...................................................................................................................... iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... vi LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................. xi LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................... xii LIST OF APPENDICES .................................................................................................. xiii CHAPTER


A 72‐year‐old woman with cirrhosis of the liver was treated repeatedly by transcatheter arterial embolization for multifocal hepatocellular carcinomas. She developed gastrointestinal bleeding secondary to direct invasion of the wall of the transverse colon. The diagnosis was made pre‐operatively by colonoscopy and the patient was treated successfully. This rare complication of hepatocellular carcinoma was due to the protrusive type of growth exhibited by this tumour and may have been affected by the transcatheter arterial embolization.


Erythropoietin (EPO), a hormone that regulates the synthesis of red blood cells, is frequently abused by athletes. Sodium dodecyl sulphate poly acrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) is an essential analytical technique in all anti-doping laboratories in order to detect the abuse of EPO. An immunoaffinity purification step is now considered essential for the pre-treatment of urine samples to isolate EPO prior to gel electrophoresis. In this study, we have compared the performance of two immunoaffinity purification techniques in EPO anti-doping analysis, i.e., the anti-EPO micro well plate and anti-EPO monolith column. The anti-EPO monolith column is efficient in removing undesirable proteins except for the Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) as seen on SDS-PAGE. The BSA was eventually removed from the protocol and the undesirable protein band was eliminated without affecting the performance of the method. Throughout the study, the antiEPO monolith column emerged as a better option, as it provided a higher sensitivity and higher throughput analysis when compared to the anti-EPO micro well plate. The anti-EPO monolith column has shown consistent results with the EPO recovery rate of 72%, while the limit of detection is as low as 0.5 mIU mLG1.


Most knowledge experts would conclude that the convergence of e-business could never have happened unless it was for context-free grammar. Given the present position of pseudorandom systems, the study of Markov models is well-known to specialists. We present a scatter / gather I / O (Capri) review in this work to verify that XML can be made bona fide, inclusive, and totally insane


Crombie (1876: 436) described the species Heppia rodriguesii Crombie, only from the type locality in Mauritius. Biidel (1987) discovered the species in Transvaal, South Africa and proposed the new combination Peltula rodriguesii (Crombie) Biidel but, erroneously, did not cite the basionym in the formal treatment of the new combination. According to Art. 33 of the Code (Greuter et al. 1988: 38) the combination was not validly published there. In revising collections of Peltulaceae from different herbaria, a number of new localities of this species have been found, which are detailed below. Because the new name is being used now in several herbaria and the publications of other authors (in preparation), the combination is validated here.


A multi-priority algorithm is proposed which can provide the guarantee of low end-to-end delay and satisfy the request of low packets-drop rate.The algorithm takes the latency,the packets-drop rate in records and the guarantee of bandwidth as the weight to carry on the dispatch,uses the cell's relative priority and the quality of service parameter's weighting algorithm to obtain an algorithm which can satisfy absolute quality of service.The algorithm also can made the system to avoid maintaining each class's status messages as well as carrying on complex queue management and dispatch to each single class,thereby increases the system's extendibility.Simulation has proved that this algorithm has the high utility ratio of resources,low end-toend delay and latency vibration,as well as low grouping discarding rate.


After two years of predental work, he entered Loyola University School of Dentistry in Chicago. In 1967, he received his D.D.S. degree and began graduate studies in oral biology in the orthodontic department of Loyola University.


In order to rationalize vibration monitoring in structures, this paper addresses a non-contact scanning vibration measurement system employing laser doppler vibrometers. Generally, in the case of measurement for concrete members or dirt-adhering steel members, monitoring by laser doppler vibrometers is extremely difficult due to low laser reflectance. In this study, it is experimentally verified that the return or reflected laser beam quantity depends on subtle differences in the surface condition of a measurement object. Therefore, by searching the vicinity of the insufficient measurement point for the optimum point which provides a maximum reflected laser beam quantity, a remarkable improvement of measuring accuracy for real-scale structures can be achieved. As an example, vibrations of steel girders and reinforced concrete deck of actual bridges are measured, so as to verify the measuring accuracy of the developed system, and eigen local mode shapes of the members are able to be identified.


The production of renewable energy is undergoing rapid development. Ethanol primarily derived from corn and biodiesel made from recycled cooking oil and agricultural grains are established sources of renewable transportation fuel. Cellulosic ethanol production is increasing substantially, but at a rate below expectations. If future renewable fuel projections are to be accomplished, additional sources will be needed. Ideally, these sources should be independent of competing feedstock use such as food grains, and require a minimal footprint. Although the uses of algae seem promising, a number of demonstrations have not been economically successful in today"s market. This paper identifies efforts being conducted on ethanol and biodiesel production and how algae might contribute to the production of biofuel in the United States. Additionally, the feedstock and land requirements of existing biofuel pathways are compared and discussed.


The present invention relates to a device for the indoor air conditioning. The apparatus comprises a duct for central heating installations (1), comprising a plurality of flow of heat transfer medium (2a, 2b, 3a, 3b, 4a, 4b) connected to the central heating device. The apparatus further comprises a plurality of electrically operated heat pump dispersed (5,6,7,8), the central heating unit and the heat pump device (1) via the pipe (2a, 2b, 3a, 3b, 4a, 4b) is connected in the manner of energy transfer. Respective heat pump (5) having a plurality of heat pump module, the pump module absorbing heat energy from the flowing medium, for heating, or to deliver heat to the flow medium, for cooling and / or dehumidification. Preferably, the pump module comprises a Peltier element functions as a heat pump action element.


Smart biomaterials for tissue regeneration need to incorporate molecules able to interact with specific cellular adhesion or morphogenic proteins of the extracellular matrix (ECM).NMR binding studies allow obtaining structural information essential for the comprehension of biological processes and, nowadays, high-resolution magic-angle-spinning (HR-MAS) NMR spectroscopy is a well-established tool for the study of heterogeneous systems. Here the generation of a model-system used to explore the possibility to reveal interactions between two molecular entities, one of which linked to a solid support, to mimic a bioactive species immobilized on a biomaterial surface, is presented. The carbohydrate recognition processes that take place in the ECM have a pivotal role in promoting cell adhesion and differentiation and, thus, tissue regeneration. Hence, a pseudo-receptor, that mimics the lectin binding site was prepared and its interaction with a panel of different monosaccharides was characterized. The results obtained support the theoretical model according to which lectins bind carbohydrates exploiting the CH-π interactions occurring in their active site. Moreover the NMR experimental approach here described can be generally applied when the interacting species do not have the same solubility properties in physiological conditions and, in particular, can be exploited for the analysis and characterization of molecular recognition events occurring at biomaterial surface.


Program translation refers to migrating source code from one programming language to another. It has tremendous practical value in software development, as porting software across languages is time-consuming and costly. Automating program translation is of paramount importance in software migration, and recently researchers explored unsupervised approaches due to the unavailability of parallel corpora. However, the availability of pre-trained language models for programming languages enables supervised fine-tuning with a small number of labeled examples. Therefore, we present AVATAR, a collection of 9,515 programming problems and their solutions written in two popular languages, Java and Python. AVATAR is collected from competitive programming sites, online platforms, and open-source repositories. Furthermore, AVATAR includes unit tests for 250 examples to facilitate functional correctness evaluation. We benchmark several pre-trained language models fine-tuned on AVATAR. Experiment results show that the models lack in generating functionally accurate code.


AbstractThe main purpose of our study is to achieve the release at a slower rate and the prolonged action of dextropropoxyphene hydrochloride through microencapsulation. Besides this, microencaosulation of this active agent can prevent the incomnatibility in the presence of aspirin, and the local anesthetic effecton the tongue.Microcapsules o f dextropropoxyphene hydrochloride (D-PRX-HCl) were prepared by coacervation method with core-shell ratios of 1:1 and 1:2, and the invitrorelease rate experiments were carried on in 0.1 N hydrochloric acid solution.


: Allergy is a state of hypersensitivity induced by exposure to certain antigens that cause reactions immunology. Mast cells have a role in triggering allergies. There is a new innovation as an anti-allergy, one of them is apple because it contains quercetin. Quercetin are believed to have an influential effect on human health, that of anti-allergy and anti-inflammatory activity. This study to determine the effectiveness of Malang Apple Cider ( Malus sylvestris ) on decreasing the number of mast cells in the lung of an allergic induced rat ( Rattus novergicus ). This study was experimental research using Post Test Control Group Design. Samples were white male Wistar Strain Rats which were divided into 5 groups, each group contains 5 rats. The positive control group was induced with ovalbumin through intraperitoneal and inhalation. Besides ovalbumin induction, treatment groups were also given apple cider with doses of 15%, 20%, and 25%. Lung tissue was taken and then paraffin blocks were created and stained using Methylene blue staining and evaluated with the microscope in 40 x magnification. Data analyzed using One Way ANOVA. Statistical results showed there was no significant (p = 0,079 > or p 0.05). This decline is due to the levels of Quercetin in apple cider can prevent mast cell degranulation. However, the decrease was not significant occurs due to several factors, including the strength of apple cider, the absorption in the intestine, stress factors, and environmental circumstances.


Denoising is an indispensable step in processing low-dose X-ray fluoroscopic images that requires development of specialized high-quality algorithms able to operate in near real-time. We address this problem with an efficient deep learning approach based on the process-centric view of traditional iterative thresholding methods. We develop a novel trainable patch-based multiscale framework for sparse image representation. In a computationally efficient way, it allows us to accurately reconstruct important image features on multiple levels of decomposition with patch dictionaries of reduced size and complexity. The flexibility of the chosen machine learning approach allows us to tailor the learned basis for preserving important structural information in the image and noticeably minimize the amount of artifacts. Our denoising results obtained with real clinical data demonstrate significant quality improvement and are computed much faster in comparison with the BM3D algorithm.


During initial learning of conditioned fear, there is consolidation of the fear memory into longer-term storage. When the fear memory is reactivated, it becomes labile and can be modified during a period of reconsolidation. In rodents, the reconsolidation window is open from 10 to 60 minutes, but it is not open after 6 to 24 hours. In rodents, the amygdala enables fear memory formation and reconsolidation. Now it has been shown in humans that disruption of reconsolidation of a fear memory erases the fear memory trace in the amygdala and decreases amygdala coupling to the fear network (agren and others 2012). In the study, on Day 1, 22 subjects (11 women) had fear conditioning, measured by skin conductance response (SCR), to 16 visual stimuli paired with aversive shocks to the lower arm (CS+) and 16 visual stimuli not paired with the shock (CS-). On Day 2, subjects were exposed to the CS+ for 2 minutes to activate memory, and then 10 minutes later 11 of the subjects underwent extinction with eight presentations of the CS+ and CSwith no shocks, and the other 11 subjects underwent extinction in the same manner 6 hours later. On Day 3, subjects viewed eight presentations of the CS+ and CSwithout shocks through goggles while in a fMRI scanner to obtain BOLD signal changes. On Day 5, subjects received four unsignaled shocks followed by four presentations of the CS+ and CSwithout shocks. During fear conditioning on Day 1 and reactivation and extinction on Day 2, the 10-minute group and the 6-hour group had similar SCR to the CS+, but only the 6-hour group had a remaining fear memory fMRI representation in the amygdala on Day 3 and an increase in SCR during reinstatement on Day 5. This indicates that extinction during the reconsolidation window disrupted the fear memory. In the 6-hour group, the area of the memory trace in the amygdala overlapped with areas that correlated with fear recall during extinction and the return of fear, and functional coupling of the amygdala to a fear network involving the midline anterior cingulate cortex, bilateral insula, and bilateral hippocampus was more strong in the 6-hour group. This demonstration that fear memory disruption during reconsolidation in humans is similar to that in rodents increases confidence that our understanding of the molecular, cellular, physiologic, and behavioral aspects of fear circuits in rodents can be applied to humans. a current direct clinical application of this knowledge would be to ensure that extinction is optimized and targeted to the reconsolidation window when extinction training is used to treat anxiety disorders such as phobias and posttraumatic stress disorders.


The present invention is made by an additional dose of the second does not require a sustained release in the tablets containing the sustained-release preparation and the sustained-release pellets of a tablet or capsule containing the extended release pellet consisting of the drug needed Western painter composite relates to a sustained-release tablet. Sikkim formulation, including sustained-release pellets Western painter consisting of required medications of the present invention may increase the compliance of patients, one-piece, and to control the drug release and more elaborate than in the tablet formulation, enabling a single dose one day, of course, it may be administered in combination with a second agent that does not require a sustained release immediately released, it is possible to obtain a superior therapeutic effect to simplify the way of dosing. More particularly sustained-release preparations and sustained-release tablets compound of the invention can be used effectively in the treatment of diabetes second. Pellets, sustained-release tablet, sustained-release tablet compound, metformin hydrochloride, glimepiride


The base-emitter voltage mismatch. Delta V/sub BE/ for a pair of double polysilicon self-aligned bipolar transistors is studied. In the low emitter current range, the base peripheral effect is a dominant factor affecting Delta V/sub BE/. Since the base peripheral component caused by the lateral encroachment of the extrinsic base on the emitter region becomes important, Delta V/sub BE/ increases as sidewall spacer width decreases. On the other hand, in the high current range, the emitter contact resistance is dominant and Delta V/sub BE/ increases due to increased mismatch of emitter resistance.<<ETX>>


A study of 28 school districts in Rhode Island was done in 1992 to examine the hypothesis that there is a positive correlation between teacher salaries and state aid. The study was originally designed to gather information about teacher salaries and the variables related to them, but was expanded to cover student outcomes and variables related to student performance. With the final data, correlations were drawn to design predictivt equations for Rhode Island's educational system. The study reveals that a child's socioeconomic background affects a child's educational performance. Thus, there should be school intervention programs designed to address student's socioeconomic needs. The study fails to find a correlation between increased educational spending and student achievement. The study recommends that 60 percent of educational funding come from the state, and that teacher salaries remain competitive to attract the most qualified eachers. Public policy should focus on five areas: (1) meeting the social, economic, and emotional needs of students; (2) redesigning school organization to achieve desired student outcomes; (3) reshaping and strengthening the professional development system for teachers and administrators; (4) increasing cooperation among school districts; and (5) developing a funding strategy to consistently finance the educational system. The appendix presents the data in five spreadsheets, four tables, and five figures. (Contains 80 references.) (KDP) *********g************************************************************* Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** PREDICTIONS: FROM PURIAIC SCHOOL TEACHER SALARIES TO STUDENT OUTCOMES U S OEPAKTISENT OF EDUCAlION (rt...e F. clutaIroner Researrn ano improvement E DUCA TIONAL RE SOURCES INF ORMATION /rs CENTER E RIC ck,cument NIS been teproduceo as .1 ',cervix! from Ine Person Or Ortjenrial.On orrrpnaIrng .1 Ar.nor changes nave been made tO anprove rel,r0Ourlron closray Polls or view Or OcenrOns Staled Int/N.3 00Crrmen. 00 r.01 nereSesory represent official OF RI 00.0.0n Or pol.oy "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY I vitr tJa.tain TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC1."


Basic principle of finite element method on slide stability analysis is introduced,at the same time,establishment of finite element model,treatment of boundary condition and safe coefficient of slide stability based on the secondary development program is introduced.In order to estimate slide stability,flexible and rigid spring is used to simulate contact friction model on the sliding face.Taking into consideration of the stress release and its redistribution on sliding surface,equilibrium iterative method is used to gain stress,stain and displacement under slide limit balance state in the process of finite element analysis,and then stability safe coefficient is gained.Through the tensile stress distribution,weak part and the trend of the slide can be gained from the finite element analysis result.


In this study, circulating levels of proinflammatory and anti‐inflammatory mediators are studied in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) in China. Sixty‐five patients with CHF and 32 control subjects are studied. The proinflammatory and anti‐inflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)‐6, IL‐10, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)‐α, atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) in plasma are determined by immunoradiometric assay kits. Catecholamine (CA) in plasma is evaluated by high‐performance liquid chromatography. Plasma levels of IL‐6, IL‐10, TNF‐α, ANP, BNP, and CA in CHF patients are significantly higher than those in control subjects. Patients in a higher New York Heart Association (NYHA) class show higher concentrations of inflammatory mediators than those in a lower NYHA class, although the ratio of plasma IL‐10 to TNF‐α in patients with CHF is significantly lower than in the control group. It is concluded that proinflammatory and anti‐inflammatory cytokine levels are increased and IL‐10/TNF‐α is decreased in Chinese patients with CHF.


The objective of the present study was to determine a possible interconnection between a P-deficiency induced decline in nitrogen fixation of Medicago truncatula Gaertn. (barrel medic) cv. Jemalong and the accumulation of nitrogen or amino acids in different organs of the plants as a possible agent of a N-feedback mechanism. Nodulated plants were grown in N-free nutrient solution at increasing levels of P-concentration in the solution (0.2-5 μM P). Increased P-supply improved plant growth and nodule functioning. When nitrogenase activity (H2evolution) was measured at the 1 and 5 μM P-level, the activity was more than doubled at the 5 μM P supply. Coinciding with the improved nitrogenase activity, nodule number and plant Pand N-content improved with higher P-supply. With increasing P-supply the N-concentration in shoots and roots declined, while the C/N ratio decreased. In nodules the total amount of free amino acids was higher at low P and this was almost exclusively a result of higher asparagine concentrations. Thus, asparagine might be a substance that exerts N-feedback effects in nodules and it might be increasingly retranslocated to nodules via the phloem when the nitrogen content in the shoot is high as in our experiments under conditions of low P supply. Overall, the results are consistent with an effect of P-deficiency on nitrogen fixation that is mediated through an N-feedback mechanism.


This paper compares two computer war games, US-produced and Arab-produced, which represent the conflict in Lebanon. It asks whether the format exerts an influence over the content of the games. The paper gives the historical background to the actual activities of the US and Hizbollah in the region and then looks at the representations of social actors, settings, and action in the games. We ask how these games relate to the real world events they recontextualize. We ask how they frame these events in terms of a 'special operations' discourse of war that has its origins in the US, yet do so with specific inflections that reflect the interests of the context in which they were produced. We show that different political interests are reflected in the content of the games, but that the global power of the format of the computer war game exerts its influence across this divide. Such formats are not neutral containers for politically different content, but themselves carry values and an ideological message about conflict resolution.


The alloy materials of automotive chassis are subjected to sequential time‐varying loads due to road unevenness. The continuous change of the loading mode and the stress ratio leads to cyclic plasticity of the material, which induces cyclic hardening. The estimation of hardening effects seriously affects the structural's fatigue properties. Therefore, herein, a hardening model and the corresponding fatigue life prediction model are proposed. Then, the loading sequence effect's influence on an Al–Mg–Si alloy's cyclic hysteretic characteristics is analyzed. The steering knuckle is taken as the verification object. The acquired load spectrum is transformed into three sequential forms according to the equivalent damage principle for the verification test. The test results verify the conjecture of the loading sequence effect and confirm the accuracy of the proposed prediction model.


Abstract— The risks incurred from increased exposure to UVA II (320‐340 nm) (i.e. during sunscreen use and extended outdoor exposure, tanning parlors) are not well understood. Therefore, we explored the effects of UVA II on skin immune responses in humans. After a single local exposure (4 minimum erythemal dose [MED]) using a xenon arc lamp filtered with a narrow bandpass filter (335 ± 5 nm full width at half maximum), individuals were contact‐sensitized with dinitrochlorobenzene (DNCB) through a UVA II exposure site or through normal skin. UVA II induced a marked decrease in the magnitude of skin immune responses (P < 0.0001). The UVA II group had only 29% successful sensitizations, as compared to 83% in the control group. The percentage of individuals who remained tolerant to DNCB after two sensitizations was 23.6% for the UVA II‐exposed group, as compared to 3.8% in the controls (P= 0.006). UVA II also uniquely altered the type of antigen‐presenting cells present in the epidermis. Human leukocyte antigen (HLA)‐DR+ cells in control epidermal cell suspensions (C‐EC) comprised a single, homogeneous population of Langerhans cells (LC) with the phenotype: CD1ahi DRmid CD11b− CD36− (1.5 ± 0.3% of EC). UVA II irradiation reduced the number of such LC to 0.6 ± 0.2% of EC. Although cells expressing the macrophage phenotype: CD1a DRhi CD11b+ CD36+ were increased in UVA II skin, relative to C‐EC, these comprised only 10.1 ± 6.1% of the DR+ cells, which is less than that after UVB exposure. Also distinct from UVB, a third population was found in UVA II‐EC, which exhibited a novel phenotype: CD1a+ DR+ CD36+ CDllb+; these comprised 11.1 ± 6.9% of the DR+ UVA II‐EC.


Pressure–composition (P–C) hydrogen absorption isotherms have been obtained for MmNi3.5Al0.5Fe0.5Co0.5+0.5 wt% B and MmNi3.5Al0.5Fe0.5Co0.5 +25 wt% polyaniline (PANI) in the ranges 30–100 °C and 0.1–40 bar using a high pressure Seiverts' apparatus. The phase structure and microstructure morphologies of as-prepared and ball-milled materials have been analysed by XRD and SEM respectively. The effect of particle size, boron addition and PANI dispersion on the hydrogen absorption kinetics in MmNi3.5Al0.5Fe0.5Co0.5 has been studied and discussed. The diffusion coefficient and activation energy of dissolved hydrogen in MmNi3.5Al0.5Fe0.5Co0.5, MmNi3.5Al0.5Fe0.5Co0.5+0.5 wt% B and MmNi3.5Al0.5Fe0.5Co0.5+25 wt% PANI have been obtained from the studies of hydrogen absorption kinetics using the first order rate equation and the results have been discussed.


The theoretical background of the parents–teachers relation is systemic approach. It is the basis for a critical analysis of the pedagogization idea, treated as instructive interaction. Expert interaction between parents and teachers was proposed. The proposal of those relations based on the healing orientation by K. Ludewig was presented at the end of the article. The practical aim is to generate reflection and eventually activities to implement the particular suggestions in teachers' pedagogical work.


Abstract Aims Cardiovascular disease (CVD) increases the risk of complications from respiratory viruses, including influenza. Moreover, respiratory viruses may increase the risk of CV events. Antiviral medication may reduce healthcare resource utilization (HRU), but more data is needed in CVD populations to explore relationships between influenza antiviral treatment, CVD-related complications, HRU, and costs. Materials and methods This retrospective claims analysis examined data extracted from IBM MarketScan Commercial Claims and Encounters and Medicare Supplemental and Coordination of Benefits databases during three influenza seasons: 2016–2017, 2017–2018, or 2018–2019. Propensity score matching was used to compare HRU outcomes and costs among CVD patients treated with influenza antivirals and untreated patients. Results Across all influenza seasons, patients with CVD and influenza who received antiviral treatment had fewer all-cause emergency department (ED) visits (p < .01), respiratory-related HRU (p < .01), respiratory-related outpatient and ED visits (both p < .01), CVD-related HRU (p < .01), heart failure-related HRU visits (p < .01), and kidney failure-related HRU (p < .01) 180 days post-treatment fill date than CVD patients untreated for influenza. CVD patients treated with antivirals also had a lower mean number of all-cause inpatient, outpatient, and ED visits and days of stay (all p < .01) and fewer mean respiratory-related outpatient and ED visits (both p < .01). HRU patterns were generally consistent over time and across individual influenza seasons. Finally, treated CVD patients incurred lower all-cause outpatient costs 180 days post-treatment fill date (p < .05) than CVD patients untreated for influenza. Conclusion CVD patients who contract influenza and take antiviral medication have fewer short- and long-term influenza-related complications and less overall HRU compared with CVD patients who were not prescribed antiviral treatments. Antiviral treatment may be an important tool in reducing complications in CVD patients with influenza. PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY People with heart disease are more likely to have complications from respiratory viruses, including influenza (flu). Moreover, respiratory viruses may increase the risk of damage to the heart muscle. We examined whether patients with heart disease who get the flu and take prescription medications called antiviral drugs have fewer short- and long-term flu-related complications and use fewer healthcare services than patients with heart disease who do not take antiviral drugs. We examined commercial and Medicare databases during three influenza seasons (2016–2017, 2017–2018, and 2018–2019), and we compared outcomes and costs among heart disease patients who were treated or not treated with antiviral drugs. Patients with heart disease and the flu who received antiviral drugs had fewer visits to the emergency room, used fewer healthcare services for respiratory-related problems, used fewer heart disease-related healthcare services, and had fewer heart failure-related or kidney failure-related healthcare visits than heart disease patients who were not treated for the flu. Finally, patients with heart disease who were treated with antiviral drugs spent less money on outpatient services than patients with heart disease who were not treated with antiviral drugs. We determined that patients who get the flu and take antiviral drugs have fewer short- and long-term flu-related complications and use fewer healthcare services than heart disease patients who do not receive antiviral drugs. Therefore, it may be important to treat heart disease patients with antiviral drugs in order to reduce the number of flu-related complications in these patients.


This experiment is part of a series designed to explore human factors issues related to the Automated Highway System (AHS) that is being conducted using the Iowa Driving Simulator (IDS). The IDS has a moving base hexapod platform containing a mid-sized sedan. Sixty drivers--half between the ages of 25 and 34 years, and half aged 65 or older--drove the simulator vehicle in 6 experimental trials. Imagery was projected onto a 3.35-rad (192 deg) screen in front of the driver, and onto a 1.13-rad (65 deg) screen to the rear. The experiment focused on a generic AHS configuration in which the left lane was reserved for automated vehicles, the center and right lanes were reserved for unautomated vehicles, and there was no dedicated transition lane and no barrier between the automated and unautomated lanes. The driver drove onto a freeway and moved to the center lane. Then, in a manual, partially automated, or fully automated manner, the vehicle was moved into the automated lane, control was transferred to the AHS, and the vehicle was positioned at the head of the string of vehicles that were approaching it from behind. The timing of the entry maneuver is of critical importance--a vehicle that enters the automated lane rapidly will have minimal impact on the efficiency of the AHS. When the fully automated transfer method was used, from the moment that the "Enter" command was issued until the vehicle was completely in the automated lane, the time elapsed was 1.86 s--this was considerably faster than the other two transfer methods which both relied on the driver to move the vehicle into the automated lane. When using the fully automated transfer method, the minimum inter-string gap required for a vehicle to enter the automated lane without delaying the following automated vehicles increased from 0.89 s, through 2.81 s, to 6.22 s as the design velocity increased from 104.7 km/h (65 mi/h), through 128.8 km/h (80 mi/h), to 153.0 km/h (95 mi/h). A comparison of the possible traffic flow rates for the design velocities indicated that the traffic flow when the design velocity is 104.7 km/h (65 mi/h) is likely to be four times the flow when the design velocity is 153.0 km/h (95/h). Note, it is not the design velocity of 104.7 km/h (65 km/h) per se that produces the higher traffic flow--rather it is the relatively low velocity differential between the design velocity and the speed limit in the unautomated lanes. There were no collisions in this experiment--suggesting that the drivers were able to join the automated lane safely.


Melanoma accounts for 60–70% of skin cancer-related deaths, owing to its tendency to metastasize. Cutaneous metastases of malignant melanoma (CMMM,) of which there are several clinical variants, occur relatively frequently in advanced-stage melanoma. We observed the sudden appearance of several haematoma-like lesions in a 58-year-old man during follow-up for nodular melanoma, which had been diagnosed 7 years previously. The primary tumour had a Breslow thickness of 1.8 mm. Lymph node and cerebral metastases had occurred during the 7 years of follow-up. The patient had been on cobimetinib and vemurafenib until 10 months before the appearance of the haematoma-like lesions, but these drugs had been discontinued due to cancer progression. On physical examination, 11 haematoma-like lesions were seen on the patient's neck, trunk and right leg (Fig. 1 a-c). He had no coagulopathy, denied any trauma or subcutaneous drug use, and was not taking any systemic treatment. Closer examination showed haematoma-like lesions (Fig. 1d), with a tender subcutaneous nodule in the centre, which was painful on palpation. Dermoscopy showed purple, milky-red and yellowish areas without specific structures (Fig. 1e). Sonography demonstrated the presence of hypoechoic nodules with well-defined margins (Fig. 1f). There was no Doppler shift (Fig. 1g). One of the lesions was excised. A nodule was found in the deep dermis and subcutaneous tissue on pathological examination. The presence of atypical melanocytes confirmed our suspicion of metastatic melanoma. There was also a striking number of extravasated erythrocytes within the tissue (Fig. 2a,b). The patient was diagnosed as having CMMM and was started on pembrolizumab. Unfortunately, he was then lost to follow-up. CMMM can develop in a locoregional setting (satellitosis and in transit CMMM) or in other skin areas distant from the primary tumour. The former type is more common and is produced by lymphatic spread, while distant CMMM, representing 20% of cases, is produced by haematogenous spread. The clinical presentation of CMMM is diverse. Well-defined nodular dermal and hypodermal lesions are the most common presentation, while epidermotropic CMMM is less frequent. However, there are other rare presentations of CMMM that make them very difficult to differentiate from other cutaneous conditions. Recent studies have described some dermoscopic features of CMMM. Terms such as 'homogenous', 'saccular', 'amelanotic', 'vascular', 'polymorphic' and 'naevus-like' have been proposed to describe the pattern of these lesions, but no authors have described a haematoma pattern. Dermoscopic examination shows different colours depending on the stage of degradation of the haemoglobin within the lesion, but no specific structures. In the few published reports of haematoma-like CMMM, lesions appeared in the thoracic region, whereas our patient developed 11 lesions in thoracic and nonthoracic locations. In all cases, the haematoma appeared suddenly and was nontraumatic, and a palpable tender nodule was present within the haematoma area. When a patient develops a nontraumatic haematomalike lesion and CMMM is suspected, sonography can Correspondence: Dr Pedro Alvarez-Chinchilla, Department of Dermatology, Alicante University General Hospital, C/ Maestro Alonso s/n, CP 03010, Alicante, Spain E-mail: email@example.com


Amidst all the discussion that has taken place in the last half century on the nature of the novel the role and technique of background description have been somewhat neglected. Background description is frequently dismissed as an irrelevance, as, for example, by Robert Liddell in his Treatise on the Novel (1947). He is particularly hard on the description of houses and interiors, but this is not unexpected in an admirer of Jane Austen, who, in one of her letters of advice to Anne, writes: "You describe a sweet place. You give too many particulars of right hand and left." In fact, criticism of this aspect of the novelist's art has hardly progressed beyond the position adopted by Jane Austen. Detailed examinations of the relevance of descriptive passages to the totality of the novel are hardly ever to be met with. What is more usual is an out-and-out rejection without examination.


Less than one-fourth of women in the working-age group are in India's workforce. This article draws from multiple studies of a 5-year-long programme that intervened to connect a million underprivileged women to employment opportunities across five Indian states. The article's objective is twofold. One, identification of the barriers that keep women from joining and continuing in the workforce. Two, documentation of the enablers that the programme devised for women to overcome these barriers. The studies employ qualitative research methodologies to service these objectives, deriving their sampling typologies from the programme's quantitative monitoring data. We find that severe impediments keep women from the workforce, especially so in the case of underprivileged women. These include curtailed mobility; mismatch in aspirations, education, training and work; first-generation-employee disadvantage; and traditionally gendered work division reinforced by male preference in the new urban economy's emerging jobs. We schematise the programme's services as a continual provision of information, counselling and mentorship to enable women to surmount these barriers—from girlhood to their adult lives. The programme design could provide insights for policymaking towards improving women's participation in India's workforce.


During a three-year pot experiment on potato cv. Mila, an effect of Globodera rostochiensis, occurring alone and in conjunction with saprophytic soil fungi (Aspergillus versicolor, Penicillium frequentans, P. verrucosum var. cyclopium, Stachybotrys chartarum, and Trichocladium asperum), on the processes of gaseous exchange (i.e. transpiration and assimilation). Relationships between these parameters and potato crop yield were established as well. It was found that the symptoms of the nematosis had been alleviated as a result of G. rostochiensis interaction with the saprophytes. The effect is connected with a reduction in G. rostochiensis cysts density in the presence of antagonistic saprophytes, which directly contributes to crop increase. The studies demonstrated that soil infection by G. rostochiensis alone, and by this nematode together with fungi, modifies the course of physiological processes in potato plants, which is expressed by reduced assimilation and transpiration intensity, as compared with the control. In the plants that grew on infected soil, assimilation and transpiration ran independently from each other, while positive correlations between the intensities of these processes were demonstrated in the control plants.


The collection of waste generated by the rapidly expanding cities in developing countries is increasingly beyond the capacity and financial means of the municipal administrations. A promising approach to improve collection coverage is the introduction of community-based management schemes involving the local communities in proper waste storage, collection, sorting


The structures of diamond-like carbon (DLC) films deposited by vacuum arc evaporation with and without curve arc magnetic filter are studied and compared using Raman shifts. The Raman shifts are deconvolved into D peak and G peak with Gaussian-Lorentzion fitness. The effects of the deposition parameters such as bias voltage and bias current strength of curved magnetic fields on the DLC films structures are discussed. The results show that Ar gas pressure has not obvious effect on the formation of the DLC film; moderate bias current increases the sp3 content; the sp2 cluster can be increased for a too high substrate bias. The magnetic curved filter not only can remove the carbon macroparticles, but also can improve the sp3 content.


Team‐based learning (TBL) currently relies on single best answer questions (SBAQs) to provide immediate feedback. Very short answer questions (VSAQs) are a reliable and discriminatory alternative that encourage learners to use more authentic clinical reasoning strategies compared to SBAQs. However, the challenge of marking VSAQs has limited their integration into TBL; we therefore explored the feasibility of VSAQs within a TBL session.


The following topical experts served as referees for papers submitted to Biomicrofluidics during 2015. The Editors wish to express their appreciation to the referees for their conscientious efforts on behalf of the journal.


: Compared with traditional manufacturing methods, 3D printing is designed according to the needs of patients at a lower cost. Therefore, it has recently been developed vigorously in the application of medical equipment. The printing of biomedical materials with powder plastic (PEG-PCL) in the form of fused deposition modeling is one of the most recent key development projects. In this method, the plastic was heated and melted at the nozzle of the bucket and then printed. However, due to the existence of voids between the particles, the powder was melted, and the gas was coated in the melt. Due to the high viscosity of the melt, the air bubbles could not escape freely depending on the density difference, which led to a discontinuous plastic output during the printing process and, in turn, affected the appearance and material strength of the printed product. In this study, the Volume of Fluid method was used to simulate the rising process of bubbles in the molten liquid. By studying the internal flow of the liquid, the influence of the viscosity of different fluids on the rising of bubbles was discussed. In addition, the reliability of the simulation results was obtained through experimental verification. In the future, the rotating conical agitator should be used to generate forced convection inside the liquid to accelerate a rise in bubbles, and the influence of the conical agitator on the rise of bubbles at various speeds needs to be further studied. Finally, a suitable speed range was found for the most effective degassing effect.


Many bibliographical studies have highlighted the positive effects of green roofs as technological solutions both for new and renovated buildings. The one-year experimental monitoring campaign conducted has investigated, in detail, some aspects related to the surface temperature variation induced by the presence of different types of vegetation compared to traditional finishing systems for flat roofs and their impact from an energy and environmental point of view. The results obtained underlined how an appropriate vegetative solution selection can contribute to a significant reduction of the external surface temperatures (10 °C–20 °C for I > 500 W/m2 and 0 °C–5 °C for I < 500 W/m2, regardless of the season) compared to traditional flat roofs. During the winter season, the thermal gradients of the planted surface temperatures are close to zero compared to the floor, except under special improving conditions. This entails a significant reduction of the energy loads from summer air conditioning, and an almost conservative behavior with respect to that from winter heating consumption. The analysis of the inside growing medium temperatures returned a further interesting datum, too: the temperature gradient with respect to surface temperature (annual average 4 °C–9 °C) is a function of solar radiation and involves the insulating contribution of the soil.


Introduction This will be my definition of a modular system: "A system of elemental parts which can be combined in a variety of ways to amve at the functional entity desired from among a variety of functional options which the system allows". The fewer parts required for the greatest variety of options, the more efficient is the modular system. (Imagine a system that could be adapted to both prosthetic and orthotic applications!). In prosthetics, the Term modular is almost synonymous with tubular or endoskeletal structures. These designs have their origins in experimental devices such as the universities in the United States were making as far back as the 1950's. At Winnipeg, where the first system went into clinical use, the term "pylon prosthesis" was replaced with the term "modular prosthesis" when that term gained favour. The more recent designs are the systems we think of as modular now. I will accept these as representative of the modular concept, but not without discomfort. I believe other approaches would be more viable and should be entertained. What I will do now is look at modularization from a variety of viewpoints so that users and designers may approach a little closer should they wish to improve or replace the current designs. Viewpoints considered will be those of; 1) the designer 2) the prosthetist 3) the amputee 4) the institution 5) the paying agency 6 ) the citizen.


most loquacious of these correspondents. The sensitive nostrils of the editors of this book detect on his papers a strong odour of brandy; that this is part of the original text and not a later gloss is suggested by a certain incoherency in the letters themselves and is confirmed by an intimation from Governor Duquesne that Macarty was drunk oftener than the Indians whom he tempted to drink. Macarty may have been, as the editors think, a tactless and blundering commandant, even, as some contemporaries thought, a rascal, but he was a good reporter. From him and others we learn of extravagances, delays, and graft in convoys, of negro slavery, of the hurt pride of captains of militia, much (of course) of seed and crops, of prairies ready for the plough, of a country "fort beau et Bon" where an officer could actually live on his pay. Running all through is the constant demand for more population, for salt smugglers from France, for girls to marry the ex-soldiers whom the Creole women will not look at. These and other matters fill the interstices of despatches given chiefly to accounts of Indian treacheries and English iniquities. On the whole it is not cheerful reading. The French officials fear and distrust the Indians, distrust and dislike the settlers (admitting their bravery but deploring their pride), envy and suspect one another. For the English traders there is (on the part of those closest o them) a grudging respect as to a people with superior talents and prospects. Generally the atmosphere is defeatist. Not many speak as boldly as Father de Guyenne: "ce sont des •uaquers de Philadelphie gens qui ne pensent qu'& les Pelleterie, qui reconnoissent/• peine le gouvernement d'angleterre, qui ont pour principe de Religion de ne faire la guerre/• personne." French text and English translation divide the pages. The whole is prefaced by an historical introduction of some fifty pages. The index is good and there are scores of biographical notes which reflect credit both on the present editors and on the •uebec geneologists upon whose labours they largely draw. S. MORLEY SCOTT


As boards are increasingly responsible for addressing sustainability and accountable for the extent to which they do so, this study's point of departure is to examine the impact of inside directors on sustainability performance. By creating an aggregate measure that accounts for economic, environmental, and social metrics, this study finds that insiders are negatively related to sustainability performance. However, when the variables of compensation linked to environmental and social metrics, sustainability training, and comprehensive company codes of conduct are introduced, their interactive effects positively moderate the insider-sustainability performance relationship. Implications of findings are discussed, along with future research directions and limitations.


The theory of complex dimensions of self-similar subsets of R is studied in some detail in [La-vF4]. This dissertation extends that theory to self-similar sets of Rd . The major themes of this work (as reflected in the title) are: (i) the unification of different aspects of mathematics via the theory of complex dimensions, and (ii) that when studying self-similarity, it is necessary to take the defining system of mappings as the primary object of study.
A self-similar set F (or attractor) is one satisfying F=FF:=b j=1
J
Fj F for some family of contraction similarities Φ = {Φ j}, henceforth called a self-similar system. In order to define the zeta functions which lie at the heart of this study, we first define a self-similar tiling; a canonical decomposition of the complement of the attractor F of the self-similar system Φ, within its convex hull. The tiling shares key properties of the system itself and allows for the extension of the theory of complex dimensions to higher-dimensional fractal sets. The tiles constitute a certain neighbourhood of the fixed point F; by examining the dynamics of Φ on them, we study more than just the fixed point of the system.
A zeta function, a generating function for the geometry of the object, is defined in terms of the action of Φ on the tiling. The complex dimensions of the system (or tiling) are the poles of this zeta function.
A key result of [La-vF4] is the (explicit) tube formula for fractal strings (i.e., 1-dimensional tilings). This dissertation obtains a higher-dimensional analogue of this result and exposes connections to geometric measure theory in the process. It turns out that the tube formula for tilings is also a fractal extension of the classical Steiner formula. Instead of being a polynomial in e summed over the integers {0,...,d}, however, the tube formula for tilings is a power series which also includes one term for each complex dimension. This further justifies the term 'complex dimensions' and takes a step toward defining curvature for a fractal.
This dissertation should have applications to spectral asymptotics on domains which are fractal or have fractal boundaries. It may also lead to a robust notion of curvature (measures) for self-similar sets.


On any given night, there are more than 600,000 people sleeping on the streets, in their cars or abandoned buildings, or in homeless shelters. Set against this humbling backdrop is a remarkable and ambitious national goal to end homelessness—the first of its kind to not simply address, but end, the problem. The U.S. government learned a lot from research and trial and error over the years in terms of what are the best interventions to confront homelessness. The policies discussed here are based on data and evidence-based practices. It is possible to end homelessness and, with sufficient resources, it can be done.


Satellite-linked buoys used by tropical tuna purse-seine vessels on drifting fish aggregating devices (DFADs) provide a continuous stream of information on both the ocean characteristics and the presence and size of fish aggregations associated with DFADs, enabling the study of pelagic communities. This unprecedented amount of data is characterized by ocean-scale coverage with high spatial and temporal resolutions, but also by different data formats and specifications depending on buoy model and brand, as well as on the type of data exchange agreements into play. Their use for scientific and management purposes is therefore critically dependent on the abilities of algorithms to process heterogeneous data formats and resolutions. This paper proposes a unified set of algorithms for processing the buoys location data used by the two major purse seine fleets operating in the Atlantic and Indian oceans. Three main issues that need to be addressed prior to the exploitation of the data are identified (structural errors, data records on land and on-board vessels) and five specific filtering criteria are proposed to improve the data cleaning process and, hence, quality. Different filtering procedures are also compared, and their advantages and limitations are discussed.


The present invention is a co-polyester resin and relates to a fixture Mechanism for a reflector made of a blended resin of polycarbonate, more particularly, 1, 4-cyclohexanedimethanol is a copolymerized polyester and a polycarbonate resin is blended mixture It relates to a fixture Mechanism for a reflector made of the extruded sheet. Fixture Mechanism for a reflecting plate of the present invention is a copolymerized polyester resin and a high degree of molding processability advantage is made of the molten mixture does not need the whole machining drying of strong rigidity and a polycarbonate having a heat resistance having an excellent moldability, heat resistance and an excellent strength It will have. Polycarbonate, polyester, 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol, copolymer, reflectors, lighting


Purpose: To investigate the usefulness of pattern reversal visually evoked response (PVER) for visual assessments on patients with visual conversion reaction (VCR). Subjects and Methods: We performed PVER on 30 patients suspected as the VCR, who visited our hospital between October 2005 and September 2006. The 25 cases out of 30 were girls. Their ages ranged from 5 to 15 years old with a mean of 9.5 years old. In addition to the visual acuity test, the pattern reversal VER, both steady-state and transient stimulation,were recorded in all patients. Results: Visual acuity improved to normal level with the neutralization method in 75% of eyes. The transient VER showed normal reaction in 96.7% of eyes, and the prolongation of implicit time was observed only in 3.3% of eyes. The steady-state VER were recordable in all check sizes. The bandpass shape VER amplitude-check size function curve was observed in 80% and in the rest of 20%, the curve was somewhat irregular. Conclusion: In the present study, the PVER was quite normal even though the visual acuity and visual field showed grossly abnormal. Hence we concluded that the PVER may be helpful to establish the diagnosis of VCR.


This paper presents a robust position controller for a high precision micro feed permanent magnet linear synchronous motro (PMLSM) servo system. First, the nonlinear friction factor model is achived through a stationary experiment, the friction compensator is fed forward to compensate nonlinear friction. Then, the mover mass, viscous friction factor and disturbance force are estimated by the proposed estimator, which is composed of a recursive least square (RLS) estimator and a disturbance observer. And then IP position controller is designed to match tracking specifications and suppress disturbance. Finally, the observed disturbance force is fed forward, so as to increase the robustness of PMLSM drive system.


Over the last decade, experimental and computational investigations of scalar implicature have focused on a few exemplar cases, such as <some, all>. Recent experimental work suggests a high degree of variability in implicature rates for different lexical scales. This amounts to a greater degree of "scalar diversity" than was previously assumed. We argue that the difficulty in addressing scalar diversity from a computational perspective stems from difficulty quantifying ambiguous scalar semantics for items such as <good, excellent> or <palatable, delicious>. We present two possible methodologies for quantifying ambiguous scalar semantics using an experimental paradigm and corpus based approach with application to rational speech-act theory.


Scalability is one of six key characteristics found in reconfigurable manufacturing systems. Scalable systems satisfy changing capacity requirements efficiently through system reconfiguration, and in the flexible manufacturing literature this capability is called expansion flexibility. The development of modular scalable machine tools is a necessary precursor to achieving scalable systems. Unfortunately, there is little work describing the design of scalable machines. This paper establishes the need for scalable machines and a basis for evaluating and describing them. Applicable metrics are defined, and an architecture for scalable machines is presented. Two examples illustrate the scalable architecture. Finally, a design parameter based on a mathematical approach is presented to determine the optimal number of modules to be included on a modular scalable machine. This as a design parameter is important because it limits machine size and the number of module interfaces included in the base machine structure.


Path planning is a critical task for search and rescue mission in Mobile Ad-hoc Rescue Network in natural or unnatural catastrophes. However, most existing path planning schemes fail to cope with the challenges in post-disaster map environment due to its increased complexity and uncertainty. To address these issues, we propose a Hierarchical Random Walk based path Planner (HRWP). In HRWP, Regular Grid and Voronoi Diagram are used to model the map, and uncertain map segments are assigned uncertain cost using random variables. The hierarchical random walk is then designed to generate the optimal path using probabilistic accept-reject. In this way, results of HRWP can significantly reduce the risk of uncertainty and converge to the optimal path. Using a combination of analytical modeling and extensive simulations we show that HRWP outperforms existing path planer and mobility schemes, and performs well in complicated environments.


To determine the survival results, patterns of relapse, and organ preservation effects of a targeted chemoradiation protocol for patients with advanced (stage III–IV) carcinoma of the head and neck.


Exploring the ring-opening polymerization (ROP) mechanism of benzoxazines is a fundamental issue in benzoxazine chemistry. Though some research papers on the topic have been reported, the ROP mechanism of mono-benzoxazines is still elusive. The key point for mechanistic studies is to determine and characterize the structure and formation pathways of the products generated in ROP. In this paper, the ROP of a vanillin-furfurylamine-based benzoxazine and a mono-azomethine derivative is studied with DSC, FTIR, NMR, and ESI-MS, respectively. The results show that the products consist of a range of cationic species, zwitterions, fragments, and series of cyclic and linear oligomers of varying molecular size. It is proposed that both mono-benzoxazines undergo thermally activated cationic ring-opening oligomerization via zwitterion intermediates. Upon thermal induction, multi-bond-cleavage takes place to form various zwitterionic intermediates, which react with a monomer, a fragment, or a second zwitterion by several pathways to generate cyclic and linear oligomers. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.


Ketosis-prone diabetes is most commonly seen in type 1 diabetic patients. Long-term of glycemic control not depending on insulin is one of the characteristics of type 2 diabetes.Patients with both of the manifestations may form a new group other than type 1 or type 2 diabetes mellitus.


This note presents a partially new proof of Farkas' lemma, based on no other tools than elementary linear algebra (matrixand vector calculus). No properties of the real numbers other than those shared by the rational numbers are used. The general approach is the same as in the paper by A. Dax from 1997 (SIAM Review, 39(3):503-507), but instead of using an active set method for proving the existence of optimal solutions to sign-constrained linear least squares problems (the hard part of the proof), we use a natural partitioning of the feasible region into disjunct subregions, followed by a simple investigation of each subregion.


Psychoacoustical computational models are necessary for the perceptual processing of acoustic signals and have contributed significantly in the development of highly efficient audio analysis and coding. In this paper, we present an approach for the psychoacoustic analysis of musical signals based on the discrete wavelet packet transform. The proposed method mimics the multiresolution properties of the human ear closer than other techniques and it includes simultaneous and temporal auditory masking. Experimental results show that this method provides better masking capabilities and it reduces the signal-to-masking ratio substantially more than other approaches, without introducing audible distortion. This model can lead to greater audio compression by permitting further bit rate reduction and more secure watermarking by providing greater signal space for information hiding.


This paper shows and discusses the results of a comprehensive mineralogical and microstructural investigation carried out on several samples collected from diaphragm walls obtained treating a deposit of overconsolidated clay with the cutter soil mixing (CSM) technology, one of the most recent methods for deep mixing. To this purpose, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray powder diffraction analysis, mercury intrusion porosimetry, and X-ray computed micro-tomography were extensively used to measure soil properties at the micro-scale. In addition, unconfined compression tests and permeability tests were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of CSM also at the macro-scale. The capability of CSM to treat cohesive soils seems to be confirmed by the experimental investigation carried out so far, considering, particularly, the degree of mixture homogeneity achieved at the end of the mixing procedure, together with the growth of several hydration products in the cemented matrix.


Elections held as part of a peace deal following a violent conflict highlight several crucial dilemmas of democratization in post-war societies. Such 'post-conflict elections' are now a feature of almost all efforts to democratize war-torn regions, with peace agreements routinely including provisions for elections be held as part of the process of conflict termination, often with the assistance, supervision or sometimes direct control of the international community. But while post-conflict elections have become an integral element of contemporary peace agreements, they can also themselves become the focus of increasing tension and renewed violence. Taking a comparative perspective, this paper focuses on several inherent dilemmas of post- conflict elections, including issues of timing, sequencing, mechanics, political parties, and the role of the international community. In each of these areas, post-conflict elections forces difficult choices to be made between short-term versus long-term priorities, representation versus stability, domestic versus international legitimacy, and a range of other sometimes incompatible objectives.


Pilonidal sinus disease is an acquired condition usually effects adult males. The disease is characterized by a presence of one or multiple sinuses in natal cleft. There are various treatment methods described in literature, ranging from incision and drainage, marsupialization, simple primary closure and various flap procedures. Out of all procedures, Limberg's flap followed by rhomboid excision showed promising results in literature in terms of low recurrence, less post-operative pain and other complication. Methodology: We performed an observational study at Hamdard University Hospitalfrom 1 July 2015-30 June 2019 on patients came in outpatient department for the treatment of pilonidal sinus diseases. Patients presentation varied from single sinus and dry, multiple sinus and dry, single sinus with serous discharge, single sinus with pus discharge and pilonidal abscess. Forty-six patients were selected after applying inclusion and exclusion criteria and operated by Limberg' flap technique. Result: Results were observed for postoperative seroma, hematoma, wound infection, persistent pain and recurrence. Out of 46 patients, 30(65.21%) were male and 16(34.7%) were female. 28 patients (60.8%) were between 31-40 years of age and 12 patients (26.08%) were between 41-50 years of age. After performing Limberg's flap procedure, 35 patients (76%) had no complications at all. 2 patients (4.3%) had seroma formation. 4 patients had Hematoma formation (8.6%). 2 patients (4.3%) patients developed superficial wound infection. 2 patients (4.3%) had persistent pain after 3 months of procedure. 1 patient (2.1%) had recurrence during the follow-up period of 12 months.


In this paper the generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedastic models are applied in modeling exchange rate volatility of the USD/KES exchange rate using daily observations over the period starting 3 rd January 2003 to 31 st December 2015. The paper applies both symmetric and asymmetric models that capture most of the stylized facts about exchange rate returns such as volatility clustering and leverage effect. The performance of the symmetric GARCH (1, 1) and GARCH-M models as well as the asymmetric EGARCH (1, 1), GJR-GARCH (1, 1) and APARCH (1, 1) models with different residual distributions are applied to data. The most adequate models for estimating volatility of the exchange rates are the asymmetric APARCH model, GJR-GARCH model and EGARCH model with Student's t-distribution.


In regions of high COVID-19 endemicity, the incidence of other respiratory viral illnesses is depressed, which may reflect biologic displacement of other pathogens or the impact of preventive strategies to reduce transmission of SARS-CoV-2.


Stevens‐Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis comprise a spectrum of severe mucocutaneous hypersensitivity reactions. A paucity of data limits current understanding of the etiology, treatment options, and prognosis of this entity in the infantile population compared to that in the adult and pediatric literature. We describe the case of an 8‐week‐old male with toxic epidermal necrolysis treated successfully with intravenous immunoglobulin and amniotic membrane transplant. This patient is the youngest surviving infant with toxic epidermal necrolysis to be reported.


A new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) emerged in the winter of 2019 in Wuhan, China, and rapidly spread around the world. The extent and efficiency of SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is far greater than previous coronaviruses that emerged in the 21st Century. Here, we modeled stability of SARS-CoV-2 on skin, paper currency, and clothing to determine if these surfaces may factor in the fomite transmission dynamics of SARS-CoV-2. Skin, currency, and clothing samples were exposed to SARS-CoV-2 under laboratory conditions and incubated at three different temperatures (4C, 22C, and 37C). Stability was evaluated at 0 hours (h), 4 h, 8 h, 24 h, 72 h, 96 h, 7 days, and 14 days post-exposure. SARS-CoV-2 was shown to be stable on skin through the duration of the experiment at 4C (14 days). Virus remained stable on skin for at least 96 h at 22C and for at least 8h at 37C. There were minimal differences between the tested currency samples. The virus remained stable on the $1 U.S.A. Bank Note for at least 96 h at 4C while viable virus was not detected on the $20 U.S.A. Bank Note samples beyond 72 h. The virus remained stable on both Bank Notes for at least 8 h at 22C and 4 h at 37C. Clothing samples were similar in stability to the currency with the virus being detected for at least 96 h at 4C and at least 4 h at 22C. No viable virus was detected on clothing samples at 37C after initial exposure. This study confirms the inverse relationship between virus stability and temperature. Furthermore, virus stability on skin demonstrates the need for continued hand hygiene practices to minimize fomite transmission both in the general population as well as workplaces where close contact is common.


Most educational software available to children is designed for a single user and this, coupled with a shortage of computers in schools, means that pairs or groups of children often share an inappropriate interface which can be detrimental to collaboration. We describe a novel user interface, Separate Control of Shared Space (SCOSS), and present two studies that explore its potential as a tool to resource collaborative interactions. We illustrate how it can be used to allow for equitable control at both input and task levels, and how it visually represents agreement and disagreement which can be used to mediate collaboration about a final solution.


The aim of this study was to investigate the relative influence of genetic and environmental factors on children's leisure time exercise behavior through the classic twin design. Data were taken from the Netherlands Twin Register. The twins were 7(N= 3,966 subjects), 10(N= 3,562) and 12-year-olds (N= 8,687), with longitudinal data for 27% of the sample. Parents were asked to indicate the children's regular participation in leisure time exercise activities, including frequency and duration. Resemblance between monozygotic and dizygotic twins for weekly MET hours spent on exercise activities was analyzed as a function of their genetic relatedness. Average weekly MET hours increased with age for both boys (age 7 years: 14.0, SD= 11.8; age 10 years: 22.6, SD= 18.7; age 12 years: 28.4, SD= 24.9) and girls (age 7 years: 9.7, SD= 9.5; age 10 years: 15.3, SD= 15.1; age 12 years: 19.3, SD= 19.8). Around 13% of boys and girls across all age groups did not participate in any regular leisure time exercise activities. Tracking of exercise behavior from age 7 to 12 years was modest (0.168<r<0.534). For boys, genetic effects accounted for 24% (confidence interval: 18%-30%) of the variance at age 7 years, 66% (53%-81%) at age 10 years and 38% (32%-46%) at age 12 years. For girls, these were 22% (15%-30%), 16% (9%-24%) and 36% (30%-43%), respectively. Environmental influences shared by children from the same family explained 71%, 25% and 50% of the variance in boys (aged 7, 10 and 12 years) and 67%, 72% and 53% in girls. The shared environment influencing exercise behavior was partially different between boys and girls. Our results stress the important role of the shared environment for exercise behavior in young children.


Introduction: Arachidonic acid (ARA, 20:4n-6) is the precursor of prostaglandins type 2, such as PGE2 and PGF2α, which modulate reproduction, ovulation and spawning in vertebrates [1]. In a previous study we proposed that low ARA levels in spawns of cultured silverside Chirostoma estor (2% vs 8% in wild, total fatty acids) could be associated to poor spawn quality [2]. The silverside (C. estor) is a freshwater endemic fish from Patzcuaro Lake in Michoacan, Mexico. Aquaculture development has been implemented partially to replenish wildstock; however, there is limited knowledge about its reproductive physiology. In the present study, silverside broodstock was fed with adult artemia (Artemia franciscana) enriched with ARA (3%, 4% and 7%, total fatty acids) during 10 weeks in order to evaluate dietary ARA effects upon reproductive performance, spawn quality, PGE2 level and fatty acid composition in gonads


This paper illustrates that course teaching is the main channel of developing college students' ability to blaze new trails and gives details about how to do so in different respects.


In this paper, we have studied the information complexity for the communication model involving more than two parties. A lot of work has already been done on the information complexity in two party communication model and the question of extending the denition of information complexity to the multiparty communication model was posed in [Bra12]. In this paper, we rst give a denition of internal information cost for a protocol involving more than two parties and our denition matches the denition known for two party model. Our denition is valid for both in NIH model and NOF model. We also extend several results known for information complexity of two party model to multiparty communication setting. One of them is the additivity property, which eventually gives us the direct sum theorem for both information cost and distributional information cost. We give a lower bound for the information complexity of a function involving more that two parties in terms of communication complexity and this lower bound matches with the bound known for the function evaluated by only two parties. We also show that the amortized communication complexity of a function computed by k parties is lower bounded by the information complexity and upper bounded by (k 1) times the information complexity and this relation is true for both distributional and non-distributional case.


Abstract The use of zinc/silver couple for preparation of the o-quinodimethane from 3, 6-dimethyl-1, 2-bis (bromomethyl) benzene, 1, is described.


This paper made a masked priming experiment to examine the Chinese learners' online processing of English derivatives or derived words so as to find out the effect of morphological structures on second language (L2) word processing. 39 Chinese freshmen of non-English majors participated in the experiment. Results indicated that derivatives had significant priming effect on the identification of their stems and that this kind of priming effect was not affected by the brain's familiarity with it, which meant that like L1, L2 derivative processing was also affected by the morphological structures and that morphological decomposition did exist. This conclusion supports the view of Diependaele et al. that the characteristics of the target words determined their processing mechanism. In addition, the main factors that affect the complicated processing mechanism prove to be the features which are composed of the morphemes instead of the features of the whole words.


Objective Summarize the diagnosis and treatment experience of hepatic focal nodular hyperplasia(FNH).Methods Retrospective analysis was made on twelve FNH cases in terms of clinical feature,images,pathologic examination and treatment of FNH,who treated in our hospital form Jan.2006 to Aug.2011,all patients were followed-up.Results Among the FNH patients,two were male and ten female.The average age was thirty-three years old.Two Patients had clinical symptomatic,correct prooperation diagnosis was made in seven patients(58.3%).including three cases underwent biopsy,four cases for CT/MRI,one patient misdiagnosed as hepatocellular carcinoma(8.3%).Ten Cases underwent operation with an uneventful recovery well and without five years recurrence at follow-up.Only two patients receiveed Conservative treatment,during the two followed up years their tumor no increased.Conclusion CT and MRI are of help to the diagnosis of FNH,Liver biopsy will help to clarify the diagnosis.Surgical resection is the treatment of choice when the patient becomes symptomatic or doubtful in diagnosis.


A labeling f on a graph G on n vertices is called a prime labeling if f is a bijection from the vertex set V (G )t o{1,2, ··· ,n} such that f(x )a ndf(y )a re coprime ifx and y are adjacent. It was shown by Sundaram et al. [1] that the planar grid Pm × Pn has a prime labeling if m ≤ n and n is a prime. In this paper it is proved that the following grids have a prime labeling:


A new electric field induced mechanical instability of a single domain ferroelectric smectic C liquid is proposed. Threshold conditions and small and large field limits are discussed.


In this paper, the variability of the ionosphere is examined usingVertical TEC (VTEC) estimates obtained from GPS sig nals. The statistical structure of the ionosphere is investigated by making use of a slidingwindow mean and a variance of the estimated VTEC data. The choice of the slidingwindow size is based on the estimated variance of the first and second order moments. The investigation technique is applied to a data set obtained from the solar maximum period duringApril 23–28, 2001, for typical hig h and mid latitude stations. Duringthe quiet day of this period, it is slowly time varying and locally stationary in a slidingwindow of 15 to 20 minutes. The wide sense stationarity period of the high latitude station, both for quiet and disturbed days, is shorter than those for the mid-latitude stations, which indicates the higher variability of ionosphere for high latitudes.


Granted, it is not easy to write about Whitman. The essential quality of his genius remains elusive. Essays by H. A. Myers, R. P. Hoople, J. B. Mason and Ivan Marki illustrate once more the impossibility of rationally analyzing Whitman's achievement, of plotting the plotless. Any critic who seeks to apply the principle of sequential linearity to Whitman's poems is forced to proceed by omission, paraphrase and generalization. Only when more refined conceptual tools are employed can the results be convincing. In an essay called "Whitman's Triadic Imagery," for instance, A. H. Marks has some enlightening things to say about "Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking." And Lawrence Buell's essay on the catalogue passage and the second part of Mason's essay on the same topic provide important insights into Whitman's poetics. The volume contains also the de rigueur feminist piece (M. J. Killingsworth's "Whitman and Motherhood") but its author fails to prove why Whitman's poems on motherhood are "notoriously bad" (p. 245) or why "Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking" is the exception. Among the source-hunters and archival scholars, Lawrence Templin discusses the Quaker influence on Whitman, only to come to the conclusion that the differences between Whitman's attitude and Quaker orthodoxy are at least as great as the similarities. And Robert Scholnick's essay on Whitman's relation to the major journals of the time is a sound piece of research, which, however, has only a limited biographical interest. Of greater significance is D. W. Hiscoe's exposition of Whitman's use of the Middle Ages, because it clearly delineates the way the poet wavered between the idea that the past has to be used and the idea that the past has to be rejected. Whitman, at any rate, was fascinated by Egyptian lore, as S. J. Tapscott established in an essay that stands out if only because the author has refrained from overstating his case. Equally well-argued is Harold Aspiz's virtuoso piece on Whitman's "spermatic imagination." Once again, however, the drawbacks of the whole project are revealed when one considers that Tapscott's findings might have been usefully supplemented by those recently made by John T. Irwin in his book American Hieroglyphics. And the relation Aspiz established between Whitman's phallicism and his vocalism has certainly a bearing on the argument that has been put forward in Gilbert and Gubar's justly acclaimed The Mad Woman in the Attic. Such meaningful connections can only be made, however, if essays are selected on a less fortuitous criterion than the place and date of their first appearance.


QI geophysicist are: often asked questions like: 1) Is this feature on the seismic data a direct-hydrocarbon-indicator (DHI), and how much does this increase the probability of a successful well? 2) Is this fault block with anomalous amplitudes filled with oil or gas? 3) What is the total oil-volume in place (STOIIP) for the reservoir?


This work aimed to understand what community-based free software projects are and what governance characteristics (structure and control) differentiate them from traditional organizations, thus spurring further reflections on this business model. A literature review was conducted to outline the main perceptions on this topic, as well as qualitative exploratory research, involving documentary analysis and interviews with four Brazilian participants who work in the management of projects.. The exploratory research was a preliminary contact with the investigated field to make the arguments presented more reliable. Among the reflections, it is observed that even though it is possible to distinguish community-based free software projects from traditional organizations, a crucial factor not always considered are the transformations resulting from the development of these projects. It is necessary that the studies consider the context of functioning, as well as the changes and interorganizational relationships established by the projects over time. Considering these issues, it is believed that approximations between projects and traditional organizations can occur, even if community characteristics are maintained.


This article provides a rethinking of juvenile delinquency in colonial Senegal using gender as a critical category of analysis. It focuses on the case of Leonie Gueye, a thirteen-year-old girl sentenced three times for robbery. Acquitted in all three trials in virtue of Article 66 as having acted without discernment - Leonie was nevertheless sent to Bambey penitentiary, a male institution. The central argument presented is that the treatment of juvenile delinquency in the colonial period differed for boys and girls. Presented with the case of Leonie Gueye, gender came to mediate the colonial authorities' attitudes in dealing with young delinquents. In 1920, Leonie Gueye, a thirteen-year-old girl living with her mother, Mareme Sarr Diop, and stepfather, Amadou Sall, in the city of Saint-Louis in north Senegal, was brought to trial for robbery. She was set free, based on provisions in Article 66 of the 1810 Metropolitan Penal Code which stipulated: "if the accused is under sixteen years of age and is judged to have acted undiscerningly, he will be acquitted. Depending on the circumstances, he will be returned to his parents or assigned to a correctional house, where he will be held for a number of years to be determined by the judge and which cannot exceed the delinquent's twentieth birthday." In 1921 Leonie reoffended, but she was handed back to her mother who was expected to watch over her daughter until she came of age. Acquitted for a third time of robbery in 1922, the court this time ordered her incarceration at the Bambey penitentiary.


In the paper the design of a control and monitoring system for a traveling wave tube amplifier (TWTA) is described. The system is fitted up with a RS 422 bus which makes possible the communication with an external computer and the storage of the TWTA operating data.


We study passive mode-locking inthegeneral caseofarbitrary dispersion andKerr nonlinearity andthepresence ofnoise. Wepresent ananalytical derivation andexpressions forthe threshold power required tomaintain mode-locked pulses.


In order to solve the fault line selection in the small current single-phase grounding,a novel fault line selection method is proposed in this paper. The new method synthesizes the Fisher information with wavelet transform to solve the question of line selection in small current single-phase grounding.The FI variation based on each layer of wavelet coefficients from the comparison between the zero-sequence currents of fault and normal lines is employed to select the faulted line.Through the simulation which is based on the PSCAD/EMTDC of mall current single-phase grounding,it can be asserted that the Fisher information is a new method for fault line selection.Also,it was not influenced by the neutral-point grounding method,voltage initial angle and transition resistance.


In this Letter, we present a theoretical model with experimental verifications to describe the abnormal behaviors of the measured fluctuation rates occurring in nano-patterned superconducting structures below the critical temperature. In the majority of previous works, it is common to describe the fluctuation rate by defining a fixed ground state or initial state level for the singularities (vortex or vortex-antivortex pairs), and then employing the well-known rate equations to calculate the liberation rates. Although this approach gives an acceptable qualitative picture, without utilizing free parameters, all the models have been inadequate in describing the temperature dependence of the rate for a fixed width or the width dependence of the rate for a fixed temperature. Here, we will show that by defining a current-controlled ground state level for both the vortex and vortex-antivortex liberation mechanisms, the dynamics of these singularities are described for a wide range of temperatures and widths. According to this study, for a typical strip width, not only is the vortex-antivortex liberation higher than the predicted rate, but also quantum tunneling is significant in certain conditions and can not be neglected.


Phospholipids of goat spermatozoa and seminal plasma were separated and quantified by two dimensional thin layer chromatography. The spermatozoal phospholipids were comprised of 25.0 percent phosphatidyl choline, 27.8 percent phosphatidal choline (choline plasmalogen). 5.0 percent phosphatidyl ethanolamine, 0.9 phosphatidal ethanolamine (ethanolamine phasmalogen), 11.8 percent sphingomyelin. 2.8 percent phosphatidyl serine, 1.8 percent phosphatidyl inositol. 4.4 percent lysophosphatidyl choline. 4.3 percent lysophosphatidyl ethanolamine. 8.0 percent diphosphatidyl glycerol (cardiolipin) and 0.5 percent phosphatidic acid. The corresponding values for the seminal plasma phospholipids were 18.3, 19.1. 9.1. 3.0, 15.0, 4.1, 3.5. 5.5. 9.6, 2.0 and 0.7 percent, respectively.


The activities of digestive enzymes in the gut regions of African giant land snail, Archachatina marginata were investigated during aestivation induced in the laboratory by the withdrawal of water and food for three weeks. All studied enzymes, amylase, a-glucosidase, cellulase, lipase, and protease, were detected on the gut regions (oesophagus, crop, stomach and intestine). Aestivated snails had significantly lower enzyme activities in all the gut regions than the active snails. Furthermore the stomach recorded the highest enzyme activities of all the gut regions.


The efficiency of a thermodynamic system is a key quantity on which its usefulness and wider application relies. This is especially true for a device that operates with marginal energy sources and close to ambient temperatures. Various definitions of efficiency are available, each of which reveals a certain performance characteristic of a device. Of these, some consider only the thermodynamic cycle undergone by the working fluid, whereas others contain additional information, including relevant internal components of the device that are not part of the thermodynamic cycle. Yet others attempt to factor out the conditions of the surroundings with which the device is interfacing thermally during operation. In this paper we present a simple approach for the modeling of complex oscillatory thermal-fluid systems capable of converting low grade heat into useful work. We apply the approach to the NIFTE, a novel low temperature difference heat utilization technology currently under development. We use the results from the model to calculate various efficiencies and comment on the usefulness of the different definitions in revealing performance characteristics. We show that the approach can be applied to make design optimization decisions, and suggest features for optimal efficiency of the NIFTE.


As complication of hemodialysis, intradialytic hypotension (IDH) is associated with a risk of mortality. These patients suffer from diminished/poor quality of life (QOL). The aim of this study was to compare the QOL and survival of two groups of dialysis patients, according to the presence of IDH. The prevalent population of 162 dialysis patients from one dialysis centre was divided according to the presence of IDH. Patients were scored for QOL with the standard SF 36 questionnaire at the start of the study. The percentage of IDH was 26%. Groups were not statistically different for participant's age, dialysis vintage and presence of diabetes. QOL scores from all domains were substantially reduced in the IDH group of patients. The component scores for the physical and mental domains were nearly half and statistically worse in IDH group of patients (p=0.0001, p=0.0001). During 60 months of follow-up, 23 (55%) of patients died in the IDH group, and 46 (38%) in the group without IDH. Kaplan Meier curves showed statistically better survival in the non IDH group, when compared to IDH group in months (47.67 ± 1.98 v.s. 39.74 ± 3.40, p= 0.038). Cox regression analysis showed that patients with IDH had 1.68 higher risk of death, with confidence interval of 1.021 2.78, p= 0.041. IDH deteriorates the QOL and life expectancy in dialysis patients. Interventions are needed on modifiable factors affecting IDH in order to achieve better outcomes.


This paper discusses a visible light communication (VLC) system using a digital signage and an image sensor. We propose a modulation scheme that data information signals are superimposed on a chroma component of the displayed image of the digital signage by taking advantage of the fact that human eyes are difficult to perceive chroma difference than brightness difference. Especially, the proposed scheme utilizes uniform color space to realize hardly perceivable data signal modulation. We show that the proposed scheme has better performance than the conventional scheme with the non-uniform color space.


A study to assess the psychosocial problems and quality of life among chronic renal failure patients undergoing hemodialysis in selected hospital at Cuttack with a view to develop an information booklet. A descriptive survey approach was chosen for the study. Design selected for the present study is a Descriptive design. The study was conducted in dialysis unit of selected hospitals at Cuttack, Odisha, India. By using Purposive sampling technique 60 Dialysis patients who fulfilled the inclusion criteria were selected as samples. Demographic variable consisted of age, sex, area of living, occurrence of disease, comorbid illness and number of dialysis. Data was collected among the dialysis patients based on WHOQOL tool. Majority of samples in the demographic profile of 28(46.67%) of them were belong to the age group between 40 and 45, 33(55%) of them were male, 30 (50%) of them were urban population, 26(43.3%) of them were taken 1120 number of cycle of dialysis, 20 (33.34%) of them were had illness since 48 years, 30(50%) of them were having hypertension and renal diseases as co-morbid illness. The results of the study showed that most of the samples 27 (46.67%), Moderate QOL, 20(33.3%) Had poor QOL and remaining 12(20%) good QOL among the 60 patients underwent hemodialysis. The findings regarding the domain of WHOQOL tool are assessed and findings revealed that hemodialysis patients had effects on their social relationship and environment significantly. The values of the table were found to pass the normality distribution test. HD patients indicated lower QOL scores in the domains of environment, social relationships and over all domain which respectively 0.02, 0.00 and 0.03(P < 0.05), this indicated that patients with ESRD with Hemodialysis had their unpleasant quality of life based on social relationship and environment which affects their overall Quality of life.


Device for locating leaks in a vacuum-jacketed liquid-hydrogen transfer line consists of two Mylar discs, a source of nitrogen and helium gas, and a mass spectrometer. The outer jacket of the pipeline does not need to be removed for the locator to be used.


With the dramatic development of ecological civilization and ecosystem doctrine,theoretical innovations of natural resources law in China are required.This paper describes the status of natural resources law in China and analyzes its main problems in the context of human and nature harmonious development.According to the actual situation of China's economy,we present the corresponding perfect measures which help the natural resources legislation go out dilemma in theory.


Aiming at hobboing the cylindrical spiral involute gear,it builds a dish-shaped spiral involut gear to make it possible to hob this gear.According to the space meshing principle,the special processing method and the tooth face equations of the working tooth surface,derives the tooth foot surface of the dish-shaped spiral involute gear by means of the tooth face equations of the vitul rack.This method can generate three-demensional coordinates of points on the tooth surfaces of the the dish-shaped spiral involute gear in MATLAB,provide the precise solid model of the dish-shaped spiral involute gear with three-demensional coordinates of points on the generated tooth surfaces in Pro/E,lays a good foundation for the contact analysis and finite element analysis of the dish-shaped spiral involute gear.


In this paper we consider the problem of preventive maintenance of a failure prone system, for which a number of maintenance actions has to be executed on a regular basis. For each action i the frequency is prescribed. Between consecutive actions of type i there is an integer interspacing of T(i) time units. The set-up costs are activity dependent. The set-up structure is supposed to be tree-like and additive over the set-up nodes involved in the action or group of actions. Hence, for different activities with common setup nodes joint execution leads to set-up costs reduction. The question is how the actions should be arranged in time in order to exploit this set-up costs reduction effect maximally. It is shown that the time averaged set-up costs are minimal if a main peak clustering property is satisfied: all maintenance actions are combined at one moment in time. Intuitively, this property is appealing, but it asks for some interesting and non-trivial applications of number theory and inductive reasoning, to prove it.


The question "What is humour?" has exercised in varying degrees such philosophers as Aristotle, Hobbes, Hume, Kant, Schopenhauer and Bergson and has traditionally been regarded as a philosophical question. And surely it must still be regarded as a philosophical question at least in so far as it is treated as a conceptual one. Traditionally the question has been regarded as a search for the essence of humour, whereas nowadays it has become almost a reflex response among some philosophers to dismiss the search for essences as misconceived. Humour, it will be said, is a family-resemblance concept: no one could hope to compile any short list of essential properties abstracted from all the many varieties of humour— human misfortune and clumsiness, obscenity, grotesqueness, veiled insult, nonsense, wordplay and puns, human misdemeanours and so on, as manifested in forms as varied as parody, satire, drama, clowning, music, farce and cartoons. Yet even if the search for the essence of humour seems at first sight unlikely to succeed, I do not see how we can be sure in advance of any conceptual investigation; and in any case we might do well to start with the old established theories purporting to give the essence of humour, for even if they are wrong they may be illuminatingly wrong and may help us to compile a list of typical characteristics.


The Compact Drilling and Sample System (CDSS) was developed to drill into terrestrial, cometary, and asteroid material in a cryogenic, vacuum environment in order to acquire subsurface samples. Although drills were used by the Apollo astronauts some 20 years ago, this drill is a fraction of the mass and power and operates completely autonomously, able to drill, acquire, transport, dock, and release sample containers in science instruments. The CDSS has incorporated into its control system the ability to gather science data about the material being drilled by measuring drilling rate per force applied and torque. This drill will be able to optimize rotation and thrust in order to achieve the highest drilling rate possible in any given sample. The drill can be commanded to drill at a specified force, so that force imparted on the rover or lander is limited. This paper will discuss the cryo dc brush motors, carbide gears, cryogenic lubrication, quick-release interchangeable sampling drill bits, percussion drilling and the control system developed to achieve autonomous, cryogenic, vacuum, lightweight drilling.


This paper discusses ways in which Kant's characterisation of natural number in the Critique of Pure Reason could be made precise. The proposal is that natural numbers are functional entities which are best expressed in first order logic augmented by the lambda calculus. In reaching this view, an analysis of Frege's views on natural number in Die Grundlagen der Arithmetik (The Foundations of Arithmetic) is provided.