The Mexican Congress failed to pass structural reforms during the administration of Vicente Fox (2000-2006). This was the case despite evidence of an otherwise productive legislature. This paper contributes to the literature seeking to explain the failure to enact such reforms during this period. A bi-dimensional issue environment is found to be an important explanation for this case of immobilism. While this argument is not novel, its application to Mexico's multiparty legislature with moderately high levels of party unity necessitates an analysis of coalition formation appropriate to Mexico's institutional and political arrangements. Statistical analysis of roll-call data is utilized. The only floor-vote in the Chamber of Deputies during the Fox Sexenio (six-year presidential term) that proposed real structural reform is discussed in light of its bi-dimensional characteristics. Interviews with legislators are also utilized to support the bi-dimensional argument. The results of this study contribute both to explaining the failure of structural reforms in Mexico during the Fox Sexenio and to the broader comparative debate on the relative influences of social-structural, agential and institutional factors on policy outcomes. The findings highlight the importance of intra-chamber political conditions and skillful leadership for decisive legislative action. The paper concludes with a discussion of the Calderon administration's somewhat more successful efforts in working with Congress to enact structural reforms.


ABSTRACT Objectives: Risky sexual behavior increases during college. HIV knowledge and risk perception have been inconsistent predictors of risky sex independently. Methods: This study tested the interaction between HIV knowledge, risk perception, and sex to predict risky sex in college students (N = 171; 52.0% female). Results: Women's HIV knowledge resulted in greater reports of risky sex when risk perception was low. Conversely, men's HIV knowledge translated into greater reports of risky sex when risk perception was high. Conclusions: Although preliminary, this study calls for nuanced models of risky sex and the inclusion of risk perception modules in HIV reduction programs.


The first synthesis of tetracyclic alkaloid virosine A is reported. The natural alkaloid was prepared in only 13 steps, in an enantioenriched form. The azabicyclo[2.2.2]octane core was efficiently assembled using a key Vilsmeier-Haack and Mannich cyclizations sequence performed in one pot.


This paper describes the preparations, execution and lessons learned from a live black-start test conducted on 19th of November 2014 with the Voltage Sourced Converter (VSC) HVDC link Skagerrak 4. The test was performed during the commissioning period of Skagerrak 4. Three silicon furnaces at the Eramet processing plant in Norway, each with an operating power of 30 MW, were energized from the Danish grid using the Skagerrak 4 HVDC link and a small isolated a.c. grid in Norway.


A hydrocarbon trapping device 200 positioned in the air intake system of an engine, wherein the device is placed upstream from the engine, the device comprises a housing 210, 212 having a body, wherein one end of the body faces the engine and the other end away from the engine, an element 214 housed in the body of the housing, for adsorbing hydrocarbons released by the engine, and a screen 222 for preventing the element from flowing to the engine. Preferably the element 214 is a carbon monolith having a honeycomb structure and is regenerated when the engine is operated. Preferably the housing is made of aluminium or steel and the screen is formed of steel wires or plastic. Advantageously, the hydrocarbon trap 200 adsorbs hydrocarbons moving at a slow rate such as when the engine is not operating and hydrocarbons leak out of the engine system through the air intake system.


By using electrochemical measurement techniques, the corrosion behavior of polyaniline modified ICrl8Ni9Ti stainless steel was investigated in simulated proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) anodic environment. The results indicated that the compact conductive polyaniline film could be obtained on I Cr18Ni9Ti steel by potential step method. The corrosion potential was improved from -400mV to 200mV in simulated corrosion solution when stainless steel was modified by conductive polyaniline. The characteristic of polyaniline modified 5cm²fuel cell was similar to that of no treated stainless steel.


Globalization processes are putting pressure on traditional modes of democratic social action and rendering some ineffective. How does grassroots activists' knowledge of globalization influence their strategies for working toward community change? This article draws on a qualitative analysis of 24 in-depth interviews with activists and community organizers in the Midwestern United States to identify their perspectives on globalization, the local impacts and challenges that globalization creates, and the strategic adaptations of models for community organizing and local activism in the contemporary global era. We found that most organizers and activists are critically aware of globalization processes and the difficulties these dynamics pose for their communities. Further, they often view their locally focused work as a direct response to the demands of globalization. The findings offer a counterpoint to depictions of local social action as myopic or irrelevant for the global era.


During a surgical procedure, each of the medical staffs would have different postures. Supporting medical staff such as anaesthesiologist would stand in upright condition with straighten-forearm, while medical staff that is performing surgical procedures is in bent-forearm posture. The positioning of forearm might interrupt the air supplies from the ceiling-mounted diffuser, that serves to remove the airborne particles from the surgical zone. Consequently, the movement of particles in the surgical zone is affected, and the tendency of particles to fall onto the patient's wound is increased. This situation could elevate the chances of a patient contracting surgical site infections and could increase the risk of death. The present study aims to examine the effects of medical staff's forearm posture on the number of particles falling onto the patient. A simplified computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model of the operating room was developed and validated based on the published data. An RNG k-ε turbulence model based on the Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations was used to simulate the airflow, while a discrete phase model was used to simulate the movement of the airborne particles. Results show that bent-forearm of medical staff obstructed the downward airflow to remove the particles released by the medical staff. Approximately 37 particles/m3 accumulated in the chest region of the medical staff. A high particle accumulation is also observed at the gap between the staff's legs due to the stagnant airflow.


Objective To understand the prevalence of intestinal parasite infection in hospitalized children and to provide reference data for the development of control measures.Methods Lugol's iodine-solution staining method,Sheather's sugar flotation method and modified acid-fast staining method were used to test for the fresh fecal samples.Results A total of 1 996 fecal samples were tested and the infection rate was 1.5%.Five species of parasites were identified.The infection rates of Giardia spp.,Cyclospora spp.,Cryptosporidium spp.,Amoebida spp.and Strongylid spp.were 0.6%,0.5%,0.1%,0.3% and 0.1%,respectively.Conclusion The infection rate of soil-derived intestinal parasites was decreased significantly in children in Zhengzhou area.However,opportunistic protozoa were the major source of infection.Further health education is needed to reduce the incidence of infection.


Background: CD19 targeting chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells have induced unprecedented remission rates in high-risk precursor B Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL); however recurrent disease with CD19 antigen escape variants is not uncommon. Therefore, we developed a novel CD22 targeting CAR, and following preclinical validation, tested it in a first-in-human pediatric and young adult phase 1 clinical trial, PLAT-04 (NCT03244306). Four subjects were treated at 2 dose levels (DL) (1x10 6/kg (DL1) and 3x10 6/kg (DL2)). The CD22 CAR T cell product (SCRI-CAR22v1) was successfully manufactured (n=4) and no dose limiting toxicity (DLTs), cytokine release syndrome (CRS) or neurotoxicity was observed. However, all subjects had minimal CAR T cell expansion, with 3 of 4 subjects demonstrating persistent or progressive disease at day 21 evaluation despite continued CD22 expression on leukemic blasts. Based on the poor in vivo expansion and lack of activity, enrollment was voluntarily halted to interrogate and optimize the CAR construct for enhanced performance.
 Methods: Human T cells were transduced to express one of two CD22 CAR constructs. We designed SCRI-CAR22v2, a CD22 CAR that utilizes the same scFv as SCRI-CAR22v1 but with a shorter linker between M971 VH and VL and a shorter hinge with differing transmembrane region, and both using CD8 alpha (Figure A). This construct maintained the truncated EGFR extracellular tag (EGFRt) for tracking and potential in vivo suicide mechanism. The two transduced CAR T cell products were compared preclinically by flow cytometry, chromium release assay and in an in vivo murine model to understand differing T cell activity between the CAR constructs. Additionally, SCRI-CAR22v2 is currently under investigation in a dose finding phase 1 clinical trial, PLAT-07 (NCT04571138).
 Results: Following use of cetuximab-APC and biotinylated anti-human Fab antibody for surface EGFRt and CAR detection, the SCRI-CAR22v1 expresses lower levels of EGFRt but similar CAR levels on the cell surface demonstrated by MFI (Figure B). Biotinylated, soluble CD22 antigen was also used to evaluate CD22 CAR receptor activity and, as measured by MFI, a higher affinity is suggested via SCRI-CAR22v2 as compared to SCRI-CAR22v1 (Figure B). K562 cells expressing low, medium or high CD22 were used to evaluate the impact of surface antigen expression on the CAR activity level. SCRI-CAR22v2 demonstrates improved targeted cell lysis at all 3 antigen quantity levels by chromium release assay (Figure C). In NSG mice inoculated with Raji tumor cells expressing ffluc, SCRI-CAR22v2 demonstrated improved survival compared to SCRI-CAR22v1 (Figure D) and clearance of Raji tumor cells (Figure E). Based on this promising preclinical data, we initiated enrollment onto PLAT-07, a phase 1 dose finding trial (2x10 5cells/kg (DL1), 5x10 5cells/kg (DL2) and 1x10 6cells/kg (DL3)) of SCRI-CAR22v2. To date, 3 subjects have been enrolled and successfully infused at DL1. All had prior CD19-CAR therapy and 2 lacked CD19 leukemic expression at the time of SCRI-CAR22v2 infusion. At the time of cell infusion, one subject had only extramedullary disease, one had MRD of <1% and one subject had a larger disease burden of 30% ALL. None experienced a DLT and all were MRD negative in the bone marrow at day 28 and the subject with EMD demonstrated a complete metabolic response by PET scan. Figure F exhibits the improved expansion and engraftment of the SCRI-CAR22v2 cells as compared to SCRI-CAR22v1 DL1 (n=3) and DL2 (n=1), and higher peak levels of CD22 CAR T cells as compared to SCRI-CAR22v1 DL1 and DL2 (Figure G).
 Conclusions: Despite encouraging preclinical data, SCRI-CAR22v1 demonstrated poor expansion and engraftment in a Phase 1 trial. Notably, minor CAR alterations lead to encouraging in-human activity in early clinical findings. Our experience suggests a shorter linker and hinge as well as incorporation of an CD8 alpha transmembrane region improves the clinical activity of CD22 targeted CAR T cells in subjects with recurrent disease following CD19 CAR T cells. Further evaluation is needed to elucidate the critical CAR components and/or assays at the preclinical level that can best predict which CAR should be brought to the clinic for further evaluation.
 Figure 1 Figure 1.

 Orentas: Lentigen: Patents & Royalties. Jensen: BMS: Patents & Royalties; Umoja Biopharma: Current holder of stock options in a privately-held company, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Bluebird Bio: Research Funding. Gardner: Novartis: Consultancy; BMS: Patents & Royalties.


Rationalism management and humanism management are the two basic models of teachers' management. The two models do not only confront but accommodate. The basic trends of the two models derives from confront to accommodation.


Foodborne pathogenic bacteria can cause food poisoning or infection. Salmonella is an aerobic or partly anaerobic gram-negative bacterium that enters the body with food, invades the intestine and releases large amounts of endotoxin. The endotoxin acts as a pyrogen that leads to an increase in body temperature and acts on the intestinal mucosa to trigger systemic inflammation and toxic symptoms in the host. The development of novel methods and systems for the monitoring and detection of foodborne pathogenic bacteria is of great significance for food safety, especially the development of simple, high-throughput and highly sensitive rapid detection techniques. This work proposes a novel aptamer sensor based on reduced graphene oxide (rGO)-AuNPs for the detection of Salmonella in food. Firstly the rGO and AuNPs were modified on the surface of glassy carbon electrode in turn, and then a highly sensitive sensor was made by designing a segment of thiolated aptamer probe that could specifically capture Salmonella . The high electron transport ability of rGO and the advantage of large specific surface area of AuNPs were adopted to achieve signal amplification and improve the detection capability. In the presence of Salmonella , the aptamer traps and immobilizes Salmonella on the surface of the electrode, resulting in a change in the immediate current in the sensor and realizing quantitative detection of Salmonella based on the change in electrical signal. Under the optimized conditions, the response current of the constructed aptamer sensor is linearly related to the logarithmic value of Salmonella concentration, with a linear range of 6×10 2 cfu/mL~6×10 7 cfu/mL and a detection limit of 200 cfu/mL (S/N=3). Meanwhile, this sensor has been successfully applied in the detection of Salmonella in pork and beef.


The results of studies of various reagents produced by "Penta-91" as part of the artificial and natural muds Noyabrskiy oil and gas region of Western Siberia. In particular, studied the physicochemical properties and solubility of the reactants influence ICP-200A water emulsion PMS-200 and 465 for Penta-specific basic properties and muds. Particular attention was paid to the study of lubricants, surfactants and foaming properties of the reactants. Moreover, the technological properties were examined in the composition polydimethylsiloxanes (LUBE-167 and CHOPM) and compared to other (Oxal, and LED-4TMP DRC) reagents. Recommendations on the use of reagent PMS-200A and an aqueous emulsion of PMS-200 oilfields. Reagent PMS-200A does not affect the basic properties of the bentonite suspension, but it leads to a slight decrease of the filtration and significantly reduce the stickiness of the clay filter cake, and when the concentration of 5% - to its absence. PMS-200 Emulsion (70%) as bentonite slurry leads to a marked increase in the structural, mechanical and rheological properties, a slight increase filtration and tackiness are absent mudcake minimum concentration - 0.3%. On the basic properties of natural muds reagent PMS-200A and PMS-200 emulsion virtually unaffected. However, they lead to a significant reduction in tackiness mudcake emulsion wherein the ICP-200 is much better. When using complex processing lubricant additives best results were obtained with simultaneous introduction of reagents into the mud and polydimethylsiloxanes and partially saponified sunflower oil.


A method for mixed gamma -neutron dosimetry was tested on a model using a proportional counter filled with BF/sub 3/. An ordinary counter surrounded by a layer of paraffin for retarding n from a Po--Be source was used. Pulses caused by capture of thermal n were considerably greater than pulses caused by gamma rays. Results of investigations made with a Po--Be n source and with Ra as the gamma source showed that the proposed method is applicable for dosimetry. (Ref. Zh., Fiz. 1963)


The invention discloses an all-dimensional foot washing and rubbing frame, and belongs to the field of living goods. The problem that existing foot massage machinery only can massage the foot bottoms is solved. The all-dimensional foot washing and rubbing frame comprises a left foot massage frame and a right foot massage frame, the left foot massage frame and the right foot massage frame are each formed by sequentially connecting a foot outside massage plate, a foot bottom massage plate, a foot inside massage plate and a foot surface massage plate end to end, and the inner side surfaces of the foot outside massage plates, the foot bottom massage plates and the foot inside massage plates are all provided with massage particles; the inner side surfaces of the foot surface massage plates is provided with wash towels, and sponge pads are arranged between the foot surface massage plates and the wash towels; the foot inside massage plate of the left foot massage frame and the foot inside massage plate of the right foot massage frame are oppositely arranged and fixedly connected. The all-dimensional foot washing and rubbing frame is used for washing the feet.


This paper presents the results of an assessment of emissions of harmful substances from road traffic (line sources) on the air quality of the urban area of the city of Zenica File transfer software model Aermod. Dispersion modeling results indicate that CO and PM10 emissions from road transport have a significant impact on the formation emisionih values in air Zenica valley. However, NOx emissions significantly affect the formation of concentrations of this pollutant in the air and on air quality Zenica valley.


The UMTS terrestrial radio access (UTRA), based on a wideband DS-CDMA technique, fully supports the UMTS requirements and has flexible support for real-time, variable-bit-rate services, as well as an efficient packet mode. This paper presents a description and a performance evaluation of a medium access protocol which may be used in the UTRA system to provide constant-bit-rate (voice), variable bit-rate (video), and low priority data services. The performance evaluation of voice and data services has been carried out by a suitable analytical approach. Simulation results are also shown in order to validate analytical predictions.


The utility model relates to wear-resistant sulfur-resistant dual-seal plate valve, belonging to the field of oil extraction equipment, which comprises a valve body (1), a valve seat (4), a valve stem(5), an upper valve cover (11), a lower valve cover (32), a packing bushing (15), a support (16), a hand wheel (19) and a dustproof cover (20). The utility model is characterized in that a hard cobalt-chromium-tungsten alloy layer (4-1) is overlaid on the sealing surface of the valve seat; a wolfram carbide layer (3-1) is coated on the sealing surface of a flashboard (3); flange sealing rings (6)are installed between the valve body (1) and the upper valve cover (11) and between the valve body (1)and the lower valve cover (32), and the valve body (1) is connected with the upper valve cover (11) and the lower valve cover (32) through a stud (28) and bolts (29). The utility model has the advantages that the valve is wear-resistant and sulfur-resistant, the sealing performance is good and the service life is long.


Ti60 alloys were fabricated by using direct laser deposition (DLD) technology and it was studied that the effects of hot isostatic pressing (HIP) on defects, microstructure and tensile properties of the DLD Ti60 alloys. The results show that there are two typical kinds of defects in the DLD Ti60 alloys, which are pores and lack of fusion. After HIP treatment, pores and the small size of lack of fusion are eliminated. There are columnar crystals at the bottom and the middle of the as -deposited specimens, but at the top of the specimens are equiaxed grains. The microstructure is widmanstatten structure, which is composed of alpha laths and beta between the laths. After HIP and double annealing treatment, the grain boundary alpha melting, the most of the original beta grain boundaries disappear, alpha laths coarsening, the length -width ratio decreases, and the microstructure becomes basket -weave microstructure. Compared with the forgings, the as-deposited specimens have a high tensile strength with a low plasticity, after HIP and double annealing treatment, the plasticity of the as -deposited specimens exceeds the standards of the forgings.


The Working Party's terms of reference spoke of the proper field of work, training and recruitment of social workers at all levels in the services in question, and in particular whether there was a place for a general purpose social worker with an in-service training as a basic grade. Thus in the wording of our terms of reference it was taken for granted that there was a necessary place for social workers in the health and welfare services: we were in fact one of a series of working parties on various professions. When we came to examine the range of personal and social problems in these services we were left in no doubt that the social work in them required strengthening and extending. The blind, the deaf, the general classes of the handicapped, mental defectives, the mentally disordered, those suffering from tuberculosis, venereal disease or other maladies, unmarried mothers, problem families, old people in need of care and attention, people in temporary accommodation, and others covered by our terms of reference fortunately include among their number many who, so far as social


Considerable efforts have been devoted to identifying new catalyst electrode materials for low Pt-loading fuel cells. One path leads through Pt alloys with non-noble metals and through core-shell nanostructures. An alternative approach to reduce the amount of Pt in a fuel cell without a loss in power output is through improvements in the cathode morphology to maximize catalyst contact with feed gases and enable facile water expulsion while maintaining a sufficient number of pathways for proton and electron conduction. Electrodes with such properties have been created by electrospinning. In this paper, our recent work on the electrospinning of particle/polymer nanofiber Pt/C electrodes is briefly summarized, with a focus on improving the performance of the oxygen cathode in a hydrogen/air PEM fuel cell. The effects of catalyst loading and binder composition (Nafion, Nafion/PVDF blends, and PVDF) on fuel cell power output and durability is discussed.


Introduction In recent years a link between periodontitis and cardiovascular diseases has been proposed. Oxidative stress has been found to be involved in their pathophysiology. Objectives The aim of this study was to demonstrate that a wire ligature placed around the first mandibular molars of the rat causes inflammation in the periodontium and lipid deposits in the aorta, via oxidative stress. Methods Twenty male Wistar rats were divided randomly into two groups of 10: Control group and Periodontitis group. An orthodontic wire ligature was placed around the cervix of the first mandibular molar and was kept in place for 4 weeks. Clinical attachment loss was determined to assess the gingival recession. Aorta was harvested after 4 weeks and the malondialdehyde (MDA) levels in the aorta tissue homogenate were determined. Lipid deposits were evaluated using Oil Red staining and immunofluorescence under confocal microscopy. Total lipid deposits in the aorta were assessed using a computer morphometry system. Results Significant gingival recession was observed in the Periodontitis group in comparison with the Control group. Increased MDA levels were present in the aorta in the ligatured rats in comparison with the Control group. Significant lipid deposits were observed in the aorta of the Periodontitis group as opposed to the Control group. Conclusions The affixing of an orthodontic wire ligature produces gingival recession, increased oxidative stress and lipid deposits in the rat descending aorta.


The Eighteenth Copper Mountain Conference on Iterative Methods was held March 25--30, 2018, in Copper Mountain, Colorado. The meeting featured more than 170 presentations on a broad range of topics...


Abstract The transition from teaching dance in higher education to the secondary school setting can be turbulent. Dance curriculum for secondary students must meet their developmental and psychological needs, while also fitting into an abbreviated class period. Individuals making this transition must be aware of the different goals that a middle or high school setting requires, such as informing parents about classroom activites and working as a dance "generalist" rather than a specialist.


The fact that foods can provide additional medicinal health benefits beyond basic energy requirements and nutritional needs for survival, has been proven through rigorous scientific researches over the years. Although Turkey is historically believed to be the ancient origin of a decent number of fermented probiotic foods and beverages, there is still little awareness amongst the overall populace regarding the usefulness of these medicinal products also known as functional foods. Hence, the current review article discusses probiotics as a top notch variety of functional foods and encapsulates their history as well as some proven beneficial effects of some known probiotic microorganisms on human health. More importantly, greater emphasis is placed on elucidating scientific data on seven fermented traditional probiotic beverages of Turkish origin namely boza, kefir, ayran, shalgam, hardaliye, koumiss and gilaburu juice. The paper concisely describes their main characteristics, probiotic microbiota composition, production techniques as well as nutritional properties and some potential health benefits derivable from their consumption.


Received:June 2, 2017, Revised:June 30, 2017, Accepted:June 30, 2017 Corresponding to:Young Ho Lee, Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Korea University Anam Hospital, Korea University College of Medicine, 73 Inchon-ro, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul 02841, Korea. E-mail:email@example.com Copyright c 2017 by The Korean College of Rheumatology. All rights reserved. This is a Open Access article, which permits unrestricted non-commerical use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Original Article pISSN: 2093-940X, eISSN: 2233-4718 Journal of Rheumatic Diseases Vol. 24, No. 5, October, 2017 https://doi.org/10.4078/jrd.2017.24.5.279


English Be+ V-ing and Spanish Estar + G periphrastic
constructions share a relatively high degree of similarity, formally
and functionally. Their formal resemblance might be useful at
early stages of foreign language learning, although this similarity
ought to be looked into cautiously, and even critically, at more
advanced stages of the learning process. These two constructions
are central resources for realising progressive aspect in each
language. However, this functional equivalence cannot be taken
for granted always; the English periphrasis conveys other
meanings, displaying an array of semantic functions wider than
the Spanish one, whereas Spanish offers other means for
conveying progressive aspect and meanings, which overrides any
(hypothetical) one-to-one functional relation between these two
resources. This is especially interesting for translation purposes,
which necessarily involve a choice. This study aims at creating a
collection of Spanish translational options of English present
progressive constructions by analysing real parallel concordances.


The article examines environmental responsibility and liability and discusses the issue of environmental damage in the context of the Nord Stream gas pipeline case on the Baltic Sea. More specifically, the goal is to analyze who would be held liable for the damage, how this liability would be established, and what would be the criteria to be applied to this particular case.To answer these questions, the article first lays down the general applicable legal framework. Secondly, the article systemizes and analyzes the relevant responsibility and liability instruments. The relevant instruments for the theme are the UNCLOS, certain civil liability instruments together with the ILC work on state responsibility and liability. The relevant instruments are analyzed from the point of view of their usefulness and relevance in regard to the research questions set for the article.


Organochlorine pesticide residues (OCPs) and Cadmium (Cd) are present in commercial feed. Beta- Benzenehexachloride (BHC), γ-BHC, γ-Chlordane and Cadmium levels were 150, 7.14, 1.43 and 50-100 ppb, respectively. To determine its effect on growth and reproductive organ development, 252 heads of 12 week-old female mallard were assigned in a 3 x 4 factorial experiment in CRD and replicated three times. Cadmium (Control, 50 and 100ppb) and OCPs (Control, β-BHC, γ-BHC and γ-Chlordane) were the first and second factor, respectively. Growth, hepatic, gonad, oviduct weights and eggs were determined at 12, 16 and 20 weeks. Cadmium increases and decreases hepatic and oviduct weights, and hastens age of first egg lay (AFEL). Significant interaction of Cd and OCPs on weight gain, and ADG, indicates the interplay of Cd and different OCPs. Compared to the control, the levels of Cd and different OCPs negatively affects weight gain and ADG. Weight gain and ADG were significantly increased by Cadmium, in combination with β-BHC and γ-Chlordane, but were significantly reduced with γ-BHC. Gamma-Benzenehexachloride was the most potent in reducing weight gain significantly. Cadmium significantly downsizes the liver and enhances the weight of oviducts, a manifestation of liver and oviduct activity, reflected by significantly earlier age of first egg lay. Key words: Cadmium, Benzenehexachloride, Chlordane and Ducks


The utility model discloses an oil-gas separator of an engine which includes a shell, a gas inlet, a gas outlet and a gas return port; wherein the oil-gas separator of the engine also includes a baffle; the baffle divides the inner part of the shell into an upper cavity and a lower cavity; the gas inlet is communicated with the upper part of the lower cavity; the gas outlet is communicated with the upper part of the upper cavity; the oil return port is arranged at the bottom part of the lower cavity; the lower side of the shell is provided with a first tube; the upper cavity and the lower cavity are communicated by the first tube; and a filter core is arranged in the upper cavity. As the oil-gas separator implements more thorough oil-gas separation on mixed oil and gas through two separating cavities (the upper cavity an the lower cavity), which leads the separated oil liquid to flow back to a bottom oil shell for continuous use; then the gas enters an air cylinder and participates in combustion again; therefore, the oil-gas separator of the engine improves the oil-gas separation efficiency and simultaneously reduces the engine oil consumption level of the engine, thereby further preventing the engine oil from deterioration and improving the economical performance of the engine; meanwhile, the structure is relatively simple.


ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to: (1) develop student worksheets based open ended approach to improve mathematical problem solving skills and creative thinking of students; (2) determine the effectiveness of student worksheets were developed based on open-ended approach to improve mathematical problem solving and creative thinking of students; and (2) determine students' response to student worksheet that was developed based on open-ended approach. Population in this research is class VIII SMP Negeri 3 Berastagi. This research is the development by using 4-D model of S. Thiagarajan which was limited to the define, design and the development phase without the disseminate phase. Techniques of data collection in this researchby using validation sheet of RPP (Lesson Plan), LKS (Student Worksheet), test and student questionnaire responses. The results showed that: (1) Produced student worksheets based open ended approach that category is valid with a percentage of 78.38%. (2) The effectiveness of student worksheet that was developed based on open-ended inferred based approaches that: (a) the classical completeness of 87,5%, and (b) achievement of specific learning objectives (TPK): complete. 3) The response of students to the student worksheets were developed based on open-ended approach is positive. Keywords : students worksheet, open ended, problem solving, creative thinking


Let E / Q be a CM elliptic curve and p a prime of good ordinary reduction for E . We show that if Sel p ∞ ( E / Q ) has Z p -corank one, then E ( Q ) has a point of infinite order. The non-torsion point arises from a Heegner point, and thus ord s = 1 L ( E , s ) = 1, yielding a p -converse to a theorem of Gross–Zagier, Kolyvagin, and Rubin in the spirit of [49, 54]. For p > 3, this gives a new proof of the main result of [12], which our approach extends to all primes. The approach generalizes to CM elliptic curves over totally real fields [4].


AUTHOR Coiro, Mary Jo TITLE Maternal Depressive Symptoms as a Risk Factor for the Development of Children in Poverty. PUB DATE 1997-04-00 NOTE 28p.; Paper presented at the Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development (62nd, Washington, DC, April 3-6, 1997). PUB TYPE Reports Research (143) -Speeches/Meeting Papers (150) EDRS PRICE MF01/PCO2 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS At Risk Persons; *Child Development; *Depression (Psychology); *Economically Disadvantaged; *Mothers; Poverty; Symptoms (Individual Disorders); Welfare Recipients


SUMMARY : RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SOIL, LANDSCAPE ANDGEOLOGICAL SUBSTRATE OF THE SANDY COASTAL PLAINOF SAO PAULO STATE This paper presents the results of morphological properties and absolute dating byluminescence and 14 C of 28 pedons from Quaternary marine deposits located in three countiesalong the coast in Sao Paulo State, Brazil: Bertioga, Cananeia, and Ilha Comprida. Theobjective was to provide evidence to elucidate the main processes of the genesis of Spodosols.This approach, which is unusual in research concerned with Brazilian Quaternary coastalplains, resulted in the following interpretations: (a) relief, hydrologic conditions and time werethe main soil formation factors responsible for the spatial differentiation of the Spodosols inmarine terraces; (b) The horizon morphologic features of the most aged and well-drainedSpodosols are highly variable and diverse. On the other hand, poorly drained Spodosols (oldor young) are more homogeneous; (c) the oldest Spodosols, when well-drained, are in an advanceddegradation stage while the poorly drained are well-preserved. This suggests that the genesisand permanence of the Spodosols on the landscape depend on the relief features controlling thehydrologic dynamics; (d) the most aged and developed Spodosols with


Objective: to examine MET to drinking behaviors in patients with Alcohol Induced Psychotic Disorders, Inpatient department at Krongjit ward, Nakhon Ratchasima Rajanagarindra Psychotic Hospital. Methodology: Subjects were 29 Inpatient with Alcohol Induced Psychotic Disorders, which alcohol withdrawal scale (AWS score)  1 after detoxification treatment, and received individual MET 2-3 times in two weeks at ward and 2 times in two months at Outpatient department. Instruments used in this study were 1) demographic data, 2) consumption problems & treatment, 3) MET program, and 4) stage of change and drinking behavior; percent days abstinence. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Results: 29 subjects were male, the mean age is 34 years. Before MET, drinking behaviors were risky and harmful drinking, 41.4% of subjects were contemplation and 34.5% determination of stage of change. After MET 93.1 % of subjects were determination to change drinking behaviors, non drinking in month 1, 3, 6, and 12 were 96.6%, 86.2%, 89.8%, and 93.2% respectively, and percent days abstinence in month 1, 3, 6, and 12 were 96.5%, 92.1%, 95.4%, and 92.3% respectively. Before and after MET percent days abstinence were significant difference (P.05). Conclusion: Results indicate that MET improve stage of change, decreased drinking behaviors, and increase percent days abstinence. Effectiveness of MET for long term follow up should be continued. Keywords: Alcohol Induced Psychotic Disorders, Motivation Enhancement Therapy


This paper discussed the wavelet base type and the wavelet decomposition progression in wood texture wavelet multi-resolution analysis. Wavelet base was confirmed by reconstruction error and its nature,and wavelet decomposition progression was confirmed by the information entropy and the energy of reconstruction images. The experiment showed that the higher classified recognition rate can be obtained by using the Symlets4 wavelet base and carrying on 2-level decomposition to wood texture images.


Analysis and Mitigation of SEU-induced Noise in FPGA-based DSP Systems Brian H. Pratt Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Doctor of Philosophy This dissertation studies the effects of radiation-induced single-event upsets (SEUs) on digital signal processing (DSP) systems designed for field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). It presents a novel method for evaluating the effects of radiation on DSP and digital communication systems. By using an application-specific measurement of performance in the presence of SEUs, this dissertation demonstrates that only 5–15% of SEUs affecting a communications receiver (i.e. 5–15% of sensitive SEUs) cause critical performance loss. It also reports that the most critical SEUs are those that affect the clock, global reset, and most significant bits (MSBs) of computation. This dissertation also demonstrates reduced-precision redundancy (RPR) as an effective and efficient alternative to the popular triple modular redundancy (TMR) for FPGAbased communications systems. Fault injection experiments show that RPR can improve the failure rate of a communications system by over 20 times over the unmitigated system at a cost less than half that of TMR by focusing on the critical SEUs. This dissertation contrasts the cost and performance of three different variations of RPR, one of which is a novel variation developed here, and concludes that the variation referred to as "Threshold RPR" is superior to the others for FPGA systems. Finally, this dissertation presents several methods for applying Threshold RPR to a system with the goal of reducing mitigation cost and increasing the system performance in the presence of SEUs. Additional fault injection experiments show that optimizing the application of RPR can result in a decrease in critical SEUs by as much 65% at no additional hardware cost.


In this paper we shall consider some equilibrium behaviors of the queueing system $M/M/s(N+s)$ in which (i) there are $s$ servers, (ii) the customers arrive at random at a mean arrival rate $\lambda$ and are served in the order of arrival, (iii) in each server the service time has the same exponential distribution with a mean service rate $\mu$ , (iv) the size of waiting room is $N$ and when a customer arrive to find the waiting $r\infty m$ full he depart never to return. It has been proved by Finch (1959) that in the queueing system $M/G/1(N+1)$ the successive inter-departure intervals are not independent in the limit even when the service time is exponential. Using a $pr\propto edure$ similar to Finch's, it will be shown that in the system $M/M/s(N+s)$ the successive inter-incoming intervals are also not independent. Next we shall treat the equilibrium distribution of the number of customers which income the system in a given time interval $(0, t)$ . The Laplace transform of the generating function of the obove distribution will be obtained by the method given by Homma (1957).


Nonlinear flexural-gravity waves beneath a continuous ice sheet are considered. A Hamiltonian formulation of the governing equations is presented in the general three-dimensional setting. It is used to investigate the long-wave regime and derive an asymptotic model for weakly nonlinear dispersive waves with slower variation in the transverse direction. In the two-dimensional case, the model predictions are compared with direct numerical simulations of the full equations and a good agreement is found.


Becker and colleagues report the diagnosis and treatment of new headaches in 1331 patients presenting to 120 primary-care physicians over 14 months.


Urban areas are experiencing rapid population growth now. The presence of public transport modes does not automatically solve transportation problems especially safety issues for users. This study presents the results of research on public transport services relating to safety, including the provision of public transportation services by government and private parties as well as the utilization of public transportation services by the public. Content surveys conducted on 332 public transport vehicles in the form of cars and buses. Public transportation data obtained through questionnaires and interviews at terminals, shelters, and centers in districts throughout Indonesia. The variation of public transport modes is limited to four-wheeled and conventional mode only. The results of the discussion show that public transport companies that organize public transportation on the route have not met the minimum service standards of public transport. The dominant facilities available on public transport are still below the minimum standard. The results of the discussion concluded that to improve the transport service for the government is required to play a role in making the policy of transport management and in law enforcement so that the transport service can be more integrated with transport network.


The paper is focused on computational modeling of elbow articulation with radial head replacement. The main part of the project is aimed towards the creation of computational model of suitable partial endoprothesis of proximal part of the radial bone tissue which would keep the function of the elbow articulation while replacing the distance created by resection. The geometrical and computational models of radial head replacements and elbow joint were created. Computational models with these implants were compared with given physiological state of elbow articulation. The influence of friction and material characteristics of bone tissue and cartilage on changes in contact pressure (and therefore to the abrasion) were analyzed using those models.


Darren Elliott-Smith, Queer Horror Film and Television: Sexuality and Masculinity at the Margins (London: I. B. Tauris, 2016), ISBN: 9781784536862


At Cambridge we have identified a number of possible applications and are now pioneering core technology in the main three areas of vision Reconstruction (3D shape recovery from uncalibrated images); Registration (human body detection and tracking for use in novel interfaces) and Recognition (object detection, segmentation and recognition in video). Our approach is predominantly geometric but includes modern practice in machine learning.


The kinetics of the isothermal decomposition of iron titanium hydride are described in a model in which the diffusion of hydrogen out of the hydride is rate determining. The model produces a diffusion constant which is in good agreement with that found by NMR methods. The mechanism of decomposition in this system is a result of the rapid diffusion of hydrogen in the solid lattice. Consequently, this mode of decomposition is probably unique to metal hydrides; however, not every metal hydride will decompose in this manner.


Case Study: the Evaluation of a Model for the Production of Video Resources in Science and MathematicsSUMMARY The Centre for Teaching Mathematics at the University of Plymouth is interested in the development of new materials and teaching strategies that will interest and motivate students in their learning of mathematics. The use of video is an important part of the strategy. In a previous paper the authors proposed a model for the design of video resources for the teaching of aspects of mathematics. This model has been used in the production of two video modules for a new GCE A‐level course in Mathematics. This paper describes the results of an evaluation of two video modules and gives a critical appraisal of the model.


Combining with the actual situation inChongqing West station, regarding the exploitation of dataprocess system for the examination and determination oftechnical station through capacity, the paper raises theprinciple for system design, analyzes the system functionsand defines the procedure of system data. With the effectiveassistance of relevant divisions in Chengdu RailwayAdministration, an experiment of information auto-acquisition for through capacity was carried out and theexpected result has been obtained.


The fulfilled research synthesized 3,4-dihydro-2H,6H-3,6-epoxy-1,5-benzodioxocine 3 by condensation of salicylaldehyde and epichlorohydrine and through acetal 1. Cyclization of 6 leads to formation of 2-formylbenzofuran 7.


Internet of Things (IoT) introduces the concept of information flow between embedded computing devices via internet connectivity. IoT facilitates virtual communication between the human and sensor enabled devices and the amount of sensitive information transmitted over the Internet of Things environment is huge. An encryption algorithm in cryptography plays an important role in data protection and security. Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) is suitable for data security in IoT environment due to fast computation and smaller key size. To support the resource constrained devices, compressing the data after encoding it to a point on elliptic curve then encrypt without degrading the performance of IoT mobile devices. Compression and encryption keep away the cryptanalyst, identified analysis is not possible and this hybrid approach offers more reliability.


Crown-ether cyanide treatment, which includes the immersion of Si in KCN solutions containing 18-crown-6 molecules, is found to greatly decrease the leakage current density of Si-based metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) diodes. The decrease by one order of magnitude for the single crystalline Si-based MOS diodes is attributable to the elimination of Si/SiO2 interface states by reaction with cyanide ions and formation of Si–CN bonds. The reduction in the leakage current density by two orders of magnitude is caused for polycrystalline Si-based MOS diodes, and this decrease is attributed to the passivation of trap states in poly-Si as well as the interface states.


Using a new set of directly observed wage expectations among firms, this paper finds that in general firms' forecasts fail the unbiasedness and efficiency requirements of weak-form rational expectations. These market participants consistently underestimate the wages they actually end up paying, and their expectations do not efficiently utilize the information in past realizations. The mean absolute forecast error of two percent compares with an error of only five percent if static expectations were held. The major source of wage fore-cast error seems to be errors in predicting demand, rather than in predicting supply or the general price level. Wage forecast errors are positively correlated across fields with distinct supply patterns, and are positively correlated with quantity forecast error. The properties of stochastically weighted expectations and the effectiveness of the wage and price controls of the early 1970's are also discussed.


In this paper, a new RNS architecture to compute the 1-D DWT is introduced. It makes use of the relation between the coefficients of the low-pass and high-pass decomposition filters for orthogonal wavelet families to compute the transform with a minimum number of modular multipliers. These multipliers are based on pipelined LUTs (Look-Up Tables) and are used in consecutive cycles by each filter. Two modular adder trees operating at half of the sampling rate and controlled by out-of-phase clocks compute the approximation and detail sequences. A 6-tap Daubechies analysis filter bank was synthesized at structural level using VHDL. Altera FLEX10K FPL devices were considered to map binary 2's complement arithmetic and RNS solutions and to conduct performance simulations. Thus, a significant throughput improvement of up to 75% is achieved for the proposed RNS architecture using up to 8-bit length modulus set. It is shown that the selection of three 7-bit channels is optimum for an FPL implementation while four 6-bit RNS channels would be the best choice for a VLSI architecture in order to reduce chip area.


Although recent theoretical investigations of the spatially correlated multi-input and multi-output (MIMO) antennas system show that it can offer linear capacity growth with increasing number of transmit and receive antennas, research on optimal receiver design of the correlated MIMO system is relatively insufficient. We propose pre-stage iteration turbo-BLAST (PSITB), an improved turbo-BLAST receiver structure. When there are more receive antennas than transmit antennas, the proposed structure can obtain much better BER performance than the original turbo-BLAST receiver by introducing a pre-stage inner information iteration. The simulation also shows that this structure can speed up the convergence of iterative decoding and detection by optimizing the initial point, and thus significantly reduces the computational complexity of the receiver.


THIS PAPER IS INTENDED to stress the distinction between the conditions for lack of identification in models linear with respect to the variables but nonlinear in the parameters in the sense originally defined by Fisher [2], and the less numerous set of conditions required for first order lack of identification. The latter set of conditions involve only the first derivatives of the coefficients as functions of the parameters. It is argued that if the model suffers from first order lack of identification, it will generally be the case that the usual estimators are consistent, although not asymptotically normally distributed. In a leading special case the asymptotic distribution is discussed, and the simulation of a simple model illustrates the extent to which this asymptotic distribution approximates the actual finite sample distribution.


We describe the Carnegie–Spitzer–IMACS (CSI) Survey, a wide-field, near-IR selected spectrophotometric redshift survey with the Inamori Magellan Areal Camera and Spectrograph (IMACS) on Magellan-Baade. By defining a flux-limited sample of galaxies in Spitzer Infrared Array Camera 3.6 μm imaging of SWIRE fields, the CSI Survey efficiently traces the stellar mass of average galaxies to z ∼ 1.5. This first paper provides an overview of the survey selection, observations, processing of the photometry and spectrophotometry. We also describe the processing of the data: new methods of fitting synthetic templates of spectral energy distributions are used to derive redshifts, stellar masses, emission line luminosities, and coarse information on recent star formation. Our unique methodology for analyzing low-dispersion spectra taken with multilayer prisms in IMACS, combined with panchromatic photometry from the ultraviolet to the IR, has yielded high-quality redshifts for 43,347 galaxies in our first 5.3 deg2 of the SWIRE XMM-LSS field. We use three different approaches to estimate our redshift errors and find robust agreement. Over the full range of 3.6 μm fluxes of our selection, we find typical redshift uncertainties of σz/(1 + z) ≲ 0.015. In comparisons with previously published spectroscopic redshifts we find scatters of σz/(1 + z) = 0.011 for galaxies at 0.7 ⩽ z ⩽ 0.9, and σz/(1 + z) = 0.014 for galaxies at 0.9 ⩽ z ⩽ 1.2. For galaxies brighter and fainter than i = 23 mag, we find σz/(1 + z) = 0.008 and σz/(1 + z) = 0.022, respectively. Notably, our low-dispersion spectroscopy and analysis yields comparable redshift uncertainties and success rates for both red and blue galaxies, largely eliminating color-based systematics that can seriously bias observed dependencies of galaxy evolution on environment.


Distance learning is a "buzz" word heard today by educators and students at all levels of learning. Since its beginning in adult education correspondence classes, distance learning has evolved with technology into "the ability to teach or communicate with large or small groups of people, dispersed across a wide geographical area, through the use of single or multiple telecommunications services."[1] Distance learning describes the transfer of information for educational purposes from one location to another through the use of communication technology. It provides a means by which information can be disseminated to broader audiences and audiences in remote areas. Distance learning has provided a means of achieving NASA's goals of increased education and community outreach to a large, diverse audience. Acknowledging the potential of distance learning as an aid to meeting NASA's goals, many projects at NASA Lewis Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio, have become involved in distance learning in a variety of ways. One such project is the NASA Lewis Learning Technologies Project (LTP). LTP is part of a government-wide initiative known as the High Performance Computing and Communications Program (HPCCP). The Program's goal is to maintain the United States' competitiveness and leadership in the global computer technologies market. The NASA Lewis LTP office works to develop new applications and pilot programs for K-12 education. Most technology training is conducted as teacher professional development workshops. The NASA Lewis LTP staff has been involved in distance learning using the Internet for several years. Student activities and projects, computer instructional manuals, proficiency tests, links to information on educational products developed through the Project, and links to effective educational sites are available from the LTP Web page (http://www.lerc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12). As the staff in the NASA Lewis LTP office considered broadening our involvement in distance learning, we examined the populations served by distance learning and the instructional technologies used. Diverse Populations Distance learners include college and university students, K-12 students and teachers, and students from the business sector. At the college and university level, distance learning provides an opportunity for populations who have traditionally been at a disadvantage when pursuing college degrees. Those who work during traditional classroom hours are turning to distance learning to find courses at convenient times and places, often on their home computers in the evenings. This means additional learning opportunities for single parents who want to stay close to home for various reasons, physically disabled students who cannot easily travel to campus, and those who are geographically distant from schools.[2] The federal government recognizes the advantages of distance learning in higher education, and the U.S. Department of Education may soon provide additional support to distance learners and schools that offer courses through distance learning. A proposed reauthorization of the federal Higher Education Act would remove restrictions for students who take distance learning courses at degree granting institutions. This change would remove a financial aid restriction for students who take distance learning courses from schools that either (1) offer more than 50% of their courses through distance learning or (2) have more than 50% of their student enrollment in distance learning courses. Distance learners would then be eligible to receive financial aid including an annual living allowance of $1,500 for room, $2,500 for board, and the cost of educational equipment for their classes. In addition, the reauthorization would provide a $30 million competitive grant program to fund pilot projects that use distance learning technologies to enhance the delivery of post-secondary education.[3] Distance learning is of great value to K-12 students and teachers because it provides additional opportunities for learning from outside sources with minimal or no travel involved. …


Aim To observe the regulation of stromal derived factor 1(SDF-1) on monocytes-endothelial cells induced by low density lipoprotein (LDL). Methods LDL was separated by density gradient centrifugation. Reverse transcript-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blot were separately used to detect the expression of mRNA and protein of SDF-1 in endothelial cells. Cell counting was used to observe the effect of the adhesion of monocytes/endothelial cells treated with LDL or SDF-1 antibody. Results Compared with the control group, the level of expression in LDL treated groups increased evidently as the LDL concentration increased. The adhered amount of monocytes to endothelial cells were 60±20, 97±26, 170±32, respectively responding to the LDL concentration 50 mg/L, 100 mg/L, 150 mg/L. And the amount was 20±5 in the control (P0.01). While endothelial cells were incubated with SDF-1 antibody with 0.1 mg/L, 0.5 mg/L, 1 mg/L respectively before LDL incubation, the adhesion of monocytes was 113±23, 53±21, 41±10 respectively. They were significantly lower than that of control group (186±31) (P0.05). Conclusion LDL increased the adhesion between monocytes and endothelial cells, which is closely correlative to the increasing expression of SDF-1 in endothelial cells.


When evaluating a task involving the machining of volume-activated materials, accelerator health physicists must consider more than the surface contamination levels of the equipment and containment of loose shavings, dust or filings. Machining operations such as sawing, routing, welding, and grinding conducted on volume-activated material may pose a significant airborne radioactivity hazard to the worker. This paper presents a computer spreadsheet notebook that conservatively estimates the airborne radioactivity levels generated during machining operations performed on volume-activated materials. By knowing (1) the size and type of materials, (2) the dose rate at a given distances, and (3) limited process knowledge, the Derived Air Concentration (DAC) fraction can be estimated. This tool is flexible, taking into consideration that the process knowledge available for the different materials varies. It addresses the two most common geometries: thick plane and circular cylinder. Once the DAC fraction has been estimated, controls can be implemented to mitigate the hazard to the worker.


The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of joint immobilization on morphometric parameters and glycogen content of soleus muscle treated with clenbuterol. Male Wistar (3-4 months old) rats were divided into 4 groups (N = 6 for each group): control, clenbuterol, immobilized, and immobilized treated with clenbuterol. Immobilization was performed with acrylic resin orthoses and 10 µg/kg body weight clenbuterol was administered subcutaneously for 7 days. The following parameters were measured the next day on soleus muscle: weight, glycogen content, cross-sectional area, and connective tissue content. The clenbuterol group showed an increase in glycogen (81.6%, 0.38 ± 0.09 vs 0.69 ± 0.06 mg/100 g; P < 0.05) without alteration in weight, cross-sectional area or connective tissue compared with the control group. The immobilized group showed a reduction in muscle weight (34.2%, 123.5 ± 5.3 vs 81.3 ± 4.6 mg; P < 0.05), glycogen content (31.6%, 0.38 ± 0.09 vs 0.26 ± 0.05 mg/100 mg; P < 0.05) and cross-sectional area (44.1%, 2574.9 ± 560.2 vs 1438.1 ± 352.2 µm 2 ; P < 0.05) and an increase in connective tissue (216.5%, 8.82 ± 3.55 vs 27.92 ± 5.36%; P < 0.05). However, the immobilized + clenbuterol group showed an increase in weight (15.9%; 81.3 ± 4.6 vs 94.2 ± 4.3 mg; P < 0.05), glycogen content (92.3%, 0.26 ± 0.05 vs 0.50 ± 0.17 mg/100 mg; P < 0.05), and cross-sectional area (19.9%, 1438.1 ± 352.2 vs 1724.8 ± 365.5 µm 2 ; P < 0.05) and a reduction in connective tissue (52.2%, 27.92 ± 5.36 vs 13.34 ± 6.86%; P < 0.05). Statistical analysis was performed using Kolmogorov-Smirnov and homoscedasticity tests. For the muscle weight and muscle glycogen content, two-way ANOVA and the Tukey test were used. For the crosssectional area and connective tissue content, Kruskal-Wallis and Tukey tests were used. This study emphasizes the importance of anabolic pharmacological protection during immobilization to minimize skeletal muscle alterations resulting from disuse.


Because the numerical control cloth tape winding machine work under bad environment and the random interference to the control system of tension of external world is serious, this paper has proposed utilizing the statistical theory to calculate high accuracy value, but this method participates in invalid sampled value operation, has influenced the speed and precision; So, through analysing the frequency range of the interfering signal, select the sampling cycle, this paper put forward probability analysis method, analyse the validity of sampled value at first, then adopt statistical theory to calculate accuracy value. The experiment proving: This kind digital filter method is fast, combined with statistical method can realize high accuracy filter, and can apply to industrial control extensively. This method aims at the white noise and random disturb in collection signal especially and the effect is obvious.


Gastroesophageal reflux disease is one of the most challenging diagnostic and therapeutic problems in benign esophageal disease. Symptoms alone are not a reliable guide to the diagnosis of the disease. Of patients thought to have gastroesophageal reflux disease based on symptoms alone, 25% to 30% do not have increased esophageal exposure to gastric juice on 24-hour pH study. The presence and severity of reflux complications, ie, esophagitis, stricture, and Barrett's esophagus, are related to the presence of a mechanically defective sphincter and an increased esophageal exposure to both acid and alkalinity. Antireflux surgery has been shown to be superior to medical therapy in a recent prospective multicenter randomized trial. Optimal surgical results, however, require the selection of the appropriate antireflux procedure. Options include transabdominal and transthoracic Nissen fundoplication, a Belsey partial fundoplication, often in combination with a Collis gastroplasty as an esophageal lengthening procedure, or rarely an esophageal resection and reconstruction. Twenty-four hour ambulatory manometry improves the diagnostic sensitivity in esophageal motility disorders. Excellent results are obtained with surgical myotomy for achalasia, most recently performed with video-assisted endosurgical techniques. A long esophageal myotomy is a valid treatment alternative in select patients with diffuse esophageal spasm. Technical aspects of esophageal surgery continue to challenge clinicians. Despite difficulties in demonstrating objective benefit, transhiatal esophagectomy has gained widespread acceptance as an alternative to the traditional combined laparotomy and right thoracotomy approach, particularly in the setting of benign esophageal disease and in the palliation of esophageal cancer. Respiratory complications are the most troublesome problems postoperatively. Antireflux surgery may also be superior to medical therapy in preventing complications of Barrett's esophagus, including the development of dysplasia and carcinoma. Endoscopic surveillance of Barrett's esophagus allows early detection of adenocarcinoma and may decrease the mortality rate for esophageal cancer in these patients. Increasing evidence suggests that survival of patients undergoing en bloc esophagogastrectomy for carcinoma of the lower esophagus is improved when compared with standard esophagectomy. Adjuvant radiotherapy alone has now been shown conclusively to be of no benefit for patients with carcinoma of the esophagus.


Poly(vinyl alcohol)(PVA) was modified by aldehyde acetal reaction with benzaldehyde to give poly(vinyl benzal)(PVB).The structure of PVB was characterized by ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy(UV-Vis),Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FT-IR) and nuclear magnetic resonance spectra(NMR).The glass-transition temperature of PVB was evaluated by differential scanning calorimetry(DSC) and the thermal stability of PVB was tested by differential thermal analysis(DTA) and thermogravimetric analysis(TGA).DSC traces showed that polymer PVB has one single glass transition temperature at 106℃.DTA and TGA curves proved that PVB has good thermal stability.


Hyperspectral imaging has been shown to be a powerful tool for nondestructive evaluation of biological samples. We recently developed a new line-scan-based shortwave infrared (SWIR) hyperspectral imaging system. Critical sensing components of the system include a SWIR spectrograph, an MCT (HgCdTe) array detector, and a custom-designed illumination source. The system has an effective imaging range from 900 nm to 2500 nm. In this paper, we present SWIR hyperspectral images of plant leaves and fruits, and preliminary SWIR image analysis results.


This research analyzes the structure of employment in the colombian health sector, problematized from a gender perspective. We consider two categories of analysis: discrimination and exclusion, which are estimated using information from the large integrated household survey, conducted by DANE in 2008, and qualitative information. Results indicate that in the health sector there is discrimination against women in remuneration and access to power. They also reveal a low quality labor activity that hinders social inclusion, dignity and freedom of working women who are affected disproportionately. This situation allows to infer that the current model of human resource management in the area limits equity in health. Also, given the importance of this sector for women's employment in the country, the situation expresses the laconic effort of the Colombian state aimed at eliminating all forms of discriminations and to ensure equitable outcomes for both sexes.


The deposition of metal oxide films using Spray Pyrolysis Technique (SPT) is investigated through mathematical and physical modeling. A comprehensive model is developed in the processes including atomization, spray, evaporation, chemical reaction and deposition. The predicted results including particle size and film thickness are compared with the experimental data obtained in a complementary study. The predicted film thickness is in a good agreement with the measurements when the temperature is high enough for the chemical reaction to proceed. The model also adequately predicts the size distribution when the nanocrystals are well-structured at controlled temperature and concentration.


The invention discloses a method and device for controlling video switching, and a method and device for sending video information. The method for controlling video switching can be applied in a server. The method may comprise following steps of receiving video information and a mobile device identifier sent by a mobile device, wherein the video information at least comprises video identifiers; obtaining at least one video link address corresponding to the video identifiers; determining a target video link address according to the at least one video link address corresponding to the video identifiers; and sending the target video link address to a smart television corresponding to the mobile device identifier, thus enabling the smart television to play the video corresponding to the target video link address. The video of the smart television is switched. According to the technical scheme provided by the invention, the video of the smart television is switched by the mobile device; the video switching process of the smart television is simplified; and the user experience is improved.


This chapter describes the quotidian and local conditions and features of the homes and villages that the children leave, and, through a few individuals' stories traced in depth, introduces readers to the idiosyncratic diversity within and structural connections between children's departures and trajectories. It suggests that runaways are fleeing not so much the misery of poverty directly, but something a little more oblique and indirect: a stress placed by historical poverty on families and translated into abuse and emotional strain. The chapter concludes with an exploration of what happens to "home" in the longer range, over time and when children return or do not.


In this study, the metal accumulation in liver, gill and muscle tissues of common carp (Cyprinus carpio L.) was investigated when exposed to copper, zinc and copper-zinc interaction. At the end of the experiment, except the zinc accumulation in gill tissues under the exposure of copper-zinc interaction, the highest copper and zinc accumulation were measured in the liver whereas the accumulation of copper and zinc in the muscle tissues were the lowest. When exposed to the mixture concentrations of copper and zinc, both the copper and zinc accumulation rates in tissue and different organs were found to be lower than those measured when exposed to individual metal concentrations.


A moderate investment of observing time with the International X-ray Observatory to study high-redshift galaxy clusters detected in future large-scale surveys, will provide cosmological measurements of fundamental importance. IXO observations, combined with lensing follow-up, will measure the perturbation growth factor from z=0-2 with an accuracy comparable to, or possibly better than, that expected from observations of cosmic shear with JDEM, and redshift-space distortions with EUCLID. The growth of structure data derived from clusters will significantly improve our knowledge of the dark energy equation of state and will aid in constraining non-GR models for cosmic acceleration. IXO observations of the largest, dynamically relaxed clusters will provide a powerful, independent measurement of the cosmological expansion history using the apparent f_gas(z) trend. Systematic and statistical errors from this technique are competitive with SNIa and BAO studies, making the test extremely useful for improving the accuracy and reliability of the geometric cosmological measurements planned for LSST and JDEM. Only by employing a range of powerful, independent approaches, including those discussed here, can robust answers to puzzles as profound as the origin of cosmic acceleration be expected.


A new class of blue light-emitting supramolecular liquid crystalline cone or bowl-shaped compounds were synthesized from substituted 1,3,4-oxadiazoles and 1,3,4-thiadiazoles with calix[4]arene derivatives.


With comparison and analysis, the study showed that there existed a correlation between children's birth weight and their body features during three to six years old. Two types of children's body features differed sharply and were described as follows, the children with heavy birth weight and those with light weight. The former developed ahead of others while the latter falled behind others. As ages advance, children's body features rose at different rate. The weight rose most quickly, followed by height and sitting height. The chest measurement increased with the lowest velocity.


Picosecond and nanosecond time-resolved resonance Raman spectroscopy have been used to study the dynamics and structure of the phototrigger compound p-hydroxyphenacyl acetate (HPA) in acetonitrile solution. An intermediate was observed that exhibited significant quenching by oxygen. This intermediate was identified and attributed to the ππ* triplet state of HPA. Temporal evolution at early picosecond times indicates rapid intersystem crossing conversion and subsequent relaxation of the excess energy of the initially formed triplet state. B3LYP/6-311G** density functional theory (DFT) calculations were done to determine the structures and vibrational frequencies for both the HPA triplet and ground states. The experimental and theoretical results were compared and discussed in relation to the initial pathway for the p-hydroxyphenacyl deprotection reaction and the nature of the triplet state relative to other aromatic carbonyl compounds. The present results demonstrate the utility of applying ultrafast vibra...


Artificial Neural Network (ANN) is a new information processing system with large quantity of highly interconnected neurons or elements processing parallel to solve problems. Recently, evolutionary computation technique, Artificial Fish Swarm Algorithm (AFSA) is chosen to optimize global searching of ANN. In optimization process, each Artificial Fish (AF) represents a neural network with output of fitness value. The AFSA is used in this study to analyze its effectiveness in enhancing Multilayer Perceptron (MLP) learning compared to Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) and Differential Evolution (DE) for classification problems. The comparative results indeed demonstrate that AFSA show its efficient, effective and stability in MLP learning.


Mathematical analysis reveals that high frequency signal components are the main issues that make MRF algorithm essential. Moreover, the aliasing problem of subsampling algorithm also comes from high frequency signal components. So based on these mathematical investigations, two fast VBSME algorithms are proposed in this paper, namely roberts cross edge detector based subsampling method and motion vector based MRF early termination algorithm. Experiments show that strong correlation exists among the motion vectors of those blocks belonging to the same macroblock. Through exploiting this feature, a dynamically adjustment of the search ranges of integer motion estimation is proposed in this paper. Combing our proposed algorithms with UMHS almost saves 96%-98% Integer Motion Estimation (IME) time compared to the exhaustive search algorithm the induced coding quality loss is less than 0.8% bitrate increase or 0.04 db PSNR decline on average.


INTRODUCTION: The gestational hypertensive disorders imply a factor that increases the morbi-mortality and maternal-fetal disability. The development of these, even in research are associated with genetic, nutritional, vascular or neurological factors. The most relevant in this syndrome is preeclampsia, which can evolve eclampsia after an inadequate management, emergency entity in the obstetric area due to multi-organism compromise and the new product. OBJECTIVE: To determine the adequate use of magnesium sulphate in preeclampsia-eclampsia by reviewing scientific articles for an adequate therapeutic approach. METHOD: realization a systematic review of research articles from sites based on medical evidence such as Google Scholar, Cochrane, Medscape, Pubmed, Scielo, as well as national and international guidelines on the management of gestational hypertensive disorders. CONCLUSION: it has been proposed as an anticonvulsant drug of choice to magnesium sulfate in pregnant women preeclampticas serious and eclamptic; its use in adequate doses has been established in national and international guidelines, being vital the continuous monitoring of the patient before the possibility of signs of intoxication; however, the aim of the described is to prolong the maximum possible time of pregnancy to reduce the risk of maternal-fetal complications, and if its control is not achieved, it should be resorted to the end of it.


The article concerns the recent changes in corporate law – institutions of Shareholder's Agreements and Agreements of Limited liability company sharers. Legal regulations are analyzed, deficiencies of law in the sphere are revealed and ways of their filling up are suggested.


This thesis is concerned with the problems met by the antitrust authority of the Anti-Monopoly Law (the AML 2008) of the People's Republic of China (PRC) during its merger control assessment. It provides solutions to some of these problems with reference to EU competition law. Although the thesis cannot solve all the problems once for all, it does provide effective solutions to the two following important issues: Firstly, how to make the horizontal merger analysis in China better predicts the effects of merger on the competitive process? Secondly, how to improve the public transparency of antitrust merger assessment in China?

Chinese Anti-Monopoly Law's horizontal merger assessment is still immature and experiencing further challenges for development. In order to establish a more appropriate and transparent merger control regime, the thesis chooses EU competition law to compare. Not only because it is more advanced, but also, because the AML 2008 is heavily influenced by the regime. However, it is noteworthy that the experience from EU cannot solve all problems met by Chinese antitrust authority; especially those are caused by Chinese political and economic structure which EU did not have. Nevertheless, by solving the problems met in the above two aspects, the thesis has contributed to a more effective and transparent horizontal merger control regime for Chinese Anti-Monopoly Law. Translations of titles, authors, and publishers from Chinese works are unofficial, and the laws in this thesis are up to date at 30 June 2013.


The São Francisco River basin is one of the largest in the Brazilian territory. This basin has enormous economic, social and cultural importance for the country. Its water is used for human and animal supply, irrigation and energy production. This basin is located in an area with different climatic characteristics (humid and semiarid) and studies related to precipitation are very important in this region. In this scenario, the objective of this investigation is to present an assessment of rainfall estimated through the Integrated Multi-SatellitE Retrievals for Global Precipitation Measurement (IMERG) product compared with rain gauges over the São Francisco river basin in Brazil. For that, a period from of 20 years and 18 surface weather stations were used to evaluate the product. Based on different evaluation techniques, the study found that the IMERG is appropriate to represent precipitation over the basin. According to the results, the performance of the IMERG product depends on the location where the rain occurs. The bias ranged from −1.67 to 0.34 mm, the RMSE ranged from 5.36 to 10.36 mm and the values of the correlation coefficients between the daily data from the IMERG and rain gauge ranged from 0.28 to 0.61. The results obtained by Student t-test, density curves and regression analysis, in general, show that the IMERG is able to satisfactorily represent rain gauge data. The exception is the eastern portion of the basin, where the product, on average, underestimates the precipitation (p-value < 0.05) and presents the worst statistical metrics.


An explanation is given for the observed magnetic-field dependence of the low-temperature specific-heat coefficient of Yb4As3. It is based on a recently developed model for that material which can explain the observed heavy-fermion behaviour. According to it, the Yb3+ ions are positioned in a net of parallel chains with an effective spin coupling of the order of J ≈ 25 K. The magnetic-field dependence can be understood by including a weak magnetic coupling J′ between adjacent chains. The data require a ratio J′/J ≈ 10−4. In that case the experimental results can be reproduced very well by the theory.


Rectal Neuroendocrine Tumors 1 2 cm Nevertheless, even nowadays some patients present with rectal carcinoids 1 2 cm in size. According to the SEER database, 60– 80% of rectal carcinoids 1 2 cm metastasize [7, 8] . Therefore most clinicians in the USA, Japan and Europe agree that (neuro-)endocrine tumors of the rectum 1 2 cm should be managed surgically including lymph node dissection [8–13] . Exulcerated colorectal neuroendocrine tumors should be treated along the same lines [6] . Williams [14] recommends that endocrine tumours of any part of the large intestine that are 1 20 mm in size, that invade the muscularis propria or blood vessels, and that show necrosis, a mitotic frequency of 1 2/10 HPF or 'atypical' cytology should be treated in the same way as colorectal adenocarcinomas.


Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify and understand the self-directed learning patterns of nurses. Q methodology was used to collect the data. Method: For the research method, 43 Q-statements were collected through individual interviews and a review of related literature. The 43 Q-statements were classified by the 34 participants in the study and the data was analyzed by the PC-QUANL program with principal component analysis. Result: There were 4 different patterns of self-directed learning classified as follows : Nurses in Type I the Future Provision Type, studied to promote their own professional development and leadership qualities for the future. Nurses in Type II, the Learning Passion Type, enjoyed learning something new and had a strong learning desire. Nurses in Type III, the Self-reflective Type, continuously evaluated self and their own practice by introspection. Nurses in Type IV, the Accompanying Companion Type, studies with companion support and maintained a collaborative relationship rather than competing with each other. Conclusion: This study explains and allows us to understand self-directed learning in nurses. Thus this study will contribute to building a theoretical base for the development of a self-directed learning model in nursing practice.


Many studies have explored how individual differences can affect users' susceptibility to cybersickness in a VR application. However, the lack of strategy to integrate the influence of each factor on cybersickness makes it difficult to utilize the results of existing research. Based on the fuzzy logic theory that can represent the effect of different factors as a single value containing integrated information, we developed two approaches including the knowledge-based Mamdani-type fuzzy inference system and the data-driven Adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) to involve three individual differences (Age, Gaming experience and Ethnicity). We correlated the corresponding outputs with the simulator sickness questionnaire (SSQ) scores in a simple navigation scenario. The correlation coefficients obtained through a 4- fold cross validation were found statistically significant with both fuzzy logic approaches, indicating their effectiveness to influence the occurrence and the level of cybersickness. Our work provides insights to establish customized experiences for VR navigation by involving individual differences.


Let $\mathcal{F}$ be a family of r-uniform hypergraphs. The chromatic threshold of $\mathcal{F}$ is the infimum of all non-negative reals c such that the subfamily of $\mathcal{F}$ comprising hypergraphs H with minimum degree at least $c \binom{| V(H) |}{r-1}$ has bounded chromatic number. This parameter has a long history for graphs (r = 2), and in this paper we begin its systematic study for hypergraphs. Łuczak and Thomassé recently proved that the chromatic threshold of the so-called near bipartite graphs is zero, and our main contribution is to generalize this result to r-uniform hypergraphs. For this class of hypergraphs, we also show that the exact Turán number is achieved uniquely by the complete (r + 1)-partite hypergraph with nearly equal part sizes. This is one of very few infinite families of non-degenerate hypergraphs whose Turán number is determined exactly. In an attempt to generalize Thomassen's result that the chromatic threshold of triangle-free graphs is 1/3, we prove bounds for the chromatic threshold of the family of 3-uniform hypergraphs not containing {abc, abd, cde}, the so-called generalized triangle. In order to prove upper bounds we introduce the concept of fibre bundles, which can be thought of as a hypergraph analogue of directed graphs. This leads to the notion of fibre bundle dimension, a structural property of fibre bundles that is based on the idea of Vapnik–Chervonenkis dimension in hypergraphs. Our lower bounds follow from explicit constructions, many of which use a hypergraph analogue of the Kneser graph. Using methods from extremal set theory, we prove that these Kneser hypergraphs have unbounded chromatic number. This generalizes a result of Szemerédi for graphs and might be of independent interest. Many open problems remain.


Vaso-occlusive painful events lead to frequent Emergency Department (ED) visits and hospitalizations for children with sickle cell disease. After treatment to alleviate the acute pain, these children are discharged to home, however, the degree of functional impairment once children go home is not known. The objective of this study was to describe functional outcomes of children post discharge from a vaso-occlusive painful event. We conducted a prospective cohort study over a one year period of children with sickle cell disease ages 2–18 years presenting to the ED with an acute vaso-occlusive event defined as pain, acute chest syndrome or priapism. Functional outcomes were defined for this study as days of persistent pain (child and/or caretaker report), missed days of school for the child and missed days of work for the caretaker post discharge from the ED or hospital. These were assessed at both 3 and 7 days post discharge via follow-up telephone calls. Descriptive statistics were applied and linear regression was used to examine the effect of age, length of stay and history of prior vaso-occlusive events on functional outcomes post discharge. A total of 58 patients were enrolled. The mean age (SD) was 10.8 years (4.72), 52.5% were female. Genotype of sickle cell disease was 65.6% HgbSS, 24.6% HgbSC, 6.6% HgbSB+thal, and 3.3% other. There were 23% of patients discharged from the ED. Mean length of stay (SD) was 2.16 days (1.83). There were 24.1% of patients who had 3 or more hospitalizations for vaso-occlusive painful events in the year prior to study entry. Functional outcomes post discharge for all patients revealed that both child and caretaker on average missed more than one day of work and children had more than two days of persistent pain (Table 1). Subgroup analysis showed that patients with frequent prior vaso-occlusive events had significantly worse outcomes in regards to days of persistent pain and missed days of school post discharge (Table 1). Of those children attending school, 28.6% missed 3 or more days of school post discharge. Of those caretakers working, 9.1% missed 3 or more days of work post discharge. Persistent pain was reported by 15.5% of children at 5 or more days post discharge. Linear regression showed that a history of frequent vaso-occlusive painful events predicted worse functional outcomes (p=0.0067). Vaso-occlusive painful events have an enormous functional impact post discharge on both the child and family. Children with a history of frequent vaso-occlusive painful events have worse functional outcomes, and are therefore a high risk patient group. Since vaso-occlusive painful events are the most common complications of sickle cell disease, interventions to improve functional outcomes at home in the post discharge period are imperative for all patients with sickle cell disease and in particular this high risk group.


Ergodic Gaussian cocycles for rigid Gaussian actions are constructed. It is
also shown when any isomorphism between Gaussian actions is Gaussian.


A systematic study has been carried out to explore the Physico-chemical characteristics and Water Quality of groundwater in fifteen chosen sampling stations at Angarai panchayat of Lalgudi taluk of Tiruchirappalli District in Tamilnadu, India. Water sample from open wells in various sites of were collected during May to August 2009 and analyzed Physicochemical Characteristics. Comparative studies of samples in different area in the NH-227 highway were conducted, it shows the ground water which were taken from the various places were analyzed, and the analysis reports that the water quality parameters like pH, EC, Cl - , Ca 2 + , Mg 2 and Carbonates & Bicarbonates lies within the maximum permissible limit prescribed by WHO and TNPCB. Except few parameters like nitrate samples were reported to be with lower value than the permissible level, but this does not have any impact for the water to use for drinking purpose. According to this report, the ground water of Aangarai Panchayat area is suitable for drinking, agriculture and industries


The invention discloses a preparation method of phytosterol polyethylene glycol succinate, and belongs to the technical field of synthesis of organic matters. The method comprises the steps of adopting phytosterol succinate and polyethylene glycol as raw materials; after carrying out heating to melt the raw materials, adding an acid catalyst; enabling the materials to react under the vacuum and high-temperature conditions; after reaction, adding an solvent to dissolve the materials; carrying out alkali neutralization and filtration; and removing the solvent through steaming to obtain phytosterol polyethylene glycol succinate. According to the method, the reaction process is solvent-free, pollution is low, the technology is simple, by-products are few, separation and purification of products are convenient, the production cost is low, the product quality is high, and the method is applicable to industrial production.


A positive causal relation from money supply to stock prices is frequently hypothesized by some financial media and financial analysts. The basis of this assertion is an assumed negative causal relation from money supply to interest rates, and a negative causal relation from interest rates to stock prices. In this paper, we argue against a stable causal relation from money supply to stock prices. An empirical analysis, based on cointegration and Granger Causality tests, supports our argument.


This article is mainly based on reviewing the available relevant literature of TQM and its implementation in the service sector organizations in general and banking industry in particular. It has been emphasized that banks nowadays have no exception in the competitive business environment from adopting innovative strategies that help them in satisfying their customers through offering innovative and high quality services. The crucial
roles that can be played by bank branches have been highlighted since branches are mainly considered to be the points of direct contact with the customers. The study also has stressed on the importance of the branch manager in the successful TQM initiatives. Finally, a framework on TQM implementation on the branch level is proposed.


Lossless polarization attraction (LPA) is usually generated by means of a powerful (hence expensive) pump laser. Here, we investigate the possibility of generating LPA by employing different pumping methods.


In October 2013, Canada and the EU announced the conclusion, in principle, of a comprehensive economic trade agreement (CETA). Canada's prime minister described the agreement as historic, "the biggest deal our country has ever made," and assured Canadians there would be major economic benefits. Not all Canadians share the prime minister's confidence. Concerns about job loss, affordable health care, farm production, and national sovereignty are central to criticism of the agreement. Why has this free trade agreement, and others before it, elicited a polarized reaction, with the champions and opponents of free trade squaring off against one another? Using the history of global trade and Canadian trade policy since 1945 as a guide, this essay examines the motivations, concerns, assumptions, and meanings that animate debates over free trade in Canada. Faith and fear are central to the way people understand and respond to free trade. This essay also explains how domestic and international factors and interests have shaped free trade since 1945, and how it blends economic, political, and geopolitical considerations.


Vegetative growth of 'Tifway' African bermudagrass (Cynodon transvaalensis Burtt-Davy # CYNTR) x bermudagrass [C. dactylon (L.) Pers. # CYNDA] treated with flurprimidol {α-(1-methylethyl)-α-[4-trifluoromethoxy)phenyl]-5-pyrimidinemethanol} at 0.2 kg/ha and repeated at 3-week intervals for a total rate of 0.8 kg/ha was suppressed for 6 weeks compared to growth of nontreated grass. A single application of flurprimidol at 0.8 kg/ha in late May suppressed growth for 4 weeks. When the single 0.8 kg/ha application was delayed until mid-July, bermudagrass growth was suppressed for only 2 weeks. Applications of nitrogen (N) at 25 and 50 kg/ha did not influence flurprimidol's suppression of bermudagrass growth. Turf quality in some instances was lower when treated with 50 kg N/ha or the turfgrass required a longer recovery period than when treated with 25 kg N/ha following flurprimidol treatment. Although single or multiple applications of flurprimidol, each totaling 0.8 kg/ha, injured bermudagrass in some instances, the injury was not severe and the turfgrass fully recovered.


Objective :  To determine unit cost in anesthesia compare to service charge. Methods : A descriptive retrospective study was performed by collecting datas from hospital's financial records. Anesthesia cost was classified and determined by time and resources consuming then finally allocated to unit (anesthetic technique) by direct distribution method. Results : In 2003, total cost of anesthesia department was 19,839,004.61 baths (Total direct cost 18,653,022.75 baths, Indirect cost 1,185,981.86 baths). There were 13,344 cases coming up for anesthesia services. The percentage of anesthesia techniques were 67.5 %,10.43%, 3.85%, 16.55%, 1.87%, 0.75 % in GA with ET, GA with mask, IV anesthesia & neuroleptanalgesia, spinal block, epidural block and brachial plexus block respectively. The unit costs of each technique were 2,286.52 baths in GA with ET, 480.28 baths in GA with mask, 460.43 baths in, IV anesthesia & neuroleptanalgesia, 1,702.75 baths in spinal block, 4,783.14 baths in epidural block and 1,149.92 baths in brachial plexus block. Conclusion : The unit costs were comparable to the service charges in GA with ET, spinal block and bracial plexus block. In epidural block, the unit cost was much more than the service charge. This may cause by long operation time and small groups of patient. In GA with mask and IV anesthesia & neuroleptanalgesia, the unit costs were less than the service charges. So we should improve anesthesia service charges proper with the unit costs.


Large temporal variations have been observed in St. Marys River Loran-C time difference (TD) measurements. As a first step in determining the cause of this instability, the sensitivity of the TD grid to expected seasonal variations in Loran-C signal propagation conditions has been determined. The sensitivity analysis is based on theoretical propagation delay models and expected seasonal variations in the propagation parameters -- surface refractive index of air, the parameter associated with refractive index gradient, and ground conductivity. The analysis results show that conductivity, which is the parameter least amenable to measurement, is also the parameter which is most critical to grid stability. It is shown herein that the assumed variations in conductivity cannot explain observed variations in the TD data. Predicted TD variations due to seasonal grid instability are employed to predict the corresponding position errors at reiver waypoints. The resulting position errors are combined with those predicted for the case of no grid instability to provide predictions of total position error. (Author)


A fully integrated microchip device for performing a complete and automated sample-perfusion experiment on living cells is presented. Cells were trapped and immobilized in a defined grid pattern inside a small 0.5 µl volume incubation chamber by pneumatic anchoring on 1000 5-µm orifices. This new cell trapping technique assures a precise and repeatable cell quantity for each experiment and enables the formation of a homogeneous cell population in the incubation chamber. The microsystem includes a perforated silicon chip seamlessly integrated by a new embedding technique in a larger elastomer substrate, which features the microfluidic network. The latter forms the incubation chamber and allows for economic logarithmic dilution of the sample reagent over a range of three orders of magnitude with subsequent perfusion of the cell population. First, the logarithmic dilution stage was validated using quantitative fluorescent imaging of fluorescein solution. Then, the cell adhesion and culturing inside the incubation chamber was studied using primary normal human dermal fibroblasts (NHDFs). The cells adhered well on laminin-coated surfaces and proliferated to form a confluent cell layer after 6 days in vitro. Finally, the complete system was tested by a perfusion experiment with cultured NHDFs, which were exposed to a fluorescent cell tracker at dilutions of 100 µm, 10 µm, 1 µm, 0.1 µm and 0 µm at a flow rate of 1.25 µl min−1 for 20 min. Fluorescence imaging of the cell array after incubation and image analysis showed a logarithmic relationship between sample concentration and the fluorescence signal. This paper describes the fabrication of the components and the assembly of the microsystem, the design approach and the validation of the sample diluter, cell-adhesion and cell-culturing experiments over several days.