This thesis describes a numerical simulation and some flow visualization of vortex shedding from sharp edges in normal oscillatory flow. The modelling of vortex shedding from sharp edges has been done using a discrete vortex method; the separated shear layer issuing from the separation point is represented by a system of discrete two dimensional vortices. In Chapter Two, a finite wedge is modelled by considering the flow near the edge as the inner region of an oscillatory flow around an infinite wedge. This can be done if the Keulegan-Carpenter number is low, i.e. if the vortex Bhedding takes place mostly in the vicinity of the edge and is independent of shedding from any other edge(s). The mathematical formulation of this problem, although based on the combination of recent work of other researchers, represents a somewhat different approach when examined in detail. Each new vortex, called the nascent vortex, is introduced into the flow at a position not fixed in advance. Its position is dependent on the edge angle, the time step used in the numerical simulation and the influence of all the other vortices in the field. The expression describing the position of the nascent vortex can be derived as a natural development of the formulation. Therefore, it is not necessary to use empirical formulae to define the initial position of the nascent vortex and/or to fix this position for all time throughout the numerical simulation. Lamb vortices are used in the present study to delay the onset of instability in the numerical calculations. This results in very stable computations.


Objective To identify the baseline species composition and distribution patterns of ticks and their parasitic relationships with the host animals at Atlataw Pass,and to monitor the dynamics of border-crossing ticks,providing the basis for identification of alien species and disease transmission.Methods From January to December 2008,ticks were collected manually or by using clothes from livestock,poultry,wild animals,small mammals and caves at plague monitoring sites along Alataw Pass.The predominant populations were monitored for pathogens.Results After one-year investigation,1780 ticks of 8 species in 5 genera,1 family were collected,including 334 found on imported cowhide.The predominant species was Hyalomma asiaticum,accounting for 78.8%.These ticks were distributed in each monitoring site except urban areas,and also the ones primarily parasitic on the surface of domestic animals and small mammals.Other common species of tick included Dermacentor niveus,Hy.detritum,Hy.scupense and Haemaphysalis erinacei.The first 3 were mainly seen on the surface of such animals as cattle,sheep,horses and camels,while the other in small animals such as Vormela peregusna and Hemiechinus auritus.Rare species consisted of Ixodes redikorzevi and Rhipicephalus sanguineus,which were mainly found on the surface of wolves and in rat holes.Rh.pumilio was the strange species collected.A total of 334 ticks were detected on imported cowhide.Conclusion The one-year investigation revealed the baseline species composition,distribution and seasonal dynamics of vector ticks and their parasitic relationships with the host animals along Alataw Pass,as well as tick infestation on imported cowhide.This study provided the basis for prevention and control of tick-borne diseases and the spread of this vector.


This grounded theory study of how Title I middle school administrators determine students' punishments was developed using interviews with 27 Florida administrators from schools allowing corporal punishment. Administrators' choices were shaped by their upbringings, their experiences as parents, their job requirements, the expectations of students' parents, and fears of reprisal. They expressed simultaneous desires to develop the child while deterring future misbehavior. They described the outcomes of their decision making as emotional work that entailed contradictions and compromises. To encourage positive preventive and responsive school discipline practices, policies must address administrators' misconceptions about ineffective practices by providing both pressure and support for change.


Transmissive-Writing and Orthogonal-Readout scheme (TWOR) is proposed for making wavelength filters in holographic media sensitive to wavelengths far shorter than that for fiber communication. The optimization of device performances through this scheme is also discussed. Preliminary experiments on angular selectivity of a volume grating verified the feasibility of this scheme.


The failure mode of ship structure attacked by typical semi-armour-piercing missile in target practice experiment was analyzed.The characters of internal explosion load and the failure mode of gross panel of the cabin were studied by numerical simulation.Results show that the explosion loads and the failure modes of the gross panel under explosion inside a cabin have many differences from under explosion in an open area;the dynamic response of the gross panel under explosion inside a cabin can not be simulated under explosion in an open area;the explosion loads acting on the gross panel inside a cabin,include reflected shock wave,converged shock wave on the corner,and the quasi-static pressure.Intensities of converged shock wave on the corners of two gross panels and three gross panels are 5 and 12 times larger than that of the reflected shock wave respectively.The gross panels of a cabin have 4 failure modes,under internal explosion loads,in which mode Ⅲ and Ⅳ are most frequent.The stiffeners of the panels placed on the blast side can enhance the local damage,but can weaken the converged shock wave on the corner,and decrease the tearing damage on the corner.


This paper discusses the application of Siemens S7-400 series PLC in the automatic control system of rolling mill. The function and the hardware composition of the system, realization of the communication, and the method of the program have been described.


ALTHOUGH the so-called retinitis of pregnancy has long been recognized as a grave complication, and one justifying or demanding the premature termination of pregnancy, the ocular disturbances which may accompany pernicious vomiting in the earlier months are much less widely known and receive comparatively little notice in the textbooks of obstetrics and none at all, so far as one can discover, in those of ophthalmology. Nevertheless several papers on the subject have been published within recent years, chiefly in the United States, the findings of which deserve to be more generally known. It is difficult to assess the importance of this matter to obstetric practice in general. In the first place, estimates of the frequency of pernicious vomiting in pregnancy vary a good deal, and perhaps the incidence of hyperemesis gravidarum varies from one locality to another. The annual reports of the Glasgow Royal Maternity and Women's Hospital for the five years 1934 to 1938 show that, on an average, go patients suffering from persistent vomiting (10 to 23 of the cases described as very severe) were admitted annually for in-patient treatment, while the corresponding figure for the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary was 59 cases per annum (Fahmy,' 1940). The importance of hyperemesis gravidarum as a cause of maternal mortality is indicated by the fact that of the 449 patients admitted to the Glasgow Maternity Hospital on account of hyperemesis, both moderate and severe, 3.5 per cent died, while of the 295 patients admitted to the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary during the same period, 3.7 per cent died. The Glasgow figures represent some 4.4 per cent of the total maternal deaths in the hospital, substantially the same as the rate given in the 1935 report of the Department of Health for Scotland on Maternal Mortality in the period 1929 to 1933. As regards the ocular complications, there must be many


Any kind of broad overview is going to be frustrating to the specialist, who is inevitably moved to say, "but it is so much more complicated and nuanced than that!" McCoskey heads off this criticism at the end of her introduction: "I hope even more that [this book] will provoke a range of questions that go far beyond what I am able to attempt here. In that sense, I am more interested in proposing an effective structure for asking the right questions about race than providing all the answers" (34, emphasis mine). Sometimes, however, it can feel like the book does provide answers, and that is why caution is needed in reading this book with students and in accepting her readings of topics outside of one's specialty. McCoskey does a remarkable job of sorting through the difficulties of approaching race, ancient and modern, and offers her readers many examples for how to navigate it. Yet we also lack explicit guidelines to follow so that her methodology could be more easily applied to the texts she does not discuss (and of course, to the ones she does); but perhaps a list of guidelines would hinder more than inspire further analysis. In her "Afterword," McCoskey lays out a more activist claim for this book than expected at the beginning. She hopes that by understanding the operation of race, "we can begin to combat its clandestine power" (201). This goal is admirable and also one that explains, I think, several of the digressions and modern comparisons that seem, at times, tacked on. They offer complex and interesting examples of modern race at work, which either can inform an ancient example by parallel or explain the specific turns she takes in this book.


On September 29, Vasily Ivanovich Vasilyev, assistant to the director of the Intercession Psychiatric Hospital of the Moscow Provincial Zemstvo, died in Yalta. The late graduated from the course of medical sciences at Kazan University in 1886. At the end of the course, for two years he was an intern at the Psychiatric Clinic of Kazan University, which was then supervised by prof. V.M.Bekhterev.


In the article the importance of empowering environment in the process of successful competence development is analysed. This particular environment fosters individual's positive approach to lifelong learning. The literature study was carried out. In the first part of the article the notion of competence, competence development and models are analysed. In the second part of the article main understandings of empowering environment are described and relation of this particular environment with competence development is revealed. Main conclusion that competence development in empowering environment is successful was stated.


By building the quantum clustering model based on quantum behavioral trait, the particles moving and colliding on the array of the quantum clustering model. Its geometric shapes and entangling shapes are continuously changing with time lapse. Finally, it will take a stable probability distribution, the total particles achieve their optimum entangling shapes. It is a greater performance than classic method, that we combine the quantum clustering algorithm and auto-regressive algorithm to apply servers' load-balancing.


ABSTRACT Background: Liver transplantation and surgical resection are two major strategies for treatment of HCC patients. One approach to treating HCC is the suppression of metastasis to other tissues. Herein, we aimed to study the effect of miR-4270 inhibitor on migration of HepG2 cells as well as activity of MMP these cells in order to find a strategy to suppress metastasis in future. Methods: HepG2 cells were treated with 0, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, and 90 nM of miR-4270 inhibitor, and then the cell viability was measured by trypan blue staining. Afterwards, cell migration and MMP activity of HepG2 cells were assessed by wound healing assay and zymography, respectively. The MMP gene expression was determined by real-time RT-PCR. Results: Results showed that miR-4270 inhibitor decreased the cell viability of HepG2 cells in a concentration-dependent manner. Also, inhibition of the miR-4270 reduced invasion, MMP activity, and expression of MMP genes in HepG2 cells, respectively. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that miR-4270 inhibitor decreases in vitro migration, which could help find a new approach for HCC therapy patients.


[(6-CH3-η5-2-sil-C6H4)Fe(CO)3]BF4 (sil = Si(OCH2CH2)3N) has been prepared and its reaction with stabilized carbanions studied. Carbanions such as -CH2CN, -CH(Me)CN, -CMe2CN, and -CH2CO2tBu attack the carbonyl carbon to yield acyl derivatives, and -C(H)PhCN and -CPh2CN add to the dienyl ring to give diene derivatives.


According to the latest census of pharmacists from the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy, the number of pharmacists and technicians continues to grow across the country. In the NABP annual survey of state boards of pharmacy licenses, the total number of pharmacists, technicians, and pharmacies all grew, although some states did see declines.


Aim: To investigate the effect of losartan and mycophenolate mofetil on the expression of α-SMA, TGF-β_1, and type Ⅲ collagen and its mechanism on renal interstitial fibrosis following unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) in rat kidney.Methods:A total of 30 rats were randomly assigned to sham operation group (sham group),UUO group, losartan treatment group, mycophenolate mofetil treatment group, and combined treatment group. Immunohistochemistry was performed to investigate renal pathological changes and examine the expression of α-SMA,TGF-β1, and type Ⅲ collagen on the 14th day in the kidney.Results: In comparison with sham group, the expression of α-SMA,TGF-β1, and type Ⅲ collagen of UUO and treatment groups was significantly increased (P0.05). Losartan and mycophenolate mofetil could significantly decrease the expression of α-SMA,TGF-β1, and type Ⅲ collagen (P0.05),meanwhile combined treatment group had better effect (P0.05). Conclusion: Losartan and mycophenolate mofetil may play a protective role by downregulating α-SMA,TGF-β1, and type Ⅲ collagen and alleviating renal interstitial fibrosis following UUO. The combination of them has better effect.


Most contemporary literature on large dams is critical of their performance particularly regarding their negative impacts on society and the ecosystem. This has led to suggestions of more benign alternatives with fewer negative social and environmental stresses. Consequently, large dams are caught in an ideological contest of why, what and how development should be pursued. This thesis analyse development theory in the context of the links between dam-building, sustainable development and neo-liberalism/modernisation in Africa's socio- economic development trajectory. Using an interdisciplinary approach and multiple methods, this thesis examines and analyses the perceptions and experiences of communities affected and others yet to be affected by dam projects in Ghana, and national, local and international actors and their organisations. Contextualised within contemporary African development, the thesis argues that large dams construction is temporally and spatially mediated by geophysical conditions and prevailing international, national and local socio- economic and political circumstances.


The glasshouse environment differs both physically and biologically from crop production in the open, and its cost structure permits the use of more sophisticated products and techniques for pest and disease control. From the wide range of control methods that are available, including integrated programmes in which chemical and biological methods are combined, experience indicates those should be selected which limit the risk of developing resistant strains of insects or pathogens.


Partial table of contents: A Tangled Web of Politics. A Conspiracy in Moscow. A Ruse to Mask an Invasion. Search for a Scapegoat. Reign of Terror in Seoul. A Clandestine Organization Is Born. Spying on the Enemy. Guiding in a Fleet. A Secret Trek to the Yalu. Three Communist Masterspies. Top Secret: The Li Mi Project. Father Sam and the Soviet Agent. An Espionage Conspiracy Unmasked. A POW Camp Propaganda Machine. The Donkeys of Yellow Sea Province. Soviet Troops and Pilots in Disguise. The Big Bug Bonanza. A Scheme to Kidnap Syngman Rhee. Aftermath. Notes and Sources. Index. Maps.


Objective To evaluate a new restoration method of osteogenesis for alveolar defect and other osseous defect through the establishment of periosteal distraction. Methods A self-made distraction device and titanium mesh were implanted onto the lateral aspect of the mandibular ramus in 12 adult rabbits.7 days after the placement of the distraction device,the periosteal distraction began.The titanium mesh placed under the periosteum was distracted by 2 mm from the surface of the mandible.During the next 15 days,the mesh was further distracted by 1 mm every 3 days.Finally,the periosteum was distracted by 7 mm from the mandible. 3 animals were killed 28,35,42,56 days after the operation. All the specimens had histomorphometric, histological and X-ray examinations. Results All the specimens showed the formation of new bone in histomorphometric and X-ray examinations. The average values of new bone height at postoperative days 28,35,42 and 56 were (1.90±0.13)mm, (2.22±0.30) mm, (3.17±0.14)mm and (4.56±0.46)mm, respectively. Histological examinations showed the increase in the number of osteoblasts and the change in the orientation of collagen fibers. Conclusion Osteogenesis by periosteal distraction could form new bone and could be used to produce bone.


This project presents the application of Electrical Resistivity method for investigating the presence of rocks and hard soil, for a Civil Engineering project, to verify the possibility and costs of excavating three underground floors for parking lot of a residence building. Results from geophysical investigation detected the presence of solid rocks and hard soil starting on depths of 5,0m. Initial project stated the excavation of three floors underground, reaching 12,0m depth. With geophysical investigation results, the project was re-created intending to reduce costs with excavations. Now Engineering project will have only two floors underground.


The authors studied the intellectual outcome of 45 of the 47 schoolchildren who had been born with very low birthweights (< 1501g) in Wolverhampton between 1975 and 1978 and were free of major handicap. Their outcome was compared with that of a control group matched for age, sex, race and social class. The very low‐birthweight children had lower IQs, were more likely to be performing poorly or below average at school and were more likely to show emotional disturbance. Those who had had a major neonatal illness were most likely to be performing below average at school. These results may be representative of the outcome for very low‐birthweight babies born in the United Kingdom during the late 1970s.


The objective methods of visual acuity examination, in
comparison with the subjective methods, do not rely on a
patients personal evaluation. Due to this fact it is suitable
for infants, intellectual disability patients, patients
suffering from amblyopia or simulating/dissimulating people.
The objective methods of eye acuity examination are represented
by a preferential looking method, method based on optokinetic
nystagmus and a visual evoked potential method. These methods
apply the differentiation angle is minimal values to assess
visual acuity. The common ground of methods mentioned above
lies in detection and resolution of spatial frequency (spatial
frequency is represented by the regular change of light and
dark stripes on the angular degree of the testing field).


At a tangential discontinuity between two constant magnetic fields a layer of trapped particles can exist, this work examines the conditions under which the current carried by such particles tends to maintain the discontinuity. Three cases are examined. If the discontinuity separates aligned vacuum fields, the only requirement is that they be antiparallel. With arbitrary relative orientations, the field must have equal intensities on both sides. Finally, with a guiding center plasma on both sides, the condition reduces to a relation which is also derivable from hydromagnetic theory. Arguments are presented for the occurrence of such trapped modes in the magnetopause and for the non-existence of specular particle reflection.


This papers describes a segment-based vocoder. The coder is based on segmenting the speech signal into syllablelike units that are then encoded and transmitted. There are two phases in the design of the vocoder. In the first phase, a codebook of representative syllable segments is generated. To generate the representative syllable segments, syllable-segmentation is required. This is done using a group delay based approach discussed elsewhere [1]. A codebook of representative syllable segments is then generated from the segmented syllables using an HMM-based clustering technique [2]. During the second phase, the speech signal is first segmented into syllable like units. The units are tested against the HMMs obtained during codebook generation. The codebook index corresponding to the identified syllable is then transmitted. In this paper, each codebook index corresponds to a sequence of feature vectors corresponding to a syllable. Linear prediction (LP) coefficients are used as the feature vectors. At the receiver, the feature vectors corresponding to the syllable are obtained using a lookup table. LP Synthesis is used to synthesize the speech signal.


Objective:To explore the effect of cortical calcineurin and calpain activities on apoptosis induced by experimental intracerebral hemorrhage in rats.Methods:Focal intracerebral hemorrhage model was established in Wistar rats,the changes of the cortical calcineurin and calpain activities were measured by using biochemical methods.Results:Numerous TdTmediated dUTP nick end labeling(TUNEL) positive cells were detected in perihematoma.Cortical calcineurin and calpain activities were increased after focal intracerebral hemorrhage. Conclusions:The neural apoptosis after intracerebral hemorrhage may be related to the activating of calcineurin and calpain.


Developed as part of the experimental search for superheavy ele-. ments (SHE), the system described here has been used for the analysis of gaseous radioactivities with half 1i ves greater than thirty minutes. Collected with high efficiency on a surface cooled to liquid-nitro-gen temperatur~, alpha and fission activities are counted with solid-state and dielectric detectors. Procedural details and experimental observations are presented.


In home appliances, electric energy is optimally controlled by using power electronics technology, creating a comfortable environment in terms of energy saving, low sound generation, and reduced time consumption. Usually simplicity and robustness make the three phase induction motor attractive for use in domestic appliance, including washing machines. Two main types of domestic washing machine have evolved. We focus on efficiency of the front loading machine favored in Europe, which has a horizontal drum axis. This paper presents the control algorithm for optimal efficiency drives of an induction motor for drum washing machine. This system uses a simple model of the induction motor that include equations of the iron losses. The proposed optimal efficiency control algorithm calculates commands of the reference torque and flux currents for the flux oriented control of the induction motor. The proposed algorithm is verified through digital simulation.


David L. Frost. The School of Shakespeare. Cambridge University Press, 1968. xi-f-304 pp. $9.50. Few serious students of the English drama will argue with the author's general thesis that Shakespeare was the master playwright of his age and a seminal influence on the playwrights who followed him on the Jacobean and Caroline stages. What may trouble some readers, however, is the manner in which Frost sets out to erase what seem to him the errors of earlier scholarship, because his insistendy polemical approach sometimes stirs up the dust of ancient controversies without shedding much new light on them. Indeed, for one so skeptical of the arguments of earlier scholars, Frost seems too ready to spin out his own slender threads of assumptions and conjectural evidence. Conjecture piles on conjecture in Chapter II, where Frost first presents biographical and psychological inferences to support Middleton's authorship of The Revenger's Tragedy, then suggests that Middleton's art suffered a revolutionary sea-change when, about 1615, he became a chief writer for Shakespeare's company and met 'the full force of Shakespeare's genius for the first time' (p. 52). Frost traces the supposedly deepening influence of Shakespearean tragedy on Middleton, using as a landmark Hengist, King of Kent, which he interprets as a muddled and indifferent attempt to write 'a Macbeth play.' One may agree with Frost, that The Changeling, despite its subplot, is a very great play, and still one may object to Frost's tortuous and casuistic account of Middleton's rise to supposedly Shakespearean heights.


The goal of this article is to form a creative pedagogical system of continuous environmental education as exemplified by the creative union of scientists and attendants of preprofessional and additional education, refresher and transition courses for teachers. The currently being formed system of continuous environmental education aids contextual education at the stage of higher professional education and professional advancement of teachers. [Samigullina G.S., Waliev M.R., Shigapova N.V. Formation of creative pedagogical system of continuous environmental education. Life Sci J 2014;11(8s):449-453] (ISSN:1097-8135). http://www.lifesciencesite.com. 99


Objective To assess the value of fractal dimension(FD)in the prediction of sudden unexpected death and the effects of oral betaloc on FD in patients with stroke.Methods FD of heart rate variability(HRV)were measured and analyzed with ECG recordings in 250 patients with hemispheric cerebral infarction and hemorrhage in the acute phase and in 206 control subjects.The patients with cerebral infarction were assigned at random to receive standrad management only(control group),or standrad management and treatment with betaloc for two weeks.Results FD≤1.05 was the optimum cut off points for the prediction of sudden unexpected death in patients with stroke.FD≤1.05 had a sensitivity of 71.42%,a specificity of 90.25%,a positive predictive accuracy of 30.3%,and a positive likelihood ratio of 7.33 for sudden unexpected death events.After betaloc treatment FD increased obviously(P0.05).Conclusion FD may be a useful marker to predict the sudden unexpected death events in patients with stroke,it can select a small subgroup of survivors of stroke at high risk of sudden death.β adrenergic blocking agents is good for cerebral infarction patients with lower FD.


Fast fashion has become an important trend of world economic growth, especially in the process of economic development in developing countries. Taking Cambodia's fast fashion labor market as an example, this paper deeply analyzes the problems in Cambodia's fast fashion labor market and finds that factors such as wages, working conditions and international pressure directly affect the development of fast fashion labor market. On this basis, this paper puts forward some suggestions to improve Cambodia's fast fashion labor market.


The purposes of this research were to: 1) develop an activity based on the critical thinking approach for the 2nd year English major students studying in Sakon Nakhon Rajabhat University, Sakon Nakhon, Thailand in order to achieve the efficiency criteria of 75/75; and 2) compare the achievement scores of the pre–communicative skill with the post–communicative skill after using the developed activity. The sampling group consisted of 54 the 2nd year English major students studying in Sakon Nakhon Rajabhat University, Sakon Nakhon, Thailand, in the 1st Semester, academic year 2015, selected by purposive random sampling. The research tools were the activity based on the critical thinking approach for the 2nd year English major students, and the learning achievement test. The research was a one–group pretest–posttest design. The data were analyzed by mean, standard deviation, and t–test (Dependent Samples). The results of this research were as follows: 1. The efficiency criteria of the activity based on the critical thinking approach for the 2nd year English major students were 86.36/84.00 which were higher than the set criteria of 75/75. 2. The posttest average score of English communication skill of the students after learning and using the development activity was higher than the pretest score at the .01 level of significance.


Using the lens of gender, this essay examines the lives and collective contributions of American women who participated in the book world of Paris during the 1920s. The focus is on the American Library in Paris, which inherited the American Library Association (ALA) Library War Service reference collection and the Paris Library School operated by ALA from 1923 to 1929. Working in each of these settings, women found innovative ways to make American books and print culture more widely known in France.


Abstract : This special report was written as a review and reference for USAF vision specialists in prescribing spectacles for aviators. Vision correction in flyers presents unique problems especially for the presbyopes. The demands of each individual aircraft environment need to be well understood. USAF ophthalmologists and optometrists must consider the pertinent aeromedical factors before prescribing spectacles for ametropic aircrew members. This report includes a comprehensive guide to cockpit instrument panel distances and print sizes for most USAF aircraft. Keywords: Human factors engineering; Eyeglasses; Cockpits; Spectacles; Presbyopia; Bifocals; Trifocals; Multifocals; Vision; Aviators; Flyers; Aircrew members; Prescribing eyeglasses. (KT)


Starch and phytolith analyses of an assemblage of chert microliths from the Three Dog site, an early Lucayan settlement on San Salvador, Bahamas, yielded Zea mays, Capsicum, and possible manioc indicating that these domesticates were present by at least A.D. 800 or earlier in Cuba or Hispaniola and brought to the central Bahamas during its early peopling. The presence of corn at this site contradicts previously held ideas that it did not appear in the Bahamas until the A.D. 1200s. Starch granules tentatively identified as root/tuber starch were also found on the microliths, although we were unable to discern if these represent wild species and/or culturally transported wild or domesticated species. The presence of more than one species on the microliths, initially believed to have been manioc grater chips similar to those documented ethnographically, demonstrates multifunctional use. A broad-based plant diet that included maize and root/tuber crops was in place at least by the Archaic age in parts of the Greater Antilles and brought to the Bahamas, along with chilis, during its colonization by Ceramic age peoples.


A study investigated the organization and development of second language lexicons among Hong Kong learners of English as a Second Language (ESL). Specifically, it compared the associations promoted by a single list of 20 frequent, common words in the learners' native language (L1, Chinese) and second language (L2, English). Subjects were 22 teacher trainees with mid-level English proficiency. They heard the list of English words and then in Chinese, and were asked to write the first word that entered their minds. The responses were analyzed for the frequencies of different response words, and the results compared to determine which similar semantic prompts inspired different responses in the two languages, and which inspired different responses. Results suggest that the Ll and L2 lexicons of this group are very different in structure. The Ll and L2 prompt words evoked neither similar frequencies of responses nor similar semantic associations in the two lexicons, and individual word responses did not elicit similar frequencies of word types in Ll and L2. It is concluded that different languages produce different storage and retrieval systems, refuting the notion of a common underlying principle of bilingual proficiency. Contains 16 references. (MSE) ******************************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ******************************************************************************** An Investigation of the Mental Lexicon of Second Language Learners'


Objective: Previous reports have shown that the gene promoter region of retinoic acid receptor β (RARβ) is aberrantly methylated in cervical carcinoma, implying inhibition of gene transcription. The aim of this study was to investigate the association of RARβ gene expression at the mRNA and protein levels with cervical cancer development. Methods: We collected 37 cases of fresh cervical tissues and 126 cases of formalin fixed and paraffin embedded cervical tissue specimens from women with cervicitis, cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and cervical squamous cell carcinoma. Quantitative RT-PCR was used to detect mRNA expression and immunohistochemistry was used to assess protein expression. Results: (1) The mRNA expression of RARβ in CIN and cervical cancer was markedly decreased compared to cervicitis with a statistically very significant difference, and no difference was found between the mRNA levels in CIN and cervical cancer. (2) RARβ protein was expressed at normal levels in cervicitis and partially lost in a few cases. With the development of CIN and cervical cancer, a significant loss of protein expression occurred that gradually increased (38% and 57%) and was very different from the level found in cervicitis (P0.01). Conclusion: In cervical cancer and its precancerous lesions, RARβ expression was downregulated at the transcriptional level and essentially lost at the protein level. RARβ expression may be an important marker of cancer development. The results shown here may provide evidence for further study of the mechanism related to aberrant methylation of the RARβ gene and the establishment of a biomarker profile for cervical cancer.


Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate correlations between measurements taken with four different thermometer devices in four different neonatal temperature sites and determine the optimal site of measuring temperature in neonates. Design: Prospective, over an 18 month period. Participants: Four hundred (400) neonates with gestational age 37–42 weeks. Methods: The temperature measurements were performed using mercury-in-glass thermometer, a digital thermometer, a tympanic thermometer and an infrared forehead thermometer. Paired t test, Interclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) and the Bland-Altman plot were used to compute data. Results: The mean temperature of neonates was 36,77±0, 44°C and 36,65±0, 36°C with a mercury-in-thermometer in rectum and axilla respectively, 36,79±0, 46°C and 36, 72±0, 36°C with a digital thermometer in rectum and axilla respectively, 36,63±0, 39°C with the tympanic thermometer and 36,73±0,39°C with the forehead thermometer. The mean difference with the mercury in glass and the digital thermometer was 0.02°C in rectum and 0.07°C in axilla (p<0,001). There was a strong correlation between the measurements with the mercury-in-thermometer and the digital thermometer in rectum and axilla (r=0.93 and 0.9 respectively and p<0,001). Conclusions: The optimal way to measure body temperature in neonates is rectally with a mercury-in-thermometer or digital. Reliable seem to be the axillary measurements using a mercury-in-glass thermometer or digital thermometer.


This article uses the high levels of collective violence associated with contentious politics in South Africa as a prism through which to explore the confrontation between a sociology of the West, ...


As a farmer boy, I often observed that when a litter of pigs was born, some of them were stronger than others, and these stronger pigs, because of their superior power, were able to get more milk from their mother than the weaker pigs. Of course this meant that the stronger pigs grew faster than the weaker; and the faster they grew, the more milk they were able to get, and the more milk they got, the faster they grew. It might seem that this cycle would be endless. It had, however, its limitation; for there is a limit to the amount of milk that even a strong pig can digest, and for various reasons, pigs never grow to be as large as elephants. This homely example illustrates the principle of reciprocal reinforcement and its limitations. This great principle may be stated as follows: If two factors, B and M (in the illustration, B is brawn and M is milk) are so related that an increase in the value of B brings about an increase in the value of M; and in return, the increase in the value of ]1,J causes an increase in the value of B, so that the two build up to a maximum togther. This is Reciprocal Reinforcement. Many of the things which grow to large values do so by virtue of the operation of this principle: pigs and astronomical galaxies attain their maximum in this way. The physicist often uses this principle to build large currents in electric dynamos. The strength of the current generated depends upon the rate at which the wires of the dynamo cut the lines of the magnetic field; and the strength of the magnetic field depends upon the current that produces it. In a dynamo, these two factors-the magnetic field and the current-"build up" together, each one aiding the other. There is, however, a limit to the current that may be drawn


In many cases, construction objects differ in size, total area, number of floors, and materials used to manufacture structural elements, which leads to certain peculiarities in the pricing mechanism in construction, in particular in design and scientific design works. Construction objects according to a typical project will not have the same value depending on the location and local conditions of the construction site. In recent years, significant transformations have taken place in Ukraine in the field of pricing and assessment of the value of investment projects and programs. The development of market relations in Ukraine made it necessary to develop a modern methodology of pricing and cost management in construction, in particular, in determining the cost of design and scientific-project works, taking into account the best world experience and international standards. The efforts of many scientists and practitioners of Ukraine and abroad are aimed at solving this problem. The need to estimate the cost, design and scientific design works, as well as the construction of the object in general, arises in the early stages. However, at this stage, only approximate costs are determined, and as investigations are carried out and information is accumulated, new opportunities appear for calculating a more accurate estimate of the cost of the objects being designed. Therefore, the calculation of the cost of project works is mainly carried out individually according to the estimate, which specifies the scope of work, estimates, construction equipment and methods for specific types of work. Emphasizing the problems of the pricing system of project and scientific project works in our country, the organizational and economic problems of reducing the cost of investment and construction projects are considered. Including, by improving the efficiency of competitive selection of Investors, Contractors (construction agencies) and Suppliers of project products. An important issue is the issue of a comparative (market) approach to pricing in construction, in particular for design and research and design services. The market price is the prevailing price paid for project services in the project market for the relevant period in the sales process, regardless of the Manufacturer's individual costs. In the macroeconomic plan, prices are considered as the most important strategic criterion characterizing the market situation. Price changes are influenced by a number of price-forming factors. The basis of calculation procedures is the introduction of corrections for discrepancies between the object being evaluated and similar objects, the value of which is known. The same adjustments are permissible for a certain average market value. A significant problem remains the low level of practical use of project methodology. If the pricing policy is not properly formed, the project enterprise will not be able to achieve the intended goals; therefore, special attention should be paid to this issue.


The present invention provides a male connector, the female connector and the connector assembly, the male connector comprising a body having a hollow jack, jack that has the terminal, wherein the at least one locking means is provided, the locking body reset means comprises a latch member and a elastic piece, the latch member includes a fixed portion, a first locking portion and the operation portion, the fixed portion fixed to the body, the first locking portion and the operating portions are located on both sides of the fixing portion and the locking portion the first portion may be fixed to the operating portion to rotate about the first end of the reset tabs secured to the latch member, the reset terminal of the second elastic piece abuts the outer wall of the contact body. The female connector and the male connector used in conjunction. The male connector and the female connector consisting of a connector assembly. It implemented using integrated locking means connected to the convenience of the male connector and a female connector while effectively locking the locking improving performance and durability.


Abstract : Financed Analysis of Defense Industry firms, as conducted within DoD, typically involves the analysis of financial condition as measured by financial ratios. The objective of this study was to identify the basic dimensions of financial condition in the defense industry and the specific financial ratios that best reflect those dimensions. An empirical analysis of 5i financial ratios for 50 defense firms over a 10 year period was conducted. Findings indicate there are eight basic dimensions of financial condition and that those dimensions are stable across varying circumstances.


Farming impacts animal-mediated seed dispersal through mechanisms operating on at least two spatial scales. First, at the landscape scale, through habitat loss and land conversion to agriculture/livestock grazing, and second, at the farm scale, via a local intensification of agricultural practices. These two scales of farming impact seed dispersal function but have rarely been integrated. In particular, studies evaluating the effect of agriculture on the seed dispersal function of frugivorous birds in Mediterranean ecosystems are lacking. This study evaluates the role of landscape transformation, from fruit-rich woodland habitats to olive grove landscapes, together with local intensive practices of soil management on the persistence of the seed dispersal function for Mediterranean fleshy-fruited plants in olive landscapes of south Spain. We used bird censuses, mist-nets, and seed traps to characterize avian frugivore assemblages, frugivory, and seed deposition in the seminatural woodland habitat (SNWH) patches and olive fields of 40 olives farms spanning 20 localities distributed across the whole range of olive cultivation in Andalusia (southern Spain). We found that despite the remarkable dispersal function of olive grove landscapes, avian frugivore abundance and diversity, frugivory, and seed arrival decreased in olive fields compared to SNWH patches. Likewise, SNWH cover loss and/or olive growing expansion decreased avian frugivory and seed arrival. Interestingly, the habitat effects in the olive farms often depended on the landscape context. In particular, less diverse fruit-eating bird assemblages pooled in SNWH patches as olive grove cover increased or SNWH decreased in the landscape, while remaining relatively invariant in the olive fields. Finally, compared to conventional intensive agriculture, low-intensity management increased frugivory and seed deposition. We conclude that olive fields are less permeable to frugivores than expected due to the agroforest-like nature of these landscapes and that the presence of SNWH patches is crucial for the maintenance of frugivory and seed dispersal in agricultural landscapes. These results evidence that woodland habitat loss by olive expansion and intensive practices seriously threaten the dispersal service in olive-dominated landscapes. Maintenance, restoration, and promotion of woodland patches should be prioritized for the conservation of seed dispersal service and for enhancing the functional connectivity in human-shaped olive landscapes.


BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
The relationship between impulsivity and craving in severe alcohol use disorders is well established, but the presence and characteristics of this link in University students are still to be established. The present study aims to better understand the relationship between impulsivity and craving in university students and to determine the influence of these variables on alcohol consumption characteristics.

METHODS
A large sample of university students (N = 1055, mean age: 20.9 years; 713 women) completed an online questionnaire to evaluate alcohol use, impulsivity, and craving.

RESULTS
Linear regression analysis demonstrated that the compulsive dimensions of craving (P < .001), sensation seeking (P < .001), and lack of premeditation (P < .001) constitute strong predictors of current consumption. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis determined the threshold level above which craving intensity can identify specific high-risk populations. A mediation analysis showed that craving has a partial mediator effect on the impact of impulsivity on alcohol consumption for this population (37,8%, P < .001).

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS
The sensation seeking and lack of premeditation dimensions of impulsivity, coupled with compulsive craving, are efficient predictors of excessive alcohol consumption for university students. The partial mediator effect of craving is important in terms of characterizing the relationship between impulsivity and alcohol consumption.

SCIENTIFIC SIGNIFICANCE
Our study centrally shows that the interaction between elevated levels of impulsivity and craving constitute a crucial risk factor for alcohol consumption in university students, and should thus constitute a target for primary prevention programs (Am J Addict 2019;00:00-00).


This work presents the results of studying the frequency, structure, risk factors, clinical and pathogenetic classification of pathological processes in the digestive system of bronchial asthmatic and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients, comparative evaluation of the degree of generality and features of the said diseases processes and the development on this basis of differential diagnostic and therapeutic surveillance of such patients in pulmonary hospital environment.


Employee Assistance Programmes (EAPs) have grown tremendously in South Africa since the inception of the first formal EAP by the Chamber of Mines in 1986. Although help or assistance to employees has been a reality since the mid-1940s - especially in the mining industry - very little uniformity was embedded in those helping efforts.


Anomalous fission source convergence in a Monte Carlo criticality calculation for a weakly coupled array of two fissile material units are demonstrated. Introducing coupling coefficients among array units, it is quantitatively explained that this anomaly is caused by an insufficient restoring force to the true distribution and its large statistical uncertainty, especially, in a symmetric system. A new approach for estimating the fission source intensity ratio in an array is proposed by obtaining the eigenvector of a coupling coefficient matrix. This method also gives the uncertainty of the ratio as well as the ratio, which is available for evaluating the accuracy of the obtained ratio. The correlation between a calculated k eff and the fission source intensity ratio is formulated. It is illustrated theoretically and empirically that there is no significant correlation in a symmetric two-unit array system. In general, care should be taken that a calculated k eg may be biased by an incorrect fission source distribution, especially, in a slightly asymmetric system. A regionwise weight adjustment method is developed such that the fission source intensity ratio is forced to converge to a predetermined ratio. Using this method, a satisfactory convergence can be achieved. A larger number of neutrons per generation is recommended for a Monte Carlo criticality calculation of a weakly coupled array of units.


The characteristics and difficult technical problems on highway afforestation in coastal saline and alkaline land were studied in this paper The results indicate that the survival rate can be improved greatly by covering measures on the medium saline and alkaline condition,and covering the soil with plastic film is more effective than that of grass Fraxinus velutina Torr and Sophora japonica Linn are fine species utilized to afforest highways for their higher comprehensive adaptability,and their average survival rates are above 90% It is possible to plant them successfully once in practice,provided they are carried out planting in line with local conditions,planning carefully,forming a complete technical set,handling properly and supervising strictly


Introduction and purpose. The purpose of this study was to determine relationship between non-thrombotic iliac vein lesions and symptomatology of primary varicose veins (PVV). The identification of such association would be helpful in selecting patients with PVV for further diagnostic evaluation.
Material and methods. Thirty-two patients with unilateral PVV scheduled for great saphenous vein high ligation and stripping were enrolled in the study. There were 25 (78%) women. The mean age of the patients was 48 years. The patients were asked about pain, oedema, night cramps, heaviness and a history of superficial thrombophlebitis in PVV limb. A clinical stage of CEAP classification was determined and Venous Clinical Severity Score (VCSS) was calculated. During the surgery right and left iliac venous axes were interrogated with an intravascular ultrasound with Volcano s5 Imaging System (Volcano Corporation, Rancho Cordova, CA, USA) and catheters Visions PV .035 minimal lumen area (MLA) and percentage of stenosis (%S) of examined veins were calculated. An association between clinical symptoms and signs in PVV limb and %S of ipsilateral common iliac vein (CIV) and external iliac vein (EIV) was statistically analysed.
Results. Pain, oedema, night cramps, heaviness and history of superficial thrombophlebitis were reported by 14 (44%), 17 (53%), 11 (34%), 19 (59%) and 6 (19%) of patients respectively. Twenty-five (78%) limbs were classified as C2 and 7 (22%) limbs as C4a according to CEAP classification. The median VCSS was 4. The mean MLA and %S was 92,9 mm2 and 47% and 74,2 mm2 and 48% for CIV and EIV respectively. Neither smaller MLA nor greater %S of CIV and EIV were associated with symptoms, more advanced stage of CEAP classification or higher VCSS.
Conclusions. Neither clinical symptoms nor severity of venous disease can identify non-thrombotic iliac vein lesions in patients with primary varicose veins.


The production of ketogluconic acids from glucose by fermentation methods has been of particular interest to this Bureau as a means of extending the industrial utilization of agricultural products. Our investigations have led to the development of a rapid and efficient process for the production of 5-ketogluconic acid from glucose by Acetobacter suboxydans, as heretofore reported (Stubbs et al., 1940). However, we have not found it possible to conduct a fermentation with our strain of A. suboxydans on any substrate in such a manner that 2-ketogluconic acid is the major product, as has been reported by Bernhauer and Knobloch (1938). These authors found that a certain strain of A. suboxdans gave predominantly 2-ketogluconic acid when cultivated on gluconic acid salts, although when cultivated on a glucose substrate, 5-ketogluconic acid was the principal product. A more recent publication by Bernhauer et al. (1940) indicates that such results are dependent on the particular strain of A. suboxydars used, for a second strain tested by them yielded 5-ketogluconic acid when cultivated either on glucose or gluconates. Although we have not succeeded in producing 2-ketogluconic acid with A. suboxydans, we have found that this product can be very efficiently obtained from glucose by the action of members of a different genus of bacteria. An organism which appeared as a contaminant during an A. suboxydans fer-


Recent data indicate that the induction of the rat liver regulatory glumgenic enzyme phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (EC 126.96.36.199) (PEPCK) is primarily regulated at the transcriptional level. Although glucocorticoids and cAMP stimulate PEPCK gene transcription,' their effect is rapidly counteracted by insulin? Recently we3p4 and others' could demonstrate that in addition thyroid hormones stimulate the synthesis and the mRNA activity of this important enzyme. In the present study we investigate the effect and interaction of triiodothyronine (T3), glucocorticoids, and cAMP on PEPCK mRNA, under in vivo conditions and in hepatocytes from hypothyroid rats and from serumand hormone-free cultures.' In hypothyroid and hypothyroid-adrenalectomized rats, T3 significantly enhanced PEPCK mRNA activity within 3 to 6 hr. This effect was further enhanced by the presence of glucocorticoids, yielding a maximum response to cAMP at 6 hr (TABLE 1). The decay rate of translatable PEPCK mRNA was identical in starved hypo-, eu-, and hyperthyroid rats (T/2 40 min), as measured in cordycepin-injected rats. In cultured hepatocytes, T3 (lo-' M), dexamethasone (lO-'M), T3 plus dexamethasone, or cAMP by itself had only a minor effect on the increase in translatable PEPCK mKNA. Both T3 and dexamethasone stimulated the CAMP-mediated induction of PEPCK mRNA by a factor of 2-3; T3 plus dexamethasone showed an additive effect on both parameters (a factor of 4-5) (FIG. 1). Thus our results in vivo and in vitro demonstrate that both glucocorticoids and T3 1) predominantly act at a pretranslational level, 2) exert a predominantly enhancing effect on the CAMP-provoked increase in PEPCK mRNA, and 3) have an additive effect (TABLE 1& FIG. 1). The additive effect of thyroid and glucocorticoid hormones indicates their independent and, therefore, possibly different modes of action. Their effect is most pronounced during the early induction period, that is, 2 hr after the


A common input/output part of a switch circuit (SW) serves as a first port (P1). A first filter (F1) for passing signals of a first frequency band is connected between a first input/output part (T1) of the switch circuit (SW) and a second port (P2). A second filter (F2) for passing signals of a second frequency band is connected between a second input/output part (T2) and the second port (P2). A phase adjusting circuit (Ls) is disposed such that its impedance at the second frequency band, in a case of the filter module being seen from the first port (P1) while the switch circuit (SW) selecting the first input/output part (T1), exhibits substantially a short state. Because of this arrangement, while one of two communication systems having different frequency bands is being in a communication state, any unwanted signal leakage from a signal path used by the other system can be suppressed.


This research includes a comparative study of two ground-plane-structure-variant microstrip patch antennas. The THz frequency band is used by both antennas. The medical sector has taken interest in terahertz (THz=1012 Hz) technology because of its non-invasive and non-ionizing qualities, as it lies between microwave and infrared in the electromagnetic spectrum. In this paper, the design of both antennas has been discussed. Radiation patterns, gain, efficiency, and directivity, as well as the reflection coefficient and VSWR, have all been analyzed and compared. Both antennas are simulated in the frequency range of 0.1 THz to 3 THz, which is suitable for various biomedical applications. Both the microstrip patch antennas are designed and analyzed using CST Microwave Studio.


o uni readers may remember the ridicule which, day after day, was let loose in the Times upon the report of M. Behic, the French Minister of Agriculture, etc. at the timne when the Itinderpest was breaking upon us. Mr. B1hic accepted the teachings of science, and adopted measures in accordance with them. In fact, the decree of the Imperial Government was founded on the report of Al. Bouley, the veterinary surgeon. At this very critical moment, the Times patronised the quacks and ridiculed MI. Behic and the mnen of science. Now, however, at last, comes the condemnation of the criminal ignorance of the Times and the justification of science. In its own pages we read that " In a report, M. Behic, the Minister, expresses his satisfaction at the success of the measures adopted, pursuant to [the decree of September 5th last, for the prevention of cattle disease in France. Owing to the conduct prescribed to the Prefects, the disease, which had been imported into the Nord from Malins, the loss incurred in preventing its propagation in the two departments, the Nord and the Pas de Calais, was insignificant-being, in fact, only 43 infected animals slaughtered-when compared with the ravages in England and Holland. M. Behic bestows much praise on the French Diplomatic and Consular Body, the Prefects, Sub-Prefects, mayors, veterinary surgeons, landowners, and the Customhouse officers for their zeal and activity in carrying out the wishes of the government from the first appearance of the disease." Two gazelles imported from England for the Paris Zoological Gardens have, it is asserted by authority, conveyed the Rinderpest into France. In consequence of this, the prohibition is extending to the importing of all " quadrupeds, exotic or indigenous, with the exception of horses, asses, mules, and dogs." "The disease broke out among the animals in the zoological gardens of the Bois de Boulogne. The gazelles died of the disease and communicated it to six zebras, who were immediately killed and buried deep under ground. Measures have been adopted, under the direction of MM3. Bouley and Reynal, of Alfort, to arrest the progress of the disease."


In this work, 1-200 µL polypropylene micropipette tips were used as the platform for performing immunoassays after converting their inner surface on a capture zone for the analyte of interest. We have used a micropipette-tip immunoelectroanalytical platform for the detection of anti-tissue transglutaminase (IgA), the main biomarker for the celiac disease. Modification of the tip wall with poly-L-lysine allowed adsorption of tissue transglutaminase (tTG), which will capture later anti-tTG (IgA) antibodies developed in celiac people. A sandwich-type format was followed, incubating simultaneously the analyte and the detection antibody, labeled with horseradish peroxidase. With this new application for an extremely common lab material, we can perform quantitative analysis by dispensing the liquid into a low-cost and miniaturized staple-based paper electrochemical platform., The analytical signal was the reduction of the enzymatically-oxidized substrate, recorded chronoamperometrically (i-t curve). The intensity of the current obtained at a fixed time after application of the cathodic potential followed a linear relationship with anti-tTG (IgA) concentration. The relative standard deviation (RSD) obtained for immunoassays performed in different tips, indicates the adequate precision of this new methodology, very promising for decentralized analysis. Negative and positive controls produced results that were in accordance with those obtained with spectrophotometric ELISAs.


The purpose of this bachelor's thesis is to approach the issue of microbial contamination in cosmetic and pharmaceutical industry, including legislative changes. In the work are described the individual microorganisms, which may be the reason for the contamination and further risk factors, which can be other causes of contamination. Further are described the individual test methods, which are used for the identification of microorganisms.


The climatic conditions of the tropical regions are characterized by high air temperatures, high relative humidity and very low wind speeds, which make the environmental conditions uncomfortable. A good dwelling design can keep the indoor environment favorable and comfortable during most of the year without the use of any mechanical devices. Depending on ambient conditions, natural ventilation may lead to indoor thermal comfort without mechanical cooling. However, in cases where the wind effect is not well captured or outdoor wind speed is very low, then stack ventilation may be a viable alternative. Stack ventilation standing involved temperature difference experiments which can be done using both experimental and numerical study. This paper evaluates the possibilities of use of solar chimney to improve stack ventilation in Malaysia's climatic conditions. The use of solar chimneys as stack ventilation in buildings is one way to increase natural ventilation and, as a consequence, improve indoor air quality. The discussion of previous researches indicated that application of solar chimney strategy can increase ventilation performance in the room with optimize configuration variable. Based on the above results a next strategy will be developed to improve stack ventilation.


Background:Accumulating evidence indicates that addiction and psychiatric treatment programs that actively promote self-help group involvement can reduce their patients' health care costs in the first year after treatment, but such initially impressive effects may wane over time. This paper examines whether the positive clinical outcomes and reduced health care costs evident 1 year after treatment among substance-dependent patients who were strongly encouraged to attend 12-step self-help groups were sustained at 2-year follow-up. Methods: A 2-year quasi-experimental analysis of matched samples of male substance-dependent patients who were treated in either 12-step-based (n = 887 patients) or cognitive-behavioral (CB, n = 887 patients) treatment programs. The 12-step-based programs placed substantially more emphasis on 12-step concepts, had more staff members "in recovery," had a more spiritually oriented treatment environment, and promoted self-help group involvement much more extensively than did the CB ...


Hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testing is increasingly recognized as an effective approach for product development. When systems are particularly complex, it may be useful to perform geographically distributed testing when two different parts of the same system are simultaneously tested in two different locations. This paper describes a method to measure real-time signals from geographically distributed locations using a common time base derived from the Global Positioning System (GPS). A high frequency clock is generated by means of FPGA-based modules. The acquired data are then used for a distributed real-time simulation experiment.


With increasing environmental challenging, eco-design not only plays an important role but is also becoming the main focus of customer need in sustainable supply chain. Thus, eco-design may be considered as all EOL activities that includes the whole life cycle in the early stage of the green product development. We believe that, the consistent between design for X items (DFX) and end-of-life (EOL) is one important aspect that needs to be integrated. The work reported in this paper presented innovative decision-support approach for green product development procedure, focusing on application an EOL strategy feedback-based sustainable supply chain. We show that the innovative decision-support approach for green product development procedure consists of three phase: early design consideration, eco-design product function and problem-solving of green product from customer feedback phases. The proposed procedure will be demonstrated with customer complaint problem case for three interface component. Experiment and evaluation related to performance measurement of EOL activities effect in sustainable supply chain is discussed. Three metrics (precision, recall and F1) is compared with three approaches such as the proposed approach, traditional approach and eco-design approach.


In order to put forward new method and basis to remove pesticide residues in Chinese herbs,the influence factors such as irradiation doses and water content of electron beam irradiation on degradation efficiency of carbamate and organophosphorous pesticides in ginseng are investigated.Additionally,the irradiation degradation of two pesticides treated with the same dose in several traditional Chinese herbal medicines like Baifuling is also studied.The irradiation can effectively degrade these pesticide residues in herbal medicines;the efficiency of lower doses are inferior to higher doses.The degradation rate rises when dose increases,and varies among 4~10kGy in different Chinese herbal medicines.The degradation efficiency of organophosphorous pesticides is better than those of carbamate pesticides.


This study measures the relative efficiency of 13 commercial banks in Turkey for the year of 2011 with an integrated approach includes Analytic Hierarchy Process and Data Envelopment Analysis. It uses two inputs (personnel expenditures and number of branch) and four outputs (deposits-national currency, deposits-foreign currency and precious metal, cash loans, and non-cash loans) in terms of production approach. According to empirical result, state-owned commercial banks are efficient in both CCR (Charnes-Cooper-Rhodes) and BCC (Banker-Charnes-Cooper) model. However, foreign-owned commercial banks have the lower efficiency scores than both state-owned and private-owned commercial banks. The results also suggest that inefficient banks should especially improve their non-cash loans and should focus on their annual personnel expenditure. Moreover, more than half of the commercial banks are scale inefficiency. The results of the study may be useful for the bank managers in assessing their performance.


The second and the third order anisotropic flow, V 2 and V 3 , are mostly determined by the corresponding initial spatial anisotropy coefficients, ε 2 and ε 3 , in the initial density distribution. In addition to their dependence on the same order initial anisotropy coefficient, higher order anisotropic flow, V n ( n > 3), can also have a significant contribution from lower order initial anisotropy coefficients, which leads to mode-coupling effects. In this Letter we investigate the linear and non-linear modes in higher order anisotropic flow V n for n = 4, 5, 6 with the ALICE detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The measurements are done for particles in the pseudorapidity range | η | < 0 . 8 and the transverse momentum range 0 . 2 < p T < 5 . 0 GeV / c as a function of collision centrality. The results are compared with theoretical calculations and provide important constraints on the initial conditions, including initial spatial geometry and its fluctuations, as well as the ratio of the shear viscosity to entropy density of the produced system.


We consider a driven tracer particle (TP) in a bath of hard-core particles undergoing continuous exchanges with a reservoir. We develop an analytical framework which allows us to go beyond the standard force-velocity relation used for this minimal model of active microrheology and quantitatively analyze, for any density of the bath particles, the fluctuations of the TP position and their correlations with the occupation number of the bath particles. We obtain an exact Einstein-type relation which links these fluctuations in the absence of a driving force and the bath particles density profiles in the linear driving regime. For the one-dimensional case we also provide an approximate but very accurate explicit expression for the variance of the TP position and show that it can be a nonmonotonous function of the bath particles density: counterintuitively, an increase of the density may increase the dispersion of the TP position. We show that this nontrivial behavior, which could in principle be observed in active microrheology experiments, is induced by subtle cross correlations quantified by our approach.


In the method of characteristics as applied to two-dimensional lattice physics computations, one integrates the transport equation along three-dimensional ray paths corresponding to the discretization chosen for the angular flux {Psi}. The result of integrating through zone i, assuming constant {Sigma}{sub i} and a constant, isotropic source Q within the zone is {Psi}{sup out i}{sub l,m,n} = {Psi}{sup in i}{sub l,m,n} exp ({tau}{sub i}/sin {theta}{sub l}) + [1 - exp ({tau}{sub i}/sin {theta}{sub l})] Q{sub i}/4{pi}{Sigma}{sub ti}, where {tau}{sub i} = -{tau}{sub i} (m,n) is the optical path length in the plane through zone i, and {Psi}{sup in} and {Psi}{sup out} are the angular fluxes entering and leaving the zone, respectively. Here l is a polar angle index, m is a spatial index in the direction normal to the {var_phi} direction (i.e., the y{prime} direction), and n is the index for the azimuthal angle in the plane {var_phi}. In this paper we consider the problem of choosing the discretization in the polar direction (angles and weights) that in some sense minimizes the discretization error in this variable.


IFN- γ (E), IL-12 (G), IL-17 (H) and (I) by Data are presented as mean +/- SD. (J) In separate experiments, draining LNC cultured similarly were harvested at the end of 24 hrs. Five micrograms of nuclear were tested for binding of the activated p65 NF- κ B subunit to an NF- κ B consensus sequence using the Trans-Am NF- κ B ELISA kit. The p65 DNA binding activity was calculated as the ratio of absorbance from PLP 139-151 stimulated cells to that of unstimulated cells. Values are the average ± SD performed 3 times in duplicate. (K-L) Real time PCR for T-bet (K) and GATA-3 (L) was performed using 50ng of cDNA isolated from of R-EAE mice re-stimulated in-vitro with PLP 139-151 under indicated conditions.


This article presents a general six-step discrete-time Zhang neural network (ZNN) for time-varying tensor absolute value equations. Firstly, based on the Taylor expansion theory, we derive a general Zhang et al. discretization (ZeaD) formula, i.e., a general Taylor-type 1-step-ahead numerical differentiation rule for the first-order derivative approximation, which contains two free parameters. Based on the bilinear transform and the Routh–Hurwitz stability criterion, the effective domain of the two free parameters is analyzed, which can ensure the convergence of the general ZeaD formula. Secondly, based on the general ZeaD formula, we design a general six-step discrete-time ZNN (DTZNN) for time-varying tensor absolute value equations (TVTAVEs), whose steady-state residual error changes in a higher order manner than those presented in the literature. Meanwhile, the feasible region of its step size, which determines its convergence, is also studied. Finally, experiment results corroborate that the general six-step DTZNN model is quite efficient for TVTAVE solving.


This work has investigated the microstructure characteristics of high-quality alpha-Ga2O3 thin film grown on the Al2O3 single crystal substrate membrane. Hetero-epitaxial alpha Ga2O3 crystals reveal the formation of a three-fold symmetry at the initial stage of the growth by the oxygen template provided by the Al2O3. Inversion domains are found, and they have a 180° inverted configuration from the surroundings. These IDs lead to extra diffraction spots when observed along [110] and [010].


The article systematizes and highlights the role of exhibition processions in the field of national education. The results of the influence of these measures on the formation of the national identity and self-awareness of educators are revealed. Examples of the main educational exhibitions of Ukraine are given. Exhibition activity with the participation of the NAES of Ukraine as a toolkit of information and analytical support for the modernization of the educational sector is presented. The influential role of exhibitions on the formation of the image of an innovative educator and his development as a personality has been determined. The purpose of the publication is to present the current results of the final stage of planned scientific research on the topic «Bibliographic and analytical support of the activities of the National Academy of Educational Sciences of Ukraine regarding the scientific and methodological support of modernization and reform of education». The authors update the process of studying the problem of educational exhibition activity as one of the effective tools of quality information and analytical support for the modernization and reform of the educational sector of Ukraine. They focus attention on the role of exhibition activity in the formation of the image of both an educator (researcher, innovator, etc.) and directly of an educational institution, a scientific institution. Also, a number of documents of the current legislation of Ukraine regarding the organization of exhibition activities, including in the educational sphere, are given. With the use of content analysis methods of scientific and practical, scientific, informational and reference, etc. sources, as well as event analysis of exhibition activity, systematization and generalization of the obtained research results. Accordingly, the authors present the practical results of analytical investigations regarding the latest publications. Certain aspects from the experience of researchers who focus their own considerations on the study of exhibition processes in their scientific works are also reviewed. In this way, the problem of educational exhibition activity in the context of informational and analytical support and its influence on the formation of the image of both educational institutions and scientific institutions, as well as each researcher, practitioner educator, and everyone who tries to present their own exhibits of practical activity and scientific research in the exhibition environment for positioning the acquired experience and knowledge.


A computer controlled multiple chamber chemical vapor deposition reactor, designed for the growth of InP based alloys, has been constructed. In this system, specular epitaxial layers of InP and In0.53Ga0.47As are grown in separate chambers. This allows for the uninterrupted growth of In0.53Ga0.47As/InP quantum well structures with layer thicknesses of approximately 150 A. The photoluminescence spectra of these structures exhibit upward energy shifts as large as 71 meV from the band‐gap energy of In0.53Ga0.47As. Laser action at 1.5–1.6‐μm wavelengths has been obtained at temperatures up to 100 °C by optical pumping with a Q‐switched neodymium:yttrium aluminum garnet laser.


Regular physical activity (PA) is recommended for all chronic obstructive pulmonary disesase patients (COPD); however the strategies to promote increased in PA in short and long term are not uncertain. Objetives: To examine the effects of using a walking guide + diary (WG) or using a diary (DG) on physical activity, and quality of life. Methods: 31 men, moderate-severe COPD, dyspnea grade 2 (MMRC), randomized to 2 grupos. Groupo WG (n=15) and DG (n=16). Assesmente was performed at baseline, 3 months and 1 year after:spirometry, CAT, Baecke questionnaire, total Kcal/day, steps/day (Actifgrap GTX-3) and quality of life (CRDQ). Both groups were combined in one group for analysis. P-value Results: The average age 69.8 years. No baseline differences were found between groups and after 3 months and 1 year in the main variables. CAT improved (p Conclusions: CAT and Baecke questionnaire improved at 3 months and after 1 year compared to baseline in the pooled group. Activity Kcal/day and steps/day improved just in the first 3 months and both declined after one year in the pooled group. Support by of the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science DEP2011-30042-C02-01; DEP2011-30042-C01-02.


The introduction of artificial neural networks in the process of medical diagnosis meets a number of difficulties. The using of general methods for synthesis and training networks is difficult because of the complexity of the simulated system, that is the human. Neuroevolution approach for the synthesis of neural network models has proven itself well, but it is also not without difficulties. The paper proposes a new mechanism for modifying the genetic algorithm in the synthesis of neuromodels that can be used in medical diagnostics. Innovations allow to reduce time of synthesis, and also to solve a number of problems at a choice of the best individuals for formation of new population.


The groundwater resources in the Nile Delta region are an important resource for freshwater because of rising water demand due to anthropogenic activities. The goal of this study is to quantify groundwater sensitivity to pollution in the Nile Delta by a modified GIS-based DRASTIC-LU model. In this study, we utilized two types of modified DRASTIC-LU models, generic and pesticide, to determine the groundwater vulnerability rates to contamination. The results of the generic DRASTIC-LU model showed that the research region, except for the northwestern part with moderate vulnerability of 3.38%, is highly and very highly vulnerable to pollution with 42.69 and 53.91%, respectively. Results from the pesticide DRASTIC-LU model, on the other hand, also confirmed that, except for the northwestern and southern parts with a moderate vulnerability of 9.78%, most the Nile Delta is highly and very highly vulnerable with 50.68 and 39.53%, respectively. A validation of the model generated was conducted based on nitrate concentrations in the groundwater and a sensitivity analysis. Based on the nitrate analysis, the final output map showed a strong association with the pesticide vulnerability model. Examining the model sensitivity revealed that the influence of depth to water and net recharge were the most important factors to consider.


Minimum distance classifier is a simple and effective classification method. To improve its classification performance, the main methods were selecting the more effective distance measure. On the basis of analyzing the classification principle of decision tree classifier and parallelpiped classifier, a new classification method based on normalized Euclidian distance, called WMDC(weighted minimum distance classifier), was proposed. By adding weight define with nominal and string attributes and adding range restriction of attribute's value, WMDC extended applicability of MDC(minimum distance classifier) using normalized Euclidian distance and improved its classification accuracy. Experiment results show this model has good classification accuracy in most data sets.


We have conducted a numerical simulation under three-dimensional unsteady conditions in order to analyze the characteristics of flow and the distribution of agent concentration according to the number of agent nozzle. The engine room of a ship was selected as a protection space, and flow fields and concentration fields were measured. In case of increasing the number of nozzle from 2 nozzles to 4 nozzles, the distribution of CO2 concentration showed low, and in case of increasing the number of nozzle to above 6 nozzles, the recirculating flow affected to all region was generated. In case of increasing the number of agent nozzle to above 4 nozzles, the iso-concentration line below 0.36 expanded or contracted slightly. Therefor, the proper number and the arrangement of agent nozzle are considered when fire fighting system is designed.


OBJECTIVE To explore whether volatile oil from Artemisia argyi has toxicity on skeleton of embryo mice.METHODS Twenty-five Kunming pregnant mice were randomly divided into 5 groups:normal control group,ig given with peanut oil in equal volume;volatile oil 2,1and 0.5 ml·kg-1 groups,ig given volatile oil;and cyclophosphamide(positive control) group,ip given cyclophosphamide 12.5 mg·kg-1.The volatile group and normal control group were ig administrated once a day from the 12th day of pregnancy to the 16th day,for 5 d,while positive control group was ip given cyclophosphomide on the 13th day of pregnancy for 1 d.On the 16th day,the pregnant mice in each group were sacrificed to take out the embryo mice,and their body length and cauda length were measured,and half of the fetuses were observed for main skeleton development by double staining with alcian blue and alizari red S,scoring the forelimb buds with Neubert method.RESULTS The body length was 18.9±0.4,19.4±1.4 and(19.9±1.0)mm,respectively,and th cauda length was 7.8±0.2,8.5±0.7 and(8.5±0.6)mm,respectively in volatile oil groups,compared with was body length(19.0±1.0)mm and caude length(7.9±1.1)mm in normal control group,there was no significant difference.There was also no difference in the Neubert score of the forelimb buds between in volatile oil groups(285.0±3.5,278.0±4.1 and 289.4±2.6,respectively)and in normal control group(294.0±0.8).Also,compared with normal control group,main skeleton ossification of fetuses had no significant difference in volatile oil groups.Compared with normal control group and volatile oil groups,the body length and the cauda length were shortened dramatically by 21% and 23% in cyclophosphamide group.Compared with normal control group and volatile oil groups,the Neubert score of the forelimb buds and skeleton ossification of fetuses in cyclophosphamide group also showed significant difference(P0.05).CONCLUSION Volatile oil from A.argyi 2,1 and 0.5 ml·kg-1 have no toxicity on forelimb buds and skeleton of embryo mice.


The technique of therapeutic electrostimulation (ES) has developed from acupuncture and is becoming increasingly used for the control of pain (1) and the amelioration of the symptoms associated with the withdrawal of drugs of abuse from ad dicted subjects (2). The lack. of experimental models with which to correlate biochemical observations Impedes studies de signed to identify the most important factors in the mechanisms of action of ES (3). ES has been demonstrated to decrease the duration of the loss of righting retlex (LRR) in animals anaesthetized following administration of acute doses of narcot ic substances (4. Sl. Using this as a model system the differences between various forms of ES reducing LRR have been de scribed (S>. Previous reports have correlated the amelioration of pain elicited by ES via electrodes chronically implanted in the periaqueductal grey or median raphe nucleus with localised alterations in serotonin (SHT) metabolism (6). In the pre sent study. therefore. the levels of SHT, its precursor. tryptophan (TRP), and its main metabolite. hydroxyindole acetic acid fHIAAl, were determined in various regions of the brains of rats which had had their sleeping time significantly re duced by transcutaneous electrostimulation. Methods: Female CD rats of body weight 2S0 :!: 20 g were purchased from Charles River. Manston. Kent. These ani mals were maintained in groups of six on sterilized sawdust bedding in high density polypropylene cages on a 12 h 8.00- 20.00 h light-dark cycle. Food. R. & M. Experimental No. I (BP Nutritionall and water were avaIlable ad libitum. All experiments were conducted between 9.00 and 12.00 h. Rats. in groups of six. were anaesthetized by intraperitoneal ad ministration of hexobarbital (80 mg/2 ml/kg) dissolved in sterile alkaline solution (i.e .• the minimal quantity of SM NaOH solution was added dropwise to the hexobarbital in sterile water until the barbiturate dissolvedl. Suture clips were inserted into the auditory meatus of the external pinna of each rat to serve as electrodes and these were connected to the termini oi the elctrostimulators via crocodile clips. A current was applied using an NET (NeuroElectric Therapy) electrostimulator (European Electronic Systems. Maldon, Essex). The applied current was a direct. square wave of pulse WIdth 0.22 msec and frequency either 10Hz or SOD Hz. The current was continuously monitored across the termini on an oscilloscope. Each stimulator was adjusted until an identical current. of potential difference I V with the ammal in SIlU. was recorded on the os cilloscope. The treated rats were stimulated continuously. one group of 6 at frequency 10Hz and another group at SOD Hz. until they regained their righting retlex (S). Sham-treated rats were connected to the stimulators but no current was passed. Immediately after the rats regained their righting reflex they were decapitated, the braInS were swiftly excised. and whilst chilled on ice dissected into the seven regions indicated in the table, in the manner desCtlbed by Glowinski and Iversen (7L The TRP. 5HT and HIAA content of the various regions of the brain were determIned bv tluorimetric tech· niques previously described (8. 9) after separating these substances by the column method of Kemerer el al. (10). Statlsti cal compansons between TRP. SHT or HIAA levels in the brain derived from ES and sham-treated rats were made by un paired Student's nest. Results: The results In the table demonstrate that ES al either 10 or 500 Hz significantly decrease the LRR duration in duced by acute hexobarbital administration. With the exceptIOn of the hippocampus. mid-brain and striatum. there was no significant difference between the TRP levels of control or electrostimulated rats. ES at 10 and 500 Hz increased the level and therefore. presumably. the uplake of this neurotransmitter precursor in these brain regions. There was no significant difference between the 5HT levels in the stimulated and sham-treated animals. ES at both frequencIes. but in particular slow (10 Hz) frequency, increases HIAA levels in the hippocampus and hypothalamus. rill! II!V/!Is InK/g WI!I WI!/Khl olllssul!) o( tryptOphan. serOlontn and hvdroxvlndole aallc aCId In dijferrnl1 brain relilons o(conlrol and elecrrosllmulated ratS (mean:!: SD. n = 6) Group Duration Substance \1edulla Cerebellum COllex Hvpo- Hippo- Striatum \1id-bram ofLRR


The goal of this research project was to investigate the design process of local designers (what they do and in what order), to map out stakeholders involved in each phase, identify barriers and find opportunities how local Vietnamese designers could be supported. Sample was selected among the designers working and living in the southern part of Vietnam- area of Ho Chi Minh City. Data were gathered using qualitative research methods- semi-structured interviews, sensitizing workbooks and sensitizing cards with images and words. The research results reveal the step-by-step design approach that includes 7 steps- idea finding, plan creation, design sketching, and technical drawing, making and checking the prototype, creating a production drawing and last but not least- working with production. There were found three main stakeholders designers have been collaborating and communicating with- namely boss of the designer, production unit or production company, who is making the prototypes and later producing products, and foreign buyers and/ or local customers. Research results showed that local designers are facing many barriers related to communication and collaboration with other stakeholders involved in the design process. From the research results ideas for solutions were generated and later on translated into 3 diverse concepts. The concepts have been evaluated by Vietnamese designers.


Background: Cardia adenocarcinoma (CA) is a subtype of gastric cancer with a high rate of local and distal recurrence and few targeted therapies. Structural maintenance of chromosome protein 4 (SMC4) is involved in the occurrence and progression of numerous malignancies, but its role and mechanism in CA are unknown.Methods: Through the Western Blot and qRT-PCR, the level of SMC4 expression was determined in CA. SMC4 knockout cells were then generated by stable transduction of BGC-823 and SGC-7901 cells. Cell proliferation was evaluated by MTT and clone formation test, Scratch and transwell tests were used to investigate cell migration as well as invasion, while through the flow cytometry, we examined the cell apoptosis and progression of the cell cycle. The regulatory effects of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and the PI3K/AKT pathway were investigated using Western Blot.Results: This study showed overexpression of SMC4 in various CA cells. SMC4 knockout significantly caused the inhibition of proliferation, migration, and invasion of BGC-823 and SGC-7901, and stimulate the process of apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in the G0/G1 phase. In addition, down-regulation of SMC4 resulted in decreased expression of Bcl-2, Cyclin D1, CDK4, CDK6, N-cadherin and Vimentin, with an increased level of proteins i.e Bax, caspase3, Cleaved-caspase3, P21, and E-cadherin. SMC4 knockout also reduced the phosphorylated protein levels of AKT, PI3K, and mTOR, while keeping their total protein levels constant.Conclusion: Downregulation of SMC4 can inhibit the biological progression of CA, suggesting that SMC4 could be a potential therapeutic target for the disease.


This is the second paper devoted to the numerical version of Signature-inverse Theorem in terms of the underlying joint invariants. Signature Theorem and its Inverse guarantee any application of differential invariant signature curves to the invariant recognition of visual objects. We first show the invalidity of Curvature-inverse and Signature inverse theorems, meaning non-congruent meshes may have the same joint invariant numerical curvature or signature. Then by classifying three and five point ordinary meshes respectively in the Euclidean and affine cases, we look for conditions in terms of the associated joint invariant signatures which make these theorems correct. Additionally, we bring forward The Host Theorem to provide a simpler version of Signature-inverse Theorem for closed ordinary meshes.


The performance of many mathematical and computational tasks highly depends on the implementation of polynomial arithmetic. Motivated by improving the efficiency of the computation of boolean Gröbner bases, we present a cache-aware representation of sparse boolean polynomials. We also present extremely high-performance implementations of the polynomial operations required in classical Gröbner basis algorithms.


Multi-phase AC drives have gained interest and popularity in the research field of full-electric aircraft (FEA). Without excessive complication, they improve highly relevant aspects of the drive including fault-tolerance, which is crucial for air transportation. In this paper, a novel concept is proposed for the electric propulsion system for the aircraft, combining the redundancy of a six-phase Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor with the modularity of multilevel cascaded H-bridge converters. The proposed system increases the flexibility, performance, and reliability of the electric power train. A mathematical model of the drive has been set up and some simulations exploiting different operating modes have been successfully carried reporting the main results in this paper.


Construction of geographic information ontology is the foundation to implement geographic informa-tion sharing and interoperability. Based on analyzing the present ontology, this paper defines the geographic in-formation ontology and proposes the engineering method for ontology development, according to which devel-opers with different knowledge backgrounds including non-experts are permitted to take part in ontology devel-opment. Last, this paper presents a prototype system of geographic information resource discovery service based on geographic information ontology.


The invention relates to a method and a device for preparing polyacrylonitrile pre-oxidation nanofiber yarns through electrostatic spinning. Two spinning jets of the device are respectively connected with a positive electrode and a negative electrode of a high-voltage electrostatic generator; a metal round target is connected with an insulation rod of which one end is connected with a motor; a hollow metal rod is fixed and is provided with a tip; and except for the tip, the rest part of the hollow metal rod is sprayed with insulation paint. The method comprises the following steps: (1) preparing polyacrylonitrile spinning solution; (2) performing electrostatic spinning by adopting an electrostatic spinning device, forming oriented nanofiber bundles by jet flow sprayed from the two spinning jets, and molding through twisting and winding to obtain polyacrylonitrile nanofiber yarns; and (3) carrying out pre-oxidation heat setting on the polyacrylonitrile nanofiber yarns to obtain the polyacrylonitrile pre-oxidation nanofiber yarns. The method is simple to operate. The polyacrylonitrile nanofiber yarns obtained by adopting the device to carry out eletrostatic spinning have the advantage of evenness, and the device is expected to be widely applied in the carbon fiber manufacturing field.


Background: Non-st roidal a ti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are widely prescribed in primary care despite being high-risk drug group causing significant adverse events, yet little is kn n bout GPs' p rceptions of NSAID risks and benefits. Aim: To explore GPs' experiences with NSAID prescribing and views about the risks and benefits of this group of medicines. Design & setting: A qualitative, inductive study in general practice. Method: Individual interviews with 15 GPs using a semi-structured interview guide. Interviews were audiorecorded and transcribed. An inductive, thematic approach was used for analysis. Sampling continued until data saturation was achieved. Results: Thre main themes illustrate GPs' key concerns with m naging NSAID risks. The first theme was p rceptions of ri ks and benefits of NSAIDs: GPs express iffering attitudes towards prescribing medication generally. GPs were aware f t e general ri ks of NSAIDs but weighed these up against specifi risk factors and potential benefits for p rticular patients. They were most concerned about long-term use, risks for children, older people, and patients with comorbidities. The second theme was assessing and mitigating risks when prescribing NSAIDs: GPs considered gastric, card ac, and renal risks of patients as well as drug interactions. Mitigation strategies included alternative treatment, c oice nd dos of NSAID, and use f gastroprotecti agents. The final t me was other factors impacting on NSAID risks: particularly patient expectations and ov rthe-cou ter (OTC) availability. Conclusion: NSAID prescribing is a complex balance betwe n pragmatism and potential adverse events. Given the costs of morbidity, hospitalisation, and patient demand ther is an urgent need to secure a more detailed evidence base and develop practical pathways to support safer prescribing. How this fits i NSAIDs are commonly prescribed in primary care despite their well-known risks. Little is known about GPs' views of the risks and benefits of NSAIDs or why they may prescribe them in high-risk McDonald J et al. BJGP Open 2017; DOI: 10.3399/bjgpopen17X100869 1 of 9 RESEARCH Copyright s BJGP Open 2017; *For correspondence: janet. email@example.com o peting interests: The authors declare that no co peting interests exist. Received: 24 October 2016 ccepted: 01 February 2017 Published: 31 May 2017 Author


Objectives: The Carers of Older People in Europe Index is a first-stage assessment tool to detect family caregivers in need of support. This instrument assesses caregivers' subjective perceptions of their caregiving circumstances. The present study examines the psychometric properties of the Norwegian version of the Carers of Older People in Europe Index among family caregivers for older persons with dementia living at home. Methods: Cross-sectional survey data were collected from 430 dementia caregivers. The sample was randomly split as follows: the first half of the sample was used to identify the measurement model using an exploratory factor analysis, and the second half of the sample was used to cross-validate the model using a confirmatory factor analysis. The criterion validity and reliability (internal consistency and test–retest reliability) of the Carers of Older People in Europe Index were also examined. Results: Using an exploratory factor analysis, we extracted three factors that were consistent with previous findings: negative impact of caregiving, positive values of caregiving and quality of support. This model fit the data well using a confirmatory factor analysis. Moreover, a second-order model could replace the three-factor correlated model without sacrificing the model fit, supporting the use of a global impact of caregiving score. The three factors and the global factor correlated with the criteria measures in the expected directions. The internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach's alpha and was good for the negative impact (α = 0.86) and the quality of support (α = 0.76) factors. The positive values factor was less consistent (α = 0.64). The test–retest reliability was examined using Spearman's rank order correlation and was good for all three factors. Conclusion: The psychometric properties of the Norwegian version of the Carers of Older People in Europe Index are good. The instrument assesses dementia caregivers' situations across three primary factors or alternatively validly summarizes the factors in a global impact of caregiving score.