In the last few years, several ensemble approaches have been proposed for building high performance systems for computer vision. In this paper we propose a system that incorporates several perturbation approaches and descriptors for a generic computer vision system. Some of the approaches we investigate include using different global and bag-of-feature-based descriptors, different clusterings for codebook creations, and different subspace projections for reducing the dimensionality of the descriptors extracted from each region. The basic classifier used in our ensem-bles is the Support Vector Machine. The ensemble decisions are combined by sum rule. The robustness of our generic system is tested across several domains using popular benchmark datasets in object classification, scene recognition, and building recognition. Of particular interest are tests using the new VOC2012 database where we obtain an average precision of 88.7 (we submitted a simplified version of our system to the person classification-object contest to compare our approach with the true state-of-the-art in 2012). Our experimental section shows that we have succeeded in obtaining our goal of a high performing generic object classification system. The MATLAB code of our system will be publicly available at http://www.dei.unipd.it/wdyn/ Our free MATLAB toolbox can be used to verify the results of our system. We also hope that our toolbox will serve as the foundation for further explorations by other researchers in the computer vision field.


The closure depth is a key parameter in coastal processes as it characterizes the overall wave intensity in the nearshore and indicates the water depth down to which storm waves are able to maintain a universal shape of equilibrium coastal profiles. The properties and alongshore variations of the closure depth for the eastern Baltic Sea coast are evaluated at a coarse resolution (5.5 km) and for the vicinity of Tallinn Bay at a higher resolution (0.5 km). The study is based on numerical simulations of wind-generated wave fields. It is shown that, due to the small contribution of remote swell in the Baltic Sea, the typical ratio of wave heights in strongest storms and average wave heights is about 5.5, which departs considerably from that of open ocean coasts. A modification of the formula for the approximate calculation of the closure depth from the average wave height is derived. The estimates are based on four methods: from the wave heights of the strongest storms, from average wave heights based on a linear approximation, and using two versions of a second-order approximation. The greatest closure depth of up to 7.25 m was found to occur along the coast of the Baltic Proper near Hiiumaa, Saaremaa and the Kurzeme Peninsula. These areas also experience the largest wave intensities. Along other parts of the Baltic Proper coast the closure depth is typically 5-6 m, whereas in the Gulf of Riga and along the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland it is usually in the range of 3-4 m.


Even though cogeneration has a high total energy-utilization efficiency, the practical application of conventional cogeneration is suitable for cases that require a relatively large amount of heat because the proportion of heat obtained from cogeneration is still large. In general, electricity is a preferred product than thermal energy. Therefore, it is important to increase the thermal efficiency for electrical power generation to accelerate the adoption of cogeneration technology.


Measurement of the near-threshold fatigue crack growth rate (FCGR) behavior provides a basis for the design and evaluation of components subjected to high cycle fatigue. Typically, the near-threshold fatigue regime describes crack growth rates below approximately 10[sup [minus]5] mm/cycle (4[times]10[sup [minus]7] inch/cycle). One such evaluation was recently performed by the authors for the binary alloy U-6Nb. The procedures developed for this evaluation are described in detail here to provide a general test method for near-threshold FCGR testing. In particular, we describe techniques for high-resolution measurements of crack length performed in-situ through a direct current, potential drop (DCPD) apparatus, and a method which eliminates crack closure effects through the use of loading cycles with constant maximum stress intensity.


The study of fundamental properties of particles with dimensions of a few nanometers embedded in dielectric matrices is characterized by a remarkable interest during more than one century. In general, macroscopic electrodynamic response of a such heterogeneous composite material depends, beside the optical material constants, on a large number of microscopic parameters like: particle size distribution; particle surfacelinterface structure; shape; surrounding material and topologies of the many-particles system. There is a variety of different theoretical models to trace hack the macroscopic behavior of the composite to the properties of its constituents. Among the electrodynamic ones we can distinguish between appreciative models of the kind of Effective Medium Theories (EffMT) and theories which are "exact" in the frame of electrodynamics. The latter are based upon Mie's solution for one single spherical particle. The Generalize Mie Theory (GMT) [1,2] takes into account the exact geometric amangement coordinates of all spherical particles in a many-particle sample and calculates the complete electrodynamic interaction near-fields among all particles with all particles including multimode and retardation effects. Alternatively, optical properties of composite materials may be described in ternis of effective dielectric functions developed from the atomic polarizability and the material density. Maxwell Garnet Theory (MGT) based on the LorentzLorenz relation is one example of this kind of approach. The general idea of EffMTs is to replace the heterogeneous composite material by a fictitious homogeneous material with the same linear response. The simple transfer of LorentzLorenz theory derived for point dipoles to nanoparticles in composite materials disregards the enormous differences in size between atoms and particles. Hence, the optical response of the particles is basically restricted to the dipole excitation without retardation effects. The next constraint compared to the "exact" theories is that the detailed distribution of particles in the sample is replaced by one averaging parameter of the volume concentrationf'of particles in the whole macroscopic sample. These restrictions have oRen been disregarded when numerically comparison between optical experiments on special composite samples and their description by MGT was performed. So, there is a problem which we, in this contribution, try to clarify by numerical comparison of MGT with GMT. The aim is to derive applicability conditions for MGT in practical work, which, in fact, prove to be very strict, in particular for nanoparticles of "good metals like silver.


There are many beautiful and noble, yet catastrophic consequences in Eastern and Western classics where a protagonist takes power by killing his own father. These attractive stories describe a mixture of the various feelings of sympathy, sensitivity, regret and frustration in the male-dominant history and mythological abyss. In the early history of Buddhism, Aj?tasattu leads the murder of his own father as he was obsessed with the desire for power. Power has captivated human beings throughout history as those who become obsessed with power come to have the courage and madness to destroy any obstacle which blocks their path to it. Later, Aj?tasattu regretted what he did and strongly desires to be forgiven. In the process of repentance, he was forgiven through Buddha. In another masterpiece, it was inevitable for Oedipus to kill his father, but afterward, he fell into despair stemming from incest. The Oedipus episode is all the more dramatic since it is done in the name of an oracle. Readers can concentrate on the episode of King Oedipus, which happened overnight, because of its catastrophic plot and the exceptional tension of events with conflict. Oedipus the King is the classic that built the foundation for the Western tragedies due to its artistic value. Both of the protagonists surpass their fathers' achievements and accomplish outstanding results in their roles as rulers. Surprisingly, despite killing their own fathers, they are very much influenced by their fathers, and they also inherit their fathers' achievements. Variations of the dramatic plots in other literature show diverse perspectives of the two protagonists. In famous Eastern and Western literature, Aj?tasattu and Oedipus show a proactive attitude in overcoming their trauma of murdering their own fathers even though they chose different ways to cope. Although it seems like they represent weak and doomed human beings, they take a risk to find an answer they wanted to know and faced the catastrophic consequences they decided to take with dignity, instead of living a humiliating life.


Directional properties and phase relations of the variable electric and magnetic field components of selected data samples taken at Austin, Texas, are presented in the form of X-Y plots. Power density spectra of component signals are shown, and data recording and analysis techniques are described and illustrated for the selected data samples.


Understanding the water-use strategy of human-planted species used in response to climate change is essential to optimize afforestation programs in dry regions. Since 2000, trees on the central Loess Plateau have experienced a shift from strengthening drought to weakening drought. In this study, we combined tree-ring δ13C and δ18O records from Pinus tabuliformis (syn. tabulaeformis) Carr. (a tree) and Sophora viciifolia Hance (a shrub) on the central Loess Plateau to investigate species-specific responses to rising atmospheric CO2 (Ca) and drought. We found summer relative humidity controlled the fractionation of tree-ring δ18O, but the magnitude of the climate influence on δ13C differed between the species. The intrinsic water-use efficiency (iWUE) trends of both species suggested a strongly active response to maintain constant intercellular CO2 concentrations as Ca rose. The tree-ring δ13C and δ18O of both species using first-difference data were significantly and positively correlated, with stronger relationships for the shrub. This indicated the dominant regulation of iWUE by stomatal conductance in both species, but with greater stomatal control for the shrub. Moreover, the higher mean iWUE value of S. viciifolia indicated a more conservative water-use strategy than P. tabuliformis. Based on our commonality analysis, the main driver of the increased iWUE was the joint effect of Ca and vapor-pressure deficit (25.51%) for the tree, while it was the joint effect of Ca and the self-calibrated Palmer drought severity index (39.13%) for the shrub. These results suggest S. viciifolia will be more drought-tolerant than P. tabuliformis and as Ca continually rises, we should focus more on the effects of soil drought than atmospheric drought on the water-use strategy of S. viciifolia.


The prostate biopsies are usually performed by urologists in the office setting using trans rectal ultrasound (TRUS) guidance. Current standard of care involves obtaining usually 12 cores from different anatomical sections. These biopsies are usually not directed into a specific lesion as most prostate cancers are not visible on TRUS. ColorDoppler, ultrasound contrast agents, elastography, MRI, and MRI/ultrasound fusion are proposed as imaging methods to guide prostate biopsies. Prostate MRI and fusion biopsy create opportunities for diagnostic and interventional radiologists to play an increasingly important role in the screening, evaluation, diagnosis, targeted biopsy, surveillance and focal therapy of the prostate cancer patient. Bangladesh J. Urol. 2018; 21(2): 145-157 REVIEW ARTICLE 1. Professor of Urooncology, and Ex Chairman Urology, BSMMU, Dhaka 2. Consultant, Urology and Transplantation Foundation of Bangladesh, 57/9 Panthapath Avenue, Dhaka 1215 3. Urology and Transplantation Foundation of Bangladesh, 57/9 Panthapath Avenue, Dhaka 1215 Correspondences: Dr. Salam MA, Urology and Transplantation Foundation of Bangladesh, 57/9, Panthapath Avenue, Dhaka 1215 Received: 9 August 2017 Accepted: 05 March 2018 Introduction The indications for prostate biopsy include a positive digital rectal exam (focal nodule, stiffness, or asymmetry), clinical symptoms, high serum prostate specific antigen (PSA) or PSA velocity. The Prostate Biopsy is also indicated to monitor in known prostate cancer patients who are on active surveillance. The standard of care involves obtaining 10 – 14 cores from different anatomical sections of the prostate. Ultrasound has low sensitivity and is limited by significant overlap in the appearances of benign changes and malignancy [1-3]. In PSA screening has been the primary determinant for prostate biopsies in the general population but has resulted in over-diagnosis and overtreatment, without a definite survival benefit[2–6]. In the United States the Increased incidence of Biopsy in PSA screening program has been called into question by the United States Preventive The Task Force[7]. To day in most nation PSA screening is performed on an individualized basis after discussion of the risks and benefits of screening. Before the imaging methods, the prostate biopsy was guided by direct palpation. Use of TRUS began in the early 1970s with advent of ultrasound, and the original sextant biopsy scheme (total of six cores from the base, middle, and apex bilaterally) improved detection over digital guidance[8]. Later multiple studies showed that doubling the number of cores was associated with improved cancer detection by 31%[9]. As a result, 12– 18 core systematic biopsy became the standard in the 2000s. Increase in biopsy cores from six to twelve is not associated with measurable increased post-biopsy morbidity[10]. Saturation biopsy, which involves sampling the entire gland but is reserved for patients with persistently rising PSA and a history of negative biopsies[11]. To provide better image guidance of prostate biopsies, a number of ultrasound-based technologies were introduced. These included Doppler-targeted strategies, real-time elastography, and ultrasound contrast agents. Other ultrasound techniques include 3D ultrasound and tissue characterization algorithms [9]. The MRI of the prostate appears to be the most sensitive method for detecting prostate cancer by imaging. Direct biopsies under MR guidance have been attempted but prove to be inferior. Better cancer detection rates were demonstrated when the pre-biopsy MRI was fused to a real-time TRUS to guide biopsy to lesions seen on MRI[12]. The techniques for fusion guidance include electromagnetic tracking, optical tracking and encoded mechanical arm has been evolved and currently is in practice in most advanced centers. Bangladesh J. Urol. 2018; 21(2): 145-157 145 Applied Prostate anatomy and zonal distribution Prostate gland is comprised of peripheral, transitional, and central zones. Peripheral zone is disc-shaped and constitutes 70% of the prostate gland. Its ducts radiate laterally from the urethra lateral and distal to the verumontanum[13]. Central zone constitutes 25% of the prostate gland, and surrounds the prostatic urethra. Its ducts arise close to the ejaculatory duct orifices at the verumontanum and branch laterally near the prostate base. elevated serum PSA, or PSA velocity. The screening guidelines are available from the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN)guidelines for early cancer diagnosis[14]. The benefit of PSA screening is higher in African-Americans, patients with a positive family history, and patients taking 5-alpha reductase inhibitors. Elevated serum PSA is nonspecific test; in addition to prostate cancer, prostatitis and BPH can cause the PSA level to be elevated[15]. The recommendation of American Cancer Society is that average risk men expected to live at least ten more years should discuss screening for prostate cancer at age 50 with their physician[16]. These recommendations may be difficult to interpret or to translate into real-life guidance. The benefits of PSA screening must be weighed against the risks of overdiagnosis. Usually the threshold for prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is 4.0ng/mL. I t was suggested to lower the normal threshold of PSA to 2.5ng/mL, but doubles the number of men defined as abnormal and does not clearly result in a benefit[17]. The use of PSA velocity is also controversial. A study demonstrated an association between prostate cancer detection and PSA velocity >0.75ng/mL/year[18], however, the other data did not find that PSA velocity improved detection[19]. Relative contraindications to prostate biopsy include coagulopathy, painful anorectal conditions, significant immunosuppression, acute prostatitis. The prophylactic antibiotics prior to transrectal prostate biopsies to reduce infection risk is recommended by the American Urological Association Best Practice Policy Statement on Urological Surgery Antimicrobial Prophylaxis guidelines[20]. There is no single standard protocol, and practice patterns vary widely, often by geography and relative levels of bacterial antibiotic resistance in the community. Fluoroquinolones demonstrate excellent tissue penetration in the prostate. Alternatives to ciprofloxacin include aminoglycosides with metronidazole or clindamycin. However, fluoro quinolones are generally preferred due to their broad-spectrum coverage against Escherichia coli, the most likely infectious organism after biopsy[20]. Quinolone resistance is responsible for the majority of infectious complications after prostate biopsy, with overall rates varying between <1% and 5%[21]. If patients present with post prostate biopsy symptoms, empirical treatment with ceftriaxone, ceftazidime, or amikacin is indicated[22]. No definite evidence for the Fig. 1. McNeal's zonal anatomy of the prostate: a – transverse section, b – longitudinal section TZ – transition zone; PZ – peripheral zone; AFS – anterior fibromuscular stroma; CZ – central zone; U – urethra; ED – ejaculatory ducts (1) Courtesy: Borgis Post'py Nauk Medycznych 11/2016, s. 812-818 | DOI: The transitional zone on MR imaging, is found anterior and lateral to the prostatic urethra and constitutes the remaining 5% of the glandular prostate. Fig. 2 Schematic shown in sagit tal view of prostate illustrates normal zonal description of prostatic anatomy. Courtesy: Sadhna Verma andArumugam Rajesh


The aim of this concept paper is the description of a new tool to support institutions in the implementation of targeted countermeasures, based on quantitative and multi-scale elements, for the fight and prevention of emergencies, such as the current COVID-19 pandemic. The tool is a cloud-based centralized system; a multi-user platform that relies on artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms for the processing of heterogeneous data, which can produce as an output the level of risk. The model includes a specific neural network which is first trained to learn the correlations between selected inputs, related to the case of interest: environmental variables (chemical–physical, such as meteorological), human activity (such as traffic and crowding), level of pollution (in particular the concentration of particulate matter) and epidemiological variables related to the evolution of the contagion. The tool realized in the first phase of the project will serve later both as a decision support system (DSS) with predictive capacity, when fed by the actual measured data, and as a simulation bench performing the tuning of certain input values, to identify which of them led to a decrease in the degree of risk. In this way, we aimed to design different scenarios to compare different restrictive strategies and the actual expected benefits, to adopt measures sized to the actual needs, adapted to the specific areas of analysis and useful for safeguarding human health; and we compared the economic and social impacts of the choices. Although ours is a concept paper, some preliminary analyses have been shown, and two different case studies are presented, whose results have highlighted a correlation between NO2, mobility and COVID-19 data. However, given the complexity of the virus diffusion mechanism, linked to air pollutants but also to many other factors, these preliminary studies confirmed the need, on the one hand, to carry out more in-depth analyses, and on the other, to use AI algorithms to capture the hidden relationships among the huge amounts of data to process.


A cement manufacturing plant located with access to deep navigable water has economical advantages and marketing potential for its product. The site of Ideal Cement Company's new Seattle, Washington Plant was small and not located adjacent to raw materials, therefore, economical transportation and handling of materials was essential. A waterfront bulkhead consisting of 17 steel sheet pile circular cells and connecting arcs was provided with a bulkhead height of 50.5-ft. The waterfront bulkhead, retaining the site adjacent to the Duwamish Waterway for a distance of 1,100-ft allowing maximum utilization of the property, is subject to the surcharge loads of a 70,000 ton windrow raw material storage adjacent to the waterfront and a 750 tph capacity traveling barge unloading tower crane located over the cells. It also serves as a dock with a fender system and mooring devices on the water side of the bulkhead. The waterfront design considerations, descriptions, and construction are briefly reviewed.


Through the 20th century scientists, researches made many attempts to solve important complex scientific problem. The solution to the problem was to derive analytical expressions, formulas for calculating heat radiation from gas volumes, torches on heating surfaces. However, the formulas were not derived in the 20 th century. At the beginning of the 21st century the author of this article disclosed the laws for heat radiation from cylinder gas volumes. On the basis of the scientific disclosure the problem was solved, analytical equations for calculating heat transfer in torch furnaces, steam boiler boxes, combustion chambers of gas-turbine installations were obtained. To assess the scientific disclosure and its present and future roles, the analysis of methods for calculating heat transfer in furnaces, fire boxes, combustion chambers was performed.


Perception, thoughts, and actions are encoded by the coordinated activity of large neuronal populations spread over large areas. Using thin film electrocorticography (ECoG) arrays, this cortical activity has been used to decode speech and individual finger movements, enabling neuroprosthetics, and to localize epileptic foci. However, the connectorization of these multi-thousand channel thin-film arrays to external circuitry is challenging; current state-of-the-art methods are complex, bulky, and unscalable. We address this shortcoming by developing an electrode connector based on an ultra-conformable thin film electrode array that self-assembles onto hard silicon chip sensors, such as microelectrode arrays (MEAs) or camera sensors enabling large channel counts at high density. The interconnects are formed using microfabricated electrode pads suspended by thin support arms, termed flex2chip. Capillary-assisted assembly drives the pads to deform towards the chip surface, and van der Waals forces maintain this deformation, establishing mechanical and Ohmic contact onto individual pixels. We demonstrate a 2200-channel array with a channel density of 272 channels / mm2 connected to the MEA through the flex2chip interconnection method. Thin film electrode arrays connected through the flex2chip successfully measured extracellular action potentials ex vivo. Furthermore, in a transgenic mouse model for absence epilepsy, Scn8a+/-, we observed highly variable propagation trajectories at micrometer scales, even across the duration of a single spike- and-wave discharge (SWD).


custom, habit and art. Situating this euphonist position in terms of Plato's thought, Porter concludes with a thought-provoking reading of sound as 'an arrangement of silent gaps'. Finally, A. Barker writes on an episode from Plutarch's Table Talk featuring a rowdy scene of aulos performance followed by a philosophical discussion. Barker notes intertexts with Plato's Symposium and other dialogues in the performance scene, as an aulete 'indulges licentious tastes' with 'intoxicating' music (p. 235). He then examines the scene's shift to the world of the Lyceum in Callistratus' speech on how visible and audible phenomena are perceived by both humans and animals. Barker does not really address the bias against the aulos in the passage but reads it on its own terms and with the intertexts it evokes. A final section considers the possible 'intermediality' between the 'virtual audition' of dramatically described performance and the philosophical argument that follows. The volume is rounded off with a bibliography and useful index. The book is generally well produced, though I found a few misprints, such as: 'that' for 'than', p. 78; 'The first the', p. 82; 'ealier', p. 197; missing 'at', p. 203; CE for BCE, p. 217; Wilson's 'Music' dates to (2005), not (2008), p. 275.


We aimed to present a systematic review on Huntington's disease (HD) in Latin America (LA). PubMed and LILACS were searched up to March 2015, reporting confirmed HD cases in LA. Case series, cross‐sectional, case–control, and prospective studies were included. From 534 communications, 47 were eligible. Population‐based studies were not found; minimal prevalence of 0.5–4/100,000 was estimated for Venezuela and Mexico. Geographical isolates were well characterized in Venezuela and in Peru. CAG repeats at HTT gene varied between 7–33 and 37–112 in normal and expanded alleles, respectively. Intermediate alleles were found in 4–10% of controls. Ages at onset and the expanded CAG repeats correlated with r from – 0.55 to –0.91. While haplotype patterns of Venezuelan and Brazilian chromosomes were similar to those observed in Europeans, haplotypes from Peruvian HD patients did not match the same pattern. The limited number of papers found suggests that HD is poorly diagnosed in LA. Minimal prevalence seemed to be halfway between those of Caucasians and Asians. Range of CAG repeats was similar to those of Europeans. Haplotype studies indicate that majority of HD patients might be of Caucasian descent; an Asian origin for some Peruvian patients was proposed.


MET amplification and exon 14 skipping are well known as oncogenic drivers in multiple cancer types. However, MET fusions in most cancer types are poorly defined. To explore the profile and analyze the characteristics of MET fusions, a large‐cohort study was conducted to screen MET fusions in clinical samples (n = 10 882) using DNA‐based NGS. A total of 37 potentially functional MET fusions containing the intact tyrosine kinase domain (TKD) of MET were identified in 36 samples. Further, 15 novel MET fusions were identified in five cancer types, and the incidence of novel MET fusions accounted for 40.5% (15/37). Brain cancer had the highest incidence of MET fusion, with PTPRZ1‐MET as the most common fusion (37.0%). All MET breakpoints in brain cancer (n = 27) were also located in intron 1, while those in lung cancer (n = 4) occurred in intron 1, intron 11, intron 14 and exon 14, respectively. The positive consistency of the common fusion group was 100% (11/11), while that of the rare fusion group was 53.8% (7/13). In conclusion, we provided a comprehensive genomic landscape of MET rearrangement and updated the MET fusions database for clinical test. In addition, we revealed that DNA‐based NGS might serve as the clinical test for common MET fusions; however, rare MET fusions must be validated by both DNA‐based NGS and RNA‐based NGS. Prospective trials are necessary to confirm the treatment efficacy of MET inhibitors.


This randomized prospective study was designed to assess whether piperacillin/tazobactam (PIPC/TAZ) is as effective as meropenem (MEPM) as a first‐line antibiotic treatment for febrile neutropenia (FN).


Nanographene triangulenes with a S = 1 ground state have been used as building blocks of antiferromagnetic Haldane spin chains realizing a symmetry protected topological phase. By means of inelastic electron spectroscopy, it was found that the intermolecular exchange contains both linear and non-linear interactions, realizing the bilinear-biquadratic Hamiltonian. Starting from a Hubbard model, and mapping it to an interacting Creutz ladder, we analytically derive these effective spin-interactions using perturbation theory, up to fourth order. We find that for chains with more than two units other interactions arise, with same order-of-magnitude strength, that entail second neighbor linear, and three-site non-linear exchange. Our analytical expressions compare well with experimental and numerical results. We discuss the extension to general S = 1 molecules, and give numerical results for the strength of the non-linear exchange for several nanographenes. Our results pave the way towards rational design of spin Hamiltonians for nanographene based spin chains.


*This article was written before the Labour Relations Amendment Act 83 of 1988 which came into operation on 1 September 1988.


Transcript from the U. S. Auditor's Office (Treasury Department) on August 5, 1868, of the muster roll of Captain Harvey Murray's Company of Ohio Militia during the War of 1812


Some important features of the Tiwanaku ceremonial complex are described, based upon previous accounts of colonial chronicles as well as later accounts of ...


We performed first-principles calculations within density-functional theory to study the origin of the magnetism in Cu-doped CeO2. We show that the electron spin-polarization and the magnetic coupling are sensitive to the defect structures in Cu-doped CeO2. The substitution of a Cu atom for a Ce atom (CuCe) induces a local magnetic moment of 3.00 μB around per impurity, but the magnetic coupling between local magnetic moments is very weak. The defect complex consisting of a CuCe and a nearest-neighbor oxygen vacancy (VO) has low formation energy and thus high plausibility in Cu-doped CeO2. Although the local magnetic moment triggered by the CuCe-VO complex is only 1.00 μB per complex, strong ferromagnetic coupling between the defect complexes is achieved which can be attributed to a magnetic coupling chain formed by the strong p-d interaction between Cu and host O atoms.


The tissues of skipjack (Katsuwonus pelamis) and red sea bream (Chrysophrys major) were fractionated into four components, extractives (Ex), sarcoplasmic protein (Sp-P), myofibrillar protein (Mf-P) and alkali-insoluble residue (R), to determine the contents of mercury and selenium in these components. The tissues used were the ordinary muscle and liver of both fishes and dark muscle of skipjack. The total mercury in the ordinary muscle of both fishes was present in the Mf-P and Sp-P fractions, while the selenium was contained in the protein and Ex fractions. About 80% of the selenium in the liver of skipjack was found in Ex. There was a linear relation between the total mercury content in ordinary muscle and that in Mf-P, and a similar tendency was observed in Sp-P. More mercury was incorporated in Mf-P than in Sp-P. There was also a linear relation between the selenium content in ordinary muscle and that in the extract with phosphate buffer (Ex plus Sp-P), and a similar tendency was observed in Mf-P. The selenium content in the extract depended strongly on the selenium content in ordinary muscle. Mercury removal from the ordinary muscle of both fishes by cysteine and cysteamine was also investigated. Different proportions of the mercury were removed by the two compounds.


The classical molecular dynamics simulation was conducted in order to clarify the effects of structural clearances in nanometer scale on thermal resistance between liquid and solid. A liquid molecular region confined between the solid walls was employed as a calculation system. The thermal resistance at the liquid-solid interface was calculated numerically with changing liquid density and the surface structural clearances in nanometer scale. With changing the surface structural clearances from 0 nm to 2.5 nm the thermal resistance between the solid and the liquid once decreased and became the minimum value when the structural clearances were between 0.5 to 1.0 nm. The thermal resistance between the solid and the liquid increased when the structural clearances were more than 1.0 nm. With the increase of the liquid density thermal resistance between the solid and the liquid substantially decreased under all conditions in the present study.


Extracted from text ... LOCAL GOVERNMENT BULLETIN 20
More than 290 participants from 40 states across Europe and
Africa, representing civil society actors, research institutions,
parliaments, ministries and governmental institutions, came
together in Vienna on 22/23 of June 2006 at Sound of Africa,
an international conference, to discuss the content of the new
EU-Africa Strategy. It was organised by the Austrian EUPlatform
of NGOs to mark the Austrian presidency of the
EU.
The GGLN was invited to send a representative to this
conference after conducting a preparatory seminar. The
seminar was held on 22 May 2006 and the Community Law
Centre's senior researcher and ..


The problems associated with the improvement of accounting receivables, payables in Ukraine. Since accounting principles. The economic meaning of terms «receivables». The main areas of improvement account receivable.


Example. Assume you have a random sample from some unknown distribution X = (X1, ..., Xn) with four ̋nite moments. Denote μ = EXi, σ = V ar(Xi). Let h(μ, σ) be a twice-continuously-di ̇erentiable function of both arguments with a full rank derivative. Assume we wish to test the hypothesis H0 : h(μ, σ) = 0 against H1 : h(μ, σ) ̸= 0. One way to approach this problem is to de ̋ne a new parameter γ = h(μ, σ) for which we have a consistent estimate γ̂ X, s). We can even prove asymptotic gaussianity via the delta-method: = h( ̄ √ n(γ̂ − γ) ⇒ N(0, (∇h) ′ V ∇h),


• Page 1 of 2 • Martinez et al. Int Arch Public Health Community Med 2020, 4:053 Citation: Martinez IL, Amador EG, Llinás DT (2020) Personal Beliefs and Their Impact on Preventive Behaviors during Times of Pandemic: A Biomedical-Philosophical Reflection. Int Arch Public Health Community Med 4:053. doi.org/10.23937/2643-4512/1710053 Accepted: December 29, 2020; Published: December 31, 2020 Copyright: © 2020 Martinez IL, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. DOI: 10.23937/2643-4512/1710053 ISSN: 2643-4512


A recyclable toner container for an image forming apparatus includes a shoulder (5), a bulge (6), an opening (3), grooves (4) to form internal spiral ridges, a lock groove (8) and a projection (9) to which a removable member (60) with a lug (62), whose configuration indicates a particular kind of toner, can be removably fitted. The container is configured to be effectively cleaned in order to remove toner, when collected for recycling. An indication showing how many times the container can be recycled may be provided on the container or on a cap fitted in the opening, promoting easy reclamation or reuse. (see Figs. 30-33). In addition, each toner container is so configured as to enhance the probability of reuse.


The present invention relates to an anti-fingerprint silicone binder substituted with a fluoroalkyl group or perfluoroalkyl ether group; and a method of preparing the same. Specifically, the present invention relates to a silicone binder substituted with an alkoxy group, and a method preparing the same, wherein bis(chlorosilyl)alkane having a Si-H bond is added via hydrosilyation into an alkene substituted with a fluoroalkyl group or perfluoroalkyl ether group to produce a silane compound substituted with a fluoroalkyl group, and a chloro group of this silane compound is reacted with trimethyl/ethyl orthoformate to produce the silicone binder substituted with an alkoxy group. The silicone binder is represented by chemical formula 4: 4(Rf)(CH_2)_mO(CH_2)_n+2Si(OR)_2(CH_2)_qSi(OR)_3. In the chemical formula 4: Rf is F(CF_2)_o, F(CF(Y)CF_2O)_p, or (CF_3)_2; o = 1-10, Y= F, CF_3, p = 2-200; q = 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, or 11; m = 1, 2, or 3; n = 2, 4, 6, 8, or 9; and R is Me or Et.


Generally only the asymptotic expectation and the asymptotic variance of the estimator of the ratio of two means are considered. In the present paper, the estimate of the asymptotic density function of the estimator of the ratio is presented. In fact, in different situations having the same asymptotic expectation and variance of the estimator, the density function may differ in a considerably way especially with respect to the skewness. Confidence intervals for the ratio of two means which keep in consideration the shape of the distribution, proposed by Galeone, are reported.


Hybrid Publishing Consortium Research Plan. A synopsis made at the start of the three year project, as part of the EU funded Hybrid Publishing Lab, Leuphana University Innovations Incubator, ending in 2015


Abstract : Automation of Die and Mold Polishing: A Preliminary Investigation. Dies and molds are a crucial component in the net shaping manufacturing of metals and polymers. Much effort has been expended in optimizing the utilization, but the highly manual effort of polishing die and molds is still a World War II technology employing highly skilled tradesmen in a manual, monotonous task. Automating this process will free the die/moldmaker for intricate or complex jobs that require his/her skill.


AbstractThis study was designed to identify behaviors which mediate aptitude-treatment interactions (ATI) between preference for structure and degree of course structure. Two sections of undergraduate introductory psychology were taught in a high structure manner, two in a low structure manner. Students' preference for structure was measured with the Inventory of Beliefs (short form). Data on achievement, verbal behavior, and satisfaction were gathered during eight weeks of instruction. Students who indicated a preference for high structure, but were in a low structure section, had lower mean achievement than other students. Students indicating a preference for low structure performed equally well in high and low structure sections. There was no evidence that satisfaction or verbal behavior mediated this achievement ATI. The findings suggest that high structure classes are indicated for students with either type of preference for structure.


Abstract Methylthiomethylphosphonous dichloride, MeSCH2PCI2 (1), is synthezised by the reaction of MeSCH2SnBun, with phosphorus trichloride. Substitution reactions to give MeSCH2PX2 (X=NEt2, OPri, F, Ph) are described. The phosphorus(III) compounds are readily converted to the corresponding phosphonyl and thiophosphonyl derivatives, MeSCH2P(Z)X2 (Z=O, S), and the phosphorane, MeSCH2PF4, respectively. Chlorination of the methylene group to give compounds of the type MeSCHCIP(O)X2 and MeSCCI2P(O)X2 is reported.


The article is to introduce specific character of management in education in respect to transformation of organization culture to develop educational innovations. In the result comes the conclusion that, the process of transformation can be effective only when teachers understand their professional role correctly and so they focus on educational goal.


Glioblastoma (GBM) is a highly infiltrative brain tumor in which cells with properties of stem cells, called glioblastoma stem cells (GSCs), have been identified. In general, the dominant view is that GSCs are responsible for the initiation, progression, invasion and recurrence of this tumor. In this study, we addressed the question whether the differentiation status of GBM cells is associated with their invasive capacity. For this, several primary GBM cell lines were used, cultured either as neurospheres known to enrich for GSCs or in medium supplemented with 10% FCS that promotes differentiation. The differentiation state of the cells was confirmed by determining the expression of stem cell and differentiation markers. The migration/invasion potential of these cells was tested using in vitro assays and intracranial mouse models. Interestingly, we found that serum-induced differentiation enhanced the invasive potential of GBM cells, which was associated with enhanced MMP9 expression. Chemical inhibition of MMP9 significantly reduced the invasive potential of differentiated cells in vitro. Furthermore, the serum-differentiated cells could revert back to an undifferentiated/stem cell state that were able to form neurospheres, although with a reduced efficiency as compared to non-differentiated counterparts. We propose a model in which activation of the differentiation program in GBM cells enhances their infiltrative potential and that depending on microenvironmental cues a significant portion of these cells are able to revert back to an undifferentiated state with enhanced tumorigenic potential. Thus, effective therapy should target both GSCs and differentiated offspring and targeting of differentiationPLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0145393 December 23, 2015 1 / 19 OPEN ACCESS Citation: Joseph JV, Roosmalen IAMv, Busschers E, Tomar T, Conroy S, Eggens-Meijer E, et al. (2015) Serum-Induced Differentiation of Glioblastoma Neurospheres Leads to Enhanced Migration/Invasion Capacity That Is Associated with Increased MMP9. PLoS ONE 10(12): e0145393. doi:10.1371/journal. pone.0145393 Editor: Jeffrey K. Harrison, University of Florida, UNITED STATES Received: November 16, 2014 Accepted: December 3, 2015 Published: December 23, 2015 Copyright: © 2015 Joseph et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Data Availability Statement: All relevant data are within the paper and its Supporting Information files. Funding: This work was supported by grant RUG2011-5150 from the Dutch Cancer Society, the Graduate School of Medical Sciences, GUIDE-CRCG and the Jan Kornelis de Cock Foundation. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. associated pathways may offer therapeutic opportunities to reduce invasive growth of GBM.


The purpose of this paper is to answer the question:
why do we love? We think that we love because, as Dasein, we are constituted by ontological-existential modes, which structure us as disclosedness (Erschlossenheit) to being, to others,
and to the world. Our aim is to indicate the Heideggerian concepts of
existential analytic which, for us, are fundamental to grounding love as Dasein's way of being, i.e., as an
ontological mode of Dasein as existence
and being-in-the-world. Our hypothesis is that love is a modification of the existential of disposedness (Befindlichkeit), or an attunement (Stimmung); i.e., a way of Dasein to be attuned to somebody or to something in the world. In the first part of
this paper, we will show why we can accept love as an existential mode; in the
second part, we will discuss how we can say that love comes from the
existential mode of being-in, of being-with and of the character of
for-the-sake-of (Umwillen).


At the present time we have great amount of works that show the implication of the goals of study in the motivation to study and to learn. In this paper the academic motivation and, specially, the variable "goals of study" is assess. The principal aim of the present research is know the Questionnaire to Measure Achievement Goal Tendency's psicometric characteristics with 542 Chilean university students of different faculties. Results of the factor analysis and the internal consistency are acceptable in three subscales. In conclusion, these results support the use of the Questionnaire to Measure Achievement Goal Tendencies to assess the study motivation in university students in Chile (CL).


Searching The following sources were searched: MEDLINE from 1976 to 1998, CINAHL from 1982 to 1998, HealthSTAR from 1995 to 1998, PsycINFO from 1982 to 1998, ERIC from 1996 to 1998, Current


Some influential academic views in the academic field of Chinese intellectual history have failed to stand up to the examination by facts,it is therefore necessary to make a certain subversive reconstruction on the current knowledge system by perfecting fact narrative.To study various contending arguments,analyze the internal logic,dissect the theoretical system of text,expand the scope of historical data,etc.is conducive to form the fact narrative of relatively complete form,logic,elements and course,hence form the correct history recognition.


The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) formula is based on demand (annual revenue passenger miles), supply (annual revenue seat miles), and efficiency-(annual revenue passenger miles divided by annual revenue seat miles) x annual revenue passengers. The generalized formula was applied to the regionwide case and a boundary (state) case. They were then averaged and the resulting amounts served as the staff recommended apportionments of section 5 funds to operating entities in the Delaware valley. Data concerning public transportation operations trends are presented graphically with the intent of identifying the fiscal and operational realities faced by the local public transportation operators. As better data reporting systems are developed nationally, it is expected that the methodology will become nationally recognized for sub-apportionment of the Section 5 in metropolitan areas. An advantage of the formula is that operating entities compete against each other for subsidies. Greater patronage and a more efficient ratio of demand to supply should increase one operating entity[s subsidy, all things being equal. The methodology commonly relies on data compiled by operating entities, and it is easily executed. The methodology does not require a detailed operating cost analysis of each mode and operating entity.


LIU Zhi-ji,as a historian of the Tang Dynasty,writes the book Shi Tong on the basis of summa-rizing the former development of historiography,which indicates that the ancient Chinese historical criticism has developed into a stage with more self-consciousness.The advancement in the theory and the expansion in the discussion of certain issues,inheriting from the Wei and Jin Dynasty and initiating the Song,Yuan and Ming Dynasty,mostly reflect the dialectical method and understanding,and greatly enriches the conno-tation,historical merits and the theoretical significance of the historical criticism in ancient Chinese criti-cism of historiography.Summarizing the tradition of using this dialectical method will inspire the develop-ment of today's historical criticism.


The thesis provides an Indonesian perspective into the rationales and outcomes of cooperation between Indonesian and Australian universities. It demonstrates that Indonesian universities participating in this study have actively pursued their institutional agenda to bring benefits from the cooperation with the international partners and engaged in knowledge transfer with these partners to develop their capacity. It particularly investigates the knowledge transfer processes between Indonesian and Australian universities through dual degree program partnerships.


The peoples of the maghreb rightfully aspire to their unity. It is a psychological reality, which has got rooted into their collective memories. For this ambition to be achieved, it is necessary that a unifying attitude blossoms (out) in the minds. Our thesis aims, therefore, at being a contribution (a share in) to a real movement of emancipation and awareness of the state of crumbling and hostility. In consequence, any economical or political assertion may be taken into account, the unity has become more than ever a necessity, which is required by the international environment (circumstances) of economic crisis and of regional regroupings. Moreover, such a unity did already embody, in the past, in the state of "almohades" whose decline paved the way for the foreign domination. Henceforth, the "maghrebism" has been asserting itself as an ideology, which is impregnated with the arabian nationalism of the middle east. When the maghrebian countries attained their independance, a process of integration of national economies was conceived and a mechanism set up with this end in view. In spite of being considerable in number, the creation of maghrebian institutions has not met the expected success. The politicol, economical and cultural divergences, and above all the conflict about the western sahara have hindered so far the achievement of the maghrebian federation on the basis of the tangien conference in 1958.


Taekwondo plays an important role in college physical education and is an important part of it. Taekwondo plays an important role in self-defense and physical fitness, and plays an important role in shaping students' good will and improving their comprehensive quality. With the continuous development of Taekwondo in colleges and universities, managers have made Taekwondo adapt to the development of colleges and universities through the continuous development of curriculum resources. With the rapid development of Taekwondo, the new curriculum reform and the progress of science and technology, the requirements for Taekwondo teaching are getting higher and higher. Backward teaching mode, incomplete content construction, etc., affect the improvement of skills and ability. Based on the development of Taekwondo in ordinary universities, this paper analyzes the current Taekwondo teaching in ordinary universities, discusses the existing problems in Taekwondo teaching, studies the development strategy of Taekwondo curriculum resources in Chinese universities, and puts forward the method of constructing Taekwondo teaching content based on curriculum resources.


This work describes the continued examination of the low-temperature performance of the Li–CFx electrochemical couple in a −40°C or colder environment. Previously, the efficacy of subfluorinated CFx (SFCFx) cathode active materials was demonstrated; preliminary results indicated that the material was functional at rates up to C/10 at −40°C. However, there were often substantial voltage fluctuations during discharge, accompanied with inconsistent capacity yields and sometimes dramatic polarization events. In the research described herein, an investigation of various electrolyte and cathode compositions was conducted in an effort to optimize performance. In particular, several different electrolyte solvent formulations were examined using a salt content of either 1 or 0.5 M LiBF4. A further modification consisted of addition of an anion receptor to the electrolyte that was intended to be a LiF-solvating agent. The most promising electrolyte was tested with several different SFCFx compositions created using either graphitic or multiwall nanotube precursor materials. Electrochemical evaluation showed that the best SFCFx-based test cells were able to deliver specific capacity values up to five times greater than control cells (containing conventional CF1.08 powder) at −40°C under discharge currents as high as C/5 with composite electrodes thicker than 100 µm.


Abstract : Seagrasses are rooted flowering marine plants that provide a variety of ecosystem services to the coastal areas they colonize. Attenuation of currents and waves and sediment stabilization are often listed among these services. Although we have a reasonably good understanding of how currents affect seagrasses and vice-versa, less is known about interactions between waves and seagrasses, and standard methods for research on waves in seagrass systems have not yet been established. This report presents background information needed to inform and encourage further studies on waves in seagrass systems from both field and modeling perspectives. It reviews current knowledge of waves in seagrass systems, encompassing field and laboratory data as well as modeling efforts. It then describes various methods for measuring waves in seagrass colonized areas and modeling the dynamics of wave-seagrass interactions. Standardization of experimental designs, instrumentation, analyses, and modeling approaches to allow for ready comparison between studies is encouraged.


The invention discloses an asphalt mixture modifier and a preparation method thereof. The modifier comprises, by mass percentage, 60%-91% of sulfur, 4%-10% of EVA (ethylene-vinyl acetate), 1%-10% of polyethylene wax, 1%-15% of LDPE (low-density polyethylene), and 1%-5% of a hydroxide. The preparation method comprises: mixing sulfur, an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer, polyethylene wax, low density linear polyethylene and the hydroxide evenly, conveying the mixture into an extruder to conduct extrusion and granulation, thus obtaining the modifier. The preparation process of the modifier provided by the invention generates little irritating smell. Adding of the modifier provided by the invention into an asphalt mixture can effectively improve the anti-rutting performance of asphalt pavement, and improve the anti-water damage performance. Also, the low temperature performance is taken into account, and the modifier has good compatibility with asphalt.


The paper discusses some results of the investigation bound up with melodic-sense organization of the early S. S. Prokofiev's piano masterpieces, tools and techniques of implementing senses via peculiar properties of his melodic style. Analysis of sense-structural and emotive-sense the early S. S. Prokofiev's cantilena melodic palette expressed in the piano cycle «Mimoletnosti» is given.


Viscoelastic properties of epoxy resins reinforced with random-planar orientation of short glass and carbon fibers were studied in relation to the dependence on the fiber length, fiber content in the composites, and the mixing ratio of a particulate to the glass fiber.Although the composites reinforced with glass fiber of 0.05mm in length shows only one dispersion (α) corresponding to the primary transition of matrix resin, those reinforced with 3 and 10mm glass fibers show an additional dispersion (α′) which appears above the α dispersion temperature. The composite reinforced with 3mm carbon fiber (resinous pitch) does not show the α′ dispersion. Intensity of the α′ dispersion increases with fiber content. The α′ dispersion is considered to arise from friction or slippage among fibers and/or appears more evidently for composite having stronger interaction between fiber and matrix resin. For the composites reinforced with mixture of 10mm glass fiber and particulate (milled glass fiber), the negative slope of the doubly logarithmic plot of relaxation spectrum and activation energy of relaxation increase with the content of particulate. From these facts it is concluded that the interaction between reinforcing material and matrix resin decreases with increase of the content of particulate for the composite reinforced with mixture of particulate and short fiber.


Objective To investigate the effects of solifenacin on the detrusor instability of patients with overactive bladder (OAB).Methods A total of 20 outpatients with OAB of.1 - 20 ( mean, 8 )years, 12 males and 8 females, aged 21 - 83 ( mean, 43) years were included in this study.Five mg solifenacin was given orally once daily for 12 weeks.Before and after treatment, overactive bladder symptom score (OABSS), patient perception of bladder condition symptoms rating scale (PPBC), and filling cystometry was performed.Results Before and after solifenacin administration, significant decrease were detected in term of unstable detrusor waves ( 2.3 ± 2.4) vs (0.6 ± 1.3 ) ( P < 0.05 ), and detrusor overactivity ( DO ) disappeared in 6 patients.Bladder capacities at first desire to void and maximum bladder capacity were significantly increased (P <0.01 ).Bladder compliance and detrusor pressure at maximum urine flow had no significant difference (P > 0.05 ).All patients had significant improvement in OAB symptoms evaluating by OABSS and PPBC ( P < 0.05 ).Six patients had mild side effect of dry mouth and could be relieved by drinking more water.Conclusion Urodynamically, solifenacin decreases the detrusor overactivity, increases the bladder capacity and improves the quality of life of OAB patients.

Key words:
Solifenacin; Overactive bladder; Detrusor; Urodynamics


Three new products, [Cu2(μ3-dppa)(2,2′-bipy)2(H2O)]n·2nH2O (1), [Co4(μ4-dppa)2(phen)4(H2O)4]·2H2O (2), and [Co2(μ6-dppa)(μ-4,4′-bipy)(H2O)2]n·3nH2O (3) were synthesized using a hydrothermal method from Cu(II) and Co(II) metal(II) chlorides, 3-(3,4-dicarboxyphenoxy)phthalic acid (H4dppa), and different auxiliary ligands, namely 2,2′-bipyridine (2,2′-bipy),1,10-phenanthroline (phen), and 4,4′-bipyridine (4,4′-bipy). Products 1–3 were characterized by elemental analysis, FTIR, TGA, PXRD, SEM, and single-crystal X-ray crystallography. The structure of 1 features a 1D chain of the 2C1 topological type. Compound 2 shows a discrete tetrameric complex. Product 3 demonstrates a 3D metal–organic framework (MOF) with the new topology. Their structure and topology, thermal stability, and catalytic activity were studied. In particular, excellent catalytic activity was demonstrated for copper(II)-polymer 1 in the cyanosilylation reaction at 35 °C.


We remind the reader that an instance of 3SAT is a boolean formula, for example F = (x 1 + x 2 + x 3)(x 4 + x 1 + x 2), and the decision problem is to decide if the formula has a satisfiable assignment. Interestingly, we can turn this into an optimization problem.


A detailed analysis of different code compression algorithms is provided in this paper. The performances of the algorithms have been tested on ARM codes whose size is below 32 KB. Code compression performances have been considered including the compression overheads due to the decoding tables, to the alignment and to the tables for random access to the compressed code. We have analyzed Huffman, Tunstall, LZ77 and Class-based techniques. Optimal performances are provided by Class Based algorithms with an average compression ratio of 64%. For this algorithm we have realized a static decompression engine that provides, after an initial latency of three clock cycles, one 32b instruction for clock cycle.


This study aims to examine the effect of profitability, company size, leverage, and good corporate governance on profit growth in manufacturing companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange in 2015-2018. The sample of research selected using a purposive sampling method were 264 manufacturing companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange in 2015-2018. The data used is secondary data. The analysis used in this study is multiple linear regression analysis processed using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) Version 21 program. The results of the study indicate that profitability and leverage variables influence earnings growth while company size, board of commissioners, independent commissioners, audit committee and institutional ownership have no effect on profit growth.
Keywords: Profitability, Company Size, Leverage, Good Corporate Governance and Profit Growth.


Copper has been immobilized on a chitosan-based responsive polymer microgel by simply stirring the microgel dispersion with copper sulfate. The ensuing catalyst is highly active for a model azide-alkyne [3+2]-cycloaddition reaction, and can be recycled at least 5 times; the catalytic activity can be tuned via swelling-deswelling transitions of the polymer gels.


Land use and seasonal changes in environmental conditions influence biological communities and their trophic interactions in riverine ecosystems. However, how land use and the seasonality of environmental conditions jointly influence the food web structure of riverine ecosystems remains unclear. Here, we conducted a comparative study on basal resources, macroinvertebrates, and fish at woodland and urban sites to explore the combined effects of land use and environmental conditions during spring, autumn, and winter on the food web structure of a subtropical river in China. We used δ13C and δ15N to trace consumers' diets and calculate community-level metrics within food webs. At woodland sites, we found that allochthonous sources contributed significantly more to consumers' diets in the high flow season (53%) than in the low flow season (around 30%), but allochthonous sources contributed less than 30% at urban sites. The seasonal flooding facilitated the acquisition of terrestrial sources at woodland sites, while the impervious surface cover at urban sites cut off the influx of terrestrial inputs. The isotopic niche space of basal resources at both woodland and urban sites was significantly higher in the high flow season. However, the isotopic niche space of consumers at urban sites was not significantly different between seasons. Trophic length, niche width, and trophic redundancy showed no seasonal differences at urban sites, but trophic length increased significantly during the high flow season at woodland sites. Our temporal food web study at urban and woodland rivers illustrated the combined effects of land use and seasonal environmental conditions on the food web structure, and highlighted the role of allochthonous carbon in supporting biological communities and the importance of lateral and longitudinal connectivity in river ecosystems.


In many strategic settings comparing the payoffs obtained by players under full cooperation to those obtainable at a sequential (Stackelberg) equilibrium can be crucial to determine the outcome of the game. This happens, for instance, in repeated games in which players can break cooperation by acting sequentially, as well as in merger games in which firms are allowed to sequence their actions. Despite the relevance of these and other applications, no full-fledged comparisons between collusive and sequential payoffs have been performed so far. In this paper we show that even in symmetric duopoly games the ranking of cooperative and sequential payoffs can be extremely variable, particularly when the usual linear demand assumption is relaxed. Not surprisingly, the degree of strategic complementarity and substitutability of players' actions (and, hence, the slope of their best replies) appears decisive to determine the ranking of collusive and sequential payoffs. Some applications to endogenous timing are discussed.


We prove χ′ s (G) ≤ 1.93 Δ(G)2 for graphs of sufficiently large maximum degree where χ′ s (G) is the strong chromatic index of G. This improves an old bound of Molloy and Reed. As a by-product, we present a Talagrand-type inequality where we are allowed to exclude unlikely bad outcomes that would otherwise render the inequality unusable.


Objective To quantitatively analyze and evaluate the health impacts of air pollution on the adverse pregnancy outcomes,such as preterm delivery,low birth weight,birth defects around Beijing.Methods The personal data of all delivery cases of Haidian Maternal and Child Health Hospital in July,2007-July,2009 were collected,the concentrations of the main three air pollutants: sulphur dioxide(SO2),nitrogen dioxide(NO2) and particulate matter(PM10),as well as the corresponding meteorological data.Logistic regression analysis was used to explore the health impacts of ambient air pollution on the adverse pregnancy outcomes of the exposed women.Results After adjustment for the influence of maternal parity,age,fetal gender, meteorological factors,with a 100 μg/m3 increase in level of SO2 during the first month after pregnancy,the odd ratio of the occurrence of low birth weight was 1.50(95%CI: 1.09-2.05);With a 100 μg/m3 increase in level of SO2 during the first trimester after pregnancy and the last month before delivery,the odd ratio of the occurrence of preterm delivery were 1.50(95%CI: 1.042.18),1.79(95%CI: 1.30-2.46) respectively;With a 100 μg/m3 increase in level of PM10 during the second month before delivery,the odd ratio of the occurrence of preterm delivery was 1.45(95%CI: 1.15-1.84);With a 100 μg/m3 increase in level of NO2 at the 3rd-8th week of pregnancy,the odd ratio of the occurrence of birth defect was 2.85(95%CI: 1.08-7.50).Conclusion SO2 exposure during the early stage of pregnancy and PM10 exposure during the late stage of pregnancy are associated with preterm delivery,NO2 exposure during the 3rd-8th week of pregnancy are associated with birth defect statistically.


A prepaid wireless telephone service for real-time wireless service (PPS) system and method for determining tariffs. We can provide local number service control point (SCP) or an interface between service scripts in the application server and LNP database portability point (LNPP). When the initial detection point (IDP) message is received by the service script, a query is sent to LNPP by LNP database to determine whether the call is to or from the telephone number to be transferred. If so, then the routing number is returned. The script determines the routing number is a pointer to the network operator's own network, or another network, and notifies the Service Control Point (SDP). If the routing number points to an operator's own network, the SDP for the first call application rates. If the routing number points to another network, the second SDP application rates.


We derive a generalized equation for the evolution of tensor perturbations in a cosmological background, taking into account higher-curvature contributions and a tree-level coupling to the dilaton in the string frame. The equation is obtained by perturbing the gravi-dilaton string effective action, expanded up to first order in $\alpha'$. The $\alpha'$ corrections can modify the low-energy perturbation spectrum, but the modifications are shown to be small when the background curvature keeps constant in the string frame.


Peterson's psychiatric analysis of Birger Sjoberg is analyzed, referring essentially to two theories of the psyche, that of Kretschmer and Sjobring.


Container-based virtualization has gained significant popularity in recent years because of its simplicity in deployment and adaptability in terms of cloud resource provisioning. Containerization technology is the recent development in cloud computing systems that is more efficient, reliable, and has better overall performance than a traditional virtual machine (VM) based technology. Containerized clouds produce better performance by maximizing host-level resource utilization and using a load-balancing technique. To this end, this article concentrates on distributing the workload among all available servers evenly. In this paper, we propose a Grey Wolf Optimization (GWO) based Simulated Annealing approach to counter the problem of load balancing in the containerized cloud that also considers the deadline miss rate. We have compared our results with the Genetic and Particle Swarm Optimization algorithm and evaluated the proposed algorithms by considering the parameter load variation and makespan. Our experimental result shows that, in most cases, more than 97% of the tasks were meeting their deadline and the Grey Wolf Optimization Algorithm with Simulated Annealing (GWO-SA) performs better than all other approaches in terms of load variation and makespan.


Polycomb group protein enhancer of zeste 2 (EZH2) is a master regulatory protein that plays a critical role in development as part of the polycomb repressive complex 2. Polycomb repressive complex 2 controls numerous cell cycle and regulatory genes through trimethylation of histone 3, which results in chromatin condensation and transcriptional silencing. EZH2 overexpression has been correlated with high incidence of more aggressive, metastatic prostate cancers. Although this correlation means EZH2 could prove valuable as a biomarker in clinical settings, the question remains whether EZH2 is actually responsible for the initiation of these more aggressive tumor types. In this study, EZH2-mediated neoplastic transformation of the normal prostate epithelial cell line benign prostate hyperplasia 1 (BPH1) was confirmed by in vivo tumor growth and in vitro colony formation. Furthermore, EZH2 transformation resulted in increased invasive behavior of BPH1 cells, indicating that EZH2 may be responsible for aggressive behavior in prostate cancers. BPH1 was also transformed with the classic oncogenes myristoylated Akt and activated Ras(V12) to allow phenotype comparisons with the EZH2-transformed cells. This study marks the first demonstration of neoplastic transformation in prostate cells mediated by EZH2 and establishes that EZH2 possesses stronger transforming activity than Akt but weaker activity than activated Ras. (Mol Cancer Res 2009;7(9):1456–65) Introduction Polycomb group (PcG) protein enhancer of zeste 2 (EZH2) was first identified for its master regulatory role over the homeobox genes during development. By controlling spatial and temporal expression of various developmental genes, EZH2 and its family members determine body patterning and cell fate (1, 2). Within the polycomb group family exist two complexes: polycomb repressive complex 1 (PRC1) and polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2), the latter of which is composed of EZH2 and its binding partners EED and Su(z)12 (3, 4). PRC2 is expressed by proliferating cells and is responsible for silencing target genes through trimethylation of lysine 27 on histone 3 (5-9). EZH2 is the member of PRC2 responsible for the methyltransferase activity via the COOH-terminal SET domain (10). EZH2 was implicated in cancer aggression when it was found to be expressed at very high levels in proliferating mantle cell lymphoma samples (11). Soon thereafter, a gene array comparing benign and metastatic prostate cancer samples found that EZH2 was consistently overexpressed in metastatic cancer (12). Furthermore, EZH2 expression levels were found to be predictive of metastatic behavior in early-stage, organconfined prostate cancers. Subsequently, EZH2 was found to be overexpressed in the more aggressive forms of breast (13, 14), endometrium (15), melanoma (16), myeloma (17), and gastric (18) cancers, to name a few (19). Additional evidence regarding EZH2 and its relationship to prostate cancer aggression continued to inundate the field. In situ hybridization experiments on advanced-stage prostate cancer samples found that, in many cases, EZH2 overexpression was possibly due to gene amplification (20) or a loss of microRNA-mediated inhibition (21). EZH2 was also validated as a biomarker that could be used to determine risk of prostate cancer recurrence in patients (22-24). Furthermore, it was confirmed that EZH2 was involved in maintaining proliferation and invasive behavior of some prostate cancer cell lines (25). Despite this abundance of data on prostate cancer and prostate cancer cell lines, little work has been done to examine the role of EZH2 in cancer initiation. One study showed that EZH2 promoted transformation of breast epithelial cells (26), but a parallel work in prostate epithelial cells has not been done. However, tissue-specific differences between breast and prostate cells indicate that a transformation study in prostate cells is warranted. For instance, androgen receptor, which is critical Received 3/20/09; revised 6/18/09; accepted 7/6/09; published OnlineFirst 9/1/09. Grant support: University of California at Los Angeles Specialized Program of Research Excellence in Prostate Cancer Career Development Award (B.D.W. Karanikolas). The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked advertisement in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact. Note: Supplementary data for this article are available at Molecular Cancer Research Online (http://mcr.aacrjournals.org/). Requests for reprints: Lily Wu, Departments of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology and Urology, University of California at Los Angeles, CHS 33118, Box 951735, Los Angeles, California 90095-1738. Phone: 310-825-8511; Fax: 310-206-5343. E-mail: email@example.com Copyright © 2009 American Association for Cancer Research. doi:10.1158/1541-7786.MCR-09-0121 Mol Cancer Res 2009;7(9). September 2009 1456 on August 4, 2017. © 2009 American Association for Cancer Research. mcr.aacrjournals.org Downloaded from Published OnlineFirst September 1, 2009; DOI: 10.1158/1541-7786.MCR-09-0121


This is a very quick and useful method for researchers who do not have access to high tech micro-fabrication facilities and want to try out an idea or a test in a quick, cheap and simple fashion. In this case it is for those of us who want to test certain techniques such as in-channel electrochemical, conductivity or impedance measurements. It also saves time and costs from using high tech fabrication techniques and will aid the researcher in future designs that can then be fabricated the more conventional way in a clean room. In addition, it is a cheap and effective way of introducing undergraduate and masters students to various chip techniques


International Search Report for WO2005/11847 dated Dec. 15, 2005. West, et al., Identification of Two H3-Histamine Receptor Subtypes, Molecular Pharmacology. 38, pp. 610-613, (1990). Grunewald, et al., Examination of the Role of the Acidic Hydrogen in imparting Selectivity of 7-(Aminosulfonyl)-1,2,3,4tetrahydroisoquinoline (SK&F 29661) Toward Inhibition of Phenylethanolamine N-Methyltransferase vs the alpha2-Adrenocep tor, J. Med. Chem., 1997 (40) pp. 3997-4005. Katritzky, et al., 2-Substituted-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoguinolines and chiral 3-carboxyl analogues from N-berizotriazolylmethyl-Nphenethylamines, Tetrahedron: Asymmetry, 2001 (12) pp. 2427 2434. Korte, et al., Characterization and tissue Distribution of H3 Hista mine Receptors in Guinea Pigs by Nalpha-Methylhistamine, Bio chemical and Biophysical Research Communications, (1990) 168(3), pp. 979-986. Liu, et al., Does the 3HTMepyraremine Binding Site Represent the Histamine H1 Receptor? Re-examination of the Histamine H1 Receptor with Quinine, JPET, 1994 (268) 2, pp. 959-964. Lovenberg, et al., Cloning of Rat Histamine H3 Receptor Reveals Distinct Species Pharmacological Profiles, JPET (2000) 293, pp. 771-778. Tozer, et al. Histamine H3 Receptor Antagonists, Exp. Opin. Ther. Patents (2000) 10(7), pp. 1045-1055. Vippagunta et al., Crystalline solids. Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews, 2001 (46), pp. 3-26. West, et al., Solid State Chemistry and its applications, John Wiley & Sons, (1984), pp. 358 + 365.


ABSTRACT Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is an aggressive incurable brain cancer. The cells that fuel the growth of tumours resemble neural stem cells found in the developing and adult mammalian forebrain. These are referred to as glioma stem cells (GSCs). Similar to neural stem cells, GSCs exhibit a variety of phenotypic states: dormant, quiescent, proliferative and differentiating. How environmental cues within the brain influence these distinct states is not well understood. Laboratory models of GBM can be generated using either genetically engineered mouse models, or via intracranial transplantation of cultured tumour initiating cells (mouse or human). Unfortunately, these approaches are expensive, time-consuming, low-throughput and ill-suited for monitoring live cell behaviours. Here, we explored whole adult brain coronal organotypic slices as an alternative model. Mouse adult brain slices remain viable in a serum-free basal medium for several weeks. GSCs can be easily microinjected into specific anatomical sites ex vivo, and we demonstrate distinct responses of engrafted GSCs to diverse microenvironments in the brain tissue. Within the subependymal zone – one of the adult neural stem cell niches – injected tumour cells could effectively engraft and respond to endothelial niche signals. Tumour-transplanted slices were treated with the antimitotic drug temozolomide as proof of principle of the utility in modelling responses to existing treatments. Engraftment of mouse or human GSCs onto whole brain coronal organotypic brain slices therefore provides a simplified, yet flexible, experimental model. This will help to increase the precision and throughput of modelling GSC-host brain interactions and complements ongoing in vivo studies. This article has an associated First Person interview with the first author of the paper. Editor's choice: A new ex vivo experimental approach to explore how glioblastoma stem cells interact with distinct brain microenvironments, with potential use a as preclinical model using new anticancer agents.


Abstract Objective: Previous literature has suggested that laws and regulations may impact the use of palliative sedation. Our present study compares the attitudes of French-speaking physicians practicing in the Quebec and Swiss environments, where different laws are in place regarding physician-assisted suicide. Method: Data were drawn from two prior studies, one by Blondeau and colleagues and another by Beauverd and coworkers, employing the same two-by-two experimental design with length of prognosis and type of suffering as independent variables. Both the effect of these variables and the effect of their interaction on Swiss and Quebec physicians' attitudes toward sedation were compared. The written comments of respondents were submitted to a qualitative content analysis and summarized in a comparative perspective. Results: The analysis of variance showed that only the type of suffering had an effect on physicians' attitudes toward sedation. The results of the Wilcoxon test indicated that the attitudes of physicians from Quebec and Switzerland tended to be different for two vignettes: long-term prognosis with existential suffering (p = 0.0577) and short-term prognosis with physical suffering (p = 0.0914). In both cases, the Swiss physicians were less prone to palliative sedation. Significance of results: The attitudes of physicians from Quebec and Switzerland toward palliative sedation, particularly regarding prognosis and type of suffering, seem similar. However, the results suggest that physicians from Quebec could be slightly more open to palliative sedation, even though most were not in favor of this practice as an answer to end-of-life existential suffering.


Numerical investigation of an isolated representative helicopter main rotor has been performed in ANSYS FLUENT 16.2. In general, flow field around the rotor is unsteady, three-dimensional, complex and vortical. Such a simulation requires substantial computational resources. Ground effect, which improves the aerodynamic performances of the rotor, represents an additional challenge to numerical modeling. In this study, flow field is computed by Unsteady Reynolds Averaged NavierStokes (URANS) equations. Both Frame of reference and Sliding mesh approaches were employed to model the rotor rotation. Obtained results are compared to results obtained by simpler, sufficiently reliable models such as Momentum Theory (MT) and Blade Element Momentum Theory (BEMT). Presented results include fluid flow visualizations in the form of pressure, velocity and vorticity contours and the values of aerodynamic coefficients.


The objective of this study was to assess the influence of substrate heterogeneity on epiphytic bryophyte communities in northern hardwood forests of varying disturbance histories. Specifically, we compared bryophyte abundance (m2·ha–1) and community composition among partially cut; maturing, 90- to 100-year-old, even-aged; and old-growth northern hardwood stands in Adirondack Park, New York, U.S.A. Total bryophyte cover from 0 to 1.5 m above ground level on trees 10 cm diameter at breast height (DBH) did not differ among the three stand types. However, bryophyte community composition differed among host tree species and among stand types. Communities in partially cut and maturing stands were dominated by xerophytic bryophytes (Platygyrium repens, Frullania eboracensis, Hypnum pallescens, Brachythecium reflexum, Ulota crispa), while old-growth stands contained a greater representation of calcicoles and mesophytic species (Brachythecium oxycladon, Anomodon rugelii, Porella platyphylloidea, Anomodon attenua...


The leading and trailing edge shapes of high pressure compressor (HPC) airfoils have a high impact on their aerodynamic performance. Typically, the shape of these airfoil edges are designed symmetrically as half circles or half ellipses. Due to manufacturing scatter and operational effects, the edges of real HPC airfoils deviate from the design intent. Especially the change in shape of the airfoil edges due to erosion can lead to a reduction of the aerodynamic efficiency and operability range.
 This paper introduces a novel and intuitive parametrization approach to describe the occurring airfoil edge shapes. The introduced parametric model has been applied to a set of postservice airfoils with a variety of airfoil edge shapes. For this purpose, just above 1000 of used HPC airfoils from different engines with different operational conditions and runtimes were digitized by means of a structured light 3D scanner. The high precision of the scanning system enables accurate capturing of the sensitive airfoil edge shapes.
 Subsequently, the extracted parameters were used for a statistical evaluation of the leading edge (LE) shape geometry. It turned out that the LEs of the investigated post-service compressor airfoils exhibit a thinner LE shape characteristics compared to the design intent LE shape. Furthermore, in nearly all cases, more material is missing on the suction sided LE of the investigated airfoils. This result is rather contrary compared to the findings of relevant literature, where the LE pressure side is missing more material due to erosion.
 Nevertheless, the generated results suggest that the developed method is suitable for a sufficient qualitative and quantitative description of HPC LE shapes. In future work, the introduced parametric model can be used as the basis of a prospective evaluation of the correlation between the geometric variation of airfoil edges and manufacturing scatter as well as engine operational condition.


The acceleration of a micrometer-sized plasma pellet at 100 critical densities (10(23) cm(-3)) by consecutive application of ultra-short ultra-intense laser pulses is studied using two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulation. It is shown that due to the repeated actions of the laser ponderomotive force, a small dense plasma pellet can be efficiently accelerated, with a considerable fraction of the plasma ions accelerated to high speeds. The proposed scheme can provide a high-density flux of energetic ions, which should be valuable in many practical applications.


This thesis deals with the absorption of ultrasound in superconducting aluminium. The results of the measurements using longitudinal sound waves in specimens of different purity are in agreement with the theory of Bardeen, Cooper and Schrieffer. Extrapolation leads to a zero-tem perature energy gap of 3-5 kT c. The absorption of transverse sound waves can be split up into two parts, namely one part according to the BCS theory, and one part which decreases rapidly below the superconducting transition temperature and is zero from 0-02 °K below the transition temperature. This second part of the absorption is also negligibly small when the product of the wave number of the sound and the mean free path of the electrons is much smaller than unity. This has been shown by experiments on specimens of different purity using sound of different frequencies. Measurements were performed on two single crystals of zone-refined aluminium with different sound-polarization directions. The value of the absorption depended on the polarization direction, but the calculated energy gap did not. Phase transitions in a very pure zonerefined aluminium single crystal were also investigated using ultrasound, in order to find out something about the propagation velocity of the phase boundaries, and the structure of the intermediate state. For the latter, measurements at different temperatures and different frequencies were required. The experimental results for magnetic fields both parallel and perpendicular to the sound-propagation direction support the theories of Pippard and Faber. During the transition from the super conducting to the normal phase the absorption behaves as predicted by Pippard on the basis of the eddy-current theory. A formal description is also given of the transition from the normal phase to the supercon ducting phase. In the very pure specimen used, thin normally conducting regions were found to exist for more than twenty minutes after an external magnetic field of the order of the critical field had been switched off. All transition times are much shorter for less pure aluminium.


Electrostatically stabilized colloidal crystals prepared from aqueous suspensions of dyed polystyrene spheres compress locally when illuminated by intense laser light of wavelengths absorbed by the dye. The compression, which derives from the temperature dependence of the interparticle repulsive interaction, results in a concentration gradient where particles diffuse into the illuminated regions. The concentration gradient relaxes when the pump light is removed. We experimentally constrain particle diffusion to one dimension by creating a spatially periodic intensity grating which results in a periodic concentration profile. We measure the relaxation time constant of this concentration grating by monitoring the time‐dependent transmitted intensity of a low intensity probe beam when the diffraction conditions are almost satisfied for the probe wavelength. The collective diffusion coefficient is found from the relaxation time constant.


This paper addresses the problem of eecient construction of monomial bases for the coordinate rings of zero-dimensional varieties. Existing approaches rely on Grr ob-ner bases methods { in contrast, we make use of recent developments in sparse elimination techniques which allow us to strongly exploit the structural sparseness of the problem at hand. This is done by establishing certain properties of a matrix formula for the sparse resultant of the given polynomial system. We use this matrix construction to give a simpler proof of the result of Pedersen and Sturmfels 22] for constructing mono-mial bases. The monomial bases so obtained enable the eecient generation of multiplication maps in coordinate rings and provide a method for computing the common roots of a generic system of polynomial equations with complexity singly exponential in the number of variables and polynomial in the number of roots. We describe the implementations based on our algorithms and provide empirical results on the well-known problem of cyclic n-roots; our implementation gives the rst known upper bounds in the case of n = 10 and n = 11. We also present some preliminary results on root nding for the Stewart platform and motion from point matches problems in robotics and vision respectively.


A disordered structure, which rests entirely on thermodynamic data and leaves the possibility that the structure is ordered and that the excess entropy arises from some other source, has been postulated from x-ray diffraction studies. Therefore, the diffraction experiment was repeated with neutrons where the more favorable ratio of scattering factors (b/sub O/ = 0.58, b/sub N/ = 0.94) allows a more sensitive test of any departures from the disordered model. Intensities were calculated for several sets of structure parameters for the disordered model (space group Pa3) and also for the ordered model. It was concluded that the completely ordered model was incompatible with the neutron diffraction data. (P.C.H.)


Fabric image retrieval is a meaningful issue, due to its potential values in many areas such as textile product design, e-commerce, and inventory management. Meanwhile, it is challenging because of the diversity of fabric appearance. Encourage by the recent breakthrough in the deep convolutional neural network (CNN), a deep learning framework is applied for fabric image retrieval. The idea of the proposed framework is that the binary code and feature for representing the image can be learning by a deep CNN when the data labels are available. The proposed framework employs a hierarchical search strategy that includes coarse-level retrieval and fine-level retrieval. Otherwise, a large-scale wool fabric image retrieval dataset named WFID with about 20 000 images are built to validate the proposed framework. The longitudinal comparison experiments for self-parameter optimization and horizontal comparison experiments for verifying the superiority of the algorithm are performed on this data set. The comparison experimental results indicate the superiority of the proposed framework.


In the past decade, flat-panel displays have become ubiquitous due to the proliferation of modern electronic devices such as laptops, tablets, and smartphones. This has steered scientific efforts towards innovating electroluminescent materials that are energy efficient and possess excellent emission properties. As a result of extensive research, evaporated organic light emitting diodes emerged as a successful display technology and have since enjoyed significant market penetration. However, they have broad emission spectra and are also fairly expensive particularly for flexible displays. Thus, low-cost solution-processed light-emitting materials that exhibit colour pure electroluminescence are invaluable for next-generation display and lighting technologies.
 In this dissertation, novel light-emitting diodes based on perovskite semiconductors are presented. Some of their beneficial properties include bandgap tunability, balanced charge carrier mobilities, colour-pure emission with a full-width at half maximum of < 20 nm, solution processability, and low material cost. These attributes make them particularly attractive for low-cost light-emitting applications.
 By developing a device with suitable charge transport layers and by optimizing the perovskite deposition protocol, perovskite light-emitting diodes (PeLEDs) with luminance exceeding 17,000 cd/m2 with an external quantum efficiency of 3.9% were obtained. Further analysis shows that the key to better performance lies in fabricating thin and dense perovskite layers composed of tiny crystallites. Additionally, a novel gas-assisted perovskite thin-film deposition protocol was developed which is compatible with commercial roll-to-roll manufacturing techniques. Using this technique, large area devices with uniform emission were fabricated on a 230 cm2 substrate.
 While the efficiencies of PeLEDs have been gradually growing in the past four years, their operational lifetime needs to be addressed as it is relatively short. Here, the underlying degradation mechanisms in PeLEDs that limit their lifetime are elucidated. Decomposition of the organic cations in the perovskite layer seems to be the major degradation factor under bias. By replacing the organic cation with an inorganic cation their operational lifetime can be substantially improves. The insights provided in this dissertation are likely to catapult emerging PeLED technology further.


Occupational exposure to wood dust is associated with the occurrence of nasal cancer. In this study, we investigated micronuclei and nuclear changes (NCs: binucleates, karyorrhexis, karyolysis, and the "broken egg" effect) in exfoliated buccal cells of 20 workers exposed to wood dust and 20 age‐ and sex‐matched controls. Micronucleus frequency and the frequency of each of the NCs were significantly higher for wood workers than controls (P < 0.01). Cigarette smoking was associated with increased frequencies of micronuclei and NCs in the buccal mucosa epithelium cells of both the control and exposed groups. Our findings indicate that buccal cells of wood workers display increased levels of genotoxicity and toxicity, and that these biomarker responses may be related to the increased cancer risk among wood workers. Environ. Mol. Mutagen. 47:, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


The device comprises a hollow cutting roller (15) with a blade (17) attached to the outer surface of the hollow roller. A stationary shaft (23) is also provided, arranged inside the hollow roller (15) and coaxial herewith. The stationary shaft (23) is connected to a supporting structure and the hollow roller (15) is rotatably supported onto the stationary shaft (23). A motor drive is provided to rotate the hollow roller (15) around the stationary shaft (23). The hollow roller (15) is supported onto the stationary shaft (23) by means of at least a hydrostatic bearing (49) arranged in an intermediate position between the ends of the stationary shaft.


By Cooperative Editing we mean the coordinated manipulation of information by a group of authors. During the editing process the (co‐)authors need to communicate their ideas, drafts and constraints (remotely or face‐to‐face) until a final version of the information is achieved. For the different phases of this process ‐ discussion of ideas, editing, cross‐checking ‐ different media or media integration are adequate. Furthermore, analysing the transition from individual work to group work, within different human activities, two pitfalls are often detected if computer support is considered: a) technological communication difficulties, especially if the group is remotely located on heterogeneous hardware, associated with a fall in productivity and frequent social inadequacies of the group's computer support; b) the lack of integrated media processing tools available for group editing.


This paper estimated carbon emissions from 1995 to 2008 in Zhejiang province based on 12 kinds of energy consumption data in the three main industries and residents' sector.This paper built the decomposition model of carbon emissions' driving factors and decomposed the driving factors into energy intensity,structure adjustment,economic development and population size.In this paper,the logarithmic mean Divisia index decomposition method was used to measure and calculate the factors' contributions to the growth of carbon emissions,variation tendency and interaction mechanism.The conclusions are as follows: ①The carbon emissions present a sustainable ascending trend in Zhejiang.②The positive effect of economic development and population size on carbon emissions is much larger than the negative effect of energy intensity and structure adjustment.③ The level of carbon emission in Zhejiang has stepped across the summit of the carbon emissions intensity,but still at the phase between the summits of carbon emissions intensity and per capita carbon emissions.To shorten the spanning period of the different summits of carbon emissions,to decline the peak value,this paper proposed several policy suggestions on how to accelerate carbon economic development.


Abstract A study utilizing 1619 ostrich eggs was conducted to compare two turning frequencies during incubation. Eggs were set in the incubators with air cell up and automatically turned through approximately 90° either 24 times per day or 8 times per day. Eggs turned 24 times per day had higher hatchability (P=.057) than those turned 8 times per day, whereas egg weight loss and chick weight as percent of egg weight did not differ between treatments. Based on these results it seems that ostrich eggs set large end up should be turned more than 8 times per day.


Interconnected Porous piezoelectric ceramics are fabricated over the range of porosity going from 25 % to more than 95 % starting from sintering of PZT-glucose mixtures. For a large porosity The ceramic has a cellular structure similar to that of a sponge. Porosity seems not affected d 33 , whereas d h and k, increases and kp decreases with porosity. The presence of interconnected porosity in ceramics causes a decoupling of the piezoelectric effects axial and radial for to privilege the axial mode. For a large porosity the transducer vibrates exclusively according to the axial. The polymer introduction into empty ceramics affects negatively the dielectric and piezoelectric properties, the dielectric losses increase whereas d 33 decreases strongly for cellular ceramics.


Global climate models (GCMs) have long suffered from biases of excessive tropical precipitation in the Southern Hemisphere (SH). The severity of the double‐Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) bias, defined here as the interhemispheric difference in zonal mean tropical precipitation, varies strongly among models in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) ensemble. Models with a more severe double‐ITCZ bias feature warmer tropical sea surface temperature (SST) in the SH, coupled with weaker southeast trades. While previous studies focus on coupled ocean‐atmosphere interactions, here we show that the intermodel spread in the severity of the double‐ITCZ bias is closely related to land surface temperature biases, which can be further traced back to those in the Atmosphere Model Intercomparison Project (AMIP) simulations. By perturbing land temperature in models, we demonstrate that cooler land can indeed lead to a more severe double‐ITCZ bias by inducing the above coupled SST‐trade wind pattern in the tropics. The response to land temperature can be consistently explained from both the dynamic and energetic perspectives. Although this intermodel spread from the land temperature variation does not account for the ensemble model mean double‐ITCZ bias, identifying the land temperature effect provides insights into simulating a realistic ITCZ for the right reasons.


Various active methylene compounds were carboxylated by employing the reagent system, 1,8-diazabicyclo(5.4.0)-7-undecene and carbon dioxide, in organic solvents or without solvent at room temperature.