&NA; Juvenile allogenic chondrocyte implantation (JACI; DeNovo NT Natural Tissue Graft®; Zimmer, Warsaw, IN) with autologous bone marrow aspirate concentrate (BMAC) is a relatively new all‐arthroscopic procedure for treating critical‐size osteochondral lesions (OCLs) of the talus. Few studies have investigated the clinical and radiographic outcomes of this procedure. We collected the clinical and radiographic outcomes of patients who had undergone JACI‐BMAC for talar OCLs to assess treatment efficacy and cartilage repair tissue quality using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Forty‐six patients with critical‐size OCLs (≥6 mm widest diameter) received JACI‐BMAC from 2012 to 2014. We performed a retrospective medical record review and assessed the functional outcomes pre‐ and postoperatively using the Foot and Ankle Outcome Score (FAOS) and Short‐Form 12‐item general health questionnaire. MRI was performed preoperatively and at 12 and 24 months postoperatively. Cartilage morphology was evaluated on postoperative MRI scans using the magnetic resonance observation of cartilage tissue (MOCART) score. The pre‐ to postoperative changes and relationships between outcomes and lesion size, bone grafting, lesion location, instability, hypertrophy, and MOCART scores were analyzed. Overall, the mean questionnaire scores improved significantly, with almost every FAOS subscale showing significant improvement postoperatively. Concurrent instability resulted in more changes that were statistically significant. The use of bone grafting and the presence of hypertrophy did not result in statistically significant changes in the outcomes. Factors associated with outcomes were lesion size and hypertrophy. Increasing lesion size was associated with decreased FAOS quality of life subscale and hypertrophy correlating with changes in the pain subscale. Of the 46 patients, 22 had undergone postoperative MRI scans that were scored. The average MOCART score was 46.8. Most patients demonstrated a persistent bone marrow edema pattern and hypertrophy of the reparative cartilage. Juvenile articular cartilage implantation of the DeNovo NT allograft and BMAC resulted in improved functional outcome scores; however, the reparative tissue still exhibited fibrocartilage composition radiographically. Further studies are needed to investigate the long‐term outcomes and determine the superiority of the arthroscopic DeNovo procedure compared with microfracture and other cartilage resurfacing procedures. &NA; Level of Clinical Evidence: 4


To the Editor.— Iso-electric electroencephalograms have usually been interpreted to constitute cerebral cortical death. However, a case of barbiturate overdose resulted in coma and iso-electric EEG; the EEG reverted to normal with complete recovery of the patient. Report of a Case.— A 69-year-old white woman was admitted to the San Antonio Community Hospital on July 18, 1969, in a comatose state. She had been despondent by the recent death of a son and could not be aroused from sleep on the morning of admission. She had received a prescription for "sleeping pills," but no bottle or suicide note was found. Respirations were labored, and the blood pressure was 90/70 mm Hg. The pupils were in midposition, unresponsive to light, and corneal reflexes were absent. Extremities were flaccid, the deep-tendon reflexes absent, and the patient did not respond to painful stimuli. A spinal tap demonstrated crystalclear fluid under normal pressure, with


T lymphocytes exhibit pro‐inflammatory or anti‐inflammatory activities in obesity and diabetes, depending on their subtypes. Guanidine‐rich immunosuppressive oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs) effectively control Th1/Th2‐cell counterbalance. This study reveals a non‐toxic regulatory ODN (ODNR01) that inhibits Th1‐ and Th17‐cell polarization by binding to STAT1/3/4 and blocking their phosphorylation without affecting Th2 and regulatory T cells. ODNR01 improves glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity in both diet‐induced obese (DIO) and genetically generated obese (ob/ob) mice. Mechanistic studies show that ODNR01 suppresses Th1‐ and Th17‐cell differentiation in white adipose tissue, thereby reducing macrophage accumulation and M1 macrophage inflammatory molecule expression without affecting M2 macrophages. While ODNR01 shows no effect on diabetes in lymphocyte‐free Rag1‐deficient DIO mice, it enhances glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity in CD4+ T‐cell‐reconstituted Rag1‐deficient DIO mice, suggesting its beneficial effect on insulin resistance is T‐cell‐dependent. Therefore, regulatory ODNR01 reduces obesity‐associated insulin resistance through modulation of T‐cell differentiation.


Three species of the genus Solenostoma Mitt., viz. Solenostoma baueri (Schiffn.) Steph. earlier known from Indonesia, S. fusiforme (Steph.) R.M.Schust. from China, Korea, Japan, Russia and North America and S. vulcanicola (Schiffn.) Va?a, Hentschel & Heinrichs from Indonesia and Japan, are described for the first time in Indian bryoflora from Sikkim in Eastern Himalaya.


As the title suggests, this book consists of 700 activities for busy EFL and ESOL elementary and upper-intermediate teachers. It is an important tool for teachers who wish to make teaching English fun and engaging.The activities
suggested in the book are intended to provide on-the-spot practice as part of the lesson plan, as supplementary material or when a change of focus is needed. Most of the activities do not require any preparation.


The internationally listed Hattah Lakes look to be finally getting the watering they need, but an unwanted pest has also come along for the ride.


Extant literature confirms a significant relationship between phonological awareness (PA) and the ability to read. Literature in the field provides stimulating evidence that links reading deficits to deficiency in PA. Although reasons behind reading failure may vary and hint towards different factors, a possible assumption relates reading difficulties to the kind and quality of instructions that teachers deliver inside classrooms. This study is aimed to explore the extent of the readiness of pre-service EFL teachers to teach English reading manifest in their beliefs, knowledge, and awareness of PA. Toward this end, a modified questionnaire was distributed to a sample of 158 participants. Reported results show the dominance of traditional teaching beliefs, deficiency in competence, shortage in strategies, and a gap in PA awareness. In conclusion, some recommendations and suggestions are presented.


There are a number of reasons, in my view, why people should not, as a general principle, be recognised as having proprietary rights in their own body, body parts and tissue. This paper commences with some of the arguments against recognising such rights then examines in more detail the arguments that have been put forward in favour of recognising them. In relation to the latter, counter-arguments are put to each argument. In my view, the counter-arguments outweigh the arguments. This leads to my conclusion that the law should not recognise proprietary rights in bodies, body parts or tissue in favour of the people from whom they came, though proprietary rights may arise in favour a third person, by principles that I suggest in the paper.


There is high demand for quick digitization and subsequent image restoration of archived film records. Digitization is very urgent in many cases because various invaluable pieces of cultural heritage are stored on aging media. Only selected records can be reconstructed perfectly using painstaking manual or semi-automatic procedures. This paper aims to answer the question what are the quality requirements on the restoration process in order to obtain acceptably close visual perception of the digitally restored film in comparison to the original analog film copy. This knowledge is very important to preserve the original artistic intention of the movie producers. Subjective experiment with artificially distorted images has been conducted in order to answer the question what is the visual impact of common image distortions in digital cinema. Typical color and contrast distortions were introduced and test images were presented to viewers using digital projector. Based on the outcome of this subjective evaluation a system for objective assessment of image distortions has been developed and its performance tested. The system utilizes calibrated digital single-lens reflex camera and subsequent analysis of suitable features of images captured from the projection screen. The evaluation of captured image data has been optimized in order to obtain predicted differences between the reference and distorted images while achieving high correlation with the results of subjective assessment. The system can be used to objectively determine the difference between analog film and digital cinema images on the projection screen.


The highly conserved, second mammalian isoform of GnRH (GnRH-II) has been linked to regulation of cell proliferation, feed intake, and the interaction between energy balance and reproductive behavior. In contrast to the native form of GnRH (GnRH-I), GnRH-II is an inefficient modulator of gonadotropin secretion. Unlike many species, a functional receptor (GnRHR-II) specific to this ligand has been discovered in the pig that may be directly involved in testosterone production. Therefore, the objective of this study was to identify the role of GnRH-II and its receptor in testicular function. First, Western blot analysis of tissues from mature, Chinese Meishan (MS) boars revealed 6-fold more GnRHR-II protein in the testis than anterior pituitary gland. GnRH-II levels determined by ELISA were highest in testis (1,321 ± 52.5 pg/ml), intermediate in pituitary (393 ± 58.7 pg/ml) and lowest in hypothalamus (220 ± 67.7 pg/ml) tissue homogenates. Immunohistochemistry of testicular tissue indicated that the GnRHR-II was located on the plasma membrane of Leydig cells within the interstitium as well as germ cells. Second, immunocytochemistry demonstrated that GnRHR-IIs were localized to the neck region of purified spermatozoa from mature, white crossbred (WC) boars. Consistent with this, GnRH-II was also detected in seminal plasma (225 ± 27.3 pg/ml) via ELISA. 90 Third, testicular tissue explants from MS boars exposed to 1 μM GnRH-II secreted testosterone similarly to hCG treated (1 I.U.) tissues, without influencing GnRHR-II or LH receptor protein levels. Finally, 4 in vivo experiments were performed on MS or white crossbred (WC) boars surgically fitted with jugular cannulae. In Exp. 1, plasma testosterone concentrations were elevated following I.V. treatment of MS males with either a GnRH-I (D-ala 6 GnRH-I) or GnRH-II (D-ala 6 GnRH-II) agonist (150 ng/kg BW), although GnRH-II induced changes in LH levels were not correlated with testosterone production. In Exp. 2, I.M. treatment of WC males with a GnRH-I (SB-75; 5 μg biologically active compound/kg BW) or GnRH-II (Trp-1; 5 μg/kg BW) antagonist suppressed testosterone, but not LH, secretion. In Exp. 3, serum testosterone concentrations increased in WC males after I.M. treatment with SB-75 followed by I.V. infusion of either GnRH-I or -II agonist, despite the inability of GnRH-II to induce LH secretion. In Exp. 4, intratesticular injection of WC males with GnRH-I, GnRH-II or saline resulted in GnRH-II-induced stimulation of testosterone production without increasing LH levels. Taken together, these data suggest that GnRH-II directly impacts testosterone production via binding to the GnRHR-II on Leydig cells, bypassing LH production by the anterior pituitary gland.


We consider the linear stability of compressible attachment-line flow within the spatial framework. A fully two-dimensional approach is developed to compute the eigensolutions. The results show that compressibility has a stabilizing influence on the attachment-line boundary layer. The mode which satises the G¨ortler-H¨ammerlin assumption appears as the least stable mode. Furthermore, the results show that other two-dimensional modes which have approximately the same wave number and growth rate exist. These modes satisfy an extended similarity model and show algebraic growth in the chordwise coordinate for high Reynolds numbers. Thus, in the chordwise direction these two-dimensional modes are shown to grow faster than the mode satisfying the G¨ortler-H¨ammerlin assumption. Moreover, this algebraic growth in the chordwise direction increases for the more stable modes.


An interactive computer method is proposed for the electrophoretic separation of 13 phenolic compounds from extra-virgin olive oil using single peak response values. A central composite design was executed for optimization of the sodium tetraborate concentration, pH and applied voltage. Statistical models were determined for eight resolution responses and thirteen effective mobilities. Six of the resolution models had highly significant ANOVA lack of fit values, limiting their accuracies for use in Derringer´s desirability function search for optimal separation conditions. None of the 13 effective mobility models suffered from significant lack of fit. Since it is not possible to define effective mobility target values for the desirability function, an interactive computer program developed in our laboratories was applied to the single peak models. Mouse or cursor movements were executed to define experimental conditions in model simulations of the electropherogram. These simulations resulted in superior peak separations, especially for the apigenin and luteolin peaks, in 35 min, compared with those obtained in close to 50 min with the resolution models. Verification experiments performed 2 and 3 years later confirmed the robustness of the models.


Primary cutaneous diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, leg type (PCDLBCL-LT) is an exceedingly rare extra-nodal variant of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) with an aggressive natural history that often manifests as red cutaneous tumour lesions on the lower extremities. This aggressive lymphoma subtype carries a poor prognosis with a 5-year overall survival of ~50%. Like other subtypes of DLBCL, initial therapy with R-CHOP (rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, prednisone) chemoimmunotherapy is the current standard of care for this unique DLBCL subtype. However, many patients with PCDLBCL-LT are elderly; therefore, advanced age and comorbidities can be preclusive to aggressive, multiagent chemotherapy. Additionally, with the chemoresistant nature of PCDLBCL-LT and the relatively poor prognosis, many patients experience disease relapse and thus, novel treatment paradigms are needed for salvage therapy. The myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MYD88) protein activates nuclear transcription factor jB (NF-jB) and promotes lymphoma cell survival. This mutation has been associated with older age and poor overall survival in DLBCL. While only present in ~16% of DLBCL cases, MYD88 L265P mutation is present in the majority of PCDLBCL-LT cases. Malignancies in which MYD88 L265P mutation is present, such as Waldenstr€ om macroglobulinaemia, have demonstrated high response rates with the Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor ibrutinib. In the setting of MYD88 mutation-positive PCDLBCL-LT, ibrutinib has demonstrated responses as a single-agent; however, evidence has been limited to case reports. Recently, the combination of ibrutinib plus rituximab and lenalidomide has demonstrated efficacy in the treatment of DLBCL in a phase Ib study. In the present study, we report two cases in which the combination of rituximab, lenalidomide, and ibrutinib produced deep and durable responses.


In a previous research (1) it was shown that the tuber cinereum of man contains a hormonal substance similar to the gonadotropic principle of the anterior hypophysis. Phenolated extract of tuber tissue injected into male and female immature rats evoked maturation in the gonads of both sexes. The intensity of reaction was even greater than when hypophyseal extracts were used. Collin and Watrin (2) in part confirmed these findings. They showed that tuber grafts in young guinea pigs in many instances stimulates gonad growth but in others a contrary effect was obtained. That a species factor may be involved in this problem is indicated by my findings that the tuber cinereum of the ox fails to show the hormonal activity that is demonstrable with human tissue. It was decided, therefore, to repeat the experiment, using dogs as donors. Two groups of three puppies each were used. These were littermates. The animals of one group were treated for 40 days with a phenolated emulsion of the anterior pituitary prepared ...


The objective of the study was to evaluate the possible association between maternal acute respiratory infectious diseases (ARID) during pregnancy and birth outcomes. Newborn infants born to mothers with or with- out ARID as reference were compared in the population- based large data set of newborns without any defect in the Hungarian Case-Control Surveillance System of Congen- ital Abnormalities. Main outcome measures were birth weight and gestational age at delivery, in addition the rate of preterm births and low birthweight newborns. Of 38, 15 1 newborns, 3,455 (9.1%) had mothers with ARID during pregnancy which were differentiated according to six manifestations from sinusitis to the pneumonia. Mothers with ARID in pregnancy had a longer (0.3 week) gesta- tional age at delivery (adjusted t = 5.4; p < 0.0001) and a lower rate of preterm births (6.7% vs. 9.4%) (adjusted odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.72, 0.63- 0.83) than mothers without ARID. However, severe ARID (bronchitis-bronchiolitis and particularly pneumonia) associated with a higher rate of preterm births (13.0%, adjusted OR with 95% CI: 1.4, 1.1-1.8), while mild ARID (sinusitis, pharyngitis, tonsillitis, laryngitis-tracheitis) resulted in a lower rate of preterm births (5.5%, adjusted OR with 95% CI: 0.5, 0.4-0.7). In conclusion, there was an obvious correlation between severity of ARID in pregnant women and rate of preterm births.


During pregnancy, maternal red blood cell (RBC) antibodies can lead to life‐threatening fetal hemolysis and anemia. Women can become immunized by a pregnancy or an unmatched transfusion. Our aim was to quantify the effect of a nationwide K‐matched transfusion policy for women of childbearing age potential to prevent K‐immunization in pregnancy.


In this paper, a rapid oil spill detection approach which still maintains high detection accuracy is presented. The major contribution of the approach is using a superpixel segmentation method to subdivide the target SAR image into many approximate uniform scale pieces and preserves the boundaries well. Furthermore, a novel approach combine space distance, intensity deviation and size information together (SIS) is presented to eliminate the potential false positive, which is convenient and effective meanwhile. The proposed approach performs well and fast in both the synthetic data and RAD ARS AT-1 ScanSAR data which contain verified oil spills. The processing time is about 6s for a 512×512 image.


The colonial censuses of India were colossal attempts to enumerate castes according to a hybrid taxonomy that mixed local knowledges with European preconceptions and misconceptions. From 1871 onward, colonial administrators were determined to categorize and count the castes of India, yet experienced many difficulties in classifying, enumerating, and compiling caste data. The administrative practice of census making and taking in colonial India during the 1890s incorporated anthropometric and ethnological tools from "scientific" anthropology. The introduction of these measures in the census schedule and in enumeration furnished caste with a biological and racial connotation. Yet this biological vision of caste never fully took hold and was contested by colonial administrators and Indian political activists who did not believe in anthropometry. In detailing the complications of colonial census work in India, the authors show that epistemological problems with envisioning and enumerating caste were the rule rather than the exception.


Modeling has contributed to the advancement in animal health and animal production with the aid of two types of models; research models and diet formulation models. The former models admit the inclusion of detailed mathematical accounts of digestive and metabolic processes, and the latter deploy extensive mathematical specifications of the nutritional value of feeds in regard to the animal host. Each has been used to help maintain and enhance health, welfare and production of farm animals. Data for models comes from various sources but, until recent times, the detailed investigation of animal responses to metabolic challenges has been limited to empirical quantification. However, we point out that there remain very useful indices and measures afforded from modeling such responses if special care is taken in mathematically teasing out the metabolic information. In this article we describe how this is done, and we demonstrate the methods with reference to models of the glucose and the NEFA responses of the glucose challenge.


The loading method of point mass combining with acceleration was put forward in finite element analysis of frame and the loading process was illuminated.Through frame finite element analysis method of point mass combining with acceleration,the maximum stress deformation position and safety factor of a mining truck frame was determined under 4 operating conditions of bend,torsion,emergency brake and sharp turn.The analysis results show this frame meets requirements for strength and deformation under above 4 operating conditions.Compared with traditional loading method,the loading method of point mass combining with acceleration just needs to determine the coordinates and acting surfaces of each point mass as well as the number and direction and value of acceleration and it has advantages of lesser artificial calculation and easier operation.


We aimed to determine the prevalence of self‐reported adverse health status among childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) survivors and to identify associations between components of physical fitness and health status.


ABSTRACT Understanding the scientific goals and practical processes of carbon neutrality is a hot topic of current interest to both academic and practical communities. A scientific and correct understanding of carbon neutrality is an important prerequisite for all mankind to deal with climate change and is of great significance to promote the smooth implementation of carbon neutral related policies. Firstly, this paper describes the scientific connotation and practical significance of carbon neutrality from three aspects: the concept of carbon neutrality, the object of carbon removal, and carbon neutrality in macro and micro perspectives. Then, starting from the current characteristics of global carbon emissions, this paper summarizes the main progress, specific implementation measures, policies, resources, technologies, markets and major problems faced by countries in the current global carbon neutrality process. Finally, this paper describes Chinas carbon neutrality goals and roadmap, summarizes the challenges facing Chinas carbon neutrality implementation, and proposes key measures to advance the carbon neutrality process in the future. That is to promote the efficient and clean use of coal, accelerate the replacement of clean energy, enhance the role of natural gas as a bridge in the low-carbon transformation, vigorously develop the "green hydrogen" industry and its industrial chain, increase the application and promotion of CO2 burial and storage, develop carbon conversion and forest carbon sinks, and establish a market mechanism to control carbon emissions.


The first part of this dissertation is an original opera, Julie, composed on a libretto by Julia Carey. The opera consists of a prologue, 4 acts, and an epilogue, with an instrumentation of (2-2-2-2, 4-3-3-1, timpani, 3 percussion, harp and strings). The style is pluralistic and is determined at any moment by the demands of the text. The Prologue is an instrumental section of about 4'30" and introduces the primary themes employed in the opera. The music employs a simple leitmotiv system, associating certain themes and instruments to particular characters and emotional states. Additionally, though themes are recycled and developed throughout, the opera is through composed, and though there exist clear cadences at the end of each act, the music continues attacca, without stopping between acts. The second part of the dissertation is an analysis of the first movement of Copland's Third Symphony and studies the relationship of the entire movement to the pitch space, perfect fourths and perfect fifths, and registral juxtapositions of the opening material of the movement. Chapter one introduces and clarifies various terms and how I will employ them in the document, as well as identifies and discusses other theorists who have written relevant studies of Copland's music. Chapter two offers historical context of the music, composers and social conditions preceding and precipitating Copland's creation of the Third Symphony. Chapter three is an analysis of the 1st movement of the symphony. The opening material (about 9 measures) is analyzed for quartal content, width of pitch spaces, and juxtaposition of registers and timbres. The remaining analysis refers back to these opening musical statements, identifying ways in which Copland has fragmented, condensed, expanded, and recycled material to build the entire movement.


Introduction: Peripheral artery disease is a common cardiovascular disease with high morbidity and mortality. The traditional objective parameters used to assess and guide the therapeutic interventions, poorly reflect the real effects from patients' perspectives and their experience of living with peripheral artery disease. The importance of evaluating and improving quality of life has been recognized in several studies. Coronary artery disease is a more life-threatening cardiovascular disease. However, comparing coronary and peripheral artery disease, as to their impact on health related quality of life, has been controversial. The aim of this study was the assessment of health related quality of life in patients with peripheral artery disease and the investigation of relations and correlations with the objective criteria of illness. Moreover, the group of patients with peripheral arterial disease who were scheduled for surgical intervention was compared with the corresponding group of patients with coronary artery disease, as for the quality of life.
Methods: Symptomatic patients with peripheral artery disease (n=125) referred to the Vascular surgery service during a six month period were enrolled in this observational study of health related quality of life. Patients completed the short form-36 (SF-36) questionnaire and ankle-brachial index was measured at presentation. During the same period, patients with coronary artery disease who were scheduled for bypass surgery (n=43) were also enrolled in the study and health related quality of life was assessed using the same questionnaire.
Results: Patients with peripheral artery disease had significantly impaired health related quality of life, reporting low scores in all SF-36 domains. Markedly low they scored on the domain's physical functioning, bodily pain, role limitations by physical problems and role limitations by emotional problems. The mean anklebrachial index was 0.57 (range, 0.30-0.90) exhibiting modest correlation with SF- 36 scores. Patients with peripheral artery disease who were scheduled for bypass surgery scored significantly (p<0.001) lower than relevant patients with coronary artery disease on the domains physical functioning, bodily pain and vitality.
Conclusions: Peripheral artery disease has negative impact on health related quality of life. Objective measures, as the ankle-brachial index, only partially reflect the quality of life of these patients. Compared with patients with coronary artery disease who are scheduled for surgery, patients with peripheral artery disease have similar or even greater negative impact on health related quality of life.


Introduction The digestive manifestations of stress are polymorphic. Gastric or duodenal ulcer is the most characteristic expression. We report the rare case of an infant with severe dehydration complicated by digestive perforation. Case report A 3 months aged infant was admitted for diarrhea and vomiting evolving since 4 days. She was apathic with severe dehydration. In the biology, she has a hypochromic microcytic anemia, a hyponatremia, an onset of functional renal insufficiency and an infectious syndrome. A triple antibiotic therapy with intravenous rehydration was administrated. The initial evolution was marked by the improvement of its state of hydration and correction of hydro-electrolytic disorders with secondary appearance of abdominal bloating. Imagery showed pneumoperitoneum at radio and mixed air and fluid intraperitoneal effusion which deals with the diagnosis of digestive perforation. The baby was operated urgently The peroperative diagnosis was a gastric perforation secondary to a stress ulcer most likely. The postoperative course was simple. The reintroduction of breastfeeding was gradual with good tolerance. Conclusion The perforation of the stress ulcer is a very rare complication in the infant that must be evoked in front of a pneumoperitoneum. The treatment is always surgical. The prognosis is primarily related to the speed of diagnosis and management. The best treatment is preventive.


This report evaluates how the Dutch Ministry's focus on circular agriculture can support the SDG impact of Dutch international aid and investment programmes in less developed countries. Using examples of recently applied and planned interventions in a range of developing countries, the report illustrates the value of adopting a food system approach to find sustainable solutions to achieve asufficient, healthy and resource-efficient food supply. The report concludes by listing characteristics of circular agriculture that promote interventions to support improved food system outcomes.


In clause the question on carrying out of certification on disciplines " Descriptive geometry and engineering the schedule " and " Computer the schedule " which is spent separately after each passed rate more often rises. However at carrying out of check of residual knowledge the part of the passed material is forgotten, that affects on an end result of training. Therefore in clause the problem of improvement of quality of training due to carrying out of final certification including questions as on "Descriptive geometry", " Engineering the schedule " and " Computer the schedule " in one block is considered. It is marked, that the given problem for a long time draws attention of teachers of higher educational institutions and has the certain interest for increase of a professional level of modern engineers and designers.


In this paper I shall propose some hypotheses that have emerged from my fieldwork on the so-called sakta Tantra of Kerala (also known locally as Raudra or Mahartha). This Hindu tantric tradition weds ritualistic practices of Kashmirian Saivism (Krama-Trika) with the folk beliefs of Kerala. It could be said that the sakta (sakteyam in Malayalam) Brahmins of Malabar are representatives of the Mahartha Tantra of Kerala. I intend to shed some light on the sakta tradition and compare the data from my fieldwork with the scriptural tradition. Therefore, I would like to present here some of my observations from reading the ritual texts of the sakta Tantric Brahmins. Their ritualistic handbook (preserved in the form of a palm-leaf manuscript) forms a detailed ritual manual composed in a mixture of Sanskrit and Malayalam. Interestingly, the ritual directions are given sometimes in Sanskrit and other times in Malayalam, but most often in a combination of both languages. Being primarily goddess-oriented, the text teaches the reader methods of self empowerment and reaching the enlightened non-dual state through realizing the potencies of Kali. This paper introduces the structure of the ritual handbook and concerns the ritual peculiarities of the modern Tantric practitioners in Kerala.


This paper summarizes the prevalence of waterborne diseases before disease prevention and water quality improvement project in Xinjiang rural areas, China; the measures taken in disease prevention and water quality improvement; and the current situation of the quality of rural drinking water project. Suggestions concerning the improvement of disease prevention and water quality improvement project in Xinjiang rural areas are also proposed.


The invention discloses a modeling method for reliability of a reactor-shutdown protecting signal in a DCS (digitizer control system) and a system, wherein the method mainly comprises the following steps of: determining a triggering signal of the reactor-shutdown protecting signal in a nuclear power station; acquiring a topological structure chart of the DCS of the triggering signal according to the actuating logic of the triggering signal; determining equipment causing the triggering signal in the DCS according to the topological structure chart and carrying out analysis on the mode and the influence of faults; establishing a fault tree model according to the analysis result of the mode and the influence of faults and a fault tree method, wherein a top event of the fault tree model is failure of the reactor-shutdown protecting signal due to the determined triggering signal; and calculating the reliability of the reactor-shutdown signal according to the fault tree model. In the invention, the reliability of the reactor-shutdown protecting signal in the DCS can be effectively calculated and the quantitative basis is provided for the design of the total scheme.


This paper presents the design of a DPA for 5G telecommunications applications in TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) 28 nm CMOS. A modified Gilbert cell is proposed to perform the function of amplification and reversing the phase within a compact layout, improving the efficiency. To overcome the linearity issue of DPAs, a non-linear sizing technique of the PA cells is employed. The effective widths of relative bit cells need to be increased to conform to non-linear sizing thus providing linearity with acceptable INL (Integral Non-Linearity)and DNL (Differential Non-Linearity) results. The simulated saturated output power is 11.7 dBm with power added efficiency at 13 percent with the device working off a carrier frequency of 28 GHz.


-A study of the family relations of the Plain Titmouse (Baeolophus inornatus), a non-migratory bird, was made at Stanford University, California, from 1928 to 1933. The birds were captured and banded in nest-boxes. The number of eggs laid ranged from 3 to 9 with an average of 6.75. One titmouse was found to be at least seven years old. Forty-five per cent of all titmouses banded as adults were recaptured in following years and all except one were nesting either in the same nest-box or in one less than 100 yards distant. Of those juvenile birds banded in the nest only two, 1.3 per cent, were recaptured nesting the following year, and both were more than a quarter of a mile distant from the box where hatched. A titmouse usually keeps the same mate from year to year and there was only one known case of "divorce." Of a total of 14 pairs recaptured, 11 were mated together for at least two years and only 3 were not. No sex difference was found in the retention of territory from year to year. If a bird lost its mate the survivor, whether male or female, remained in the nesting territory and secured a new mate. In one case the new mate was known to, be a juvenile of the year before. Stanford University, California, JwZy 26, 19.~5.


This study investigates the beliefs and suggestions that English as a foreign language (EFL) faculty members at Al Jouf University have about their professional development. Two instruments were used for data collection: a questionnaire and interviews conducted with 46 participants. The findings of the study showed that the faculty members' most common belief focused on creating a new role for EFL faculty members, shifting from transmitters of knowledge to makers of knowledge. On the other hand, the most common suggestion regarded designing programs that focused on EFL language teachers' professional development.


Infrared non-destructive evaluation (IRNDE) is an emerging approach for non-contact inspection of various solid materials such as metals, composites and semi-conductors for industrial and research interest. This paper focuses on the inspection of plain carbon steel materials, which are widely used, particularly in the power and steel industries. This paper describes some appl-ications of recently proposed pulse compression based approach to the inspection of steel specimens. Present work highlights both phase and correlation based appro-aches for defect detection using frequency modulated thermal excitation scheme and comparison has been made on these proposed schemes.


This stroll down memory lane highlights the changes brought about by technology that enable economists to process more data faster than could have been imagined when Marcuss began her career in 1968. The challenges of the "data jungle" remain, however. There must be an ongoing effort to know precisely what each economic-statistic measures, why it matters, and to whom. NABE has been, and will continue to be, in the forefront of this effort.


Objective To explore the occupational hazards in workers of architectural ceramic plants.Methods 289 dust exposed workers from 3 architectural ceramic plants were investigated.Their demographic data,life style,working situation,working environment,use of personal protective devices,and respiratory symptoms were taken as indexes for single factor analysis and unconditional logistic regression analysis.Results Results of single factor analysis showed that working age,job category,smoking habit,use of electric fan,and application of local exhausting system correlated with respiratory symptoms,the difference was significant(P0.05).The unconditional logistic regression analysis showed that working age,smoking habit,and use of electric fan were hazardous to the incidence of respiratory symptoms.Local exhausting system was protective to the incidence of respiratory symptoms.Conclusions The working age,smoking habit,use of electric fan are hazardous to respiratory system,and local exhausting system is protection factor for respiratory symptoms.


This chapter examines the victories and setbacks of activists who leverage their work from inside formal nonprofit community justice organizations. Propelled by their own autonomous racial justice agendas and steeped in local activist histories, these nonprofit organizations organize broader networks of activists from across the city to push for new discipline policies, more equitable school funding and transportation policies, and a more just stance toward a growing immigrant student population in their calls to radically reform schools. Using the leverage of the funded nonprofit, these activists challenge the colorblind rhetoric of the neoliberal reform movement and propel powerful reformers to privilege racial justice issues in local and state reforms. Especially for the youth of color who are the very objects of reformers' "rescue" efforts, the nonprofit context provides a route to political power for youth who would otherwise be shut out of school reform debates. However, reformers find these alliances very valuable to their own efforts to gain community buy-in, and soon these alliances become constraining. In order to keep their seat at the reformers' table, activists struggle with tamping down their racial justice messages and their critiques of neoliberal reform.


Objective The prevalence of Angiostrongylus cantonensis infection in laboratory animals was determined to provide an experimental basis for further investigation of Angiostrongyliasis cantonensis in Yunnan.Methods Four types of laboratory animals-SD rats,Kunming mice,guinea pigs and rabbits-were artificially infected with the third-stage larvae of A.cantonensis isolated from Achatina fulica and the prevalence of infection was observed.Results Mice were not infected with A.cantonensis.Adult A.cantonensis were not obtained from guinea pigs and rabbits infected with A.cantonensis,and a few larvae were found.Worms were found in the liver,heart,lungs,and cerebrum of rats after different periods of infection with A.cantonensis.Conclusion Mice,guinea pigs,and rabbits are not suitable as final hosts of A.cantonensis.SD rats are an ideal for a laboratory animal model of A.cantonensis infection.


Abstract Recently, researchers are exploring the potential of polymer chemistry a lot in therapeutics. In conventional non-targeted polymeric drug delivery, an array of unwanted side effects was identified due to the release and distribution of therapeutic molecules into healthy cells. Consistent efforts are made to diminish such effects by encapsulating drug molecules into a well-developed stimuli-responsive nanocarrier that directly affects cells. Herein, we have designed to synthesize a nanocarrier, which was developed to carry any hydrophobic drug moiety through the bloodstream and finally target the infected area. For the greater assembly of molecules in the aqueous medium, we have incorporated self-assembly criteria into our design in the simplest way. Caprolactone (hydrophobic) and polyethylene glycol derivative (hydrophilic) were carefully chosen as the components to integrate amphiphilicity to the system to guarantee well organized self-assembled structures. Click chemistry (being stereospecific, simple to perform, broad in scope and most importantly high yielding) is a very productive method that is used in the synthetic procedure of connecting the new initiator molecule with the hydrophilic and hydrophobic part of the system. It is done just after the successful process of ring-opening polymerization. The critical micelle concentration of the self-assembled nanocarrier was found to be 235 μg/mL and the hydrodynamic radius measured using dynamic light scattering was noted as 24 nm. The micelles formed in aqueous solution were observed as spherical in shape under scanning electron microscope as well as transmission electron microscope. Graphical Abstract


Abstract : The current Defense Program fails to adequately address current readiness shortfalls and long-term modernization needs. If allowed to continue unabated, the ability of U.S. forces to support the National Security Strategy may be significantly jeopardized within the next decade. The factors normally cited as catalysts for this situation are the Planning, Programming, and Budgeting System (PPBS), and a chronically under funded Defense budget throughout the last decade. These commonly accepted problems with the defense budget are not the true drivers for shortfalls in the defense program. Accordingly, the commonly accepted means for fixing the problems are inevitably going to fall short of their goals. Without a true understanding of the principal factors affecting defense spending, viable, long term solutions cannot be reached. A comprehensive and systemic understanding of the root causes for our current strategy-resource mismatch, as well as an appreciation of how the Defense budget relates to the Federal budget, are necessary before effective solutions can be developed.


The reversible reaction of H2 with a bis-phosphenium complex of chromium provides a rare example of 3d transition metal/phosphenium cooperativity. Photolysis induces the activation of H2 and yields a spectroscopically detectable phosphenium-stabilized (σ–H2)-complex, readily showing exchange with gaseous H2 and D2. Further reaction of this complex affords a phosphine-functionalized metal hydride, representing a unique example of reversible H2 cleavage across a 3d M
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 P bond. The same species is also accessible via stepwise H+/H− transfer to the bis-phosphenium complex, and releases H2 upon heating or irradiation. Dihydrogen transfer from the H2-complex to styrene is exploited to demonstrate the first example of promoting hydrogenation with a phosphenium complex.


Construction sand is naturally polluted with radionuclides of terrestrial origin. In this study, specific activities of 238U, 232Th, and 40K in 30 sand samples collected along the Ekalakala River, Machakos County, Kenya, were measured using a high-purity germanium γ-ray spectrometer. The specific activities ranged between 9.7 Bqkg−1 and 24.0 Bqkg−1, 11.5 Bqkg−1 and 26.2 Bqkg−1, and 820 Bqkg−1 and 1850 Bqkg−1 for 238U, 232Th, and 40K, respectively. While the mean specific activities for 238U and 232Th were less than half of the world average values of 33 Bqkg−1 and 45 Bqkg−1, respectively, the average specific activity of 40K was significant since it was three times the global mean value of 420 Bqkg−1. A calculated absorbed radiation dose rate for the sand varied between 46.8 nGyh−1 and 94.2 nGyh−1 with a mean of 68.5 ± 13.3 nGyh−1. This is not significantly different from the world average dose rate of 60 nGyh−1 for geological samples. The AEDR and Hex had maximum values of 0.29 mSvy−1 and 0.52, respectively, both within the recommended limits of radiation exposure for members of the general public. Based on these results, the sand from Ekalakala River does not pose significant health implication to the sand harvesters as well as the inhabitants of the houses constructed using this sand.


This study aims to determine the effect of the Postgraduate Program's service quality at Muhammadiyah University of Metro Lampung, which consists of tangible assurance, empathy, reliability, and responsiveness to the Postgraduate Program's student loyalty Muhammadiyah University of Metro Lampung. This research's research type is quantitative research, namely research by obtaining data in the form of numbers or estimated quantitative data. According to Sugiyono (2014: 38), this study aims to determine the effect of service quality at the Postgraduate Program, Muhammadiyah University Metro Lampung on student loyalty in the Postgraduate Program at Muhammadiyah University Metro Lampung.The result of this research is that the tangible variable ξ1 has a significant effect on the variable η1 reliability with the value of tcount= 0.516 at a = 0.05 where the ttable = 1.67 is obtained because the tcount> of the ttablevalue, the ξ2 assurance variable has a significant effect. Directly to the variable η1 reliability with a value of tcount= 0.111 at a = 0.05, it is obtained t table= 1.67, variable ξ3 emphaty does not have a direct influence on the variable η1 reliability with a value of tcount = 0.108 at a = 0.05 is obtained t table= 1.67, the ξ1 tangible variable has no influence on the η2 responsiviness variable, with the value of tcount= 0.936 at a = 0.05, obtained t table= 1.67, the ξ3 emphaty variable has a direct significant effect on the η2 responsiviness variable with the tcount= 0.021 at a = 0.05 is obtained ttable= 1.67, variable η2 responsiviness to variable η3 loyalty has a direct influence from the calculation of tcount= 0.00 at a = 0.05 is obtained t table= 1.67, variable ξ1 tangible to the direct significant effect on the loyalty variable η3 with a value of tcount= 0.30 at a = 0.05 obtained t table= 1, 67, variable ξ3 empahty to variable η3 loyalty from the value tcount = 0.02 at a = 0.05 is obtained t table= 1.67, variable η2 responsiviness has a direct significant effect on the loyalty variable η3 from the value tcount= 0.42 in a = 0.05, the obtained ttable= 1.67. Thus, these results indicate that the empathy variable has no effect on reliability in the Postgraduate Program, Muhammadiyah University of Metro Lampung. The tangible variable does not affect responsiveness in the Postgraduate Program, Muhammadiyah University of Metro Lampung.


Two aspects of the development trend of current nuclear fission technology are discussed. The first aspect is to improve economic competitiveness and safety for searching opportunity of enlarging the share of nuclear power. The second aspect is to explore new ways of improving the efficiency of nuclear fuel utilization and of reducing the geological repository volume of radioactive products from nuclear power generation. Sustainable development of Chinese economy in 21st century will mainly rely on sustainable supply of clean energy with indigenous natural resources. The burden of current coal-dominant energy mix and the environmental pollution due to energy consumptions has led nuclear power to be an indispensable choice for further expanding electricity generation capacity and for reducing greenhouse effect gases emission in China. The long-term sustainable development strategy with nuclear fission technology beyond generation-IV for electric power generation, namely the fusion-fission hybrid subcritical reactor technology, is discussed. The impact of the proposed fission-fusion hybrid reactor to future nuclear power generation technology will reply on the success of the ITER-scale (500MW fusion power) Tokamak to burn plasma continuously in the predictable future. The main challenges and prospects of the strategy are also analyzed. The preliminary analysis has shown that the fission in the subcritical blanket driven by fusion neutrons can effectively amplify the energy carried by fusion neutron and maintain breeding of fissile material and tritium. It has been found from the results of a conceptual design that this new type of fusion-fission hybrid reactor may meet the requirement of China's long-term sustainable development of nuclear energy.Copyright © 2009 by ASME


In this paper, we present our approach to analyze the testability of data-flow designs of reactive systems. We use the SATAN technology which is based on the information theory to model the information transfer in the system. We extend this technology with: a common formalism to represent data-flow designs produced from different CASE tools; a flattening mechanism to allow a flexible analysis of testability. We also improve the testability analysis by introducing: a statistical evaluation of information loss coefficient of operators, and a cyclic analysis that takes into account the recurring behavior of reactive systems. Our approach was integrated into a tool allowing an automatic analysis of testability of graphical data-flow designs of reactive systems.


Despite increased interest in the entrepreneurial intentions and career choices of young adults, reliable prediction models are still not developed. Two nonparametric methods were used in this paper to model entrepreneurial intentions: principal component analysis (PCA) and artificial neural networks (NNs). PCA was used to perform feature extraction in the first stage of modelling, while neural networks were used to classify students according to their entrepreneurial intentions in the second stage. Four modelling strategies were tested in order to find the most efficient model. Dataset was collected in an international survey on entrepreneurship self-efficacy and identity. Variables describe students' demographics, education, attitudes, social and cultural norms, self-efficacy and other characteristics. The research reveals benefits from the combination of the PCA and NNs in modeling entrepreneurial intentions, and provides some ideas for further research.


Eighteen chlorophenols, containing from one to five chlorine atoms on the benzene ring at various positions, have been studied by cyclic voltammetric methods to evaluate their oxidation-reduction characteristics in an aprotic medium. The compounds were dissolved in dimethylsulfoxide containing 0.10 M tetrabutylammonium perchlorate as the supporting electrolyte and were then both oxidized and reduced on a glassy carbon electrode. The results indicate that phenols oxidize in a one-step process to phenoxium ion which dimerizes to quinone ether. The ether can be reduced back to phenol ina two-step reduction process. The oxidation potential of the chlorophenols varies with the number and the position of the chlorine substitution. Itmay also have a relationship with the toxicity of the compound. The main purpose of this study is to understand low chlorophenols, classified as environmental pollutants for their toxicity and carcinogenicity, are oxidized by cytochrome P450 in the metabolic activation process inliving systems.


Introduction: Hydrated sulfates have been detected on Mars using spectrometers onboard orbiter, as well as by two rover vehicles that are currently exploring the Martian surface. Thus, investigation on terrestrial sulfate deposits formed in similar conditions than those occurred on Mars in the past, is of considerable interest regarding the current and future exploration missions to Mars (MSL and ExoMars) [1]. The origin of most terrestrial hydrated minerals is bounded to the presence of liquid water, so research on these materials is essential to understand the genesis of the hydrated sulphates found on the Martian surface and their relevance for hosting astrobiological vestiges. In the present work, we propose three field sites in southeastern Spain in which hydrated sulfate minerals generated by hydrothermal and evaporative mechanisms are present.


The engineering process of laser ranging systems (LRS) is connected to intensive analysis of statistical properties of reflected noise of a signal in the optical range. In the given article attention to the analysis of pattern noise of a signal reflected from aerosol environment and detection of the tags obtained is given at the expense of a change of parameters of a system ensuring a noise immunity LRS.


A new environmental friendly catalyst,H 4 SiW 12 O 40 /PAn was prepared.Cyclohexanone ethylene ketal was synthesized from cyclohexanone and ethylene glycol in the presence of H 4 SiW 12 O 40 /PAn.The factors influencing the synthesis were discussed and the optimum conditions were found out.The optimum conditions are:molar ratio of cyclohexanone to ethylene glycol is1∶1.4,catalyst content is equal to0.8%feed stock,and the reaction time is40min.H 4 SiW 12 O 40 /PAn is an excellent catalyst for synthesizing cyclohexanone ethylene ketal and its yield can reach over91.2%.


Using a systems engineering approach, a lifetime extension strategy for legacy simulation systems is presented. This lifetime extension strategy establishes a bridge allowing legacy simulation systems to participate in a larger more diverse simulation community. Previous recommendations to solve this legacy simulation problem have been narrow in scope viewing the solution in terms of a single technical solution. However, like systems engineering, this strategy describes a solution using a multilayered interdisciplinary approach. This approach takes advantage of existing technologies across the hardware and software spectrum and presents a five‐year convergence strategy.


Because the course of Metallurgical charting is abstract and focused on theory,the traditional teaching content and method can not adapt to the professional education Aiming at the characteristics of this course,This text put forward several reform measures.The reforms on teaching content and teaching method not only enable students to raise the interest in learning and enable teachers to improve teaching efficiency.


A point-diffraction interferometer is established,which is based on a polarizing mask and the circular common-path setup.The fringe visibility can be adjusted by rotating the polarizer to change the relative intensities between the test and the reference beams.The fringe pattern with the highest visibility is acquired,and the fringe visibility is also analyzed theoretically in detail.The linear carrier frequency may be easily adjusted in the optical system,so the extraction accuracy of the Fourier-transform method is effectively improved.A validated experiment is accomplished.


Portfolio is a decision-making way which can spread risks effectively.The paper,on the basis of establishing quadratic portfolio programming model,makes an analysis of the solution to the model with simplex algorithm and verifies it with an example.The result shows the feasibility and validity of the model and its solution,also offers some reference in making decisions for medium and small investors.


Foreword ix Acknowledgments xiii Glossary of Arabic Terms xv Introduction 1 CHAPTER 1 The Nature of Capital and the Rate of Return 11 CHAPTER 2 The Origins of Financial Panics and Recessions 23 CHAPTER 3 Monetary Policy and Financial Crises 37 CHAPTER 4 The Internationalization of Financial Crises 45 CHAPTER 5 The Role of the Credit Multiplier in Financial Crises 61 CHAPTER 6 The Inherent Stability of Islamic Finance 75 CHAPTER 7 A Theoretical Model of the Inherent Stability of Islamic Finance 83 CHAPTER 8 Asset Pricing and Risk in Islamic Finance 93 CHAPTER 9 Islamic Financial Intermediation and Markets 113 CHAPTER 10 Risk Profi le of Islamic Financial Intermediaries 131 CHAPTER 11 Financial Engineering, Derivatives and Financial Stability 141 CHAPTER 12 Corporate Governance and Financial Crises 163 CHAPTER 13 The Performance of Islamic Financial Intermediaries and Products 183 Conclusion 209 Bibliography 217 Index 225


Experiment was conducted on fish, Oreochromis mossambicus to study the effect of acetamiprid on tissue biomarker lactate dehydrogenase. Acetamiprid is a neonicotinoid pesticide and it is used by the farmers to protect their crops. This pesticide residue reaches to the aquatic ecosystem by many ways and affects the aquatic fauna. Lethal Concentration (LC 50 ) of acetamiprid for O. mossambicus has been calculated by probit analysis and recorded as 5.99 ppm at 96 h. Chronic exposure shows increased activity of LDH in liver, brain and gill tissues during all the exposure periods when compared with the control. This significant increase in enzyme activity was observed due to toxic effect of acetamiprid. Long term exposure of organisms to pesticides means a continuous health hazard for the fish population and it is on high risk by consuming these toxicated fishes.


In this study a new jammer design for orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) based systems is in- troduced. We present three new vulnerability attack scenarios based on chirp signals. These are the conventional chirp attack, the cyclic prefix chirp attack and the pilot tone chirp attack. Bit error rate (BER) performances are investigated in presence of chirp based attacks. It is shown that the performance degradation is increased when compared to Gaussian distributed jammers. Chirp signals are also preferable due to nominal peak-to-average power ratios (at least 7 dB lower than Gaussian counterparts).


In order to understand the genetic effect of vernalization gene Vrn-1,the effect of vernalization treatment on development of 15 wheat cultivars was studied,and the allelic composition of the Vrn-1 gene in 5A,5B and 5D genomes in above cultivars were analyzed using the sequence-specific PCR.The results indicated that there is significantly difference in heading stages of genotype with different Vrn-1 allele combinations.The genetic effect of three dominant Vrn-1 alleles is follows: Vrn-A1Vrn-D1Vrn-B1:the vernalization genes have additive effects,the presence of a dominant Vrn-1 allele in any genotype confers spring growth habit,whereas the presence of recessive alleles in the homozygous state confers winter growth habit.Therefore,the winter-spring character of cultivars can be confirmed according to the combination of vernalization genes.


The sci-tech self-innovation of university means that university makes use of its own scientific and technological resources to improve its primitive creativity,technological integration and absorbing and digesting capacity.The sci-tech system is divided into internal system and external system.At present,the poor capacity of self-innovation of universities in China is attributable to the obstacles of sci-tech development system,such as the poor efficiency of sci-tech investment management,the low rate of transformation of scientific and technological achievements and the failure of sci-tech activity organization and operation mechanism to meet the demands of economic and sci-tech development.Therefore,in order to improve the efficiency of university sci-tech activities and promote the transformation of scientific and technological achievements,it is urgent to strengthen the government's macro-control function,conduct the reform in the university's internal sci-tech management system and organization and accelerate the development of university sci-tech intermediary service.


It is proposed to upgrade the large electron-positron storage ring LEP to energies above the initial 55 GeV by superconducting accelerating cavities operated at 352 MHz. A new cavity geometry has been developed which will allow to locate the main and higher order mode couplers at the beam tubes of the cavities. Experimental results obtained with monocell cavities fabricated from niobium material of different thermal conductivity and with a 4-cell prototype cavity are discussed.


As everyone knows, the fracture strength of rock materials shows-statistical character. Although test conditions can be controlled strictly, the results still exhibit a large scatter. This phenomenon certainly results from the stochastic distribution and growth of defects of a variety of scales in the structure of material and should be handled by probabilistic and indefinite methods. As early as 1939, Weibull gave the fundamental work for statistical


In the paper the authors examined key Latvian economy indicators, specifically focusing on trends in development of aviation industry development. In particular, also attention was paid to passengers and cargo volume transportation dynamics, as well as to RIGA International Airport Development Plan through the year 2036. The authors compared operations of RIGA International Airport with available data from other leading Baltic Sea Region airports, specifically within 300 kilometres zone. Another requirement was, a competing airport had to be in the TOP 100 airports globally to be considered. KEY WORDS: RIGA International Airport, Baltic sea region, development plan. JEL CODES: M160, R110, R380 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15181/rfds.v15i1.982


This paper describes the molten steel condition of heavy rail steel for No.5 continuous caster,the process parameters such as casting rate,superheat temperature,and so on.The macrostructure of bloom,segregation of carbon,mechanical property of heavy rail,nonmetallic inclusion is verified.The article judges whether present state of No.5 continuous caster can produce high quality heavy rail steel.


This paper introduces bit-interleaved polar coded modulation with iterative detection/decoding (BIPCM-ID). In order to enable the soft output of successive cancellation list (SCL) decoding, two types of re-encoders are proposed, namely the max-re-encoder and min-re-encoder, respectively. Regarding the iterative decoding, we analytically verify that the average mutual information (AMI) between the transmitted and decoded symbols can approach the Shannon bound with the proposed schemes. Moreover, bit error rate (BER) and block error rate (BLER) in single-user and multi-user scenarios are studied. Finally, simulation results show that the performance of BIPCM-ID outperforms other bit-interleaved coded modulation (BICM) systems with LDPC and Turbo codes, while also reducing the computational complexity.


The article investigates the possibilities of re-activating the built heritage of the Marche Apennine through shared, creative, and transcalar approaches. This is a particularly challenging task for marginal inner areas, which during the pandemic have been even more isolated due to previous structural issues such as lack of services, poor accessibility, economic stagnation, and depopulation. Italian inner areas are also facing an increase in environmental risks linked to ongoing climate change. This work focuses on the Appennino Basso Pesarese Anconetano in the Marche Region as part of the national project "Branding4Resilience". The research methodological approach entails an exploration of the territory through quantitative and qualitative tools to investigate the possibility of a new reading of the Marche inner area and suggest operation at a local level, without losing the wider perspective on global challenges. This interpretation is synthesized in a territorial portrait that supports visions for the sustainable transformation of the area, and shows the need for shared collaborative approaches for more inclusive forms of living together. Finally, the work proposes built heritage as a trigger for development processes in marginalized territories, thus highlighting the crucial role of design and creativity, through transcalar approaches, to unveil relevant and often hidden resources and to envisage resilient futures for inner areas.


The capabilities within the teleoperator laboratories to perform remote and teleoperated investigations for a wide variety of applications are described. Three major teleoperator issues are addressed: the human operator, the remote control and effecting subsystems, and the human/machine system performance results for specific teleoperated tasks.


Problem-based learning (PBL) is a student-centered teaching and learning model, in which teachers play a guiding and inspiring role, students need to cooperate with each other to solve problems. The computer network course covers a wide range of knowledge and needs to integrate theory with practice. It is very suitable for PBL teaching. In view of the general situation of teaching and learning for teachers and students in China, i.e., the passivity of teaching and learning, this paper attempts to apply PBL to the teaching of computer network course. Finally, the effectiveness of PBL is evaluated through examination and questionnaire for students.


Aim To investigate the effect of tanshinoneⅡA(TSN) on the hypertrophy induced by angiotensinⅡ(AngⅡ)in the primary culture of neonatal rat cardiomyocytes. Methods Cardiomyocytes of Wistar rats were cultured with pancreatin and preplating technique. The hypertrophy of cardiomyocytes was induced with angiotensinⅡ, and intervened with TanshinoneⅡA and Valsartan. The effect of TSN on cardiomyocytewas evaluated by 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-3,5-diphenylformazan (MTT) assay. As the index of cardiomyocyte hypertrophy, protein synthesis rate was measured by ~3H-Leucine incorporation and the cell size was determined by phase contrast microscope. The proto-oncogene c-fos、c-myc and c-jun mRNA expressions were assessed using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Results Exposure of cultured cardiomyocytes to TSN (5~80 μmol·L~ -1 ) for 24 h produced marginal cytotoxicity. Additonally, myocyte monolayers continued to contract synchronously in the presence of TSN. With the treatment of cardiomyocytes by AngII for 7 days, the cell size of cardiomyocytes of the group of Ang Ⅱ(28.5±3.8) μm increased more prominently than the group of control(19.8±1.9) μm(P0.05). TSN could restrained the increase of cardiomyocyte size(21.3±2.5) μm which was induced by Ang Ⅱ(28.5±3.8) μm(P0.05); with the treatment of cardiomyocytes by Ang Ⅱ for 24 h, the cardiomyocyte protein synthesis rate of the group of Ang Ⅱ(1900±100) cpm increased more prominently than the group of control(1205±129) cpm,(P0.01). TSN and Valsartan had no effect on cardiomyocyte protein synthesis, but it could restrained the increase of cardiomyocyte protein synthesis rate (P0.01), which was induced by Ang Ⅱ. Ang Ⅱ was added to the culture medium and 30 min later c-fos、c-myc and c-jun mRNA expressions of cardiomyocyte increased evidently(P0.01). If TSN or Valsartan was added before that ,they could inhibit the effect of Ang Ⅱ (P0.01)after they were in effect for 30 min. Nevertheless TSN and Valsartan had no effect on the express of c-fos、c-myc and c-jun mRNA. Conclusions TSN can prevent the hypertrophy of cardiomyocytes induced by Ang Ⅱ, which may relate to the decreased expressions of proto-oncogene c-fos , c-myc and c-jun mRNA by TSN.


Mikhail Kuzyk- Discipline Leader, Interdepartmental Analytical Centre. E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com Address: 121069, P.O. box 35, 31/29 bld. 2 Povarskaya str., Moscow, RussiaBased on results of the study "Microeconomic analysis of public policies aimed at fostering innovation" the author evaluates the most significant impacts of the crisis on activities of research organizations. He studies changes in the volume of implemented RD obstacles to developing partnerships between research organizations and industry; the challenges and opportunities arising from the crisis and crisis management actions planned and taken by the organizations.Among the most referred effects are decreased contracts from non-governmental actors as well as from government and related agencies, the partial loss of customers, the deteriorated timeliness of payments from counterparts and non-payments, higher prices by subcontractors etc.. However a financial creditworthiness in general as well as "dismal" decline in R&D did not happen.Organizations giving higher expectations to their research performance in general were less amenable to the impacts of the crisis. Meanwhile, over two thirds (70%) of respondents indicated the absence of any positive aspects of the crisis. Pessimistic estimates are typical for the organizations receiving a significant share of orders from manufacturing plants.The analysis revealed sustainable sets of anti-crisis measures, their current and future specifics. About 90% of the studied organizations at the time of conducting the survey have already begun implementation of various anti-crisis measures. Their efforts were focused on commercializing R&D outputs, the search for new customers and adapting to their needs, the development of international linkages, expansion of research and searching for new staff.High-level performing organizations preferred to focus on the development of already existing activities and enhancing skills of existing staff, while the organizations of a lower research performance more often resorted to shift to new customers, changed their subcontractors and suppliers, and reformed the internal structure. Most organizations considered internal restructuring as an important anti-crisis policy measure in the future. Introduction of new means of material incentives as well as creation of small innovative companies were also regarded as prospective steps.


On the sites of Tihange and Doel in Belgium, a total of seven nuclear generating units with nn aggregate installed power of 5807 MWe are operated. Construction of another unit at Doel was postponed indefinitely in 1988 after the Chernobyl accident. Electrabel holds a 25% interest in the Chooz B-1 and B-2 nuclear generating units under construction in France near the Belgian border. In terms of gross installed nuclear generating capacity worldwide, Belgium holds twelfth place; when ranked according to the contribution to public electricity supply, the country holds third place with a 57% share. Before decisions are taken about future nuclear power plants, above all the fuel costs of gas-Sired cogeneration plants and the capital costs of nuclear power plants must be weighed. Current evaluation of all costs shows the use of nuclear power for electricity generation to be ten percent more expensive than that of natural gas. However, those responsible in the power supply industry feel that this short-term competitive situation is only one factor out of many others, such ns safety issues, diversification in sourcing and deliveries, climatic influences, and employment. The development and construction of advanced reactors will result in the desired cost reduction and lead to a new era of nuclear power, also in Europe.


Summary

Basidiocarps of Inonotus obliquus at the margin of a sterile conk were observed on the stem of a living paper birch tree (Betula papyrifera) in North America. The basidiocarps were small in size and similar in shape to basidiocarps formed on potato-dextrose agar medium. This is the first report of basidiocarp formation on the stem of a healthy looking birch.


We have designed and constructed lower-loss and smaller-unit volume three-phase amorphous reactors for use as filter components in a 400-kVA on-line UPS. For high-accuracy loss estimation, a simplified method has been applied that is based on measured B-H curves and iron losses of amorphous cores, modeled with magnetic simulations of a finite-element method (FEM) considering the directions of the amorphous ribbon planes. The reactors are formed from toroidal wound cores. Two core sizes designed with magnetic flux densities of standard (0.8 T) and higher (1.2 T) values are constructed. Their unit volumes are shrunk by 9 % and 43 %, respectively resulting in UPS efficiencies 0.54 % and 0.39 % higher than those of a conventional silicon-steel core reactor. The accuracy of the loss estimation method for PWM-induced reactors is verified. The method is confirmed to enable a miniaturized reactor for filtering in an inverter system to be designed on the basis of the trade-off with permissive raise of loss.


A field experiment was carried out at Crop Research Farm, during Rabi 2021, Department of Agronomy, SHUATS, Prayagraj (Uttar Pradesh) to study the effects of biofertilizers and potassium on the yield and economics of yellow mustard. Biofertilizers (Azotobacter, Phosphate-Solubilizing Bacteria) and Potassium levels (35, 40 and 45 kg/ha) were organized in a Randomized Block Design experiment. The treatment with Azotobacter at 10 g/kg seed + PSB at 10 g/kg seed + Potassium at 40 kg/ha resulted in a higher number of siliqua per plant (134.53), seeds per siliqua (31.67), test weight (3.40 g), seed yield (1.53 t/ha), stover yield (5.20 t/ha) and harvest index (22.74%). In respect to all other treatment combinations, the application of Azotobacter at 10 g/kg seed + PSB at 10 g/kg seed + Potassium at 40 kg/ha resulted in the highest gross returns (91,800.00 INR/ha), net returns (60,642.40 INR/ha) and benefit cost ratio (1.95).


The present article reviews current research about the expression of emotion in face-to-face interactions. The first part of the article argues that important affective processes are better understood when they are examined in the context of social interactions. The second part delineates the approaches that have been used to investigate emotional interactions in the past. In order to compare and contrast the rather heterogenous empirical studies, an epistemological model about affective processes in dyadic interactions is proposed.


In these lecture notes we survey the state of the art in symmetric key encryption, in particular in the block ciphers and stream ciphers area. The area of symmetric key encryption has been very active in the last five years due to growing interest from academic and industry research, standardization efforts like AES, NESSIE and CRYPTREC, as well as due to ease of government control over export of cryptography.


Purpose – In any distributed application, the communication between the distributed processes/nodes of the distributed systems is essential for both reliability and efficiency matters. The purpose of this paper is to address this issue for distributed applications based on JXTA protocols aiming at extending and evaluating the protocols of the JXTA library for reliable P2P computing.Design/methodology/approach – After a careful examination of the current version of JXTA protocols, the need was observed for improving the original JXTA protocols such as pipe services to ensure reliable communication between nodes of the grid platform and the discovery and presence service to increase the performance of the applications. Using a mixed P2P network based on broker peers and client peers architecture, which served as a basis to extend the JXTA protocols, was the basis of the approach.Findings – The original JXTA protocols are extented/re‐implemented to support the development of reliable P2P distributed applicat...


FIELD: medicine. SUBSTANCE: invention relates to medicine, namely to pediatrics and can be used for treatment of congenital hepatitis C in children of first year of life. Method includes introduction of viferon, continuous treatment being carried out for 12-18 months. Additionally introduced is algirem in form of syrup in dose 5 mg/kg per day, diluted for two intakes after meal and ursodeoxycholic acid in day dose 20 mg/kg, divided per two intakes. EFFECT: application of invention makes it possible to increase efficiency of treatment of congenital hepatitis C. 2 ex


The invention discloses a porphyrin cage compound, and a preparation method and application thereof. The invention provides the porphyrin cage compound. A structural formula is shown as a formula (I). The preparation method comprises the following step of: performing 1,3-dipole cycloaddition reaction of a compound shown as a formula (II) and a compound shown as a formula (III) under the catalysis of cuprous iodide and an alkaline compound to obtain the porphyrin cage compound. According to the preparation method, the process is simple and convenient, the reaction yield is relatively high, polynitrogen anions can be identified efficiently, and the detection sensitivity is high, for example, the lower limit of detection concentration of nitrine anions in dichloromethane can reach 10 ppm; the selectivity is high, for example, the nitrine anions do not have response to other anions such as F , Cl , Br , I , SO4 , HSO4 , PO4 , HPO4 , H2PO4 , NO3 and the like; and a detection method can be performed by two methods, namely a nuclear magnetic resonance hydrogen spectrum and an ultraviolet spectrum, and even the nitrine anions can be determined directly and qualitatively by using naked eyes according to the change of solution colors.


Objective To explore the gray-scale and color Doppler ultrasonic imaging characteristics of thyroid nodules,and to find significant parameters for differential diagnosis of benign and malignant thyroid nodules.Methods Thirty-six patients with thyroid carcinoma and 36 patients with benign thyroid tumors were selected. The grey-scale and color Doppler ultrasound were performed to analyze the internal and edge echo characteristics,vascularity features,resistance index(RI) and the blood spectral patterns.Results The low echo-level,no amicula,internal microcalcifications and posterior echo attenuation had important significance in the diagnosis of thyroid carcinoma.The special signs of malignant thyroid nodules were grade Ⅲ color flow; RI0.65,or together with RI0.50;spectral Doppler showed that the peak systolic velocity often appeared quickly with sharp ascending and descending slopes,there was often no or reverse flow in diastolic period. Four microcarcinomas appeared to have no or little internal color flow signals but there was affluent peripheral color flow signals concentrating to lesions.Conclusion High fequency ultrasonography has great value for diagnosis of thyroid carcinoma


This paper described domestic and foreign newest research progress and application condition of water-borne adhesives for core-mould.The problems in using of present water-borne adhesives for core-mould were offered here and the development trend and the new way of preparation for waterborne adhesives for core-mould were pointed out.


It analysed existing problems and consequence to city power reform engneering item management and put forward counter measures to ensure city power net reform engineering finance administration.


Abstract A case of tuberculosis is described which appears to have been the result of infection acquired while a soldier was serving in the Far East. Two secondary cases are described and the evide...


The only large-scale production facilities in operation throughout the world today for uranium enrichment are gaseous diffusion plants. The three U.S. plants have operated with great reliability for more than twenty years. The well-planned operating and maintenance programs of the past with the modernization programs now underway will assure continued efficient operation in the future. Data given in this report include component failures and production cost.


The light-use and water-use efficiencies of tomato plug sheets in the greenhouse were estimated continuously for 15d based on micrometeorological and weighing methods. The light-use efficiency, defined as chemical-energy transformation rate by photosynthesis per unit shortwave radiation flux density, increased with increases in leaf area index and then remained stable at about 2×10-2 - 4×10-2 J J-1 when leaf area index was higher than about 1.0. The light-use efficiency decreased with increases in shortwave radiation flux density. The water-use efficiency, defined as dry matter production rate per unit evapotranspiration rate, also increased with increases in leaf area index and then remained stable at about 3×10-3 - 4×10-3 g dry matter g-1 H2O when leaf area index was higher than about 0.5. The accumulated light-use and water-use efficiencies for 15d were 1.8×10-2 J J-1 and 2.7×10-3 g dry matter g-1 H2O, respectively.


The present study investigated the level of preparatory school learners' critical thinking proficiency and its relation with their academic achievement. To the researchers' best knowledge, there is hardly any documented study exploring the relationship between these constructs among preparatory learners. To attain the purpose of the study, 108 grade 12 preparatory school learners from two sections (53 social science and 55 natural science majors: 56 male and 52 female students) were selected using a simple random sampling technique from Woldia Preparatory School. Data was collected through a critical thinking proficiency test adapted from "Cornell Class-Reasoning Test, Form X" (CCTT) and learners' previous semester cumulative average. The data was analyzed statistically, employing Descriptive Statistics, Independent-Samples T Test, Pearson product-moment correlation, and linear regression. The results from the descriptive analysis showed that the critical thinking proficiency of preparatory school learners was weak, namely, most students lack critical thinking proficiency at this level. Moreover, the level of critical thinking didn't vary significantly across majors and gender according to the independent-samples t test analysis. However, results from Pearson product-moment correlation indicated a fairly strong and positive correlation between critical thinking proficiency and academic achievement. The linear regression results also revealed that critical thinking proficiency act as the best predictor of academic achievement. The discussion and implications of the research are further presented with reference to the finding.


International maritime shipping promotes the development of international trade. However,the oil and green house gas discharged from ships result in the pollution to the oceans and atmosphere. Meantime,improper discharge from ship enterprises during shipbuilding,ship repairing and ship recycling also leads to the pollution to the ocean environment. Environmental protection is a social responsibility for ship enterprises to take. Based on the goal of the international community to address climate change and protect ocean and atmosphere environment,international shipping sector has been carrying out series of measures and standards in order to prevent ship oil pollution and GHG emissions. It requires the ship enterprises to protect environment in the process of ship design and shipbuilding. Specifically,the ship enterprises should adhere to the concept of green shipbuilding,the ship design and shipbuilding should meet the international ship energy efficiency standards,use those shipbuilding contract texts which focus on environmental protection,and pay attention to environmental protection in the process of shipbuilding,ship repairing and ship recycling.


Time series of sea surface temperature (SST) in the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean are analyzed using singular spectrum analysis as a means of testing the hypothesis that the El Nino/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) system can be modelled as a deterministic low-order nonlinear dynamical system. The results suggest, with some ambiguity owing to the relatively short and noisy SST record, that the main features of the ENSO system can be captured in a model of this type.


phy type 1 (MD1) but it is usually restricted to the fronto-temporal areas (frontal baldness).1-3 Alopecia also of other areas of the scalp has not been reported as a dominant feature of the disease. The patient is a 54yo Caucasian female with a history of myotonia of all toes bilaterally since childhood, recurrent falls since at least 15a, disturbed fine motor skills since at least 15a, and progressive gait disturbance from distal weakness with a foot drop and abortive stepping gait such that walking over steps was possible only with holding the handrail. She also reported multiple atheromas on the scalp since 15-20y, dysphagia since 10y, cholecystectomy, easy tiring, and exercise intolerance. She had undergone cataract surgery bilaterally some years ago. Since 2-3 years prior to the last visit she had developed extra-fronto-temporal alopecia to such a degree that she was wearing a wig since age 53y. Her family history was positive for MD1 in her oldest daughter and her son, her two sisters and her brother. Two of her children were unaffected. Clinical neurologic examination revealed a myopathic face, atheroma over the scalp, alopecia over the entire scalp (Figure 1), slight bilateral ptosis, weakness for lid closure, slight weakness for finger straddling on the upper limbs, diffuse weakness of the lower limbs with distal and right-sided predominance, reduced tendon reflexes on the upper as well as lower limbs, and discrete distal wasting on the lower limbs. She was unable to walk on her heels but also toe-walking was slightly impaired. There was recurrent mild hyper-CK-emia with a maximal value of 279 U/L (n, < 146 U/L). Serum testosterone was


A simplified thickness design procedure for pavement structures constructed with asphalt mixes, dense-graded emulsified asphalt mixes, or cement-modified emulsified asphalt mixes is described. Elastic layer principles are used in the development of the procedure. Two critical strains--the horizontal tensile strain at the bottom of the treated layer and the vertical compressive strain at the surface of the subgrade--are examined in determining the proper pavement thickness. Allowable values for tensile strain are based on laboratory fatigue tests, with consideration given to the slower crack propagation time encountered in the field. Vertical subgrade strain criteria developed from field observations of pavement behavior have been selected to minimize surface rutting caused by overstressing the subgrade. Environmental considerations, in particular, the effect of temperature, the curing effect of emulsified asphalt mixes and the effect of frost on subgrade strength, are considered in the design. A relationship is proposed showing the important effect of the volume of air voids and asphalt in a treated mix on its fatigue behavior and, hence, the thickness requirements for the pavement structure. The paper contains a step-by-step outline of the design procedure for the practicing engineer to follow in determining pavement thickness requirements. A design example is included with the necessary work sheets to show the proper use of design charts, graphs, and equations. The procedure does not require the use of computers. However, simple computer programs written in BASIC have been developed to eliminate the tedious hand calculations described in the paper. These programs cover the design of pavements made with asphalt, emulsified asphalt, or cement-modified emulsified asphalt mixes. /Author/


In this paper,a study progress of later years was reviewed on extraction,purification,physicochemical properties,physiological activity and product development of Phycocyanin in Spirulina.And propose the main study direction will be on extraction procedure,drugs development and quality control methods in future.


This paper emphasizes the link between public service and public psychology. It examines the idea of a psychological policy being implemented in health systems. We symbolize more the psychic body for psychologist than a social body. The network of psychologists is one of the most valuable sources in this field. Psychologists have to move the issues at the core of the disease and to provide a balance between relief and science, between "sentimental" psychology and experimental psychology, even between democracy of the doubt and oligarchy of the medical organization. Health cannot only be life in the silence of the somatic, which is to say, silence at all costs.


We have theoretically investigated the mechanism of the reconstructive wurtzite-to-rocksalt phase transition. Using COMSUBS, we found five different bond-preserving transitions pathways. These transition paths share a common underlying mechanism: bilayer sliding of (010) hexagonal planes along the [100] hexagonal directions.


Multiple shoots from shoot meristems of three five-day-old in vitro grown seedlings of Turkish cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.) cv. Akkiz was obtained in MS supplemented with 0.50 mg/l BAP 0, 0.10, 0.30 and 0.50 mg/l NAA. Callus induction was recorded on all cultures. Callusing was recorded on all cultures containing 0.5 mg/l BAP with and without NAA. However, increased diameter of calli was recorded on MS medium containing 0.5 mg/l BAP 0.1, 0.3 and 0.5 mg/l NAA. The highest frequency (%) of shoot regeneration and mean number of shoots per explant was recorded on MS medium containing 0.5 mg/l BAP with out NAA. Addition of any concentration of NAA resulted in significant decrease in the frequency (%) of shoot regeneration and mean number of shoots per explant. Maximum mean number of 2.60 shoots per explant was obtained on MS without NAA. Regenerated shoots were rooted on MS containing 0.50 mg/l IBA where up to seven adventitous secondary shoots arose from the base of mother shoot were also recorded. These shoots could also be rooted easily on the same rooting medium. Rooted plants were adapted at room temprature in soil mix in pots. All plants flowered and set seeds in the growth room after three months. Introduction Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.) an important food grain legume crop, is popularly used as vegetable in the form of dry seeds, green seeds, green pods and tender green leaves in many parts of the world. It is also utilised for fodder and as a quick-growing cover crop. It grows easily in wide range of environments on poor and dry soils (Rachie 1985). In vitro techniques such as micropropagation has proved a useful tool for propagation of number of food legume crops (Pierik 1993, Brar et al. 1997). Shoot Mertistem multiplication is generally used for producing virus free material and maintining germplasm via cryopreservation (Nehra and Kartha 1994). Reports regarding in vitro regeneration of cowpea by tissue culture describes using primary leaves (Muthukumar et al. 1995, Prem Anand et al. 2000, Ramakrishna et al. 2005), cotyledonary node (Van Le et al. 2002, Chaudhury et al. 2006), mature cotyledon (Muthukumar et al. 1995, Brar et al. 1999), embryonic axis (Popelka et al. 2006), mature embryo (Odutayo et al. 2005, Popelka et al. 2006) and epicotyl (Pellegrineschi 1997). However, very few reports (Kartha et al. 1981, Brar et al. 1997, Mao et al. 2006) describe the use of shoot meristem/apices/tip as explant of choice. Our objective was to develop a reliable micropropagation system for Turkish cowpea cv. Akkiz using shoot meristem for future use in the mutiplication of in vitro genetically transformed cowpea plants. No previous report describes the micropropagation system in any of the Turkish cowpea cultivars. Material and Methods Seeds of Turkish cowpea cv. Akkiz obtained from the Department of Field Crops, Faculty of Agriculture, Ege University, Izmir, Turkey were surface sterilised with 70% commercial bleach (AceTurkey containing 5 6% NaOCl) for 5 minutes. Thereafter, they were rinsed 3 5 min with double distilled sterilized water and cultured for germination on MS basal medium (Murashige *Corresponding author. Email: <firstname.lastname@example.com>.


In a recent study, Rong et al. investigate the prediction of recycled aggregate concrete (RAC) creep using backpropagation neural network and support vector machine. For this purpose, the authors compiled a database of experimental results on the creep of RAC on which they first tested five analytical RAC creep prediction models2–6 and concluded that the performance of all five models is inadequate, thereby justifying the use of a back-propagation neural network and a support vector machine. The main argument for declaring the performance of the five analytical models inadequate is the analysis of "performance indices" of the correlation coefficient (R), mean absolute error (MAE), mean square error (MSE), and integral absolute error (IAE). The found ranges of values were 0.45–0.55 for R, 0.41–0.64 for MAE, 0.33–0.70 for MSE, and 0.33–0.53 for IAE. Nonetheless, there are errors and uncertainties regarding the study that are pointed out herein, some methodological and some formal.


The initial germination of the fresh green seeds with seed coat was 72.75 per cent and without seed coat was 68.50 per cent while in yellow seeds it was 77.5 per cent for seeds with coat and 72.25 per cent for seeds without coat. The germination percentage of yellow seeds was decreased by 42 and 89 per cent while green seed germination percentage was reduced to the quantum of 43.8 and 89.6 per cent after one and two months of storage, respectively. The per cent germination of the seeds were significantly higher when stored in cotton cloth bags as compare to polythene bags up to two months of storage. Seeds stored at 10°C showed significantly higher germination percentages than stored at room temperature and at 5°C. The lowest germination was recorded in seeds without seed coat stored at 5°C in polythene bags. Yellow seeds with seed coat when stored in cloth bags at 10°C for one month improves germination significantly.


Summary: A case of primary nasal chromoblastomycosis in a female patient from São Paulo (Brazil) is presented. The diagnosis was established by the observation of characteristic sclerotic cells in parasitism. The agent was identified by culturing as Fonsecaea pedrosoi.


In order to provide an organic EL element having excellent pattern forming accuracy, film thickness uniformity and light emitting properties by forming a stable organic light emitting medium layer using a relief printing method, there are provided: a substrate (2); a first electrode layer (3) arranged on the substrate (2); organic light emitting medium layers (5) that emit light on passage of current, provided on this first electrode layer (3); and a second electrode (6) that passes current to the organic light emitting medium layer (5), by application of voltage between itself and the first electrode (3), provided on the organic light emitting medium layer (5). At least one layer of the organic light emitting medium layers (5) is formed by a mixed substance containing a polymer material of weight average molecular weight of at least 1,500,000 and less than 25,000,000, together with at least one type of low molecular weight material of non-repeating structure. Also, the mixing ratio of the polymer material and low molecular weight material is set in the range 0.05:1 to 0.5:1, in weight ratio.


Naturally occurring polysaccharide sulfates are highly diverse, owning variations in the backbone structure, linkage pattern and stereochemistry, branching diversity, sulfate content and positions of sulfate group(s). These structural characteristics bring about diverse sulfated polymers with dissimilar negative charge densities and structure–activity relationships. Herein, we start with a short discussion of techniques needed for extraction, purification, chemical sulfation, and structural characterization of polysaccharides. Processes of isolation and sulfation of plant-derived polysaccharides are challenging and usually involve two steps. In this context, we describe an integrated extraction-sulfation procedure that produces polysaccharide sulfates from natural products in one step, thereby generating additional pharmacological activities. Finally, we provide examples of the spectrum of natural source-derived polysaccharides possessing specific features of bioactivity, in particular focusing on current aspects of antiviral drug development and drug–target interaction. Thus, the review presents a detailed view on chemically engineered polysaccharides, especially sulfated derivatives, and underlines their promising biomedical perspectives.


Toothbrushes are generally used to remove dental plaque and some studies demonstrate the presence of bacteria on toothbrushes [1-3]. Many bacteria are found on toothbrushes after brushing [4], and these bacteria can survive for one day to one week after brushing [5]. Toothbrushes can be contaminated by the oral environment, hands, and contaminated containers [6]. Contaminated toothbrushes can cause oral disease, sepsis, and many systemic diseases of the cardiovascular system, respiratory organs, and the kidneys [7]. Various studies reported the number and types microorganisms present on toothbrushes and reported contamination by pathogenic microorganisms after using toothbrushes [8-13]. An average of 10 to 10 colony-forming unit (CFU) of bacteria were found per toothbrush. Malmberg et al. [10] examined the distribution of microorganisms in 44 Assessment of bacterial contamination of toothbrushes using Illumina MiSeq