Abstract The boiling point of feedstock is an important process design parameter for petroleum system. In heavy petroleum fractions that boil above 524°C, it is difficult to explicitly determine the boiling point due to limitation of analytical capability. In this article, a modified Cordes-Rarey group contribution method for estimating boiling point of heavy oil was developed on the basis of structure parameters of oil fractions. Narrow fractions of heavy oil were prepared by using the supercritical fluid extraction and fractionation (SFEF). The average boiling points of light SFEF fractions were measured up to 680°C. Elemental analyses and the 1H and 13C-NMR spectra of the SFEF fractions were obtained to determine structure parameters and construct average molecules of SFEF fractions. The results show that the boiling point was correlated with total atom number (except hydrogen) of SFEF fraction. The predicted boiling points for more than 60 SFEF fractions at 320–680°C derived from an Eastern Siberia crude and its blend with Daqing crude agree well with measured values within 2.04%. The predicted boiling points of normal alkanes and polycyclic aromatics are in agreement with literature data. It is suggested that the proposed group contribution method, in combination with the characterization data of SFEF fractions, can be used to estimate the average boiling points of heavy oil fractions up to 800°C.


In this paper the optimization of a transverse flux induction heating device by means of a parameter-free, self-adaptive particle swarm optimizer is presented. The novelty of this work is represented by the fact that concentric multi-coil induction heaters have never been optimized before in their full three-dimensional complexity. The main technical challenge of the problem consists in designing a single configuration capable of heating strips of different widths while satisfying geometrical, electrical and heating process constraints. It will be shown that a system consisting of three coils can successfully heat strips of widths between 600 mm and 800 mm with the required uniformity.


Background: The cell population data (CPD) measured by Sysmex XN-9000 can be used for screening many hematological and non-hematological disorders. Since little in - formation is available on harmonization of CPD among different instrumentation and clinical laboratories, this study aimed at assessing the current degree of CPD harmonization between separate Sysmex XN modules allocated to the same laboratory. Methods: A total number of 78291 data were used for verification of within-run imprecision, analyzers harmoni -zation, reference ranges and assessment of blood sample stability of CPD parameters, including results of daily quality control testing and those generated in samples collected from blood donors and healthy volunteers. Results: Within-run imprecision


Pneumatic Servo System has been studied and developed in Europe in the latter half of '80's by the great progress of micro electronics and the develdpment of control software. At the same time, we (FESTO), one of the most biggest pneumatic manufacturers in the world, started to supply Pneumatic Servo System which can keep appropriate positioning accuracy, be operated rather easily and be supplied to the market with reasonable prices, and the no. of applications reached over thousand axes.FESTO Pneumatic Servo System was introduced to the Japanese market in the beginning of 1994. Currently, it is used in the automobile industry, metal working machine, electric machine, handling machine, wood working machine, chemical machine, construction machine, packaging machine, food processing machine, and robot, etc.The outline of FESTO Pneumatic Servo System, the examples of measurement results of control signals and the response comparison with the case driven with the normal solenoid valve are introduced here.


Drawing on a larger study on "Gender practices and violence between peers: the stakes of mixed-sex education", this paper examines the methodological challenges specific to carrying out ethnography in an elite high school. The researcher's subjective experience in the field reveals the power dynamics at play in the elite setting. We also examine how interdisciplinary collective analysis of the observation journals unveils less-examined challenges to conceptualization in the research process. We call for the heuristic value when contradiction and subjectivity are acknowledged and implicated both in the field and data analysis, which leads us to articulate different social identities in the elite school environment.


In this paper, we propose a method that can be used to back-stepping controller design for speed control of Brushless Direct Current (BLDC) motor. First, back-stepping controller is designed with load torque estimator. The estimator is included to adapt to the variation of load torque in real time. Finally, the proposed controller is tested through experiment with a 120W BLDC motor for the angular velocity reference tracking performance and load torque volatility estimation. The simulation result verifies the performance of the proposed controller.


The article deals with an assessment of the students' workload influence on the academic progress in a technical university. This study was carried out at Tyumen Industrial University, the Branch of IUT in Surgut. The research participants were the first-year students of full-time and part-time departments of the "Oil and Gas Business" direction. The research was done in 2017-2018. Much attention is given to some of the consequences that first-year students have: neuropsychic stress, declining academic progress, and the quality of education. There are reasons for such a state: lack of time, a large amount of information, many classroom hours, irregular distribution of the students' workload intensity of academic disciplines in the first semester, etc. The research gives valuable information on the necessity to improve the system of students' organizational and educational activities, depending on the specific features of a technical university. This study contributes to the existing research on the impact of academic workload on the students' emotional, mental state in higher education. Specifically, it studies the volume of the freshmen's academic workload in accordance with the curriculum, which is one of the main negative factors affecting the level of mental students' performance.


The gulf between Dutch seventeenth-century architectural theory and architectural education in early nineteenth-century France is large. This distance is more than one of time and space; it is defined by a cultural and intellectual context that differed radically, and by different ways of thinking about architecture. Nevertheless, this article will focus on two architectural theorists on either side of the divide, making a comparison between the mid-seventeenth-century architectural theorist Nicolaus Goldmann (1611–1665) in the Dutch Republic and the French architect and academy teacher Jean-Nicolas-Louis Durand (1760–1834) in the revolutionary years around 1800. Could Goldmann have been an Early Modern source for aspects of Durand's compositional method? Their writings show some remarkable similarities, the most obvious being aspects of the visual appearances of their theories; to be more precise, in their similar uses of the grid. Although they do so each in their own specific way, they both apply the grid as a modular design tool and as an elaborate proportional system, which constitutes the core of both theories.1 The visual similarities between these two theories raise the question of whether their work could be historically interconnected in some way.


Class"education custom",as an established form of activity,always appears stable at the particular time and space and participants can attain more significance beyond itself.Once established,it restricts formation and development of students' personality in the light of such mechanism as infection,hint,imitation and reference,and serves as direction,restriction and edification,which is an imperceptible power of education,ensuring smooth teaching activity.This paper attempts to augment it in inheritance and develop it in transformation by exploration,excavation,and classification of class"education custom".


On the basis of data collected about the Heihe River,the models of SLMand LPM are used to simulate the daily runoff.Further,the accuracies and reliabilities of the results are analyzed and compared in this paper.It is suggested that the LPM model can be applied to forecast the runoff process,while the SLM model can't,and that owing to taking seasonal variation into account,the LPM model are superior to the SLM in terms of the efficiency and reliability.In conclusion,compared with the SLM model,the accuracy and reliability of the LPM model have improved greatly,including cuting down the discharge of the flood peak as well as considering the impact as a result of the nonlinear changes of the flood peak.


A large majority of apartment tenures for apartments acquired at the beginning of the 1 990s in Croatia have not yet been entered in the Land Registry. The reason for not entering ownership in the books is the same or almost the same as during purchase: the inconsistency of official data on lots on which bui ld ings have been bui lt, i .e. data from the Cadastre and the Land Registry, incomplete building documentation for completed structures and unresolved ownership issues regarding cadastre lots (e.g. those sti l l owned by a local authority, companies which no longer exist, unknown proprietors, etc. ) . The Act on Ownership and the Regulations on Linking the Book of Deposited Contracts and the Land Registry prescribe the entry of apartment ownership, as recorded in the Book of Deposited Contracts, in the Land Registry. Taking into consideration the complexity of the issue, this paper elaborates the facts, obstacles and proposals in the process of l inking the Land Registry with the Book of Deposited Contracts, from the surveyor's point of view with regard to analysing the problem. Surveying is the profession competent to l ink and coordinate the state of data on cadastre lots on which bui ld ings containing apartments with tenancy rights have been bui lt. Using specific information provided by three bui ld ing managers, the facts on ownership entry in the Land Registry and the Book of Deposited Contracts of actual bui ld ings are presented in this paper. Furthermore, an overview is provided of the prel iminary actions required, in the form of producing suitable surveying plans to give bui ld ing managers direction and some guidance as to which steps to take in successful ly tackl ing the issue of l inking the Land Registry with the Book of Deposited Contracts.


Supporting relational query processing in P2P data management systems needs multi-dimensional exact match queries processing and multi-dimensional range queries processing. The paper proposes a method for using a DHT-based P2P system to support multi-dimensional data while allowing range queries. The proposed system used a two-layered architecture, one for resource sharing and another for resource finding, so as to facilitate multi-dimensional query processing. The approach depends on using an order-preserving hash function and a relatively small number of P2P nodes to store data. Data is assigned to nodes by reducing its dimensionality to just one dimension, and is then mapped onto the P2P nodes, which are spread along the range of values of the one-dimensional data. After that, a multi-dimensional query algorithm (including to exact match query and range query) based on this strategy are proposed. At last, the paper offered experimental evidence to support the approach.


In order to have long-term competition,corporations must carry out the sustainable development strategy.However,whether the design,practices and control of sustainable development strategy can work depends on the effectiveness of corporation governance.Corporation governance can also administrate and supervise the process in which corporate strategy is carrying out.Stakeholders co-governance mechanism can guarantee the corporation to develop sustainablely.


The aim of this paper was to examine the relationships between on–line booking for travel and holiday accommodation, as the dependent variable, and selected economic, social and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) development indicators in the European Union (EU) and three South-East European countries (SEECs), the EU official candidates. In the analysis data from the official sources for all development indicators were used. The percentage of individuals who booked travel and holiday accommodation over the Internet in the last 12 months in selected European countries is positively correlated with each of the four regressors: the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita ; the public expenditure on education as percentage of GDP ; the Internet penetration rate ; and the Individuals' level of Internet skills. After the exploratory data analysis, outliers are found and over- and under average countries data were recognised. The linear regression model that describe the impact of a statistically significant regressor named Internet penetration rate on the percentage of individuals who booked travel and holiday accommodation over the Internet was developed as the only one not violating the model assumptions. The hierarchical cluster analysis gave the separate cluster for the same five SEECs: Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey, the Former Yugoslav Republic (FYR) of Macedonia and Serbia. Croatia, even though having an under- average percentage of on-line booking users, did not join the SEE countries' cluster, but the cluster of the EU countries' that are "developing" concerning the variables under study.


In order to efficiency teach and learn knowledge in academic courses for instructors and students, some systems are developed based on information and network technologies. However, these systems usually do not describe the knowledge in academic course formally. Students can not query course knowledge well and truly. Therefore, in this paper, we propose an approach based on web ontology and implement it to formally manage course knowledge and facilitate student querying it based on inference. In this approach, we focus on its architecture, implementation, and two special difficulties, i.e., how to aid instructors to create course ontology and how to convert a student's request into a structural query to reason course ontology.


Robust control of networked storage devices is considered. Each storage device is modeled as a single-state, discrete-time integrator with bounded control input, and subject to additive disturbance. The values of the disturbance are unknown but are assumed to belong to bounded sets. Nodes exchange stored resource through links of limited capacity. Characterization of the maximal robust control invariant (RCI) set is provided and decentralization of the robust feasibility problem is considered. A notion of decentralized RCI set is introduced and a parametrization of a family of decentralized RCI sets is proposed. It is shown that the set of parameters for which the decentralized RCI sets are non-empty is a polyhedral set. The result offers a possibility to use convex optimization for selection of bounds on the admissible flow through the network which ensure feasibility of the proposed decentralized design.


[Objective] The aim was to provide the basis for the effective control of Solenopsis invicta.[Method] Selecting Spinosad as original drug,Spinosad with different content was made as baits and the toxic effects of Spinosad baits on S.invicta in laboratory and outside laboratory were studied.[Result] 0.02%,0.04%,0.08% Spinosad baits had rapid toxic effect on S.invicta in laboratory and the death time of total S.invicta were 24 h,12 h,8 h,resp;0.01% Spinosad bait had moderate toxic effect in laboratory,which caused the death rate of S.invicta as 100% after application within 54 h.0.01% of Spinosad bait had obvious control effect on S.invicta outside laboratory,and the control effect reached 71.52% after the drug application for 5 d and 92.91% after application for 25 d. 0.01% Spinosad bait could not kill the foraging ergates immediately,and it could be transmitted among the S.invicta individuals and finally destroyed the formicary completely.[Conclusion] Spinosad baits had some advantages such as high effect,complete control and fitting for every kind of environment,so it was an ideal control method for S.invicta.


A 19-year-old right-handed female involved in an automobile accident sustained a full-thickness circumferential degloving injury from her right axilla to her wrist. Sensibility in the hand was normal and she had full motor function of the radial, ulnar, and median nerves. Vascular examination was unremarkable. Roentgenograms of the entire right upper extremity were "negative for fracture." Following debridement in the operating room, the arm was circumferentially covered with split-thickness skin grafts for three weeks. Aggressive physical and occupational therapy ensued in an attempt to regain motion in the shoulder, elbow and wrist. Six weeks postinjury, an orthopedic consultation was obtained because of markedly limited elbow motion and pain. A review of the original films revealed an isolated posterior dislocation of


A series of natural rubber-snail shell powder vulcanizates were compounded on a two-roll mill, and moulded on a compression moulding machine. The mechanical and end-use properties of the natural rubber vulcanizates were investigated at snail shell powder contents, 0 to 20 pphr. The snail shell powder was characterized for filler properties and sieved to 0.075, and 0.30 μm particle sizes. Carbon black was used as the reference filler. Results showed that the tensile strength, modulus, elongation at break, and resilience of the rubber vulcanizates were not enhanced on addition of snail shell powder. The hardness of the rubber vulcanizes were marginally increased at high snail shell powder content. However, the specific gravity of the rubber vulcanizates showed increases with increase in snail shell powder content. At a filler content above 5 pphr, snail shell powder exhibited good flame retardant property in the vulcanizates. The swelling indices of snail shell powder (0.075 μm) filled natural rubber were generally good, and better than those of snail shell powder (0.30 μm) filled natural rubber. Carbon black was found to show more property improvement for the natural rubber vulcanizates when compared to snail shell powder. Although the mechanical properties of snail shell powder filled natural rubber vulcanizates were not good, there were improvements in the end-use properties, an indication that snail shell powder could still find utilization in the rubber industry where specific end-use property of a rubber product is required.


AbstractBlast loads acting on structural components under close-in explosions are nonuniform; therefore, the damage to structural members under such blast loads is local and the failure mechanism is more complex as compared with that of distance explosions. Because of the lack of an accurate blast load model, a precise damage analysis method, an efficient damage assessment method, and practical protective measures, the blast-resistant design of structural members under close-in explosions faces great challenges. In this paper, a fluid-solid coupling numerical method is proposed and then used to investigate the failure mechanism of reinforced concrete (RC) columns under close-in explosions. The results show that local failure, such as crushing, cratering, and spall of concrete, is more likely to happen when the RC column is subjected to close-in blast loads. Parametric studies are carried out to investigate the influences of column dimensions and the reinforcement ratio on the damage degree of RC columns. ...


The paper analyzes the duration and pitch of the accented syllable in disyllabic prosodic words of Mandarin monologue through perception experiment and acoustic analysis.The left syllable tends to be perceived as the accented one by listeners in the perception test.The high tone and the falling tone with high pitch onset are more easily perceived as accented.Besides the contributing factors such as onset,pause and pitch resetting,the pitch floor and the pitch ceiling of accented syllables are raised,and the normalized duration of accented syllables are lengthened before different prosodic hierarchical boundaries,whereas the pitch range of accented syllables is not expanded.


Shows that if an ad valorem tax is not uniformly applied to the sales of a monopolist, it may increase output and reduce price.


Successful spin‐injection from magnetic contacts into a semiconductor heterostructure (up to room temperature) is seen as one of the key features to realise spintronic applications. In this paper we describe our effort in establishing spin‐injection in the tunneling regime from various different ferromagnetic contacts. The device structure that is used to test the spin‐injection is a III–V light emitting device. This device has good characteristics as a detector of the injected electron spin‐polarisation. We summarise the results on spin‐injection obtained from different magnetic contact strategies: ferromagnetic metal/AlOx, ferromagnetic metal/Schottky tunnel barrier and ferromagnetic semiconductor/Zener diode combination. (© 2004 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)


This study investigates the various phonological processes operational in the speech of 90 native Bangla spoken children between the age of 3;0 – 3;11 years. The speech of all children was recorded during the administration of the developed word list and was transcribed for analysis. Equality of proportions was used to investigate the observed pattern of variation in speech. Overall this study has established two aspects of speech development: age at which the error patterns were suppressed and the percentage of children exhibiting the obtained phonological processes. Processes like medial consonant deletion, unstressed syllable deletion, /l/ deletion, vowel unrounding, alveolar fronting, denasalization, stopping (except stopping of affricates and fricatives), palatalization and monothongization were eliminated by 3 years 5 months, while nasalization, backing of stops, initial consonant deletion, and coalescence were not found in age beyond 3 years and 9 months. Processes like vowel rising, nasalization, stopping, nasal assimilation, stop assimilation, velar fronting, and deaffrication decreased significantly as the chronological age progressed from 3 to 4 years. Other processes like cluster reduction, epenthesis, final consonant deletion, deaspiration, /r/ deletion, affrication (of fricatives), liquid replacement, and fronting of retroflex were considered to persist beyond 4 years of age. The results however refute the fact that, the mastery of phonological system is completed by 4 years of age. Native Bangla speaking children continues to use simplification for clusters, final consonants, fricatives, liquids, retroflex sounds, and the aspirated counterparts of stops, even after the age of four. The results thus provide a profile of the underlying rules a typically developing child uses, which can be served as a basis for planning remediation. Also information about typical errors helps to delineate the normal course of acquisition; consequently, a child's atypical phonologic development can be evaluated against normal or typical error patterns.


The purposes of this study of rheumatoid arthritic Caucasian and black women of American descent were to determine for the two ethnic groups: a) if there were differences in social support characteristics, b) if there was a difference in psychological well‐being, c) what the correlations were between psychological well‐being and the social support characteristics, and d) which social support characteristics were the best predictors of psychological well‐being. The data were obtained by interview using structured questionnaires. No significant differences were found between the social support characteristics or between psychological well‐being for the two groups. Significant correlations were shown between each of the social support characteristics and psychological well‐being for Caucasian women, but not for black women. No combination of social support characteristics was found to be any better than any other for predicting psychological well‐being in either group. The findings suggest that factors other...


Abstract This study aims to determine the effect of service quality, experiential marketing on customer satisfaction simultaneously and partially. The sample used is Lapis Tugu Malang consumers, amounting to 80. Data collection methods by distributing questionnaires to Lapis Tugu Malang consumers. Data analysis methods used are validity test, reliability test, normality test, multiple linear regression test. The results of this study indicate that simultaneously service quality and experiential marketing together influence customer satisfaction. And partially, service quality and experiential marketing have a significant effect on customer satisfaction, service quality has a significant effect on customer satisfaction, Malang Lapis Tugu Product. Affordable prices and strategic locations will satisfy customers and increase profits for Lapis Tugu Malang, while service quality needs to be improved to minimize the risk of loss. And consumers will feel more satisfied with the quality they receive for the funds they spend to buy these products. Keywords: Service Quality, Experiential Marketing, and Customer Satisfaction .


The socio-economic development of regions and countries is an important research issue. Thus, it is necessary to identify those areas that can serve as sources of economic growth and the basis for the well-being of the population. This study aims to determine the most important sectors of the economy of a region that can contribute to its socio-economic development. For this research, the Arkhangelsk region was taken as one of the typical Russian regions that have neither significant reserves of hydrocarbons nor any large industrial complexes. In this regard, the question of possible origins of economic growth seems especially relevant. To this end, an autoregressive distributed lag model (ADL-model) was developed, which is based on quarterly data on the socio-economic development of the Arkhangelsk region for the period 2004–2019. The obtained three equations reflect the dynamics of regional socio-economic development. The study showed that the greatest influence on the socio-economic development of the region is exerted by such industries as mining, construction, and manufacturing sectors. The study can become the basis for forecasting and modelling the socio-economic development of the Arkhangelsk region in the short and medium-term. It also can be helpful for analysing the effectiveness of measures aimed at stimulating those or other industries of the region. The model can be used in developing a regional development strategy.


The notions of Functional System and Functional Hierarchical Relations defined by the author are presented as conceptual extensions of Bertalanffy's open system and hierarchy principle. The definition and properties of functional systems are compared with definition and properties of autopoietic systems as defined by Maturana and Varela in order to show their similarity and conceptual equivalence. Further, as a first step in modeling some aspects of autopoietic systems, we briefly outline a methodology and a software environment for the formulation and automatic solution of formal macromodels whose design has been based on the above mentioned notions.


Urinary tract infectionis the most common bacterial infection among children. Girls after the age of one are exposed to the urinary tract infection on the average four times more than boys. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of training based on individual empowerment model on mothers' knowledge, self-efficacy and practice in prevention and early detect of the urinary tract infection in young kids. 104 mothers by means of random samples, participated in a quasi-experimental research in two groups consisting of test and control groups. the ways of gathering data consisted; demographic data, knowledge rate evaluation, self-efficacy and a check list of practice evaluation. The information was gathered from both groups after one month. The meetings were based importance, signs and prevention of the infection and recognition of infection that was made by mothers, themselves. Data was evaluated using SPSS-16, krukal wallis test, chi-square and t-test. There was a significant difference among self-efficacy scores in test group (regarding using urine strips and methods of prevention), practice scores (about the correct method of collecting urine samples, using urine test strips for detection of infection and methods of prevention) and knowledge scores (on function of kidney, importance of urinary tract infection, symptoms of infection and prevention methods) had significant difference before and after the intervention. This study showed that the use of individual empowerment model could improve mother's self-efficacy, practice and knowledge regarding primary and secondary prevention of their children urinary tract infection.


1 Herod J, Denyer J, Goldman A et al. Epidermolysis bullosa in children: pathophysiology, anaesthesia and pain management. Paediatr Anaesth 2002; 12: 388–397. 2 Wolff K, Goldsmith LA, Katz SI et al. Fitzpatrick's Dermatology in General Medicine, 7th edn. New York, NY: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc, 2008. 3 Hutchisson B, Baird MG, Wagner S. Electrosurgical safety. AORN J 1998; 68: 830–837; quiz 8. 4 Drury NE, Petley GW, Clewlow F et al. Evidence-based guidelines for the use of defibrillation pads. Resuscitation 2001; 51: 283–286.


Background: In flowering plants, the female gametophyte is typically a seven-celled structure with four cell types: the egg cell, the central cell, the synergid cells, and the antipodal cells. These cells perform essential functions required for double fertilization and early seed development. Differentiation of these distinct cell types likely involves coordinated changes in gene expression regulated by transcription factors. Therefore, understanding female gametophyte cell differentiation and function will require dissection of the gene regulatory networks operating in each of the cell types. These efforts have been hampered because few transcription factor genes expressed in the female gametophyte have been identified. To identify such genes, we undertook a large-scale differential expression screen followed by promoter-fusion analysis to detect transcription-factor genes transcribed in the Arabidopsis female gametophyte. Results: Using quantitative reverse-transcriptase PCR, we analyzed 1,482 Arabidopsis transcription-factor genes and identified 26 genes exhibiting reduced mRNA levels in determinate infertile 1 mutant ovaries, which lack female gametophytes, relative to ovaries containing female gametophytes. Spatial patterns of gene transcription within the mature female gametophyte were identified for 17 transcription-factor genes using promoter-fusion analysis. Of these, ten genes were predominantly expressed in a single cell type of the female gametophyte including the egg cell, central cell and the antipodal cells whereas the remaining seven genes were expressed in two or more cell types. After fertilization, 12 genes were transcriptionally active in the developing embryo and/or endosperm. Conclusions: We have shown that our quantitative reverse-transcriptase PCR differential-expression screen is sufficiently sensitive to detect transcription-factor genes transcribed in the female gametophyte. Most of the genes identified in this study have not been reported previously as being expressed in the female gametophyte. Therefore, they might represent novel regulators and provide entry points for reverse genetic and molecular approaches to uncover the gene regulatory networks underlying female gametophyte development. Background The female gametophyte is an integral component of the plant life cycle and plays an essential role in plant reproduction. In most angiosperms including Arabidopsis, the female gametophyte (also called the embryo sac) typically consists of an egg cell, a central cell, two synergid cells, and three antipodal cells [1,2]. During double fertilization , the pollen tube penetrates one of the synergid cells and releases two sperm cells, which fuse with the egg cell and the central cell to give rise to the embryo and the endosperm, respectively [3]. The embryo forms the next


Acknowledgements Contributors 1. Free will, libertarianism, and Kane David Palmer Part I: Libertarian Theories of Free Will 2. Can an indeterministic cause leave a choice up to the agent? Carl Ginet 3. Free will and metaphysics Timothy O'Connor Part II: The Luck Objection 4. Kane, luck, and control: Trying to get by without too much effort Alfred Mele 5. Toward a solution to the luck problem John Martin Fischer Part III: Incompatibilism and Omissions 6. Compatibilist ultimacy: Resisting the threat of Kane's U condition Michael McKenna 7. The direct argument for incompatibilism David Widerker and Ira M. Schnall 8. Freedom, responsibility, and omitting to act Randolph Clarke Part IV: The Significance of Free Will 9. Responsibility for emotions, alternative possibilities, and reasons Ishtiyaque Haji 10. Moral responsibility, the reactive attitudes, and the significance of (libertarian) free will Dana Kay Nelkin 11. The dialectic of selfhood and the significance of free will Derk Pereboom Part V: Kane's Reply 12. New arguments in debates on libertarian free will: Responses to contributors Robert Kane References Index


Reproduction of turbulent flow and heat transfer inside a pressurized water reactor (PWR) fuel assembly is a challenging task due to the complex geometry and the huge computational domain. Capability of a wall-modelled RANS approach has been examined, which had already been validated against the measurements of the MATiS-H experiment. The method is here expanded to a larger computational domain aiming to reproduce flow and thermal field in the entire PWR fuel assembly. Namely, in the first part of the present study, wall-modelled RANS is performed in a relatively short section of the representative PWR fuel assembly containing one single mixing grid with an array of 15×15 fuel rods. Linear and nonlinear eddy-viscosity turbulence models have been applied, however no significant difference is observed in the predicted pressure drop in the fuel assembly. The obtained predictions revealed an interesting pattern of swirl flow as well as diagonal cross flow downstream the mixing grid, which is driven by the applied design of split-type mixing vanes. In the second part, the computational model is extended to a domain representative of a complete PWR fuel assembly with ten mixing grids, inlet and outlet sections. Pressure drop and flow field are analysed together with the predicted temperature and potential hot spots. In spite of a relatively coarse spatial resolution of the applied approach, the wall-modelled RANS provided promising results at least for the qualitative prediction of the pressure, flow field and location of hot spots.


Abstract In recent decades, there has been a substantial increase in the consumption of fruits and vegetables due to their nutritional properties since they are known as sources of vitamins, minerals, fiber, and antioxidants. Moreover, a substantial growth in fresh-cut fruits and vegetables has been noticed because of their ease to use; in fact changes in human life styles have led consumers to move towards ready-to-eat products. In this context, product quality must be preserved at each step of product handling, processing, and storage, and therefore rapid methods should be available to provide useful information in process management. In this review an overview of the applications of widely used non-destructive techniques, namely, electronic nose and visible/near infrared spectroscopy, for measuring quality of fruits and vegetables is presented. A brief description of spectroscopic and electronic devices and a selection of applications are provided. Future perspectives about the simplification/application of these non-destructive techniques are finally explored.


Humankind has walked on the moon, is set to land on Mars in the near future, but sadly, has not solved the enigma of sarcoidosis. This disease, sarcoidosis, has baffled clinicians, researchers, and scientists alike. Heterogeneous clinical presentations, unclear pathophysiology, and inability to pinpoint etiologic agent have halted progress in its therapeutics and research. So much so that there is a paucity of clear‐cut classification or diagnostic criteria for sarcoidosis. The American Thoracic Society/European Respiratory Society/World Association of Sarcoidosis and Other Granulomatous[1] statement on sarcoidosis was published in 1999. It suggests that "when clinico‐radiological findings are supported by histologic evidence of noncaseating epithelioid cell granulomas," the diagnosis of sarcoidosis can be entertained. However, the clinicoradiological findings are not clearly described. Subsequently, Heinle and Chang[2] have proposed a diagnostic criterion based on a combination of clinical, radiographic, and histological features alongside the elimination of disorders with similar clinical features. Bickett et al.[3] have tried to quantitate the clinical features consistent with biopsy‐proven sarcoidosis to enhance diagnostic certainty.


In wireless sensor networks(WSN), APIT algorithm is a good representation of localization algorithm and has been used widely. This work improves the classic APIT algorithm and does some researches on the accuracy and coverage of the improved APIT algorithm. The modified algorithm processes begin to change in the second step and have a addition in the end: At first, these nodes that were unable to locate are labeled in the second step. After all the nodes that can be test with APIT algorithm are located, these marked nodes will use SBL algorithm with these located nodes and anchor nodes within its sense range to estimate their positions. At last, the estimation coordinates are regarded as the location of the nodes. These experiment data shows that the nodes' coverage and enhances the overall localization accuracy on the whole .


OTHER PUBLICATIONS Jonah, I. M., et al Biochimica et Biophysica Acta, 541, pp. 321-333 (1978). Primary Examiner-Merrell C. Cashion, Jr. Assistant Examiner-P. L. Prater Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Wenderoth, Lind & Ponack 57 ABSTRACT The liposome compositions entrapping a drug are pre pared by constituting the liposomal membrane with a saturated phospholipid and a glycolipid having sialic acid group. Thus obtained compositions circulate stably in blood for a long time after intravenous administra tion.


When a change occurs in a process, one expects to receive a signal from a control chart as quickly as possible. Upon the receipt of signal from the control chart a search for identifying the source of disturbance begins. However, searching for assignable cause around the signal time, due to the fact that the disturbance may have manifested itself into the process sometimes back, may not always lead to successful identification of assignable cause(s). If process engineers could identify the change point, i.e. the time when the disturbance first manifested itself into the process, then corrective actions could be directed towards effective elimination of the source of disturbance. In this paper we develop a maximum likelihood estimator (MLE) for process change point designed to detect changes in process variance of a normal quality characteristic when the change follows a linear trend. We describe how this estimator can be used to identify the change point when a Shewhart S-control chart signals a change in the process variance. Numerical results reveal that the proposed estimator outperforms the MLE designed for step change when a linear trend disturbance is present.


In the U.S., some 50% of pregnancies are unplanned. This, combined with the widespread use of benzodiazepines for anxiety, provides an opportunity to study the teratogenic effects of exposure to these drugs in early pregnancy. Investigators in Canada performed a meta-analysis of cohort and …


We report on the effect of Pt on the growth kinetics of δ-Ni2Si and Ni1−xPtxSi thin films formed by solid phase reaction of a Ni(Pt) alloyed thin film on Si(100). The study was performed by real-time Rutherford backscattering spectrometry examining the silicide growth rates for initial Pt concentrations of 0, 1, 3, 7, and 10 at. % relative to the Ni content. Pt was found to exert a drastic effect on the growth kinetics of both phases. δ-Ni2Si growth is slowed down tremendously, which results in the simultaneous growth of this phase with Ni1−xPtxSi. Activation energies extracted for the Ni1−xPtxSi growth process exhibit an increase from Ea = 1.35 ± 0.06 eV for binary NiSi to Ea = 2.7 ± 0.2 eV for Ni1−xPtxSi with an initial Pt concentration of 3 at. %. Further increasing the Pt content to 10 at. % merely increases the activation energy for Ni1−xPtxSi growth to Ea = 3.1 ± 0.5 eV.


Magnetic nanocrystalline spinel-type cobalt ferrite complex oxides were prepared by a simple sol–gel auto-combustion method at five different molar ratios of CoII to FeIII (1:4.0, 1:2.8, 1:2.0, 1:1.5, and 1:1.1)
and characterized by X-ray diffractometry (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometry (FT-IR) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Their catalytic performancewas evaluated in the oxidation of cyclohexane with oxygen as oxidant in the presence of neither solvents nor reducing agents. It has been revealed that the catalysts had high catalytic activities for heterogeneous oxidation of cyclohexane. Especially, when pure CoFe2O4 was used as catalyst; excellent results with turnover number of 288 and 92.4% selectivity for cyclohexanone and cyclohexanol was obtained under 1.6MPa of initial oxygen pressure at
418K after 6.0 h of reaction. The influences of initial oxygen pressure, reaction temperature, reaction time, and free-radical initiator on the oxidation of cyclohexane over CoFe2O4 were investigated. The catalyst
can be easily separated by an external magnet and no obvious loss of activity was observed when reused in five consecutive runs. CoFe2O4 was proved to be also efficient for oxidation of linear alkanes.


As an secondary tool of virtue education, the evaluation of virtue education in colleges and universities is an important means of student management. The following factors should be properly handled in such evaluation: Firstly, when setting the evaluated-object, the mutual-independence of the elements for evaluation and the competitiveness between the evaluated-objects must be taken into consideration; secondly, a practical and realistic virtue target system and a concise, complete, feasible virtue evaluation mechanism must be established; thirdly, there must be a correct understanding of the point value of the virtue evaluation and attention should be given to the uncertainty of point value of evaluation.


The failure of the newborn animal and human infant to exhibit the usual signs of inflammation in response to foreign substances is documented in the experimental and clinical literature. For example, Adelsberger, 1 Rachmilewitsch, 2 and Friedberger and Heim 3 showed that such exotic irritants as croton oil, mustard oil, or eel serum failed to elicit the usual violent inflammatory reaction when applied to the skin of the neonatal infant. Von Groer and Kassowitz 4 and Cooke 5 found that the Schick and Dick toxin reactions are suppressed in the young infant independent of the presence or absence of specific antitoxin in the serum. Similar observations in newborn animals have indicated not only that there is a failure of response to nonspecific irritants, but that bacterial or viral skin infections often fail to elicit the usual mature local response 6 leading to systemic dissemination of the agent. Evidence is also


The analysis of the linear stability of a planar Chapman–Jouguet detonation wave is reformulated for an arbitrary caloric (incomplete) equation of state in an attempt to better represent the stability properties of detonations in condensed-phase explosives. Calculations are performed on a 'stiffened-gas' equation of state which allows us to prescribe a finite detonation Mach number while simultaneously allowing for a detonation shock pressure that is substantially larger than the ambient pressure. We show that the effect of increasing the ambient sound speed in the material, for a given detonation speed, has a stabilizing effect on the detonation. We also show that the presence of the slow reaction stage, a feature of detonations in certain types of energetic materials, where the detonation structure is characterized by a fast reaction stage behind the detonation shock followed by a slow reaction stage, tends to have a destabilizing effect.


The dynamical behaviors of a film bearing rotor system with flexible support are investigated in this paper. At first, the mechanical models of film bearing rotor system and flexible support film bearing rotor system are established. Based on the nonlinear characteristic of film forces, the stability and bifurcation of the two non-autonomous systems are discussed. The result of the flexible support system is compared with that of the system having no flexible support, it is found that flexible support can improve the stability of the system with high threshold speeds. Then, for the autonomous systems, their dynamic responses are calculated for different system parameters. According to the results, it can be seen that stability of the rotor system is improved obviously when the mass, coefficients of damper and stiffness match with each other reasonably.


We discuss several key challenges for quantum communication ranging from engineering photon sources through faithful entanglement swapping to heralded photon, or qubit, amplification and their implications for experimental device independent QKD.


ABSTRACT : Body image is a person's internal representation of the outer appearance or the body's unique perception. Someone can have a positive body image and may also have a negative body image. Similarly, tattoos can improve a positive body image of a person because a tattoo can make someone sexy, cool or attractive. In contrast, tattoos can also cause a negative body image. The person with tattoos feels less confident or less attractive. This can happen because most people still think of tattoos as something negative. However, today more and more people who have tattoos, especially young women. For teenagers, physically attractive is something important in social interaction, whereas for women themselves, having sexy body, attractive, beautiful is the hope for everybody. Based on what has been described, the purpose of this study was to determine in more detail about the reasons of young women using tattoos in their body. To achieve the research objectives, a qualitative approach is used. Interviews and observation techniques are employed. The subject consists of two tattooed young women aged between 12 to 21 years. The result of the analysis shows that the reason the subject having a tattoo is to express an art and to remind her with her life experience. Another reason is simply for fun with friends. They feel that having tattoos is more attractive. Indeed, these two subjects feel pround of their tattoos.


In this paper, a modified Mott-Gurney differential equation set was built by Arrhenius' law and the overpotential theory of ionic motion in bipolar ECM resistive devices. The average displacement of ions was solved by the modified Mott-Gurney equation. Then, the relation between the average displacement and the growth length of the conductive filament was obtained by a geometric model based on cells. The applied voltage versus Forming/Set time equation and the length of the conductive filament growth versus time equation have been deduced by using this relation. This article proposed also an algorithm for extracting kinetic parameters of ions in bipolar ECM devices. By using this algorithm, the characteristics of the applied voltage versus Forming/Set time for Ag/γ-AgI/Pt, Ag/TiO2/Pt, Ag/GeS2/W, and Cu/SiO2/Au devices were calculated and the calculative results were consistent with experimental data. We found that in the Forming/Set process, the jump step of silver ions is the lattice constant along c direction of a unit cell of the crystal for TiO2 and the jump step is equal to the lattice constant of the cubic, a, for γ-AgI. These results are explained as followings. In a unit cell of the two crystals there are some tetrahedral and octahedral interstitial sites. The cationic motion paths consist of alternating octahedral and tetrahedral sites or some octahedral sites. The cations jump from tetrahedron to octahedron to tetrahedron etc. in the γ-AgI with coplanar polyhedron and octahedron to octahedron in the TiO2 with edge shared octahedron. In GeS2 crystal, we have found that the jump step of silver ions was the lattice constant in the c direction of a unit cell. Due to the periodicity of the lattice, the pathway of the ion motion in the three materials can be expressed by a periodic potential barrier. There had been calculated for the jump situation of the copper ion in amorphous SiO2, the jump step of copper ions was 1.57 times of the length of the O-O bond, and the jump pathway could be also explained by a periodic potential barrier. By introducing the cosine potential barrier, the ionic activation frequency, potential barrier height, ionic mobility & diffusion coefficient, and characteristics of the conductive filament growth versus time in several devices were calculated. The criteria of selecting dielectric materials for bipolar ECM devices was discussed by using these data. It was found that the standard for selecting dielectric materials of bipolar ECM devices is the ion activation energy ≤ 0.5eV, preferably between 0.1-0.2eV, and the DC conductivity as close as possible to 10‒4 (Ω cm)‒1.


We have synthesized a Re(CO)3-modified lysine via a one-pot Schiff base formation reaction that can be used in the solid phase peptide synthesis. To demonstrate its potential use, we have attached it to a neurotensin fragment and observed uptake into human umbilical vascular endothelial cells.


ObjectiveTo study the infuence of Tongle Oral Solution on phagocytic fuction of ceiac macrophages in normal mouse,its antipyretic and anti-inflammatory effects in rats.MethodsPhagocytic percentage and phagocytic index of celiac macrophages were investigated in normal mouse,rats paw edema was caused by carrageenin and rat febril models were induced by injection of dry yeast subcutaneously ResultsTongle Oral Solution improved phagocytic fuction of celiac macrophages,inhibited carrgeenin-induced rat paw edema,and also reduced fever caused by dry yeast in high dosage group.ConclusionTongle Oral Solution were shown to promote the non-specific immunity and had some antipyretic and anti-inflammatory effects.


The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of intrinsic motivation and interpersonal communication on the effectiveness of work on employees with organizational commitment as a mediating variable. The research method used a quantitative research method. The dependent variable (Y2) of the study is Work Effectiveness. Independent variables include: Intrinsic Motivation (X1), Interpersonal Communication (X2). Whereas, as the mediating variables (Y1), Organizational Commitment. The data analysis method used path analysis technique (path analysis). The populations in this study were employees of PT Jala Procreation Solo. The sampling technique using on-probability sampling using saturation sampling methods and obtained a sample of 100 respondents research employees
at PT Jala Procreation Solo. For the data, the researcher used the program path analysis (path analysis) with the help of SPSS 20.0 application. The results of this study indicate that intrinsic motivation variables affect
the effectiveness of the work, interpersonal communication variables affect the effectiveness of work, intrinsic motivation variable influence on organizational
commitment, interpersonal communication, influence on organizational commitment, organizational commitment variable positive influence on the effectiveness of the work. Keywords: Intrinsic Motivation, Interpersonal ommunication, Organizational Commitment, Work Effectiveness.


A measurable quality characteristic is assumed to follow Inverse Rayleigh Distribution. Variable control charts based on extreme values of each subgroup are constructed. The technique of analysis of means (ANOM) is adopted to workout the decision lines of Inverse Rayleigh Distribution(IRD). The preferability of the proposed ANOM decision lines over that of Ott(1967) is illustrated by some examples.


We study theories of gauge fields with arbitrary spins s in 3+1d de Sitter space. These include Vasiliev's higher-spin gravity, as well as standard General Relativity (s=2) and Maxwell/Yang-Mills theory (s=1). We find relations between the fields' intrinsic parity, their asymptotic behavior and antipodal symmetry. The analysis is based on a spanning set of solutions to the free field equations, from which we proceed order by order in perturbation theory. We discuss implications for the higher-spin dS_4/CFT_3 duality. In particular, we propose a new version of the duality, which involves transition amplitudes on antipodally-identified ("elliptic") de Sitter space dS_4/Z_2.


This case study examines the relationship between self-initiations of an adult woman with severe disabilities and the directive behavior of staff persons in a community residential setting. Hypotheses generated from functional assessment procedures indicated that (a) Susan's low self-initiations were very likely related to high directive behavior of staff persons, and (b) infrequent problem behaviors during the morning routine were maintained by escape from repeated staff demands. An intervention was implemented to enable Susan to increase self-initiation in choice and sequence of activities and simultaneously decrease staff directives. Results and discussion focus on the need for a contextual approach for addressing problematic situations and an affirmation of the effectiveness of the positive behavioral support technology for increasing adaptive behaviors in individuals with severe disabilities.


Laboratory experiments were conducted to study the effect of Penfluron on Total Haemocyte Count of Chrysocoris purpureus . Penfluron is known to have chitin inhibiting activity. T.H.C in the treated insects increases up to 48 hours and then declines up to 96 hours. Penfluron seems to cause a great reduction in haemocytes in both sexes at 72 hours and 96 hours after treatment.


In the article main points of pedagogical communication, its basic functions in the conditions of partner interaction, the relationship between communication and different kinds of exchange are described; the place of partnership in the structure of joint educational activity of a teacher and pupils is defined; the impotence of partner professional-pedagogical position of the teacher in the organization of partner interaction at school is also revealed


OBJECTIVE To understand the effect of the cleaning and disinfection of gastroscopes to prevent hospital infection.METHODS The biological monitoring of the gastroscopes from Jan 2007 to Dec 2007 was performed in a retrospective way.RESULTS Before implementation of the Technology Specifications of Cleaning and Disinfection of Endoscopes,the pass rate of the bacterial culture was 71.4%.After tmplementation strictly accordance with the norms after the implementation the qualified rate was 100.0%.CONCLUSIONS Equipped with the necessary cleaning and disinfection equipment,the standard procedures can prevent hospital infection.


Objective To assess the value of conventional MRI and DWI in the diagnosis of middle ear cholesteatoma.Methods Preoperative conventional MR scan was performed in 21 patients with clinically suspected cholesteatoma,while additional DWI was performed in 20 patients.The imaging findings were compared with the results of surgery and pathology.Results Among the 23 ears on conventional MRI,18 accorded with the diagnostic standards,3 had untypical menifestations.All 23 ears were confirmed as cholesteatoma,including 1 false positive and 1 false negative.Among 22 ears examined with DWI,20 ears showed high signal intensity of cholesteatoma,while 1 showed low signal was considered as inflammation.They were all accorded with the Results of surgery and pathology.Obvious artifact was observed on DWI in 1 case.The sensitivity and specificity of conventional MRI was 86.36%(19/22) and 50.00%(1/2),while of DWI was 95.24%(20/21) and 100%(1/1),respectively.Conclusion Combining of DWI and conventional MRI is helpful to diagnosing and locating middle ear cholesteatoma.


The use of slurries to determine the titanium content of vegetables by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry is discussed. As slurries from ground plant material produce serious deterioration in the pyrolytic graphite coating of the tube, the samples are first submitted to a process of mild calcination. Suspensions are prepared in the 0.1–10% range in water containing 0.03% hexametaphosphate. Calibration can be performed with aqueous standards although the standard additions method is recommended. The detection limit for titanium using 5% suspensions is 0.03 µg g–1 and the relative standard deviation is ± 4.6% for 1.3 ng of the element introduced into the furnace. Data for the titanium content of lettuce, spinach, pea and commercially available paprika samples are in good agreement with those obtained by an acid dissolution procedure.


The basic endowment insurance system for urban workers is the pillar arrangement of the whole endowment insurance system in China, which makes a fundamental influence on the construction of social security system. After the 18th National Congress of the CPC, China ushered in the era of social pension system reconstruction. This paper reviewed the changing histories of endowment insurance system for urban workers, summarized the general characteristics of endowment insurance system for urban workers, and explored the factors of the endowment insurance system reform under a perspective of institutional change theory. It was found that the economic system reform, state-owned enterprise reform, and tax reform are the economic factors affecting the pension system transition, while the compartmentalization of administrative pattern and the conflicts of interest between government departments at all levels are the administrative factors to promote the reform of the endowment insurance system. There is new resistance of the comprehensive deepening reform within the new practice of institutional change, such as the dual-track system, endowment insurance model selection problem, and the overall planning for the whole country. The endowment insurance system in China is experiencing a critical period from the long-term reform to the mature stage.


In order to realize mechanized and efficient harvesting of tiger nuts, study the efficient screening technology of beans and soil in a mechanized harvesting operation and improve the harvesting operation efficiency of crawler-type tiger nut harvesters, a theoretical analysis of the motion process of detritus particles on a sieve surface was conducted to determine the main factors affecting the motion of the particles on the sieve surface. A numerical simulation of the sieving process using the discrete element method was conducted to improve the screening efficiency of tiger nuts. The transport law of the debris particle population was analyzed from different perspectives, such as the average velocity of particle motion, particle distribution rate, screening efficiency and loss rate. The effects of factors such as screen amplitude (SA), vibration frequency (VF) and inclination angle (IA) on the sieving performance of the tiger nut threshing and screening device were investigated. The results show that sieving performance evaluation indexes, such as the average speed of particle movement, particle distribution rate, screening efficiency and loss rate, are non-linearly related to the factors of screen amplitude, vibration frequency and screen inclination angle; the effects of amplitude and frequency on the distribution particle size are consistent and show a gradual increase, with the distribution particle size reaching 3.32 mm at an amplitude of 14 mm and 3.46 mm at a frequency of 22 Hz. In the sieving process, the average velocity of the particle population decreases gradually along the direction of motion, and the influence of each factor on the average velocity of the particle population in the motion of the detritus is similar, all showing an increasing trend. This study can provide a reference for exploring the transport law of particles and the efficient screening technology of tiger nuts. Field harvesting tests showed that the screening efficiency and loss rate were 92.87% and 0.83%, respectively, at a screen amplitude of 14 mm, a vibration frequency of 10 Hz and an inclination angle of 2°, and the test results corresponded to the simulation results and met the design requirements of the tiger nut harvester. This study can provide reference for the investigation of the particle transport law and efficient screening technology for tiger nuts.


Semantic web using personalization support to provide relevant search results for searcher. Ontology is an effective method for modelling digital collections and user contexts. User profiling is commonly employed nowadays to enhance usability as well as to support personalization, adaptivity and other user-centric features. This work aims at creating a user profile ontology that incorporates concepts and properties used to model the user profile. So far we create ontology for contents and location based on user profile. The inbuilt ontology helps to avoid the sparecity problem in the web and retrieve the user relevant information.


The molecule of the title compound, C24H21F2NO2, has a T-shaped form in the crystal structure. The central tetrahydropyran ring shows a chair conformation. All substituents are equatorially attached to this ring. The crystal packing is stabilized by N—H⋯O, O—H⋯O and C—H⋯π(arene) interactions.


 Since courses are the main carriers of education to realize cultural successioncurriculum reform must be rooted in the rich roil of our national cultural traditions and be added accordingly the fruits of modern scientific technology and human studies.What's more important is to restructure the cultural traditions creatively,which means to explain the traditions with modern philosophic opinions and modern spirit so that the courses can make a show of kind of positive and energetic power directed from the fusion of traditional culture and modern science.


The common way to design the modulus N odd number frequency divider with square waveform output adopts a modulus N counter and a decoder which decodes the clock input and the counter states. But this circuit produces wizard and is not applied in practice. In this paper a new structure which can overcome the hazard and whose output is square waveform is introduced. The circuit is given and the function is simulated.


ABSTRACT
Chromophobe renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is a rare tumor. We described findings of 18F-FDG PET/CT and 68Ga-FAPI-04 PET/CT of metastatic chromophobe RCC in a 56-year-old woman. 68Ga-FAPI-04 PET/CT demonstrated that the metastatic lesions in the liver, left posterior abdominal wall, and the left waist had intense uptake of 68Ga-FAPI-04, which was higher than that of 18F-FDG on 18F-FDG PET/CT. 68Ga-FAPI-04 PET/CT also delineated the metastatic lesions more clearly than 18F-FDG PET/CT. This case highlights 68Ga-FAPI-04 PET/CT may be promising in restaging of chromophobe RCC.


Yaw instability, resulting in cargo truck trailer swing, can have disastrous consequences for vehicles in other lanes. If the cab maintains its yaw stability (so that a jackknife does not occur) and the cab and trailers maintain their roll stability (so that no roll-over occurs), there still remains a critical braking deceleration at which trailer swing will ultimately occur. That critical deceleration is reduced when the cargo is flexibly lashed, as is shown in the present work. More generally, the trailer stability is found to depend on the friction between the tire and the road surface, the cargo placement and the compliance with which it is secured, the distances between axles, the braking distribution, tire compliance, and vibration. The present work provides a predictive method to estimate the critical deceleration, given sufficient information on the factors mentioned.


This study describes an elementary teacher's implementation of sociocultural theory in practice. Communication is central to teaching with a sociocultural approach and to the understanding of students; teachers who use this theory involve students in explaining and justifying their thinking. In this study ethnographic research methods were used to collect data for 4 1/2 months in order to understand the mathematical culture of this fourth-grade class and to portray how the teacher used a sociocultural approach to teach mathematics. To portray this teaching approach, teaching episodes from the teacher's mathematics lessons are described, and these episodes are analyzed to demonstrate how students created taken-as-shared meanings of mathematics. Excerpts from interviews with the teacher are also used to describe this teacher's thinking about her teaching.


The main aim of this study is to propose an implementation of a master plan to reduce stored production unit-costs in the producer company of dairy Enrique Mariscal EIRL. The diagnosis made has detected flaws, primarily in the warehouse and inventory area of finished products, leading to obtain high inventories as a result of a raised and unplanned production; in turn there is not outdated, organized or integrated, information; this continuously produces errors in decision-making by senior management. In response to this, a methodology from a production master plan it sought so that may lead to a better planning of the productive system and thus reduce inventories; to comply with the proposed objectives prognostic methods, classification ABC and quality tools of TQM were used. Although, it was shown by statistics set at a trust level of 95%, that the implementation of this plan would reduce the average cost of the stored units. Likewise, it has been found that there is an improvement in the decrease of the stored production unit-costs of -4.97%, i.e., there is a saving of S./0.94 per stored unit.


Work groups are of critical importance to organizational effectiveness. Whether group members can function together cohesively affects the performance of a team. Therefore, the relationship between group cohesion and performance has been the focus of many studies. With advances in information technology, virtual teams have been employed in firms for a variety of tasks. Compared to face-to-face teams, however, virtual teams exhibit different characteristics. How cohesiveness is related to performance in virtual teams then becomes an interesting research question. In this paper, we develop a model of the relationship between cohesion and performance based on a synthesis of the existing literature. We empirically investigate this relationship by studying 22 virtual groups over four months. Our results reveal that in virtual teams, cohesiveness tends to influence performance over time, while performance has a reciprocal impact on cohesion as well.


Innovation in both technology and service play a crucial role in enhancing consumers' living standard and companies' growth. Outcomes of Innovation often go premature due to failing to cross the chasm of adoption. Literature in this domain takes the positive perspective to describe and explain the phenomena, however, scarcely provides any solution. This study from a normative marketing perspective proposes a customer knowledge management (CKM) approach to articulate how a company ought to do to tackle the issue. It is done by manipulating various forms of reduced-form model for data mining to acquire customers' response toward innovation and predict their adoption intention. An industrial level case study on Telematics adoption attitude is given to delineate the details of implementation.


BACKGROUND Laryngoscopy and endotracheal intubation are basic skills to be acquired by an anaesthesiologist. For many years, laryngoscopy has been used as a conventional way to facilitate endotracheal intubation. These are the most critical events because, they provoke a marked rise in sympathoadrenal response as hypertension and tachycardia. There is an absolute need to decrease these haemodynamic responses, for which various drugs were used, with varying degrees of success. Gabapentin, initially used as an anticonvulsant has extended its role into anaesthesia practice with its multimodal effects. This study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of oral gabapentin 800 mg in attenuation of haemodynamic responses to laryngoscopy and endotracheal intubation. METHODS After obtaining institutional ethical clearance, a prospective randomised comparative study was undertaken. Written and informed consent was obtained from 80 patients belonging to American Society of Anaesthesiologists (ASA) class I & II scheduled for various elective surgeries under general anaesthesia. They were divided into two groups of 40 each using computer generated random number table. Group G received oral gabapentin 800 mg and group C received empty capsules with sips of water, 2 hours prior to induction. Haemodynamic parameters – heart rate (HR), systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), mean arterial pressure (MAP) were noted and rate pressure product (RPP) was calculated at baseline, at laryngoscopy and then at 1, 3, 5, 10 & 15 minutes after laryngoscopy and endotracheal intubation. RESULTS In Group G there was significant attenuation of HR, SBP, DBP, MAP at 1, 3 and 5 minutes after laryngoscopy and endotracheal intubation as compared to Group C. Hence, in Group G there was significant attenuation of RPP at 1 minute (12673.60 ± 1691.25, 11769.08 ± 1146.02, P = 0.01), 3 minutes (12546.85 ± 1123.78, 11759.98 ± 1358.02, P = 0.01) and 5 minutes (12411.68 ± 1270.04, 11537.03 ± 1230.06, P = 0.002) after laryngoscopy and endotracheal intubation as compared to Group C. No statistical difference was seen at 10 and 15 minutes. CONCLUSIONS Oral gabapentin 800 mg given preoperatively can attenuate haemodynamic responses to laryngoscopy and endotracheal intubation without significant side effects. KEY WORDS Oral Gabapentin, Laryngoscopy, Endotracheal Intubation, Haemodynamic Changes, Attenuation, Pressor Responses


Mercury in topsoil samples from the Laogang Landfill was determined with an AMA 254-Automatic Solid/Liquid Hg Analyzer. Mercury is released in the form of gaseous mercury. There are strongly positive correlations among organic carbon, total mercury, gaseous mercury and combined mercury in the topsoil. Mercury contents of the topsoil are affected by its properties and the maturity of garbage. Although all sub-surface samples contain higher mercury than surface samples, the contents of Hg in profile soil overlying garbages of different maturities show different trends of variation.


This paper deals with Finite Element Analysis of bonded Tubular Socket Joints (TSJs) made with laminated Fibre Reinforced Plastic (FRP) composite structures. The effective coupling length for suitable performance of the joint is determined based on the Tsai–Wu failure criterion. The analysis revealed the three-dimensional nature of the stresses and are found to be concentrated in the close vicinity of the free edges and junction of the adherends in the coupling region of the bonded TSJ. Shear stress ( τr ), though comparatively small in magnitude, is found to be extremely sensitive to three-dimensional effects as compared to stresses τzr and σr . Failure indices at different critical interfaces are determined using Quadratic Failure Criterion (QFC) within the adhesive and Tsai–Wu coupled stress criterion for the adherend–adhesive and socket–adhesive interfaces. Based on the latter criterion, locations prone to adhesion failure initiation are identified to be existing near the free edges of the adherend–adhesive interfaces in the coupling region of the bonded TSJ. Strain Energy Release Rate (SERR) calculated using Modified Crack Closure Integral (MCCI) vis-à-vis Virtual Crack Closure Technique (VCCT) has been used as the characterizing parameter for assessing the growth of adhesion failures. The adhesion failure damages have been observed to propagate at the same rate in a self-similar manner mainly in the in-plane shearing mode. Quasi-isotropic and angle-ply orientations of the FRP composite laminates are more resistant to opening mode growth of failure, whereas cross-ply and unidirectional oriented socket/adherends offer better resistance to in-plane shearing mode of adhesion failure damage growth. Plies oriented in the direction of the applied load, especially Graphite/Epoxy (Gr/E) [90]16, are found to offer the best resistance to all types of adhesion failure growth modes and hence are the most preferred fibre orientations for the bonded TSJ under tension. Increasing the degree of anisotropy of the composite socket/adherends improves the adhesion failure damage growth resistance of the bonded TSJ. Boron/Epoxy (B/E) FRP composites are found to be the best in slowing down the growth rate of the adhesion failures among the various FRP composite socket/adherends considered in the present study.


Identification and classification of network applications is a key area of network management and network security. This is due to exponential growth of the Internet users, which in turn increases the growth of the internet traffic. As Internet grows, different types of Internet traffic generated over the network also grow. This recommends proposing new methods to identify and classify the network traffic. In this paper, we proposed to embed Fishers's Discriminate Ratio (FDR) with Sequential Forward Selection (SFS), Sequential Backward Selection (SBS) and Plus L Minus R feature selection methods to analyze and classify the Internet traffic. To evaluate the proposed method, we used publicly available KDDcup99 dataset. Experimental results proved that the proposed embedding method will outperform compare to the existing methods.


On December 25, 2004, a large-scale ionospheric plasma bubble was observed over Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, inducing significant range spreading on ionograms. This phenomena may be explained by means of the E x B instability and gravitational Rayleigh-Taylor instability. A derivation of the dispersion relations for X and O mode waves transmitted from an ionosonde and an analysis of the collisional Rayleigh-Taylor instability leading to an expression for the growth rate are presented as background information. Ray tracing code developed by Nathan Dalrymple, a previous graduate student of Professor Min-Chang Lee, is extended, first to draw refractive index surfaces to illustrate a key principle in ray tracing and later to simulate range spreading due to depleted ionospheric ducts [1]. Data from Arecibo incoherent scatter radar and Arecibo's CADI digisonde is examined showing strong evidence for the development of a plasma bubble following a rise in the plasma layer and the appearance of a horizontal density gradient. In one portion of the ionosphere, this gradient is found to be at an angle of approximately 70 degrees to the Earth's magnetic field, a favorable condition for the excitation of the Rayleigh-Taylor instability over Arecibo. Thesis Supervisor: Min-Chang Lee Title: Head, Ionospheric Plasma Research Group Plasma Science and Fusion Center Thesis Supervisor: Richard Temkin Title: Associate Director, Plasma Science and Fusion Center Department of Physics


The invention provides a cultural relic site temperature monitoring system, which belongs to the technical field of monitoring. The system comprises at least one temperature measuring optical cable, a sensing host and a display, wherein each temperature measuring optical cable is laid in a to-be-monitored area of the cultural relic site for generating scattering light of different powers according to the temperature of the to-be-monitored area when optical pulses are transmitted; the sensing host is arranged in a monitoring room and is connected with the temperature measuring optical cable via an optical fiber interface for receiving and extracting signal light and reference light in the scattering light inputted to the temperature measuring optical cable and carrying out photoelectric conversion on the signal light and the reference light respectively, an obtained electric signal is calculated, and a temperature value at each point in the to-be-monitored area is acquired; and the display is arranged in the monitoring room for displaying the temperature value at each point in the to-be-monitored area generated by the sensing host. Through the system disclosed by the invention, field temperature of the cultural relic site can be acquired in real time.


We report the first simultaneous measure of the X-ray broadband (0.1--200 keV) continuum and of the iron K-alpha fluorescent line profile in the Seyfert 1 galaxy MCG-6-30-15. Our data confirms the ASCA detection of a skewed and redshifted line profile (Tanaka et al. 1995). The most straightforward explanation is that the line photons are emitted in the innermost regions of a X-ray illuminated relativistic disk. The line Equivalent Width (~200 eV) is perfectly consistent with the expected value for solar abundances, given the observed amount of Compton reflection. We report also the discovery of a cut-off in the nuclear primary emission at the energy of ~160 keV.


Ditch networks are common in coastal North Carolina to improve drainage necessary for crop and timber production. Forest outflow at three locations in a managed loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) forest with artificial drainage was monitored during 1986 to 1994 to evaluate how harvest and other normal silvicultural operations affect annual and seasonal outflow characteristics. Increased outflow and small increases in nutrient concentrations occurred following tree harvest; N concentrations for inorganic and organic fractions increased by 0.09 to 0.14 and 0.24 to 0.26 mg L -1 , respectively, while total P increased by 0 to 0.07 mg L -1 . For a 3-yr period beginning at harvest, increases in annual outflow, N export, and P export were 111 to 164 mm, 2.1 to 2.2 kg N ha -1 yr -1 , and 0.12 to 0.36 kg P ha -1 yr -1 , respectively, compared with baseline levels. Outflow and nutrient concentrations returned to baseline levels within 2 to 3 yr. Negligible change in the total suspended solids (TSS) concentration occurred following harvest and site preparation. On a landscape scale, these relatively small increases in annual nutrient exports associated with harvest and site preparation are further reduced to 4 to 7% above baseline levels when placed in the context of a 30- to 35-yr growth cyde for loblolly pine in coastal North Carolina.


Introduction: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a group of diseases of unexplained aetiology, charac - terized by periods of remissions and exacerbations. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) as far as disorders of balance between levels of prooxidants and antioxidants may also participate in the occurrence of IBD. The aim of the present study was an assessment of the antioxidative barrier of the organism in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. Material and methods: The study group consisted of 99 patients (80 with IBD as a study group and 19 healthy as a control group) from Jan Biziel University Hospital in Bydgoszcz, Poland. Venous blood was the material for biochemical analysis: HT, GSH, GPX p , GPX RBC , GST, GR, SOD-1, MDA, NO 2/NO 3-and CP. Results: There were statistically significant differences in oxidative stress parameters observed between the study group and the control group, especially concerning HT, GSH, GPX RBC , GST, SOD-1, MDA and NO 2/NO 3. Discussion: The assumption that increased activity of antioxidative compounds may constitute a defence against the influence of oxidative stress may be true. Their decreased activity may participate in lowering an organism's abilities to defend against oxidative stress and cause the development of free radical diseases. Further studies into targeted preventive strategies are needed. Conclusions: Prooxidative factors play an essential role in the pathogenesis of IBD. Due to the still un - known etiopathology of IBD, research on imbalances between pro-oxidants and antioxidants should be continued in larger groups of patients.


Recent developments are summarized in the theory of Bose-Einstein and Fermi-Dirac correlations, with emphasis on the necessity of a simultaneous analysis of particle spectra and quantum statistical correlations for a detailed reconstruction of the space-time picture of particle emission. This review is limited to the following topics: basics and formalism of quantum-statistical correlations; the core/halo picture for n-particle Bose-Einstein correlations; particle interferometry in e+e- collisions including the Andersson-Hofmann model; the invariant Buda-Lund particle interferometry; the Buda-Lund, the Bertsch-Pratt and Yano-Koonin-Podgoretskii parameterizations, the Buda-Lund hydro model and its applications to (π/K)+p and Pb+Pb collisions at CERN SPS, and to low-energy heavy-ion collisions; the binary-source formalism and the related oscillations in the two-particle Bose-Einstein and Fermi-Dirac correlation functions; the experimental signals of expanding rings of fire and shells of fire in particle and heavy-ion physics and their similarity to planetary nebulae in stellar astronomy.


Data were compiled on rare Wyoming plant species known only from historical records and rare out-of-state species known from records in counties that adjoin Wyoming. The former represents rare plant species that have the least amount of information for addressing in environmental reviews and surveys, and the latter have no information for addressing in environmental reviews and surveys, though located in the immediate vicinity. While there are many forms of botanical data deficits, the sets in this report reflect species that are either scantily addressed or omitted in Wyoming botany work. There are 24 rare plants known only from historical records in Wyoming (28 records total), and 648 rare plants known from the six adjoining states (4767 records total), of which 17 species are within 10 km of the state border but not known from the Wyoming flora. Those 17 species include 11 globally rare species, two of which are Threatened. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Rawlins Field Office has the highest numbers of historical species and the BLM Rock Springs Field Office has the highest numbers of species within 10 km of the border not known from Wyoming.


Injection syringe comprising a body (12) of syringe carrying an injection needle (14), a reservoir (16) containing a liquid (42) to be injected, which reservoir (16) comprises a movable part (40) mounted with sliding movement relative to the body (12), to cause flow of liquid to be injected through the injection needle (14), a needle guard, mobile (18) mounted so displaceable relative to the injection needle (14) and a spring (20) driving the needle guard (18) for movement under the action of spring (20), from a retracted retracted position of the end of injection the needle (14), to an active protection position, in which the front end of the protector (18) is located in front of the injection end of the needle (14), the syringe further comprising means (54, 62 ) retention, during injection, of a first end (20A) of the spring (20) cooperating with the protector, and carried by said moving means (40) for releasing the injection end of said first end (20A) of the spring (20), for displacement of the protector (18) to its active protection position, wherein the second end (20B) of the spring (20) is applied against that part of the reservoir (40), movable relative to the body (12), for the progressive compression spring (20) during injection.


The pollen spectrum and the physicochemical characteristics were analyzed in 13 samples of honeys produced by Apis mellifera in two areas with different degree of human disturbance in the Region of Biobío, Province of Ñuble, Chile: a) Central Valley and b) Preandean foothills of the Cordillera de los Andes. Principal component analysis was carried out for pollen and physicochemical data and pollen diversity was calculated with the Shannon-Weaver diversity index (H'). Some native species such as Gevuina avellana, Lomatia hirsuta, Lithraea caustica and Luma apiculata were found only in honeys from San Fabián de Alico (Preandean foothills) but introduced species dominated the pollen spectra in both areas. Ash content, pH, acidity and water content were the most important physico-chemical factors to distinguish the honeys from both areas. All honeys showed characteristics that met the standards of the Chilean food health regulations. Melissopalynology allow us to detect one bifloral honey from the Central Valley and two monofloral Lotus honeys from the Preandean foothills of Cordillera de los Andes.


We present an analytical formula for the asymptotic relative entropy of entanglement for Werner states of arbitrary dimension. We then demonstrate its validity using methods from convex optimization. To our knowledge, this is the first case in which the value of a subadditive entanglement measure has been obtained in the asymptotic limit.


Mieko Yamada Department of Applied Mathematics Konan University Okamoto, Higashinada-ku Kobe 658, Japan Partially balanced incomplete block designs, PBIBDs, are designs for which the property of balance of BIBD is relaxed. They are based on an association scheme. We introduce the concept of generalized relative difference sets, generalizing the concept of relative difference sets introduced by A.T. Butson[2] in 1963. We obtain a PBIBD from a generalized relative difference set translating by cyclic automorphisms. On the other hand, certain amorphous association schemes over the extension rings of Z/4Z were classified[6]. In this paper, we give a necessary and sufficient condition for the existence of generalized relative difference sets associated with these amorphous association schemes which give rise to PBIBDs, under some conditions. In the last section, we give examples of generalized relative difference sets associated with amorphous association schemes of class 3 for the case when the degree of an extension of Z/4Z is 3 and 4. 1 Generalized Relative Difference Sets and PBIBDs A.T. Butson[2] introduced the concept of relative difference sets in 1963. Relative difference sets are useful for construction of Hadamard matrices and D-optimal designs. See Spence[12,13,14] and Koukouvinos, Kounias and Seberry [9]. We recall the definition of relative difference sets. Definition. Let G be an additive abelian group of order v and D be a subset of G containing k elements. Let H be a subgroup of G of order h. If for d =I=0, dEG, the number of pairs (r, s) such that d = r s, r, s ED, has fixed values {~ when d(f..H, when dEH, then D is called a relative difference set. We extend this concept. Definition. Let G be an additive abelian group of order v and D be a subset of G containing k elements. Let Hi' H 2 , ... H t be subsets of G such that G = {O}UH1UH2U ... UH t , HinHj = 0, for i=l=-j. If for d 0, dEG, the number of pairs (r, s) such that d r, sED has fixed values when dEH 1 , when dEH 2 ,


Summary: Access to health care has been a global-wide issue among vulnerable populations, who have limited access to care due to limited funding and resources. Our Chronic Disease Management programs using Transformation for Health framework have been shown to be effective and more cost-efficient on improving community engagement and health outcomes.


In this digital world, we have gradually shifted to all kinds of digital transactions. Due to the increasing number of various kinds of data formats or languages, it is quite difficult to accurately match data from different databases in a secure manner. Secure record linkage is the most prominent method for matching the data used in most of the industry now for maintaining security and privacy during similarity matching of encrypted records. Among different secure record linkage techniques, Blockchain is the recent technology useful for maintaining data privacy for similarity matching. Also, the demanded Bloom filter technique can be very helpful for storage, encryption and inline combination with Blockchain. However, the similarity matching over encrypted data can be cumbersome and lead to lesser linkage accuracy. In this review, the similarity matching for encrypted data has been discussed and analyzed.


The guide lines of construction management of Doulingzi Hydropower Station and the experiences with quality assurance system, cost control, safeguard and environmental protection are described; the desired objective of this project (high quality and efficiency, safety and saving expenses) is achieved.


Given a bounded linear operator T:LPO(ℝn)→Lp1(ℝn), we state conditions under which T defines a bounded operator between corresponding pairs of Lp(ℝn;ιq) spaces and Triebel-Lizorkin spaces Fp,qs(ℝn). Applications are given to linear parabolic equations and to Schrodinger semigroups.


To study the effects of combination therapy with oral prednisolone and topical fluticasone propionate nasal spray in patients with Chronic Rhinosinusitis with Nasal Polyposis (CRSwNP). To study the improvement in symptom scores, Endoscopic and CT scores before and after treatment with combination therapy.This prospective observational study was conducted on 50 patients attending the Outpatient Department of Otorhinolaryngology, J.L.N Hospital and Research Centre, Bhilai (Chhattisgarh), India over a period of 6 months from February 2020 to July 2020. Patients with symptoms of CRSwNP persisting for more than 12 weeks were thoroughly examined clinically along with Nasal endoscopy and Computed Tomography scan of Nose and Paranasal sinuses (CT PNS) and pre-treatment Visual Analog Scale (VAS), Lund & Mackay Scores for Endoscopic and CT findings were noted. Patients were treated with combination therapy of oral prednisolone and fluticasone propionate nasal spray and post treatment scores were noted using similar scales during the follow up visits and the results were statistically analysed.Total mean age of patients suffering from CRSwNP in our study was 47.3 ± 12.58. Males were affected more by CRSwNP than females (76% vs 24%). At the end of 3 months from baseline 48 patients (96%) showed a reduction in nasal discharge, 47 patients (94%) showed a reduction in nasal obstruction, 25 patients (50%) showed improvement in facial pain and 17 patients (34%) showed improvement in hyposmia. Overall post treatment Visual Analog Symptom (VAS) score improved in 42 patients (84%), Nasal endoscopy (Lund - Mackay scoring) improved in 43 patients (86%) and Radiological CT PNS & Nose (Lund - Mackay Scoring) improved in 33 patients (66%).We found that combined therapy with oral prednisolone and fluticasone propionate nasal spray for 3 weeks is very effective in reducing the symptoms of chronic rhinosinusitis along with decrease in nasal secretions, edema and polyp size.


This paper starts with a brief background of system-of-systems (SoS) design spaces and their recent developmental explosion into the engineering community. Following a discussion of the importance of SoS models, this paper discusses many of the attributes inherent to these complex design spaces and the challenges these attributes pose for exploring and understanding these spaces. Finally, two current state-of-the-art adaptive sampling algorithms (known within as Kriging and Beers) are used on two published SoS agent based simulations (ABSs) to expose the inadequacies of these algorithms on SoS problems. It will be shown for both of the ABSs in different complexity that these algorithms do not necessarily guarantee accuracy and are computationally limited.


Single applications of 250 or 500 ppm (2-chloroethyl)phosphonic acid (ethephon) and 250 or 500 ppm 7-oxabicyclo (2,2,1) heptane-2,3-dicarboxylic acid (endothall) along with 5 or 10 ppm of [3-(2-[3,5-dimethyl-2-oxocyclohexyl]-2hydroxyethyl)-glutarimide (cycloheximide) provided the greatest defoliation on 1-year old 'Delicious', 'Winesap', and 'Hopa' apples (Malus spp.) and 1-year seedlings of apple and Pyrus calleryana Decne. These combinations caused high shoot and bud damage to certain cultivars which would not make them suitable for nursery utilization. The addition of endothall significantly increased defoliation.


The principle and structure of electrostatic precipitator were researched.According as its practice uses in plants,to summarize the mechanical,electrical,and unstable faults which often happened in operations.To analyse the causes of faults,putting forward appropriate solve methods and preventive measures.


Bacillus subtilis contains three chromosomally encoded type I signal peptidases (SipS, SipT and SipU), which remove signal peptides from secretory precursor proteins. In the present study the biological function of SipS and the regulation of its synthesis were analysed. Unlike the type I signal peptidase of Escherichia coli, SipS was essential neither for protein secretion nor viability of the cell. However, in the absence of SipS the rate of processing of several preproteins was reduced, and four of the seven major secreted proteins of B. subtilis were hardly detectable in the growth medium. Surprisingly, the processing of Bacillus amyloliquefaciensα‐amylase and the secretion of at least two endogenous B. subtilis proteins was improved in the absence of SipS. These findings indicate that the substrate preference of SipS differs from that of SipT and SipU, and that SipS is an important factor determining the efficiency of protein secretion in B. subtilis. SipS is transcribed in a growth phase‐ and medium‐dependent manner. In minimal medium, the growth phase‐dependent transcription of sipS is controlled by the DegS–DegU two‐component regulatory system, indicating that the expression of sipS is regulated by the same factors that control the expression of most genes for secreted degradative enzymes. Our observations suggest that B. subtilis can modulate its capacity and specificity for protein secretion through the controlled expression of sipS.


The present invention provides a flexible tube comprising a first polymer layer and a second polymer layer adjacent to the first polymer layer. The first polyolefin polymer layer comprises less than about 12μg / mL in the total organic content USP34, Chapter 643, ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer, ethylene / norbornene copolymer, styrene block copolymer, styrene butadiene styrene copolymers or combinations thereof. The second polymer layer comprises a polyolefin, styrene block copolymers, blends or combinations thereof, wherein the second polymer layer having less than about 65 Shore A hardness. The present invention also includes a method of forming the flexible tube.


Theoretical (or expositive) classes continue to be the main methodology used by teachers in their disciplines, since they are easier to elaborate and apply. In this way, we raise the following question: Can this didactic resource be considered as an effective strategy for the learning process of the students? This study aimed to analyze the profile of biology teaching (ecology) relating practical activities (or demonstration or laboratory), seeking to use an intervention that allows the application of ecology contents to high school students in public school of Teresina, Piauí. The research was carried out in two stages, the first one consisted in the data collection through the application of questionnaires with 16 open and closed questions regarding the profile of the teaching of Sciences and Biology in a sample of 90 students of that School. The second stage occurred with the realization of a workshop with an experimental class using didactic model and common bean seedlings. The results show that students do not have access to the science laboratory for practical (or demonstration) classes. With the realization of the experimental class, it was noticed that in addition to the attention of the students, there was also a greater participation of them, and when asked if they would like to have more practical classes, all 90 students (100%) answered yes consider that in that way their performance in the discipline would improve significantly. No student pointed out the benefit of only theoretical (or expository) lecture. Finally, only the activities (theoretical classes) will not provide effective learning for the students, thus many will have a greater difficulty assimilating the contents, thus the relation between practical (or demonstration) activities with the theoretical classes (or expository) end up being considered a more efficient strategy for the teaching-learning process.


and Lubrication in Metal Processing," Trans. ASME, New York, pp. 69-89. 1966 Hamilton, D. B., Walowit, J. A., and Allen, C. M., "A Theory of Lubrication by Micro-Irregularities," ASME Journal of Basic Engineering, Mar., pp. 177-185. 1966-7 Dowson, D., "Modes of Lubrication in Human Joints," Paper 12, Lubrication and Wear in Living and Artificial Human Joints, Proc. Instn Mech. Engrs., Vol. 181, Part 3J, p. 45. 1967 Castelli, V., and Pirvics, J., "Equilibrium Characteristics of Axial Groove Gas Lubricated Bearings," ASME Journal of Lubrication Technology, Vol. 89, No. 2, Apr., pp. 177-96. 1967 Tzeng, S. T., and Saibel, E., "Surface Roughness Effect on Slider Lubrication," ASLE Transactions, Vol. 10, pp. 334-38. 1967 Hsu, Y. C , "Non-Newtonian Flow in InfiniteLength Full Jour-