BACKGROUND
Many essential oils and their constituting volatile organic compounds are known to be phytotoxic and potential bioherbicides. This study aims to investigate the phytotoxicity of propenylbenzene-rich essential oils and identify active molecule(s) therein.

RESULTS
Five commercially available propenylbenzene-rich oils were screened, of which betel (Piper betle L.) oil was identified as a potent natural phytotoxin. It dose-dependently inhibited the wheatgrass (Triticum aestivum) seed germination and growth in water and agar medium with half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50 ) in the range 23.2-122.7 μg/mL. Phytotoxicity-guided fractionation and purification revealed chavibetol as the major and most potent phytotoxic constituent of betel oil, followed by chavibetol acetate. The structure-activity relationship study involving twelve propenylbenzenes indicated the structural and positional importance of aromatic substitutions for the activity. Further, phytotoxic efficacy of chavibetol was established against wheatgrass germination and growth in water (IC50 15.8-53.4 μg/mL), agar (IC50 34.4-53.6 μg/mL) and aerial (IC50 1.7-4.5 mg/L) media with more pronounced effect on the radicle. Also, in open phytojar, it efficiently inhibited the growth of 3-7 days old bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon) seedlings when sprayed directly (IC50 2.3-3.4 mg/jar) or supplemented in agar (IC50 116.6-139.1 μg/mL). The growth of pre-germinated green amaranth (Amaranthus viridis) was inhibited more effectively in both the application modes (1.2-1.4 mg/jar and IC50 26.8-31.4 μg/mL respectively).

CONCLUSION
The study concluded betel oil as a potent phytotoxic herbal extract and its major constituent chavibetol as a promising volatile phytotoxin for the future management of weeds in their early phase of emergence. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.


Postscript. -Laryngo-fissure was carried out next morning and, after removing the right thyroid cartilage, the growth was removed en masse with a free margin in all directions. Microscopical examination disclosed an undoubted squamous epithelioma reaching down to the small muscles, but showed that the growth had been completely removed in all directions; consequently the prognosis should be good.


When using the model-reference control concept for automated guideway transit vehicles, a model velocity is generated as the command for the vehicle speed controller. Using the phase-plane follower spacing policy and a model of a vehicle powered by a rotary D.C. motor, a vehicle controller is designed and evaluated using analytical techniques and digital computer simulations. Implementation of the controller is examined by using an 8-bit microprocessor to control the vehicle through various manoeuvres as simulated on an analog computer. The results of various simulations indicate that if acceleration and jerk are to be controlled, high resolution is necessary for the digital-to-analog conversion of the model velocity. In addition it was found that the control algorithms require a more powerful 16-bit microprocessor to increase computation speed.


We provide a detailed analysis of a realization of chiral gapless edge modes in the framework of the Hofstadter model of interacting electrons. In a transverse homogeneous magnetic field and a rational magnetic flux through a unit cell the fermion spectrum splits into topological subbands with well-defined Chern numbers and contains gapless edge modes in the gaps. It is shown that the behavior of gapless edge modes is described within the framework of the Kitaev chain where the tunneling of Majorana fermions is determined by effective hopping of Majorana fermions between chains. The proposed approach makes it possible to study the fermion spectrum in the case of an irrational flux, to calculate the Hall conductance of subbands that form a fine structure of the spectrum. In the case of a rational flux and a strong on-site Hubbard interaction U, 4 \Delta$ ?> (Δ is a gap), the topological state of the system, which is determined by the corresponding Chern number and chiral gapless edge modes, collapses. When the magnitude of the on-site Hubbard interaction changes, at the point a topological phase transition is realized, i.e., there are changes in the Chern numbers of two subbands due to their degeneration.


The invention discloses a single-ended phase-to-phase fault location method for a distributed capacitance current and fault resistance resistant line. The method comprises the following steps of: calculating the angle of a fault phase-to-phase action voltage phasor ahead of a fault phase-to-phase current break variable of each point on the line in turn from the starting end of a protected line by a method of increasing a step length successively until a setting range for sending a tripping signal; if a protection tripping signal cannot be obtained, searching the overall length of the protected line; and taking the angle of the fault phase-to-phase action voltage phasor ahead of the fault phase-to-phase current break variable lying within the interval of [180 degrees, 360 degrees] at a certain point and the angle of the fault phase-to-phase action voltage phasor ahead of the fault phase-to-phase current break variable laying within the interval of [0 degree, 180 degrees] at a point adjacent to the point, wherein the middle position between the two points is a fault point; and the distance from the fault point to a line installation position is fault distance. The method is not influenced by distributed capacitance, fault resistance and a load current and has a very high practical value.


Abstract This paper presents a two-tier static equivalent method that can accurately simplify active distribution networks. This method proposes a new physical equivalent network composed of equivalent generator, branch and load. Based on the physical equivalent network, the two-tier static equivalent model is further constructed. In the upper tier equivalent model, the consistency of sensitivity and power loss are considered. In the lower tier equivalent model, static load characteristics are retained to further enhance the accuracy of the equivalent model. The test systems, containing both transmission and active distribution networks, are used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed two-tier static equivalent method.


To provide an improvement in yield during press molding and having a plate-shaped member of wooden material, and an electronic apparatus having a cabinet of the cabinet. Embodiment of a housing (100) comprising: a timber portion (110), which comprises more than a wooden plate (111); a resin portion (120), which is laminated on the timber portion (110), and comprises more than one the resin sheet (121). The casing (100) has a curved portion (100A), each of the resin sheet (121) having a plurality of hollow hole (121a) at a position corresponding to the curved portion (100A) at least. A plurality of deformable hollow bore (121a) based on the resin sheet, it is possible to alleviate the stress concentration portion curved (100A) in the press molding.


Personal safety device includes a casing (22) having a smoke detection body and a torch disposed at both end portions (23). When not in use, smoke body, are protected by an end cap (33), forming a casing and watertight seal. End cap, when not latched is biased so as to be separated from the casing, exposing the chamber (9) comprising a louver to hold the smoke detection body. Smoke detection body is automatically activated when the chamber is exposed when it senses a fire audible alarm means (30) and the torch is operated. Button (35, 36) is provided operably audible alarm means as a controllable signal device and the attack alarm. Torch, including nocturnal white LEDs (26) so as not to lose sight or red LED (27). BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION FIGS. 1 and 2


This Degree Project was about finding the best loudspeaker placement in a heavyweight truck and also the best suited loudspeaker for this task. The project took place in Sodertalje, Sweden, on beha ...


ABSTRACT In semi-structured in-depth interviews in one mid-western city with a high percentage of financially excluded consumers, 22 staff members from 15 banks describe their employer bank's efforts to serve low- and moderate-income consumers. Six themes were found: (1) Banks are aware of the problem of financial exclusion; (2) Financial education poses challenges to deliver, and lacks outcomes; (3) Few rewards are evident for offering basic checking accounts; (4) Little advocacy pressure exists for affordable accounts; (5) Regulatory and other pressures fail to facilitate solutions; and (6) Solutions are a mix of policy, organizational capacity, and methods to influence consumer behavior.


The role of infrastructure in promoting development in Nigeria cannot be overemphasized, given its importance in economic wellbeing of the populace and growth of the economy. This study examined the influence of infrastructure on the profitability of food crop production among rural farming households in Oyo State, Nigeria. Data were collected on six infrastructural facilities (tarred roads, potable water, market, health centre, storage facilities and school). Multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 120 farmers from two Agricultural zones of Oyo state. Data were analyzed using Descriptive statistic, Budgeting Analysis (BA) and Ordinary Least Square regression (OLS). OLS was employed to determine factors affecting profitability of food crop production in the study area and the model was well-fitted. Findings revealed that the majority (70.0%) of the respondents were male with 74.0% of them married and had a mean farm size of 12 ha. Based on the current state of rural infrastructure, 47.5% of the respondents reported that available tarred roads are functioning as against 23.0% of them whom reported that health facilities were not functioning. The study concluded that rural infrastructure is essential to the output of agriculture production in the study area. Rehabilitation of rural roads and the general upgrading of the rural infrastructures which will boost agricultural production across the state is recommended.


In this paper, I present a lexicological approach of retronymy in Modern Greek in three thematic domains: semantic domain, morphological domain and how abbreviation of retronymic expressions signals transfer from special to general vocabulary. Emphasis is given to the process through which English retronyms are imported into Greek.


Recent research has shown that many industrial projects are not being designed with the environment in mind. The intellectual exercise of thinking 'what impact does this project have on the environment?' has not yet been made an integral part of industrial project-planning. More thoughtful and informed planning is needed, for reasons of both sound environmental management and, increasingly, sound project economics. An environmentally-oriented mode of planning, in which inputs and means related to environmental concerns are carefully taken into account during the planning, is discussed. This mode represents a tentative summary statement of an emerging consensus. Its objective is to facilitate informed and socially desirable choice among alternative actions in such a manner that adverse environmental consequences will be avoided or at least minimized. Environmentally-oriented planning requires that a new methodology, that of impact assessment, be fully integrated into the very fabric of planning. Impact assessment consists of three analytical functions: description, prediction, and evaluation. These functions can be translated into a series of tasks, which in their entirety constitute the full process of impact assessment. The process can be achieved operationally by incorporating environmental considerations into planning via five dimensions: multidisciplinary professional involvement, broad public participation, holistic thinking, systematic analysis, and continuous integration. Adoption and application of the process can be encouraged and/or facilitated by a number of internal organizational adjustments, or by external public-policy adjustments.


The patient signed a piece of paper to indicate agreement to the procedure, so there was informed consent. Right? Not always, warn medical ethicists.


An airfoil with a TERFENOL-D powered smart trailing edge is being developed to minimize drag during transonic cruise. TERFENOL-D linear motors move segmented flaps that continuously modify the trailing-edge shape for optimum performance. The system is mechanized to maintain smooth upper-surface shapes.The flap sizes and geometric parameters are being optimized with a modified simulated annealing technique. A full potential solver coupled to an integral boundary-layer method is used to simulate the aerodynamics. Average drag improvements over the lift-coefficient range are 16 counts at Mach 0.815 and 46 counts at Mach 0.726. The result of the optimization are checked for validity and flow separation with a higher-fidelity Navier-Stokes solver. A proof-of-concept TERFENOL-D elastic-wave linear motor has been built, and provides 1.5 in. strokes at the required speed of roughly 1 in./min. The motor is currently being used to power an engineering model of the smart trailing edge. Mathematical models and testing are being employed to investigate geometric, magnetic, and electronic design improvements which have the potential to significantly improve motor performance.


Edge computing aims to handle the data very close to the source where it is produced, and also provides an effective way to alleviate the burden of cloud computing for the processing of massive volume of data, enabling lower latency, faster response, and more comprehensive data analyses. Meanwhile, graph-based data has emerged especially in the form of social networks, World Wide Web (WWW), transportation, biological networks, and so on, which become high-impact domains of human activity to build smart society. Generally, as the resources on compact end devices are strictly constrained, a graph processing solution with low latency and low overhead is a real necessity for graph analytics in edge computing. In this paper, for the first time to our knowledge, we propose a lightweight interactive graph processing library (GPL) for edge computing in smart society, which is user-friendly and handy to be operated on a single device or among multiple devices. Evaluation is conducted to indicate that the proposed GPL is highly competitive with other established libraries such as igraph, NetworKit or NetworkX based on different graph datasets over a variety of popular algorithms.


The long poem on Sita is a retelling of the old mythical story of Sita in which Sita is every woman, with all their strength and all their weaknesses. The poet is much aggrieved by her grandfather's reaction to Sita's pleading with mother earth to take her back from this life. For her, Sita is not only Sita of Ramayana, but she has been an epitome of our culture and civilization and shaper of the whole Indian womanhood. Her Sita is the one who talks about her notions on love, care, joy dejection, humiliation and appraisal and generosity. Her assessment of the doings of Maryada Purushottam Rama is a biting one, which leaves the readers to think again about Sita and reframe their attitude about her, who was a true seeker of the truth.Hence, it is proper to admit that "It is penned rather as a poetic memoir of the heroine of the epic Sita told in the first-person narrative".


: Computer programming has attracted a lot of attention in the development of information and communication technologies in the real world. Meeting the growing demand for highly skilled programmers in the ICT industry is one of the major challenges. In this point, online judge (OJ) systems enhance programming learning and practice opportunities in addition to classroom-based learning. Consequently, OJ systems have created a large number of problem-solving data (solution codes, logs, and scores) archives that can be valuable raw materials for programming education research. Project aims at extending educational option to the adults, who have lost the opportunity and have crossed the age of formal education, but now feels to learn. So to fulfil their dreams we have taken a small initiative with the help of mobile application. In our system we have categorized whole system into three levels which we will be focusing. First level (Start) will be of People who never went for the schooling our application will teach them the basic education like word, alphabets, numbers. Second level (Moderate) will be of people who went for the regional schools of their mother tongue like Hindi, Marathi etc. Our application will teach them the information of preposition, sentence formation, word completion. Third level (Expert) will have English grammar like tenses, paragraph. At the end the user (illiterate adult) will be able to read and write at least basic words and syntax


This summary report describes the implementation of a travel centre project managed by the Ministry of Transport and Communications. The project was started in 1998 as the key producers of transport services, administrators of public transport terminals, transport infrastructure operators, and public authorities reached a preliminary understanding about establishing a network of high-quality travel centres in Finland. As a result of a questionnaire and negotiations, a total of 22 towns and cities agreed to find out if there was a need for a travel centre in their region. A steering group for the work had representatives from VR-Group Ltd, VR Ltd, Oy Matkahuolto Ab, Finnish Bus and Coach Association, Finnish Public Transport Association, Finnish Taxi Owners Federation, Finnish Civil Aviation Administration, Finnish Road Administration, Finnish Rail Administration, and the involved cities and towns piloting the project. Each city and town with a travel centre had a separate steering group to coordinate the local work. The implementation was expected to take 3-10 years. The impact assessment procedure used in transport projects was adjusted to the requirements of a public transport project and, in particular, a travel centre project. After the construction of the Kamppi travel centre in Helsinki was delayed due to such matters as appeals filed to the Supreme Administrative Court, it was decided that the entire travel centre network project be continued from 2005 till the end of 2007. Thus it was possible to include in the summary report empirical data on passenger behaviour and on the impacts of travel centres on public transport operators and on administrators and owners of the travel centres. The project was completed at the end of 2007. The aim was to establish, in broad-based cooperation, travel centres that could act as models for other public transport terminals. Separate instructions and surveys were drawn up on the development work, required information systems, and equipment and furniture needed in terminals. The project faced a particular challenge in turning old terminal buildings into accessible centres. The project studies, assessments and instructions are meant for the use of all planners, administrators and owners of travel centres. This report may be found at http://www.mintc.fi/fileserver/LVM06_2008.pdf


Sensing edema or swelling in the body is a parameter of interest for many clinical and cosmetic applications of wearable technology. Edema creates heightened sensitivity to pressure points, making soft textile-based sensors particularly attractive. However, swelling induces slow, gradual changes in body circumferences, which can be difficult to sense accurately, especially with soft e-textile sensors. Anthropometric variability, sensor placement, and body movements further confound accuracy. Here, we explore the feasibility of accurately sensing ankle swelling through a comparative assessment of a set of sensors representing 3 soft sensing mechanisms in a linear-strain bench test under three frequency conditions. These sensors are then applied in a simulated swelling experiment to assess their performance relative to circumferential changes similar to those experienced in swelling. We find that two sensors (stitched and capacitive) demonstrate reliable performance that approximates or exceeds expert human measurement for swelling. Resistive polymer cord and capacitive sensors exhibited accurate response under medium- and high-frequency extensions.


We discuss how confinement property of QCD results in the rational unitarization scheme and how unitarity saturation leads to the appearance of a hadron liquid phase at very high temperatures.


The article mainly discusses the inevitability of the original of the transferred gene plants and the present condition and the future of the transferred gene plants.


This article provides an overview of the conceptual foundations of the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment (AMA Guides), Sixth Edition. Impairment assessment in the sixth edition underwent a "paradigm shift" compared to the AMA Guides, Fifth Edition, in which its impairment rating methodology is based on the World Health Organization's (WHO's) International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) framework. Impairment rating is but one of several determinants of disability, and the one most amenable to physician assessment.


A method suitably determining the relative content of organic volatiles in the rubber insulation materials was established by the head-space gas chromatography and using n-pentane as the quantitative reference sample. The experimental results show that the content of organic volatiles in the rubber insulation materials increases with increase of heating temperature and heating time. The quantitative order is 10~15 μg/g at 50 ℃,15~20 μg/g at80 ℃ and reaches 300~350 μg/g at 160 ℃. The established method has good precision and can be used as relatively quantitative determination method of the gaseous organic volatiles in the rubber type materials.


When the wireless communications is coming to the offices and the homes, security has always been a significant issue. Today we have continuously growing markets for the wireless LANs, but there is big black hole in the security of this kind of networks. There is currently enormous interest in the design of secure wireless networks. In wireless networks free-space radio transmission makes eavesdropping easy and may result in unauthorized access. Virtual Private networks (VPN) have emerged as a solution. VPN is a network that employs encrypted tunnels to exchange securely protected data.


Cellulosic material derived from Merbau (Intsia bijuga) was extracted at atmospheric pressure. In the initial stage the sample was delignified using peroxyacetic acid to remove the amorphous. In the second stage the samples were double bleached using hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and sodium Hydroxide (NaOH). From the X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) data it is evident that both acid and alkali bleached celluloses have rich cellulose I structure. The results are supported by FTIR study in which all samples shown typical spectra of cellulose.


An asymmetry in thermal relaxation toward equilibrium has been uncovered for Langevin systems near stable minima [Phys. Rev. Lett. 125, 110602 (2020)]. It is conjectured that, given the same degree of nonequilibrium of the initial distributions, relaxation from a lower temperature state (heating) is faster than that from a higher temperature state (cooling). In this study, we elucidate the conjecture for discrete-state Markovian systems described by the master equation. We rigorously prove that heating is faster than cooling for arbitrary two-state systems, whereas for systems with more than two distinct energy levels, the conjecture is, in general, invalid. Furthermore, for systems whose energy levels degenerate into two energy states, we find that there exist critical thresholds of the energy gap. Depending on the magnitude of this energy gap, heating can be faster or slower than cooling, irrespective of the transition rates between states. Our results clarify the conjecture for discrete-state systems and reveal several hidden features inherent in thermal relaxation.


Summary form only given. To date, the most established all-optical Kerr switches are based on the nonlinear optical loop mirror (NOLM) scheme. NOLM's utilize the nonlinear phase shift (which should be precisely /spl pi/) imposed on a signal pulse by a control pulse, which can switch the state of interference between two parts of a signal pulse from constructive to destructive and vice versa. The interferometric nature of NOLM's makes them sensitive to vibration, polarization and pump power fluctuations, and makes it difficult to achieve complete and undistorted switching. In this report, we suggest a new switching scheme which utilizes the nonlinear frequency shift in cross-phase modulation (XPM). The new scheme is free of all the above mentioned drawbacks because it does not rely on interference.


Lupus nephritis (LN) is a typical characteristic of systemic lupus erythematosus. MicroRNAs (miRs) are reported to be involved in the onset and development of LN. The major purpose of the current study was to uncover the function of miR-9 in the pathogenesis of LN. Expression statuses of miR-9 and its potential target, STK3 in clinical samples were investigated. Then a dual firefly luciferase assay was conducted to reveal the regulating pattern of miR-9 on STK3. Human renal mesangial cells (HMCs) were employed to detect the effect of miR-9 down-regulated expression on viability and apoptosis in nephritis cells. The mechanism of miR-9 affecting LN was explored by measuring activities of STK3, ERK, JNK, and p38 in HMCs. It was found that miR-9 level was positively correlated with LN occurrence while STK3 was negatively correlated. Firefly luciferase assay demonstrated a negative regulation of miR-9 on STK3 transcription. Reduction of miR-9 significantly down-regulated cell viability and induced apoptosis in nephritis cells. The phenotypic changes in HMCs were accompanied by suppression of all the four studied indicators. The promoting function of miR-9 on LN was firstly elucidated in our study, and the molecule mechanism was the directly inhibition of STK3 transcription, which subsequently deactivated the downstream MAPKs.


The Hippo pathway modulates the transcriptional activity of Yap to regulate the differentiation of the inner cell mass (ICM) and the trophectoderm (TE) in blastocysts. Yet how Hippo signaling is differentially regulated in ICM and TE cells is poorly understood. Through an inhibitor/activator screen, we have identified Rho as a negative regulator of Hippo in TE cells, and PKA as a positive regulator of Hippo in ICM cells. We further elucidated a novel mechanism by which Rho suppresses Hippo, distinct from the prevailing view that Rho inhibits Hippo signaling through modulating cytoskeleton remodeling and/or cell polarity. Active Rho prevents the phosphorylation of Amot Ser176, thus stabilizing the interaction between Amot and F-actin, and restricting the binding between Amot and Nf2. Moreover, Rho attenuates the interaction between Amot and Nf2 by binding to the coiled-coil domain of Amot. By blocking the association of Nf2 and Amot, Rho suppresses Hippo in TE cells. Summary: A novel mechanism by which Rho can regulate Hippo signaling is described, in contrast to the prevailing view that Rho represses Hippo signaling by modulating the actin cytoskeleton.


Recent discussions of a subtherapeutic antibiotic ban in U.S. livestock gives rise to much speculation regarding industry impacts. Swine producers are heterogeneous; thus, a ban on subtherapeutic antibiotics could affect producers of different sizes, cost structures, different production systems and management styles differently. The authors combine average cost data with physical production data to simulate the impact of a subtherapeutic antibiotics ban on high, middle, and low-cost producers in different types of swine production operations. Their results suggest that although economies of scale would still be important, the ban would potentially limit or reduce economies of scale in the swine industry. lJEL Codes: L11, Q12, Q13r. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


The financial crisis which began in summer 2007 in the USA and then spread contagiously throughout the rest of the world, is systemic in nature. Indeed, it is not a local or regional crisis. It is the inevitable point of arrival of a process which, for more than thirty years, has changed at its very roots finance's way of being and doing, thus undermining the very bases of that liberal social order which is at the core of western civilization. The nature of the causes of the crisis is two-fold: the immediate ones, which speak of the specific characteristics adopted in recent times by the financial markets, and the remote ones, which blame aspects of the cultural matrix which accompanied the transition from industrial to financial capitalism. From the moment in which that epoch-making phenomenon which we call globalization began to take shape, finance not only constantly increased its quota of activity in the economic sphere, but it has progressively contributed to transform both people's cognitive maps and their value systems. It is to this latter that one refers today in speaking of the financialization of society. 'Finance', literally, is everything that has an end; if this escapes from its historical river-bed, finance can only produce perverse effects. In what follows, I will briefly, for reasons of space, dwell first of all on the proximate causes of the crisis and then on the remote ones. I will not concern myself either with the many effects of the actual collapse that is sweeping across the world, nor with the ways out of it. On both of these


In this paper, the full‐wave electromagnetic (FW‐EM) simulation approach for scalable small‐signal modeling of the GaN HEMT device is proposed. The scalable rules are deduced from the extracted parasitic parameters, which is according to a step‐by‐step parameter extraction method. Moreover, the accuracy is enhanced by considering the temperature‐dependent resistance (TDR) Rs and Rd, which are calculated by combining a universal thermal resistance model and the Rs and Rd under the pinch‐off condition. In the end, a set of GaN HEMT with a gate length of 0.25 μm is used for validation, and the experimental results show that good agreements have been achieved between the measured and the simulated scattering (S) parameters.


On the 18th January 1980 an off-course bulk carrier collided with the Tjoern Bridge, bringing the arch span and the deck slab down into the water. On the 19th June, Skanska was appointed contractor, and on the 9th November 1981, the new bridge was opened for traffic. The entire project has taken no more than half the time normally required for the construction of a structure this size. The new bridge is a cable stayed bridge with concrete pylons, a 366 M long main span of steel, and concrete approaches. The design and construction are briefly described in this article. (TRRL)


We review the concept of reverse noise measurements in the context of on-wafer transistor noise characterization. Several different applications of reverse noise measurements are suggested and demonstrated. Reverse measurements can be used to check measurement results, to significantly reduce the uncertainty in |Gammaopt |, to reduce the occurrence of nonphysical results, and possibly to directly measure or constrain parameters in models of transistors


The intensity of sound waves is measured in Watt per cm and specifies the energetic content of the waves. While absorbed in the tissue the sound waves are also modified into thermal energy which may cause an increase of temperature. Closely related to the energy of ultrasound waves is the sound pressure: the sound wave periodically generates low pressure and high pressure. Very low pressure may cause gas bubbles (cavitation) in the tissue and subsequently also lead to tissue damage. That is the reason why threshold values have been set up for the sound pressure which is measured in Pa (Pascal). Sound pressures for diagnostic applications in the tissue usually are below 0.5 MPa. Low frequency ultrasound waves penetrate deeper into the tissue whereas high frequency ultrasound waves permeate the superficial layers. Therapeutic applications with emphasis on thermal and mechanical effects preferably have frequencies between 20 and 800 KHz while diagnostic applications use frequencies between 1 and 40 MHz. Cosmetic treatments also apply frequencies in the MHz range. Ultrasonic heads for cosmetic applications cover areas of one up to several cm. The focus here also is on mechanical and thermal effects combined with an increased circulation and the stimulation of metabolic processes. The cellulite treatment concentrates above all on mobilizing the fat deposits.


A 58-year-old man presented with fever, chills, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. A presumptive diagnosis of viral gastroenteritis was made and fluid resuscitation was undertaken. An initial nasopharyngeal COVID-19 swab was negative. CT scan of the chest and abdomen showed no acute pathology. The EKG, however, showed ST-segment elevation anterolaterally and an echocardiogram demonstrated severe LV dysfunction. His condition deteriorated requiring intubation. Cardiac catheterization showed normal coronary arteries and elevated right-sided filling pressures. Biventricular VADS were placed percutaneously (BiPella®). His condition failed to improve and support was escalated to VA-ECMO. The patient was transferred to a quaternary care center whereupon a repeat COVID-19 test was positive. Inflammatory biomarkers were markedly elevated. The diagnosis of COVID-19 associated fulminant myocarditis was made. The patient received IV steroids, broad-spectrum antibiotics, and enrolled in a Phase 1 convalescent plasma trial. In addition, CRRT was initiated for renal failure. His condition rapidly improved and mechanical circulatory support was discontinued. He was discharged and maintained on hemodialysis until his kidney function normalized several months later. His Ejection Fraction at the time of discharge was 65%


Copyright © 2006 by the Brown Journal of World Affairs VENDULKA KUBÁLKOVÁ is a professor of International Studies at the University of Miami and holds a JUDr. in International Law. She is co-chair of the Miami Theory Group and author of Foreign Policy in a Constructed World and Marxism-Leninism and International Relations, as well as International Political Theology, forthcoming. International Political Theology


This paper presents the fast impedance spectroscopy method for objects with a very high impedance |Zx| ≥ 1GΩ modeled by RC networks. The method is suitable for predicting the lifetime and reliability of insulating materials. The fast impedance spectroscopy method was tested on insulating layers which were part of the system metalinsulator-metal (MIM). The method is based on measurements of the power loss and phase shift in the AC voltage divider, which consists of the measured system MIM and of the known impedance. Computer controlled instruments measure the gain and phase shift between the two outputs of alternating electrical circuit and a computer program calculates the parameters of the impedance spectroscopy from these values. The output is the graphical and tabular impedance characteristics of the MIM system, namely: the dielectric loss of the insulating film, imaginary part of impedance, loss factor, parallel resistance Rp and the capacity Cp of the MIM system, all frequency dependent. Frequency characteristics provide an analysis of loss mechanisms that may affect the quality and reliability of the insulating layers.


A distributed antenna-coupling scheme for THz quantum cascade lasers is introduced. Single-mode emission in a narrow beam pattern, with an order of magnitude increase in output power is predicted compared to previous distributed-feedback schemes.


Evaluation of product form can't take aesthetics as the only standard, because people's experience of product form is complex. Manufacturer performance, man-machine performance, aesthetic factor, etc, should be considered. In this paper a multivariate index evaluation model for product form is structured integrating manufacturer performance, aesthetics and man-machine performance. By combination of AHP and Fuzzy comprehensive evaluation to measure the three main indexes and all sub-indexes of product form quantitatively, the subjection vector of all indexes relative to evaluation set and the comprehensive evaluation value are calculated. Then the form schemes can be classified into different grades and sorted. At last, by application on car interior, the reasonableness and feasibility of this method is proved.


To study the development strategy of graduate education,researchers should be under the guidance of the scientific development concept.The scientific development strategies of graduate education involve the quality strategy,diversification strategy,characteristic strategy,innovation strategy,and environmental strategy.In practice, strategic orientation is the prerequisite of the development strategy.Strategy implementation is a key to the development strategy.We should improve the overall coordinated and sustainable development of graduate education, based on the scientific development concept and by using diversified strategies.


Problems of electrical energy quality improvement in power consumers supply systems are studied. Action of the main equipment in power stations and substation on delivered power quality, as well as influence of the power quality ratings on end power consumers is analyzed with a MATLAB expert system (Fuzzy Logic Toolbox).


Field survey was carried out for three years from 2001 to 2003 in Bijapur and Gulbarga districts of northern Karnataka where extensive cultivation of pigeonpea is followed. A roving survey was taken up during different stages of the crop growth on farmer's fields; insect pests observed during various stages of the crop growth were recorded both from farmers as well as the research fields. The survey carried out over three years in two districts revealed that a total of 30 insect pests were found feeding on pigeonpea. Out of these, two pests viz., Helicoverpa armigera (Hubner) and Aceria cajani Channa. were recorded as major pests on this crop by causing more than 51 per cent damage to the crop, whereas, eleven insects viz., Megalurothrips usitatus (Bangall), Empoasca kerri Pruthi, Clavigralla gibbosa Spinola, Riptortus pedestris Fb., Exelastis atomosa (May.), Melanagromyza obtusa Mlloch, Cydia ptychora (Meyr.), Maruca testulalis (Geyer), Etiella zinckenella Treit., Adisura atkinsoni M. and Mylabris pustulata (Thumberg) were recorded as moderate pests by inflicting damage between 31 to 50 per cent. As many as seven insect pests were recorded as minor pests on this crop, while ten were recorded as negligible pests.


The peculiarities of the state of democracy in present-day Ukraine were analyzed. The article also deals with the issues that are fundamental criteria when evaluating the level and form of democracy in civilized countries and, namely, public confidence in the President of Ukraine, Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Government of Ukraine, Armed Forces, Police, Security Service of Ukraine, Prosecutor General's Office, courts, local authorities, non-governmental organizations, trade unions, church, and mass media. The examples and data that are indicative of low level of confidence in government institutions, security agencies, court system, and much higher level of confidence in non-governmental institutions are provided.


Grass tunny is a metabolic disorder of ruminant animals that results from a deficiency of available Mg in the diet. The etiology of teumy is complicated by the many soil, plant, and animal factors that influence Mg availability to plants and in tuns to animals. This review will highlight some of these factors and provide management information which will minimize the impact of this disorder. Only the most recent and pertinent literature citations are included. A more detailed bibliographic list is available from the authors.


In patients with functional mitral regurgitation (FMR), deformation of the mitral valve (MV) apparatus leads to deteriorating coaptation of both leaflets. The MV geometry is essential to predict procedural success of using the MitraClip™ for FMR patients. Persistent such mitral regurgitation (MR) and post-procedural mitral stenosis (MS) are parameters for an increasing mortality rate after MitraClip implantation. The anterior-to-posterior mitral annulus diameter (MAD) is simple to evaluate with a high reproducibility rate. However, the predictive effect has not been determined to date.

 We evaluated the predictive effect of baseline anterior-to-posterior MAD on persistent MV dysfunctions after MitraClip™ implantation.

 We investigated the prevalence of procedural failure (MR at discharge > grade 2+) and post-procedural MS (mean transmitral gradient (mTMG) at discharge ≥6 mmHg) in a patient cohort with FMR (n=190), who underwent MitraClip™ implantation. We measured the MV apparatus geometry on mid-systole using transoesophageal echocardiography before the index procedure. The MAD was stratified by interquartile ranges (IQR) in the comparison. (≤34 mm, 35 to 37 mm, 38 to 40 mm, and ≥41 mm, respectively)

 The mean age was 75±9 years, and 63 patients (33%) were female. The mean left ventricular ejection fraction was 34±14%. Moderate-to-severe (3+) or severe MR (4+) were documented in all patients before the procedure. Transthoracic echocardiography at discharge revealed residual MR (>2+) in 10 patients (5%) and post-procedural MS in 13 patients (7%), in which one patient presented with both residual MR and MS.
 After stratification by the IQRs of MAD, there were significant differences in body weight (p<0.001), height (p<0.001), and body surface area (p<0.001), but no significant differences in the other baseline characteristics. Notably, significant differences in the prevalence of procedural failure (p=0.004) and post-procedural MS (p=0.022) were observed among the groups. (Figure) Specifically, in the cohort with the 4th IQR (MAD ≥41 mm, n=44), procedural failure was observed in 7 patients (16%), although the prevalence was only 2% in the other IQR groups. Moreover, the cohorts with the 1st and 2nd IQR presented with higher prevalence of post-procedural MS (6 of 46 patients (13%) in the 1st IQR group, and 6 of 51 (12%) in the 2nd IQR group) than those with the 3rd and 4th IQRs. (1 of 49 patients (2%) in the 3rd IQR, and none of 44 patients in the 4th IQR)
 Figure 1

 In this analysis we showed that the mitral annulus size affected MV dysfunction after MitraClip™. Anterior-to-posterior MAD was useful to predict the procedural result. For FMR candidates with dilated mitral annulus larger than 40 mm, new-generation MitraClip-XTR™ system or other therapeutic concept such as annuloplasty may be reasonable to obtain satisfactory MV function.


Cyanobacterial blooms (CBs) are generally triggered by eutrophic conditions due to anthropogenic nutrient inputs to local waters (wastewater or contaminated waters). During the bloom, some species produce toxic secondary metabolites (cyanotoxins) that are dangerous for humans and animals. Here, a multidisciplinary strategy for an early detection and constant monitoring is proposed. This strategy combines remote/proximal sensing technology with analytical/biotechnological analyses. To demonstrate the applicability of this strategy, four anthropogenically-impacted sites were selected along the Campania coast of southwestern Italy, in the so called 'Land of Fires'. The sites were observed using satellite and aircraft images during summer, 2015. Algal community composition was determined using spectrophotometric analysis for the detection of the cyanobacterial pigment phycocyanin (PC). Complementary metagenomic analysis revealed the taxonomic presence of cyanobacteria belonging to genera associated with strong eutrophic conditions. Key elements of this strategy are the combination and integration of applying different methodological approaches such as the parallel and combined use of satellite, aerial and in-situ data, the simplified multispectral image indexing and classification for a truly efficient method in detecting early blooms of cyanobacteria. The effectiveness of the strategy has been validated also by the specific taxa of cyanobacteria found in the examined areas that confirm the assumption that cyanobacterial blooms may serve as useful bioindicators of degraded water quality in coastal ecosystems. To our knowledge this is the first time that the presence of cyanobacteria has been observed in water bodies along the Campania coast.


The paper presents some results of a research devoted to a statistical analysis of discharges in pilot catchments in the Czech Republic with the aim to detect changes in their stochastic behaviour that might be caused by climate changes. The nonstandard statistical methods are applied to detect changes in annual means as well as in seasonal behaviour of runoffs series.


We propose a new systematic fibre bundle formulation of nonrelativistic quantum mechanics. The new form of the theory is equivalent to the usual one and is in harmony with the modern trends in theoretical physics and potentially admits new generalizations in different directions. In it the Hilbert space of a quantum system (from conventional quantum mechanics) is replaced with an appropriate Hilbert bundle of states and a pure state of the system is described by a lifting of paths or sections along paths in this bundle. The evolution of a pure state is determined through the bundle (analogue of the) Schrodinger equation. Now the dynamical variables and density operators are described via liftings of paths or morphisms along paths in suitable bundles. The mentioned quantities are connected by a number of relations derived in this paper. In the third part of our series we investigate the bundle analogues of the conventional pictures of motion. In particular, we find the state liftings and observable liftings corresponding to state vectors and observables respectively in the different pictures of motion. The equations of motion for these quantities are derived. Using the results obtained, problems concerning the integrals of motion are considered from the bundle viewpoint. Necessary and sufficient invariant bundle conditions for a dynamical variable to be an integral of motion are found.


Background Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a leading cause of mortality in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Traditional CVD risk scores underperform in SLE. Interestingly, a high prevalence of nonspecific ST-T changes (NST-T) has been recently reported in lupus patients1,2. These electrocardiographic findings are known to increase the risk for myocardial infarction, coronary artery disease, CVD, and all-cause mortality3 in the general population, but in SLE this association remains unknown. Therefore, we sought to define the association of NST-T with the modified Framingham Risk Score (mFRS) as a surrogate outcome for CVD4. Objectives To evaluate if NST-T are associated with higher mFRS in SLE patients without clinical cardiovascular disease. Methods Adult SLE patients without clinical CVD continuously seen at the Columbia University Lupus Center between April 2016 and January 2017, meeting 1997 American College of Rheumatology classification criteria for SLE were studied. Twelve-lead electrocardiogram (EKG), high sensitivity C-reactive Protein (hsCRP), demographics, disease-specific characteristics, medication use, and CVD risk factors were ascertained. Univariable and multivariable linear regression models were constructed to test the association of NST-T with the mFRS. Results Seventy-four lupus patients were studied (baseline characteristics in table 1). In univariable analysis, patients with NST-T had a significantly higher mFRS (0.44, p=0.018). There were no confounders identified in the analysis. However after adjusting for variables associated with the mFRS: smoking, diabetes, hsCRP, Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics/American College of Rheumatology Damage Index [SDI], aspirin use, this association remained statistically significant (0.38, p=0.05). Image 1 shows the association of mFRS with NST-T vs no NST-T. Age, years ± SD 39±13 Female, n (%) 67 (90%) Hispanic, n (%) 56 (77%) African American, n (%) 14 (19%) Body mass index 30±8.3 Median Disease Duration, years (IQR) 6.5 (4–12) Median SLEDAI (IQR) 4 (2–8) Moderate-Severe Disease activity (SLEDAI ≥6), n (%) 23 (31%) Median SDI, n (%) 0 (0–1) hsCRP median (IQR) 2.4 (1–6.5) ESR , Median (IQR) 37 (23–51) Anti-DNA, n (%) 44 (60%) Anti-SSA, n (%) 42 (59%) Anti-Smith, n (%) 21 (30%) Ever smoker, n (%) 16 (22%) Hypertension, n (%) 22 (30%) Diabetes, n (%) 6 (8%) mFRS, median (IQR) 0.5 (0–1.8) NST-T abnormalities, n (%) 27 (38%)Figure 1 Conclusions Non Specific ST-T changes are independently associated with a higher mFRS in SLE patients without clinical CVD. References Bourré-Tessier J, Urowitz MB, Pineau CA. et al. Electrocardiographic findings in systemic lupus erythematosus: data from an international inception cohort.Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2015 Jan;67(1):128–35. Geraldino-Pardilla L,Gartshteyn Y, Piña P, et al.ECG non-specific ST-T and QTc abnormalities in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus compared with rheumatoid arthritis. Lupus Sci Med. 2016 Dec 16;3(1):e000168. Daviglus ML, Liao Y, Stamler J, et al. Association of Nonspecific Minor ST-T Abnormalities With Cardiovascular Mortality The Chicago Western Electric Study. JAMA. 1999;281(6):530–536. Urowitz MB, Ibañez D, Gladman DD,et al. Modified Framingham Risk Factor Score for Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. J Rheumatol. 2016 May;43(5):875–9. Disclosure of Interest None declared


A new method for optimal operation of reservoirs system based on the adaptive genetic algorithm(AGA) is proposed in this paper,whose performances are analyzed.The results indicate that this method can automatically regulate the genetic control parameters with the magnitude of individual adaptation and the dispersion degrees of populations,and also solve several problems brought about by standard genetic algorithm owing to the adoptation of fixed genetic control parameters,so that is able to accelerate its convergence velocity and improve the overall optimal search ability of genetic algorithm while maintaining the diversity of populations,whereby providing a new way for high accurate optimal operation of reservoirs system.


The invention relates to the field of a battery, and discloses a high-energy density 18650 electrical core. The 18650 electrical core comprises a housing, a positive plate, a negative plate, a diaphragm and an electrolyte. a current collector of the positive plate is aluminum foil, a positive active substance is nickel cobalt lithium manganate 811; the current collector of the negative plate is copper foil, a negative active substance is a silicon-based composite material; the diaphragm is a PP or PE material; a solute of the electrolyte is lithium hexafluorophosphate and lithium bisoxalatoborate, and the solvent of the electrolyte is a mixture of one of succinic anhydride and fluoroethylene carbonate as well as vinylene carbonate. The 18650 electrical core selects the specific positive and negative materials for cooperation, has high-energy density, overcomes many technical defects during a preparation process, and practically realizes batch production.


Presence of microbial cells preparation (HCL – extract of group A streptococcus) in primary cell cultures of bone marrow (BMCC) and spleen (SCC) of CBA mice induced the expression mRNA of proinflammatory cytokines genes: IL-2, IL-6 and IL-8 in BMCC; in SCC cultures mRNA IL-1 β and IL-6 appeared and mRNA IL-4 disappeared. Injection of S. typhimurium antigen complex to mice CBA increased 5 times colony forming efficiency (CFE) and, respectively, content of stromal precursor cells (CFU-F) in femur bone marrow and 9 times in spleen of these animals with maximum at the first day. In both primary BMCC and SCC from immunized animals expression of proinflammatory cytokines genes IL-1 β, IL-6, IL-8 and TNF- α was revealed - in BMCC on 1 - 3 day after immunization, and in SCC – up to 15 days. In CBA mice injected with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) CFE and number of CFU-F in BMCC and SCC increased 1, 9 and 1, 8 times only and expression of genes IL-6, IL-8 and TNF- was observed only on the first day. In СВА/N xid mice there was neither increase CFU-F in the corresponding organs, nor expression of proinflammatory cytokines genes in primary cultures. The data suggest the possibility of positive participation of stromal cells in the development on of immune response in organism. Degree of activation of stromal tissue in immunized mice, apparently, correlates with the degree of immune response, supposing a close relationship between stromal tissue and immune system.


Parisa Mostafavi received the 2020 Fred L. Scarf Award at AGU's virtual Fall Meeting 2020. The award is "given annually to one honoree in recognition of an outstanding dissertation that contributes directly to solar–planetary science."


Optical coherence tomography (OCT) and photoacoustic microscopy (PAM) are two microscopic, three-dimensional, noninvasive imaging modalities that are based on different contrast mechanisms. OCT mainly images the optical scattering properties of a sample whereas PAM images optical absorption. Due to these different contrast mechanisms, OCT and PAM provide complementary information about biological tissues. OCT images the microanatomy of a sample (e.g., the histology-like crosssectional image). It can also image the blood flow velocity by measuring the Doppler shift imparted to the probing light. Conversely, PAM maps the spatial distribution of light absorbers (e.g., hemoglobin and melanin) and is able to image the microvasculature and the associated blood oxygenation. As a result, a multimodal imaging system fusing OCT and PAM can provide more comprehensive information of biological tissues.1 The current strategy for fusing OCT and PAM is to use two different types of light sources for these two imaging modalities.2–6 OCT resolves the depth of a scatterer in biological tissues through coherence gating, which requires a broadband/ low-coherence light source.7 PAM detects the laser-induced ultrasonic waves (photoacoustic waves) to form an image, which requires a pulsed laser, usually in the nanosecond range.8 It is natural to ask if a single light source could be used to accomplish OCT and PAM simultaneously. If so, the new technology would bring several advantages. First, it would produce images that are intrinsically registered in the lateral directions. Second, the two imaging modalities would be correlated, which would provide a unique opportunity for studying optical scattering and absorption in biological tissues. Finally, the method would minimize the risk of light damage by decreasing the total light exposure in multimodal imaging. Figure 1. The experimental system for free-space optical coherence photoacoustic microscopy (OC-PAM). The dye laser provides the photons for both imaging modes. Nd:YAG: Neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet. L1–L4: Lenses. SMF: Single-mode fiber. M1–M3: Mirrors. BS: Beam splitter. UT: Ultrasonic transducer. PD: Photodiode.


Haematopoietic stem cells are the source of all blood components including T-cells. When the T-cell programme is initiated in these cells, the expression of T-cell associated genes such as TCF7 is up-regulated, while genes opposing this fate are turned off. Subsequently, epigenetic marks on the gene BCL11B and its regulatory elements, disabling the expression of the gene, are removed and the transcription factor, which is crucial for the commitment to the T-cell lineage, is expressed with a delay. However, size and number of regulatory regions of BCL11B are unknown. Single cell data available of the expression of T-cell specific and opposing genes, as well as BCL11B were used to construct a time series of gene expression during T-cell development, which exhibits a down-regulation of the genes opposing T-cell fate. Moreover, the time series displays a switch in the expression level of T-cell associated genes and a delayed onset of BCL11B expression. The interactions between the examined transcription factors are summarised in a gene regulatory network. Its parameters were optimised to fit the time series, showing that model and data are in agreement regarding the essential characteristics of the system. Afterwards, a stochastic simulation of the regulatory network was included in an epigenetic toy model describing the demethylation and transcription of BCL11B. It leads to the conclusion that the time until a region is demethylated increases with its size. Furthermore, it hints towards a threshold in the amount of unmethylated DNA that is required for a transcription factor to bind, offering a delayed expression of BCL11B. (Less)


The innovation of the culture of administrative law needs to establish and improve the system of modern administrative law; to be mindful of modern administrative law; to take the modernization road of popularization of administrative law.In view of its development, the culture of administrative law in China should not only develop towards the culture of rule of law, but also towards the constitutional culture.


In the history of technological development some inventions, such as the glider, appear only after a long delay with respect to their technical feasibility. The modern high performance sailplane incorporates construction methods and materials available only in recent times: synthetic resins (epoxy, acrylic) and fibers (glass, graphite, aromatic polyamides), metal alloys, elastomers, etc. It requires a rather sophisticated technology. An expansion of gliding world-wide, beyond the actual modest limits of 120,000 pilots and 24,000 gliders in about 50 of the 174 world countries, is also a worthy objective for securing the vital air space to our sport and to allow gliding a creditable self-rule.


Purpose
Additive manufacturing (AM) or solid freeform fabrication (SFF) technique is extensively used to produce intrinsic 3D structures with high accuracy. Its significant contributions in the field of tissue engineering (TE) have significantly increased in the recent years. TE is used to regenerate or repair impaired tissues which are caused by trauma, disease and injury in human body. There are a number of novel materials such as polymers, ceramics and composites, which possess immense potential for production of scaffolds. However, the major challenge is in developing those bioactive and patient-specific scaffolds, which have a required controlled design like pore architecture with good interconnectivity, optimized porosity and microstructure. Such design not only supports cell proliferation but also promotes good adhesion and differentiation. However, the traditional techniques fail to fulfill all the required specific properties in tissue scaffold. The purpose of this study is to report the review on AM techniques for the fabrication of TE scaffolds.

Design/methodology/approach
The present review paper provides a detailed analysis of the widely used AM techniques to construct tissue scaffolds using stereolithography (SLA), selective laser sintering (SLS), fused deposition modeling (FDM), binder jetting (BJ) and advanced or hybrid additive manufacturing methods.

Findings
Subsequently, this study also focuses on understanding the concepts of TE scaffolds and their characteristics, working principle of scaffolds fabrication process. Besides this, mechanical properties, characteristics of microstructure, in vitro and in vivo analysis of the fabricated scaffolds have also been discussed in detail.

Originality/value
The review paper highlights the way forward in the area of additive manufacturing applications in TE field by following a systematic review methodology.


Combining multi-field information fusion theory with the ammunition feeding system, a multi-level information fusion method for fault detection and prediction is proposed in this paper. Firstly, it is studied that the occurrence and development mechanism of damage and failure of complicated ammunition feed system under rapid impact. The wear damage and stop shooting faults are diagnosed by measuring the power loss characteristics at different scales. Using modern signal processing and intelligent algorithm, the weak damage and wear stuck failure characteristics are extracted, and the fault positions are identified. On this basis, and combining the theories of impact vibration and wear damage, the degree of wear stuck failure, the law of damage development and expansion, and the remaining life of the system after the emergence of multi-damage fault, can be predicted. Finally, multi-field information fusion theories and methods for fault monitoring are established, and a monitoring platform with embedded system is developed.


As two different forms of Western ecological thinking, Eco-Marxism and Eco-Feminism grew out of the same period. Both reject the mechanical view of nature which is grounded in the subject-object dichotomy; both pay attention to environmental practices and environmental justice; and both stand for the opinion that human being will get along well with nature in the future ideal society. Yet, with regards the cause of ecological crisis, the value orientation of the anthropocentrism and solutions to the problems, they have different ideas. EcoMarxism and Eco-Feminism should learn from each other. This will help promote their respective development and deepen their environmental thinking.


The article investigates the determination of the content and structure of professional psychological competence of future teachers. Characterized by basic scientific research approaches professional psychological competence of future professionals. A content analysis of the concept of «professional psychological competence of future teachers». The main components of the structure and performance professional psychological competence of future teachers.


Worldwide many retrospective studies have shown that high fertility is associated with high infant and child mortality. Infant and child mortality rates (CMR) are used for monitoring and evaluating population and health programs. These rates are important elements of the quality of the life in a population. The general mortality rate in India i.e. the crude death rate has declined dramatically since the beginning of this century. But infant and child mortality has not reduced significantly. For the year 1998 the Sample Registration System (SRS) estimated an infant mortality rate (IMR) of 98/1000 live births in Orissa as compared to 72 in country as whole which was the second highest among the Indian states. SRS report provides the IMR and state and national level. But there is significant difference among different district of Orissa. The present paper attempts to estimate IMR and CMR at the district level in Orissa and to understand the linkages among selected reproductive and child health (RCH) indicators with IMR and CMR. The data on children ever born and children surviving have been taken from a recently conducted rapid household survey under the RCH project. The Trussell (1975) Method has been used in estimating IMR and CMR. It is found that most of the districts of Orissa are expiring higher IMR and CMR. Only a few districts of Orissa have lower IMR than national average. This indicates that these districts need special attention to improve child survival. With respect to RCH indicators many districts are proving poorly in Orissa compared to the national average. The linkages of RCH indicators with IMR and CMR are found to be low in significance. Thus districts with high IMR and CMR should be given special attention to improve child survival and reduction of fertility. (authors modified)


Purpose To explore the patterns and variations of immunohistochemical profiles of GIST at different sites.Methods Two hundred and five cases of GIST throughout the GI tract were immunohistochemically analyzed by using a panel of antibodies such as CD117,CD34,α-SMA,S-100 protein etc.Results The CD117 positivity was varied slightly at different sites,from 88.9% to 100% but no significant difference. The CD34 positivity varied from 42.9% in small intestine and 66.7% in colon,to 100% in esophagus and rectum,and the positivity of CD34 in GIST was significant differences related to GISTs sites (χ2=52.50,P0.001),whereas α-SMA,MSA were showed the opposite patterns and was most frequent in the small intestinal GIST (40.8% and χ2=11.47,P0.01),and 26.5% respectively. Desmin was only seen occasionally. S-100 protein and PGP9.5 expression was rare but most frequently in small intestinal GIST (24.5%,22.4% respectively).Conclusions The expression of CD34,α-SMA,MSA,S-100 protein and PGP9.5 is related to the sites of GI. The patterns and variations are helpful in diagnosing the cases which express the α-SMA and MSA in the small intestine as GIST other than leiomyosarcomas. The expression profiles in GIST might indicate the intrinsic features of interstitial cells of Cajal in different sites of GI.


The symbiotic organism search (SOS) algorithm is a promising meta-heuristic evolutionary algorithm. Its excellent quality of global optimization solution has aroused the interest of many researchers. In this work, we not only applied the strategy of multi-group communication and quantum behavior to the SOS algorithm, but also formed a novel global optimization algorithm called the MQSOS algorithm. It has speed and convergence ability and plays a good role in solving practical problems with multiple arguments. We also compared MQSOS with other intelligent algorithms under the CEC2013 large-scale optimization test suite, such as particle swarm optimization (PSO), parallel PSO (PPSO), adaptive PSO (APSO), QUasi-Affine TRansformation Evolutionary (QUATRE), and oppositional SOS (OSOS). The experimental results show that MQSOS algorithm had better performance than the other intelligent algorithms. In addition, we combined and optimized the DV-hop algorithm for node localization in wireless sensor networks, and also improved the DV-hop localization algorithm to achieve higher localization accuracy than some existing algorithms.


Objective To investigate the effects and relations of carvedilol on heart rate turbulence and secretion of sympathetic nerve in patients with myocardial infarction. Methods Sixty-six patients selected with acute myocardial infarction were randomized to enroll into experimental group ( n = 33 ) treated with earvedilol and control group( n = 33 ) treated with metoprolol for 12 months follow-up treatment. The concenrrarions of plasma norepinephrine(NE) and epinephrine (E) and 24 hour Holter monitoring were messured respectively before the treatment ,after 6 months and 12 months; and new cardiac events were supervised for all cases. Quantification of heart rate turbulenee(HRT) were carried out by computer analyzing two factors: turbulence onset(TO) and turbulence slope(TS) from the data of 24 hour Holter monitoring. NE,E,TO,TS and the occurrence rate of new cardiac events were compared between two groups and in different times of treatment. The correlation between TO,TS and NE,E was analysed. Results Before the treatment, there was no significant differences between two groups to the comparisons of NE,E,TO and TS(P>0.05). After treating 6 and 12 months, NE, E and TO of experimental group were all lower than control group's significantly, accordingly TS were all higher(P<0.05). By comparing 3 times( before,after 6 and 12 months of treatment), NE, E and TO of two groups dropped, meanwhile TS rose; experimental group showed significant changes( P<0.05 ), but control group showed no significant differences(P>0.05 ). The occurrence rate of new cardiac events of experimental group was lower than control group's significantly (P<0.05 ).There was significant correlation between NE, E and TO, TS (P<0.05 ). Conclusion Carvedilol treatment can block the secretion of sympathetic nerve after myocardial infarction and prevent the occurrences of new cardiac events significantly; the changes of the secretion of sympathetic nerve can play an important role for heart rate turbulence (HRT) ,the changes of HRT would be hopeful to predict new cardiac events alter myocardial infarction.

Key words:
Myocardial infarction;  Carvedilol ;  Heart rate;  Electrocardiography


Severe head trauma refers to an injury to the cranial,encephalic and/or meningeal structures resulting in a Glasgow Coma Scale score of 8 points or less. According to the World Health Organization, this condition causes over 5 million deaths per year. In Ecuador, in 2015, the National Institute of Statistics and Census recorded 5,768 deaths caused by this condition. The management of this condition can be either clinical or surgical depending on the patient's needs. Currently, there is controversy surrounding the therapeutic methods used to manage it, and it has been the subject of study for several years. This research presents a bibliographic review with a descriptive approach, providing useful concepts in this area of constant evolution, addressing fundamental topics such as its causes, classifications, and therapeutics. The documentation used emphasizes the use of standardized strategies and staggered management of intensive treatment for neurocritical patients, emphasizing the active implementation depending on the clinical and imaging findings. This approach has been shown to reduce mortality and improve the clinical outcome of patients.


require compensation from their patients, who can hardly afford to pay it. The salary of a doctor amounts to $US2 a month, so who can blame them? Obviously the state cannot sustain the 66000 doctors, and many of them have become unemployed over the past two years. With one doctor per 170 inhabitants, Georgia has about the highest ratio of doctors to patients in the world. The Ministry of Health has no hard currency to buy drugs: the shelves are filled with drugs from humanitarian relief agencies. Defining the quantities of drugs needed is difficult since previous consumption of drugs is not a good criterion for defining present needs in a system that is hospital based and where overprescription is the rule. Not all health staff are familiar with the generic names of pharmaceutical products used in the West, so distribution of drugs is not just a matter of supply. The recipients need information and training if they are to make correct decisions on drug treatment. The national immunisation programme has collapsed. The supply of vaccine from Russia has stopped, and already small outbreaks of diphtheria and measles have been reported. To start up an immunisation programme again, antigens from Russia will have to be replaced with others and a new programme will have to be introduced, for which thorough training will be necessary. There is no solution to Georgia's health problems without economic recovery and health reform.


This paper provides a description of our approaches for flood severity estimation in our participation at the Multimedia Satellite Task at MediaEval 2019. We use state-of-the-art deep neural networks for image classification, object detection and human pose estimation in order to estimate the water level from online news images. On the multi-temporal city-centered satellite sequences, we show that derived water indices which are often used for flood detection can be learned with neural networks. By relying on recurrent networks, we want to move forward the state-of-the-art in flood impact assessment by motivating for models that are well known in computer vision but generally not often used by remote sensing researchers.


With the acceleration of urbanization and motorization speed boost, the development of urban green traffic has become a focus of public concern and an important way to solve urban traffic problems, which has made the low-carbon transport policy been given more attention. However, since the urban traffic is affected by multiple factors, whether the application of low-carbon transport policy could obtain corresponding or higher output is uncertain. To clarify the effects of low-carbon transport to the improvement of urban traffic ecological environment, the main indicators that measure the contribution of low-carbon transport to urban traffic ecological environment were extracted from five aspects including people, cars, roads, transportation infrastructure and traffic environment. The Guangzhou city in China was taken as an example to select index data, the regression analysis was adopted by SPSS software. Results show that the contribution rate of the low-carbon transport policy to the improvement of urban transportation ecological environment is 4.42%. The conclusions obtained from this study are of great significance to improve the low-carbon travel policy and optimize the urban traffic ecological environment


Interventional oncology (IO) plays a pivotal role in many solid organ malignancies. Ablation or embolization is the standard of care for many renal and hepatic cancers, and both have played an increasing role in the treatment of pulmonary neoplasms. Although most outcomes of locoregional therapy are based on tumor response and prolongation of survival, the successful growth of IO is partly due to a very low rate of significant adverse events. Major complications from minimally invasive oncologic interventions continue to be rare, despite the advent of new techniques over the past several years. This article uses a case-based format to present five complications from oncologic procedures of the liver, kidney, and lung. Knowledge of these adverse events and strategies for treatment are outlined.


JEAN LUC GODARD'S career in filmmaking began in the early 1950s when, as a young journalist (and lapsed anthropologist), he dabbled in some amateur and short documentary projects. His great breakthrough came with À bout de souffle (Breathless, 1960), and since then he has been directly involved in the production of over eighty films, many of which are major works of cinema. While there might seem to be discrete periods, or points of departure, in Godard's career (the heady days of the Nouvelle Vague, the Groupe Dziga Vertov phase, the mid-life 'autobiographical' turn, or, according to one publishing house: Les années Cahiers, Les années Karina, and Des années Mao aux années 80), there is also sufficient continuity of attitude and method to confuse the chapters that editors, critics, and biographers typically deploy to divide up that career.(2) When viewing Godard's more recent work, however, it is difficult not to notice his time of life, or resist speculating on the affinities of thought and form in Film Socialisme (2010), and Notre musique (2005), Éloge de l'amour (In Praise of Love, 2001), and Voyage(s) en utopie (Voyage(s) in Utopia), his 2006 installation at the Centre Pompidou, of his own abandoned exhibition, Collage(s) de France. Is it now permissible to talk of a Godardian late style, and if so, is this a style shaped by an acceptance of the essential fragility of life and the necessity of death, or by a propensity for greater disruptiveness, playfulness youthfulness, even?


e16025 Background: Due to hospital control difficulties of patients with HNC, a phase II with oral fluoropyrimidines was conducted. Oral administration of 5-FU itself is not feasible owing to the h...


We document large-scale reversal of privatization in China — local government re-possessing controlling ownership stakes in previously privatized firms during the period 1999-2007. Privatized firms are 're-nationalized' to ease the burden of unemployment in the local market. Firms located in provinces with newly appointed, top-ranked Communist Party leaders who are not affiliated with any of the dominant political factions are more likely to be re-nationalized. With a number of instrument variables including the political status of the top-ranked provincial Party leader, we find that re-nationalization leads to lower profitability and labor productivity, and does not appear to have any long-term economic benefits in the region.


Using an ATM has become an essential part for the ATM cardholders. As it dispenses cash not only in the same city or country but also throughout the world in multiple currencies dependent upon ATM card brand such as VISA, Mastercard, CUP, American Express etc. Now a days ATM offers a diverse set of transactions and services; which calls for complexity to an ATM's interface and design. Navigation menus are getting more and more complex in nature and require customers to step through complex menus to perform a single transaction each time. Although ATMs offer static interface designs for own bank cardholders, which results in displaying all the transaction set available, where some of them are irrelevant and time consuming. Furthermore, every bank has their own unique ATM design interface which creates problems to customers interacting with different navigation menus. Hence, it could be useful to enhance the ATM interface by focusing on target audience and their demographics, which may include their geographical location, education level, gender, age group, professions and frequency of performed transactions. Designing an effective and adaptive interface enhances customer satisfaction towards ATM usage, unlike waiting in a queue while an elderly or novice is trying to understand the ATM's menu complexity or going through navigational menus to perform the same transaction each time [1]. In this paper, the authors have proposed Adaptive and Dynamic ATM interfaces in the light of frequent transactions for the group of people with similar transactional behavior.


Preoperative nonwire localizations with 125I seeds are performed using mammographic or ultrasonographic guidance. Current MRI‐guided interventions in the breast are primarily limited to biopsies and wire localizations. Occasionally, nonwire localization with 125I seeds is preferred, but the target is only well seen on MRI. This case report describes how MRI‐guided preoperative two 125I seed bracket localization was performed.


To reveal the consistency and discrepancy in the gut microbial structure and function in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients from different regions.


Objectives: To evaluate the reliability of anthropometric data of under-five children based on the SISVAN-Web, describing the coverage of the System and aspects of its implementation. Methods: Cross-sectional study developed in two cities of Paraíba. The sample consisted of 18 family health teams and 324 children, randomly selected. Anthropometric measures (weight and height) were collected (1) by the researcher using standard equipment (R); (2) by the researcher using service equipment (RS) and; (3) during routine service (S). Municipal managers answered a questionnaire about the System. Results: Among the 319 children observed, 10.28% were overweight/age, 14.02% were overweight and 7.16% were stunted. Coverage was 2.8% in one municipality and 3.3% in the other, being higher for children and smaller for the elderly. The


Objective To observe the efficacy of bisoprolol combined with QuMei trimetazidine treatment of rheumatic heart disease.Methods 138 cases in observation group and 125 cases in the control group of 263 cases of rheumatic heart disease patients were randomly divided into. The 2 groups were given conventionalsymptomatic treatment, observation group was treated on the basis of bisoprolol combined with trimetazidinetreatment QuMei. Observe two groups of curative effect.Results After treatment,total effective rate of observation group was 92% higher than 78.4% in the control group,the difference was statistically significant(P0.05). Conclusion Bisoprolol combined QuMei trimetazidine efficacy in the treatment of rheumatic heart disease significantly,can significantly improve the clinical symptoms and cardiac function in patients,is worthy of clinical application.


The perception that eating habits established in childhood and adolescence will be reflected in adulthood has been analyzed to detail by the industries of the food branch, betting that these age groups are large niche market. The most effective approach to the awareness of the product by the general public seems to be through advertising, including television advertising. Is through the use of various techniques that the product is presented to the target audience. Most advertising campaigns targeted at the younger, advertise products whose nutritional composition is inadequate in view of the recommendations. Marketing e publicidade – Influência no consumo alimentar de crianças 6 There is some evidence that marketing influences children in their choices, consumption and food preferences, shopping for food and beverage and asking these products to parents. With increasing exposure to television advertising, children eventually move away from physical exercise and puts them closer diseases like obesity generated by the excessive consumption of energy-dense foods, often seen in television advertisements.


Sludges and supernates were separated from Savannah River Plant waste slurries by centrifugation and sand filtration. This separation, a portion of a conceptual process for solidification and long-term storage of high-level radioactive wastes, was tested in shielded cells with small-scale process equipment. Procedures for the separation were developed in tests with nonradioactive materials. Then, in 13 tests with actual sludges and supernates, solids removal ranged from 90 to 99.2 vol percent and averaged 96.4 vol percent after two passes through a basket-type centrifuge. Concentrates from the tests, containing 0.05 to 0.2 vol percent solids, were clarified by sand filter columns to produce solutions of the soluble salts with less than 0.01 vol percent solids. About 700 liters of salt solution and 8 kilograms of washed, dried sludges were separated in the tests. Effects of sludge type, flocculant, flow rates, and batch size were evaluated. Washing and drying of centrifuged sludges were studied, and two types of dryers were tested. Ruthenium volatility during drying was negligible. Washing efficiency was determined by analyses of wash solutions and sludge products.


Objective To investigate the transformation of field potential in the motor cortex of cat introduced by ketamine.Methods Three healthy adult male cats weighted 3.0 kg-5.0 kg were enrolled in this study.The changes of local field potential (LFP) power and the time-course of the power of δ (2 Hz-4 Hz),θ (4 Hz-7Hz),β (12 Hz-25 Hz) bands were assessed on neurons in right motor cortex(area 4γ) by in vivo extracellular record method under ketamine anaesthesia,accompanying with assessing energy ratios of four bands.Results Comparing with baseline values in awake rats,right motor cortex showed a fast increase in LFP power in the relevant bands after the 40 mg/kg ketamine dose,with maximum values achieved when intraperitoneal injection (i.p.) ketamine instantly,and then presented a gradual power decrease,reaching the power stable and superior to baseline values about from 6 min to 25 min after injection.The response of signal energy to the ketamine was characterized by a biphasic pattern with a very fast increase,followed by a sharp decrease about 6 min after i.p.ketamine and a gradual increase to a plateau superior to baseline values till the end of the recording.The slow-wave (δ,θ) energy increased higher than that of the fast-wave component (β) after anesthesia.The LFP was with more the fast-wave component (β) in awake cats,whereas cats were in anesthesia,the slow-wave components (δ) in LFP increased.Conclusions Ketamine has a profound effect on motor cortex LFP at the time of unconsciousness and anesthesia maintenance.

Key words:
Ketamine;  Primary, motor cortex;  Field potential;  Cat


A general approach is presented toward the determination at near atomic resolution of two-dimensional (2-D) crystalline structures of amphiphilic molecules at the air-water interface. It involves fitting of grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GID) data from the 2-D crystal using molecular models, complemented by lattice energy calculations. In this way, one may eliminate ambiguities associated with assignment of the 2-D crystal symmetry, the molecular conformation, and the packing arrangement


Using the finite element method we investigate plasmon-mediated transmission in a periodically modulated metal-insulator-metal (MIM) grating. We compute the eigenmodes of a silver-silica-silver conformal coating atop an array of close-packed silica rods, and correlate them with extinction and transmission characteristics of the structure. We observe efficient coupling of impinging plane-waves to gap plasmon modes, allowing control of both bandwidth and intensity of the transmitted radiation.


A case history describing a slow moving deep seated landslide that was damaging houses at Rosetta in Tasmania is presented, including a geological model, the management plan developed to cope with the situation, details of stabilisation works and the results of monitoring.


In this investigation 21 students were trained to perform a highly simplified PCbased air traffic control (ATC) approach sequencing task simultaneously with a secondary (auditory) oddball task. Task load was manipulated by varying the number of aircraft on screen. Besides task load, time-on-task effects were investigated by monitoring the ATC task performance during two hours. The effects of the manipulations were assessed using subjective (RSME), performance and physiological (EEG spectral power, ERP P300) measures. An index based on EEG spectral power in alpha and theta ranges was calculated by dividing the power of the Fz theta band by the power of the Pz alpha band. The index was tested with regard to its sensitivity for task load and time-on-task effects. The results provide support for Fz theta divided by Pz alpha as an index of task load.


In cities, there exists a number of buildings that are designed to use air-tight and highly-insulated building materials. These buildings have some problems in that people suffer from inefficient ventilation and also air pollution. To solve these problems, we propose a multi-airlayer material that takes into consideration various properties such as natural ventilation, thermal insulation, and internal condensation. This is called a "Breathing Wall". We designed an aluminum foil - constructed multi- airlayered body having many fine circular perforations, which is installed in a wood panel frame. In this study, employing available and obtained data a one-dimensional numerical simulation model was developed to study the simultaneous transfer of heat, air, and moisture through a horizontally situated Breathing Wall.


In this letter, we address the time-of-arrival-based localization problem using an asynchronous sensor network under non-line-of-sight conditions. We formulate a robust least square (RLS) problem to jointly estimate the source location and the transmission time. To tackle the problem that the unknowns in the RLS problem are coupled with each other, we decouple the coupled constraint as the second-order cone constraints by applying some inequalities, and then apply the standard second-order cone relaxation technique to obtain a convex second-order cone program. Simulation results verify the performance of the proposed method.


Pasteurized process of milk with pulsed electric fields with (PEF) various voltage and treatment time has been studied experimentally. The main concern of this research is to observe the effect of various voltage and treatment time on physical properties of milk. The PEF treatment was carried out using PEF laboratory unit, set with three levels of treatment voltage (i.e. 60 kV; 80 kV; and 100 kV) and performed in three different treatment duration (i.e. 10 s; 20 s; and 30 s). Effect s of variables of both treatments on density, viscosity, water content, boiling point, freezing point, turbidity level, red level (a+), and yellow level (b+) were investigated. The applied higher voltage and treatment duration has no significant effect on viscosity, density and water content. The boiling point, freezing point, turbidity level, red level (a+) and yellow level (b+) did not change significantly among the variety of the applied voltage. In general, these measured variables were less affected by the PEF treatment.


ABSTRACT I have lived with psychotic illness (DSM-V diagnosis: schizophrenia) for many years. In my experience, the so-called 'positive symptoms' of hallucinations and delusions represent a disintegrating paradox: un-binding characterizes its psychosocial core. To the degree I am estranged from other people, I become bound to hearing voices that preserves the feeling of my existence. To the degree I encounter binding solidarity in interpersonal relation, I become un-bound from psychotic persistence and rebond with everyday reality and human sociality. Here I seek to elucidate why hearing voices might be significant for chronically psychotic individuals notwithstanding the voices' often distressing contents. I explicate how to understand the deep personal needs underlying psychotic manifestations; and correspondingly what best treatment might help resolve the chronic circle of psychotic symptoms and psychosocial alienation.


One reason for the failure of Marxism to gain a large following in England, not explicitly covered by other writers, is the partial or complete rejection of Marxism by the founders of the modern British socialist movement. This study attempts to explain their reaction to Marxism and to evaluate their criticism. The influence of other thinkers on these men is analyzed when that influence appeared to be significant.


Intussusception is a common, potentially life‐threatening paediatric condition. Non‐operative treatment with an air enema has been established as the clinical gold standard. There is no validated model for the training of this procedure. Our aim was to produce a novel air enema reduction simulator and validate its use as a training tool.


The base of the final product is the base oil. The final product is ready for use and is a mixture of base oil (or several base oils) and additives. Additives improve the properties of the base oil. Base oils can be mineral or synthetic based. Base oils or base stocks are created from separating and cleaning up crude oil. They are one of several liquid components that are created from crude oil. The crude oil refining process will be briefly described. The American Petroleum Institute implemented a system for describing various base oil types. The result was the development and introduction of base oils group numbers. The API numbers of various base oil groups and the main differences between them will be explained. At the end, premium quality hydraulic oil and its main characteristics will be presented.


Introduction:
 Mechanical thrombectomy is the standard of care for acute ischemic stroke for select patients with large vessel occlusion (LVO). Racial and gender disparities exist in the incidence, morbidity, and mortality related to stroke. Furthermore, racial disparities in the utilization of thrombectomy have been previously identified. However, disparities in the utilization of thrombectomy in a single center with a standardized patient selection protocol have not been described.

 Methods:
 Using the American Heart Association Quality Improvement Programs Registry, we retrospectively reviewed the records of 1,143 patients with LVO between December 1, 2014, and May 31, 2021. Patient records were assessed for demographic data, stroke risk factors, process metrics, and success of thrombectomy. A Pearson's Chi-Squared and an Independent two-sample T-test were used to determine significance.

 Results:
 Of the 1,143 LVO patients, 50.4% were female, 49.6% were male, 84.3% were white, 15.7% were nonwhite. Males were more likely to have diabetes compared to females (22.8% versus 17.9%; p=0.044). There were no significant differences based on race for stroke risk factors including diabetes and atrial fibrillation. Patient selection for thrombectomy was determined by a protocol agnostic to gender and race. Female patients were more likely to undergo thrombectomy compared to males (62.4% versus 48.9%; p<0.001). White patients were more likely to undergo thrombectomy compared to nonwhites (58.7% versus 39.7%; p<0.001). White patients were more likely to have a shorter interval between their last known well (LKW) to arrival (454 minutes versus 533 minutes; p=0.008) despite the fact our nonwhite patients were more likely to originate from our local county (58.1% versus 8.3%; p<0.001).

 Conclusions:
 In our analysis of LVO patients, female patients and white patients were more likely to undergo mechanical thrombectomy. The higher incidence of diabetes in males may have resulted in the patients presenting with a larger core infarct, making them ineligible for thrombectomy. Further investigation with data from multiple centers will be necessary to validate these findings and identify strategies for improving utilization of thrombectomy.


Fourteen mature Beetal bucks were randomly selected and evaluated for sperm attributes, oxidative stress, antioxidant defence systems, seminal plasma testosterone and total protein during two major seasons (summer and winter) of the year 2018–19. It was observed that bucks responded differentially to summer and winter stresses. Sperm counts were significantly (P<0.05) higher during winter (2.6±0.2x109/ml) than summer (1.7±0.1x109/ml). Individual motility and viability were significantly (P<0.05) improved in winter (69.9±3.0% and 78.4±1.4%) as compared to summer (59.7±2.1% and 68.5±2.8%). Malondialdehyde and superoxide dismutase (SOD) were significantly (P<0.05) higher during summer compared to winter. There was positive correlation between lipid peroxidation (LPO) and all sperm attributes and only viability during summer and winter, respectively. SOD was negatively correlated with sperm attributes during both the seasons. The means for the activities of catalase (CAT) and glutathione reductase (GRE) were quite opposite to LPO and SOD i.e. higher during winter as compared to summer and suggested that SOD was not utilized by the spermatozoa to reduce oxidative stress in summer and in return sperm attributes remained low. The higher activity of CAT and GRE during winter acted in conjunction with SOD for its utilization by spermatozoa to reduce the oxidative stress and enhance the sperm function in winter. CAT and GRE were positively and negatively correlated with all sperm attributes except plasma membrane integrity (PMI), volume and initial motility, acrosome integrity during winter, respectively. But, the correlations were negative for all sperm attributes (catalase) and positive for all attributes except PMI (GRE) during winter. The mean testosterone and total proteins levels were significantly (P<0.05) higher during summer as compared to winter. It was concluded that season influenced the semen quality in Beetal bucks and it was in general, better in winter than in summer.


We propose Compact And Real-time Descriptors (CARD) which can be computed very rapidly and be expressed by short binary codes. An efficient algorithm based on lookup tables is presented for extracting histograms of oriented gradients, which results in approximately 16 times faster computation time per descriptor than that of SIFT. Our lookup-table-based approach can handle arbitrary layouts of bins, such as the grid binning of SIFT and the log-polar binning of GLOH, thus yielding sufficient discrimination power. In addition, we introduce learning-based sparse hashing to convert the extracted descriptors to short binary codes. This conversion is achieved very rapidly by multiplying a very sparse integer weight matrix by the descriptors and aggregating signs of their multiplications. The weight matrix is optimized in a training phase so as to make Hamming distances between encoded training pairs reflect visual dissimilarities between them. Experimental results demonstrate that CARD outperforms previous methods in terms of both computation time and memory usage.