies, namely, Calophyllum euryphyllum, C. bicolor, C. flavoramulum, C incrassaptum, C. lowei, C. macrophyllum, C. nodosum, C. soulattri, C. tetrapterum, C. teysmannii, and C. tomentosum. The methods include Calophyllum stem bark extraction and separation into n-hexane, ethyl acetate, and butanol fractions, followed by the antioxidant analysis using DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging) and the anti-bacterial activity against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The results showed that n-hexane fraction of C. soulattri exhibited the best anti-oxidant activity (IC50 = 2.2 µg/m). This study also showed that a xanthone compound isolated from C. macrophyllum, namely, 1,8 - dihydroxy-6 methoxy xanthone exhibited the anti-oxidant activity with IC50 = 1.56 ppm.


A man shares family history, incidents from his youth, reminiscences of college life, highlights of his long career of veterinarian, and observations on the notable people in his life.


The model of the large deflection of fabrics considering the effect of bending hysteresis was established for describing the post-buckling behavior of woven fabrics. The moment-curvature relationship of fabrics obtained by pure bending test was approximated by the Rate-model and the change in the flexural rigidity caused by the hysteresis was incorporated into the analysis. Using a nonlinear FEM, the post-buckling behavior was solved for a few fabrics as examples whose ends were fixed horizontally. The numerical results agreed well with the experimental ones which showed hysteretic behavior. The present method was verified to make it possible to estimate the post-buckling behavior of fabrics from their bending moment-curvature relations. The influence of the bending rigidity on the linear approximation was investigated. The effect of the initial deflection on the post-buckling behavior that was calculated with considering the nonlinearity in bending rigidity was also examined.


We present a new quantum key distribution (QKD) scheme using EPR pairs and Bell state measurement, accompanied by quantum one-way function. The security of our scheme derives from BB84 protocol, and several other features make our QKD scheme fairly suitable for QKD network designs. So we then apply a modified version of our QKD scheme to construct a QKD network, allowing secure key distribution among any users within the network efficiently.


The analysis of the low frequency dielectric loss of electrically aged LDPE shows an increase with electrical ageing. This could be further verified by extending the frequency range down to 10-5 Hz in order to measure the changes at the expected peak maximum. TSDC results are however inconclusive whether the measured current is due to dipoles or space charge. The observed difference between charge release from the two samples surfaces indicates that there is an asymmetrical distribution of space charge or polarization. This agrees with the optical microscope observations showing that one of the sides has a greater water tree density than the other. A difference on the initial TSDC current level (near 20/spl deg/C) appears to be more dependent on the short-circuit time than on the poling time. If a TSDC is performed without poling the measured current is near zero, revealing that space charges have been removed or that the dipoles have been disoriented.


The Sudan Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) is one of the rare achievements not only in the Sudan but indeed in Africa as it offers a unique resolution of one of the most complicated and protracted civil wars in Africa. It offers a unique mechanism for resolving issues of religious diversity and setting a new basis for national unity based on the free will of the people. The organic and external guarantees provided for its implementation clearly show that it would extremely be difficult for any party to the CPA to dishonour or abrogate it and if it happens it will be tantamount to constitutional disorder with dire repercussions for the unity of the Sudan. Muslims, Arab extremists and terrorist elements in the Sudan and the impact of the untimely death of Dr John Garang are likely to work against the full implementation of the CPA.


Purpose: Based on their own data and literature to synthesize information on the variant anatomy of renal arteries and veins, and their topographic relations and the formation of vascular abnormalities in embryogenesis. Materials and Methods: The studied drugs with renal vascular anomalies of the museum department of human anatomy RostGMU, 440 angiograms and 30 renal spiral computer angiotomograms people of all ages, both in normal and in renovascular hypertension. Results: In control group, multiple renal arteries were found in 20% of cases, and a group of people suffering from renovascular hypertension, the arteries, altered pathological process, occurred in 15.8% of cases. Multiple renal veins are identified in 2.1% cases at the left and in 23% - on the right. Summary: Multirple renal arteries contribute to the development of renovascular hypertension, and rens with multirle arteries are biologically less reliable and prone to illness. There is no full conformity in frequency of detection multiple renal arteries and veins. Different in nature and the asymmetry of the anomalies of arteries and veins of kidney due to the asymmetry of the vascular system.


milk, baby food, and so on), 3,125 in watchmaking, and 7,647 in chemicals and Pharmaceuticals (Table 29, p. 229). Space does not permit discussion of other success factors, or of other distinctive characteristics of Swiss industry, such as the relatively small scale of enterprise (at least until recent decades) or the persistence of small shops and cottage industry (in 1910, with more than 45 percent of the labor force in industry, only 18.5 percent worked in factories). Suffice it to say that Bergier provides illumination on these and many other topics—nor should one get the impression from this review that the book deals only with the era of industrialization; on the contrary. But, in spite of Bergier's insistence on I'originalite d'un "modele" suisse, (p. 174), his book throws light on the general problem of industrialization in Europe, including the curious and much discussed case of France. (See my article, "A New View of European Industrialization," Economic History Review [Feb. 1985], pp. 1-23.) Attractive and seductive as it is, Bergier's history, like Madame du Barry, is not without minor blemishes. It was James, not John, Hargreaves who invented the spinning jenny, named for his wife, not his daughter (p. 183). More serious is his characterization of the period 1820-1850 as one of "slow growth" for Britain and France (p. 184). In fact, it was a period of extremely rapid growth for both; for Britain, much faster than that of the conventionally dated "industrial revolution." Bergier is rather careless with his terminology; chapter 13, concerned with the period 1850-1914, is called la Belle Epoque in the French edition, der Griinderzeit in the German. (Space does not permit a discussion of his use and misuse of the terms "take off" and "industrial revolution.") Trained as a medievalist (he has a diploma from the Ecole des Chartes), Bergier scarcely qualifies as a quantitative historian. His formula for obtaining a percentage increase includes dividing the value for the terminal year by the value for the initial year, thus leading to a vast overestimation of the population increase in Switzerland and Great Britain but, curiously, to an underestimation for France (p. 28). By his formula the percentage increase in population in Switzerland from 1798 to 1910 should be 223 (French edition, p. 28), from 1798 to 1914, 232 (German edition, p. 31); he reports them both as 220; in fact (from his data), they were 123 and 132. I have been unable to detect his formula for reaching a figure of 5.3256 per thousand for the average annual rate of population growth between 1798 and 1980 (p. 28); according to my calculations (from his data), the rate was 1.532 percent.


The evolution of a homogeneous Markov process may be described statistically by "transition probabilites" which form a semigroup of Markov kernels.1 These notes concern the abstract theory of stationary distributions and invariant sets of such semigroups. Feel free to contact me by e-mail if you have any questions or comments, or if you believe that you have found any errors (either typographical or mathematical).


This paper presents a physics-based Fourier solution IGCT model for circuit simulation with full temperature dependencies. Besides the external electrical characteristics, the model can also provide internal physical and electrical information of the device, such as the junction temperature, and the charge distribution. The model is shown to give good agreement with experimental waveforms and accurately predicts the device behavior under changing temperatures.


We are creating a personalised, interactive, self-management web application to support stroke survivors along every step of their journey of recovery following the devastation of stroke. It will address huge unmet health and social care needs. There is nothing as pioneering as this available – for stroke or any other long-term-condition. We are creating SASHA so that a stroke survivor need never be alone in their recovery. It will provide the practical tools to help them self-manage their recovery, alongside peer support to combat isolation – 24 hours a day. SASHA (accessed via mainstream technical platforms e.g. tablets, Macs, PC's, smartphones) will hold trust-worthy information about stroke, in a number of formats. At its core are goal-setting and progress tools that make SASHA personalised and interactive. Peer support is central, with an online forum and stroke survivors' videos populating the package. Family, carers and professionals can also monitor progress, taking note of setbacks and activity as necessary. We have already developed and adapted a prototype following extensive consultation with stroke survivors and commissioners of health and social care services. We are now in the content creation, design and build phase. With user testing mapped out and scheduled for June, the product launch is anticipated for September. Stroke survivors are the primary beneficiaries for this project. However, once fully developed and evaluated, SASHA could pave the way for the creation of similar tools for any long-term-condition (e.g. arthritis, diabetes, heart disease) benefitting the UK's 15 million people with long-termconditions. Following November 2013's NHS Mandate, the NHS must now enable patients with long-term-conditions to self-manage and specifically to use technology to do this. So, SASHA will help meet one of the UK's most pressing health and social care challenges – i.e. how to effectively support ever-increasing numbers of people living with long-term-conditions, on limited resources. Stroke survivors will be given the tools to self-manage their recovery. In general self-management helps people achieve realistic health goals and increases peoples' confidence and ability to care for themselves. With SASHA every user will set their own goals and measure their progress based on their specific needs, so outcomes will be different for every stroke survivor. For one it may mean that they no longer feel alone, for another it will help increase their mobility, for another improve their diet and therefore reduce their risk of another stroke. We will measure how SASHA benefits stroke survivors using the same measures as we currently use for our existing Life After Stroke services – i.e. patient-reported outcomes in areas such as 'choice and control', 'health and wellbeing', and 'quality of life'. In addition, SASHA's inbuilt feedback mechanism will enable users to provide real-time feedback on the effectiveness of the tool and benefits they are experiencing. Stroke survivors have been central to the development of the concept and the prototype of SASHA International Journal of Integrated Care – Volume 14, 01 November – URN:NBN:NL:UI:10-1-116500– http://www.ijic.org/ International Digital Health and Care Congress, The King's Fund, London, September 10-12 2014. and told us (via online surveys, conferences, workshops, user-testing) that they will benefit from this product and that they want to use it.


According to the principle that slow freezing causes cell wall damage,a process for the production of kiwifruit juice was designed based on freezing and thawing for cell wall disruption and centrifugation.Optimal process conditions for freezing,thawing and centrifugation were investigated using single factor and orthogonal array design methods.Results indicated that the productivity,vitamin C content,transmittance and color of kiwifruit juice produced using this process were obviously superior to the juice from traditional squeezing.Slice thickness of 0.6 cm,freezing time of 10 h at -14℃,thawing time of 30 min at room temperature,centrifugation time of 20 min at 3000 r/min and filtration pore size of 100 mesh were found optimum.


PLCA is a framework for qualitative spatial reasoning that uses symbolic objects and the relationships between them. The second and third authors introduced inductive constructions to show construction of a PLCA expression. They also proved that expressions obtained by inductive constructions are planar (planarity) and that planar PLCA expressions can be obtained using inductive constructions (realizability). They proved the former using the Coq proof assistant, and proved the latter using a pen-and-paper proof. We tried to prove the latter using Coq, and identified some problems in the original inductive constructions and the proof. This paper reports these problems, and presents re-formalized inductive constructions and modified proofs. We were able to prove planarity and a base case of realizability with Coq, and used a pen-and-paper proof and Coq for the induction step of realizability.


Introduction. Given the vital role of critical thinking and possibility of developing this meta-cognitive skill through training programs, the present study was conducted to determine the tendency and effective factors in critical thinking in nursing students. Materials and Methods. The present study is a cross-sectional study that was conducted in 2020 in a school of nursing in northern Iran. Participants in the study were all second to eighth semester nursing students studying in the faculty who entered the study by the census method. Inclusion criteria included employment in the field of nursing in the second semester and above, and exclusion criteria were employment and incomplete completion of the questionnaire questions. The required information was prepared in two parts: the first part of recording demographic information including age, gender, marital status, semester, average score, previous semester average score, and level of interest in the major and the second part was the adopted Ricketts' critical thinking disposition questionnaire. SPSS 26 software and descriptive and analytical statistics were used to analyze the data. Results. The total average score of critical thinking disposition obtained as 120.20 ± 14.05 35 was found to positively and significantly relate to age (r = 0.150,

 p
 =
 0.04

 , d = 0.30), academic 36 semester (

 p
 =
 0.001

 , d = 0.25), and interest in the major (

 p
 =
 0.003

 , d = 0.38). Dimensions of 37 innovation and maturity were also significantly associated with academic semester and 38 interested in the major. Also, the total score of critical thinking and its dimensions in married people was higher than single, but this difference was not statistically significant. The results of analysis of variance showed that there is a positive and significant relationship between the mean score of tendency to critical thinking and different semesters. Conclusion. Identifying the effective factors in critical thinking disposition can assist teachers in developing lesson plans and academic counseling, and at the macro level, can help with educational planning and revision of curricula.


Recently interest of professional lawyers to the problems connected with formallogic researches of the texts in regulatory legal acts has considerably increased. Such state is caused firstly by rapid development of directory and information advising systems in the field of law and secondly is caused by aspiration to raise the level of legislative technique and carry out reforming of present legislative system in a new political reality taking into account a arises state of modern russian society


The main problem for steel thin-walled members, the local instability of compressed parts of crosssection, can be resolved by profiling (stiffening) of cross-section. By optimizing cross-section stiffeners arrangement, local instability can be completely prevented, and therefore member's resistance can be increased without usage of an additional material. Beside stiffeners, the restraint of member's flange with profiled sheet can have high influence on the resistance of these members. This article presents standardised procedures which allow quick and simple calculation of the stiffeners influence and for the influence of member's flange restraint by sheet roof. The stiffeners influences and the restraint of C purlin by trapezoidal steel sheet are quantified on concrete example. In particular, the possibilities of modern standard EN 1993-1-3 are emphasized, which can, with a little extra designer work, provide significant savings from realistic consideration of thin-walled members.


Abstract Hyperspectral classification with limited training samples is challenging. The current work lies in two aspects: first, we change the statistical distribution of samples by iterative filtering based on the guide images. The filter is called a Simplified Bilateral Filter (SBF), which is a modified bilateral filter for clustering samples. Secondly, new structural convolution kernels are used to generate new hyperspectral data. Finally, the class label of the test sample after dimension reduction is determined by OMP classification or SVM classification. Experimental results on two hyperspectral datasets demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed feature extraction method in improving classification accuracy with limited training samples.


We report lead isotopic variations of fine fraction of river sediments of the Tonankai area in order to provide the reference data in resolving the provenance of hemipelagic sediment distributed in the Shikoku Basin. We targeted smaller particles than 10 µ m. This grain size is important because they constitute the majority of hemipelagic sediments distributed on seafloor of the Shikoku Basin (Saitoh, 2014). Lead isotope ratios rivers. prominent contrast between the rivers the Izu-Honshu others. Isotopic ratios of former, Sakawa, and Pb/ 207 Pb/ Pb: 208 Pb/ Pb: 38.1-38.4), while those of the latter are higher ( 206 Pb/ Pb: 18.46-18.66; 207 Pb/ Pb: 15.59-15.63; 208 Pb/ 204 Pb: 38.6-38.9) The low ratios of the former are supposed to be the results of the contribution from the mafic rocks distributed around the collision zone. Contribution from the sedimentary rocks of accretionary complexes distributed in the watersheds must increase the isotopic ratios of the other rivers. Minor isotopic differences are supposed to be dependent on the age of accretionary comprex and types of other rocks distributed in watershed of each river. Isotopic comparison these river sediments suggests that the sediments of the Shikou Basin deposited after 3Ma are mainly contributed from the Fuji, Abe, and Tenryu rivers. Program


Background: The appropriateness use criteria (AUC) offers guidance to assist with the appropriate use of cardiac imaging. The recent AUC consensus is that follow-up radionuclide myocardial perfusio...


The diurnal, seasonal, and spatio-temporal characteristics of local wind systems in a steep mountain valley in Nepal are analyzed with the identification of valley wind days (VWDs). Distributed across the Rolwaling Himal valley in Nepal between 3700 and 5100 m a.s.l. at eight automated weather stations (AWSs), meteorological data between October 2017 and September 2018 were examined. VWDs were classified by means of ERA5 reanalysis data and in situ observations, employing established thresholds using precipitation, solar radiation, air pressure, and wind speed data at different pressure levels. Thus, overlying synoptic influences are highly reduced and distinctive diurnal patterns emerge. A strong seasonal component in near-surface wind speed and wind direction patterns was detected. Further analyses showed the diurnal characteristics of slow (approximately 0.5–0.9 m s−1), but gradually increasing wind speeds over the night, transitional periods in the morning and evening, and the highest averaged wind speeds of approximately 4.3 m s−1 around noon during the VWDs. Wind directions followed a 180∘ shift with nocturnal katabatic mountain winds and inflowing anabatic valley winds during the daytime. With AWSs at opposing hillsides, slope winds were clearly identifiable and thermally driven spatio-temporal variations throughout the valley were revealed. Consequently, varying temporal shifts in wind speed and direction along the valley bottom can be extracted. In general, the data follow the well-known schematic of diurnal mountain–valley wind systems, but emphasize the influence of monsoonal seasonality and the surrounding complex mountain topography as decisive factors.


Dual energy X-ray absorptiometry is generally used to measure bone mineral density for diagnosis of osteoporosis.Recent research results support that aortic calcification might be found during DXA measuring.Because aortic calcification is associated with coronary heart disease,so caution should be taken about aortic calcification when DXA was done and further checklist may be raised as a result.Thinking about aortic calcification when bone mineral density was measuring by DXA was important for early diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis and coronary heart disease.


Public Health Reports / July–August 2011 / Volume 126  583 This article by Myung et al. from the Center for Cancer Prevention and Detection, National Cancer Center, Goyang, Korea, demonstrates the importance of smoking cessation programs and reminds us that the successes and the obstacles are similar in almost any global setting.1 This study also reminds us that more is better, meaning that proactive and intense follow-up yields higher success for the participants who are trying to quit. It is rather striking that smoking rates in Korean men are an order of magnitude higher than Korean women. The researchers employed traditional and novel methods, including the use of the 9030 telephone line that was easy to remember and had a connection to the cessation efforts. Like many successful cessation programs, it was important to make the program in Korea highly desirable and convenient to the patients by offering convenient hours, methods that preserve privacy, and realistic expectations for the participants, including allowing them to restart or repeat the program. The study is modest in size and has some limitations, but it is important because it does demonstrate the importance of these programs, the universality of the obstacles that face smokers in their attempts to quit, and the challenges to researchers and clinicians in implementing cessation programs. Korea, like most of the developed world, continues to limit smoking in public places, including workplaces, dining establishments, and commercial settings. The participants in this study are the workforce for this country, most are between 20 and 50 years of age, and more than half of the participants have a college education. These qualities are good in that the citizens of this age group and this education level are participating, but it also brings to mind that the less educated population, which has similar smoking rates, still needs to be reached.


The chapter presents an overview of the eight that are part of the European IoT Security and Privacy Projects initiative (IoT-ESP) addressing advanced concepts for end-to-end security in highly distributed, heterogeneous and dynamic IoT environments. The approaches presented are holistic and include identification and authentication, data protection and prevention against cyber-attacks at the device and system levels. The projects present architectures, concepts, methods and tools for open IoT platforms integrating evolving sensing, actuating, energy harvesting, networking and interface technologies. Platforms should provide connectivity and intelligence, actuation and control features, linkage to modular and ad-hoc cloud services, The IoT platforms used are compatible with existing international developments addressing object identity management, discovery services, virtualisation of objects, devices and infrastructures and trusted IoT approaches.


SH-inhibitors and transamidase-inhibitors inhibit stabilization of fibrin in isolated systems, as defined by complete solubility in urea and in monochloroacetic acid. They also prolong k-values and reduce maximal amplitude in thrombelastography, but exhibit no significant effect on polymerization rate of fibrin as estimated by spectrophotometry. Stabilized and non-stabilized fibrin clots are digested at the same rate by plasmin according to pH-stat experiments. Presence of SH-inhibitors or transamidase-inhibitors enhance plasmin digestion in thrombelastographic experiments.


The success of medical needle insertion procedures often depends on success of medial needle guidance to a specific target in soft tissue. In this paper application of needle steering with the ability of rotating in the manipulator investigated. For this purpose the mechanism of rotation presented here to obtain all directions of the motion and not to face with polygonal obstacles, which could be bone or sensitive tissue such as nerves or arteries. The mechanism of end-effecter equipped with the use of one degree of freedom for rotational motion and another for linear motion. General capability for hanging any type of needle in different sizes created


The low-speed efficiency of an induction motor is improved by rectifying slip-frequency power, inverting this to line frequency, and injecting it back into the supply directly (line feed-back) or through auxiliary stator windings (stator feedback). Torque-speed curves then have the nature of a variable-speed drive. The low power factor and nonsinusoidal supply current of the line feedback connection are improved by use of the stator feed-back method but the improvement of efficiency is then much less. Line feedback with a two-phase induction motor eliminates the need for a variable control voltage source.


Working in teams is an important aspect of clinical practice and medical education. Medical educators have embraced instructional strategies that use multiple learners to facilitate learning. However, the learning benefits of these strategies should be substantiated by additional inquiries in the area of team cognition and team processes. There are limited efforts to evaluate the efficacy of learning processes associated with learning teams. This presentation provides theoretical background for team learning processes that influence team and individual learning. It also outlines the development of shared understanding or shared mental models, and how they impact students' performance. Team process behaviors, such as team communication and team coordination, mediate the process of developing shared mental models, which in turn affect learning outcomes. Understanding the role of shared mental models in small group learning improves the efficacy of small group learning.


With my finger pressed firmly to the throbbing pulse of contemporary culture I have been reflecting on a pop phenomenon of the 1980s and a TV programme a month old. Sorry for the lack of currency but I find that with so much reflecting to do a backlog builds up.


Phase-based ranging has been widely deployed in proximity detection scenarios including security-critical applications due to their low implementation complexity on existing transceivers. In this work, the security of multi-carrier phase-based ranging systems in a multipath propagation environment is investigated. We present a threat model that can successfully target any decreasing distance in different multipath environmental conditions rendering the phase-based ranging method insecure. We assess the feasibility of attacks in various attack scenarios through simulations using a multipath channel and demonstrate a simplified version of the attacker model implemented in hardware. We show that the attacker can spoof the measured distance to less than one meter when the devices are separated by 30 meters. The evaluation of possible countermeasures and their limitations for different threat models is performed.


The east-northeast-trending Paleoproterozoic Nagssugtoqidian Orogen of West Greenland records the response of deep crust to collision of the North Atlantic craton and a lesser known cratonic mass to the north. This paper presents conventional U–Pb ages of documented magmatic and thermotectonic events within this orogen, thus providing a precise time frame for its development and offering a test of previous spatial and temporal correlations with segments of the Trans-Hudson Orogen of northern Labrador and Quebec. Convergence of the two cratons culminated in a collision that commenced after 1873+7–4 Ma, the crystallization age of the youngest known pre-Nagssugtoqidian, subduction-related intrusion. Earliest collisional deformation was thrust dominated (west-northwest vergent) and caused thickening and consequent heating to peak temperatures by ca. 1850 Ma. Subsequent north-south shortening at elevated temperatures was accommodated by a fold-dominated style of deformation dated at 1825 ± 1 Ma. Between 1821 a...


Compression Ignition engines are nowadays becoming essential because of their fuel economy and efficiency. In the recent trends, ceramic coating over the cylinder head, valves and the piston top surfaces are provided for thermal insulation. These thermal barrier coatings reduce the heat transfer from the combustion chamber to the cooling jackets and to the surroundings. This paper investigates the the temperature distribution over the cylinder head, valves and the piston resulting from coating those using Partially Stabilized Zirconia (PSZ) as a thermal barrier coatings. This analysis is based on the fact that coating thickness affects the heat transfer and temperature distribution in the cylinder head and piston. A 3-D Finite Element Analysis (FEA) using ANSYS is performed to evaluate the temperature distributions over the cylinder head, inlet valve, exhaust valve and the piston. Based on the analysis, it can be concluded that a coating of PSZ over the combustion chamber increases the temperature over the combustion chamber and reduces the heat rejection to the surrounding.


Analytical and finite element simulations are used to predict the effect of core density on the energy absorption of composite sandwich panels under low-velocity impact. The composite sandwich panel contains two facesheets and a foam-filled corrugated core. Analytical model is defined as a two degree-of-freedom system based on equivalent mass, spring, and dashpot to predict the local and global deformation response of a simply supported panel. The results signify a good agreement between analytical and numerical predictions.


ABSTRACTGermanium PNPN switches having forward breakover voltages in ths range of 30–60 volts and hold currents of the order of a few milliamperes have been fabricated on 2 ohm cm. p-type germanium by alloy diffusion and alloying. The paper reports the fabrication procedure including a technique of stabilizing the terminal characteristics of the devices to provide long term stability. The static characteristics of the switches are given to bring out the versatility of the devices. Two types of switches—those having an off state with the gate open (termed diode switches in the paper) and those having no off state with the gate open (termed triode switches) are dealt with and their mechanism of operation explained in the paper.


This report describes a new ultrasonographic finding of disruption or interruption of the right hemidiaphragmatic echoes. Etiologies discussed include tumor invasion, metastatic implantation of tumor and diaphragmatic rupture secondary to trauma and infection.


Abstract Nonsingular derivations of modular Lie algebras which have finite multiplicative order play a role in the coclass theory for pro-p groups and Lie algebras. We study the orders of nonsingular derivations of finite-dimensional non-nilpotent Lie algebras of characteristic p > 0. The methods are essentially number-theoretic. 1991 Mathematics subject classification (Amer. Math. Soc): primary 17B50; secondary 12E20.


Abstract Plains stream fishes in North America, including flathead chub Platygobio gracilis, are negatively affected by stream-flow alterations and fragmentation, and limited information on egg type and reproductive strategy hinders their conservation. On the basis of several lines of evidence, including laboratory culture, observations of reproduction in captivity, and capture and rearing of eggs from Fountain Creek, Colorado, we report that flathead chub produce nonadhesive eggs. Flathead chub eggs are relatively small at 2.3 mm mean diameter, have a greater yolk-to-egg volume ratio and thus sink faster, and take longer to hatch, compared with nonadhesive eggs from pelagic spawning species. Flathead chub are also longer lived compared with pelagic spawning species and the wider variety of habitat types they occupy may influence upstream egg retention. Although spawning mode (e.g., pelagic, lithopelagic, other) is incompletely known for flathead chub, habitat needs in terms of flows and reach lengths sui...


The Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) uses a groundbased attitude determination algorithm to open loop point the satellite's high data rate antennas. The spacecraft is able to measure its pitch and roll attitude, but its yaw attitude is periodically unobservable. The ground software uses a state-space estimator, an adaptation of a Luenberger observer, to predict the spacecraft yaw angle during these unobservable periods. It contains states associated with the roll/yaw dynamics and the on-board control law. The accuracy is limited by the modeling fidelity of the disturbance torques acting on the spacecraft. After initial operating problems were cleared up, the operation of the estimator has converged to predicted performance.


The major house dust mite allergen Der p 2 is a structural and functional homologue of MD‐2 within the TLR4–CD14–MD‐2 complex. An asthma mouse model in TLR4‐deficient mice recently suggested that the allergic immune response against Der p 2 is solely dependent on TLR4 signaling. We investigated whether similar mechanisms are important for Der p 2 sensitization via the skin.


The economic significance of gas turbines for the generation of electricity and steam has increased considerably in recent years. The importance of the utilization of the waste heat from the combined process follows this development rapidly. In the case of an existing plant, however, the proportion of the generated electricity or steam load is only variable within very narrow limits. The heat shifting systems, known up to now, with variable admission of the steam turbine enable, however, only an independent mode of operation of the plant within a relatively narrow range of the electricity or heat demand, respectively. The new type of heat shifting systems can extend the latitude of this range considerably and at the same time increase the electricity exponent and the efficiency of the plant. With it, the old recuperation principle becomes relevant again. In Part 1 presented of this paper the basic thermodynamic interrelations as well as the emission problem of the gas turbine in the recuperative cycle are demonstrated. Part 2 shows possible cases of application.


We study $\mathbb{R}^d$-valued mean field stochastic differential equations with a diffusion coefficient depending on the $L_p$-norm of the process in a discontinuous way. We show that under a strong drift there exists a unique global strong solution and consider typical cases where the existence of a global solution fails.


In September 2001, a 12-year-old Saulteaux Cree girl-child of the Yellow Quill First Nation was sexually assaulted by three white men from Tisdale, Saskatchewan--Dean Edmondson (24), Jeffrey Kindrat (20), and Jeffrey Brown (25). This thesis interrogates the discursive construction of this crime and its representation as an ongoing media event in one of Saskatchewan's major newspapers, the Saskatoon StarPhoenix. Analysing coverage that begins in October 2001, the scope and trajectory of this thesis includes an analysis of numerous preliminary court appearances and hearings, two trials, Edmondson's conviction and Kindrat and Brown's acquittal in 2003, the ensuing appeals, and associated and related stories. The approach to media discourse employed in this thesis strives to locate this media event firmly within the time and place it occurred--contextualising it within intersecting discourses of race and sex specific to this case, in Saskatchewan, at this time. This work problematises not only the hegemonic production of media discourse, but the power-knowledge of authorised speakers and the dominant discourses of rape and Aboriginality that were invoked and reproduced. As such, this thesis forwards an understanding of the physical and discursive contestations of power involved in discourses of rape, racism, and sexism, paying particular attention to violent ways in which this victim's credibility was attacked and erased, as well as the reproduction of the conditions that produced this rape. It concludes by identifying how hegemonic constructions are defended and reinforced at the expense of Aboriginal girls and women.


Hardbound. The Barany Society is named after Prof. Dr. Robert Barany who clarified the physiology and pathology of the human vestibular apparatus and was awarded the Nobel Prize for his work in 1914. The meetings are held in his tradition of the highest quality research, reflected in this latest volume. This book's chapters follow the comprehensive coverage of the conference, from basic equilibrium research through equilibriometry to investigations of clinical disorders such as abnormal eye movement, vertigo, chronic schizophrenia and epilepsy. Two sections are devoted to afternystagmus and neurootosurgery.


The nonlocal elasticity has been widely utilized for carbon nanotubes in its differential form. However, recently, it has been indicated that using the integral form of this size-dependent theory yields more accurate and reliable results. In this paper, an integral form of nonlocal elasticity with two distinct phases is used to analyze wave propagations in carbon nanotubes conveying nanofluid. The nanotube is subjected to a magneto-hygro-mechanical loading. Furthermore, the nanotube is surrounded by a two-parameter polymer matrix. To incorporate slip effects between the fluid and tube at nanoscales, a correction factor is employed on the basis of Beskok-Karniadakis model. The wave propagation in carbon nanotubes conveying nanofluid is examined incorporating the influences of various parameters such as phase fractions, magnetic strength, initial stress and Knudsen number. Comparing the present results with those of molecular dynamics simulations, it is shown that the limitation of the differential nonlocal elasticity for high wave numbers is overcome by using the two-phase integral form.


The structure of [(H2O)7CeCl2Ce(H2O)7]Cl4, or [Ce2Cl2(H2O)14]Cl4, has been redetermined at 120 K and refined in space group P\overline 1 (No. 2) with a centrosymmetric cation. Refinements in space groups P\overline 1 and P1 (No. 1) are discussed.


This article considers methodical features of the use of the solution of situational tasks in the process of professional-applied physical training of cadets and students of 4-5 courses of educational organizations of the Ministry of the Interior of Russia future staff of special divisions, as well as simulation training with the aim of raising the level of their applied motor fitness.


This paper addresses the load usage scheduling in the HEMS for residential power consumers. The HEMS would lead the residential users to change their power usage, so as to minimize the cost in response to external information such as a time-varying electricity price, the outside temperature. However, there may be a consumer's inconvenience in the change of the power usage. In order to improve this, it is required to understand the pattern of load usage according to the external information. Therefore, this paper suggests a methodology to model the load usage pattern, which classifies home appliances according to external information affecting the load usage and models the usage pattern for each appliance based on a copula function representing the correlation between variables. The modeled pattern would be reflected as a constraint condition for an optimal load usage scheduling problem in HEMS. To explain an application of the methodology, a case study is performed on an electrical water heater (EWH) and an optimal load usage scheduling for EHW is performed based on the branch-and-bound method. From the case study, it is shown that the load usage pattern can contribute to an efficient power consumption.


Bladder cancer, a life-threatening serious disease, is responsible for thousands of cancer-associated death worldwide. Similar to other malignancies, standard treatments of bladder cancer, such as Chemo-radiotherapy are not efficient enough in the affected patients. It means that, according to recent reports in the case of the life quality as well as survival time of bladder cancer patients, there is a critical requirement for exploring effective treatments. Recently, numerous investigations have been carried out to search for appropriate complementary treatments or adjuvants for bladder cancer therapy. Curcumin, a phenolic component with a wide spectrum of biological activities, has recently been introduced as a potential anticancer agent. It has been showed that this agents exerts its therapeutic effects via targeting a wide ranges of cellular and molecular pathways involved in bladder cancer. Herein, we summarizes the current data on curcumin therapy for bladder cancer.


To provide an adequate X-ray detection efficiency is a real challenge to designers of digital radiographic systems for different applications, including medicine, biology, and nondestructive testing of materials and structural members. Analysis of the state-of-the art digital radiographic systems shows that the greatest body of information is obtained from imaging systems based on semiconductor X-ray detectors (Si, GaAs, Cd1-xZnxTe). Results of development of detecting unit for x-ray nondestructive testing systems are described in this paper.


Interaction with our environment is one of the largest sources of information and knowledge that we have to develop ourselves as people. Based on that, we will be making our way of thinking, our values, and our own singularities. And the first and main context we have is the family. They provide us the necessary situation for interaction, being our parents the main precursor. However, these situations are not neutral. As our parents provide us those situations, these are conditioned by a multitude of external influences (religion, culture...), that are those that characterize them as human being. We could think that we will be predisposed to a religion or a culture specific, depending on those that influence the situations that we experience. In most cases, these variables also structured teaching methods and educational practices that they use, which is understood as parental educational style. So, influence both our education and our socialization. The present study aims to discern if, as well as our parents influence many aspects of our lives with the situations that they provide us, also constrain the educational style that we would develop in the future with our own children.


Objective of this research was to obtain optimal dosages of nitrogen and potassium fertilization on growth, yield, and quality of stevia. The research was conducted using Randomized Block Design (RBD) by 3 replications, which was constructed in factorial that comprised of 2 factors. The first factor was dosage of the nitrogen with 4 (four) levels, such as: 100, 150, 200, and 250 kg N ha. The second factor was dosage of potassium with 3 (three) levels, such as: 75, 150, and 225 kg K2O ha . Result of the research showed that significant interaction between nitrogen and potassium fertilization has occurred on parameter of the plant growth, such as number of leaf, leaf area, leaf area index, and the total chlorophyll content. Separate application of nitrogen and potassium fertilization has significantly affected on the plant height, while the stomatal density was only affected by the application of nitrogen. Significant interaction between nitrogen and potassium application has occurred on plant biomass and the yield of leaf during the harvest period I, II, and total. During the period of total harvest, the fertilizing treatments of 200 kg N ha and 225 kg K2O ha -1 have harvested fresh leaves and dry leaves for about 2,780 kg ha and 636 kg ha, respectively. The increasing application of nitrogen from 100 to 250 kg N ha has significantly increased the stevioside level of the stevia's leaf linearly in accordance with the equation of Y = 0.000408 X + 0.439.


DSTC(Defense Systems Test Center) in ADD(Agency for Defense Development) performs a test for various kinds of weapon system. In order to provide accurate test measurement data relating to the weapon system's performance with customer, A reliable test process and an objective analysis of the measurement data are required. DSTC is trying to apply CMMI(Capability Maturity Model Integration) Ver 1.2 in a test process. In this paper, we present the result of CMMI Engineering Process Area Modelling of Test Process.


There are three research objectives in this research. First, to find out the pre-service teachers' perception of using Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK)-based media in their teaching practice. Second, to explore technological content knowledge TCK-based media which pre-service teachers used in their teaching and learning. Third, to describe the challenges that the pre-service teachers face in practice teaching experience. This research used descriptive qualitative method. The subject of this research consists of 25 pre-service teachers. The data of this research were collected by using questionnaires and interviews. The questionnaire consisted of closed-ended questions using a Likert scale to measure participants' perceptions related to TPACK implementation. The responses from the questionnaire were analyzed using pie charts to visually represent the distribution of responses. Additionally, interviews were conducted to validate the questionnaire responses and gain further insights into the use of TPACK-based media. The findings of the study indicated that pre-service teachers held positive perceptions of TPACK-based media. They reported implementing TPACK-based learning approaches, successfully overcoming design challenges, and observing improved student engagement and comprehension. The study underscores the importance of technological content knowledge (TCK) utilized by pre-service teachers during their teaching experience. By examining the development and practical application of TPACK, the research aims to contribute to the design of professional development programs that enhance pre-service teachers' technical pedagogical knowledge.


The advanced technology has driven society to the new civilization: human civilization of new media. Currently, the new media can facilitate human beings in maintaining the relationship among them. Social media is one of examples of a well-known new media. The study aims to analyze the role of new media in constructing the users' identity. The Qualitative phenomenological research was employed to conduct the study. Observation and interview were applied to collect the data. The function of Youtube has transformed from the platform of exchanging information through video to the platform of constructing the users' identity. It occurs when viewers of Youtube participate actively in following the particular content that forms viewers' identity based on content they watch. Finally, the identity construction formed by the viewers of Youtube leads to the fake identity and create the inappropriate values or social norms of society.


We present a new multiagent learning algorithm (RV<inf>σ(t)</inf> that can guarantee both no-regret performance (all games) and policy convergence (some games of arbitrary size). Unlike its predecessor ReDVaLeR, it (1) does not need to distinguish whether its opponents are self-play or otherwise non-stationary, (2) is allowed to know its portion of any equilibrium that, we argue, leads to convergence in some games in addition to no-regret. Although the regret of RV<inf>σ(t)</inf> is analyzed in continuous time, we show that it grows slower than in other no-regret techniques like GIGA and GIGA-WoLF. We show that RV<inf>σ(t)</inf> can converge to coordinated behavior in coordination games, while GIGA, GIGA-WoLF may converge to poorly coordinated (mixed) behaviors.


Author(s): Kolstad, Kathleen Durgin | Advisor(s): Flannery, John G | Abstract: Abstract Development and Assessment of Gene Therapies for Inherited Blinding Diseases By Kathleen Durgin Kolstad Doctor of Philosophy in Molecular and Cell Biology University of California, Berkeley Professor John Flannery, Committee Chair There are two therapeutic approaches for inherited retinal disease addressed in this dissertation: we sought to slow retinal degeneration and reverse visual loss after complete photoreceptor apoptosis. In the first approach, by viral gene transfer to the support cells of the retina, Muller glia (RMCs), we achieved sustained secretion of human glial derived neurotrophic factor (hGDNF) (Chapter 3). We hypothesized that hGDNF production by retinal glia will enhance the protective affects of RMCs in the diseased retina and help slow photoreceptor degeneration. Furthermore, this method avoids extra photoreceptor stress caused by direct hGDNF gene transfer to cells that are already stressed. We were able to optimize gene transfer to RMCs and observe the beginnings of functional rescue in an animal model of autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa with this technique. One major advantage of this therapeutic approach is that it is applicable to multiple retinal disease genotypes. The second approach to ocular gene therapy presented in this dissertation was to re-introduce photosensitivity to the retina after complete photoreceptor degeneration (Chapter 4). To this end, we employed the engineered light activated glutamate receptor (LiGluR) to confer light sensitivity on retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) in the diseased retina. We first showed LiGluR mediated RGC photo-activation in in vitro retinal tissue preparation. We then characterized in vivo cell population responses (visually evoked potentials, VEPs) in V1 when retinal input was limited to LiGluR induced activity in the retina. VEPs driven by LiGluR are approximately 50% of the amplitude of full field light flash driven responses in the wild type animal. LiGluR driven cortical responses in blind animals suggest that it is a promising therapy for restoring visual function and processing in the late stages of retinal degeneration. In the third part of this dissertation (Chapter 2a and 2b), the goal was to develop and assess methods of making ocular gene therapies safer and more efficacious. Current gene therapies for retinal degenerative diseases rely on subretinal delivery of viral vectors carrying therapeutic DNA. However, this method of delivery limits the viral transduction profile to the region of injection and seriously compromises the retina during detachment. We have identified natural barriers to viral vector delivery to the outer retina from the vitreous. Furthermore, we have developed artificial methods and characterized disease states that allow these barriers to be overcome. The understanding of and the ability to manipulate barriers to vitreal delivery of viral vectors will help avoid the limitations, risks, and damage associated with subretinal injections.


In previous studies about mineral dissolution, BET surface area has been generally measured to calculate a rate of the dissolution. A great number of dissolution rates have therefore been reported by using BET surface. However, BET surface area of smectite is strictly not consistent with reactive surface area of smectite because smectite is normally exfoliated into single plate in reactive solution for its extreme expandability. Recently, from Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) observation, it is reported that smectite particles are dominantly dissolved from edge surface (Bosbach et al., 2000; Bickmore et al., 2001). Therefore, it is necessary to estimate the reactive surface for assessment of smectite dissolution rate and for considering the dissolution rate of smectite in compacted bentonite established at radioactive waste disposal. In this context, we intend to measuring the reactive surface area by various methods and understand the reactive surface area for the dissolution of smectite in this study. Starting materials with different BET surface areas were prepared by grinding of Kunipia-P (from Tsukinuno,Yamagata) for 3, 6, 15 and 24hrs. Stirred-flow-through dissolution experiments were carried out to measure the smectite dissolution rates under highly alkaline conditions (0.3M NaOH; pH =13.3). AFM was used to investigate the total surface area (TSA) and edge surface area (ESA) (see Fig.1). For characterization of the starting materials, X-ray diffractometry (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) (see Fig.2), infrared spectroscopy (IR) and Cs adsorption test were also conducted. The BET surface areas increased from 4.3 to 109 m/g (about 25 times higher than that of the starting material) as a function of grinding time (Fig.3). In alkaline experiments, high Si concentration was observed at the onset of the experiments that Figure 2: SEM image of the grinded samples. Figure 1: AFM images of the samples with different grinding times.


The invention relates to a code division multiple access data system virtual soft switch method which comprises: 1) setting the timer and time-over parameter used in virtual soft switch; setting the valve parameter used to express the pilot intensity difference; 2) acting continuous measurement activation collectively each pilot intensity and making the current server pilot as the current most intense pilot; 3) opening the timer and continuous measuring the activation collectively pilot intensity when the measured current pilot intensity difference of the most intense pilot and the current server pilot intensity is over the valve parameter; 4) if the timer is not over the time parameter value, and the measured current server pilot's pilot intensity is the most intense pilot again, resetting the timer and feedbacks to the step 2); 5) if the timer is over the time parameter value, choosing the carrier frequency of the current most intense pilot as server carrier frequency, sending virtual soft switch pleasing to the switch network and carrying out the virtual soft switch course.


Some features of the formation and photochemical reactions of cyclohexylketone containing macromolecules including copolymers of vinylcyclohexyl ketone (VCHK) and its derivatives (V-a-Cl-CHK and V- d-C1-CHK) with maleic anhydride (MA) and N-p-tolylmaleimide (TMI) have been revealed. It has been established that keto-enol tautomerism is the only reaction realized in the vinylcyclohexylketone molecules having mobile hydrogen atom at a -position in the cyclohexane ring, enol form of which is formed by charge-transfer complexes with anhydride or imide of maleic acid as acceptor monomers. The kinetic parameters of these reactions, including complex-formation and copolymerization constants, as well as the ratios of chain growth rates for the participation of monomeric charge-transfer complexes and free monomers,В are all determined. It is shown that an alternative copolymerization is realized with the monomer systems containing VCHK and V- d -C1-CHK, which are carried out through a complex-mechanism due to the keto-enol tautomerism; while random copolymer enriched with vinyl ketone units is formed with the system containing oc-substituted VCHK. It is found that characteristics of photochemical reactions ofВ alternating copolymer synthesized depend on the type of substitutation in the vinyl ketone molecule; unlink VCHK-MA(TMI) and V-d-C1-CHK-MA(TMI) copolymers case which easily crosslink upon UVirradiation, and the N-substituted derivatives of these copolymers which decompose under similar condition.


It is proposed a device for determining a center of rotation of a vehicle about a vehicle vertical axis, which determines the pivot point as a function of a yaw rate and a slip angle.


Dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD) is the rate-limiting enzyme in the catabolism of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and its activity is closely associated with cellular sensitivity to 5-FU. This study examines the role of DPD in the antiproliferative effects of 5-FU combined with IFN-α on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells in culture and asks whether IFN-α could affect DPD expression. The combined action of IFN-α and 5-FU on three HCC lines was quantified by a combination index method. Coadministration of IFN-α and 5-FU showed synergistic effects against HAK-1A and KYN-2 but antagonistic effects against KYN-3. The cellular expression levels of DPD mRNA and protein were markedly up-regulated in KYN-3 cells by IFN-α but were down-regulated in HAK-1A and KYN-2. The expression of thymidylate synthase mRNA and protein was down-regulated by IFN-α in all three cell lines. Coadministration of a selective DPD inhibitor, 5-chloro-2,4-dihydroxypyridine (CDHP), enhanced the antiproliferative effect of 5-FU and IFN-α on KYN-3 ∼4-fold. However, the synergistic effects of 5-FU and IFN-α on HAK-1A and KYN-2 were not affected by CDHP. The antiproliferative effect of 5-FU could thus be modulated by IFN-α, possibly through DPD expression, in HCC cells. Inhibition of DPD activity by CDHP may enhance the efficacy of IFN-α and 5-FU combination therapy in patients with HCC showing resistance to this therapy. [Mol Cancer Ther 2007;6(8):2310–8]


In this paper, we study some semi-closed 1-set-contractive operators A and investigate the boundary conditions under which the topological degrees of 1-set contractive fields, deg (I-A, Ω, p) are equal to 1. Correspondingly, we can obtain some new fixed point theorems for 1-set-contractive operators which extend and improve many famous theorems such as the Leray-Schauder theorem, and operator equation, etc. Lemma 2.1 generalizes the famous theorem. The calculation of topological degrees and index are important things, which combine the existence of solution of for integration and differential equation and or approximation by iteration technique. So, we apply the effective modification of He's variation iteration method to solve some nonlinear and linear equations are proceed to examine some a class of integral-differential equations, to illustrate the effectiveness and convenience of this method.