Objectives: Staphylococci represent a substantial part of the
surface microflora of mammals and birds (skin, skin glands and
mucous membranes) and some Staphylococcus species, mainly
Staphylococcus aureus subsp. aureus, are found frequently as
etiological agents of a variety of human and animal infections.
Staphylococcus hominis subsp. novobiosepticus, a pathogen
described in the last decade, is unusual novobiocin-resistant
and coagulase negative staphylococcus occurring with increasing
frequency in human clinical material. The aim of the presented
study was to compare the automated ribotyping performed with
the RiboPrinter microbial characterization system and pulsed
field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) of SmaI macrorestriction
fragments for identification and characterization of S. hominis
subspecies. Methods: A total of 41 S. hominis cultures
comprising two reference type strains and 39 clinical isolates
obtained from different microbiological laboratories in the
Czech Republic were analysed in this study. All cultures were
identified to the subspecies level on the basis of biotyping
(STAPHYtest 24, API Staph, conventional tests).
Macrorestriction analysis (SmaI) was performed by using a
CHEF-DR II system. Automated ribotyping (EcoRI) of 16
representatives of different macrorestriction types selected on
the basis of the PFGE results was carried out in accordance
with the protocol provided by the manufacturer. Obtained
ribotype patterns were processed using the RiboExplorer
software and identified using the DuPont qualicon database DUP
2004. Results: Automated ribotyping with EcoRI restriction
enzyme generated bands ranging from 1 to 50 kbp and separated
16 analyzed strains into 7 ribogroups. Unfortunately the
RiboPrinter system did not assign S. hominis subsp.
novobiosepticus isolates to the subspecies level and all
strains were misidentified only as S. hominis. Macrorestriction
analysis with SmaI restriction enzyme clearly distinguished all
41 cultures at the subspecies level and generated
strain-specific fingerprints enabling differentiation of
individual strains. Conclusion: Obtained results proved both
methods as applicable for S. hominis intrasubspecies typing
purposes, however macrorestriction analysis was revealed as
more discriminative tool than ribotyping in our study. The
automated ribotyping identified analysed strains as S. hominis
but the method failed to differentiate the significant pathogen
S. hominis subsp. novobiosepticus.


Through the perspectives of a museum educator, an art educator, and an educational researcher, this article explores the evolution of shared definitions of "well-being" in the development of a museum- and arts-based program for adults with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD). By piecing together the authors' first-person reflections on pivotal program design moments with images, participant quotes and reflections, and emerging quantitative data, this bricolage inquiry provides insight into the complex and sometimes competing conceptions of wellness and learning that arise in designing programming with and for this population and their caregivers.


Cooperative vehicle platooning enabled by connected automated vehicle (CAV) technology has been identified to bring energy savings and driving-effort reduction. However, the intrinsic difference of gained benefits between the leading vehicle and the following vehicles hampers the spontaneous platooning via peer-to-peer coordination. This study proposes an auction mechanism that determines the leader-follower positioning together with the associated benefits, for facilitating the formation and maintaining the behavioral stability of vehicle platoons in a distributed way. We theoretically prove that there is no mechanism to achieve an efficient outcome in an ex post equilibrium, requiring individual rationality and budget balance. In this regard, we provide a truthful $\epsilon-$approximate auction mechanism that deploys a linear transfer function, which guarantees that the implemented outcome is an efficient approximate dominant strategy equilibrium.


Abstract This paper describes a reliable quantitative measurement of the adhesion of ice to polymeric films and coatings using an enclosed-crack fracture mechanics test method. Two different material sets are described. One set considers the adhesion of ice to polypropylene films which in some cases were treated with an air corona to render them more hydrophilic. Shifts toward higher surface energy as indicated by decreases in static water contact angle and increases in surface oxygen content as measured by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) produced significant increases in ice adhesion. Another material set considers the adhesion of ice to crosslinked poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) coatings applied to primed poly(ethylene terephthalate) films and aluminum sheet. Adding non-functional PDMS to the PDMS coatings produced no significant change in either ice adhesion values or failure mode of ice release up to an addition level of 40 weight percent, but beyond 40 weight percent, glaciphobicity deteriorated. Thickness of the PDMS coatings was found to profoundly affect ice adhesion, which decreased from about 1 J/m2 to about 0.1 J/m2 over a thickness range of about 8 μm to about 1 μm.


The Centre for Participatory Strategies (CPS) was established in 2002 and is located in Galway, Ireland. CPS is an independent research and training organisation. The co- founders, Mary O'Reilly-de Brun and Tomas de Brun, are cultural anthropologists with over twenty years' international experience in applied cross-cultural research, lecturing in cultural anthropology and participatory research methods, and the development and delivery of innovative participatory research training.


Mobile communication channels are frequently plagued by severe noise and disturbances such as multipath fading and doppler effects that severely degrade performance. Among the automatic-repeat-request (ARQ) protocols used to improve the communication channel reliability, the stop-and-wait (SW) is positively characterized by simple implementation and negatively by low throughputs. This work describes the application of some new SW protocols that retain the simple implementation of the classical SW schemes, while reducing the transmitter's wait state time to increase throughput. The performance of the modified SW protocols, derived through computer simulations, is shown to be comparable to that of more complex ARQ protocols.


Objective To examine associations of sex-specific related factors with pre-diabetes in Tehranian non-diabetic adults. Methods This study has been conducted within the framework of the Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study (TLGS) between 2008–2010. A total of 5568 (55.4% female) non-diabetic adults, aged ≥20 years, selected from among participants of the TLGS, were recruited for the study. Data on socio-behavioral factors, family history of diabetes and cardio-metabolic risk factors were included in the hypothesized model to test their direct and indirect associations with pre-diabetes in men and women separately, using structural equation modeling. Results Pre-diabetes was diagnosed in 23.6% of participants, with significantly higher prevalence in men compared to women (27.4% and 20.5%, respectively; p<0.001). Body mass index (BMI) and triglycerides (TG) in both sexes and hypertension and high density lipoprotein only in women, were directly associated with pre-diabetes (p<0.05). Poor diet in women was the only behavioral factor directly associated with pre-diabetes (p<0.05). Age in both sexes and education, only in women, were directly associated with pre-diabetes. In both genders, age, marital status, education, employment, poor diet and leisure time physical activity were indirectly associated with pre-diabetes through cardio-metabolic risk factors. Conclusions The main modifiable factors directly associated with pre-diabetes were TG in women and BMI in men, which need to be prioritized in health policies for diabetes prevention programs in Tehranian adults. Future research should focus on the gender-specific determinants and underlying mechanisms for TG levels and BMI status among this population.


Based on investigations, the main influencing factors on the popularization and application of low-pressure pipeline irrigation projects are identified here, the suitability assessment system for the technology of the low-pressure pipeline irrigation projects in southern China is proposed, and the comprehensive evaluation model by combining AHP with Fuzzy evaluation method is established. The results show that the assessment system is effective and reasonable by taking a city for example.


Academician WANG Ju-yuan was an expert of landscape architecture in China, devoting his whole life in the research of the theories and history of landscape architecture, and was the first academician in landscape architecture discipline of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. He had made great contributions to the establishment of landscape architecture speciality and the theoretical system of the discipline, and to the study, summary and writing of the history of Chinese ancient landscape architecture.


Objective. To investigate whether the norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor reboxetine is effective as a non-cardiotoxic alternative to imipramine in the treatment of therapy-resistant enuresis. Material and methods. Twenty-two children with severely socially handicapping enuresis resistant to urotherapy, the enuresis alarm, desmopressin and anticholinergics (all children had tried all these treatments) were given reboxetine, 4–8 mg at bed-time, for compassionate reasons. Results. Thirteen of the children (59%) achieved complete dryness with reboxetine, either as monotherapy or combined with desmopressin. Side-effects were minor and did not lead to discontinuation of treatment. Conclusions. Although the results of this study need to be confirmed in randomized, placebo-controlled trials, reboxetine may prove to be a useful treatment for therapy-resistant nocturnal enuresis.


The transformations and transitions of organic matter into, through, and out of an ecosystem must obey the second law of thermodynamics. This study considered the transition in the solid components of the organic matter flux through an entire ecosystem. Organic matter samples were taken from each organic matter reservoir and fluvial transfer pathway in a 100% peat-covered catchment (Moor House National Nature Reserve, North Pennines, UK) and were analyzed by elemental analysis and bomb calorimetry. The samples analyzed were as follows: bulk aboveground and belowground biomass; individual plant functional types (heather, mosses, and sedges); plant litter layer; peat soil; and samples of particulate and dissolved organic matter (POM and DOM). Samples were compared to standards of lignin, cellulose, and plant protein. It was possible to calculate: enthalpy of formation (ΔH f ); entropy of formation (ΔS OM f ); and Gibbs free energy of formation (ΔG f ) for each of the samples and standards. The increase (decreasing negative values) in ΔG f through the ecosystem mean that for all but litter production, the transformations through the system must be balanced by production of low (large negative values) ΔG f products, not only CO2 or CH4 but also DOM. The change in ΔG f down the peat profile shows that reaction of the soil organic matter decreases or even ceases at depth and the majority of the reaction has occurred above 40 cm below the surface. This approach represents a new objective way to test and trace organic matter transformations in and through an ecosystem.


Abstract This article reflects on a three-month solitary writing retreat, and contains a poetics based on Heidegger's essay, 'The Origin of the Work of Art'. I investigate Heidegger's distinction between the world's framing essence, poetic dichtung, and the manifestation of dichtung in poetic language, what the philosopher names poesie. I arrive at a range of insights through reflecting on my season in an isolated shack, deep in the Australian Alps; Heidegger's essay helps clarify some of the creative processes at work while there. This cross-disciplinary article identifies how creativity and theories of creativity can connect and interrelate, and explores how theories like Heidegger's can benefit creative thinkers and writers.


Digital holography using a quadrature phase-shifting interferometer is presented. Two quadrature phase-shifed holograms are acquired to give the digital phase hologram. The object image is reconstructed by digital convolutions with the Fast Fourier Transform algorithm.


The notion "author's intention" is nothing less than a booby trap. Intention counts as a diffuse concept for literary research. In editorial theory and the practical application of it, scholars use concepts such as "intended meaning" and "authorial intention" in order to legitimize certain decisions concerning the choice of the text version and the determination of variants respectively typographical errors. Contemporary research on text editing distinguishes between "authorial will" and "authorial intention" (Mathijsen 1995: 141-142). Not the (testamentary) will of the author will be decisive in order to edit or interpret a certain text (version): the focus lies on what the author has "intended." This differentiation between "will" (a legal concept) and "intention" (a psychological category) is clear. Nevertheless, it has been neglected regularly by biographers (of a more "hagiographic" and psychologizing kind). In this view, biographical and editorial research, and even literary history show dubious similarities. These research disciplines pretend to be able to know and study intentions and opinions of an author. Notwithstanding these similarities and points of view, biographers almost never make use of the results of text genetics. For a scholarly discipline, it is at least remarkable that some biographers and editors rely on hypotheses and speculations in order to express textual decisions.


AIM
The aim of the present study was to estimate the gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) levels of matrix metalloproteinases (MMP)-3 and -13 in periodontally-healthy controls and chronic periodontitis (CP) patients, and also to investigate the effect of phase 1 periodontal therapy on MMP-3 and -13 levels in CP patients.

METHODS
Fifty-five systemically-healthy patients were divided into two groups: group 1 (healthy) and group 2 (CP). The recording of clinical parameters and GCF sampling was done at baseline for both groups and again at 6 weeks post-therapy for group 2. The MMP level was determined by ELISA.

RESULTS
A significant increase in the mean MMP-3 and -13 was found between healthy and CP patients. There was a statistically-significant reduction of GCF MMP-3 and -13 concentration after periodontal therapy in the CP group. A positive correlation was found between clinical parameters and GCF MMP-3 and -13 levels.

CONCLUSIONS
A lower concentration of GCF MMP-3 and -13 was found in healthy patients, and a higher concentration was noted for CP patients, which was reduced after periodontal therapy. This indicates the important role played by these MMP in periodontal destruction. Thus, MMP-3 and -13 could be used as inflammatory biomarkers in diagnosing periodontal disease severity.


Except for thromboembolism, perivalvular leaks are the most frequent late complication after cardiac valve replacement. They occur in approximately 3-15% of all cases,"2'3 causing congestive heart failure and hemolytic anemia and necessitating reoperations associated with a high mortal-ity.4'5 Periprosthetic leaks may result from endocarditis, calcification or other abnormalities of annular tissue, pressure gradient and prosthetic resistance to flow, or faulty implantation techniques. 3,6,7,8 This report describes a recent 2-year evaluation of two different suture techniques and materials and their relationship to the development of perivalvular leaks.


Background: Depression during pregnancy is a recognized global health issue which can lead to wide range of maternal and neonatal complications to extremes like maternal suicide to infanticide. This study was done to estimate the magnitude of depression during pregnancy and its risk factors among pregnant women attending a tertiary care hospital in Puducherry.Methods: A descriptive cross sectional study was done among 220 pregnant women attending routine antenatal checkup in outpatient department of a tertiary care hospital in Puducherry, using a systematic random sampling technique. A semi structured questionnaire using Patient Health Questionnaire-9 was used to screen the mothers for antenatal depression.Results: 220 pregnant women were evaluated for antenatal depression. Mean age of the study participants was 25.02±3.13 years. Using PHQ-9 authors found that 19.5% pregnant women were having risk for antenatal depression, of which the mild, moderate and moderately severe levels of depression were 16.4%, 1.4% and 1.8% respectively. The risk of antenatal depression was statistically significant among the women age more than 30 years, husband's educational status as higher secondary and below, residence in rural area, multigravida, having a male child, strained relationship, no support during pregnancy and pressure for a male child. Logistic regression analysis revealed age ≥30 years (aOR 3.03, 95% CI 1.04-8.82), and no support during pregnancy (aOR 3.30, 95% CI 1.10-9.90) were the significant factors.Conclusions: Since the risk for antepartum depression is huge in this region, there is a need for screening for antepartum depression as a routine antenatal checkup in the out patient department. Reinforcing the importance of appropriate for conception and support for the mother during pregnancy plays a vital role in reducing the magnitude of this depression.


Test pads of this technique is configured to input a first signal in the test mode; Receive in a normal mode, input a second signal consisting of a bump array; It said first signal buffer or array configured to transmit the second signal to the semiconductor device; And it may include the test pad and is shared by the bump array, whereby the first signal and parts of anti-static configured to cut off the static included in the second signal.


Physical activity (PA) participation is a critical issue for health promotion with well-established links to healthy development, disease prevention, and well-being. Population research indicates that youth PA levels are low, especially among older adolescents, girls, and visible minorities in Canada. Researchers have identified persons of South Asian origin to be at risk for inactivity and chronic disease risk factors, e.g., glucose intolerance. Thus, there is a need for PA research with youth of South Asian ancestry, and especially girls who report lower levels of PA than boys. The purpose of this research was to better understand PA participation among girls in high school of South Asian ancestry using a mixed methods design of daily diaries and a survey. This paper reviews the literature on youth PA and focuses on study methodology, methodological challenges, and solutions that were employed. Episodic daily diaries of everyday activities were administered to girls with probes for types, timing, location, and companions. Girls identified their most physically demanding pastimes each day. The survey examined demographics, participation in, and perceptions of support in PA, parental and peer relationships, and cultural and religious identities. Diaries offered a comprehensive strategy for evaluating PA while simultaneously gathering information on pastimes and responsibilities.


A depth-integrated finite-element model (RMA-2V) was applied on a section of the Upper Mississippi River to study the hydraulic characteristics of the floodplain-river system. The area that has been modeled is called 'Montrose Flats.' Aquatic vegetation is abundant at this location, and the flow structure needs to be evaluated in order to study the nutrient transport conditions within this area. The present study focused on a large oval eddy that was observed to form in this area near the downstream end of the Devil's Creek delta. Causative factors for this eddy were examined by using this numerical model. Results indicate that the eddy can be simulated by this model and that numerical study is a feasible way to examine the mechanisms of eddy formation.


We study the time evolution of the wave function of a particle bound by an attractive δ-function potential when it is subjected to time-dependent variations of the binding strength (parametric excitation). The simplicity of this model permits certain nonperturbative calculations to be carried out analytically both in one and three dimensions. Thus the survival probability of bound state |θ(t)|2, following a pulse of strength r and duration t, behaves as |θ(t)|2−|θ(∞)|2∼t−α, with both θ(∞) and α depending on r. On the other hand, a sequence of short pulses produces an exponential decay over an intermediate time scale.


Over 100 years of research have shown that social loafing is a real and material psychological phenomenon that reduces performance among humans in groups. It is known that increasing evaluation potential, decreasing deindividuation, and cohesion all lead to reduced social loafing in physical environments. What has not yet been well researched is whether or not the findings associated with many of these variables also apply to virtualized working environments. In the present study, 200 individuals were recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk (an online work community) and were split into experimental and control groups. While both sets of participants engaged in identical alphabetization tasks and were informed that they were the final member of a five-person team, only the experimental subjects were asked to read the short biographies of their teammates and write a short biography of themselves for their teammates to read. By having experimental participants engage in self-disclosure it was expected they would experience reduced deindividuation (which is common with virtual teams), increased perceived evaluation potential, and increased feelings of cohesion. Differences in quantity and quality of performance, and differences in morale (although not cohesion itself), were all in the expected direction, though none achieved levels of statistical significance driven largely by material performance variances within the datasets. Experimental subjects produced, on average, 1.9% additional correct alphabetization groupings (averaging 16.64 of 50 among experimental participants and


1. The infective stage larvae of Bunostomum trigonocephalum (Rudolphi, 1808) penetrate the intact skin and undergo skin-lung migration in the mouse and skin-lung-intestine migration in the guineapig. After percutaneous infection in guineapigs, they moult in the lungs to the fourth stage and to the fifth stage in the intestine. Relatively few of them undergo this partial development in the guineapig and they are stunted in growth. 2. In the abnormal hosts, the penetrating larvae cause extensive tissue disorganisation. The histopathology of the skin and lungs is described. There is a cellular reaction to the parasites. 3. In guineapigs, the infective stage larvae reach the lungs after per os infection but they are few in number do no persist for more than six days.


Over the last 30 years, labor economists have looked extensively at the returns to education. This analysis began with comparisons between high school students and college graduates, with most data suggesting a significant increase in income following an undergraduate education. From there, more in-depth studies were conducted, collectively looking at differences in high school, community college, undergraduate, masters, and doctorate students. Without much dispute, the results remained the same—individuals with more education tended to earn substantially more than their counterparts.


To realize user-centric and ∞exible wireless services, the networks for heterogeneous wireless require high radio frequency utilization, dead zone reduction, tra-c dispersion in urban area, and universal service capabilities in low population area. Radio on Fiber technologies are able to transparently transmit various types of radio services, and realize an efiective universal network platform for wireless communications and broadcastings. This paper describes Software Deflnable Radio Networks proposed to realize a universal network for heterogeneous wireless services, and proposes a RoF distributed antenna architecture with MIMO capability. Ubiquitous network should ofier users the environment to access any communication service at any time, any place, and any situations. The demand of users for various multimedia services will be increasing more and more; therefore full IP connectivity will be required to accommodate the variety of contents. However, such diversiflcation appears not only in application services but also in air interfaces of wireless access methods. The heterogeneous wireless networks also strongly depend on users' difierent demands for applications, quality, latency, and moreover users' situations such as indoor, outdoor, and fast/slow mobility. Therefore, the platform for heterogeneous wireless network becomes a key issue to realize ubiquitous networks. In current wireless networks, various operators independently overlaid their own radio base sta- tions and networks. This leads redundant equipments and investments on infrastructures, and prevents the quick start of a new wireless service. From the viewpoint of the improvement in the radio frequency utilization, microcellular or picocellular architecture is much efiective, however, the implementation of difierent types of base stations and networks provided by difierent opera- tors prevent them from adopting microcellular due to its large investment. Therefore, the future ubiquitous wireless networks will need a cross frequency platform, which can be commonly used by various types of wireless services under the multi air interferences coexistence. RoF technologies are available to realize a universal platform for transparent forwarding various types of wireless services under the multi air interferences coexistence in a ubiquitous network environment. To realize future user centric ubiquitous wireless service networks, software deflnable radio network (SDRN) has been proposed (1), that can be conflgured with the combination of RoF entrance networks, software deflnable radio gateway, wireless service over IP, and radio agents. The flrst part of this paper describes the concept of SDRN, and the second part proposes a new type of distributed antenna architecture by use of RoF, and shows some experimental results for the efiect in MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) capability improvement.


Abstract : Modern communications, combined with the near instantaneous publication of information on the World Wide Web, are providing the means to dramatically affect the pursuit, conduct, and public opinion of war on both sides. The current war in Iraq is the first war in history that has seen soldiers, independent journalists, and citizens in the war zone publishing interactive, first-hand accounts and photos of life and events by web logs or blogs. This war also has seen the enemy create slick web sites containing information and professional quality graphics and video of their operations and exploits, including gruesome beheadings. U.S. military and government public affairs elements, and even mainstream media organizations, have scrambled to deal with this onslaught of unregulated reporting as it rapidly grows in popularity and capability. This paper examines the rise of war blogs and other communications to assess their immediate and longer term impact on U.S. policy and military strategy, and to suggest ways in which the United States can overtly control them or use them more effectively.


Service sector today has emerged as a fast growing sector in majority of developed and developing economies of the world. The consistently increasing share of service sector is being reckoned as a potent indicator of economic development according to the theories of structural changes. The similar kind of positive notions are taking place over the economic sphere of India whether they are in the form of rising share of service sector in GDP or as an effective mode of employment creation or for acting as a catalyst to capital formation or in raising the inflow of foreign direct investment. With the advent of economic reforms initiated in the year 1991, the share of service sector in GDP has not only increased sharply but its growth rate has been steadily high when compared to the primary and secondary sectors of the economy. Earlier the Services were considered to be unproductive due to their typical features of non-tradability, non-transportability and non-storability and the service led growth of economy was disregarded on the ground that the services were derived out of domestic demand. However, the communication revolution has not only made possible the trade in services but also broadened the base for its growth by incorporating the demand of external (off-shore) sector besides catalysing the inland demand for services. Thus, the Service sector has to an extent provided stability and sustainability to the economic growth and made it more real than notional. The increasing trade in services has provided a cushion to the trade-deficit stricken Indian economy and has thus contributed significantly in reducing the deficit in the Current Account. The new emerging services like IT, ITeS and software products have also given an impetus to the growth of trade in services. India, having an edge of labour sufficiency and labour efficiency over all other developing economies, enjoys a significant comparative advantage in supply of these services.


ABSTRACT Because of a perceived failure to detect many cases of cervical condyloma, the cervical cytologic and colposcopic findings were retrospectively reviewed in 150 patients referred for colposcopy to evaluate abnormal cytology. Colposcopic findings, cytology slides, and histologic specimens were reviewed in concert. Pap smear and colposcopy were equally effective in detecting the presence of cervical condyloma (58% and 57%, respectively). The inability of the colposcope consistently to distinguish between mild dysplasia and flat condyloma, and the paucity of koilocytes on many Pap smear specimens accounted for the relatively high percentage of patients with condyloma on biopsy not detected previously. Biopsy thus remains the cornerstone in the diagnosis of subclinical HPV infection of the cervix, and Pap smear is equally as effective as colposcopy in screening for this disease.


Background Millions of children participate in youth sports. In the United States it is estimated that more than 44 million children play organized sports (National Council of youth Sports, 2008). The majority of these children are coached by volunteer and/or unscreened adult males (Peterson, 2004). The lack of screening on the part of youth sport organizations coupled with the access that they provide to large numbers of children create a ready-made resource pool for unfit coaches. In a youth sport setting, the term "unfit" can be used to describe coaches and officials with a propensity towards pedophilia or other violent conduct. It is estimated that one in three girls and one in seven boys in the U.S. are sexually molested before the age of 18 (EarlHubbard, 1996). These numbers do not represent the true extent of sexual abuse because it is estimated that only 10 to 35 percent of incidents are ever reported (Peterson, 2004). Although no one has ever studied the number of child athletes who have been harmed by sexual abuse, it is believed that unfit coaches pose a real threat to youth sports across the globe. Baker, Connaughton & Zhang (2011) conducted a review of literature and case study on the threat posed by unfit coaches on youth sport. The results revealed that youth sport participants are at their most vulnerable when they are left in the care of unfit coaches without the supervision of parents or other youth sport officials or administrators. The research also revealed that sport is susceptible to a type of pedophile called the seducer; one who tries to win over parents and children to earn trust. youth sport organizations are vulnerable to the seducer type of pedophile because the coach-athlete relationship naturally provides an avenue for trust. Parents regularly tell their children to respect and obey coaches. Further, successful coaches may earn the respect and admiration of parents, who in turn give the coach more access to children than what would typically be provided through sport participation. However, the questions remain; (a) how severe is the threat posed by pedophilic coaches to youth sports? (b) Can severity of the threat be assessed via research? The absence of an instrument that measures the severity of the threat posed by pedophilic coaches may account for the lack of attention for this line of research.


The implementation of the European Union's eastward expansion has brought about a series of negative impacts on the integration of European defense.The new members aggravate the existing problems in the defense integration upon the old problems,such as defense goal dispute,strength beyond its objectives,structural defects in defense capabilities,further American influence.These problems do not be solved,and their solution would help a new beginning of the European Union.


A method and system for monitoring performance of an input/output ("I/O") processor in a server associated with a computing system, such as an intelligent I/O ("I2O") compliant computer system. A virtual adapter in the I/O processor monitors messages passing through the I/O processor to produce message data. An I/O monitor associated with each server in the computing system constructs a server communications model for its respective server using the message data provided by each of the virtual adapters associated with the I/O processors in the server. The I/O monitor may also collect information regarding non-I2O devices. An I/O user interface builds a computing system communications model using the server communications models provided by the respective I/O monitors in each of the computing system's servers. The I/O user interface provides selectable views for the computing system communications model and the server communications model for each of the servers in the computing system. The I/O user interface also provides controls for adjusting the operating characteristics of the virtual adapters in the I/O processors and for adjusting operating characteristics of the I/O monitors in the servers. The virtual adapters are visible throughout the computing system by appearing to the other components of the computing system as disk drives.


Some marked changes of central hemodynamics resulting in functional renal disorders have been found in patients with mechanical jaundice. The hemodynamics may help in normalization of renal hemodynamics indices.


To better understand the epidemic situation of infectious diseases and parasite disease in beef cattle,the animal disease control and prevention center of Linze county of Gansu province had thoroughly carried out the investigation about the infection situation of beef cattle caused by the infectious diseases and parasite disease.The investigation results showed that infectious diseases and parasite disease commonly occurred in the beef cattle in this county,which will provide the useful information for prevention and control these diseases in beef cattle industry.


Using fixed point method, we prove the Hyers-Ulam stability of the orthogonally cubic-quartic functional equation f(2x+ y) + f(2x− y) = 3f(x+ y) + f(−x− y) + 3f(x− y) + f(y − x) + 18f(x) + 6f(−x)− 3f(y)− 3f(−y) (1) for all x, y with x ⊥ y. c ©2012 NGA. All rights reserved.


The Pharma Documentation Ring (P-D-R) has gone from strength to strength in the 55 years that it has existed. A leading think tank of industry professionals representing some top 20 pharmaceutical companies, the P-D-R has adapted to the challenging and changing environments in which information professionals in today's environment have to work and has been influential in educating information providers as the sector has evolved. Knowledge, insight, collaboration, innovative technologies, new and emerging trends are key strengths of the P-D-R and this article takes a journey from the very first days when the association was formed to the innovative, influential and growing organization it is today.


By the projector using the illumination with visible wavelengths for projecting a pattern on the screen. Few inches displaced camera from the projector, then the signal to observe the projected patterns to be stored to create a reference frame. Then, the pattern is projected again onto a screen presenter exists. The camera then observed a projection pattern to be stored for the signal to create a current frame including a presenter is compared with the signals obtained from the reference frame, the difference between them is determined. The screen area which is not hidden, the pattern image matches. Pattern on presenter identifies the camera is displaced to the displacement, by not match the reference pattern, the presenter's silhouette region.


This article combines the ideas of exoskeleton with hybrid system and proposes a hybrid model of exoskeleton. Then the walking process of human-exoskeleton coupling system can be divided into four different contact phases, single support left, double support I, single support right and double support II. The four different contact situations yield a hybrid model where continuous nonlinear ordinary differential equations (ODEs) describe the dynamics in the contact phases and the commutations between the discrete phases are marked by collision and detachment events. To obtain the stable and smooth synthesized gait for human-exoskeleton coupling system, the zero-moment-point (ZMP) theory and three spline interpolation method have been used here. The PID controller is used during each phases to test the model and gait. The whole design of hybrid model and control method have been simulated in MATLAB and the results are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed control strategy and the stability of planned gait.


Minimizing frost damage is one of the important durability issues for concrete structures in cold and wet areas. This paper performed a Finite Element Model (FEM) analysis on the structural behavior of reinforced concrete beam under the effect of frost damage. The frost damage was considered as degradations in two constituents: concrete material and bond between concrete and reinforcement. The constitutive models of deteriorated concrete material were proposed using a mesoscale simulation approach (Rigid Body Spring Model). DIANA FEA program was adopted for the structural analysis and experiments were also conducted for the verification. It was clarified that the structural performance of reinforced concrete beam under frost damage could be well evaluated by the FEM analysis. The assessment of the structural behavior of concrete members with frost damage would be achieved with this method.


In the present study we describe a novel three-dimensional spectral boundary element algorithm for interfacial dynamics in Stokes flow and/or gravity. The main attraction of this approach is that it exploits all the benefits of the spectral methods (i.e., exponential convergence and numerical stability) with the versatility of the finite element method. In addition, it is not affected by the disadvantage of the spectral methods used in volume discretization to create denser systems. Our algorithm also exploits all the benefits of the boundary element techniques, i.e., a reduction of the problem dimensionality and great parallel scalability. To achieve continuity of the interfacial geometry and its derivatives at the edges of the spectral elements during the droplet deformation, a suitable interfacial smoothing is developed based on a Hermitian-like interpolation. An adaptive mesh reconstructing procedure based on the relevant lengths of the spectral elements is also described. In addition, we consider the...


Abdominal sonography demonstrated a double lumen sign of the splenic artery and intraluminal echogenic material in the coeliac artery which was dilated. No lesion of the visceral organs was noted, and there was no free fluid. Computed tomography angiography (CTA) showed an intimal flap within the coeliac artery with extension into the splenic artery as well as the common hepatic artery. Hyperdense thrombus was present in the false lumen of the splenic artery. There was a 17 mm dilation of the coeliac artery of the dissecting aneurysm type. Further irregularities were found at the hepatic artery bifurcation and in the proximal right hepatic artery. Stenosis was noted at the origin of the coeliac artery, related to the dissection as well as an arcuate ligament. There was no proximal extension of the dissection to the abdominal aorta and no evidence of hepatic or splenic infarction. Discussion:


In recent years in China's booming market economy, along with the transformation of the market economy on the reform of the state-owned economic system also came into being, in order to increase the source of profit channels of state-owned enterprises, do a good job of the value-added work of state-owned enterprise assets, many state-owned enterprises choose to diversify development, and this trend is now very obvious. The development of enterprises has also produced a number of problems that have had a significant impact on the quality and returns of investments, causing unnecessary losses and increasing unnecessary risks for many state-owned enterprises. The article will be based on the current situation of investment projects and management of state-owned enterprises, analyze the problems that exist in them, put forward effective improvement measures and targeted countermeasure suggestions for the investment management of state-owned enterprises, and promote the high-quality development of state-owned enterprises.


This thesis proposes to study the mythological figures in the sacred texts produced by the Yârsân Kurds and the dialogue that exists between the textual production of this religious group and the Iranian religious culture before and after Islam. The history of the Yârsâns dates back to the 11th century. However the most important period for Yarsâns starts in the 14th century, called also the 'period of Truth' in their own terms, when the literary sacred texts of the group began to be produced, collected and organized. Yârsân Kurds as a religious esoteric community have been a great source of interest for Western scholarship in recent decades. European scholars have mainly focused on the inextricable ties that exist between the main characteristics of the Yârsân religious thoughts and the Iranian religious background both before and after Islam, particularly with Shiite doctrines. Scholars such as Minorsky, Gobineau, Ivanow and later Mokri and During have largely followed this path to understand the particularity of the Yârsâns as a minority religious group. In spite of the efforts made by these scholars, the lack of use of Yarsân sacred texts as sources rendered previous research incomplete, and even in some cases distorted the reality. [. . . ] By using a large number of unpublished textual records, written by Yârsân spiritual masters, the present thesis aims to understand the religious doctrine that is reflected in these documents, and the mythological figures and their places both in Yârsân religious thought and also in the larger context of Iranian religious culture. I have also attempted to identify all these figures, and to describe their functions, their symbolic and religious characteristics, in the religious system of the Yârsâns. I have also attempted to trace the origins of this religious system in Iranian mythology by following the changes and additions. I also tried to specify more clearly the link between this Kurdish religious community and religious thinking of pre- Islamic Iran, which will lead me to provide an answer to the question of the origin of this religious group which has long been a mystery for the scholars of the subject.


This is a study about the effects of human activities and tourist development on the Olive Ridley, an endangered sea turtle species that nests on the beaches of the Northern shores of the Bay of Banderas, Nayarit, Mexico. I traveled to the site and I used a mixed methods approach to do my research. First, I mapped the nesting sea turtle sites using GIS/GPS technology. I used a GPS devise to collect control points on the ground and georeferenced them in Google images in GIS. I recorded the location of the nests on the beach using the GPS device for a period of three weeks. The data were imported into GIS and analyzed. Second, for the Ethnographic qualitative methods, I gathered information in the field by interviewing the conservationists in the Sea Turtle Preserve and other subjects. Additionally, I collected historical data from the Preserve, including the number of sea turtle nests, incubated eggs and released hatchlings that the Preserve has protected each year since 1995. The GIS analysis of the mapped areas shows "hotspots" in both light polluted and dark areas along the 14 km long beach. Through my data analysis, I observed that the Sea Turtle Conservation program is showing an increased number of protected nests and returning sea turtles. The analysis also reveals the extent of poaching, successfully gathered and protected nests and false nests. This study will help identify the nesting "hotspots" in the beach in order for the Sea Turtle Preserve personnel to increase their presence in those areas. The study also shows the positive effects the Nuevo Vallarta Sea Turtle Preserve has had on the survival of the species. Key Terms: Olive Ridley, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Ethnography, Sea Turtles, and Tourism.


In order to achieve real-time and in-situ detection of endotoxin which is an important and significant clinical test index, a SERS chip integrated array microchambers within bioscaffold nanostructures and a SERS monitoring strategy were proposed in this paper. After sputtering of nanogold on the cicada wing which was selected as natural template and PDMS bonding, an array-type chambers within bioscaffold nanostructures was prepared for in-situ bacteria culture and monitoring of endotoxin in bacteriostasis process by SERS. Meanwhile, SERS tag modified with DNA aptamer was prepared and added into this complex biochemical reaction to further improve the sensitivity and selectivity. A new method for in situ detection of endotoxin was thus established. The detection time was shorten to 100 s, and the detection limit was as low as 6.25 ng/mL. The Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) was cultured in situ in the chamber of the SERS chip with antimicrobial agents in 0-72 h. The endotoxin released in the antibacterial process was monitored by the designed SERS detection strategy . The results obtained by SERS analysis were consistent with those of the Elisa kit.


The appointment of sport chaplains in public colleges or universities can be controversial and contested as in a recent case at Iowa State University. Some scholarly attention has been paid to the relationship between sport and religion, but studies on sport chaplains are just recently emerging. Through textual analysis of media coverage and promotional materials, this study examines how collegiate sport chaplains, their ministry organizations, and public universities navigate the competing interests of evangelical chaplains and state-funded institutions. The study explores the roles and responsibilities of collegiate sport chaplains at two public universities (University of Tennessee and Auburn University). It also provides a brief review of the historical context of muscular Christianity for the discussion of collegiate sport chaplaincy.


Synthesis is automatically producing a process model from specified behavior. If the desired process model is a Petri net, synthesis is tackled by so-called region theory. Region-based synthesis has been extensively explored for cases where the specification language is a transition system, a language or even a partially ordered language. Although the ideas of region-based synthesis are the same for every kind of specification, every type of specification has its own region definition and uses different representations of the set of all regions to synthesize a finite result. Up to this point, state-based and language-based regions are just two different concepts. In this paper, we introduce a new region definition we call Petri net regions and reason that every state-based and every language-based region is a Petri net region as well. Thus, there is no need to distinguish language-based and state-based regions anymore. With the help of Petri net regions every concept from one of the older region definitions can be directly applied to the other. Using Petri net regions, we introduce an implementation of a synthesis algorithm that handles state-based as well as language-based input. Furthermore, this algorithm can synthesize a Petri net from a set of labeled Petri nets.


Note that in online learning, training and testing are mixed together. Also, compared to PAC learning we have studied before, fewer statistical assumptions are made in online learning, and we are considering an adversarial (or worst-case) setting. In the previous lecture, we assumed that there exists (at least) one "perfect" expert that never makes mistakes. We learned about the halving algorithm: at each step, ŷ is the (unweighted) majority vote of all surviving experts, and after y is revealed, we eliminate all experts that made a mistake (ξi 6= y). By the nature of the halving algorithm, when the learner makes one mistake, the number of surviving experts is reduced at least by half, which implies that the total number of mistakes m made by the learner satisfies m ≤ lgN (where, as usual, lg denotes base-2 logarithm).


To solve the problem of replenishing missed labels of partially labeled instances and classifying new instances in multi-label learning,this paper proposes a semi-supervised weak-label classification method by regularization(SWCMR), which takes into account both instance simi-larit y and label correlation. SWCMR first estimates the missin g labels of weak-label instances based on label correlation, then uses weak-label instances and unlabeled instances to construct a neighborhood graph, and constructs regularization terms based on the assumption of smoothness from the perspective of instance similarity and label correlation, the next step is to train a semi-supervised weak-label linear classification model using estimated weak label instances, along with unlabeled instances. Experiments on various public multi-label datasets show that SWCMR improves the classification performance, especially when the label information is less, the classification effect is more significant.


Contemporary historiography of Central Asian nationalism features two opposed theories that answer the question of what a "nation" is in different ways. One is the "Soviet ethnos theory." Its essence, if put in rough terms for the sake of brevity, is that the nation is declared the highest stage of development of an ethnos' (or an "ethnic community"), which during centuries and even millennia passes through several developmental stages, from a tribe to a nationality and then to a proper nation. Features of an ethnos, including common culture, language, shared territory, common psychology, endogamy, and ethnic self-consciousness, support its internal unity and are transferred from generation to generation providing for ethnic and then national continuity. It is believed—and not without reason—that modern political leaders and scholars of Central Asia raised in the Soviet tradition eagerly use the logic and terminology of the "ethnos theory" to construct national ideology and modern nation states. This theory has explanatory models, which can be used, according to G. Smith, (1) to "primordialize" and "essentialize" a nation, that is, describe ethnic identities as linear, constant, and homogeneous, (2) to "historicize" a nation, that is, to make it more ancient, discovering its "golden age" and "national heroes," and (3) to "totalize" a nation, that is, to reduce any distinctions and peculiarities by describing a person as a "collective personality" with collective memory,


Through 5 theses a simple model for the massive education of scientists is described, which is based on providing the necessary scientifi c-technical support for the resolution of high-priority social problems. An essential element of the model is the notion of "critical mass", which is defi ned in three mutually interacting levels of intervention: the scientifi c, the technical and the technological one. From this model it can be derived an approximate method for the calculation of the proportion of scientists per each thousand inhabitants that the country requires for the solution of some social critical problems, and even the necessary budget for it.


Abstract This paper examines the second regress argument of the Parmenides (132c12–133a7), and focusses on the question: why is the argument effective? There is widespread disagreement about how this question should be answered. Broadly speaking, recent commentators have given three explanations: (i) the regress contradicts the uniqueness of Forms. That is, each Form is unique, and an infinite regress contradicts this uniqueness. (ii) The regress demonstrates that Forms cannot account for why particulars have the characters they do, since the regress prevents the account from ever being complete. (iii) The regress contradicts the unity of the Form, and since each member of the infinite series participates in an infinite number of Forms, each Form has an infinite number of parts. I examine these positions in some detail. While each has its virtues, it is impossible to adjudicate between them without a theoretical framework dedicated to infinite regress arguments. I find a reasonable theoretical framework for infinite regress arguments in a little-known work of T. Roy, "What's So Bad about Infinite Regress?". After articulating Roy's framework, and extending it to make it useful for an analysis of the second regress argument of the Parmenides, I propose three different readings of the regress: Reading A, which supposes that resemblance between particular and Form trigger an infinite number of resemblance relations; Reading B, which supposes that that the regress is ultimately vicious because it fails to account for the F-ness of a given particular, even when that particular participates in an infinite number of Forms; and Reading C, which supposes that there is an inconsistency between the unity of the Form and many particulars participating in the Form. While none of these readings is absolutely definitive, and Reading B has some significant textual challenges, I argue that Reading B must be the way we are meant to understand Plato's argument. I then argue that Reading B is the best account of why the second regress is effective.


The present invention relates to a device recognizing a motion through a gripped object, a system for the same, and a method thereof. The motion recognition device according to an embodiment of the present invention estimates the state of a user′s wrist according to a handwriting motion using the gripped object. The motion recognition device also estimates the motion of the body joints relevant to the wrist according to the handwriting motion and the state of the gripped object according to the status of the wrist and the joint motion. The motion recognition device can control an external device by transmitting a control signal generated after continuously tracking the state of the estimated object.


Arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia (ARVD)isa recently described entity characterized byright ventricular myopathic changes andright ventricular tachycardia. Thepresenceor extentofleft ventricular dysfunction inARVD isnotknown. We assessed right ventricular andleft ventricular function andsize insixpatients withARVDbyechocardiography andradionuclide angio- cardiography doneinpatients atrestandduring exercise. Allpatients hadrecurrent ventricular tachycardia ofleft bundle branch blockmorphology, andright ventricular origin oftheventricular tachycardia was confirmed byendocardial mapping infourpatients. Theresults werecompared with those of10normal subjects andfive patients withWolff-Parkinson-White syndrome taking amiodar- one.Thelatter group was a control group,since we didnotwithhold amiodarone therapy infour patients withARVD.Mean(+ SD)right ventricular ejection fraction (EF)inpatients withARVD was 25+ 11%atrestand26 12%during exercise. Innormal subjects right ventricular EFwas 51+ 4% atrestand59 6% during exercise (p .05). Innormal subjects, left ventricular EFwas 61+ 4%atrest and72 5%during exercise (p .05) tothose of normal subjects. We conclude that right ventricular dysfunction predominates inpatients withARVD butlatent left ventricular dysfunction ispresent more often thaniscommonly recognized. These findings may haveimportant diagnostic andtherapeutic implications. Circulation 68,No.2,251-257, 1983.


The authors retrospectively examined the clinical outcome (after 1,2 and 5 years of beginning the therapeutic protocols) for 16 rapid‐cycling bipolar affective disorder patients given either lithium alone or lithium plus carbamazepine. The results suggest that both therapeutic protocols have been safe and clinically effective. However, improvement was observed earlier in the patients given lithium and carbamazepine.


Objective To develop a simplified Chinese version of spinal appearance questionnaire(SAQ) and assess its reliability and validity among patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis(AIS).Methods The SAQ was translated and cross-culturally adapted into simplified Chinese according the international guideline.A total of 95 AIS patients were recruited to finish the simplified Chinese SAQ and SRS-22.In order to assess the test-retest reliability,50 AIS patients were randomly selected to re-complete the SAQ at a time interval of 7 d.Internal consistency coefficient(ICC) was calculated and the Bland-Altman plot was made.Convergent validity was assessed by Pearson correlation analysis between the simplified Chinese SAQ with the simplified chinese SRS-22 appearance domain,and discriminant validity by analyzing the relationship between simplified Chinese SAQ scores and the severity of deformity and different scheduled treatments.Results Internal consistency for the SAQ was satisfactory with intra-domain correlation coefficients ranging 0.521-0.792(P0.01).The test-retest reliability for the SAQ was excellent with intra-class correlation coefficient being 0.965 and good Bland-Altman agreement.Convergent validity test demonstrated a moderate correlation between the overall SAQ and SRS-22 appearance domain with r=-0.326(P0.01).Correlation between the overall SAQ and the major Cobb's angle was significant with r =0.779(P0.01).Discriminant validity was confirmed by significant differences of SAQ total scores among the 3 subgroups categorized by the major Cobb's angle(P0.001) and among patients who required exercise,bracing,or surgery(P0.01).Conclusion Our simplified Chinese SAQ has satisfactory reliability and validity in evaluating spinal deformity appearance in Chinese AIS.


Interference mitigation is the most important concern in cognitive radio networks because of exclusive usage right of incumbents on licensed bands. However, to alleviate the issue of spectrum scarcity, secondary users also are allowed to capture the licensed bands in an opportunistic manner without any harmful interference to the primary users. In this paper, we try to rank the available spectrum bands and calculate idle and busy time of licensed channels for secondary usage in order to save precious network resources.


Fuel has become one of the vital energy in our life and reserves on the earth is lessened years by years. However, still wind that is renewable resource which is clean energy that can replaced a fuel. In this paper, novel idea to monitor the environmental condition and working conditions are characterized by using the small three blade Savonius wind turbines with Internet of Things (IoT) is proposed. Therefore, in terms of characterization, controlling and monitoring the status of wind turbine systems are recommended from anywhere in the world using Internet of Things (IoT) technology. In all repair work, this system is declared with IoT application and ESP 8266 to monitor, capture and diagnose problems in wind turbine. This allows the user to have a remote control mechanism remotely via secure internet web connection. This system helps users control energy sources, manually and remotely using smartphones or personal computers. This work is related to the transmission of data between two units in a timely and fast time without any disturbance. Wind turbine performance has a number of factors which determine its reliability. Next, a system for analyzing the data resulting from the rotation of the wind turbine from a distance is needed so that the study can take place at any time. The parameters that been measured using ESP8266 is voltage, current, power and wind speed. When turbine generate electric, it will display the output by thinkspeak. Various challenges, material of wind turbine and methods for condition monitoring were discussed and the results were analyzed with statistical measures and compared with its standard values.


This paper presents a new systematic and generalized approach to model turbulence dynamically. The suggested approach is based on the variational technique to solve a system of equations where the number of unknowns is larger than the number of equations. Turbulence closure problem results when averaging the Navier-Stokes (N-S) equations. Averaging transforms the N-S equations from a determinate set of equations describing turbulent flow field to an indeterminate set of equations that need additional information. Unknown terms, Reynolds stresses, appear as a results of averaging; and the solution of the averaged N-S equations depends on the proper selection of Reynolds stresses. In the dynamic modeling formulation of turbulence, the Reynolds stresses are selected to produce a best solution of the averaged N-S equations. The Reynolds stresses are computed via optimizing a performance index 'I'. In the optimization process the averaged N-S equations are considered as constraints. The performance index 'I' is defined as a measure of the quality of solution. Averaging can be considered as a process by which we lose some information about the flow field. The lost information appears partially in the unknown terms "Reynolds stresses". Hence, the performance index should include some measure of information losses which occur as the result of averaging. Classical approach does not rely on the N-S equations, itself as a complete description of turbulence, to derive a suitable turbulence models. The new concept will use the N-S equations, combined with the physics of turbulence, for an optimal selection of turbulence model through 'I'. In this approach the model is not specified in advance, but it will be developed dynamically with the solution.Copyright © 2013 by ASME


One of the pathogenetic moments of development of an infection of uric ways is infringement of blood, circulation, in a bladder, interfering urodinamicae all over again bottom, and then and the top uric ways. The basis of it determines the anatomic and functional reasons. The modeling of acute microbial inflammatory process in the organs of urogenital system was experimentally hold on. It is offered pathogenetically proved method of rehabilitation of the patients, directed on improvement of microcirculation in bodies of a small basin and removal of venous stagnation.


Optical waveguides made of quartz glass with reduced infrared absorption and reduced attenuation coefficients are made of glass material composed of atoms having mass numbers higher than that of the natural isotope distribution. The quartz glass or doped quartz glass is made of Silicon atoms, of which most or all have the mass numbers 29 and/or 30, as well as of oxygen atoms, of which most or all are composed of isotopes with the mass numbers 17 and/or 18. Atoms of the 'Ge isotope are preferably used for doping with germanium atoms having higher mass numbers than in the natural isotope mixture. Glass with atoms of preferably 'Si and/or O are preferably used for optical waveguides based on quartz glass having attenuation coefficients below 0.15 dB/km. AS indicated, Such optical waveguides are also Suitable for transmitting high-energy, pulsed or continuous laser light in a wavelength range from 2.0 to 3.0 lim. These optical waveguides are also Suitable for transmitting hol mium laser light at 2.1 um and Er laser light with a wavelength of 2.79 and 2.94 um.


This study is aimed at determining the effect of Nicotine on male fertility by evaluating some andrological parameters of male Wistar rat such as sperm parameters (spermatozoa count and motility), serum concentration of testosterone and testicular weight. Histopathology of the testis was also carried out on the effect of nicotine on testicular microstructure. 20 adult male rats were randomly divided into four groups, the test groups were administered with 0.2mg/100g, 0.4/100g and 0.6/100g body weight daily for 30 days while the control were administered with 2mls 0.9% physiological saline. Nicotine caused a significant reduction (P < 0.05) and (P< 0.01) in the mean values of sperm count, serum testosterone concentration and testicular weight in the test when compared with the control. Also, in the test group, the deleterious effect of nicotine on the sperm parameters and testosterone concentration was corroborated by histopathology which revealed a marked degeneration of germ cell layers in the seminiferous tubule and disruption of interstitial cells of the testis thereby interfering with spermatogenesis and testosterone secretion while there was no visible change in the control group. It was concluded that nicotine exerted toxic effect on the germ cell layers in seminiferous tubule with concomitant reduction in reproductive potentials of the male rat whilst showing no significant change in sperm motility. Nicotine and nicotine based products should therefore be taken with caution in cases of infertility. Key words: germ cells , testes, testosterone, fertility, spermatogenesis.


Due to the previous illegal mining,the mined-out areas with complex shape are distributed above 1 300 m in the southern area of Songjiapo copper mine.There is a rural road passing through the ground surface.The underground mining will threaten the road transportation safety.Based on the field investigation and experiments,three mining schemes are put forward.Using 3-D finite element method,the distribution of stress,safety rate and plastic zone of different mining methods are analyzed and compared.Moreover,the corresponding control measures are given,and the optimal mining scheme is recommended.Two new methods to reserve ore top pillar and subsequent filling are proposed to maintain the stability of mined-out areas and surface road.The results show that the stress concentration and the displacement of the rock can be effectively reduced by subsequent filling.The scheme has been applied in the production practice with good results.


Abstract This paper examines the effects of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) tariff reductions on trade flows and welfare of the TPP members and nonmembers following the Caliendo and Parro (2015) method. We use comprehensive sectoral data on 39 countries and the rest of the world, including those in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Our results show that many TPP nonmembers along with the TPP members gain from the TPP tariff reductions, suggesting the existence of a positive externality, with the welfare gains mainly arising from the changes in the terms of trade. Our analysis also shows that the TPP members increase their imports from other TPP members and decrease from non-TPP members, but the trade creation effects exceed the trade diversion effects. Our calibration results under various assumptions of the model emphasize the role of multiple sectors and sectoral linkages in the welfare analysis of the TPP tariff reductions.


A novel algorithm is described for coding objects in video compression systems which gives complete control over the bit allocation to the video objects. The method is evaluated by application to a two layer codec, with background and foreground objects. Images in a sequence are divided into macroblocks, which are compared to a stored background model. Those whose mean square difference (MSD) exceeds a noise threshold are considered as foreground, and may be split into successively finer partitions described by a quadtree data structure. This defines more precisely the outline of the foreground object within each macroblock and gives a set of microblocks of variable size. The microblocks are transformed by the 2D DCT, and the DCT coefficients are coded bitplane by bitplane over the selected object using a zigzag masked (ZZM) technique. For robustness, data is then transmitted macroblock by macroblock, and intraframe or interframe coding of blocks can be selected adaptively at frame, macroblock or microblock level. The scheme is designed to stop sending bits when a certain bit allocation or PSNR is reached for any object, leading to fully controllable bit rates. The relationship between the average PSNR of the sequence and the average bits per pixel in a frame shows that the codec gives good performance over a range of peak bit rates from 0.1 bpp to 1 bpp. Over the whole range, the quality of the reconstructed sequence is significantly better than 'motion JPEG', while the codec is much simpler and faster than MPEG.


............................................................................................................................ 4 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................... 4 MATERIALS AND METHODS ............................................................................................. 7 RESULTS ................................................................................................................................ 9 DISCUSSION ........................................................................................................................ 10 CHAPTER III Molecular characterization and transcriptional analysis of a gene cluster responsible for hydrogen evolution in Vibrio tritonius AM2 ................................................... 17 ABSTRUCT ........................................................................................................................... 17 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................. 17 MATERIALS AND METHODS ........................................................................................... 19 RESULTS .............................................................................................................................. 21 DISCUSSION ........................................................................................................................ 24 CHAPTER IV Comparative physiology and genomics of hydrogen-producing vibrios ... 36 ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................... 36.......................................................................................................................... 36 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................. 36 MATERIALS AND METHODS ........................................................................................... 38 RESULTS .............................................................................................................................. 41 DISCUSSION ........................................................................................................................ 44 CHAPTER V General discussion ........................................................................................... 58 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................ 64 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................ 78


This article shows the application of an ethnographical method (lexical availability method) and diverse strategies for lexical documentation (documentation of terminology in gray literature and other published documents) to the compilation and validation of the terminology of folk-art in Mexico, a knowledge area with scarcely written tradition. As one can foresee, the result obtained from the lexicon through the different methods and strategies of documentation applied allows registering several terminological lists. From these lists and by determining the intersection of two or more lexical sets, principle obtained from the set theory, one can obtain a group that contains the most frequent elements or the common terminology of a domain. In addition to the above, the article explains how a facets system for the basic organization of this terminology can be created from the lexical documentation obtained.


Diseases and pests are important factors in vegetable cultivation; they not only affect the growth and appearance of vegetables but also affect the yield and quality. The disease and pest control of vegetables is dominated by chemical sprays, for now. As a result, the excessive use of pesticides has been a crucial factor of pesticides' non-point source pollution, and it is also the main cause of excessive pesticide residues in vegetables. Therefore, the design of efficient plant protection machinery and technology has become an urgent demand in order to ensure the quality and safety of vegetables. In this review, the machinery and technologies for vegetable protection are introduced from the aspects of chemical control and physical control. In the aspect of chemical control, handheld sprayers, self-propelled or track sprayers, fixed-pipe spray systems, vertical and horizontal boom sprayers, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and vegetable seed treatment techniques are introduced. In the aspect of physical control, soil physical disinfection, pest trapping technologies and ozone sterilizers are introduced. Finally, the existing problems and perspectives of pesticide application sprayers and physical control equipment for vegetables are summarized. This paper can provide references for vegetable growers and researchers.


Around 1885 the ore deposit of the Albert Silver mine was discovered and production continued intermittently until 1914 (Robb, Robb, and Walraven 1994). The Albert Silver mine is situated on the farm Roodepoortjie 250JR, north of Bronkhorstspruit, some 80 km east-northeast of Pretoria in Mpumalanga, South Africa (Figure 1) (Robb, Robb, and Walraven 1994). No detailed description of the mine is known to have been published, but a layout plan and a plan indicating the extent of the underground workings (Figure 2), amongst a surface geophysical study of the ore bodies was given by Van Zijl (1965). The old workings took the form of two development drives along the strike of the lode at the 23 meter and 47 meter levels below surface, together with a number of raises and winzes which passed the mineral alteration zone (Champion 1970). The mine is situated on and close to the southeastern bank of the Moos River. The topography is undulating countryside with gentle hills and granite outcrops, where depressions are caused by intrusions, mostly diabase.


The method comprising the step of generating a phase, and a plurality of cylindrical connecting element representing anatomical structures associated identifying anatomical structures connected in the stored image of the patient anatomy. Method also includes the step of matching a point on the stage, and a mechanism for receiving tracking data corresponding to a point on the mechanism located in at least one of the inside of the associated anatomical structures in one of a plurality of cylindrical connecting element and a.


A pesticide or herbicide formulation comprising an effective amount of a pesticide or herbicide in a carrier or solvent fluid, wherein the carrier or solvent fluid comprises a Fischer-Trop sch hydrocarbon produced via Fischer-Tropsch conversion of synthesis gas. A method of producing a pesticide or herbicide formulation by combining an amount of an herbicide or pes ticide and a biodegradable solvent to form a pesticide or herbicide solution. A method of producing a pesticide or herbicide formulation by converting synthesis gas into Fis cher-Tropsch products in the presence of a Fischer-Tropsch catalyst and combining at least one Fischer-Tropsch product with a pesticide or herbicide to create the formulation.


Objective: To evaluate and compare anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory activity of methanolic and aqueous extract of Anogeissus latifolia leaves
Methods: The in vitro antioxidant activity was investigated using nitric oxide radical inhibition activity assay, hydroxyl radical scavenging activity assay, DPPH free radical scavenging assay, and reducing power assay. The in vitro anti-inflammatory activity was investigated using erythrocyte membrane stabilization, inhibition of protein denaturation, and proteinase inhibitory activity the in vivo anti-inflammatory activity was investigated using carrageenan-induced rat paw edema. The biochemical parameters were evaluated in the blood, which included the determination of serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase and serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase values and in the liver, which includes the estimation of lipid peroxidation, reduced glutathione, and superoxide dismutase.
Results: The methanolic extract caused a significant dose depended on the reduction of inflammation when compared with the aqueous extract of Anogeissus latifolia. The anti-inflammatory activity of all groups was found to be comparable to the standard indomethacin group. The maximum percent inhibition in paw edema was found in methanolic extract of Anogeisuss latifolia at a dose of 500 mg/kg was 53.33%, with significant anti-inflammatory activity p<0.001.
Conclusion: The leaf extract of Anogeissus latifolia possesses anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory activity. The therapeutic effect of Anogeisuss latifolia extracts will encourage its use in the treatment of inflammation.


Objective To explore the roles of cytokines in the progress of idiopathic interstitial pneumonia (IIP) through detecting the concentration of several cytokines in peripheral blood and lung function of IIP patients with different imaging and normal persons. Methods The concentration of interleukin-1 (IL-1), interleukin-2 receptor (IL-2R), IL-5, IL-6, interferon (IFN), and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) in peripheral blood and lung function including forced vital capacity/predicted value (FVC pred%), forced expiratory volume in one second/predicted value (FEV^ pred%) , forced expiratory volume in one second/forced vital capacity ( FEV, /FVC), diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide/predicted value (DLCO pred%) were determined in honeycomb lung group, ground-glass opacity group,and normal control group. Results The concentration of IL-1,IL-2R,IL-5,IL-6, and TNF in peripheral blood of honeycomb lung group were higher than those in normal control group ( P <0. 05 or P <0. 01). The concentration of IL-5 and TNF in peripheral blood of ground-glass opacity group were higher than those in normal control group ( P <0. 05 or P <0. 01). The concentration of IL-2R,IL-5,and TNF in peripheral blood of honeycomb lung group were higher than those in ground-glass opacitygroup ( P <0. 05 or P <0. 01). Compared with normal control group, FVC pred% , FEV, pred%, and DLCO pred% were lower in honeycomb lung group and ground-glass opacity group (all P < 0. 01).FEV1/FVC in ground-glass opacity group was higher than that in normal control group ( P <0. 05).FVC pred% in honeycomb lung group was lower than that in ground-glass opacity group ( P <0. 05).Conclusions The concentration of IL-1, IL-6, and IL-2R in peripheral blood can be regarded as the makers to predict the progress of pulmonary fibrosis to some extent.

Key words:
Idiopathic interstitial pneumonias Honeycomb lung;  Ground-glass opacity


The rapid improvements in single cell sequencing technologies and analyses afford greater scope for dissecting organoid cultures composed of multiple cell types and create an opportunity to interrogate these models to understand tissue biology, cellular behavior and interactions. To this end, retinal organoids generated from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) were analyzed by single cell RNA‐sequencing (scRNA‐Seq) at three time points of differentiation. Combinatorial data from all time points revealed the presence of nine clusters, five of which corresponded to key retinal cell types: retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), cone and rod photoreceptors, and Müller glia. The remaining four clusters expressed genes typical of mitotic cells, extracellular matrix components and those involved in homeostasis. The cell clustering analysis revealed the decreasing presence of mitotic cells and RGCs, formation of a distinct RPE cluster, the emergence of cone and rod photoreceptors from photoreceptor precursors, and an increasing number of Müller glia cells over time. Pseudo‐time analysis resembled the order of cell birth during retinal development, with the mitotic cluster commencing the trajectory and the large majority of Müller glia completing the time line. Together, these data demonstrate the feasibility and potential of scRNA‐Seq to dissect the inherent complexity of retinal organoids and the orderly birth of key retinal cell types. Stem Cells 2019;37:593–598


The goal of the submitted article is to provide information
concerning the research whose target is to find out whether
exist some gaps between different groups of people in the Czech
Republic in terms of financial literacy, especially comparison
of financial literacy for males and females and comparison of
rural and urban population. The target audience are people at
the age between 18 and 30 years whose permanent residence is in
the Czech Republic. Besides comparison of particular groups,
another target is to analyse predictors of financial literacy.
The research is based on a questionnaire which consists of two
parts - the first is focused on demographic information about
respondents, while the second one consists of questions testing
respondent's financial literacy. The tested areas are personal
finance, interest rates, inflation, bank products,
macroeconomic indicators and other related fields. The used
methods are descriptive statistics, t-tests and linear
regression.


This paper studies the impact of wage bargaining on endogenous labor market participation of older workers and revisits the effects of pension reforms. Our main contribution to the literature on retirement is to show that in the context of wage flexibility, when wages are bargained, the financial gain associated with the incentive schemes to delay retirement is shared between workers and firms. In contrast, previous works on actuarially fair pension policy conventionally assume that these incentives are exclusively received by workers. Then, our model emphasizes the positive effects of incentives to delay retirement when the bargaining power of workers is positive. These incentive schemes do not only encourage employed individuals to delay their retirement, but also make searching more attractive to non-employed workers.


Seven major water treatment plants in Seoul Metropolitan Area, which are under Korea Water Resources Corporation (KOWACO)'s management, take water from the Paldang Reservoir in the Han River System for drinking water supply. There are taste and odour (T&O) problems in the finished water because the conventional treatment processes do not efficiently remove the T&O compounds. This study evaluated T&O removal by ozonation, granular activated carbon (GAC) treatment, powder activated carbon (PAC) and an advanced oxidation process in a pilot-scale treatment plant and bench-scale laboratory experiments. During T&O episodes, PAC alone was not adequate, but as a pretreatment together with GAC it could be a useful option. The optimal range of ozone dose was 1 to 2 mg/L at a contact time of 10 min. However, with ozone alone it was difficult to meet the T&O target of 3 TON and 15 ng/L of MIB or geosmin. The GAC adsorption capacity for DOC in the three GAC systems (F/A, GAC and O3 + GAC) at an EBCT of 14 min is mostly exhausted after 9 months. However, substantial TON removal continued for more than 2 years (>90,000 bed volumes). GAC was found to be effective for T&O control and the main removal mechanisms were adsorption capacity and biodegradation.


Healthcare providers in advanced healthcare systems recognize the value of practices involving technological competencies in healthcare. Theory-based practice, grounded in Locsin's Technological Competency as Caring in nursing theory, warrants investments in quality nursing care. This study determined the effect of in-service educational programs for nurse managers regarding perceptions of the theory. Five, 1-hour lecture sessions weekly showed significant effects on understanding technological competency as expression of caring in nursing. Technological Competency as caring in nursing theory-based educational programs offer promising ways to ensure that understanding technological competency as caring assures quality healthcare.


OBJECTIVE To observe the effect of Reduning injection in treatment of severe hand,foot,and mouth disease patients infected with enterovirus 71(EV71)and analyze the safety so as to provide guidance for clinical treatment.METHODS A total of 112 severe hand,foot,and mouth disease patients infected with EV71,who were treated in the hospital from Jun 2012 to Jun 2013,were enrolled in the study and randomly divided into two groups,then the observation group with 56 patients was treated with Reduning injection,the control group with56 patients was given the ribavirin injection combined with antibiotics therapy;the fever onset time,time of body temperature returning to normal,time of disappearance of rashes,and curative effect were observed and compared between the two groups of children.RESULTS The total effective rate was 98.21%in the observation group,89.29%in the control group;the curative effect of the observation group was significantly better than that of the control group.The fever onset time,average hospitalization duration,time of body temperature returning to normal,and time of disappearance of rashes were significantly shorter in the observation group than in the control group,and there were significant differences between the two groups(P0.05).The CRP level of the two groups returned to normal after the treatment,the levels of creatine kinase(CK)and creatine kinase MB isoenzyme(CKMB)were significantly reduced after the treatment,as compared with those before the treatment,there were significant differences(P0.05);there was a significant decrease in the observation group than in the control group(P0.05).CONCLUSION The Reduning injection is characterized by the quick onset of action and rapid antifebrile and can accelerate the disappearance of skin rash and effectively protect the myocardium and anti-inflammatory functions,with the efficacy significant.


We present two activities in which we asked students to model an elevator's movement. In the first one, students were given a model and were asked to evaluate and improve it. In the second activity, students were given neither an initial model, nor any data. The results show that when students were given an initial model, their improved model emulated the form of the initial model. When the students did not receive an initial model, they developed a variety of models which included polynomial, piecewise define function and sinusoidal functions. In this case students focused more on the movement of the elevator and on understanding its operation. The keywords: Modelling, Education, Teaching, Case Study.


During the last years, the growth of e-commerce has been considerable due to the increase of user confidence in secure electronic payment. Many web services have been developed and some decided to establish links of confidence, also called circles of trust. A user that accesses a web service in a circle of trust can also access other web services of the circle without additional authentication. In that way, the web services offer is larger and clients' demands more satisfied. Circles of trust are naturally composed of web services from the same type of activity. In this article, we address the problem of federating heterogeneous circles of trust. The main objective is to develop new e-services based on the composition of heterogeneous services. For instance, an application can be the electronic registration of a child to a day-care center: parents will need documents from their bank (in order to pay), from the government (to prove its identity), and from other sources. The preliminary results introduced here are issued from a French innovative research project called FC2 that deals with the federation of heterogeneous circles of trust.


The Cenomanian Turonian boundary (CTB) is characterized by worldwide lithological and geochemical events and faunal turnovers which outline one of the major Oceanic Anoxic Event (SCHLANGER & JENKYNS 1 976) of the Cretaceous period. Following the works of JEFFERIES ( 1 970), the stratigraphy of the boundary sequence (the Actinocamax plenus Zone of the ancient authors) has been described in the Anglo Paris basin by many authors . Including the classical section of Beachy Head (Sussex), recent data (field work and geophysical) on that Zone, while displaying the repartition of various trace fossils, allow a better definition of the lithological units such as the Melbourn Rock. Equally better correlations from the Southern England to the Eastern Paris basin can be propounded, even when the boundary sequence is highly condensed. In addition, the CTB is characterized by geochemical shifts (manganese and DC for example) which, firstly described in the Anglo Paris basin, have a worldwide occurrence. In the absence of markers fossils, they probably are one of the keys in the correlations between different palaeogeographical realms (boreal, tethyan, cnetral atlantic etc . ) and also with regions where the biostratigraphy of the boundary sequence is more detailed (Western Interior, USA, for exam ple). Resume. La limite Cenomanien-Turonien (CTB) est caracterisee a I'echelle du globe par des accidents lithologiques, geochimiques ou faunistiques qui traduisent un evenement paleo-oceanographique majeur, une des grandes crises anoxiques globales (Oceanic Anoxic Events (OAE) de SCHLANGER & JENKYNS 1 976). A la suite des travaux de JEFFERIES ( 1 970), la stratigraphie de la sequence de passage entre les deux etages (la Zone a Actinocamax plenus des anciens auteurs) a ete decrite en detail dans Ie bassin Anglo Parisien. Cependant, a partir de la coupe c1assique de Beachy Head (Sussex), des donnees de terrain et geophysiques recentes sur cette Zone, tout en soulignant la repartition des differents traces fossiles, permettent de mieux caracteriser certaines unites lithologiques (Ie "Melbourn Rock " en particulier) et de les reperer facilement du sud de I' Angleterre a l'Est du bassin de Paris meme lorsque la sequence de passage est fortement reduite. Cette limite Cenomanien Turonien est egalement marquee par des accidents geochimiques (manganese ou DC par exemple), qui, mis en evidence pour la premiere fois dans Ie bassin Anglo Parisien, se revelent avoir egalement une repartition globale. En I'absence des fossiles marqueurs de zone, ils peuvent done servir de base aux correlations entre des domaines paleogeographi ques differents (boreal, tethysien, atlantique central. . . ) ou avec des regions ou la biostratigraphie de la zone de passage Cenomanien Turonien est plus detaillee (Western Interior, USA, en particulier). " Authors' addresses: R. N. MORTIMORE, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Brighton Polytechnic, Brighton Sussex 4BN 7GJ, United Kingdom. B . POMEROL, Laboratoire des Sciences de la Terre, Universite de Reims, BP 347 F-5 1 062 Reims, Cedex, France. 0078-042 1 /93/0028-0059 $ 5.00 © 1 993 Gebriider Borntraeger. D I OOO Berlin ' D-7000 Stuttgart (c) 2015 www.schweizerbart.com DOI:10.1127/nos/28/1993/59


Objective To investigate the effects of long-term replacement therapy of estrogen or compound estrogen on the deposition of beta-amyloid protein (Aβ) in ovariectomy (OVX) rat hippocampal formation. Methods Fifty seven-month-old female Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into five groups: normal control, SHAM, OVX, OVX plus 17beta-estradiol (OVX/ERT), and OVX plus compound nylestriol tablet (OVX/NL). The ovariectomy was performed in OVX, OVX/NL and OVX/ERT rats and drugs were administered orally in OVX/NL and OVX/ERT rats for 35 weeks after the ovariectomy. Then the rats in all groups were sacrificed. Immunohisto-chemistry of Aβ, cell counting and imaging system were used to determine the change of Aβ deposition levels in OVX rat hippocampal formation. Results The numbers and optical density of Aβ-positive neurons of all hippocampal subregions and dentate gyrus in OVX rats were markedly higher than those of normal control, SHAM,OVX/NL, and OVX/ERT rats( P 0.05), but there were no differences in Aβ-positive neurons among normal control, SHAM,OVX/NL and OVX/ERT rats. Conclusions Long-term estrogen deficiency results in an increase of deposition of Aβ. Replacement of estrogen or compound estrogen can equally inhibit the deposition of Aβ in hippocampal formation, which may be mainly neuroprotective mechanism of estrogen.


This paper presents the results from two different experiments carried out independently with two different groups of students using the same materials and the same methodology, with the aim to check whether oral translation, if applied as a main teaching technique, can foster the development of the accuracy component of language proficiency. The experiments were carried out at the International Centre for Plurilingualism at the University of Udine with two experimental groups over a period of three years. Apart from providing a positive answer to the research question, the results show that the whole training can be carried out as part of the in-class activities and is independent of factors of personal character like the amount of time a student dedicates to the L2 learning at home, his or her willingness to put him/herself to work and even, to a large extent, independent of the student's mother tongue or previous contacts with the foreign language. Since the main goal is the rapid memorization of the lexical and grammar material inside a context, the present technique suggests itself as a promising teaching tool in any lexically specialized field of L2 study.


The various types of natural muscle are incredible material systems that enable the production of large deformations by repetitive molecular motions. Electroactive Polymer technologies are being developed that produce similar strains and higher stresses using electrostatic forces, electrostriction, ion insertion, and molecular conformational changes. Materials used include elastomers, conducting polymers, ionically conducting polymers, and carbon nanotubes. These polymers reach large strain response to an electric field, making them good candidates as low frequency active actuators. Fluorinated terpolymer P(VDF-TrFE-CFE) is a semi-crystalline polymer which shows the highest level of conversion from electrical to mechanical energy thanks to its high dielectric permittivity (eΓ ∼ 50) and high mechanical modulus. However, large electrical field are required (E > 100V/μm) to reach sufficient strain levels (> 2%). In this work, fluorinated terpolymer P(VDF-TrFE-CFE) was doped with (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP). Such modified terpolymer leads to 28-fold increase of the electrostrictive strain under low applied electric field and 233-fold increase of the mechanical energy compared to the neat polymer. This simple chemical doping allows the use of the exceptional properties of the terpolymer at an electric field 5.5 times lower than that of the pure terpolymer. In addition, the proposed structure in this paper is relatively cheap, industrially used and could potentially break a technological lock as the performance recorded at low electric field are greater than any conventional electroactive polymer.