Three water-solube polysaccharides, AHP-Ⅰ, AHP-Ⅱ and AHP-Ⅲ from the cortices of Acanthopanax giraldii Hams, were isolated and purified by ion-exchange chromatographies on DEAE-cellulose 32 and Sephacryl S-200.Three fractions were shown to be homogeneous by Sephacryl S-300,and HPLC. The apparent average molecular weight of AHP-I, AHP-II and AHP-Ⅲ was estimated to be approximately 7.0 kD,(59.5 kD )and 12.9 kD respectively by HPLC.


The utility model discloses a new type intelligent LED lighting control system. The new type intelligent LED lighting control system is characterized in that the new type intelligent LED lighting control system comprises a sensor system, a master control system MCU and an LED driving display system. The master control system MCU is connected with the sensor system and the LED driving display system separately. The sensor system comprises an ambient brightness sensing module, a passive pyroelectric infrared sensor and a sound sensing module. The LED driving display system comprises a driving circuit and an LED light source. According to the utility model, the advantage of simple structure can be realized, the existence of a person can be detected through the passive pyroelectric infrared detector and the environmental noise, and the ambient brightness is detected, so the brightness automatic adjustment and control can be realized, and advantages of good reliability and durability can be realized.


Clinical trials are supposed to inform clinical practice. If they don't, they become ethically questionable. One of the biggest problems is selection bias or lack of external validity—a mismatch between the trial population and real world patients. This is so common that a large literature is dedicated to it, and in a systematic review of 52 studies across a range of specialties, about 70% of studies found evidence of significant and systematic mismatches that make it hard to apply trial findings to typical patient populations (Trials 2015;16:495, doi:10.1186/ s13063-015-1023-4).


The most difficult problem involved in establishing the kind of communication needed to support enterprise integration is the semantic problem: how to determine when the communicating parties are talking about the same thing, when they are not, and when they are talking about something just enough different to be dangerous. The Semantic Unification Meta-Model (SUMM), which is based on the classical predicate calculus, attempts to provide a foundation for specifying the semantics of a language in a way that assures the ability to translate information from one language to another. The SUMM is not intended as a primary language for modeling domain knowledge. Rather it is intended to provide a technique for rigorously defining the truth conditions of any model stated in any language that meets certain non-exclusive conditions: that the information content of the modeling language is based on the meaning of a set of "predicates" that classify objects and relationships, and on the identification of individuals through the use of "terms". The SUMM provides a meta-model for such languages that allows the expressions of each language to be mapped to a common ontology. Such a meta-model can be developed at the instance level to support multilingual communication about particular individuals, at the model level to support multilingual communication about types of individuals, or, at the meta-model level to support multilingual communication about types of models.


15 this article describes the process Phil Benson went through when writing the second edition of his Teaching and researching autonomy, which includes three new areas: sociocultural implications of autonomy, teacher autonomy, and autonomy and new technologies. It will whet our appetites for his plenary at JALT2011 on Autonomy in language teaching and learning: How to do it "here" where he will present a framework that teachers can use to evaluate constraints on autonomy in their workplaces and suggest a number of techniques that they can use to work within and around these constraints.


A Switch fabric for Switching data traffic according to a plurality of links. The data traffic may convey audio infor mation, Video information, or any other type of information. The Switch fabric includes input, output and at least one intermediate Stages, each Stage including a plurality of Switching elements. The Switching elements of the input and output Stages respectively have external input and output ports. The Switch fabric further includes a Switch fabric controller. The Switch fabric controller includes a link data base including information about the plurality of links. The Switch fabric controller is operative to search the link database to identify symmetrical linkS and to establish internal pathways between the input stage and the output Stage through the at least one intermediate Stage, wherein at least two Symmetrical links identified by the Searching are realized using a common Switching element of the at least one intermediate Stage.


The paper establishes a social benefit evaluation system of automotive recall system by using qualitative and quantitative approach.Then we calculate social benefit of automotive recall system by using AHP and GIOWA.


The study presents a comprehensive account of the greenhouse balance of European grasslands including not only sources and sinks of carbon (C) but also the emissions of nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4) that is developed around four key questions (p. 6001, l. 20 ff.). The work is essentially based on meta-analysis of previously published results. From a methodological perspective, the new contribution is the targeted combination of sparse experimental data with European-wide results of simulations with a process-based grassland simulator. For the time being, this is probably the most promising approach to overcome the weaknesses of entirely experimental or purely modelling studies. Formally the paper is very well written, with a clear setup, a very good use of the English language and an appropriate selection of figures and tables.


The exponentiated Gumbel model has been shown to be useful in climate modeling including global warming problem, flood frequency analysis, offshore modeling, rainfall modeling, and wind speed modeling. Here, we consider estimation of the probability density function (PDF) and the cumulative distribution function (CDF) of the exponentiated Gumbel distribution. The following estimators are considered: uniformly minimum variance unbiased (UMVU) estimator, maximum likelihood (ML) estimator, percentile (PC) estimator, least-square (LS) estimator, and weighted least-square (WLS) estimator. Analytical expressions are derived for the bias and the mean squared error. Simulation studies and real data applications show that the ML estimator performs better than others.


Author(s): Inchoco, Mark Christian | Advisor(s): Adams, Byron | Abstract: This thesis argues that composed film music can serve a political function in the cinema. Antoine Duhamel's film scores for Jean-Luc Godard's films Pierrot le fou (1965) and Weekend (1967) serves a political purpose as misdirection and subterfuge to avoid censorship, and as a highlight to gesture sonically towards political issues without words. This study uses Nicholas Cook's notion of contestation to explain how divergent musical styles from high European modernism to French chanson can function counter than their normative uses. Historical events such as the Algerian War, French post-war economic growth and consumption, and trends in musical aesthetics are considered alongside with Duhamel's scores and Godard's films. The consideration of world history and musical aesthetics in film music studies expands on works by Gorbman, Chion, McMahon, Brown, and Silverman and speaks to the current gap in methodology on treating film and film music as an open text influenced by national and global affairs. This work also explores how aspects of music composition such as dissonance and instrumentation can speak to larger issues of nationalism, sexual politics, and capitalism.


The power of a backcross design to detect genetic variation associated with a single chromosome was investigated. A simple chromosomal test was suggested in which the phenotypic observations are regressed onto genotypic information from multiple markers. It was shown that the optimum marker spacing depends on the underlying genetic structure and chromosome length. A sparse marker map, with markers approximately every 50 cM, is sufficient to detect chromosomal variation if the nature of the genetic variance is coupled polygenes, whereas the optimum marker spacing to detect a single QTL somewhere on the chromosome is slightly denser, about 20–40 cM. Although the method was demonstrated for line crosses, it can equally be applied to other populations, for example four-way crosses and half-sib designs.


Tehranolide which has been isolated from Artemisia diffusa has similar functional group to Artemisinin. More attention has been paid to Artemisia annua L., for its anti-plasmodial properties. In the present study, we investigated the anti-malarial effects of Tehranolide against human malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum in vitro. The chloroquine (CQ)-sensitive strain (3D7) of P. falciparum was continuously cultured in PRMI medium with addition of HT serum Albumax, RBC of O blood group, 05% CO2 at 37°C. The anti-malarial activity was determined by using different concentrations including 10, 30, 50 mg mLG of Tehranolide were made in drug vehicle including distilled water, methanol, DMSO and applied for therapy. Percentage of parasitaemia was counted after 24, 48 and 72 h after treatment for each concentration. Results indicated no effects of low concentration of Tehranolide on parasitaemia, however the concentrations of 10, 30 and 50 mg mLG represented their anti-plasmodial activities. The cytotoxic effects of high concentration occurred by destroying both parasites and RBCs in culture medium. Inhibition concentration of 50% (IC50) on plasmodial survival was observed at concentration of 10 mg mLG after 48-72 h of treatment. It is concluded that, Tehranolide seems to be a promising drug exhibiting good anti-malarial effects in this human malaria P. falciparum model in vitro. However, more research is required before Tehranolide can be used for malaria treatment in human cases.


trans-Resveratrol (RSV) is a natural molecule proved for cancer preventive and therapeutic activities without any potential side effects. In recent years, RSV is also proved for its cytotoxic potential against glioma. However, practical application of RSV in glioma chemotherapy is limited because of its low systemic circulation time and short biological half-life resulting from rapid metabolism and accelerated elimination from the blood pool. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to enhance systemic circulation time and short biological half-life of RSV using poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide)–D-α-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol 1000 succinate blend nanoparticles (RSV-PLGA-BNPs). RSV-PLGA-BNPs were successfully formulated and optimized by a single-emulsion solvent-evaporation technique. RSV-PLGA-BNPs were evaluated by various state of the art techniques for extensive nanoparticulate characterization. Cytotoxicity against C6 cells, cellular internalization and haemocompatibility were studied for proving anticancer potential and safety of RSV-PLGA-BNPs. Pharmacokinetic and tissue distribution studies were carried out in Charles Foster rats after intravenous (i.v) administration. RSV-PLGA-BNPs showed significantly higher cytotoxicity and excellent cell internalization in C6 glioma cells. Haemocompatibility studies suggested that RSV-PLGA-BNPs are safe for i.v administration. Pharmacokinetic studies showed prolonged systemic circulation of RSV-PLGA-BNPs up to 36 h with approximately 18.11 times higher plasma half-life than RSV solution. Tissue distribution studies showed higher brain accumulation of RSV-PLGA-BNPs than RSV. Therefore, RSV-PLGA-BNPs can be applied as a potential tool for enhancing systemic circulation and plasma half-life with superior anticancer efficacy against glioma.


This paper proposes two approximation algorithms for LCS problem of three input strings.Even if the approximation factors of the two algorithms are still 1/|∑|,they can both get much better results in comparison of Gotthilf's approximating LCS algorithm in most cases.Linear approximating LCS algorithm,takes O(n) time and O(n) space,where n is the length of the longest input sequence.It can work well in the case of large scale input strings.Recursive approximating LCS algorithm,whose time and space complexities both are O(nlogn),can receive the best precision among these algorithms at the most time.It is applicable to meet the desire of good precision for corresponding LCS problem.The two algorithms can be used to solve the LCS problem of multiple sequences and CLCS problem of multiple sequences.Experimental results prove the validity of the two algorithms.


Introduction:
 B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) is primarily expressed by malignant and normal plasma cells, making it an attractive target for the treatment of multiple myeloma (MM). bb21217 is a BCMA-directed chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy that uses the same CAR molecule as idecabtagene vicleucel (ide-cel, bb2121), but adds the PI3K inhibitor bb007 during manufacturing to enrich the drug product (DP) for memory-like T cells, thereby reducing the proportion of highly differentiated or senescent T cells. We conducted correlative analyses to investigate the mechanistic hypothesis that CAR+ T cells with memory like phenotypes may persist and function longer, which may be one determinant of duration of response (DOR).
 Methods:
 An ongoing phase I clinical study (CRB-402; NCT03274219) is assessing safety and efficacy of bb21217 in relapsed/refractory MM patients. A total of 44 patients had PBMCs, collected from apheresis, and DP characterized by RNA sequencing (RNAseq) and mass Cytometry (CyTOF). The correlation of T cell phenotype with peak expansion, response and DOR per IMWG Uniform Response Criteria was explored. P-values were determined by Wilcoxon test, Spearman correlation, or Cox PH regression on DOR with categorical marker values (high/low).
 Results:
 In this patient population, substantial cross patient heterogeneity in T cell phenotypes was observed both in PBMCs and DP. Late differentiation/senescent markers in PBMCs were negatively correlated with clinical response. In particular, patients whose DP had higher expression of CD57 had lower peak expansion (p<0.0001), experienced more early relapse by month 6 (M6) (p<0.05) and had lower DOR (p<0.05) compared to those with lower CD57 expression. Paired analysis of PBMCs and DP demonstrated bb21217 DP is enriched for memory-like T cells (LEF-1+ (median increase 310%, p<0.0001), CD27+ (median increase 84.7%, p<0.0001), CCR7+ (median increase 188.3%, p<0.0001) and depleted of highly differentiated or senescent CD57+ T cells (median decrease 87.3%, p<0.0001), relative to PBMCs. As CAR+ T cell peak expansion is associated with initial clinical response, we investigated the relationship between peak expansion and DP phenotype. Expression of early memory T cell markers (eg, LEF1, CD27, CCR7) in DP were positively correlated with peak expansion, while markers of terminally differentiated effector cell markers in DP (eg, CD57, GZMA, GZMB) were negatively correlated with peak expansion. RNAseq also showed a significant enrichment in naïve/early memory gene signatures and a decrease in late differentiation gene signatures in DP from patients with high peak expansion (>2x105copies/ug), consistent with the CYTOF findings. Early activation markers (CD38 p<0.001, IRF4 p<0.01) were expressed in the DP from patients with high peak expansion, suggesting that an early activation phenotype may contribute to robust expansion. We assessed the relationship between T cell memory markers in DP and sustained response by comparing DP from patients with or without progressive disease (PD) by M6. RNAseq analysis showed a significant enrichment for early memory (CCR7, p<0.05, SELL, p<0.05) and early activation (CD38 p<0.05, IRF4 p<0.05) T cell phenotypes and a significant reduction in late differentiation/senescence (CD57 p<0.05, GZMB p<0.01. KLRG1 p<0.01) T cell phenotypes in DP from patients without PD at M6. Gene set enrichment analysis showed enrichment of naïve/memory gene signatures in patients without PD at M6. ScRNAseq analyses from a subset of PBMC/DP as well as immunophenotyping data from clinical samples, including memory phenotypes, and their relationship to clinical outcome, will also be presented.
 Conclusion:
 As seen with other CAR T cell studies, the quality of incoming PBMCs, in particular the fraction of T cells with a late differentiation/senescent phenotype, influences initial and sustained clinical response. The analyses reported here support the mechanistic hypothesis of bb21217, suggesting the presence of early memory like T cells in PBMC and/or DP may contribute to high peak expansion and prolonged DOR, while presence of highly differentiated or senescent T cells may negatively impact these measures. Further clinical evaluation of bb21217 and robust correlative analyses will be important to help contextualize the influence of patient and product characteristics on clinical outcomes.

 Finney: bluebird bio: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Yeri:bluebird bio: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Mao:bluebird bio: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Pandya:bluebird bio: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Alonzo:bluebird bio: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Hopkins:bluebird bio: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Hymson:bluebird bio: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Hu:bluebird bio: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Foos:bluebird bio: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Bhadoriya:bluebird bio: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Hintzen:bluebird bio: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Gioia:bluebird bio: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Timm:bluebird bio: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Massaro:bluebird bio: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Hause:Bristol-Myers Squibb Company: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Kaiser:BMS: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Martin:BMS: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Shah:BMS, Janssen, Bluebird Bio, Sutro Biopharma, Teneobio, Poseida, Nektar: Research Funding; GSK, Amgen, Indapta Therapeutics, Sanofi, BMS, CareDx, Kite, Karyopharm: Consultancy. Raje:Caribou: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Astrazeneca: Consultancy; Karyopharm: Consultancy; Janssen: Consultancy; Celgene: Consultancy; BMS: Consultancy; Immuneel: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Takeda: Consultancy; Bluebird, Bio: Consultancy, Research Funding; Amgen: Consultancy. Berdeja:Novartis: Research Funding; Lilly: Research Funding; Legend: Consultancy; Takeda: Consultancy, Research Funding; Servier: Consultancy; Teva: Research Funding; Vivolux: Research Funding; Bluebird: Research Funding; Acetylon: Research Funding; Amgen: Consultancy, Research Funding; Abbvie: Research Funding; BMS: Consultancy, Research Funding; Bioclinica: Consultancy; CRISPR Therapeutics: Consultancy, Research Funding; Constellation: Research Funding; Cellularity: Research Funding; Celgene: Consultancy, Research Funding; Glenmark: Research Funding; Genentech, Inc.: Research Funding; EMD Sorono: Research Funding; CURIS: Research Funding; Kite Pharma: Consultancy; Kesios: Research Funding; Karyopharm: Consultancy; Janssen: Consultancy, Research Funding; Prothena: Consultancy; Poseida: Research Funding. Grande:bluebird bio: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Bitter:Novartis AG, Predicant Biosciences, Biospect, F Hofmann-La Roche: Ended employment in the past 24 months; bluebird bio: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company; Novartis: Ended employment in the past 24 months, Patents & Royalties. Petrocca:bluebird, bio: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Friedman:bluebird bio: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Sangurdekar:bluebird bio: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company; Biogen: Ended employment in the past 24 months.


: Established in Boston in 1810, The American Board of Commisioners of Foreign Missions (ABCFM) opened many schools in the Ottoman lands after 1820. One of these schools opened by the ABCFM was the Euphrates (Fırat) College in Harput. This study examines the observations of the British traveller Henry Fanshawe Toze as noted in his book "Turkish Armenia and Eastern Asia Minor" during his visit to Harput and assesses the social, economic and cultural impact of missionaries on the region.


The typical way of solving conflicts in today's world is based on Hegelian dialectics and Parmenidean logic, both based on the notion of Being and Identity. As the result of the solution is not really satisfactory, I propose another way proposed by Nishida Kitaro, a Japanese philosopher. His vision of the world as self-identical and self-contradictory at the same time seems more useful to our world. His dialectics based on the notion of Field seems more helpful to us.


In these proceedings, we report on the Λ hyperon structure and decay, studied through two different processes: i) the resonant e+e− → J/ψ → ΛΛ¯, using a data sample of 1.31×109 J/ψ events and ii) the non-resonant e+e− → γ* → ΛΛ¯, using a 66.9 pb−1 data sample collected at s = 2.396 GeV. In e+e− → J/ψ → ΛΛ¯, the phase between the hadronic form factors is measured for the first time to be 42.3° ± 0.6° ± 0.5°. The large data sample enabled a multi-dimensional analysis and hence a model-independent measurement of the decay parameters for Λ → pπ− (α−), Λ¯ → pπ+ (α+) and Λ¯ → nπ° (α¯0). The value obtained, α− = 0.750 ± 0.009 ± 0.004, differs with 5σ from the PDG value. The simultaneous measurement for the Λ¯, i.e. α+ = −0.758 ± 0.010 ± 0.007, allows for the most precise test of CP violation in Λ decays so far: ACP = (α− + α+)/(α− − α+) of −0.006 ± 0.012 ± 0.007. Furthermore, the decay asymmetry α¯0 = −0.692 ± 0.016 ± 0.006 is measured for the first time. The large data sample at √s = 2.396 GeV of the e+e− → ΛΛ¯ reaction enabled the first complete measurement of the time-like electric and magnetic form factors GE and GM of any baryon. This includes the modulus of the ratio R = | GE/GM | and the relative phase, ΔΦ = ΦE − ΦM. Using the decay asymmetry parameters from the J/ψ data as input, the obtained values of R and ΔΦ are R = 0.96 ± 0.14 ± 0.02 and ΔΦ = 37° ± 12° ± 6°, respectively. In addition, the cross section has been measured to unprecedented precision to σ = 119.0 ± 5.3 ± 5.1 pb, corresponding to an effective form factor value of | G | = 0.123 ± 0.003 ± 0.003.


Gene single nucleotide polymorphisms play a critical role in the development of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). The aim of this study is to investigate the associations between EZH2 gene polymorphisms and ESCC risk. We undertook a case-control study to analyze three EZH2 polymorphisms (148505302C > T, 2110 + 6A > C and 626 − 394T > C) in an Han Chinese population, by extraction of genomic DNA from the peripheral blood of 476 patients with ESCC and 492 control participants, and performed EZH2 genotyping using DNA sequencing. The obtained results indicated that overall, no statistically significant association was observed in 148505302C > T and 2110 + 6A > C. However, 626 − 394T > C genotype was at increased risk of ESCCs (p = 0.006; odds ratio (OR) = 1.131, CI 95%: 1.034–1.236). Moreover, 626 − 394C/C genotype ESCCs were more significantly common in patients with tumor size of >5 cm than T allele ESCC and in cases of poor differentiation and lower advanced pathological stage. In conclusion, polymorphism in 626 − 394T > C was observed to be associated with susceptibility of ESCC. Nevertheless, further investigation with a larger sample size is needed to support our results.


The developmental degree of the productive forces is the objective evidence of Chinese Communist Party's formulating general line,and the right general line is the essential guarantee with which the Party liberates and develops the productive forces.To represent the requirements of the development trend of China 's advanced productive forces,the Party needs to adjust her general line gradually according to the different historical periods,so as to make the line suitable for the development law of the productive forces.


In the course of our work with Schiff base vanadium complexes, several polyoxovanadates formed, particularly crystalline decavanadates (Cavaco et al., 1995; Costa Pessoa et al., 1998, 1999). In the present case, we isolated the title compound, (I), while attempting to obtain N-salicylidenetyrosinate (sal±Tyr) oxovanadium complexes. The hydrolysis of vanadium(V) is very complex, but by combination of potentiometric and V NMR spectroscopy, its speciation was determined in the whole pH range (Pettersson et al., 1983). In the slightly acid pH range (3.0±5.5), yellow±orange decavanadates [HnV10O28] (6yn)y form. The hydrolysis of vanadium(IV) is also quite complex. On increasing the pH starting in the acid range, VO hydroxide precipitates in the pH range 4±8 (Boas & Costa Pessoa, 1987). In the present case, the pH is 5, but the sal±Tyr ligand coordinates to VO and hinders the precipitation of the hydroxide. The VO(sal± Tyr) complex is soluble, it does not precipitate and the formation of a compound of V may then be explained by the slow oxidation of VO by atmospheric oxygen. Decavanadates being the dominant V species at pH 5 therefore form slowly as crystalline compounds. This explains why several decavanadate salts have been obtained by our group under relatively similar conditions. In particular, this compound is isostructural with the disodium tetraammonium salt (Cavaco et al., 1995), with the replacement of NH4 + by K ions. Valence bond calculations show that all VÐO and V O bond distances are consistent with the non-protonation of the decavanadate ion, thus con®rming the assumed overall charge of y6. Experimental


The next generation mobile access network system design needs more precise characterisation of the radio channel and and needs sophisticated propagation models because of the decreasing cell sizes and of higher data rates. Especially planning coverage in tunnels and indoor spaces causes design problems without these models. The FDTD based model is able to characterise the above scenarios and using this a costly measurement effort can be reduced using simulation methods. In this article nearly circular subway tunnel is modeled in absence and presence of vehicle. The model can be applied for determine the field strength distribution on a cut plane of the tunnel with leaky cable excitation.


The solubility of cyclohexene in different water-sulfolane mixtures was measured between 313 and 413 K. The results demonstrate a sharp increase of the solubility of cyclohexene with increasing percentages of sulfolane in the solvent mixture. Without sulfolane the increase of the solubility with temperature is higher than in mixtures with sulfolane. From thermodynamic calculations, using UNIFAC to predict the activity coefficients of all components, the solubility of cyclohexene in various mixtures and at different temperatures could be computed. The experimental and computed solubilities are of comparable magnitude and show the same temperature and mixture-composition dependence. The solubility of cyclohexene in a mixture of 90 mol % sulfolane and 10 mol % water is, depending on the temperature, between 100 and 200 times higher than in pure water.


The fusion of audio and visual speech is an instance of the general sensory fusion problem. The sensory fusion problem arises in the situation when multiple channels carry complementary information about different components of a system. In the case of audio-visual speech, the two modalities manifest two aspects of the same underlying speech production process. From an observer's view, the audio channel and the visual channel represent two interacting stochastic processes. We seek a framework that can model the two individual processes as well as their dynamic interactions. One interesting aspect of audio-visual speech is the inherent asynchrony between the audio and visual channels. Most early integration approaches to the fusion problem assume tight synchrony between the two. However, studies have shown that human perception of bimodal speech does not require rigid synchronization of the two modalities. Furthermore, humans appear to use the audio-visual asynchronies as multimodal features. For example, it is well known that the voice onset time is an important cue to the voicing feature in stop consonants. This information can be conveyed bimodally by the interval between seeing the stop release and hearing the vocal cord vibration. Therefore, a successful fusion scheme should not only be tolerant to asynchrony between the audio and visual cues, but also be apt to capture and exploit this bimodal feature.


An overview of the biophysics activity at the Department of Physics and Chemistry Emilio Segrè of the University of Palermo is given. For forty years, the focus of the research has been on the protein structure–dynamics–function paradigm, with the aim of understanding the molecular basis of the relevant mechanisms and the key role of solvent. At least three research lines are identified; the main results obtained in collaboration with other groups in Italy and abroad are presented. This review is dedicated to the memory of Professors Massimo Ugo Palma, Maria Beatrice Palma Vittorelli, and Lorenzo Cordone, which were the founders of the Palermo School of Biophysics. We all have been, directly or indirectly, their pupils; we miss their enthusiasm for scientific research, their deep physical insights, their suggestions, their strict but always constructive criticisms, and, most of all, their friendship. This paper is dedicated also to the memory of Prof. Hans Frauenfelder, whose pioneering works on nonexponential rebinding kinetics, protein substates, and energy landscape have inspired a large part of our work in the field of protein dynamics.


IPLAN (interface programming language), a high-level control language that can be used to enhance an application program's scope and capability, is discussed. IPLAN has many features found in BASIC and Fortran, with the addition of graphics and forms (simplified window data entry) subroutines. When the language is embedded within a host program, users can develop customized applications that augment the host program. The program's usefulness to engineers is detailed. Several of its power system engineering applications, namely voltage collapse analysis, line drop and circulating current compensation, and the creation of user-defined forms are examined.<<ETX>>


The current paper discussed the application and comparison of machine learning algorithms such as the gradient boosting machine (GBM), neural network (NN), and deep neural network (DNN) in estimating the oxygen aeration performance efficiency (OAPE20) of the gabion spillways. Besides, traditional equations, namely developed multivariable linear regression (MLR) and multivariable nonlinear regression (MNLR) along with the previous models were also employed in estimating OAPE20 of the gabion spillways. Results in the testing phase showed that the DNN with the highest value of correlation (correlation of coefficient (CC) = 0.9713) and lowest values of errors (root mean square error (RMSE) = 0.1684, mean squared error (MSE) = 0.0283, and mean absolute error (MAE) = 0.1532) demonstrated the best results in estimating OAPE20 of the gabion spillways; however, other applied models such as GBM, NN, MLR, and MNLR were giving comparable results evaluated to statistical appraisal metrics, but previous studies were performing incredibly poor with the lowest value of correlation and highest values of errors. The datasets employed here were collected by conducting experiments. From the relative significance of input parameters, the Reynolds number (Re) was observed to be a crucial parameter. At the same time, the ratio of the mean size gabion materials to the length of the gabion spillway (d50/L) had the least impact over the OAPE20 of the gabion spillways.


Received 8 June 2009; accepted 26 October 2009; published online 3 December 2009Damage occurring under tensile loading and the resulting increase in electrical resistance oftin-doped indium oxide and amorphous graphite coatings on various polymer substrates areinvestigated, using an electrofragmentation method


Thirty-five horses that had bone sequestration as a consequence of limb wounds were examined clinically and radiographically. It is possible to diagnose bone sequestra as early as 10 to 15 days after injury. Periosteal defects and infection appear to be the basis for bone sequestrum formation. The early radiographic signs of bone sequestration and progress to mature sequestrum formation are described. Treatment is the surgical removal of the sequestrum. In the presence of equine limb wounds in which the periosteum may have been damaged, it is advisable to radiograph the limb at the initial examination and again in 10 to 15 days.


The manufacturing industry faces unprecedented progress accompanied with numerous challenges. For instance, Inspections of castings and forgings require the acquisition of dimensions on parts of various shapes and complexity, potentially performed in any kind of environment. Imagine how much time manual inspection could take while inspecting a complex machine part on the assembly lines. Here reveals the importance of Optics and Computer vision (CV) which are embedded together as 3D scanning system to make an unexceptional contribution in tackling these challenges and to meet customers' needs and requirements.Indeed, Optical systems are currently integrated in industry field to enable operators control more castings and forgings with more information and without surface preparation direct contact with objects.Basically, a 3D scanning system comprises high-resolution cameras, optics, and AI algorithms integration to provide multiple benefits to large manufacturing units. Indeed, unlike touch probing, 3D scanning is one of most relevant computer vision application which provides an overall view of the inspected part. 3D scanners can validate whether the material is sufficient to proceed with machining or not. This work is an attempt to design and test a fully automated and low-cost scanner for producing three-dimensional models with millimeter-scale resolution for object measurement and inspection. Hence, a stereovision system is set up where pair of cameras is mounted to acquire image pairs of a centered object to perform a scan. Promising and potential result is achieved by performed configuration.


Introduction. Insulin therapy is the only treatment for type 1 DM and one of the options for intensifying the treatment for type 2 DM. The production of own insulin biosimilars will increase patients access to the providing drugs and can potentially reduce medical costs on healthcare for government. Aim. Compare the equivalence of pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacodynamics (PD), safety, efficacy, and immunogenicity between insulin biosimilar RinLis®, 100  IU/ml  (LLC GEROPHARM, Russia) to original Humalog®, 100  IU/ml  (Lilly France, France). Materials and methods. The clinical trial was conducted in  two phases. Phase I  – randomized double-blind, two-arm crossover study of  PK and PD using hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamp  (HEC) method in  28  healthy volunteers (NCT03604575). During HEC regular blood sampling was performed to assess glucose and insulin concentrations. The glucose infusion rate (GIR) was adjusted based on glycemia measurement. These data were used to calculate the PD parameters: the total area under the GIR-time curve (AUCGIR) and the maximum GIR over the observation period (GIRmax); PK parameters: the total area under the concentration – time curve (AUCins.) and the maximum insulin concentration over the HEC (Сins. max). Phase II – randomized multicenter open-label comparative study in parallel groups with an assessment the frequency of an immune response after 26 weeks of therapy (NCT04023344). The comparability of the studied drugs was considered proven if 90% confidence intervals (CI) for the ratio of geometric means of FC and PD were in the range of 80–125%. Results. In the course of the study, it was revealed that RinLiz® and Humalog® insulin had comparable PK and PD profiles. The ratio of the geometric mean values of the AUCGIR and GIRmax were in the range of 80–125% and amounted to 106 [95–118] % and 108 [97–121] %, respectively. The equivalence also was confirmed by the ratio of the geometric mean values of the AUCins. и Сins. max, which amounted to 91 [86–97] % and 94 [91–97] %. In the second phase of the study after 26 weeks of therapy the frequency of immune response between two groups did not differ. Conclusion. The obtained data have demonstrated the bioequivalence and immunogenicity of RinLiz® insulin to the original Humalog® in terms of PK, PD and safety parameters.


A thermal rating procedure is proposed for cables buried in sandy soils. The procedure uses a recently developed model to account for the effects of drying-out. The model requires as soil characteristics density, suction tension curve and saturated hydraulic conductivity. As boundary conditions it requires the ambient temperature and moisture content at cable level. In a reconnaissance survey of the cable route the thermally limiting soil sections are identified on the basis of estimated soil properties and local hydrology. Soil characteristics are determined in the laboratory for these sections only. The worst-case moisture content is derived from the lowest water table expected as indicated by hydromorphic characteristics of the soil profile. If evaporation and infiltration of precipitation influence the moisture content at cable level, a water balance model is used to calculate this value on the basis of climatological data. The accuracy of the procedure was investigated in a nine-year field experiment. It appears that, on average, the model predicts drying-out to occur more often than measured. In the case investigated the error may be expressed as, at the most, 0.1 in the pF-value (common logarithm of the suction tension) of the thermally undisturbed soil at cable level.


One kind rewinding machine comprising: a frame defining a winding (19) of the first winding member (3) and a second winding member (9); means for winding rod (A1; A2) introduced into the winding frame ( 19) to the winding rod is wound on the web (N) of the reel (B1) is inserted into the winding rod (25). The winding rod inserter (25) is arranged and designed for winding rod (A2) against the first winding member (3) toward the winding frame (19) is introduced, a second winding member (9) is designed and arranged to allow the previously formed roll (B1) is unloaded from the winding cradle (19).


Since October of 1988, Cummins Power Generation, Inc. (CPG) has been leading the development of a commercial 5 kW dish/Stirling system. This system will provide energy that is both environmentally benign and inexpensive. Other advantages include its potential for long-life operation, high requirements reliability, and low maintenance.


We advocate the use of a Common Lisp as a central organizing environment for building scientific computing systems, based on its debugging features, interactivity, memory model, existing code-base for computer algebra and user interfaces, and its ability to dynamically load modules written in other languages. In this paper we primarily address one example of mixing pre-existing (non Lisp) code into this system: an elaborate FORTRAN system written by David Bailey for arbitrary-precision floatingpoint numeric calculation. We discuss the advantages and disadvantages of wholesale importing such a system into Lisp. The major advantage is being able to use state-of-the art packaged software interactively while overcoming the disadvantages caused by FORTRAN's traditional batch orientation and weak storage model. In this paper we emphasize in particular how eective use of imported systems may require one to address the contrast between the functional (Lisp-like) versus state-transitionbased (Fortran-like) approaches to dealing with compound objects. While our main example is high-precision floats, we mention other highly-useful packages including those for simulation, PDE solutions, signal processing, statistical computation, linear algebra (LAPACK) that have also been used with Lisp. We provide pointers to additional applications of this kind of mixture.


76 The findings are contrary to popular thought, but nobody has studied the problem carefully. Does frequent use of a computer keyboard increase a worker's risk of developing carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS)? A new cross-sectional study from the Mayo Clinic suggests it does not. J. Clarke Stevens, MD, et al. estimated the frequency of CTS among workers at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, AZ, at one time point in 1995. In response to a questionnaire, 70 of 257 employees who used a computer (29.6%) reported "pins and needles" or numbness in their hands. After completing a CTS symptom questionnaire and a hand symptom diagram, 27 of these (10.5% of total sample; 39 hands) received a provisional clinical diagnosis of CTS. (See Stevens et al., 2001.) "Most of the employees we classified as possible CTS had mild symptoms and had not consulted their physician for treatment," according to the authors. Only nine of these (3.5% of total sample) nel syndrome in computer users, and there is not much to find in the literature on this topic." This study adds to the growing evidence that the explanation for CTS in workers is likely to be more complicated than mechanical exposure to repetitive tasks. The results also undermine an influential government report published a few years ago by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). "Although [NIOSH] accepts that there is a positive association between highly repetitive work and CTS, the studies that most convincingly support this association did not include typing or keyboard usage," observes Richard K Olney, MD, in an accompanying editorial. (See Olney, 2001.) The absence of a relationship between keyboard use and CTS "is one possible explanation for the lack of proven benefit for primary prevention of CTS by ergonomically designed keyboards and supports," suggests Olney. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Not More Prevalent in Computer Users


for the decent treatment of prisoners, Cavazzi had come, while still loyal to the Pope, to seem dangerously radical to the Venetian revolutionaries. Many such themes remain little explored. Cavazzi, even while attacking the papacy with tasteless violence, would not call himself protestant hough much of his rather thin theology was starkly Augustinian. Yet for all his radicalism, this supposed trimmer ejected Mazzini and remained a monarchist although Piedmont's leaders hardly reciprocated his sympathy. Even demagoguery has content. It is always hard to take seriously the ideas of a sloppy thinker. Yet it was as a spokesman of ideas that Cavazzi won his fame, and he moved mobs in part because they shared his clumsy sense of connection between ideas of progress and social reform and changes in the Church. The questions which might have made of this misguided life one path to understanding the nineteenth century have not been asked. If this book does not seek seriously enough the significance of Cavazzi's thought, it is too concerned with the controversies in which he was involved. We are given a full refutation of his charges against Cregory XVI, though the charges, incredible and irrelevant, are self-defeating. Cavazzi's claim that Saint Peter never visited Rome is rebutted as if Professor Sylvain found himself sharing a platform with the apostate. So close to his subject that he tends to write with a contemporary's concerns, Professor Sylvain never quite seizes his chance to study the peculiar eligious and political passions of midcentury. Still, much of the richness of the long biography of a minor figure is here. A life among such exciting events, a man who encountered so many of the famous men of his day has an intrinsic interest. Professor Sylvain has traced an amazing array of contemporary witnesses and used their testimony iudiciously. If one is disappointed not to be brought o some deeper historical understanding, it is because he is presented with an effective picture of the noisy crowds of Rome, of New York, of Quebec at moments poignant with hope and with despair, frightening with resentment and hate. RAYMOND CREW


In this work we discuss the possibility that if matter wave is composed of two different physical fields, as in the case of the electromagnetic field which is composed of the electric field and a magnetic field, then it is possible to suggest that matter wave also produces forces, like the electric force and the magnetic force produced by the electromagnetic field. Furthermore, since the forms of forces that can be derived from matter wave has a Yukawa form and Coulomb form, it may be suggested that forces produced from matter wave are in fact related to the strong force and the electroweak force, respectively.


Objective To understand the epidemiologic characteristics and the relevant factors of those recently infected HIV-1cases among the newly reported human immunodeficiency virus(HIV)cases over the past few years in Sichuan.Methods All the newly reported HIV-positive serum from the first quarters of 2010-2014 in Sichuan were tested by using the BED HIV-1incidence capture enzyme immunoassay(BED-CEIA)to identify those recent HIV-1infection(BED positive)samples and related socio-demographic characteristics.Results In the first quarter of 2010-2014,the newly reported HIV-positive cases in Sichuan were 1702,1403,1761,2011 and 2568,with BED positive rate among them as 22.80%(388),23.88%(335),22.71%(400),22.53%(453)and 25.20%(646),respectively.The majority of newly reported HIV cases of each year were male with ethnic Han and Yi,and education level of middle school or below.In recent years,newly reported HIV cases over 50 years old showed a significant increase.The major route of transmission changed from sexual contacts(46.83%)and drug injection(48.11%)in2010to sexual contacts(73.64%)in 2014.Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that age(under 20 years old age group),ethnic(Yi)and homosexual transmission(MSM)were the major influencing factors of the new infections.Conclusions The situation of HIV infection is serious among youth,elderly,ethnic Yi and the MSM group in Sichuan,and may cause the risks of rapid spreading.Therefore,the prevention and control efforts should focus on those groups of people.


A small-angle X-ray scattering study of glassy GeO2 is reported. Data were obtained from 4π sinθ/λ = 0.05 to 2.0 using a Kratky camera. The SAXS intensity decreased monotonically with decreasing angle from the main diffraction peak, and was not noticeably changed by hydrofluoric acid surface treatment or various annealing treatments. The intensity scattered at the smallest angle was 49±2.5 e.u. molec−1. Extrapolated to zero angle, the intensity corresponds to root-mean-square density fluctuations of 10−12 V−1/2 cm−3/2, a value close to that expected from the thermodynamic fluctuation theory of liquids. A parallel study of fused silica has indicated mean-square density fluctuations similar to those found in GeO2. The results are taken as evidence contrary to representations of structure based on specific arrays differing significantly from the interconnecting material.


BACKGROUND. Basal cell carcinoma is the most common malignancy of humans. Although it is axiomatic that this tumor does not evolve into metastatic disease, such events rarely occur, and this possibility should not be overlooked. OBJECTIVES. The reader should better understand the sequence of events that resulted in metastatic disease and how these events are emblematic of the rare cases of basal cell carcinoma that systemically spread. METHODS. We present a case report of basal cell carcinoma that underwent distant metastasis. A short review of the literature is included. RESULTS. Although basal cell carcinoma is commonly considered a regional tumor with virtually no propensity for distant spread, this case reveals that metastatic disease does occur and with devastating results. CONCLUSION. Metastatic disease in basal cell carcinoma is a very rare but catastrophic consequence of this very common skin malignancy.


(57) Abstract: gated filament structures for a field emission display having a plurality of filaments. Substrate, an insulating layer disposed adjacent to the substrate, and the include metal gate layer are disposed adjacent to the insulating layer. Metal gate layer has a plurality of gates, have a flat surface of the metal gate layer is the average thickness "s" and bottom substantially parallel upper on a flat surface of the metal gate layer of the metal gate layer doing. The metal gate layer has a plurality of openings extending through the gate. Each aperture has a width "r" of the average along the flat surface of the bottom of the opening. Each opening is parallel to the flat surface of the flat surface and the bottom of the metal gate layer of the top of the metal gate layer to define a surface of the intermediate point is located from these planes at equal distances. Each of the plurality of filaments are positioned at the opening. Each filament has an axis of the filament. The intersection of the plane of the axis and the intermediate point of the filaments define a point "O". Each filament has a filament tip terminating at a point "A". Most of all filament chip of the display, has a length "L" between the filaments in the "A" and point "O" point along the axis of the filament, where L ≦ (s + r) / 2 it is.


This study proposes a novel method for identifying the primary conspirators involved in terrorist activities. To map the information related to terrorist activities, we gathered information from different sources of real cases involving terrorist attacks. We extracted useful information from available sources and then mapped them in the form of terrorist networks, and this mapping provided us with insights in these networks. Furthermore, we came up with a novel centrality measure for identifying the primary conspirators of a terrorist attack. Because the leaders of terrorist attacks usually direct conspirators to conduct terrorist activities, we designed a novel algorithm that can identify such leaders. This algorithm can identify terrorist attack leaders even if they have less connectivity in networks. We tested the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms on four real‐world datasets and conducted an experimental evaluation, and the proposed algorithms could correctly identify the primary conspirators and leaders of the attacks in the four cases. To summarize, this work may provide information support for security agencies and can be helpful during the trials of the cases related to terrorist attacks.


110 listed family businesses was selected as the research subjects in the article. Taking into consideration the structure of board of directors, incentive management, business scale and financial risks, we find that shareholding proportion of the controlling shareholder has an insignificant effect on the business performance. It follows that there is no optimal shareholding proportion which can be applied to all would-be listed family businesses subject to equity dilution as a result of seasoned equity offering.


Abstract Citizen science is a growing approach in science and the opportunities of new technologies and learning are considered more and more. We give an overview of the current practice of mobile learning in Germany by conducting an explorative survey among environmental citizen science projects using mobile apps. This study supports the idea that education is relevant in citizen science, and apps affect the learning experience of participants. However, several obstacles were identified that need to be considered, to be able to fully exploit the benefits of mobile learning in citizen science.


A brief review of etching of biological materials using radio frequency, ion beam and electrostatic focused sources. Results of experiments using fast atom sources to dissect pollen, diatoms, protozoa and small arthropods , indicate that they produce a much smoother result which enables investigations to be carried out at high magnifications with the SEM. ~ words: Etching, Radio frequency, Ion beams, Fast atom sources , Pollen, Diatoms, Arthropods. Address for correspondence: Electron Microscope Unit British Museum (Natural History), Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, England Telephone: 01-589 6323 ext 563 .


A quatic ecosystems house a large biosphere of marine and freshwater organisms, highly diverse in their tolerance of fluctuations in PO2 and temperature, two major modulators of metabolism. Often, both factors act in concert, and some of the most hypoxia-tolerant fish and molluskan species are indeed from cold-water environments. Other marine invertebrate and fish specialists thrive in the mixed waters at hydrothermal vent sites, underwater volcanic outflows where warm and hydrogen-sulfide-enriched, deoxygenated vent waters mix with colder and oxygenated oceanic waters, and temperatures and oxygen concentrations are extremely variable. Many vent species can even deal with toxic hydrogen sulfide that threatens to inhibit their mitochondrial electron transporters. More than 700 Myr of aquatic evolution have fostered a huge variety of ectothermic life-forms that can deal with the most extreme and fluctuating environmental conditions. The discovery of many fascinating underwater biota has raised an interest in the respiratory capacities of aquatic organisms and in how they deal with, from our air breathing perspective,


The recent interest in tau and its role in neurodegenerative disease (NDD) has been part of a sea change in how we view protein aggregate toxicity in NDD pathogenesis. The longstanding focus on protein aggregate formation as a common mechanism linked to NDD pathogenesis remains largely intact, but there has been a shift away from large cellular and extracellular aggregates [neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs), senile plaques (SPs), Lewy Bodies (LBs) and the like) toward the importance of oligomers and other aggregate intermediates [1-3]. We have also seen an expansion of the hitherto largely cellular focus on toxicity to include interneuronal aspects of the pathogenesis of diverse NDDs, including Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's Disease, ALS and non-AD tauopathies such as corticobasal degeneration and Pick's Disease. This has been accompanied by an increasing understanding of the importance of micro RNA and mRNA-mediated mechanisms [4-7] as well as other cellular and intercellular mechanisms and the cytopathogenesis of multiple neurodegenerative syndromes [8-10]. This expansion of research scope at both cellular and intercellular levels of analysis has had particularly notable effects on research into basic and disease-associated functions of tau protein and have elucidated the hitherto shadowy zones separating the traditional cellular focus of tauopathy research (protein aggregate formation) from other important disease features involving cell cycle re-entry [11-14], signal transduction abnormalities [15,16], and the disruption of protein turnover [17] localization [18] and secretion [19-21] mechanisms. Perhaps the largest influence on the direction of recent NDD research has been the idea that oligomer formation may itself be the agent of interneuronal lesion spreading via a "prionlike" mechanism [22-26]. In the case of tauopathy, this concept has tended to both expand and narrow the scope of recent investigations as it focuses attention the link between molecular [templated misfolding] and global (lesion spreading) aspects of tauopathy at the expense of cellular considerations. All of these developments were reflected in the focus of last year's Cantoblanco meeting in Madrid. While that meeting was ostensibly focused on the title subject "Is Tau a prionlike protein?" it also brought together current research on a variety of novel cellular and intercellular facets of tau biology and pathobiology, which I will attempt here to frame in a larger context.


Ecology of medical gamasid mites is an important part of medical acarology.It is of important medical significance for guiding the monitoring and control of mite-borne disease.Combined with the related literature about medical gamasid mites,the research situations of the ecology of medical gamasid mites in China were discussed at different histological levels of gamasid mites ecology including individuals,population and community,so as to provide guidance for the monitoring and control of mites diseases.


The combination of higher demand of light petroleum derivates, like gasoline and diesel, with insufficient delivery of regular injects to the catalytic cracking plant, bring high expectative over the properties of cracking catalysts of heavy injects and the process residuals. The control of metal poisoning effect, with vanadium and nickel, on the activity of these zeolytic catalysts is very important in this case [1, 2]. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) [3, 4], Fourier transformed infrared spectrometry (FTIR), X ray diffraction (DRX) [3-5] and micro activity tests were employed in the analysis of this poisoning effect. Size, aggregation degree, contamination and morphology changes of catalyst particles determined by SEM, besides the complete analytical data, allows to correlate them with the lost of aluminium and the poisoning process in the zeolytic catalyst during the deactivation process.


In an earlier study, the author observed that library assistants in Great Britain desire, among other things, more intellectually stimulating jobs and less hierarchy. The debate which follows, therefore, is entended to provoque more thought and discussion on the question of how library assistant jobs in academic libraries can be enriched so that quality of work life is improved


We carry out quantization and one-loop calculations of the SL(2,C) Yang-Mills field to show that unitarity and local gauge symmetry are incompatible. It appears that this incompatibility exists in any Yang-Mills field with noncompact gauge group.


Nicola LeFanu, prominent among Britain's woman composers, noted both for her strong lyrical style and her exploration of the use of microtonality, employed all these skills in abundance in the world première of her new piece A Phoenix for Carla at this year's Spitalfields Summer Festival. I was attracted to this work due to its being billed as portraying a theme connected with the London Riots of 2011, which lends itself to drama as well as an examination of underlying sociological factors. However, leaving aside these wider considerations, the piece was in fact a microcosm, devoted to a highly sensitive expression of empathy for the plight of flautist Carla Rees, whose Croydon Flat had been entirely destroyed by fire along with all her possessions in the August 2011 riots, it being in close proximity to the tragic burning down of the 144-year old House of Reeves furniture shop much displayed on our TV News channels at the time. Carla lost at least 10 flutes, including two Kingma Alto flutes specially made for her in the Netherlands on which she had based her international contemporary music career as leader of the digital acoustic Ensemble Rarescale, centred on bringing new music for Alto Flute to a wider audience. When interviewed in The Independent nearly a year later Carla commented on the aftermath: 'I have good days and bad days, keeping going is the main thing. I'm really trying to focus on the positive but there's a deep sense of hurt in the middle of me which doesn't go away. An experience like this is like a reset button on your entire life'.


Cloud computing (CC) is on-demand accessibility of network resources, especially data storage and processing power, without special and direct management by the users. CC recently has emerged as a set of public and private datacenters that offers the client a single platform across the Internet. Edge computing is an evolving computing paradigm that brings computation and information storage nearer to the end-users to improve response times and spare transmission capacity. Mobile CC (MCC) uses distributed computing to convey applications to cell phones. However, CC and edge computing have security challenges, including vulnerability for clients and association acknowledgment, that delay the rapid adoption of computing models. Machine learning (ML) is the investigation of computer algorithms that improve naturally through experience. In this review paper, we present an analysis of CC security threats, issues, and solutions that utilized one or several ML algorithms. We review different ML algorithms that are used to overcome the cloud security issues including supervised, unsupervised, semi-supervised, and reinforcement learning. Then, we compare the performance of each technique based on their features, advantages, and disadvantages. Moreover, we enlist future research directions to secure CC models.


The Dahomey Basin is characterized by stable progradation and a well-developed shelf-slope break. Systems tracts are similar to those along other stable progradational margins. In contrast, systems tracts in the Niger Delta Complex are similar to those in Neogene strata of the offshore Gulf oj Mexico. Different exploration strategies are necessary for the systems tracts in each area.

 Direct hydrocarbon indicators in seismic data along the coast of Nigeria (Fig. 1) suggest that thick, sand-rich strata occur in large undrilled structures in waters beyond the shelf margin (Fig. 2). In order to understand these reservoir sandstones, Cretaceous through Neogene strata in offshore Nigeria were divided into depositional sequences using seismic, wire line and biostratigraphic data. Each sequence was then divided into. systems tracts. Seismic facies were interpreted and mapped within each systems tract.
 Depositional sequences in the offshore Niger Delta resemble those in the Gulf of Mexico (Fig. 3). Strata in the Niger Delta Complex (Fig. 1) were deposited along an unstable progradational continental margin characterized by very high sedimentation rate, large growth faults, toe thrusts, large-scale slumping, and shale diapirs. The shelf-slope break is very poorly defined. In contrast, strata in the Dahomcy Basin (Fig. 1) were deposited along a stable progradational margin (Fig. 4). This margin is characterized by a more moderate sedimentation rate, a well-defined shelf-break, and limited growth-faulting. Systems tracts arc similar to those described by Vail,1 Van Wagoner and others,2 and Posamentier and others3 for stable progradational margins.
 Each of these provinces requires a different exploration strategy. The purpose of this paper is to discuss distribution of reservoir facies and seal facies within a sequence stratigraphic framework in each of these provinces to better develop those strategies.

 Different criteria were used to differentiate systems tracts in the Niger Delta complex and the Dahomey Basin. Characteristics of systems tracts and associated facies in each province arc described below:

 Basin floor fans arc similar in the Dahomey Basin and tic Niger Delta complex (Fig. 5). The upper boundary of these units is characterized by a well-defined continuous reflection that down laps in both directions against the sequence boundary. In the Niger Delta complex, basin floor fans commonly abut against the footwalls of growth faults in intraslope basins. fn the Dahomey Basin they arc best developed immediately down dip of submarine canyons. Similar basin floor fans in the Gulf of Mexico are characterized by thick, blockysands4,5,6
 Mass-transport complexes7 arc also developed within this system tract in the Dahomcy Basin. They arc mounded features, Located immediately down dip of Large canyons, and Iic directly on the sequence boundary. Mass transport complexes commonly exhibit chaotic reflections and small listric normal faults. They arc probably comprised Largely of mud.7
 Basin floor fan systems tracts developed during relative relative sea level fall1,3,8. As sea-level fell, sandy detritus prograded farther and farther toward the shelf margin.


Objective To investigate the sensitivity of Hep-2 cell line to tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) and the apoptotic pathway of Hep-2 cell line induced by combined TRAIL with chemotherapeutic drugs or radiotherapy. Methods After the treatment with TRAIL, cisplatin, paclitaxel or radiation, the cytotoxic effect and the apoptosis proportion were measured by CCK-8 assay and flow cytometry respectively. The expression of caspases protein in Hep-2 cells was measured by Western blot assay. Results Hep-2 cell line was resistant to TRAIL, and the IC50 on 24 h was 596.92 μg/L. Cisplatin, paclitaxel and radiation had synergistic inhibitory effects with TRAIL on the growth of Hep-2 cell line. After the activity of caspase-9 was inhibited by Z-LETD-FMK, the inhibitory effect of TRAIL, cisplatin and paclitaxel on Rep-2 cells decreased significantly (P<0.05). The expression of caspase-8 and caspase-9 increased significantly (P<0.05) after the combined administration. Conclusions Hep-2 cells are resistant to the apoptosis induced by TRAIL, and TRAIL induces apoptosis of Hep-2 cells through the endogenous apoptotic pathway. Caspase-8 is activated by activated caspase-9 and caspase-8 through feedback loop in the combined administration, which enhanced the sensitivity of Hep-2 cells to TRAIL and might be responsible to exert the synergistic killing effects.


We replicate the findings of two in uential studies on returns to scale in the electricity generation market in the United States. The main results are also contrasted using local linear nonparametric regression, a technique robust to functional form assumptions. While the quantitative findings differ somewhat regarding the magnitude of returns to scale, we find that there is a substantial shift in returns to scale across the electricity generation market of 1955 to that of 1970.


Microparticles (MPs) are small membrane vesicles that are released by activated cells, such as monocytes, cells undergoing apoptosis, and tumor cells [1]. Full-length tissue factor (flTF) is a transmembrane receptor for factor VII (FVII)/VIIa and is essentially undetectable in the blood of healthy individuals. However, intravascular levels of flTF are increased in a variety of diseases, including cancer and endotoxemia [1]. The majority of active flTF in plasma in these disease states is present on MPs. In this report from the Hemostasis/Malignancy Subcommittee of the International Society of Thrombosis and Hemostasis, we evaluated a new commercial assay (Zymuphen MP-TF; Aniara, West Chester, OH, USA) that is reported to determine 'the procoagulant activity of microparticles exposing TF.' We compared this assay with our in-house assay using frozen plasma samples with or without TF-positive MPs generated ex vivo [2,3]. Measurement of TF in plasma is challenging because levels are very low even under pathological conditions [4]. TF can be measured using either antigenor activity-based assays. Two very similar activity assays were developed independently by the Osanto and Mackman groups that involve isolating MPs through centrifugation [2,3,5]. These two assays have been used in numerous studies and measure MP TF activity in platelet-poor plasma (PPP) and platelet-free plasma (PFP) [6] and gave very similar values of MP TF activity (r = 0.61) using plasma samples from cancer patients [7]. We found that the activity assay was more sensitive than an in-house ELISA [2]. In plasma samples obtained from lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated blood, we could measure TF using our activity assay but not by using flow cytometry, which suggested that the level of TF-positive MPs was below the detection limit of flow cytometry [3]. Finally, there was no correlation between our in-house activity assay and an impedance-based flow cytometry assay (R. Lee, J. Zwicker, N. Mackman, Fig. S1), although the TF-positive MPs measured by impedance correlated with thrombotic risk in cancer patients [8]. In sum, these studies support the notion that activity-based assays are more sensitive and may be more reliable than antigen-based assays for measuring TF in plasma samples. In this report, we evaluated a new commercial available assay that measures MP TF activity.


David Anderson, Huw Bennett and Daniel Branch believe that the Freedom of Information Act is being used to protect the perpetrators of a war crime that took place in Kenya fifty years ago.


In this article, we propose to analyze from a historical perspective, the policies of teacher training in exercise as part of support to the work of teaching. For this we focus in the discussion on the hypothesis of its centrality in explanations on the quality of educational systems, the assumptions of deficit on which they have traditionally 87 been structured and the need to advance in perspectives that depart from questioning about what they do know and can do in the school the teachers. Finally we propose the notion of "shared training" to develop device conceived as areas of meeting between knowledge, needs, expectations, and experiences built in the different areas of the educational system.


The transitional immune and genomic landscapes during OSCC tumorigenesis are elucidated in a mouse model; recapitulation of human disease is demonstrated. The data highlight use of the OSCC model to assess efficacy of immunotherapy.


This letter describes the gas-liquid phase flow patterns and the mechanism of generation of monodisperse microbubbles in a T-junction microfluidic device using the crossflowing shear-rupturing technique. The bubble size is ranged from 100 to 500μm. The air phase states as isolate air slugs, "pearl necklaces," periodic isolate bubbles, zig-zag bubble patterns, and multiple-bubble layer can be observed in the wider measured channel. The bubble size relates with the continuous phase flow velocity and viscosity as Vb∝1∕(μcuc), while being almost independent of surface tension γ and air phase flow rate Qg, for the conditions used in this work. The bubble formation mechanism by using the crossflowing shear-rupturing technique is different from the hydrodynamic flow focusing and both geometry-dominated breakup techniques. Our system provides independent control of both the size and volume fraction of dispersed bubbles.


Objective To establish a method for determination of naringin in Muxiangshunqi pills by HPLC.Methods The HPCL system consisted of Hypersil C18 column(5μm,4.6 mm ×250 mm),CH3CN-H2O(19:81)mixture as a mobile phase,detection wavelength at 284nm,1.0ml·min-1of flow rate and column temperature at 25℃.Results The linear range of hesperidin was 10.07μg~50.36μg,R=0.9999,the recovery was 97.95%,RSD=1.99%(n=5).Conclusion The method is simple,the result is accurate,higher sensitivity and the reproducibility is good.This method can be used for the determination of Muxiangshunqi pills


The assumption of a particular type of distribution of rainfall cells in space is needed for the formulation of several space-time rainfall models. In this study, weather radar-derived rain rate maps are employed to evaluate different types of spatial organization of rainfall cells in storms through the use of distance functions and second-moment measures. In particular the spatial point patterns of the local maxima of rainfall intensity are compared to a completely spatially random (CSR) point process by applying an objective distance measure. For all the analyzed radar maps the CSR assumption is rejected, indicating that at the resolution of the observation considered, rainfall cells are clustered. Therefore a theoretical framework for evaluating and fitting alternative models to the CSR is needed. This paper shows how the "reduced second-moment measure" of the point pattern can be employed to estimate the parameters of a Neyman-Scott model and to evaluate the degree of adequacy to the experimental data. Some limitations of this theoretical framework, and also its effectiveness, in comparison to the use of scaling functions, are discussed.


The estimation of software size is the key point for planning the whole software development project,and to guarantee the quality of the developed software.This article reviews the traditional estimation models,explains the latest model,COSMIC-FFP,and introduces some practices.


In electromagnetics, time reversal was first examined in the fifties of the twentieth century. Whereas in acoustics, time reversal was first experimented in the nineties. In the current literature on electromagnetics, antennas and propagation and wireless communications, time reversal is frequently referred to as a technology that first appeared in acoustics and was then borrowed in electromagnetics. This referral totally ignores the true history of time reversal in electromagnetics, affecting dramatically the evolution of the subject as a reliable technology. A clarification of the true meaning of time reversal in electromagnetics and its real capabilities is given in this paper. This is done through a critical analysis of the recent as well as the old literature on the topic.


Fiber sensors by core-offset splicing with 12 unequal-length SMF-28 segments are demonstrated for ultrasound and strain detection. Combined compression-tension strain from 1 micro to 20 milli-strain at 1 micro-strain accuracy is achieved. This device as feedback in laser sensor has improved sensitivity by 10 times.


The photomultiplier tube(PMT) is a core component in a fluorescence immunoassay(FIA) system.With the development of the switching mode power supply(SMPS) technology,SMPS is more and more popular with a PMT power design.However there are few applications of bipolar power supply.This paper introduces the structure principle of bipolar power supply and application circuits based on resistance chain partial pressure.After practice application,this circuit is proved to be more stable,more precision,and more convenient.


Use of an internal mammary artery (IMA) during coronary artery bypass grafting is a nationally endorsed quality indicator. Nonetheless, the frequency


Dysfunctional autophagy in intrahepatic biliary epithelial cells (IBECs) is the main mechanism underlying the pathogenesis of bile duct lesions in primary biliary cholangitis. Autophagy may be a key pathogenesis for aetiology of primary biliary cholangitis. Immunoblotting and immunofluorescence analyses were used for the evaluation of autophagy in human intrahepatic biliary epithelial cells (HiBECs) at various time points. Glycochenodeoxycholate (GCDC) induced autophagy in HiBECs; the ratio of microtubule‐associated protein light chain 3‐II/microtubule‐associated protein light chain 3‐I (LC3‐II/LC3‐I) expression markedly increased at 48 hours, and then declined. However, compared with cells treated with GCDC alone, the expression of LC3‐II increased and the clearance of autophagosome enhanced in GCDC‐treated cells cocultured with mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Furthermore, the level of phosphorylation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (pSTAT3) decreased in HiBECs cocultured with MSCs relative to those cultured without MSCs. Following STAT3 silencing, decreased expression of phosphorylated eukaryotic initiation factor 2α was consistently observed. The present data suggest that mesenchymal stem cells may enhance autophagic flux of HiBECs through the inhibition of STAT3 activity.


This paper presents an improved phase leg power loop design for enhance mode lateral structure Gallium Nitride (GaN) transistors. Static characterization results of a 650V/30A GaN transistor are presented. The gate driver circuit is designed based on the characterization results. In order to reduce current commutation loop inductance within the GaN phase leg, an improved power loop design with vertical structure is proposed for lateral structure GaN transistors. The control of Common Mode (CM) noise current propagation is also considered during the gate driver design by optimizing the power distribution and grounding structure of the gate driver and digital control circuits. By differentiating the propagation path impedance of digital control circuits and their power supply circuits, conductive CM noise can propagate through power supply path to protect the digital control circuits. The design is verified through experiments on a phase leg prototype which prove the effectiveness of the proposed phase leg on the overvoltage reduction during current transition along with less cross-coupling between power loop and gate loop compared with conventional lateral power loop design. Finally, a three phase motor drive system is designed and tested based on the proposed phase leg.


Text re-use describes the spoken and written repetition of information. Historical text re-use, with its longer time span, embraces a larger set of morphological, linguistic, syntactic, semantic and copying variations, thus adding complication to text-reuse detection. Furthermore, it increases the chances of redundancy in a digital library. In Natural Language Processing it is crucial to remove these redundancies before we can apply any kind of machine learning techniques to the text. In Humanities, these redundancies foreground textual criticism and allow scholars to identify lines of transmission. Identification can be accomplished by way of automatic or semi-automatic methods. Text re-use algorithms, however, are of squared complexity and call for higher computational power. The present paper addresses this issue of complexity, with a particular focus on its algorithmic implications and solutions.


In a large Geriatric: Unit a proportion of Patients arc found to have decuhitus ulcers on admission. Inpatients of long stay, cspc(ially neurological patients, arc prone to develop bedsores in spite of continued nursing care. Multiple factors, such as malnutrition, pressure on atrophic skin oYer bony prominences :1nd incontinence, play an important role 111 the development of bedsores in elderly Patients. A trial of \fetanium Cream and Powder was conducted to investigate its therapeutic effect on bedsores in elderly patients. The basic constituent, Titanium dioxide, had hitheno heen used in sunburn lotions (Ref. I.) and P0 wdcrs (Conspcrs Facial.), exudativc dcrll1atoses (Crem. and Past. Titan. Diox., anc.1 Past. Titan. cum Biocetab.) including e~~ema (Ref. 2.) and pruritis (Refs. :l. and ,J.). 1 ttanium is a constituent of plants and human skin and is considered essential to life. Its ~ction is said to be similar to Zinc Oxide and It_ is a-bsorbant of Ultra Violet Light. The effect of Metanium in infants with excoriated na k" P 111 rashes has been reported by Lowry (Ref, 5.). The cream is prepared in a silicone hase as the use of silicones is now accepted in standard dini(al practi(c as a most effective Protective skin-barrier. The formula of the cream and powder is: -


Objective To investigate the clinical effect of the reversed sural nerve nutrient vascular flap for repair of pediatric heel soft tissue defect. Methods From December 2009 to December 2012, heel soft tissue defects of eleven children were repaired with the reversed sural nerve nutrient vascular flap. All pediatric wounds were debrided in emergency.The injuries of blood vessels, nerves or Achilles tendon in the wound were repaired at first. Among them 6 children with heel soft tissue defects were repaired with reversed sural nerve nutrient vascular flap in emergency. And 5 children with heel soft tissue defects were covered with vacuum sealing drainage(VSD) in emergency, then the defects were repaired with reversed sural nerve nutrient vascular flap in the second phase after VSD. Results Those patients were followed up for about 6 to 24 months after operation, an average follow-up time was 12 months, a total of 11 sural nerve nutrient vascular flaps completely survived after transplantation, texture and color of flap were fine. All flaps did not show cyanoderma, swelling, stiffness and so on. The stitches of wound were taken out after transplantation 10 to 12 days, the wounds without second infection. All graft skins on donor area survived, and wounds were healed with good appearance. At the time of the last follow-up, the shape of those flaps was satisfactory, the textures were perfect, and appearances were not obese, sensation recovered from S3 to S4. The appearance and function of limb were satisfactory. AOFAS ankle score was excellent, function of foot returned to normal or near normal. Conclusion Most pediatric heel tissue defects are associated with rupture of Achilles tendon or fracture of calcaneal. The reversed sural nerve nutrient vascular flap can be used torepair heel soft tissue defects, which could prevent dysfunction of limb in children.


The revenue from a power plant is strongly dependent on the life cycle cost. Today, when the market conditions for power-producing companies have shifted from a protected market to a deregulated market, the need for tools to monitor power plants has increased significantly. In this new competitive market, targeted revenues and operational economy drive the need for advanced monitoring tools. In this thesis, monitoring tools for both the gas turbine and the steam turbine are described. The thesis gives a thorough description of the state-of-the-art model-based gas turbine flow path analysis system. The underlying mechanisms for degradation are also described, together with some remedying actions.

The main intention of the thesis is to provide guidance for the user of the plant on how a model-based system works. The information is presented in general terms, since it is impossible to cover all gas turbine based power plant configurations. The tools presented here have different levels of sophistication, from the most simple to state-of-the-art heat and mass balance programs. The level of sophistication that is achievable is dependent on the extent of knowledge about a specific engine type. The highest level of sophistication is reserved for systems delivered by the manufacturing companies (OEMs). This level of model-based monitoring system requires detailed propriety turbine data that are not available outside the OEM. A system delivered by an OEM is more costly in general, but the additional know-how is a very valuable commodity.

When working with the operational aspects of a power plant, one needs to make quantitative estimations of the effects of deteriorated components. Usually, the software for more detailed analysis are not available to the users since they use in-house code developed by the manufacturers. Besides being proprietary, such code is normally neither user-friendly nor adapted for this type of analysis. However, there are commercially available software packages on the market, but these do not usually provide the required level of off-design prediction capability. Thus, it was decided to develop a flexible tool with open structure that would enable both general power plant simulation useful for the plant owners, and detailed component analysis that is of special interest for research purposes. This work resulted in three different tools, a gas turbine performance deck or off-design performance prediction tool, a steam cycle analysis tool, and a reduced-order through-flow program. The gas turbine performance deck is suitable for both gas turbine and complete combined cycle analysis. This tool has also been used to analyze the off-design behavior of advanced wet gas turbine based cycles. The steam cycle analysis tool was developed for general steam cycle studies, and is suitable for highly loaded turbine components such as control stages at partial load. This tool was calibrated against high-quality data measured from test code (DIN) performance tests, and the results are well within expectation. The steam cycle calculation tool has been used by the project partners as a tool for generating data for ANN training purposes and general power plant off-design performance studies.

The first two calculation models presented are at the component level ? where the performance of a component is simulated ? rather than dealing with an individual stage in a compressor or a turbine. As a complement, the author developed a reduced-order through-flow program, where more detailed analysis at the stage level can be performed. This software can be used for an arbitrary number of cooled and choked turbine stages. The code was validated against data measured from a turbine test rig, and the results show that the accuracy is well within the figures expected. This program is available at the department's website as open source code in Matlab?. The theories behind these calculation programs are presented in this thesis in Chapters 5, 6 and 7.

Knowing the underlying degradation mechanisms, and with the possibility of including these in a condition-monitoring system, the potential for improving the economics of operation is significant. The availability of a plant can be increased if early warnings can be obtained. Also, in the case of component breakdowns, the cost of secondary replacement parts can be avoided entirely.


This paper researches the blackout accidents during the snow disaster in China in early 2008,making analysis on a series of problems in Chinese modern power network,such as excessive dependence on fossil fuel for power generation,relatively lagging development of new power generation systems,low reliability of equipment,and complexly structured power network that is of poor flexibility and susceptible to external disturbance.Aiming at the safe and reliable operation of power network and centering on the "three-defense-line" system against serious faults,measures to effectively prevent blackouts are presented,which include developing generation systems based on new energy sources,developing distributed generation technique,enhancing anti-disturbance ability of power network,comprehensively applying real-time monitoring,wide-area phasor measurement and on-line stability control.


The skill to communicate is extremely important in every moment of human life. The interpersonal communication is a complex process that first takes place within the individual when he or she wishes to share his or her ideas with someone. The profession of the medical specialists is associated with intense communication activity and empathy. In the medical practice of the rehabilitation therapist, empathy requires an intellectual understanding of the patient, sharing his feelings, effective communication, and a positive attitude towards the patient. Mastering and applying the tools of communication in the medical practice have a favorable effect on the patient's behavior and support the patient. The effectiveness of communication depends on the extent to which the relationship between the rehabilitation therapist and the patient is built on the principles of collaboration, mutual respect and trust, empathy and responsibility. Empathic professional behavior extends the patient's understanding beyond the history and symptoms of his or her illness and is a prerequisite for achieving an effective therapeutic outcome. Communication is the activity of people for the purpose of developing psychological contact, characterized by the exchange of information, mutual understanding and empathy. Good communication is part of the role of the healthcare professional. When dealing with suffering people, it is important to support both the patient and his or her environment, and to overcome the health problem and its consequences more easily.The purpose of this study is to analyze the psychological aspects of communication and empathy in the work of the medical specialist - rehabilitation therapist.Conclusion: As a profession with a strong social element, it cannot be practiced without having theoretical knowledge and practical communication skills. Sick people are always looking for contacts with professionals, expecting human communication, understanding, sympathy, empathy and support. The effective communication and interaction are the main factors for achieving good therapeutic results.


Four peach cultivars,including Yutian,Yuxiang,Qiutian,and Qiumihong,were used for studying the effects of spraying KH2PO4 on the chlorophyll content in leaf,dry and fresh leaf weight and the fruit soluble solid content,soluble sugar content,titratable acidity,ascorbic acid content etc.in Zhengzhou area,Henan Province in 2005—2006.The results showed that the chlorophyll content,the dry and fresh leaf weight and the fruit soluble solid content,soluble sugar content were improved by spraying KH2PO4,but no obvious effect on the titratable acidity,ascorbic acid content were noticed.The maturity date was put off by spraying KH2PO4 3 times with different concentrations,among them spraying 500 mg/L KH2PO4 3 times made the maturity put off very much.It is suggested for putting off maturity date the best concentration of KH2PO4 was 300 mg/L.


Increasing awareness of the ability to transform data into knowledge has steered more focus on data science within the educational system as well as the development of machine learning methods capable of handling complex problems with minimal or no human interaction. In principle, this raises the question on where human–computer interaction is superior in building good models in contrast to fully automated algorithms. In this study, we investigated modeling performance by using bachelor students, master students, and a fully automated procedure on three near‐infrared (NIR) calibration tasks of increasing complexity. From a total of 107 student and +5000 automated models, it is evident that simple calibration tasks can be automated to achieve similar or better performance, whereas for the more complicated tasks, the human–computer interaction is superior. Indeed, teaching data science and chemometrics should focus on tools for fundamental data understanding and emphasize the use of domain knowledge and critical thinking in the analysis of data.


This paper explores the long-term effect of migration on economic inequality between the 28 EU member states, covering the period 1995-2017. The cross-national, longitudinal analysis demonstrates that migration has had a positive and significant effect on development and economic growth in 28 member states. However, the findings also indicate that some countries have benefitted from migration more than others. Specifically, for countries experiencing positive net migration the effect is disproportionately larger than for countries experiencing negative net migration. This seems to indicate that, while migration has indeed contributed to economic development in all member states over the period analysed, it has not necessarily contributed to decreasing economic inequalities between them.


Abstract The models of random media used at present in describing polycrystal scatteringcannot explain some experimental facts, such as the double-scattering peak in the energy spectra of reflected ions. Two models of simulation of ion interactions with polycrystals are proposed here, namely 1) the model of random filling of the coordinative spheres in which the polycrystal is represented by a set of singlecrystal coordinative spheres with arbitrary positions of atoms and the distances between atom may sometimes be smaller than those in single crystal, a fact that can be treated as the presence of an imbedded atom; 2) the model of arbitrary selection of the bombarded face in which the surface and incidence planes are selected randomly for each ion (or of a group of ions). In both models, the atoms are free, the Born-Mayer potential is used, and thermal vibrations of atom are included. A good agreement with experimental results has been obtained in both methods.


A frequently applied roof form covering industrial shops is a structure which consists of thin-walled reinforced concrete precast slabs laid on steel truss girders. The structural continuity is assured by means of reinforced concrete curbs cast-in-place on the truss top flanges. A statical analysis of such a structure considered as a composite one had been performed. This model represents quite well the real work of the structure. The calculation results have been positively veryfied by means of experimental research.


We give a thorough investigation of the structure of solution sets of both homogeneous and inhomogeneous systems of linear equations, from the viewpoint of their minimal solutions (which use minimal sets of columns of the coefficient matrix). We also discuss applications in chemistry (stoichiometry). 2000 Mathematics Subject Classification: 15A06, 15A21


Submerged arc welding (SAW), a fusion joining proce ss is known for its high deposition capabilities. T his process is useful in joining thick sections used in various industries. High deposition rates are obta ined because high welding current level can be used with this pr ocess. Besides joining, SAW is also used for surfac ing applications. Heat Affected Zone (HAZ) produced within t e base metal and around the fused metal as a resul t of large heat input is of big concern since it affects the performance of welded/surfaced structure in se rvic due to metallurgical changes in the base metal /substrate. This work was carried out to investigate the effec t of polarity and other SAW parameters on HAZ size. Empirical mod els have been developed using fractional factorial design technique.


Lesotho is a small landlocked country with a population of about 2 million people, of which 38 per cent are children aged under 18 years. An estimated 57.1 per cent of the population live below the national poverty line and 34 per cent (more than 1 in 3) below the food poverty line. Children in particular are victims of poverty and inequality: about 65 per cent of all children (aged 0-17 years) in Lesotho are simultaneously deprived in three or more dimensions (out of nine) of child wellbeing; HIV/AIDS affects 74 per cent of children aged 0-23 months and 63 per cent of aged 24-59 months; and it is estimated that there are over 210,712 orphaned children, of which an estimated 130,000 have lost their parents due to HIV/AIDS.


FAIR Digital Object (FDO) is an emerging concept that is highlighted by European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) as a potential candidate for building a ecosystem of machine-actionable research outputs. In this work we systematically evaluate FDO and its implementations as a global distributed object system, by using five different conceptual frameworks that cover interoperability, middleware, FAIR principles, EOSC requirements and FDO guidelines themself. We compare the FDO approach with established Linked Data practices and the existing Web architecture, and provide a brief history of the Semantic Web while discussing why these technologies may have been difficult to adopt for FDO purposes. We conclude with recommendations for both Linked Data and FDO communities to further their adaptation and alignment.


Authentication mechanisms are at the forefront of defending the world from various types of cybercrime. Steganography can serve as an authentication solution through the use of a digital signature embedded in a carrier object to ensure the integrity of the object and simultaneously lighten the burden of metadata management. Nevertheless, despite being generally imperceptible to human sensory systems, any degree of steganographic distortion might be inadmissible in fidelity-sensitive situations such as forensic science, legal proceedings, medical diagnosis and military reconnaissance. This has led to the development of reversible steganography. A fundamental element of reversible steganography is predictive analytics, for which powerful neural network models have been effectively deployed. Another core element is reversible steganographic coding. Contemporary coding is based primarily on heuristics, which offers a shortcut towards sufficient, but not necessarily optimal, capacity–distortion performance. While attempts have been made to realise automatic coding with neural networks, perfect reversibility is unattainable via such learning machinery. Instead of relying on heuristics and machine learning, we aim to derive optimal coding by means of mathematical optimisation. In this study, we formulate reversible steganographic coding as a nonlinear discrete optimisation problem with a logarithmic capacity constraint and a quadratic distortion objective. Linearisation techniques are developed to enable iterative mixed-integer linear programming. Experimental results validate the near-optimality of the proposed optimisation algorithm when benchmarked against a brute-force method.