This study was conducted as part of the Ghana Family Planning and Health Project with funding from the US Agency for International Development. The Ministry of Health (MOH) Health Education Unit implemented the study with technical assistance from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Communication Programs. 324 women who had been pill users at 18 Ministry of Health facilities in the Eastern and Ashanti regions but had stopped coming to the facility for family planning services were followed up and interviewed to determine their contraceptive use behavior since leaving the clinic reasons for abandoning pill use source of supply for those who continued to use and reasons for switching source of supply. It was determined that the public and private sectors do more to increase method continuation among the sample of defaulters than either can do independently. A significantly larger proportion of those who received their supplies from a chemist or pharmacist used immediately after leaving the facility and continued to use over a 2.5-year period as compared with those who received their supplies from other sources. High exposure to information education and communication messages could be positively influencing method switching to longer term methods among those who return to use. Key findings are presented with regard to the importance of concerns of health side effects and a convenient source of supply and post-abortion family planning counseling.


This study was carried out to purify and to characterize various bioactive material acemannan from Aloe vera. Purifed acemannan was mannose (67%) and acetyl group (23%), and the rest of glucose was galactose that consists of long chain polydispered beta-(1, 4) linked mannan polymers. The sugar and acetyl group in the molecule were linked by molar ratio of 3:1. This polysaccharide from Aloe vera may provide functional food and potential drug source with antiviral and immunomodulation properties.


Invoking Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari's configuration of minor literature, the author of this case study theorizes the drawing practice of a young boy (Carter) as a process of becoming-minor. Critical to this theorization is the creation and activation of a semblance between Brent and Marjorie Wilson's (1977) treatment of the convention-acquiring process and Deleuze and Guattari's (1975/1986) conceptual usage of re- and de-territorialization. Through this semblance, the author extends and further complicates an already complex conversation about language and language usage in children's drawing. In particular, the author explores the scene of complexity in and through which Carter, when drawing, goes about consuming, appropriating, producing, and performing the conventions and materialities of his drawing languages.


A novel series of 2-piperidinyl quinoline chalconeVamines (3-21) as structural analogues of quipazine were designed in order to find a promising candidate having antidepressant potential. They w€re synthesized, characterized and screened ?n vlvo for their antidepressant potential by two behavioural models viz. forced swim igst (FST) and leamed helplessness test (LST). FST showed that compound 5, 8 and l7 reduced significantly the duration of immobility at 20 mg,4<g, when compared with the control (p<0.001), and d€monstrated comparable activity to clomiprarnine (p<0.001). LST further supported the antidepressant potential of these compounds. Furthermore, in 5-HTP-induced head-twitch test and yohimbine-induced mortality test, most active compound 5 increased the rate of head-twitching and the prevalence of mortality. Thus. the mechanism of action of the antidepressant effects of compound 1-(2,4-Dichlorophenyl)-3-(2- (piperidin- l-yl) quinolin-3-yll prop-2-en-1-one (5) may be attributed to increased 5HT and NE level in the synapse.


Extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL) is widely employed in the electronics, automotive, military, and AI computing areas for IC chip fabrication. A pellicle is a thin and transparent membrane that protects a costly photomask, known as a reticle, during the EUVL process. The fabricated IC chip can be disastrous without a pellicle. When a particle lands on a photomask, it frequently results in a faulty pattern, which leads to chip failure and lower production yield. A nanometer‐thick graphite (NGF) has demonstrated tremendous potential for addressing optical, mechanical, thermal, and chemical criteria among potential pellicle materials such as carbon allotropes, Si, SiNx, and Si‐Mo‐Nb. This review summarizes current progress in NGF pellicles, including large‐scale material fabrication (up to 135 mm × 135 mm), transfer method for freestanding form, and practical characterization methods. Current significant challenges and future opportunities for NGF pellicles are also discussed in order to facilitate a critical transition from lab‐scale research to industrial‐scale implementation.


eGovernment has been defined as Information and Communication Technology (ICT) enabled route to good governance. eGovernment is an evolutionary path that its effective implementation requires a complete understanding of constituting elements and at the same time taking a holistic view to stay focused on its overall objectives. This paper introduces a new heuristic model that could be used to measure eGovernment maturity called "eGovernment Maturity Model" (eGMM). eGMM has five levels of maturity encompassing varying degree of initiatives, from the lowest to the highest. Stages include close, readiness, develop, manage, and seamless. In this model two aspects are considered: eService maturity and plan maturity.


In this paper design of electric vehicle system in MATLAB 2015a software is described. In this proposed system model proposed a ANN and PID hybrid controller across PV and Motor. The result and modeling investigation is presented using MATLAB 2015a software and GUI interfacing. Hence in this controller-based system improvement of all over system performance and reduction of system complexity.


The aim of the study was to compare the productive and economic effects of different production intensities of spring wheat. The study was based on the results of a two-year (2015-2016) field study, conducted at the Agricultural Experimental Station in Osiny, belonging to the Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation in Pulawy. Spring wheat cultivars (Arabella and KWS Torridon) were grown using intensive and integrated technologies. The technologies studied differed in the level of mineral fertilization and chemical plant protection. The cultivation of spring wheat of the KWS Torridon cultivar according to intensive technology, as compared with cultivation under conditions of integrated technology, resulted in a significant increase in grain yield by 10.6%, respectively. On the other hand, no effect of production technology was found on the yield of the Arabella cultivar. The research showed that the technology intensity level, determined by inputs of production means, determined the structure of direct costs and profitability of spring wheat cultivars. The compared technologies ensured the profitability of spring wheat grain production. The most advantageous index of direct profitability was recorded for the Arabella cultivar grown under integrated technology.


The graphite oxide(GO) was prepared based on the modified Hummers method, then reacted with zinc acetate aqueous, sodium hydroxide aqueous and hydrazine hydrate, and was doped into ZnO eventually to form graphene doped ZnO, an alternative transparent conducting oxide(TCO) for solar cell applications. The samples were characterized by Raman spectrometer, X-ray diffractometer, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscope, and compared with widely used aluminum doped ZnO(AZO) in resistivity and transmissivity. The results show that the transmissivity of graphene doped ZnO reaches the same level as that of AZO in visible light band. In ultraviolet light wave band, the transmissivity of graphene doped ZnO reaches as high as 50%, exceeding that of AZO which is only 20%. The resistivity of optimized graphene doped ZnO is1.03 × 10-5Ω· m, approaching AZO resistivity which is about 10-4—10-6Ω· m. As a result, graphene doped ZnO may have potential applications in the area of TCO due to its low cost and high performance.


Analyzing a sample of 84 early-type galaxies (ETGs) with directly measured supermassive black hole masses—nearly doubling the sample size of such galaxies with multicomponent decompositions—a symmetric linear regression on the reduced (merger-free) sample of 76 galaxies reveals with a total scatter of Δrms = 0.52 dex in the direction. Importantly, however, we discover that the ES/S0-type galaxies with disks are offset from the E-type galaxies by more than a factor of ten in their ratio, with ramifications for formation theories, simulations, and some virial factor measurements used to convert AGN virial masses into MBH. Separately, each population follows a steeper relation with slopes of 1.86 ± 0.20 and 1.90 ± 0.20, respectively. The offset mass ratio is mainly due to the exclusion of the disk mass, with the two populations offset by only a factor of two in their ratio in the MBH– diagram where and dex depending on the sample. For , we detect no significant bend nor offset in either the MBH– or MBH– relations due to barred versus non-barred, or core-Sérsic versus Sérsic, ETGs. For reference, the ensemble of late-type galaxies (which invariably are Sérsic galaxies) follow MBH– and MBH– relations with slopes equal to 2.16 ± 0.32 and 3.05 ± 0.70, respectively. Finally, we provide some useful conversion coefficients, υ, accounting for the different stellar mass-to-light ratios used in the literature, and we report the discovery of a local, compact massive spheroid in NGC 5252.


Space-time block coding is one of the widely used schemes to increase robustness and performance of wireless physical layer links. However, code orthogonality limits its data throughput thus reducing spectral efficiency. In this paper, non-orthogonal rate-2 space-time and space-frequency block codes are implemented in MIMO-OFDM systems in order to increase spectral efficiency while compromising orthogonal full diversity gains. A computationally efficient soft QRD-M MIMO symbol detection algorithm is used for both space-time and space-frequency block coding approaches. A 4/spl times/2 MIMO system was simulated to verify the implementation concept and demonstrate its performance. The simulation results shows that the performance gap between space-time and space-frequency approach is minimal as long as the bandwidth of the space-frequency block coding depth is within the coherence bandwidth of the channel.


Hainan is a large travelling province,and the tourism is the Hainan province's pillar industry.However,the sports leisure traveling's development has not formed the scale.The sports leisure traveling only just started in China,and it has the giant market development prospect.With Hainan unique geography and the nature tourist resources superiority fully,it carries on the careful design to Hainan sports leisure traveling,the development taking vacation entertainment,the exploration open country survival,the village ecology,the medical recovery keeping in good health and so on for the mode of subject sports leisure traveling to promote Hainan economic development greatly.


Li1+xMn2O4 (x = 0, 0.05) powders were synthesized using the microwave assisted co-precipitation method. Materials were evaporated using an electron beam gun. Structural analyses of thin films coated over platinum substrates revealed their cubic structure. The lattice constant of Li1.05Mn2O4 thin film was found to be around 8.2475 A. The lattice constant of Li1.05Mn2O4 Powder was found to be 8.2488 A. Morphological properties of the coated films were studied by SEM and the obtained micrographs were analyzed using the Image-j software. The roughness and the porosity were observed to be higher for the samples containing an excess of Li. The thin films were subjected to electrochemical characterization in aqueous LiNO3 solution; cyclic voltammograms obtained for the samples revealed two sets of well defined redox peaks around 0.07 and 0.1 V in LiNO3 solution. The redox peaks in Li1.05Mn2O4 thin film samples had lower intensities than those of the stochiometric compound.


The article overviews specifics, tendencies, the main areas and perspectives of cooperation between Russia and Mongolia. The author researches the perspectives of providing national security of Mongolia in the context of relationships with Russia, and the solutions to the economic and political problems of two countries.


b Berkeley Linguistics Society A Continuum of Meaning in the Copula Author(s): Noel Rude Proceedings of the 4th Annual Meeting of the Berkeley Linguistics Society (1978), pp. 202-210 Please see "How to cite" in the online sidebar for full citation information. Please contact BLS regarding any further use of this work. BLS retains copyright for both print and screen forms of the publication. BLS may be contacted Via http://linguisticsberkeley.edu/bls/. Tne Annual Proceedings 0//ne Berke/ey L1'/zgz/1L9/1'65 Society is published online Via eLanguage, the Linguistic Society of America's digital publishing platform.


The presence of dust essentially affects the optical appearance and the dynamics of circumstellar shells around LPVs, while in turn the formation of solid particles as well as their properties critically depend on the actual local conditions. Thus, a reliable modelling of the structure and dynamics of such shells requires a detailed treatment of the dust complex. In our hydrocode, which is described in more detail in Fleischer et al. (1992), the time evolution of the dust component is treated consistently by means of a moment method (Gauger et al. 1990). For the solution of the hydrodynamical and thermodynamical problem we essentially follow the approach of Bowen (1988), except for the shocks, which so far are assumed to be isothermal.


OBJECTIVE To establish an HPLC method for determining the contents of four medicinal bioactive components:mangiferin,tectoridin,tectorigenin,irisflorentin in Irdaceae by RP-HPLC and to compare the contents of 4 medicinal components in rhizome and beard.METHODS The assay was performed on a Kromail-C18 column(200 mm×4.6 mm,5 μm),eluted with a mobile phase consisted of acetonitrile and 0.2% phosphate and gradient elution at a flow rate of 1 mL·min-1.The detection wavelength was at 266 nm.RESULTS The method had effective separation for mangiferin,tectoridin,tectorigenin and irisflorentin with good linearity(r0.9990).The reproducibility and stability were good and the average recovery were ranged from 96.35% to 97.82% for four components.CONCLUSION The method is simple,rapid and reliable.The maximum content of mangiferin and irisflorentin were obtained in beard.


Transport is an important sector of the economy of Denmark. Good transport and mobility has a large impact on the Danish economy, and its importance is still growing. Denmark has a well-developed road network. In this small country there is more than 74,000 km of public roads, also more than 1100 km of high-quality highways. Denmark is widely know as a country of bridges. Bridges in the country which is located on the islands and peninsula are necessary nowadays. They have become an integral part of the landscape, and also a sign of recognition. The largest Danish bridges include, Storebaeltsbroen, Oresundsbroen, Lillebaeltsbroen and Faro Bridges. By means of such a developed infrastructure, including impressive bridges, Denmark has become the actual center of Northern Europe. Good road infrastructure can primarily facilitate the movement of people and goods, creating the necessary spatial relationships (so-called feature integration) and provide internal economic and social cohesion of the country, affecting the growth of social mobility and communication of the population


Radon-222 has been widely used to infer emissions fluxes of trace gases such as CO 2 , CH 4 , N 2 O, CFCs and methyl-chloroform at the regional-scale. This technique uses radon-222 to calibrate the flux of a given trace gas based on a measurements only approach. The "radon-tracer" method strongly relies on the following assumptions: (1) a well-quantified radon-222 flux; (2) a uniform radon-222 flux; and (3) co-location of emissions sources of both radon-222 and the specie of interest. The inferred flux is representative of an area which remains to be determined. This is generally achieved using a model-based footprint analysis. The paper by A. Hirsch uses synthetic radon-222 and CO2 data for the months of July and September 2000 generated using EDGAR CO2 fossil CO 2 flux, SIB2 Net Ecosys-tem Exchange (NEE) CO 2 flux, and a typical radon-222 flux of 1 atom.cm-2.s-1. It is between weighted average and evenly-weighted spa-tial CO 2 flux inferred using the the method, to be corrected for covariance between the flux of CO 2 and the footprint sensitivity (unless the covariance is small). The comparison of NEE and fossil fuel emissions inferred using the method and output model simulation is interesting and shows that the magnitude of the correction is quit large. The fact that this correction is on the same order of magnitude as the "radon-tracer" method inferred in for both NEE and fossil fuel emissions showing the difference between a winter and summer month a different picture. A detailed analysis of the uncertainties of the method and a comparison with other techniques are also shown. As mentioned by the author, it would be extremely valuable for the "radon-tracer" method to study the impact of a non-uniform radon-222 flux on inferred CO 2 fluxes. The paper paves the way for a study on bottom-up and top-down approaches using "real" rather than "synthetic" data, and regional inventories of NEE and fossil fuel emissions.


A series of novel ionic chromophores consisting of a carbazole moiety and pyridinium rings connected by a double bond have been designed and synthesized as nonlinear optical materials. Their linear and nonlinear optical properties were investigated by semiempirical calculation and experiment. The absorption maximum wavelengths (lmax) of these ionic chromophores showed shifting to longer wavelength region than their corresponding electrically neutral compounds. These ionic chromophores possess large first hyperpolarizabilities (b).


Abstract : This report presents results of simulated concurrent tree rewriting of programs in the OBJ2 language, as well as descriptive statistics for the rule sets of typical OBJ2 examples. This work explores the use of OBJ2 as a concurrent programming language, explores in detail the implications of the concurrent tree rewriting model for realistic problems, and provides information for design decisions about the Rewrite Rule Machine. We found that it was easy to write good concurrent programs in OBJ2; most rewrite rules from the OBJ2 examples are simple and fall into easy-to-handle categories. The simulations indicate that concurrently executed interpreted programs will often be faster than sequentially executed compiled programs. This report also presents some techniques for controlling tree size in concurrent rewriting. Finally, we present some high-level simulation results for a VLSI rewrite rule engine that we are considering implementing. The results are highly favorable.


Abstract.  1. Cattle avoid grazing around their dung. This pattern persists after the decomposition of the initial dung patch leading to the formation of taller grass patches, termed islets. It is known that islets hold a disproportionate amount of the arthropods in grazed grasslands.


Growing population and increasing air pollution in different countries around the world have incentivized the need to expand the renewable power plant capacities. Small-scale renewable power plants, especially solar and wind power plants, are usually not able to compete in the wholesale electricity markets partly due to their small size. This problem has been resolved by the concept of the Virtual Power Plants (VPP), where a collection of small-scale power plants form a VPP and participates in the wholesale electricity markets. In this paper, the VPP capacity investment problem is formulated and solved. A multi-objective function is considered for VPP investment problem. To test, the formulated optimization problem, three different investment scenarios are considered and optimization problems are solved centrally. The results confirm the utility of our developed optimization model.


We propose an optical-path-length-shifting digital holography with single-shot exposure for capturing three-dimensional images of color object. The proposed technique was numerically simulated and its validity was confirmed by evaluating root mean square errors.


Many of financial data are explained via diffusion models in modern financial research. Various types of estimation methods of diffusion processes were suggested by many authors. In this paper, we tested the properties of the NLL estimation method, suggested by Shoji and Ozaki (1998), of diffusion processes in the view of the bias and variance of the estimators and applied the method to estimate the model parameters for the U.S. fedral funds rate data and Korean inter-bank exchange rate data. By simulation study we showed that the NLL method provides relatively good estimators, in the meaning that the estimator has less bias than the Euler method, while keeping the variance similar level. We also provide the NLL estimates of U.S fedral funds rate data and Korean inter-bank exchange rate data.


By the advantage of fuzzy system in rule extraction, fuzzy neural networks make up the disadvantage of neural networks. And make use of fuzzy neural networks on business rules and data mining. Structure fuzzy neural network and training it, and then make the extraction rules steps less complicated by network cut out. In the end use threshold to filtering rules and extract effective business association rules.


The existence of cavities in shallow ground strata is one of the important causes of urban road collapse under the disturbance of tunnel excavation. Thus, this paper discusses the convergent deformation mode of ellipsoidal cavities. To this end, the convergent deformation of a cavity and the overall displacement of a tunnel were comprehensively examined. A three-dimensional symmetrical calculation model of the soil deformation under the combined action of the tunnel and the cavity was also established. Moreover, three-dimensional formulas for calculating the soil deformation and the surface settlement of the upper part of the tunnel and the cavity were derived. The influence of the different positions of the cavity on the surface settlement of the upper part of the tunnel was also examined. Further, the change in the soil settlement with the direction of the tunnel excavation and the depth of burial of the cavity was analyzed. The results show that the calculated settlement curves are consistent with the ones reported in the related literature. The cavity can also aggravate the surface settlement and deformation of the soil caused by the tunnel excavation. When the cavity is directly above the tunnel, the surface settlement curve is symmetrically distributed. As the position of the cavity changes, the overall settlement curve shifts to the direction of the cavity, showing asymmetry. Additionally, along the x-axis direction of the shielded tunnel, the surface settlement gradually increases to a limit value with a decrease in x and slowly declines to zero as x rises. Finally, along the depth of burial of the cavity, the settlement of the soil continues to enlarge; also, the growth rate of the soil settlement continues to increase further at positions closer to the cavity and the tunnel until it reaches a critical maximum.


The paper addresses the issue of depopulation in Russia, especially the ethnic aspect of this process considering the regional approach. Two essential aspects of depopulation were discussed i.e., the quantitative aspect resulting from the rate of natural increase or decrease and migration, as well as the qualitative aspect exerting impact on changes in the number of ethnic groups, namely the shift in ethnic self-identification. The analysis was conducted for the period of 1989–2010 (the last census in the USSR and the last census conducted in the Russian Federation). Population change in Russia has acquired a specific meaning in regional terms, leading to significant quantitative and structural transformation. On the one hand, there is a depopulation of native Russian regions and ethnic structured regions dominated by the Russians (or more broadly by the Slavs), and on the other, demographic expansion of non- Slavic ethnic groups, especially of North Caucasus. Changing the mutual relations between ethnic groups may cause tension or escalation of ethnic conflicts.


In this paper we estimate the intrahousehold distribution of household's private expenditures between men and women (the sharing rule) in two types of Spanish households: those in which the woman works and those in which the woman does not work. The results for working women are parallel to those obtained for other countries which indicate a proportionally higher transfer from the woman to the man than from the man to the woman, such that the proportion of the woman's share decreases both with the woman's wage and with the man's wage. However, in households where the woman does not work, we observe a slight increase in the proportion of the woman's share when the man's wage increases.


We described the HIV-1 subtypes and the frequency of resistance mutations in HIV-1 integrase region among antiretroviral-naive patients with HIV/AIDS from Belém, Pará, Amazon region of Brazil. The partial integrase gene sequence of 59 antiretroviral-naive HIV-1 infected patients was amplified and sequenced. Genotypic analyses revealed the absence of major resistance-associated mutations to integrase but minor polymorphic mutations were present in 44.1% of patients and M50I polymorphism was the more prevalent.


Several investigators have demonstrated that continuous intravenous infusions of Factor VIII' in patients with hemophilia are safe, hemostatically effective, and provide a constant level of Factor VIII, thus avoiding the peaks and troughs common in bolus infusion therapy. Patients with low and high titer Factor VIII inhibitors and lifethreatening hemorrhage refractory to conventional treatmentwho were treated with continuous infusions of monoclonal antibody purified (MoAb) Factor VIII achieved clinical hemostasis and in vivo recovery of Factor VIII."7 Continuous infusions of Factor VIII have also been used successfully for the surgical management of hospitalized patients with Factor VIII inhibitors5 and for the induction of immune tolerance.7'8 We report a 3-year-old boy with severe hemophiliaA and a low titer inhibitor who was discharged 2 days after placement of a central venous access device (Port-a-Cath, Pharmacia, St. Paul, MN) and successfully managed at home on a continuous infusion of MoAb Factor VIII. The use of a continuous infusion ofFactor VIII in the home setting offered the child and family a practical, safe, economical alternative to prolonged hospitalization, which was previously considered necessary for the maintenance of a continuous infusion of Factor VIII in postoperative patients with hemophilia.


1 Annu. Rev. Criminol. 2018. 1:X--X https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-criminol-032317-092026 Copyright © 2018 by Annual Reviews. All rights reserved OUSEY ■ KUBRIN IMMIGRATION AND CRIME IMMIGRATION AND CRIME: Assessing a Contentious Issue Graham C. Ousey and Charis E. Kubrin Department of Sociology, College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, VA 23187; email: email@example.com Department of Criminology, Law & Society, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697


Preparation of our treatment of the family Myrsinaceae for the florula of the "Rio Cenepa" region resulted in the discovery of a heretofore undescribed species in the genus Stylogyne. Stylogyne aguarunana Pipoly & Ricketson is described, illustrated, mapped and its phylogenetic relations are discussed.


In the late 1990s, the Japanese government initiated a number of reforms that resulted in lower transaction costs and made the Japanese equity market more attractive for foreign institutions. Following these changes, foreign institutional holdings more than doubled, providing an opportunity to study how changes in the composition of investors affect market liquidity. Our analysis of a panel of firm-level ownership data indicates that Japanese stocks that are held more by foreign institutions tend to trade more actively, but are less liquid as measured by their quoted and effective bid-ask spreads, their short-term idiosyncratic volatilities and return reversals. To address endogeneity concerns we use index membership, the number of English news stories about Japanese companies, and their export to sales ratios as instruments for changes in foreign institutional holdings. We find that over the entire sample period, spreads and return reversals decrease less and idiosyncratic volatilities increase more for those stocks with higher foreign holdings.


We present the results of color Doppler ultrasound in a pregnant with previous hypogastric arteries ligation. It was in a normal range.


Given the importance of careers in Western society, surprisingly little attention has been given to career development as an integral part of adolescent psychological development. This study investigated the impact of clarifying career interests on adolescent self-concept. Fifty-five Year Nine students attending a rural high school took part in a school-based career development program. Pretest and post-test measures were taken utilising the Piers-Harris Children's Self-concept Scale. Two groups of students were allocated to a career intervention that involved a career interest test followed by specific career exploration, whereas a third group was allocated to a control condition. One intervention group was allocated to a longer period of exploration between the intervention and the post-test. A significant increase in self-concept scores was found for the longer exploration group. A similar trend was evident for the shorter exploration group, but this effect was not significant.


Lane detection with the use of a camera is an essential task required for the development of advanced driving assistance system. In this paper, edges of the lane are generated by applying Canny's method. The edge detection usually makes different results for several environmental conditions depending on the clearness of lane quality, so that it sometimes causes wrong lane detection. Therefore, we propose robust algorithm to environmental changes that automatically adjusts parameter for edge detection and generates edges more stably. Based on the acquired edges, we finally generate the spline curve of lane by using Catmull Rom spline. Keyword : Road surface condition, Lane detection, Canny detection, Hough transform, Vanishing line


Introduction: Cutaneous metastasis (CM) is an uncommon clinical presentation and poses trouble in diagnosis. However, it is remarkable and can occur due to a known or an unknown primary tumor. Despite the fact that clinical assessment helps in the diagnosis, Fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is a modest, basic, and quick principle line of investigation for the finding of CM. Materials and Methods: It was a retrospective study conducted in the department of pathology at a tertiary care teaching hospital. The study was conducted from January 2010 to May 2020. All cases of CM that has been diagnosed by FNAC were included. Results: During the study period, a total of 37 cases of CM were observed, constituting 0.15% of all FNACs. The age of the patients ranged from 35 to 74 years, and the male: female ratio was 1.05:1. Primary tumor was known in all 37 cases. Among males, lung carcinoma was the more common whereas breast was the most common organ of primary among females. The most common lesion was a single nodule (27 cases), with predominant site being chest wall (32.5%), and the most common tumor at microscopy was metastatic adenocarcinoma. Conclusion: FNAC is a fast and safe procedure that can be utilized as a first line of investigation in diagnosing metastatic skin lesions. Basic assessment of cytomorphology alongside significant clinical subtleties could help in recognizing the site of an unknown primary.


The prosthodontic management of the child with ectodermal dysplasia is made difficult because of the under-development of the alveolar ridges. This paper describes a case where tricalcium phosphate was placed in sockets immediately following the extraction of the primary incisor teeth to help maintain alveolar bone width, offering a valuable alternative treatment option in the prosthodontic management of the child patient with ectodermal dysplasia.


The policy in the field of Public Diplomacy of ALBA countries in the Middle East is one of the most important foreign policy guidelines of the ALBA countries in their asymmetric information confrontation with the United States. In the period of 2006-2013 ALBA countries had an impact on the international media in order to create a negative reputation of the United States. Strengthening foreign policy dialogue of the ALBA countries with Syria, uniting the two regions on a base of confrontation with unipolar influence of the United States, opens possibilities for the formation of new centers of power, opposed to the current unipolar world.


Carbon nitride (CN{sub x}) thin films (0.18 < x < 0.43), deposited by magnetron sputtering of C in a N{sub 2} discharge, have been observed to be extremely resistant to plastic deformation during surface contact (i.e., exhibit a purely elastic response over large strains). Elastic recoveries as high as 90% have been measured by nanoindentation. This paper addresses the problems of estimating Young`s modulus (E) and hardness (H) in such cases and shows how different strategies involving analysis of both loading and unloading curves and measuring the work of indentation each present their own problems. The results of some cyclic contact experiments are also presented and possible deformation mechanisms in the fullerene-like CN{sub x} structures discussed.


Background:Based on data from the Central Statistics Agency of Konawe Islands Regency in 2019, it is known that the number of Senior High Schools is 7 units, with a total of 1,717 students. The results of reports of teenagers who married before the age of 18 in 2019 were as many as 49 people. Based on this, the rate of early marriage in the last 2 years actually shows an increase. Researchers took the theme of early marriage because from the results of preliminary studies conducted by researchers, most adolescents have insufficient knowledge about early marriage and its effects on the social environment of adolescents. So it is not surprising why the rate of early marriage in Konawe Islands Regency is generally the third highest in Southeast Sulawesi Province.
Methods:This research is a quantitative research with a comparative study research type. The population in this study were 332 people and 179 samples with the sampling technique using stratified random sampling.
Result:Test results with the Mann Whitney Test The significant value for knowledge shows the value of p-value = 0.000 <value ? = 0.05 and the significant value for the social environment of adolescents shows the value of pvalue = 0.000 <value ? = 0.05, which means that there are differences in knowledge and social environment of adolescents in State Senior High School the Youth Counseling Program and Information are active and inactive towards early marriage.
Conclusion:There are differences in the knowledge and social environment of adolescents in the State MenengaAtas School where the Youth Counseling Program and Information are active and inactive towards early marriage.


Licorice, the root part of species of the genus Glycyrrhiza (Leguminosae), is an extensively used herbal drug in Western and Eastern medicine. In traditional Chinese formulations, it is mainly roasted licorice that has been used rather than raw licorice. We have compared the chemical components and neuroprotective effects of licorice before and after roasting to clarify the pharmaceutical significance of the roasting. We used Glycyrrhiza inflata Bat. one of major licorice from China. Roasting licorice at 150–250 °C for 20–100 min resulted in the conversion of glycyrrhizin to glycyrrhetic acid and glycyrrhetic acid monoglucuronide. To examine whether roasted licorice ethanol extract (rLee) exhibits neuroprotective effects, transient forebrain ischemia was induced in gerbils by blocking both common carotid arteries for 5 min. The neuroprotective effect was evaluated by measuring cresyl violet positive pyramidal cells (CVPPC) in the CA1 region at 5 days after ischemia / reperfusion. The percentage of CVPPC in transient forebrain ischemia group was decreased by 89% compared to that of the sham‐operated group. Neuronal cell density in rLee‐treated ischemic animals was significantly increased compared to vehicle‐treated ischemic animals, whereas raw licorice ethanol extract had no effect. In the rLee‐treated ischemic group (50 mg / kg, po), the numbers of CVPPC were approximately 66% of those in the vehicle‐treated control group. This result suggests that the rLee may be applicable to protective foods against ischemic damage.


More particularly, the present invention relates to a cosmetic composition containing a fermented extract of Oceana, and more particularly, to a cosmetic composition containing a fermented extract of Oceana and a herbal extract as an active ingredient, Wherein the extract is obtained by inoculating a lactic acid bacterium into an extract of a plant, and fermenting the extract. The extract of the plant is characterized in that it is an extract of ginger, cinnamon, clove, pomegranate, acacia, peppermint, According to the cosmetic composition of the present invention, the effect of improving wrinkles and improving skin tone is excellent. In addition, elasticity imparting and moisturizing effect are also excellent.


ABSTRACT A simulation model was developed to predict available spring workdays and the earliest possible planting dates for soils with a subsurface drain-age system. Applying the model to two Illinois soils, it was found that as many as two available workdays in April and 19 days in May are gained by installing a recommended subsurface drainage system. The optimum drain spacing based on the timeliness bene-fit of earlier corn planting ranged from 24 to 61 m, depending on permeability and soil type. The average annual timeliness benefit for installing the optimum subsurface drainage system was $37 to $156/ha.


An investigation was undertaken to compare the effects of halothane and CCl 4 on various components of the drug metabolism system in hepatic microsomes and to study the influence of phenobarbital pretreatment on these effects. Groups of rats were pretreated with saline or phenobarbital (50 mg/kg i.p.) for three days. Some animals received halothane (1 nil/kg i.p.) on days 4 and 5 whereas other animals received CCl 4 (0.4 ml/kg) on day 5. The animals were sacrificed 24 hours later. Both halothane and CCl 4 significantly decreased microsomal ethylmorphine demethylase, reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate-cyto-chrome c reductase and cytochrome P-450, but the effects were considerably less pronounced with halothane. Aniline hydroxylase activity was impaired by CCl 4 treatment but not by halothane. After phenobarbital pretreatment, halothane had no significant effect on microsomal enzyme activities, but the effects of CCl 4 were enhanced. Thus, although impairment of microsomal drug metabolism by CCl 4 appears to be mediated by an active metabolite whose formation is stimulated by phenobarbital pretreatment, halothane may act through a different mechanism.


This study concerns a determination as to whether anaerobic organisms are involved in pulmonary diseases, particularly those of the chronic type.


Significant 3-way Interaction ! Trained shapes had significantly higher memory than novel shapes overall ! Trained shapes stabilized faster than novel shapes ! Trained shapes did not require more time to stabilize at larger set sizes (i.e., no set size x delay interaction) ! Novel shapes required more time to stabilize at larger set sizes (i.e., significant set size x delay interaction) No differences were shown between trained and novel shapes No Significant 3-way Interaction ! No advantage for trained shapes over novel shapes ! Trained shapes did not stabilize faster than novel shapes ! No set size x delay interaction for trained or novel shapes


It is often stated that profits, which in the long‐run and under perfect competition are supposed by theory to be approaching the "normal rate", reflect by their observed interfirm diversity different competitive conditions in the demand or the supply side of the market or both. For this reason, it is expected that profits are associated with the degree of competition.


Anchoring the external prestressing to the bridge end block is one of the key issues for strengthening of existing concrete bridges. This paper presents an innovative technique to fix steel brackets to the sides of the end block by two transverse pretensioned through-rods and three expansion bolts in both friction and shear pattern. In order to validate the technique, two steel reinforced concrete specimens (J1 and J2) fixed with experimental steel brackets are prepared and an experiment investigation has been carried out. Two sudden failures have been observed. The failure patterns of expansion bolts in J1 are pullout failure and shear failure, and two transverse pretensioned through-rods have large yield deformation. The failure patterns of expansion bolts in J2 are similar, but the failure patterns of two transverse pretensioned through-rods are shear fracture. The relationship of force and slip is linear but with two different slope when the load less than 2000kN in both J1 and J2.


Fast and reliable ambiguity resolution plays a critical role in GNSS real-time precise positioning,however,the computational complexity of finding the optimal integer ambiguity vector directly will be high,because there is strong correction between ambiguities.Thus the lattice theory was introduced in this paper to reduce the correlation for improving the computational efficiency of ambiguity resolution,and the main decorrelation methods currently existed were also analyzed and transformed into the methods of lattice reduction.Then the Bootstrapping success rate was suggested and tested by an experiment to show the performance of these decorrelation methods used for long-baseline ambiguity resolution with multi-frequency GNSS signals.


Modern China has promoted constitutional movements many times, made many constitutions or constitutional documents, investigated and constructed various constitutional models, but at last all the above fail and are given up. Observation from the viewpoints of the law culture, the conditional factors for modern China's constitutional construction mainly display themselves as: Owing to the tradition of 'rule of man'is deep-rooted, so that the bluntness of 'rule of law' is the sense factor; the influence of the doctrines and thinking such as 'the people are still in naive stage' , 'nurse tutelage' are the thinking factor; the dictator rule taking the military power rule as the form is the political factor; the frequent changes and the choice separated from the facts are the system factor. It has certain practical significance as well as many important inspirations to sum up and analyze the above conditional factors.


In order to understand the suicidal attitude of university students in West Guangdong and its relationship with social support and to carry out suicide preventive work for university students by providing a scientific basis,280 college students in West Guangdong were investigated with the Suicide Attitude Questionnaire and the Social Support Scale.The results show(1) 12.9 percent of college students understand or support suicide,(2) 61.1 percent of college students hold a positive attitude or understand those who commit suicide;(3) fresh students,female students,rural students hold a more negative and repellent attitude on understanding the nature of suicidal behaviour than senior students,male college students,urban students;(4)The correlation between suicidal attitudes and social support is weak.


Pure tone Audiometry (PTA)-Tone Decay Test is the key hearing test used to identify hearing threshold levels of an individual, enabling determination of the degree, type and configuration of a hearing loss. The test is used to indentify quickly screening for Retro Cochlear pathology. In audio logical investigations, the hearing sensitivity is tested for pure tones. The test tones of different frequencies and levels are generated and presented to the patient and hearing thresholds are determined on the basis of patient's response. Thus in this work we described the auditory system and its disorders.


Abstract : During the third period, the development of crystal unit designs was nearly completed. Designs for the crystal resonators themselves were established, and designs for the mounting assemblies were nearly completed. A special 'claw' mounting arrangement was developed; when adapted to the 1-megacycle units, it greatly improved Q levels, but it was not as adaptable to the higher frequencies because of their thinner quartz plates. As a result, it has been found impractical to meet the millionQ goal at frequencies above two megacycles with production-type units. Revised requirements of 0.9-million at 3 Mc, 0.8-million at 4 Mc, and 0.6-million at 5 Mc have been proposed. The equipment and procedures for conducting the 6-month reliability study have been established and are being checked out by use on experimental units. The arrangement provides practical means of making weekly frequency headings on 1000 units by using special holding jigs to position crystals in precision oilbath temperature controllers and using transistor oscillators which connect directly to terminals on the positioning jigs. Readings are recorded by a digital printer. (Author)


Remarks.-This species is closely allied to Plethodon wehrlei of the Appalachian Plateau in New York, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, and to Plethodon yonahlossee of the Southern Blue Ridge in Virginia and North Carolina. It is more like yonahlossee in coloration, and more like wehrlei in dentition and in proportions. It is extremely interesting to find another Appalachian type in this isolated mountain region, and bespeaks a quite respectable age for the yonahlossee-wehrlei-ouachitae group. In habits no essential difference has been noted from others of the


Liquid extraction has been widely used as a method of separating mixtures and isolating individual chemical compounds in pure form. A description of the types of extractable compounds and extraction processes and mechanisms requires data on the structure and composition of these compounds. This review presents results from studies of extractants and extraction products using ultrasoft X-ray emission spectroscopy, X-ray absorption (EXAFS and XANES spectroscopy), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.


I. AN OVERVIEW OF THE GOLDEN AGE MUSICAL he quarter century separating the Broadway openings of the landmark musical play Oklahoma! (1943) and the antipodal rock musical Hair (1968) is generally, though not universally, considered the "Golden Age" of the American musical theater. During this period between "Oh, What a Beautiful Morning" and the dawning of "The Age of Aquarius," the American musical theater evolved from its various pre-war incarnations into a globally recognized form of "legitimate" theater with multiple generic subspecies and an expanding network of links to international commerce and mass culture. Emanating almost exclusively from the four dozen theaters then clustered in a compact rectangle, centered on Broadway between 39th and 46th Street in New York City, the Golden Age musical negotiated a treacherous cultural terrain. As an unsubsidized, high-risk commercial venture, it sought to balance escalating artistic aspirations with financial exigencies and attempted to gain enhanced cultural capital as the nation's foremost indigenous theatrical art form (analogous to the national forms of opera that had evolved in Europe in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries) without sacrificing the entertain-


With the study progress toward a US national reporting at Yucca Mountain, organizing the transport system becomes a more pressing necessity. The present paper will try to provide operators whose core business is not transport a frame of reference through which a transport supplier/system can be selected, not only on the mere criterion of regulatory compliance, but also beyond, taking into account the resilience of the system, the ability for the operator to protect its image by fulfilling its general duty to society and sustainable development. For that purpose the paper will take us through the basics up to the ''post graduate level'' of what transport and associated services should look like, from a theoretical point of view and also from illustrations from the current European field will be presented, illustrating the evolution of practice and interfacing of the actors.


Major goals of road operations are safety, environmental protection, economics and the necessary optimisation of these issues in delivering quality winter maintenance services. For increasing road safety the needs are high quality prediction and sensor technologies as well as appropriate winter service treatments at the right time. Next to road safety mobility is an important factor in local economies; uninterrupted traffic is a basic requirement for the effective development of the economy and society. A significant increase in traffic volumes on roads has an effect on quality of traffic flow and safety. That means the aim of road management must be that a road user can drive a certain distance in a predictable time as safely and reliably in winter as in summer. As a consequence, the standards of winter maintenance for a road network have become very high. Therefore, winter maintenance must be organised optimally and operations have to be enacted extremely quickly. Because of the complexity of meteorological, traffic and winter service processes, the persons in charge of winter maintenance need a comprehensive Winter Maintenance Management System. Research has shown the influence of wintry road conditions in capacity losses and traffic flow and safety. These results clearly show the need for Maintenance Decision Support Systems (MDSS) to efficiently and safely manage infrastructure systems in wintertime. A solution to this is the Management System BORRMA-web MDSS inside (Boschung Road and Runway MAnagement). This system clearly displays all important elements in one view, such as dynamic maps, Road Weather Stations (GFSice early warning, active technology), Fixed Automated Spray Technology (FAST), vehicle operation data and location of winter service vehicles, road conditions etc. for real-time, future, and past events. Especially useful is the combination of local measurements (RWIS-Stations) and weather forecasts allowing detailed predictions and alerts for each forecasted Road Weather Segment (road section with similar microclimatic conditions). This means that differentiated danger levels of road conditions can be shown on the dynamic map for a forecast time of up to 72 hours. Additionally, with the Vehicle Data Management tool with online data transmission, the operator has a clear overview of the actual location of all winter maintenance vehicles and their operation. After an event the vehicle data can used for reporting, statistical analysis or billing. Additionally, Fixed Automated Spray Systems can be visualized and managed out of the same system by a special synoptic. The collection, combination and visualisation of all this information of the Maintenance Decision Support System gives the operator the possibility to make decisions efficiently and to manage dynamically, which increases road safety and improve traffic flow. Goals of the session: 1. Restore the confidence in RWIS by using the proper (active) technology 2. Enlarge the decision window by introducing specific road weather forecast 3. Optimize operations by introducing vehicle online data


With the retinue of endorsements and adoption that have so far heralded President Goodluck Jonathan's second term ambition within and outside the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) hierarchy, many believe the coast is clear for the P resident to ride on unhindered having being adopted as the sole candidate of the party in the 2015 presidential election. The national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) finally cleared its elected officials to participate in events organize d in support of President Goodluck Jonathan's candidacy ahead of the 2015 presidential election. This comes 48 hours to the grand finale of the mega rally by the Transformation Agenda of Nigeria's (TAN) scheduled to hold in Abuja. Before the sole endorseme nt of President Jonathan by the PDP National Executive Committee (NEC), the National Working Committee (NWC) had barred its elected officials from participating in any group activity that endorsed the president. But a statement by the PDP national publicit y secretary, Olisa Metuh, yesterday read: Further to the endorsement of Dr Goodluck Jonathan by NEC as PDP's sole presidential candidate, the NWC has cleared all elected party officials at all levels to attend and fully participate in any event organised i n support of his candidacy. By this, all elected party officials and party members are at liberty to fully be involved in events and activities organised by groups or individuals supporting President Jonathan for the 2015 general elections. The PDP preside ntial primaries, which has Jonathan as the sole candidate, is scheduled to hold on December 6. Certain developments since the rash of endorsements and adoption have shown that the coast is yet to be clear for President Jonathan and his party following the recent suits filed in court against them by some aggrieved members of the party. While Jonathan's re election bid is on, political pundits have said the President should brace himself for tough times ahead, as there are several hurdles to cross as he appr oaches the poll. This paper seeks to identify and discuss these hurdles. To achieve this objective, following the introduction is the theoretical perspective. The next segment addresses the hurdles before the president. The third section explores the ways forward. The final section concludes the paper.


Quercetin, a natural flavonoid, is a well-known genotoxin, but its carcinogenicity is unclear. The objective of these studies was to investigate and compare the effects on glycolytic flux of quercetin and the known toxic xenobiotic phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) in a cell culture model. Rat kidney cells (NRK-49F) grown in culture were exposed to either quercetin (29 nM) or PMA (16 nM) in a dimethyl sulphoxide carrier. PMA treatment led to the expected increase in fructose-2,6-bisphosphate (Fru-2,6-P2) compared to the control value after a 6h incubation. In addition, there was an increase in the metabolite after the addition of quercetin. Lactate release increased after exposure to PMA and after exposure to quercetin. No significant additivity of the effects of PMA together with quercetin was observed. It was found that the activity of phosphofructo-kinase-2 (PFK-2), the enzyme that catalyses the synthesis of Fru-2,6-P2, was increased after exposure to PMA and after exposure to quercetin. The increa...


With the emergence of the intercultural approach to L2 teaching, several studies investigated teachers' attitudes and beliefs concerning the cultural dimension of L2 teaching in different foreign language settings. This study explored teachers' perceptions of the relationship between teaching English and culture in Tunisia, an EFL setting where the culture of L2 teachers is assumed to be distant from the "English" culture. It also enquired into Tunisian teachers' approach to culturally different teaching materials. The study revealed that although most Tunisian teachers thought that English cannot be taught without culture, some of them approached cultural content with apprehension to the point that they expressed a readiness to filter and drop any aspect of the "English" culture that is incompatible with the local culture. In practice, the teachers in the study had varied understandings of intercultural communicative competence on the one hand and the socio-pragmatic and the socio-semantic dimensions of communicative competence on the other. In light of these results, it can be argued that teacher attitudes and beliefs concerning the cultural dimension of L2 teaching and their approach to culturally different content are a function of two factors: (1) distance between L2 culture and teacher culture defined in religious, moral and political terms and (2) teacher awareness of the intercultural approach to L2.


The utility model discloses an internal supporter drainage-tube for an ureter. The utility model is used by babies and newborns in ureter operations. The internal supporter drainage-tube for the ureter is characterized in that a drainage tube comprises a medical use hollow conduit which is divided into a neck part and a body part. The tube wall of the tube body of the drainage tube is provided with a plurality of single side holes, and a steel wire is arranged in the neck part of the drainage tube. The steel wire and the neck part are pressed to a solid by hot-pressing. The steel wire of the neck part is extended outwards, and the extend part is the tail part of the tube.


We consider a dynamic setting where both adverse selection and moral hazard concerns are present. We analyze how the power of the optimal incentive scheme varies over time according to the agent's performance history. In many circumstances, the power of later incentive schemes optimally declines as earlier performance improves. The imposition of poor performance incentives following good performance can limit initial incentives to understate one's capabilities.


PT ABC produces a wide range of secondary aluminum ingot products which are then distributed to two-wheel and fourwheel automotive manufacturers in Indonesia with high quality standards. The main raw materials for the production of secondary aluminum ingots are base metal, scrap obtained from junk collectors and addictive materials such as silicon and copper. Currently the company is less than optimal in implementing production planning which causes the utilization of production facilities not to be maximized and the use of gas fuel energy which causes high production costs. The purpose of this research is to obtain the results of demand forecasting and production planning that can reduce production costs. In this research, the demand forecasting model is designed using the Artificial Neural Network method to obtain demand projections for the next 3 periods. Furthermore, production planning is carried out using a Linear Programming approach which has taken into account the availability of production resources so as to increase the utilization of production facilities with minimum production costs. Based on the production plan, it is possible to calculate the inventory requirements for raw materials forming the product. Forecasting results using the Artificial Neural Network method provide demand forecasting results with a small error value. The results of requests for period 1 were 804,645 kg, period 2 were 529,307 kg, and period 3 were 788,669 kg. Next, by using the output of demand forecasting using ANN, a production plan is carried out that provides the optimal production quantity solution, namely for AC2C, ADC12 and HD2 products that produce minimum production costs. Based on the calculation results of production planning, it can be determined the need for base metal, scrap and addictive raw materials to support production operations in aluminum companies. Keywords— Forecasting, Artificial neural network, Production planning, Optimization, Linear programming, Material inventory. Jurnal Teknik Industri ISSN 2622-5131 (Online) Vol. 11 No. 3 ISSN 1411-6340 (Print)


An analysis is made of the interaction of a three-level "cascade" atomic system with a resonant laser field. An investigation is made of the dynamics of the populations of the quasienergy states and of the atomic levels over times greater than the spontaneous transition times. In the steady-state regime the distribution of atoms over various quasienergy states is obtained under two-photon resonance conditions and for the case when all the resonances are strong. It is found that a suitable selection of the interaction parameters can establish an inversion between the quasienergy states and also due to atomic transitions. The total probability of spontaneous scattering is calculated. It is shown that, under two-photon resonance conditions, the scattering intensity increases sharply due to a self-induced resonance.


The total volume of oil spilled and the number of spills has declined significantly over the past forty years. However, oil spills are no longer considered as an unavoidable. The ship source oil po...


A system for treating a patient tunnel creation method and dressings are presented. In one example, vacuum tunnel wound dressing comprises a first longitudinal concentric elements by being surrounded, longitudinal core member formed of a closed cell foam formed from the manifold material. When exposed to reduced pressure, longitudinal core member expands, the first longitudinal concentric elements are compressed. These effects, produces intimate contact between the tunnel wound dressing, and resist the collapse of the tunnel, the vacuum is released, to provide clearance for removing the dressing. Other embodiments are presented. .FIELD 1


"As it attempts to grapple with the questions raised by religious pluralism and the claim that God is universally sovereign, source of creation and salvation, theology today requires a thorough exegetical inquiry into the biblical version of God."


Although complexity and vulnerability assessment of mountain landscapes is increasingly taken into consideration, less attention is paid to ecophronesis-based solutions so as to reduce the fragile ecosystem vulnerability. The main propose of this study is to provide an insight of mountain complex landscape vulnerability and propose ecophronesis-based solutions in strategic planning framework for reduction of vulnerability. The study has been carried out by following five steps in Chelgard Mountain landscapes (center of Iran): First, it determines the evaluation framework on basis of rapid literature review. Second, the vulnerability is assessed, using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), in accordance with experts' opinion. In the third step, the results provide a zoning map of vulnerability. Afterwards, the study suggests a strategic plan to manage the area environmentally and, finally, the solutions are proposed, based on ecophronesis, in order to not only solve the plight but also reduce the vulnerability. Results from the vulnerability assessment indicate that anthropogenic stressors intensify the vulnerability. While local ecological wisdom is shaped over time in the area, its application faces challenges as a result of rapid and immense socio-economic changes. It seems that sustainability of mountain ecosystem needs to regenerate social structures on basis of socio-ecological capital. Main characteristics of these adopted social structures include their balance with the ecosystem and adoption with new lifestyles.


The seven papers in this Special Issue draw on local involvement with the forces of capitalism and globalisation, as specific examples explore smallholder resource management and commodity production, together with tenure, migration, ethnicity and identity. The six case studies, all based on recent fieldwork, range across Southeast Asia and the Pacific. They are followed by a general paper which looks more closely at the ideas of capitalism as expounded in the recent writings of Ellen Meiksins Wood (2002) and Hernando de Soto (2000), then examines the relevance of these ideas to the region. In addition to each other's papers, contributors drew particularly on work by Li (1999, 2002a, 2002b); Rigg (2001); Rigg and Nattapoolwat (2001); and Schrauwers (1999). One important theme is the interface between forests and farms, examined in the first paper by Walker, who emphasises the disjuncture between images of traditional practice and commercial reality in North Thailand in the context of community forestry legislation. He coins the term 'arborealisation' for a discourse which privileges forests over agriculture. NGOs and others, attempting to counter government restrictions on upland farmers, have promoted the image of such farmers as forest dependent, communal shifting cultivators. Such an image, he feels, does a disservice to present forest villagers, who are individually managing their land for commercial production, their livelihoods linked to the market and to urban areas. The emphasis placed on their forest management continues to deny their legitimacy as agriculturalists and may exacerbate their legal problems with the state, as many lack formal tenure. Barney's paper, using case studies of smallholder reaction to plantation forestry from Thailand and Sarawak, suggests the need for modification of an NGO-supported discourse of unproblematic resistance. The Sarawak case concerns an indigenous dispute over a pulp plantation on Native Customary


A study with 15 grade 9-12 District of Columbia public high schools was designed to explore the effectiveness of the implementation and enforcement of Washington D.C.'s truancy policy, which went into effect in January 2013. Three variables are explored as measures of effectiveness: (a) truancy rates, (b) truancy court referrals, and (c) graduation rates. Support was found for positive improvements in D.C. public high schools in regards to decreasing truancy rates and increasing graduation rates since the inauguration of the latest truancy policy. However, support improvement was also limited, as petitioned truancy court referrals have increased since the law's enactment. In terms of measuring enforcement, the intervention step of conducting a SST meeting was evaluated. The results indicated that schools are not fully enforcing the city's truancy policy.


D-S evidence theory is a very useful tool in dealing with the uncertainty problems,but its application is limited by the shortcomings of combinations rules.This paper analyzed different methods of assigning conflict probability, the existing modification methods and summarized their advantages and disadvantages.The result of the analysis provides the basis for different applications of D-S evidence theory.


The present research investigated the effect of supplemental voice and print messages on compliance to and recall of operator manual warnings. Two types of message were presented. Either the message gave specific warning instructions or directed users to a specific location in the operators manual where t,he instructions were printed. Results show that the supplemental voice and print messages increased compliance behavior compared to a group exposed only to the manual. The voice message produced the greatest recall compared to print or no supplement. There was .no effect of the warning vs. directive manipulation. The results have implications for the delivery of warning instructions in operator manuals, and support the use of supplementaLvoice and print messages to communicate warning information.


Carpet industry in Iran is one of the most popular industries in non-oil sector that has a potential capacity to absorb the foreign exchange and in addition to promote employment, and more job opportunities. This industry is also capable to compete in international arena and has very important role in maintaining and enhancing competitive ability of industry, introduction of the Iran economy to world economy and expanding of small and medium enterprises. This paper aim to investigate the comparative advantages of Isfahan carpet industry which its silk carpets with beautiful designs is quite popular in international markets. In this regard, Domestic Resource Cost (DRC) Index has been used to measure the comparative advantage and then this index is calculated for SMEs based production to identify whether promotion of SMEs effect carpet industry comparative advantages. Findings show that Isfahan carpet industry generally has comparative advantage. Furthermore, breakdown of this industry in Isfahan city to small and medium enterprises and also individual outputs and calculating DRC index for both of them, is concluded that small and medium enterprises have more comparative advantage than individual outputs, while expanding of these enterprises should lead to improvement of this industry comparative advantage.


FIELD: pharmacology. SUBSTANCE: claimed invention relates to compound of formula (I) in which m represents integer number, equal 1 or 2; R 1 represents group, selected, in particular from phenyl, pyridinyl, pyridazinyl, pyrimidinyl, pyrazinyl, thiazolyl, naphtyl, chinolinyl, isochinolinyl, benzisoxazolyl, tienopyridinyl, said group is possibly substituted with one or several groups of R 3 , similar or different from each other or by group R 4 , R 2 represents group of general formula CHR 5 CONHR 6 , R 3 represents halogen atom or one of the following groups: piano, nitro, C 1-6 -alkyl, C 1-6 -alkoxy, C 1-6 -trifluoralkyl, C 1-6 -trifluoralkoxy, benzyloxy, phenyloxy, R 4 represents group, selected, in particular from phenyl, benzofuranyl, naphtyl; one orseveral groups R 4 can by substituted with one or several groups R 3 , similar or different from each other; R 5 represents hydrogen atom or C 1-3 -akyl group; R 6 represents hydrogen atom or alkyl, C 3-7 -cycloalkyl or C 3-7 -cycloalkyl -C 1-3 -alkylene group; as base, salts of binding of acid, hydrate or solvate. Also invention relates to method of obtaining compound of formula I, its use as medicine and to based on it pharmacological composition. EFFECT: novel derivatives of 1-pyperazine and 1-homopyperazincarboxilates, useful for prevention or treatment of pathology, in which endogen cannabinoids and/or any other substrates, metabolised by ferment FAAH, participate. 12 cl, 3 tbl, 11 ex


This paper assesses the usefulness of a new emerging body of work on the micro-level analysis of conflict and violence in advancing our current understanding of the relationship between violent conflict and household poverty. Micro-level empirical evidence on the relationship between violent conflict and poverty has been scarce and at times contradictory. This field of research has, however, grown significantly in recent years and evidence is slowly starting to accumulate. The paper makes use of new findings to propose a framework to understand fundamental transmission mechanisms from violent conflict through to household poverty, as well as the potential impact of household poverty on conflict. This framework suggests three key self-reinforcing mechanisms through which violent conflict may impact on the poor: through the impact on assets and livelihoods, through education and health effects, and through the displacement of populations and the breakdown of socioeconomic networks. In addition, the paper conceptualises the extent to which poverty can act as a trigger for violent conflict owing to lack of choice of those involved, widespread social discontent amongst different population groups and the search for better socio-economic opportunities. We expect this framework to act as a benchmark for further work on the analysis of the relationship between poverty and violent conflict, including much-needed efforts at gathering further empirical evidence.


Abstract This research was aimed to find out whether there is a correlation between students' motivation and their English achievement of the second grade students at SMPN 2 Pariaman. The population of this research was the second grade students at SMPN 2 Pariaman. The members of the population were 281 students. The researcher took 30 students as the sample. In selecting sample, the researcher used cluster random sampling technique. To collect the data the researcher used questionnaire and English achievement test. The result of data analysis showed that the relationship between students' motivation and their English achievement was high correlation. Based on t he findings there was a positive and significant correlation between students' motivation and their English achievement. Based on the conclusions, it is suggested to the English teacher s to help the students find the effective factors in teaching and learning process, in order to increase the students' English achievement. Besides that, it suggested to the students to improve the ir motivation if they want to have a good mastery of English . For further researcher , it is suggested to study to other variables which related to the students' English achievement. Key words: Correlation , Motivation, English Achievement.


Quantitative theoretical estimates are made of the reflection and radiative damping of the Kelvin and Rossby-gravity (RG) waves propagating upward in the 20–90 km altitude region. An atmosphere with realistic temperature, wind and cooling rate coefficient values is approximated by a model of vertically stacked, thin, homogeneous layers. The amplitude reflection coefficients are shown for different wave periods (T) and zonal wavenumbers (kx). Combining the attenuation due to radiative cooling with the growth due to density decrease, the net changes of wave amplitudes with height in the 20–90 km region are shown for various wave modes.

For Kelvin waves the reflected wave energy is generally less than 15% of the incident wave energy, but the reflected wave amplitude can be 20%-30% of the incident wave amplitude for many modes, at 20 km height. In contrast, many RG wave modes suffer strong or total reflection at various heights if they are not severely damped at lower heights. Calculations for January and July wind conditions reveal a good deal of sensitivity of RG wave reflection to wind conditions.

Radiative damping is found to be severe in the mesosphere for Kelvin waves with T ⩾ 6–8 days, depending on wind conditions; it is severe even in the lower stratosphere for RG waves with T > 4 days. Considerable changes in the damping rates and wave amplitudes at various heights take place from January to July owing to wind changes. Kelvin waves in the 2–8-day period range and RG waves in the 1.5-3-day range can propagate into the upper mesosphere/lower thermosphere without large attenuation, depending upon wind conditions.

It is shown that our theoretical results can explain several observed characteristics of equatorial waves in the stratosphere and mesosphere, including the recent results on wave disturbances in satellite-measured temperatures. Further modelling studies based on our methodology can lead to a good physical insight and quantitative interpretations of the SAO- and the QBO-generation processes.


Objective: Medical and dental students as future health care professionals should be aware of adequate oral health care. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the knowledge and practices of oral health of clinical medical and dental students in a North-Eastern Nigerian University.Methods: Cross sectional study involving 150 students, comprising 107 medical and 43 dental students. They were interviewed on knowledge of oral health care, oral health practices and psychosocial impact of oral health using an interviewer-administered questionnaire. The students were further examined for dental caries and their oral hygiene status. The Student t-test was used to compare means while Chisquare test was used to test associations between categorical variables at p<0.05.Results: The mean ±SD age of the students was 24.5 , males constituted 61.3%. One hundred and twentysix (84.0%) students had good knowledge of oral health care. Forty-two (97.7%) of the dental students had good knowledge while 84 (78.5%) of the medical students had good knowledge (p=0.003). Twenty (46.5%) and 60(56.1%) of dental and medical students respectively had poor oral health practice (p=0.32). Mean ±SD psychosocial impact score was 1.26 ±2.06 and 1.53 ±2.34 for dental and medical students respectively (p=0.68). The prevalence of dental caries and poor oral hygiene was 15(34.9%) and 23(53.5%) for dental students. The corresponding value for medical students were 30(28.0%) and 51(47.6%).Conclusions: There was good knowledge of oral health care among these students. Dental students had better knowledge of oral health care than medical students. They also had better oral health care practices and lower psychosocial impact of oral health than medical students though not statistically significant. Overall, younger age group of students reported higher psychosocial impact of oral health care on daily activities than older ones.Keywords: Oral health, knowledge, behaviour, medical, dental, students, Nigeria


Artesian well is one of the major efforts to obtain water source for fulfilling water demands in Eroniti Conservation park, Ponjong, Yogyakarta by drilling deep into several soil layers. Vertical Electrical Sounding (VES) method is the most common approach to determine the existence of groundwater. The method probes layers of rock below the ground surface based on their electrical properties, since the electrical resistivity of each layer is theoretically different. This study aims to utilize the VES approach for investigating the properties of the rock layers in the area to explore groundwater sources. We install six different VES points in the observation area using Schlumberger electrode configuration. The methodology of the work consists of three steps: the planning of the placement of the sounding points, the measurement step performed by a unit of IRIS SYSCAL Resistivity meter, and the data analysis and interpretation. Employing the resistivity analysis, we conclude that the observed region consists of Mediterranean soil as a result of weathering of limestone as well as lithology of the limestone. Furthermore, there are two types of aquifer found in the area: a perched aquifer found 27 meters below the ground surface of VES point 1 and a confined aquifer 166 meters below the ground surface of VES point 2 and 6.


Flat, frond-like conifer shoots from the Upper Cretaceous of the eastern United States have been described in the past as three species of the genus Androvettia Hollick & Jeffrey. The characteristics of Androvettia are discussed and compared with descriptions of Moriconia Dehey & Ettingshausen.

Specimens of all three species, including new material, have been studied by light and scanning electron microscopy. It is concluded that only one species, Androvettia statenensis Hollick & Jeffrey, is represented.

The morphology and phyllotaxis of the shoots, which are phylloclades, are illustrated and discussed. Two forms of branches are present which it is suggested represent shoots of determinate and indeterminate growth.

Membership of the family Cheirolepidiaceae is tentatively suggested.


This report is presented in three parts. Part I provides a background on pavement management systems and includes highlights of the research and literature review component of this project. Part II discusses the foundations of pavement management systems in terms of the data collection, modeling, and optimization that are involved. Part III discusses the specific work and analysis performed for this project in addressing the following questions: What is the state of current pavement management systems at the Delaware Department of Transportation? How is the Overall Pavement Condition (OPC) index derived and will it support road surface performance modeling? What are the appropriate factors that should be considered for derivation of an OPC index and for performance modeling, and what is the current availability and accuracy of data for Delaware? What are appropriate performance models? How can pavement management systems be implemented?


Pharmacokinetics of3H-IN in tumor-bearing Mice's blood and tumor are studied, and the accumulated phenomenon of IN in tumor are further discussed. Blood and tumor of mice are taken at different time after being taken 3H-IN orally, radioactivities are counted and concentrations of IN are measured in the tissues. The results show that 3H-IN accumulate in tumor tissue with high levels for a long time, but at the same time IN prototype is cleared rapidly and it's concentrations are far lower than in blood. Pharmacokinetic parameters are calculated by DAS ver1.0 software. The results demonstrate that 3H-IN has good affinity to the tumor tissue and the major part accumulated in tumor is not the IN prototype.


Environmental epigenetics is a 'hot' new field of post-genomic science investigating mechanisms that influence how genes are expressed. It offers a dynamic and non-dualistic understanding of the relationship between environments, genes, bodies, and health. We ask how this new science of biological plasticity is changing existing concepts of normality and abnormality. We find that epigenetics is contributing to a new biological (yet non-determinist) ontology of race and that the fetus and reproductive women are emerging as the central figures in this new epigenetic model of race and bodily plasticity. We find that epigenetics is a science of variation in which biological difference is figured as both normal (inevitable) and abnormal (a sign of disruption); it then seeks to improve life by identifying therapies to cure epigenetic 'abnormalities'. In this way, epigenetics emerges as a reproductive science, in which the 'uterine environment' is figured as the key space–time of epigenetic becoming. We argue that in this focus on abnormality and improvement, epigenetics is tied to a eugenic logic, even as it rejects notions of genetic determinism. While it might seem that epigenetic models of plastic life should eliminate race by eliminating notions of discrete kinds given in nature, it appears that epigenetics offers a new form of racialization based on reproductive processes of becoming rather than on pre-given nature.


With the rapid development of the Internet technology and growth of information,search engines have been widely used and become a major and convenient way for people to look for information.The commonly used ways of promotion through search engines include keywords advertising,bidding ranking and search engine optimization(SEO).Based on the fact that SEO plays a more and more important role in the website promotion,this paper points out some strategies and methods of effective website promotion of university websites by means of SEO.


Our understanding of the impact of diabetes on organ function has been evolving since the discovery of insulin in the 1920s. At that time insulin was a miracle drug that appeared to cure diabetes, but over time it became clear that death and disability from diabetes complications involving the eyes, kidneys, peripheral nerves, heart, and vasculature could occur even with treatment. With the improvement in diabetes care over the past 20 years, fewer patients are developing the traditional diabetes complications. However, as people live long and well with the disease, it has become apparent that diabetes can alter function and structure in tissues not typically associated with complications such as the brain and bone. Alteration in brain structure and function are particularly of concern because of the impact of dementia and cognitive dysfunction on overall quality of life.

From large epidemiological studies, it has been demonstrated that both vascular and Alzheimer's dementia are more common in patients with type 2 diabetes (1). Why this might be true has been difficult to define. Certainly these patients can be expected to have more risk factors such as previous cardiovascular disease, history of hypertension, and dyslipidemia than aged matched control subjects, but when these variables are controlled, the risk for …


The 46th annual meeting of the Association, with the Department of Geography at Humboldt State University as host, convened at the Eureka Inn in Eureka, California, September 22-25, 1983. The decision by the APCG Executive Committee to return to a fall meeting schedule was welcomed by a majority of the membership, and despite the relative isolation of California's north coast as convention site attendance was higher than anticipated. Altogether, there were 161 paid registrations, of which a record 58 were students. Ry noon on Thursday, September 22, some of the faithful had arrived. Much to the Humboldters' chagrin it was the first wet day of the month. As registration proceeded during the afternoon and evening, Humboldt geographer Hal Jackson presented two slide programs that revealed the character of the Humboldt Bay region. A popular diversion was a wine-and-cheese social in die crowded Board room. It provided an opportunity before the formalities of Friday's schedule for the members, young and old, to renew acquaintances, to exchange strategies for coping with declining enrollments, and to regale one another with tales of last summer's research on cryptogram endemics in Ngorongoro Crater or night people in the wasteland of the South Bronx.


The terminology used to describe pap smear results has changed over the past few years, leading to confusion about what the results of your pap smear actually mean. Originally, pap smears were divided into 5 "classes" based on what the cells looked like to the pathologist. Class I was normal, while class II cells appeared a little irregular to the pathologist, usually representing bacterial infection. Class III and IV pap smears suggested that dysplastic cells were present, and further testing needed to be done. Class V usually meant cancer.


Cytomegalovirus is an opportunistic virus that can cause infection in any part of the gastrointestinal tract, mostly in immunocompromised patients and rarely in immunocompetent individuals. Cytomegalovirus infection almost always shows an aggressive course in immunocompromised patients, in contrary it is usually self-limited in immunocompetent individuals. But sometimes it produces severe manifestations in immunocompetent patients. Herein, we report a case of life-threatening cytomegalovirus colitis in an immunocompetent 79 year-old man. Cytomegalovirus colitis can be presented with clinical symptoms like abdominal pain, diarrhea, hematochezia, melena or fever. In endoscopic examination, ulceration, obstructive pseudomembrane formation, mucosal bleeding and/or inflammatory masses can be detected. Bozok Tıp Derg 2013,3(3):72-76 Bozok Med J 2013,3(3):72-76 Sevinç Şahin, Yrd. Doç. Dr. Esra Özhamam, Uzm. Dr. Sezer Kulaçoğlu, Doç. Dr. Selda Seçkin, Prof. Dr.


To improve the Boosting algorithm stability,a Dynamically Averaging Boosting algorithm(DA-Boosting) is proposed.Using BP neural networks as a base learner,a leveraging learner is constructed by Boosting algorithm.The DA-Boosting algorithm is obtained by dynamically averaging the regression functions trained by leveraging learners.Experimental studies on three typical regression datasets show that this algorithm has good and stable generalization ability.Finally the DA-Boosting algorithm is applied to construct a soft sensing model for propylene concentration.Application results show that this model has high measurement precision as well as generalization ability.


This study explores the effects of heating demand and hot water temperature on energy efficiency in a domestic gas boiler (DGB). Mock-up experiments were conducted using two types of boilers with different capacities (i.e., 11.6 kW and 23.3 kW of non-condensing boilers, 16.3 kW of condensing boiler) for comparative analysis. As results, for space heating, the efficiencies of non-condensing boilers (i.e., 11.6 kW and 23.3 kW) and condensing boiler (i.e., 16.3 kW) decreased by 12-44%, 15-46%, and 2-22% respectively as the heating load ratios were changed from 100%-25%. When the supply hot water temperature settings decreased from 55℃ to 45℃, the efficiencies were reduced by 13.6% (11.6 kW) and 53.3% (23.3 kW). For the condensing boiler, an efficiency reduction rate was 16.7% as the hot water temperatures dropped from 45℃ to 35℃. Also, since the boiler capacity depends on domestic hot water (DHW) load, the daily heating demands of space heating and DHW load were analyzed. In the results, reducing the lower limit of heating output could be more effective in improving the boiler efficiency for space heating. To provide sufficient DHW demand, it is required to maintain the upper limit of the heating output.


What is generally called ―the problem of space‖ throughout the history and philosophy of physics is chiefly one which takes the main stage in the writings of scientists, mathematicians, historians and philosophers alike. This centrality is mostly due to the fact that it accommodates many questions and results, coming from multiple areas of human thought. In this framework, the book The Deep Metaphysics of Space tackles the core of the intricacy, namely the ontological status of space. Although it may seem that Edward Slowik focuses on the debate between substantivalism and relationism of Newton and Leibniz, respectively, in fact, it delves into many more ramifications of the problem of space. As such, aside from revealing that the mere rigid framing of Newton as a substantivalist and of Leibniz as a relationist can be flawed, Slowik relates their approaches to the completely new setup of General Relativity. This twentieth-century breakthrough proves a hard nut to crack on its own. The difficulty is both due to the fact that it can be consistently traced back to Newton and Leibniz (equally in a philosophical and a mathematical-physical case), but also since it brings to the table entirely new entities, such as multidimensional manifolds and (affine) connections. The book is divided in three parts, the first unveiling the classical setup, with details on Newton's and Leibniz's accounts, the second aiming the show the intricacy of the problem when relaxing the substantivalism-relationism duality, while the third focuses on both widening the classical scene, as well as tracing back the Quantum Gravity theory as further as possible. The focus of the first part (which contains Chapters 1-4) is to describe the problem and the setup of the book. As such, after introducing the reader to the debate between substantivalism and relationism, with their greater exponents, the author points out the difficulties that are inherent to any attempt of rigid framing of philosophical accounts. Therefore, although the premises could be that ―Newton's absolute space is the commonly accepted forerunner to modern substantivalism‖ (p. 4) and Leibniz appears ―as a chief early exponent of relationism‖ (p. 3), matters are


There are two kinds of bid evaluation methods in China, which are the lowest bid price method and the comprehensive evaluation method. They have their own advantages and disadvantages, and they can't replace each other. Especially, the applicable scope of comprehensive evaluation method is wide. Quantifying the technical bid and commercial bid weighted, calculating for each bid comprehensive evaluating price or comprehensive evaluation points, and then selecting a high comprehensive quality unit. The paper aims at the particularity of comprehensive evaluation method. Then to study the content of the construction quality management system, the indicators and criteria, which guarantees the quality of the project.


This paper examines the impact of Integrated Transport System on the productivity of SMEs in selected states of South-Western Nigeria. The sample frame consisted of SMEs that registered with the Chambers of Commerce and Industries of the selected states and are located within the state capital of the study area. Stratified sampling technique supplemented by cluster sampling was adopted. Data were elicited with the aid of structured questionnaire administered on 460 registered SMEs out of which 424 were found analysable. The study revealed that there is a strong (P= 0.864) inverse relationship between SMEs' productivity and Government Policy (GP) on Integrated Transport System that is, slow responsiveness to Integrated Transport System by Nigeria Government. Based on the findings of this research, it was concluded that Nigeria Government's responsiveness is slow and having provided the efficacy of ITS in aiding SMEs' effectiveness in developing countries, the time is ripe for it accelerated adoption and implementation not only with SMEs but with other sectors of the economy. Key Words: Transport, Transport System, Integrated Transport, SMEs, Infrastructure,


Stanovich & West (S&W) appear to overlook the adaptivity of variation. Behavioral variability, both between and within individuals, is an absolute necessity for phylogenetic and ontological adaptation. As with all heritable characteristics, inter-individual behavioral variation is the foundation for natural selection. Similarly, intra-individual variation allows a broad exploration of potential solutions. Variation increases the likelihood that more optimal behaviors are available for selection. Four examples of the adaptivity of variation are discussed: (a) Genetic variation as it pertains to behavior and natural selection; (b) behavioral and cognitive aspects of mate selection which may facilitate genetic diversity; (c) variation as a strategy for optimizing learning through greater exploration; and (d) behavioral variation coupled with communication as a means to propagate individually discovered behavioral success.


ptimal operation of multipurpose reservoirs is one of the complex and sometimes nonlinear problems in the field of multi-objective optimization. Evolutionary algorithms are optimization tools that search decision space using simulation of natural biological evolution and present a set of points as the optimum solutions of problem. In this research, application of multi-objective particle swarm optimization (MOPSO) in optimal operation of Bazoft reservoir with different objectives, including generating hydropower energy, supplying downstream demands (drinking, industry and agriculture), recreation and flood control have been considered. In this regard, solution sets of the MOPSO algorithm in bi-combination of objectives and compromise programming (CP) using different weighting and power coefficients have been first compared that the MOPSO algorithm in all combinations of objectives is more capable than the CP to find solution with appropriate distribution and these solutions have dominated the CP solutions. Then, ending points of solution set from the MOPSO algorithm and nonlinear programming (NLP) results have been compared. Results showed that the MOPSO algorithm with 0.3 percent difference from the NLP results has more capability to present optimum solutions in the ending points of solution set.


ABSTRACT An artificial neural network was used to investigate the potential of using a novel polymer aid to produce clean coal concentrates in a fine clayey coal flotation process. Fine coal particles in the size range of +38–75 µm with 25.12 wt % of ash were floated in the presence of Al(OH)3-polyacrylamide nanoparticles. Five parameters; polymer dosage, pH, impeller speed, dispersant dosage and conditioning time were used as inputs in the simulation studies. Two network types (feedforward BP and cascade-forward BP) with three training algorithms (LM, BFG and GDX) and various numbers of neurons were designed and used to validate the experimentally observed qualitative and quantitative trends. The performance of each architecture design was evaluated by the correlation coefficient (R) and the mean square error (MSE). The two outputs that were used to evaluate the response of coal particles to the polymer used were the combustible recovery and the froth ash content. The cascade-forward network and Levenberg–Marquardt algorithm were selected as the optimal networks. The optimal ANN model showed a reasonable agreement in predicting the experimental data with correlation coefficient of 0.994 and 0.997 for training and testing datasets, respectively.


Cytotoxic products of polyamines generated in situ by an enzyme-catalysed reaction may be useful as a new avenue in combating cancer. This study demonstrated that MDR (multidrug-resistant) cancer cells (colon adenocarcinoma and melanoma) are significantly more sensitive than the corresponding WT (wild-type) ones to H(2)O(2) and aldehydes, the products of BSAO (bovine serum amine oxidase)-catalysed oxidation of spermine. Moreover, cytotoxicity was considerably greater when the treatment was carried out at 42 degrees C than at 37 degrees C. TEM (transmission electron microscopy) observations showed major ultrastructural alterations of the mitochondria. These were more pronounced in MDR than in WT cells. After treatment with BSAO/spermine, a higher mitochondrial membrane depolarization and an increased mitochondrial activity in drug-resistant cells were observed.


Objective To investigate the influence of Salvia miltiorrhiza on obstructive renal interstitial fibrosis(RIF) in rat kidney histopathology.Methods Establish rat RIF model,then get the renal tissue of normal group,sham operation group,model group and Salvia miltiorrhiza group,stain with HE、PAS and MASSON respectively.Results In the renal tissue of rats treated with Salvia miltiorrhiza,pathological changes of fibrosis significantly ameliorated.Conclusions Salvia miltiorrhiza has a therapeutic effect on renal interstitial fibrosis of rats.