This review encapsulates the beneficial effects of dietary betaine in livestock and poultry to ameliorate the adverse effect of heat stress. Betaine (trimethylglycine) has its own functional, nutritional and physiological roles. It is widely used in feed formulations as feed additive in livestock and poultry feed to increase performance. Beet (Beta vulgaris) is the main source of commercially available betaine. Betaine's molecular structure possesses N+ and COO-, so it acts as a zwitter ion. Main functions of betaine are as an osmolyte as well as a methyl group donor. These functions showed many valuable effects of dietary betaine to livestock and poultry. Betaine binds with water molecules in its hydration shell and prevents cellular dehydration. This function mainly helps to ameliorate heat stress in livestock and poultry. It is also used as growth promoter in pig farming. Betaine supplementation resulted in increased antioxidant enzyme levels to prevent cellular oxidative stress and ROS formation. Betaine supplementation increased milk yield as well as milk fat in lactating dairy animals. It also increased carcass quality and lean meat production by suppressing lipogenesis genes in meat animals. Also, betaine is stable, non-toxic, and a cost-effective feed additive. Therefore, it can be concluded that betaine is a potent feed additive for livestock and poultry farming.


In forward flight, the dynamics of a rigid flapping rotor blade, with and without a trailing edge flap, are represented by an ordinary differential equation with periodically time varying coefficients. Existing frequency domain system identification techniques were developed only for linear time invariant (LTI) systems. A linear time periodic (LTP) system, such as the rigid helicopter blade with a piezo-actuated flap, cannot be identified using these existing LTI techniques, because the sinusoidal test input signal is not appropriate for LTP systems. Thus, a new frequency domain system identification methodology for LTP systems is introduced. The LTP system identification theory is based on a new test input signal, which is the Fourier series of a periodic signal modulated by a sinusoid. Applying what is essentially harmonic balance, an LTP state space model in the time domain can be transformed to an infinite dimensional LTI harmonic balance state space model. In addition, the harmonic state space model leads to the concept of a harmonic transfer function in the frequency domain. A spectral theory for LTP systems, which is analogous to that for LTI systems, is then developed using a sinusoidally modulated complex Fourier series expansion, and is advantageous because it leads to a Fourier transformation that reproduces the harmonic balance state space model. The flapping helicopter blade model contains several parameters that may not be certain a priori, for example, the Lock number, and advance ratio. A procedure is developed to identify these uncertain parameters when the structure of the underlying helicopter dynamics is well understood. The system identification and parameter optimization procedures are validated using computer models of a helicopter rigid blade flapping in forward flight. *Copyright © 1996 by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc. All rights reserved. Presented at the AIAA/ASME Adaptive Structures Forum, 18-19 April, Salt LaJce City, UT. t Student Member, AIAA, AHS. ^Member, AIAA, AHS. Tel: (301) 405-1927, Fax: (301) 3149001. Email: firstname.lastname@example.com.


markdownabstractNetwork management is of major importance for the functioning and the performance of governance networks, including their democratic legitimacy (see for example Koppenjan and Klijn, 2004; Edelenbos & Klijn, 2006; Klijn et al., 2010; Meier & O'Toole, 2001, 2007). Network management is especially focused on organizing connections between different actors in different spheres, political, governmental and societal (Edelenbos et al, 2011). However, empirical insights in water governance network about the relationship between a connective style of network management and legitimacy is lacking.
In this chapter we will investigate this relationship by elaborating connective management style through the concept of complexity sensitive management, and its effect on different kinds of legitimacy. Data is gathered through survey research (N=272), which was conducted in 2010 among respondents involved in water projects in the Netherlands. These water projects are developed in complex governance networks, because they touch on the interests of a variety of public and non-public actors and their realization is dependent on these same actors (e.g. Koppenjan and Klijn, 2004; Sabatier et al, 2005; Lubell and Lippert, 2011; Edelenbos and Teisman, 2011). Throughout the chapter we will illustrate the survey results with qualitative case material. These cases were also part of the survey. This case material is collected by interviews and document analysis and is part of a study on water governance in The Netherlands (see Van Buuren et al, 2010).


Objective To determine the epidemiologic characteristics of reported AIDS cases in Dalian,Liaoning from 1995 to 2008,providing evidence for the identification of the prevalence patterns of the disease.Methods Case reports of previous years and data derived from AIDS/HIV routine surveillance were statistically analyzed.Results The cumulative number of HIV-antibody-positive cases reached 320 in the duration from 1995 to 2008 in Dalian,plus 20 deaths,including 254 male and 66 female cases.The minimal age of HIV positives was 9,the maximum 68.67.8 % of the cases were infected through sexual transmission,of which 45.62% was homosexual males;blood-borne infection accounted for 22.81%,and 9.37% transmission route remained unknown.The national HIV-antibody surveillance revealed a negative result among sex workers in 2008,the monitored infection rate zero.On the other hand,the surveillance showed 16 cases of antibody-positive MSM(men who had sex with men),the monitored infection rate 3.99%.Conclusion The overall prevalence of AIDS in Dalian was low,sexual transmission being the major transmission route.An increase of prevalence was noticed among MSM.Therefore,strict adherence to the current AIDS-related high-risk behavior intervention strategies and intensification of the efforts and scope for the intervention among MSM is the key to the prevention and control of AIDS prevalence.


Previously, four steroid glycosides (Pa-d) were isolated from the rhizomes of Paris polyphylla SM. and characterized. In a continuation of our studies on this plant, a further five new steroid glycosides (1, 2, 12, 14 and 16) together with three known compounds (13, 18 and 19 ; the latter two have been obtained synthetically as acetyl derivatives) have been isolated and their structures established as follows. 1 and 2 : (22ξ, 25R)-22-methoxyfurostanol 3, 26-O-bisglycosides (proto-type saponins) corresponding to Pa [diosgein 3-O-α-L-ara·fur-(1→4)-[α-L-rha·pyr-(1→2)]-β-D-glc·pyranoside (3)] and Pb [diosgein 3-O-α-L-rha·pyr-(1→4)-α-L-rha·pyr-(1→4)-[α-L-rha·pyr-(1→2)]-β-D-glc·pyranoside (6)], respectively ; 12 and 13 : pennogenin oligosides having the same sugar moieties as 3 and 6, respectively ; 14 and 18 : pennogenin derivatives carrying 3-O-α-L-ara·fur-(1→4)-β-D-glc·pyranoside and hexaacetyl 3-O-α-L-rha·pyr-(1→2)-β-D-glc·pyranoside, respectively ; 16 and 19 : diosgenin derivatives carrying the same sugar moieties as 14 and 18, respectively.


The preservation of geological heritage and its promotion through tourism are still fresh issue and are inserted into a new ramification of geoscience called geoconservation. The group of geological heritage of a region is its geodiversity, a term that means the variety of abiotic elements of nature. The Itacolomi State Park (PEIT) is a protected area established in 1967 due to geological features inserted into their environment. Nevertheless, its geological heritage is not very well known and therefore rarely considered in management policies and programs for public use nowadays. The Itacolomi State Park is located in the cities of Ouro Preto and Mariana, at central-south region of Minas Gerais, and southeastern of Quadrilatero Ferrifero, an important mineral province in Brazil, internationally known by its metallogenic potential. Due to its geological importance, in 2011 was created the eponymous geopark involving the whole region of the Quadrilatero Ferrifero. The PEIT stratigraphic framework comprises clastic metasedimentary rocks from Rio das Velhas and Minas Supergroups, Sabara and Itacolomi Groups. The Itacolomi Group occurs in greatest proportion within its territorial limits. There are also intrusions of metabasic rocks and "canga". Although the processes of tectonic deformation in that region, on PEIT the primary structures such as bedding and stratification seems to be preserved. The primary structures combined with secondary structures such as folds, fractures, faults and boudinage structures control the development of beautiful geomorphological features. The objective of this study was to recognize and describe the geological features located along the paths of PEIT, enabling their exploitation and dissemination through geotourism. The description of the PEIT geodiversity was divided into four sectors morphotectonic delimited by thrust fault lines (A, B, C and D); the sectors C and D have a higher potential to geotourism, since that is where the most representative structures are found. We identified 50 places of geological interest (PGI) as a result of geological heritage inventory available over five trails and roads. Each PGI was described and the data collected, stored in a characterization form. All of them were classified according to size (point, area, landscape and season), the potential use (didactic, scientific and tourist) and interest in the geosciences (geomorphological, speleological, stratigraphic, structural, mineralogical, petrological, sedimentological). As a result, it was revealed the multidisciplinary content of the tracks where the PGI are distributed, demonstrating the geotouristic potential for heterogeneous public with distinct interests of visitation. The contributions from the research were considerations taken to the inclusion of geotourism to the actions of public use of PEIT. In addition, proposals for the conservation, use and appreciation of trails and identified PGI were done as well as suggested the inclusion of the results from this research in the context of the Quadrilatero Ferrifero Geopark, contributing to its goals of spreading the geology and social development.


Objectives: The purpose of this study is to identify the influencing factors of adolescents' life satisfaction. Methods: The data of the 6th Korean Child-Youth Panel Survey(KCYPS) was analyzed using the SPSS 24.0 and 24.0 AMOS program. Based on literature review, a hypothetical model consisted of si...


Specific emitter identification (SEI) enables the discrimination of individual radio emitters with the external features carried by the received waveforms. This identification technique has been widely adopted in military and civil applications. However, many previous methods based on hand-crafted features are subject to the present expertise. To remedy these shortcomings, this paper presents a novel SEI algorithm using deep learning architecture. First, we perform Hilbert-Huang transform on the received signal and convert the resulting Hilbert spectrum into a grayscale image. As a signal representation, the Hilbert spectrum image has high information integrity and can provide abundant information about the nonlinear and non-stationary characteristics of signals for identifying emitters. Thereafter, we construct a deep residual network for learning the visual differences reflected in the Hilbert spectrum images. By using the residual architectures, we effectively address the degradation problem, which improves efficiency and generalization. From our analysis, the proposed approach combines high information integrity with low complexity, which outperforms previous studies in the literature. The simulation results validate that the Hilbert spectrum image is a successful signal representation, and also demonstrate that the fingerprints extracted from raw images using deep learning are more effective and robust than the expert ones. Furthermore, our method has the capability of adapting to signals collected under various conditions.


In stream cipher systems, random key sequence generation is the primary task. The concept of chaotic systems can be considered in generating a random key sequence due to its inherent randomness property. Though the chaotic real sequences are random, the randomness will be lost after converting them to binary sequences. In this context, the authors propose a technique which uses a non‐linear feedback system to enhance the randomness of the binary sequences. In this work, three binary chaotic sequences using a logistic map are generated with three different initial conditions and each real value of the chaotic sequence is converted to 'k' bit binary value using a thresholding function. Some of the resulting sequences are not random. Hence, in this article a non‐linear structure is used to make the resulting sequence random. Here, a non‐linear function similar to the structure of the Simplified Data Encryption Standard is used to generate a sequence using two non‐random chaotic binary sequences. The resulting sequence is XORed with another non‐random chaotic binary sequence to get a random sequence. Sequences obtained from this nonlinear system are subjected to randomness tests and the results indicate that the sequences pass all the randomness tests. Hence, the sequences qualify as random key sequences, which can be used in a stream cipher based system to encrypt the data samples like audio, image, video, and so forth.


ABSTRACT In some cold areas, the system performance of the soil source heat pump system is reduced by the decreasing underground soil temperature, which is caused by the thermal imbalance between the heating demand in winter and the cooling demand in summer. Soil heat charging with solar energy in non-heating seasons is proposed for solving the problem. It has been found from previous studies that the effect of the moisture transfer on the heat transfer within porous media could not be neglected especially under higher temperature difference. Therefore, this paper provides an investigation on the heat and moisture transfer in soil during soil heat charging at high temperature. A numerical model is developed for the study. The simulation results are compared with the testing data from the authors' previous study for the model verification. Based on the verified model, the performance of the heat and moisture transfer in soil during soil heat charging in a longer time and a larger area is investigated in the paper. The results show that the testing data match very well with the simulation results within a relative error of ±9% and the mathematical model is reliable for the performance prediction of heat and moisture transfer in soil heat charging. The soil volumetric water content (VWC) distribution tends to be stable after soil heat charging for 13 days and the heat source has an effective influence on soil VWC distribution within 2.4 m. The effect of the heat source temperature and initial VWC on the soil temperature and VWC distribution and heat power is proved to be obvious. Loam has a better performance in soil heat charging than sand.


We study the chromodynamical gauge symmetry in relation to the internal spin structure of the nucleon. We show that ~1! even in the helicity eigenstates the gauge-dependent spin and orbital angular momentum operators do not have gauge-independent matrix element, ~2! the evolution equations for the gluon spin take very different forms in the Feynman and axial gauges, but yield the same leading behavior in the asymptotic limit, and ~3! the complete evolution of the gauge-dependent orbital angular momenta appears intractable in the light-cone gauge. We define a new gluon orbital angular momentum distribution Lg(x) which is an experimental observable and has a simple scale evolution. However, its physical interpretation makes sense only in the light-cone gauge just like the gluon helicity distribution Dg(x). @S0556-2821~99!02207-9# PACS number~s!: 12.38.Aw, 14.20.Dh The spin structure of the nucleon has been a subject of intense debate for about ten years. Much progress has been made on both experimental and theoretical frontiers @1#. However, some of the fundamental theoretical issues remain unsettled, as exemplified by a number of recent works in the literature. In particular, in analyzing the spin structure of the nucleon, color gauge invariance is still the cause of some confusion. In this paper, we intend to explore several important and relevant issues in detail. To set the stage, let us briefly recall the forms of angular momentum operator in quantum chromodynamics ~QCD! .I n Ref. @2#, a natural gauge-invariant expression is introduced


The article conducted a comparative study of prayers, words and narrative works of Cyril of Turov. The handwritten cycles of prayers of Cyril of the XIII-XVII centuries and their editions are briefly described. There is a necessity to take into account when further classifying the copies of the full cycle of prayers, the manuscript from the collection of the Russian National Library of the OSRK F.п.1.1, XIVth c. The article concludes about the commonality of themes, images and stylistics of various genre works of Kirill Turovsky and notes the special closeness of prayers to his rhetorical works.


Background:  In children of different ages investigated for failure to thrive, low (below the cut‐off for age) immunoglobulin (Ig) values can be detected, without any clinical evidence of humoral immunodeficiencies. To better characterize infants presenting with diminished immunoglobulin levels, we studied IgG subclasses, in vitro Ig production and B cell subpopulation.


The objectives of this study were to investigate the effectiveness of problem-based learning (PBL) in developing critical thinking skills for 1 st grade secondary school students. A quasi-experimental prepost-test experimental /control group design was conducted. Participants were 60 1 st grade secondary students randomly selected from Abd Al Aziz Al Saud experimental language school, Heliopolis, Cairo in 20162017.Students of the experimental group received training through the problem-based learning program, while the control group received regular instruction. Tools of the study included: critical thinking skills checklist, a pre-post Watson -Glaser critical thinking appraisal -short form (WGCTA-S ( . The participants' pre-post test scores were analyzed using ttest. The results indicated that there were statistically significant differences at (0.05) level between the mean scores of the experimental and the control groups on the post critical thinking test as a whole and in its sub-skills (making inferences, recognition of assumptions, deductions, interpretations, and evaluating arguments )in favour of the experimental group. There were also statistically significant differences at (0.05) level between the mean scores of the experimental group on the pre-post administration of the critical thinking test as a whole and in its sub-skills in favour of the post administration. In addition, most of the students suggested that PBL encouraged them to share their opinions with others, analyze situations in different ways and think of more possibilities for solving problems. However, a few students felt stressed and overloaded during the PBL process. In conclusion, PBL promoted secondary stage students' critical thinking skills.


Quality of life is becoming an increasingly important outcome measure in both relapse prevention research and rehabilitation counseling research. Recovery capital is a collection of the people and resources believed to contribute to long-term recovery from addiction. Recovery capital indicators were assessed along with quality of life in a national sample of peer support participants in stable recovery (n = 76) to determine which recovery capital indicators relate to quality of life at this stage. Results reveal that relapse history, refusal self-efficacy, and self-stigma significantly explained about 23% of quality of life in our sample. A discussion of recovery stages and recovery capital is included, as well as implications for rehabilitation counseling practice and research.


Good public sector leaders understand the limits and opportunities of their role. The governments they serve configure their authorizing environment and the agencies they manage will differ in purpose and function. Within this context, they can add value to government by the quality of the advice they give and the innovation they encourage. Above all else, they need the public interest as their guide and inspiration. It reminds them of their broader accountabilities to the public and their obligation to ensure that proper process and procedures are carried out within government.


This paper is concerned with a diffusive Leslie-Gower type predator-prey system under homogeneous Neumann boundary conditions,studies the large time behavior of this system,including the persistence of its global attractor,and obtains the local/global asymptotic stability of the unique positive constant steady state of the system with the linearization method and by constructing a suitable Lyapunov function.


In the conventional floating gate (FG) type nonvolatile memories (NVMs), the relatively thick (7-12nm) tunnel oxide layer is employed guarantee retention characteristics. A thick tunnel oxide also eases the process control in the oxide growth, thus making floating gate technology a popular choice in the semiconductor industry [1]. However, it was reported that floating gate type memory is related in low yield due to the discharge of stored negative charges through any porous in thnnel oxide under floating gate as the thickness of tunnel oxide layer becomes thinner and thinner [2]. This problem is related with high conductivity of floating gate. Nano-crystals [3] and SONOS (silicon-oxide-nitride-oxide-silicon) memories [4] using discrete memory nodes were widely studied to overcome the problems of the conventional FG NVMs. Nano-crystal memories have been worked as a fusion of the existing flash memory technology and rapidly growing nanotechnology [5]. On the other hand, , the charge leakage from nitride layer to tunnel oxide is greatly reduced, since the stored charge in silicon nitride of SONOS memory is localized in the traps [6, 7]. The fabrication process of SONOS memory device is also compatible with high density scaled CMOS technology. For these reasons, interest in SONOS technology for next generation nonvolatile memory applications (NVMAs) has been more stimulated by the possible application to portable telecommunication devices which demand lower programming voltage, lower power consumption and higher packing density. We report characteristics of SONOS memories with short channel widths and lengths (30 nm and above) fabricated on SOI substrates using electron-beam lithography. The devices show attractive endurance and programming properties, achieve a size-independent memory window, and achieve good endurance characteristics. The large density of interface states available for trapping allows these structures to function to length scales as small as 46 nm with reproducible characteristics. The smallest memory structures tested in this effort, ~30 nm, show the existence of the trapped charge memory effect. 1st Korea-US NanoForum, Seoul, Korea, October 14-17, 2003


Fruit morphology of the tribe Malveae has been discussed since the first taxonomic classifications of Malvaceae. The fruits are schizocarps, with some genera possessing an endoglossum. Besides morphological variation in the endoglossum, other differences include the number seeds per locule and ornamentation of the exocarp. An in-depth study of the fruit morphology of Malveae is essential to gain insight into the relationships among taxa of the tribe. Therefore, the present study aimed to describe the fruit morphology of Malveae, including micromorphology, variation in endoglossum structure and arrangement of seeds in the locule, to comprehensively evaluate the systematic relationships among its contained taxa. The results indicate morphological variation in fruit of various genera with regard to the number of mericarps, degree of dehiscence, relationship between calyx and fruit and their relative sizes, number and morphology of spines, number of seeds per locule, presence or absence of an endoglossum, presence and types of trichomes in exocarp and endocarp, and shape and presence of trichomes in the testa of seeds. Despite the morphological proximity of taxa, there are distinct combinations of characters that define some genera, and when one or more characters overlap, joint analysis makes it possible to clarify existing relationships.


The rst generation of numerical simulations of magneto-hydrodynamic turbulence in accretion disks concentrated on determining the component of the stress tensor that is responsible for driving the accretion ow. However other components of the stress tensor are important , for instance for determining the response of the disk to a warping motion. We show how these eeects can be studied within the shearing box approximation.


The statistical second-order two-scale method is developed to predicte the mechanical parameters of the composite structure with inconsistently random distribution, including stiffness parameters and elastic limit strength parameters. This kind of structure, in which random inclusion dispersions are not the same everywhere but gradually changing in space, is called the structure with inconsistently random distribution. So, it possesses continuously varying macro-mechanical properties in space. In this paper, the microstructure of the composites with consistently/inconsistently random distributions is represented. The statistical second-order two-scale analysis formulation is established. And the strength criterion of the inconsistent random composite structure is discussed. Finally, the numerical results for different inconsistent composite structures are obtained and compared with the experiment data. Their agreement shows that the statistical second-order two-scale method is feasible to predict mechanical parameters of inconsistently random composites.


Omaha, June 17, 1905. To the Editor: —Before answering the queries propounded by J. F. Baldwin, M.D., I would like to inform him that there seems to be a case of mistaken identity in the introduction of his paper. He credits me with the authorship of Coppen's "Medical Jurisprudence," written by my esteemed predecessor in that chair at Creighton Medical College. The book referred to above contains in its last edition later decisions of the court decisions given on the fifth of March, 1902. In the light of these decisions, whatever haze there may have been heretofore with regard to ectopic operations has been dispelled. This very decision is in fact an answer to the first query; before the period of viability he is not allowed; when the fetus is viable he may operate in a case of necessity, with the proviso that he looks after the life of the


2-Aminobenzoic acids or 4-aminobenzoic acid react with dimethyl acetylenedicarboxylate/triphenylphosphine in less than 20 min at 15–25°C to produce new organic phosphorus compounds in good to excellent yields. The conversion occurs with selective N- over O-alkylation of the amino group and isolation of the products is accomplished simply by filtration.


Study Objective. To determine the clinical utility of the chromogenic factor X level for conversion from argatroban to warfarin in hospitalized patients.


Abnormal wera of tread is a commonly seen problem in the operation of metro systems. It was found that abnormal wear of tread widely exists on vehicles in a line of Beijing metro. The two main types of abnormal wear are "w" shape wear and narrow grooves on tread. It was found that hardness of the tread is strongly correlated with abnormal wear. Monitoring was conducted to watch the growth of abnormal wear on tread surface. Monitoring results show that abnormal wear of tread disappeared after changing brake shoes. Analysis showed that hardness of brake shoes have a great effect on tread wear. The competition between the wear of wheel tread caused by brake shoes and rail head was discussed to explain the reason of commonly seen abnormal wear of tread in metro systems.


In previous studies, we have investigated the Schottky barrier height of tungsten (W) on p-type and n-type Si/sub 1-x/Ge/sub x//Si as a function of Ge-content (0/spl les/x/spl les/33%) and Si/sub 1-x/Ge/sub x/ thickness for a given composition. The barrier height to n-type does not vary significantly while that to p-type follows the same trends as the band-gap: it decreases with x and the strain. In this study, we have extended our measurements to the ternary alloy Si/sub 1-x-y/Ge/sub x/C/sub y/ and to the binary alloy Si/sub 1-y/C/sub y/. The behavior of the barrier height W/Si/sub 1-x-y/Ge/sub x/C/sub y/ is similar to that of W/Si/sub 1-x/Ge/sub x/: for p-type, it increases with the strain relaxation induced by the incorporation of C while it remains constant for n-type. On the other hand, results on W/Si/sub 1-y/C/sub y/ are quite different, suggesting a change in the Fermi level pinning position.


In this paper we proposed a method to improve the accuracy of prediction of genomic best linear unbiased prediction (GBLUP). In GBLUP a genomic relationship matrix (GRM) is used to define the variance-covariance relationship between individuals and is calculated from all available genotyped markers. Instead of using all markers to build the GRM, which is then used for trait prediction, we used an evolutionary algorithm (differential evolution – DE) to subset the marker set and identify the markers that best capture the variance-covariance structure between individuals for specific traits. This subset of markers was then used to build a trait relationship matrix (TRM) that replaces the GRM in GBLUP (herein referred to as TBLUP). The predictive ability of TBLUP was compared against GBLUP and a Bayesian method (Bayesian LASSO) using simulated and real data. We found that TBLUP has better predictive ability than GBLUP and Bayesian LASSO in almost all scenarios.


Studies have shown that household consumption accounts for more than 60% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Reducing household CO2 emissions (HCEs) can help combat climate change globally and can provide a wide range of environmental, financial and public health benefits. Here, we present data from a large survey on 14,928 households in eighty-eight Chinese cities to investigate the spatial patterns in HCEs per person (PHCEs) and the drivers behind these patterns based on a multi-scale geographically weighted regression (MGWR) model. We found that higher PHCEs were mainly in northern cities with a severe and cold climate. Our findings suggest that PHCEs could be modeled as a function of household size, education level, income level, consumption tendency and HCEs intensity. HCEs intensity was identified as the most important determinant, and its effect increased from eastern cities to central and western cities in China. The quantification of city-level PHCEs and their drivers help policy makers to make fair and equitable GHG mitigation polices, and they help achieve many of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, including affordable and clean energy, sustainable cities and communities, and climate action.


In the Internet Age, the notion that a traditional classroom with face-to-face instruction, by itself, is no longer adequate for higher education teaching and learning as one that has considerable intrinsic merit. Institutions of higher education, therefore, realize that lecture-based teaching methods alone will not prepare students for the challenges they will face. The State University of New York and the University of Illinois, for instance, have entirely abolished the separation of online programs from campus-based programs, awarding the same degree for both programs and allowing students themselves to combine campus and online coursework as best suits their individual needs and choices (Theil, 2008). Furthermore , in Theil's words: The move to such hybrids will be driven by students questioning why they should sit in lectures taking notes three times a week when they can go once and do the rest at their own pace online…. By combining face-to-face interaction with new online options in more powerful ways, these programs should offer the best of both worlds—rendering moot today's debate over whether virtual or in-person degrees are best. (p. 65) In spite of both substantive and specious concerns about the pervasive ongoing role of computers in modern life, the Internet is already well established in higher education and promises to continue to fill all the crevices of the educational fabric (Rudestam & Schoenholtz-Read, 2002, p. 9). Higher education is now available at the students' fingertips, as technology enables them to do their tasks more efficiently, effectively, comfortably, and quickly (Sethy, 2008, p. 29). Moreover, the rapid growth in the use of new technologies, particularly in the use of the Internet and Web-based communication, has provided higher education instructors and institutions with new options that enable them to experiment with the most suitable mix of instructional approaches and learning environments. An especially important aspect of today's higher education environment is that students are more diverse than ever before. In the United States, for example, in addition to a more diversified student population in terms of ethnicity, social status, and expectation, the proportion of non-traditional university students has been steadily increasing. Higher education institutions are thus being challenged, not only by the rapidly developing information and communication technologies, but also by the non-traditional character of today's university students as well (Orhan, 2008). These changing student demographics and expectations, as well as technological innovation and the imperatives of a lifelong learning agenda, are …


An increasing body of evidence suggests a significant genetic regulation of inflammatory response mechanisms; however, little is known regarding the genetic determinants of severe gingival inflammation (GI). We conducted a genome-wide association study of severe GI among 4,077 European American adults, participants in the Dental Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities cohort. The severe GI trait was defined dichotomously with the 90th percentile of gingival index ≥2 extent score. Genotyping was performed with the Affymetrix 6.0 array platform, and an imputed set of 2.5 million markers, based on HapMap Phase II CEU build 36, was interrogated. Genetic models were based on logistic regression and controlled for ancestry (10 principal components), sex, age, and examination center. One locus on chromosome 17 met genome-wide statistical significance criteria—lead single-nucleotide polymorphism: rs11652874 (minor allele frequency = 0.06, intronic to ASIC2 [acid-sensing ionic channel 2, formerly named ACCN1]; odds ratio = 2.1, 95% confidence interval = 1.6 to 2.7, P = 3.9 × 10-8). This association persisted among subjects with severe periodontitis and was robust to adjustment for microbial plaque index. Moreover, the minor (G) allele was associated with higher levels of severe GI in stratified analyses among subsets of participants with high load of either "red" or "orange" complex pathogens, although this association was not statistically significant. While these results will require replication in independent samples and confirmation by mechanistic studies, this locus appears as a promising candidate for severe GI. Our findings suggest that genetic variation in ASIC2 is significantly associated with severe GI and that the association is plaque independent. Knowledge Transfer Statement: Persistent gingival inflammation reflected by bleeding usually precedes ongoing attachment loss or periodontal disease progression. Our findings suggest that genetic variation in ASIC2 that is associated with severe gingival inflammation might be used as a genetic marker to identify people at higher risk for periodontal disease. Ongoing studies to uncover the mechanistic link between ASIC2 and gingival inflammation could lead to novel therapeutic interventions.


Modern data about microcirculation disorders are presented. The methodical base of carrying out clinical-morphological and functional researches of microcirculation is discussed. The individual typological features of microcirculation caused by active and passive mechanisms of modulation of a tissue blood flow are revealed. The characteristics of different forms of microcirculation disorders (hyperemic, spastic, spastic-atonic, stagnat and stasic forms) are given. Classification of microcirculation disorders, including four degree of insufficiency of tissue blood flow is offered.


The performance of a V‐slotted microstrip patch antenna, with and without additional edge slots, is investigated. It is shown that the V‐slotted patch is broadband, but its cross polarization increases with frequency. Placing two additional rectangular slots at the patch edges, parallel to its shorter side, eliminates the problem without affecting the bandwidth. The cross‐polarization becomes independent of frequency. It remains low over a bandwidth, which is wider than the antenna‐impedance bandwidth. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 43: 44–47, 2004; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.20370


Infiltrating neoplasms of the stomach can present considerable difficulty in radiologic diagnosis. It is not always possible to demonstrate easily the presence of a mass, ulceration, or rigidity of the gastric wall, signs which are considered our most useful diagnostic aids. We have recently observed 2 cases in which the demonstration of a thickened stomach wall was possible during gastrointestinal examination. This sign has not, to our knowledge, been emphasized in the recent literature. It is a useful indication of the presence of serious abnormality. Case Reports Case I. J. N., a 47-year-old white male, was admitted to Grant Hospital of Chicago with a seven-month history of epigastric pain two hours following meals, relieved somewhat by food. Physical examination and laboratory studies were noncontributory except for absence of free acid in the gastric contents. A gastrointestinal x-ray examination performed elsewhere two weeks prior to admission was said to be normal. Our examination revealed findings...


The work analyzes the main stages and factors of the evolution of the Khakas funerary rite, beginning from antiquity to the early 21 st century. By the term "funerary rite", the authors understand a system of actions united by the unity of world views, performed from the moment of a person's death, during burial and after funeral in the form of memorial rituals. The analysis of the scientific literature has allowed to conclude that the funerary rite was considered either as an object of archaeological or ethnographic research; also, the need to consider the rite in its systemic integrity requires a cultural analysis. The burial rite of the Khakas in its ideological foundations began to be formed in the Tagar culture of the 8 th – 2 nd centuries B.C. It corresponded to the vertical-horizontal structure of the world, was conducted in accordance with the cults of Heaven, Earth, and Fire. It remained the same in the subsequent periods of the development of the nation. In the 18 th – early 21 st centuries, ceremonial rites were influenced by a number of factors that had a greater impact on the form, but not on the content of rituals. Thus, the influence of the dominant Kyrgyz clan was expressed in the domination of the ritual by the type of cremation. The interaction of various ethnic groups and clans (seoks) of the Sayano-Altai region also introduced some innovations in the ritual and design of monuments. Christianization could have had a special impact on the conduct of the funerary rites of the Khakas but the funeral rite has preserved its integrity. The atheism of the 20 th century only changed the shape of the monument (a pedestal with a five-pointed star instead of a tombstone). In the 21 st century, the restoration of the ethnic culture of the Khakas takes place. The Khakas showed a great interest to traditional forms including forms of funerary rites.


The world order is going through a period of great transformation, in which Brazil is a relevant actor and can influence the course of changes as well as is affected by them. In such context, the present text brings a scenario analysis of the uncertainties and points to possible lines of evolution mainly on the trade front, pointing suggestions and recommendations regarding Brazilian trade policy. This text is not properly an academic paper, but rather a contribution to the debate of Brazilian trade policy from a diplomat with an extensive experience in trade negotiation.


Crossword puzzles, an effective assessment tool in diverse disciplines such as pharmacology, medicine, and dentistry (1–3), were used in a freshman introductory Cellular and Molecular Biology course for 270 undergraduate Health Science students. These replaced MCQs or true/false examinations since, they too, formed the category of One Correct Answer Tests (OCATs). The unfamiliarity was challenging. AZ, a former student and current teaching assistant (TA) in this course, presents her perspective from both sides of that crossroad dividing teacher and student.Students take two OCATS in the course as checkpoints for learning the main course contents focused on Cell Signalling. In the first term, a limited number of molecules (histamine, acetylcholine, norepinephrine, prostaglandins, steroids and nitric oxide) are studied in fair detail. The students are given a set of 25 across and down clues and 30 minutes to write answers in the grid provided. This format helps students draw connections between course content as they fit their answers to the unique clues.STUDENT VIEW: The novel exam forced changes in study habits. Usual study habits such as flash cards and memorization-based techniques did not suffice. Students added creating and completing mock tests to their routines. Familiarizing with the format helped them suceed on the first assessment. Further changes were needed to benefit from the crossword format, which allows links between answers filled and blank spaces. This included drawing out pathways between different signalling steps (synthesis, packaging, storage, release, response and termination) of the molecules studied; in combination with creating and solving their own OCATs, this allowed them to deepen their understanding of the course content. As she gained confidence in her knowledge and continued drawing connections between the course materials, she realized the crossword's benefits to her learning.TA VIEW: Her students struggled similarly. She provided the following support: helped them re-vamp studying techniques; created practice tests and fostered their attempts to do the same; helped them draw concepts from memory using active recall to draw links and recognize commonalities. These active learning strategies allowed them to study the material in greater detail and created an atmosphere of excitement rather than concern. Adopting these new study techniques improved their average grades from 14.5 to 23.85 out of 25. Students recognized that this assessment was a valuable tool for comprehensively learning the content.Crosswords are more than a functional assessment; they foster deeper learning of course materials, should students accept the challenge. Shawahna R, Jaber M. Epilepsy Behav. 2020 May;106:107024. Torres ER, Williams PR, Kassahun-Yimer W, Gordy XZ. J Eff Teach High Educ. 2022 Jun 15;5(1):18–29. Matreja PS. 2021;9(3):6. This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2023 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.


Reviews the history of collaborative reference of libraries.Discusses the realization,organization mode and developing strategies of digital collaborative reference services in Chinese libraries.


To the Editor: With regard to the article by Wang et al. (Nov. 22 issue), it is increasingly recognized that subgroup analyses in clinical trials are sometimes misused and require appropriate presentation and cautious interpretation.1,2 However, we would recommend that one type of subgroup analysis (in large "positive" trials or metaanalyses) be performed more often. That is, from a prognostic model, one categorizes patients into several ordered risk groups and estimates the absolute risk reduction in each group. For instance, the Third Randomized Intervention Treatment of Angina (RITA-3) trial,3 involving patients with acute coronary syndromes, showed an overall reduction in the risk of myocardial infarction or death associated with an invasive strategy as compared with conservative management. Such a riskstratified subgroup analysis then usefully clarified that this benefit was mainly in patients at high risk for myocardial infarction or death. In general, such an approach can be an important aid for clinical practice, so that for any specific patient, one can judge the absolute benefit of a new treatment (set against the absolute risk of side effects, as well as costs if relevant) and decide whether the treatment is warranted for that patient. This approach is also applicable when, with regard to relative risk, there is no evidence of subgroup interactions with treatment. The question of whether prasugrel is preferable to clopidogrel in acute coronary syndromes4 is an interesting example; it may be that the absolute benefit of the reduced risk of ischemic events outweighs the increased risk of bleeding only for high-risk patients. Similarly, if the absolute risk of myocardial infarction due to rofecoxib (Vioxx) had been properly quantified in appropriate risk-stratified subgroup analyses, the benefits of pain relief and reduced gastrointestinal bleeding might have been more clearly seen to outweigh the low absolute risk of myocardial infarction in a substantial proportion of patients, thus permitting the continued prescription of rofecoxib with appropriately restrictive labeling.


The paper analyzes the impact of distributed generation (DG) energy upon the real power losses in a radial power grid. The study is applied on a standard 33-bus IEEE power grid and uses a nature-inspired metaheuristic algorithm to optimize the values and the position of an active power DG unit. Optimal network operation involves minimum values of power losses and maintaining the voltage level in the nodes within the imposed limits. The determinations were performed by associating the firefly algorithm to the calculation of power losses in the analyzed network.


Systemic representation of elements constituting the united system of prepositions, adverbs and transposed elements within the framework of concepts "spaceˮ and "timeˮ is given in the article. Synonymic lines and clusters as well as binary oppositions are defined. Cognitive dominants and elements of near and distant periphery are listed.


Objective To explore the clinical treatments of multi-segmental lumbar disc herniation.Methods 136 cases patients with multi-segmental lumbar disc herniation,116 cases selected posterior surgery,in which the line fenestration discectomy surgery alone 66 cases,posterior decompression simultaneously in pedicle screw fixation and fusion surgery 50 cases;20 patients with anterior artificial disc replacement surgery.Before and after treatment,obaerved the Japanese Orthopaedic Association assess treatment(JOA) score and visual analog scale(VAS) score.Results After treatment,the JOA score was higher than before treatment,VAS score was lower than before treatment,the difference was statistically significant(P0.05).Conclusion Giving targeted therapy to patients with multi-segmental lumbar disc herniation,the effect is significant,worthy of clinical application


Introduction: The sudden installation sensorineural hearing loss (HNSS), as the loss of 30 decibels in three consecutive frequencies in less than 72 hours. The neutrophil / lymphocyte index (INL) was defined as a potential marker for measuring levels of inflammation. The interaction between neutrophils REVISTA FASO AÑO 25 No 1 2018 27 and the endothelium has been described as the cause of increased endothelial damage and would explain platelet adhesion. The platelet / lymphocyte index (IPL) associated with a poor prognosis, when it is elevated in patients with oncological diseases. Material and method: Prospective, observational and analytical study of cases and controls was carried out. It included patients with a diagnosis of sudden hearing loss, who underwent auditory studies and a laboratory examination. For the calculation of INL and IPL, an arithmetic division was made. Results: The INL in the group of patients with sudden hearing loss was 3.29 +/1.56, while in the group of healthy patients it was 1.55 +/0.28 (p <0.05). The IPL in patients with sudden hearing loss was 153.29 +/44.72, while in the group of healthy patients it was 114.79 +/28.52 (p <0.05). Conclusions: The INL was higher than our control group. The IPL in our group was higher than the standard cutoff value and higher than the control group.


The variability in seasonal and annual surplus water in four regions of Ontario is discussed in this paper. Surplus water is that water resulting from precipitation that runs off the land surface or drains through the soil profile to the groundwater table. A one-dimensional, deterministic model that simulated water flow in soil, including plant uptake, evapotranspiration, and freeze/thaw conditions was used to estimate the water surplus. This model, referred to as the Simultaneous Heat and Water (SHAW) model, was applied to daily climate data for all seasons of the year from December 1, 1960 to November 30, 1990 at four climate recording sites, one representing each region. The seasons were: winter (December, January, February and March); spring (April and May); summer (June, July and August); and fall (September, October and November). A corn crop and typical local soil profile conditions, with the hydraulic properties for the local soil, were used as inputs for the model.There were significant differenc...


Abstract Over the past 25 years, educators and activists have used ally development models to emphasize how someone with privilege can enact solidarity across identity differences. Conceptualizing how people develop into "allies," is even more pressing in the aftermath of the largest racial justice protests in recorded US history with concerns about how and if the momentum toward justice will be maintained. These models place a spotlight on "allyship" as a form of solidarity that could interrupt oppression and further justice. However, these ally development models can also limit imagining solidarity across identity, power, and privilege differentials especially in the context of ongoing violence and brutal dehumanization. Some limitations include a reinforcement of binary thinking about identity and a false sense of a linear process of becoming and being an "ally." In order to expand current and strengthen future "ally" models, this article is an attempt to begin a discourse between these development models and some of the conceptualizations of identity and solidarity that come from borderland theories in the field of postcolonial cultural studies. These theories conceptualize identity and encounters across difference in a nuanced and culturally complex way, which can lead to the development of a more informed, sustainable, ethical, and accountable solidarity.


The objectives of the project Harmonised and Standardised procedures for evaluation of plant protection products, fertilizers and soil conditioners for use in organic agriculture (Organic Inputs) are

- To develop recommendations for a harmonized and standardised procedure for evaluation of plant protection products allowed for use in organic agriculture according to Council regulation EEC 2092/91, Annex II.B

- To develop recommendations for a harmonized and standardised procedure for evaluation of fertilisers and soil conditioners allowed for use in organic agriculture according to Council regulation EEC 2092/91, Annex II A.

- This project is carried out with financial support from the Commission of the European Communities.

- Type of project Concerted Action

- Project No QLK5-CT-2002-02565

- Duration 2003 - 2005


This paper introduced the hardware and software technique of virtual instrument. It pointed out three developing trends of virtual instrument: external virtual instruments that connected by USB, virtual instruments that composed by PXI, network virtual instruments.


L-Arabinose isomerase from Bacillus thermoglucosidasius KCTC 1828 (BTAI) was expressed in Escherichia coli. The optimal temperature and pH for the activity of the purified BTAI were 40 °C and pH 7.0. The Mn(2+) ion was an activator of BTAI activity. The kinetic parameters of BTAI for D-galactose were a K(m) of 175 mM and a k(cat)/K(m) of 2.8 mM(-1)min(-1). The conversion ratio by BTAI to D-tagatose reached 45.6% at 40 °C.


Table tennis is a skillful and strong antagonism sport.With the environment and scores changing,athletes' mental conditions change a lot.The skills have developed,so the requirements of flexibility and stability for athletes go up.For a table tennis player,in the crucial moment,it's the strong mental diathesis,not the skills,that leads the athletes to success.


Glucocorticoids are widely used in perinatology, since they decrease the incidence of respiratory distress syndrome and chronic lung disease. However, evidence is now increasing that their use in this age group may result in impaired alveolar lung growth and general development. The aim of this study was to determine whether a low dose of hydrocortisone (1 mg/kg/day for 11 days) was deleterious to lung growth in rat pups, as compared to an equivalent dose of dexamethasone.


We propose a novel approach to the design of multidimensional non-separable two-channel orthonormal filterbanks and wavelets, which has been a challenging problem. We perform spectral factorization of the multidimensional product filter by jointly optimizing the product filter and the lowpass filter. The optimization is performed using iterative quadratic programming. Examples show that the resulting filterbanks have negligible reconstruction error and hence can be treated as orthonormal filterbanks and wavelets in practice.


The CEO of an accountable care organization participating in a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services initiative says he is confident his network of 180 primary care physicians will earn a cost-savings incentive throughout the 3-year program.


The depth and breadth of the terrorist threat in the UK has now been the subject of regular comment by the Government. Such comments broadly revolve around the number of investigations ongoing, the number of individuals 'of interest' and estimates of the wider problem that is thought to exist. The United Kingdom's police forces bear a primary, front-line responsibility to counter this threat; a responsibility that has brought an array of roles and challenges and one which is still a work in progress. Under the United Kingdom's counter-terrorism strategy police forces contribute to twenty one key workstreams and forty two key actions. This provides an important degree of strategic instruction, but leaves the profoundly more difficult tasks of definition and implementation open. At the core of many of the changes required is the problematic shift to the pre-emption or interception of terrorism. A shift necessitated by the suicidal component of the terrorist tactics in evidence. This has two main implications for policing. One is the need to act upon third-party and/or inconclusive evidence where the potential consequences of not doing so are unacceptable. Second is the need to extend the policing reach into communities to inhibit extremism at source. Police are required to develop capabilities and capacities not only to counter the existing threat but also to improve conditions in which it may develop further, to 'help communities protect themselves and counter the efforts of extremist radicalizers'. A further essential requirement at the local level is to ensure that the effect on the broader community is minimized through operations conducted with sensitivity and discretion. A wider aim, under the prevent pillar of the strategy, is to deter those that may facilitate terrorism. Contributing to ensuring that sympathies lie with the potential victims of an attack rather than those who attack. Language: en


Twenty-two substituted pentacyanoferrates(II) with the formula Na3[Fe(CN)5PX3]·2H2O (PX3=phosphine or phosphite) have been prepared by ligand substitution of sodium amminepentacyanoferrate(II). The phosphite complexes show smaller isomer shifts than the phosphine complexes. The phosphine complexes involving an aryl or bulky phosphine exhibit larger quadrupole splitting than the phosphite complexes. These tendencies in M\ddotossbauer parameters are discussed in terms of the π-acceptor capability of the phosphine and phosphite ligands. The linear dependence of the isomer shifts on both CN stretching frequencies and d-d transition energies is interpreted on the basis of the predominance of iron-to-phosphorus π back-donation.


An efficient synthetic method for multisubstitutd naphthalenes from 4-hydroxy-2-pyrones through the cycloaddition with aryne intermediates is disclosed. Various highly functionalized 2-pyrones were synthesized through 4-hydroxy-2-pyrones in short steps. The resulting...


The history of pedagogy has a long tradition in Poland; the first rudiments of a history of the University of Krakow, founded in 1364, may be counted among its first initiatives. The first sketches of this history date from the seventeenth century, the time when the university was struggling with the Jesuits for hegemony in questions of education.


one end and fragility and failure at the other. Future works, perhaps subsequent editions of this volume, building on its important work, will need to broaden the focus to the ways in which states actually can evolve and gain strength to exercise effectively, even democratically, their governance of human mobility. The findings of this subsequent work will need to address how even established states, as well as nascent ones, can sustain their stable and democratic character, or acquire these attributes in managing human mobility. In the end, the spatial topographies of human mobility and its interaction with government attempts to restrain or promote are inextricably bound up with efforts to advance or restrain socioeconomic mobility upward out of poverty and government's critical roles in that quest. Nowhere on the planet is that more the case, as it has been for half a century and more, than in Africa.


This paper presents the first exploration of survey data of innovation strategy and performance of over 10,000 Japanese manufacturers. Although the importance of technological activities among various kinds of firms' strategic variables is generally agreed in Japan, empirical studies of them are very rare. In this paper, I start with basic facts of firms' R&D activities such as size and sectoral distribution of R&D expenditure and the number of patent holding, and investigate inter-industry heterogeneity of innovation strategies including technology licensing. The second part of this paper is for addressing issues on the relationship between these innovative strategies and the productivity level of firm. This evaluation is done by the following two steps, comparison between R&D performers and non performers, then regression of productivity on R&D among R&D performers. Small, but some positive associations between them are found, especially in high-tech industries.


This article examines current issues of regulation of economical relations in the Internet environment. Complexities, created by global and virtual features of the Internet economy, are characterized. Problems associated with the implementation of the tax and customs policy, regulation of e-money circulation, virtual labor, intellectual property rights protection and consumer rights, as well as personal information are analyzed. Specifics of economic crimes and problems of their control in a virtual environment are commented. Also, the ways to address these problems are indicated.


Small osteolabral avulsions of the hip can be easily missed, and postreduction stress testing and a computed tomography (CT) scan of the hip should be done to look for these injuries. The usual modality of treatment of these unstable osteolabral avulsions is suture anchors, Herbert screws or spring plates. But when the bony avulsion is small, the use of these implants becomes a tedious job. We present a novel technique of fi xing small osteochondral avulsion fractures not amenable to fi xation using screws or spring plates. A retrospective analysis of 57 cases who underwent open reduction and internal fi xation for posterior fracture dislocation of the acetabulum was performed and 6 cases that had a posterior labral small osteochondral fragment leading to instability were identi fi ed. These injuries were fi xed using a novel method. The mean Harris Hip Score at the fi nal follow-up was 92.5. Fixation of osteochondral avulsions associated with posterior hip fracture dislocation can be a dif fi cult task if the bony fragment is small. Our technique is a simple, cost-effective, and reliable way of fi xing such avulsions with satisfactory outcomes.


Rates of reported cases of syphilis have steadily increased since 2000 in the United States. However, despite the increase in cases, mortality from 2000–2014 declined. The following study examines the latest trends in syphilis-related deaths using 2015–2020 Multiple Cause of Death data. A total of 925 syphilis-related deaths were identified during the study period, 30% of which listed syphilis as the underlying cause of death. On average, age-adjusted syphilis mortality increased by 9.51% annually (95% CI = 5.41%–13.77%). Study findings indicate a marked increase in deaths attributed to syphilis, underscoring the need to more systematically and comprehensively address the growing sexually transmitted infection epidemic in the United States.


Two classes of linear-quadratic Gaussian continuous-time Nash games are considered. Their main characteristic is that the it-fields with respect to which the control actions of the players have to be measurable at each instance of time are not affected by the past controls of the players. We show that, if a solution exists, then there exists a solution linear in the information, and also show how to construct all the solutions. Several conditions guaranteeing the existence of a unique solution are also given.


In the last decade or so, variational gluing methods have been widely used to construct homoclinic and heteroclinic type solutions of nonlinear elliptic equations and Hamiltonian systems. This note is concerned with theprocedureofgluingmountain-passtypesolutions. Therstprocedure to glue mountain-pass type solutions was developed through the work of Sere, and Coti Zelati - Rabinowitz. This procedure and its variants have been extensively used in many problems by now for nonlinear equations with superlinear nonlinearities. In this note we provide an alternative deviceto thebynow standardprocedurewhichallows ustoglue minimizers on the Nehari manifold together as genuine, multi-bump type, solutions.


Eleven stepfamily self-help books for children and adolescents were reviewed and critiqued. The books were coded on several dimensions: appropriate audience, authors' background, issues identified, advice given, strengths presented. The general interest and quality of writing were rated and books were assigned to one of three categories: highly recommended, recommended, recommended with reservations. The use of the books as an adjunct to therapy was discussed.


Abstract The recent political protests unfolding in West Africa have been paralleled to the prospect of a Black Spring. However, these citizens' struggles have received a controversial media reception in the Global North and made visible a great divide between media coverage in official state-based channels and in social media. The documentary The Revolution Won't Be Televised by Senegalese-Mauritanian filmmaker Rama Thiaw (2016) figures as a significant reference for popular cultures (such as hip-hop/rap and graffiti) in the mediatizing process of revolutions. Thiaw records the immediacy of the civil struggle before the fall of Senegal's then-president and bears an intimate testimony to the mass impact of the urban protest movement Y'en a marre. This article analyzes the inclusion of Thiaw's pan-African vision of engaged filmmaking as a supposedly political gesture in the international (African) film festival circuit. It also aims to critically outline the exhibition and reception policies of current curating trends for African cinemas.


Introduction and Objectives. Vesico-uterine fistula (VUF) represents a rare type of urogenital fistula (around 4%) and it is defined as a pathological communication between bladder and uterus. The etiology of urogenital fistulas includes surgical, obstretic, radiation necrosis or related to tumour pathologies. The main cause of VUF are low segment Caesarean sections (LSCS), which represent 83-93% of all cases. The symptoms may occur immediately after a cesarean section later after surgery or in months or even years, manifesting in the late puerperium or after repetead procedures. Based on menstrual flow routes, three types was described: type I — with amenorrhea and menouria; type II — with bidirectional flow through the vagina and urinary bladder (fistula located at isthmus) and type III — with normal vaginal menses and urinary leakage, when the fistulous tract is below the isthmus, being in fact a vesico-cervical fistula. In this paper we present a rare case of a type III VUF.


Brief content: Mr. Yu Hua is expert in use of repeated relation, especially in "The Tale of Xu Sanguan's Selling Blood", where a repeated relation is not only a major means of works structure, but also a chief means of details. It has created a lingering charming: beauty of the form and depth of the theme.


When symptoms of idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia do not resolve with drug therapy, percutaneous or more invasive intervention may be the next step to attenuate symptoms.


The coxsackie-adenovirus receptor (CAR) is a viral receptor for Group B coxsackieviruses (CVB). Physiologically, CAR is a cellular adhesion protein. I report that upregulation of cardiac CAR in the young adult mouse (CAR/MtTA ) caused a cardiomyopathy that was characterized by inflammation and hypertrophy. In the hearts of CAR/MtTA mice c-Jun N terminal kinase (JNK) was specifically activated. JNK activation is known to promote hypertrophy of cardiomyocytes, and disrupt proteins at the intercalated disc. CVB3-infected CAR/MtTA mice did not exhibit increased cardiac viral load or myocarditis severity, but did demonstrate a greater cardiac interferon-γ (IFN-γ) response when compared to littermate controls. CAR-induced expression of this antiviral cytokine may have prevented the increase in myocarditis susceptibility. Further investigation into the activation of protein kinase signaling, and antiviral signaling will provide better understanding of how CAR participates in the pathogenesis of both viral and non-viral heart diseases.


The utility model relates to a baby stroller capable of going up steps, aiming to solve the problem that the traditional baby stroller is inconvenient to go up steps. The baby stroller comprises a stroller body and wheels, and is characterized in that the wheels comprise supports and rollers, wherein the supports are connected with wheel shafts, the supports are in a shape of three-fork star, and rollers are respectively arranged at the tail end of each support bar of the support. When in use, the wheel shafts drive the supports to rotate, and three rollers alternatively go up the steps in succession, so that the baby stroller is convenient to go up the steps and is steadier when going up the steps, thereby providing convenience for people.


Proprietary refers to the rules of right about ownership relations of assets and stresses the material attribute of the assets relation.Property refers to the organic bond of a group of rights taking proprietary as its core and stresses the social attribute of assets relation,i.e.the interaction relations of person caused by the existence and use of objects.The word 'property right' could not be found in The Complete Works of Marx Engels does not mean that Marx did not have the thought of property right.On contrast,his recognition about the property right should be deepest and the most comprehensive.Under the new historical condition,studying Marxist thought of property omnibearingly and using it to guide the property right reform is of great importance.


Conventional amine-based solvents currently used for CO2 capture processes are liable for some operational, environmental and economic issues. The need for developing better and more environmentally friendly solvents has attracted the attention of many research groups on a global level. In this work, two new solvents are proposed and evaluated for potential use as CO2 capture solvents. The first solvent is an equimolar Diethanolamine (DEA) and Sarcosine (SAR) aqueous solution and the second solvent is an equimolar Triethanolamine (TEA) and Sarcosine aqueous solution. Both aqueous systems were prepared at four different mass concentrations (2.5, 5, 7.5, and 10 wt%) of DEA-SAR or TEA-SAR. Physical properties including density (which is needed for the CO2 loading calculation), viscosity and refractive index (RI) for DEASAR and TEA-SAR aqueous solutions were measured for all the compositions at different temperatures (303.15, 313.15, and 333.15 K). The physical properties results for the two systems showed that density increased by increasing the concentration and decreased by increasing the temperature. The viscosity results showed that viscosity increases with concentration and decreases with increasing the temperature. CO2 loading (defined as moles of CO2 absorbed per mole solvent) for the proposed two systems was experimentally measured in a solubility cell apparatus at different pressures (4, 8, 12, and 16 bar), different temperatures (303.15, 313.15, and 333.15 K) and different mass concentrations (2.5, 5, 7.5 and 10 wt%). The parameters for the conducted experiments were optimized using Design Expert software to select the recommended parameters for each experiment and the number of experiments to be conducted. The experimental results showed that CO2 solubility increases when the concentration and temperature decrease. Moreover, the Civil and Architectural Engineering Petroleum and Chemical Engineering Department-College of Engineering-Sultan Qaboos University CO2 solubility increased with increasing the pressure. Similar observations were reported in literature for different amine-amino acid systems. The CO2 loading for the DEA-SAR system ranged from a minimum of 0.29 mole CO2/mole solvent at (333.15 K, 4.095 bar and 10 wt% DEA-SAR) to a maximum loading of 3.37 mole CO2/mole solvent at (313.15 K, 15.95 bar and 2.5 wt% DEA-SAR). However, for the TEA-SAR system, the CO2 loading ranged from a minimum of 0.2 mole CO2/mole solvent at (333.15 K, 4.062 bar and 10 wt% DEA-SAR) to a maximum loading of 3.22 mole CO2/mole solvent at (313.15 K, 16.054 bar and 2.5 wt% DEA-SAR). To evaluate the effect of adding Sarcosine, a comparison between DEA-SAR aqueous solutions and DEA aqueous solutions was conducted at similar temperatures, pressures and compositions. It was observed that adding Sarcosine enhanced the CO2 loading in DEA-SAR by 23.7% over the DEA aqueous solution. Similar comparison was done between TEA-SAR aqueous solution and TEA aqueous solution which demonstrated that adding sarcosine increased the CO2 loading capacity of TEA-SAR by 15.3 % over TEA aqueous solution. In addition, a comparison between the two amine-amino acid salt systems DEA-SAR & TEA-SAR was done at the same conditions. The results showed that the (DEA-SAR) aqueous solution has better CO2 loading than TEA-SAR system. Civil and Architectural Engineering Petroleum and Chemical Engineering Department-College of Engineering-Sultan Qaboos University


Dyadic research is becoming more common in social sciences, although there is a relatively small amount of publications in this field, written in Polish. In the article, I compared and contrasted the most common and useful indexes of congruence, which may be used to determine the degree of congruency of members of independent (uncorrelated) pairs. I also indicate usefulness, the conditions of use and the examples of research questions which may be answered using appropriate indexes. Mathematical assumptions, strengths, and weaknesses, a way of interpretation of each index have also been presented in the paper. The beneficial results of the review include making more conscious decisions due to getting familiar with using particular indexes in the correct context. SPSS syntax has been prepared with all indexes as a supplement to the article.


The red cell of the bullfrog Bufo vulgaris was used to measure the intrarenal distribution of blood flow in the kidney of the dog. These cells were fixed in 1% glutaraldehyde and labeled with sodium pertechnetate (99MTc); they were 18 × 10μ in size and had a specific gravity of 1.076—a value close to that of the dog red blood cell. These cells had no discernible effect on systemic or renal hemodynamics after injection, did not agglutinate, were well mixed and evenly distributed throughout different areas of the renal cortex, and were completely extracted in one circulation through the kidney. When the renal cortex was divided into four equal zones, the fractional distribution of the frog red blood cells was 39, 33, 20, and 8% going from the outer to the inner cortex. These values were not significantly different from those obtained in the same dogs with radioactive microspheres—particles much denser than the frog red cells. In two other models involving intrarenal acetylcholine administration and hemorrhagic hypotension, there was no difference between the regional blood flow distribution measured with the frog red cell method and that measured with the microsphere method. However, with both acetylcholine infusion and hemorrhage, there was a redistribution of renal cortical blood flow to the inner cortex compared with the distribution determined by either method during hydropenia. Thus, a similar intrarenal distribution of blood flow was found with two indicators of different size, shape, and density. We suggest that the primary rheologic factor affecting a particle such as a frog red blood cell or a microsphere markedly diluted among circulating red cells is its interaction with these normal cells.


To reduce the effect of cell inconsistencies and improve battery pack capacity, battery balancing techniques are essentially required in battery management systems (BMSs). This paper presents a comparative study of four battery balancing strategies for different battery operation processes. These balancing strategies are developed from the state-of-the-art battery balancing circuits and algorithms reported in recent literature. The performance of balancing strategies is evaluated and compared by battery pack maximum available capacity, state of charge (SOC) variances at the end of charge (EOC) and end of discharge (EOD). The comparative result is helpful for BMSs developers to employ optimal balancing strategies in actual applications.


Space-time trellis codes have shown to provide a good performance in Rayleigh fading channels. Super-orthogonal space-time trellis codes have shown to outperform these codes, and also provide a systematic design method to maximize diversity and coding gain in quasi-static Rayleigh fading channels. We investigate the performance of these new codes in rapid Rayleigh fading channels and further propose a concatenated version of these codes. Some simulation results of the various concatenated schemes in quasi-static and rapid Rayleigh fading are presented


The present research work describes development of dual drug‐loaded lipid–polymer hybrid nanoparticles (LPHNPs) of anticancer therapeutics for the management of colon cancer. The epidermal growth factor (EGF)‐functionalized LPHNPs coloaded with 5‐fluorouracil (FU) and sulforaphane (SFN) were prepared by one‐step nanoprecipitation method. Box–Behnken design was applied for optimizing the material attributes and process parameters. The optimized LPHNPs revealed particle size 198 nm, polydispersity index 0.3, zeta potential


The problem of forecasting and prevention of aviation accidents is important for international aviation. Hence aviation companies need an adequate tool for flight safety decision support. For the solution of the problem the new methods and models of forecasting and risk estimation are developed on the base of stochastic simulation. In the article the new principals of development of system for forecasting and risk estimation are presented.


Gentry, Sahai, and Waters created the first identity-based encryption (IBE) and lattice-based cryptography in CRYPTO 2013. This scheme is improved in this paper by exploiting the US National Security Agency's (NSA) hashing function. POSIX is used to create a small and portable algorithm to assimilate multiple keys under a single identity-key that enables protection under different identities to be evaluated as one. The encryption renders the original file transformed by splitting it and encrypting the resulting files before encrypting the combination as a whole. Focus has been converged on modulating and modifying available encryption techniques to be processed as multiple segments of a single algorithm for more robust and powerful application. Both, the passkey as well as the data is encrypted using sets of pre-defined encryption techniques and the algorithm is processed via legacy libraries to be more versatile and provide an easy to implement scheme. The algorithm is developed to be applied in the instances of standalone dataset or in cases of virtualization where the algorithm can be inherited by the subsystems as modules to be used for security purposes.


This study highlights individual effects, which the implementation of school policy has in terms of wearing the school uniform on students' attitudes and values. The survey was the investigation method which was applied through a questionnaire built to highlight attitudes and differences concerning the effects of school unit policy on self-esteem and student behavior. A number of 100 students aged between 14 and 19 were investigated. The results of the study show that there are statistically significant differences between girls and boys regarding opinions on behaviors and emotions that they have as a consequence of wearing school uniforms. Girls consider to a greater extent than the boys that uniform gives the student a sense of pride and belonging to the group. The boys consider that school uniform is a symbol of restricting student freedom to a greater extent than girls. The study conveys current empirical evidence to support the policy of adopting the school uniform.


An assignment of the observed absorption spectra is made for each of six paramagnetic Ni(II) chelates studied, based on the energy levels calculated for the Ni(II) ion from an electrostatic model of the complex. The best assignments, in each case, give reasonably good qualitative and quantitative agreement, explaining the number and relative intensities of the triplet‐triplet and triplet‐singlet transitions and giving maximum error of 30% when compared with the observed positions of maximum intensity. The consistency and relative significance of the values of the effective dipole moments used for the different coordinating oxygen and nitrogen atoms is demonstrated in several specific assignments. For the chelates of unknown structure and coordination, a comparison of various possible assignments enables structural predictions, while the chelates of known structures are given reasonable assignments with their appropriate configurations. The sensitivity of the assignments to the assumed structures allowed t...


Methods : The optimization of the biocatalytic process was evaluated with D-optimal model of response surface methodology (RSM) design, where input variables in the system were garbage enzymes solutions of orange and watermelon peels (biocatalysts) and two different pollution levels. The two levels of pollution factor considered were 5 and 10 % (w/w) oil pollution levels and used as independent variables; while the response of the system was in oil and grease (O&G) removal as dependent variables that were monitored under 6-week remediation process.


The coronavirus pandemic has had a significant impact on the nuclear industry, complicating operations and altering the delivery of both safety and security. This has generated concerns over the ability of governments and industry to provide vital services, while also protecting against changing threats that have evolved to take advantage of the pandemic. Christopher Hobbs, Nickolas Roth and Daniel Salisbury examine the nuclear security community's response to this challenge, exploring how the risk landscape has been changed by the pandemic and the efficacy of new security solutions.◼


Objective:To investigate the magnetic resonance imaging(MRI) findings of muscles and to assess the utility of MRI in the diagnosis and monitoring of treatment response in patients with polymyositis(PM) and dermatomyositis(DM).Materials and Methods:MR imagings were analysed retrospectively in 15 patients with PM and 21 patients with DM.MRI of thighs was performed for diagnostic purpose in all patients and during treatment the second MRI was underwent in 8 patients to monitor therapeutical effect.Fast spin echo T1-weighted,T2-weighted and short tau inversion recovery(STIR) sequences of bilateral thighs were obtained in all patients.Results:Among 36 patients with PM/DM,changes were detected in 31 patients on MRI.The findings included muscule edema in 30 patients,inflammation in fascia in 7 patients,edema in the subcutaneous tissue in 14,muscule distrophy followed fatty infiltration or replacement in 5.Inflammation absorbed partially or disappeared in all 8 patients who underwent MRI after treatment.Conclusion:MRI is a non-invasive,sensitive technique that is a powerful tool for diagnosis and monitoring of treatment response.Edema in muscle and subcutaneous tissue is the most common findings on MRI.


Chemical and isotopic analyses of geothermal water samples must meet certain levels of accuracy and reliability to be useful for identifying geochemical processes in hydrothermal systems. Quality control is largely a concern for the analytical laboratory, but the geochemist or reservoir engineer using the chemical data must also be concerned with analytical quality. To test accuracy and reliability of analyses available from laboratories, splits of seven water samples were sent to four stable-isotope laboratories, and splits of five water samples were sent to four chemical laboratories. The analyses of each sample were compared among laboratories, and the differences in analyses were evaluated using criteria developed for this comparison. Isotopic compositions were considered reliable if they deviated from mean values by less than 2{per_thousand}, for hydrogen and by less than 0.15{per_thousand}, for oxygen. Concentrations of each chemical component were considered reliable if they differed from mean values by less than 10%. Chemical analyses were examined for internal consistency by calculating the error in ionic charge balance and the error between ionic charge and electrical conductivity. To be considered internally consistent, chemical analyses must have less than 5% error in charge balance and less than 10% error in conductivity balance. Three isotope more » laboratories gave consistent compositions of all samples. No chemical laboratory gave consistent analyses of all samples. Recommendations are made that provide the user of isotopic and chemical data with the ability to better evaluate the quality of analyses. « less


Objective To investigate the surgical treatment of Buerger's disease.Methods The clinical data of 22 cases of thromboangiitis obliterans received and treated since 2010 were collected and analyzed retrospectively.All patients had ischemic pain and ulcerations in lower extremities.Results 10 received debridement of ulcerations,21 received amputation of limbs or toes(among them,16 cases with toe amputations,3 with semi-foot amputations,2 with amputation of lower extremities).There were 21 cases of incision healing and 1 postoperative death.Conclusion Surgical treatment can reduce the signs and symptoms of patients with thromboangiitis obliterans and improve their quality of life.


The numerical simulation of complex physical processes requires the use of economical discrete models. This lecture presents a general paradigm of deriving a posteriori error estimates for the Galerkin finite element approximation of nonlinear problems. Employing duality techniques as used in optimal control theory the error in the target quantities is estimated in terms of weighted 'primal' and 'dual' residuals. On the basis of the resulting local error indicators economical meshes can be constructed which are tailored to the particular goal of the computation. The performance of this Dual Weighted Residual Method is illustrated for a model situation in computational fluid mechanics: the computation of the drag of a body in a viscous flow, the drag minimization by boundary control and the investigation of the optimal solution's stability.


Classification of finite dimensional irreducible representations of nonstandard q-deformation U ′ q(son) of the universal enveloping algebra U(so(n, C)) of the Lie algebra so(n, C) (which does not coincide with the Drinfeld–Jimbo quantized universal enveloping algebra Uq(son)) is given for the case when q is not a root of unity. It is shown that such representations are exhausted by representations of the classical and nonclassical types. Examples of the algebras U ′ q(so3) and U ′ q(so4) are considered in detail. Notions of weights, highest weights, highest weight vectors are introduced. Raising and lowering operators for irreducible finite dimensional representations of U ′ q(son) are introduced. They depend on weight upon which they act. Explicit formulas for these operators are given.


The purpose of the present research was to investigate service quality expectations and perceptions of guests in Croatian restaurant settings among three different samples gathered during the period of the past six years. The research aimed to (a) empirically assess guests' expectations and perceptions in restaurant settings, (b) identify expected and perceived service quality factors in restaurant settings, and (c) determine potential differences in guests' expectations and perceptions between the 2007, 2010 and 2013 surveys. In order to measure restaurant guests' expectations and perception, a modified DINESERV model was developed. The questionnaire was designed in accordance with Stevens et al. (1995) and Andaleeb and Conways's (2006) research. Data were gathered in restaurant settings in three stages: the first stage in 2007 on the Opatija Riviera, the second in 2010 in the city of Rijeka, and the third in 2013 in city of Zagreb. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis and reliability analysis. The findings suggested rather high restaurant guests' expectations and perceptions in all three surveys, although the overall level of guests' expectations and perceptions has not changed dramatically over the past six years. Furthermore, a slightly different factor structure was identified between the three samples. According to the results of all three surveys, restaurant guests' expectations and perceptions can be explained by two main factors, "facilities and staff" and "assurance and empathy".


A continuou svariable transmission based on a plan-etary gear set is used in a full hybridel ectrical vehicle (HEV) to integrate the IC engine and two electric machines into the drive train so that the engine can always be at the highest ef?ciency speed while the vehicle is allowed to run at any desired speeds.However,the two electric machines and a planetary gear box plus two power inverters make the HEV drive train much more complicated and bulky in size.In this paper,the newly invented dual-mechanical-port(DMP)electric machine with multiopera-tional modes and control strategies is presented for HEV use.This single DMP machine realizes full functions of a conventional HEV traction system without the planet arygear set.The novel control algorithms are evaluated by computer simulation and experimental results.


This paper analyzes FGD application, design, domestic manufacturing capability, and market managementlants for power plants being built or planned. It illustrates that the major problems in the FGD industry of thermal power plants are as follows: the FGD development lags behind market demand; discrepancy between domestic FGD technology and imported FGDs; no significant progress in domestic manufacturing capability; and lack of systematic FGD design, manufacturing, installation, calibration, and verification procedures; uncoordinated import of different kinds of FGD technology; vast difference in the capabilities of FGD contractors; lack of order in the FGD market and vicious competition; operation problems with FGD installed; potential shortage of limestone supply. This paper recommends the streamlining of the FGD market, post-construction evaluation of FGD installed, promotion of better FGD technology, strengthening of governmental support, establishment of FGD standards, and improvement of industrial self-discipline.


ABSTRACT Policy exemplars offer potential value to policy professionals seeking new ideas. Realizing that value typically assumes a learner who is both equipped with a well-specified policy or process objective and able to model causal connections to extract lessons. Yet there is a gap in explicating how, exactly, policy professionals find ideas worth pursuing. This article draws on the concepts of abduction and phronesis – broadly a flash of insight and practical judgement, occasioned by an observation – to fill that gap. The natural capabilities associated with abduction and phronesis rely on noticing what stands out, making analogical connections, and discerning which connections merit following up. With attention to these capabilities, policy professionals can extend their learning of transferable lessons from single cases.


A charge transfer theory is developed for systems in which an atom, molecule, or ion interacts for a period of time with a substrate. The Hamiltonian of the system is taken to be one‐electron and the nuclear motion of the substrate is ignored. The theory is structured so as to mimic generalized Langevin theory; namely, the equations of motion for annihilation operators of spin orbitals localized at the interaction site are developed such that a primary zone is defined with the remainder of the substrate being included through a memory kernel and a driving term. An electronic bath approximation is presented which leads to equations of motion for the occupation numbers of spin orbitals in the primary zone. These equations have the property that primary‐zone occupation numbers damp to an equilibrium state at long time independent of their initial values. Specific application to a substrate modeled as a semi‐infinite, Huckel chain is presented and numerical results are obtained. The electronic bath approximat...


ii OPSOMMING iv LIST OF CONTENTS v LIST OF TABLES xiv LIST OF FIGURES xvii CHAPTER 1 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM AND OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY. 1 1.


Microwave switches produce a pulse of energy on the RF line every time they switch, this energy (termed video breakthrough) is actually produced by the switch and is separate from any RF signal being switched. Generally speaking breakthrough pulses occur during and just after the switching period and take the form of a sharp voltage pulse with frequency components extending well into the microwave frequency range. The system designer needs the following information: how much microwave energy is in each video pulse at the switching transient and how does it vary with time; and how is the microwave energy distributed with frequency and how is the level affected by control input repetition rate. The authors attempt to provide some of the above information from results for typical broadband switches available today. >


"Byzantium's Initial Encounter with the Chinggisids : An Introduction to the Byzantino-Mongolic." The revival of Byzantine civilization in Anatolian exile after the brutal sack (halosis) of Constantinople by the Venetian-led Fourth Crusade in 1204 coincided with the approach of the Mongol storm toward western Eurasia during the reign of the Anatolian-Byzantine basileus John III Ducas Vatatzes, 1222-1254. Heir of a proud millenarian tradition of Byzantine diplomacy, John III skillfully synchronized his military initiatives to restore the Byzantine world (oecumene) in both Asia Minor and the Balkans so that those initiatives coincided with the periodic ebbing of Mongol pressure in Western Eurasia. Meanwhile, Vatatzes adroitly took advantage of his neighbors' preoccupation with Mongol advances against their frontiers, effectively utilizing his advantageous interior strategic position-shielded by buffers in both the Balkans and Asia Minor from direct nomadic assault-to expand his imperial domain (basileion) a...


Objective:To study the clinical value of detection of carcinoembryonic antigen(CEA),cancer antigen 125(CA-125),cancer antigen 153(CA15-3),squamous cell carcinoma antigen(scc),neuron specific enolase(NSE) and cytokeratin 19 fragment(CYFRA21-1)in the differential diagnosis of pleural effusion.Methods:160 hydrothorax samples were analyzed which were collected from 160 in-patients with pleural effusion.Among them,76 patients were suffered with malignant pleural effusion and 84 patients with benign pleural effusion.Results:The levels of CEA,CA-125,CA15-3,SCC,NSE,CYFRA21-1 in pleural effusion of patients with malignant disease were much higher than those with benign disease(P0.05).The sensitivity of CEA,CA-125,CA15-3,SCC,NSE,CYFRA21-1 was 75.0%,81.6%,43.4%,59.2%,53.9% and 46.1% respectively;the specificity was 84.5%,46.4%,88.1%,80.9%,83.3% and 86.9% respectively;the accuracy was 80.0%,63.1%,66.9%,70.6%,69.4% and 67.5% respectively.Compared with CEA the combined detection in pleural effusion showed higher sensitivity(P0.01),but the accuracy showed no significant difference(P0.05).Conclusion:Tumor markers of CEA,CA-125,CA15-3,SCC,NSE,CYFRA21-1 have high clinical values in the differential diagnosis of pleural effusion,and the optimal tumor marker is CEA.


The author has developed a simple computer code that simulates the electromagnetic response of a simplified magnetosphere with respect to pressure variations at the magnetopause. The dependence of the magnetospheric response on the azimuthal wave number of the magnetopause perturbation and possible effects of a kinetic correction to the Alfven wave dispersion are investigated. He finds that the coupling of the cavity mode to Alfven oscillations is most efficient for wave numbers m = 1{center dot}{center dot}{center dot}3. With increasing wave number, the fundamental cavity mode may lower its eigenfrequency, opposed to the behavior of the higher-order modes. Kinetic effects cause a propagation of Alfven wave energy away from the resonant field line.


Monte Carlo simulations in the grand canonical ensemble were used to obtain liquid-vapor coexistence curves and critical points of the pure fluid and a binary mixture of Lennard-Jones particles. Critical parameters were obtained from mixed-field finite-size scaling analysis and subcritical coexistence data from histogram reweighting methods. The critical parameters of the untruncated Lennard-Jones potential were obtained as Tc*=1.3120±0.0007, ρc*=0.316±0.001 and pc*=0.1279±0.0006. Our results for the critical temperature and pressure are not in agreement with the recent study of Caillol [J. Chem. Phys. 109, 4885 (1998)] on a four-dimensional hypersphere. Mixture parameters were e1=2e2 and σ1=σ2, with Lorentz–Berthelot combining rules for the unlike-pair interactions. We determined the critical point at T*=1.0 and pressure-composition diagrams at three temperatures. Our results have much smaller statistical uncertainties relative to comparable Gibbs ensemble simulations.