The resistance spot welding is an efficient welding method. However, the resulted joints are affected by some parameters such as welding current, welding time, and electrode force. The effect of welding parameters on the mechanical properties and failure mode is reviewed in this study. The relationship between the joint strength and welding parameters is presented. The nugget diameterand metallurgy, loading and micro hardness were the target points to be evaluated in this study. The effect of annealing heat treatment on the weldment properties was investigated as well. Few of investigations studied the defect formation in spot weld. The most critical defects such as cracks and cavities are presented as well as the residual. Besides, the effect of welding environments on the joint properties is reviewed in this study. Dissimilar joining of aluminum and steel by using resistance spot welding represents a critical aim in vehicle manufacturing, it is a key challenge for multi-materials lightweight design strategy, and therefore, many investigations studied the dissimilar joining via RSW.


This paper describes the changes in the relationships between migrants in Dakar and their relatives in rural home areas, and how traditional kin structures are gradually replaced by new solidarity networks in the city. While remittances are an important resource for rural households, especially during the "hungry months" before the new harvest, migrants' visits are not linked to regular seasonal agricultural work but rather to occasional participation in family ceremonies, suggesting a decrease in temporary migration and a more permanent urban residence.


In various tokamak devices, Neutral Beam Injection (NBI) is a widely used non-inductive heating method. Two heating NBI systems are initially planned for ITER external heating system [1], and Korean Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research (KSTAR) is currently equipped with NBI-1 and 2 heating systems [2,3]. In particular, in KSTAR, NBI plays an essential role in various advanced scenarios and high-performance experiments.


The invention discloses a high-intensity waterproof type corrugated paper board. The high-intensity waterproof type corrugated paper board comprises a surface layer, a middle layer and an inner layer which are bonded by an adhesive, wherein the surface layer and the inner layer are paper board layers; the middle layer is a corrugated paper layer; a water-repellent coating layer is additionally arranged on the upper surface of the surface layer, and comprises the main components including water-borne acrylic resin, short glass fibers, relevant additives and a solvent. The invention discloses the high-intensity waterproof type corrugated paper board which is reasonable in structure design; the additionally arranged water-repellent coating layer on the surface layer endows the corrugated paper board with good waterproof performance and surface intensity, the scratching probability of the surface of the corrugated paper board can be effectively reduced, and the good use performance of the corrugated paper board can be guaranteed.


1 Emerging evidence associates translation factors and regulators to tumorigenesis. Recent 2 advances in our ability to perform global translatome analyses indicate that our understanding 3 of translational changes in cancer resistance is still limited. Here, we characterize global 4 translational changes that occur during the acquisition of prostate cancer (PCa) drug resistance. 5 We generated a patient derived xenograft (PDX) model created from PCa cells to recapitulate 6 key features of resistant PCa progression. From an enzalutamide-sensitive patient derived cell 7 line (VCaP), we generated a castration resistant cell line (VCaPCRPC) and an enzalutamide 8 resistant cell line (VCaPER). We performed Total and polyribosome-bound RNA sequencing 9 and mass spectroscopy from both VCaPCRPC and VCaPER to reveal their respective 10 translatomes. We found that in drug-resistant cells, RNAs associated to ribosomes were 11 enriched for nuclear RNA and DNA binding related biological processes, whereas RNAs that 12 are less associated showed enrichment for processes such as cell membrane and cell-cell 13 junction related biological processes. These results were corroborated by mass spectrometry 14 and suggest that translation is indeed affected during drug resistance. Furthermore, our analysis 15 revealed enrichment of long non-coding RNAs associated to ribosomes, which may suggest 16 aberrant translation or translation of novel peptides that can be considered as new biomarkers. 17 Our findings thus point towards novel therapeutic avenues that may target drug-resistant cells. 18 19 INTRODUCTION 20 Following stimuli or a change in their environment, cells need to adjust their protein production 21 through modulation of the translation machinery, in order to ensure proliferation and survival. 22 Translation is a highly regulated process, involving different pathways1. Phosphorylation of 23 key translation factors is inhibitory to general translation and can be used by the cell to preserve 24 energy and essential biomolecules, for instance in response to stresses2. This leads to specific 25 translation of mRNAs implicated in cell survival3–5. While these processes are essential to the 26 response of cells to environmental changes, disturbances in translation regulation is known to 27 lead to the development of various cancers6–11. 28 Recently, evidence has shown that cancers could alter translation in order to reduce apoptosis 29 and to increase the production of survival factors12,13. Specifically, high expression of 30 translation factors has been associated to high cancer grade and is also associated with an 31 increased risk of metastasis14. The main question is how the cancerous cell could face the huge 32 metabolic requirement. The literature describes a crosstalk between metabolic and translation 1 pathways15 which are necessary for tumor cell survival. Indeed, increasing glycolytic16 and fatty 2 acid synthesis programs17,18, have been found to be implicated in cancer cell, survival to 3 hypoxic environments, hinting at a remodelling of metabolic pathways in cancer cells19–21. 4 Also, studies have revealed that tumors cells can rely on different metabolites to respond to 5 their excessive cellular growth need22. All this data suggests that translation is important for 6 cancer progression. Consequently, some factors involved in translation are already being used 7 as cancer therapeutic targets23,24. Despite all of this information and knowing that proteins are 8 regulated at multiple levels but aren't represented by their RNA's level25; efficient systems to 9 validate the dependency of cancers on translation remodelling remain rare and far between. In 10 particular, a paucity of experimental prostate cancer (PCa) has been found, those relevant to 11 study the link between misregulated translation and PCa resistance, for which there is presently 12 no cure. 13 PCa is the first cancer occurring in men in Canada (https://www.cancer.ca). Following local 14 treatment, 40% of patients suffer from chemical resurgence and metastasis26–28. Since a large 15 proportion of metastasis proliferation is dependent on androgen signaling, androgen deprivation 16 therapy (ADT) has become the standard treatment for recurrence. For example, in the last ten 17 years, Enzalutamide (ENZ), a potent antiandrogen, has been used commonly in androgen 18 receptor (AR) targeted therapies. Alas, resistance to ADT inevitably develops for this type of 19 cancer. Correlation between misregulation of translation and cancer resistance have been shown 20 in some studies14. Existing clinical data also suggests that PCa resistance may be related to 21 alterations in the translation signaling pathways, which, in turn, can cause differential 22 translation of specific mRNAs. This also suggests a major role of translation regulation in 23 determining protein levels which can drive PCa resistance5,31,32. Moreover, these studies are 24 consistent with recent data reporting a regulatory crosstalk between AR and the regulation of 25 translation29. This data also suggests that the modifications in the translation pathway which 26 occur during ADT may lead to metastasis by promoting translation of mRNAs involved in 27 tumorigenesis. Unfortunately, studies investigating global translational changes following 28 cancer resistance are still missing today. 29 In order to unveil perturbations in translation acquired upon PCa resistance acquisition, we 30 developed a method to study targets of pathogenic transcription and translation, merging global 31 analysis of RNAs by RNA-Sequencing (RNA-Seq) and their association to ribosomes through 32 poly(ribo)some profiling in sensitive and resistant PCa cell lines. From an enzalutamide33 sensitive patient derived cell line (VCaP), we generated a castration resistant cell line 1 (VCaP CRPC ) and an enzalutamide resistant cell line (VCaPER). We used these cell lines in 2 conjunction with other PCa resistance models to perform, to the best of our knowledge, the first 3 detailed analysis of the translatome in resistant PCa. The gene expression profile was studied, 4 and the differentially expressed genes between PCa resistant state were identified. Through 5 Gene Ontology (GO) analysis on RNAs differentially expressed or bound to ribosomes and 6 proteins differentially expressed, we discovered that RNAs associated to ribosomes were 7 enriched for nuclear RNA and DNA binding related biological processes in drug-resistant cells. 8 Whereas RNAs that are less associated showed enrichment for processes such as cell membrane 9 and cell-cell junction related biological processes. These results were corroborated by mass 10 spectrometry and suggest that translation is indeed affected during drug resistance. 11 Furthermore, our analysis revealed enrichment of long non-coding RNAs associated to 12 ribosomes, which may suggest aberrant translation or translation of novel peptides that can be 13 considered as new biomarkers. Our findings thus point towards novel therapeutic targets and 14 key genes which are involved in acquisition of drug resistance and could serve as potential 15 biomarker for prognosis, diagnosis and drug therapies. 16 17 RESULTS 18 Establishment of Enzalutamide resistant cell lines 19 With the advent of potent AR-agonists (such as ENZ) as first line therapy for CRPC patients, a 20 few groups developed ENZ-resistant cellular models43-45. The first and most widely 21 characterized ENZ-resistant cells, named MR49F, were generated through serial passage of 22 LNCaP cells (androgen-sensitive prostate adenocarcinoma cells) in ENZ-treated mice30. 23 MR49F cells recapitulate some key features of ENZ-resistant cancer. However, they do not 24 faithfully represent what happens in patients. Aiming to better mimic enzalutamide resistance 25 acquisition in a cellular model, we created our own ENZ-resistant prostate cancer model. 26 Similarly to what was shown in previous publications30, we first used an ENZ-sensitive prostate 27 cell line : VCaP (Fig. 1A). One million cells were inoculated in male athymic nude mice. Two 28 weeks later, the mice were surgically castrated, mimicking castration treatments offered to 29 patients. Following the development of castration resistance in cells, tumor recurrence was 30 observed. Castration-resistant cells were extracted from theses tumors to establish a new cell 31 line termed VCaPCRPC. Mice with castration-resistant tumors were then force-fed with 10mg/kg 32 ENZ (or vehicle) 5 days per week until tumor recurrence. Cell lines were established from these 1 tumors and named VCaPER (Fig. 1B). To confirm ENZ resistance acquisition in VCaPER, we 2 performed proliferation assays for VCaPCRPC and VCaPER in the presence or absence of ENZ. 3 ENZ treatment negatively affected the proliferation of VCaPCRPC whereas VCaPER were 4 insensitive (Fig. 1C). This assay confirmed that ENZ-resistance follows ENZ treatment and is 5 not induced by castration (Fig. 1B). 6 Previous studies have already linked the expression of AR with castration resistance 7 acquisition31, which was concordant with the moderate amounts of AR detected in VCaPCRPC 8 (Fig. 1C). Interestingly, VCaPER displayed very high AR expression, as is also observed in cases 9 of ADT32. Additionally, AR splice variant AR-V7 has been associated with ENZ resistance 10 acquisition. Similarly to what was previously observed in sensitive LNCaPs, VCaPCRPC do not 11 express AR-V7, while high expression is observed in VCaPER (Fig. 1C). These first results 12 show that our VCaP-VCaPCRPC-VCaPER model closely recapitulates the process of cancer 13 resistance acquisition after ENZ treatment. 14 To understand how transcription and translation is coordinated during resistance acquisition in 15 prostate cancer, we endeavoured to analyze the transcriptome (i..e. total RNA), translatome (i.e. 16 ribosome-bound RNA) and proteome (i.e. total proteins) from the generated


The Pd-catalyzed one-step graft reaction of metallodendron units with a core coordination compound afforded polypyridine metal-based and stiff dendritic architecture which showed characteristics potentially useful for light-harvesting devices.


Background: Arterial blood gases are necessary for management of respiratory failure in patients with acute exacerbation of COPD. Venous blood gas analysis may be a less invasive potential alternative. The objective of our study was to determine the accuracy of venous blood gases in the diagnosis of hypercapnic respiratory failure and to determine the correlation between arterial and venous PH, PCO and HCO . 2 3


Studies have correlated the tendency not to practice male circumcision and high rates of HIV in some areas of sub-Saharan Africa. The studies note that in some West African countries where male circumcision is widespread HIV infection rates among adults are less than 3%. Although the correlation appears straightforward in Africa the focus of most studies is not so in more developed countries. On the other hand Robert Bailey professor of epidemiology and anthropology at the University of Illinois is preparing to take the research a step further with a rigorous study involving the Luo of western Kenya. However there is a concern over the possibility that male circumcision could encourage risky behavior if it were viewed as a protection against HIV. Bailey points out that assessment of the risks is an important part of the upcoming trial in Kenya. At a meeting organized by the Population Councils Horizons Project a group of researchers suggested that such researches could answer many additional important questions.


RP-10

One of the challenges of High Performance Computing (HPC) in biology is resource accessibility.Computational Biology Applications Suite for High Performance Computing (BioHPC) is addressing this challenge at the user level as well as at the research group or administrator/developer level. BioHPC has been developed at the Computational Biology Service Unit (CBSU) of the Cornell University Life Sciences Core Laboratories Center (CLC) under the Microsoft HPC Institute program. This is an application suite that: (a) allows researchers from biological laboratories to submit their jobs to a parallel cluster through an easy-to-use web interface; (b) facilitates analysis of large data sets on a parallel platform; (c) allows biology research groups to set up Microsoft CCS and/or HPC 2008 based clusters for computational biology applications and allows efficient management via the BioHPC interface. The suite documentation and code are accessible at http://BioHPC.net. The suite can be downloaded and installed locally on any Microsoft based cluster.


Social networks enable users to freely communicate with each other and share their recent news, ongoing activities or views about different topics. As a result, user interest detection from social networks has been the subject of increasing attention. Some recent works have proposed to enrich social posts by annotating them with unambiguous relevant ontological concepts extracted from external knowledge bases and model user interests as a bag of concepts. However, in the bag of concepts approach, each topic of interest is represented as an individual concept that is already predefined in the knowledge base. Therefore, it is not possible to infer fine-grained topics of interest, which are only expressible through a collection of multiple concepts or emerging topics, which are not yet defined in the knowledge base. To address these issues, we view each topic of interest as a conjunction of several concepts, which are temporally correlated on Twitter. Based on this, we extract active topics within a given time interval and determine a users inclination towards these active topics. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach in the context of a personalized news recommendation system. We show through extensive experimentation that our work is able to improve the state of the art.


The reaction coordinate of the fragmentation of aromatic radical anions with nucleofugal groups was studied by the INDO and MNDO techniques. The reaction coordinate turned out as the stretching between the nucleofugal group bonded to the carbon atom of the aryl moiety. It was found that to fragment a π* radical anion, the odd electron has to be transferred to the σ* molecular orbital of the aryl-nucleofugal bond by an orbital crossing, which is reached by the lengthening of this bond. There is a qualitative agreement between the length of the bond to reach the orbital crossing point and the experimental fragmentation rates of the aromatic radical anions. Finally, some considerations about the σ-π coupling are made, since it is defining the possibility of a transfer from the π* to the σ* molecular orbital.


Foreword. It is well knowni that there is a close relationship between the theory of projective transformations and the modern theory of conic sections. Indeed, it has become customary to define the conic by means of projective transformations, and mnany projectivities are best studied on terms of the transformations they induce on a conic. In this pa?per, a particular class of projective transformations, the cyclic or periodic projectivities are singled out, and the transformations they induce on the conic studied by the powerful method of generalized homogeneous coordinates. The cyclic projectivities of orders two, three and four on the conic are completely determined. In section 4, it is shown that cyclic projectivities of any order on the conic can be found. Consider a point A in a projective plane. Suppose that by n successive applications of a projective transformation, A is mapped back onto itself. Then the transformation is called a cyclic, or periodic, projectivity. See, for instance, Doehlemann, Geometrische Transformationen (W. de Gruyter, 1930), or Coxeter, The Real Projective Plane (McGraw-Hill, 1949). The number n is called the order of the projectivity. When n equals two, the transformation is called an involution. The successive images A = A', B 1' C * ; define a range of points which corresponds,under the


This paper investigates the dynamic thermoelastic response of a heated thin composite plate. The plate is composed of a dominant matrix domain and an insert domain. A step-function heat source is generated within the matrix domain, causing the heating of the whole plate. The dual-phase-lag heat conduction model is used to determine the thermal behavior of the plate in the form of the spatial and time variations of the temperatures in both domains. The temperature of the matrix is used to evaluate the thermoelastic behavior of the plate in the form of the induced displacements and thermal stresses. The Laplace transformation technique combined with the Rieman-sum method is used to calculate the temperatures. The finite difference method is used to solve the governing equation of plate deflection and then calculate the thermal stresses. The resulting thermal stresses are found to be compressive and follow the same behavior as that of the temperature.


The NMR signals in 1H-1H COSY, 1H-13C COSY and 1H-1H NOESYspectra ofditertiary phosphine bis-substituted derivative (μ-p-MeC6H4Se),Fe,(CO)4.(Ph2PCH2CH2PPh2) and those 1H-1H COSY and 1H-13C COSY spectra of ditertiary phos-phine bis-substituted derivative (μ-p-MeC6H4Se),Fe2 (CO)4 (Ph2CH = CHPPh2) have beencompletely assigned and thus their structures have been further confirmed.


ESAT‐6 (the 6 kDa early secreted antigenic target) protein species in short‐term culture filtrate of Mycobacterium tuberculosis were separated in a 4–5 narrow range pI gradient two‐dimensional gel electrophoresis (2‐DE). Eight ESAT‐6 protein species were analyzed in detail by peptide mass fingerprinting matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization‐mass spectrometry as well as by electrospray ionization‐tandem mass spectrometry. An N‐terminal Thr acetylation was identified in four species and a C‐terminal truncation was identified in two species. In 2‐DE blot overlay assays, the recombinant 10 kDa culture filtrate protein (CFP10) discriminated N‐terminal acetylated and nonacetylated ESAT‐6 by differential interaction, whereas removal of the C‐terminal 11 residues of ESAT‐6 had no effects thereon. This example shows that the access to the protein species level can be a prerequisite to understand regulation of protein‐protein interaction.


OF THE DISCLOSURE The present invention is concerned with wax crystal modifiers, e.g. pour depressant additives, for hydrocar bon oil and with methods for their manufacture. The additives of the present invention in essence are copoly mers or polyketones derived from the free radical catal ysis of the polymerization of an olefin and carbon non oxide, and the invention includes the use of such prod ucts as wax crystal modifiers, such as pour depressants, fluidity of flow improvers, dewaxing aids, etc. for lubri cating oil, residual oil, crude oil, middle distillate oil, etc. This application is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 659,817, filed Aug. 10, 1967 which, in turn, was a stream lined continuation of Ser. No. 423,860 filed Jan. 6, 1965, both now abandoned. The copolymers of the invention are particularly use ful in fuels, Thus, with the increase in the use of hydro carbon fuels of all kinds, serious problems have arisen in areas frequently subjected to low temperatures with re spect to those properties of the fuels which may be desig nated as the cold test characteristics. Problems have been encountered with heating oils and diesel and jet fuels that have too high a pour point, resulting either in dis tributional or operating difficulties or both. For example, the distribution of heating oils by pumping or siphoning is rendered difficult or impossible at temperatures around or below the pour point of the oil. Furthermore, the flow of the oil at such temperatures through the filters is not maintained, leading to equipment failures. Also, the low temperature properties of petroleum distillate fuels boil ing in the range between about 250 and about 750 F. have attracted increasing attention in recent years because of the growth of markets for such fuels in Subarctic areas and because of the development of turbo-jet aircraft capa ble of operating at altitudes where temperatures of -50 F. or lower are encountered. One main aspect of the present invention is to utilize an additive which is produced by the copolymerization of an olefin, preferably ethylene because of its low cost, and carbon monoxide. Also, while as heretofore indicated, these additives are particularly effective for middle dis tillates and lighter oils, they may also find utility as Wax crystal modifiers in residual fuels, lubricants, crudes, and as dewaxing aids in lube stocks, etc. Another aspect of the present invention is to provide heating oils, diesel fuel oils, kerosenes, and jet fuels having low pour points. Aviation turbo-jet fuels in which the polymers may be used normaly boil between about 250 F. and about 550 F. and are used in both military and civilian aircraft. Such fuels are more defined by U.S. Mili tary Specifications MIL-F-5624C, MIL-F-25554A, MIL F-25558A, and amendments thereto. Kerosenes and heat ing oils will normally have boiling ranges between about 300 F. and about 750 F. and are more fully described 5


Recently, the entire world is facing another noncommunicable disease known as Diabetics. Basic reasons behind this disease is not unique , but certainly may be due to an increase in economic burden, less activity, change in lifestyle, improper food intake and increase in the level of stress. This disease has its effects all over the ages in the world from child to old age people. Hence its treatment is a big challenge to the social and economic growth of every nation. Plenty of research is undergoing in this area to improve health care which requires certain modifications and validations by clinical trials. Advancement in artificial intelligence is able to provide unique solutions in the future. The basic motivation behind this paper is to study the entire innovation taking place in recent years in the area of diabetic prevention and detection. Continuous monitoring of blood glucose level by invasive and non-invasive sensor technology, diet monitoring system, activity monitoring, intelligent foot and artificial pancreas for diabetics is the major focus of this study. Also, these studies focus on complete medical healthcare solution by using artificial intelligence. This study will surely help to identify future scope in the area of diabetic and its prevention models which can act as a future of diabetic health care


In contrast to the previous article this one emphasises the importance of reading fiction. The joy of getting engrossed in 'a good book' is certainly something we should offer children. It is only one part of reading but an important one. Indeed its power to get the reading habit established is hard to over-emphasise. Hence this survey of factors that seem to affect children's voluntary fiction reading is interesting. The authors argue that the habit is a tender plant, easily disturbed. Both authors work at the Faculty of Education, New University of Ulster, Coleraine, Northern Ireland, and will supply a longer research report 'Words, Words, Words' on request.


We propose a heuristic approach for a regrasp planning problem. The input with a large number of discrete contact points is considered. In this setting, traditional methods of complete solution is not available. Based on wrench space information of the input, our proposed algorithm clusters the input into groups and chooses a representative contact point from each group. A global graph structure for regrasp planning is then constructed using all force closure grasps that can be formed only by representative contact points. Also described are approaches for finding a regrasping sequence from an arbitrary grasp to a grasp in the global structure. Once such regrasping sequences are found for linking the input initial and target grasps to the global graph structure, the regrasp planning problem can be solved as a graph search. The results from preliminary experiments indicate that our method can solve many problem instances efficiently.


The IceCube Neutrino Observatory has recently placed a new limit on the extremely-high energy (EHE) neutrino flux lower than the Greisen--Zatsepin--Kuzmin (GZK) cosmogenic neutrino intensities expected in the case of proton-dominated primary composition. This result favors the mixed chemical composition models and excludes scenarios with strongly interacting neutrinos proposed so far. Nevertheless we argue that it is possible to construct such models consistently with the IceCube data if to extend the standard model Lagrangian by adding a leptoquark term. It is notable that the resulting Lagrangian couples leptons (not only neutrinos!) to gluons through leptoquark excitations in the subrocess $lg\rightarrow lq{\bar q}$ so that leptons of relevant energies in the Earth as well as in Extensive Air Showers will behave as hadrons. The latter may lead, for example, to misinterpretations in identifying the chemical composition of EHE cosmic rays. The EHE primaries will seem heavier due to production of secondary strongly interacting leptons in agreement with the recent observations. We argue that our model naturally predicts many exotic fenomena such as the second knee, centauros, excess of high energy muons ($\geq$10 TeV), existence of TeV photons, alignment, penetrating cascades. We also argue that a clear manifestation of physics beyond the standard model has been observed by the IceCube Neutrino Observatory.


Over time, piles driven in cohesive soils usually experience a large increase in resistance, known as setup or freeze. Dynamic load tests (DLT) and static load tests (SLT) are usually performed to verify the axial resistances of piles at specific times after end of driving (EOD) and to quantify these resistances. An extensive field testing program was performed on full-scale instrumented precast prestressed concrete piles driven in cohesive soils at the Bayou Lacassine Bridge in Louisiana, to evaluate the pile setup phenomenon. The testing program included instrumenting two full-scale test piles with a network of vibrating wire strain gauges, pressure cells, and piezometers and instrumenting the surrounding soils with multilevel piezometers. Five SLTs and three DLTs were conducted on each test pile at different times after EOD to quantify the magnitude of setup. Measurements from the load tests on both piles confirmed that the pile setup after EOD followed a logarithmic rate with time. An increase in piles' total resistances (or setup) of 1.60 to 1.77 times the EOD resistances was observed after the final restrikes. Piezometer data demonstrated a close relationship between the dissipation of excess pore water pressures that were generated during pile driving, following EOD, and pile setup. The load transfer curves derived from the strain gauge measurements were used to separate the side and tip resistance profiles from the total resistance. Piezometers installed in the ground showed that the influence zone, caused by pile driving, extends beyond the 3B distance (B = pile width).


Spigelian hernias are only 1-2% of all types and are considered a very uncommon condition: it develops through a weaker area between the semilunar line and the lateral edge of rectal muscle. There is an association with female sex, obesity, prior surgery, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, abdominal trauma or coexistence of other wall defects. The content is intraperitoneal fat or omentum, sometimes small bowel or colon. Symptoms, like abdominal pain, lateral lump and altered bowel habits are linked to the most common complication: incarceration. The CT scan can be useful in confirming the abdominal wall defect and in discriminating the content and can help in the choice of the best surgical


We report on the experience of creating a socially networked system, the Research-oriented Social Environment (RoSE), for representing knowledge in the form of relationships between people, documents, and groups. Developed as an intercampus, interdisciplinary project of the University of California, this work reflects on a collaboration between scholars in the humanities, software engineering, and information studies by providing an opportunity not only to synthesize different disciplinary perspectives, but also to interrogate and challenge the assumptions each brings to team-based design projects in the digital humanities. This work examines socially networked knowledge as both content and methodology for collaboration, calling for further critique and future investigation of epistemological questions in models of social networks.


Background: Osteoarticular allografts and allograft-prosthesis composites have decreased some complications but have introduced others, prompting development of implants that combine a reverse total shoulder arthroplasty (RTSA) prosthesis with a modular endoprosthetic reconstruction system. Methods: Data were collected prospectively from two institutions for all patients with massive proximal humeral bone loss who had reconstruction with RTSA using a single modular endoprosthetic system. The primary outcome measure was failure of the reconstruction, defined as need for revision surgery or radiographic evidence of component failure. Preoperative and postoperative functional outcomes and patient-reported outcomes, determined through preoperative and postoperative Quick Disabilities of Arm, Shoulder and Hand (quickDASH) scores, American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons Standardized Shoulder Assessment Form (ASES) scores, and visual analog scores (VAS), were compared. Results: Seven female and five male patients met inclusion criteria. The most common reason for proximal bone loss was failure of a previous arthroplasty procedure (six patients). Average forward flexion and internal rotation improved significantly, as did the average quickDASH, ASES and VAS scores. Failure of humeral component fixation occurred in three patients. Conclusions: Early results show that a RTSA prosthesis using a modular endoprosthetic reconstruction system is a viable option for massive proximal humeral bone loss. Further studies are needed to investigate longevity and longer-term outcomes. Level of Evidence: Level IV.


Cytokines play an important role in cellular communication and in modulation of the cellular immune responses. A computational protocol is presented that allows the prediction and analysis of the effect of particular mutations in the cytokine molecules on the interactions with their receptors. It is based on the theory developed by B. Jayaram and D. L. Beverige [1] and relies on collecting statistical data from molecular dynamics simulations.The protocol was first tested on a native cytokine – receptor complexes against experimental data such as association/dissociation constants or binding free energies on a particular cytokine – receptor system, namely the human interferon gamma (hIFNg) – human interferon gamma receptor (hIFNgR) complex.


This paper aimed to investigate the apparatus and elements for 'making history living' that the Living Museum implement, for this purpose the concept and evolution of Living Museum will be examined, and finally Hyde Park Barracks Museum which is one of 13


The development of mathematical models for calculation of the velocity of sound and other thermodynamic functions of state for the refrigerant mixtures R507 and R410A is discussed. For the calculation of the thermodynamic functions of state, the perturbation theory with the Lennard-Jones (12-6) potential was used as reference. A model is presented for the calculation of the influence of multipolar, induction, and dispersion interactions. Multipolar interactions are calculated up to octopole moment. All important contributions (translation, rotation, internal rotation, vibration, intermolecular potential energy, and influence of electron and nuclei excitation) are featured. The analytical results are compared with experimental data and models obtained by classical thermodynamics and show quite good agreement. Experimental data have been obtained by dynamic light scattering.


The study on the idea of governing for the people is important embodiment and realistic requirement for thoroughly studying Mao Zedong's ideology and discussing to heighten the reign party ability in the new position.From the historical materialism point,the article systematically and profoundly expounds the idea source and central points of the Mao Zedong's ideology of governing for the people and opens out the realism inspiration from it.


The curriculum construction is regarded as an important part of higher education.However,the curriculum construction of electronic commerce major in higher vocational education commonly remains such problems as the tendency of old-fashioned curriculum,backwardness of teaching mythologies and so on.The paper suggests that the development and design of the course should be based on the demands of business,and should take various EC trades like third party trading platforms,online banks,searching engines,and portal websites as curriculum models.Regarding the teaching ensuring system,teaching preparations are to be made to strengthen the teaching organization and management,and proper measures should also be taken to settle the technical matters possibly arising.


Amorolfine (AOF) is a compound with fungicide activity based on the dual inhibition of growth of the fungal cell membrane, the biosynthesis and accumulation of sterols, and the reduction of ergosterol. In this work a sensitive kinetic and spectrophotometric method for the AOF quantitation based on the AOF oxidation by means of KMnO4 at 30 min (fixed time), pH alkaline, and ionic strength controlled was developed. Measurements of changes in absorbance at 610 nm were used as criterion of the oxidation progress. In order to maximize the sensitivity, different experimental reaction parameters were carefully studied via factorial screening and optimized by multivariate method. The linearity, intraday, and interday assay precision and accuracy were determined. The absorbance-concentration plot corresponding to tap water spiked samples was rectilinear, over the range of 7.56 × 10−6–3.22 × 10−5 mol L−1, with detection and quantitation limits of 2.49 × 10−6 mol L−1 and 7.56 × 10−6 mol L−1, respectively. The proposed method was successfully validated for the application of the determination of the drug in the spiked tap water samples and the percentage recoveries were 94.0–105.0%. The method is simple and does not require expensive instruments or complicated extraction steps of the reaction product.


Examines the pregnant role in modern industrial societies utilizing sociological insights to show how the different cultural meanings attached to pregnancy affect its subjective experience and outcome and influence sex role behavior in general. Popular culture has tended to portray the pregnant role as the ultimate fulfillment of the female sex role and as a medical event in which the pregnant woman is not fully responsible for her behavior. Professional health care literature tends to view pregnancy as a biological psychological and sociological sickness although periodic revisions of this view occur. Management of pregnancy and childbirth in industrialized societies is almost exclusively in the hands of male obstetricians and has taken on the character of feminine submission to masculine power knowledge and manipulation. The promise of safe and painless deliveries was accomplished at the cost of the dehumanization of women who were treated as passive patients and the degradation of childbirth which was managed as an impersonal medical procedure. The movement challenging the medical domination of childbirth was strengthened in the 1970s by the womens liberation and consumer movements. Most obstetricians and hospitals have adapted to the new practices at least to some extent. A major benefit of the new childbirth is the increased involvement of fathers in all phases. The right of each couple to choose its own approach is the real issue in the current controversies over childbirth.


In the 1980s, rapid progress in picosecond and femtosecond ultrafast lasers has enabled to start to bridge the gap between electronics and optics. The resulting synergy has since given rise to a wealth of new technologies and scientific insights as for example demonstrated with the optical generation of terahertz frequencies for the investigation of ever faster physical processes and device performance. Meanwhile we have fully bridged the gap based on more recent progress in ultrafast laser sources to few-cycle femtosecond and attosecond pulses with full electric field control up to the petahertz frequency regime [1]. A number of pioneering publications demonstrated that attosecond transient absorption spectroscopy (ATAS) is a suitable tool for resolving the fastest carrier processes in wide-bandgap semiconductors [2, 3] and dielectrics [4, 5].


The control theory and automation technology is widely used in industries. Many control algorithms are based on the mathematical models of dynamic systems. Mathematical models and parameter estimation are basics for automatic control. A recursive least squares parameter estimation algorithms and Kaczmarz's projection algorithm is applied based on ARMAX model and OE models. The estimated parameters are compared with the true ones. The proposed method has been applied to identify the parameters of bioreactor process


The purpose of this study is to obtain some quantitative measures for the applicability of several color mixing models to a halftone printer. The printer, a Canon Color Laser Copier 500 (CLC-500), is treated as a black box and the measures are the difference between the calculated and measured spectra and Δ E ab . Well-known color mixing theories of the Neugebauer equations, Yule-Nielsen model (YN), Clapper-Yule multiple internal reflections (CY), Beer-Bouguerlaw (BB), and Kubelka-Munk theories (KM) are applied to CLC-500 to see how well they can fit the experimental data. Results indicate that the spectral 8-color Neugebauer model has marginal success in fitting the experimental data and the relaxed 3-color version does not fit the data weli. Both YN and CY approaches can fit the data within printer variability. The fittings are rather poor for BB and KM. By using the halftone correction factor, good agreements are obtained for the BB and single-constant KM.


A wrinkling criterion for non-linear elastic membrane materials such as thin polymer, fabric or rubber structures has been determined by employing finite element analysis as an alternative to the difficult experimental counterpart. The hyperelastic constitutive equation proposed by Ogden was implemented into the commercial finite element program ABAQUS with user material subroutine VUMAT. The relation between strain energy and the principal values of the stretch tensor was obtained in order to trace the wrinkle/non-wrinkle boundaries. It was shown that the wrinkling of an elastic membrane can be regarded as being initiated at the instance of abrupt slope change of the strain energy-stretch curve, which was verified by comparing the criterion obtained by finite element analysis with the existing analytical solution.


Economic Benefits of the National Cooperative Soil Survey Program Archana Pradhan The National Cooperative Soil Survey (NCSS) is the primary source of information on the soil resources in the U.S. The information provided by the NCSS program has played a significant and important role in diverse fields. This study estimates the net benefits of the information provided by the soil survey program to the production of selected crops. Benefit estimates are based on relative productivity gains related to the provision of soil information at the county level. The estimated value of increased crop yields less estimated soil survey production costs provides a lower-bound estimate of the total economic benefits of the NCSS. The structure of the NCSS program provides a spatial-temporal pattern to the development of county level soil information that can be interpreted as a natural experiment where the outcomes provide a means of estimating a partial benefit of the value of soil survey information in agriculture production. Benefit-cost ratios are utilized to evaluate the effectiveness of the NCSS program. A benefit-cost analysis of the NCSS for the corn and soybeans production regions based on a 7% discount rate gave a benefit-cost ratio of 7:1 for the correlation date scenario and 5:1 for the publication date scenario. This suggests that even the lower bound estimate of benefits based on productivity increases for just two crops, corn and soybeans, outweighs the cost of the entire soil survey program for the study region. The results from the benefit-cost analysis suggest that the NCSS program is economically viable in areas of the country considered. This is a promising result given the incomplete nature of the currently available data. In summary, this research seeks to compute a lower-bound estimate of the economic benefits of the NCSS for major crops and thus contribute to the documentation of the value of information provided by the NCSS. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank, first and foremost, my committee chair Dr. Jerald J. Fletcher for allowing me to work on this project and for his critical review, intellectual perspective, constructive criticism, and guidance. I am very much indebted for his guidance and advice in every step of difficult moments for the completion of this research. I would also like to thank Dr. Timothy Phipps, Dr. Alan Collins, Dr. Michael Strager, and Dr. Stratford Douglas to be a part of this dissertation committee and for their critical comments, review of the manuscript, and helpful insights. I would like to acknowledge the funding provided for this research by the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)-NRCS through the NGDC. I would like to thank Jon Hempel, Sharon Waltman, and Henry Ferguson from the NGDC-NRCS for providing necessary data and information during the research period. I would also like to thank Jeffrey Andresen from Michigan State Climatologist's Office for providing weather data and Paul Benedict from the NCSS for providing NCSS cost. My personal thanks goes to Kelly Street, Melanie Jimmie, Ellen Hartley-Smith, and Lisa Lewis for their administrative assistance and willingness to help at any time. I would also like to thank Marc Mulkey for his expert editing. I am also grateful to the Department of Resource Management, West Virginia University for the education and experience I have received during my Ph.D. Program. Lastly, I would like to recognize all my friends and professors at the Division of Resource Management for their significant role in this academic experience and my family members for their encouragement and moral support.


List of maps Preface List of abbreviations Part I. Agrarian Economy and Society: Structure and Trends: 1. Introduction: a typology of agrarian social structure in early twentieth-century Bengal 2. Subsistence and the market I 3. Subsistence and the market II: the peasants' produce 4. The peasantry in debt: the working and rupture of systems of rural credit relations 5. Peasants into proletarians? The market in land and the question of change in the social organisation of production Part II. Peasants and Politics: 6. Agrarian class conflict, nationalism and communalism in east Bengal 7. Agrarian relations and mass nationalism in west Bengal 8. Sharecroppers' agitations in the frontier regions Conclusion Glossary Select bibliography Index.


In the 2000s, radiocarbon in dissolved inorganic carbon was measured during the revisit cruises along WOCE (the World Ocean Circulation Experiment) lines conducted in the 1990s in the Pacific Ocean. Comparison of radiocarbon data from the 1990s and 2000s revealed that radiocarbon in the subtropical region decreased in upper thermocline (approx. 0 – 500-m depth) and increased in lower thermocline (approx. 500 – 1500-m depth). In the northeastern and southern subtropical regions, the two opposing directions in radiocarbon change cancelled each other and resulted in small temporal changes in the total inventory of vertical-integrated bomb-produced radiocarbon. On the other hand, the water column inventory of the bomb radiocarbon significantly decreased in the northwestern subtropical region. The different behavior of the bomb radiocarbon change suggests that the turnover time of the thermocline circulation in the northwestern subtropical region is faster than those in the other subtropical regions.


This article is based on the results of oral literature research on the slopes of Kawi. Object presented is the ikrar kajat conducted by Mbah Ngari, one of the speakers of oral tradition in the village of Gondowangi in Wagir district. Verbal data was collected using field research methods, interview techniques and video documentation. Data analysis is focused on studying the formula ikrar kajat. The result is video documentation that has been completed by subtitles. The greeting and demand formula is the main element in the pledge narrative.


An expression for the electric field intensity at a distant point from a circular dielectric rod aerial excited in the HE11 mode has been derived by utilising fluyghen's principle. The rod has been considered as an assemblage of a large number of Huyghen's radiators distributed all over the surface. It is found from the expression of radiation pattern that there is very little difference in the structure of the radiation pattern and beam width of the major lobe in both the P=0' and P=90'planes.


In this communication we provide a theoretical explanation to the regiochemistry in the nitration of the benzopyridines as well as to the relative yields of the obtained products. A review of the preparation procedures of the compounds under study is given, as well as the related spectroscopy. A careful study of 1 H NMR spectra revealed the existence of hydrogen bonds in these compounds. They are of the type C-H---O-N=O, the hydrogen being at peri position to the nitro group. The existence of these bonds explains the down-field shifts observed in the signals of the involved protons. The mass spectra of 5-nitro- and 8-nitroquinoline were determined. The fragmentation mechanisms of the typical ruptures are advanced.


Base on the result of the investigation, there are 53 species of mammals in Zhashui county, Shaanxi province, belonging to 6 orders, 20 families. Among them, 2 belong to the protected rankⅠanimals and 8 belong to the protected rankⅡanimals of China. According to the faunistical characteristics, 14 belong to palaearctic species, making up 26 .42% of total; 26 belong to oriental species, making up 49.06% of total; 13 belong to widely spread species, making up 24.53% of total.


Objective To study the absorption and biologic effects of the buccal spray insulin preparation in healthy volunteers. Methods In this open, single-center, euglycemic insulin clamp study, after a baseline period of 2 hours, 13 healthy vollunteers (11 men, 2 women), aged (24.2±2.3)years with body mass index (20.7±2.0)kg/m 2 received the buccal spray insulin administration of single dosage of 40 U. After administration, the blood samples at 0, 15, 30, 45, 60, 75, 90, 105, 120, 150, 180, 240, 300 and 360 min were taken for serum insulin measurement. Meanwhile, glucose infusion rates (GIR) were determined per 5 minutes over a period of 6 hours, and the parameters of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics were calculated. Results The insulin profile manifested three peak values in each subject after administration, the group data showed that C max (mU/L) were 12.2±6.8, 15.2±6.3 and 16.5±8.1, T Cmax (min) were 45.0±17.7, 128.8±26.7 and 270.0±42.4. The pharmacodynamics presented similar profile that ΔGIR max (mg·kg -1 ·min -1 ) above baseline level were 2.75±1.97, 4.40±1.99 and 4.38±1.45, T ΔGIRmax (min) were 79.2±30.9, 170.0±42.9 and 281.5±35.6. Conclusion The results show that the action onset time is about one hour after administration, and the action lasts more than 4 hours.


This article reassesses the history of Liberal Unionism in Wales and the impact the Irish Home Rule crisis had on constituency politics. Liberal associations played a crucial role in the revolt against 'dissentient' M.P.s, whom they charged with 'misrepresenting' constituency opinion (as articulated by the 'caucus'). This damaged Liberal Unionism irreparably, and the party failed to build a viable organizational machinery that could beat the Liberals at their own game. Yet this study of failure tells us much about attitudes toward representation and illustrates the importance of a grass-roots approach to a vital period in Welsh and British political history.


Partograph is an inexpensive tool that serves as an "early warning system" and can assist in early decision making on transfer, augmentation, and termination of labor. This is a randomized prospective comparative study conducted at Al- Elwiya Maternity teaching Hospital in Baghdad-Iraq. The objective of this work is to compare two World Health Organization (WHO) Partographs, the composite Partograph including the latent phase with the simplified one without latent phase regarding maternal and fetal outcomes. Study sample consisted of 670 women with term, singleton, vertex presentation, in spontaneous labor. Either Partograph was used on laboring women. The following outcomes: labor crossing the alert and action line, augmentation of labor, rate of cesarean section, maternal complications, user friendliness and perinatal outcome were compared. Labor values crossed the alert and action line was significantly more often with composite Partograph (P< 0.001). Augmentation of labor have been significantly required more in cases of composite group (p- value <0.001). Vaginal deliveries were higher in cases monitored with the simplified group (p<0.005). Cesarean section was more in cases monitored with composite Partograph (p-value <0.001). Admission to the neonatal care unit was more in cases of composite Partograph group, weather the patients were nulliparous or multiparous, the difference was statically significant (p<0.005). Most users (91%) had trouble with composite Partograph, but no resident doctor reported difficulty with simplified Partograph. It was concluded that the World Health Organization simplified Partograph is easier to use and is a better option for both the laboring women and the user, when compared to the composite Partograph.


Further progress in AI research requires more complete and comprehensive study of information interactions in nature, not confined to psyche and intellect of individuals. One should not ignore evidences in favor of "unconventional" information interactions. The paper deals with two aspects of this research: from the viewpoint of physics of the microworld, and improving accuracy and correctness of the experimental studies. Is introduced the concept of "natural science" God - God-ICS. Are examined some arguments in favor of fundamental information field existence. Is considered the concept of non-locality, introduced in quantum mechanics, "spooky action at a distance" and experiments admittedly demonstrating their reality. Proposed is an idea of the RNG-controlled two-slit experiment. The relation between reality and modeling it theories is specified, which quantum mechanics still manages to safely get around. Critically considered is one of the well-documented experiments on registration of psychic phenomena, identified is the need for careful research and parameters selection for control random sequences. Ignoring this aspect may lead to erroneous conclusions regarding the "detection" of phenomena on the verge of accuracy and reliability of measurements, uncertainties in their statistical representativeness. Proposals for further research in this area are formulated.


For solvolyses of various benzyl substrates in ethanol–water (EW) and methanol–water (MW) mixtures, product selectivities (S) are reported for chlorides at 75 °C defined as follows using molar concentrations: S = ([ether product]/[alcohol product]) × ([water]/[alcohol solvent]). The results support earlier evidence that solvolyses of 4-nitrobenzyl substrates are SN2 processes, which are not susceptible to mechanistic changes over the whole range of solvents from water to alcohol. S values at 25 and/or 45 °C in EW and MW, and additional kinetic data including kinetic solvent isotope effects (KSIE) are reported for solvolyses of 4-nitrobenzyl mesylate and tosylate. A kinetic model, explaining both rates and product, is proposed; a general medium effect due to solvent polarity is combined in one parameter with solvent effects on the nucleophilicity of the water and alcohol molecules acting as nucleophiles in SN2 reactions. According to this model, as alcohol is added to water the rate of reaction decreases due to a decrease in solvent polarity, but the nucleophilicity of water increases relative to alcohol. The availability of experimental rate and product data over the whole range of solvent compositions from alcohol to water, reveals limitations of alternative approaches using activities. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Seam tracking performance of an arc welding system is crucial to achieve high-quality welds. Visual sensing is one of the most attractive approaches to detect the seam position in the welding process, which provides valuable information to control the arc following the expected path. However, it is difficult to accurately detect the seam position adjacent to weld pool due to strong light disturbance. Unlike most seam detection methods, a novel algorithm based on weld pool image centroid is presented, which can detect the deviations between the arc tip and seam centerline. The weld pool images are captured by a camera arranged ahead of a welding torch. Image processing techniques are employed to analyze the features of weld pool and its surroundings, and the centroid of weld pool image is extracted as a parameter for seam tracking. It is worth to note that the centroid corresponds with gray and thermal distribution of weld pool affectted by the deviations between the arc tip and the seam centerline, which indicates the presence of relationship between the centroid and the deviations. Therefore, the deviations between the arc tip and seam centerline can be estimated by this centroid. To establish this centroid algorithm, the least square linear regression method is applied to correlate the relationship between the centriod and the deviations under different welding conditions. As compared with directly detecting the seam position, the centroid can be measured and computed easily. This algorithm is expected to provide a promising practical approach to improve the accuracy of seam tracking in real time, and subsequently to ensure the welding quality.


Quantum Information![Figure][1]

Artist's view of a diamond defect

PHOTO: WOLFGANG PFAFF

Quantum information processing relies on the ability to store, manipulate, and propagate information encoded in quantum states of matter. Doing so, however, may destroy or compromise these delicate


It has been observed that Ill' labeled human serum albumin, administered intravenously to normal man, is ultimately distributed between extravascular tissues and plasma in the approximate ratio of 60:40 (1, 2). This ratio is not appreciably altered in heart failure with edema (2), but may be increased somewhat in hepatic cirrhosis with ascites (1). One of the highest extravascular-intravascular ratios ever observed in this laboratory was in a patient with myxedema, in whom 73 per cent of the iodinated albumin remaining within the body at distribution equilibrium was in the extravascular spaces (2). The high extravascular albumin content in myxedema may be related to increased skin thickness since it has been shown that skin contains a disproportionately large fraction of the total extravascular albumin (3). It therefore seemed of interest to evaluate whether extravascular-intravascular shifts of serum albumin could be initiated in euthyroid subjects by the administration of large doses of thyroid hormone. It had also been observed previously that albuminuric subjects do not generally compensate for renal losses by an increase in the rate of albumin synthesis but do so rather by a decrease in the rate of albumin catabolism (2). Because the possibility of hepatic damage in nephrotic subjects has been suggested (4), it also seemed of interest to evaluate whether subjects with normal liver function would respond with an increase in the rate of albumin synthesis to the increased rate of albumin degradation anticipated in response to excessive thyroid hormone stimulation.


Acting the part: 'living history' as a serious leisure pursuit, 387 Allotment holding as an eco-leisure practice: the case of the Sataf village, 127 Changing policy priorities for sport in England: the emergence of elite sport development as a key policy concern, 365 Conceptualization and alternate operationalizations of the measurement of sponsorship effectiveness in sport, 267 Crime and punishment and sports development, 177 Editorial, 93 Enduring leisure involvement: the importance of personal relationships, 243 englandfans – A new club for a new England? Social inclusion, authenticity and the performance of Englishness at 'home' and 'away', 63 Exploring intersections of physicality and female-only canoeing experiences, 283 Fiaca and Veron-ismo: race and silence in Argentine football, 47 Introduction: race/nation/sport, 1 Motherhood, stress and the exercise experience: freedom or constraint?, 225 Package adventure tours: markers in serious leisure careers, 329 Prove it! The 'tyranny' of audit and accreditation in the New Zealand outdoors industry, 317 Race and cultural identity: playing the race game inside football, 19 Rumbles in the jungle: boxing, racialization and the performance of masculinity, 5 Sport and common-sense racial science, 31 Stately pleasure domes – nationahood, monarchy and industry: the celebration exhibition in Britain, 95 The Co-operative Holidays Association and the cultural formation of countryside leisure practice, 143 The divergence and coalescence of public outdoor recreation values in New Zealand and England: an interplay between rights and markets, 205 The embodiment of class, gender and age through leisure: a realist analysis of long distance running, 159 The organizational dynamics of under-managed partnerships in leisure service departments, 109 The same old story? Englishness, the tabloid press and the 2002 Football World Cup, 79 Valuing the voluntary sector in sport: rethinking economic analysis, 347


(57) [summary] by the light and specifically to photochemical conversion of the dye in the tissue using a two-photon excitation, selectively light bleaching or killing methods and apparatus for pigmentation organization. It light toxic products that are generated by the killing of the pigmented cells. Increasing the effectiveness of the addition of high heat or exogenous agents may also. The present invention also relates to selective thermal destruction of pigmented tissue using an associated optical means.


The discrete element method used to simulate asphalt mixture's performance can fully consider the effect of interaction between particles, but the key to use discrete element method is to select reasonable parameters of contact constitutive model. Using 2D and 3D discrete element method to establish asphalt mixture splitting test model which adopting contact-bond method between particles, the influence of particle stiffness and bond strength on the simulation results are analyzed. It is found that the straight slope of the load-deformation curve is mainly determined by the stiffness parameter and the peak load is determined by the bond strength. Asphalt mixture laboratory splitting test of AC-20 and AC-13 at -10°C, 0°C, 10°C and 20°C are accomplished, then according to the load-deformation curve's initial slope and peak load, discrete element model parameters are determined. The relationship between load-deformation curve's initial straight slope and stiffness, peak load and bond strength are concluded on the basis of splitting test results curve.


This Practice Guidelines document has been co-published in Phlebology [DOI: 10.1177/0268355521999559] and Journal of Vascular Surgery: Venous and Lymphatic Disorders [DOI: 10.1016/j.jvsv.2020.12.084]. The publications are identical except for minor stylistic and spelling differences in keeping with each journal's style. The contribution has been published under a Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0), (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) With the support of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Vein & Lymphatic Society, the American Venous Forum, the Canadian Society of Phlebology, the Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiology Society of Europe, the European Venous Forum, the International Pelvic Pain Society, the International Union of Phlebology, the Korean Society of Interventional Radiology, the Society of Interventional Radiology, and the Society for Vascular Surgery As the importance of pelvic venous disorders (PeVD) has been increasingly recognized, progress in the field has been limited by the lack of a valid and reliable classification instrument. Misleading historical nomenclature, such as the May-Thurner, pelvic congestion, and nutcracker syndromes, often fails to recognize the interrelationship of many pelvic symptoms and their underlying pathophysiology. Based on a perceived need, the American Vein and Lymphatic Society convened an international, multidisciplinary panel charged with the development of a discriminative classification instrument for PeVD. This instrument, the Symptoms-Varices-Pathophysiology ("SVP") classification for PeVD, includes three domains—Symptoms (S), Varices (V), and Pathophysiology (P), with the pathophysiology domain encompassing the Anatomic (A), Hemodynamic (H), and Etiologic (E) features of the patient's disease. An individual patient's classification is designated as SVPA,H,E. For patients with pelvic origin lower extremity signs or symptoms, the SVP instrument is complementary to and should be used in conjunction with the Clinical-Etiologic-Anatomic-Physiologic (CEAP) classification. The SVP instrument accurately defines the diverse patient populations with PeVD, an important step in improving clinical decision making, developing disease-specific outcome measures and identifying homogenous patient populations for clinical trials.


Loss of function of the DIS3L2 exoribonuclease is associated with Wilms tumor and the Perlman congenital overgrowth syndrome. Here, Hunter et al.'s analysis of Dis3l2-null nephron progenitor cells reveals up-regulation of Igf2, a growth-promoting gene strongly associated with Wilms tumorigenesis.


In a materialistic society where economic returns in service are necessary for organizational survival, there is a need to frame the provision of patient care in the context of values—a set of ideals. Quality Virtues in Service (QVS) is the process of care delivery using virtue-driven, quality values. Virtues shape the foundation, fundamentals of patient service utilizing tools of the patient care trade: compassion, honesty, industry, and integrity. The QVS philosophy, model of service, and essential characteristics of the QVS provider are discussed. The expected outcomes or goals of QVS are listed so that healthcare providers can facilitate patient satisfaction, enhance quality of care using the QVS guidelines for practice, and reinforce professional commitment through virtue-driven supportive work interrelationships.


Fragmentary orthide brachiopods from the Devonian Pimenteiras Formation (Parnaiba Basin), central Tocantins State (Brazil) are described. These specimens indicate the of first presence of this group in the Central Tocantins State. The marine origin of the Pimenteiras Formation is inferred from its brachiopod and crinoids fossil content. New studies are necessary to provide an overall picture of the knowledge of the Tocantins brachiopods. Keywords: Brachiopods; Devonian; Pimenteiras Formation; Brasil.


In the teaching reform of theoretical mechanics,we attach importance to the teaching of basic concepts and theories to give full play to students' role,strengthen its contact with practice,improve students' ability to seek knowledge and apply knowledge and also cultivate students' sense of creation.


A significant synergistic effect has been reported between microbial cultures and chemical surfactants in crude oil recovery processes. A number of attempts have been made to understand the synergistic mechanism. However, the existing studies only addressed the aspects of wettability alteration and interfacial tension (IFT) reduction, although there are many more contributors to the mechanism, such as emulsification, functional microbial activities, and diverse byproducts. In addition, the previous knowledge on synergistic oil recovery was based on indirect evidence from core-scale flooding and test tube experiments. To fully exploit the synergistic effects in the future, a new experimental system must be introduced (i) to verify the existing mechanisms in situ in porous media during the flooding process and (ii) to address the other potential contributors for a more comprehensive insight into the actual major contributors. Therefore, a visual pore-scale flooding experimental system was introduced in the ...


A key issue in supply chain optimization involving multiple enterprises is the determination of policies that optimize the performance of the supply chain as a whole while ensuring adequate rewards...


Both accurate monitoring and adequate control are crucial for effective self-regulation when learning from problem-solving tasks. Prior research has shown that self-regulated learning is especially harmful for low prior knowledge students, given their difficulties with accurate monitoring and control decisions. Although many studies have indicated that prior knowledge facilitates monitoring accuracy, none of these studies experimentally manipulated students' prior knowledge. The purpose of the current study was to investigate whether experimentally induced levels of prior knowledge affect the accuracy of metacognitive judgments (i.e., ease-of-learning judgments [EOLs], and retrospective confidence judgments [RCJs]) when learning from problem-solving tasks, and whether this in turn moderates the effect of learner control on performance. To manipulate prior knowledge, we compared conditions in which undergraduate students (N = 165) watched either a video about Mendel's biography (low prior knowledge) or a video about Mendel's laws of heredity (high prior knowledge). After that, we presented students with a set of problem-solving tasks and manipulated the type of learner control between conditions (i.e., full control vs. restricted control over the selection of tasks). Results indicated that students with high induced prior knowledge were more accurate in their EOLs and RCJs, and achieved higher performance than students with low prior knowledge. However, monitoring accuracy did not moderate the effects of different types of learner control on performance, even though students used their RCJs as a basis for the task selections. These results suggest that monitoring accuracy is a prerequisite for successful self-regulated problem solving, but it is not sufficient. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved)


A group Decision Support System (GDSS) is used when a decision system has many stakeholders providing recommendations in a system. One of them is the Tilawatil of the Qur'an for students in the religious field test. The assessment consists of several raters. The purpose of this study is to apply the SMART (Simple Multi-Attribute Rating Technique) and Borda methods in calculating the results of the Tilawatil Qur'an test based on a decision support system. The SMART method is used in assessing the results of the Tilawatil Qur'an test and the Borda method is used in optimizing the overall results of the assessors on the SMART method. The results of the study were based on the SMART value accuracy test manually with the system yielding 95%. After that, the results of the optimization test of the Borda method were calculated by calculating the average value of the SMART method with optimal ranking results.


6.1 Studies of bone markers Bone metabolism in PHPT has been studied by biochemical bone markers in a substantial number of investigations (39). In general, these studies have shown an increase in bone resorption markers as well as in bone formation markers, but some overlap with normal values is found in most studies, as illustrated in Table 4, which gives recently published data from 24 Danish PHPT patients (41). Such data indicate that there is a large variation in the bone involvement of the individual patients. Conventional bone markers, such as serum AP and urinary hydroxyproline, are usually normal in patients with asymptomatic PHPT. This has lead to extensive testing of new and more sensitive bone markers (22,51,96,96,129,168,191), and the general impression is that most of the developed methods are beneficial in PHPT. No single marker seem superior to others neither concerning bone resorption nor concerning bone formation, but some differences are found in sensitivity, as stressed by a number of studies. Fractionating serum AP seem to increase the discrimination between normal controls and hyperparathyroid patients (22), but there have not been much focus on bAP in PHPT (39). In stead, serum BGP has drawn considerable attention. Since the mid eighties, it has shown to be a good


Abstract 58 Introduction: Role of small non-coding microRNAs (miRNA) in hematopoiesis has been recently established by studies demonstrating increased levels of miR-155 in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) (Fulci 2007, Marton 2008). PU.1 is an ETS family transcription factor controling myelo-lymphoid differentiation and is directly negatively regulated by miR-155 (Vigorito 2007). Our aim of this study is to determine mechanisms of miR-155 upregulation in CLL pathogenesis and the role of PU.1 downregulation in the process. Methods : miRNA and mRNA levels were determined by qPCR and Affymetrix mRNA expression profiling in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and in purified B cells. Control (N=13) and CLL patients (N=66) were studied. All patients were subgrouped according to cytogenetics (FISH) and Rai status. Protein-DNA localization assays were done using chromatin immunoprecipitation. Results : miR-155 is significantly upregulated in both CLL patient PBMCs and a subset of sorted B-cells whereas PU.1 and its target genes are repressed in all CLL subgroups. Indeed, expression profiling analysis of CLL samples identified a broad repression of ∼80 miR-155 targets (among them key transcriptional regulators FOS, SATB1, MEF2A, MYBL1, SIRT1, MECP2 and CEBPB) and ∼380 repressed PU.1 target genes, among them regulators of hematopoietic homeostasis (FOS, CSF1R, CSF2R, IL4R, IL21R) and apoptosis (BID, BIRC3). Next, we have studied the mechanism of miR-155 gene (also known as BIC) upregulation in CLL. Wehave newly identified a regulatory CpG island (BIC-CpG) upstream of miR-155 BIC gene that contains DNA binding motifs for E-box transcription factors and is not mutated in CLL patients. Two E-box-binding proteins, MYB and MYBL2, are significantly upregulated in CLL patient PBMCs as well as in a subset of sorted B-cells in all CLL subgroups. Furthermore in primary CLL cells, MYB protein presence is significantly enriched at BIC-CpG alongside a marked enrichment with transcriptionally active chromatin mark histone H3K9Acetyl. To further study the role of MYB in transactivation of the BIC-CpG we have prepared reporter constructs and found that MYB indeed activates BIC-CpG and downstream transcription. Apart from miR-155/BIC, expression profiling analysis identified additional ∼50 upregulated MYB targets, among them cancer-related genes such as CA1, MCM4, BCL2, PDCD4, and CXCR4. Functional assays using siRNA inhibition of PU.1 in normal PBMCs result in upregulation of miR-155 and MYB, indicating that silencing of PU.1 and upregulation of MYB and its target miR-155 may represent an important mechanism of CLL pathogenesis. Conclusion : Our data propose a mechanistic relationship between PU.1 and its negative regulator miR-155 in CLL. Our data also demonstrate that miR-155 is transcriptionally activated by MYB family of E-box binding proteins. Manipulation of these mechanistic relationships may harbor a potential for molecular therapies against CLL. (Grants NR9021-4, 10310-3, 2B06077) Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


The Loštice goblets, goods primarily intended for a circle of high feudal lords originating from North Moravian workshops at the end of the Late Middle Ages, were used in the castles all over Central Europe. Their distribution in the area of medieval Slavonia has not been considered so far in specialist literature. However, archaeological excavations (and one historical record) confirm their presence at six Slavonian castles and one rural settlement. The local and foreign imitations of Loštice goblets have also been found on several Slavonian sites. These new data open up possibilities of further reflections on late medieval trade and fashion practised by the Central European medieval elites.


Introduction/Patient Description Internal carotid artery (ICA) origin size, relative level of the contralateral carotid bifurcation, external carotid artery (ECA) branching and response to temporal artery tapping (TAT) have been used to help differentiate the ICA from the ECA in carotid ultrasonography. This case study presents a misdiagnosed ICA occlusion due to vessel size, false positive TAT response and significantly dissimilar carotid bifurcation levels. A 48-year-old-female presented with left arm numbness and weakness. Previous medical history included migraine headaches, hypertension, hyperlipidemia and smoking; a neurology consult recommended carotid ultrasonography.


The life-history of Sitotroga cerealella on maize grains was studied under optimum constant laboratory conditions of 27 C and 655 % R.H. Eggs were laid on grains singly or in groups of 260 and incubation period ranged 35 days with a mean of 3.9 days. Egg hatchability ranged 85-100% with a mean of 91%. Newly hatched larvae fed on the grain contents until they developed to pre-pupae. Based on the measurements of width of headcapsule and body length, 4 larval instars followed by a pre-pupal period could be approximated. The 1 st , 2 nd , 3 rd and 4 th larval instars lasted for 4-6, 5-7, 5-6 and 5-7 days, with means of 4.8, 5.6, 5.6 and 5.8 days, respectively. The duration of the pre-pupa ranged 2-3 days, with a mean of 2.4 days. The pupal stage durated 5-9 days with a mean of 7.0 days. The longevity of adult male moths ranged 6-8 days with a mean of 7.6 days while that of female moths ranged 8-14 days with a mean of 11.4 days. Pre-oviposition period elapsed 2 3 days with a mean of 2.6 days, oviposition period lasted for 3-5 days with a mean of 4.1 days and post-oviposition period elapsed 3-6 days with a mean of 4.4 days. The number of eggs/female ranged 164-186 eggs with a mean of 173 eggs. The total life-cycle duration lasted for 33-49 days with a mean of 39 days.


The cystic fibrosis (CF) community has led the way in our understanding of suppurative airway diseases during the last many decades. In 1938, CF was differentiated from other causes of chronic sputum production and bronchiectasis (1). Subsequently, the sweat test was discovered, which, although not perfect, is almost as good as measuring hemoglobin to determine the presence of anemia. In 1989, the CF gene was located on the long arm of chromosome 7, and other tests, such as gene mutation analysis and transepithelial potential difference, have refined the diagnostic process (2). In parallel with these changes, the insights and attention to detail of multidisciplinary clinics have transformed the prognosis for CF from a disease lethal in infancy to one in which in many parts of the world there are more adults than children with CF. Since the discovery of the CF gene, there has been a veritable tsunami of biological insights into the pathophysiology of CF, culminating in mutation-specific, designer molecules (3, 4). These small molecules have moved the treatment paradigm from downstream firefighting of the consequences of the mutation (infection, inflammation) to tackling the fundamental cause of the disease at a molecular level, with a secure evidence base, thanks to huge and brilliantly well conducted randomized controlled trials. Furthermore, the CF community is progressing from disease monitoring by asking subjective questions ("How are you feeling?") to the use of molecular biomarkers (5, 6). This progress is a stellar example to other airway diseases that are still stuck in a rut. All this, of course, is admirable, but recent progress has also generated new challenges. Randomized controlled trials of treatment are the bedrock of determining what is therapeutically useful. In the bad old days, mortality was the obvious choice of end-point. With an increasingly better prognosis, mortality is rare, and even the hallowed FEV1 is proving insensitive in both randomized controlled trials and clinical practice (7) because most patients are so stable. In terms of treatment, in the early days, when the prognosis was grim, aggressive therapy brought huge dividends. However, with prolonged survival, subtle toxicities of repeated and long-term treatment strategies such as antibiotic allergy (8), chronic renal failure (9), selection of new bacteria, and antibiotic resistance in the old favorites (10) leading to an increasing prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa mean we may need to be more selective in applying treatments, but without losing the benefits of the previous very aggressive approach. Thus, we need early warning systems to alert us to target the patient who is about to do badly and may benefit from intensification of therapy, differentiating them from those in whom long-term stability can be anticipated. In this month's issue of AnnalsATS, Vilozni and colleagues (pp. 825–832) have explored the use of a measurement readily obtainable from spirometry and tidal flow– volume curves; namely, expiratory flow limitation, defined as being reached when FEF25–75 becomes equal to tidal peak expiratory flow rate. In other words, when airway obstruction is so severe that it is on the point of impairing flow even during normal breathing (11). The cohort of patients Vilozni and colleagues studied was quite impaired, both at recruitment and when flow limitation was reached (mean FEV1, 76% and 62% predicted, respectively), but flow limitation signaled a further deterioration during the ensuing 2 years, with a sharp drop in FEV1, the onset of breathlessness at rest in nearly two thirds, and a more than quadrupling of days spent in a hospital. Half of these patients were dead or transplanted within 7 years. In comparison, and not unexpectedly, FEV1 and other spirometric indices performed less well as a predictor of clinical course. The strength of the study is the impressive volume and duration of longitudinal data acquisition, with a mean of 12 years of data on more than 100 patients, albeit analyzed retrospectively. However, there are issues of interpretation, despite the obvious care of the group to try to ensure reproducibility and accuracy of the measurements. For example, tidal volumes were rather larger than might be expected (9 ml/kg), and these increased to around twice normal in the 2 years after the onset of flow limitation. The explanation for this is not clear, and certainly if tidal volume was artificially high, for whatever reason, the onset of flow limitation would be falsely


The fluoroionophore behavior of various macrocycles with oxygen and nitrogen donors was reviewed in the present paper, and the cationic recognition of alkali and alkaline-earth metals involving dif...


Krupičkaite, ideally Cu6[AsO3(OH)]6·8H2O, is a new supergene mineral from the Rovnost I shaft in Jáchymov, Czech Republic. It forms aggregates of pale greenish-blue color and grows along with supergene minerals crystallizing on the strongly altered relics of massive tennantite, Bi-rich tennantite, galena, chalcopyrite, bornite, and chalcocite with disseminated uraninite in quartz. For a long time, krupičkaite has been left out due to its quite inconspicuous ap pearance that can be mistakenly referred to as geminite. At the ambient temperature, krupičkaite is monoclinic, a = 15.504(7) Å, b = 18.144(7) Å, c = 10.563(5) Å, β = 103.30(4)°, V = 2891.5(2) Å3, Z = 4, space group P21/m. Its structure has been solved and refined from 3D electron diffraction and further studied by Raman spectroscopy. The layered structure is built upon the alternation of two different copper-arsenate sheets stacked along b presenting a characteristic wave shape along the a–axis and separated by a thick interlayer with channels containing only H2O. The collapsed chains of copper polyhedra are connected the same way as in geminite through AsO4 tetrahedra. Krupičkaite joins the family of copper arsenate minerals with which it shares structural similarities at the level of the As-Cu layers with the lindackerite supergroup, slavkovite, or yvonite.


Background Tympanic membrane (TM) perforations can arise from a variety of causes. Major causes include trauma and middle ear disease. Surgical treatment involves higher costs, more effort, and surgical risks. Therefore, many investigators have studied topical use of substances to facilitate TM repair. Estrogen can influence the various phases of wound healing in cutaneous repair. Topical estrogen application may influence the repair of TM perforations. Aim of the work The aim of the work was to evaluate a new procedure for repairing TM perforation and improving hearing threshold after 30 days using estrogen paper patch. Patients and methods After obtaining informed consent, patients were randomly allocated into two groups. One group was treated with estrogen paper patch (paper patch impinged with1% estrogen ointment to act as the study group), and the second group was treated with paper patch impinged with local antibiotic ointment to act as the control group (we used 1% tetracycline ointment in our study). Conclusion Perhaps, there is a significant and promising result for estrogen paper patching as a method of repairing TM perforation.


We have realized the first demonstration of soft X-ray lasers with essentially full spatial and temporal coherence at sub-20 nm wavelengths by high harmonic seeding of soft X-ray plasma amplifiers created by irradiation of solid targets.


Commercially used fiber optic measurement methods have different performances because of different physical princi-ples and different sensor designs. Environmental influences, type of application and operational conditions can cause perturbations in the sensor system, depending on the chosen measurement principle. Such perturbations lead to faulty measurements, and thus, the structural behavior can be misinterpreted. In order to ensure reliable measurements, not only the characteristics of the sensor system must be known, but also its ability for the specific use must be proven. This paper points out essential criteria for optimum choice of fiber optic sensor systems and demonstrates necessary steps to evaluate the long-term stability and reliability of a sensor system. The paper summarizes the conditions required for evaluation of a sensor system, and briefly touches on the correct use of vocabulary of general terms in fiber sensor measurement technique to describe the real performance unambiguously. On the way towards drafting guidelines and standards for an appropriate use of fiber sensors, firstly survey of important issues is presented. Two details of these are explained with the example of FBG strain sensors. Finally, when fiber sensors are to be installed on-site, the procedure of validation is presented to assure that the particular requirements for a specific intended use of fiber sensors are fulfilled.


Disk galaxies with a spheroidal component are known to host Supermassive Black Holes (SMBHs) in their center. Unequal-mass galaxy mergers have been rarely studied despite the fact that they are the large majority of merging events by number and they are associated with the typical targets of gravitational wave experiments such as LISA. We perform N-body/SPH simulations of disk galaxy mergers with mass ratios 1:4 and 1:10 at redshifts z=0 and z=3. They have the highest resolution achieved so far for merging galaxies, and include star formation and supernova feedback. Gas dissipation is found to be necessary for the pairing of SMBHs in these minor mergers. Still, 1:10 mergers with gas allow an efficient pairing only at high z when orbital times are short enough compared to


Toward the end of R. M. Adams' analysis of the surfaces and the enlivening symbols in Ulysses, we find the following comment: Joyce's novel "is, in part at least, a gambler's act of throwing his whole personality-his accidents, his skills, his weaknesses, his luck-against the world."1 Joyce risks consciously putting the self into his art, whether the act issue in a vacant order or in an affirmation of the life of the self.


Chaos in cryptography is of huge interest in many areas such as databases, e-business, and security of communication channels, in order to preserve sensible data from attacks of unauthorized persons. The chaotic maps are becoming increasingly popular in real-time image encryption/ decryption systems for its high security, speed, computational overheads. In this paper we apply two processes: chaotic confusion and diffusion of the pixel values, which provide images cryptosystem of the databases based on chaotic maps. It is implemented by development our database encryption simulation in a previous work done by the authors. This developing conforms by adding chaotic standard and henon map in our simulation. Examining its implementation for image encryption based on chaotic maps along with its detailed performance evaluation and security analysis. Experimental results demonstrate that the image cryptosystem has satisfactory efficient and very secure, which makes it a possible candidate for images encryption in the databases.


The idea of providing reverse channels with minimal hardware costs in Shuffle-nets to reduce the network diameter improve mean delay, and provide other advantages is discussed. The reverse channel idea can be applied to any multistage network with wrapped around connections. The advantages of reverse channels are demonstrated by providing a simple reverse connection between adjacent stages of the Shuffle-net. It is shown how a time- and wavelength-division-multiplexed media access protocol for the Shuffle-net can be easily adapted for the reverse channel augmented Shuffle-net (RC-Shuffle-net). The performance of the RC-Shuffle-net and its advantages over the Shuffle-net are shown.<<ETX>>


The situation of chemicals trade from China to Europe is analyzed.The impact of CLP regulation(EC 1272/2008) on classification,labelling and packaging of substances and mixtures on the export of chemicals to Europe,in the aspect of ①classification requirements,②labelling requirements,③packaging requirements,④notification requirements,and ⑤REACH obligations ordained in CLP,is discussed.Several countermeasures and suggestions are put forward at the government and enterprise level.


By analyzing multiple groups of verifying factors,the author examined the validity,reliability and universal applicability of three psychological questionnaires of trans-theoretical model(TTM) in college student measurement.The author conducted TTM questionnaire measurement on 1,149 college students,analyzed the self efficacy and decision making balance between gender groups as well as the factor validity and measurement equivalence of revised changing process questionnaires,and revealed the following findings: the three questionnaires are provided with a fairly high degree of structural validity and building reliability.Self efficacy is provided with complete factor load and factor variance equivalence;decision making balance questionnaires are provided with complete factor load and factor variance-covariance equivalence,and partial measurement error equivalence;revised changing process questionnaires are provided with complete factor load equivalence,partial factor variance-covariance and partial measurement error equivalence.This study shows that TTM questionnaires are provided with the validity and applicability of measurement between gender groups.In future study,the trans-time and trans-age universal applicability of the questionnaires should be verified.


A piston (6) is provided in a compression chamber (2) with a valve seat (14). A valve (16) abuts the valve seat and open and closes the compression chamber. A release preventing unit is formed between the valve and a support rod (18) to prevent valve release from the support rod.


This paper deals with the usage of Virtual and Augmented Reality techniques in the field of teleoperation. The global context is a project for collaborative teleoperation of real robots groups. The aim is to enable to a group of teleoprators to control in a collaborative way groups of robots to achieve complex tasks like inspecting an area or to explore unknown parts of an unknown environment. More precisely, we first present the usage of Collaborative Virtual Environments (CVE) system for the representation of the robot's world. This CVE and its interactions capabilities offer an abstraction of the environment and robots for teleoperators. We also present an application of this system throughout the original usage of a head-tracking system combined with a VR helmet. This application enables to control an active vision system on a remote mobile robot. Augmented Reality add-ons are included to ease the control process.


The rural poverty of Bashang area in Hebei Province is the result of the vi-cious circle which many kinds of factors led to poverty can net be ameliorated effectuallyand accumulated for a long time. In order to separate from poverty and get rich, we musttake a synthetic governance, to perfected soil policy, to optimize industry structure andenvironment integrality, to advance the process of agricultural industrialization actively, tomake settlelocal concentrated closely, and to improve population diathesis.


A novel europium(Ⅲ) complex was synthesized using TTA (α-thenoyltrifluoroacetone) as the first ligand and H2bpdc (2,2′-bipyridine-3,3′-dicarboxylate) as the second ligand. Elemental analysis, thermal analysis, IR and UV-Vis spectrum analysis and fluorescence spectra of the europium(Ⅲ) complex were carried out. Fluorescence properties of the complex in ethanol-aqueous solution were studied, which indicated that the europium(Ⅲ) complex exhibits a strongly characteristic red luminescence of Eu3+. The Eu3+ emission is very sensitive to pH value, so the complex can be used as pH-dependent fluorescence probe in biomedicine and food detection.


The article presents a study on the antimicrobial activity of cellulosic materials obtained by the sol gel method, studied the effect of the sol-gel composition on the physical and mechanical properties of textile materials. It shows antimicrobial activity of the modified materials with respect to various microorganisms.


Background  Although psoriasis vulgaris (PV) is strongly associated with HLA‐Cw*0602, it has been proposed that the association of Cw*0602 is due to linkage disequilibrium and that other nearby genes are involved in PV susceptibility. The α‐helix coiled‐coil rod homologue (HCR) gene, located 110 kb telomeric to the HLA‐C locus, is presumed to be one of the PV candidate genes. Recently, a 10‐kb genomic segment, centromeric to HLA‐C, defined by two new single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) n.7*A and n.9*C, was found to have a stronger association with psoriasis than the HCR gene. Until now, no study of the association of the HCR gene, SNPs n.7, and n.9 has been conducted on Chinese patients with psoriasis.


Understanding the land use/cover changes associated with agricultural production is essential for food security in increasingly urbanizing areas. Such studies have been widely conducted in different regions of China; yet, its major grain-producing regions (MGPRs) remain less studied. To address this knowledge gap, we conducted analyses of the land use conversion matrix, spatial hot spots, decoupling, and index evaluation from a spatiotemporal perspective, to quantify the MGPRs' farmland changes and its grain production efficiency and ecological security during 2000–2020. The results showed the following: (1) Farmland in the MGPRs experienced a net decline of 2.54 × 104 km2, with significant spatial heterogeneity in the area, extent, and speed of loss/gain. (2) Farmland gain came from mostly forest, grassland, and unused land, with hotspots in northeastern China, while farmland loss increasingly changed to construction lands, with hotspots covering east-central China and in the suburbs surrounding capital cities. (3) Grain production in the MGPRs increased by 1.6 times in the past 20 years, via its strong decoupling from farmland quantity in especially central-eastern China. (4) Land ecological security in the MGPRs was less secure but has been improving with non-homogeneous regional differences, while it demonstrated a spatial pattern of "higher security in the north–south and lower in the middle". Our findings suggested that China's MGPRs would continue to lose farmland and China's food security should require a sustainable decoupling of grain production and farmland quantity while maintaining ecological security. This study has significant policy implications for farmland conservation in China's MGPRs, as well as highlighting the landscape sustainability opportunities of urbanization-associated farmland loss in densely populated human–environment systems in general.


Jewish political studies is a neglected but extremely significant dimension of Jewish life that needs to be explored. An understanding of the influence of the Jewish political tradition on Jewish public affairs during the epochs of Jewish national independence and communal self-government can be useful in meeting problems of Jewish public affairs and communal organization. The present exploration of Jewish phenomena from a politi cal science perspective began in the 1950s and has developed significantly in recent decades. That exploration has developed a theoretical framework that looks at the phenomenon of the Jewish polity at any time and in any place. This framework rests upon the assumptions that the Jewish people is a corporate entity by definition, that exploration of the Jewish polity can be undertaken with the tools of political science, and that Jews have continued to function as a polity throughout their history. The field that has emerged from this exploration needs to be incorporated into the teaching of both Jewish studies and political science.