NASA intends to be back on the Moon within the next two years, and to have long-duration, manned missions to Mars in the late 2030s. These future exploration goals demand a paradigm shift. Mission operational complexity is increasing and - with the development of heavy lift launch capabilities and increased funding of lunar orbital and surface missions - cadence of lunar missions will increase. A sustained human presence on the Moon, and eventually Mars, demands new enabling technologies and capabilities to support in situ resource utilization (ISRU). The development of ISRU technologies requires precursory scientific and prospecting missions to identify and characterize available resources. These missions will employ robotic and human explorers to perform traverses over the lunar surface and collect data to fulfill scientific objectives. The time and monetary resources required to support a mission make maximizing the scientific return of each mission critical. Given the wide range of scientific objectives often found within a mission, the vast scope of diverse expertise within the Earth-located science team will prove invaluable to strategic decision making. Essential to maximizing scientific return on these missions is the ability of the Earth-located science team to be central to rapid science decision making, between and during traverses. Human-computer interaction needs to lead mission planning priorities to enable rapid decision processes. Treating machines as collaboration tools allows for improved cross-team communication, improved decision-making processes, reduced task loads, and flexibility in temporal and spatial planning. Multi-user naturalistic visualization techniques can be used to analyze, discuss, and interpret near-real-time data with the potential to dramatically improve science support room situation awareness, maximizing scientific return on robotic and human exploration missions. The virtual reality Mission Simulation System (vMSS), is a virtual reality platform designed at MIT by the Resource Exploration and Science of our Cosmic Environment (RESOURCE) team, which will provide teams with a collaboration interface for planetary exploration missions. As an early step in development of vMSS, we examine various methods to acquire depth data necessary for development of a high-resolution three-dimensional map of the lunar surface, which will serve as a basis of the platform. In this paper we argue the importance of high-resolution depth data for scientific return, and the limitations of current planetary surface mapping tools using methods such as orbital data and Structure-from-Motion ($S$ fM) Photogrammetry. We present a comparative analysis of four different methods to achieve depth-mapping using stereo cameras, short-range time-of-flight, LiDAR, and 360° 3D VR imagery. For this analysis, we performed a field experiment with the Boston Dynamics Spot robot, taking advantage of its ability to maneuver in geologically relevant terrain. Finally, we present planned future integration of science analysis tools based on depth imagery into vMSS, with the goal of handling the expected proliferation of real-time science data throughout science and resource prospecting missions.


Glanzmann's thrombasthenia (GT) is an inherited bleeding disorder which was described in 1918 by Dr. Glanzmann as bleeding tendency with normal platelet count and prolonged bleeding time; it was called hereditary hemorrhagic thrombasthenia 1,2 . It is an autosomal recessive bleeding disorder, which is common in consanguineous marriage due to mutation of platelet glycoprotein. Glycoprotein IIb/IIIa leads to loss of GP receptor function, detected as abnormality in platelet aggregation, adhesion and clot retraction. Patients present as epistaxis, menorrhagia, gum bleeding, bruises, ecchymosis and petechia. Laboratory investigations reveal normal platelet count, but abnormal clot retraction, high PFA, absent response to all agonists except ristocetin induced aggregation by platelet aggregometry and decreased or absent platelet glycoprotein by flow cytometry.


From the end of the Tang Dynasty to the present, most people's view on poetry in late Tang Dynasty has been negative. Some people hold that poetry in late Tang Dynasty is short of ideological value and artistic charm, but the author holds that the ideological value and artistic charm of poetry in late Tang Dynasty is deferent from feudal literary view. Therefore some critics with feudal literary opinion hold that poetry in late Tang Dynasty is not good and some critics don't understand the thought and artistic changes of poetry in late Tang Dynasty , who lack a view about the development in thought and literature .Because of these reasons , poetry in late Tang Dynasty has been treated unfairly.


Land Reform Srisatchanalai Agricultural Cooperative Limited faced the problem in inadequacy of the capital for managerial administration: particularly on internal capital. Hence, the cooperative prepared the strategic plan for an increase of the internal capital. It was found that this could not reduce weighted average cost of capital. Based on an analysis of economic value added, return on equity and return on assets, it was found that it was decreased compared to that of the previous year. This showed the competency of the cooperative committee and the management section in using the investment on the cooperative operation. It was found that profitability was decreased. For capital strength, it was found that the cooperative still faced the problem in inadequacy of the capital towards risks of the cooperative business. Therefore, the cooperative should have the policy on internal capital increasing and the effective capital management.


independent assessment of the management risks associated with harvesting grizzly bear populations given uncertainty in population characteristics such population size, vital rates (survival, reproduction), and how close harvest approximates the natural finite rate of increase. I also examine risks of population decline for grizzly bear populations in British Columbia based upon documented population size and standard error, offtake, and vital rates assumed for populations inhabiting good, moderate, and poor areas of habitat quality. I wrote this progress report without solicitation of comments from the Government of British Columbia; this report rests on my own judgement. The conclusions contained in this report reflect the professional opinions of the author without any form of editing or censuring by the Government of British Columbia or any other concerned parties. A better understanding of how sampling error influences results of population viability analysis (PVA) will serve to focus research aimed at improving the applicability of PVA for management purposes. In Section 1.0 of this report, I evaluate the relative contributions of sampling error in initial population size and sampling errors in vital rates to the outcome of PVA for grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) in western North America. I used a 2-way, random-effects analysis of variance to estimate the components of variance in PVA outcomes explained by errors (standard errors applied between 0–30% of parameter estimates) in vital rates and initial population size. Error in population size accounted for the largest source of variation in the model (F 35,5 = 10.8, P = 0.00001), explaining 60.5% of the variance. In contrast, error in vital rates contributed very little to simulatio n outcomes (F 35,5 = 0.61, P = 0.70), accounting for only 2.4% of model variation. The results demonstrate that error in initial population size can be an important determinant of simulation outcomes, and that removing sampling error from process variation in models of PVA in order to make them more realistic is perhaps not as critical as is currently thought. Errors in estimates of initial population size, if ignored in models of PVA, have the potential to leave managers with estimates of population persistence that are of little value for making management decisions. In Section 2.0, I quantify management risks associated with how close harvest approximates a population's finite rate of increase. I describe the existence of a threshold of human-caused mortality for grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) in North America, which, if exceeded, accelerates …


© 2006 The Authors. Journal Compilation © 2006 The Society of Legal Scholars mented by Dr Fionda – is to split them into two groups: using varying language but essentially the bad and the sad. It makes liberalism easier to sell if you can make some form of distinction. The problem of moving beyond this is political. How does one come up with language with a potential to shift the terms of the debate? Politics tends to go in cycles. It may be that as Tony Blair and Michael Howard leave the stage that they have created together, more becomes possible. There are more surprising thoughts than that David Cameron may have another Douglas Hurd in his cabinet. However, the betting must still be on David Davis who would promise little respite from the 'get tougher' mantra of the last two decades. John Reid is similarly unlikely to make a U-turn from existing policies. Such political considerations are, however, well outside this excellent academic and practitioner book. Readers may not get much help with the practical politics of transformation. They will, however, get the overwhelming case in its favour.


Abeliophyllum distichum (Oleaceae), which is the only species in the monotypic genus and is grown only on the Korean peninsula, has a high scarcity value. Its five variants (white, pink, round, blue, and ivory) have different morphological characteristics in terms of the color of petals and sepals or shape of the fruits. Despite its high value, there has been no study on variant classification except in terms of their morphological characteristics. Thus, we performed a volatile component analysis of A. distichum flowers and multivariate data analyses to reveal the relationship between fragments emitted from five variants of A. distichum flowers with their morphological characteristics. As a result, 66 volatile components of this plant were identified by headspace solid-phase microextraction gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC-MS), showing unique patterns for each set of morphological characteristics, especially the color of the petals. These results suggest that morphological characteristics of each variant are related to the volatile composition.


Background It can be difficult to distinguish between bronchial asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) clinically, although these conditions are associated with different profiles of inflammatory cytokines and immune cells. This study aimed to compare T-lymphocyte subsets and inflammatory cytokines in the serum and sputum of patients with bronchial asthma and COPD who had respiratory function testing. Material/Methods The study included 42 patients with bronchial asthma, 48 patients with COPD, and 45 patients with bronchial asthma complicated with COPD. The percentage predicted values of the forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), the forced vital capacity (FVC), and the peak expiratory flow (PEF) rate were measured. Serum and sputum levels of interleukin (IL)-4, IL-5, IL-9, IL-13, IL-1β, IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) were measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Flow cytometry measured the CD4 and CD8 T-lymphocyte subsets, and the CD4: CD8 ratio was calculated. Results The FEV1, FVC, and PEF were significantly lower in patients with COPD compared with the other two patient groups. Serum and sputum levels of IL-4, IL-5, IL-9 and IL-13 were significantly increased in the COPD patient group, and levels of TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 were significantly increased in the bronchial asthma patient group. The CD4: CD8 ratio in sputum was lowest in bronchial asthma patient group and highest in COPD patient group. Conclusions The detection of serum and sputum inflammatory cytokines and T-lymphocyte subsets may distinguish between bronchial asthma and COPD.


The centrosome is the microtubule organizing center of most higher eukaryotic cells, and is generally described as having two orthogonal centrioles surrounded by pericentriolar material. This description highlights the important role of centrioles as organizers of the pericentriolar material [1] that is primarily responsible for coordinating the nucleation of microtubule assembly. Indeed, initiation of centriole replication is one of the earliest events in centrosome duplication. Centrioles are multifunctional: in addition to organizing the centrosome, they have recently been shown to play an important role in cytokinesis and cell cycle progression [2,3]. Questions about centriole biology abound, but answers remain elusive. A recent study aimed at understanding the function of centrin-2 indicates that inhibition of synthesis of this centriolar protein in human cells blocks centriole duplication [4]. Why has it been so difficult to identify and understand the myriad functions of centrioles? One reason has been the lack of a suitable model system amenable to rapid genetic manipulation and analysis. The microtubule organizing center of yeast cells, the spindle pole body, lacks centrioles and forms a structure quite unlike that of the centrosome (reviewed in [5]). The morphological differences between centrosomes and spindle pole bodies are reflected in compositional differences. While the protein composition of the spindle pole body has been characterized in detail [6], the vast majority of the proteins that make up centrioles and centrosomes remain unknown. There are a few families of proteins known to localize to spindle pole bodies and to centrosomes, but most of them are involved in microtubule nucleation at the periphery of these structures and not as architectural components [7,8]. Genetic and biochemical approaches will eventually fill in the details of centriole structure and function, but for now details are few. Centrins are one of the relatively few proteins known to localize to centrioles [9]. They are small, calciumbinding proteins belonging to the calmodulin superfamily. Centrins have attracted interest, not least because they are a rare example of a centriolar protein with a known homolog in the yeast spindle pole body, in this case Cdc31p. Cdc31p localizes to a substructure of the spindle pole body called the 'half-bridge' [10], and temperature-sensitive yeast mutants in Cdc31p show defects in spindle pole body duplication [11]. Are centrins required for centriole duplication? Recent evidence, including important new work published recently in Current Biology by Salisbury et al. [4], suggests they are. Salisbury et al. [4] used RNA interference (RNAi) to reduce centrin-2 expression over tenfold in HeLa cells [4] — the first time that the consequences of eliminating centrin function have been investigated in animal cells. They observed a marked decrease in centriole content: after 72 hours, more than 70% of cells lacked centrioles entirely. Cells with a single centriole at each spindle pole were able to complete at least one round of mitosis and cytokinesis. The authors concluded that the loss of centrioles was caused by a block at an early stage of centriole duplication (Figure 1). The progressive decrease in centriole number eventu -ally led to defects in mitosis and cytokineses, and ultimately to cell death. Earlier studies of centriole or basal body assembly in other systems had emphasized a requirement for centrin function in the creation of new centrioles. Characterization of a mutation in the centrin gene of the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii showed a defect in centriole duplication [12]. Examination of basal body assembly during spermiogenesis in the water fern Marsilea vestita revealed that interfering with centrin translation blocked formation of a structure related to centrioles, the basal body, at a very early stage [13]. How might centrin proteins function in centriole duplication? While the answer is not known, some notable properties of centrins offer intriguing possibilities. In some organisms, centrins assemble into fibrous structures emanating from centrioles [14]. The yeast centrin Cdc31p localizes to the half-bridge, a substructure of the spindle pole body that spans the gap between the original and nascent spindle pole body. By analogy, it is possible that the role of centrins in centriole duplication is to participate in formation of a structure that facilitates subsequent steps in the assembly of a daughter centriole. Alternatively, as centrins are members of the calmodulin protein superfamily their role might be to act as regulators, modulating the activities of other proteins in response to as yet unknown signals. Either way, for a coherent picture of centriole duplication to emerge, the role of centrins will need to be placed into the larger context of the complex regulatory mechanisms that control centrosome duplication [15]. Given the compelling results of Salisbury et al. [4], extending the RNAi approach to other known centriolar proteins will be invaluable in determining their role(s) in the complex biology of the centriole. In the absence of other protein families conserved between yeast spindle pole bodies and centrioles, it seems Current Biology, Vol. 12, R618–R619, September 17, 2002, ©2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. PII S0960-9822(02)01133-8


Born and raised in Tehran, Coli Taraghi (b. 1939) is the daughter of the late Lotfollah Taraqqi, publisher and editor of Taraqqi and Asiya-ye Javan. She attended elementary and high school in Tehran, and college in the Uni ted States. She holds a bachelor's degree in philosophy from Drake University and a master's degree from Tehran University. During the 1960s, Taraghi was employed at the Plan Organization and also wrote a number of short stories. Prior to the closing of Iranian universities in 1980, she had taught philosophy at the Faculty of Letters of the University of Tehran for six years.


Every hero has a story - try reading one this summer!@ Our Adult Summer Reading Challenge is for everyone 18 and older. Read or listen to any four books, in any language or any format.

Todo heroe tiene una historia - Lee una este verano.


Molecular docking falls into the general category of global optimization problems because its main purpose is to find the most stable complex consisting of a receptor and its ligand. Conformational space annealing (CSA), a powerful global optimization method, is incorporated with the Tinker molecular modeling package to perform molecular docking simulations of six receptor–ligand complexes (3PTB, 1ULB, 2CPP, 1STP, 3CPA, and 1PPH) from the Protein Data Bank. In parallel, Monte Carlo with the minimization (MCM) method is also incorporated into the Tinker package for comparison. The energy function, consisting of electrostatic interactions, van der Waals interactions, and torsional energy terms, is calculated using the AMBER94 all‐atom empirical force field. Rigid docking simulations for all six complexes and flexible docking simulations for three complexes (1STP, 3CPA, and 1PPH) are carried out using the CSA and the MCM methods. The simulation results show that the docking procedures using the CSA method generally find the most stable complexes as well as the native‐like complexes more efficiently and accurately than those using the MCM, demonstrating that CSA is a promising search method for molecular docking problems. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem 26: 78–87, 2005


In this paper, a mixed testing method is presented to test the reliability of a certain radar system simulation software, which combines the reliability testing based on the operational profile with directed testing. The first phase of the test method is to carry out the reliability testing based on the operational profile, the second phase is to execute the directed testing; According to the transition criteria formulated in accordance with the test coverage to decide when to execute the transition from the first phase of testing to the second phase; finally the test adequacy criteria is established to judge the testing adequacy of radar system simulation software.


Prior work has identified welfare problems with monopoly sports leagues that are not governed by a residual claimant: In addition to standard effects of allocative and distribute inefficiency, these leagues often reach sub‐optimal results because of bargaining costs and information problems that distort the results because of a governance structure reflecting parochial stakeholder interests. This paper hypothesizes that leading sports law cases can be viewed as strategic attempts to overcome information and bargaining costs to improve upon sub‐optimal league decisions and facilitate efficient ones. A case study approach is used to identify different ways in which litigation can be used in this manner. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


An analysis of a case of hipokalemic metabolic alkalosis, salt resistant and a description of a systematic medical approach according to clinical analysis methodology in Internal Medicine is exposed.


The recent advances in Meniere's disease research in the United States have been on all fronts, in understanding the pathology and pathologic physiology of Meniere's disease, the natural history of the disease, and in testing to verify the presence of endolymphatic hydrops, and in various forms of medical and surgical treatment.The electrocochleography, using the acetazolamide hyaration and glycerol dehydration tests, has added greatly to our understanding of Meniere's disease.The continued investigation of the vestibular aqueduct by hypocycloidal polytome and in the future with CAT scanning has increased our understanding of the cause of idiopathic endolymphatic hydrops and the likelihood of benefit from operations on the endolymphatic sac.The observation that ears with Meniere's disease have an angle of less than 70 degrees between the vestibular aqueduct and the posterior semicircular canal as compared to normals in which the angle is always greater than 70 degrees will be, if true, very helpful in quantifying the diagnosis of Meniere's disease.Continued interest in early operations on the endolymphatic sac should increase information about the value of this procedure. Clearly the treatment for Meniere's disease must recognize it for what it is, an insidious, usually progressive but extremily variable disorder of the inner ear. Without question the funda-mental cause is developmental, a small, misplaced Early in life the regulation of fluid balance in the sac. inner ear begins to be compromised but there is enough excess capacity in the system to compensate for the small inadequate sac. The Dynamic Flow Theory of Lundquist (Figure 26) best explains the probable sites of production and absorption of endolymph and the roles of the stria vascularis and the endolymphatic sac. At this point there may be an insult to the system, to the stria vascularis and/or the endolymphatic sac, to disturb this already compromised equilibrium. This insult may be chemical, as by overloading the body with sodium and hence we believe the real but as yet unproven value of salt restriction and potassium-sparing diuretics in the management, not cure, of Meniere's disease in the early, still fluctuating stage. This insult may be metabolic, from disorders of glucose and/or lipid metabo lism, hence the very real obvious value of correcting these disorders when present. This insult may be autoim mune, the exact trigger for which remains to be found, hence the large number of patients with Meniere's disease with positive tests of autoimmunity to purified collagen likely to be present in the inner ear and the remarkable response in some patients to large doses of steroids. The insult may be other as yet unproven wtimuli shich remain to be found.Once this insult to the system takes place, the already compromised equilibrium is overwhelmed, the disease enters the uncompensated phase and hydrops of the cochlear and/or vestibular labyrinth occurs, and corresponding signs and symptoms appear. Most patients are first seen by the doctor after the system is compromised and treatment must be consistent with the situation which exists. That is why we have attempted to make the diagnosis early, before the system is compromised, and do the subarachnoid endolymphatic shunt early, which seems to us the most reasonable thing to be considering all the circumstances existent at that time.


The invention discloses a medium-low enthalpy energy based cogeneration system, which is characterized in that a heat supply subsystem, a power generation subsystem and a heat pump subsystem are combined by an intermediate heat exchanger to form cogeneration; a return pipe in the heat pump subsystem is divided into two loops after being connected with a water pump, a water supply flow regulating valve and the water side of a condenser in the power generation subsystem in series: one loop is connected with a water supply pipe after being connected with the water side of a condenser in the heat pump subsystem in series and the other loop is also connected with the water supply pipe after being connected with the water supply flow regulating valve and the cooling water side of the intermediate heat exchanger in series; and an external hot water supply pipeline is connected with the water side of an evaporator in the power generation subsystem, the hot water side of the intermediate heat exchanger and the water side of an evaporator in the heat pump subsystem in series. The system adopts the heat supply return water as the cooling water of the power generation subsystem, thus saving the investment. The system adopts temperature coupling among the subsystems, thus realizing high-efficiency cogeneration. When the heat source is at the temperature of 80-100 DEG C, the power generation subsystem can provide the heat pump subsystem with 10-23% secondary energy consumption and provide the heat users with 244-326kW of heat, thus improving the economical efficiency of the cogeneration system.


AFTER referring to the period from 1789 to 1850, when Cheltenham was one of the great spas of Europe to which George III, the Duke of Wellington, and Queen Adelaide resorted, Dr. Kirkland described the recent movement for its revival. The Corporation had now brought the various waters to the Central Spa at the new Town Hall, and in May of last year it took an important step in inviting five medical men of the town to form a Spa Medical Advisory Committee. Their function was to give advice to the Town Council on all matters pertaining to the spa and its successful development. It was hoped at once to instal new baths in the Montpellier Baths, such as the Bergonie, peat, Vichy, besides the baths already in useviz., Aix douche, brine, electric radiant heat, vapour and sulphur. The Promenade, with its avenues of chestnut trees, was the outstanding feature of Cheltenham, and in the early summer with wisteria, lilac, laburnum, red and white hawthorn in bloom, and later when the roses took their place, the appellation of " garden town " was well justified. The golf course on Cleeve Hill, at a height of nearly 1,000 ft., was easily reached by electric tram, with a common of some 1,500 acres in extent free to the public. Here patients might enjoy an air as bracing and pure as any in England, and fine views along the Severn Valley to the Malvern Hills and to the Welsh mountains. Cheltenham might claim to take the place of Wiesbaden, but with this difference. The German spa2 " has turned this gift (her waters) so.


To assess the health status of children and adolescents indicators obtained from in-depth medical examinations are most informative. The analysis of health indicators of 1508 adolescents aged 10-14 and 1152 adolescents aged 15-17 has been carried out. It shows that the rate of perfectly healthy young men and women among adolescents aged 15-17 compared with adolescents of 10-14 years old decreases, but the rate of pathologies, diseases of the nervous system incidence, diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue, eye diseases and its adnexa, urogenital system diseases increases. The study revealed negative trends in physical and sexual development of adolescents. The most negative shifts are observed in the physical and sexual development of adolescent girls.The investigation determines medical and social factors that have the most pronounced negative effect on physical and sexual development of adolescents.


Motivated by financial market modeling with spike-like jumps spot prices, we present a simple characterisation of the complete two-dimensional Poisson jump-diffusion market models with possibly discontinuous and degenerate coefficients, extending the standard no-arbitrage and completeness working hypothesis for such markets.


The boundary of a neural network is considered, and the Hartline–Ratliff equations are used as a model system. Solutions are obtained by means of the Wiener–Hopf technique. Specific examples are calculated and comparison with experiment is made.


Course Analysis, by representing course information in subject analysis terms of the library collection (classification numbers, subject headings, keywords) gives mainly the opportunity to evaluate the collection and the level of bibliographic coverage of an academic program, however it could also be used as an utility in the reference work and in bibliographic instruction. This specific study, which is considered the first application of this recognized method of evaluating collections in the Greek academic area, reviews the relevant literature, reports characteristics of this application in the environment of Greek academic libraries, and analyzes the results in relation to the benefits of the application and in combination with the Conspectus method for collection assessment. Data manipulation is done in Microsoft Access, which offers querying capabilities. For example reports can be generated proviting information about the content of the courses and the research interests of the academic faculty. This application could be used by any other academic library that wishes to apply the method of Course Analysis.


This paper uses classical and shrinkage estimators to estimate the system reliability (R) in the stress-strength model when the stress and strength follow the Inverse Chen distribution (ICD). The comparisons of the proposed estimators have been presented using a simulation that depends on the mean squared error (MSE) criteria.


Barley (Hordeum vulgare L. Giza 58) was screened for salt tolerance during seed germination in greenhouse to study the effect of salt affected soils differ in texture, water salinity of 0.5 (control), 3.2, 5.8, 8.7 and 11.7 dSm -1 and soil amendments such as organic matter (OM) and gypsum at 10; 20 m 3 /fed and 1.5; 2.5 ton/fed, respectively. From obtained results it could conclude that: Applying OM at 1 st application rate has improved soil EC to be decrease to extent is required to improve both germination % and germination rate of barley grains, while gypsum significantly increased soil EC under all water salinity levels. Seed germination significantly decreased by increasing water salinity level up to 3.2 dSm -1 . Germination was significantly diminished at the highest level of salt (11.7 dSm -1 ) with significant variation among water salinity level under control soils. Also data indicated that the increasing water salinity significantly reduced percentage and rate of barley germination under gypsum at both rates used. Significantly decrease in germination % with increasing water salinity with a considerable variation among amendments used from side and within itself.


This paper investigates the impact of financial system design on investment. It is aimed to provide additional empirical evidence based on the original paper by Demirguc-Kunt and Maksimovic (2002). The firm-level data are used for Malaysian listed firms between 2000 and 2007. This paper also utilizes the same estimation method i.e. generalised method of moments for panel data, as proposed by Arellano and Bond (1991). The findings show that: first, the Risk Weighted Capital-adequacy Ratios and Core Capital Ratios have negative impact on investment of firms. This can be explained from Government intervention which is designed to encourage bank's lending to firm investment. Second, the capital market variables show negative effects on investment due to the presence of capital market imperfections. Finally, both gross domestic product and foreign direct investment show positive impacts on investment. This result is consistent with previous empirical evidence in which a firm is likely to have a larger investment when its investment opportunities are good. It is recommended to the policy maker to intervene the related policy with investment and financial design. It is because both variables are interrelated each other and give impact to the growth of economy in a country.


Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS) is the most expensive congenital cardiac disease and is characterized by underdevelopment of the left side of the heart. The surgical intervention leads to the developmentally disadvantaged right ventricle performing systemic circulation. As such, a subset of HLHS patients develops progressive heart failure that results in limited transplant-free survival. There are no animal models to study the molecular and functional properties of HLHS cardiomyocytes, limiting our understanding of disease mechanisms and human genotype-phenotype relationships. To address this, we are creating a physiologically and functionally relevant "heart on a chip" model of HLHS hiPSC-derived cardiomyocytes (CMs). Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSCs) were derived from cord blood mononuclear cells isolated from the umbilical cord blood from 8 antenatally diagnosed HLHS children at birth. Control (iPSCs) from 3 healthy subjects were derived from peripheral blood mononuclear cells. We then differentiated ventricular CMs from these iPSCs using StemDiff ventricular CM kit. We observed HLHS iPSCs formed ~50% fewer CMs compared to healthy controls. We studied calcium handling by iPSC-CMs with Fluo-4 fluorescent calcium dye in HLHS and Healthy iPSC-CMs. We observed that calcium transients in HLHS-CMs have half the beat rate, 1.4 times longer rise time to rise, 1.5 times higher time constant (Tau), compared to Healthy CMs, suggesting that HLHS CMs have dysfunctional calcium handling compared to healthy CMs. Our results demonstrate that in an in vitro model of iPSC-derived CM, HLHS patient CMs demonstrate reduced formation and defective calcium handling, which may potentially explain the pathogenesis of heart failure in HLHS patients. In ongoing experiments, we are evaluating diastolic and systolic stress generation in these cells. We will also establish the underlying molecular mechanisms of functional defects in HLHS CMs and screen potential drug therapies for single-ventricle patients.


The aim of our study was to measure the gastric emptying rate for a solid meal in diabetic patients who had no gastrointestinal complaints with (group 1, n = 12) or without (group 2, n = 10) cardiac autonomic neuropathy and in normal controls comparable in age and sex (group 3, n = 10). Gastric emptying rate was assessed with a sequential scintiscanning method. The percentages of the initial isotope activity remaining in the stomach at different times (20, 40, 60, 80, 100, and 120 min) after the ingestion of a Tc-99m-labeled test meal and the emptying half-time were calculated. Cardiac autonomic neuropathy was determined by the beat-to-beat variations in heart rate during deep breathing. A significant reduction of the gastric emptying rate was observed in group 1. Indeed, at 80, 100, and 120 min the percentage of residual isotope activity was 73 ± 4, 60 ± 6, and 50 ± 6% (mean ± SE), respectively, in group 1 versus 61 ± 3 (P < .05), 45 ± 4 (P < .05), and 32 ± 4% (P < .02) in group 2. In group 3, residual isotope activity was 57 ± 4 (P < .05 vs. group 1), 41 ± 4 (P < .05), and 29 ± 4% (P < .02), respectively. Emptying half-time was also longer in group 1 (121 ± 9 min) than in group 2 (95 ± 6 min, P < .05) or group 3 (90 ± 4 min, P < .02). For a given diabetic patient, there was no correlation between abnormal low gastric emptying and cardiac autonomic neuropathy. In conclusion, this study shows that in a group of diabetic patients with cardiac autonomic neuropathy, mean gastric emptying rate for solid meals is significantly impaired when compared with patients without cardiac autonomic neuropathy or normal controls, even when gastrointestinal symptoms are absent.


Objective assessment on the value of ecosystem service of protected area for water supply is very important to eco-environmental protection of protected area for water supply, comprehensive management of water resources and eco-compensation. The article structured a assessment system based on the classify of ecosystem service of protected area for water supply, which consisted of five values of ecosystem services: food production, gas adjustment, climate adjustment, hydrology adjustment and waste disposure, and quantifying assessed these values taking the Yunlong Reservoir of Kunming as a example. The result showed that the total value of ecosystem service of protected area for water supply is 6.139 hundreds of million, including direct use value is 0.191 hundreds of million and indirect use value is 5.948 hundred millions; adjustment service value is greater than supply service value, and the former is 31 times to the latter; the service value of forest ecosystem is 4.806 hundreds of million, and occupying 80% of the total value of study area, the service value of water area ecosystem is 1.009 hundreds of million, occupying 16.44%, and farmland only occupying 5.28%; the value of hydrology adjustment is the highest, the value of gas adjustment is close to the one of climate adjustment, the one of waste disposure takes second place and the one of food production is the lowest. In addition, the study thinks that the assessment method of ecosystem service of protected area for water supply is feasible, and combining with the types of land can make the research result having reality significance and guiding. But the research only assessed the value of current situation, and the further study should focus on the change value and space influence of ecosystem service.


The aim of the Community Service Program in Real-Learning Education and Community Empowerment (KKN-PPM) is to increase sales of the Umbul Tanjung village community, Cinangka District. The partners of this activity are the people of Umbul Tanjung Village, Cinangka District who have businesses or do not have their own businesses. Villagers who work as fishermen and locations to market their products are limited to the background of students to be able to help increase sales of their products including salted fish sales. The method of carrying out this service is through (1) Surveying through observation, interviews, and analysis of village considerations and potentials, (2) Training on account creation at the bukalapan or tokopedia sites. The results of this program add to people's knowledge and skills regarding (1) Utilization of Information Technology, and (2) selling salted fish in attractive packaging. This program is expected to facilitate the community in increasing their knowledge and skills in processing salted fish so that it is hygienic.


This study aims to determine the effect of store atmosphere, product quality, and customer satisfaction, on consumer buying interest in Black Id distributions in the city of Bukittinggi. The object of this research is customers who buy branded men's clothing products at Black Id Distro. The sample was selected using the Lemesshow formula with 98 customers as a sample. The type of data used is primary data and secondary data. Data analysis using binary logistics analysts after passing the validity test, reliability test, variable descriptive analysis by using Statistical Package For Social Science (SPSS) program 16.00. Based on the results of the study, the indicators in this study are all valid statement indicators. Data testing with Binary Logistics Collaboration analysts found that the store atmosphere variable (X1), product quality (X2), had a positive and significant influence on consumer buying interest in the Bukittinggi city Black Id distro, both partially and simultaneously viewed from the test results Wald and the G test have significant values smaller than 0.05. The most dominant variable in this study is customer satisfaction seen from the results of the B expectations test.


This paper describes the effect of conducting plates installed in the transition region of the minimum-B anchor-cell of GAMMA 10 for the purpose of the improvement in plasma performance. The conducting plates are fixed closely to the plasma surface where the cross section of the plasma is flatly elongated in the transition region. Electrical characteristics of the conducting plates are investigated by changing the resister connected between the plates and the machine ground. Effects on the plasma parameters of the conducting plates are studied and it is found that the floating condition of the plates leads to the increase of the plasma density during potential formation. It is also find that the effect is reduced in the case that the space of main plates facing each other is widened. Existence of electric current in azimuthal direction of plasma cross section is discussed from the viewpoint of radial loss mechanism.


Background: Psoriasis is a chronic skin disease, characterized by chronic and recurrent scaly plaques with itching. The treatment modalities for psoriasis include topical, systemic, and phototherapy (PT). The pattern of therapy may vary depending upon the type, severity, and duration of the disease. As there are few reports in the Indian literature regarding the pattern of drug use in psoriasis and evaluating the efficacy and patient compliance to treatment, the present study was conducted. Methods: This was a prospective, observational study conducted on121 newly diagnosed and untreated patients with psoriasis, who attended Dermatology outpatient department of a tertiary care hospital. The severity of the disease was assessed by baseline psoriasis area severity index (PASI) score. Most of the patients were treated with topical therapy consisting of glucocorticoids (GC) monotherapy or combination with, salicylic acid, calcitriol and coal tar. Systemic therapy and PT were considered only for severe cases of psoriasis with baseline PASI score >4. The patients were monitored every 2 weeks for 3 months. Results: The topical medications induced effective resolution of lesions in most of the patients, along with adequate symptomatic relief. The response to GC monotherapy was found significant (90.47%; p 4. Regular follow-up is required not only to monitor the treatment response, but also to ensure good patient compliance by proper counseling.


ABSTRACT Auxin response factors (ARFs) mediate auxin response gene transcription by directly binding with AuxREs. However, whether ARF family genes involved in anthocyanin accumulation in apple is largely unexplored. In this study, thirty-three MdARF family members were identified in the apple (Malus × domestica) genome (HFTH1 Whole Genome v1.0) based on the sequence similarity with ARF family members of Arabidopsis. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that thirty-three MdARF members were clustered into Class I, Class II and Class III. Functional domain analysis showed that MdARF proteins have some typical domains such as B3-like DNA-binding domain and Auxin_resp domain, as well as motif III and motif IV. Chromosome localisation analysis demonstrated that apple ARF members were widely distributed in the genome. Among these MdARF genes, MdARF2 was significantly correlated with anthocyanin variation according to extracting expression profiles from published RNA-seq data. Further functional identification in apple calli suggested that MdARF2 functions as a transcriptional repressor of anthocyanin biosynthesis. These findings provide evidence that MdARF family members play a role in the regulation of anthocyanin accumulation in apple.


Workflows are considered to be one of the most relevant programming models for the Grid. In the past many workflow languages have been developed. However, most of them are textualoriented, are based on a self-defined notation, or lack an adequate tool-support. Therefore, there is a need for streamlining the task of Grid worklow specification. In this paper we present our graphical editor Teuta, which we have tailored for the specification of scientific Grid workflows. Moreover, we have integrated Teuta with the Askalon Grid Environment (AGE). Teuta serves for AGE as a user interface for workflow composition, submission, controlling and monitoring. In addition, we present our Domain Specific Language (DSL) for Grid workflows that is based on the latest standard of the Unified Modeling Language (UML). In Teuta, the workflow is composed graphically by combining predefined elements of our DSL in a hierarchical fashion. We have evaluated our approach for a real-world material science program package. We show that thanks to the hierarchical workflow composition a simple view of the workflow is maintained at each level of abstraction.


A batch arrival queuing system with two heterogeneous services is studied.In the system,the first phase service is followed by the second phase service,and a customer will leave the system after completion of both phases of service.The system with multiple vacations is considered as well,if there is no customer in the system,the server doesn't go for a vacation at once,but waits for a moment.If a customer arrives during the stage,the server stops going for a vacation and serves the customer,otherwise it will go for a vacation.By the method of supplementary variable,the queue length and some reliability indexes are derived.


23 Perceptual estimates of 3D properties, such as the distance and depth of an object, are often 24 inaccurate. Given the accuracy and ease with which we pick up objects, it may be expected that 25 perceptual distortions do not affect how the brain processes 3D information for reach-to-grasp 26 movements. Nonetheless, empirical results show that grasping accuracy is reduced when the visual 27 feedback of the hand is removed. Here, we studied whether specific types of trainings could correct 28 grasping behavior to perform adequately even when any form of feedback is absent. Using a block 29 design paradigm, we recorded the movement kinematics of subjects grasping virtual objects located 30 at different distances in absence of visual feedback of the hand and haptic feedback of the object, 31 before and after different training blocks with different feedback combinations (vision of the thumb 32 and vision of thumb and index, with and without the tactile feedback of the object). In the pre-33 training block, we found systematic biases of the terminal hand position, the final grip aperture and 34 the maximum grip aperture like those reported in perceptual tasks. Importantly, the distance at 35 which the object was presented modulated all these biases. In the post-training blocks, only the 36 hand position was partially adjusted, but final and maximum grip apertures remained unchanged. 37 These findings show that when visual and haptic feedback are absent systematic distortions of 3D 38 estimates affect reach-to-grasp movements in the same way as they affect perceptual estimates. 39 Most importantly, accuracy cannot be learnt even after extensive training with feedback.


Abstract. Mineral assemblage, precipitation sequence and textures of the gold‐bearing veins from the Hishikari epithermal vein‐type deposits, southern Kyushu, Japan, were examined. In addition, fluid inclusion microthermometry and carbon and oxygen isotopic compositions of calcite were determined. Calcite, and that replaced by quartz, were commonly observed throughout the precipitation sequence of the veins. Thus, calcite must be a more common gangue constituent initially than observed presently. Association of calcite and electrum is observed immediately subsequent to columnar adularia in some vein samples. In addition, close association of electrum with pseudo‐acicular quartz, and electrum with truscottite were observed. The initial coprecipitation of electrum and calcite might be a common phenomenon in the gold‐bearing veins at the Hishikari deposits.


Introduction: In the majority of pediatric burns mortality and morbidity results from simple domestic accidents that are preventable. Aim: A prospective study of pediatric burns was carried out at our burns unit to outline the epidemiology and management of the pediatric burns problem. Materials and Methods: Epidemiological data collected included age, sex, seasonal variation, place of burn, family size, economic status, period of time between the accident and admission to hospital. The cause and mode of burns, management of burns, relationship between mortality and age, cause and extent of burn was also noted. Results: A total of 72 pediatric patients of burns were admitted to our unit over a 3 years period. The highest incidence of burns was seen in the period of winter months between October and March. Males were affected more commonly as compared with females. The majority of the burns occurred at home. Most of the patients belonged to the low socio-economic strata and were members of medium or large size families. The most common type of injury was scald burns in children under 6 years of age and flame burns in the older children (6-12 years). The overall mortality was 13.88%. Conclusions: Burns injuries could be prevented by improving the home environment and socio-economic living conditions. Prevention can be achieved by education of adults as well as children about preventable aspects of burns.


Quality of software has growing role of the modern software engineering work. Typical current trends in the development process are the dominating role of quality systems, the use of "productivity tools" in the development, fast time to market and the adoption of the practices of the software development industrialization. Correspondingly the software product trends point out the growth of software size, longer life time, the critical role of software in services and products, increasing amount of client oriented variations of the same base product, and standardized platforms under the product solutions itself. As a consequence the new paradigms are guiding the software development: e.g. object oriented development culture is spreading fast and the role of reuse in its different forms (component level, patterns, designs) is becoming more important. Even the standard platforms, like Symbian, are giving guidelines to the developers restricting the freedom of solutions. The question on the software quality – in principle a clear and simple concept – is becoming more complex to specify and especially to teach for becoming software specialists. The paper includes the discussion on software quality issues from different points of view. The approach adopted classifies the quality based on software life cycles pointing out that the importance of different factors is changing along the development cycle.


Discusses a number of projects undertaken by the Centre for Telecommunications (CTD). In 1988 the CTD examined the viability of card operated payphones for villages and isolated areas in developing countries. The CTD has completed a number of rural telecommunication projects in Tanzania, Gambia, Egypt and Nepal. Several ITU studies have shown that rural telecommunications can facilitate may development activities including agriculture, industry, education and health care. >


This Master's thesis investigates new exact sequences of C∗-algebras for use in the bulkboundary correspondence of solid state systems. The approach constructs half-space algebras using crossed products with dual actions and thereby generalizes the smoothed Toeplitz extension. By using weakly continuous actions and semifinite von Neumann algebras, this allows to extend bulk-boundary correspondence to elements with weaker regularity properties than before, which we call quasicontinuous in analogy to the classical case of Toeplitz operators on the torus. We extend an index theorem by Lesch to Toeplitz operators with quasicontinuous symbols, which allows the computation of Breuer-Fredholm indices through the noncommutative winding number form. After generalizing the classical Besov spaces to the non-commutative case, we prove an analogue of Peller's trace class criterion for Hankel operators in our setting. Using this constructive criterion we can then apply the formalism to the bulk-boundary correspondence of quasicontinuous elements over the disordered non-commutative torus. We use the index theorem to show that a chirally symmetric Hamilton operator with non-trivial winding numbers exhibits boundary states when restricted to a halfspace. This extends known results for Hamilton operators with spectral gaps to the weaker assumption of a mobilityor pseudogap.


The author explores concrete ways to help students learn more and have fun doing it while they support each other's learning. The article specifically shows the relationships between cooper ative learning and deep learning. Readers will become familiar with the tenets of cooperative learning and its power to enhance learning—even more so when it is carefully structured and sequenced to promote deep learning. Concrete examples also offer some practical applications. Faculty developers and others who specialize in research on teaching and learning recognize that much of the research is convergent. Positive teaching and learning practices do not operate in stand-alone vacuums. A savvy university teacher draws eclectically from a number of sources and resources to design coherent teaching and learning plans. This article will examine symbiotically how cooperative learning and deep learning together can promote greater success both in and out of the classroom.


An object of the present invention is to provide a can to help to find the motivation necessary to sustain an exercise program technology. A tracking and monitoring of the motor performance is likely to provide a number of ways to track the movement of the motion and activity. In one example, movement monitoring device comprises, or motion sensor of multiple types, or coupled to the sensors, depending on a variety of factors including the type of workout, whether to switch the sensor, or both using the sensor. The workout, mood, weather, terrain, tags representing various parameters, including exercise equipment to be used also attached. In one or more examples, these parameters are automatically determined based on the position. Work out and the results of user also, celebrity, family, friends, and through messages from other users, be praised. Sometimes, the tone of a variety of body, there is also be a chance for these messages. To help you work out and the overall improvement of exercise performance, the user coaching is also performed. Running routes also automatically tracked, stored and shared. .Field


Nowadays, Network and multimedia are the trend of the development of the E-learning technology. With the rapid development of the network technique and the prevalence of the Internet, E-learning has become the major trend of the development of international education since 1980's, and the important access for the internationalization and the information of education. With the fast development of Internet, people prefer E-learning to traditional learning in classroom. It promotes E-learning consequently. However, because of the discrepancy resulting from the essential difference among different students and the simplex pattern of current E- learning system, students canpsilat learn according to their needs actively, which lead to inefficient learning results. In order to solve this problem, a new personalized E-learning model (PSSEM) combined with the concept of personalized information service is proposed in the paper, the principle and structure are discussed, and some key technologies are introduced.


In this article the author discusses a project called the LGBT Older Adult Project, which is a joint initiative of Monmouth University's Schools of Social Work and the School of Nursing and Health Studies which aims to educate people about the needs of older LGBT people and advocates for older LGBT people. In the article he offers his opinions on the care of older LGBT people and on his drawing titled "Health Mandela".


Constitutions around Africa have been repeatedly tested on the issue of presidential term limits. We explore the four most recent cases of African presidents facing the end of their constitutionally mandated limit, all of which developed in Central Africa. Burundi, Rwanda, the Republic of Congo, and the Democratic Republic of Congo all adopted constitutions limiting presidential tenure to two terms; yet, in 2015, when these limits were approaching, none of the sitting presidents simply stood down. Our analysis focuses on the constitutional provisions meant to protect the two-term limit, the strategies employed by each of the four presidents, and the difficulty they faced in pursuing extended tenure. We find that constitutional provisions do constrain, but not always to the expected degree. Our analysis adds a consideration of a foundational constitutional factor to the growing literature on term limits in Africa, with implications for other regions of newly developing democracies.


It has been well-established that the experimentally measured toughness of materials depends on the crack-tip constraint levels. Accurate assessment of the integrity of real structures requires that the laboratory tests be conducted at similar constraint levels as those experienced by the structures. Conventional laboratory tests are usually designed at high constraint levels to obtain "conservative" toughness values. However, pipelines usually experience low-constraint loads; therefore the assessment results using the conventional laboratory test data can be overly conservative. Back-bend specimen is designed as a low-constraint laboratory test. To obtain the fracture toughness from the test, it is necessary to develop a correlation between the crack driving force, i.e. the crack tip opening displacement (CTOD), and the overall load and displacement. A semi-analytical correlation equation for back-bend tests is presented in this paper. The equation is based on the slip-line theory which was originally developed for rigid-perfectly plastic materials under plane strain conditions. The equation has been extended to take account of the elasticity, yield strength, and strain hardening of the materials. The geometry factors such as the ligament thinning and finite thickness are also investigated. The predicted CTOD driving force by the correlation equation shows a good match with the finite element calculations for a wide range of material properties and specimen dimensions.© 2006 ASME


Background Several studies demonstrate that Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) patients achieving low disease activity or remission are able to taper biological (b) DMARDs. Objectives The aim of this study is to determine the number of patients suffering from RA in whom tapering of bDMARDs is achievable in daily practice and to evaluate the patient characteristics. Another objective is to analyse the budget impact and determine which bDMARDs are more adapted to dose reduction. Methods Inclusion criteria were RA patients from our Brussels UCL cohort treated with a bDMARD for at least one year. A dose reduction was proposed by the senior physician when sustained low disease activity or remission was observed. Data from 357 eligible RA patients (247 women and 110 men) were collected. Patient characteristics and baseline features before the current bDMARDs and flares if happened were collected. Annual drug dosage and cost were calculated. Results In 131 patients (35.7%), the dose of the bDMARD could be tapered. Patients in the decreased dose group were older (60.6 vs 55.9 years, p=0.005) and started bDMARDs earlier in their disease course (6.8 vs 8.4 years, p=0.025). As expected, the current DAS28-CRP was lower (2.26 vs 2.55, p=0.018) and interestingly, more patients were treated with a combination of Methotrexate (84% vs 73%, p=0.019). No differences between groups was observed for gender, disease duration, baseline HAQ, DAS28-CRP, erosion, ACPA, number of previous bDMARDs and use of Glucocorticoïds. In our cohort, Anti-TNF agents were the most commonly prescribed medications (see Table). Annual drug cost was largely decreased for Rituximab and anti-TNF agents. Only 11 patients experienced a flare during the follow-up.Abstract AB1262 – Table 1 bDMARD Number of Pts Stable dose (%) Annual cost/Pts (€) Dose decreased (%) Annual cost/Pts (€) ABA 23 12 (52) 12 979 11 (48) 8643,5 ADA 46 21 (46) 12 525 25 (54) 6908,8 CERTO 7 7 (100) 11740,2 0 (0) Not available ETN 69 41 (59) 9328,6 27 (39) 6101,6 GOL 24 22 (92) 12703,08 2 (8) Not available IFX 99 74 (75) 7290 25 (25) 6067 RTX 37 22 (59) 8784 17 (46) 4691,6 TOC 52 35 (67) 12773,7 17 (33) 9371,9 357 234 124 Conclusions In daily practice, tapering of bDMARDs in RA patients with low disease activity or remission is an achievable goal, thereby reducing annual drug cost, especially for Rituximab, Infliximab, Etanercept and Adalimumab. Disclosure of Interest None declared


Introduction: Vitamin K antagonists (VKA) are historically used to treat thrombosis but newer direct acting oral anticoagulants (DOAC) have been released. DOACs influence laboratory methods that monitor haemostasis, leading to false positives and prolonged clotting results. Trough DOAC concentrations may have less influence at than at peak, but this is unknown. There is speculation that obesity also affects DOAC efficiency. This study sought to validate the effects of two common DOACs, rivaroxaban and apixaban, on 12 laboratory assays at peak and trough concentrations, as well as the influence of obesity on the drugs and assays. Methods: Rivaroxaban (n=20) and apixaban (n=21) patients had samples collected immediately before their next dose, and 3 hours after to provide peak and trough. Healthy controls (n=20) provided a sample at one-time point. Relevant medical histories and demographics, including BMI, were collected after obtaining informed consent. Samples underwent coagulation and thrombophilia panels as well as thrombin antithrombin complex, prothrombin fragments 1+2, and thrombin generation assays (TGA). Statistical analysis was performed between peak and controls, peak and trough, and all BMI groups. Results: Significant prolongations were found with the prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), TGA, and false positives for the dilute Russell viper venom time (DRVVT) by both rivaroxaban and apixaban. Apixaban was less potent than rivaroxaban with significant differences only between peak and trough for PT, and APTT. Only two results were influenced by weight; the APTT with rivaroxaban and free protein S for the controls. Conclusion: Rivaroxaban and apixaban are similar drugs but impact the assays differently due to dosage, half-life, and rate activity. Both influence assays more at peak than trough, but trough is still notably influenced compared to the controls. This study highlights the influence of these drugs on most tests performed in a haemostasis laboratory.


Income forecasting is an essential discipline in planning and other decision-making processes within any business. Fitting a suitable Lin-log model for forecasting international tourism income in Sri Lanka is the objective of the study. Monthly income data utilized from January 2009 to December 2013. Data obtained from annual reports of Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority. Autoregressive Distributed Lag Model with log transformation (Lin-Log Model) was tested on forecasting income at different lags. One way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) technique was used for overall model testing and t-test was used for individual parameter testing. Residual plots and Anderson-Darling test for residuals and the Durbin-Watson test was used as a model validation criterion. Forecasting ability of the models was assessed by considering adjusted R2 and three measurements of errors. Box and whisker plot showed no outliers in the data set. Results revealed that Lin-log model was significant at lag 1, 2 and 3. MAPE's of the model in model fitting and verification were 14.86% and 16.63% respectively. Adjusted R2 of the model was 83.6 %. Residual plots and Anderson-Darling tests confirmed the normality of residuals. Also, residuals Vs fits confirmed the independence of residuals. Durbin-Watson statistic confirms the same. It was concluded that the Lin- log model is suitable for forecasting international tourism income in Sri Lanka. It is recommended to test Auto Regressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) models also on forecasting international tourism income in Sri Lanka.


After decades of developments in HVDC technologies for power transmission, attention has been devoted to new studies for MVDC applications in order to turn DC power distribution a reality. Among them, the validation or improvements of insulating systems is a challenging one because materials and designs change considerably between HV and MV systems, and between AC and DC.


Abstract The electromechanical impedance damage detection method for composite plates is presented in this paper using piezoelectric materials. The structural damage is characterised by the admittance signals obtained from the piezoelectric materials. The results obtained in this study show that the resonance frequency will change if the damage occurs. The maximum amplitude value of the conductance without damage is larger than that with damage. The amplitude value increases as the radius of the damage holes increases. Furthermore, according to the admittance signals of the two PZT patches, the PZT is more sensitive to the damage when it is closer to the damage. The root mean square deviation damage index based on the admittance signals can also effectively reflect the damage information in the composite plate.


A method for determining the sleep state of a patient includes monitoring heart rate variability of the patient and determining sleep state based on the heart rate variability. The method also may include monitoring the frequency of eyelid movements and making the sleep state determination based also on the frequency of eyelid movements. A method for determining respiratory pattern includes monitoring heart rate variability by receiving heart beat signals and determining respiratory pattern from the strength of the signals. A home-based, wearable, self-contained system determines sleep-state and respiratory pattern, and assesses cardiorespiratory risk, of a patient based on the frequency of eyelid movements, the frequency of head movements, and heart rate variability of the patient.


Solvent effects of 31P nuclear magnetic resonance of white phosphorus in n-paraffins, substituted and cyclic paraffins, as well as in benzene, and some amines are discussed. The largest chemical shifts were caused on the one hand by dispersion interactions of dissolved phosphorus and solvent molecules and on the other hand by interaction of different phosphorus molecules; the latter influence may shift the resonance signal of white phosphorus about 35 ppm towards higher field relative to solid white phosphorus. Specific interactions between dissolved phosphorus and halogen atoms increased in the series Cl, Br, I. Phosphorus acted as an electron donor. Electron acceptor properties in amines as solvents were not found. Shifts towards lower field in the order of magnitude of 1 ppm were caused by highly polar solvents (Stark effect). By comparing dilute solutions of phosphorus in 1,3-cyclohexadiene and benzene, respectively, the influence of the diamagnetic anisotropy on the resonance of phosphorus could be estimated to result in a shift of about 1 ppm towards higher field, whereby the different dispersion interactions, were taken into account.


Online courses are a necessary addition to most graduate education programs. Offering students the option of completing program requirements online makes the program more competitive, convenient, and attractive. Responsible online instructors and program administrators must consider whether or not specific courses that are offered in the traditional classroom setting can be delivered in the virtual classroom to produce comparable student learning outcomes (Aisami, 2007; Trepal, Haberstroh, Duffey, & Evans, 2007). Courses that teach counseling skills and techniques are highlighted in this article, as they require ongoing contact among students, faculty, and clinical associates, and ideally involve role-playing, modeling, and immediate exchange of feedback. Face-to-face evaluation methods are typically employed by faculty in these skills-based courses, often with the use of checklists and rubrics. This article will discuss the possibility of designing similar evaluation methods that would be appropriate and realistic for the online setting, including engaging students in rigorous selfand peer-review assignments (Yang & Chou, 2008). In addition, the use of audioand videotaped counseling sessions and live media enhancements such as Skype, will be presented as supplements to text-based online courses (Ash, 2011). The goal for counseling faculty and students is to ensure that quality instruction in the virtual classroom results in solid skill development. Demonstration of skill development would be evidenced in the practice of appropriate interpersonal skills, and counseling techniques and strategies within the context of a counseling session. Ethical counseling faculty and program decision-makers interested in producing qualified professional counselors to serve schools and communities will carefully examine the assessment methods employed in online courses to ensure that they are fair and strong enough to accurately measure counseling skill development (Meyers, 2008; Trepal et al., 2007).


The goal of this academic research is the study and development of a new computational system model to business game Líder, based on intelligent Agents, providing a potential didactic and functional increase of this training toll. The use of agent technology has as objective became the system closer the real model, increasing the realism of the simulated environment and the contact the players with the game. The language chosen to present this model was UML Unified Modeling Language. Key-words: Business Games, Intelligent Agents, UML, Game Líder.


This essay argues that the life and music of Louis Armstrong challenged mainstream American values and attacked racial hierarchy. In his lifestyle Armstrong pursued a carnivalesque celebration of bodily pleasure at the expense of the Protestant ethic. In addition, his concerts created utopian moments that united black and white listeners in the enjoyment of music. Finally, Armstrong's music represented an assertion of blackness and individuality in a racist society, bringing African American elements to the center of American music.


This paper outlines the general principles that underlie the economic analysis of the substantive body of the law and the productions of judicial and legal services. Reform of tort law and the reform of the UK legal service sector are considered using this economic analysis. The efficiency and the degree of state provision and subsidy are assessed to the degree of market failure in the delivery of legal services. The efficiency of tort law is considered as a single instrument which is concerned with the dual objectives of deterring accidents and compensating accident victims. Copyright 1993 by Oxford University Press.


This paper proposes an $H_{\infty}$ individual pitch controller for the Clipper C96 2.5 MW wind turbine installed at University of Minnesota. Different with existing results aimed to mitigate the blade out-of-plane loads, the proposed controller focuses more on reducing the blade in-plane loads. This is because the in-plane loads are dominating parts on the blade roots and therefore more critical to the life time of blades. To better balance the load reduction performance of different components on the turbine, the proposed controller takes the sum of filtered measurements of both blade in-plane and out-of-plane moments as feedback signals. It is expected to mitigate part of the in-plane periodic loads. Meanwhile, the high pass filtered measurements of the out-of-plane moments allow the controller to still mitigate high order harmonic terms of the out-of-plane loads. Therefore, the load reduction performance on the rotor shaft and nacelle should be improved. Simulation results show that the proposed design achieved these objectives.


Abstract : The report documents research on techniques and components that may be used to efficiently simulate an orbital and reentry vehicle with a digital or a hybrid computer system. A mathematical model based on a Gemini-type spacecraft is defined. The spacecraft model was simulated with three separate programs: (1) A digital program running at a single iteration rate for all parts of the simulation. (2) A digital program that operates with four concurrent iteration rates. Each iteration rate is associated with a grouping of the functions of the spacecraft model having similar frequencies. The higher frequency groups operate with the faster iteration rates. (3) A hybrid program that simulated the spacecraft with digital and analog equipment. Four photoresitive 8 common product multipliers were constructed to increase the computation capabilities of analog equipment. A study of techniques of function generation and program debugging is presented. The question of floating point versus fixed point programming for simulation is discussed. (Author)


This article compare with Cemetery、Guilty、Evil left over by Nuwo、Tomb of Ye Luoti、Flower of Married Elder Sister and Thunderstorm Rain which show Oedipus complex of Chinese modern literature and think: the preceding story, limited with diagram in images to psychoanalysis theory, can't full express Oedipus complex's connotation, but Thunderstorm Rain displays soul-stirring to this complex: because it set up Zhou Puyuan's autocratic and grim images as background,and displays Zhou Pin and Fan yi's commit incest relation and love of Zhou Pin and Sifeng.The success of Thunderstorm rain 's displaying this complex lies in : mutual fusion of western dramas destiny viewpoint and author's thinking of destiny,his strong Oedipus complex and fancy creation on collective unconsciousness.


Z-shaped folding wings have the potential to enhance the flight performance of an aircraft, contingent upon its mission requirements. However, the current scope of research on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) with Z-shaped folding wings primarily focuses on the analysis of their folding structure and aeroelasticity-related vibrations. Computational fluid dynamics methods and dynamic meshing are employed to examine the folding process of Z-shaped folding wings. By comparing the steady aerodynamic characteristics of Z-shaped folding wings with those of conventional wings, this investigation explores the dynamic aerodynamic properties of Z-shaped folding wings at varying upward folding speeds. The numerical findings reveal that the folding of Z-shaped folding wings reduces the lift-to-drag ratio, yet simultaneously diminishes the nose-down pitching moment, thereby augmenting maneuverability. Concerning unsteady aerodynamics, the transient lift and drag coefficients of the folded wing initially increase and subsequently decrease as the folding angle increases at small angles of attack. Likewise, the nose-down pitching moment exhibits the same pattern in response to the folding angle. Additionally, the aerodynamic coefficients experience a slight decrease during the initial half of the folding process with increasing folding speed. Once the wing reaches approximately 40°~45° of folding, there is an abrupt change in the transient aerodynamic coefficients. Notably, this abrupt change is delayed with higher folding speeds, eventually converging to similar values across different folding speeds.


Finite element analysis of car engine hood is conducted under four common working conditions.Under the four conditions,the central region of the hood inner panel is optimized,taking weighted strain energy minimization as the optimization objective with the topology optimization method.By OSSmooth module of the software OPTISTRUCT,the model with the optimized structure is exported.The model is modified in the software CATIA according to the shape of topology optimization and material distribution path with the exported file.As the optimized engine hood is acquired,the high-strength steel,aluminum alloy,magnesium alloy are selected as the alternative materialsis.Contrasting the comprehensive mechanical properties before and after optimization of the engine hood,the optimal lightweight scheme is the model of aluminum alloy with the optimized structure.


: This paper presents Hermann van Helmholtz' approach to measurement theory, and discusses the possible uses and implications of his views in science education. This approach opposes the "black box" attitude towards measurement (operationalism). It takes into account the a priori conditions that should be imposed upon measurement procedures to obtain results that conform to some basic mathematical properties of physical magnitudes. Instead of the discredited but still popular empiricist view that the scientist should observe nature without any preconceived ideas, Helmholtz' theory of physical magnitudes shows that in basic measurement procedures it is necessary to introduce theoretical considerations. At the same time, this does not introduce a vicious circle in experimental testing.


In this paper, taking the model of Arrazola and Hevia (Applied Economics Letters, 11 – 145-8, 2004) as a starting point, we propose a homogeneous measure of human capital of individuals, which permits interpersonal comparisons. This indicator has been set up for a sample of Spanish men and women and compared to the results obtained when using Portela's proposal to construct a human capital indicator (Economics Letters, 72, 27-32, 2001). It was concluded that both from a theoretical and empirical point of view, the properties of the index proposed in this article are better than those of Portela''s suggested measure.


For a large family of modules M over the mod 2 Steenrod algebra A, Ext^((M, Z2) is periodic for t < 4s with respect to operators vf of period (2n,3 • 2n) for varying n. Vy1 Ext^'f (M, Z2) can be defined by extending this periodic behavior outside this range. We calculate this completely when M = H*(Y), where Y is the suspension spectrum of RP2 A CP2.


Based on traditional Nong-flavor liquor production techniques, the technology of reflux liquor distillation was adopted for the maximum extraction of flavoring components from the fermented grains. The experimental results suggested that the use of reflux liquor distillation had better performance in improving liquor aroma and sensory quality of base liquor especially in increasing the extraction rate of ethyl caproate.


Purpose – This paper proposes the extension of a prognosis process by means of the integration of maintenance alternative impacts in order to develop a maintenance decision‐making tool.Design/methodology/approach – The deployment of this extended prognosis process follows a methodology based both on probabilistic and on event approaches.Findings – The importance of the maintenance function has increased due to its role in keeping and improving the system availability and safety but also the product quality. To support this new role, the maintenance concept has undergone several major developments to lead to proactive considerations mainly based on prognosis process allowing one to select the best maintenance plan to be carried out.Practical implications – Studies over the last 20 years have indicated that around Europe the direct cost of maintenance is equivalent to between 4 and 8 per cent of total sales turnover. The indirect cost of maintenance is likely to be a similar amount. Thus, in the countries w...


The CMIP5 configurations of the GISS Model-E2 GCM simulated a mid- and high latitude ice IWP that decreased by 50 relative to that simulated for CMIP3 (Jiang et al. 2012; JGR). Tropical IWP increased by 15 in CMIP5. While the tropical IWP was still within the published upper-bounds of IWP uncertainty derived using NASA A-Train satellite observations, it was found that the upper troposphere (200 mb) ice water content (IWC) exceeded the published upper-bound by a factor of 2. This was largely driven by IWC in deep-convecting regions of the tropics.Recent advances in the model-E2 convective parameterization have been found to have a substantial impact on tropical IWC. These advances include the development of both a cold pool parameterization (Del Genio et al. 2015) and new convective ice parameterization. In this presentation, we focus on the new parameterization of convective cloud ice that was developed using data from the NASA TC4 Mission. Ice particle terminal velocity formulations now include information from a number of NASA field campaigns. The new parameterization predicts both an ice water mass weighted-average particle diameter and a particle cross sectional area weighted-average size diameter as a function of temperature and ice water content. By assuming a gamma-distribution functional form for the particle size distribution, these two diameter estimates are all that are needed to explicitly predict the distribution of ice particles as a function of particle diameter.GCM simulations with the improved convective parameterization yield a 50 decrease in upper tropospheric IWC, bringing the tropical and global mean IWP climatologies into even closer agreement with the A-Train satellite observation best estimates.


A refrigeration system, comprising a plurality of cascaded heat exchangers, each of the heat exchanger a heat exchanger comprising: generating cold liquefied methane stream; high-pressure two-phase mixture of refrigerant fluid, releasing its heat with refrigerant fluid and comprising a low boiling temperature; generating cold two-phase mixture of the low pressure refrigerant fluid stream; the cascade for the heat exchanger at the outlet expanding the cooled, high pressure flow streams and for directing at least a portion of a high pressure to at least one device for the gas comprising CO2 refrigeration heat exchanger, said refrigerant heat exchanger in the refrigeration cycle operation; for from the high-pressure liquid stream to obtain said means for cooling; to at least a portion of the liquid phase and the liquid phase for expanding said high pressure and guiding the expanded stream of high pressure fluid to at least a refrigeration heat exchanger It means, operating in the refrigeration heat exchanger in a defrost cycle. Further from the liquefied methane stream to provide a recovery method for refrigeration.


This article reviews the extant empirical literature on virtual teams and presents what we know and what we don't know about them. Drawing upon the literature from both organization behavior (OB) and information systems (IS), we propose a framework that integrates the most important variables affecting virtual teams. The framework is then used to assess the effects of virtual teamwork on group processes and outcomes. The paper also discusses the challenges facing researchers studying virtual teams and presents an agenda for future research.


Tendencies are investigational, having influence on functioning of a transport system delivery of metal in the conditions of adaptation to the market of transport services. In accordance with the methods of adaptation perspective strategy of increase of efficiency of a transport system is certain in the conditions of market of metal streams with the use of the intellectual systems of support of making decision.


In this paper, we present a pedestrian detection approach using spatial histograms of oriented gradients feature. As spatial histograms of oriented gradients consist of marginal distributions of an image over local and global patches, they can preserve shape and contour of a pedestrian simultaneously. There are two main contributions in this paper. First of all, we expand the histograms of oriented gradients features from single-size to variable-size which can capture local and global feature of pedestrian automatically. We call theses feature as the "spatial histograms of oriented gradients". Secondly, we employ histogram similarity and Fisher criterion to measure discriminability of features and select some discriminative features to identify the pedestrian. SVM classifier is constructed to train the selected features from target and surrounding background. The proposed algorithm is tested on some public database. Experimental results show that the proposed approach is efficient and rapid in pedestrian detection.


The objective of this study is to investigate the anticancer activity of 70 % ethanol extract of Mahkota dewa fruit pulp Phaleria macrocarpa (Scheff.) Boerl. using C3H mouse mammary tumor induced by transplantation. Thirty two C3H mice were devided into 4 groups i.e. control and 3 groups of mice treated with ethanol extract of Mahkota dewa fruit pulp with the dose of 20, 40, and 80 fold human dose respectively, given orally by gastric tube after tumor transplantation for 30 days. Body weight and tumor volume measured twice a week. Tumor weight was measured after the animal was sacrificed, then fixed in formaldehyde for making histopathological preparation. The proliferation activity of tumor cells were examined by counting the AgNOR deposits detected after colloidal AgNOR staining. Apoptosis was assessed by mean of Tunel staining, and the width of necrotic area was identified by hematoxyllin eosin staining of the histological specimen. The results of the study showed that there were no statistical differences in tumor volumes, tumor weights, AGNOR values, and the necrotic area among control and the three treated groups (p>0,05), but apoptosis index significantly increased in the D3 (Mahkota dewa extract of eighty fold human dose) group (p<0,05). It was concluded that ethanol extract of Mahkota dewa fruit pulp at the dose of 20,40, and 80 fold human dose given orally after tumor transplantation for 30 days, did not inhibit the C3H mouse mammary tumor growth induced by transplantation, but the increased apoptosis was found in the group receiving ethanol extract of Mahkota dewa fruit pulp at the dose of 80 fold human dose. (Med J Indones 2006; 15:217-22) Keywords: Mahkota dewa, anticancer activity, proliferation, apoptosis


This study addresses the issue of why some superintendents succeed while others do not. A comparison of responses from both long-term successful superintendents and selected school board members of districts who have experienced a high degree of turnover at the superintendent level was conducted. Both sets of data identified common themes of communication, integrity, and financial expertise as those areas which a superintendent must possess in order to be successful. THE SUPERINTENDENCY: THOSE WHO SUCCEED AND THOSE WHO DO NOT It was a cold winter night in January. The temperature was falling, and there was a chance of freezing drizzle as Sarah Nickerson prepared for the monthly school board meeting. She was not happy at the prospect of a long, strenuous meeting; but she knew that the board needed to make a tough decision regarding the future of the current superintendent. Even though it meant an evening of intense conflict, she still planned to enter a motion of non-renewal for the superintendent. Sarah felt this was her only choice and the best decision for the school and the community. Seventeen miles away, Jim Burton also was preparing for the local school board meeting. He had assured his family that he would be home early because the board agenda was not long and, as usual, would be dispatched in a relatively short period of time. Tonight, the big decision was to renew the school superintendent's contract. That act should take no longer than twenty minutes. After twenty-five years, the renewal action had become somewhat perfunctory. The superintendent had been, and would continue to be, the type of individual the school and community desired. As far as Jim was concerned, the superintendent would remain until retirement, and the district was lucky to have a superintendent of such caliber. One of the two scenarios above is played out annually for many superintendents across the country. The superintendent today is not an authority figure with the unilateral control of yesterday (Mirga, 1985). The increasing pressure of outside factors ranging from increasing state and federal mandates to a loss of respect and confidence in leaders and institutions have significantly impacted the tenure of the superintendent (Gousha, 1981; McCarthy, 1990; Shepard, 1986). In fact, the average five -year tenure of superintendents (Monteith, 1989) is decreasing for a variety of reasons (McCarthy, 1990). Urban superintendents often have shorter tenures than the national average (Cuban, 1986). It is clear that superintendents today must be effective leaders with both the time and opportunity to achieve established district goals (Edmonds, 1979; Leithwood & Montgomery, 1986; Manasse, 1985). Those who have been successful are those who managed conflict, fulfilled the district's mission, supported the democratic process, and believed that schools could make a difference (Cuban, 1985; Iannaccone, 1982). In a survey, school board members identified three crucial attributes of superintendents. These were integrity, leadership and an understanding of finance (Yock, et al., 1990). Studies in districts with high rates of superintendent turnover supported these findings (Chance & Capps, 1990; Grady and Bryant, 1991). Constant turnover and upheaval creates a disequilibrium that impedes the success of any organization (Getzels & Guba, 1957). The real challenge seems to be the ability to be productive and effective as a leader (Shepard, 1986; Wildman, 1987). PURPOSE OF THE STUDY The literature provided a basis for this research study. The average tenure for superintendents is less than five years, yet there are those who manage to effectively handle the human, organizational, and managerial conflict of the position. There are superintendents who have survived much longer than the five-year average and do so very productively. Conversely, there are superintendents who are unable to stay in a position for more than one to three years. It was these two extremes that this study sought to explore. Succinctly stated, what is it that some superintendents do that enables them to be successful for many years in one district, and what is it that other superintendents do that never allows them to remain in a district for any lengthy period of time? Why do some superintendents succeed when others do not?


Osteosarcoma (OS), despite being a serious pediatric cancer with the lowest survival rate, is not well studied due to its rare occurrence. For this reason, studying OS in a patient-specific manner is more challenging. In an attempt to establish a method to study OS in a patient-specific manner, we previously generated Li-Fraumeni syndrome (LFS---a germline P53 mutation disease) patient specific iPSCs, and demonstrated that the LFS-iPSC derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and osteoblasts (OBs) can recapitulate tumorigenic phenotypes in vitro and in vivo (Lee, Kim, et al., Cell 2015). Taking advantage of this new platform, we focused on finding potential therapeutic targets. We found SFRP2 (secreted frizzled related protein 2) to be highly expressed in LFS iPSC-derived MSCs and OBs by global RNA-seq gene expression analysis. Using global transcript profiling of ectopic overexpression (OE) of sFRP2 in wild-type MSCs, we discovered that sFRP2 regulates osteoblast differentiation, cell adhesion, cell proliferation, and apoptosis-related gene sets. Further functional assays revealed that sFRP2 OE contributes to the generation of abnormal osteoblast cells, which are the cause of OS, by suppressing osteogenic alkaline phosphatase activity, mineralization, and osteogenic BMP and WNT signaling. Furthermore, ectopic OE of sFRP2 is associated with LFS mediated tumorigenesis. sFRP2 OE in MSCs and OBs facilitates cell proliferation through cell cycle alteration and increases anchorage independency. In in ovo and in vivo xenograft assays (subcutaneous and intratibial injections), the tumor size is significantly increased in sFRP2 OE group and decreased in knockdown sFRP2 group. Interestingly, we also found that sFRP2 OE augments angiogenesis in vitro and in vivo, suggesting sFRP2 has a role as a paracrine factor. In the future, we will analyze sFRP2 expression levels in human OS tissue samples to determine whether sFRP2 OE has clinical relevance. Conclusively, this study demonstrates that P53 mutation-mediated osteosarcoma exerts oncogenicity through sFRP2 overexpression and that targeting of sFRP2 is a potential therapeutic strategy for OS treatment. This abstract is also being presented as Poster A22. Citation Format: Huen Suk Kim, Ye X. Yuan, Jeffrey M. Bernitz, Andreia Gomes, Christopher Schaniel, Dung-Fang Lee, Ihor R. Lemischka. Familial cancer patient specific iPSCs based study of a potential oncogenic factor, sFRP2, in osteosarcoma [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Conference on Advances in Sarcomas: From Basic Science to Clinical Translation; May 16-19, 2017; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Clin Cancer Res 2018;24(2_Suppl):Abstract nr PR05.


We are living in the age of online information. Knowledge and information are increasingly accessed through the internet, and the catch-cry 'I'll just Google that!' now has a firm place in the vernacular. Founded in 1998, Google.com has had unprecedented success in changing the way we look for and find online information. This article discusses results of qualitative research on how people experience the process of accessing family law information in a post-separation context. It discusses three important elements of this experience revealed in the data, which are analysed in the context of the impact and use of Google and other search engines as an information source. The article offers some insights about how best to make useful legal information available to non-lawyers.


Objective To observe the expression of miR-204 and 211 human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) differentiated into retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells.Methods RPE cells were derived from hESCs by natural differentiation method,and were identified.miRNA expression profiles and real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) of miR-204 and 211 were generated from the following groups:hESCs,hESCs-derived cells containing pigmented foci,hESCs-derived RPE cells and human fetal RPE (hfRPE) cells.Results miRNA-204 was continuously up-regulated throughout the entire differentiation process of hESCs to RPE cells.It increased 5.026 times in hESCs-derived cells containing pigmented foci compared to hfRPE cells; it was increased 3.337 times in hESCs-derived RPE cells compared to hESCs-derived cells containing pigmented foci; it increased 13.574 times in hfRPE cells compared to hESCs-derived RPE cells.miR-211 does not change during differentiation from hESC to RPE,but it increased 44.333 times in hESC-derived RPE cells compared to hfRPE cells.miR-211 was the biggest difference in the miRNA expression pattern.In four cell types of hESCs,hESCs-derived cells containing pigmented foci,hESCs-derived RPE cells and hfRPE cells,RT-PCR showed the levels of miR-204 were 91.81±4.43,2263.09±206.39,5996.80 ± 235.42,and 171676.45 ± 999.82 respectively.miR-204 was significantly increased during the whole course (t=18.22,20.66,279.38; P<0.001).The levels ofmiR-211 were 2.23±0.31,129.33±3.75,125.7592±4.78,and 16682.00±352.97 respectively.miR-211 was significantly increased from hESCs to cells containing pigmented foci and from hESCs-derived RPE cells to hfRPE (t=58.58,81.24; P<0.001).Conclusion There is a continuous change of miR-204 and 211 in differentiation of RPE cells from hESCs.

Key words:
Embryonic stem cells/physiology; Cell differentiation/physiology; MicroRNAs/physiology


Droplet-free metal plasma sources are a promising technology for enhancing the adhesion of deposited films to a smooth surface. High-power pulsed sputtering (HPPS) plasma is an arc-free glow discharge plasma with an instantaneous power consumption of several tens of kilowatts, although the average power consumed is the same as that in conventional sputtering discharge systems. Sputtered metallic species are significantly ionized. The fractions of singly and doubly charged ions of argon and titanium in an HPPS plasma are studied using a time-averaged ion energy distribution function in the power-density region from 0.5 to 2.5 kW/cm2. Facile production of metallic ions is confirmed. Singly charged ions are dominant in the plasma. Argon and titanium ions together constitute more than 90% of the charged particles in the plasma. The metal ions are produced with increasing plasma power consumption. The instantaneous power contributes to the ionization of the plasma species. The gas ion energies is in a narrow range of a few electronvolts. Conversely, metallic ions is in a wider range of energy up to approximately 10 eV. It is seen from an optical emission spectrum of the HPPS plasma that metallic species are highly ionized.


The high pressure pump, the high-pressure supply line (12), a low-pressure supply line (9), a piston (6) and the cylinder (5) pumping elements are formed by (4), a cylinder head (8), a gasket (13 ) and is provided, the gasket is a generally flat, and the seat (14) extending in a first plane (P) is provided with a sheet (14), the low-pressure supply line (9) a first hole forming part (17), the second cylinder head (8) can be inserted and the hole (18), a third forming part of the high-pressure supply line (12) It has a hole (19), further gasket, coating made of an elastic material which extends around the first hole (17) and a second hole (18) (34) is provided.