The dynamic behavior of fractional order systems have received increasing attention in recent years, In this paper the reliable phase synchronization problem between two coupled chaotic fractional order system with varying time is constructed, An active delay expected synchronization between two coupled chaotic fractional order systems and hyperchaotic fractional order systems is analyzed by utilizing Laplace transform. Furthermore, we investigated the necessary conditions for fractional order Rossler systems to exhibit chaotic attractor. Then, based on the stability results of fractional order systems, sufficient conditions for phase synchronization of the fractional models of Rossler systems and hyperchaotic system are derived. The synchronization scheme that is simple and global enabled synchronization of fractional order chaotic systems to be achieved, Theory analysis and corresponding numerical simulations results show that the chaos in such fractional order system with varying time delay can be synchronized and the method is effective and feasible.


The FP420 collaboration aims at designing forward proton tagging detectors to be installed in the LHC sectors 420 meters downstream of the ATLAS and CMS detectors. The experiment increases the impedance of the machine, because it requires an indentation of the beam pipe in the form of a pocket to permit the detector close access to the beam. We investigate the geometric and resistive wall impedance with both numerical simulations and a purpose built experiment.


Background: Applying of ventilator bundle of care according to evidence-based practice guidelines are expected to improve weaning, provide quality of care, improve patient outcomes, and reduce the risk of complications with ventilated patients. Aim: The researchers wanted to assess how effective a bundle of care was at weaning mechanically ventilated patients in the intensive care unit and cardiac care unit. Subjects and Method: The study used a quasi-experimental research design. A purposive sample of 60 mechanically ventilated patients at both insurance hospitals (Al-Salam) in Port Said governorate and health ministry hospital (Sherbin central) in Dakahlia governorate's critical care unit and cardiac care unit. Tools: three tools were used, first tool includes personal characteristics of the patients and, patient's medical history, second tool Is Ventilator bundle compliance checklist and the third one is Burns' Wean Assessment Program (BWAP) scores to assess and track weaning progresses of the mechanical ventilated patients. Results: This study revealed the improvement in weaning with ventilator bundle of care though out the ventilation days. Additionally, there was a statistically significant correlation between the studied patients' total Burns' weaning assessment and compliance with ventilator bundle of the studied patients with p-value <0.01. Conclusion: It may be concluded that mechanically ventilated patients who comply with the ventilator bundle of care have higher weaning ratings and spend less time on the ventilator. Consequently, the application of a ventilator bundle care is necessary for enhance weaning from mechanical ventilator in ICU and CCU patients. Recommendation: This study recommended applying the ventilator bundle practices for all mechanically ventilated patients with special focus on nursing performance. In addition, using a standardized approach to determine readiness for weaning which can aid in the management of mechanically ventilated patients. Moreover, the study's generalizability could be ensured by replication on a larger probability sample from different geographical areas in Egypt.


BACKGROUND
 The Short Form of the Pediatric Symptom Checklist-Youth Self-Report (PSC-17-Y) is validate measure that assesses psychosocial problems overall and in three major psychopathological domains: internalizing, externalizing, and attention deficit hyperactivity, taking 5-10 minutes to complete. Prior research has established sound psychometric properties of the PSC-17-Y for English-speakers.

 OBJECTIVE
 To provide evidence of reliability and structure, convergent and discriminant validity, as well as longitudinal and gender invariance of the PSC-17-Y in a large sample of Spanish adolescents.

 METHODS
 Data were collected on 5430 pediatric community, ages 12 to 18 years, who filled out the PSC-17-Y twice during 2019 (7-months interval). We calculated Cronbach's alpha and omega coefficients to test reliability, Pearson's correlations for convergent (distress) and criterion validity (well-being, quality of life and socioemotional skills), CFA analysis for structure validity, and a multigroup and longitudinal measurement invariance analysis for longitudinal and gender stability.

 RESULTS
 Within structural analysis for PSC-17-Y, the CFA analysis supported a correlated three-factor solution, which was also invariant longitudinally and across gender. All three sub-scales showed evidence of reliability with coefficients near or above .70. Moreover, scores of PSC-17-Y sub-scales were positively related with convergent measures and negatively with criterion measures. Normative data for PSC-17-Y are presented in the form of percentiles (75 and 90th).

 CONCLUSIONS
 The present work provides the first evidence of reliability and validity of the Spanish version of PSC-17-Y administered over the internet to assess mental health problems among adolescents, maintaining the same domains of the long version.


Acidosis
in local environment plays a critical role in cell injury. One key mediator of
acidosis-induced cell injury is the acid-sensing
ion channels (ASICs),
particularly ASIC1a. Herein, we investigated the role of ASIC1a in acid-induced
vascular endothelial cell injury of Henoch-Schonlein purpura (HSP) children. Acid-induced
ASIC1a, Calpain and Calcineurin expression in vascular endothelial cells
pretreated with IgA1 isolated from HSP were detected by real time quantitative polymerase chain
reaction and western blot methods, respectively. Cell cytotoxicity was measured
by interleukin-8 and nitric oxide production with ELISA. The results showed
acid-induced ASIC1a, Calpain and Calcineurin expression in cells increased, especially
at PH6.5. The cytotoxicity of vascular endothelial cells was increased by extracellular
acidosis. Moreover non-specific or specific blockers of ASIC1a, Amiloride and
PcTX-1 could remarkably decrease these parameters. These findings show that
increased [Ca2+]i, mediated via ASIC1a, might contribute to
acid-induced vascular endothelial cell injury of HSP.


This thesis aims to explore the area of communication and its links to anxiety. The methods used are interviews in conjunction with a grounded theory approach. We found that there are several different types of misunderstandings that can occur between management and employees, which also cause the level of anxiety felt among the employees to rise. Important aspects to consider for management seem to be to use several communication channels and choose the appropriate channel depending on the content of the message. It is also necessary for management to convey information on the same knowledge level as the employees and to take the interests of the employees into account when deciding what information to give them. To create a positive attitude and to avoid ambiguous messages will also improve communication and lessen the anxiety felt.


Address for Correspondence: Marwan Al-Nimer MD, Al-Mustansiriya University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pharmacology, Baghdad, Iraq E-mail: email@example.com Received: 22/06/2015 Accepted: 18/09/2016 Purpose: Serum levels of cytokines as well as the inflammatory markers are increased in type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients. Few studies mention the association of hypertension with proinflammatory and inflammatory biomarkers in T2D patients. This study aimed to test the hypothesis that there is alteration in serum levels of cytokines in T2D patients with hypertension compared with normotensive T2D patients taking into consideration the cardio-metabolic risk factors, such as obesity and dyslipidemia. Material and Method: A cross-sectional study was carried out in the Center of Diabetes Mellitus in Erbil in cooperation with College of PharmacyHawler Medical University and College of Medicine, Al-Mustansiriya University in Iraq. A total of 180 patients with T2D were classified as normotensive (group 1) and hypertensive (group 2). Cardio-metabolic risk factors were evaluated via measuring body weight, body mass index, waist circumference, blood pressure, fasting serum glucose and lipid profile, glycosylated hemoglobin A1c and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein. Serum interleukin(IL)-1β, IL-17, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) were measured using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method. Results: The measurements of cardio-metabolic risk factors in group 2 were significantly higher than in group 1. Significant high serum levels of IL-1β, IL-17, TNF-α and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein were observed among group 2 patients. Fasting serum triglyceride levels significantly correlated with IL-17 and TNF-α among groups 1 and 2 patients whereas significantly correlated with IL-1β among group 2 patients only. Discussion: Proinflammatory and inflammatory markers are significantly high among patients with T2D with hypertension. There is an inverse relationship between the components of metabolic syndrome and the cytokines levels in group 2 patients.


Topological insulators are characterized by the presence of gapless surface modes protected by time-reversal symmetry. In three space dimensions the magnetoelectric response is described in terms of a bulk $\ensuremath{\theta}$ term for the electromagnetic field. Here we construct theoretical examples of such phases that cannot be smoothly connected to any band insulator. Such correlated topological insulators admit the possibility of fractional magnetoelectric response described by fractional $\ensuremath{\theta}/\ensuremath{\pi}$. We show that fractional $\ensuremath{\theta}/\ensuremath{\pi}$ is only possible in a gapped time-reversal-invariant system of bosons or fermions if the system also has deconfined fractional excitations and associated degenerate ground states on topologically nontrivial spaces. We illustrate this result with a concrete example of a time-reversal-symmetric topological insulator of correlated bosons with $\ensuremath{\theta}=\frac{\ensuremath{\pi}}{4}$. Extensions to electronic fractional topological insulators are briefly described.


Injuries at the glenohumeral joint are common in sports, especially collegiate sports. More athletes are now wearing a shoulder stabilization brace to help restrict motion. Current evidence demonstrates shoulder braces do no maintain their initial amount of motion restriction after physical activity. While there is increased motion with the shoulder brace after activity, the brace still provides stability. More research needs to be conducted to further confirm or deny this information.


An apparatus for measuring the dynamic mechanical properties of plasticized polyvinyl chloride (P.V.C.) is described. The dynamic modulus, dynamic resilience and dynamic loss factor for Geon 101 P.V.C. plasticized with 33–3, 25 and 15% of di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (D.O.P.) have been measured at temperatures between — 10° and 100°, at vibration frequencies between 30 and 450 c/s. The relationship between the results of these tests and those of electrical tests is discussed.


Background: Coronary artery disease (CAD) accounts for the greatest proportion of CVDs and is one of the most common causes of death in the developed countries. It is one of the main etiologies of disease burden in developing countries. There is increase in the number of patients with coronary artery disease in Yemen. The number of patients undergoing elective diagnostic coronary angiography is increasing among different age groups. This study was aimed to identify and compare the prevalence of the risk factors, clinical presentation, management, and angiographic characteristics of CAD between young patients (age ≤ 40 years) and older patients (age ≥ 40 years) presented with ischemic heart disease (IHD).      Methods: A total of 555 patients were were enrolled between January 2013 and June 2013. Patient admitted in ward as one-day admission and discharged 6 hours after the procedure. Demographic data, clinical findings, and details of electrocardiographic and echocardiographic findings were recorded. The traditional cardiovascular risk factors (smoking, hypertension, Khat chewing, family history and diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia) were noted. The patient included were patients with sable angina, post myocardial infarction and pre-operative coronary angiography before valve replacement. Results: The older group accounts for 90.3% while younger group accounts for 9.7% of the patients. The majority of patients in both groups were male (81.5% in the young and 74.5% in the older group). Most of the patients in the study were diagnosed as post MI angina. High incidence of diabetes and hypertension among the older group in comparison to the younger group (24.4% diabetes and 43.1% hypertensive Vs. 11.1% diabetes and 29.6% hypertensive). 50% of the younger group were smokers in comparison to 23.8% in older group with statistically significant difference (p=0.0001). Family history of IHD was higher in the younger age group (24.1%) than that in the older age group (16%) (p = 0.129). Dyslipidemia was not common risk factor among both groups. The percentage of Khat chewing did not differ between the two groups (70.4% and 62.5% in younger and older group respectively). Significant left main disease was more than double in younger group (3.7%) when compared older group (1.9%). About one-third (31.5%) of patients of younger group had significant LAD lesion while small number of older patients had significant LAD lesion (1.6%) (p = 0.037). The involvement of right coronary artery (RCA) was significantly higher in older group than in younger group (27.7% and 7.5% respectively; with p = 0.001). Although the incidence of left circumflex artery (LCX) disease was higher in older group (28.8% and 16.7% respectively) it did not reach statistical significance. The left anterior descending artery (LAD) was commonly involved vessel in the young group (31.5%) in comparison to older group (1.6%) while left circumflex artery and right coronary artery was common in in the older group. Conclusion: Coronary angiography is a useful diagnostic and therapeutic tool for CAD. Smoking, male gender as well as family history of cardiovascular diseases showed high prevalence in the in younger patients ≤ 40 years, while hypertension and diabetes were common in the older patients. Khat chewing was highly prevalent among both groups.


Conflict-free Replicated Data Types (CRDTs) are abstract data types that support developers when designing and reasoning about distributed systems with eventual consistency guarantees. In their core they solve the problem of how to deal with concurrent operations, in a way that is transparent for developers. However in the real world, distributed systems also suffer from other relevant problems, including security and privacy issues and especially when participants can be untrusted. In this paper we present new privacy-preserving CRDT protocols that can be used to help secure distributed cloud-backed applications, including NoSQL geo-replicated databases. Our proposals are based on standard CRDTs, such as sets and counters, augmented with cryptographic mechanisms that allow their operations to be performed on encrypted data. We accompany our proposals with formal security proofs and implement and integrate them in AntidoteDB, a geo-replicated NoSQL database that leverages CRDTs for its operations. Experimental evaluations based on the Danish Shared Medication Record dataset (FMK) exhibit the tradeoffs that our different proposals make and show that they are ready to be used in practical applications.


Objective To investigate the clinical features and summarize the experience of diagnosing and treating pediatric patients with Meckel′s diverticulum.Methods The clinic data of 45 pediatric patients with Meckel′s diverticulum treated from 2001 to 2008 were analyzed retrospectively.Results Among the group of 45 patients,the main clinical manifestations were abdominal pain,vomiting,abdominal distension,gastrointestinal bleeding.The first diagnosis: appendicitis with the largest,followed by blood in the stool of unknown origin,intestinal obstruction,intussusception,gastrointestinal perforation,diverticulitis hernia.45 patients with Meckel′s diverticulum were diagnosed mainly in the laparotomy,followed by technetium 99 m isotopes scanning of abdomen,abdominal ultrasound,laparoscopy.Operations were performed to excise all Meckel′s diverticula,and have achieved good results.Conclusion Most pediatric Meckel′s diverticula were found in the surgical exploration.If the intra-abdominal lesions are incompatible with the preoperative diagnosis,the range of terminal ileum 100cm should be inspected in the laparotomy.If it is possible,diverticulum should be excised as much as possible to avoid a second operation.Abdominal ultrasound,abdominal technetium 99 m isotopes scanning can improve the efficiency of the preoperative diagnosis


Objective: To observe the clinical effect of treating infant cytomegalovirus hepatitis with ganciclovir.Methods: Forty three infant patients with cytomegalovirus hepatitis were divided into two groups,study group(23 cases) and control group(20 cases),patients in study group were treated with ganciclovir,patients in control group were treated with conventional regimen,the clinical data were analyzed with statistics.Results: Some examinations of patients in the study group after therapy were: total serumbilirubin,ALT and GGT decreased,enlarged liver and spleen shrank to normal,compared them with those before therapy,there were significant differences(P0.01;AKP decreased,there was no significant difference between the two groups before and after therapy.After therapy,the negative rate of CMV-lgM in study group and control group were 78.26% and 30.0% respectively.Conclusion: Treating infant cytomegalovirus hepatitis with ganciclovir is safe and effective,can obviously decrease total serum bilirubin and protect liver function.


The invention provides seal packing for a rotary valve and an end cover and relates to seal packing. A protruding block (4) is arranged at one end of a packing body (2), a groove (5) is formed in the other end of the packing body (2), and the protruding block (4) and the groove (5) are of a matched structure. The packing body (2) is of an annular structure after the protruding block (4) and the groove (5) make contact with each other, grooves (3) are formed in the outer edge face of the packing body (2) of the annular structure, and sealing rings (1) make contact with the grooves (3). The rotary valve and the end cover are sealed through the sealing structure with the packing body and the sealing rings, the sealing performance of the rotary valve and the end cover is greatly improved, and the purpose of reducing the leakage amount of dust in the rotary valve is realized.


We have developed a series of new quality metrics that are generalizable to a variety of laser range scanning systems, including those acquiring measurements in the mid-field. Moreover, these metrics can be integrated into either an automated scanning system, or a system that guides a minimally trained operator through the scanning process. In particular, we represent the quality of measurements with regard to aliasing and sampling density for mid-field measurements, two issues that have not been well addressed in contemporary literature. We also present a quality metric that addresses the issue of laser spot motion during sample acquisition. Finally, we take into account the interaction between measurement resolution and measurement uncertainty where necessary. These metrics are presented within the context of an adaptive scanning system in which quality metrics are used to minimize the number of measurements obtained during the acquisition of a single range image.


This paper presents a new type of hydraulic reactive turbine with radial wicket gates (gates having pivotal axes parallel to the turbine axis) designated the {open_quotes}Potential Flow Turbine{close_quotes}. The runner in this turbine could be axial. as in a Kaplan turbine, or mixed flow, as in a Francis turbine. The wicket gates in the Potential Flow Turbine are capable of both regulating and closing off flow to the water passages. At the same time they have a shape providing the flow with constant whirl at the entrance to the runner for the design conditions and, therefore, the correspondingly designed runner delivers to the draft tube the flow with whirl equal to zero. The new turbine has improved efficiency and cavitation coefficient, {rho}.


This paper contains a description of the 60,000-volt underground cable network which has been successfully operated in the Paris district by the Union d'Electricite for the past four years. The reasons why single-core cables were adopted for the distribution system are explained, and a number of details are given in regard to the construction of the cables, the method of laying, and the operating conditions, both electrical and thermal.


Parental assistance often influences the role of children to maintain good habits. Assistance that is not optimal allows children to freely do bad things to themselves and others. This study aims to determine how parents can assist their children in learning during the Covid-19 pandemic. This research uses descriptive qualitative method. The method for data collection is interviews. The research sample consisted of parents of students at SD Islam Terpadu Taqiyya Rosyida Surakarta. In selecting the subject, the researcher took 3-5 respondents who were taken randomly. The results of the study identified that there is a lack of parents who do not pay much attention to their children's learning assistance by leaving it to their grandparents, uncle or aunt, or to their wives only. How to accompany learning with the method of games, storytelling, and assignments as well as supervision while learning.


This article describes the pedagogical use of film to study intercultural communication topics dealing with race, class, ethnicity, and gender. The theoretical foundations for the relationship between cinema studies, cultural studies, and social interactionist discursive research are briefly outlined. Four key concepts from Scollon's paradigm of socially mediated discourse—mediated actions, sites of engagement, communities of practice, and texts—are utilized to map the various levels of communicative interaction within a Georgia State University course, 'Crossing Cultures through Film.' Mapantsula (1988), a South African film from the course syllabus, is exemplified as an appropriate text for students to gain insight into the sociohistorical background of apartheid, and is discursively analyzed through written student commentaries.


Was St Columba of Iona a doctor or a saint? St Columba was an early Christian saint who founded a monastery on Iona, but his Life , published at the end of the fifth century by Adomnan, suggests that he was also one of Britain's early GPs.1 Written a century after his death, the stories rely heavily on Christian symbolism as they were based on tales circulating among the monks and were written by an abbot, about an abbot. However, if you ignore the miraculous hyperbole, Book II can be read as a description of early British medicine. Columba seems to have been a widely respected GP with some knowledge of public health medicine.

He investigated two epidemics, once by identifying a point source infection from a well ( anyone who drank from …


The bias generated by the subjective perception of scarcity on the consumer's choice is investigated using two separated experiments. The first experiment is aimed to define the prevailing preferences towards a set of commodities, the second experiment checked the effects produced by the perception that a given good is "scarce". The results shown a preference reversal phenomenon when scarcity is introduced in the experimental design. The results are coherent with a previous experiment (Mittone, Savadori, Rumiati, 2005) based on a developmental explanation of the basic scarcity bias and carried on a sample of children as participants.


ii solvents and polymers. The bond strengths from the experiments of solvent bonding at 25°C showed that the bond strength is influenced not only by the relative energy difference (RED) but also by the solvent Molar Volume. An empirical model was developed from these experiments to provide a guideline for the solvent selection. The solvent bond strength was also affected by the bonding techniques, such as the type of sealant, shape of bonded wafers, and ratio of perimeter to bonding area. These factors were studied and their effects on optimal solvent bonding outcomes are discussed in the thesis. The strain-stress curves obtained from the tensile test results have been compared with a standard tensile stress-strain curve of Type I PMMA dog bones to illustrate the physical change of polymer structure during the solvent bonding. The interfacial polymer chains were re-oriented into a side-to-side configuration and slightly entangled, so the bonded samples broke at a relatively low tensile strength without the polymer-chain stretching stage occurring. A promising method to improve the solvent bond strength is to cross-link the polymer chains; this is achieved by in situ polymerisation bonding. Several batches of experiments were performed to establish the relationship between its bonding strength and time, temperature, monomer concentration and initiator.


Excimer laser irradiation was applied to aramid fibers (PPODPTA fiber, PPTA fiber), A micro-structure of unevenness was formed, perpendicular to the fiber axis, and this structure became larger with the laser wavelength. Even in undrawn fiber, a slight structure of unevenness was formed perpendicular to the fiber axis, just as in drawn fiber. This was thought to be due to the high orientation of undrawn aramid fiber. It was found by XPS analysis that the atomic ratio of O/C in the PPODPTA fiber declines and the ratio of oxygen present is lower. For PPTA fiber, however, this ratio showed almost no change and stayed at a set value. It is considered that the difference in the above results is caused by the difference in chemical structures between PPODPTA fiber and PPTA fiber (difference in the bond energy of the ether and amide bond).


We continue the study of a new family of multivariate wavelets which are obtained by "polyharmonic subdivision". We provide the results of experiments considering the distribution of the wavelet coefficients for the Lena image and for astronomical images. The main purpose of this investigation is to find a clue for proper quantization algorithms.


This paper examines the outcomes of alternative policy targets for monetary policy in an open economy subject to terms of trade shocks, when the central bank must learn the evolution of inflation and output growth in the design of its policy rules. We show that under conditions of intermediate exchange-rate pass through, a feedback rule for the interest rate, based on output growth as well as inflation targets, yields higher welfare effects than comparable feedback rules based only on inflation targets. Pure inflation targeting is preferable only in the polar cases of complete and zero pass through.


s:The Administrative Function of Provincial TVU in China is the same as the Learning Center of the Open University in the UK. But in China, the dislocation of tutors in the provincial TVU has led to the lack of teaching administrative function in regional places, which interferes with elaboration of the function of the TVU system. There is much in the methods that we can make use of in the OU. It is suggested that provincial TVU should have a position of professional teaching management. In this way, their function and their place can be stressed. And they can display their important role in connecting the head office and classed, guiding teaching, organizing teaching research and training tutors.


In this work, we obtained the results of studying the effect of pore formation on the energy density deposited in the SLM process, as well as the effect of post-processing on the change in the nature of the pores. To study the porosity formed during the manufacture of parts by the SLM method, groups of primitive specimens were prepared and subjected to HIP processing. Pore formation was investigated by two methods: by optical microscopy and by weighing samples with subsequent calculations of density and porosity values. During the study of the initial samples, 4 types of pores were identified. Pore formation was investigated before and after HIP treatment. The dependence of pore formation on energy density is obtained.


Surgical treatment of inflammatory diseases of intestine remains actual problem, despite the progress of conservative therapy. In our research it was etablished,  applying low and ultralow ileorectal anastomosis with circular - stapling apparatus allows to reach reliability of the generated anastomoses, it is essential reduce operation time, reduce number of postoperative complications and reduce duration of patients stay in hospital.


The muscle-relaxation reactions of Ca-antagonist (nifedipine) pretreated patients and a control group (5 in each group) were observed after administration of vecuronium bromide using the "priming principle." Twitch depression induced by the "priming dose" of vecuronium bromide (20 micrograms/kg body weight and T4/T1 ratio in the Ca-antagonist-treated patients (35 +/- 13% and 0.42 +/- 0.14%, respectively), was significantly different (P less than 0.01) when compared with the control group (1.2 +/- 2.7% and 0.75 +/- 0.15%). Similarly, the onset time to maximum blockade after the intubating dose of vecuronium bromide (60 micrograms/kg body wt.) was significantly shorter in the nifedipine group (40 +/- 21 s) when compared with the controls (100 +/- 17 s). The duration of the effect observed clinically (until 25% recovery) in the nifedipine group 32.9 +/- 7.3 min versus 25 +/- 8.15 min was enhanced; however, the difference between the treated group and the control group was not significant.


A 40-year-old premenopausal female presented with foul-smelling per vaginal discharge for 3 months. Diagnostic work revealed a locally advanced primary malignant melanoma of uterine cervix. The patient declined pelvic surgery and was treated with Dacarbazine. Malignant melanoma is a rare tumour of skin and has been ranked in the top ve  cancers of Australia and Sweden. It is a tumour of melanocytes which forms melanin pigment in the skin. In men, the most common site is trunk while in females common site is limbs. However, melanoma can arise from mucosal surfaces where the melanocytes are present. Most common mucosal sites are head and neck followed by female genital tract. Key words: Cervix, dacarbazine, malignant melanoma


A novel aggregation-induced emission active dye consisting of a simple and highly solvatochromic D-π-A type 1,1′-binaphthyl chromophore was synthesised. The new dye exhibited dual-mode fluorescence in response to different types of restriction of intramolecular rotation; aggregation induces green emission, and blue emission is observed in a glassy matrix.


UNrIL THE twentieth century, venereal diseases presented almost unmanageable problems to Western man. In times of war they took an especially heavy toll, producing as late as the nineteenth century a rate of infection sometimes double that of peacetime. Given the vast movement and dislocation of people and the relaxation in morals associated with war, military leaders had no choice but to resign themselves to the inevitability of rampant infection.1 The First World War, however, promised to be different. By 1914, thanks to August Wasserman's development of a test for syphilis and Paul Ehrlich's discovery of arsphenamine, military and civilian medicine finally had available the means for both identifying and curing syphilis, at least in its early stage. Consequently, as that conflict began, there was optimism that one of the major venereal diseases was at last going to be mastered. Disease prevention, however, involved more than merely knowing how to kill a certain virulent bacterium. In any public health problem, non-medical factors such as organization, education, and methods of enforcement also assumed vital roles. In the case of venereal disease, one had to deal as well with a whole set of cultural and psychological factors. For most of the combatants in World War I, those nonmedical problems thwarted the realization of hopes for disease control. The British, in particular, were not able to organize effectively against venereal diseases until the last stages of the war. That they began to do so then was largely attributable to aid and advice from the Americans, who alone among the warring powers succeeded in making effective application of the new medical knowledge. The reasons for the American success, not all praiseworthy, were nonetheless instructive, for they revealed much about the relative strength of public health forces in Britain and America. They also reflected considerable variation in the value systems of the two countries, which explained better than anything the uneven results attained against wartime venereal diseases.


Modern schools continue to emphasize the nurturing of a socially oriented student, which should contribute to social maturity. As a consequence, there is a need to focus education on the development of a specific personality of the student, coordinated with the needs of society, the environment. The aim of the article is to develop and substantiate social competencies in education, which are a prerequisite for the successful socialization of students. The description of social competencies of a student's personality is based on the analysis, systematization, and generalization of scientific experience on the research problem. The article introduces the concept of socialization, presents social competencies, characterizes them, and shows specificity and behavioral indicators of social competencies. The author substantiates the relevance of using new social competencies, shows their features, which are formed not only in the interests of the student, his personal meanings but also in the interests of social development, which results in self-development, personal fulfillment in life, taking into account the features of society functioning at a certain period of its development. The educational environment provides motivation for learning and working activities, the ability to adapt to new socio-economic conditions. The author identifies social competencies that contribute to the successful socialization of students in the learning process, which can be used in the practical activities of educational institutions under the conditions of educational transformation.


Questions Proposed by the Sub-Commission A of the International Commission on Mathematical Teaching, with regard to the position now occupied by the Elements of Differential and Integral Calculus in the programmes of Public and Secondary Schools. Note 1. The object of the Central Committee in formulating these enquiries has been solely that of acquiring information. The Committee does not itself take up any definite standpoint in the matter as to how far the teaching of the subject in the schools is desirable.


Primary Polyradiculoneuritis in Children (Russian.) Y. K. SMIRNOV, E. E. ASHMARINA, L. S. ANDREEVA. Pediatriya, 1964, 5, 36-39. This is a study of the results of treatment in 31 children with primary polyradiculoneuritis (Guillain-Barrk syndrome). Respiratory disturbances occurred in 12 cases, 9 of which needed special respiratory aid. The children were treated with B vitamins, prednisolone, neostigmine and exercise therapy. There were 30 recoveries and 1 death. Virological and serological investigations for poliomyelitis and enteroviruses gave negative results. It is presumed that the syndrome is the result of a neuroallergic process. Excerpta Medica Foundation Abstract


The neurotransmitter noradrenaline (NA) exerts important antiinflammatory effects on glial cells including suppression of the inducible form of nitric oxide synthase (NOS2). The authors examined the consequences of manipulating NA in vivo by treating adult rats with the neurotoxin DSP4, which selectively lesions noradrenergic neurons of the locus ceruleus (LC), and reduces cortical NA levels. Following LC lesion, intracortical injection of aggregated amyloid beta 1–42 (Aβ1–42) caused appearance of NOS2 within neurons, and increased neuronal damage assessed by staining for nonphosphorylated neurofilament proteins with antibody SMI-32. Co-treatment with a selective α2-adrenergic antagonist reduced neuronal NOS2 staining as well as SMI-32 staining. Neuronal damage was dependent on NOS2 expression since injection of Aβ1–42 into DSP4-treated NOS2-deficient mice did not result in neuronal damage. These results demonstrate that decrease of NA levels in vivo can exacerbate inflammatory responses and neuronal dama...


Many corporate officers and responsible employees may be exposing their personal assets to liability for unpaid corporate payroll taxes. The authors discuss where liability may arise and identify strategies to avoid


a patient and provider are probably key variables determining the performance of the medical care system. Prior analyses of this relationship have addressed it as three largely distinct areas: the patient having a usual source, a personal physician, or a central source; the concept of managing physician, primary physician or gatekeeper; and,-the patientphysician interpersonal or therapeutic relationship. If the relationship between provider and patient is important, then there is a need to answer the questions: Are there factors that influence


Background: There are various gastrointestinal surgeries in which we require small bowel anastomosis. Bowel anastomosis is quite common in different bowel pathology. Bowel anastomosis can be done by hand sewn or y stapler. In hand sewn anastomosis, we can do single layer or double layer anastomosis.
Method: The study was carried out in 50 patients between August 2019 to March 2020. In this study, we have included all the patients who require small bowel end to end anastomosis in either elective surgeries or emergency surgeries. Patients who require proximal stoma formation and other than small bowel anastomosis are excluded. In present study, patients were randomly allocated in two groups: group A (n=25) includes single layer(interrupted) hand sewn bowel anastomosis and group B two layer (Connell and seromuscular) handsewn bowel anastomosis. Author have compared two groups in terms of intraoperative time and postoperative leak.
Results: This shows that there is significantly reduce in intraoperative time in group A patient while there is no significant difference in postoperative complication or postoperative leak between two groups.
Conclusions: There is no significant difference in single layer and double layer technique of bowel anastomosis.


Using electron microscopy, diffraction, microprobe, scanning microscopy, and nuclear back‐scattering techniques to analyze rf and dc sputtered N3Ge thin films, it was found that the film structure was strongly dependent on film preparation methods. Amorphous Nb3Ge films were prepared by both sputtering techniques, on substrates held at liquid nitrogen temperature. Identical crystallization heat treatments were then carried out in a He furnace at 750°C for 65 h. Analyses by nuclear back‐scattering indicated that crystallized rf‐prepared films contained about three times as much oxygen as crystallized dc films. Structure studies showed that although both types of crystallized films exhibited the A‐15 structure, the data on the rf films indicate the presence of the crystalline oxide, Nb2O5. In addition, the lattice parameter for the rf film was slightly smaller * dc‐prepared films while the grain size of the former is about 10 times larger. These data appear to be correlated to differences in the superconduc...


Medical products and parenteral formulations are provided. Parenteral formulations is preferably used for patients liquid pediatric patients and the like are limited, may include amino acids, lipids, carbohydrates, and an electrolyte. Parenteral formulations, in order to provide a medical product, it is possible to accommodate amino acid component, a lipid component, and the multi-chamber container for storing the carbohydrate component separately. Fragile barrier, preferably peel seal to separate these components, makes it possible to form an admixture just prior to administration. Electrolyte, be included in one or both of the carbohydrate and amino acid components can also, electrolyte contained in the amino acid component, amino acid component preferably contains cysteine. Multi-chamber container, in order to allow the incorporation of small individually stored components than all, it is preferable to facilitate selective activation of the peel seal.


Henry David Thoreau complained in the 1850s that D. D.s routinely acted as censors at all American periodicals (Life Without Principle 271). While Thoreau was correct in noting the essentially moral nature of both secular and religious reviewing at the time, one can discern a significant difference in focus between the two types of reviewers. While reviewers for secular periodicals tended to slant their discussions toward aesthetic issues, reviewers for religious periodicals consistently concentrated on the doctrinal issues raised by a text. The reception of Nathaniel Hawthorne's Scarlet Letter (1850) illustrates this difference in empha sis. The secular reviewers uniformly praised the aesthetic qualities of Hawthorne's work; for example, Evert Duyckinck of the Literary World proclaimed the novel "an entire, perfect creation" (324). The reviewers also commended Hawthorne's handling of the ethical issues in the novel?Duyckinck, George Bailey Loring of the Massachusetts Quarterly, Edwin Percy Whipple of Graham's, and George Ripley of the New York Tribune all extolled the faultless morality of The Scarlet Letter} In the secular press, even those reviewers who expressed concern with the novel's morality did not find serious fault. Anne Abbott of the North American Review disliked what she saw as the misleading nature of Hawthorne's presenta tion of both Hester and Dimmesdale as true Christians when their actions did not


Throughout the history of Western art music, death has been a major stimulus for composers, and it continues to be so for contemporary musicians. Composer responses to death have been predominantly associated with emotions of grief, sadness and loss. An examination of responses in the Western art music repertoire of the past five hundred years, however, reveals that there is a diversity of composer reactions, from mourning through prophetic imaginings to resignation, and extending to spiritual affirmation or theological affirmation of an afterlife. Informed by surveying a number of composers' diverse responses, this article outlines differences found in order to propose a taxonomy of varying creative musical approaches to death.


Background: There is a need for better treatments in chronic cluster headache (CCH). In responders to percutaneous occipital nerve stimulation, the subgenual anterior cingulate gyrus (sACG) was found hypermetabolic. We reasoned that activation of this area by transcranial neurostimulation could be effective in CCH.
Aim: To explore the preventive effect of anodal (i.e. activating) transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) targeting the anterior cingulate gyrus in CCH patients.
Method & subjects
Difficult-to-treat CCH patients with a stable preventive drug regimen applied tDCS (2mA) I nterictally in 20-minute daily sessions for 4 weeks with the anode positioned over the forehead (FpZ), the cathode over the C7 spinous process. Therapeutic effects were monitored with paper diaries.
Results: Nineteen patients were enrolled up to now. In 13 patients who completed the trial, mean weekly attack frequency decreased by 38[percnt] after 4 weeks of daily stimulation (W-test: p = 0.002). The 50[percnt] responder rate was 54[percnt]. Patients (n=12) reported an improvement in headache impact, as shown by 5-point decrease in the mean HIT-6 score (from 67 to 62, p = 0.02). In 10 patients who were followed up after the treatment period, the benefit remained stable up to 4 weeks after the last stimulation.
The first 3 enrolled patients had superficial skin burns under the adhesive cathode electrode. Sponge electrodes were therefore used in all subsequent patients without any adverse effect.
Conclusion: Anodal tDCS targeting the anterior cingulate gyrus seems promising for the preventive treatment of chronic cluster headache as suggested by this ongoing proof-of-concept trial. Use of adhesive electrodes is not recommended. Disclosure: Dr. Schoenen has nothing to disclose. Dr. D9Ostilio has nothing to disclose. Dr. Cosseddu has nothing to disclose. Dr. Nonis has nothing to disclose. Dr. Sava has nothing to disclose. Dr. Magis has nothing to disclose.


A criterion for initiation of bed-load transport on a gently slopmg ( = 3°) beach has been established by balancing the iorces acting on a sediment particle lying on the slope. A relations~p for the instan taneous rate of bed-load transport on a gentle slope has been derived from a simple and quasi-steady analysis of the motion of sedimentary particles. A gentle slope produces net movement of sediment even under oscillatory flow. The proposed theory shows a reasonable agreement with experiments con ducted on a near horizontal bed (slope up to IS).


Recent developments in both reactor and accelerator production of radioisotopes finding applications in nuclear medicine and in biomedical research are summarised. The priorities for the production of 48 different cyclotron radioisotopes; and for 42 reactor produced radioisotopes finding biomedical applications are identified. Each includes 5 generator systems. The rapid expansion of cyclotron based radioisotope production and automated synthesis of short-lived radiopharmaceuticals with the position-emitting radionuclides contirrues to gain momentum. Recent feasibility studies of the cyclotron production of 186 Re, 99m Tc and of 99 Mo are cited as examples of motivation to develop accelerator alternatives to use of nuclear reactors for medical radioisotope production. Examples of SPET and PET radiopharmaceuticals labelled with ljl I, I2j I, !24 I, 18 F, and with therapeutic radionuclides are highlighted.


The ongoing debate about the pros and cons of nurses developing their roles and adopting a more clinical focus is reflected in recently published research. At the same time the benefits of bringing non-clinical strategies such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and smoking cessation advice into consultations are being recognised.


There is increasing interest in free space optical communications as an alternative to fibre optics and radio frequency communications, particularly in 'last mile' applications and applications with weight and power restrictions e.g. communications with unmanned aerial vehicles. The potential advantages of free space optical communications include: high bandwidth; no licensing issues; smaller, lighter payloads; low probability of intercept; and immunity from interference/jamming. However, propagation through the atmosphere is subject to atmospheric scintillation noise affecting the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), effectively reducing the range and bandwidth of the communication link. This scintillation is experienced even over relatively short propagation paths and is caused by small temperature variations in the atmosphere, resulting in index of refraction changes. In this paper we present a technique to correct for atmospheric scintillation noise in free space optical communications and laser remote sensing. It uses common mode rejection to remove co-channel noise, where each channel is transmitted on separate, but closely spaced, wavelengths. The signal-to-noise ratio is significantly increased, thereby increasing the range and/or bandwidth of the link. To date, tests have been conducted with analogue audio and video transmissions. This has been successful, with improvements of up to 12dB in SNR having been demonstrated. This has been limited by the current implementation, which is only at prototype stage -- the ultimate achievable improvement in SNR is anticipated to be significantly higher.


Boundary value problems originated by the diffraction of an electromagnetic (or acoustic) wave by a rectangular wedge with faces of possible different kinds are analyzed in a Sobolev space framework. The boundary value problems satisfy the Helmholtz equation in the interior (Lipschitz) wedge domain, and are also subject to different combinations of boundary conditions on the faces of the wedge. Namely, the following types of boundary conditions will be under study: Dirichlet-Dirichlet, Neumann-Neumann, Neumann-Dirichlet, Impedance-Dirichlet, and Impedance-Neumann. Potential theory (combined with an appropriate use of extension operators) leads to the reduction of the boundary value problems to integral equations of Fredholm type. Thus, the consideration of single and double layer potentials together with certain reflection operators originate pseudo-differential operators which allow the proof of existence and uniqueness results for the boundary value problems initially posed. Furthermore, explicit solutions are given for all the problems under consideration, and regularity results are obtained for these solutions.


This chapter describes the work of Gay Men of African Descent (GMAD), the leaders of which argued that Black gay men suffered from low self-esteem due to both racism and homophobia, which made them more likely to put themselves at risk for HIV through drugs and unprotected sex. As a remedy, GMAD offered up affirming images of Black gay men, often looking to the past to do so. Discussion topics frequently included homosexuality and queer identity in African and African American history, including Egyptian and Yoruba culture, the Harlem Renaissance, and the life of gay civil rights activist Bayard Rustin. At other times, the group highlighted literary and artistic work by luminaries in the Black gay renaissance, such as Joseph Beam, Essex Hemphill, and Marlon Riggs. The group also sought to claim a place for Black gay men within Afrocentric ideology, at one point collaborating with the Black Leadership Commission on AIDS to produce an AIDS education and prevention program based on Kwanzaa principles. GMAD leaders argued that these interventions helped equip members with the self-esteem necessary to protect themselves from HIV by practicing safer sex.


In this paper, we efficiently solve the maximum-likelihood (ML) time-delay estimation problem for GNSS signals in a multipath environment. Exploiting the GNSS signal model structure and the spreading code periodicity, we develop an efficient implementation of the Newton iterative likelihood- maximization method by finding simple analytical expressions for the first and second derivatives of the likelihood function. The proposed Fast Iterative ML Algorithm (FIMLA) for time- delay estimation is shown to be an attractive technique for mitigation of closely-spaced multipath for current GPS receivers as well as future modernized GPS and the European Galileo systems based on BOC signals. Simulation results show that FIMLA improves the performance of the ML synchronization algorithm in presence of multipath.


The most recent progress and future prospects in kaon physics are reviewed. Main results are the first observation of the rare decays KS->pi0ee and KS->pi0mumu by NA48, new K+->pinunu event observed by E949 and new precision measurements of K0->pienu decays by KTeV, KLOE and NA48 made in an effort to resolve the slight deviation from the unitarity in the CKM matrix, involving the |Vus| coupling.


Deng xiaoping kept close relation with Chairman Mao for a long time.His comeback to power for the second time and being down soon were both due to the ties with Mao.How to treat with Mao's favour and how to set things to rights,that is,to correct the ultra-Left trend of thought? The former Chinese senor leader gave us a satisfied answer,with the attitude of true CPC member who seeks truth from facts.


Abstract In a sample of U.S. multiple-segment firms, we document a negative association between aggregation via segment reporting and timely loss recognition. A higher level of aggregation, as reflected in a firm's reported organizational structure (the definition and characteristics of its segments), causes a multiple-segment firm to exhibit less cross-segment variation in profitability than a matched control portfolio of single-segment firms. We find that firms that engage in more aggregation report accounting numbers that provide less timely information about economic losses. We also observe that firms that provide more disaggregated segment data subsequent to adopting SFAS 131 experienced an increase in timely loss recognition. This result implies that higher quality segment reporting leads to an increase in timely loss recognition, which, per extant research, is associated with better governance. Our results complement results in Berger and Hann [2003. The impact of SFAS No. 131 on information and monitoring. Journal of Accounting Research, 41, 163–223] that show a decline in inefficient internal-capital-market transfers subsequent to the adoption of SFAS 131. Overall, we provide evidence supporting Beyer, Cohen, Lys, and Walther's [2010. The financial reporting environment: Review of the recent literature. Journal of Accounting and Economics, 50, 296–343] contention that accounting conservatism is, in part, a function of managers' aggregation choices.


Objective:  To measure the concentration of metronidazole and its hydroxymetabolite in plasma and cutaneous microdialysates and to compare metronidazole penetration into cutaneous microdialysates against theoretical predicted penetration in a peripheral compartment.


Abstract : An exact solution in series form is presented for irrotational, axisymmetric flow of an ideal, incompressible fluid past a solid torus of circular cross section. At infinity the fluid is assumed to be in a state of uniform motion parallel to the axis of the torus. The solution, based on the use of toroidal coordinates, is given in terms of Legendre functions of fractional order as well as complete and incomplete elliptic integrals of the first and second kind. The individual component solutions are interpreted physically through their relation to the basic ring singularities represented by source and vortex rings. The problem is first approached via Stokes' stream function and is subsequently re-solved independently in terms of the velocity potential. The convergence of the pertinent series developments was unusually favorable, and a complete stream line pattern, corresponding to an illustrative numerical example, is included.


The study was conducted in the river system located at Wilmar oil palm plantation in Miri, Sarawak. The objective of the study is to determine the fish species diversity and composition in the streams and rivers in the oil palm plantations. Fish were sampled using a variety of fishing methods, including, scoop nets, cast net, and gill nets of different mesh sizes (1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.75 and 4.0 cm) from 2 to 7 of February 2014. A total of 326 individual fish including 32 species of native fishes and one species of non-native fish from 19 genera, seven families and five orders were collected from seven locations. The cyprinid fish represented 62.20% of the total fish caught and was found in all the rivers surveyed. About six endemic species in Borneo such as Barbonymus collingwoodii, Barbodes banksi, Barbodes sealei, Hampala bimaculata Nematabramis borneensis and Nematabramis everetti were identified. However, only one species from families Bagridae, Balitoridae, Clariidae, and Hemiramphidae was sampled from the study sites. The higher fish species composition found in streams and rivers of the oil palm plantation landscapes could be attributed to the conservation of some areas of the plantation as high conservation value forest (HCVF) status, which have provided suitable habitat for fish species within the plantation aquatic environments.


The results of XRD analysis and SEM study of iron oxide powder synthesized in plasma-chemical process have been presented. The crystalloid structure, morphology and chemical composition of the particles have been characterized. It is found that the bulk material obtained is magnetite with some absorbed impurities.


Inductively coupled plasma (ICP) etching is currently widely used for the SiO2 etching process in the semiconductor device manufacturing industry. In this work, we studied the effect of process parameters on SiO2 films based on the CHF3/Ar gas mixture via ICP etching and obtained a good approach for controlling profile morphologies of submicron SiO2 arrays under a hard mask. According to the study, the expected structures can be successfully obtained by optimizing the recipes. The method developed in this work are scalable to large-volume sub-microstructures manufacturing.


The first chapters of RAD were published only nine years ago, but many observers suggest that most Canadian archives have accepted and use RAD. This article reports on a survey that investigated the use of RAD in Canada. It furthermore presents information concerning the state of RAD implementation, including the levels to which archives use RAD in their descriptive systems, the extent to which authority files and data structure standards are employed, and the types of support documentation created. The article also provides information about who does description, the training they have received, and the barriers to adoption of RAD. The results indicate that there is a strong relationship between the use of RAD, description undertaken at higher levels (for example, fonds), and the involvement of professionals in descriptive work. The article concludes with suggestions for future research. Introduction and Rationale for the Study It has been just a little over a decade since the Canadian archival profession committed itself to developing rules to standardize its descriptive practices, followed in the 1990s by the publication and dissemination by the Bureau of Canadian Archivists, in installments, of the Rules for Archival Description (RAD). Workshops have now been held in all provinces to train archivists in the use of RAD, and archival programs in universities and community colleges


800 students in Grades 9 and 11 from schools in the Sekhukhuneland, Nebo, and Apel regions of the Limpopo Province of South Africa completed the English and the Pedi version of the Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory in 2004 after the test was translated into Pedi language. Although there was some consistency between the answers to the same item in the two languages, it was low in general. Nuance differences in meaning probably contributed to the low consistency.


In this paper, nitride-based light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with the modulated thickness of p-extension electrode were proposed and fabricated. The current crowding is always occurred in the end of p-extension electrode. Thus, the resistance of p-extension electrode will be increased by reducing its thickness to prevent current crowding. The modulated thickness of p-extension electrode can be employed to enhance the light output power and reduce overall operated temperature. Compared to the conventional LED, the enhancement in light output power is 13.9% at 150 mA and the reduction in average operated temperature is about 14.6% at 80 mA. Regarding the characteristics of electrostatic discharge (ESD), the failure mode of new electrode design occurred on the terminal of thick p-extension electrode rather than current crowding region.


This essay started life as an inaugural lecture, at least in contemplation. That is to say, while I had little intention of delivering such a discourse, I did have a general audience in mind, one that would not only want to hear the details of a distant culture in which I had worked over many years, but would wish to know something of the general trends of recent work, including my own, and how these discussions took their place in the wider field of social anthropology and the social sciences. I took as my topic one that was receiving attention from a variety of scholars and approaches, that of food, mainly the cooked but also the raw. The subject linked up with the broad contrast between the domestic economies of Europe and Asia on the one hand and Africa on the other, which I had previously tried to examine in terms of the relationships between family systems and modes of production, as well as between oral and literate cultures, that is, in terms of modes of communication. I have tried to present this contrast in as direct a way as I can, perhaps over-simply. Today so much writing in the humanities and social sciences consists in unnecessary obfuscation that is often a way of disguising intellectual problems rather than illuminating them. Subtlety is not a function of obscurity. The question behind the present essay can be stated in a few words.


Fingerprint sensors on mobile devices commonly have limited area, which results in partial fingerprints. Optical sensor can capture fingerprints at very high resolution (2000ppi) with abundant details like pores, incipients, etc. It is quite crucial to develop effective partial-to-partial high-resolution fingerprint matching algorithms. Existing fingerprint matching methods are mainly minutiae-based, with fusion of different levels of features. Their accuracy degrades significantly in our application due to minutiae insufficiency and detection error. In this paper, we propose a novel representation for partial high-resolution fingerprint, named Deep Dense Multi-level feature (DDM). We train a deep convolutional neural network that can extract discriminative features inside any local fingerprint block with certain size. We find that not only minutiae but most local blocks contain sufficient features. Moreover, we analyze DDM and find that it contains multi-level information. When utilizing DDM for partial-to-partial matching, we first extract features block by block through a fully convolutional network, next match the two sets of features pairwise exhaustively, and then select the bi-directional best matches to compute matching score. Experiments indicate that our method outperforms several state-of-the-art approaches.


Magnesium potassium phosphate cement(MKPC)was prepared with a byproduct of boron-containing magnesium oxide(B-MgO)in the production of Li2CO3 from salt lakes.The influence of fly ash content on the setting time and compressive strength of MKPC was investigated.The water resistance of MKPC mortar prepared at various fly ash contents under different steeping conditions was determined.The component and microstructure of the MKPC were investigated.The experimental results demonstrate that the setting time and the aged compressive strength of MKPC increase with the increase of fly ash content when the fly ash content is30%.Also,the addition of fly ash can improve the water resistance and seawater corrosion resistance of MKPC mortar.When the fly ash content is 40%,all the properties of fly ash MKPC can meet the requirements of rapid repair materials.Besides,the preparation of fly ash MKPC with the byproduct B-MgO and KDP can reduce the material cost.


Based on the observation that the sparse matrix resulting from a finite-element-based analysis can be represented by an H matrix without any approximation, and the inverse of this sparse matrix has a data-sparse H-matrix representation, in this work, we developed a direct finite-element-based solver of O(NlogN) memory complexity and O(Nlog2N) time complexity. Numerical results have demonstrated the accuracy and complexity of the proposed solver in both large-scale electrostatic and electrodynamic applications. A comparison with state-of-the-art sparse matrix solvers has shown the advantages of the proposed solver. In addition, the proposed numerical scheme is applicable to arbitrary three-dimensional structures.


Educational systems are facing diverse challenges worldwide. Some of those still respond to long-term needs such as increasing global access to education for all and across all levels; reducing dropout and securing completion of mandatory schooling. But there are many challenges that define a new educational landscape: the definition of the curricular priorities in a changing world, the development of new skills, the non-formal or third-space literacies (beyond school and home) in a digital decentralized environment, the role of the State promoting equity in the face of large inequalities and the digital divide.


Using chemical insecticides in IPM is possible and could be sustainable. To find a sustainable alternative to control S. impressella, we assessed the biological activities of five commercial formulations of Bacillus thuringiensis. First, these formulations were evaluated under laboratory conditions. No differences were observed between the commercial formulations Bt_A_1, BT_K_2, and Bt_K_3. Then, the three formulations were compared in further experiments. This bioassay was performed under field conditions in palms naturally infested by S. impressella, and differences in larval mortality rates were observed between commercial formulations. The mortality rates caused by Bt_A_1 and BT_K_3 did not significantly differ. The third step evaluated different doses of Bt_A_1 and BT_K_3 formulations (250, 500, 750, and 1000 g/Ha) under field conditions. Seven days after spraying, differences were only observed between Bt_A_1 and BT_K_3 and the control. Finally, these two formulations were evaluated under field conditions. The mortality rates caused by Bt_A_1 and BT_K_3 were 77.2% and 85.3%, respectively. These findings show that commercial formulations of B. thuringiensis subsp. aizawai (Bt_A_1) and B. thuringiensis var. aizawai (BT_K_3) exhibit high biological activities against S. impressella larvae and can be included in the integrated management of S. impressella.


A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay, based on the ampli® cation of internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1) regions of ribosomal DNA, was developed for the chicken coccidian species Eimeria maxima, E. mitis and E. praecox. Thus, taking into account our previous work, a complete set of ITS1-based, species-speci® c primers for the detection and discrimination of all seven Eimeria species that infect the domestic fowl is now available. ITS1 primers for each of these seven species of Eimeria were also used as capture probes in a paper chromatography assay (PACHA). The addition of PACHA to the PCR assay provided a faster, more simpli® ed read-out compared to staining of ampli® ed bands in an agarose gel with ethidium bromide.


Introduction: Hypothyroidism is a state in which the thyroid gland does not synthesize enough thyroid hormone. It has been known that hypothyroidism affect the central nervous system (CNS) and at the early stage the CNS manifestations are less appreciated by the patient and so less addressed. Since, reaction time is an index of processing ability of central nervous system, this study was undertaken to examine the reaction times in hypothyroidism. Materials and methods: This case control study included 60 hypothyroid and 60 healthy volunteers who were right handed and aged between 40-50 years and without practising any form of exercises. The anthropometric parameters of all the subjects were recorded, followed by the measurement of auditory reaction time (ART), visual reaction time (VRT) and cutaneous reaction times (CRT) were measured. The values of the cases and controls were compared and analysed statistically. Results: The results showed that in hypothyroid patients there is significant increase (p<0.01) in ART, VRT and CRT. The Pearson's correlation between reaction time parameters and thyroid profile showed no significant correlation both in cases as well as in controls. Conclusion: This study showed that hypothyroid patients had longer reaction times which were statistically highly significant, suggesting the use of reaction time testing to identify the CNS affect and thereby indicate the need for adjuvant measures to improve on reaction times which in turn improve the quality of life.


The Internet is full of resources on China and Chinese studies. However, many new users are often overwhelmed by the vast amount of information on the Web. This paper is to offer a starting point for inexperienced users interested in finding information over the Internet on Chinese culture, art, language, literature, history, philosophy and current affairs, etc. It focuses on the World Wide Web resources only, and choices of entry are selective rather than exhaustive.


Based on some examples,this article will discuss the representations of syntagmatic relations and paradigmatic relations on different levels of language and their poetic functions in translation.


This article traces the formation of the institute of country rulers by materials of local printed media in the late XIX early XX centuries, as well as its change in time.


The author believes that taking a townified road and generalizing the mobilized system of land use can't realize the increase of farmers' incomes in the short run. It puts forwords some feasible and overall measures to promote the peasants'incomes in three aspects of agriculture, non-agriculture and agricultural outer-environment.


Thermionic cathode is a critical component of magnetron injection guns (MIGs) which are widely used in electron tube devices including high frequency gyrotrons [1, 2]. The emitter is made of porous tungsten impregnated with barium compounds. There are small gaps in order to thermally isolate the emitter from the other elements of the cathode [3]. In this study, two kinds of MIG cathodes with different gap position arrangements were fabricated to investigate the effect of those gaps on electron beam characteristics. Each cathode was installed in a 0.2 THz gyrotron, FU CW GIA [4]. Figure 1 and 2 show the two types of MIG electrodes with different thermal insulation structures, and show electron-beam trajectories calculated with a computer code EGUN. In case of Fig. 1 (MIG-1), the thermal insulation gaps are placed a little bit apart from the emitter which is in contact with the non-emissive elements in both sides. The surface between two gaps is flat such that the electric potential is uniform in the vicinity of the emitter. The EGUN calculations predict generation of high-quality laminar electron beams in a wide range of expected operation voltage VK, current IB and velocity pitch-factor α up to -20 kV, 0.5 A and 1.3, respectively. The spreads in the velocity pitch-factor Δα is no more than 5%. However, this structure has also disadvantage that undesired emissions might occur from the high-temperature areas other than the emitter owing to dispersion and adhesion of impregnated barium from the emitter. In such a situation the beam quality is deteriorated, and electrical breakdown can be induced between the cathode and anode. On the other hand, only the emitter is heated to high-temperature in case of Fig. 2 (MIG-2). This structure is more preferable from the view point of avoiding the undesired emissions and discharges for long term operations. In addition, the loads to the heater can be significantly reduced. However, distributions of the electric potential are deformed near both sides of the emitter, from which electrons are extracted with a variety of initial velocities. As the result, the laminarity decreases and Δα is estimated as several tens of percent. Oscillation tests of FU CW GIA were carried out with the two MIGs under the same operating conditions. The output power with MIG-1 was approximately 10% higher than that with MIG-2. Moreover MIG-1 could be stably operated in wider regions of parameters as compared with those for MIG-2. At least in a short term operations, MIG-1 showed better characteristics than those of MIG-2. The potential distribution near the emitter in MIG-2 should be improved by optimizing the electrode shape in order to decrease the velocity spreads.


The comparative welfare state research regularly highlights 'federalism' as a factor that has delayed welfare state development and sets clear 'limits to welfare state growth'. Yet, apparently German federalism goes together with one of the most generous welfare states of the world. This paper argues that federalism in Germany not only has not hindered strong welfare state expansion, but actually has contributed to it. The special variant of 'cooperative federalism' has blurred political and fiscal responsibilities, and the contribution financed Bismarckian welfare state has allowed the central government and the states to come to terms at the expense of a third party. A steady process of externalizing costs out of the public budgets and into the parafiscal budgets of the welfare state has been the result.


With the increase of mining depth,three-soft coal roadway is difficult to maintain under the condition of severe deformation of the surrounding rock.This paper,through the analysis to bolt support to soft rock tunnel wall,puts forward the initiative ideas to reinforce sidewalls and corners to control stability of surrounding rock,adopt the high resistance and yield supporting to restrict surrounding rock deformation and strengthen roof to ensure the safety,and explores a reasonable bolting technology.


Computers and internet have exerted a tremendous effect on dental education programs all over the world. A multicenter study was done to assess trends in computer and internet usage among the dental students and faculty members across the South Indian state, Kerala. A total of 347 subjects participated in the study. All participants were highly competent with the use of computers and internet. 72.3% of the study subjects preferred hard copy textbooks to PDF format books. 81.3% of the study subjects thought that internet was a useful adjunct to dental education. 73.8% of the study subjects opined that computers and internet could never be a replacement to conventional classroom teaching. Efforts should be made to provide greater infrastructure with regard to computers and internet such as Wi-Fi, free, unlimited internet access to all students and faculty members.


Objective:To evaluate the risk factors of low cardiac output syndrome(LCOS)during the early post-operative period of complicated congenital heart disease(CHD).Methods:With the aim,64 children with complicated CHD following corrective open heart surgery were selected randomly.Cardiac index(CI),systemic vascular resistance index(SVRI)and pulmonary vascular resistance index(PVRI)were measured persistently by the continuous pulse contour method during the first 24h after the operation.Patients were divided into two groups:with or without LCOS group.Cardiac index of ≤2.4 L min per m2 was defined as LCOS.Using correlation analysis method to evaluate the risk factors of LCOS in the early post-operative period of complicated CHD.Results:Thirty patients(46.9%)developed LCOS during the first 24 h after surgery.Negative correlation was found between age,weight and incidence of LCOS(RR=3.9,2.1,P0.01,0.05 respectively).When age≤6 m the incidence of LCOS was 76.5%,when 1y≤age≤2y the incidence was 33.3%(P0.05).The lower the patient's weight,the higher the incidence of LCOS:weight10kg,incidence:30.8 %(P0.05),weight≤6kg,incidence:65.2%.Conclusion:The risk factors of LCOS were found as follows:younger age,lower weight,associated with pulmonary hypertension before operation,prolonged durations of cardiopulmonary bypass and aortic cross-clamp,elevated systemic vascular resistance and pulmonary vascular resistance after operation.


The problem under investigation directly relates to a radically new social situation – the possibility to immediately get any information, which has drastically changed the process of education. This situation has superimposed some previous tendencies, particularly the simplification of tasks and diminishing of challenging conditions of education from the very beginning, which leads to diminishing the joy of learning and efforts to overcome difficulties. The trend towards early specialization plays the same role, because in reality it usually only leads to the exclusion of some subjects. Special attention is given to the distinction between information and knowledge. The crucial difference is between "obtaining knowledge" and "being informed". Generally speaking, in the first case, a person has to construct an integrated picture of the fragment of reality with different links and relationships between parts of this picture. In the second case, the bits of information are added to something already known without endeavor to continue any further work to understand the subject on a deeper level. In relation to the process of comprehension, this means that in the first case we move from the surface level to the deeper one, while in the second case we are left on the surface level. Short-term memory is used instead of long-term memory. Also, the changed ratio between oral and written communication is analyzed. Due to the habitual practice of communication using electronic devices, the predominantly oral verbal dialogues are replaced with written ones. Therefore, the connection between actors of communication becomes 1) stretched and more muddled due to the mediation of written text, and 2) much narrower, because it lacks additional hints usual for oral communication. The integral result of such education expresses itself in a certain quality of personality that can be described as "the acquired dystrophy of the sense of incomprehension." It has extremely significant negative consequences related to the formation of a free personality, for social life, and for genuine professional education.


In this paper we prove upper and lower estimates for the one–sided Hausdorff approximation of the Heaviside step–function ht0(t) by means of a modified inverse Rayleigh cumulative sigmoid (MIRCS). Some applications of the presented cumulative sigmoid for analysis of the "cancer data" [3]–[4] and for approximating cdf of the number of Bitcoin received per address [5] are considered. We analyze the "data on the development of the Drosophila melanogaster population", published by biologist Raymond Pearl in 1920 (see, also [6]). Numerical examples, illustrating our results are given. AMS Subject Classification: 41A46


Ba3Co2RxFe24-xO41 (R: rare-earth element, x = 0−0.5) samples with Z-type structure were prepared by the conventional ceramic method. A series of Ba3Co2RxFe24-xO41 samples (R = La, Nd, Gd, Dy, Ho, Yb) were made. The frequency dependence of the initial permeability of all samples was measured in frequency range of 0.01−1.8 GHz. The initial permeability (at 0.1 GHz) of Ba3Co2R0.1Fe23.9O41 (x = 0.1, R = Gd, Dy, Ho, Yb) samples was higher than of the Co2Z ferrite without substitution. In particular, the initial permeability of Gd3+-substituted Z-type ferrite sample (x = 0.1) was the highest of all samples. The crystal structure of Ba3Co2RxFe24-xO41 (x = 0.1) was a single phase of the Z-type structure. As a result, rare-earth ions formed a solid solution of Co2Z ferrite. The measured lattice constant of these samples (x = 0, 0.1) indicates that La ions substituted for Ba ions and Gd, Dy, Ho, and Yb ions substituted for Fe ions. The apparent specific anisotropy field HA of a Gd3+-substituted Z-type ferrite sample (x = 0.1) was the lowest of the Ba3Co2RxFe24-xO41 samples (x= 0, 0.1). It would therefore appear that the magnetic anisotropy was changed by substitution between Gd ions and Fe ions in Co2Z ferrites. But verification by other determination is necessary.


Abstract : A method of phase comparison time delay estimation using large time-bandwidth product signals is presented. This method compares the phases of the matched filters for each channel, and it is shown that for signals with symmetric power spectra, a meaningful estimate of the time delay can be expected from this phase information and knowledge of the carrier frequency of the signal. The estimator is evaluated while operating in white Gaussian noise which is in general correlated between channels, and curves are given for the density function, mean, and variance of the estimator for various noise assumptions. The estimator is shown to take advantage of the processing gain of large time-bandwidth product signals to reduce the variance of the time delay estimate. Keywords include: Phase comparison time dealy estimator; Matched filters; Large time-bandwidth; Symmetric power spectra; and White gaussian noise.


l)ear Editor: [ h a v c read Dr. Saul Gorn's recent article, "Specification L:mguages, etc." in the Comm,~nicatio~s of the .-lC31 with interest, primarily t)eeause [ have been doing a bit of research in my spare time considering various im/)lications of "Backus nornlal form." I was surl)rised to see the Backus notation listed as bring mechanically translatat)le into "regular exl)ressions'" or trees, for [ believe this is not possible and I will "provC' this statement below. I also question the value of an "infinite" alphabet in Backus notation, because there are only a finite number of productions and a finite number of characters in each production, so how can we use more than a finite alphat)et? Perhaps, I misunderstand the statements. An interesting language which I believe is equivalent to Backus' language was develot)ed at Case Tech last summer. It is a reeursive type of state diagram, where the symbols on the ':tape" are either alphabetic letters or the names of a whole new st:ate diagram. In the latter ease the diagram has only one output :.rod one input and the meaning is "if we can get from the inlmt to the outl)ut we have essentially been able to read this construct from the tape." For example, we can describe the possibh~ expressions of your prefix language by


This modular winch (1) on board an aircraft, comprises at least one cable (7a) wound on a drum (7). The winch comprises a basic mechanical assembly (2) for attachment to the aircraft, said basic mechanical assembly being adapted to removably receive at least one module (3, 4) for varying at least one performance characteristics of that winch.


The junction temperature rise may not only affect its output power, slope efficiency, threshold current and lifetime, but also will cause the spectral broadening and wavelength shift in a high power semiconductor laser. Therefore, thermal management becomes one of the main problems in research and development of pump laser. In this paper the physical model of the noise power spectrum and junction temperature variation is first established; according to the compression sensing theory, and after sparsing the measured aliasing composite noise signal containing Gaussian white noise and 1/f noise, the basic pursuit denoising algorithm is used to do denoising; through changing the iterations times of the used algorithm and the size of measurement matrix, the curves of the ration between noise voltage power spectrum and junction temperature variation are obtained, thereby avoiding the complexity of direct measurement of the junction temperature. The numerical estimation results can better guid us in doing the thermal management work in high power semiconductor lasers.


This important collection of essays includes Professor Hart's first defense of legal positivism; his discussion of the distinctive teaching of American and Scandinavian jurisprudence; an examination of theories of basic human rights and the notion of "social solidarity," and essays on Jhering, Kelsen, Holmes, and Lon Fuller.


The article describes the methodology of teaching foreign language written scientific discourse of experimental research report introduction on the basis of integrated approach to teaching writing.


Oil palm propagation techniques are juvenile pot plants derived from germinated seeds and tissue culture, because it doesn't produce sucker. In the nursery stage, monitoring the conditions of irrigation and nutrition are important to ensure phenotypic quality. During the nursery stage, optimal fertilization in development of more vigorous and productive plants. This research was carried out to increase fertilizer use efficiency and its impact on vegetative growth of juvenile oil palm plants in greenhouse based Factorial experiment according completely randomized design with three replications at greenhouse of date palm and tropical fruit research institute in Ahvaz during 20112013. Treatments included five different fertilization methods (Without fertilization or control, soil application, fertigation, foliar spray and soil application add foliar spray on juvenile pot plants derived from germinated oil palm seeds) and eight genotypes. The results showed that different methods of fertilization were significantly different in vegetative growth characteristics. Also, different cultivars were significantly different in all vegetative traits except chlorophyll content. Interactions between treatments were significant in the growth characteristics of stem and number of leaves (P≤0.05). Fertigation with mean seedling height, stem height, stem diameter, leaf length and width, equivalent to 138.9, 26.0, 7.3, 126.5 and 40.6 cm, respectively and the average number of leaves and leaflets of 11.9 and 44.6 numbers per plant respectively and chlorophyll content of 55.3 was superior fertilization method comparing to other methods.


Ultrathin (<5 nm) fluorinated polymer films of homogeneous thicknesses have been deposited from a CF4/H2 microwave discharge. The films have an extremely low surface energy of 4.2 mJ/m2, which is more than four times lower than that for polytetrafluoroethylene. The deposition was carried out in a type of ''self‐thickness‐limited'' mode, in which the thickness of the deposited polymer film is limited by the plasma parameters. The deposition can be separated into two phases, a growth and a treatment phase. During the treatment phase, the deposited film is fluorinated, which results in a dramatic decrease of the surface energy. The thickness limiting behavior of the plasma is explained by the dualism of etching and polymerization occurring in fluorocarbon discharges. The film was tested as antiadhesion film for the replication of micro‐optical structures, using a Ni shim with a very fine surface relief grating (400 nm periodicity) to hot emboss (at 180 °C) polycarbonate sheed. The tests demonstrate the excel...


This work characterizes the main spatiotemporal variability present in flow series and relates these variabilities with climate patterns that could affect this variable. The Principal Component Analysis was applied over Brazilian streamflow time series, when each principal component is associated with one variability mode. The temporal variability of first six modes (that explain more than 80% of total variability) was compared with climate indexes performing a simple correla-tion and analyzing the power spectral density of modes and indexes. The results show similarities between variabilities patterns and climate indexes, the correlations are significant and both have spectral peaks in same frequencies. The main variability modes of river flow showed interannual fluctuations associated with El Niño Southern Oscillation phenome-non and significate correlations with sea surface temperature in the Tropical Atlantic, demonstrating the importance of remote influences associated which sea surface temperature anomalies in the tropical ocean. Climate patterns associated with multidecadal and decadal variability of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, respectively, have persistent relationships with the rivers flow modes.


The influence of the noncommutativity on the average speed of a relativistic electron interacting with a uniform magnetic field within the minimum evolution time is investigated. We find that it is possible for the wave packet of the electron to travel faster than the speed of light in vacuum because of the noncommutativity. It suggests that due to the noncommutativity, Lorentz invariance is violated in the relativistic quantum mechanics region.


The Cambridge Astronomy Guide is intended for lovers of astronomy who wish to do more than just look at the night sky or marvel at glossy pictures of it. It tells you how to get outside and actually practise astronomy, even if you own nothing more than a simple camera. Astronomy, more than any other science, offers amateurs the opportunity to make meaningful and lasting contributions to the field. This Guide explains in simple non-mathematical terms how you can take stunning star photographs and then put them to use making valuable contributions to the science of astronomy. Ben Mayer's odd-numbered chapters provide a fascinating account told with much humour of how one raw amateur got started and quickly progressed to become one of the world's best known and in many ways most successful amateur astronomers. Bill Liller's even-numbered chapters provide a more extensive commentary on much of what Ben writes, plus some additional material which gives the professional point of view.


The classic transformations of N-sulfonyl-1,2,3-triazoles were processed via nitrogen anion (hydrolysis, etc.) and carbene intermediates, and no efficient examples via radical intermediates were developed. Here, we reported a catalyst-free radical chain transformation of N-sulfonyl-1,2,3-triazoles to access an intermolecular oxidative C(sp3)-H coupling to yield N2-selective products in air without any catalysts.


Macalister and Webb (2019) claim that "children's literature" written for native English speakers is too difficult for intermediate English as a Second Language (ESL) students, those who have acquired the first 3,000 to 4,000 most commonly used words in English. The authors analyzed a corpus of short stories written for a classroom magazine published by the New Zealand Ministry of Education. They found that children would need to know 8,000 of the most commonly used English word families in order to read the stories with 98% vocabulary coverage. A previous analysis of a similar corpus (Webb & Macalister, 2013) found that 10,0000 word families were needed to obtain 98% coverage.


Temperature measurement is one of the keys to the normalization of prevention and control of COVID-19 in crowded places. However, there are still some shortcomings in the accuracy, real-time and safety of the current temperature measurement system. This paper aims to discuss the possibility of realizing a high-precision temperature measurement system based on the existing long-distance, real-time, passive terahertz imaging system: 1). The process of transmitting and converting terahertz energy radiated by a target with a certain temperature in the form of light, heat and electricity can be analyzed by using multi-physical field coupling models. The temperature measurement mathematical model of the terahertz imaging system can then be obtained; 2). The factors of measurement distance, atmospheric transmission and system radiation on the temperature measurement results can be considered, where the temperature models are established and converted into temperature coefficients respectively to compensate the measurement results and increase the temperature accuracy; 3). Based on the reference emitter correction algorithm and scene correction algorithm, the parameters of terahertz imaging channels can be adjusted and the system output image can be non-uniform corrected. By solving the key scientific issues like temperature calibration of image chroma values, temperature compensation under multi-factors, non-uniform correction of output images, it is possible to realize a high-precision, real-time and long-distance passive body temperature measurement system suitable for crowded places. We would like to obtain some frontier, key theoretical and innovative research results, and lay solid foundation and reserves key technology for the temperature measurement application of terahertz imaging system in crowded places.


Launch uncertainties can cause a significant impact on the scope and lifetime of any satellite mission. The characterisation and impact of these launch inaccuracies is important to ensure that the mission has been designed to be successful through the entire regime of possible errors. Using traditional methods usually entail a simplification of the problem due to constraints imposed to meet schedule deadlines and the difficulty of creating mathematical models that will accurately cover the entire range of possible errors. Through the use of Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) software, coupled with algorithms tailored to meet the system to be studied can either reduce the time required to completely characterise the boundaries of recoverable errors, or enable a broader range of possible scenarios to be studied.


We report differential cross-section measurements at up to 16 angles for the reaction {sup 20}Ne({alpha},{alpha}{sub 0}){sup 20}Ne for 3.8{le}{ital E}{sub {alpha}}{le}11 MeV in steps {le}15 keV. The target was a differentially pumped windowless gas target of high-purity Ne, buffered by He to reduce the rate of Ne outflow. A total of 39 levels in {sup 24}Mg (12.5{lt}{ital E}{sub {ital x}}{lt}18.2 MeV) were analyzed by writing the reaction amplitude for spinless positive-parity particles as a nonresonant term which varies linearly with energy plus a sum over only resonant partial waves. In addition, 56 other levels and 22 possible levels were also identified over the same energy region.


The escalating concerns regarding expanding population, pollution, desertification, depletion of energy reserves, and degradation of natural resources set forth sustainable development to become an important topic in social, political and scientific agenda in recent years. Sustainable agriculture with sustainable ecosystems ensures the socio-economic development for future generations. This paper presents a rice-cattle integrated farming system model for small landholders in the province of Bulacan. The results discuss the average annual expenditure and income in the rice, cattle and combined rice cattle farming system. The future directives of this work enfold development of agricultural machinery to support the integrated farming system, further improvement on socio-economic aspects of the farmers, environmental aspects such as significant sequestration of carbon as one of the agricultural by-products.


Wind erosion is a major contributor to desertification in the Sahel. Although three effective countermeasures for wind erosion (i.e. ridging, mulching with post-harvest crop residue, and windbreaks) have been proposed, they are not practical for Sahelian farmers. Therefore, we designed a new land management practice, termed the "Fallow Band System," which can be used for both controlling wind erosion and improving soil fertility and crop production. This method does not impose additional expense and labor requirements on Sahelian farmers who are economically challenged and have limited manpower. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of this system on wind-erosion control and soil-fertility improvement. We conducted field experiments at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics West and Central Africa and showed that (i) a fallow band can capture 74% of wind-blown soil particles and 58% of wind-blown coarse organic matter, which suggests that it can effectively control wind erosion, (ii) the amount of soil nutrients available for crops in a former fallow band was increased by the decomposition of trapped soil materials containing considerable amounts of nutrients, and (iii) the amount of soil water available for crops in a former fallow band was increased by the trapped wind-blown soil materials through improvement of rainwater infiltration into surface soil. These results lead to the conclusion that the "Fallow Band System" can be useful for preventing desertification and improving soil fertility in the Sahel, West Africa.