A new carotenoid-like substance has been isolated from rat liver. A method for its separation and some of its properties are given. The authors wish to express their gratitude to Dr. H. F. Seibert, of the S.M.A. Corporation, for the samples of the β carotene used in these studies.


Low density polyethylene sheet was subjected to treatment by corona discharge in oxygen, nitrogen, helium and argon; in addition some sheets were treated with ozone gas. The bond strength between two similarly treated sheets was then measured using a commercial flexographic ink as an adhesive. The results showed that although surface oxidation improved both the ink adhesion and the wetting properties of polyethylene it is not a necessary prerequisite for good bonding. When the sheet was subjected to electrical discharge in nitrogen, argon or helium, considerable enhancement of ink adhesion was obtained without any detectable change in the surface chemistry of the polymer. The results indicate that ink adhesion after treatment in various gases follows closely the trends established previously in corona-induced autohesion of polyethylene. This suggests that the mechanism of bonding is similar in the two cases.


The author discusses how the unique characteristics of plastic optical fibres demand cable manufacturing plant and processes which impart minimum tension, torsion and bending. Extrusion processes must be carefully controlled and designed to protect the fibre during installation.


A pedagogical movement of sorts has been developing over the past several years whereby college students engage in off-campus and out-of-classroom activities for a particular kind of learning experience. This approach, here referred to as community service-learning, has captured the attention of academics throughout the U.S. who believe that service-learning experiences should be added to the more traditional classroom teaching ubiquitous in colleges and universities. This essay reviews the basic philosophy behind service-learning and traces its emergence as a particular kind of pedagogical approach in service of civic engagement and social responsibility. The article also describes the service-learning program developed by Cornell University whereby college students learn by coming to know and by working in low-income neighborhoods that includes interning at a model public school in Brooklyn, New York.


The traffic variations during the busy hour, sometimes random and sometimes caused py incidents in the normal establishment of calls (uncompleted calls·, repeated calls, renewals, breakdowns, disconnections etc.), . may during short periods cause abnormal occupations in the devices, particularly in the control devices, and have serious reactions on the efficiency of the exchange, which may be affected by serious internal congestion even for traffic values in the speech circuits which are not higher than th~se used for dimensioning of the different circuits.


Pa-shan-diao and Xin-tian-you belong to the same kind of western folk song style and they have many common features such as the style of making one group with two sentences with different amount of words,using much analogy and many dialects and vernaculars in the words of the songs which have strong sense of countryside and local features.At the same time,there are differences between the two due to the difference of geographical environment,customs and climate.


This study aims to make out-of-sample forecasts of recessions using the data of Turkey between 1986-2010. Recession forecast is important for decision makers in every level since it increases efficiency of decision making. Forecasting method used in this study is Qual-VAR method which includes information obtained from qualitative and/or discrete variables into vector autoregressions (VAR). Qual-VAR method makes it possible to create dynamic forecasts of qualitative variable using standard VAR projections. The evaluation and interpretation of findings obtained with this method are very simple. The findings obtained indicate that a recession will not occur during next twentyfour months in Turkey. However, we can expect that the probability of a recession will be increasing after 2014.


Objective To explore the use of hysteroscope in repeated removal of intrauterine devices,determine the way and the time of repeated removal of intrauterine devices and the way of anesthesia.Methods 232 cases were recruited to hysteroscopy,with 116 cases in intravenous anesthesia group(group A) and 116 cases in infiltration anesthesia group(group B).Group A and B were divided into two groups respectively,with 64 cases in perimenopause group(group A1,B1) and 52 cases of more than one year postmenopause in postmenopause group(group A2,B2),compared the completion rate of different anesthesias in different age.Results 111 cases were conducted in group A(95.7%,112/116) and 97 cases were conducted in group B(83.6%,97/112),the completion rate in intravenous anesthesia group was more than that in infiltration anesthesia group(P=0.003,P0.05).64 cases were conducted in group A1(100.00%,64/64) and 60 cases were conducted in group B1(93.8%,60/64),with no statistical significance in completion rate(P=0.119,P0.05).47 cases were conducted in group A2(90.4%,47/52) and 37 cases were conducted in group B2(71.2%,37/52),with statistical significance in completion rate(P=0.013,P0.05).Conclusion The repeated removal of intrauterine devices with hysteroscope is better than the traditional methods.Intravenous anesthesia can be the first-line anesthesia method.


In this work, the ability of several solvents to induce gel formation from amylomaize starch solubilized in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) was investigated. The formed gels were subjected to solvent exchange using ethanol and dried with supercritical carbon dioxide (sc-CO2) to obtain the aerogels. The influence of starch concentration (3–15 wt%) and solvent content (20–80 wt%) on gel formation was also studied. It was demonstrated that the gelation of starch in binary mixtures of solvents can be rationalized by Hansen Solubility Parameters (HSP) revealing a crucial hole of hydrogen bonding for the gel's strength, which is in agreement with rheological measurements. Only the addition of water or propylene glycol to starch/DMSO solutions resulted in strong gels at a minimum starch and solvent content of 7.5 wt% and 50 wt%, respectively. The resulting aerogels showed comparably high specific surface areas (78–144 m2 g−1) and low envelope densities (0.097–0.203 g cm−3). The results of this work indicate that the HSP parameters could be used as a tool to guide the rational selection of water-free gelation in starch/DMSO systems. In addition, it opens up an attractive opportunity to perform starch gelation in those solvents that are miscible with sc-CO2, avoiding the time-consuming step of solvent exchange.


Pattern discovery is used for determining, in a blind way, subsequences characterizing a given sequence or set of sequences. It is applied in genomics and proteomics for discovering interesting biose- quences which are usually very short when compared to the length of the analyzed sequence. Abstraction of subsequences, that is grouping similar subsequences and representing them in a compact way as patterns, seems particularly useful in the field of pattern discovery in order to stress sim- ilarities among interesting subsequences. In this paper we propose a set of techniques for pattern discovery which makes use of abstraction. We define a data structure, the k-trie, which is essentially an enriched and truncated sux trie, intended to collect and count subsequences up to a given length k. We give an on-line algorithm for building a k-trie in linear time. We also propose some pruning techniques for reducing the space complexity of the tree in the context of pattern discovery. Besides we consider three simple scores to be associated to the subsequences rep- resented in the tree in order to estimate their "interest" and we study their properties w.r.t. symbol concatenation and string abstraction. In particular, for the chi-square score we supply a method for collecting the most interesting subsequences. We also propose some techniques for using abstraction in ecient searching of patterns and in representing concisely the most interesting subsequences.


Wireless mesh networks have attracted increasing attention and deployment as a high-performance and low-cos t solution to last-mile broadband Internet access. Traffic routing plays a critical role in determining the performance of a wireless mesh network. To investigate the best routing solution, exi sting work proposes to formulate the mesh network routing problem as an optimization problem. In this problem formulation, tr affic demand is usually implicitly assumed as static and known a priori. Contradictorily, recent studies of wireless network traces show that the traffic demand, even being aggregated at access points, is highly dynamic and hard to estimate. Thus, in order to apply the optimization-based routing solution into practice, one must take into account the dynamic and unpredictable natureof wireless traffic demand. The main objective of this paper is to analyze the dynamic behavior of aggregated traffic in the wireless mesh backbone network and investigate throughput optimization routing strategies under dynamic traffic. The goal is to maximize the throughputof aggregated flows while maintaining the fairness among diffe r nt local access points. By studying the traces from operationa l wireless networks, this paper presents a traffic predictionmethod based on time-series analysis. This method derives a statis tical model for future traffic demand based on its historical data. This paper further identifies an optimization framework whi ch integrates the statistical traffic model into a tractable throughput optimization routing problem. The trace-driven simulation study demonstrates that our integrated prediction and optimization framework of mesh network routing can effectively incorporate the traffic demand uncertainty in routing optimization.


At the beginning of May 2018, after the Federal Reserve Bank had announced an increase in the benchmark interest rate, Argentina experienced a currency crisis that the central bank was unable to quell. As a result, the value of Argentina's currency, the peso, fell nearly by 8 percent in one day against the US dollar, a devaluation noticeably higher than those experienced by other Latin American countries. For several days, in what has become a regular event over the past few decades, journalists eagerly discussed the peso–dollar exchange rate, which also had a prominent place in the news. In one prime time current affairs program, a journalist observed that during the first week of May, 3 percent of Twitter exchanges in Buenos Aires had included the word "dollar," a percentage equivalent to that of New York City...


The Indian aluminium industry is rapidly growing as one of the key global aluminium markets from a producing and consuming point of view. Though, currently the per capita consumption is very low when compared to the global average, but increasing urbanisation and industrialisation, supported by government initiatives on infrastructure and housing, continue to drive strong economic growth and generate demand for aluminium products. Here, Aluminium International Today presents an overview of Indian aluminium industry.


The purpose of this study is to analyze the relationship between the open principal recruitment system and school finance operations. The main results of this study are as follows. First, the open principal recruitment system is being improved with a policy goal in mind. The ratio of schools implementing the open principal recruitment system has been continuously decreasing recently, but this is due to the reduction of the invitation type among the open principal recruitment system types. Second, implementing the open principal recruitment system is positive for unit school finance. In particular, it affects the expansion of education expenses in allocation, where many students are involved. It has been confirmed that implementing the open principal recruitment system affects the overall expansion of allocation and settlement of expenditures. In particular, it has been confirmed that the expenditure for basic educational activities and educational activity support among policy projects is increased. Third, the effect of the open principal recruitment system on school accounting differs according to the school's socioeconomic status. Through this, it was confirmed that the open recruitment principal is operating the school finance in consideration of the characteristics of the school members. In schools implementing the open principal recruitment system, the cost of human resource operation and educational activity support is expanded among policy projects if the school's socioeconomic status is low, whereas the general operating cost of the school is reduced. However, it was found that when the school's socioeconomic status was high, the expenditure on basic educational activities increased.


A family with 9 members of both sexes in 4 generations was demonstrated to have enhanced fibrinolysis associated with excessive bleeding. Three with the worst bleeding, all males, had 10% Factor VIII activity (high antigen, bleeding time normal and ristocetin platelet aggregation normal) with no male to male transmission. Antiplasmin proteins, α-I antitrypsin and α-2 macroglobulin were present and functionally normal. Inconsistently elevated fibrin degradation products, low fibrinogen and short euglobulin lysis times first suggested that a plasminogen activator might be present and enhanced by physical activity. Epsilon amino caproic acid (4 gms/day) given to one member with low Factor VIII inhibited the plasma activator but his Factor VIII activity only rose from 10 to 30%. In 2 affected members tested after exercise the activator activity increased up to 10-fold and required exogenous plasminogen for its demonstration. Ammonium sulfate precipitation (35-45% ) of the post-exercise plasma was pH, temperature and concentration dependent and again required exogenous plasminogen. At optimal conditions for plasminogen activation plasmin was obtained with the ammonium sulfate precipitation. Chromatography of the precipitate on Sephadex G-200 showed separation of the activator from both plasminogen and fibrinogen. The protein showed no reaction with an anti-urokinase on double-immunodiffusion and did not require Hageman fragments for its activation. We conclude that the Factor VIII deficiency in this family more closely resembles classic hemophilia and that exercise-induced activator excess modifies the expression of the genetic disorder. The presence of the activator is not Factor VIII dependent since the addition of Factor VIII in vitro did not inhibit the activation of plasminogen.


Synopsis: Effects of carbon, manganese, and their mutual interaction on the recrystallization texture and deepdrawability (r-value) of cold rolled steels have been studied. Hot bands with various carbon content and carbide morphology were cold rolled by a reduction of 75%, heated at two different heating rates (100•Ž/h and 50•Ž/s), and annealed at 700•Ž. The results showed that the interaction between carbon and manganese played a significant. role in the formation of recrystallization texture: the -value decreased markedly by the co-existence of solute carbon and manganese, while it did slightly by either of them alone, as in 0.001%C steels or 0.03%Mn steels. The decrease in -value corresponded to a randomization of the recrystallization texture. The above interaction was found to exert an effect on recovery of substructure, weakening the selectivity in the orientation of recrystallization nuclei. The improvement of r -value under the combination of coarsening of cementite in hot band by high temperature coiling and rapid heating annealing is fully explained by decline of the interaction between solute carbon and manganese resulting from the retarded dissolution of carbide.


Background: Dynamic hip screw (DHS) is a standard device for intertrochanteric fractures (ITF). Implant failure in form of screw cut out leading to varus collapse of neck shaft angle is associated with various factors like bone quality, fracture pattern, fracture reduction, lateral femoral wall thickness (LFWT), screw position and tip-apex distance (TAD). But there has been no clear consensus to the relative importance of each factor. The purpose of our study is to assess individual factors for a favorable outcome in DHS fixation of ITF. Materials and methods: 121 hips sustaining ITF treated with DHS between June 2014 and July 2016 were reviewed in our prospective study with a mean period of 12 months. Factors under study were bone quality,fracture pattern, fracture reduction, LFWT, screw position and TAD, which were recorded and used for statistical analysis using SPSS. Chi-square test, Independent t-test and Paired t-test were used to evaluate the significance of the differences. Final analysis involved clinical and radiological assessment using Harris Hip Score (HHS) and radiographs respectively. Results and Analysis: The mean age of patient at the time of surgery was 65.27±3.21 years (range 24-85) with 80 males and 41 females. There was no statistical significant relation found between implant failure and osteoporosis even though cases of failure were found in weak osteoporotic bones. Implant failure in relation to unstable fracture pattern, non-anatomical fracture reduction, LFWT< 21.77 mm, screw placement in position apart from centre


A theory of planning that uses nonmonotonic reasoning based on the modal quantificational logic Z is developed. It does forward reasoning and backward planning to reach the goal. The theory we are proposing uses the frame axiom and the modal quantifieational logic Z to propagate the facts from the current situation to the next situation. Only the explicit results of an action are provided; no delete list is needed. The facts are automatically added and deleted from one situation to the next by nonmonotonic reasoning as the actions are performed. A couple of examples are given to illustrate the technique.


We show that the chiral multifold fermions present a dual Haldane sphere problem in momentum space. Owing to the Berry monopole at the degenerate point, a dual Landau level emerges in the trace of quantum metric, with which a quantized geometric invariant is defined through a surface integration. We further demonstrate potential manifestations in the measurable, physical observables. With a lower bound derived for the finite spread of Wannier functions, anomalous phase coherence is identified accordingly for the flat band superconductivity. We briefly comment on the stability of these results under perturbations. Potential experimental probes of the quantum metric are also discussed.


In engineering practices, sand-cone tests are usually performed to assess the compaction quality of backfilled materials of highway embankments or earth dams. However, performing the sand-cone test is time consuming and can only obtain the physical but not the engineering properties of backfills. The objective of this paper is to investigate the feasibility of evaluating the compaction quality of backfills using stress wave propagation velocities. To achieve this goal, a backfill material with low plasticity used in the earth dam of the Hushan Reservoir in Taiwan was collected and tested. The calibration curves for the relationship among moisture content, dry density, and stress wave velocities were obtained. In order to verify the validity of the laboratory calibration curves, field tests were also performed on a trial embankment at the site of the reservoir. Comparing with values measured in the field using the traditional sand-cone test, the proposed method underestimates the water content and overestimates the dry density of the compacted backfills. The resulting error is less than 10 %. It is thus concluded that the proposed method is a promising tool for the evaluation of the compaction quality of backfills.


With the dramatic shrink of feature size and the advance of semiconductor technology nodes, numerous and complicated design rules need to be followed, and a chip design can only be taped-out after passing design rule check (DRC). The high design complexity seriously deteriorates design routability, which can be measured by the number of DRC violations after the detailed routing stage. In addition, a modern large-scaled design typically consists of many huge macros due to the wide use of intellectual properties (IPs). Empirically, the placement of these macros greatly determines routability, while there exists no effective cost metric to directly evaluate a macro placement because of the extremely high complexity and unpredictability of cell placement and routing. In this paper, we propose the first work of routability-driven macro placement with deep learning. A convolutional neural network (CNN)-based routability prediction model is proposed and embedded into a macro placer such that a good macro placement with minimized DRC violations can be derived through a simulated annealing (SA) optimization process. Experimental results show the accuracy of the predictor and the effectiveness of the macro placer.


This paper reports on our experiences designing GameMath!, a mathematics learning track for a new game making curriculum called Pedagogical Games. The curriculum is the result of an National Science Foundation grant to explore novel ways to teach standards-based content and 21 century skill to underperforming high school students in Los Angeles. The project's goals are to address retention, career education and secondary mathematics learning. Game-making is being used to engage students and to provide a grounding context for the mathematics. The effort has exposed the challenge of teaching math across the curriculum and led to the development of new strategies to embed mathematics in authentic contexts. The curriculum is being developed and implemented for the first time during the 2011-12 school year. Fifty ninth-grade underrepresented minority students from east LA are participating. This paper summarizes our current strategies and lessons learned.


The results of empirical studies aboutn causality among sovereign bonds could be biased, since its use only some bonds, depending on the maturity, or analyze bond market indexes; by contrast, we test causality in-mean and in-variance on full interest rate curve. For that, we propose a method for estimating the curve factors (Nelson-Siegel) avoiding multicollinearity, and then we study asymmetric causalilty among them. On a daily sample of sovereign bonds market prices (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, UK and USA), we found that USA (long-term) and Germany (short-term) are main drivers of causality in-mean. The causality in-variance results shows that the effect is miostly in the EMU area, highlighting Spain as the main driver.


Objective To investigate the expression of matrix metalloproteinase-2(MMP-2) and vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF) in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma(SCC) and the relationship between their expression and tumor differentiation and lymph node metastasis.Methods The expression of MMP-2 and VEGF was observed by ABC imunohistochemiccal techique in 50 cutaneous SCC(including 14 SCCs with lymph node metastases).Among them,there were 34 highly differentiated ones and 16 poorly differentiated ones.Results MMP-2 and VEGF were localized within cytoplasm of tumor cells.MMP-2 expressive rate was 76%,and expression in poorly differentiated tumors was significantly higher than that in highly differentiated ones(P=0.021),and the higher expression of MMP-2,the higher rate of lymph node metastasis(P= 0.003).VEGF expressive rate was 72%.The expression in poorly differentiated tumors was significantly higher than that in highly differentiated ones(P=0.0389),and the higher expression of VEGF,the higher rate of lymph node metastasis(P=0.0168).Conclusion Expression of MMP-2 and VEGF is relate to the differentiation and lymph node metastasis in cutaneous SCC.


Organization without management is an impossible thing to be achieved the desired goals effectively and efficiently. Management is widely interpreted as in the process of planning, organizing, actuating and evaluating Planning formulated by the Manager of both planning long term or short term. Organizing done by establishing the organizational structure. Function acctuating done by providing support and motivation so that employees carry out work in accordance with the planning and responsibility. Function monitoring/evaluation done in accordance with the standards set by the company, so the evaluation of employee performance can be measured precisely and in accordance with a predetermined plan.
Keywords : planning, organizing, actuating, monitoring.


Alloying techniques show genuine potential to develop more effective catalysts than Pt for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), which is the key challenge in many important electrochemical energy conversion and storage devices, such as fuel cells and metal‐air batteries. Tremendous efforts have been made to improve ORR activity by designing bimetallic nanocatalysts, which have been limited to only alloys of platinum and transition metals (TMs). The Pt‐TM alloys suffer from critical durability in acid‐media fuel cells. Here a new class of mesostructured Pt–Al catalysts is reported, consisting of atomic‐layer‐thick Pt skin and Pt3Al or Pt5Al intermetallic compound skeletons for the enhanced ORR performance. As a result of strong Pt–Al bonds that inhibit the evolution of Pt skin and produce ligand and compressive strain effects, the Pt3Al and Pt5Al mesoporous catalysts are exceptionally durable and ≈6.3‐ and ≈5.0‐fold more active than the state‐of‐the‐art Pt/C catalyst at 0.90 V, respectively. The high performance makes them promising candidates as cathode nanocatalysts in next‐generation fuel cells.


The development of the radicle of no-primary-root type seedling of Nelumbo nucifera was reported.The radicle converted from meristem into storage tissue,so the radicle didn't break through the seed coat.The sieve element of the primary vascular system of the seedling of Nelumbo nucifera was sieve tube element.These results indicated that the special structure of the cotyledon and the radical were related with the life condition and systematic evolution.


The general field of the invention is that of luminance control devices of lighting devices comprising light-emitting diodes. The control device (10) is controlled by a cyclic input signal (S) of determined period, each period comprising an activation time (TA) representative of a determined luminance level. The control device comprises analog electronic means (11) generating a second control signal (S) of the intensity of the electric current passing through the light-emitting diodes, the amplitude of the second control signal being an increasing function of the activation time. so that the combination of the cyclic input signal and the second signal applied to the light-emitting diodes gives a luminance dynamic that is greater than the dynamics of the cyclic input signal.


In this reply, the authors show that the argument by Scott regarding the band gap of bulk SrBi2Ta2O9 (SBT) is not based on concrete evidence. The authors will also show additional data from a Raman study of a powdered SBT sample to prove that the surface of the specimen was not covered by Bi2O3.


In my response to the commentaries on my anchor article, I have taken on board the key question of how and why India has become the site of production of 100 proposed smart cities. I forward a notion of 'technocratic nationalism' to suggest that it is the young urban population in India who have largely bought into the smart city dream. Whilst drawing encouragement from the largely positive commentaries on my article, I then take on three main critiques of the article – first, that it has inadvertently promoted a hegemony of 'city-ness' by focusing on the imagined smart city to be; second, that the smart city has strong connections with colonial urban planning and third, whether Dholera should be considered the first smart city at all. I suggest that the article's city-ness and postcolonial links to India's urban planning is both political and heuristic, since it is the postcolonial 'urban' moment where India has situated its moment of modernity globalization and economic power. I contend that the final critique is based on a misinterpretation of the use of the word 'first', which was always intended to reflect a politics of innovation among cities. Finally, I suggest that the other 'gaps' in my article highlighted by one of the commentators is not a gap, rather beyond the scope and objectives of an exploratory article such as this.


Eigenvalues of the Hamiltonian in a quantum field theory can be considered as functions of the coupling constant. In the present paper, the analyticity of these functions is studied by using simple models.


This article analyzes a recently emerging halal market in Turkey and illuminates how discursive strategies foster the halal movement in an Islamic culture, and in a neoliberal economy. By exploring websites of the Turkish halal regulatory institutions and employing critical discourse analysis of the media materials, I demonstrate how Islamic actors (halal certification institutions and businesses) adapt, appropriate, and contest different discursive strategies to achieve legitimacy, to compete for distinction and to acquire power in a newly emerging and fiercely competitive, yet a globally defined field in a national economy. The discursive contestations of the actors shaped by the ambivalent structure of the Turkish halal market and accompanied by the deregulation principal of neoliberalism create equivocal meanings of halal-ness, symbolic consumption and education in this emergent field.


Six children with isolated neuronal intestinal dysplasia (NID) and unusual complications are presented. Three had meconium peritonitis, one of them in association with a solid pyloric atresia, one midgut volvulus, one rectal stenosis, and o ne jejunojejunal intussusception. These cases show that patients with isolated NID may present with a heterologous pattern of symptoms very different from those generally reported, indicating that NID may not be a distinct c linical entity. The symptomatology of NID seems to be directly correlated w ith the degree of functional defect of gut motility. NID should be suspected in any case of functional small-bowel obstruction.


The thesis demonstrates a teaching reform system of drawing courses on the basis of 3d modeling, which provides the characteristics of the reformation system of drawing courses, analyzes the features and innovation thereof and concludes the practical achievements in teaching reform with the aim of training students with the capabilities of 3d designing and 2d expression.


A distributed Bragg reflector strained-layer multiple-quantum-well laser at 1.5- mu m wavelength with an integrated tapered waveguide beam expander is discussed. The far-field FWHMs in the lateral and vertical directions are 10 and 15 degrees , respectively. A quantum efficiency of 17% out the tapered facet was measured with a corresponding threshold current of 28 mA. The alignment tolerances for coupling into a cleaved single-mode fiber are 9.5 and 7.5 mu m FWHM in the lateral and vertical directions, respectively. A 3-dB improvement for single-mode fiber coupling using a SELFOC lens was obtained.<<ETX>>


On the basis of relative literature studies, this paper puts forward the conceptual schema of major factors of reengineering in Chinese commercial banks and research hypothesis, then proceeds empirical tests. The results show that market competition pressure affects reengineering performance indirectly by client oriented strategy, leading factors and information technology capabilities. Not only information technology capabilities have impact on reconstruction performance directly,but also client oriented strategy, organization and coordination degree influence that indirectly. Despite training and inspiration, information technology capabilities and organization and coordination degree also indirectly affect reengineering performance. Leading factors, together with training and inspiration, affect reengineering performance directly and indirectly. Organization and coordination degree affect reengineering performance directly. Finally, corrected conceptual schema of Chinese commercial banks reengineering influencing factors are got by analyzing the function from influencing factors to reengineering performance.


The surgical repair of retinal detachment was chosen as the operative procedure to use in the investigation of the effects of methoxyflurane on renal function during the first three days after surgery. This was done in order to exclude any additive effect of hypotension, blood loss, or traumatic surgery on the kidney. In this controlled, prospective study, 25 patients received methoxyflurane and 25 received halothane. There was significant rise in the mean serum creatinine level and fall in the mean urine osmolality among patients who received methoxyflurane. No such changes were seen in those given halothane. These data suggest an effect of methoxyflurane on renal function, even when the severe symptomatic syndrome previously described does not occur.


Background and purpose In Sweden private savings in stocks has experienced a large increase and in year 2006 there were 6.7 million people, or 77 per cent of the population owning stocks. A recent study shows that more than every other Swede has deficient knowledge in trading with stocks. Since small private investors often do not know how to gather and interpret information they must utilize investment advices. The large increase in private savings in stocks, the lack of investment knowledge together with the large increase in Internet usage has resulted in investment advice seeking on the Internet. One of the largest sources of investment advices on the Internet in Sweden today is Avanza.se. The purpose with our thesis is to describe and analyze if, after a buy recommendation issued at Avanza's website, the effects with respect to abnormal return and market efficiency differ significantly depending on a company's capitalization value.


Systems competitions play a fundamental role in the advancement of the state of the art in several automated reasoning fields. The goal of such events is to answer the question: "Which system should I buy?". Usually the answer comes as the byproduct of a ranking obtained by considering a pool of problem instances and then aggregating the performances of the systems on each member of the pool. In this paper, we consider voting systems as an alternative to other procedures which are well established in automated reasoning contests. Our research is aimed to compare methods that are customary in the context of social choice, with methods that are targeted to artificial settings, including a new hybrid method that we introduce. Our analysis is empirical, in that we compare the aggregation procedures by computing measures which should account for their effectiveness using the data from the 2005 evaluation of quantified Boolean formulas solvers that we organized. The results of our experiments give useful indications about the relative strengths and weaknesses of the procedures under test, and allow us to infer also some conclusions that are independent of the specific procedure adopted.


Nurses have always been considered as a unique working group because of the physically and mentally demanding tasks they bear at work. Such a working condition exposes them to a high risk of fatigue, which could influence their work ability. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the relationship between work ability index (WAI) and fatigue of critical care nurses in a military hospital. In this descriptive and crosssectional study, 101 nurses (71 females and 30 males) of critical care units filled out both the Persian version of WAI and nurses' fatigue questionnaires. The nurses were selected from three general hospitals of Tehran by cluster sampling method. The Pearson correlation test was used for investigating the relationship between two quantitative variables, and all the statistical analyses were performed by SPSS v. 21 software. The nurses' average age was 24.5 years old (±SD=±3.6), and the mean of work experience was 9 years (±SD=±4.13). The mean work ability of the nurses was 40.01 (±SD=±4.05), indicating ―good work ability‖. Fatigue was found in 46.19% of the participants, and the nurses' fatigue was mainly of mental type (29.8%). There was a significant negative correlation (-0.57) between the scores of WAI and total fatigue (p < 0.001). The negative correlation between WAI and fatigue shows that WAI and fatigue score could be a good predictor of health and quality of work life. Identifying the influential factors of nurses' work ability and fatigue would help to improve the work condition of critical care nurses.


In the article examined varieties of securities which are related to the mortgage. Risks are analysed in title insurance. The role of insurance companies is marked at the market of mortgage bonds.


This article sorts out the main uses of the terms 'point of view', 'viewpoint', 'perspective', and 'subjectivity'. I distinguish two main uses: expressions of communication, content of mind, and evaluation, which convey point of view; and expressions of perception and perspective, which convey perspective. The basis for the distinction is the linguistic forms and the interpretations which they license. Often more than one form is involved. I suggest that linguistic analyses of these phenomena require a 'composite approach' which recognizes that several linguistic forms must be recognized in the expression of subjectivity. The framework of Discourse Representation Theory allows this approach. I give the outlines of a composite analysis in this framework and propose rules for interpreting indirect speech.


Self-regulated language learning-referring to language learners' awareness and self-management of their own learning behaviors -has been the target of research on language education lately. Yet, most language research endeavors and instructional interventions heretofore have focused on cognitive and metacognitive self-regulation with very scanty empirical focus on (meta-) motivational self-regulation. The issue gains particular impetus with at-risk EFL students whose lack of motivation is often misinterpreted as lack of ability. The current study investigated the immediate and delayed impact of enhancing EFL at-risk students' meta-motivational self-regulation on their language strategy use and academic achievement. Sixty seven at-risk EFL students in Abu Dhabi University, the United Arab Emirates, took part in this study. They were randomly assigned to an experimental group or a control group condition. Their language strategy use was assessed via an inventory developed and validated by the researcher, whereas their cumulative grade point averages (CGPAs) were used for tapping their academic achievement. Results of the study indicated that the experimental group students who received the suggested instructional intervention outperformed their control peers in both language strategy use and academic achievement. Details of the instructional intervention, assessment instruments, and the results of the study are discussed along with recommendations for language instruction and suggestions for further research.


The Ni‐rich layered oxides with a Ni content of >0.5 are drawing much attention recently to increase the energy density of lithium‐ion batteries. However, the Ni‐rich layered oxides suffer from aggressive reaction of the cathode surface with the organic electrolyte at the higher operating voltages, resulting in consequent impedance rise and capacity fade. To overcome this difficulty, we present here a heterostructure composed of a Ni‐rich LiNi0.7Co0.15Mn0.15O2 core and a Li‐rich Li1.2− x Ni0.2Mn0.6O2 shell, incorporating the advantageous features of the structural stability of the core and chemical stability of the shell. With a unique chemical treatment for the activation of the Li2MnO3 phase of the shell, a high capacity is realized with the Li‐rich shell material. Aberration‐corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) provides direct evidence for the formation of surface Li‐rich shell layer. As a result, the heterostructure exhibits a high capacity retention of 98% and a discharge‐voltage retention of 97% during 100 cycles with a discharge capacity of 190 mA h g−1 (at 2.0–4.5 V under C/3 rate, 1C = 200 mA g−1).


Northern Cyprus has limited children's playgrounds due to various reasons such as rapid urbanization, transition to apartment life, and security problems. With the withdrawal of children from the street, the frequency of playing traditional children's games has gradually decreased. The aim of this study is to draw attention to the functions of traditional Turkish Cypriot children's games in the spiritual and physical development of the child and to propose solutions for the protection and transfer of the games. Findings were obtained by observing and interviewing methods and by scanning written materials. In this study, the current state of traditional children's games in the Turkish Cypriot culture was evaluated, and the games were classified according to whether they were with or without toys, whether they were rhymes or not, and were evaluated in terms of their functions and introduced with their context.. Plays has functions that fulfil many needs of children such as having fun, self-realization, relaxation, spending time, developing imagination, physical movement. Indeed, plays are a means of socialization for children to experience daily life and are a channel of expression with psychological content in which they imitate adult life with various roles such as mother, father, doctor, teacher, neighbor, and administrator. In the conclusion part of the study, some solution recommendations for the sustainability of the functions of these traditional folk culture products that meet many needs of children are presented.


Necrotizing sialometaplasia (NS) is an uncommon non-neoplastic, self-limiting inflammatory condition of the salivary glands. NS of major salivary glands is rare and simulates malignancy. If it is seen at this location, most of the cases are due to ischemia caused by vessel injury secondary to previous dental procedure or parotid gland surgery. We present a case of a parotid swelling that appeared as Warthin tumor on fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC). On histology it turned out to be NS of parotid gland. The well known etiologies were absent in this case and hence it was labeled as idiopathic.


In the context of planet sustainability, the renewable sources of energy and especially wind have been a good alternative to fossil fuels, since they are both inexhaustible and clean. Though already established and proven, wind energy needs to be competitive forcing to further optimise its use both in terms of technological development as in asset management. This paper presents a new methodology and results concerning a problem that arises in the planning of wind farms: the location of meteorological masts for performance analysis. The masts monitor wind conditions and are used to perform a specific set of tests. The optimal location of these masts allows the maximisation of the dominant wind exposure and the minimisation of the number of disturbed sectors. The SADLEMPE decision support system has been developed recently to address this problem. Here, we present new results provided by this application for a real case study.


Baroreceptor activity was increased after i.v. infusion of acebutolol in rabbits with an intact circulation, and in rabbits with a total cardiopulmonary by-pass. In rabbits with an intact circulation, renal nerve activity was reduced.


Giving an introduction to the construction method of installing the Prefabricated pile cap,which has been implied in Zhujiang bridge in Guangzhou-Foshan line,and also analysis the pile cap by FEM.This method can provide reference for the construction of similar pile cap.


High school/vocational school students are in a transitional phase towards greater independence and responsibility, so it is important to have a strong traffic safety character. The school security patrol extracurricular in high schools/vocational schools has an important role in shaping the traffic safety character of students. The integration of traffic safety character education with school security patrol extracurriculars in high schools/vocational schools is proposed with an integration model. Modeling refers to a character education management scheme with 18 indicators in 6 schools in 4 regions with data collection using surveys and questionnaires. The resulting traffic safety character is included in the category that is still not good. The proposed integration model applies the design of the assisted school with adjustments to raw input, transformation, instrumental input, environmental input and output. The integration model is carried out by making collaborative actions between stakeholders to achieve excellent traffic safety characteristics at the high school/vocational school level.


Environment-friendly flame retardant 2,4,6-tri(tribromophenyl)cyanurate was applied to the flame retardant modification of ABS,the flame retardant was dispersed to make it work well in ABS.Then the prepared flame retardant ABS was toughened.Thermoplastic elastomer powder(SBS),high rubber content ABS and NBR powder were applied to the toughening modification of ABS respectively,The toughening effect of NBR was the best when the NBR was applied.The impact strength of the toughened ABS was increased by 16.3% and no effect on flame retardant.


Abstract We present some preliminary results of our ongoing project about planetary systems around S-stars in the vicinity of Sgr A* black hole. Since S-stars might have migrated in the Galactic Centre (GC) from elsewhere, they probably still keep their planetary systems throughout their voyage. In this work, we study the destiny of their putative planetary systems after close interaction with the central black hole of our galaxy.


In this paper an adaptive template filtering method is described which can be used to increase the signal-to-noise ratio(SNR) and keep the important edge information of medical images. To date various filtering approaches are reported, most of them enhance SNR in different levels with loss of some useful information. We try to develop a robust algorithm. Unlike conventional filtering, where the template shape and coefficients are fixed, multiple templates are defined in the proposed algorithm. For each pixel, an optimal template is selected automatically depending on its neighbor pixels. Simulation and MRI image tests, both 2D and 3D, show that the new adaptive template filter provides higher SNR and sharper edges. Our method improved existing adaptive template filtering technique, corrected scale factor of threshold adjustment, extended it to 3D algorithm.


Background Accumulation of oxidised low density lipoproteins (oxLDL) in macrophages and their subsequent transformation into lipid‐filled foam cells is generally considered an early event in atherosclerosis. Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) may contribute to atherogenesis through increased vascular permeability, chemoattraction towards monocytes and intraplaque vessel formation. In this study we investigate the effect and regulation of VEGF expression in human macrophages stimulated with oxLDL.


Background : Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is now widely recognized as a major global public health problem.
Objectives: this study aims to assess the level of adherence to treatment among COPD patients and relationship with some variables in the study.Methodology: A cross sectional study design was undertaken among 75 COPD patients in 2015, to collect the data the questionnaire was used according objective of study through interviewing in 20 minutes. It is including demographic information and adherence to treatment; data were analysis by descriptive and inferential statistics
Result: The total mean score of adherence to treatment 25.65 ± 9.91. Majority of COPD patients was not adherence to treatment 61.3% and a major factor for non-adherence is forgetfulness. There were significant association between level of adherence and age (p=0.019), gender (p=0.018), level of education (p=0.002), readmission to hospital (p=0.011) and cigarette smoking (p= 0.017).
Conclusion: According to results of the study most of COPD patients were poor adherence in physical exercise and effective cough. In general, more than half of COPD patients were poor adherence to treatment.
Recommendation: Nurses should set up a set of standard nursing care activities that promote the understanding of adherence to treatment among COPD patients.


This paper analyzes the effect of bubble noise and Doppler shift in an underwater acoustic communication in addition to the influences by ambient noise and severe multipath propagation. Here Bubbles are assumed to be formed due to breaking of waves under strong winds. The bubble layer thus formed alters the speed of the sound in the field. The changed speed of the sound in the field, results in transmission loss during propagation and scattering of the signals. Existing Underwater Acoustic channel (UWA) models do not account for the combined effects. In this paper, first UWA multipath channel is modeled in the presence of ambient ocean noise and bubble noise. Subsequently a new method is proposed for Doppler shift compensation that avoids resampling as well as the need for preloading the whole data packet prior to demodulation and facilitates real time operation at receiver for an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) based UWA communication system. The proposed algorithm is simulated and verification is carried out by studying the Quality of Service parameter Bit Error Ratio (BER) for different Doppler shifts. The proposed method can be implemented with significantly reduced computational complexity.


The purpose of this study is to determine the dimensions of smart schools in the Fars education system and provide a suitable model. The research method is descriptive survey. The study population consisted of all school principals Fars Province in the academic 2014-2015 and number of them was 1364. The sample volume using Cochran method was 302 people, which was chosen by cluster. In order to achieve the objectives of the study, beginning with a review of literature and research in Iran and world history questionnaire has 4 dimensions (infrastructure, human resources, process of teaching-learning, management) and 12 elements (hardware, software, physical, administrators, teachers, students, parents, curriculum, teaching methods, content, support, evaluation) and consists of 83 items based on LIKERT scale was adjusted. The validity of based on (judicial authorities, supervisors and advisors) and reliability through Cronbach's alpha was calculated 0.98. After the distribution and questionnaires, data using statistical indicators and the percentage distribution, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling at 95% with SPSS 21 software and LISREL 8.8 were analyzed. Findings showed that all aspects have been confirmed and significantly (P<0.05) are above average. In all cases, the load factor smart component of education indicators are approved. In dimensions of infrastructure, human resources, process of teaching-learning and management factor loadings are 0.88, 0.43, 0.85 and 0.83, respectively. Selected references valid and dimensions of these smart to have a good education with a view to confirming the standard model coefficients derived by fitting indicators to measure structural equation modeling.


The utility model relates to the technical field of caps, in particular to an improved bottle cap comprising a cap body and a cap core. A switch pressing device is arranged in the cap core and comprises a cap plug, wherein the upper end of the cap plug is provided with a cap plug rod, an open groove is formed in the cap plug rod, a clamping cap is clamped in the open groove, a spring is arranged between the clamping cap and the inner bottom end of the cap core, the upper end of the cap plug rod is sleeved with a rotary clamping ring, the rotary clamping ring is connected with a button in a clamping mode, clamping sleeves are arranged between the rotary clamping ring and the cap core and between the button and the cap core respectively, the top of the cap body is provided with a button hole, a water inlet is formed in the bottom of the cap core, a flow guide channel is arranged between the cap core and the cap body, and a water outlet is arranged in the inner wall of the cap body. According to the improved bottle cap, the cap core is connected with the inside of the cap body in a threaded mode, and when water is poured into a thermos or a thermos cup, what is needed is to screw the cap core out of the cap body. The structure is simple and reasonable, and water leakage can be prevented. Besides, the flow guide channel is formed between the cap core and the cap body, and the inner wall of the cap body is provided with the outer outlet which is communicated with the flow guide channel and corresponds to the lip of a person in size, so that use is convenient.


Phase unwrapping is a key step of InSAR signal processing. The traditional algorithm relies on the phase continuity assumption. However, the unwrapped phase is not usually effective because of severe noise and dense fringes. A phase unwrapping method based on deep convolution neural network is proposed. The phase ambiguity gradient is calculated by Feature Pyramid and Global Attention Network (FPGANet), which is a lightweight network combining two attention mechanisms. The neural network calculation results are utilized by a postprocessing to obtain the final unwrapped phase. The first test is conducted on simulated data, which is generated from a different signal model. The second test shows the new method is time efficient as the interferogram size increases. The experimental results indicate the effectiveness of FPGANet.


Background The reliability of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) as biochemical markers of heart failure in comparison to B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) has not been investigated in depth. Aim To compare the correlations between IL-6, TNF, BNP plasma concentrations and some clinical and instrumental variables and their prognostic value in heart failure patients. Methods In 79 patients with heart failure, the correlations between IL-6, TNF and BNP plasma concentrations and a series of 18 variables were studied. Outcome events were death from any cause and combined death and heart transplantation. Results At univariate analysis, BNP and IL-6 plasma concentrations correlated with each other (r = 0.4828; P < 0.0001), with New York Heart Association class, fluid retention, left ventricular ejection fraction, mean right atrial pressure, mean pulmonary pressure and cardiac index. All these correlations were stronger with BNP. TNF plasma concentration correlated only with New York Heart Association class and left ventricular ejection fraction. During follow-up, 1–32 months, 14 patients died and nine underwent heart transplantation. At univariate analysis, both BNP and IL-6 plasma concentrations were predictors of death and heart transplantation, but only BNP was a predictor of death; however, only creatinine plasma level was an independent predictor of prognosis. Conclusion IL-6 and TNF are less reliable biochemical markers than BNP in heart failure patients.


Noradrenaline and adrenaline blood levels, as well as central hemodynamics (Swan‐Ganz semi‐floating balloon‐tipped catheter), were measured at rest and during moderate exercise in 8 male patients suffering with idiopathic congestive cardiomyopathy (COCM), and in 12 healthy male control subjects. The stroke volume and the cardiac output in COCM were, on the average, one‐half that of the control subjects; adrenaline, noradrenaline, pulmonary capillary wedge pressure, as well as the roentgenographically determined heart volume (at rest) in COCM were, on the average, increased more than twice the control values. The noradrenaline and adrenaline responses in COCM reached at the 25‐W exercise level the response of controls at the 150‐W level. Direct correlations were observed between the cate‐cholamine responses and the capillary wedge pressure as well as the heart volume; inverse correlations existed between the catecholamines and the stroke volume or the cardiac output. The results may be indicative of a causal relationship between the reduced function of the left heart and a compensatorily increased sympathetic activity, but they are not at all conclusive for a definite cause‐effect response. The differences in catecholamine levels and the correlations are more significant for noradrenaline during both exercise and rest, whereas for adrenaline significance only occurred during exercise. The noradrenaline and adrenaline levels may serve as indicators (especially in the chronic stage) in the diagnosis of reduced left ventricular function.


Abstract The stress corrosion cracking (SCC) behavior of the U-4.5 wt% Nb alloy aged 80 hours at 260 C (500 F) has been investigated. Smooth four point bend SCC tests and smooth static tensile SCC ...


Background/purpose Retinoids like tazarotene are approved for the treatment of chronic plaque psoriasis. In the beginning of topical retinoid therapy, 15–20% of the patients suffer from mild to moderate adverse reactions with burning and erythema. The aim of the study was to find predicative parameters of the individual irritative potential and to suggest options to reduce these initial irritations.


Multigene assay is recommended currently for prognostic stratification of the clinically indeterminate group of breast cancer (BC) patients defined as lymph node (LN)‐negative, oestrogen receptor (ER)‐positive, HER2‐negative (LN−/ER+/HER2−) to determine the use of chemotherapy. However, this cohort, comprising approximately 40% of BC, is not a homogeneous group and shows variable outcome. This study aims to determine the prognostic value of routinely assessed variables, singly and in combination, in LN−/ER+/HER2− BC patients.


Browning—its dimensions are truly colossal. Unhappily this display of industry goes for little or nothing. A survey of views expressed by the most eminent hellenists of successive ages, if compressed into a narrow compass, might form a useful contribution to the history of Greek scholarship. But to induce residual truths about the Greek genius out of an aggregation of quotations detached from their context is as hopeless a task as to discover scientific laws by means of Bacon's Tables of Instances. Indeed the very completeness of the author's lists tells heavily against him, for such a welter of evidence, however carefully classified, is sure to paralyze rather than to stimulate the judgment: it can serve at most to prove anew the old saying quot homines tot sententiae. Students who desire to penetrate farther into the unexplored recesses of the Greek mind will do well to leave alone compilations like the present volume and to devote the time thus saved to the originals.


Insertion loss changes of a surface acoustic wave (SAW) delay line fabricated on the 128/spl deg/YX LiNbO/sub 3/ crystal, caused by a copper phthalocyanine adsorption of NO/sub 2/, were measured at a frequency of 70 MHz. It was found, that to obtain a maximum change of the insertion loss for 20 ppm concentration of NO/sub 2/ at a temperature of 130/spl deg/C, the layer thickness should be about 1.5 /spl mu/m. This layer can be used for NO/sub 2/ concentration measurements in the range from about 1 to 500 ppm.


The operation of wireless sensor networks is fundamentally constrained by available energy sources. In this paper, we propose a numerical power estimation technique for register transfer level. This technique allows estimating the power dissipation of components in WSN to their statistical knowledge of primary inputs/outputs. During power estimation procedure, the sequence of an input stream is generated using input metrics and numerical macro-model function is used to construct a set of functions that maps the input metrics of a module to its output metrics. Then, simulation is performed and power dissipation is predicted by a macro-model function. The results are effective and highly correlated, with average error of 3.5%.


Agarwood is a type of wood that is used in traditional Thai medicines and has been applied in several recipes; in particular, this wood is considered as a costly resinous non-wood product. However, the morphological characteristics of the plant in the genus Aquilaria are quite similar, and so the authentication steps need a botanical expert for the purposes of identification and then also require an efficient tool for species-level discrimination. DNA barcoding is an approved molecular technique which uses a short sequence as a barcoding region specific for identified species. In this study, we established the DNA barcoding sequences from six candidate of barcoding loci (ITS, mat K, rbc L, rpo C1, psb A - trn H intergenic spacer, and ycf 1) from three species of Aquilaria , and the outgroup ( Enkleia siamensis (Kurz) Nervling). The phylogenetic tree of each locus was reconstructed and the genetic distances were also determined using a maximum likelihood method. Our results showed that all samples in each locus were successfully amplified and sequenced with universal primers. The ITS was only performed with suitable markers for Aquilaria species identification, which were considered from ML phylogenetic tree reconstruction and the optimum length of genetic distance. Other cpDNA barcoding regions; mat K, rbc L, rpo C1, ycf 1and trn H- psb A, showed lower discrimination power, so these loci were deemed inappropriate for species identification. Notwithstanding, each barcoding locus can be suitable for genus discrimination in the Thymelaeaceae family. From our findings, DNA barcoding is able to be used as an efficient and reliable tool in Aquilaria species authentication, which can be applied for quality control in the agarwood in the global market.


After decades of debate about flexibility, flexicurity has become a new buzzword in working life. Flexicurity refers to both the employer's demand for flexibility and the employee's demand for security. Thus, the idea is to solve the flexibility–security trade-off. There is also a discussion that mentions temporary agency work as one way of creating a flexicurity system. The flexibility potential is not called into question—numerical flexibility is a quite common motive for using temporary agency workers. However, the security dimension has to be scrutinized. The aim of this article is to analyze the temporary work agency industry's potential for providing the security dimensions of the flexicurity model in a Swedish context. The study is based on a survey of whitecollar temporary agency workers in Sweden (n = 533). Overall, the vast majority do not perceive security. Our most important result is that both the work agency and the user firm have a dual impact on the agency workers' perception of security.


The world's energy needs highly depend on fossil fuels, which were formed over several million centuries. The price of petroleum increases daily and unfortunately, its exploitation is currently at an alarming rate for such essential non-renewable energy. Also, the recent clamour for safe and cheap alternative means of energy generation to mitigate global warming and its detrimental effects is drawing attention towards biofuel production to supplement and possibly, substitute fossil fuels. To this effect, many plant materials have been tested and employed in the past decades for biofuel production. However, a good number of plants used in biofuel production as feedstock are crop plants, which have more economic value as food. Therefore, it is imperative to explore the possibility of biofuel production from non-food sources, hence, we examine the potential of microalgae as an alternative source of renewable energy. Microalgae are of great interest in biofuel production for its high productivity, cosmopolitan nature, easy culturing on waters and land, and noncompeting with conventional agriculture for resources. In view of these, this article focuses on the potentials of microalgae in biofuel production and mitigation of environmental pollution by its considerably low greenhouse gas emissions.


Microspheres containing 13-16% ~-meth'adone were prepared from three biodegradable polymers, poly(L-lactic acid), PLLA; poly(glycolic acid-co-&lactic acid), PGLA; and poly(e-caprolactone-co-l-lactic acid), PCL-LA, using the solvent evaporation method. The release of Lmethadone from microspheres of XL-LA (75-85 mol% L-lactic acid) was complete within 48 hours. Release from PGLA (80 moE% L-lactic acid) microspheres was almost as rapid, but 20% of the drug remained in the polymer matrix. Release from PLLA microspheres was subject to a 3-4 day induction period prior to loss of the drug over the next 5 days. This induction period for PLLA and the immediate release of L-methadone from PGLA microspheres were the result of an exceptionally large acceleration of the hydrolytic chain cleava.ge of the polymers in the presence of the basic drug. Measurements of the diffusion coefficients of L-methadone in the threepol>jmers showed that only in the case of PCL-LA was ~ickian diffusion responsible for the observed kinetics. Both blending and changes in the copolymer composition could be used to control the permeability and the induction period associated with L-methadone release from microspheres. It was possible to achieve zero-order release of L-methadone for six duys by combining microspheres prepared from three different polymer compositions. Application of the Wurster process afforded polymer-coated L-methadone crystals (i.e., microcapsules) with an 80% drug loading.


Manufacturing of vaccines for human use has been quite conservative in the past; and yes, there is a long and successful history in the production of efficient and safe vaccines protecting against a number of viral and bacterial diseases such as polio, influenza, measles, tick-borne encephalitis and many others. In the majority of cases, antigen expression systems and manufacturing technologies are still based on traditional processes, however, vaccine technology has evolved significantly over the last one or two decades, profoundly changing the future of vaccine design, development and production. This may be reflected in restructuring, mergers and acquisitions as well as reorientation of major pharma companies. With the continuous threat of influenza pandemics and the outbreak of Ebola in 2014, it is evident that there is an urgent need to find new answers to combat infectious diseases. In particular, it is important to make efficacious and safe vaccines faster available for the worldwide population, and to reduce response time to emerging threats. In addition, more flexibility, new production platforms and an open mind for innovative ideas are even more important than ever. Synthetic vaccine candidates, structure-based antigen design, new cell lines, and novel delivery systems are just a few of the realizations of this effort. The development of production processes as well as vaccination approaches nowadays benefits from a support of functional genomics, comparative genomics, and proteomics. Detailed insights in the function of our immune system and in the behavior of pathogenic organisms and their interaction with the host on a molecular level pave the way to unravel yet unknown factors that must be considered for vaccine design.


It should be remarked, first of all, that Larry May's project in these volumes is very ambitious.1 The topic of international law is notoriously vexed, and international criminal law, in particular, carries with it a litany of conceptual puzzles and practical difficulties. May does not shy away from these problems, and, as a result, his attempt to provide a normative grounding for international criminal law requires him to engage with an impressive array of authors and arguments. The scope of May's work is further broadened by the capaciousness of his interests and expertise. This is not merely a philosophical exploration of international law but also a legal and historical study as well. May appears to be as comfortable discussing international case law (with a focus upon prosecutions carried out by the tribunals for Rwanda, the former Yugoslavia, and Nuremberg) as he is the history of political theory (thoughtful explorations of Hobbes, Grotius, Vattel, and others help to orient many of May's own arguments). Fortunately, the clarity of May's writing and his consistent practice of reminding the reader of the structure of his argument allow him to synthesize these diverse topics into a coherent form that ought to be accessible to readers of many backgrounds. Indeed, it is difficult for me to imagine anyone, of any background, who would not learn a great deal from this impressive body of work. As a result, in May's avowed aim, to "spark the interest of both political philosophers and practitioners of international law" (May 2005, xiii), he should be assured of great success.


By developing a disturbance-assisted dynamic shelling strategy, core–shell structured Au–Pd gels/aerogels are rapidly fabricated, offering robust and highly selective (CO selectivity >99%) electrocatalysts for CO2 reduction.


The PAHs content in four groups of meat products industrially and traditionally smoked was determined. Methodology applied for the study included fat's extraction, PAHs isolation using GPC and consequently qualitative-quantitative compound's determination by HPLC-FLD/DAD. Mostly traditional method of smoking affected the higher total PAHs contamination. For all products smoked using both methods it was proved that internal parts had a significantly lower total PAHs contamination as well as each individual PAH content than exteriors of the same products. Irrespectively of smoking method applied, benso[a]pyrene's content was much lower than maximum tolerable limit of 5 μg·kg, which was set for smoked meat products in Commision Regulation (EC) No. 208/2005.


PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To compensate the profit of the owner of a copied copyright by generating document signals for expressing a document, matching them with the document recording of a document data base and identifying the owner corresponding to the document recording by a copying device. SOLUTION: The copying device 16 is provided with a scanner 30 for scanning respective pages 15 and generates electronic signals for expressing the images of the pages 15 while copying the pages 15. The scanner 30 connects the document signals to a processor 32 and generates corrected document signals. A copyright profit allocation service 14 analyzes the corrected document signals, decides whether or not a copyright work is copied, and when it is so, identifies a publisher and an author with a right to receive compensation when a specified copyright work is copied. Then, further, the copyright profit allocation service 14 uses a profit counter and calculates a copyright profit that the author is entitled.


INTRODUCTION Just 20 years ago, few athletic trainers, dietitians, and exercise physiologists were concerned with bone health, beyond the occasional fracture an athlete might incur. Relatively few exercise professionals worked with elderly, frail populations with diagnosed osteoporosis, which was often considered an inevitable consequence of advanced aging. Then, Dr. Barbara Drinkwater and colleagues (1984) caught our attention with their landmark publication documenting astoundingly low bone mineral density (BMD) values in young, competitive athletes who on average had not menstruated during the previous 3.5 years. The average BMD in the lumbar area of the spine in these otherwise healthy young women was equivalent to that of a 51-year-old woman. A burst of subsequent research in this area was aided by advances in the technology of BMD measurement and in pharmacological treatment of diagnosed osteoporosis, which together have transformed osteoporosis into a treatable, even preventable, disease.


This note offers a simple, yet very intriguing application of telescoping sums. Particularly, the cancellation technique which is known as the method of differences is employed to establish analytically the closed-form solutions of some systems of nonlinear difference equations. The results delivered here, in addition, generalizes several results found in recent literatures.


Papal letters were issued for the specific purpose of authorizing and encouraging the Albigensian crusade; their purpose was never to inform the reader or listener about the nature of Cathar beliefs or their origins. Indeed it is very likely that neither Innocent III nor Honorius III knew very much about the dualist heresy against which they authorized their crusade. In order to find detailed information on what this prominent group of heretics, popularly called 'Cathars', did and did not believe, who they were and where their beliefs and practices originated, we must look for answers not in papal documents but in other primary sources from the period.


Research is continuing to improve the performance of a 2 MW CW RF load for gyrotrons and electron cyclotron heating systems. Efforts are focused on reducing reflected power and cost. The load is designed to dissipate more than 2 MW CW of RF power, and recent tests demonstrated the power capability exceeds 1.7 MW.


Crystal penetrating sealer materials (PSMs) are commonly used on the surface of concrete to protect the surface from damage and thereby extend its service life. Such materials penetrate into existing pores or cracks and form crystals, which block potential paths through which unknown materials could enter and degrade the concrete. In this study, the constituent compounds of a PSM were divided into seven categories, labeled CAT I to CAT VII, and five discrete particle size fractions corresponding to sieve Nos. 30, 50, 100, 200,and 200+ were considered. Energy dispersive spectrometry revealed that the constituent elements of the PSM were O, Ca, Si, C, Na, and Mg, and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) showed that the major chemical components of the materials were CaO, SiO-2, Na_2O, and MgO. In addition, XRF indicated that crystals filled the capillary pores in the microstructure of a mortar substrate at a depth of 5 mm from the mortar surface and that the main hydration products of the PSM were calcium silicate hydrate gel and CaCO-3. Water permeability and rapid chloride permeability tests were applied to concrete test samples to examine the durability of the samples. The penetration depth is a critical property determining the effectiveness of concrete PSMs. In this study, we analyzed chemical composites that could be used as PSMs and determined their sealing mechanism and penetration depth. Furthermore, mercury intrusion porosimetry revealed that the PSM had the capacity to clog capillary pores of the mortar substrate, effectively sealing pores and reducing the porosity. Thermogravimetric analysis showed that the PSM layer on the concrete surface could extend up to a depth of 10 mm. Scanning electron microscopy indicated acicular crystals filling the capillary pores in the internal microstructure of the mortar substrate under a concrete surface.


In order to scientifically apply insecticides to control Q-type Bemisia tabaci in the production in Nanjing,the toxicities of ten insecticides to Q-type Bemisia tabaci in Nanjing district were tested in the laboratory,and different determination methods were designed according to the morphology and instar of Bemisia tabaci.The results indicated that the toxicities of Abamectin,Emamectin benzoate,Acetamiprid and Azadirachtin to the adult and nymph were higher than those of the other insecticides tested in the experiments.Among the ten insecticides,only Azadirachtin and Thiacloprid exhibited high ovicidalactivity.Therefore,the application of the antibiotic insecticides with high sensitivity,the alternative use of the neonicotinoid pesticides,and the combined application of the insecticides with high ovicidalactivity were recommended in the control of Bemisia tabaci in Nanjing district.


Roughness height for heat transfer is a crucial parameter in the estimation of sensible heat flux. In this study, the performance of the Surface Energy Balance System (SEBS) has been tested and evaluated for typical land surfaces on the Tibetan Plateau on the basis of time series of observations at four sites with bare soil, sparse canopy, dense canopy, and snow surface, respectively. Both under- and overestimation at low and high sensible heat fluxes by SEBS was discovered. Through sensitivity analyses, it was identified that these biasesarerelatedtotheSEBSparameterizationofbaresoil'sexcessresistancetoheattransfer(kB 21 ,wherek is the von Karman constant and B 21 is the Stantonnumber). ThekB 21 of bare soil in SEBS was replaced. The results show that the revised model performs better than the original model.


Based on polyvinylpyrrolidone(PVP)-archored Pd-Sn complex(PVP-PdCl_2-SnCl_4) and MontK10 functionalized by the use of polyethylene glycol(PEG),a novel dually supported bimetallic dehalogenation catalyst PVP-PdCl_2-SnCl_4/MontK10-PEG,was prepared.It showed high activity and selectivity for dechlorination of aromatic chlorides in water,when sodium formate was used as hydrogen donor the reacting temperature was (80°C) and the Pd∶Sn molar ratio was 4∶1.The conversion of aromatic chlorides can reach 100%.The catalyst is easy to prepare and has good reusability.


Often it is difficult to distinguish the underlying pathology of dyspnea, from chronic heart failure (CHF) or from other respiratory causes. As most of the clinical findings in cardiac failure are related to pulmonary involvement, physical findings are usually similar in both conditions. Aim: To exclude concomitant obstructive lung diseases in patients with IHD hospitalized due to worsening of dyspnea. Materials: 100 patients with IHD (age – 67,3±7,4 yrs, male – 33 (33%), female 77 (77%) who were hospitalized with breathlessness. Mean duration of IHD 17,4±1,5 yrs. Methods: Measurements included clinical status, MRS dyspnea scale,spirometry with reversibility test, X-ray for pulmonary evaluation. Results: All the patients had moderate or severe dyspnea (grade 2–4) due to MRS dyspnea scale. According to investigation the external respiration function 61 (61%) patients hadn9t any violation in spirometry, 39 (39%) had newly detected airflow obstruction. These 39% participants also had risk factors for respiratory diseases such as cigarette smoking, obesity and occupational hazards. Among 39 patients, 24 (61,5%) had only a reduced FEV 1 /FVC ratio (0,66±0,05) in combination with a normal value of FEV1% pred. (85,51±11,42). 15 (38,5%) patients had reduced both FEV 1 % pred. (63,68±8,32) and FEV 1 /FVC ratio (0,6±0,08), who were newly diagnosed COPD, which can impact on IHD and leads to worsening of dyspnea. Conclusion: About 40% patients of elderly groups with IHD, who were hospitalized with worsening of dyspnea had concomitant obstructive lung diseases. Every third patient had COPD, which hadn9t been diagnosed earlier.


Objective: Evaluate quality of life in untreated Mexican patients with allergic rhinitis, using the Rhinoconjunctivitis and Rhinitis Quality of Life Questionnaire (RQLQ). Method: Cross-sectional survey study. Fifty-six patients with diagnosis of persistent, moderate or severe untreated allergic rhinitis from January to December 2007 were included. The RQLQ was applied to each patient. This work was done at Hospital Fray Civil Fray Antonio Alcalde, in the Otolaryngology Department (Guadalajara, Jalisco, México). Results: Fifty-six patients were included, 35 women and 21 men. The mean age was 28 years (range, 12-65 years). All of them were diagnosed with persistent allergic rhinitis: 36 moderate cases and 20 severe cases. The most common symptoms were: rhinorrhea, congestion or nasal obstruction, sneezing, fatigue, itching, and headache. All the areas had a moderate impact (2.26 to 3.75). The most affected areas were the nasal symptoms and practical problems (3.75 and 3.73). The lowest scores were observed in sleep disturbance and ocular symptoms (2.26 and 2.46). Conclusion: The quality of life of patients depends on the severity and frequency of the symptoms in its daily activities. It is a cheap instrument, easily obtained and well accepted by the patient. The Rhinoconjunctivitis and Rhinitis Quality of Life Questionnaire should be applied in the patients.


Mature Angus steers were intraruminally infused with base to increase ruminal pH. Base infusions, increasing rumen pH from 5.8 to 6.2, did not change duodenal pH but tended to reduce fecal pH. Increased ruminal pH tended to increase digestion of fiber (9 percent) but reduced ruminal digestion of starch by 18 percent (P> .05). Ruminal pH and ruminal starch digestion were negatively correlated (P < .05). Rate of passage of fluid and particulates tended to be faster with base infusion. Results suggest that rumen pH alters digestion of dietary constituents and digesta kinetics.


This paper discusses some of the theoretical and practical dilemmas that exist in relation to neutrality in mediation. First, the concept of neutrality and its connotations are explored, along with its contradictions and difficulties. Second, the paper considers some of the proposals that have been put forward to date in terms of responding to these difficulties. Finally, the paper suggests looking to ethical principles about appropriate uses of mediator power to develop an alternative, contextualised approach to neutrality.


This paper presents research findings based on the research conducted on a representative sample of respondents using a highly structured questionnaire. The first part of the paper focuses on the theoretical background and overview of the research results related to the research problem in the world and in Croatia. The results of the research which has been conducted indicate that respondents are not familiar with the definition of organic food. Furthermore, the paper elaborates on the Croatian consumers' perception of organic food and conventional food. The research on organic food purchase places a special emphasis on regular buyers of organic food who were asked to evaluate the importance of individual characteristics in choosing a place of sale for organic food. Based on the hierarchical regression analysis, the frequency of organic food purchases by regular buyers was found to correlate with the perception of organic food and the importance of characteristics of a place of sale for organic food. The research also identified the main reasons for not buying organic food, and it sets out the guidelines which may be useful to organic producers, marketers and retailers in encouraging further purchases of organic food.


This paper establishes a vigorous methodology, based on the fuzzy set theory, to improve the facilities layout process that has occupied scholars and practitioners for more than four decades. Fuzzy set theory is an appropriate tool which uses the natural language that humans use to control complex systems such as facilities planning. The closeness rating between departments in a plant depends on qualitative and quantitative factors. Some of these factors may have greater effect on the designer's decisions about such ratings. Thus, the pairwise comparison of the analytical hierarchy process (AHP), which ensures the consistency of the designers' decisions when assigning the importance of one factor over another, is used to find the weights of these factors. FUZZY, a computer program developed based on the fuzzy decision-making system (FDMS) is used to generate the activity relationship charts. These charts are used by FZYCRLP, a modified version of CORELAP, to develop the layouts. FELAP, another program bas...


Within Western tradition, there is a close relation between morality and architecture, which could be traced further back from Classical antiquity in the Homeric and the Mycenean age. The moral justification of Western architecture was grounded mainly on religious, political and philosophical terms during Greek and Roman antiquity, medieval times and Renaissance, which shifted into social, political, rational and technological within the limits of Modern architecture. In philosophical terms, we could argue that the Platonic conception of the particulars (aestheta) as expressions of cosmic unity among reason, morality and beauty, underlie the form of the works of architecture up to the modern times. The interruption of this unity accomplished by Kant during the Enlightenment endows aesthetics with an autonomous operation, disinterested to both, reason and morality alike. We should keep in mind that – in contrast to the Greek all embracing concept of reason as logos, which implied a unity between man and nature, the Kantian separation is well preserved inside human consciousness. As a consequence, architecture enters the threshold of the twentieth century suffering an inner contradiction between its aesthetic self claiming total independence and a moral, engaged into a social mission, self. In the last three decades, Western avant-garde architecture shows two principal attitudes towards morality. The one is connected with the interpretation of values of the past and can be philosophically founded mainly upon Plato, Hegel,


Previous research has shown that people with Parkinson's disease (PD) have deficits in verb processing. However, the interpretation about the deficits is still in controversy. Motor theory suggests that the deficits in PD patients reflect the role of basal ganglia and frontal regions in the semantic representation of verbs. Grammatical view suggests that the deficits in PD patients indicate that basal ganglia and frontal regions play roles in the grammatical processing of verbs. Executive control view claims that PD patients show deficits in verb processing because basal ganglia and frontal regions are involved in executive control functions that are not specific to language processing. This paper reviews current findings about verb generation in PD patients, and discusses the evidence that supports different views and the possible confounding factors that may influence the interpretations.


The authors study the connectivity dimension d of fractal lattices viewed as networks (graphs) of sites and (constant length) bond. Two examples are investigated in detail: the 2D Sierpinski gasket and 2D infinite percolation clusters on square and triangular lattices. In the first case d is shown to coincide with the fractal dimension, whereas d=1.72+or-0.02 appears as a universal exponent for percolation clusters in two dimensions. Considered as an intrinsic parameter, the connectivity dimension d is compared with other intrinsic and extrinsic characteristic parameters of fractal lattices. In particular the authors argue that d<or=d<or=d holds on fractal lattices in general (d=fractal dimension, d=spectral dimension).


Documenting indigenous healthcare practices provides insight into how human communities have adapted to their local environments and can guide culturally appropriate medical care. The Serampas inhabit the border of Kerinci Seblat National Park, Sumatra, Indonesia, and the only ethnobotanical study carried out there was in 1783. We identified the Serampas' conceptions of health and illness and the medicinal and ritual plants they use; and assessed how this has changed over the past two centuries. Participant observation and in-depth interviews were carried out with 36 respondents. The Serampas conceive of health and illness to be caused by external and internal factors and recognize obat rajo (king's medicine) and obat ditawar (enchanted medicine). They use > 127 medicinal plant species, which overlap with their 32 species of ritual plants. Most medicinal plants are gathered from shifting cultivation fields and secondary forests, > 50% are cultivated, and 40% are also food. The Serampas use 50% of the medicinal plants recorded in 1783.


The main purpose of this research is to introduce comic writing skill in early childhood education (PAUD). The introduction of these language skills is specifically devoted to children's writing skills. So far, teaching materials in language learning delivered by PAUD teachers still seem monotonous, so the children become bored in learning to speak. Comics is a breakthrough innovative and creative learning materials in the process of improving skills in language, especially in the field of writing in early childhood. The method used in this research using research and development approach. This research method is essentially describes the process of developing teaching materials that are integrated in early childhood education. Thus, it can be concluded that the comic is one of the teaching materials that can be used as innovative learning writing skills in creative early childhood education and innova-


On a Sunday in the second decade of the sixteenth century in Santa María de la Cruz, a small house of Franciscan Tertiaries in Cubas (south of Madrid), Juana, the abbess,1 lies on the floor of the convent church, stiff and apparently dead. The other nuns have placed her arms across her chest. This would seem a funeral scene, yet a voice issues out of the body. The voice identifies itself as that of Christ, who has chosen Juana as his vessel, his instrument for speaking to the Church at large. Members of the audience – nuns, male religious, bishops, a cardinal, a military commander, and even a king – listen intently as Christ speaks through Juana's mouth for up to five or six hours at a time.2 They hear Christ


When 4-nitropyridine N-oxide was allowed to react with p-nitrobenzenesulfenyl chloride, 4-pyridyl 4′-chloropyridinium chloride (V) and 4-(4′-pyridol)pyridine (IV) were obtained, along with p, p-dinitrodiphenyl disulfide, p-nitrobenzenesulfonic acid, and a salt, presumed to have a VI structure. Similar products were formed in the reaction between 4-chloropyridine N-oxide with p-nitrobenzenesulfenyl chloride. In the case of 4-methoxypyridine N-oxide, however, a simple reduction was the main reaction; thus 4-methoxypyridine was obtained, while the other products were the same. As in the case of pyridine- and α-picoline N-oxide, no ring-substituted product was isolated in the reactions of these N-oxides. Apparently, the reaction of these N-oxides with p-nitrobenzenesulfenyl chloride involves the initial formation of the salt, which has a N-sulfenoxy bond, (Remark: Graphics omitted.), which presumably cleaves homolytically in the succeeding step to give the final products.


In modern conditions of economic development, all areas and parts of the financial system implement digital technologies in their activities. Despite the huge amount of research, there are still insufficiently studied issues that are directly related to digitalization in insurance. The purpose of the work is to study the essence of the concept of "digitalization" and to present the author's vision of the definition of "digital insurance". In the study, the following general scientific dialectical and specific economic methods were used: analysis, synthesis, comparison and generalization – when studying the developments of Ukrainian and foreign scientists; tabular and graphic – to display analytical and statistical information, a schematic representation of a number of theoretical and practical provisions of scientific work. The article analyzes the approaches of different authors to the definition of "digitalization". The main attention is paid to the theoretical generalization, analysis and ordering of interpretations of the studied economic category. The most significant features that reflect the essence of this definition are the penetration of digital technologies into business processes, the translation of a certain information field from analog to digital format and the process of systematization, use, processing of information in digital format. Based on a generalized analysis of the interpretation of the definition of "digitalization" by scientists, the author's vision of the essence of the term "digital insurance" is proposed. It is proposed to consider digital insurance as a process of systematization, use and processing of information through the use of insurance companies of modern information and communication technologies and the introduction of insurance innovations to improve customer service and communication with them. The main advantages of digitalization processes in the insurance market through the introduction of online insurance are outlined. The study allowed to deepen the theoretical and substantive content of the definition of "digital insurance" by using for its detailed characterization a system of parameters: determining factor, method and purpose (target orientation), and taking into account the essential, informational and technological aspects.


Ecthyma contagiosum (Orf, scabby mouth, contagious pustular dermatitis) is a virus infection of sheep and goats which is occasionally transmitted to man. Observation of an 18 year old girl (21) with the disorder aroused our interest in the virus and prompted the study of some of its properties. The purpose of this communication is to report the results of a series of experimental inoculations of the virus of ecthyma contagiosum into a number of different animal species. The order of the report will include (A) review of the literature pertaining to experimental ecthyma contagiosum (B) materials and methods (C) experimental disease in sheep (D) experimental disease in rabbits (E) negative inoculation experiments in mice, guinea pigs and the chorioallantoic membrane of the developing chick embryo (F) discussion and (G) conclusions.


Comments are integral part of the source code of software. They preserve the intentions of the developers, document constraints and highlight implementation details. Good comments help us to understand the codebase and make maintenance easier. Most of the software tools ignore comments because they take no part in code generation. However, there are cases when comments should be taken into account: refactoring tools need to move code along with their comments and code comprehension tools need to show comments related to a given context. Since these tools are working on the abstract syntax tree (AST), comments should be assigned to the appropriate AST nodes. Assigning comments to AST nodes is a non-straightforward task. Most methods use heuristics that place the comment to the proper AST node. This article improves existing heuristics. We identify corresponding AST nodes by distance and type. We also manage to contract consecutive connected comments. Macro-related comments are handled in a special way. We quantify the correctness of comment assignments and evaluate the different solutions on open source C++ projects comparing our method with existing tools. Our method may be useful for other programming languages with respective modifications.


We have developed a tool, enbug, that intentionally induces errors into software in a controlled fashion. The robustness of students' code can be challenged by presenting exotic failure scenarios for testing, without Herculean efforts on the part of teaching assistants or instructors. Enbug also has applications in computer security and secure software courses, by being able to inject specific flaws into existing software for students to locate and exploit. The implementation of enbug is an example of tool reuse, through the automated (ab)use of a debugger.


Peng, S. [6] proved the law of large numbers under a sublinear expectation. In this paper, we give its error estimates by Stein's method.


Introduction. Adult human articular chondrocytes (AHAC) dedifferentiated by monolayer expansion are known to have a limited ability to re-enter the differentiation program and generate cartilage tissue ex vivo. We recently reported that specific growth factors during the expansion and redifferentiation phases of AHAC culture enhance in vitro chondrogenesis (1). Using that system, we now investigated how different prostaglandins modulate the redifferentiation of AHAC and the generation of cartilaginous tissues in vitro.


This article provides a rich description of the everyday geography of an often overlooked population in contemporary urban America: elderly tenants of Single Room Occupancy (SRO) hotels. By recording, firsthand, this population's geographical movement, I was able to document members' daily struggle for survival as it became translated into withdrawal from both the neighborhood and the hotel environment. The members' mean journey beyond the hotel extended a mere three city blocks. This withdrawal was exacerbated by the negative and inaccurate labels society has applied to tenants of these hotels.


In the recent designs of electrical rotating machines, the emphasis are to have high capacity and electrical loading without comparable increase in size. Therefore the end-winding support structure becomes more significant to withstand with large stress developed due to electromagnetic forces. The end winding support structure of large rotating machine is designed to ensure that the stress in copper or insulation of the end windings do not exceed acceptable limits under steady state and transient conditions. The reliability of end-region structure is proportional to the EM forces therefore predetermination of the parameters of these forces may quit useful for the selection of end ring material and deciding the insulation level for the proposed structures. In this paper, 3-D finite element method has been used to compute and analyze the electromagnetic forces across the end region structure of rotating machines. The computed results are in good agreement with the reported results.