In the ever-demanding energy scenario in India, CBM is considered to be an alternate and clean resource which may bridge up the demand supply gap to a large extent. Government of India therefore has been encouraging state as well as private companies for the exploitation of CBM. Tatapani-Ramkola is one such CBM block awarded by the government to the consortium of Dart Energy, GAIL, and Tata Power Company in the year 2006. The exploration was carried out in the block by drilling 8 core wells (total drill 8212.50 m) of which four wells were cored to the depth below the target seams of the Barakar Formation while the other four wells could not penetrate through the entire Barakar strata because of depth and drilling constraints (Figure 1). The findings presented in this paper are based on the data obtained during the field operations and subsequent laboratory testing. This evaluation included coal bed gas content determination, coal bed gas resource estimation, as well as preliminary risk assessment of the key reservoir parameters such as permeability, gas saturation, and coal continuity that would lead to its production potential. Geological Set Up Tatapani-Ramkola Coalfield represents an east-west trending synclinal sub-basin lying in the easternmost segment of South Rewa Gondwana Basin. The basin is enclosed on three sides by Proterozoic basement rocks, over which were deposited the Gondwana sediments represented by a variable thickness of different formations starting from Talchir, Barakar, Barren Measures, and Raniganj Formations exposed along the northern, eastern, and southern periphery of the basin. This coalfield has prominent boundary faults along its northern and southern periphery bringing Barakar, Barren Measures, Raniganj and even Panchet Formations in juxtaposition with the basement rocks, while in the southern margin, Talchir sediments rests unconformably on them (Figure 2). The coal bearing lower Gondwana rocks occur as detached and fault bounded outcrops along the peripheral parts of the sub-basin while the rocks of upper Gondwana occupy the central and western part of the coalfield. There are breaks in the continuity of the coal bearing strata which may be attributed to either structural dislocation or overlapping of younger strata leading to the formation of a number coal-bearing area of limited extent (Das et al., 2001). The Tatapani-Ramkola is a composite basin comprising a northern strip of coal measures and associated Lower Gondwanas referred to as Tatapani Coalfield and a southern one called Ramkola Coalfield. The coal bed methane exploration in this virgin block primarily focuses on targeting the deep-seated seams lying below the thick pile of younger Gondwana sediments. Tatapani-Ramkola Coalfield lying in the Surguja District, Chhattisgarh is an east-west trending synclinal sub-basin lying in the easternmost segment of ENE-WSW trending Son Valley master basin (Figure 3). The configuration has formed due to gradual change of strike from EW in the northern part of the Tatapani Basin to N-S in the eastern end of Tatapani Field. Further southwest in Ramkola, the strike of the beds progressively swing from NE-SW to E-W in the western extremity of the coalfield. Structurally, the Tatapani-Ramkola Basin shows a broad synclinal structure with closure to the east. The syncline has E-W axial trend with younger Gondwana Formations exposed in the axial region (Ghosh et al., 1993). The Tatapani Coalfield defines the northern limb of the syncline whereas the Ramkola Coalfield forms its southern limb. Morphotectonically, Tatapani-Ramkola Basin displays a half-graben configuration whose southern boundary is defined by en-echelon sets of border faults whereas the northern boundary has unconformable contact of the Gondwanas with the Pre-Cambrian basement. General Characteristics of Coal Seam In the Tatapani-Ramkola Coalfield, Raniganj Formation and Barakar Formation are coal-bearing units. The Barakar Formation contains all the important coal seams and accounts for the entire coal resources of this coalfield. The Raniganj Formation contains inferior, thin coal seams of lensoid geometry and as such the coal seams are not of much economic importance (Raja Rao, 1983). Close examination of Barakar lithic-fill reveals that the basal 60–100 m of Barakar Formation is composed of coarse clastics and practically devoid of thick coal seams. The upper sequence, comprising very fine to coarse-grained sandstone with dark grey and carbonaceous shale, is relatively more argillaceous and contains all the important coal seams (Das et al., 2005). The CBM exploration has established the developments of a total of twelve coal seams (I to XII in ascending order) were recorded in the Barakar Formation. Seam thickness ranges from 0.75 m to 11.67 m and were intersected between the depths of 564.50 m and 1061.15 m. Out of these, Seam III, IV, and V deserve special mention due to their thickness, regional persistency, and quality both in Tatapani and Ramkola areas The cumulative net coal content for the main regionally persistent seams III, IV, and V varies from 3.00 m to 10.20 m. Thicknesses of individual seams are almost uniform in nature and maintain uniform inter-seam partings over the area. The Seam III is erratic in development but slightly of better quality. However, the combined Seam IV/V of the Sondiha area, (adjacent of CBM block) occurs as separate Seams IV and V in this area; of which the Seam IV is the thickest. Both Seam IV and V again are split into Top and Bottom sections. The top section IV(T) maintains appreciable thickness (1.24 m to 7.12 m) while the bottom section IV(B) maintains uniform thickness (2.48 m to 3.17 m). In the northern part of the area, the seam occurs as a composite seam with thickness of 2.64 m – 3.00 m (ATR – 3a and 4). Seam V shows same behavioral pattern as observed in case of the top section V(T) as well as the bottom section V(B) of Seam IV. The Seam VI overlies the Seam V with parting thickness ranging from 3.15 m to 6.40 m. The parting thickness is minimum (3.15 m) around ATR 7 and shows general tendency of thickening (6.20 m) in the down dip direction. Seam VII, which succeeds Seam VI with intervening parting thickness of 5.10 m to 8.20 m and the thickness of the seam ranges from 1.00 m to 7.42 m (ATR – 3a) with three-split section. Seam IX attain maximum thickness of 11.67 m and occur as a single seam. (Figure 4). The qualitative character of the coal seams of the Tatapani-Ramkola Coalfield has been assessed based on band-by-band analysis of the core hole cores obtained from explored block. In general, the coals are medium to high volatile, non-coking type with variable ash content. The coals have high carbon (78-81%) and calorific value (7200-7700 kcal/kg) and broadly correspond to high volatile bituminous "B/C" category. General quality of the coal seam:  Non-Coking  High volatile  Low to high moisture (generally medium to high moisture) – 1.5% 6.8%  Low to high ash (generally medium to high ash) 9% 39% A total of seven samples from different core holes were petrographically analysed in the ACS Laboratories for studying the maceral contents and assessing the maturity of coal by measuring the maximum vitrinite reflectance (RO Max). The results are given in Table 1. Permeability of Coal Permeability refers to the ability of the fluids to migrate through coal pore space and this is a crucial reservoir parameter affecting well deliverability. The fractures in coal serve as permeability avenues for Darcy flow of gas and water. The primary (or natural) permeability of coal is very low, typically ranging from 0.1 to 30 mD (Clarkson et al., 1997). Coal is a very weak (low modulus) material and cannot take much stress without fracturing, coal is almost always highly fractured and cleated. The resulting network of fractures commonly gives coal beds a high secondary permeability (despite coal's typically low primary permeability). In the Tatapani–Ramkola CBM Block, in-situ cleat permeability of coal seams was determined using injection fall-off test (INFO) performed by the Mitchell Drilling International. The in-situ pressure data were then analyzed by the Geotecnic Reservoir Engineers and permeability values were determined. Most of the tests were successful and the final data seemed to be quite reliable. Apart from permeability, the data analysis of these tests gives an opportunity to determine reservoir pressure. Reservoir pressure can be taken directly from the pressure gauges before the injection started or inferred from the data analysis as extrapolated pressure. The core hole wise details of INFO tests carried out in selected coal bearing zones to assess the permeability of the coal seams. Out of eight core holes INFO tests were done in seven zones of four wells. It could not be carried out in others either due to thin coal seams or very low gas content. The borehole wise details are given below in Table 2. Coal Bed Methane Prospects It has been established that gas sorption by coal is closely related to its physical and chemical properties, which in turn are governed by coal type i.e. maceral composition and rank (Crosdale et al., 1998). Mineral mater and moisture content also influence desorption property of coals. Coal type may affect both adsorption capacity and desorption rate. Dominance of vitrinite (>60 %) results in high surface area in coals, and thereby increases methane adsorption capacity. Vitrinite-rich coals (bright coals) have greater methane adsorption capacity than inertinite-rich coals (dull coals) of equivalent rank. This is due to vitrinite predominantly possessing micro-pores compared to inertinite. In fact, inertinite macerals have the highest activation energy among coal macerals, and therefore have the lowest adsorving power (Misra et al., 1994). A total of seven samples from different core holes in the block were spectrographically analysed in the ACS Labor


Rutherford cables with cores of E-glass and S-glass woven tape and types AISI-316 and AISI-304 stainless steel (SS) ribbon were subjected to calorimetric AC loss measurement in transverse magnetic fields of amplitude 400 mT and frequencies of up to 90 mHz applied in the face-on (FO) and edge-on (EO) orientations. The results yielded the effective interstrand con- tact resistances (ICR), Reff (to be defined), and corresponding estimates of the FO coupling magnetizations generated by fields ramping at the LHC-specified 6.5 mT/s. Detailed analysis of the results indicated: 1) a cable with a full-width 316-SS core and a satisfactory Reff value would be suitable for magnet winding; 2) a cable with an off-center partial-width core had a very low Reff and an excessively large coupling magnetization; 3) The cables with glass-tape cores although characterized by large Reffs and very small coupling magnetizations turned out to have mostly uncoupled strands with intermittent points of low resistance contact. In order to achieve the target ICR values, the level of glass insulation insert should be reduced and cable compaction adjusted.


A pharmaceutical composition comprising sibutramine is provided to show improved dissolution rate of sibutramine free base in water and storage stability of the sibutramine. The pharmaceutical composition comprises 1-10 wt.% of a sibutramine free base, 1-20 wt.% of an acidifying agent such as citric acid, succinic acid, malic acid and maleic acid, 1-30 wt.% of a surfactant and at least one pharmaceutically acceptable excipient such as a diluent, a lubricant, a perfume, and a sweetener.


The hydrogen emission of zirconium hydride at high temperature is a challenging issue for many researchers. The hydrogen emission content of zirconium hydride pins should be evaluated to confirm the application feasibility. The comparison of theory analysis and experiment data indicated that Richardson's law could offer a conservative result for calculating the hydrogen emission content of zirconium hydride pins at high temperature. Furthermore, the methods of preventing hydrogen loss should be developed for the purpose of extending the work temperature or time. The results showed that a ZrO2 layer prepared for zirconium hydride could not prevent hydrogen loss after exposure at 650 °C in an inert environment and ZrO2 transformed into Zr3O gradually due to the opposite movement of hydrogen and oxygen. Finally, a further improvement to prevent hydrogen loss was developed. The zirconium hydride with a ZrO2 layer in the cladding of He+CO2 exhibited no significant reduction of hydrogen content. It is helpful to prevent the hydrogen loss by increasing the oxygen potential on the outside of ZrO2 layer.


This article reports the derivation of a physically based geometric description of the mean diameter of orthogonal shapes and provides an efficient formalism to relate these to reciprocal lattices and corresponding apparent crystallite sizes. The following descriptions provide a reasonable approximation for the simulation and refinement of anisotropic domain morphology in powder diffraction techniques.


Pregnancy is the period of gestation from the fertilization of the egg, through the development of the foetus and ending in birth. In 70 – 80% of pregnant women, the common disorder is Nausea and vomiting. Unfortunately, early in pregnancy, some women feel nausea and vomiting and some never experience it. Although NVP has a tendency to be dealt with as an ordinary part of pregnancy, it can decrease the quality of life of pregnant women. In contrary to the hardship that NVP for pregnant women, maximum research determined that NVP is related to unfavourable effects for the foetus along with low birth weight and small for gestational age. NVP considerably lessen the quality of life of pregnant women and has big economic effects on patients, caregivers, and society, but this disease could be very frequently and underrated the severity of symptoms for NVP range from mild to moderate nausea and vomiting to pathologic cases of women with a severe form of NVP called hyperemesis gravidarum. Many researchers and articles have been proven out how the quality of life is being negatively affected in pregnancy because of nausea and vomiting This article discusses the importance of measuring the quality of life through questionnaires and on varied diet counselling for nausea and vomiting.


In this work, we present an analysis of the Optical Passive Fiber Network by measurement of optical power and Optical Reflectometry in the time domine on a network installed in Medellin city. We made the analysis between one network´s user and Central Office at 1,2 km of distance and -18,8 dBm of optical power was measured. This value is adequate for user service demanded. For new technology migration in Passive Optical Network the analysis of spectral attenuation over installed fiber, the change in splitter ratio and adjust of optical power are recommended. This analysis will allow the gradual expansion for news installation of users from the Central Office. This analysis is a proposal for topology implementation caused by the growth and new technology adoption such as passive wavelength multiplexing.optical network.


Traffic congestion has increased significantly in urban areas over the past several decades and is associated with significant environmental and health impacts. This research characterizes air pollutant emissions, exposures and health risks due to traffic, particularly when congestion is present. It examines key factors affected by congestion, including time allocation patterns, vehicle emissions, and near-road exposures. Congestion alters time allocation patterns of commuters since more time is spent in traffic, and thus less time must be spent elsewhere. Time allocation shifts between time spent in a vehicle and other microenvironments were derived using the National Human Activity Pattern Survey and robust regression techniques. Congestion primarily reduced the time spent at home, especially for children and retirees. Vehicle emissions occurring during traffic congestion, especially in work zones, have received little attention. A field study was conducted to collect data on speedacceleration profiles in work zone, rush hour and free-flow conditions, and a power demand-based emission model was used to simulate emissions. Acceleration and deceleration significantly increased emission rates. Emission rates differed from those based on average speed, and depended on vehicle type and congestion condition.


Despite attempts to secure harmonisation of accounting practice, significant variations in accounting rules and practice continue to arise in European countries, variations which give rise to compliance costs for multinational companies. Firstly, this paper considers the relevance of international accounting harmonisation for European business. It then proceeds to examine accounting regulation in three countries: Spain, Sweden and Austria, highlighting the key regulatory issues of the 'true and fair' view requirement and the link between taxation and accounting. The three countries are selected because of the interesting contrasts which they provide; these contrasts are examined in detail in the paper. The work is based upon a series of interviews carried out with leading accounting practitioners in the three countries during 1996-97. The paper concludes that there are significant obstacles to accounting harmonisation in Europe and that there is potential for continuing diversity of national accounting practice.


Labor Laws and Innovation We show that dismissal laws—unlike other types of labor laws—spur firm-level innovation. Dismissal laws prevent employers from arbitrarily discharging employees and thereby limit employers' ability to hold up innovating employees after an innovation is successful. By reducing the possibility of hold-up, these laws enhance employees' innovative efforts and encourage firms to invest in risky, but potentially mould-breaking, projects. We find support for these predictions in empirical tests which exploit country-level changes in dismissal laws in the United States, United Kingdom, France, and Germany: more stringent dismissal laws foster innovation, particularly in innovation-intensive industries. JEL: F30, G31, J5, J8, K31.


Insect wing morphology has been used in many studies in clarifying the relationship between the closely related taxa or populations, but less focused on the discrimination of the male and female within species. This study is conducted to determine differences in the hind wing morphology between sexes of three cantharid species, including Lycocerus orientalis (Gorham, 1889), Prothemus purpuripennis (Gorham, 1889) and Themus impressipennis (Fairmaire, 1886), using the method of geometric morphometrics. The results show that shape variations of the hind wings between male and female are different in one species from anther as shown in the principal component analysis. Discriminant function analysis shows that there are significant differences in the hind wing shape variations between sexes for each species, which demonstrates the presence of sexual dimorphism within the species of cantharid beetles.


M OST readers nowadays regard Ulrich B. Phillips as the epitome of Old South Bourbonism. Phillips, they say, was a fine historical craftsman who mastered his manuscript sources thoroughly, but whose manifest racism and overwhelming bias toward the planter class irretrievably marred his conclusions. The attack began in 1943 with Richard Hofstadter. "While Phillips certainly did not originate the plantation legend of the Old South," Hofstadter charged, "he did his best to continue it." A "reverence for the values and standards of the old planter class" pervaded Phillips' life and work, agreed Stanley Elkins. Even Wendell Holmes Stephenson, a writer on southern historiography highly sympathetic to Phillips, described him as one who "surveyed the southern scene from the hospitable atmosphere of the 'big house'; a patrician who saw only fringes of friction on a tranquil tradition.''1 There is much truth to this view. Phillips' insistence on dedicating his second book "TO THE DOMINANT CLASS OF THE SOUTH," despite the strong objections of his publisher, gives ample evidence of his affections. Yet a close study of Phillips suggests that his critics have overlooked the most persistent theme of his work-his desire to place the South in the vanguard of progress. Most of all, they have failed to interpret Phillips within the context of his times. When Phillips is seen in historical perspective, as Eugene D. Genovese has pointed out, his social viewpoint is "neither nostalgic, nor reactionary, nor unreconstructed, but . . . cautiously forward-looking, humanely conservative, and deeply committed to social and racial justice." With his progressive outlook, Phillips


Objective To evaluate the clinical effect of TCM rehabilitation for treating cervical spondylosis of nerve root type.Methods 128 cases of nerve root type cervical spondylosis patients were selected in our hospital in September 2012~August 2014,randomly divided into traditional Chinese medicine group and control group,64 cases in each group,patients in control group were treated with western medicine treatment,TCM group in the control group based on combined application of TCM rehabilitation treatment method,were compared between the two groups clinical effect and before and after the treatment,the clinical symptoms improvement.Results The effective rate of TCM group was 95.31%,which was significantly higher than that in the control group was 81.25%,the difference was statistically significant(P0.05),after treatment with Chinese medicine group vertigo,neck discomfort,visual disturbance and upper limb pain,numbness and other clinical symptoms was significantly better than the control group,the difference is statistically significant(P0.05).Conclusion TCM rehabilitation treatment of cervical spondylosis of nerve root type of cervical spondylosis can significantly improve the clinical symptoms,achieved remarkable clinical results.


The invention relates to a speaker vibration emitter comprising: a housing (10); a vibrating plate (20) for generating sounds, whose outer edge is fixed to the upper portion of said housing (10); a voice coil (30) with cylindrical winding of which the top is fixed to said vibration plate (20); a vibrating member (40) comprising a magnet (41) and a yoke (42, 42a, 42b) and mounted below the moving coil (30), wherein the N and S poles of said magnet (41) are rotated upwards and downwards respectively, and said yoke is attached to said magnet (41) to complete a magnetic circuit; an elastic member (50) which elastically supports said vibrating body on said housing (10) in such a manner that said vibrating member (40) is movable vertically; and a single-phase coil (60) for generating vibrations which is attached to the inner surface of said housing (10) and faces the lower portion of said vibrating member so that said coil can vertically moving said vibrating member by interacting with it. geometry variants achieve the same goal.


Breast milk is a diet that satisfies all of a baby's physical, psychological, social and spiritual needs because it contains nutrients, hormones, immunological components and growth factors. Unfortunately, many working mothers choose to stop breastfeeding due to various factors. The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of working mothers in exclusive breastfeeding. This study used a qualitative research design with a phenomenological descriptive approach. Data were collected using in-depth interviews and then analyzed using the Colaizzi method. The study results show that children who receive exclusive breastfeeding are healthier and have adequate nutrition. However, working mothers have difficulty in breastfeeding. So, support from partners, family members, supervisors and colleagues influences a mother's decision to breastfeed. In addition, leave regulations and child care facilities at work affect breastfeeding ability of working mothers. This study provides information about breastfeeding challenges and the support needed by breastfeeding mothers working to formulate better policies that support breastfeeding. Policies covering employee rights and privileges, such as extended maternity leave, support facilities and child care services, are critical to the success of exclusive breastfeeding by working mothers.


One aspect of short message service (SMS) communication through a cell phone is use of politeness strategies. As it is extensively argued that females are more polite language users, the present study sought to describe the strategies used by these two groups and to find out whether there is any significant difference between male and female English as a foreign language (EFL) learners in the use of positive and negative politeness strategies in sending SMS to their professors, considering that there is an asymmetric power relation and social distance between them. To this end, a corpus of 300 L1 (Persian) and L2 (English) request messages was compiled. Results of qualitative and quantitative data analysis showed no significant difference between the two groups. Results of the study have implication in politeness research.


In this paper, we consider the design of linear precoding in Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) Power Line Communication (PLC) systems with finite-alphabet input. First, we derive mutual information of MIMO-PLC systems with impulsive noise. Considering the non-concavity of the objective function and the low-cost requirement of PLC systems, we choose the lower bound of the mutual information as the objective function. Subsequently, we propose a novel approach to design the precoding scheme to reduce computational complexity. Specifically, our work primarily includes the following two contributions: (1) We design the right unitary matrix that is a product of two fixed unitary matrices, which only depends on the modulation mode. Hence, the results can be saved and require less computations. (2) For the power allocation matrix, we first reduce the space of power allocation using constraints of the optimal power allocation policy. Consequently, we propose a non-linear search method to obtain the optimal power allocation in small space. In regards to the computational complexity of the analysis, we conclude that the proposed precoding matrix design scheme has low complexity and is easy to implement. Moreover, the numerical results are proven to demonstrate the performance of the proposed precoding design scheme.


Sir, We must thank Tom Fahey for outlining the problems and barriers to applying evidence obtained from clinical trials into our everyday practice (April Journal).1 Clearly, when dealing with questions such as the treatment of hyperlipaemia, which have significant social implications, rigorous analysis of costs and effectiveness are of utmost importance. But it was his brilliant parody of the evidence-based approach to the problem of a patient presenting with acute sinusitis that provided real benefit to the debate. By reducing the presentation to a simple question — 'whether the benefit of an antibiotic exceeded their side effects' — Fahey was able to demonstrate, with a plethora of ARIs, F values, S ratios, and PEERs, how the external evidence could be made explicit and be revealed to the patient. It was indeed a master stroke to demonstrate the impracticality of reviewing the evidence and integrating it into an clear system of decision analysis in the time it takes to complete a consultation. More mundane commentators would have described the real question: 'I think this patient has acute sinusitis. Based on my knowledge that antibiotics are not always effective, my experience of treating this presentation over the past 15 years, the expectation and natural history of this illness in this patient in previous presentations, the fact that my surgery is running 20 minutes late, I have to do a visit after work before picking up my son from hockey practice, I am then due back at the practice for a meeting this evening, I have a slight headache myself, and I mustn't forget to pick up a tin of dog meat, should I prescribe an antibiotic?' Balancing the demands of the validity of the evidence for the unique needs of the patient, ensuring that resources are equitably distributed between the conflicting demands of patient and society, modulating the often opposing constructs of empowerment and equity is not an easy task. We are indebted to Fahey for demonstrating so well that we may have to live with uncertainty and accept a pragmatic system of health delivery; for elucidating so clearly why, while despite all efforts to the contrary, GPs still do not follow guidelines.


Abstract. The mayfly fauna (Insecta: Ephemeroptera) in Iraq is very poorly known, with only four taxonomic studies from northern Iraq, two of them conducted more than 30 years ago. There are no published keys or guides for larval identification for that fauna. We conducted the fifth study in the Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq and created the first hierarchical checklist and larval key to the families, subfamilies, genera, and subgenera. The checklist and key were produced after reviewing the diagnostic morphological features for each of these taxonomic levels using references from Europe, West Asia, North Africa, the Caucasus, the Trans-Caucasus, and the Middle East. Finally, an illustrated identification key for nine families, nine subfamilies, 19 genera, and 13 subgenera is provided with illustrations prepared from specimens collected during this study. Based on the findings of this research, at least 24 species of mayflies inhabit the region.


in London, and took his M.B. degree in 1844, distinguishing himself at the University College, London, by taking the gold medal in four subjects. In 1850 he obtained the London M.D., and in 1879 became a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons. By virtue of his successes the University College admitted him as a life governor. For nearly sixty years he was connected with King Edward VII.'s Hospital, Cardiff, ultimately holding in turn the positions of consulting surgeon and consulting physician, and, in addition, contributing generously to its funds. He accomplished much work for the Univer-


Abstract : The object of our experiments is to develop photothermal deflection spectroscopy (PTDS) into a technique capable of measuring minority species concentration, temperature, and flow velocity, simultaneously in a flame. We have demonstrated the simultaneous measurement of relative OH concentration, temperature, and flow velocity in an H2/O2 flame using saturated PTDS. By working in the saturation regime, relatively large signal-to-noise ratio is obtained, and effect of pulse-to-pulse energy fluctuation is minimized. In the next period we will try to obtain absolute concentration measurements, along with the temperature and the flow velocity.


Vascular transplantation is the main method for treating cardiovascular diseases. Autologous or xenogenous blood vessels exist in limited source, immunological rejection and no growth ability. Artificial blood vessel construction based on three-dimensional printing and tissue engineering technology provides new ideas for solving the above problems. To reconstruct the three-dimensional model of CT data of vascular tissue with MC algorithm as the core, and to analyze the reconstruction model with finite element method. Firstly, the medical image of human vascular tissue was extracted effectively by Mimics software, and the three-dimensional reconstruction and optimization of vascular tissue were completed. Four kinds of artificial vascular tissue models with different wall thickness and external diameter were designed. Then the stress of four groups of vascular tissue was analyzed by finite element software, and the suitable artificial vascular model for implantation was obtained.


ABSTRACT In this study, a molecularly imprinted polymer that could selectively recognize trichlorfon was synthesized. Using the imprinted polymer as biomimetic antibody, a novel biomimetic immunoassay-capillary electrophoresis method with improved sensitivity was developed for the detection of trichlorfon. This method was based on the competitive reaction between quantum dot-labeled trichlorfon and free trichlorfon with the biomimetic antibody. Under optimal conditions, the limit of detection (IC15) and the sensitivity (IC50) of the method was 0.35 ± 0.021 μg/L and 0.81 ± 0.025 mg/L, respectively. To evaluate the accuracy of the method, trichlorfon spiked in the carrot and zucchini samples was determined, and the recovery was in the range of 80.1–95.3%. This method was also applied to the quantitative detection of trichlorfon residues in the edible rape and leek samples, and the results had a good correlation with those obtained using a gas chromatography method.


Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) has been extensively used in centrifugal compressor design. CFD provides further optimisation opportunities for the compressor design rather than designing the centrifugal compressor. The experience-based design process still plays an important role for new compressor developments. The wide variety of design subjects represents a very complex design world for centrifugal compressor designers. Therefore, some basic information for centrifugal design is still very important. The impeller is the key part of the centrifugal stage. Designing a highly efficiency impeller with a wide operation range can ensure overall stage design success. This paper provides some empirical information for designing industrial centrifugal compressors with a focus on the impeller. A ported shroud compressor basic design guideline is also discussed for improving the compressor range.


Construction worker absenteeism was studied on several construction projects. The results of one of these representative studies are presented. Results show that absenteeism is noticeably lower in work units that have a strong team spirit or when the group is cohesive. Absenteeism is also lower when management stresses its displeasure of worker absenteeism. Workers who regard their work as being intellectually stimulating and challenging have fewer absences. Absenteeism is adversely affected by an increase in the distance that the workers must travel to get to the workplace. From the findings it is suggested that management can play a vital role in reducing the level of absenteeism experienced in the workplace. It is also imperative that management should carefully monitor the workforce through such measures as turnover and absenteeism rates, which can indicate when conditions in the work environment need further attention.


The origin of this article is a survey in the metropolitan area of Granada on housing and urban lifestyles. It shows some indications of social inequality not only immaterial housing conditions or everyday mobility behavior, but especially in the way people lives space depending on their socioeconomic status. Middle classes have a high functional perspective of the city and their surrounding space; on the other hand, working classes give space and the social relations that support an expressive and related with sociability value, in a great contrast to the former. We also make a methodological proposal, putting together socioeconomic condition and urban space in only one variable.


The thermodynamic treatment of the interfacial region corresponding to two fluid phases in contact is discussed. The features of this analysis which are reviewed include the classical treatment of Gibbs and the extensions to this treatment which are due to Buff. It is shown that these extensions are essential if the logical structure of the analysis is to be regarded as complete.


The present invention, the steps of: (i) one or more of an aqueous solution containing an alkali metal hydroxide (A), the 2-ethyl hexanal and 3-heptyl formate A mixture containing at least (B) a step of adding, characterized in that the one or concentration of a plurality of types of alkali metal hydroxide in the aqueous solution (a) is at least 40 wt%, comprising the step, 3-heptanol or 3 the method for producing a mixture containing heptanol. .BACKGROUND


Abstract. The article begins by registering the fact that meditation is extremely popular nowadays and surveying the current state of meditation research. The radical differences between normal and meditative consciousness call forth the question as to whether modern science and meditative practice must – in terms of their basic assumptions and empirical justification - be viewed as ultimately incompatible, or whether there is some theoretical framework in which they can be seen as structurally related. By way of an initial approach to this question, the extent to which the experience of meditation can be systematically described from a qualitative, cross-disciplinary perspective is explored. Whereas it is perfectly possible – within the span of the dynamic between the "profound meditation state" and the consciously employed "mental technique" - to give detailed descriptions of meditation processes in their own terms, there are still basic methodological refinements to be made in relation to the question posed above. Conceptual considerations on the communicability and structure of meditative experience open up wider possibilities for investigating it from a more intrinsic perspective. Here this is attempted on the basis of the structural phenomenology of cognition. The conceptual integration of two typical mental techniques (focused attention and open monitoring) brings into play a third descriptive dimension: that of the semantics of meditative experience in relation to the established framework within which the functioning of the human organism is currently understood. On this basis it becomes possible to derive meditative from normal consciousness. In conclusion, some light is thrown upon the role of meditation in professional skills development, using the teacher in the classroom situation as an example. Keywords: rational/trans-rational approaches to validation, dimensions of meditative experience, deictic communication, pragmatism/semantics, fundamental structure of meditative experience, "anthropological" interpretation, fine-structure of teaching processes


We devised a method that combines the differential geometrical technique and overset grid formation to construct an aortic arch model for computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. The simulations incorporate both non-planarity and the major branches at the top of the arch, using a set of magnetic resonance (MR) images, and we discuss their combined effects on blood flow. The results show that flow along the arch consists of a large right-handed rotational flow in the descending part of the arch, and a large left-handed rotational flow at the end of the arch. Although these characteristics of the global flow were similar to the results obtained using our previous arch model without branches, backward flow was found near the inner wall at the top of the arch due to the flow into the branches.


Intestinal and colon evacuatory function was studied in 10 patients without pathology of the digestive organs and in 66 patients with chronic colitis. This method allows adequate assessment of the state of the hepatobiliary system, intestinal and colon evacuatory function without additional radiation exposure of the examinees and personnel.


A method for the production of the α-chain of hepatocyte growth factor or an N-terminal fragment thereof (NK polypeptide) by expression of a nucleic acid encoding said NK polypeptide in a microbial host cell, isolating inclusion bodies containing said NK polypeptide in denatured form, solubilization of the inclusion bodies and naturation of the denatured NK polypeptide, which is characterized in that in said nucleic acid at least one of the codons of amino acids selected from the group consisting of codons at positions 33, 35 and 36 is CGT, results in an improved expression yield.


Arching effect in geomaterial refers to the stress redistribution as a result of induced displacements. It is most likely to occur in different situations such as retaining walls, piled foundations...


Parent training and contingency contracting were experimentally applied as methods of intervention with three abusive mothers and their families. High-risk parent/child interactions and problem situations were assessed by means of a family interaction coding system in the home and served as the focus of intervention over ten sessions. A two-variable withdrawal design demonstrated that both treatment modes produced a stable reduction in high-risk interaction patterns over duration of the intervention period, which was maintained at three, eight, and twelve-month follow-ups for the separate families, although the relative contribution of each variable was not functionally demonstrated. The results of this study suggest that behavioral training methods with child abusers can substantially reduce the risk of recurring abuse by providing these parents with effective child management techniques. Furthermore, assessment of family interactions in abusive homes distinguished between an "abusive parent," an `abusive child," and an "abusive partnership." These three distinct patterns may have important theoretical and practical implications.


With the rise of renewable energy and the development of power electronics, the DC distribution network will play an increasingly important role. Firstly, this paper described the typical topology and operation mode of multi- terminal flexible DC distribution network. Secondly, in order to solve the problems of voltage control deviation and strong communication dependence in the traditional control strategy of multi-terminal flexible DC distribution network, an adaptive voltage differential control (AVDC) was proposed, which enabled the converter stations to adjust voltage and maintain power balance instead of the master station. By detecting the bus voltage signal, the converter station can switch mode independent of the communication system. Finally, a simulation model was built based on PSCAD / EMTDC platform, and the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed control strategy were verified by simulating the master station exit and load removal conditions.


This paper provides insight into writing scholarly research articles by working collaboratively in teams. Collaborative writing is an increasingly common practice within organisational and university contexts. While there is a growing volume of literature that examines various aspects of collaborative writing from challenges to politics, less attention is paid to practical aspects of how to write in teams, particularly within the context of research training. The paper examines practical approaches to collaborative writing, and delineates primary continuities and disjunctions between 'traditional collaboration' relying largely upon physical face-to-face meetings, and 'virtual teams' which are geographically or organisationally dispersed and communicate via virtual, mobile, online, or telephony enabled communication.


The invention relates to the use fo polythiophenes which are built up from structural units of the formula (I) in which R1 and R2, independently of one another, stand for hydrogen or a C1-C4-alkyl group, or, together, form an optionally substituted C1-C4-alkylene radical or a 1,2-cyclohexylene radical, solid electrolytes in electrolyte capacitors, and to the electrolyte capacitors containing these solid electrolytes.


-Accidents caused by aero pilot concentration deviations have a high fatality rate due to the decline of pilot abilities in perception, recognition, and vehicle control abilities while deviation. Preventing such an accident requires a technique for detecting, estimating, and predicting the level of alertness of a pilot and a mechanism to maintain the pilots's maximum performance of riding. Preventing deviation during driving requires a method for accurately detecting a decline in pilot alertness and a method for alerting and refreshing the driver. This paper suggests a new way to alert the aero pilot with the real time monitoring of bio brain waves. Yet by processing of instant bio signals with a mathematical tool correlation and by communicating with ZigBee the pilots and can be alerted during decline of driving concentration. Here the wireless zigBee play a vital role in the design of monitoring and alerting structure.


An optimum load assignment strategy was designed to improve teamwork efficiency using the method of Lagrangian multipliers for any operating mode of the three natural gas-fired boilers in Tsinghua University which share the same inlet and outlet headers. Operational data was used to develop the load-fuel characteristic equations for each of the three boilers using the least squares method and the Householder transform. With the optimum strategy, the fuel consumption can be reduced by 3% at maximum load compared with an average load assignment strategy. The analysis also shows that optimal load assignment will provide even better efficiencies when the least number of boilers are put into operation for any given load.


In this letter, we propose a map-less visual navigation system for biped humanoid robots, which extracts information from color images to derive motion commands using deep reinforcement learning (DRL). The map-less visual navigation policy is trained using the Deep Deterministic Policy Gradients (DDPG) algorithm, which corresponds to an actor-critic DRL algorithm. The algorithm is implemented using two separate networks, one for the actor and one for the critic, but with similar structures. In addition to convolutional and fully connected layers, Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) layers are included to address the limited observability present in the problem. As a proof of concept, we consider the case of robotic soccer using humanoid NAO V5 robots, which have reduced computational capabilities, and low-cost Red - Green - Blue (RGB) cameras as main sensors. The use of DRL allowed to obtain a complex and high performant policy from scratch, without any prior knowledge of the domain, or the dynamics involved. The visual navigation policy is trained in a robotic simulator and then successfully transferred to a physical robot, where it is able to run in 20 ms, allowing its use in real-time applications.


Accurate timing synchronization of symbol is important for MIMO-OFDM system,which can eliminate the integral frequency shift of carrier and intersymbol interference.But it is difficult to obtain the accurate timing because of complexity of MIMO wireless channel.To reduce the peak value of signals when error of timing exists,interleaved cyclic prefix and maximum likelihood estimation method are proposed,by which the correlational characteristic of that window is improved and the peak value is obtained only when the accurate timing presents for main path and multiple paths.In contrast with the traditional cyclic prefix,it is easier to obtain the accurate timing synchronization of symbol.


Context. The group of λ Boo stars is known for years, however the origin of its chemical peculiarity is still strongly debated. Aims. Our aim is to test the accretion scenario of λ Boo stars. This model predicts that a binary system with two early-type stars passing through a diffuse cloud should both display the same superficial peculiarity. Methods. Via spectral synthesis, we carried out a detailed abundance determination of three multiple systems hosting a candidate λ Boo star: the remarkable triple system HD 15164/65/65C and the two binary systems HD 193256/281 and HD 198160/161. Stellar parameters were initially estimated using Strömgren photometry or literature values and then refined by requiring excitation and ionization balances of Fe lines. The abundances were determined iteratively for 24 different species by fitting synthetic spectra using the SYNTHE program together with local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) ATLAS12 model atmospheres. Specific opacities were calculated for each star, depending on its arbitrary composition and microturbulence velocity vmicro through the opacity sampling (OS) method. The abundances of the light elements C and O were corrected by Non-LTE effects. The complete chemical pattern of the stars were then compared to those of λ Boo stars. Results. The abundance analysis of the triple system HD 15164/65/65C shows a clear λ Boo object (HD 15165) and two objects with near solar composition (HD 15164 and 15165C). Notably, the presence of a λ Boo star (HD 15165) together with a near solar early-type object (HD 15164) is difficult to explain under the accretion scenario. Also, the solar-like composition derived for the late-type star of the system (HD 15165C) could be used, for the first time, as a proxy for the initial composition of the λ Boo stars. This could help to constrain any model of λ Boo stars formation and not only the accretion scenario. The abundance analysis of the binary system HD 193256/281 shows no clear λ Boo components, while the analysis of HD 198160/161 shows two mild-λ Boo stars. Then, by carefully reviewing abundance analysis of all known binary systems with candidate λ Boo stars from literature and including the systems analyzed here, we find no binary/multiple system having two clear "bonafide" λ Boo stars, as expected from the accretion scenario. The closer candidates to show two λ Boo-like stars are the binary systems HD 84948, HD 171948 and HD 198160; however, in our opinion they show mild rather than clear λ Boo patterns. Conclusions. We performed for the first time a complete analysis of a triple system which includes a λ Boo candidate. Our results brings little support to the accretion scenario of λ Boo stars. Then, there is an urgent need of additional binary and multiple systems to be analyzed through a detailed abundance analysis, in order to test the accretion model of λ Boo stars.


Functional assessments examine human capabilities and potentials and provide a basis for the individual to realize change, improvement, adaptation or efficiency. These assessments are used as a guide for measuring effectiveness ofvarious interventions Was the intervention a success or not? Today people often refer to these assessments as outcome meastuements. These measurements are becoming inaeasingly important in justifying the treatment and interventions of fitting prostheses With rising costs and cuts in health care prosthetics teams need to develop and use outcome meas-


The paper introduces the automatic control for production on fully mechanized coal face by neural network technology. It uses the multi-layer feedforward neural network and the neural network with feedback to control the production speed of coal face.


Fracture toughness of Sm123 bulk superconductors with 16.7 and 28.6 mol% of Sm211 particles have been investigated by Vickers hardness test at cryogenic temperatures. The hardness test was carried out on [001] plane for two types of SmBCO bulk materials during 40-293 K. However, the hardness of Sm29 increased to 7,380 MPa with decreasing temperatures. In addition, fracture toughness of Sm17 and Sm29 are discussed calculating from Vickers hardness, median cracks length, Young's modulus and applied load. The fracture toughness of Sm17 became constant to 0.8 MPa/spl radic/m following the hardness property. The fracture toughness of Sm29 decreased from 0.73 Mpa/spl radic/m at 293 K to 0.67 Mpa/spl radic/m at 40 K.


Abstract : It is conceivable that alteration of platelet control mechanisms for regulating Ca flux may be important to the maintainance of homeostasis, the promotion of hemostasis and the induction of thrombosis. Many investigators have reported on the similarity of the platelet release reaction to secretory processes and the requirement for Ca is needed in both activities. It is reasonable to postulate that some mechanism is required to maintain a low level of intra-cellular calcium until the stimulus for release occurs. The calcium uptake activity of platelet membrane fractions may be an in vitro expression of a calcium pump in the intact cell. (Author)


In Poland, morbidity and mortality rates for melanoma are constantly increasing. In the case of inoperable disease or distant metastases, prognosis remains poor. For many years, dacarbazine has been the gold standard in systemic treatment. Recently, a significant progress in melanoma therapy has been observed. Introducing targeted therapy or immunotherapy significantly improved treatment outcomes. This review paper presents current knowledge on systemic treatment of advanced melanoma, including treatment availability in Poland.


Background: Neutropenia can increase morbidity in cancer patients because it can cause an increased risk of infection, delay or discontinue chemotherapy, and decrease the dose of cytotoxic agents which affect the patient's response and clinical outcome. The administration of G-CSF can increase ANC levels in neutropenic patients. The effectiveness of G-CSF was assessed by increasing ANC levels compared to before the administration of G-CSF.Objective: This study aims to determine the effect of G-CSF administration on ANC levels in cancer patients with neutropeniaMethods: This research was conducted at Dr. Kariadi General Hospital Semarang in October-December 2022 period with retrospective cohort method. The sample was cancer patients who experienced neutropenia and were given G-CSF.Results: Administration of G-CSF significantly increased ANC values (p-value 0.00 <0.05), increased by 921.07 ± 647.20 in the administration of filgrastim and 933.13 ± 558.89 in the administration of lenograstim and shortened the duration of ANC recovery (p-value 0.00 <0.05), recovery was 1.5 days shorter with filgrastim and 1.9 days with lenograstim.Conclusion: G-CSF Filgrastim and Lenograstim administration can increase ANC levels and shorten the duration of neutropenia treatment


Nursing periodicals clubs provide nurses with a platform for continuous exchange,learning,and nursing studies,as well as application of research outcomes.This platform explores new management models for nursing research teams in line with international experiences.Such a club may develop the critical thinking of nurses,improve nursing staff in their capabilities to identify,analyze,use and develop research materials,enabling them to become researchers of nursing problems and implementers of research outcomes as well.

Key words:
Nursing; Periodicals club; Research; Evidence-based


Both China and India have made remarkable economic progress in the last quarter century—China more than India—but both have severe structural and institutional problems that will hobble them for many years to come. In this article, after a comparative study of the two economies in terms of broad development indicators, we explore some deeper social and historical issues that underlie their differential ability to resolve collective action problems in long-term investment and to manage political conflicts, which go beyond the usual simple aggregative comparisons of an authoritarian and a democratic political regime.


Low energy consumption buildings have great significance in reducing building energy in our country. Practical analysis method of climate can provide architects with passive building design methods and direction for local buildings. The paper compared different climatic analysis methods and set bioclimatic chart as an example to explore. The current methods were all raised by foreign scholars,which lead to the applicability in different climate data and different characteristics of people. The paper proposed the improved method through analysis of problems in the boundaries in thermal comfort,passive design and typical meteorological data.


ABSTRACT Chinese debt issue has been a major concern for investors. This study examines the intrafinancial system debt issue within Chinese banking sector. Based on quarterly data during Q1, 2008 to Q3, 2017, this study finds that the declining return from the real economy is the dominant factor that contributes to the growth of intrafinancial system debts, and the quantity indicator of expansionary monetary policy also plays a positive role. These findings are the first of its kind in the academic literature. Also, this study reviews the recent policy responses from Chinese regulatory authorities and concludes that more need to be done.


This paper proposes a novel algorithm MFSPAN(maximal frequent sequential pattern mining(algorithm)).MFSPAN is used to mine the complete set of maximal frequent sequential patterns in sequence(databases).It solves the problem that the number of frequent subsequences will increase explosively as frequent(patterns) become longer: because MFSPAN takes full advantage of the property that different sequences may share a common prefix to reduce itemset comparing times.Experiments on standard test data show that(MFSPAN) is very effective.


Preferred Mental Models in Spatial Reasoning Georg Jahn (firstname.lastname@example.com) Center for Cognitive Science, Friedrichstrasse 50 D-79098 Freiburg, Germany Markus Knauff (firstname.lastname@example.com) Center for Cognitive Science, Friedrichstrasse 50 D-79098 Freiburg, Germany P. N. Johnson-Laird (email@example.com) Department of Psychology, Green Hall Princeton, NJ 08544 USA Abstract The assessment of whether a statement is consistent with what has gone before is ubiquitous in discourse comprehension. One theory of the process is that individuals search for a mental model of a situation in which all the statements in the discourse are true. In the case of spatial descriptions, individuals should prefer to construct models that retain the information in the description. Hence, they should use strategies that retain information in an efficient way. If the descriptions are consistent with multiple models then they are likely to run into difficulties. We report two experiments in which the participants judged the consistency of spatial descriptions. The participants made more errors when later assertions in the description conflicted with the preferred models of earlier assertions. The results shed light on the sequential integration of relational assertions, and they show that participants exploit implicit constraints for strategical chunking. Reasoning with Relations When we think about which alternative to choose, we often integrate relational information. For example, before buying a camera you might read several published tests that each ranks cameras. One test might tell you that camera A is better than camera B, another that camera B is better than camera C. You can easily infer that camera A is also better than camera C. The predominant strategy to draw such transitive inferences is to integrate relations in a mental representation – an idea that goes back to William James and was revived by De Soto, London, and Handel (1965) and Huttenlocher (1968). Relational assertions are interpreted by constructing a spatial representation (a mental model) that serves as a structural analog of the situation under description and that supports inferences (Johnson- Laird, 1983). Neuroimaging studies (e.g., Knauff, Fangmeier, Ruff, & Johnson-Laird, 2003) have confirmed the involvement of spatial representations in relational reasoning. Verbal processes in reasoning with relational assertions (cf. Clark, 1969) may be a precursor to the construction of models. But, the use of mental logic (Rips, 1994) has received less empirical support. The difficulty of relational reasoning problems varies with the number of possible interpretations. The camera tests in the example yield a determinate ordering of the cameras: A B C. However, a third test might tell you that camera D is better than camera B and consequently, camera A or camera D might be the best. There are two possible rank orders, ADBC and DABC, but the tests are not inconsistent. Hence, the information is indeterminate. With an indeterminate set of assertions, multiple possibilities have to be considered to validate a general conclusion. Multiple model problems are reliably harder than single model problems in relational reasoning. The general fact that individuals have difficulty in keeping track of multiple possibilities holds across a range of deductive reasoning tasks (Goodwin & Johnson-Laird, 2005). The multiple models of an indeterminate set of assertions might be narrowed down by further information. Imagine that in order to arrive at a decision between camera A and camera D, you head for a shop. You ask a sales assistant and learn that they do not sell camera A, but that camera C is better than camera D in any case. This is interesting, because this assertion is inconsistent with what you have read about the tests. According to the model theory, individuals notice such inconsistencies because they sequentially integrate assertions in a mental model, searching for a possibility in which all the asserted relations are true (Johnson-Laird, Legrenzi, Girotto, & Legrenzi, Multiple possibilities are on the same footing logically, but they might not be equally obvious. In the introductory example, the information in the first two tests that yielded the ordering: A B C, can be summarized as "Camera B is between camera A and camera C," where it is clear from the context that camera A is the best. However, in isolation such an assertion is indeterminate. For example, if a grocer gives his apprentice three crates and tells him to put the apples between the oranges and the grapes, he probably does not care whether the oranges end up to the left or to the right of the apples. If it matters, then a further assertion or the context itself may eliminate one possibility. Otherwise,


Low-field NMR generally refers to a magnetic resonance phenomenon in which the constant magnetic fi eld strength is less than 0.5 T. It has been applied widely in edible oil research since it is simple, fast operation, accurate measurement, and non-destructive to the sample. The study describes the rationale of low-field NMR, instrument parameters and its application in the quality evaluation of edible oil.


This catalog lists the books, pamphlets, and other documents published by the U. S. government between September 1774 and March 1881. The list is organized by date of publication and includes the title, date, short description, page counts, and relevant Congress sessions and persons related to each document.


The menopause women have the low level of estrogen in the body. The lack of estrogen changes physiological function in women's body that affects in health condition. Carica papaya L. leaf contains flavonoid quercetin which exhibits estrogenic effect. The aim of this study is to determine the estrogenic effect of papaya leaves extract (PLE) in vivo, and in silico . Papaya leaves were extracted by ethanol 70% maceration. The in silico study were done by molecular docking between quersetin and Estrogen Receptor (ERα and ERβ) to obtain the docking score. Based on this study, docking score of quercetin was almost similar to the native ligand of ER. The in vivo study was done as follow: 36 female rats Sprague Dawley divided into six groups.  The groups are shame-ovariectomized (S-OVX), control ovariectomized (OVX), CMC-Na control (OVX+CMC-Na), positive control (OVX+Estradiol), and the PLE treatment groups dose 750 mg/kgBW (OVX+750mg/kgBW) and dose 1000 mg/kgBW (OVX+1000 mg/kgBW). Administrations of PLE were done in three weeks orally, while estradiol was administrated intraperitonially. The mammae and uterine were sliced for analysis. Based on the study, the treatment of PLE increased the number of mammae lobules and uterine weight as well as estrogen does.  In summary, PLE can be developed as a source of phytoestrogens. Keywords: Carica papaya L., phytoestrogen, estrogen receptor, mammae lobule, uterine


methods quantify the surface shallow penetration two novel approaches to quantity meat color. First, a novel in-house near-infrared-based needle-probe spectrophotometer was designed to assess interior meat color changes. This ap-proach will help differentiate surface and interior meat color changes. In the second approach, electrochemical sensing will help understand the metmyoglobin redu-cing capacity of meat. These novel techniques demon-strate the potential to characterize color changes for minimizing losses due to discoloration.


Cereospora betkola the cause of leaf spot of sugar beet became a serious disease in 1981 and is endemic in several sugar beet producing areas of the US, including the Red River Valley of ND and MN. The disease reduces both yield and sucrose content of sugar beets. Control is by crop rotation, resistant varieties and timely fungicide applications. The fungicides used include triphenyl tin hydroxide (Super Tin, Agritin) , thiophanate methyl (Tops in) , tetraconazole (Eminent), pyraclostrobin (Headline), and trifloxystrobin (Gem), and are usually 2-4 applications are made the last half of season. Fungicide sensitivity of Cereospora betieola is a major concern because all fungicides used for C. betieola control have a history of resistance in sugarbeets or other crops


The term "Agriculture 4.0" emerged from the term "Industry 4.0" like amany other "4.0" terms. However, are Industry 4.0 technologies and concepts really applicable to agriculture? Are the benefits that Industry 4.0 brings to industrial use cases transferable to livestock farming? This paper tries to answer this question for the three dominant sectors of livestock farming in Central Europe and Germany: Poultry, pig fattening, and dairy farming. These sectors are analyzed along with the eight most relevant Industry 4.0 benefits. The results show that only part of the Industry 4.0 benefits are relevant for livestock farming in a similar manner as in industrial production. Due to basic differences between industrial and livestock farming use cases, some of the benefits must be adapted. The presence of individual living animals and the strong environmental impact of livestock farming affect the role of digital individualization and demand orientation. The position of livestock farming within the value chain minimizes the need for flexibilization. The introduction and adoption of Industry 4.0 concepts and technologies may contribute significantly to transforming agriculture into something that may be called Agriculture 4.0. Technologies are indispensable for this development step, but vocational education and open-mindedness of farmers towards Industry 4.0 is essential as well.


With the rapid development of science and technology, the functionalization of structural materials, and the structurization of functional materials are attracting increasing attention in the scientific and engineering fields. The development of multi-functional materials and structures (MFMS), at the micro- and nano-scale levels, has grown rapidly due to the requirement of increasing safety margins for all infrastructure, biomedical and engineering elements. Multi-functional material systems are capable of performing multiple 'primary' functions, simultaneously or sequentially in time, and are specially designed to improve system performance via a reduction in the redundancy between sub-system materials and functions. Materials having special structures can exhibit multi-functional properties. For example, shape-memory alloys can act as actuators as well as sensors, and the aim of composite materials is to exploit each aspect's advantages; plus their synergistic effect. The current collection of peer-reviewed papers focuses on multi-functional materials and structures for various engineering applications, and makes a valuable contribution to the literature on the subject.


ABSTRACT Curling stresses in rigid pavements are the result of temperature gradient through the thickness of the concrete slab. These stresses have a periodic nature, and the induced cyclic flexural curling stresses lead to the cracking of the concrete slab. In a previous research by the authors, a phase change material (PCM)-rich concrete overlay was proposed as an effective method to control this failure mechanism. A PCM-rich concrete overlay is a concrete surface layer that contains a relatively high percentage of PCM. In the previous study, a phenomenological approach was employed, and it was demonstrated that the incorporation of PCM improves the curling fatigue performance of the concrete slab. Using fracture mechanics, this paper builds upon the findings of the previous study, and it serves as a mechanistic verification of the conclusions of the previous work. A modified Paris' Law was adopted to calculate the cumulative fatigue-fracture damage of the concrete slab due to cyclic thermally-induced curling stresses. The findings of this research demonstrated that the PCM-modified concrete slab undergoes a curling-induced fracture process that is less severe than the slab without the PCM. The impact of this reduction was quantified in terms of an improved fatigue-fracture performance of the pavement.


Model Analysis of Modern Islamic Boarding Schools and Integrated Islamic Schools. Education is a very important aspect of human life, especially in passing through the phases of human life. The implementation of education in life certainly requires a long process that contains philosophical values in educational activities. Educational activities carried out can be through formal, informal or non-formal channels. Among the institutions that carry out formal education are Modern Islamic Boarding Schools and Integrated Islamic Schools. This institution functions to develop children's potentials so that they are able to achieve the expected educational goals in accordance with the Education Law concerning the National Education System


This chapter covers most means for synthesizing sounds, with an emphasis on describing the parameters available for each technique, especially as they might be useful for data sonification. The techniques are covered in progression, from the least parametric (the fewest means of modifying the resulting sound from data or controllers), to the most parametric (most flexible for manipulation). Some examples are provided of using various synthesis techniques to sonify body position, desktop GUI interactions, stock data, etc.


PD-1 up-regulation is correlated with the exhaustion of virus-specific CD8 T cells in people chronically infected with HIV-1. Zhang and colleagues report that PD-1 is up-regulated on HIV-specific CD8 T cells in typical disease progressors (TPs) but not in long-term nonprogressor (LTNP) patients, and


Abstract Since the publication of the first waterway map in 1990, the Inland Waterways of Britain series has expanded to a total of twenty three individual maps, a national route planning map, the first ring atlas and a directory of the inland waterways which explores aspects of preservation, restoration and heritage. Many of the titles have featured in walking guides, directories, promotional literature and web sites. This paper outlines the development of the series from the first map, describing the maps themselves, tracking the evolution of production methodologies, defining marketing and sales strategies and discussing the decision-making processes behind the publication and introduction of new titles.


Constabulary but others were also from beyond what might be termed as the pre-war officer class. The officers' files now available at the National Archives can be quite revealing, as in the case of Lieutenant H. G. Montagu, an Australian originally commissioned in the Royal Fusiliers in 1911, who then deserted to serve in the Turkish army during the Italo–Turkish War. Yet Montagu managed to obtain a commission in the 7 Royal Munster Fusiliers in 1914 and, despite dishonouring cheques, went with the battalion to Gallipoli. Sent home to answer charges of murder and drug-taking that predated the war, Montagu resigned but was then killed serving as a private in the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry in 1916. Such details enliven Sandford's analysis but, unfortunately, once he has passed beyond Gallipoli, where the division lost 75 per cent of its original strength, there is rather more general discussion of such aspects as leadership, morale and discipline, from which the division almost disappears. Even in the chapter on leadership at Gallipoli, there is far more on familiar figures such as Ian Hamilton, Frederick Stopford, and Aylmer Hunter-Weston than on the division's commander, Bryan Mahon. Nor does Sandford delve down below brigade level. It is also somewhat surprising to find such a well-known soldier as Horace Smith-Dorrien referred to as Smith-Dorian. The tendency to stray on to more general issues such as artillery supply – and techniques employed at Neuve Chapelle and Loos – is also apparent in the concluding chapter on the 'Indianisation' of the division in Palestine in 1918. At least Sandford succeeds in rescuing Mahon from the contemporary criticisms of Hamilton and the more recent judgement in Robin Prior's study of Gallipoli. Sandford also sheds some light on the nature of Mahon's clash with Henry Beauvoir de Lisle at Gallipoli. The 10 Division was certainly not Irish in terms of its composition although Sandford suggests its individual battalions drew on the Irish ethos of the parent regular battalions. Sandford concludes that the 10 Division was a 'solid if unspectacular' example of a New Army formation. His study of it is similarly a solid contribution to the historiography.


Is that described in the specification are methods available for the diagnosis and prognosis of colorectal cancer. Furthermore, a method that can be used to screen candidate to become bioactive agents which adjustable colorectal cancer. In addition, methods and molecular targets for therapeutic intervention in colorectal and other cancers (genes and their products) are described.


This study presents an exploratory workflow performed in a dataset acquired in northern Santos basin, near the Oliva field, southeast of Brazil. The workflow consists of geoscience activities, comprehending mainly the fields of Geology, Geophysics, Petrophysics and Geostatistics applied to the available dataset (2D seismic lines in Strike and Dip directions, 3D seismic volume and data obtained from eight wells drilled around the area, including stratigraphic markers and well-logs). As results, two opportunities were defined: two leads in the Pre-Salt Play, which were named as, Açaí and Guaraná, respectively. The volumetric analysis establishes a VOIP of 427 MMbbl (P50) for Açaí and 453 MMbbl (P50) for Guaraná structure. Comparisons between the volumetric data obtained during this research and those forecasted by ANP (National Petroleum Agency) and PETROBRAS concerning the pre-salt reservoirs came to assist and enhance the reliability of the present study.


The effect of the COVID‐19 pandemic on community‐based rheumatology care and the use of telehealth is unclear. We undertook this study to investigate the impact of the pandemic on rheumatology care delivery in a large community practice–based network.


The Kinetics of oxidation of 1, 2-propandiol by tripropylammonium fluorochromate (TPAFC) has been studied Spectrophotometrically catalyzed by sulphuric acid in aqueous acetic acid medium in the temperature range 292-318K.The reaction is first order with respect to both 1, 2-propandiol and TPAFC. The activation parameters for the slow step were computed and calculated. Effect of ionic strength and dielectric constant of medium has also been studied. A suitable mechanism has been proposed.


The term 'Indo-Anglican' is used to denote original literary creation in the English language by Indian writers. Tagore, Aurobindo Ghosh, and Vijay Tendulkar started to develop this genre. Girish Karnad's rise as a playwright in the 1960's marked the coming of age of modern Indian playwriting in Kannada, just as Vijay Tendulkar in Marathi and Mohan Rakesh in Hindi. Karnad had received the Jnanpith Award in 1998. Karnad composed plays since five decades to tackle the contemporary issues like history and mythology. We can find his influence over the Marathi drama.  He deliberately selects historical personage, Muhammad Tughlaq, who mistakenly transfers his capital to Marathwada, for figuring him as the protagonist of the play Tughlaq.  In this paper, I would like to discuss the blend of history and politics in the well-known play of Girish Karnad, namely 'Tughlaq' (1962).


The permutation patterns followed in the phototransposition of 2-cyano- to 3-cyanopyrroles have been defined and show that the nitrogen atom and C(5) interchange in the reaction; a mechanism involving initial 2,5-bonding followed by a skeletal rearrangement is proposed.


The thermal conductivity and crystallization mechanism of alumina (Al2O3)/fluorescein sodium salt (FSS) composites prepared by the powder metallurgy method have been investigated by means of differential thermal analysis. The Kissinger method is applied to determine the crystallization kinetics from the endotherm peaks. The activation energy E and Avrami parameter n were calculated. The kinetic parameters (E and n) have made it possible to postulate the type of crystal growth exhibited in the crystallization process. The crystallization growth is found to be one-dimensional for the composite system. The thermal conductivity of the composite system was also determined by differential scanning calorimetry.


Eurosta solidaginis, the goldenrod gall fly, becomes freeze tolerant in early autumn. Many physiological changes occur to confer freeze tolerance, including the syntheses of cryoprotectant carbohydrates, changes in membrane lipid composition, increases in larval mass, and induction of ice nucleation (Morrissye and Baust 1976). Little is known about genes involved in the freeze tolerance capacity of Eurosta solidaginis. Two genes in Escherichia coli, cspA and groEL, are known to be involved in responses to temperature changes (Kandror and Goldberg, Ueguchi and Ito 1992). A degenerate polymerase chain reaction was carried out to determine if homologues to cspA and groEL exist in Eurosta solidaginis, using primers designed from a BLAST search of the gene sequences against Drosophila melanogaster. A fragment was amplified with the cspA primers, indicating the existence of a potential homologue. Further studies will be conducted to determine the sequence of this fragment.


i. I will try to establish that there are cases in which an ordinary material object exists intermittently. Afterwards there will be a few words about the consequences of acknowledging such cases, but what is of more interest, perhaps, is the route by which the conclusion is reached. When deciding among competing descriptions of the cases considered, I have tried to reduce to a minimum the role of intuitive judgement, and I have based several arguments on 'metaphysical principles'. These principles are not invoked uncritically. Indeed, I give what I think are all but decisive arguments in support of two such principles, neither of which is wholly uncontroversial: (i) a material object cannot be identified with the stuff of which it is composed, and (2) different material objects cannot be simultaneously embodied within just the same matter. And although it would shorten my argument, I will not rely on the principle (Wiggins' D.ii1) that sameness of sort is a necessary condition of identity over time.


PNG135.9+55.9 is the most metal‐poor PN known in our Galaxy. The central star resides in a short‐period binary system with a compact component, probably a white dwarf. We describe new observations, which allowed us to determine the orbital period. The lower limit for the combined mass of both stars is close to the Chandrasekhar limit for white dwarfs, making this binary a possible progenitor of a supernova type Ia. The binary system must have recently emerged from a common envelope phase.


The current study has been designed to explore expressions of endothelin (ET) receptors and ET5 in the canine prostate and the effect of ETs on canine prostatic epithelial cells. ET receptors were characterized by biotinylated El-i binding in frozen sections of the prostate. Canine prostatic epithelial cells in primary culture were used for demonstration of ET-1 expression by reversephase HPLC coupled with radloimmunoassay and Northern blotting and were subjected to growth assay. Biotinylated ET-1 binding was localized in the epithelial component, and the binding was also blocked with an antagonist specific for ETB subtype receptors. ET-1 and ET-3 stimulated canine prostatic epithelial cell growth in vitro. The effect was also reversed in the presence of an antagonist specific for ET8 subtype receptors. Elution profile of epithelial cell culture medium revealed two peaks, corresponding to ET-i and big ET-1. Epithelial cells in culture expressed pre-pro-ET-1 mRNA. Canine prostatic epithelial cells expressed ETB receptors and ET-1. It appears most likely that the expressed ET-i acts as an autocrine/paracrine proliferative factor on canine prostatic epithelial cells via ET8 receptors.


The sectoral approach to shaping processes of development has recently started to lose ground to a territorial-based approach. The territorial approach has already become the leading paradigm for creating development policies on the EU level as well as on national and/or regional levels. This results from the growing role of territorial capital in the globalizing world – even though globalization is an undisputed fact, the development policies are increasingly emphasizing the need to adapt development plans to the existing, specific conditions characterizing each territory. Endogenic resources which in their entirety create territorial capital are typically located within the administrative borders of several, functionally inter-dependent territorial units. That is why individual communes (or other territorial units, i.e. districts or even regions) should not become the leading subjects of development policies as this role is best performed by entire functional areas. A functional area may cover the territory of anywhere from several to over a dozen communes and/ or districts located in not just one administrative region and as such requires that an integrative approach to steering development processes is applied. The article aims at analyzing the changes in perception of the 'territorial capital' concept as well as at highlighting its growing importance with regards to development processes. The authors will also indicate the possible dimensions in which integration of the approach to steering development processes is possible.


The explicit model predictive control (EMPC) generates the rules of control defined for a set of polyhedral regions. Online EMPC calculations consist of searching a look-up table to find the appropriate control law according to a particular state. This paper discusses the complexity of online computation and the memory required to store data in an EMPC implementation. Therefore, a new reshaping method is applied to the active regions so that the definition of the polyhedron has regular boundaries. This approach has made some improvements. First, the usable memory will be a lot less for the actual implementation compared to the traditional EMPC approach. Second, the small number of new clusters reduces search time in explicit lookup tables and speeds up overall implementation. To this end, fuzzy clustering is used to introduce a novel method of transforming polyhedrons in the context of fuzzy explicit model predictive (FEMPC) control, followed by a new fuzzy-based piece-wise affine (PWA) explicit formulation for control law calculations. The stability of the proposed method is investigated using the Lyapunov stability criteria. The proposed algorithm has been tested on a nonlinear continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR) benchmark system and simulation tests show that the proposed approach involves a compromise between storage space requirements and online efficiency.


Thermal behavior is successfully included in a model for the piezoelectric thickness vibrator. The process of building this complete model consists of four steps. The first step is thermodynamic consideration of material properties. Second, the governing partial differential equations, including thermodynamics, are derived for the general case of a piezoelectric material and applied to the specific case of a thickness vibrator. The third and fourth steps are a bond graph analysis of the thickness vibrator, under conditions of heat conduction only, and for the full electro–mechano–thermal interactions. Among the proposed two simple material property models, the isentropically linear and isothermally linear models, the former is selected for the bond graph model as it makes the analysis easier and can be shown to produce very little difference from the isothermally linear assumption. In order to evaluate the usefulness of the developed modeling method for design of transducers, the calculation results for a...


Polymeric materials are ubiquitous in our modern lives.
Their many applications in complex materials are accompanied by potentially huge benefits for technological advancement.
These applications range from batteries, fuel cells, molecular sieves, tires, and microelectronic devices.
The ability to self-assemble into nanostructures in combination with their viscoelastic properties make polymers attractive for this wide range of applications.
I perform computer simulations gaining knowledge about their properties for applications and manufacturing, to improve the understanding of these materials.
The simulation of multicomponent polymer melts poses an extreme computational challenge.
The large spatial extent of defects in self-assembled structures or nonperiodic metastable phases, which are prone to finite size effects, require the study of large system sizes.
Hence, I use a soft, coarse-grained polymer model reducing the degrees of freedom to gain insights into long time and length scales.
Consistent implementations of these models that scale well on modern GPUs accelerated HPCs hardware enable investigations with up to billions of particles. Consequently, I can address challenges that were deemed intractable before.
Firstly, I analyze metastable network phases as a function of the volume fraction, f, of diblock copolymers for polymeric battery electrolytes.
One polymer block provides the mechanical stability while the other is ion conducting.
The focus lies on the structure of the conducting phase.
Due to the trapped metastable states, I investigate systems of extreme sizes with billions of particles circumventing finite size effects.
In fact, I identify fractal structures on significant length scales inside the network phase, which influence the transport properties locally.
As such, this work highlights the necessity of soft models and scaling implementations obtaining insights on engineering scales.
Secondly, I will investigate the simulation of viscoelastic properties of polymeric materials with soft, coarse-grained models.
It is particularly challenging to correctly capture the entangled dynamics.
The noncrossability of polymer backbones introduces topological constraints on the motion of the chains.
A soft, coarse-grained model does not capture this noncrossability automatically.
Hence, I utilize a SLSP model to mimic the entanglements via dynamic bonds.
With this model and a novel technique to average the stress auto-correlation function G(t), I perform a dynamic mechanical analysis of polymer melts and a cross-linked network.
The obtained storage modulus G'(w) and loss modulus G''(w) meet the expectations for a comparison with experimental studies.
A nonequilibrium study of diblock copolymers in shear flow completes this work.
Shear flow is a powerful method to macroscopically order a metastable microstructure.
In a symmetric diblock copolymer melt, the equilibrium microstructure is a lamellar phase.
The first step determines the perpendicular orientation of the lamellae in shear flow as stable at all stresses according to the concept of the Rayleighian, R.
Further, I study the transition between a grain in the unstable orientation next to a grain in the stable orientation.
I identify two different transition pathways.
At low applied stresses, the grain boundary of the stable grain grows into the unstable grain.
At higher stresses, the unstable orientation is destabilized and forms an intermediate microemulsion-like phase with no local orientation.
This intermediate phase turns subsequently into the stable orientation. Oscillatory shear at high frequencies delays the onset of this microemulsion pathway.
In a collaboration with Matthias Heck and Manfred Wilhelm at KIT, these transitions have been studied in LAOS experiments as well.


Mathematical models are proposed that allow calculating the coordinates of the centers of equal pressure in stellar systems and solving the inverse problem of determining the radiation sources of a material substance during the formation of macro-bodies. It is shown that the solutions of direct and inverse problems are not unique.


The view towards a sustainable bioeconomy is increasing the interest of using renewable natural resources in the production of composites. Until now, the production of sustainable composites has been mainly examined from the point of view of material composition and structure, by replacing petroleum-based components with those that are obtained from renewable resources known as natural fiber composites (NFCs). The usefulness of newly acquired materials is mostly evaluated considering their performance and economic costs, whereas the aspect of environmental protection is underestimated. The impact of composites that are made from renewable resources is examined within the two parts of this study—the first part compares different nitrogen (N) fertilization scenarios for plant origin (hemp and flax) fibers. When compared, hemp crops show higher CO2 accumulation, (−1.57 kg CO2 eq) than flax (−1.27 kg CO2 eq). In addition, the environmental impact of both fiber types is compared to polyamide composites, one of the traditionally used materials in the automotive industry in the second part of this study. According to the conducted life cycle assessment, Flax/PLA emits 1.19 kg CO2 eq per 1 kg composite, Hemp/PLA 1.7 kg CO2 eq per 1 kg composite, and PA66/GF 9.14 kg CO2 eq per 1 kg composite. After the comparison, it was concluded that bio-based composites are able to ensure lower CO2 emissions, because CO2 is accumulated and stored in the fibers, however the traditionally used composites are able to provide a lower impact in other environmental categories.


This paper presents a new, interactive subjective assessment method, which allows quick surveys of people's opinions of the quality of recorded sounds. By carefully selecting the sound stimuli which are to be asessed, the subjective benefits to different people of different vehicles can be discovered. This connection between physics and opinion is the key to the design of sound quality, resulting in a product that appeals strongly to the target customer. (A) For the covering abstract see IRRD E100043.


Abstract : This paper traces the acquisition of the knowledge of thymic leukemia and lymphoma in the AKR mouse system. Early leukemia and lymphoma development in the AKR mouse strain is caused by the genetic recombination of an endogenous retrovirus and a xenotropic retrovirus in the thymic reticuloepithelial cells. This disease state is inevitable in all individuals in a high incidence strain (e.g. AKR), as the retrovirus is integrated into germline and is transmitted by vertical transmission. The use of viral recombinants which only contain part of the parent genome cause decreasing amounts of disease with less of the parent genes. Restriction genes in some mouse strains restrict infection and growth of the retrovirus. Supernatant (SN) from viral recombinant strains of MCF247 virus have a suppressive effect both in vitro and in vivo depending on the amount of parental gene present. Keywords: Recombinant; Leukemogenesis; Immunosuppression; AKR; MCF247 virus; Thymic leukemia; Lymphoma; Theses; Retrovirus; Genetic recombination; Leukemogenic; Viral supernatant.


Computerized gait analysis using fuzzy logic has become an integral part of the treatment decision-making process. The integration of kinetic data, more specifically power joints in combination with fuzzy logic, is a relatively new addition to the other types of data including temporal and stride parameters. The power joints of the human leg are an important contribution to the understanding of the cause of certain gait abnormalities. This utility is not only limited to the surgical decision-making process in persons with spastic diplegia and myelomingocele but it can also be used in the rehabilitation decision-making process. The modelling of power joints and fuzzy logic applications in medicine will provide the reader with a detailed introduction to a new method of analysis of the human gait.


This paper puts forward a joint tool of brand management and product development after the research for the brand management, marketing and product strategy. It mainly studies from the analysis of the market and the brand as well as the product development, establishes the tool of marketing analysis and brand strategy system analysis, also builds the bridge between the brand strategy and the product development, in which provides a more targeted product development and research tool to improve the relevance, functionality and competitive in order to meet the needs of the changing market and consumer demand in the current state.


This article proposes an external capacitor-less low-dropout (LDO) regulator with undershoot and settling time reduction technique for fast transient response. In the proposed LDO, a feedback capacitor is applied instead of a complicated voltage-spike detection circuit to reduce undershoot voltage and settling time without consuming additional quiescent current. When an undershoot or overshoot voltage occurs in the load transient response, the undershoot voltage and settling time are reduced by increasing the gate discharging current or gate charging current of the pass transistor by the current flowing through the feedback capacitor. An adaptively biased single-stage error amplifier with a cross-coupled pair is used to improve stability without external capacitors at low quiescent current consumption. The proposed LDO regulator is implemented with a 0.18 μm CMOS process and consumes a quiescent current of 3.0 μA at a minimum load current of 0.1 mA. Compared with the conventional LDO regulator, the proposed LDO regulator reduces the undershoot voltage by 53.3% and the settling time by 55.5% without consuming additional quiescent current.


We aimed to investigate pacemaker dependency after at least 1 year in patients with early (<7 days) implantation, compared to those who received a pacemaker ≥7 days after cardiac surgery. Secondary endpoints were length of hospital stay and in‐hospital complications.


This thesis describes the identification and characterisation of genes important in development of the pharyngeal apparatus and heart, the major structures affected in DiGeorge syndrome (DGS). DGS is characterised by craniofacial, cardiovascular, thymus and parathyroid defects. It is most commonly caused by heterozygous deletion of a 3Mb region of chromosome 22ql 1 encompassing at least 30 genes. Haploinsufficiency of the TBX1 transcription factor is considered to be the major underlying cause of this syndrome. Animal models of DiGeorge syndrome have demonstrated the importance of Tbxl in pharyngeal and heart development and therefore, identifying the downstream targets of Tbxl is of vital importance in understanding the development of these systems. This project was aimed at identifying cell autonomous effects of Tbxl by isolating Tbxl-lacZ expressing cells and comparing the gene expression profiles of Tbxl null and heterozygous cells by microarray analysis. Validation of the downregulated gene, Hesl has been further investigated by the characterisation of pharyngeal and heart defects in mice carrying null alleles of this potential Tbxl target. In addition, BAC recombineering was also conducted to generate a transgenic mouse carrying a GFP-labelled, reversible, mutant Tbxl allele. This modified Tbxl allele should provide the basis for further enrichment of Tbxl targets by allowing isolation of Tbxl-expressing cells from transgenic mice and subsequent restoration of Tbxl function by cre-mediated recombination. Furthermore, in order to identify other pathways important in heart development, DGS patients with atypical chromosome rearrangements were analysed. This approach led to the identification of a potentially disrupted gene, HIC2, whose function was analysed using gene trap mouse models and which was shown to play a role in heart development. Overall these experiments have led to the elucidation of novel genes and genetic pathways affected in DGS and have contributed to a better understanding of the mechanisms controlling morphogenesis of the pharyngeal apparatus and heart.


Decentralized energy generation and distribution systems (mini/micro-grids) based on renewable energy sources forms one of the prospective solution for electrification of remote areas where conventional grid penetration is non-feasible. In such scenarios, efficient operation and periodic maintenance becomes indispensable for system sustainability. Deploying these systems in geographically inaccessible areas adds on to the implementation challenges. This paper addresses a distinctive approach in setting up a research oriented 2KW AC solar photovoltaic (PV) micro-grid in a remote village based inside a reserve forest area of India. The objective is to perform baseline measurements for operational and behavioral analysis with reference to the climatic changes. The solar PV generation profiles, battery level indications, weather station data and energy consumption patterns will be recorded by the customized embedded monitoring system. The same shall be beneficial to optimize design configurations in setting up future micro-grids and improve the electronic grid controlling techniques.