The expanding literature on the delivery of health and human services in rural environments is replete with assertions about the "differences" between rural and urban practice [ 1-6]. Researchers, service providers, and policymakers have all assailed the urban bias of the dominant models, structures, and strategies for service delivery and have testified to their inappropriateness for a rural environment. It has been argued that successful practice in small towns and rural communities requires a unique set of skills and knowledge (or at least a reordering of skills). Further, it has been maintained that traditional preservice programs for mental health providers have an urban bias. Much of this rhetoric, however, has been ambiguous and abstract and has not led to a clear articulation of those aspects of rural practice that are unique. Most work in this area to date has been speculative or based on the personal observations of individual practitioners. Empirical verification of any "differences" remains, for the most part, a goal to be achieved.


This paper puts forward the program using the technologies of reverse proxy and policy routing so as to solve the problem of multiple interface network connection in academic library.


Design and simulation studies of a low-noise magnetic shielding unit were carried out for atomic comagnetometer applications. The aim of this study is to find the optimum solution with the highest attenuation rate by characterizing the performances of magnetic shielding units with different designs. Simulations of four different designs were carried out. As a result, it has been determined that with a four-layer magnetic shielding, attenuation rates greater than 106 can be obtained and the magnetic field of 50μT can be reduced below 1pT.


Due to its high prevalence and incidence, diabetes is considered significant public health. Since diabetes has no known cure, early diagnosis plays a vital role in effectively managing the disease. Feature scaling is a vital step in pre-processing data before building a model using machine learning. The datasets used for model training in machine learning often contain unpredictable values that may have varying scales. This can result in inequalities in comparing these values. Feature scaling techniques can address these challenges by adjusting the values and promoting easy and fair comparisons among values. This study aims to evaluate the impact of normalization, standardization, and no feature scaling on the performance of five machine learning models in diagnosing diabetes. The machine learning algorithms implemented for this study include random forest, naive Bayes, k-nearest neighbor (KNN), logistic regression, and support vector machine (SVM). These algorithms support supervised learning. Furthermore, several open-source frameworks and libraries were implemented. They include; Jupyter notebook, SkLearn, Pandas, NumPy, Matplotlib, and seaborn. The result obtained from the study indicates that the random forest model performed significantly well without implementing any feature scaling technique. This contrasts with the KNN and SVM model, which performed better when the normalization technique was implemented. Also, the naive Bayes model shows no changes when either standardization, normalization, or no feature scaling was implemented. This study concludes that not all model requires feature scaling techniques to be applied to the dataset to achieve optimal performance. Furthermore, distance-based and gradient descent algorithms previously thought to be sensitive to feature scaling may not necessarily be true, as indicated by the outcome of this study. Finally, feature scaling techniques significantly impact some models while others do not.


V893 Sco is a recently rediscovered bright eclipsing dwarf nova below the period gap. Most recently, Mason et al. (2001) proposed an idea that V893 Sco is an ER UMa-type dwarf nova. From the analysis of our CCD observations and reports to VSNET, we show that V893 Sco bears no similar characters with ER UMa stars. We propose that the arguments in Mason et al. (2001), including the evolutionary status of ER UMa star as inferred from the observation of V893 Sco, need to be reconsidered.


Disaster preparedness is one of the phases within the disaster management cycle which covers implementation or operation, early warning systems and capacity building so that the population can react appropriately when an early warning is issued. Disasters have inflicted a heavy cost on human, material and physical resources. A comprehensive review of the literature has revealed that the development of disaster management strategies, such as preparedness, must be undertaken before the event strikes. The specific objective was to evaluate fire disaster risk plans for preparedness in Nairobi County. The research employed a descriptive research design to carry out the study in order to establish the relationships between the variables of interest. Exploratory and Evaluative research designs were used. Both quantitative and qualitative research designs were used to conduct the research. Households were sampled purposively such that only those from the informal settlement were interviewed and the research involved face to face interviews with 110 households by the use of questionnaires. Findings revealed that most respondents (89.6%) indicated that fire disaster risk plan for preparedness and awareness campaigns were important. Most respondents agreed with awareness initiatives both at household and institutional level except for allowing children to play near fire and lighting of cigarettes in fuel flammable areas. Fire escape plans were the most adopted fire awareness initiative as a fire disaster risk reduction measure. © 2016 Elixir All rights reserved. Elixir Project Mgmt. 95 (2016) 40833-40837 Project Management Available online at www.elixirpublishers.com (Elixir International Journal) Kennedy Ouko Alai et al./ Elixir Project Mgmt. 95 (2016) 40833-40837 40834 property worth millions of shillings (Daily Nation, 2014). On the morning of Wednesday August 7, 2013 the country again woke up to some rude shock of a fire gutting down the International Arrival Terminal at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (Daily Nation, 2013). Evaluating a project has two main purposes, namely to use resulting feedback to enhance future projects and to create a framework for answerability for implementing organizations (Twigg & Benson, 2007). It is with this focus in mind that the public awareness campaign in the Nairobi area will be evaluated. Minimal studies have been done in the Kenyan context on the area of fire disaster risk plan. Irrespective of the many death cases reported in the Kenyan slums and other areas due to fire related incidences, the public still remain reluctant to change their actions and behaviors. This therefore calls for renewed efforts in matters related to Public Awareness Campaigns to the members of the public in response to fire disasters. In return, it will impart knowledge to the residents on the importance of fire preventive measures and how to avoid actions that can endanger their lives. Because of the continuous trend in fire outbreaks and the negative outcomes in Nairobi area, safety awareness issues appear to be a bigger challenge to the population. Hence the study aimed at answering the question; what is the effect of fire disaster risk plans on preparedness in informal settlements in Nairobi County? 1.1 Statement of Problem Fire as a disaster has been affecting both the urban and rural dwellers causing serious loss of lives and damage to properties worth millions of shillings. Nairobi is one of the areas adversely affected by the fire disasters. Internationally, there have been serious concerns for the continuing human sufferings and disruptions of development caused by natural disasters, fire included. In 1989, the General Assembly of United Nations declared 1990-2000 an International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction with a view to restricting loss of lives and property through concerted and collective efforts (UN, 1989). Because of the continuous trend in fire outbreaks and the negative outcomes in Nairobi area, safety awareness issues appear to be a bigger challenge to the population. 1.3 Research objective The general objective of this study was to evaluate the role of public awareness campaigns and fire disaster risk reduction plans in Kenya and specifically in the informal settlements in Nairobi County. Specific objective is: To determine the effects of fire disaster risk plans on preparedness in informal settlements in Nairobi. 1.4 Research question In order to achieve the purpose of the research, the following guiding question was adopted. What are the effects of fire disaster risk preparedness plans on preparedness for fire in the informal settlements in Nairobi County? 1.5 Significance The findings and recommendations of this study will be envisaged to give policy makers in the County of Nairobi, City dwellers and the entire planning departments of other county governments the information useful in making and redefining fire safety and awareness issues. 2.0 Literature Review 2.1 Global approach to disaster management Disaster management strategies are traced back to antiquity when early hieroglyphics depict cavemen trying to deal with disasters. The Holy Bible speaks of the many disasters that hindered civilisations. Haddow and Bullock (2006:1) mention the account of Moses parting the Red Sea which can be interpreted as the first attempt at flood control. Genesis 6 verse 14 (Zodhiates, Baker and Kemp, 1996: 10) speaks about Noah and the Ark, when he built an ark from cypress wood, coated it with pitch inside and out, as a mitigation strategy for the forthcoming predicted floodwaters. Moreover, the holy Bible speaks of many disasters that hindered civilizations. Early disaster management strategies include inter alia, the promulgation of the United State of America (USA) Congressional Act of 1803 which was passed to provide financial assistance to a New Hampshire town that had been devastated by fires (Haddow et al., 2006:2). Another notable example is that of the cold war era where the nuclear war was seen as a potential disaster threat. Disaster preparedness attempt to forecast extreme events, attempt to mitigate the impact of disasters, respond to disasters and cope with consequences of disasters. Strategies for disaster preparedness include awareness of event that is most likely to happen at a particular time and at a specific geographical location, risk and vulnerability assessment, response mechanisms, coordination, information management, and the implementation of earlywarning systems International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), 2000:34). International agreements, such as the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction 1990-1999 (IDNDR), Yokohama Strategy (1994), International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR), Hygo Framework for Action (2005-2015), and Disaster Reduction and Recovery Programme (DRRP), emphasise the importance of disaster preparedness. The United Nations (UN) promotes preparedness, prevention and mitigation activities through its regular development projects. The UN is encouraging the building of early warning systems and conducting monitoring and forecasting routines which are working to increase local capacity to adequately boost local and regional preparedness (Haddow et al., 2006:222). 2.1 Disaster preparedness within the context of disaster management According to Col (2007:115), preparedness is the state of readiness to respond to an emergency based on planning, training, and exercise. The concept of disaster preparedness encompasses measures aimed at enhancing life safety when a disaster occurs, such as protective actions during an earthquake, hazardous materials" spill, or a terrorist attack. It also includes actions designed to enhance the ability to undertake emergency actions to protect property and contain disaster damage and disruption, as well as the ability to engage in post-disaster restoration and early recovery activities (Tierney & Sutton, 2006:3). With regard to management response, the Manitoba Health Department (2002:29) mentions the following two aspects of preparedness: emergency response plan which deals with meeting the special demands created by an impact on the community; and business continuity planning to ensure services are maintained when the organization is negatively affected by disasters, even if the effects are limited to internal disruptions. Kennedy Ouko Alai et al./ Elixir Project Mgmt. 95 (2016) 40833-40837 40835 Emergency response planning deals with how the municipality will help its clients cope with the extraordinary demands that a disaster creates. In contrast, business continuity planning deals with how the municipality copes with the impact of the disaster with its own systems and resources (Manitoba Health Department, 2002:30). 3.0 Research Methodology This study employed a descriptive research design. Descriptive research design is designed to provide further insight into the research problem by describing the variables of interest. A descriptive study is concerned with determining the frequency with which something occurs or the relationship between variables (Bryman and Bell, 2003). Descriptive studies usually involve large samples and in this case, the researcher picked a sample population for the study. Evaluative and exploratory research designs were also used. Evaluative design used exploratory, descriptive and experimental studies to analyze issues such as program accountability, performance, improvements and challenges. It determined whether or not a program was effective in achieving its stated goals and what changes are required to improve the program"s effectiveness, for instance fire disaster risk plans in Nairobi County. According to Mugenda and Mugenda (2003), target population is the population whereby the researcher intends to generalize the study results. The target population was 10,635 (Government of Kenya, 2009), out of which a sample size representat


Five patients with hepatic failure (4 with acute hepatic failure and 1 with chronic hepatic failure) were treated by plasma exchange.Improvement of coma grade was observed in 2 patients. but 3 patients died without recovery from coma.The death in 1 of the 3 fatal cases was due to chronic hepatic failure.PT in the 2 patients whose lives were saved showed recovery progressively at each plasma exchange, but PT in the 3 fatal cases remained below 50% of normal.It was concluded that measurement of PT is useful for the early diagnosis of acute hepatic failure and that it is essential to perform plasma exchange as quickly as possible once diagnosis is established.


CHICAGO, Oct. 8 (AP) Frank McErlane, ruthless, mad killer who cheated the enemies tbat tried to kill him In bla own way, dJed In bed to· day. Prosecutors of two states had tried to put him away for murder. His common law wife had shot and wounded him. Gunmen had sought him out In his hospital bed, but thell' bullets failed . Pneumonia took him at last, In a hospital at Beardstown. Ill., but a peacetul death was denied him even though It was natural. In his last hours he etruggled violently, scream· ed In his deurlum fearing, per· naps, the foes ot the underworld In which he had lived a violent Ufe; fought against tour strong men who endeavored to quiet him In his cot; and knocked out a nUrse at bls bed· aide. Feared and Hated Escaped Prisoner of Johnson County Jail Held in Pittsburgh ----Andrew Ga7;e of Joliet, Ill., who escaped from the Johnson county jail Sept. 15, Is being beld by police in Pittsburgh, Pa., according to an Associated Press dispatch. Gaze, who was under Indictment here tor breaking and entering, wl1l probably be taken to the United States bureau o( investigation at Kansas City; Mo., for violation of a federal statute prohibiting the tak· Ing of a stolen automoblJe Into an· other state. Charges will be based on the theft here of the Martin King automoblJe, Which authorities allege he attempted to sell In 1111· nols.


The importance of recombinant proteins produced by mammaliancell culture has increased dramatically due to the discoveriesin the field of recombinant biotechnology. Therefore,optimising and gaining ...


Teaching grammar is becoming very debatable issue in recent days, because as Stephen Krashen (1982) said "there is a great deal of effect on the language use of the learner and this effect is peripheral and fragile". It is known that there are three different approaches to teaching grammar and they are teaching grammar as a product, teaching grammar as a process and the last one is teaching grammar as a skill, below we will focus on each separately.


For a two-stage supply chain system which consists of a risk-neutral supplier and a retailer with risk preferences,a supply chain revenue-sharing contract model with two risk parameters described by pessimism coefficient and degree of risk averse based on mean-CVaR(Conditional Value-at-Risk)is established.The optimal order of a retailer with different risk preferences is derived,and the order changes of retailers under different risk preference parameters are analyzed.An optimal revenue-sharing contract coordination mechanism is proposed,and the supply chain members' operation decisions and performances with the change of system parameters are discussed.At last,numerical calculations are conducted to validate the effectiveness of designed supply chain revenue-sharing contract.The results show that the revenue-sharing contract can not only coordinate supply chain under the risk neutral condition,but also completely coordinate a supply chain with different risk preferences.Different from that in sisk-neutral situation,the profits of supply chain members will be affected by both contract parameters and risk parameters under risk preferences.


It is shown that previous sufficient conditions for the solution of the nonlinear complementarity problem can be considerably weakened using a result of Rockafellar. Let E be a Banach space and K a closed convex cone in E. The polar K? of K is the set Ex* e E*lsup x*(K) O whenever x* e T(x), y* e T(y) and x, y E D(T) = ixlT(x) ;01. We say that T is a-monotone if there exists a strictly increasing function a: [0, -) -0, ) with a(O) = 0 and a(r) -, as r such that (x y xy*) > lix y c a(llx yfl) whenever x* e T(x) and y* e T(y) for each x, y e D(T) . If a(r) = kr for k > O, then T is said to be strongly monotone. If T is single valued and continuous from line segments in D(T) to E* with the weak* topology, then T is said to be hemicontinuous. We consider the following version (to multivalued maps) of the generalized complementarity problem (GCP) as formulated by Karamardian [ 2]: Let T: E 2E; find x e K and x* e T(x) satisfying x* E-K' and (x, x ) = 0. The (GCP) is important in that it is the form for many problems in mathematical programming, game theory, economics, etc. For this we refer the reader to [ 2] and [ 4] and the references given there. It is our purpose in this note to prove the following theorem which has as a corollary an extension of a recent theorem of Bazaraa, Goode, and Received by the editors September 5, 1973 and, in revised form, October 9, 1973 and January 7, 1974. AMS (MOS) subject classifications (1970)Y Primary 46N05, 47H05, 47H15; Secondary 90C30.


The paper investigates the moderator effect of inter-organizational cooperation in the relationship between workplace flexibility and innovation performance. This research question is important because innovation is dependent on the strategic integration of technological knowledge, requiring organizations to acquire new capabilities rapidly or to ensure the presence of knowledge that may be beyond existing internal capabilities. Inter-organizational cooperation constitutes a relevant mechanism for a firm to increase its knowledge base concerning new products and processes. High-cooperation firms may have more opportunities to take advantage of flexibility for innovation performance because it facilitates the access and dispersion of knowledge within the firm. We test the research hypotheses in a sample of manufacturing and service firms. The results contribute to the literature on flexibility and innovation because they demonstrate that inter-organizational cooperation moderates the relationship between flexibility and innovation performance. We discuss the implications of these results for future research and managerial practice.


Objective To clone and analyze glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase(GAPDH) gene from Conyza blinii and detect whether it can be the reference gene for C.blinii.Methods Full length GAPDH was cloned by RACE.DNAMAN,BLAST,and MEGA bioinformatic tools were used to analyze its open reading frame(ORF),homology,and phylogenetic tree.The sequence was acted as internal control gene for semi-quantitative RT-PCR.Results The gene designated GLGAPDH was 1 418 bp in length.It contained a 1 020 bp ORF encoding 340 amino acids.It shared 96% similarity with Gynura bicolor GAPDH and shared 93% similarity with Mikania micrantha GAPDH.GLGAPDH had closer relationship with GAPDH in G.bicolor.When the sequence acted as internal control gene,the semi-quantitative RT-PCR had benign amplification and good reproducibility.Conclusion GAPDH is cloned from C.blinii for the first time.The semi-quantitative RT-PCR results prove that GAPDH gene is able to be the reference gene for gene expression analysis.The result of this study will provide the basis for the key enzyme expression and regulate the mechanism analysis in C.blinii effective components biosynthesis pathway.


As one of the main agricultural hazards in Tong'an,the research on drought was carried out based on the 42 years(1953 to 1995) climate history data in Tong'an and drought standard in Fujian.It showed that drought frequency was very high,up to 75%,which occurred mostly in summer,then in fall and winter.The three main factors and impact on agriculture production were focused in this article.


Abstract : This work centers on the recasting of the Rachford-Rice objective function into a polynomial function of the vapor fraction. The degree of this polynomial is one less than the number of components in the system and its coefficients can be calculated from the feed composition and the equilibrium ratios. A recursive expression is developed that involves symmetric functions and can be easily programmed on a computer, or scientific calculator. The principal advantage of this new form of the objective function is that the theory of polynomials is well-developed. The location of their zeroes can be predicted with confidence by techniques based on sound mathematical principles, such as the Fourier-Budan theorem. The polynomial in the vapor fraction is well- behaved over the two-phase region and its root can be quickly located by a hybrid method of interval-halving technique and Newton-Raphson procedure. The validity of the new objective function and its automatic coefficient-generating algorithm are tested using several multicomponent systems for which experimental data are available. The new objective function is not prone to the erratic behavior of the Rachford-Rice function and is not sensitive to initial guess of the root.


In this survey we describe a recently-developed technique for bounding the number (and controlling the typical structure) of finite objects with forbidden substructures. This technique exploits a subtle clustering phenomenon exhibited by the independent sets of uniform hypergraphs whose edges are sufficiently evenly distributed; more precisely, it provides a relatively small family of 'containers' for the independent sets, each of which contains few edges. We attempt to convey to the reader a general high-level overview of the method, focusing on a small number of illustrative applications in areas such as extremal graph theory, Ramsey theory, additive combinatorics, and discrete geometry, and avoiding technical details as much as possible.


Directly converting images from the noninterlaced format used by high resolution monitors to the interlaced NTSC standard can result in several artifacts which are visually disturbing. One of the most noticeable of these is a flickering effect visible on sharp horizontal edges which is due to the interlace of the NTSC video signal. This flickering effect can be significantly reduced using an appropriately designed spatial filter to remove abrupt horizontal changes in the image without excessive blurring of the image. Due to the availability of application specific integrated circuits which convert images between different color spaces, it is practical to filter in any of several color spaces. Therefore, our current research focuses on comparing tradition interfield spatial filtering in the YIQ color space to new spatial filtering techniques developed by the authors using the HSI color space. Results based on an extended version of the CCIR impairment scale are presented. The present experiments are based on renderings of computation grids obtained from the NFS/MSU Engineering Research Center of computational Field Simulation. The paper also demonstrates how a red fringe occurs in wire grid images with gray scale backgrounds when these images are spatially filtered in the HSI color space. Further, a means of correcting this red shift is demonstrated.


Object To investigate the structure, physicochemical properties and anticancer activity of three kind of glycyrrhizic acid aniline platinum complex compounds. Methods Using the FT IR methods, elementary analysis and X ray diffraction, the physicochemical properties of the tested drugs were determined; by means of MTT test the inhibitory effects of the drugs on human tumor cell growth were examined, with hematopoietic cell K 562 , melanoma cell LiBr and liver cancer cell 7721 as the model of anticancer activity. Results Experimental values of elemental analysis of three complex compounds tally with the theoretically calculative values. The infrared spectroscopy showed that the functional group location agreed with the structure. The X ray diffraction exhibited that this type of the compounds was monoclinic system. Conclusion The experimental results show that the anticancer activity of the test complex compounds is related to their concentration and ligands. Magnetic field treatment has significant influence on anticancer activity of this type of compounds.


We construct an elliptic Grothendieck-Springer resolution as a simultaneous log resolution of algebraic stacks. Our construction extends a well-known simultaneous resolution of the coarse moduli space map for semistable principal bundles on an elliptic curve to the stack of all principal bundles. The construction relies on elliptic versions of the Chevalley isomorphism and the Kostant and Steinberg section theorems, which we also prove.


A specimen of the holectypid echinoid Coenholectypus larteti (COTTEAU, 1869), from the 'Echinoid Marker Bed' of Member C (Natih Formation, uppermost Middle Cenomanian, Cretaceous) at Jebel Madamar (central Oman Mountains, Sultanate of Oman), preserves periproctal plating. This is only the second example of such plating in the genus Coenholectypus. Previous records of periproctal and/or peristomial plating in holectypoids and other irregular echinoids are listed and briefly discussed.


Saionary-pbae Echericlia coli B cells transferred to new growth medium are initialy resistant to net DNA breakage bylowconcentrations of pblemnycin, and becomo sensitive as DNA replication commences. From studies with itibiors of various stas of the DNA replication cycle it is evident tbat it is not DNA syltheaIs itself that is required for induction of DNA breakage by phleomycin, but event associatdwithf the initiation of DNA replication. Termination of replication in,the absece of further initiation -results in resistance to phleomycin. The celluar change responsible for- cnges in senitigvity to phleomycin could be the at ent of the bcterta chrowsome to the cel membrane at initiation and detachment on termination of replication, sAgsting a lteration in the balanoe between cellular DNA breakage andrepair proesses for membrane.associated compared with non-membrane-associated DNA. is


Summary

Surimi franks were fortified with flaxseed or salmon oil at 2 g/100 g sample, franks without added oil served as a control. Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances values were highest (P   0.05). Frank pH decreased over time (P = 0.011) for all frank types. There were differences in textural properties between frank types (P   0.05) between franks. Fifty-four panellists reported consuming sausage on a weekly to monthly basis, and most (50/79) indicated interest in purchasing this type product. The surimi franks were accepted by young adult consumers, which may indicate market potential of these types of products.


Summary Platelet aggregation can be measured in whole blood by monitoring the fall in single platelet count in an electronic platelet counter. The aggregation that occurs when whole blood is stirred in a small cuvette ("spontaneous aggregation") or upon the addition of collagen has been studied in citrated whole blood from male and female volunteers. Aspirin 40 μg ml/1 inhibited aggregation induced by collagen in both sexes but spontaneous aggregation was only affected by aspirin in males. These results may help explain the sex difference apparent in the results of some clinical trials of aspirin as an antithrombotic agent.


Thirty female patients, fifteen with conversion reaction and fifteen with other neuroses, were selected on the basis of unanimous diagnosis by three psychiatrists. DSM III criteria were employed in selecting conversion reaction patients. The two groups were compared on Urdu version of Taylor's Manifest Anxiety Scale and Socialization, Self Control, Responsibility and Sociability Scales of California Personality Inventory. No difference was found between the two groups on the Taylor's Manifest Anxiety Scale. On the CPl, while there were no differences on Socialization and Self Control between the two groups, the neurotic group scored significantly higher on Responsibility and the conversion reaction group on Sociability. The implications of these findings for therapy in Pakistan have been discussed.


The 1 GeV Duke Storage Ring was very successfully commissioned with performance exceeding initial specifications. In this paper we present design and performance data of its unique achromatic lattice with combined function magnets in the ring arcs.


contained in0.1 ml of a water suspension. In the adaptation process of the technique, it was prove three variablesmaking 20 repetitions of the following combinations: a) detergent added: acid anionic (pH 4.6), orbasic anionic (pH 11.5). b) Flotation solution used: sugar solution (density: 1.25), or saturated zincsulphate (density: 1.38). c) with or without mechanical mixing of the samples previous to theflotation process. The best result, of an average of 50.9% (p < 0.05) of the recovered added


)Development of information and communication technologies is caused by global economic changes, especially internationalization of business activities, shortening product life cycles, oligopolization of industries and concentration of capital. Automotive industry has been a precursor of modern technology and management strategies for many years. Market changes have led to the need to build new logistics systems which main element is the modularity of production. Communication in global supply chains is largely based on software that uses many communication channels. This phenomenon of media convergence enables efficient flow of information between members of the supply chain and building modified value-added chains, especially by using virtual teams and software agents. Keywords: information, communication, automotive, logistics, information logistics, media convergence, software agents, global virtual teams


Styrene is polymerized isospecifically by group 4 metal complexes that contain a C2-symmetrically coordinated 1,4-dithiabutane-linked bis(phenolato) ligand activated by methylaluminoxane.


The article is dedicated to the conceptualization of the innovations in the theories of T. Parsons at the turn of the XX-XXI centuries. It is stated the increased interest for structural functionalism in the development of sociological theory as well as in applied research. The article illustrates that the attempt of T. Parsons to create a system of categories enable to accept systematic integration of sociological science, explaining the existence of all the levels of the society and all the social forms in the process of movement of the matter, caused great interest among the scientists in the leading sociological centres of the world. The structurally-functionalist paradigm, associated with Parsons, was reflected in institutional imperatives of "ethnic science" by R. Merton, representation of science as a multilevel continuum, suggested by D. Alexander, in the conception/concept of "double contingency" by N. Luhmann, culture as a network of symbols by C. Geertz, the theory of communicative action by J. Habermas, in the theory of structuration by A. Giddens, the concept of the acting person by A. Touraine and etc.


Cyclic sulfamides were efficiently N-acylated and N-alkylated with different alkyl, benzyl and acylhalides. The reactions were carried out under microwave irradiation conditions with and without solvent. A comparison with conventional methods demonstrates the advantages of applying microwave irradiation as a nonconventional method for activation in organic syntheses and chemical transformations. The structures of the synthesized compounds were inferred from their analytical and spectral data. KEYWORD: Microwave; Cyclic sulfamides; alkyl halide; acyl halide; N-alkylation; N-acylation.


The author has made an investigation of secondary and primary schools P.E.teaching and sunlight sports in Henan countryside by way of questionnaire,document,spot interview and statistics.Then the author has studied the five factors that influence and prevent rural secondary and primary P.E.development and proposed five countermeasures against the five factors.


This review attempts to summarize recent progress in cosmology, and outline some of the main open questions for the forthcoming decade. Following the year-3 WMAP results, the basic ΛCDM model seems better established than ever, with the exciting addition of a rejection of the n = 1 scale-invariant spectrum. It is argued that this alone is insufficient to constitute proof that inflation occurred, and B-mode CMB polarization must continue to be a prime target. Structure formation within the standard model is well understood in principle, but significant open issues remain where the modelling of galaxy formation is concerned. A major item for the future will be attempting to detect dynamical vacuum energy beyond a simple cosmological constant. However, the overall level of the vacuum density remains poorly understood; anthropic reasoning is probably required to make sense of what we see.


The importance and principles for the selection of the superseded strategic industries of resources-based cities are illustrated in this paper. Taking Baiyin city as an example, we applied some methods, such as Delphi prediction and comprehensive evaluated value to selecting the superseded strategic industries of Baiyin city. The selection results well accord with the fact of Baiyin city.The method in this paper can be applied to other resources-based cities for selection of the superseded strategic industries.


Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) is a process that can produce electricity by utilizing the temperature difference between deep cold water and surface warm water. The cold-water pipe (CWP) is a key component of OTEC systems, which transports deep cold water to the floating platform. The CWP is subjected to various environmental and operational loads, such as waves, currents, internal flow, and platform motion, which can affect its dynamic response and stability. In this paper, we establish a computational model of the mechanical performance of the CWP based on the Euler–Bernoulli beam theory and the Morrison equation, considering the effects of internal flow, sea current, and wave excitation. We use the differential quadrature method (DQM) to obtain a semi-analytical solution of the lateral displacement and bending moment of the CWP. We verify the correctness and validity of our model by comparing it with the finite element simulation results using OrcaFlex software. We also analyze the effects of operating conditions—such as wave intensity, clump weight at the bottom, and internal flow velocity—on the dynamic response of the CWP using numerical simulation and the orthogonal experimental method. The results show that changing the wave strength and internal flow velocity has little effect on the lateral displacement of the CWP but increasing the current velocity can significantly increase the lateral displacement of the CWP, which can lead to instability. The effects of waves, clump weight, internal flow, and sea current on the maximum bending moment of the CWP are similar; all of them increase sharply at first and then decrease gradually until they level off. The differences in the effects are mainly reflected in the different locations of the pipe sections. This paper suggests some design guidance for CWP in terms of dynamic responses depending on the operating conditions. This paper contributes to the journal's scope by providing a novel and efficient method for analyzing the mechanical performance of CWP for OTEC systems, which is an important ocean energy resource.


Twenty-three mosquito species belonging to three genera are reported from the Island of Newfoundland. Seven species, Aedes atropaZpus, Ae. decticus, Ae. diantaeus, Ae. hexodontus, Ae. pConips, Ae. stictieus and CuEseta melanura are reported from the Island for the first time. The distribution and abundance of the species are also discussed.


The iris stroma was hamorrhagic, with thromboses of blood vessels and vacuolation of the pigment layer (Fig 12). The ciliary body showed development of the inflammatory reaction with cedema, congestion, stromal hmmorrhage, cysts in the ciliary processes and extensive destruction of the epithelium with liberation of pigment. There was some haemorrhage into the anterior and posterior chambers (Fig 13). One week after freezing, the inflammatory reaction had decreased with disappearance of the ciliary cysts. The non-pigmented layer of the ciliary epithelium showed signs of regeneration, but this was not evident in the pigment layer (Fig 14). In one eye there was evidence of lens damage. The equatorial epithelium was irregular and thickened with mitotic activity. Two weeks after freezing, the episcleral reaction had settled. The non-pigmented layer of the ciliary epithelium had reformed irregularly with several layers in some places (Fig 15). Thereafter there was resolution of the inflammatory reaction and evidence of atrophy of the treated areas of the ciliary body. The cells of the pigment layer had disintegrated with scattering of pigment. The non-pigmented layer, irregular in appearance, showed in some places abnormally pale nuclei, and these cells were probably nonfunctional. Acknowledgments: I am gratetul to the Medical Research Council for the grant supporting this work; to Professor E S Perkins for allowing the work to be carried out in the Department of Experimental Ophthalmology of the Institute of Ophthalmology; to Professor Norman Ashton for advice on the histological studies; to Mr M S Bass for technical assistance; and to Miss Patricia Stone, Pharmacy Department, Whipps Cross Hospital, for supplying the arachis oil emulsion used in tonometry.


A sufficiently high proportion of pneumothoraces is missed on chest X-ray to advocate a low threshold for computed tomography (CT) in the early assessment of trauma patients, especially if mechanical ventilation is required for management.


RompecPC is a computerized program designed to create and assemble jigsaw puzzles. The program automatically records the solver's responses as the number of pieces positioned correctly, the number of correct and incorrect movements, the number of times that she/he attempts to move a piece to the same place (perseverations), and the latency and place to which each piece is moved or attempted to be moved. These features facilitate the implementation and evaluation of puzzles while also reducing human error. Therefore, RompePC is a useful tool for the neuropsychological assessment of visuospatial skills in both clinical and experimental research.


Aim:  To investigate whether heparin infusion with the administration of anti‐neoplastic agents in ovarian cancer can reduce the occurrence of phlebitis as a complication of chemotherapy.


Abstract The Banach–Alaoglu theorem is an important result in functional analysis whose standard proof relies on Tychonoff's theorem. In this note, the theorem is proved by assuming the existence of the Stone–Čech compactification for completely regular topological spaces.


This exploratory qualitative study augments extant literature in organizational studies on workplace emotion by examining emotion management in the Chinese proactive workgroup socialization process. The study sought to gain insight into Chinese newcomers' emotional experiences, the ways in which Chinese newcomers negotiated their understanding of emotion in the workplace, and the implications of emotional maturity from the perspective of Chinese employees. More importantly, this study exposed differences in proactive socialization between a Chinese bureaucratic office and western organizations. Individual and focus group interviews were conducted with 22 veterans and new employees in a Chinese governmental agency. A modified constant comparative analysis revealed three primary aspects that delineate the Chinese workplace as it relates to emotion management during socialization: (i) there are three salient types of emotion that occurred in Chinese workgroups; (ii) Chinese work settings are characterized by perceptions of emotional maturity, with a cultural emphasis on a holistic mindset, an indicator of personal growth and a shared goal; and (iii) more importantly, Chinese newcomers play an active role in negotiating and modifying established cultures.


Whether it is better to walk or run through a rain shower is a question often posed by adult and child alike. The answer to this question requires careful physical analysis and provides an instructive, even illuminating exercise for high school as well as undergraduate introductory physics classes. In this paper, we will derive a rule for the optimal travel speed which minimizes the number of rainstrikes on a given surface element over a given course. We shall also investigate the speed versus intensity relationship. Methods of extending these results to include rainfalls with horizontal velocity relative to the travel path and for surfaces of arbitrary geometry are presented in Sec. VI.


The male contribution to contraceptive mismanagement and unwanted pregnancy was assessed among 109 students at the University of Melbourne in Australia. The survey was conducted 3 months prior to annual examinations. The interview focused on a range of subjects including socioeconomic data, extent of formal sex education, patterns of sexual behavior both in the past and in the present, contraception used within various types of relationships, reasons for contraceptive choice, and involvement in unwanted pregnancy. The age range of the subjects was 17-35. 84% (92) of the men had experienced heterosexual intercourse. 2 main types of relationships emerged: an emotionally committed and usually long-term relationship and a usually brief and "casual" relationship. 30% of all subjects thought that females should always be responsible for contraception. 31% believed that contraception was a joint responsibility in steady relationships but the female's responsibility in casual relationships. 35% of all subjects felt that both partners had an equal responsibility in preventing conception irrespective of the type of relationship. 4 men believed that contraception was always the male's responsibility. Contraceptive technique was rated adequate for 32% of the 92 sexually experienced men who always relied on either condoms, diaphragms, IUDs, oral contraceptives, or sterilization. Intermittent contraceptive use was reported by 60% of sexually experienced men who alternated betwen reliable and unreliable methods. Almost 1/5 of the sexually experienced men reported that they had been involved in an unwanted pregnancy.


Science is now a key area of the curriculum for the whole of schooling in Australia. Educational policies and their implications for the curriculum are often couched in terms that make sense at the general level of schooling, but do not easily translate into operational meaning for the teaching of science. The case of 'quality in Australian education' is used to illustrate the problems associated with this sharing of meaning at different levels of educational discourse.


In this paper, we investigate the continuous version of modified iterative Runge–Kutta-type methods for nonlinear inverse ill-posed problems proposed in a previous work. The convergence analysis is proved under the tangential cone condition, a modified discrepancy principle, i.e., the stopping time T is a solution of ∥ F ( x δ ( T ) ) − y δ ∥ = τ δ + for some δ + > δ , and an appropriate source condition. We yield the optimal rate of convergence.


It was recently shown that perception of the blue part of visible spectrum is mediated by melanopsins localized not only in the retina, but also in cells of the vascular wall. We have studied changes in the human cardiorespiratory system under the influence of light with a wavelength of 470  10 nm in normal life and under extreme conditions of high-latitude marine expeditions (2017 and 2019). Using the method of spiroarteriocardiorhythmography (SACR), we recorded parameters of the cardiorespiratory system at rest and under conditions of stress tests; the time of recording was 2 min in all cases. The changes in the studied indicators over 26-40 days were assessed. Registration by SACR without (at rest) and with the spirometric mask under conditions of normal breathing revealed no effect of phototherapy. However, registration during the test with controlled breathing at a rate of 6 cycles per minute in all 3 series of our experiment revealed statistically significant effect of photostimulation on individual parameters; the same was found by discriminant analysis. In ordinary life, the dynamics of baroreflex sensitivity was significant for the differentiation of the experimental groups. Under extreme conditions of Arctic expeditions, apart from baroreflex sensitivity, significant differences were found in the dynamics of blood pressure, heart rate, and spectral parameters of their variability. The overall direction of these shifts reflects strengthening of the adaptive capacities of the cardiorespiratory system in participants of the experimental groups. Keywords— phototherapy, blue range of visible spectrum, adaptation, heart rate variability, blood pressure variability, baroreflex sensitivity


In my article, I examine the characteristics of the  Danube countries' adaptation to climate change in  terms of water security. Among the international  strategic documents, I examine the EU Water  Framework Directive (WFD, 2000), the Danube River  Protection Convention, and the EU Strategy for the  Danube Region (EUSDR, 2019). It is a European  ambition to create adequate levels of drinking water,  outdoor bathing water, and aquatic ecosystem  security in EU member states by the end of 2027.  Therefore, in my article I examine water safety, not  only in terms of drinking water supply security, but  also in terms of aquatic ecosystem security for the  Danube countries. Based on the examples of recent  years in Hungary, I present the damage events  caused by high rainfall intensity fluctuations, which  occurred from both excess and scarcity of water. I  would like to draw your attention to the fact that, as  Hungary is a downstream country, upstream  interventions can cause more sudden flooding and  subsidence in our area on the Danube.


In this paper we shall prove the following theorem: Let K be a differential field of characteristic zero. Let p and I be elements of a differential field extension of K such that (i) p # 0 and k # 0; (ii) p and k satisfy nontrivial linear differential equations with coefficients in K, say, P(y>) = 0 and Q(O) = 0; (iii) p = on for some positive integer n such that n > ord P. Then the logarithmic derivatives of p and 4 are algebraic over K. (Note that


FIG3. High quality MR angiograms were possible using an arterial phase (typically the first timeframe) of the IVD time-series, in all patients. On this MIP, note the clear delineation of a variant of the trifurcation of the common hepatic artery into right hepatic artery (arrow), left hepatic artery (filled arrowhead) and gastroduodenal artery (*). Also clearly depicted is the variant of two left renal arteries (hollow arrowhead). Interleaved Variable Density Sampling for Combined Dynamic Contrast Enhanced MRI and MRA of the Liver Mahdi Salmani Rahimi, Frank R Korosec, Kang Wang, James H Holmes, Utaroh Motosugi, Peter Bannas, and Scott B Reeder Biomedical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States, Radiology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States, Medical Physics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States, Global MR Applications and Workflow, GE Heatlhcare, Madison, WI, United States, Radiology, University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany


Objective:
The objective of this retrospective study is to identify the elimination half life of CA 125 biomarker in women receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy for newly diagnosed advanced epithelial ovarian cancer at our centre and develop it as a surrogate marker of response to chemotherapy.

Methods:
Medical records of women who were newly diagnosed with inoperable advanced ovarian cancer stages III and IV at our centre were selected. Only people with completely documented records in the years 2017 & 2018 were selected. Clinical information on age, menopausal status, BMI, radiological PCI, stage, histology, chemotherapy drugs used, CA 125 levels before and after neoadjuvant chemotherapy were noted and information analysed.
Only 40 patients were identified meeting all required criteria.
The patients were divided into 3 sets based on CA 125 elimination half life group 1(t ½ < 10 days), group 2 (t ½ 10- 20 days) and group 3 (t ½ > 20 days). The base line characters and outcomes of surgery and pathological responses were compared between these groups.
Results:
Optimal cytoredcution was possible in 19/21(90.4%) patients in group 1, 6/10(60%) in group 2 & 2/9(22.2%) in group 3. Clinical complete response was found in 12/21 (57.1%), 2/10(20%) & 0/9(0%) respectively. Progressive disease was noted in 4/9(44%) of group 3 patients. There was striking differences between the groups with respect to clinical and pathological response.
Conclusion:
In summary, CA 125 elimination half life measurement is a reproducible tool that can be used to assess chemotherapy sensitivity in patients with newly diagnosed advanced ovarian cancer following neoadjuvant chemotherapy. The CA 125 half life value is a helpful measurement that allows the clinicians to measure the degree of chemosensitivity prior to cytoreductive surgery.


Under certain development theories the economic growth leads to a change in the political model, orienting it to be democratic or more democratic, depending on the case. Singapore has manage to move from a developing country to a developed country without generating drastic changes within its political model, achieving consolidation as a non-democratic regime. Therefore, this document seeks to answer Which are the political factors and economic results associated with the functioning of Singapore's political model that help to understand its continuity?
For the above, it is addressed in the first place how the regime carne to consolidate and manages to maintain itself as a non-democratic political regime. Then how the cultural values that the PAP inculcated are reinforced by political and constitutional reforms, building political stability and civil harmony. Finally the economic result that support the continuity of the regime are addressed, taking to account four stages of public policies through which Singapore's economy and economic growth have been determined.
This paper argues that the Singapore political regime managed to consolidate itself as a non-democratic regime since it managed to establish the mechanisms to safeguard its continuity when the economic results were not entirely favorable despite having aculture based on economic values. The above is possible because of the set of shared values which are strengthened by its political and institutional system.


Objective:To compare the effects of the combined spinal-epidural anesthesia(CSEA) and continuous epidural anesthesia(CEA) on cesarean section in scar uterine.Methods:Sixty-six elective caesarean patients with scar uterine were randomly divided into the CSEA group(33 cases) and CEA group(33 cases).The anaesthetic effects,adverse reaction and effect of hemodynamics of parturient on neonate in two groups were observed.Results:Compared with before anesthesia,the noninvasive arteries pressure levels in CSEA group and CEA group were decreased significantly at 10 min and 20 min after anesthesia,respectively(P 0.01).The levels of heart rate in CSEA group and CEA group were increased significantly at 10 to 30 min and 20 to 30 min after anesthesia,respectively(P 0.01).The dosage,onset time and retardation time of anesthesia in CSEA group were significantly lower than those in CEA group(P 0.01).The excellence ratio of anesthesia in CSEA group(100.0%) was higher than that in CEA group(84.9%)(P 0.05).Conclusions:The CSEA has the dual advantages of CEA and lumbar anesthesia,which has good effect on cesarean section in scar uterine.


Professor Paul Young and his team from the Australian Infectious Diseases Research Centre at the University of Queensland, heads a laboratory with expertise in molecular virology. They are currently exploring the underlying mechanisms of severe disease caused by the dengue virus, and developing both therapeutic and vaccine control strategies for a range of viral pathogens.


Abstract: Sport games in college physical education have the function of body- building, entertainment andinstruction, and the principles are healthy and original; the following ought to be paid attention whileorganizing sport games, the choice of coarent, the preparation of floor and apparatus; organization andorganizers as well as judge.


One of proposed strategies to solve current environmental challenges includes the industrial symbiosis. However, proper evaluation methods are required to measure the potential benefits of industrial symbiosis, one of those includes the material flow analysis (MFA). MFA develops a unified database and a Step-by-Step process starting from the input, process, and output process to clarify the distribution of waste and the recycling process in the aluminum industry. The aluminum industry is regarded as an energy-intensive and high-pollution industry. The development of industrial symbiosis in the aluminum industry has significantly reduced environmental pressures and facilitated green development and green industry. Home industries that process aluminum slag raw materials require high energy thereby generating high waste during the production process. The applied method includes material flow analysis (MFA). The MFA results indicated that the production elements of the aluminum slag industry consist of 11 elements ranging from raw materials, fuel, clean water, human resources, capital, production processes, production equipment, housekeeping, products produced, waste to waste utilization. Approximately 44% of the industry sold waste to other industries, 42% of the waste was reprocessed, and 14% of the aluminum industry stockpiles production was in the form of waste in open spaces. The industrial symbiosis in the aluminum industry was an open cycle, indicating that the symbiosis produces waste, which had not been fully utilized; but in fact, the waste had potential as a source of raw materials, energy, and materials in other industrial processes.


The invention relates to a core technique for producing titanium dioxide powder through a sulfuric acid process, which successfully solves the problems that in the prior process for producing the titanium dioxide powder through the sulfuric acid process, a metatitanic acid obtained through hydrolysis has uneven sizes, wide particle distribution, irregular particle shapes, difficult washing and large water consumption. The invention discloses a titanium dioxide hydrolysis particle whitening agent, a hydrolysis crystal seed for producing the titanium dioxide powder and a preparation method of ahigh-quality metatitanic acid, wherein the whitening agent is a solution prepared by adding a water-soluble organic acid, a water-soluble zirconium salt and a water-soluble sulfate, a water-soluble hydrochloride or a water-soluble nitrate into water. The preparation method adopts a water-dispersible organic substance and an inorganic acid solution to control the water-soluble zirconium salt to form a regular spherical crystal nucleus during hydrolysis, and simultaneously inhibits the hydrolysis of colored impurities in a titanium solution to improve the purity, the whiteness and the brightness of the titanium dioxide powder.


The present study establishes an efficient protocol for in vitro propagation from longitudinal sections of seedlings of Beaucarnea purpusii, a threatened and highly appreciated ornamental species. The effect of three cytokinins: N-benzyladenine (BA), kinetin (Kin), and thidiazuron, 1-phenyl-3-(1,2,3-thiadiazol-5-yl)urea (TDZ), in semisolid media and three different concentrations, as well as the effect of BA and TDZ pulses at higher concentrations in liquid culture medium, were investigated. Adventitious shoot formation by direct organogenesis was observed from all treatments. Additionally, adventitious shoot formation was recorded from the leaves of the new shoots; this particular response was exclusive to treatments supplemented with TDZ. In the experiment using semisolid culture media, the highest means of shoots per explant were obtained from treatments containing TDZ, particularly at a concentration of 0.45 mM (25.8 shoots per explant). For the pulses experiment, the liquid culture media supplemented with TDZ at 22.35 mM for 24 hours and 136.21 mM for 96 hours, induced a mean of 3.9 and 3.3 shoots per explant, respectively. Subculturing individual shoots on MS and half-strength MS (1/2MS) media, both supplemented with activated charcoal at 1 g·L, induced rooting in 85% to 95% of shoots. A survival rate of 100% under greenhouse conditions was achieved. The results of this study provide an efficient alternative for mass propagation of B. purpusii and may also contribute to the conservation and sustainable use of this valuable natural resource. The genus Beaucarnea belongs to the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Nolinoideae, and occurs from northeastern Mexico to northern Central America (Bogler, 1998). Mexico harbors 10 of the 11 recognized species, of which eight are catalogued as threatened, one as endangered (B. purpusii), and one under study to determinate its status (Hern andez et al., 2012). The critical situation of most of Beaucarnea species is due to habitat alteration and over-collection of seeds, seedlings, and adult individuals, which are highly appreciated as ornamental plants. These circumstances affect the population size and the sex ratio, causing a low fertilization rate and consequently a reduced seed production (Contreras et al., 2008; Golubov et al., 2007). B. purpusii occurs in small areas of the Tehuac an-Cuicatl an Biosphere Reserve, Mexico, which encompasses the states of Puebla and Oaxaca in Mexico (Fig. 1A), and the main reasons for this species being endangered are the small size of its populations, its restricted geographic distribution, the lowest growth ratio of the 11 species in the genus, and the local use of the inflorescences and infrutescences as small Christmas trees, leading to a decreasing number of seeds available for natural germination (Hern andez et al., 2009). Because of this situation, it is critical to take action to guarantee its continued survival and sustainable use. For species like B. purpusii, the traditional conservation approach is in situ conservation (Engelmann, 2011); however, it is now recognized that these can be efficiently complemented by ex situ techniques. Actually the lattermay represent the only feasible option for conserving certain highly endangered and rare species (Sarasan et al., 2006). Plant tissue culture has proven to be a valuable technique for propagation, conservation, and sustainable use of many species, specially of those with sexual and asexual reproduction limitations, slow growth rate, low seeds availability, and endangered conservation status (Pence, 2011; Sarasan et al., 2006), all of which is true for most Beaucarnea species (Contreras et al., 2008). To initiate in vitro propagation, plant growth regulators (PGRs) can be applied to explants following two different methods: 1) traditionally the explants are placed on nutrient medium containing PGRs for 3–4 weeks, transferring them afterward to medium lacking PGRs. 2) Explants can be pulse treated with a concentrated liquid solution of cytokinin and auxin solution for several hours, after which they are placed on medium free of these PGRs, and some studies report improved organogenesis when using the liquid pulse method (Goldfarb et al., 1991; Madhulatha et al., 2004; Ramı́rez-Malag on et al., 2008). In spite of the botanical and ornamental interest in Beaucarnea species, studies concerning their in vitro propagation are scarce. There are some reports for Beaucarnea recurvata (Bettaieb et al., 2008; OsorioRosales and Mata-Rosas, 2005; Reyes et al., 2013; Sajeva et al., 1994; Samyn, 1997), Beaucarnea gracilis (Osorio-Rosales and Mata-Rosas, 2005), and Beaucarnea inermis (Guill en et al., 2015), but to the best of our knowledge, there are no reports on in vitro propagation of B. purpusii. In the pursuit of determining an efficient protocol for in vitro propagation of endangered species with low growth rates such as B. purpusii, it is necessary to study the effects of several PGRs at different concentrations on various explant types, with special interest to variables that have not been evaluated previously. Therefore, the present study attempts to provide an efficient protocol for in vitro propagation of B. purpusii from longitudinal sections of seedling using different concentrations of BA, Kin, and TDZ on semisolid media, as well as to evaluate the effects on the shoot formation of explants exposed to pulse treatments of higher concentrations of BA and TDZ. Materials and Methods Mature seeds were collected from a natural population of B. purpusii growing in Tehuac an-Cuicatl an Biosphere Reserve. The seeds were stored at 4 C until use. They were successively washed with liquid detergent for 30 min, immersed in a 0.3% fungicide solution (Captan 50, Bayer de M exico S.A. de C.V., Mexico City) for 24 h, rinsed once with sterile distilled water, surface sterilized with a 3% hydrogen peroxide solution for 10min andwith Received for publication 3 Sept. 2015. Accepted for publication 25 Jan. 2016. Marı́a del Carmen Vadillo-Pro thanks CONACyT for the grant offered to conduct her studies. We thank F elix Krengel for constructive comments and language corrections and Edgar Couttolenc for his assistance in statistical analysis. Corresponding author. E-mail: martin.mata@inecol. mx. HORTSCIENCE VOL. 51(3) MARCH 2016 279 70% ethanol for 1min, immersed in a 30% (v/v) commercial chlorine solution (sodium hypochlorite, 6% of active chlorine) containing Tween 80 (Sigma, St. Louis, MO) at 0.1% for 30 min, and finally rinsed three times for 5 min each in sterile distilled water. All steps were carried out under continuous stirring. Germination. Seeds were sown on a semisolid MSmedium (Murashige and Skoog, 1962) (M519; PhytoTech Laboratories, Shawnee Mission, KS), supplemented with sucrose at 30 g·L. The pH of media was adjusted to 5.7 ± 0.1 with 0.5 N NaOH and 0.5 N HCl before adding 0.8% of agar (A296; PhytoTech Laboratories) and autoclaving at 120 C for 20 min. Five seeds per 125 mL baby food jar containing 30 mL of media were cultured, and there were 20 replicates. All cultures were incubated in a growth chamber at 25 ± 1 C, under a 16-h photoperiod provided by cool-white fluorescent lamps (50 mmol·m·s). Induction stage on semisolid culture media. Two-month-old seedlings, 6 cm height, were dissected in two longitudinal sections, trying to divide the meristem to avoid the effect of apical dominance, and the leaves and roots were trimmed away, each longitudinal section was considered as an explant. The sections were cultured on semisolid MS media, as described above, and supplemented with either BA or Kin at four concentrations (0, 4.4, 13.3, or 22.2 mM) or TDZ (0, 0.45, 2.3, or 4.5 mM). Each treatment consisted of 10 replicates containing two explants, which were placed with the cut surface directly onto the medium. The induction period lasted 30 d. Induction stage by pulses. Explants were cultured in groups of 16 in 500 mL Erlenmeyer flasks containing each 200 mL of liquidMSmedia supplemented with different concentrations of BA (0, 110, 220, or 440 mM) or TDZ (0, 22.35, 45.40, or 136.21 mM). The flasks were placed on an orbital shaker at 120 rpm and incubated as described above for 6, 24, 48, or 96 h. Each treatment consisted of eight replicates. Growth stage. After the induction period, the explants of either semisolid or pulse treatments, were subcultured every 30 d on semisolid MS medium without PGRs but with activated charcoal at 1 g·L. After 3 months, survival rate and mean of shoots per explant were recorded. Rooting stage. At the end of the growth stage, shoots were individualized, transferring 180 of a uniform size of 0.5 · 5.0 cm to test tubes (25 · 200 mm) containing 20 mL of either MS or 1/2MS (salts and vitamins) semisolid medium, both supplemented with sucrose at 30 g·L and activated charcoal at 0, 0.5, or 1 g·L. The overall rooting rates of each treatment were registered after 45 d. Ex vitro culture. Rooted shoots were extracted from the test tubes and washed thoroughly under running tap water. The plantlets were then transferred to propagation trays (Hummert International, Earth City, MO), containing a mixture of worm compost, loam, and pumice (1:1:1) and kept under greenhouse conditions (average temperature 30 C, relative humidity 80% to 90%). To prevent fungal growth, the plantlets were sprayed with a 0.3% fungicide solution (Captan). The trays were covered with plastic translucent lids the first 15 d, after which, the relative humidity was gradually decreased to between 50% and 60% by removing the lids during increasing amounts of time. Survival rates were recorded after 2 months. Statistical analysis. Shoot formation was analyzed by a Friedman two-way nonparametric analysis of variance, and different treatments were classified using Duncan's test (P # 0.05) (SAS 9.1; SAS Institute, Cary, NC). We tested rooting data for differences between treatments using Kruskal– Wallis test


(57) Abstract: A formula (1) ## STR1 ## Wherein, R EFFECT has excellent nerve growth promoting effect and is useful as a preventive and therapeutic agent for Alzheimer's dementia.


Several variables may affect the low temperature cracking resistance of asphalt concrete mixtures. These include asphalt cement and aggregate type, air voids content, degree of aging, and interactions between these variables. The thermal stress restrained specimen test (TSRST) has been developed as an accelerated laboratory test to evaluate the thermal cracking resistance of asphalt concrete mixtures. Based on an analysis of over 200 TSRST results, it was observed that asphalt type, aggregate type, degree of aging, and air voids content have a substantial influence on the low temperature cracking resistance of asphalt concrete mixtures. Fracture temperature was strongly dependent on asphalt type and degree of aging, and less dependent on aggregate type and air voids content. Fracture strength was highly dependent on air voids content and aggregate type, and less dependent on asphalt type and degree of aging. That is, asphalt type, aggregate type, degree of aging, and air voids content were identified as significant factors relating to the low temperature cracking characteristics of asphalt concrete mixtures. Interactions between variables (asphalt type, aggregate type and degree of aging) are not significant factors to the low temperature cracking characteristics of asphalt concrete mixtures. Fracture temperature showed good agreement with SHRP low temperature asphalt cement index test results, namely, the limiting stiffness temperature, the m-value, and the ultimate strain at failure. The penetration of asphalt cement at can be a good indicator of the low temperature performance of asphalt concrete mixtures.


Energy saving and emission reduction are important in the industrial field, and the transmitting loss of electric energy has been getting wide attention. The development of advanced metering infrastructures and information technology has enabled a massive accumulation of electricity data. Therefore, data-driven method is prospective to be applied to the calculation and analysis of energy loss. In order to establish an efficient data-driven theoretical energy loss calculation method for the transformer district, the following researches are carried out in this article: 1) In order to determine the input variables for the calculation model, the optimal types and number of input variables are determined through sample preclassification, grey correlation analysis and the 10-fold cross-validation method; 2) The structure of the convolutional neural networks is improved for accurately revealing the nonlinear relationship between multidimensional input data and theoretical energy loss; 3) A sample expansion method for transformer district based on generative adversarial networks is proposed, and the effect of the size of samples on the theoretical energy loss calculation in transformer district is analyzed. The simulations show that the proposed method results in acceptable calculation accuracy, training efficiency, and generalization ability.


【This study is processing to analyze the causes and to suggest the solution about extension of closed schools which comes from urban decay in the city. The meaning of this report is based on the purpose to help the substantial application of the equipments of closed schools. This is used by groping the composite application scheme for improving the values of recycling facilities of closed schools which is according to abolition and amalgamation. To complete the purpose of this report, many documents, records and corroborative evidences were used to process this study. We suggest the program that is available to invest space. That is analyzed the environment and the social application that the building has is proper or not.】


Annotation. The article suggests the definition of political humor as based on the stereotypes optimization tool of communication about the political situa-tion in the country and key figures on its political arena. The participants of this communication can be political subjects and their audience and also citizens themselves. Based on the content analysis of the KVN (Club of cheerful and resourceful) games was made a conclusion about the censoring political humor according to the aims of government propaganda; it was revealed that in the political humor of the KVN they actively use the manipulative meth-ods; it was proved that political humor which made V. V. Putin a hero and discredits those disliked by the government political figures and ideas of other countries in the mass consciousness. As a result it provides the support of the internal policy of Russia by the population and at the same time it fixes prej-udiced attitude to everything «foreign» in the society.


The utility model discloses a quick water heater which uses coal gas or coal fire as a heat source. The quick water heater is composed of an outer water ring and an inner thermophore. The outer water ring is an annular water container around the inner thermophore. The inner thermophore is a sealed container whose outer wall is provided with conical heat absorption slices and top cap is provided with a water inlet and a water outlet. The water inlet of the outer water ring is connected with tap water. The water outlet is connected with the water inlet of the inner thermophore with a flexible pipe. The hot water outlet of the inner thermophore is connected with a bath room or a washing room. The utility model has the advantages that because the heat absorption slices are arranged, the area of heat absorption is enlarged, and residual heat is absorbed by the outer water ring. The utility model has the advantages of high speed and long service life. The quick water heater of the utility model is made of aluminum products and is suitable for being manufactured in large. The quick water heater is easily cleaned and maintained.


This article describes a case of a granular-cell odontogenic tumour occurring in the mandible of a 19-year-old woman alongside a presentation of orofacial granulomatosis. The granular-cell odontogenic tumour is an extremely rare lesion, with fewer than 40 documented cases, and orofacial granulomatosis is itself an uncommon condition. The simultaneous occurrence of the two lesions has not previously been described.


Turtles are marine reptiles that have existed on Earth for millions of years and have managed to survive until today. Turtles play a crucial role in the marine ecosystem, maintaining the balance of nature and contributing to marine biodiversity. The method used in this research is a qualitative approach, which includes conducting in-depth interviews, participatory observations, and analyzing relevant documents. The data obtained will be analyzed using descriptive and interpretative approaches to illustrate the process of empowering the rural community in Dunu Village. This research aims to understand how the empowerment of the Dunu village community as turtle breeders takes place. The study was conducted for a duration of two weeks, starting from June 27, 2023, to July 11, 2023. The research findings indicate that in Dunu village, Gorontalo Utara Regency, three types of turtles are being conserved. The turtle species involved are the green turtle (Chelonia mydas), hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata), and olive ridley turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea). There are two individuals from Dunu village who are recognized as professional turtle breeders and actively participate in the protection of turtle eggs, caring for hatchlings, and conducting patrols along the beach where the turtles nest. These two breeders received training from the Balai Konservasi Sumber Daya Alam (BKSDA) Sulawesi Utara through the Seksi Konservasi Wilayah II Gorontalo.


This study analyses 75 membrane plasma exchanges carried out in 18 patients where various amounts of heparin were used to define the heparin kinetic during plasma exchange and the appropriate anticoagulation. A specific assay was employed to measure heparin concentration. Our results showed that: 1) the heparin distribution volume exceeded the expected value by 10 to 25%; 2) the drug is filtered with a sieving coefficient = 1; 3) the appropriate concentration range is within 0.2 and 0.5 Ul/ml.; 4) the heparin blood levels strictly correlate with a PTT (p<0.001); 5) the individual need for heparin is related to the patient Hct (p<0.001) and plasma flow (p<0.001). Simple quidelines are provided to determine the appropriate heparin dosage in single patients.


The present invention relates to a laser display apparatus so as to reflect the laser light emitted from the light-emitting element array provided by a laser diode elements are maethi line image on the screen. The present invention is a light emitting element array is irradiated with a laser beam according to image signals are arranged in a plurality of laser diode elements for generating a laser light in order to display an image by projecting a laser generated from the laser diode on a screen line, the input and .; It is provided at one side of the light-emitting element array, and a condenser lens for each laser light emitted from the plurality of laser diode elements, the guide to pass through the virtual focal point of the work; In the conventional laser display apparatus including a scanning means for scanning the laser light passes through the condenser lens, If the second rotation to reflect the laser beam wherein the scanning means is scanned in the light-emitting element array has elapsed; It said second N-up rotation elapses, the first rotation to linearly reflects the laser light reflected by the light if the second rotation and a control unit for synchronizing control the environment, the controller is coupled to the video controller and the synchronization control in the central control unit configured and, if is the central controller and input the detection signal from the light position detecting sensor to the sync controller and the image controller, the image controller receives a video signal and transmits the synchronization signal to the synchronization control, the video signal is video memory transmitting to the device, and the synchronization control is first if path motor, a driver and a, if the first rotation consisting of one motor controls respect the control signal and the second motor, a driver, the, if the second rotary consisting of two motor controllers respect synchronization control upon receipt of a control signal input is possible to increase the resolution of the display device. In addition, the invention may always be implemented at the best focus image irrespective of the screen position, so proceed without, respectively spreading the light rays are aligned in parallel at each light source. If a display, a laser diode, a scanning means, rotating around the swing actuator


The paper analyses and reviews the sharing system of the burden of proof in criminal cases in England according to the common definition and two kinds of the burden of proof in England.The author deems that the burden of proof in criminal cases in England lies from first to last on prosecution,instead of on the accused in general.The burden of proving no guilt of the accused lies on the accused himself on some stage of the proceedings or in some particular criminal cases.With the country generally putting stress on the criminal control and the efficiency of justice,the burden of proving no guilt of the accused heavily lies on the accused himself.


Just like trials, hearing presentations are a form of competitive theater. They are the opportunity to bring your case alive, adding a dimension that cannot be portrayed in written documents .alone. Peter-Carlo Lehrell & David Lawsky, FIPRA Int'l


COREOPSIS BORIANIANA Schz. Bip. ex Schweinf., Verhandl. Zool.Bot. Ges. Wien i8:684. i868; C. borianiana var. cannabina Schz. Bip. loc. cit.; C. guineensis 0. & H. in Oliver Fl. Trop. Afr. 3:390. i877; C. chrysopterocarpa Chiov., Ann. Bot. Roma 9:75. I9II. SCHULTZ BIPONTINUS based his C. borianiana upon (i) Boriani 42, in the Fesoglu, 1839 and (2) Schweinfurth 439, Matamma, Oct. 9, i865. He based his var. cannabina upon a larger specimen by Schliveinfurth, no. 585, also collected at Matamma in the middle of October, i865. The species proper, as represented by the Boriani specimen (I have seen SCHULTZ BIPONTINUS' type fragment at Paris), has leaf segments 3-6 mm. wide, while the var. cannabina has leaf segments 0.8-2.2 cm. wide. These distinctions appear to rest, however, upon different stages of development. Thus, for example, a specimen of Schweinfurth 439 in SCHULTZ BIPONTINUS' own herbarium (in Herb. Par.) has, above, the narrow leaf segments described for the species, and, below, one leaf with the broader segments described for the variety and matching the leaves of Schkzeinfurth 585 (Herb. Berl.). In fact, SCHULTZ BIPONTINUS himself had labeled this specimen var. cannabina. With these considerations in mind, I have reduced the var. cannabina to synonymy with C. borianiana proper. OLIVER and HIERN (in Oliver loc. cit.) based their Coreopsis guineensis primarily upon a plant by C. Barter, collected at Nupe, Nigeria (Herb. Kew). The Barter plant is purely C. borianiana, as are also many other plants secured by various collectors more recently and referred in herbaria to C. guineensis. Some time ago I was permitted, through the kindness of Dr. GIOVANNI NEGRI of Florence, Italy, to examine the type of C. chrysopterocarpa Chiov. (Pappi 7733, alt. iooo m., Baza-Cunama-Barentui,


Grand Zuri Hotel Pekanbaru is part of PT. Zuri Hospitality Management (ZHM). This hotel has the highest level of guest complaints at the front office department. This is caused by a problem in the receptionist. This study was conducted to determine the role of the receptionist and the problems faced by receptionists at the front office department. Data were obtained from in-depth interviews with front office managers, front office supervisors, receptionists and regular guests, as well as direct observation and documentation. Then the data obtained were analyzed using an interactive model consisting of three steps: data reduction, data presentation, and conclusion. Research shows that the receptionist at this hotel works as an operator, reservation, cashier and informant. This causes the receptionist can not work optimally and the hotel often received complaints from guests.


On the 21st anniversary in this year, I recall the small beginning of the Korea Blood Cancer Association (KBCA). Back in 1993, I myself was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia and undergone seven cycles of chemotherapy after a failure of remission therapy. Besides I had to get lung surgery due to the side effect associated with the chemotherapy. Passing through this 'death tunnel', however, I was recovered completely. After overcoming my painful experience, I began to feel that an organization which can help the patients suffering from blood cancers similar to mine is truly needed. In December 1995, together with the congenial colleagues who also experienced leukemia as patients, I launched a small organization named 'Saebitnurihoe', which means 'a new light to the world', to fulfil the mission of helping the patients with blood cancers. It was the first supporting group for adult blood cancer patients in Korea. Although many of my co-workers had passed away due to the recurrence of the painful disease, I have fortunately survived to continue doing our duty. We have been trying to support the patients and their families emotionally and financially to go through difficult times fighting the disease. In February 2003, we could make a big progress to establish the KBCA which was authorized by Ministry of Health and Welfare in Korea as a non-profit organization. Since then, we have been providing a wide variety of supporting activities. Our members are composed mainly of office workers who have experienced blood cancer, nurse specialists, and social workers. This patient-friendly cooperation system makes us to get more attentive to patient's needs and offer the best services for the patients. And most thankfully, we have many other dedicated helping hands from volunteers, sponsors, and medical doctors. Having in our hearts two mottos, 'giving Hope' and 'sharing Information', we work together in one accord to fulfill our mission. We are trying to provide the eight key services for the patients: counseling, financial support, emotional support, improving the quality of life, education programs for medical knowledge, programs for returning to normal life, publications, and international partnership.


:  Continuous biomass removal by grazing usually changes the resource allocation pattern of plants. These changes often increase resistance to tissue removal and produce individuals with different morphometric traits, such as root to shoot or blade to sheath ratios. Shifts in morphometric traits, in turn, may alter nutrient cycling through changes in the average quality of litter that decomposes in soil. Previous work has shown that Paspalum dilatatum, a native grass from the Pampas grasslands, which inhabits a vast area and supports a wide range of grazing conditions, increases its blade to sheath ratio under continuous grazing with respect to ungrazed conditions. Here, we explored the consequences of these changes apparently associated with grazing regime on litter quality and nutrient dynamics during litter breakdown in soil. We separately analysed litter quality of blades and sheaths of P. dilatatum and determined under controlled conditions their decomposition and nutrient release kinetics over a maximum period of 1 year. We also studied the mineral nitrogen contents in soil amended with each litter type. Blade quality was significantly higher than sheath quality, nitrogen concentrations of blades and sheaths were approximately 1% and 0.6%, respectively, and lignin to nitrogen ratios were approximately 5 and 11 for blades and sheaths, respectively. Phosphorus concentration, however, was similar in both litter types. Blades decomposed 10% faster than sheaths, released 20% more nitrogen and released 15% more phosphorus than sheaths during the last half of the incubation period. During the first 3 months, the soil nitrogen content of litter-amended incubations indicated immobilization with respect to non-amended control; however, later blade incubations mineralized nitrogen, whereas sheath incubations continued immobilizing it. Results revealed that grazing potentially accelerates nutrient cycling during decomposition by increasing the blade to sheath ratio of P. dilatatum individuals, and suggest that this may be an important mechanism underlying grazing impact on nutrient cycling.


Solid waste management is one of the major urban problems in cities today. The issue is often most pressing when city governments have to manage in challenging financial, managerial and cultural contexts. Cities in India are no exception. Although some town and cities have implemented and reported good practices, the situation is far from resolved. This paper looks at solid waste management practices in one ward in the city of Kochi, Kerala. The findings from this case suggest a systemic organising principle – a fractal configuration – as conducive to solid waste management. This paper further suggests that the recurring principle in this fractal system can be extended to other systems that involve distance decay or time decay functions.


The paper describes the need for a simple method of predicting the performance of a multisection microwave link. From the results of propagation measurements, a relationship is established between the worst-month fading distribution of a given microwave path, its path length and the roughness of the terrain. This relationship is then used to establish methods of predicting the worst-hour mean thermal noise and the thermal-noise levels exceeded for specified percentages of the worst month for a number of unequal microwave sections in tandem.


Testing is, in most cases, a manual activity that is time consuming and error prone. Automation, however, can severely reduce the associated costs. In the project Cote de Resyste (COnformance TEsting of REactive SYSTEms) theory is being developed and a protoype tool is being built to support the automatic test generation and execution from formal specifications for reactive systems such as communication protocols and embedded system software [14]. Industrial case studies are carried out by industrial partners to evaluate the theory and tools in practice, to identify potential bottlenecks and to suggest improvements. In this paper we describe our experiences with one of such case studies, the EasyLink case study. In this case study Audio/Video (AV) devices are automatically tested for compliance to the EasyLink standard. The purpose of this case study is to check the viability of the theory and the tools developed in project by applying them in an industrial setting. This paper discusses how the case study led to theoretical developments and tool improvements, and in that way provided valuable feedback that was used to guide the future direction of the project.


Nociceptors are an indispensable part of the human nervous system that can sense potential dangers from external environmental stimuli. The biomimetic studies of artificial nociceptors have inspired advanced technology in neuromorphic computing, humanoid robots and artificial visual sensors. In this work, we demonstrate an artificial optoelectronic nociceptor using the memristor of large-area In2S3 thin films. The nociceptor responds not only to electrical stimuli but also illumination of visual light, showing complete nociceptive behaviors of 'threshold', 'inadaptation', 'relaxation' and 'sensitization'. The features of the sensory signal such as responding threshold, relaxation time and sensitivity can be tuned in controllable manner, by the strength and frequency of the external stimuli as well as the biasing of electrostatic gate. Such realization of sensory response to multiple external stimuli in the artificial perceptron demonstrates the feasibility of constructing advanced electronic receptor and artificial human eye.


Transparent conducting oxides (TCOs) are unique materials with high electrical conductivity and optical transparency and have been extensively used in optoelectronic devices. However, the prototype n-type TCO, Sn-doped In2O3 (ITO), is limited by the rarity and high cost of indium. In contrast, SnO2 is a promising alternative candidate, which is a low-cost and nontoxic material and also exhibits electrical and optical properties, compared to those of ITO. Here, we present a first-principles-based computer screening system to search for suitable dopants for monodoping or codoping SnO2 to develop new SnO2-based TCO materials. The screening is based on an efficient and reliable way of calculating the effective mass, the band gap, the formation energy, and the binding energy. The outcomes of the screening include all already known successful SnO2-based TCO materials (Sb-doped SnO2, ATO; F-doped SnO2, FTO) and also some new ones (P-doped SnO2, PTO; F and P codoped SnO2, FPTO), which would be hopeful materials o...


In electricity enterprises,there are many heterogeneous databases developed in different times or by different sectors,and the data sources of these systems are independent of each other and difficult to be exchanged,shared or integratedbetween systems because of semantic conflicts. This paper presents a query mechanism for integrating heterogeneous data sources based on the ontological theory within the power enterprises. It provides a unified data query interface for decision-making. Experiments show that this mechanisms can effectively solve semantic conflicts between heterogeneous data sources,and improve the accuracy of the data analysis.


Due to their characteristic geometry, TiO2 nanotubes (TNTs), suitably doped by metal-substitution to enhance their photocatalytic properties, have a high potential for applications such as clean fuel production. In this context, we present a detailed investigation of the magnetic, electronic, and optical properties of transition-metal doped TNTs, based on hybrid density functional theory. In particular, we focus on the 3d, the 4d, as well as selected 5d transition-metal doped TNTs. Thereby, we are able to explain the enhanced optical activity and photocatalytic sensitivity observed in various experiments. We find, for example, that Cr- and W-doped TNTs can be employed for applications like water splitting and carbon dioxide reduction, and for spintronic devices. The best candidate for water splitting is Fe-doped TNT, in agreement with experimental observations. In addition, our findings provide valuable hints for future experimental studies of the ferromagnetic/spintronic behavior of metal-doped titania nanotubes.


The government through regional instruments seeks the management of local assets in order to generate profit for development financing. Currently, it is still found that the management of local assets is not neglected and becomes the burden of APBD every year. Many factors are causing regional assets not well managed, such as the overlapping of local asset management authority and unprofessional management of regional assets by private companies. This study aims to analyze the juridical aspects of the management of regional assets in accordance with the duties and authorities of local government. In conclusion: The regulation on  local assets management and legal protection has not been optimal. The obscurity arrangement of local asset management and  unequivocal sanctions resulted in the management of regional assets that should have added to the potential of the Regional Revenue (PAD), it becomes a burden for the region itself


This paper presents a process sensing circuit using current-steering logic (CSL) inverter-based ring oscillators. NMOS and PMOS CSL inverters are used for the ring oscillators for NMOS and PMOS process sensing, respectively. The designed process sensor circuit can distinguish between five different process corners with a sufficient difference. The output is a 6-bit digital output and is stable with a read and reset functionality. The circuit uses a 26 MHz reference clock, and the output is available in 10 µs for all the process corners. The circuit is designed and simulated in 65 nm CMOS technology with a 1 V supply. The layout of the circuit is also presented along with the post-layout results.


Background. The leak test is an accepted practice for evaluating airway edema and patient readiness for extubation. Reproducibility and interobserver reliability for this test have not been established. We studied the reproducibility and reliability of the leak test in and among health care professionals. Methods. Thirteen consecutive intubated patients were tested in triplicate and in blinded fashion by three observers to determine the leak around the endotracheal tube before extubation. All patients were pharmacologically paralyzed and sedated before assessment. Results. Neither interobserver or intraobserver variability was statistically significant when a standardized method was used to determine the leak. Conclusion. The leak test is reliable by the same or different observers regardless of varied clinical experience when using a standardized approach to measuring the leak.


This article deliberates fully developed natural convective flow of heat‐generating/absorbing fluid in open‐ended vertical concentric annulus under a magnetic field. The momentum and energy equations which arise from the definition of velocity and temperature are written in the dimensional form and then recast into the nondimensional form. Approximate solutions are obtained by using the semi‐analytical Adomian decomposition method. The solutions for the velocity, temperature, skin friction, mass flux and rate of heat transfer are obtained. The influence of physical parameters such as heat generation/absorption parameter ( δ ) and Hartmann number (M) are illustrated with the aid of graphs and tables. In the course of this investigation, it is found that an increase in the heat generation/absorption parameter increases the temperature. In addition, the magnitude of the temperature is higher for heat‐generating fluid in comparison to heat‐absorbing fluid. Furthermore, the temperature and velocity can be controlled by carefully selecting suitable values of the heat generation/absorption parameter and Hartmann number respectively.


SINCE SOCIAL SCIENTISTS first became interested in the relationship between formal schooling and its larger environment, the contribution of schooling to occupational attainments has been debated. Many research reports have documented what now appears intuitively obvious; namely, there is a high positive correlation between schooling completed and adult position in a status hierarchy. Moreover, this association appears to be most pronounced in industrial societies. From a comparative perspective we can inquire whether the level of industrial development alters the mediating role of schooling in occupational attainment. Most writers would concur with Lenski, who put the thesis succinctly: Industrial societies.... differ from agrarian in the means by which mobility is achieved.... In agrarian societies there were a number of channels through which men might move in their efforts to rise; no single institution played a dominant role in screening candidates for advancement. In industrial societies.... every individual is exposed to an extended process of testing and screening by educational institutions, and this is apparently becoming a major determinant of subsequent life chances.1


Our government aims at launching productive service trade and developing animated cartoon industry in the 11th 5-year-plan. This article analyses the related concept, relationship and conditions. And it points that animated cartoon industry is the main component of productive service trade, and launching animated cartoon industry is the inevitable choice for Fujian's productive service trade.


Abstract The graphical calculator originally developed for calculating penicillin concentrations from zone diameters in the three‐hour cylinder‐plate assay is shown to possess properties that recommend it for statistical analysis. By the introduction of two additional scales, the instrument is fitted to test data for deviation from normal distribution and to determine the mean and standard deviation from the mean of normally distributed values. Examples are included to demonstrate the advantages of graphical statistical analysis. A device for the semiautomatic plotting of data may be added if desired. The instrument is also useful in calculating values of LD 50 from suitable data.