To ensure the integrity of three recent electrically heat traced flowline (EHTF) projects, an innovative engineering critical assessment (ECA) of the vacuum plug weld has been performed. Vacuum plug welds are used to seal the annulus of the EHTF pipe in pipe (PiP) after vacuum draw down operations. Plug welds are a high focus area for the EHTF system study.
 EHTF PiP in offshore application is installed by a reel-lay method. The plug weld in the carrier pipe is subjected to large plastic deformation, followed by cyclic fatigue in lay-down and operation. These loading conditions pose significant challenges to plug weld integrity management. Due to the unique design and function of the EHTF plug weld, a fit-for-purpose ECA is crucial for demonstrating the weld quality is sufficient to guarantee the integrity of the carrier pipe throughout the entire EHTF life cycle. The allowable defect size from the ECA is also crucial to validate the accuracy of the inspection method.
 This paper presents the development of the plug weld ECA methodology. The complexity of the plug weld requires a bespoke ECA to address defect tearing during plastic deformation from reeling, as well as fracture check against operational conditions. In terms of fatigue crack growth for installation and operational phases, there is no off-the-shelf empirical stress intensity factor (SIF) solutions for a plug weld. A bespoke SIF solution for plug weld was developed and verified via 3D FEA. A case study of plug weld ECA in an EHTF using the developed methodology is presented. Segment testing of plug weld to ascertain the reeling defect growth is also described in case study.


A method and system for the light-emitting molecular imaging or tomography of the region of interest are disclosed in the scattering medium. The system includes a non-linear light-emitting marker substance arranged in the scattering medium. This improves the contrast and resolution of the imaging or CT. Nonlinear marker, for example, be configured to up convert the incoming light of the illumination wavelength. Non-linear power dependency of markers by using the images obtained by the two or more excitation beam at the same time makes it possible to further enhance the imaging.


With wide use of Finite Element Analysis (FEA), to obtain results that accord well with test has become ultimate target for the analyzer. Proper simplification of tiny features on CAD model can reduce solving time of FEA. While unreasonable simplification sometimes can get results that are completely opposite to truth. In this paper due to getting rid of the tiny feature of oil release hole of piston, FEA gave a result extremely different with engine test. Optimization for piston is forced to pass the test. Tiny features affected FEA result badly, so some tiny features on FEA model can't be thrown off randomly in some cases.


We introduce the notion of `core growth rate' for strongly synchronizing transducers. We explore some elementary properties of the core growth rate and give examples of transducers with exponential core growth rate. We conjecture that all strongly synchronizing transducers which generate an automaton group of infinite order have exponential core growth rate. There is a connection to the group of automorphisms of the one-sided shift. More specifically, the results of this article are related to the question of whether or not there can exist infinite order automorphisms of the one-sided shift with infinitely many roots.


Comprehensive Foot Examination and Risk Assessment: a Report of the Task Force of the Foot Care Interest Group of the American Diabetes Association, With Endorsement by the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists Andrew J.M. Boulton, David G. Armstrong, Stephen F. Albert, Robert G. Frykberg, Richard Hellman, M. Sue Kirkman, Lawrence A. Lavery, Joseph W. LeMaster, Joseph L. Mills, Sr., Michael J. Mueller, Peter Sheehan, and Dane K. Wukich Diabetes Care 31:1679–1685, 2008


Aim.  The  aim  of  the  research  has  been:  the  study  of  the  conceptual foundations of sustainable development of the region, identification of the main  factors,  signs,  patterns,  principles,  preconditions  for  sustainable development  of  the  region  as  an  ecological  and  socio‐economic  system and  the  proposition  of  new  approaches  to  the  analysis,  assessment  and modeling  of  the  development  of  the  region  from  the  standpoint  of  a systematic approach. Material and Methods. The research carried out by the authors was based on statistical data from the Federal State Statistics Service, characterising the  ecological  and  socio‐economic  development  of  the  Republic  of Dagestan.  Analysis  of  the  degree  of  influence  and  assessment  of  the prerequisites,  factors,  conditions  of  the  ecological,  socio‐economic development of the region made it possible to substantiate the choice of research  methods,  most  of  which  are  deterministic  or  probabilistically deterministic  in  the nature of  information.  In  this  regard,  the study used methods  of  quantitative  research,  which  are  based  on  factorial,  genetic and  normative  approaches,  including  methods  of  expert  assessments, balance  planning  methods,  economic  and  mathematical  methods  of optimization and assessment of economic efficiency. Results.  The  authors  propose  new  approaches  to  the  study  of  the problems of assessment, modeling and forecasting of the ecological, socio‐ economic  development  of  the  region,  which  will  make  it  possible  to identify  emerging  trends  that  drive  its  development.  Based  on  the research of indicators that characterise the basic and auxiliary processes in the  region,  life  support  processes  and  processes  that  hinder  the development,  an  assessment  of  the  quantitative  transformations  of ecological‐socio‐economic development in Dagestan was carried out. Conclusion. The methodology used made it possible to obtain a qualitative characteristic  of  the  regional  space  to  analyze  and  assess  the transformation  processes  in  the  ecological‐socio‐economic  development of  the Republic  of Dagestan  and  to provide  an  integrated  assessment of regional processes.


In order to avoid subjectivity and similarity,TOPSIS approach based on entropy weight is applied in the comprehensive evaluation of power quality for distributed power generation system,which ranks the objectives according to their calculated Euclidean distances to positive and negative ideal solutions. It assigns the weights objectively and ranks the evaluation points according to the comprehensive evaluation index. Results of data analysis for a large-scale wind farm show that,compared to the catastrophe decision method,the power quality evaluated by the proposed TOPSIS approach is more rational and accurate.


Huge demands for photocatalytically efficient visible-light-induced catalysts have spurred widespread interest in building adaptable heterojunctions. Here, we used in situ thermal polymerization to synthesise the Z-scheme Bi2O3/g-C3N4 heterojunction. The optical, structural, chemical, compositional and photocatalytic behaviours of the samples were analysed through various analytical techniques and photocatalytic methylene blue (MB) dye degradation reaction. Among the various ratios of Bi2O3/g-C3N4 heterojunction composites, the 1:1 ratio showed improved visible-light-induced catalytic activity, which attained 91.2% degradation efficiency after 120 min of visible-light exposure. The dye degradation efficiency was calculated under various environmental conditions by varying the dye concentration, solution pH and catalyst dosage. A improved Z-scheme photocatalytic mechanism was proposed in light of the results. A potential mechanism was suggested to explain the photocatalytic activity, and trapping experiments supported it. Last but not least, this strategy might be helpful to prepare the heterojunction photocatalyst for the degradation of organic pigments.


This study argues that Shakespeare's aim in Coriolanus is twofold: (1) to depict the ancient world of Rome as dominated by contradiction; and (2) to signal to us moderns, in the biblical tradition, that we can comprehend or, in other words, interpret the contradictory world of the ancients solely on the basis of a paradoxical world elsewhere, beyond contradiction. Shakespeare thus shows us how important it is to distinguish between the contradictory values of antiquity, from which the Romans (like the Greeks) know no exit, and the paradoxical values of modernity, whose interpretive basis, the love of neighbor—interpret others as you would have others interpret you—provides us moderns with a world of otherness (Augustine's City of God) by which we can overcome the earthly contradictions dividing us.


Analysis the time series data of per-capita annual income of urban households and completed building area per year in China from 1985 to 2011 by Granger Causality test. The results indicated that the increase of percapita annual income of urban households is the Granger Causality of the development of real estate, the influence is obvious.But the promoting of the development of real estate to per-capita annual income of urban households is inconspicuous.


This collection of essays explores the possibilities of studying educational matters with the tools of narrative and literature. Written over the course of the 1980s and 1990s, these essays trace the literary turn in educational research toward forms of literary journalism, critical storytelling, and postmodern narrative.


Two kinds of recurrent selection were implemented on maize basic population and (S_1) C_1 for the acquirement of half-sib HC_2 population and full-sib FC_3 population,while carrying out phenotypic selection according to yield-composite traits,plant characters and disease resistance.The results show that the total efficacy of coefficients path for ear length,ear thickness,per row grain no.,row number, 100-kernel weight are 0.579,0.415,0.363,0.311,0.293 respectively in HC_2 and 0.511, 0.317,0.578,0.014,0.368 in FC_3.The variability coefficient of agronomic traits related to yield decreased slightly.The genetic gain for population plant characters are different and the growth of nutrient body increased,therefor the restriction selection and determination of rational selection index for plant type will play an important role in population improvement.


The review of various modern approaches to the assessment of professional and personal qualities of employees of organisations is carried out, the features of the assessment of these qualities in state civil and municipal employees are shown. The necessity of measuring competencies with the use of test tasks in the format of mini-cases is substantiated. The process of developing tasks for six diagnostic scales using expert opinion is described, various aspects of validity are investigated: validity of constructs, criteria and content. The process of completing tasks is shown, prospects for improving the diagnostic procedure based on adaptive testing algorithms are outlined.


One digestibility and one performance experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of a feed enzyme of arabinoxylanase and arabinoxylanase plus protease on digestibility of nutrients, nitrogen (N) fl ow and performance of the growing pigs fed a maize-wheat bran-based diet or a maize-rice bran-based diet. In the digestion experiment, six Landrace × Large White × Chinese Black male pigs of approximately 20 kg initial body weight , fi tted with a simple T-cannula at the terminal ileum, were used to study dietary nutrient digestibility and nitrogen fl ow of the experimental diets. The six experimental diets were prepared in this study: maize-wheat bran diet, consists of maize, wheat bran, soyabean, of rapeseed meal, without feed enzyme supplementation (MWB); MWB supplemented with arabinoxylanase (A); MWB supplemented with arabinoxylanase plus protease (AP); maize-rice bran diet, consists of maize, rice bran, soyabean, rapeseed meal, without feed enzyme supplementation (MRB); MRB supplemented with arabinoxylanase (A); MRB supplemented with arabinoxylanase plus protease (AP). The MWB diet contained: %: soluble nonstrach polysaccharide (NSP) 0.8, insoluble NSP 19, crude protein 22, and 18.6 MJ/kg gross energy (GE), while the MRB diet contained, %, respectively: 0.5, 22, 21, and 18.9 MJ/kg GE. In the performance experiment, lasting 40 days, 60 pigs (30 gilts and 30 castrates) with body weight of 20.5±0.76 kg were randomly allocated to the six dietary treatments with a completely randomized design (5 gilts and 5 castrates per treatment). Feed and water were provided ad libitum. 446 DIETS SUPPLEMENTED WITH ENZYME FOR PIGS The results show there were no signifi cant differences in average daily gain (ADG) (P=0.09), feed gain ratio (F/G; P=0.09), ileal digestibility of nutrients (P=0.09) and N fl ow (P>0.08) between the MWB and MRB diet, although the crude fi bre level in the MRB diet had higher crude fi bre content (9.7 g/kg) than that the MWB diet. The dry matter intake (DMI) of the MWB diet was increased (P<0.05) by the enzyme A supplementation. The ADG and F/G of the pigs fed the MWB diet were improved (P<0.05) by either arabinoxylanase or arabinoxylanase plus protease supplementation. The ileal endogenous N excretion determined with enzymatic hydrolysed casein diet in this experiment was half higher than that calculated from the N-free diet. The ileal digestibility of soluble NSP fractions of the MWB and MRB diets were signifi cantly (P<0.05) increased by either enzyme arabinoxylanase or arabinoxylanase plus protease supplementation. There was no enzyme effect on insoluble NSP fraction digestibility. The results of this study suggest that NSP degrading enzyme do mainly reduce the negative nutritional effect of the soluble NSP in the small intestine of growing pigs.


Increasing evidence points to interplay between a tumour and components of its microenvironment as a significant determinant of therapeutic sensitivity and response. Thus, a better understanding of this phenomenon is crucial for the development of more effective treatment strategies. Around half of HER2+ breast cancers express the ER. Despite the effectiveness of endocrine and HER2-targeted therapies for such tumours in pre-clinical, two-dimensional models, response can be variable clinically. Here we have investigated the impact of 3D culture within an extracellular matrix on the signaling pathway activity and therapeutic response to trastuzumab and endocrine (tamoxifen and fulvestrant) treatment of ER+/Her2+ breast cancer cell models. ER+/Her2+ BT474 and MDAMB361 cells were grown as 2D monolayers or as 3D cultures in Matrigel and their proliferative response to trastuzumab (0-100nM) and endocrine (tamoxifen or fulvestrant, 0-100nM) mono- and combination therapy assessed using coulter counting and immunocytochemical staining of the proliferation antigen, Ki67. A comparison of signaling pathway activation in 2D versus 3D culture, and in response to treatment in these contexts, was investigated using Western blotting. Whilst culture of both cell lines in 3D matrices did not significantly affect their endogenous growth rate, 3D culture resulted in a significant loss of PI3K/AKT pathway activity in both cell lines and augmented (BT474) MAPK signaling. The growth inhibitory effects of both trastuzumab and endocrine treatment, either as single agents or in combination, were significantly attenuated in 3D cultures when compared with 2D cultures (% growth inhibition ± sem: 65%±3.8 (3D) vs. 82%±1.3 (2D), p These data demonstrate that ER+/Her2+ breast cancer cells significantly alter their signaling pathway activity when cultured in a 3D, matrix-enriched environment, which may in turn act to limit response to a range of endocrine and targeted therapies. Targeting of such adaptive pathways that maintain growth in 3D culture may represent an effective strategy to improve therapeutic response clinically. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2013;73(24 Suppl): Abstract nr P1-06-12.


In this paper, we establish the connections of the fundamental limitations in feedback communication, estimation, and feedback control over Gaussian channels, from a unifying perspective for information, estimation, and control. The optimal feedback communication system over a Gaussian necessarily employs the Kalman filter (KF) algorithm, and hence can be transformed into an estimation system and a feedback control system over the same channel. This follows that the information rate of the communication system is alternatively given by the decay rate of the Cramer-Rao bound (CRB) of the estimation system and by the Bode integral (BI) of the control system. Furthermore, the optimal tradeoff between the channel input power and information rate in feedback communication is alternatively characterized by the optimal tradeoff between the (causal) one-step prediction mean-square error (MSE) and (anti-causal) smoothing MSE (of an appropriate form) in estimation, and by the optimal tradeoff between the regulated output variance with causal feedback and the disturbance rejection measure (BI or degree of anti-causality) in feedback control. All these optimal tradeoffs have an interpretation as the tradeoff between causality and anti-causality. Utilizing and motivated by these relations, we provide several new results regarding the feedback codes and information theoretic characterization of KF. Finally, the extension of the finite-horizon results to infinite horizon is briefly discussed under specific dimension assumptions (the asymptotic feedback capacity problem is left open in this paper).


Abstract We prove the equivalence of two fundamental properties of algebraic stacks: being a quotient stack in a strong sense, and the resolution property, which says that every coherent sheaf is a quotient of some vector bundle. Moreover, we prove these properties in the important special case of orbifolds whose associated algebraic space is a scheme.


We provide a detailed classical description of the oscillatory-precessional motion of an electron in the field of an electric dipole. Specifically, we demonstrate that in the general case of the oscillatory-precessional motion of the electron (the oscillations being in the meridional direction (θ-direction) and the precession being along parallels of latitude (φ-direction)), both the θ-oscillations and the φ-precessions can actually occur on the same time scale—contrary to the statement from the work by another author. We obtain the dependence of φ on θ, the time evolution of the dynamical variable θ, the period Tθ of the θ-oscillations, and the change of the angular variable φ during one half-period of the θ-motion—all in the forms of one-fold integrals in the general case and illustrated it pictorially. We also produce the corresponding explicit analytical expressions for relatively small values of the projection pφ of the angular momentum on the axis of the electric dipole. We also derive a general condition for this conditionally-periodic motion to become periodic (the trajectory of the electron would become a closed curve) and then provide examples of the values of pφ for this to happen. Besides, for the particular case of pφ = 0 we produce an explicit analytical result for the dependence of the time t on θ. For the opposite particular case, where pφ is equal to its maximum possible value (consistent with the bound motion), we derive an explicit analytical result for the period of the revolution of the electron along the parallel of latitude.


AbstractThe safety margin of shear design provisions for ultrahigh performance fiber reinforced concrete (UHPFRC) requires quantification prior to widespread use. To this aim, the results of a dedicated experimental campaign described in a companion paper and available data from the literature have been used. Different models have been tested for predicting the shear-cracking strength and the ultimate shear capacity of UHPFRC beams. The lack of characterization of the tensile UHPFRC behavior often impairs the quality of data obtained from shear tests on UHPFRC beams. This issue has been partially overcome by approximating the UHPFRC postcracking strength under tension from fibers and matrix properties in using the variable engagement model. The safety of the French recommendations for UHPFRC has been confirmed, and improved models for serviceability-limit states prediction and realistic accounting of critical shear-cracking have been developed.


The turning point in the control of puerperal sepsis in the Maltese Islands occurred in the last decade of the nineteenth century and received a major impetus after 1935 with the introduction of antimicrobials. With the realisation of a medical or paramedical contribution towards the spread of infection, legislative measures were undertaken at the turn of the century to ensure control of this important contributor to maternal mortality. The legislative efforts were rewarded by a significant fall in the puerperal sepsis incidence rate to reach a rate of about 2 per 1000 births within two years. This level was maintained until the First World War after which a gradual rise in incidence became apparent. This rise continued steadily in the subsequent decade to reach the mean figure of 7.51 per 1000 births in 1937-39, suggesting increasingly poor standards of practice, particularly in domiciliary practice. The Second World War served as a turning point as it was followed by a fall in incidence of puerperal sepsis that can only be attributed to better supervision of peri-puerperal care. At this period a drop in case fatality rate could also be observed reflecting the introduction of antimicrobial agents such as the sulphonamides (1935) and penicillin (1944). The continued emphasis of tackling this infectious disease on two fronts - namely that of prevention and that of cure - have ensured that puerperal sepsis has become a very rare cause of maternal mortality. Puerperal fever was by far the biggest problem that medical practitioners had to cope with, particularly in institutions. At times it reached epidemic proportions and there were some doctors who considered it incurable. The cause of the disease remained a complete mystery and was a matter for the wildest speculations. The history of puerperal sepsis during the nineteenth century was one of tragedy, since while it was becoming plain that the medical attendant during delivery was often the unconscious agent for transmitting the disease, yet no effort was made to control the transmission. After 1870, there was the gradual development of medical bacteriology that brought on enlightenment as to the aetiology of puerperal sepsis, and established the means of controlling the disease. This contributed to a decline in maternal mortality rates noted in various countries in Europe at the turn of the twentieth century. Further major developments followed after the introduction of sulphonamides in 1935 and subsequent other antimicrobial agents essential for the modern management of established cases (12). The downward trend in mortality rates in the Maltese Islands that occurred just prior to the mid- twentieth century, particularly those deaths attributable to infectious disease is well recorded (1). A sim- ilar fall in maternal mortality rate has been described. The main cause of maternal death prior to the 1950s was puerperal sepsis. The fall in maternal mortality was attendant with a fall in the incidence of puerperal sepsis (20). The present study aims to determine the trends in incidence and mortality rates in the Maltese Islands over the 19-20th centuries, and identify the individual roles of prevention and therapeutic measures in decreasing the rates.


The purpose of this essay is from theory and a qualitative research describe the increased quality that may be experienced in the new social studies program with economic direction where the student can get a Diploma in economics for senior high school. To reach the goal of this essay I have made a research on four of the pilot schools by one interview in depth and an e-mail survey. The four pilot schools are all certified for giving diplomas in economics for senior high school. The study is written from a qualitative perspective and is based on documentary research and the above mentioned survey. The collected material has been analyzed and the result indicates that teachers, who have been teaching according to the new concept since the fall 2007, experience a clear increase of the quality of both student population and the knowledge that the students get. The possibility for students to get out and work in the industry during their period of study is believed to be the foremost cause of the increase of the quality. It is believed that the students get more theoretical and practical knowledge and experience. This is why the students will be employable directly after their finished education. The new requirement to include mathematics on C level makes the students accepted by universities directly after they have finished their education. The study shows that the teachers also gain from the increase of the quality. The teachers believe that they have a much clearer and better framework to work from. The cooperation between the different subjects is increased which leads to a better totality.


The agricultural wastes recycling with applications in agro-food industry is one of the biological challenging and technically demanding research in the biotechnology domain known to humankind so far. Annually, the accumulation of huge amounts of vineyard and winery wastes causes serious environmental damages nearby winemaking factories. Many of these ligno-cellulose wastes cause serious environmental pollution effects, if they are allowed to accumulate in the vineyards or much worse to be burned on the soil. At the same time, the cereal by-products coming from the cereal processing and bakery industry are produced in significant quantities all over the world (Moser, 1994; Verstraete & Top, 1992).


This paper examines the tourist agency sector, a burgeoning ethnic Chinese migrant business in Germany, in relation to the concept of "mixed embeddedness." Special attention is given to the interplay of economic, cultural and institutional factors in shaping the location and operations of travel agencies. The paper analyzes the importance of "home" as a marketable cultural product in the diaspora tourism industry and the role of these migrant businesses in the expanding Chinese tourist market. Findings of the study illustrate the nature and significance of ethnic networks among Chinese tourist agencies and other branches of Chinese businesses in Europe.


We noticed that in a relay system, the assumption of global Channel State Information (CSI) knowledge is unrealistic and normally, only the receiver but not the transmitter side has CSI knowledge. In this paper, we analyzed, with receive CSI, the performance of hybrid relaying scheme in the half-duplex relay channel in terms of the outage probability and expected throughput, where the relay switches between decode-and-forward (DF) and compress-and-forward (CF) modes adaptively according to the current channel realizations. Moreover, since the original CF technique requires global CSI at the relay to calculate the optimal compression rate, we established a restricted feedback link to convey extremely limited CSI (only 3 bits in our results) from the destination to the relay and develop a more practical hybrid relaying scheme. Simulation results revealed that the hybrid relaying scheme with restricted feedback outperforms DF especially when the link between source and relay is of low quality.


The infrared emission spectra of a hydrogen flame and' of a natural gas flame have been compared in the region from 1. 7p. to 24p.. Emission bands have been observed at 1.87p., 2.78p. , 4.37p., 6.20p., and 15p. that a re produced by molecules of H 20 and CO2• Another band at 3.316p. is attributed to methane. From 3.0p. to 3.8p. there are a number of rotational lines, some of which may be produced by OH and others by H 20 molecules. As the temperature of the flame was increased, the rotational lines became more intense. Five lines in the region from 3.4p. to 3.8p. agree clo ely in posit ion with the predicterl rotational lines of tbe P branch of the 2-->1 vibrational band of OH. These lines correspond to values of [( equal to 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15. Wave numbers of some of the observed rotational lines were found to show a good correspondence with predicted values for K equal to 11 tv 36, for lines extending from 9p. to 24p.. I n addi tion to this series of lines, t here are other lines that are produccd by the rotational states of H 20 molecu le. A discussion i included of t he various methods of observing name spectra.


1This research was supported in part by Grant No. 14508 from the National Institutes of Mental Health and by grants from the Foundation for Child Development and The Easter Seal Research Foundation. Many studies of physically handicapped children suggest that they are disadvantaged in developing social relationships with peers. The evidence supporting this generalization comes from experimental studies of interpersonal relations, sociometric investigations and personal reports from disabled persons. Experimental studies have shown that the behavior of a


The performance of data-driven, web-scale client applications is sensitive to access latency. To address this concern, enterprises strive to cache data on edge nodes that are closer to users, thereby avoiding expensive round-trips to remote data centers. However, these geo-distributed approaches are limited to caching static data. In this paper we present ChronoCache, a mid-tier caching system that exploits the presence of geo-distributed edge nodes to cache database query results closer to users. ChronoCache transparently learns and leverages client application access patterns to predictively combine query requests and cache their results ahead of time, thereby reducing costly round-trips to the remote database. We show that ChronoCache reduces query response times by up to 2/3 over prior approaches on multiple representative benchmark workloads. representative benchmark workloads.


The aim of this study was to assess the effects of an acute session of resistance exercise with blood flow restriction in modulation of oxidative stress parameters at different moments. Eleven participants (23.72 ± 3.49 years and 81.51 ± 6.10 kg) were recruited to perform a crossover design with three protocols: high intensity resistance exercise (HI 80% 1RM), low intensity resistance exercise (LI 30% 1RM), and with blood flow restriction (LI-BFR 30% 1RM). The oxidative profile in an acute session at four moments was assessed: baseline, immediately after exercise, and 24 and 48 hours later. The Ethics Committee at the Methodist University Center-IPA (Porto Alegre, Brazil) approved this study. The results did not show statistical significance (p>0.05) among moments and among groups for TBARS and protein carbonyls. Likewise, for the antioxidant activity there was also no difference (p>0.05) among moments and groups for sulfhydryl groups. The superoxide dismutase enzyme demonstrated a significant reduction (p<0.05) between baseline and immediately after exercise in the LI-BFR group. After group comparison, the HI group showed a significant increase (p<0.05) in baseline and 24 hours when compared to the LI-BFR. An equal increase was observed in the HI group at the moment of 24 hours later when compared to the LI group. The catalase enzyme levels in the LI group were significantly higher than in the LI-BFR and HI groups at baseline and 24 hours (p<0.05) later. Lastly, the low intensity resistance exercise with blood flow restriction in maximum repetition appears not to have modified the oxidative profile in young and healthy subjects, suggesting that the hypertrophy mechanism of that methodology of training occurred in other molecular ways.


Our thanks to Teran et al for sharing their experience with serological testing for Chlamydia pneumoniae, Helicobacter pylori, and anti–streptolysin O among preeclamptic and control women. Although their results differ from ours, the divergence is not as great as it appears from their table. This is because their calculated odds ratios (ORs) reflect the risk of having a negative antibody titer rather than a positive one. Their OR for the proportion of preeclamptic women versus controls with a positive C pneumoniae titer is 1.8 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.4, 9.1). That is, in the Teran et al study, evidence of previous C pneumoniae infection elevated the risk of preeclampsia almost two-fold. In comparison, the OR (95% CI) from our report was 3.1 (1.2, 7.9). That the CIs from the Teran et al study and ours overlap suggests that these estimates do not statistically differ. The modestly lower point estimate for C pneumoniae in the Teran et al study may be because the unusually high rate of preeclampsia (13.1%) or the extremely high rate of having a positive C pneumoniae titer among controls may reflect some misclassification. Investigation of the link between C pneumoniae and preeclampsia in larger epidemiological studies is warranted. Further, experimental work in animal models should be pursued to support the biologic plausibility of this relationship. The fact that Teran and colleagues' result essentially replicates our own lends credence to the observation that an elevated C pneumoniae antibody titer is associated with preeclampsia.


A unified camera image processing system that performs zooming and full color image reconstruction for single-sensor digital cameras is introduced. Compact and low-cost single-sensor solutions often lack optical zooming capabilities and thus depend on digital techniques. However, the computational power required for high-quality output using traditional techniques is generally too prohibitive to implement in such devices. The proposed scheme employs a small number of reusable, low-complexity operations and a consistent color model throughout to achieve high-quality zoomed output that is practical for hardware implementation. The high-level system components are color filter array (CFA) zooming, CFA interpolation (demosaicking) and demosaicked image postprocessing. The resulting output is consistently superior to other methods.


Aim: Individuals with intellectual disability (ID) have higher rates of mental health problems than the general population. Assessment tends to rely heavily on self-report, but persons with ID often have difficulties in identifying and describing their own thoughts and feelings. Measures that are psychometrically sound with typically developing populations may not be as robust in samples with ID. The aim of the current study was to examine a range of self-report measures for assessing the mental health of children with ID, and to consider the appropriateness of minor modifications to those instruments.
Method: The participants were 58 children with ID (mean 11.7 years) attending Year 6 in mainstream primary schools. At the first time point they completed four established measures of depression, anxiety and mood. Minor modifications were made to wording and format at re-administration six months later.
Results: Internal consistency varied considerably across measures. Modifications resulted in small or no improvements, but the results were relatively consistent over time and across similar measures. Some gender differences were evident.
Conclusions: The findings confirm the difficulties that children with ID may have when responding to self-report measures of mental health, and suggest that care should be taken in choice of instruments. While modifications can produce small improvements, it is clear that more robust measures of mental health are needed for persons with ID.


The purpose of this research is to discover the extent to which prospective higher education students still in secondary education might identify with international branch campuses and the extent to which organisational identification and its individual components might influence students' behavioural intentions towards these institutions. The study involved 407 students studying at nine international schools in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). By developing and testing a regression model, it was found that individuals are indeed able to identify with universities with which they have had no or minimal previous interaction or experience and that student–university identification can lead to positive behavioural intentions. The findings suggest that institutions would benefit from articulating and communicating their identities clearly, coherently and in a persuasive manner, and emphasising those aspects of the university's identity that prospective students will perceive as prestigious and similar to their own identities.


Most of the early research into intervention effect s in the sense of Beck (1996), where a focusing element in a question influences its accep tability or interpretation, reduced this phenomenon to syntactic (Pesetsky 2000) or semantic factors (Beck 2006). This paper argues against such analyses, and instead endorses the claim that intervention effects are information structural in nature, deriving from fau lty realization of the information structure of questions (Tomioka 2007a,b). Evidence for this approach is of three types. First, we observe that certain contexts ameliorate or entirely eliminate intervention effects; as predicted by the approach adopted here, these contexts affect the information structure of the question, but not its syntax or se mantics. Second, the information structural approach is able to explain differences in the status of intervention effects created by different types of questions, by connect i g these differences to independently motivated pragmatic distinctions. Third, the almost complete absence of intervention effects in one language—Amharic—follows from the sa me information structural and prosodic factors attested in specific contexts and structures in other languages. These findings open a novel testing ground for theories o f information structure, its representation and role in the grammar, and its int erfaces with other modules of the grammar.


The article discusses the geological structure and prospects of the oil and gas potential of the Jurassic deposits of the Sudoch Trough, as well as issues related to neotectonic processes that were developed at the inversion stage of the geological development of this territory. The geological substantiation of the location of hydrocarbon accumulations and their confinement to certain tectonic elements is given.


Caries risk assessment (CRA) is a concept that is firmly grounded on the well-known fact that dental caries is a disease. Steady accumulation of evidence under cariology has placed this concept as the pivotal point in management of caries disease. Although existent for decades, the CRA concept has not yet become the mainstream practice or training in India. Whatever is being practiced or taught does not seem to be proportionate enough to match its paramount importance in patient service. The reasons may be that it is still being overshadowed by the robust technical and technological growth of restorative dentistry that focuses only on restoring a carious lesion; or it does not possess enough evidence to be emphatic; or it does not provide the expected outcome reliably. The following review attempts to dissect various aspects of CRA in the realm of current evidence and propose certain future directions toward its effective adoption.


Cytolytic T cell responses are predicted to be biased towards membrane proteins. The peptide-binding grooves of most haplotypes of histocompatibility complex class I (MHC-I) are relatively hydrophobic, therefore peptide fragments derived from human transmembrane helices (TMHs) are predicted to be presented more often as would be expected based on their abundance in the proteome. However, the physiological reason of why membrane proteins might be over-presented is unclear. In this study, we show that the over-presentation of TMH-derived peptides is general, as it is predicted for bacteria and viruses and for both MHCI and MHC-II. Moreover, we show that TMHs are evolutionarily more conserved, because single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are present relatively less frequently in TMH-coding chromosomal regions compared to regions coding for extracellular and cytoplasmic protein regions. Thus, our findings suggest that both cytolytic and helper T cells respond more to membrane proteins, because these are evolutionary more conserved. We speculate that TMHs therefore are less prone to escape mutations that enable pathogens to evade T cell responses.


This thesis investigates the developmental legacy of the infamous East African Groundnut Scheme on the economy of the Southern Province of Tanganyika. It shows that its implementation, notwithstanding the scheme's failure to succeed in the production of hundred of thousands of peanuts per year, marked the first moment in history in which the Southern Province benefited from high levels of economic
investment. This investment had profound consequences on its economy.

The thesis investigates the way in which a number of actors, who had their roots in the socio-economic history of the area, competed with the scheme implementers to influence the shape the scheme took once implemented. The first chapter focuses on the labour market growth generated by the scheme in the period 1947-1952. It reconstructs the political battle between the colonial state and the scheme implementers over control of labour market growth, and then assesses its socio-economic impact on rural areas of the Southern Province. In the second chapter the unit of analysis narrows to one of the districts of the Province: Nachingwea. The chapter analyses two aspects of rural development in the late colonial period and the early independence period. First, the ideology and performance of the African Tenant Scheme, the offspring of the groundnut scheme, will be assessed. Local politics played, yet again, a crucial role in its failure. Second, the chapter documents the increasing commercialisation of agriculture in the district, and the socio-economic differentiation between and within areas of the district that accompanied it.

The last two chapters of the thesis focus on the life histories of ten entrepreneurs who began a career of capital accumulation during, and thanks to, the groundnut scheme. The focus is on their strategies of accumulation, and the way in which these entrepreneurs reshaped them following the end of the economic stimulus the scheme brought to the Southern Province. Nine of them are presented in the third
chapter, and the indepth analysis of the career of one of them follows in the fourth chapter. The thesis thus speaks to political economy of development practice, and to
the interplay of structure and agency in African capital accumulation.


The possible structures of the deprotonated substrates and the SN2 substitution transition states of an I2-mediated selective intramolecular dearomative oxidative coupling (IDOC) reaction of dimeth...


The results of biochemical indices in human blood show that there are significant difference in the population mean of these indices between the LREE high region in South Jiangxi, China and the control. In comparison with the normal region, the contents of total serum protein(TSP), albumin(AL), β globulin (β G), glutamic pyruvic transitanase (GPT), serium triglycerides (STG) and immunoglobulin(IgA) are manifested as low, but high cholesterol (CHO) in the LREE high region. These deviations may be related to the REE concentration and composition in food chains, and also are sex dependent. Certain blood indices (such as TSP) of different age groups in the LREE high region indicate that the influence of REE on males is a one way irreversible process while females show a strong ability of restoration.


We use the bacteriorhodopsin film as a real-time large- aperture high-resolution holographic material to demonstrate its potential as a dynamic recording and imaging medium. The imaging reflectivity is found to be linearly proportional to the reading light intensity provided that the hologram is readout by short laser pulse. The bi-exponential behavior of the recording process is related to the intensity modulation of the illumination. An image resolution of 80 lines/mm and a space-bandwidth product of approximately 2 X 106 are obtained with a phase conjugate reflectivity of above 30%.


This paper present two-step cluster method to handle data sets in educational data mining. It can handle multi-dimentional metric data points especially in complex data sets. For a case study, we use tracer study data in order to assign a clustering of alumni based on the profile. The result of clustering will help the school to evaluate and improve the quality of its graduates.


Provided that the European Union no longer has a "demographic motor", immigration from outside the EU could help to mitigate the negative effects of the falling population between now and 2025. This is not the sole option to cope with the ageing problem and working-age population decline, but, at least in the short to mid-term, it can contribute to cushion their impact. In view of Europe's demographic gaps, the quest to revitalise the EU's economy by implementing the ambitious Lisbon Strategy calls for migrants to fill in current and future labour market needs and thus ensure economic sustainability and growth. While the management of admission for employment should remain within the competence of the Member States, the role for the EU in setting out guidelines and perhaps binding principles in relation to creating a level playing-field on the management of migratory flows becomes very important. Towards this end, the article points out the need to consolidate the development of the EU's migration acquis on the entry, stay, and access to the labour market as well as the integration of regular migrants and the deepening of relevant EU policies, inter alia, by means of new legislative proposals and new concepts which will strengthen the implementation of existing strategies linked to migration, including improvements in the decision-making process. Whilst admitting that a lasting and appropriate response to the migration phenomenon will require constant and long-term efforts and substantial financial resources, the article concludes that it is of the utmost importance that the European policies are adjusted accordingly and an open dialogue at national and European level as well as an evaluation of the ongoing action plans takes place on a regular basis.


In the paper the resuls of the research of output parameters of microfluidic T-mixer considering production technology is presented. The model is developed using the Comsol system and research conducted. The results allow to state that although the flow is laminar in the connection of two input streams there is only a slight perturbation flow that depends on the input speed of the liquid and its viscosity.


Two stilbenoids and five flavonoids were isolated from wood of Pinus koraiensis (Pinaceae). The chemical structures of isolated compounds were determined as : 5-hydroxy-7-methoxyflavone, chrysin, galangin, pinocembrin, pinobanksin, 3-hydroxy-5-methoxystilbene and pinosylvin on the basis of Mass and NMR spectroscopic data.


The present invention provides an ICP optical emission spectrometer in which a background existing around atomic emission lines are eliminated by a plurality of light condensers so as to improve the S/B ratio of the atomic emission lines. The ICP optical emission spectrometer (1) includes: an inductively coupled plasma device (10), a light condenser (20), an optical splitter (30), and a controller (50). The light condenser is arranged between the inductively coupled plasma device (10) and the optical splitter (30) and includes a first light condenser and a second light condenser, a slit incident window (23) arrnaged between the light condenser (20) and the boundary of the optical splitter (30), and an incident slit (24) that is provided between the first light condenser (21) and the second light condenser (22). By means of the at least two light condensers (21, 22) and the incident slit (24), the background around the atomic emission lines can be removed to improve the signal-background (S/B) ratio of the atomic emission lines.


This paper describes the characteristics of poly (Polycrystalline) 3C-SiC grown on SiO2 and AIN buffer layers by CVD. FT-IR was used to obtain the crystallinity and Si-C bonding structure of the poly 3C-SiC according to various growth temperatures and buffer layers. The surface chemical composition and the electron mobility of the poly 3C-SiC grown on each buffer layers were investigated by XPS and Hall effect.


Seismically, the African superplume is known to have a sharp lateral transition in VS and an interface between seismic anomalies with high relief. Such a structure is usually unstable in conventional thermo‐chemical convection models. Using a compressible thermo‐chemical convection model in which each material has a distinct equation of state, we find an expanded regime of metastable superplumes. In the preferred model, superplume material has a bulk modulus 6% higher and density 2.25% higher than ambient mantle. The inferred physical properties of the superplume are consistent with subducted oceanic crust, simultaneously satisfying seismological, geodynamical, mineralogical and geochemical constraints.


Abstract The immobilization of lysozyme onto a novel synthetic metal chelator composite based on chitosan/PAA-PMA (chitosan/acrylamide-maleic acid) and its effect on antimicrobial activity were the aim of the current study. The plain composite and the lysozyme immobilized composite were characterized according to scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Ultraviolet spectroscopy (UV), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. Furthermore, the activities of lysozyme and immobilized lysozyme were investigated, as well as their antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterococcus faecalis, and Staphylococcus aureus, as well as their cytotoxic effects, which were both approximately greater than those of free lysozyme. The last step was cytotoxic studies on lysozyme, chitosan composite, and lysozyme-immobilized chitosan composite, which showed no cytotoxic effect. Several investigations have shown that metal chelators improve lysozyme's antibacterial action. Two carboxylic acids containing maleic acid were used as a metal chelator in this study. Lysozyme was immobilized from a side other than carboxylic acids, so that carboxylic acid groups, which are metal chelating groups, do not prevent synergy by competing with metal binding at neutral pH. This enhanced antimicrobial activity.


Patent number: 97-19711713-19711713 Reference LPI-PATENT-1998-002Search for this record at the European Patent Office Record created on 2006-02-21, modified on 2017-05-12


In the standard two-electrode configuration employed in electrolytic process, when the control dc voltage is brought to a critical value, the system undergoes a transition from conventional electrolysis to contact glow discharge electrolysis (CGDE), which has also been referred to as liquid-submerged micro-plasma, glow discharge plasma electrolysis, electrode effect, electrolytic plasma, etc. The light-emitting process is associated with the development of an irregular and erratic current time-series which has been arbitrarily labelled as "random," and thus dissuaded further research in this direction. Here, we examine the current time-series signals measured in cathodic CGDE configuration in a concentrated KOH solution at different dc bias voltages greater than the critical voltage. We show that the signals are, in fact, not random according to the NIST SP. 800-22 test suite definition. We also demonstrate that post-processing low-pass filtered sequences requires less time than the native as-measured seq...


It's magical: "Bewitched" is Nickelodeon's most popular series in the network's ten year history. Pilato has chronicled the classic witchuation comedy in 'Bewitched Forever', an enchanting television companion that mixes over 150 photographs, behind the scene facts, and twitch-bits, as well as exclusive cast interviews, including one up close and personal one about when Herbie met Elizabeth and their ongoing friendship. Everything you ever wanted to know about the series and the people is here. This book includes episode summaries, anecdotes, and biographies of the entire cast and crew, plus a special section on the television sequel Tabitha, which starred Lisa Hartman.


The advantages and disadvantages of internal and external prestressed concrete structures are analyzed as well as differences of them.The application of external prestressed concrete at home and abroad is briefly introduced.Author points out that extraneous prestressed strengthening technique can improve the bearing capacity of old bridge with good treatment effect.


In the randomized SHOCK trial (N Engl J Med 1999; 341:625), acute-MI patients with cardiogenic shock had a significantly lower 6-month mortality rate


Pairing, or conditioning a therapist as a generalized reinforcer, is a commonly recommended initial strategy in behaviour analytic intervention for children with autism. Specifically, pairing is intended to enhance the working relationship (i.e., therapeutic rapport) between a therapist and client. Recent literature has demonstrated that pairing is positively related to therapeutic rapport and therapeutic outcomes; however, few research studies have evaluated the skills necessary to pair effectively. The purpose of this study was to conduct pairing skills training (Lugo, King, Lamphere, & McArdle, 2017) and assess the effects of this training on behavioural indices of therapeutic rapport and child treatment outcomes using a concurrent multiple probe design (with replication). Four Instructor Therapists (ages 22 to 24 years old) were trained on six pairing skills using behavioural skills training with an adult confederate. Following training, this protocol was used with four children (ages 3 to 5 years old) diagnosed with autism, during the first 20 minutes of each therapy session. Therapists efficiently achieved competency on pairing skills with a confederate, but they required verbal performance feedback when generalizing learned skills to a child participant. When implemented, pairing was related to increased physical approach during free time and at the teaching table, as well as less interfering behaviour during sessions. There were no differences in accurate academic responding from baseline to intervention. The implications of study findings and future directions are discussed.


This study attempts to determine if speech perception varies across dialects as production does. Synthetic stimuli based on one talker from Binghamton, NY (northern US) and one from Birmingham, AL (southern US) were presented to subjects from both regions. The stimuli were 18 vowel continua in CVC context. These 10‐point continua had initial tokens containing nonhigh vowels, such as hot /hat/, with formant values and durations manipulated to result in final tokens containing diphthongs, such as hot /hɪt/. Other continua contained endpoints such as sad /saed/ and side /saɪd/, or bought /bt/ and bout/baut/. The production of diphthongs differs between these dialects, varying from the Canadian raising of the North to the monophthongization of the South. The question to be resolved in this study is whether perception of diphthongs differs between the dialects. It was found in a direct boundary estimation task that southern subjects perceived southern tokens as diphthongs earlier in the continua than northern s...


Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a diabetic impairment that affects the eyes and if not treated could lead to permanent vision impairment. Traditionally, Ophthalmologists perform diagnosis of DR by checking for existence and any seriousness of some subtle features in the fundus images. This process is not very efficient as it takes a lot of time and resources. DR testing of all the patients, a lot of which are undiagnosed or untreated, is a big task due to the inefficiency of the traditional method. This paper was written with the aim to propose a classification system based on an efficient deep convolution neural network (DCNN) model which is computationally efficient. Amongst other supervised algorithms involved, proposed solution is to find a way to efficiently classify the fundus images into 5 different levels of severity. Application of segmentation after the pre-processing and then use of deep convolutional neural networks on the dataset results in a high accuracy of 91.52%. The result achieved is high given the limitations of the dataset and computational powers.


4.1 PLAN OF WORK 4.1.1. Literature Survey: Detailed literature survey of drugs suitable for treatment of colon, formulation approaches to achieve colon specific release and detailed evaluation parameters of such systems will be studied. 4.1.2. Selection of Drugs: Drugs selection was done from the list of therapeutic agents available for treatment of irritable bowel disease and ulcerative colitis. 4.1.3. Preformulation Study: This includes development and validation of analytical method. The IR spectroscopy and DSC for drug excipient compatibility studies. 4.1.4. Formulations of Colon Specific Drug Delivery Systems: Different approaches will be exploited to develop suitable formulations for targeting the colon, which includes  pH Responsive formulations  Enzyme Responsive formulations  Time controlled formulations 4.1.5. Evaluation of formulations: The prepared formulations will be evaluated for various parameters with regards to  Coating quality -SEM  In vitro studies – drug release by changing pH method  Invivo studiesX ray roentography in human volunteers


Analyzing the precursory observation data of water level and gas mercury in near field before Yingjiang MS5.8 earthquake on Mar.10,2011,we found that the precursory anomaly was obvious in the area within 200 km range from the epicenter.The precursory anomaly appeared in early 2010,and the number of precursory anomaly items increased from Jul.,2010,however it decreased and the precursory anomaly appeared turning in one month before Yingjiang MS5.8 earthquake.The rising of water level and increasing of gas mercury concentration were the main precursory anomaly in the area near the epicenter in the west of Nujiang Fault,which showed that the area near the epicenter in extrusion leaded to the stress state of increasing of pore pressure.The characteristic of the short-term and impending anomalies was the migration from the periphery to the epicenter,which could be taken as the reference of epicenter location prediction.Finally,the mechanism of the near-field anomalies was preliminary discussed.


The alkylation kinetics of isobutane with mixed butenes using sulfuric acid as catalyst was investigated by batch experiments at temperatures from 276.2 K to 285.2 K under the conditions of industrial interest. With the decrease of reaction temperature, both the production of main product trimethylpentanes(TMPs) and RON of alkylates increased, and byproducts dimethylhexanes(DMHs) changed a little, but heavy ends components(HEs) reduced significantly. By using the alkylation kinetics model based on the classic carbonium ion mechanism, the concentration profiles with time regarding three groups of key alkylates, including TMPs, DMHs, and HEs, were compared against experiments. The regression results showed that the kinetics model fitted experimental data very well. An anti-Arrhenius behavior was found in the chain initiation step of the addition reaction of H+ to isobutene, and the apparent activation energies of itself and the reverse reaction were 45.14 k J·mol-1 and 41.44 k J·mol-1. The calculation of reaction rates of the TMPs+ and DMHs+ forming steps was added, and most of the reaction rates of chain transfer and chain termination reactions remained the same as those in literature.


In the light of the traffic characteristics of arterial highway town segment,the reconstruction target was put forward to improve the arterial highway network efficiency while stimulating the development of small towns,along with the analysis of influence factors.Advantages and disadvantages of every feasible scheme were list and compared when giving an example.


In the context of a very competitive market, having teams very well prepared and properly allocated is critical to the survival of businesses. This study aims to identify the repercussion on customer satisfaction and results of companies, from the knowledge of the people working on the front line of these companies, those professionals who play an important role in negotiation, identifying what they value in a subjectively negotiation. Using the tool SVI (Subjective Value Inventory) developed by Curhan et al (2006), from the dimensions of independent and interdependent self-image, attempts to identify the subjective values of the negotiators of a Brazilian retail bank, responsible for a significant part of the negotiations and results of the company in relation to feelings about themselves (Self), the instrumental results, and the process and relationship (Rapport), using interpersonal trust as a moderator in this relationship. Once identified, found results will be related to the customer satisfaction. The purpose of seeking this correlation is due to the assumption that the company exists only because of the customer. For this purpose, it was conducted a quantitative survey, with the application of a structured and closed questionnaire to 532 of the bank negotiators from that bank, who work in the states of Santa Catarina, Rio de Janeiro and Maranhao, responsible for relationship, prospecting and conducting business with institution's customers, personal, small business and government. Data were analyzed using statistical techniques, using the method of Partial Least Squares. It was observed that over forty percent of customer satisfaction is explained by the subjective values of the negotiators. The study showed, among others results, that business managers with self-image independently value the Self and instrumental results in a negotiation, and interpersonal trust cognitive negatively moderates this relationship. Still, Rapport is valued in a negotiation by those business managers with interdependent self-image and this appreciation in a negotiation is positively related to customer satisfaction.


Our device simulator is developed for the analysis of a MOSFET based on a thermally coupled energy transport model (TCETM). The simulator has the ability to calculate not only steady-state characteristics but also transient characteristics of a MOSFET. It solves basic semiconductor device equations including the Poisson equation, current continuity equations for electrons and holes, energy balance equation for electrons and heat flow equation, using the finite difference method.


In the context of an increasing prison population in Scotland, the purpose of this dissertation is to consider the potential benefits of songwriting programmes within prisons, both generally, and specifically from the point of desistance theory. It does this by studying a "Vox Session" taking place at the open prison HMP Castle Huntly. This is a 3-day songwriting workshop run by an external organisation, Vox Liminis, and whose participants include prisoners, ex-prisoners, a prison officer, academic criminologists and the researcher, who took an active part.

Participant observation, semi-structured interviews and the song lyrics produced were all treated as data sources. Through a process of thematic analysis this data supported the use of songwriting projects in their ability to achieve intermediate outcomes on the desistance journey such as maturational reform, motivation, social bonds, confidence and self-esteem, as well as providing a "community" where a participant's "non-offender" identity could be brought to the fore and accepted by the group, contributing to a form of social rehabilitation. The cathartic nature of the songwriting process also emerged as a theme from the data despite not being recognised within the literature review.

The theme of this "Vox Session" was re-entry and the songs and interviews provided an insight into the views of prisoners on this concept. The findings highlight that for these individuals re-entry was often viewed as a welcome return to the family unit rather than a more uncertain return to the wider community, highlighting the importance of social bonds in this journey.

Overall, the research highlighted a range of benefits of songwriting projects within prisons, some common to general music or arts programmes but some felt to be unique to this genre and project set-up.


The discovery of self-tensining structures was not haphazard, but was aimed at finding a kind of an alveolar, or even foldable, floor-decks for my "Logemobile" project which I started studying in 1957.1 After several unsuccessful attempts to build double-layer structures with differentiated components, directly following continuous patterns called "Emulsions" (Figure 1), I oriented my research toward more simple elementary static entities. I invented the first basic set of self-tensioning structural units ("autotendants" in French) at the end of 1958; this term was used in opposition to the term "self-supporting" ("autoportant" in French). I was hospitalized in September for a bone transplant on my hips and was obliged to remain in bed on my back, being completely immobile for 100 days. Even before this, I had professed that architecture needed "new bricks", those of an industrial age. Besides folded, curved and inflatable sheet devices, I was particularly interested in any new kind of a bracing 'simplex', with trapezoid forms for instance, and more complex static entities where the bracing system is quite imperceptible. I published these later in several papers under the title "Simplex Stables" as an introduction to the resistence of forms.? In the hospital someone gave me a "Mikado" game as a pastime and I started to make bracing models with these fine sticks and with a simple sewing thread. Of course, the flat models never stayed· planar and became deformed in space. Then I had an idea: since in a "guy" ("haubanage" in French) one needs three cables to stay a mast, I began to incline the sticks, using three sticks with each having three strings on both ends, and connecting them together circularly. First, I figured the system of connections like a planar graph, then I realized the model by shortening the strings progressively. It worked immediately! After the "tripode", which I also called "trinite", I extrapolated to find the two other antiprismatic units with 4 and 5 rods. With 6, the structure made by these primitive means collapsed, but then I found a kind of a retro-pass, The "form-finding" process was a real joy for me and a compensation for some other enjoyment I missed then. Its success can be understood by the fact that I was in a very specific personal situation, and was able to concentrate on the same subject for a long period without any distraction. In addition, I was also "cyclopean", like Critchlow as I later learned, being able to see only with one eye, and thus obliged to reconstitute a spatial view mentally. Furthermore, suffering atrociously from my poor articulations (arthrosis equals embedding or "fixing"), I was definitely for free, pin-jointed structures .. After my homecoming in January 1959, and in possession of the basic stitches I had discovered in the hospital, I started to knit. First I mixed levoand dextro-gyratory units, interlacing them in racemic or compensated configurations. I studied the limits of their affine deformations, and their transformability to enable assembly in larger systems, thereby obtaining double-layer structures (Figure 2). These were more difficult to build than a mast which I also undertook in many different ways. Progressively, I discovered that in both directions -laterally and axially there existed three main ways of connecting: juxtaposition, interpenetration and interlacing, a technique by which one can build a variety of structures, including spacepackings. Dozens of combinations were made by me during my convalesence in spring 1959, this time by a better model-building technique using openable brass-chains


The exact genesis of acute hemorrhagic pancreatitis is unknown, although it has been the subject of repeated clinical and experimental study. In 1855 Claude Bernard 1 first attempted to produce hemorrhagic pancreatitis in dogs by injecting bile mixed with sweet oil into the pancreatic duct. Ever since this early study many methods for producing the disease have been employed, none of which completely demonstrate the pathogenesis. Rich and Duff 2 concluded that obstruction and subsequent distention and rupture of pancreatic ductules with a resultant escape of pancreatic juice into the interstitial tissue is the cause of edematous pancreatitis. They further stated that necrosis of the walls of neighboring arteries and veins transforms edematous pancreatitis into hemorrhagic pancreatitis. Archibald, 3 Cameron, 4 and Opie 5 consider that obstruction at the papilla of Vater by stone or spasm with reflux of bile through a common channel into the pancreatic duct is the


[1] On 13 January 2001, a large normal faulting intermediate depth event (Mw = 7.7) occurred 40 km off the El Salvadorian coast (Central America). We analyze this earthquake using teleseismic, regional, and local data. We first build a kinematic source model by simultaneously inverting P and SH displacement waveforms and source time functions derived from surface waves using an empirical Green's function analysis. In an attempt to discriminate between the two nodal planes (30° trenchward dipping and 60° landward dipping), we perform identical inversions using both possible fault planes. After relocating the hypocentral depth at 54 km, we retrieve the kinematic features of the rupture using a combination of the Neighborhood algorithm of Sambridge [1999] and the Simplex method allowing for variable rupture velocity and slip. We find updip rupture propagation yielding a centroid depth around 47 km for both assumed fault planes with a larger variance reduction obtained using the 60° landward dipping nodal plane. We test the two possible fault models using regional broadband data and near-field accelerograms provided by Universidad Centro Americana [2001]. Near-field data confirm that the steeper landward dipping nodal plane is preferred. Rupture propagated mostly updip and to the northwest, resulting in a main moment release zone of approximately 25 km × 50 km with an average slip of ∼3.5 m. The large slip occurs near the interplate interface at a location where the slab steepens dip significantly. The occurrence of this event is well-explained by bending of the subducting plate.


BBC Television's historical drama, "Rhodes", shot on location in South Africa, is an account of the massive part played by Cecil Rhodes in shaping the destiny of modern Africa. This book provides readers with a detailed look at the making of the series, and covers the historical background, the building of Kimberley, the creation of vast diamond mines, and filming at Nelson Mandela's presidental guest house. Other topics in the book are Princess Catherine Radziwill and her costumes and jewellery, Zulu costumes, the training of horses to create battle scenes, special effects, and a bush fire. The stars of the series are also featured.


A scheme of using an annular ring slideway instead of traditional layout of rectangular orthogonal slideway is proposed in this paper for the non-spinning moving mass actuated vehicle within the atmosphere.First of all,the dynamic model is established based on this layout configuration by using Newton's second law and the moment of momentum theorem.Then the simplified model is derivate and proved correct by numerical simulation.Compared with the rectangular orthogonal slideway,the presence of two moving masses within this annular ring can provide a measure of redundancy and fault-protection,and also can greatly improve the control capacity of moving point masses.Finally,an optimized algorithm that minimizes the movement of the masses to obtain a desirable center of mass is proposed based on optimal control theory.This algorithm solves the slider movement possible collisions of moving masses within the annular ring sildeway.


We describe a model for transduction of displacement of the basilar membrane to activity of auditory nerve fibers. The model is physiologically oriented. Quanta ("vesicles") are added to a population inside an urn (hair cell) at a fixed average rate. They are removed from the population with a probability proportional to the number of quanta in the population and related in a simple manner to the instantaneous amplitude of the input signal (displacement). The removal of a quantum results in an event (action potential) with a probability related to time elapsed since the preceding event (refractory period). Apart from refractoriness, the model is completely specified by three parameters which determine spontaneous and maximum firing rates and the time constant of recovery after intense stimulation. The model is more compatible with observed activity of the auditory nerve than threshold‐crossing models. An important feature of auditory‐nerve data reproduced by the model is the level normalization observed at moderate to high stimulus intensities. The model reproduces features of period, PST, and interval histograms in response to pure and complex tones, tone bursts, and noise. We present results both from analysis and from computer simulation of the model.


Since 1995, the Government has encouraged people to establish Centre of Development and Implementation
of Traditional Medicine or sentra pengembangan dan penerapan pengobatan tradisional (SP3T) through the Ministry of Health's decree No. 0584/Menkes/SK/VI/1995. At the moment several centers have been realized and provided herbal medicine (HM) in their service. The aim of the survey was to get the picture of the perception and the usage of HM by medical doctors. Questionnaires were distributed by online systems to 267 doctors. The result showed that 53% respondents were 41-55 years old, whereas 47% were 40 or younger, more than half (59%)were female.


Introduction: Environmental changes have led to changes in the suitable areas for growing certain medicinal plants, which might lead to changes in cultivation areas and quality of medicinal materials. Polygonatum kingianum is a commonly used medicinal plant and, with its growing demand, the sustainable development of P. kingianum is particularly important. Methods: Therefore, this study comprehensively considered environmental variables, such as climate, soil, and topography, collected 181 valid distribution records, and used the MaxEnt to predict and evaluate the changes and potential distribution of P. kingianum. Results: The results showed that the current high-suitability areas (31,534.60 km2) for this medicinal plant are mainly distributed in the Southern part of Yunnan Province, western part of Guangxi Province, and Southwestern part of southwestern Guizhou Province. Under a future climate change scenario, the area of suitable habitats showed a trend of first expansion and then contraction, but the overall trend still expanded. The medicinal plant's migration trend to the northwest of Guizhou Province and northeast of Yunnan Province was more clear. At the Chinese scale, temperature and precipitation were the important factors affecting the medicinal plant's distribution. At the national scale, Bio7, Bio12, Bio17, Bio11, S_USDA_TEX_CLASS, and Elevation were key variables affecting P. kingianum distribution, whose cumulative value of percent contribution was 93.6%. At a more precise scale, precipitation, soil variables, and altitude became the key factors affecting its distribution. Among them, S_USDA_TEX_CLASS has the highest contribution rate. Discussion: Overall, the results of this study provided a reference for the determination of suitable planting areas of P. kingianum in China.


ABSTRACT. With the global society facing serious environmental problems it is imperative to find solutions to meet new environmental challenges. The precautionary principle answers those types of challenges that are still under uncertain future. This principle requires action steps to uncertain risks. If the original principle was hardly considered, today it managed to advance the principles of precaution environmental and oldest tradition. It is of interest to know that in law enforcement has developed an extensive jurisprudence based on the precautionary principle.Keywords: environment, environmental law, principles, the precautionary principle, jurisprudencePreambleWe are going through a stage where the environment and society as a whole is facing destructive environmental phenomena and solutions are required to be fast and efficient. Global warming, climate change, air pollution, water, soil and subsoil, the invasion of genetically modified organisms, drastic reduction of biodiversity, are just some of the most acute problems that need to be controlled by means of protection, conservation and environmental improvement.In this context, the prestige of one of the most controversial environmental fundamental principles, namely - the precautionary principle - can only give us hope that there are concerns that put safety first human species and the environment and not only for us, present generations but for future generations.1. The precautionary principle - from "fiction" to necessityPrecaution is one of the fundamental principles of original content has been an upward trend particularly interesting. Considered at first a "paradox" or "fiction" precautionary principle has become gradually due to the need to find solutions to situations of uncertain risk. If prevention of certain risks applies to already known risks, precaution is specific suspected risks. Hence the big question: "How to act and to take action only when you only suspect that something bad might happen in the future environment?" Although it seems paradoxical to take safety measures for a non-existent risk, but possible, the reality has proved that there are such situations.Because no one can predict the future and no new risks arising from the unprecedented development of science and technology, must "be the right remedy to punish those who do not behave near this new existential situation."1 Against this background emerged and developed as the precautionary principle which seeks environmental measures to anticipate, prevent and combat the causes of environmental degradation using the most environmentally friendly technology available.The principle is justified especially when the scientific data does not appear precisely whether an activity is dangerous to the environment or not. In other words, when scientific data are inconclusive regarding the effects of an activity, environmental decision should be the purpose of stopping that activity, because the danger of environmental degradation is too great to risk a further decision will be wrong.2The precautionary principle was enunciated for the first time at international level in the OECD in 1987 Ministerial Declaration, adopted from and under the influence of the second international conference on the protection of the North Sea (London, 1987). Subsequently, the principle has been frequently invoked in the context of regulations on marine pollution, climate change, toxic waste and dangerous products.In the European Union, the Maastricht Treaty contains rules of precaution in art. 130 R, and European directives on the use and dissemination of genetically modified organisms in 1990 actually apply it. It allows European states an action without waiting for all evidence to conclude that there environmental hazard to be scientifically established.3The precautionary principle may have wider implications. For example, the implementation of the precautionary principle in the context of pollution prevention has led to the formulation by the UNEP Governing Council express request to the states to adopt "alternative cleaner production, including raw material selection, product substitution, use of technologies and clean production processes, the implementation of precautionary measures to promote production systems that reduce or eliminate hazardous waste generation. …


Two methods for the extraction of maltol from Fraser fir needles are performed and compared in this two-week experiment. A traditional benchtop extraction using dichloromethane is compared to a microwave-assisted extraction using aqueous ethanol. Students perform both procedures and weigh the merits of each technique. In doing so, students see a trade-off between the ease of working with a highly volatile organic solvent and the selectivity that can be achieved with the greener solvent combination. This experiment combines multiple lab techniques, highlights the connections between chemistry and biology, and provides straightforward 1H NMR spectra to support the introduction of spectroscopy in first-semester organic chemistry.


The power factor and the waveforms of the currents of voltage source inverters can be improved essentially when two pulse inverters are used - one at the lineside and the other at the machineside. Both inverters are controlled by similar current vector controllers. The reference value of the stator current can be calculated by field-oriented control or by decoupling (1), (2) for example. The reference value of the line current is derived from the actual state of the mains and the machine. Furthermore on-line optimization of the pulse pattern by PROMC is used.


Plum is a very delicate fruit and requires massive post-harvest managements for enhancing its shelf-life so as to make it available in the market for longer time. Thus, studies were conducted to observe the effect of 1-MCP treatment on Santa Rosa plums of two maturity groups (climacteric and pre-climacteric) during transportation. Plums of both maturity stages were subjected to 1-MCP treatments (control, 1- MCP @ 0.5 μl l−1, 1-MCP @ 1.0 μl l−1, 1-MCP @ 1.5 μl l−1 and Celfresh® tablet) for 24 h at 20°C, then packed in CFB boxes and transported to Delhi by road. After transportation, observations were recorded on several parameters. Our results revealed that untreated plums have very heavy loss during transportation due to compression injury in both stages of maturity (25.0 and 9.0%) being quite higher in climacteric stage than pre-climacteric stage. All 1-MCP treatments had significantly reduced compression injury, being the least (0.0) in 1-MCP (1.5 μl l−1) and Celfresh® tablets. There was significant loss in quality parameters like fruit firmness, AOX capacity, TSS, acidity and ascorbic acid in untreated plums but was maintained quite appreciably by 1-MCP, especially by Celfresh® tablets. Similarly, respiration and ethylene evolution rates were higher in untreated plums than those, which were treated with different concentrations of 1-MCP, being the least in Celfresh® tablet treated fruits.


This study was conducted to examine the extent to which one's demographic characterj.stics, previous experience aptitudes, and attitudes may be indicative of probable success in learning about computers. Information was derived from two National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded programs designed to retrain experienced teachers to become K-12 computer science teachers. In these programs, employed teachers, certified in other areas, took a series of courses to become qualified to teach computer science and to serve as computer resource persons at either the elementary or secondary level. Subjects in the current study are high school teacners (N=42) and elementary school teachers (N=47), who completed the NSF program and the Computer Attitude Scale, the Computer Aptitude, Literacy and Interest Profile, and a series of questionnaires. Results indicate that some kind of previous experience with computers is predictive of successful achievement, but which experiences arF most important is not clear. (LL) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** Demographic Variables, Experience, Aptitudes and Attitudes as Predictors of Teachers' Learning About Computers Glenn E. Snelbecker, Nina Bhote-Eduljee, Robert M. Aiken, and Judith D. Wilson, Temple University Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Francisco, April 23, 1992 ABSTRACT GO ti It's generally recognized that teachers in general, not only a select few, will need to learn more about computers. Despite a need for many different kinds of teachers to learn about and to use computers effectively, some suggest that certain people will have more difficulty than others when learning about computers --e.g., that gender or math background or previous experience with computers will indicate ci= who will, or will not, be successful. This parmr reports the extent to which demographii experience, aptitude and attitude variables appear to be related to success in two NSF-funded programs designed to retrain experienced teachers tu become K-12 computer science teachers. Results are considered with regard not on!y for the preparation of computer science teachers but also for teachers in aeneral who need to learn about and to use computers.GO ti It's generally recognized that teachers in general, not only a select few, will need to learn more about computers. Despite a need for many different kinds of teachers to learn about and to use computers effectively, some suggest that certain people will have more difficulty than others when learning about computers --e.g., that gender or math background or previous experience with computers will indicate ci= who will, or will not, be successful. This parmr reports the extent to which demographii experience, aptitude and attitude variables appear to be related to success in two NSF-funded programs designed to retrain experienced teachers tu become K-12 computer science teachers. Results are considered with regard not on!y for the preparation of computer science teachers but also for teachers in aeneral who need to learn about and to use computers. PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS MATERIAL IN OTHER THAN PAPER COPY HAS BEEN GRANTED BY ak4in Cneirt-c-Icer U 11 DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Ott.ce of ducahonai Research nd Improyereem EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER IERICI , Th,s document has been reprçiuceØ s rere.ved from the berson of 0,ganizat.on oogrnatony Mmor changes hve been made to .fhprove febroduchon Quahty TO THE E DUCATIONAL RE SOURCES Ponts of yfew O opimons stated ,n /hos doc meni dO oot neCessaoh, reprpjen) offu OF Pt 003ition Or pobt y INFORMATION CENTER E RIC)


Abstract In this study, phytic acid pretreatment is used as a substitute for toxic chromate pretreatment to improve the corrosion resistance of organic coating on AZ91D magnesium alloys. The microstructures of phytic acid conversion films are observed by a transmission electron microscope. The role of phytic acid pretreatment on the corrosion resistance of organic coating is investigated using salt spray test and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The experimental results show that the phytic acid conversion film exhibits a dense amorphous structure and phytic acid pretreatment can effectively improve the corrosion resistance of organic coating on magnesium alloys.


The work presented here was undertaken primarily for the purpose of ascertaining the effect of the ingestion of moderate amounts of potassium on the sodium balance of normal individuals and patients with Bright's disease. It was felt that such information would be of particular significance in appraising the efficiency of potassium salts as diuretics in the treatment of nephritic edema. Potassium chloride was selected as the means of administering the potassium in order to avoid the alkaline or cathartic effects of other potassium salts. Incidentally, the experiments in supplying complete data on sodium and potassium balances and weight changes provide an opportunity for correlating sodium and potassium balances with the water balance of the body.


Communication means for transmitting and receiving data via a communication line and receiving the monitoring data or alarm signals from the production apparatus by a storage means, said communication means for storing the contract information on the observed production apparatus, and the monitoring data used to update the monitoring information of the manufacturing apparatus, and, and recording the monitored information to the storage means on the basis of the monitoring information and the contract information for maintenance, control processing for performing control relating to operation of the manufacturing apparatus performed, it characterized in that it comprises a control processing means for outputting the information unit for the manufacturing apparatus. IJ system production apparatus, the ejection apparatus, the number of accumulated ejection dot, the movable state time, the number of manufacturing processes, the liquid body, demounting detection means, monitoring data


This thesis consists of two completely separate parts: In part I some problems related to phonons in amorphous solids are considered, whilst Part II is devoted to the study of excitons in Cuprous Oxide (Cu 2 O). Part I.- A theoretical model, suitable to treat vibrations in tetrahedrally coordinated amorphous systems is developed and permits the study of a number of situations of current interest. Three of these situations are studied in detail: 1) The local response of hydrogen in amorphous silicon when a single silicon is attached to one, two or three hydrogens. The differences between these three configurations are discussed and a direct connection with experimental results is suggested. 2) The interesting case of an amorphous alloy, where both, topological and substitutional disorder are present. This is treated within the spirit of the Coherent Potential Approximation. The particular alloy chosen (Si-Ge) is readily tractable because oithe similar bond characteristics of both components, which allows the neglect of force constant changes. 3) The Raman spectrum of AX 2 , glasses. The model adopted permits the investigation of the local response at the defect sites for a number of defects. In order to explain the defect lines observed in the experiments, four plausible defect configurations are considered: a missing A-X bond, a X-A double bond, an A-A bond, and a square ring (two tetrahedra sharing an edge). A simple model to calculate the Raman response in amorphous solids is also outlined. Part II.- The valence band of Cu 2 0 is studied in detail to account for the deviations from the hydrogenic law of the exciton spectrum. The appearance of the two series of excitons is explained in terms of a spin-orbit splitting of the valence band in the centre of the Brillouin Zone, using a Tight-Binding Approximation. The deviations of the lowest exciton levels from their expected values are seen to arise from an admixture of the two components of the split -off valence band due to direct Coulomb and exchange interactions. The Hamiltonian used corresponds to the so called "Spherical Approximation" and the results obtained are in remarkable agreement with the experiments.


STUDY QUESTION
Does phthalate exposure from prescription drugs affect semen quality?

SUMMARY ANSWER
Exposure to phthalate-containing drugs is associated with poor semen quality.

WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY
Phthalates and their metabolites have been shown to disrupt the hormone signalling in animal studies. One study has shown associations between medicinal phthalate exposure and poor semen quality, suggesting similar effects in humans.

STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION
We included 18 515 males with poor semen quality (cases) and 31 063 males with normal semen quality (controls) registered in the Danish IVF Registry from 2006 to 2016.

PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS
Exposure to phthalate-containing drugs was assessed from the Danish Register of Medicinal Product Statistics. Outcome measures were obtained at the first contact with the fertility clinic, and categorized according to the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10). The association between current use of phthalate-containing medications <90 days prior to semen sampling and reduced semen quality was analysed using unconditional logistic regression, adjusting for potential confounders.

MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE
In total, 57 cases and 72 controls redeemed at least one prescription for a drug containing ortho-phthalates in the 90 days before their first semen sample, yielding an adjusted odds ratio (OR) of 1.30 (95% CI: 0.91-1.85) for poor semen quality when compared to males exposed to phthalate-free generic drugs. Similarly, 81 cases and 78 controls exposed to a drug containing polymers had increased odds of poor semen quality (OR = 1.71, 95% CI: 1.24-2.35). Current exposure to polymer containing products from alimentary tract and metabolism drugs was associated with the highest OR of 2.80 (95% CI: 1.63-4.84). Comparing males exposed to drugs containing ortho-phthalates or polymers with males unexposed to prescription drugs, we found adjusted ORs of 1.32 (95% CI: 0.93-1.87) and 1.73 (95% CI: 1.26-2.36), respectively. We saw no clear relationship between degree of exposure and odds of poor semen quality.

LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION
The reliance on ICD-10 based register data restricted our ability to relate phthalate exposure to detailed semen parameters. Furthermore, due to imperfections in the registry, we could only include the first semen sample and could not follow semen quality over time.

WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS
Our results support the likely negative effect of phthalate exposure from medicinal drugs on semen quality. As exposures from medicinal products are readily avoidable, our findings may be of relevance to regulatory authorities.

STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S)
This work was supported by Odense University Hospital, Denmark (Grant number A1003). None of the authors declare conflict of interest.


The purpose of insurers' rating creation is to provide ensuring transparency of the results of insurance companies' activities and determination of level of their financial reliability. General approaches in methodology of compiling of insurance companies rating by various foreign agencies are determined. The indicators characterizing fields of insurance companies' activity are analyzed: insurance, investment and financial. The indicators of an insurance activity regarding the insurance payments collection, the insurance indemnity payments and securing formation of insurance reserves are considered. The indicators of investing activities of an insurance company regarding placement of insurance reserves are characterized. The indicators characterizing financial activities of an insurance company regarding maintenance of liquidity, solvency and profitability are highlighted. The authors in article determined the problems of creation of a rating assessment technique of insurance companies' activities. The complex analysis of indicators of insurance companies' activities is performed, the stages of its carrying out are allocated. Based on the indicators usage which characterizes the fields of insurance companies' activity the rating assessment technique of insurance companies is developed. The rating assessment technique of insurance companies is presented in the form of the system consisting of consecutive stages, each of which represents the logical sequence of the actions providing creation of insurers' rating. Implementation of this technique in insurance practice would provide transparency of insurance companies' activities, increase the trust of insurers to them and to promote development of insurance system.


Study finds that when automatic in-place tube-welding head is used to butt-weld two stainless-steel tubes together, welding process can be made so reliable that when weld exceeds a certain minimum dimension, penetration of weld can be assumed to be complete. Detailed procedure for tube welding considers effects of arc gap, shielding gas, welding speed, and other parameters related to weld reliability.


Until May 29, 2020, the multikinase inhibitors (MKIs) sorafenib and lenvatinib comprised the only first-line treatment standards for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) (1). In the article "Atezolizumab plus Bevacizumab in Unresectable Hepatocellular Carcinoma" (N Engl J Med 2020;382(20):1894-1905), Finn RS et al reported positive outcomes of IMbrave150, a global, open-label, Phase III trial investigating the combination of the anti-programmed cell death ligand-1 (anti-PD-L1) drug atezolizumab and the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) inhibitor bevacizumab for the treatment of unresectable HCC in patients who have received no prior systemic therapy (2).


One of the most important methodological issues in the domain of resilience is how to identify resilient individuals. Although there have been many methods of screening resilient persons since its inchoation, the inquiry of resilience still faces technological difficulties in what to be followed or on which to be based. In this article the authors try to categorize the methods for identifying resilient individuals used in literature of resilience into five groups, namely simple qualitative technique, brief quantitative technique, age-based developmental task technique, converging technique and psychological scaling technique. For each kind of methods, the technical definition, operationalizing tenors and strength and weakness of function are clearly delineated. After briefly comparing all kinds of methods, the authors discussed the issue of trade-off between power and efficiency in identifying resilient individuals.