We investigate the role of the pairing field dynamics in low-energy heavy ion reactions within the nuclear time-dependent density functional theory extended to superfluid systems. Recently, we have reported on unexpectedly large effects associated with the relative phase of the pairing field of colliding nuclei on the reaction outcomes, such as the total kinetic energy and the fusion cross section [P. Magierski, K. Sekizawa, and G. Wlazlowski, arXiv:1611.10261 [nucl-th]]. We have elucidated that the effects are due to creation of a "domain wall" or a "solitonic structure" of the pairing field in the neck region, which hinders energy dissipation as well as the neck formation, leading to significant changes of the reaction dynamics. The situation nicely mimics the one extensively studied experimentally with ultracold atomic gases, where two clouds of superfluid atoms possessing different phases of the pairing field are forced to merge, creating various topological excitations, quantum vortices and solitons, as well as Josephson currents. In this paper, we present unpublished results for a lighter system, namely, $^{44}$Ca+$^{44}$Ca. It is shown that the pairing effects on the fusion hindrance are rather small in lighter systems, due to a strong tendency towards fusion, which is consistent with an earlier study.


Year after year more and more devices are entering modern households. Different types of devices with different and multiple purposes. More often these devices are not just being acquired but interconnected to produce new, small and intelligent home networks. The particular research covers particular aspects of these networks and attempts to analyze users' requirements and expectations of such networking environments. It also attempts to present existing home networking challenges and to provide possible solutions. The final aim of the paper is to bring up particular issues that concern developing of the intelligent home network that would satisfy most of users' needs without complicating their everyday life. It also deals with social impacts of these networks and focuses on their smooth integration into people


Performance assessment in urban water infrastructures is an increasingly important field of knowledge. Performance has traditionally been expressed in a variety of ways relating mostly to local design practice, with hardly any consensus on how it should be measured or compared. The efficient technical management of these systems deserves a specific approach, suited to the methodologies regularly employed while planning, designing, constructing, operating, and maintaining the systems. At the engineering level, decisions are based on operational, physical, and resources data and on analyses deploying simulation models, geographic information systems, or other information systems. However, such tools tend to produce vast amounts of insufficiently aggregated or performance-oriented information. This paper presents a performance assessment system that is based on the decisional concept of utility functions and designed as a technical analysis tool with the purpose of shifting the focus of technical management of urban drainage systems to a performance-oriented view.


From the Publisher:

The first book to show Java programmers how to utilize UML when building applications is now completely up-to-date with new coverage on UML 2.0, JCP UML to EJB Mappings, J2EE 1.4, and Web services
Breaks down common situations that a development team will most likely face in the field and discusses the tradeoffs of using different technologies in different combinations
Companion Web site includes the code for the full working sample application used in the book as well as third-party software


It provides a semiconductor wafer analysis system. Semiconductor wafer diagnostic system distinguish wafer map generation module, the wafer map to generate a wafer map to reflect the test results of a tester, the tester to test a semiconductor wafer made at least through one of the production equipment of a plurality of fault analysis region and it includes a wafer analysis module comprising including data for generating a feature vector representative of the semiconductor wafer creating module and a calculation module for statistical analysis of the feature vector. Wafer tester, flaw, analyze,


Face Detection plays a key role in "always-on" applications such as mobile phone unlock or smart doorbells. Deep learning-based face detection solutions have demonstrated state-of-art performance in terms of accuracy; however generally, the improved accuracy comes with a large computation and memory requirement overhead. This can result in high energy consumption which is a significant cost that can overrun the energy budget especially in battery powered systems. Recent solutions to this problem have advocated the use of a low power always-on sensor running a rudimentary algorithm that can merely indicate the 'presence' of a face with low accuracy and in turn 'wake-up' a more powerful device executing a high accuracy face detection algorithm. In this paper we present the design of two deeply quantized (binarized) light weight face presence detection deep learning based models that can function as wake up models. The models achieve high accuracy> 98% with a corresponding memory footprint being limited between 3KB and 100KB allowing them to be deployed in highly resource constrained 'always-on' embedded platforms.


This paper deals with the measurement setup development for evaluating a fully integrated wireless power receiver. The receiver is designed for application in wireless implantable medical devices (IMD), where the size of the receiver is critical, thus a fully integrated solution is advantageous. The receiver was designed in a standard 130 nm CMOS technology and operates at 200 MHz. To evaluate its performance, the transmitter has to be implemented. Analysis of the transmitter coil magnetic field, leading to the optimal transmitter coil size is presented. The impedance matching network is also described in detail. The preparation of the receiver samples is discussed, mainly focusing on the minimization of parasitic influences of the package and the chip seal ring on the receiver coil performance. Preliminary measurement results demonstrate the functionality of the system. The design of the measurement setup requires knowledge of multiple aspects of electronic design, mainly in the fields of high frequency design, microelectronics and printed circuit board design. Therefore, it is suited as a practical demonstration for students of these fields in particular.


OBJECTIVE
In 2012 in New Jersey, a train derailment resulted in the puncture of a tanker car carrying liquid vinyl chloride under pressure, and a resulting airborne vinyl chloride plume drifted onto the grounds of a nearby refinery. This report details the investigation of exposures and symptoms among refinery workers.

DESIGN AND SETTING
The investigation team met with refinery workers to discuss their experience after the derailment and provided workers a self-administered survey to document symptoms and worker responses during the incident. Associations among categorical variables and experiencing symptoms were evaluated using Fisher's exact test.

PARTICIPANTS
Twenty-six of 155 (17 percent) workers present at the refinery or driving on the access road the date the spill occurred completed the survey.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S)
Any self-reported symptom following exposure from the vinyl chloride release.

RESULTS
Fifteen workers (58 percent) reported ≥1 symptom, most commonly headache (12, 46 percent). Three (12 percent) reported using respiratory protection. No differences in reporting symptoms were observed by location during the incident or by the building in which workers sheltered. Workers who moved from one shelter to another during the incident (ie, broke shelter) were more likely to report symptoms (Fisher's exact test, p=0.03); however, there are only limited data regarding vinyl chloride concentrations in shelters versus outside.

CONCLUSIONS
Breaking shelter might result in greater exposures, and managers and health and safety officers of vulnerable facilities with limited physical access should consider developing robust shelter-in-place plans and alternate emergency egress plans. Workers should consider using respiratory protection if exiting a shelter is necessary during a chemical incident.


Objective:To investigate the relationship between methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase(MTHFR C677T) gene polymorphism and depression.Method:A total of 94 patients with depressive disorder in study group and 98 normal health controls in control group were collected in this study.The serum levels of homocysteine were determined by fluorescence polarization immunoassay.Using polymerase chain reaction-extinction enzymes fragment length polymorphism analysis technology(MTHFR gene-RFLP)test C677T polymorphism.The 24-item Hamilton rating scale for depression(HAMD)was used to evaluate depressive symptoms.Results:The serum homocysteine 1evel was significantly higher in study group than that in control group[(16.72±3.94)μmol/L,(10.99±3.51) μmol/L;P0.05].The rate of hyperhomocysteinemia(HHcy)in study group was significantly higher than that in control group(41.5%,14.3%)(χ2=14.89,P0.05).The MTHFR genotype and the distribution of alleles are statistically significant differences in both group(P0.05).The plasma Hcy levels of TT genotype in study group were obviously higher than those of CT and CC genotype.That was TTCTCC,the difference was statistically significant.The total scores of HAMD in different genotypes of MTHFR had significant differences(P0.05).Compared to CT and CC,TT genotype had higher HAMD scores(P0.05).Conclusion:MTHFR gene polymorphism may affect the occurrence and severity of depression by influenting the Hcy concentration.


In the next decade every third neonate born in the U.S. will be of Hispanic origin. 1989-1992 birth death linked files and fetal death records were analyzed, Chi square was used with two sided probability value of less than 0.05 to evaluate statistical significance and odds ratios and RR were calculated for mortality rate ratios for multiple/single mortality indices. Race/ethnicity was determined by maternal listing of her ethnicity on birth certificate. Neonates weighing <500 grams and <20 weeks gestation were excluded and mortality indices were calculated for 1000 births. Multiple/single mortality rate ratios were compared for each subgroup with the remaining four subgroups. Conclusion: Multiple birth mortality risk ratios were significantly elevated for fetal, neonatal and postneonatal, perinatal and infant births for the Mexican and South/Central American Hispanic subgroups. Table


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Wow! What an honor, what a responsibility. On Wednesday I will become President of this exceptional organization. It is a humbling, yet proud time. It is a time, in fact, you would really like to share with your mother. Well, I can; she is here. My mom, Kathy Hovland. And next to


Ca-accumulating formations found in degenerating myotubes of chick embryo by pyroantimonate technique have been identified as membrane bound bodies in the material fixed routinely for electron microscopy. These bodies seem to represent initial stages of a lipid degeneration of membranous structures. It is assumed that calcification of single degenerating subcellular structures may limit spreading necrosis over the whole cell.


This study investigated the development of students' abiliLies to see connections between algebraic equations and life-situated relationships during an extended problem solving experience. The design problem required students to analyze some aspect of their socio-physical environment for cause and effecL and to generate a dynamic model using the MicroWorlds Project Builder programming environment. Eighth grade students (n=49) participated as subjects in a posttest only, intervention/control group design. Students randomly placed in the instructional intervention group participated in a simulation building experience over nine class periods. The posttest measured students' abilities to relate algebraic equations to real life sitlations and model real life situations in terms of algebraic equations. Control group and intervention group student performances were then compared for differences in representation translation abilities. Results suggest that the simulation building activities developed learners' abilities to make connections between algebraic expressions and life-situated relationships. Appendices contain classroom exams and computer commands. (Author/MKR) ********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** Creating Simulations: Expressing Life-Situated Relationships in Terms of Algebraic Equations by Kathryn A. Verzoni, West Point School PE RMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL SR EJ GRANTED BY 0(10 10 III. F Ic AT IONA! HEOUH; I NI LEIMA ION I NIl Hot_ EIR o U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educatanal Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) The document has been reproduced as wed from the person or ofoanizabon ofroinating 4 0 Minot chanoes have been made to improve reproduction oual4y Pomtsot vow or opsmons stated in the document do not necessarily represent othciat OERI position of pohcy


Low-dimensional Sn-based perovskites exhibit excellent oxidation and moisture resistance, which play an irreplaceable role in lead-free perovskite photovoltaic devices. Herein, 1,4-butanediamine (BEA) is incorporated into FASnI 3 (FA = formamidinium), developing a new series of low-dimensional Dion-Jacobson (LDDJ) phase perovskite of (BEA)FA n-1 Sn n I 3n+1 , which promote the expansion of new low-dimensional lead-free perovskite. The broadness of representative (BEA)FA 2 Sn 3 I 10 bandgap appears to be softly influenced by the structural distortion due to high symmetry. The introduction of BEA ligand stabilizes the low-dimensional perovskite structure (formation energy ≈ 10 6 j/mol), which inhibits the oxidation of Sn 2+ . In addition, the compact (BEA)FA 2 Sn 3 I 10 dominated film enables a weakened carrier localization mechanism with charge transfer time is only 0.36 ps among the quantum wells, which resulting in carrier diffusion length over 450 nm for electrons and 340 nm for holes, respectively. Solar cell fabrication with (BEA)FA 2 Sn 3 I 10 delivers a champion power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 6.43% with negligible hysteresis. Particularly, the devices can retain over 90% (< 60% for FASnI 3 devices) of their initial PCEs after 1000 h without encapsulation under N 2 environment and attenuate by 12% (vanish for FASnI 3 devices within 72 h) of their initial PCEs under ambient atmospheric condition for 200 h.


Developing efficient, cheap, and clean electrocatalysts for the hydrogen/oxygen evolution reaction (HER/OER) has important significance for reducing energy consumption for electrochemical water spl...


Higher dietary consumption of bitter foods and beverages such as brassica vegetables, tea and coffee may have bene fi cial health prop-erties and reduce the risk of chronic disease. (1 – 3) However, little is known about the bitterness of diets and the characteristics of bitter diets. This study aimed to explore: (a) the bitterness of diets; (b) the nutrient and food group composition, and quality of bitter diets; and (c) the contribution of foods and beverages to the bitterness of diets, using data from a nationally representative population of Australia. This study was a secondary analysis of the 2011 – 2012 National Health and Physical Activity Survey. Dietary data from 9,118 Australian adults were obtained from 24-hour dietary recalls and were combined with an established sensory foods database to assess the bitterness (bitter score) of individuals ' diets (bitter score = bitter taste × amount of foods/beverages (g) consumed). Diets were then categorised into tertiles of bitterness ( n = ∼ 3,039/group) with 23,098 > and 44,166 < threshold bitter scores for the most and the least bitter diets. Data were analysed using ANOVA with the Bonferroni post hoc test. Across the whole sample (51% male, 46.6 ± 17.5 years old), the bitter score of individuals ' diets ranged from 377 to 270,403 (mean 37,719 ± 26,008). The bitter score of the most bitter diets was almost fi ve times greater than that of the least bitter diets (66,966 ± 21,881 v. 13,193 ± 5,819


This article presents findings from a year-long study of how intermediate second language (L2) learners of German (English first language) used case markings, word order, and semantic information when comprehending individual German sentences. The results showed that the learners relied on word order and semantic information, but did not necessarily use case-marking information. The learners' performance, however, improved as the study progressed, which suggests that with repeated exposure to the target sentences, they became more adept at noticing and processing case-marking information. The findings have implications for grammar instruction, not only at intermediate levels, but also for beginning-level L2 instruction.


With each breath we exhale, thousands of molecules are expelled in our breath and each one of us has a 'breathprint' that can tell a lot about his or her state of health. While this may be news to some, it should not be to people in medicine. For one can argue that the field of breath analysis is as old as the field of medicine itself. Hippocrates described fetor oris and fetor hepaticus in his treatise on breath aroma and disease, Lavoisier and Laplace in 1784 showed that respiration consumes oxygen and eliminates carbon dioxide [1], Nebelthau in the mid 1800s showed that diabetics emit breath acetone [2], and Anstie in 1874 isolated ethanol from breath (which is the basis of breath alcohol testing today) [3]. The end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century, however, have arguably witnessed a revolution in our understanding of the constituents of exhaled breath and the development of the field of breath analysis and testing. A major breakthrough in the scientific study of breath started in the 1970s when Linus Pauling demonstrated that there is more to exhaled breath than the classic gases of nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide and water vapor, a lot more. Based on gas–liquid partition chromatography analysis, Linus Pauling reported the presence of 250 substances in exhaled breath [4]. With modern mass spectrometry (MS) and gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) instruments, we can now identify more than 1000 unique substances in exhaled breath. These substances include elemental gases like nitric oxide and carbon monoxide and a multitude of volatile organic compounds. Exhaled breath also carries aerosolized droplets collected as 'exhaled breath condensate' that have non-volatile compounds like proteins dissolved in them as well. We now have the technology to test for any and all of these components. Thanks to major breakthroughs in new technologies (infrared, electrochemical, chemiluminescence, and others) and the availability of very sensitive mass spectrometers, the field of breath analysis has made considerable advances in the 21st century. Several methods are now in clinical use or about ready to enter that arena. There are currently commercially available analyzers that can measure NO levels in exhaled breath to the parts per billion (ppb) range and carbon monoxide to the parts per million (ppm) range [5]. Sensitive mass spectrometers can measure volatile compounds on breath down to the parts per trillion (ppt) range. Aerosolized droplets in exhaled breath can be captured by a variety of methods and analyzed for a wide range of biomarkers from metabolic end products to proteins to a variety of cytokines and chemokines, and the possibilities continue to expand [6]. A major hurdle that faced this field as it transitions from the laboratory to clinical testing has been the standardization of sample collection methods. To advance in this area, there had to be a close collaboration between technical experts who typically have a device looking for clinical indication, the medical experts who have the clinical problem looking for a test/biomarker that can be helpful in diagnosis or monitoring, and industry/commercial experts who can build and commercialize the final product. One great example of how the collaboration between technical, medical, and commercial professionals has resulted in a clinically useful tool is the measurement of exhaled nitric oxide (NO) in exhaled breath for monitoring airway inflammation. The advent of chemiluminescence analyzers in the early 1990s allowed the detection of low (ppb) levels of NO in exhaled breath [7]. This was quickly followed by the observation that patients with asthma had higher than normal levels of NO in their exhaled breath that was later linked to eosinophilic airway inflammation [8, 9]. Standardization of the gas collection methods and measurement techniques allowed the industry to build the next generation of analyzers suitable for use in the clinical setting [10, 11]. In 2003 the FDA approved the first desktop NO analyzer for monitoring airway inflammation in asthma [5]. The use of exhaled NO in monitoring asthma is useful for several reasons. It is non-invasive, it can be performed repeatedly, and it can be used in children and patients with severe airflow obstruction where other techniques are difficult or not possible to perform. Exhaled NO may also be more sensitive than currently available tests in detecting airway inflammation, which may allow more optimum therapy [12–19]. As breath analysis offers a window on lung physiology and disease, exhaled breath testing is becoming an increasingly important non-invasive diagnostic method that can be used in the evaluation of health and disease states in the lung and beyond. A few years ago the new International Association of Breath Research (IABR) was established to have a platform for researchers in the field. The association holds an annual meeting and the newly established Journal of Breath Research (JBR) is the official publication of the IABR. In November 2007, the First Breath Analysis Summit/3rd annual meeting of IABR was held on the Cleveland Clinic Campus in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. The Summit brought together industry executives and entrepreneurs with scientists and clinicians to discuss key trends, future directions, and upcoming technologies in breath analysis and medicine. The major focus of the Summit was on medical applications. Topics included exhaled nitric oxide, exhaled breath condensate, electronic nose and sensor arrays, mass spectrometry and bench-top instrumentation, and cutting edge sensor technologies. Medical applications that were covered included asthma, COPD, pulmonary hypertension, other respiratory diseases, gastrointestinal diseases, occupational diseases, critical illness, and cancer. This special issue of JBR contains peer-reviewed, full articles of work presented at the Summit and represents the proceedings of this Summit. References [1] Duveen D I and Klickstein H S 1955 Antoine Laurent Lavoisier's contributions to medicine and public health Bull. Hist. Med. 29 164–79 [2] Hubbard R S 1920 Determination of acetone in expired air J. Biol. Chem. 43 57–65 [3] Baldwin A D 1977 Anstie's alcohol limit: Francis Edmund Anstie 1833–1874 Am. J. Public Health 67 679–81 [4] Pauling L, Robinson A B, Teranishi R and Cary P 1971 Quantitative analysis of urine vapor and breath by gas–liquid partition chromatography Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 68 2374–6 [5] Gill M, Graff G R, Adler A J and Dweik R A 2006 Validation study of fractional exhaled nitric oxide measurements using a handheld monitoring device J. Asthma 43 731–4 [6] Horvath I et al 2005 Exhaled breath condensate: methodological recommendations and unresolved questions Eur. Respir. J. 26 523–48 [7] Gustafsson L E, Leone A M, Persson M G, Wiklund N P and Moncada S 1991 Endogenous nitric oxide is present in the exhaled air of rabbits, guinea pigs and humans Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 181 852–7 [8] Kharitonov S A, Yates D, Robbins R A, Logan-Sinclair R, Shinebourne E A and Barnes P J 1994 Increased nitric oxide in exhaled air of asthmatic patients Lancet 343 133–5 [9] Persson M G, Zetterstrom O, Agrenius V, Ihre E and Gustafsson L E 1994 Single-breath nitric oxide measurements in asthmatic patients and smokers Lancet 343 146–7 [10] American Thoracic Society 1999 Recommendations for standardized procedures for the on-line and off-line measurement of exhaled lower respiratory nitric oxide and nasal nitric oxide in adults and children—1999. This official statement of the American Thoracic Society was adopted by the ATS Board of Directors, July 1999 Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. 160 2104–17 [11] American Thoracic Society 2005 ATS/ERS Recommendations for Standardized Procedures for the Online and Offline Measurement of Exhaled Lower Respiratory Nitric Oxide and Nasal Nitric Oxide, 2005 Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. 171 912–30 [12] Dweik R A 2001 The promise and reality of nitric oxide in the diagnosis and treatment of lung disease Cleve. Clin. J. Med. 68 486, 488, 490, 493 [13] Dweik R A, Comhair S A, Gaston B, Thunnissen F B, Farver C, Thomassen M J, Kavuru M, Hammel J, Abu-Soud H M and Erzurum S C 2001 NO chemical events in the human airway during the immediate and late antigen-induced asthmatic response Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 98 2622–7 [14] Guo F H, Comhair S A, Zheng S, Dweik R A, Eissa N T, Thomassen M J, Calhoun W and Erzurum S C 2000 Molecular mechanisms of increased nitric oxide (NO) in asthma: evidence for transcriptional and post-translational regulation of NO synthesis J. Immunol. 164 5970–80 [15] Khatri S B, Ozkan M, McCarthy K, Laskowski D, Hammel J, Dweik R A and Erzurum S C 2001 Alterations in exhaled gas profile during allergen-induced asthmatic response Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. 164 1844–8 [16] Khatri S B, Hammel J, Kavuru M S, Erzurum S C and Dweik R A 2003 Temporal association of nitric oxide levels and airflow in asthma after whole lung allergen challenge J. Appl. Physiol. 95 436-40; discussion 435 [17] Dweik R A 2002 Nitric oxide reactions in the asthmatic airway Disease Markers in Exhaled Breath: basic mechanisms and clinical applications (NATO Science Series) ed N Marczin and M H Yacoub (Amsterdam: IOS Press) pp 159–66 [18] Grob N M and Dweik R A 2008 Exhaled nitric oxide in asthma. From diagnosis, to monitoring, to screening: are we there yet? Chest 133 837–9 [19] Ozkan M and Dweik R A 2001 Nitric oxide and airway reactivity Clin. Pulmonary Med. 8 199–206


EPIDEMIOLOGY OF LARYNGEAL CANCER IN SLAVONIA AND BARANIA DURING THE 1983 -1987 PERIOD Ante Prlić, Veselin Špralja, Zlatko Maksimović, Damir Djanić, Željko Vranješ, Miroslava Klauznicer, Martin Rašić and Jasminka Grigić Department of ORL, General Hospital Osijek, Department of ORL, Medical Centre Slavonski Brod and Department of ORL, Medical Centre Vinkovci During the five-year period from 1983 to 1987, 125 patients with laryngeal cancer were treated at the ENT Departement of the Osijek General Hospital. The following patient data were registered: age, sex, living in rural or urban area, occupation (especially considering possible etiologic factors at work ), smo king, alcohol intake and pathohistologic types of tumors.


-We analyzed nesting behavior of five pairs of the endangered Puerto Rican Parrot (Amazona vittata) during eight successful nesting attempts. Each stage of the nesting cycle (egg laying, incubation, early chick rearing, and late chick rearing) was characterized by distinct trends or levels of behavior. During egg laying, female attentiveness to the nest increased, and male attentiveness decreased. Throughout incubation and the first several days of early chick rearing, females were highly attentive to their nests, whereas males rarely entered the nest cavities. Female attentiveness then began to decline. Male attentiveness to the nest was sporadic until chicks were 10-12 days old, when all males began to enter their nests at least once each day. During late chick rearing, both male and female attentiveness were erratic and highly variable. Biologists may be able to use these results to identify nest problems and the need for management intervention when patterns of nest attentiveness deviate from the limits described in this study. Received 26 Apr. 1994, accepted 15 Jan. 1995. Manipulation of reproductive behavior is often an important component of recovery programs for endangered birds. Behavioral manipulations have been used to increase productivity by inducing individuals to lay additional eggs through the removal of clutches (Cade 1977, Fyfe et al. 1977, Snyder and Hamber 1985), by artificially incubating eggs to increase hatchability (Cade 1977), and by hand-rearing or fostering into nests those chicks that otherwise would not have survived (Cade 1977, Meyburg 1977). "Hacking" and cross-fostering have been used to increase fledging rates in the wild (Fyfe et al. 1977, Meyburg 1977), to establish new populations (Drewien and Bizeau 1977, Kress 1977) and to establish new nest site or habitat preferences within a species (Cade 1977, Drewien and Bizeau 1977, Temple 1977). The Puerto Rican Parrot (Amazona vittata) is critically endangered, with only 42 individuals remaining in the wild (1994 post-breeding survey, J. Meyers, pers. comm.). Monitoring and manipulation of reproductive behavior have been an important part of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Puerto Rican Parrot Recovery Program since 1973 (Snyder et al. 1987). Biologists have increased parrot productivity by inducing re' National Biological Service, Puerto Rico Research Group, P.O. Box N, Palmer, Puerto Rico 00721 (Present address: 1456 Garner Avenue, Schenectady, New York 12309). 2 National Biological Service, Massachusetts Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Univ. of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003-4220. 3 National Biological Service, Puerto Rico Research Group, PO. Box N, Palmer, Puerto Rico 00721 (Present address: National Biological Service, Patuxent Environmental Science Center, 11410 American Holly Drive, Laurel, Maryland 20708-4015).


In this paper we explore the usefulness of MaxEnt to predict the most suitable areas for a wildlife species, the Iberian ibex (Capra pyrenaica). For two decades (1990–2010), the species was established in a small part of the National Park Sierra de Guadarrama (Spain) and there has been a process of expansion to other areas of this protected area since 2010. However, almost two decades have elapsed since the modeling methods (MaxEnt) were proposed and no studies have tested their effectiveness using real distribution data, i.e. data from past predictions, to see if they fit the current distribution. We generated a model with presence– only data from 2007 and verified accuracy from 2017 data concerning real presence. Our results show a relationship between models and the species' current presence. The generated model can be useful to define the preferred locations of the species. We detected several differences between males and females of the species. This work not only shows the importance of selecting climatic and ecological variables for the construction of models but also indicates that they must be adjusted, at least for some species, to each sex and period of the year.


This research aims to find out how the Service Affects Student Satisfaction at the Faculty of Economics, Batanghari Jambi University. The limitations of the problems in this study are as follows: 1. The variables used in this study are service quality variables that include responsiveness, reliability, assurance, emphaty (empathy), tangibles (direct evidence). And 2. The gap used in this study is the gap between the quality of service perceived and the expected quality of service (service quality gap). The study was analyzed using multiple linear  regressions. with  results Y= 0.441 + 0.860X. In other words, the regression equation above can be said that the coeffesien regression variable service has a positive direction towards the satisfaction of students of the faculty of economics of batanghari jambi university. The constant or α value of 0.441 means that if the value of variable X (service) is 0 then the variable value Y (satisfaction) will be worth 0.441. The coefficient value (b) of 0.860 means that the value of variable X (service) is positive meaning that if the service variable (X1) rises by 1 unit it will increase variable Y (satisfaction) by 0.860 assuming other variablesits same. and based on statistical tests it is known that there is a significant influence between the service on the satisfaction of service users ( students) computer laboratory of the Faculty of Economics, Batanghari Jambi University, using the t test that is, thitung = 26,106 > t table = 1,984.


Knowing Music, Making Music: Javanese Gamelan and the Theory of Musical Competence and Interaction. Benjamin Brinner. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1995. 363 pp.


Starting from the importance and need to investigate one of the most relevant issues regarding the structure and dynamics of the economic and social development of all countries in the world, the book focuses on Romania, from the perspective of certain synthetic indicators, aggregated at macroeconomic level, i.e. the Gross Domestic Product and the National Income, on long data series over the past 150 years, also taking into account the comparative international context, in terms of purchasing power parity. The Part One contains a synthesis, developed and completed, of GDP data for each year of the period 1862 – 2010 and also indicators resulting from the GDP, as Net Domestic Product, Net National Product and National Income. The historical research has adopted and applied, with maximum attention, criteria that substantiated the calculations, through rigorous techniques and methods of data aggregation, in order to remove certain errors that would lead to distorted results, focusing on the accuracy of evaluations, so that they would express, in the most genuine manner, the real dimension of the statistical indicators, allowing for a correct interpretation of the economic phenomena. The operations for compiling the indicators are accompanied by comments regarding the criteria and calculation methods, as well as by methodological explanations, so that the data would be able to be rebuilt in a better format, by the interested authors, should they have a more reliable and relevant statistical information about Romania. The Part Two of the book focuses on the international literature, dedicated to criticisms theoretical and methodological opinions regarding the GDP, as well as a comparative analysis of the GDP evolution in Romania, in various hypotheses, compared to other countries.


To satisfy a range of performance requirements for the robot in aquatic and terrestrial environment, we propose the use of groups of amphibious robots as near-shore observatories or other application that can be rapidly deployed, recovered and redeployed in response to changing environmental conditions. In this paper, we introduce a novel amphibious robot prototype with wheel-propeller integrated driving devices, which can realize both crawling locomotion on the ground and swimming locomotion in the water without changing its driving devices. This paper describes the design of the overall robot structure, and the six driving devices of the robot are driven by two independent motors, thus the amphibious robot can conveniently switch its locomotion modes according to the external environments. Finally, the hydrodynamic performances of the amphibious robot are analyzed by using ANSYS CFD hydrodynamic calculation software, and the analysis will present a foundation for the design of amphibious robot.


This literature review explores the range, prevalence and predictors of mental health problems experienced by fathers in the first year after their baby's birth. Problems include depression, anxiety, obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD), stress/post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), bipolar disorder and psychosis. Up to a third of men may experience depressive symptoms. Factors associated with this relate to the parenting style of their own parents, their personality, experiences of the birth, demographic factors, their partner's characteristics, their relationship with their partner and families and their view of their baby. If fathers experience postnatal depressive symptoms, these can impact on their interactions with their children, their partners' interactions with their children and their children's behaviour. OCD may occur in new fathers in relation to fears of harming their children. Men who attend births may experience intrusive thoughts and images especially if they feel they did not support their partner during labour or felt pressured to attend the birth. There are accounts of men developing postnatal bipolar disorder or psychosis.


Recently, required performance levels of antireflective coatings are becoming higher in technical fields of camera lens. We succeeded in forming antireflective coatings with ultra-low refractive index layers and achieving superior performances by sol-gel method.


We report the case of active severe lepromatous leprosy, a female patient 55 years old. She has suffered from leprosy for about fourty years. In this case it is almost unclear to what degree the medical treatment for leprosy was given, because this patient has rejected the treatment of leprosy for last two years and was psychophathic before her death. The direct final cause of death is remarkable epiglottis edema. It is recognized that the M. leprae proliferates at skin lesions and superficial lymphnodes like pure culture otherwise at liver, spleen and peripheral nerves.So the remarkable proliferation of the M. leprae in this case was thought to have an intimate relation to her own depressed immune activity besides the situation that the medical treatment for leprosy was not given.


This research aims to examine the leisure reading habits of students during the COVID-19 lockdown period (N = 156). The study identified that most of the students have the habit of reading newspapers, and they preferred to read literary works in the areas of novel, story and poem. The majority of students enjoy reading books. Students are regularly reading books to update themselves, and they have a regular habit of reading books other than textbooks. Moreover, the study result proves that doing a part time job, time spent in the SNS, and playing mobile/online games are substantially curtailed the students' reading habits.


We extend the Hartman-Grobman theorems for discrete random dynamical systems
 (RDS), proved in [7], in two directions: for continuous RDS
 and for hyperbolic stationary
 trajectories. In this last case there exists a conjugacy between
 travelling neighborhoods of trajectories and neighborhoods of
 the origin in the corresponding tangent bundle. We present applications to deterministic dynamical systems.


Editorial—Rae In this issue, Plante and colleagues 1 look at the effect of a night of sleep deprivation on brain bioenergetics measured by 31 P magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) in eight healthy young individuals. Interestingly, the study includes investigation of bioenergetic changes after the subsequent two nights of restorative sleep, and it reveals that the impact of a night's lost sleep takes some time for the brain to resolve. The study confirms that a night without sleep is, in the short term, without significant penalties in high energy phosphates (i.e., ATP and phosphocreatine) 2,3 and reinforces the findings of an earlier study from these authors' laboratory that bioenergetics are altered after one night of restorative sleep. The bioenergetic changes are also stratified by whether they occur in gray or white matter areas of the brain, with different biochemical consequences depending on the tissue type. This work adds to the growing and increasingly detailed literature showing that sleep is important for restorative and anabolic processes and that these processes are likely cumulative without sleep. Of course, this study raises many more questions and issues than can be addressed in a small study of only eight people. It is known that there are significant cognitive decrements caused by lack of sleep, particularly those that require rapid processing, 4 a skill that is related to mitochondrial phosphorylation potential, 5 a marker of which is the relationship of in


Objective: To evaluate the therapeutic approaches and prognosis of maxillary fibrous dysplasia.Methods: All 38 cases of maxillary fibrous dysplasia underwent surgical excision to spade up the hyperplastic tissues for shape or excised the pathological maxilla.Results: All operations provided satisfactory cosmetic and functional effect,and follow-up over 1 year showed that there was no recurrence except three younger patients with severe malformation.Conclusion: Resection is the best therapeutic treatment for maxillary fibrous dysplasia,but the function should be taken into account,and the recurrence rate after 20 years old less than that before 20,so,the operation had better perform after the second decade.


of tne Problem This problem was designed to test Back's (32, 33) old contention, that the retina responds to marked changes in the second differential of luminous intensity as well as to changes in the first differential of luminous intensity. His thesis was thrt contours will be seen at these marked changes in the second differential of luminous intensity. We were concerned with testing the following hypotheses: (1) if the formation of contour is a function of a change in the rrte of change of luminous intensity, then e boundary should occur through the points of inflection on a symetricel figure bounded by the reanisite curves; (2) Reversal of figure and ground should hrve no effect on this boundary; rnd (3) A boundary will not be generated along curves thrt do not possess a point of inflection. A sories of three experiments were run. The figures used in the first experiment ware four pointed stars bounded by sigmoid, convex, concfve rnd linear curves. These were presented to the sub.iects on a color mixer under varying speeds of rotation. The results were thrt a contour was not established through the points


PURPOSE: A digital mobile telephone having a charging function depending on calls and a management method thereof are provided to allow a subscriber to acquire charging information on the spot by managing the charging information for each of calls. CONSTITUTION: A non-volatile memory(10) stores accounting details. A microprocessor(50) collectively controls an overall operation of a digital mobile telephone, and controls to show charging information for any call. A termination sensing part(42) senses whether any call is hung up. A part for computing a calling time and counting(44) computes the calling time and charging details for any call. An address generating part(46) generates an address for storing the charging details corresponding to any call in the non-volatile memory(10), and addresses for storing a calling time and telephone number of opposite side in connection with the address where the charging details have been stored. A displaying part(60) displays the charging information read from the non-volatile memory(10).


This paper explores the feasibility of flexible biogas production by co-digestion of food waste and sewage sludge based on experiments and mathematical modeling. First, laboratory-scale experiments were carried out in variable operating conditions in terms of organic loading rate and feeding frequency to the digester. It is demonstrated that biogas production can achieve rapid responses to arbitrary feedings through co-digestion, and the stability of the anaerobic digestion process is not affected by the overloading of substrates. Compared with the conventional continuous mode, the required biogas storage capacity in flexible feeding mode can be significantly reduced. The optimum employed feeding organic loading rate (OLR) is identified, and how to adjust the feeding scheme for flexible biogas production is also discussed. Finally, a simplified prediction model for flexible biogas production is proposed and verified by experimental data, which could be conveniently used for demand-oriented control. It is expected that this research could give some theoretical basis for the enhancement of biogas utilization efficiency, thus expanding the applications of bio-energy.


Polycrystalline solar cell is the main trend in PV industry at present.Lack of good texturing method is the bottleneck for development of poly-Si solar cell.Polycrystalline silicon wafers were isotropically textured by acid texturing methods.The acid etching solution was mixture of nitric acid(HNO3)and hydrofluoric acid(HF)for the investigation and modified with H2SO4.The polycrystalline silicon surface morphology and reflectance were analyzed by scanning electron microscope(SEM)and spectrum response system respectively.The results show that the surface etched by acid solution is distributed with uniform worm-like etched-pits and very low reflectance.After PECVD SiNx the reflectance decreases remarkably.


During the Cold War the concept of international security was understood in military terms as the threat or use of force by states. The end of East/West hostilities, however, brought 'critical' perspectives to the fore as scholars sought to explain the emergence of new challenges to international stability, such as environmental degradation, immigration and terrorism.
Katherine Williams thinks this book effectively maps its core conceptual themes onto real-world security issues that will prove extremely useful to scholars, students, and readers alike.


Malnutrition is recognized as one of the main public health problems in hospitals. Therefore, the Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM) has established a global consensus on the criteria for diagnosing malnutrition in adults in hospital settings. This study aimed to identify the ability of the GLIM criteria as a tool to identify malnutrition in hospital settings patients and to compare the prevalence of malnutrition identified by GLIM criteria with other screening and/or nutritional assessment methods. This was a systematic review. Searches were performed using MEDLINE/PubMed, Scopus, and Virtual Health Library, based on established descriptors. The included studies were observational and used screening and/or nutritional assessment tools to compare the prevalence of malnutrition and predictive capacity identified by GLIM criteria in in hospital settings patients aged >18 years. Twelve studies were included in this systematic review. A total of 4066 individuals with different pathologies and clinical conditions participated in the included studies. The prevalence of malnutrition, according to the GLIM criteria, ranged from 16% to 80%. In four studies, the prevalence of malnutrition based on GLIM was higher than that of the other indicators. Six studies evaluated the predictive ability and identified satisfactory sensitivity and specificity. Four studies found low to high agreement between GLIM and the other methods. The GLIM criteria can identify malnutrition and find a high prevalence and severity of malnutrition in the hospital setting, proving to be a sensitive and specific instrument, with good agreement between screening and nutritional assessment methods. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.


Key Points Question Is family history of breast cancer (FHBC) associated with mammographic breast density in premenopausal women? Findings In this cohort study of 14 415 premenopausal women, volumetric percent density was significantly higher in women with FHBC compared with women without FHBC, and the odds of having dense breasts was significantly higher in women with FHBC compared with women without FHBC. Meaning The findings highlight the heritable component of mammographic breast density and underscore the need to begin annual screening early in premenopausal women with a family history of breast cancer.


In the preface to his book, The French Law of Contract,' Professor Nicholas describes his aim as primarily practical: making the French law. relating to voluntary obligations accessible to lawyers not familiar with the arrangement and divisions of the French 'traite's'.2 As he repeats on several occasions, those structures reflect the distinctive theoretical basis of the French law of Contract. Separated from this basis, the actual French contractual rules and doctrines will, consequently, not be accessible and, as the author has warned in previous comparative work in the field of contract,3 barely be comprehensible to a common lawyer. Given the connection between the rules and the conceptual and theoretical framework of the French law of Contract that Nicholas acknowledges, it is necessary, if his book is to realize its practical goal, for it to clarify that framework. Such clarification may have the further merit of contributing to an understanding of the source of the differences between the law of Contract in England and France. Since, as Nicholas also notes in his preface,4 the ideas and developments of a political, social, or moral nature usually associated with this branch of the law are generally thought to be largely shared on both sides of the Channel, the source of the differences in the rules cannot lie there; and their distinctive theoretical basis must be relatively insulated from these moral ideas. Defining what a contract actually is in each legal system may allow us to determine the legal theoretical framework of its rules of Contract. We are indebted to Professor Nicholas for providing such a definition: 'While, in French law, a contract is an agreement between the parties, in English law, it can be more nearly be said to be a promise in return for good consideration.':5 Having made the conceptual distinction, the author does not, however, pursue, in a uniform manner,6 the relationship between the distinctive conceptual framework and the


Rida Younas1*, Tamseela Mumtaz1, Nabeela Roohi2 and Muhammad Amir Iqbal3 1Department of Zoology, Government College for Women University, Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan 2Department of Zoology, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan 3Shalimar Degree College for Boys, Lahore, Pakistan Article Information Received 13 July 2019 Revised 22 September 2019 Accepted 04 October 2019 Available online 03 June 2020


Ihave had the privilege to participate in many and varied aspects of organized neurosurgery over the past 30 years and defining quality in neurosurgical practice remains elusive. How do we define quality? How do we measure, certify, regulate, and report quality? How do we ensure that quality will happen? It is much like beauty. It is hard to define, but you know it when you see it. It is also like beauty in that it is in the "eye of the beholder." Leonard da Vinci had one view of beauty in the Mona Lisa and Picasso yet another in his cubism portrayals of beauty. I believe that when you are sitting in an examination room, one-on-one with a patient and reach a conclusion and make a recommendation, you are defining quality. When you are in the operating room and decide just how hard to retract a nerve root or how much to elevate the dome of an aneurysm, you are defining quality. When you tell the patient's family that there is nothing further to be done and care should be withdrawn, you are defining quality. When you decide to take one more trip back to the hospital to check on a patient, you are defining quality. You reach your personal definition of quality through


In this article, we give an overview of a range of approaches to the analysis and separation of musical audio. In particular, we consider the problems of automatic music transcription and audio source separation, which are of particular interest to our group. Monophonic music transcription, where a single note is present at one time, can be tackled using an autocorrelation-based method. For polyphonic music transcription, with several notes at any time, other approaches can be used, such as a blackboard model or a multiple-cause/sparse coding method. The latter is based on ideas and methods related to independent component analysis (ICA), a method for sound source separation.


A new productivity equation was presented in pseudo-steady state in tight reservoir,considering the effect of stress sensitivity and threshold pressure gradient. And the equation has been modified with taking bottom hole degassing into consideration. The computation result of an example showed that: the IPR curve of producer bended to pressure axis and the productivity was lower than Vogel equation. The bigger the stress sensitive coefficient was,the greater the bend degree of IPR curve became. When it took bottom hole degassing into account,there was a critical producing pressure drop in the well,when the actual producing pressure drop exceed the critical producing pressure drop,the productivity would decrease. The larger stress sensitive coefficient was,the earlier and heavier IPR curve bended,and the lower the critical producing pressure drop was. Due to threshold pressure gradient,the critical producing pressure drop would increase,however it would decrease for stress sensitivity. So it was necessary to optimize producing pressure drop during production process. With the decrease of reservoir pressure,the effect of stress sensitivity would be decreased and the effect of threshold pressure gradient would be increased.


A Virtual Lab to experiment on controlled fusion of two digital images has been developed. The resulting image has user pre-defined percentages of each contributing image. With the aim on improving the quality of the resulting image in the fusion, the Virtual Lab has been enabled with the option of selecting a color to be ignored during the fusion process, in this way this color is not fussioned. Successful experiments have been executed fusing three images using the same algorithm.


The invention relates to a method for realizing indoor positioning based on multi-information fusion. The method comprises the following steps: performing indoor navigation map initialization by a terminal by virtue of a magnetic inductor and a camera; performing positioning system and inertia system initialization by the terminal by adopting local position coordinates; acquiring the angle information of the magnetic inductor and an accelerometer by the terminal, and performing current dead reckoning; performing space absolute position calculation and inertia system feedback correction by the terminal; estimating the current space position according to the dead reckoning information and the space absolute positioning information by the terminal; and starting a path planning algorithm according to the current position information and to-be-reached position information by the terminal, and performing feasible path selection. With the adoption of the method for realizing indoor positioning based on multi-information fusion, multiple positioning methods are comprehensively utilized, interference caused by indoor building structures is effectively reduced, the universality, feasibility and accuracy of the indoor positioning algorithm are improved, and the method has wide application range.


Many mobile sensing frameworks have been developed to help researcher doing their mobile sensing research. However, energy consumption is still an issue in the mobile sensing research, and the existing frameworks do not provide enough solution for solving the issue. We have surveyed several mobile sensing frameworks and carefully chose one framework to improve. We have designed an adaptive sampling module for a mobile sensing framework to help solve the energy consumption issue. However, in this study, we limit our design to an adaptive sampling module for the location and motion sensors. In our adaptive sampling module, we utilize the significant motion sensor to help the adaptive sampling. We experimented with two sampling strategies that utilized the significant motion sensor to achieve low-power consumption during the continuous sampling. The first strategy is to utilize the sensor naively only while the second one is to add the duty cycle to the naive approach. We show that both strategies achieve low energy consumption, but the one that is combined with the duty cycle achieves better result.


The new spray system is proposed by using a pipe with hygroscopic needle electrode in order to develop an air-cleaning ESP with high collection efficiency for submicron particles and high removal efficiency for NO_x, SO₂, NH₃. Fundamental characteristics of charging water spray, which is not an usual wet type, are investigated experimentally. As a result, corona discharging mode and ozone generation rate are significantly affected by the operational conditions, such as the applied voltage and wet condition of the needle electrode.


It is well known that in the computation of Groobner bases an arbitrarily small perturbation in the coefficients of polynomials may lead to a completely different staircase even if the roots of the polynomials change continuously. This phenomenon is called pseudo singularity in this paper. We show how such phenomenon may be detected and even "repaired" by adding a new variable and a binomial relation each time. To investigate how often likely pseudo singularities may happen in numerical computation of Grobner bases, two algorithms e-Buchberger and e-MatrixF5 are provided. Our main algorithm, named VSGBn corresponding to Buchberger's algorithm, can compute "more stable" Grobner bases of equivalent ideals (with the same set of zeros) and thus are suitable for the computation of Grobner bases for ideals generated by polynomials with floating-point coefficients. The main theorem of this paper is that any monomial basis (containing 1) of the quotient ring can be found out using VSGB strategy. Experiments show that the algorithms can be used to solve some non-trivial problems.


In the present study, the spatial instability for a two‐dimensional viscous liquid sheet, which is thinning with time, has been analysed. The study includes the derivation of a spatial dispersion equation, numerical solutions for the growth rate of sinuous disturbances, and parameter sensitivity studies. For a given wave number, the growth rate of the disturbance is essentially a function of Weber number, Reynolds number, and gas/liquid density ratio. The analysis indicates that the cut‐off wave number of the disturbance becomes larger with an increase in Weber number or gas/liquid density ratio. Thus, the liquid sheet should produce finer drops. When the Reynolds number decreases, the higher viscosity has a greater damping effect on shorter waves than longer waves. This could explain that only large drops and ligaments were observed in past measurements for the disintegration of a very viscous sheet. The spatial instability results of the present study were also compared with the temporal theory. The importance of spatial analysis was found and demonstrated for the cases of low Weber numbers. The temporal theory underestimates growth rates when the Weber number is less than 100. The discrepancy between the two theories increases as the Weber number further decreases. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


This work explores how people talk about food. My original problem was to find how the idea of a cultural group one may see as comprised of "Mexican Americans" may or may not be complicated by a regional comparison (of rural Hispanos in Colorado and New Mexico and urban Mexicans and Mexican Americans in Philadelphia). The main question I asked myself in this exploration (as well as asked field consultants) was: How does food play a role in the enactment of self-definition? Out of a comparison of over 30 rural and urban food narratives gathered during fieldwork in both regions emerged the interesting link between food, place, and culture. These food narratives demonstrated a sense of place, a topophilia enacted through talking about food in one's life. The men and women interviewed for this thesis use location and space to define and characterize (as well as to perform) the role of food in their lives, an action I call "performative mapping." My conclusion was that the notion of "home" and of cultural borders expressed in narrative contrasts of "us" versus "them," "antes" versus "ahora," and "here" versus "there" are used by interviewees to perform "authenticity" as well as cultural boundary maintenance. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) First Advisor Margaret Mills


Many times in testing space hardware it is desirable to quantify residual von Mises stresses and deformation in a test article which will ultimately be placed in a micro-gravity environment. When testing in a 1-g environment the stresses and deformations include the contributions due to weight. This investigation demonstrates a hybrid method used to identify the residual von Mises and deformations that reflect a no weight condition. To this end, an example of a hard X-ray space mirror is presented to demonstrate this hybrid method which combines finite element analysis with experimental profile measurements, made under gravity loading, on a prototype formed by electroforming a thin shell on a cylindrical aluminum mandrel.


Let f be a normalized primitive holomorphic cusp form of even integral weight k for the full modular group SL(2, ℤ), and denote its nth Fourier coefficient by λf (n). We consider the hybrid problem of quadratic forms with prime variables and Hecke eigenvalues of normalized primitive holomorphic cusp forms, which generalizes the result of D. Y. Zhang, Y. N. Wang (2017).


The fluorescence lifetime of the molecular excited states in the liquid scintillator determines the pulse shape of the events in a detector. The fluorescence decay times of the mixtures could be measured by UV light excitation, or via ionizing particles. Both of the setups are based on the time-correlated single photon technique. In this paper we described a setup in detail for testing the fluorescence lifetime under ionizing particle to render the relatively weak neutron or ion signals detectable. In addition, we presented the time resolution of system for the setup.


This paper makes an in-depth study and analysis of the direct carbon footprint of residents' consumption in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region based on the IPCC method and the decomposition model of the Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) from 2000 to 2016. The results show that 1) The overall consumption of urban residents and the direct carbon footprint per capita in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region from 2000 to 2016 were much higher than that of rural residents. 2) The consumption of residents was closely related to the energy structure, and coal, heat and electricity consumption occupied the main position. 3) According to the analysis of the LMDI decomposition model, the energy structure factors contributed negatively to the direct carbon footprint of residents except 2003-2006. 4) Energy efficiency and economic development are important factors to stimulate the direct carbon footprint of residents. Finally, we provide reasonable suggestions for residents' consumption, energy saving and emission reduction.


Results
of analytically studied effect of electromagnetic blowing and the slag height
on the arc efficiency are stated. An arc is blown from under an electrode
toward the furnace walls under an electromagnetic force, arc radiation on the
wall and roof increase and effective output, absorbed by the metal decreases.
EAF (electric arc steel melting furnace) with independently powered arcs,
eliminating its electromagnetic blowing is proposed. When arcs are powered
independently, its efficiency increases significantly, and specific energy consumption
decreases.


The use of a fleet of highly synchronized spacecraft to synthesize a space-based optical interferometer, as envisioned by the TPF mission of NASA Origins program, will allow for baselines large enough to achieve milli-arcsecond resolutions. We explore the use of the covariance intersection (CI) algorithm for state estimation of distributed spacecraft. The CI algorithm provides a mechanism for fusing two or more random variables with unknown cross-covariance such that the computed covariance of the new estimate is consistent. We consider the case of five spacecraft with a decentralized estimation scheme where each spacecraft shares its own estimates with the rest of the fleet using a ring-type communication architecture. This simplified scenario of the TPF mission is used to highlight the problems that can originate if the cross-covariances are completely ignored. The result shows that the CI filter performance instead is not affected and provides good estimates.


The aim of this study is to link governance and gender in the informal food markets which have been overlooked by research and global policy agendas. Specifically, the study sets out to establish the effect of regulations on men and women trading food in the main informal markets of Kisumu City Kenya. Cross-sectional study was employed in Kibuye and Jubilee Markets from June - September 2019. A total of 366 traders were interviewed. Data was collected electronically using Kobo-Collect then analysed using Microsoft Excel to generate chi square analysis. The study found a skewed distribution of men and women in management with men dominating at 61%. In addition to male dominance, men in authority enforce regulations differently for women through intimidation and negative attitudes. A chi square analysis where P = .001 confirms that women significantly spend more time than men when meeting regulations. The study concludes that women bear the brunt of regulations that are not gender sensitive necessitating sensitization efforts towards the same. Informal food markets are critical for urban food security and female livelihoods therefore revitalization of the regulations governing them is key to urban food security.


The ylides (CH3)2C6H5P = CH2 and CH3(C6H5),P=CH, have been prepared via their trimethylsilyl derivatives in a pure and salt-free state. Their properties and some spectroscopic data are reported. The thermal decomposition leads to the corresponding methylphenylphosphines, the addition of methanol yields a phosphine oxide and alkane or a phosphine an anisol, depending on the number of aryl groups at phosphorus. There is evidence for a pentacoordinate tetraorgano-alkoxyphosphorane as an intermediate. Protic catalysts are found to cause rapid α-proton exchange in the ylides.


Exchange of notes between the Government of the Republic of Korea and the Government of the Republic of Indonesia concerning the Economic Development Cooperation Fund loan to the Republic of Indonesia. Jakarta, 10 November 1988


When transferring electrons to insoluble Fe oxyhydroxide particles, the bacterium Geobacter sulfurreducens must utilize a chain of redox proteins to relay electrons from cytoplasmic electron carriers to external electron acceptors. In the presence of an electrode poised at an oxidizing potential, not only can cells in contact with the electrode respire directly to the surface, but 10 to 20 cell layers can stack upon each other, and each layer is also electrically connected to the electrode. Thus, G. sulfurrueducens naturally self-assembles a three-dimensional network of proteins capable of oxidizing complex fuels, relaying electrons out of the cytoplasm and across their membranes, and through a biofilm as thick as 40 mm, to sustain current densities on the order of 1 mA cm . 5] Such rates of simultaneous enzymatic oxidation and long-range current transfer rival those achieved by pure enzymes embedded in advanced redox hydrogels. The adaptation of electrochemical techniques to study and control this complex microbial electron-transfer process has opened a window into the physiology of these bacteria. 2, 5, 7–9] However, challenges remain in correlating voltammetry data with specific proteins, and understanding the molecular mechanism of long-distance electron relay between living cells. Mutant analyses, immunogold labeling, and proteomic studies 14–18] have suggested roles for many different multiheme ctype cytochromes, as well as pili and multicopper proteins, 14, 16, 18–24] but less is known about their kinetics or activity in vivo. The use of spectroscopic methods during potentiometric analysis of redox enzymes offers a tool to directly measure the redox status of multiple cofactors. When proteins are immobilized on transparent conductive electrodes, potential-dependent changes can be linked to specific redox centers. 26] Two recent reports extended spectral and electrochemical techniques to the study of whole cells capable of electron transfer to electrodes. Busalmen et al. detected signatures characterisic of c-type cytochromes at a Geobacter cell–electrode interface using surface-enhanced infrared absorption, while Nakamura et al. were able to detect redox-dependent changes in the Soret-band characteristic of c-type cytochromes in Shewanella suspensions, using evanscent wave spectroscopy. These previous studies primarily examined concentrated cell suspensions for short periods of time. However, it is well known that biofilm growth requires disctrete attachment, biosynthesis, and secretion events to construct the external network of delicate proteins that transports electrons from cells. 29–33] Thus, the goal of this work was was to design a system able to support growth of metal-reducing bacteria on transparent conductive electrodes to link potential-dependent changes with real-time measurements of spectral signatures in an undamaged biofilm network (Figure 1). Extensive physiological, proteomic, mRNA expression, and imaging data already exists describing Geobacter biofilm growth on graphitic carbon and gold electrodes. To investigate whether data from this well-understood model could be com-


Based on a six-degree-of-freedom model of unmanned combat air vehicles(UCAVs),a differential countermeasure was combined with computer game for the problem of autonomous decision of UCAVs in air combat.The traditional differential game model which uses "angle advantage" as payoff function was improved by introducing "changing value" in the computer game for reference.When UCAV is in different air combat situation,the model embodies the real air combat situation of that the different incomes are obtained with the change of the same angle,so it makes the air combat strategies more intelligent and more reasonable.The simulation results show that the algorithm is rational and effective.


In the paper Piracy at Sea: Somalia an Area of Great Concern (Baniela, 2010), a general up-to-date vision of piracy at sea in Somalia was analysed. As piracy at sea has political, socio-economic, security and humanitarian dimensions, the international community requires a thorough approach that embraces a comprehensive and multi-faceted response of effective counter-measures, both onshore and offshore. So as a follow-up to that paper, the objective of this one is to analyse the impact of the current strategy in the struggle against piracy in Somalia carried out by the international community focused solely at sea and to examine the proposals to find a solution to the problem on land.


To improve skills to plan and carry out guinea worm control projects involving water supply a workshop was developed for trainers to teach rural health officials. The training guide for conducting the workshop was pilot tested in 2 local Nigeria governments. Professional local health staff (inspectors public health nurses pharmacy aides) participated. Individuals who work in rural community settings who have responsibility for controlling guinea worm are those who are expected to benefit. The workshop focuses on increasing understanding of the causes and prevention of guinea worm mobilizing resources for a guinea worm project and learning how to give communities information about guinea worm disease. Maximum number of participants recommended is 20. The workshop is divided into 7 sessions. It uses discussion and small group training techniques appropriate for adults. If there are 2 or more trainers (suggested if more than 11 participants) they should meet to plan and coordinate the workshop. A practical field experience could be added to the workshop such as analyzing pond water interviewing community members or visiting a water project. The workshop lasts for 2 1/2 days--7 sessions. Objectives an overview and procedures are given for each session. Sessions include: 1) introduction; 2) causes prevention and treatment of guinea worm disease; 3) water supply projects; 4) effective community communication; 5) mobilizing resources; 6) developing a plan; and 7) evaluation and closing. Pre-and post-test are included as is an evaluation form and a certificate of participation. Participant handouts are also included.


This research project analyzes the meaning of marriage, within the Andean indigenous communities, taking the case of Nizag, belonging to the Alausi canton, Chimborazo, Ecuador. The study begins with the literature review of the different types of marriages in the Andean world. Subsequently, the description of the town in its fields was made: space physicist and cultural partner. Finally, we study the different rituals in the marital processes such as: courtship, hand request, yaykuy (entrance), sawarina punlla (marriage day) and sirichi (make bedtime). The study analyzes cultural changes in indigenous communities and subsequently sees the need to disseminate to new generations about the valuation of ancestral knowledge and beliefs regarding the marital alliance. The ethnographic method is used in the development of work, based on the use of the interview technique and participatory observation


As new governments take the reigns of battered countries in the European periphery a new wave of inconditional expense cuts is on the move. Countries such as Italy, Spain, Greece or Portugal will…


This paper proposes a kind of bidding algorithm, assessment model and transportation scheduling to solve dynamic schedule in multi-agent-based scheduling for flexible manufacturing system. The bidding algorithm for single agent is only responsible for itself profit object, which could result in local optimal solution. To avoid that,a factor called credit is introduced into assessment model. The function of credit is to restrain single agent's greed,and avoids local optimum. Simulation result proves that the algorithm and assessment model for multi-agent-based FMS scheduling can help to find preferable scheduling solution.


Lime is a fundamental component in many industrial, agricultural and chemical processes, and is itself produced by an industrial process, namely, the heating in kilns (calcining, or more colloquially 'burning') of calcium carbonate rock or other carbonate material. Research and literature on lime burning in Scotland, based largely on lime production in Scotland's eastern Central Belt, are dominated by the view that lime burning in draw kilns is the paradigm for Scottish lime production. Other parts of Scotland, however, largely or completely ignored, draw kilns in favour of simpler clamp kilns, even in major industrial sites of lime production. This paper reports our map- and field-based surveys in Scotland's western Central Belt, which clearly point to the enduring importance and almost exclusive use of clamp kilns in that area's historical lime-burning industry.


Results from earlier studies have led to the conclusion that the composition of the grains of musical sand and of the surfaces of the grains were very important factors in determining the musicality of sands. The present study provides support for this conclusion by examining in detail these two parameters using x-ray fluorescence and infrared spectrometry. Other parameters typically associated with musical sand serve to enhance these two particular properties and are much less critical in determining the state of musical sands. There may well be limits to such properties as sorting with respect to size and shape, roundness and sphericity, but it appears that these limits are as broad as occurs in ordinary sands and must exist in combination with the essential properties of grain and grain surface conposition. Taken collectively, these factors combine to produce very large frictional forces between grain surfaces on which insoluble salts have been deposited.


The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between vehicle distance (gap) formed by the vehicle volume. For this reason, in this study, there were 16 (sixteen) roads that were used as objects of research. To get the values from the gap variable, the VISSIM software is used in the data processing. In the use of this software calibration and validation are done by trial and error to produce simulation results that can replicate the actual traffic conditions. The results of this study indicate that statistically from the coefficient of determination and F test conducted concluded that there is a significant relationship between vehicle volume and gap.


ABSTRACT The system of socialism with Chinese characteristics and China's governance system have their own prominent advantages and features. Together, they are able to focus concentrated efforts on key large-scale projects, achieving great feats and securing popular benefits that are welcomed by the broad masses. This people-centered system is able to meet the ever-growing need of the population for a better life, and enjoys essentially universal support. The system of socialism with Chinese characteristics aims to unify the immediate and long-term interests of the people, and to combine the overall interests of the overwhelming majority of the people with the special interests of certain popular sectors. It also reduces the consumption of social resources and realizes greater social benefits. The system of socialism with Chinese characteristics and China's governance system are characterized by continuity and stability. They feature an internal unity of "success will come whether I see it achieved or not" and "success requires my participation and effort," and are therefore capable of consistently executing each of the major strategic tasks that have been formulated.


Sr4Si3O8Cl4:Eu 2+ blue-green phosphors were synthesized by the gel-combustion method. e as-synthesized phosphors were analyzed and characterized by X-ray diffraction and �uorescence spectrophotometer. e results indicate that orthorhombic phase Sr4Si3O8Cl4:Eu 2+ has been formed aer the precursor calcined at 900C reductive temperature. e excitation spectrum of Sr4Si3O8Cl4:Eu 2+ is a broad band in the range of 250∼ 450 nm and the main peak at 324 nm. e emission spectrum is also a broad band with the main emission peak at about 484 nm, which is ascribed to the typical 4f5d to 4f transition of Eu. Moreover, the effects of the concentration of Eu, the reductive temperature, and the doping amount of Mg on luminescent properties were discussed.


Consider a network whose nodes are the integer lattice points and whose arcs are fuses of 1Ω resistance. Remove a horizontal segment of N adjacent vertical arcs, forming a 'crack' of length N. Subject the network to a uniform potential gradient of v volts per arc in the north-south (or vertical) direction and measure the current in one of the two vertical arcs at the ends of the crack. We write this current in the form e(N)v, and call e(N) the current enhancement. We show that the enhancement grows at a rate that is the order of the square root of the crack length. Our method is to identify the enhancement with the mean time to exit an interval for a certain integer valued random walk, and then to use some of the well-known Fourier methods for studying random walk. Our random walk has no mean or higher moments and is in the domain of attraction of the Cauchy law. We provide a good approximation to the enhancement using the explicitly known mean time to exit an interval for a Cauchy process. Weak convergence arguments together with an estimate of a recurrence probability enable us to show that the current in an intact fuse, that is in the interior of a crack of length N, grows p roportionally with N/logN.


We have studied the current transport and electro-luminescence mechanisms of four layers of Si oxide co-doped with Si nanoclusters and erbium ions. Electrical measurements have identified different conduction mechanisms in separate high-field and low-field regimes, including Poole-Frenkel hopping. In particular, hopping through the Si-ncl is evidenced by C-V measurements. We have also observed an important contribution of defects from the oxide in the conduction, and no evidence of Fowler-Nordheim tunnelling. The results suggest that the electroluminescence from erbium ions in silicon-rich silicon dioxide is generated by electrons transported through the active layer by hopping from localised states, which we associate with silicon nanoclusters.


Abstract Objective To analyze our experience of 165 patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome(ARDS)?Methods 165 patients who had ARDS and admitted from July 1994 to December 2003 in GICU of emergency department were classified into two groups:group A included 49 patients from July 1994 to December 1998,and group B included 116 patients from July 1999 to 2003.Morbidity,PaO 2/FiO 2,acute physiology and chronic health evaluation Ⅱ(APACHE Ⅱ),days intubated,days in hospital,incidence of ventilator-associated lung injure(VALI)and mortality were compared.Results The morbidity,PaO 2/FiO 2,APACHEⅡ,days intubated,days in hospital,incidence of VALI and mortality of group A were 1.5%,(163±35),(26.5±3.3),(28.6±2.3)days,(36.4±3.7)days,12.2% and 63.2%,respectively;those of group B were 4.7%( P 0.05),(156±32)(P0.05),(25.8±3.4)( P 0.05),(21.5±2.4)days ( P 0.05),(27.9±4.1)days( P 0.05),2.6%( P 0.05) and 30.1%( P 0.05) respectively.Conclusion Days of treatment of ARDS are shortened,and mortality decreases.


The present invention provides a method of treating a bleeding disorder in a subject by administration of the preparation factor IXa concentrated, the method comprises at least 10% Factor IXa (mg / total protein mg) comprising administering a pharmaceutical preparation. Factor IXa can be produced by activating by proteolysis of Factor IX produced by recombinant techniques. The present invention also provides a method for producing the Factor IXa from plasma fractions, the method results in a Factor IXa product hardly contains either no or completely free of Purekarikuren activity.


If you are an enrollment manager, you may have your president or provost looking over your shoulder asking about THE NUMBERS! The May 1 deposit due date is not far off and your school is, in your opinion, too dependent on tuition-paying domestic and international students.


The study was focused on the tissue organs of two varieties and water sample from both lakes. The sample were collected from three sampling sites each lakes. The P H and EC of the water sample were analyzed by using PH-meter and electrical conductivity meter. The digestion procedure was used the mixture of HNO 3 -H 2 O 2 (12 mL) for gill, kidney, liver and 1:2.5 mL mixture of HNO 3 -HCl for water samples used. Concentrations of six metals in water and their accumulation in the edible tissue of Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) and Barbus (Labeobarbus intermedius) fish species were determined using Flame Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy. The results revealed that the average heavy metal concentrations in water samples were; Zn 0.017, Cu 0.077, Fe 7.50, Cr 0.033, Cd 0.264 and Pb 1.731 mg/L respectivelty. The highest concentrations of iron (Fe) and lead (Pb) were observed at Chamo Park and Sile sites, respectively. The average contents of heavy metals in fish samples were; Zn 0.062, Cu 0.047, Fe 2.270, Cr 0.041, Cd 0.045 and Pb1.78 mg/Kg in both fish species. The highest accumulations of iron (Fe) and lead (Pb) concentration were observed in liver and gill of Tilapia fish from Chamo Lake. There was no significant difference between the two lakes in accumulating trace metals. Keywords : ANOVA, Fish variety, Heavy metals, Lakes, Oreochromis niloticus, Labeobarbus intermedius


We examine the ways through which the urban renewal projects in the region of La Plaine Saint-Denis, a northern suburb of the metropolitan region of Paris, relate to the current global political and economic strategies of intervention in urban space and can enhance socio-spatial segregation in a place-based approach. The strategies base projects with very similar logics in other world cities and legitimize themselves through rhetoric as mixite sociale, which, in turn, try to hide the consequent processes of gentrification. Based on academic studies, fieldworks and observation of neighbourhood associations meetings and other events organized by government, we clarify the specific aspects of the development and implementation of urban renewal projects in La Plaine Saint-Denis, demonstrating that major intervention projects in space are far from mitigating socio-spatial inequalities.


A series of experiments were carried out to study the effects of light quality, light time, temperature difference between day and night, and time of low temperature treatment on the redifferentiation of Saussurea involucrata callus after the callus culture in a bioreactor. Compared with short wavelength light, long wavelength light led to high redifferentiation. The redifferentiation frequency of callus increased with the lighting time. The maximal redifferentiation frequency was obtained with daily lighting 16 h/d. The temperature difference between day and night was negatively correlative to the callus redifferentiation. Low temperature treatment was not necessary to the redifferentiation. The peroxidase isoenzyme analysis indicated that the redifferentiation frequency of the callus was closely related to the quantity and kinds of the peroxidase isoenzymes.


Aloe vera (L.) Burm. f is a succulent shrubby perennial of the family Asphodelaceae (commonly known as 'Natural healer', 'Lily of the desert', 'Plant of immortality', 'Miracle plant', 'The Wand of Heaven', etc.) with immense therapeutic uses not withstanding its potential significance in cosmetic and food industries. The plant is the source of two products, gel and latex (commercially aloe products are pills, jellies and creams, drinks, liquid, sprays, ointments and lotions) obtained from its fleshy leaves. This unique plant also belongs to a larger plant family, the 'Xeroids'. Considering the pharmacological and other potential uses of A. vera, an updated overview is being conducted on the species involving all essential aspects to provide necessary information to researchers for effective utilization of the species in human welfare. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________


Cushing's observation, that most patients with the disease named after him harbor small basophilic pituitary adenomas, has been confirmed by the success of transsphenoidal surgery in the majority of patients. Monoclonality of such tumors supports the concept of a primary pituitary origin of the disease, which indeed then should be cured after their selective removal. It has become evident that ACTH secretion by the normal corticotrophs surrounding these microadenomas is suppressed in most cases and that this suppression persists for many months after the selective removal of ACTH-secreting microadenomas before a gradual normalization occurs. This initial period after surgery is accompanied by clinically evident hypocortisolism to a degree that is seldom achieved more thoroughly after surgery on other types of pituitary tumors. A gradual return to normal of the diurnal rhythm of ACTH and cortisol, of the response to an insulin-induced hypoglycemia, of daily adrenal cortisol production, as well as a return to normal sensitivity of the restored hypothalamopituitary adrenal axis to low dose dexamethasone supports the concept of a real cure in these patients. Most series describing the results of selective removal of ACTH-secreting tumors by transsphenoidal surgery report an overall percentage of immediate remission of about 75%. Amongst the therapeutic failures a small group of patients can be identified in whom the diagnosis of pituitary-dependent Cushing's disease was wrong after all. This group includes individuals with occult tumors secreting ACTH and/or CRH ectopically, patients with primary glucocorticoid receptor resistance, and patients with secondary autonomous adrenocortical lesions. The majority of therapeutic failures, however, are neurosurgical. Several categories can be recognized: patients in whom extensive pituitary exploration did not reveal an adenoma, patients in whom the tumor could not be completely removed (in many of these cases invasive tumor penetration of bone or surrounding tissue made selective removal technically impossible), and finally an undetermined number of patients with a seemingly discrete lesion that was, in retrospect at microscopical examination, surrounded by hyperplastic corticotrophs. There is no ideal therapy for patients with Cushing's dis


A diagnosis of cancer in childhood places a considerable economic burden on families, although costs are not well described. The objectives of this study were to identify and determine independent predictors of the direct and time costs incurred by such families.


We describe a redesign of the MIT long-pulse CARM oscillator experiment including the incorportation of an improved Bragg resonator design. The first MIT long-pulse CARM oscillator experiment, which was carried out last year, resulted in the observation of CARM operation at ∼ 30 GHz. However, the excited modes were the result of window reflections rather than Bragg resonator modes, and the device efficiency was low. Two substantial improvements are being incorporated into the CARM oscillator redesign. First, a new 700 kV electron gun, built by Thomson Tubes Electronique, will substantially improve the beam quality. Simulations predicting a substantially enhanced beam quality will be presented. Second, a new improved Bragg resonator design will be used. In this improved design, both scattering matrix and coupled-mode theory codes will be used to optimize the mode purity and cavity Q for the desired operating mode (TE11). The use of Hamming and Kaiser-Muller k-space filters allow the design of Bragg resonators with substantially improved mode properties. The improved design will be described, and simulations of the CARM oscillator operation will be presented.


The performance of a rail system can be severely affected if the track where the rail vehicle is intended to run is in very bad condition. In this case, a train could easily exceed the acceleration ...


An active and stable catalyst of 3 wt% Pt-added sulfated-zirconia for the dehydrogenative coupling of methane without oxidant was obtained by sulfating zirconia gel with 0.5 M H{sub 2}SO{sub 4}, followed by drying, impregnating the sulfated gel with a solution of H{sub 2}PtCl{sub 6}, calcining in air at 600 C, and finally reducing in H{sub 2} at 500 C. The catalyst gave conversion of 0.23%, ca 40% of the equilibrium value, at 500 C and was steady during the run of 5 h in a flow reactor (0.5 g catalyst, 10 ml/min methane). The products were ethane and ethylene in a ratio of 9:1; CO{sub 2} was negligible. A remarkable loss of activity was observed with the catalysts sulfated with ammonium sulfate instead of sulfuric acid. XRD analysis showed that the sulfation of zirconia gel with sulfuric acid led to high dispersion of the Pt matter onto the support; the observations were confirmed by the amount of CO chemisorbed on the surface Pt atom. The adsorption measurement of CO showed the ratio of CO/Pt to be 0.09. Using TG-DTA the sulfur quantity on the catalyst was estimated from a weight loss at 600--1000 C, caused by decomposition of the sulfatemore » species, and the ratio of Pt to S was determined to be 1. XPS showed SO{sub 4}{sup 2{minus}} for the S state and 10% of the platinate to be in the metallic state. Measurements of TG-DTA and XPS, in addition to the CO chemisorption, showed an active site (in the steady state) to be Pt{sup 0}-SO{sub 4}/ZrO{sub 2} surrounded by 10 times platinate-SO{sub 4}/ZrO{sub 2} with various oxidation numbers of Pt except 0, whose species protect the active one from aggregation. The turnover frequencies were estimated to be 0.18 min{sup {minus}1}.« less


Although hybrid catfish (Ictalurus punctatus × I. furcatus) now constitute about half of the industry production, few studies have assessed comparative growth and survival with other commercially important catfish. Growth assessment is particularly important at moderate to high temperatures because of the direct influence of temperature on ectothermic organisms and the increasing trend of warm to extreme environmental temperatures. Therefore, growth, condition factor, and survival of channel (I. punctatus), blue (I. furcatus), and hybrid catfish were compared following a 10‐week growth experiment at moderate (23°C) and high (33°C) temperatures in tanks. It was hypothesized that hybrid catfish would outperform channel and blue catfish in overall growth due of heterosis, and growth of all three fish types would be greater at moderate than high temperatures, which are above the range for optimal channel and blue catfish growth. Channel catfish had the greatest growth and were in better condition compared to blue and hybrid catfish over moderate and high temperatures. All treatments had an average survival over 89% other than blue catfish at 33°C, which had an average survival of 63%. Therefore, these results indicate growth and condition factor in channel, blue, and hybrid catfish diminish at high temperatures, and channel catfish may outgrow blue and hybrid catfish at moderate to high temperatures.


Phytolith⁃occluded carbon (PhytOC), which can be stabilized in the soils for thousands of years, is one of the important mechanisms for long⁃term carbon sequestration in terrestrial plant ecosystems. In this study, we selected two typical sympodial bamboos [Dendrocalamopsis oldhami (Munro) Keng f., (DOK) and Dendrocalamus latiflorus Munro, (DLM)] in the subtropical area of China as research subjects and collected the samples of leaves, branches, and culms in Nanjing, Fujian province. Phytolith in the samples were extracted using a microwave digestion method and their PhytOC content were determined using the alkaline solution method, with the aim of comparing the PhytOC sequestration rates and stocks of DOK and DLM. The results showed that silicon (Si) content in the above⁃ground parts of DOK and DLM ranged from 4.95 to 37.53 and from 2.01 to 34.05 g / kg, respectively, whereas phytolith content ranged from 3.35 to 100.80 and from 1.57 to 84.06 g / kg, respectively. The content of both Si and phytoliths decreased in the order: leaves > branches > culms. The PhytOC in above⁃ground parts of DOK and DLM ranged from 0. 51 to 2. 85 and from 0. 17 to 2. 22 g / kg, htt p:/ /w ww .ec olo gic a.c n http: / / www.ecologica.cn respectively, whereas their PhytOC stocks ranged from 5.1 to 13.9 and from 1.2 to 6.3 kg / hm, respectively. The highest PhytOC stocks in the different organs of above⁃ground parts of DOK and DLM were observed in leaves and branches, respectively. The total PhytOC stocks in above⁃ground parts of DOK and DLM were 24.3 and 11.1 kg / hm, respectively. The PhytOC sequestration rates of above⁃ground parts of DOK and DLM were 0.051—0.131 and 0.0099—0.0139 t⁃e⁃CO2 hm a, respectively. The PhytOC amounts sequestrated by DOK and DLM stands in China are estimated to be 1965.29 and 1520.11 t CO2 / a, respectively.