Complex networks have been proven to be tremendously useful on characterizing the structure, organization, dynamics and evolution of real-world systems. However, it is not often the case that single networks capture all the features of the real world, since not only man-made but also natural systems are not isolated but interacted with each other. Thus we need a natural extension of single networks which allows us to describe interacted systems as multiplex networks where nodes can be connected by means of links of qualitatively different type or nature. Recently, the dynamical processes on multiplex networks have attracted some investigations in the areas of diffusion, percolation, epidemic spreading and opinion dynamics. There is a very important model of opinion dynamics the non-consensus opinion(NCO) model which achieves a steady state with two opinions coexisting. Most of the social dynamic opinion models produce a consensus steady state in which only one opinion exists, but in reality, different opinions do coexist. In order to understand the influence of the multiplexity on the NCO dynamics, we propose two models on multiplex networks: the multi-scale NCO model and the probabilistic NCO model. In this thesis, we focus on the multiplex networks that consist of a same set of nodes and two layers. We perform simulations of these two models on multiplex networks as combinations of either Erdos-Renyi or scale-free networks with different degree correlations between the two layers. We find that in both of the two models on multiplex networks, as the degree correlation increases, the minority opinion holders tend to form stable clusters with a larger initial minority fraction. Moreover minorities also need more initial support to survive in multiplex networks than minorities in single networks. After the analysis and comparisons of simulation results, we apply our models on some realworld network examples to validate the results from the theoretical network models. Master of Science Thesis Shiyi Yan


Farming systems in Australia's subtropics have been under-performing. This study used simulation modelling to evaluate common crop sequences used in subtropical Australia in terms of their system water-use-efficiency (WUE) and resilience to climate variability. The analysis here examines this for 4 locations spanning the subtropical farming systems of eastern Australia. We found significant variation in the system WUE ($/ha/mm) amongst crop sequences, with common crop sequences in each location found to be 12-40% less WUE than the best crop sequence. Cropping intensity is a key driver of system profitability and risk, more so than a mix of crops used. Crop systems with higher intensities (i.e. less time in fallow) have higher average profitability but also higher risk; conversely, crop systems with longer fallows have a lower risk but there are trade-offs of lower long-term gross margins. It is critical to match cropping intensity to the environment to optimise the risk-return trade-offs. Lower crop intensities (0.5-0.75 crops/yr) are optimal in harsher environments (e.g. western districts), moderate crop intensities (0.75-1.0 crops/yr) in the moderate environments, but crop systems with higher crop intensities (1.0-1.3 crops/yr) are optimal in higher rainfall environments.


A 17-year storage test for a Hall IC is carried out in the warehouses of the Hall IC at four places, namely A(cold climate), B(subtropical climate), C(subtropical climate) and D(tropical marine climate). During the test, the BH-L, BL-Hand BHof the Hall IC are tracked and tested; and then, the influences of the different storage environments on the above performance parameters are analyzed and studied through T-test. And it turns out that different storage environments will bring different influences for the performance parameters of the test samples.


Academic achievement is a person's competence related to the realm of knowledge (Algarabel & Daci, 2001) and can be indicated by students' Grade Point Average (GPA) or student performance on their learning tasks (Bryant, 2012). Dweck and Elliot (1983) stated that achievement is an indicator of competence. Poor student academic achievement is a picture of the poor competence of Indonesian education, it is an urgent problem that must be immediately found a solution. The level of academic progress or academic failure is a criterion for the effectiveness of the education system, so research on various variables that effectively affect academic outcomes is urgently needed (Koshnam, Gamari & Gendavani, 2013). From the results of this study, the magnitude of the influence of mastery goal orientation on learning achievement is 4.4% with sig. = 0.001. It can be stated that the influence of mastery goal orientation is significant. The magnitude of the effect of performance goal orientation on learning achievement is 2.3% with sig. = 0.012. This can be stated the significant influence of performance goal orientation. Only these two variables affect student learning outcomes.


Relationships of Ixonanthaceae and Irvingiaceae have been poorly known in the past. We therefore investigate the relationships of these families here. Plastid atpB , rbcL and ndhF sequences from taxa representing all genera were analysed using maximum likelihood. Allantospermum was found as sister to Irvingiaceae and does not belong to Ixonanthaceae where it was often traditionally placed. This position of Allantospermum in Irvingiaceae is further supported by numerous putative synapomorphic characters. Expanded species sampling in Ixonanthaceae found that African Phyllocosmus was embedded within a strongly supported clade containing American Ochthocosmus . A re-evaluation of morphological characters of the two supports an enlarged concept of Ochthocosmus . Within Irvingiaceae, the West African monotypic Desbordesia was embedded within a strongly supported clade of Old World Irvingia . These findings change circumscriptions of both Ixonanthaceae and Irvingiaceae.


In 1913, bystanders attacked suffragists during a parade in Washington, DC. Clearly, tactics developed in Manhattan inspired campaigns elsewhere, but the reception to these strategies differed. This epilogue summarizes the ways in which leaders in New York City claimed a "right to the city" in order to win the vote in New York State and how organizations across the nation appropriated their strategies—sometimes successfully, sometimes unsuccessfully. Victory in New York was as much a political victory as a cultural one, as suffragists reimagined women's place in the nation's largest metropolis. At the same time, they failed to completely dismantle gendered notions of propriety or combat gendered violence, reminding that revolutions have limits and claiming a "right to the city" is very different from achieving that right.


In the article, the perspective of reforming of the concept of policy in the sphere of military safety of the state is considered. The factors, which have caused the necessity of system transformations in this sphere, are analyzed and justification to the criteria capable to designate a vector of formation of a basis of state policy concerning the sphere of defense and safety of the state is given. Importance of understanding of aspect of influence of transformation of modern system of the international security and formation of new architecture of the geopolitical relations on management of a security system in the modern state is defined. DOI 10.22394/1726-1139-2017-3-43-59


Abstract This article presents the preliminary results of a descriptive exploratory study on life style of university students of the area of the Computation who will serve for the design of strategies of prevention of not transmissible illnesses. We used a questionnaire of our own design that probes three dimensions: General Data, Health and Perception that allow us to have a global vision of the lifestyle of the respondents. The questionnaire was applied in the summer of 2014 to 1060 students of Computer and Information Technology careers. The results indicate that we are facing a population whose daily habits tend to risky behaviors for their health and already present risk factors of noncommunicable diseases such as: 28.8% overweight / obesity (n = 277), 67.1% smoking (n = 646), 31.5% lack of physical activity (n = 303), 71% sedentary lifestyle (n = 684) as well as waist circumference greater than 83 cm, 24.5% (n = 236). Keywords: Lifestyle, Risk Factors, Health Promotion, Healthy Behaviors, Innovation, Technology.


Objective To observe the Time-activity-curve of the therapeutic effect of micromolecule polypeptide combining with NEMO-binding domain on experimental ulcerative colitis rat.Methods sixty SD rats were randomly divided into treated and control group.Ulcerative colitis rat model was induced by enteroclysis with trinitro-benzene-sulfonic acid(TNBS),micromolecule polypeptide combining with NEMO-binding domain were administered by intraperitoneal in treated group,and ejust dose's liquor natrii chloridi isotonicus were administered likely in control group.IAI score were evaluated.assay.Then the rats were killed according to groups in 7 days after that the model was made for the observation of the colonic pathologic changes by naked eye and for the estimation of the damage scores of colon mucosa.Finally,the colon tissue was fixed to make pathological section and the damage score of tissue was observed under microscope.And then damaged colon tissue's pathological section test expression of NF-κB by immunizing histochemistry.Then the value of MDA、MPO in supernatant of samples's damaged colon tissue's divide evenly an oar were tested according to the instruction of the corresp kit.Result the treated group's briefly


Model validation is the final step of system identification, which is to check the goodness of the estimated models. In the present study, novel first order correlation tests named omni-directional auto-correlation functions and omni-directional cross-correlation functions are proposed to check the validity of a wide class of nonlinear dynamic models. Compared to the other first order and higher order correlation tests based approaches, the new methodology enhances the power of nonlinear correlation detection and provides a more comprehensive and effective solution. The efficiency and effectiveness of the new methodology are demonstrated through simulation studies and comparison with the other correlation tests based approaches.


The Japanese army's strategies are divided into two: the first is pro-war strategy(決戰論), which was insisted by the land forces with the supports from the reformers among officers; the second is reconciliation strategy(講和促進論) by navy forces with the supports from the senior members or ministers in the Imperial House. The true purpose of the pro-war strategy was not in the suggestion of consistence of the war against the U.S.: it was raised to strengthen their power or status in the reconciliation after the war with the U.S. It can be said that the first strategy group also knew the result of the war, reconciliation. The latter strategy group first suggested their reconciliation strategy form the beginning of 1944, and then in summer that year the power in the Imperial House and task forces in China positively examined the possibility of the reconciliation strategy in secret. The group who insisted the pro-war strategy had an intention to depend on the power of Soviet Union and to ally with China; the second group wanted an immediate reconciliation with the Allies. Even though the second group wanted reconciliation with the Allies and peaceful end of the war, they could not raise the strategy in public. The group of reconciliation strategy was afraid of the possibility of the communization of Japan after the war because the Imperial House already lost the name and power to retain the structure of the country; the pro-war group strongly depended on the power of the Soviet Union, which alerted the probability of the communization of Japan among the reconciliation group. Ironically, the atomic bomb attack by the U.S. to the mainland in Japan saved the political justification of the Japanese Emperor and those whose intention laid on the reconciliation strategy and stop of the war. The reconciliation group also got power to keep their high political status as a ruling class after the war. The reconciliation strategy did not determine to the mainland in Japan, it also was adapted to the colonial Chousen. Under the name of the reconciliation strategy which was devised to maintain the Emperor rule structure over not only the mainland but also the colonial Joseon the innocent Korean people was forced to give the labor to keep the war, and to sacrificed their lives uselessly.


unable to observe those processes directly, since they occur slowly relative to our brief observations. We also must deal with the problems of the instability of small populations. It is for these reasons that anthropology is in need of a solid theoretical foundation, expressed in terms of variables which can be observed, and from which to make meaningful indirect inference. In recent times, theoretical constructs from various aspects of demography have been shown to be immensely useful in developing this theoretical founda tion, and it has become clear that demographic variables can form a unifying metric for anthropology. The study of birth, death, and growth rates, of popu lation size and dispersion, and of mating and migration, all have advanced with


The capsid protein is the major immunogenic protein of porcine circovirus 2 (PCV2). The nucleotide sequence of porcine circovirus‐like virus P1 shares high homology with open reading frame (ORF) 2 of PCV2, and ORF1 of P1 encodes its structural protein. Mice were vaccinated twice intramuscularly with a plasmid expressing the P1 ORF1 protein (pcDNA3.1(+)‐ORF1) at 2‐week intervals. All animals vaccinated with pcDNA3.1(+)‐ORF1 developed higher specific anti‐P1 antibody levels, and had less PCV2 viremia and milder histopathological changes than PCV2‐challenged mice in the control group. Our results show that the P1 DNA vaccine elicited immune responses against PCV2 infection in a mouse model.


We prove that the trace of the Frobenius endofunctor of the category of automorphic sheaves with nilpotent singular support maps isomorphically to the space of unramified automorphic functions, settling a conjecture from [AGKRRV1]. More generally, we show that traces of Frobenius-Hecke functors produce shtuka cohomologies.


BACKGROUND
Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), the major component of green tea, is a pleiotropic substance, which may inhibit tumor growth via multiple intracellular signaling pathways. Herein, we studied whether EGCG may also be effective in the treatment of endometriosis.

METHODS
We investigated the effect of EGCG on activation by estradiol (E(2)), proliferation and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression of isolated hamster endometrial stromal cells and glandular cells in vitro using the water-soluble tetrazolium (WST)-1 colorimetric assay and western blot analysis. In the dorsal skinfold chamber model of Syrian golden hamsters, which were treated for 14 days with EGCG or vehicle, we further analyzed angiogenesis, blood perfusion and tissue integrity of both endometriotic lesions and ovarian follicles by intravital fluorescence microscopy and histology.

RESULTS
We found that EGCG suppresses E(2)-stimulated activation, proliferation and VEGF expression of endometrial cells in vitro (all P < 0.05). Furthermore, EGCG selectively inhibited angiogenesis and blood perfusion (P < 0.05) of endometriotic lesions in vivo without affecting blood vessel development in ovarian follicles. Histology confirmed that EGCG-treatment induces regression of the endometriotic lesions.

CONCLUSIONS
Our data indicate that EGCG might be a promising therapeutic agent in the treatment of endometriosis, preventing the establishment of new endometriotic lesions.


In order to extract the time‐effect factors of multiple time series, a generalized time‐effect factor model (GTFM) and a statistic for identifying the model are proposed. This model is a general form of the Peña‐Box model. Based on the model, a pollen data set from Taiwan is analyzed. A factor, named temperature, is extracted. Its trend is then used to recover the weather of Taiwan over the past 5000 years. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Editor It was good to see that over the past two years1 Professor Oliver has raised his upper limit for treating hypercholesterolaemia by 10 years from 65 to 75 (May/June 1999, pp252-3). His opinion that 'hypercholesterolaemia is not a risk factor for chronic heart disease (CHD) in the elderly' is not supported by his quoted references. The first line of the discussion of the Zutphen Elderly Study involving men aged 64-84 states that 'The main results of this study show that in elderly men, followed for 5 years, total cholesterol is an independent risk factor for mortality from CHD'2. Similarly, the claim of the correlation between CHD and raised cholesterol disappearing in those aged 80 and over is a misrepresentation of data from a study containing patients aged 85 years and older3. I find it contradictory that Professor Oliver argues that it is 'un ethical (in view of the successful out come of primary and secondary preven tion trials in middle-age) and uneconomic to mount a controlled clinical trial to test the efficacy of statins against placebo in the elderly' and then states that as there are no valid data for patients over 75 that 'it is unsound to extrapolate the positive trial results from middle-aged patients or otherwise healthy people and use these as an argument for treating raised cholesterol levels in the elderly'. It could only be unethical to mount such a trial if he believed that statins did have beneficial effects in the elderly, in which case he himself has extrapolated trial data from middle-aged to elderly people. His argument for not treating raised choles terol in the over 75s is reduced to an economic one. Discrimination by age for rationing purposes is as illogical as discrimination by gender, race or religion. The LIPID trial data suggest that elderly patients do benefit from pravastatin.4 The decision to treat should be based on life expectancy and not an arbitary age and it should be remembered that even at 80, life expectancy of men is around 6.5 years and for women around 8.5 years.


Objectives To describe the menstrual experience of women referred for menstrual problems, in particular menorrhagia (excessive menstrual loss), and to assess associations with reasons for referral given by their general practitioners, the women's understanding of the reasons for their attendance at the hospital clinics, and clinic outcome. Design Questionnaire survey, with partial review of case notes after 8 months. Setting Three hospital gynaecology clinics in Glasgow and Edinburgh. Participants 952 women completed the questionnaire, and the first 665 were reviewed. Outcome measures Reason for referral, women's reported menstrual problems and reason for clinic attendance, diagnosis, and treatment. Results Only 38% (95% confidence interval 34% to 41%) of women reported excessive menstrual loss as a severe problem. However 60% (57-63%) gave it as reason for attending a clinic, and 76% (73-79%) of general practitioners gave it as reason for referral. Reason for referral was significantly biased towards bleeding (McNemar odds ratio 4.01, 3.0 to 5.3, P < 0.001) and against pain (0.54, 0.4 to 0.7, P < 0.001). Dysfunctional uterine bleeding was diagnosed in 37% (31-42%) of the 259 women who gave as reason for attendance something other than bleeding. Women who were economically disadvantaged differed in prevalence of the main diagnoses and were more likely to fail to reattend. Hysterectomy was associated with referral for bleeding (relative risk 4.9, 1.6 to 15.6, P < 0.001) but not with the patient stating bleeding as the reason for clinic attendance. Conclusions Intolerance of the volume of their bleeding is not a key feature among women attending clinics for bleeding problems. Broad menstrual complaint tends to be reframed as excessive bleeding at referral and during management. This may result in women receiving inappropriate care. Conceptualisation and assessment of menorrhagia requires reconsideration.


Several LDPC-coded modulation schemes enabling ges100 Gb/s transmission using commercially available components operating 40 Giga symbols/s are presented: (a) coded orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), (b) bit-interleaved coded modulation (BICM), and (c) multilevel coding (MLC).


The first large-scale (909 products, 79,679 individual price listings) empirical study of price dispersion based on data from the Czech Republic's online shops is presented in the paper. First, simple descriptive indicators were calculated for each product. Second, several versions of linear regression models were constructed for each of the 13 product categories and evaluated against the hypotheses. The price dispersion was regressed against its mean market price and the number of shops. For the majority of categories R2 is high or very high (the mean market price variable accounts for 86.6% to 96.7% in the price dispersion) or at least medium (from 56% to 69%). Also, price dispersion (measured by range and standard deviation) remains quite high for the majority of the analyzed product categories. The important role of pricebots for online shop owners and marketing managers and some other findings are also discussed.


The Alucam aluminum production plant employing 600 people is part of the Peychiney group in Cameroon setup in the Edea area over 40 years ago. An internal survey conducted at Alucam in February 2003 showed an HIV/AIDS prevalence of 8% whereas the overall prevalence in Cameroon is estimated at around 12%. In recent years Alucam has decided to set up a global HIV management programme for its employees and their families including prevention information voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) treatment of opportunistic infections supply of antiretroviral treatments and psychological follow-up. (authors)


THE purpose of this paper is to outline a simple procedure that may be used to obtain short-circuit data most generally needed for relay co-ordination studies by using a d-c calculating table.


Universal algebra [5, 9, 4] is the theory of equalities t = u. It is a simple framework within which we can study mathematical structures, for example groups, rings, and fields. It has also been applied to study the mathematical properties of mathematical truth and computability. For example boolean algebras correspond to classical truth, heyting algebras correspond to intuitionistic truth, cylindric algebras correspond to truth in the presence of predicates as well as propositions, combinators correspond to computability, and so on. Informal mathematical usage and notation often involve binding. In many cases, this involves freshness ('does not occur free in') and α-equivalence in the presence of meta-variables. For example: • λ-calculus: λx.(tx) = t — if x is fresh for t.


Aluminum, one of the most widely used structural metals in modern industry, is produced in quantities exceeded only by steel. Its light weight, corrosion resistance, high strength after heat treatment, and global availability of bauxite ores make aluminum attractive for everything from kitchen utensils to spacecraft. This article describes early work to develop low-cost aluminum for industrial applications.


A 2-order customer satisfaction model was constructed appending a service perceived quality standard deviation(SD) to solve the uncertainty in service quality customer satisfaction(CS) evaluating.The model contains a traditional CS and a perceived quality SD in a four-section graph by different combination of CS and SD to describe business service.The model was used to analyze the student dormitory management of a university with large sampling surveys in 3 years with 9 526 acceptable questionnaires.The results show that the perceived quality factors of public cleaning,building management,maintenance,and security services is positively related to CS.The perceived quality SD is directly related to the number of customer complaints for a high satisfaction level.The CS is not negatively related to the customer complaint number.Thus,the model can be effectively used in student dormitory management.


In the present complex electromagnetic environment, radar target detection is threatened by different kinds of interferences, especially mainlobe deceptive interference, which occupies the same energy distributions of targets spatially, meaning that targets and interferences cannot be discriminated. To make matters worse, the number of suppressible interferences is limited by the number of physical array elements, leading to the degradation of the suppression performance of traditional radar. In this work, we propose a frequency-increment-based interference suppression method for minimum redundancy frequency diverse array multiple-input multiple-output (MR-FDA-MIMO) radar, which effectively solves the aforementioned two problems. The interference suppression method consists of two steps: (i) in the sidelobe barrage interference suppression stage, the interference-plus-noise covariance matrix is reconstructed to overcome the influence of the true targets and mainlobe deceptive interference on the performance of the beamformer; (ii) in the mainlobe deceptive interference suppression stage, a nonadaptive beamforming method is employed to suppress mainlobe deceptive interference and overcome the impact of insufficient virtual samples on interference suppression performance. Additionally, we design a frequency-increment-based MR-FDA-MIMO radar, fully utilizing the advantages of the virtual array to enhance interference suppression performance and increase the number of interferences. Numerical experiments undertaken demonstrate the effectiveness of the algorithm under different scenarios.


This paper explores the issues and opportunities for information p.ividers in a digital environment where the skills of management of change and leadership are necessary to create vital and healthy organizations. The first section discusses challenges of the digital environment and skills for the information profession, including the impact of technology, the changing role of the library, and core skills for library staff (e.g., management, information technology, teamwork, strategic thinking, and customer service skills). The second section describes how the State Library of Victoria (Australia) is addressing these challenges with staff and management development programs, including: (1) staff workshops on information service values related to customers, knowledge, teamwork, collections, and environment; (2) staff, leadership, and management training focusing on communication/interpersonal, marketing/promotion, technology self/team management, change management, problem-solving, mission/vision/values, and task-specific skills, as well.as five leadership values (self-awareness, stands in the future, customer focus, collaborative spirit, and bias for action); and (3) management development training developed in .collaboration with the University of Melbourne and Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University. The third section covers ways of thinking about organizations and managers, including organizations as many things at once and the roles of managers and leaders. (Contains 17


Nonlinear problems are more challenging and almost complex to be solved. A recently developed Homotopy Perturbation Method (HPM) is introduced. This method is used to represent the system as a less complicated (almost linear) model. To verify the effectiveness, HPM based model is compared with the nonlinear dynamic in both open and closed loop PI controlled. The error indices are approximation of possible uncertainties which may be occurred. The simulation results reveal the ability of the proposed method.


• The authors test a widely accepted hypothesis that the physical representation and simulation of hydrological model will be improved if its corresponding parameterization is optimized on a global scale. I am not quite sure that a test of a widely accepted hypothesis is a true innovation (I leave this question to the editor). If the test is done by coupling the global hydrological model and global glacier model physically instead of simply replacing the PCR-GLOBWB 2 runoff by the GloGEM runoff for glacierized areas, the novelty of this study make sense at least from a practical point of view.


Abstract : This paper outlines a collaborative program of work in higher-level fusion being conducted between Australia, Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom under the auspices of a TTCP panel on Information fusion. The paper shows how work from the four nations has been integrated through a common scenario, which the panel proposes to subsequently offer as a benchmarking scenario for the higher-level fusion community.


Background: The role of phosphorylation for regulating the Rac1 GEF PREX2 is not understood. Results: PAK phosphorylation of PREX2 downstream of PIP3 and Gβγ reduces PREX2 GEF activity. Conclusion: Second messengers can initiate negative feedback to decrease Rac1 activation through PAK phosphorylation of PREX2. Significance: PAK negative regulation of GEFs could represent a broadly utilized mechanism to attenuate Rac1 activation and its outputs. Phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-trisphosphate (PIP3)-dependent Rac exchanger 2 (PREX2) is a guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) for the Ras-related C3 botulinum toxin substrate 1 (Rac1) GTPase, facilitating the exchange of GDP for GTP on Rac1. GTP-bound Rac1 then activates its downstream effectors, including p21-activated kinases (PAKs). PREX2 and Rac1 are frequently mutated in cancer and have key roles within the insulin-signaling pathway. Rac1 can be inactivated by multiple mechanisms; however, negative regulation by insulin is not well understood. Here, we show that in response to being activated after insulin stimulation, Rac1 initiates its own inactivation by decreasing PREX2 GEF activity. Following PREX2-mediated activation of Rac1 by the second messengers PIP3 or Gβγ, we found that PREX2 was phosphorylated through a PAK-dependent mechanism. PAK-mediated phosphorylation of PREX2 reduced GEF activity toward Rac1 by inhibiting PREX2 binding to PIP3 and Gβγ. Cell fractionation experiments also revealed that phosphorylation prevented PREX2 from localizing to the cellular membrane. Furthermore, the onset of insulin-induced phosphorylation of PREX2 was delayed compared with AKT. Altogether, we propose that second messengers activate the Rac1 signal, which sets in motion a cascade whereby PAKs phosphorylate and negatively regulate PREX2 to decrease Rac1 activation. This type of regulation would allow for transient activation of the PREX2-Rac1 signal and may be relevant in multiple physiological processes, including diseases such as diabetes and cancer when insulin signaling is chronically activated.


Secondary stress after excavation could result in deformation of the surrounding rock at Jinping hydropower plant because of deep embedment of the aqueduct tunnel and low compression strength of rock.Therefore,it is an important to appropriately evaluate stability of the deformed surrounding rock.This paper presents a numerical model for evaluating stress state and stability of the deformed surrounding rock under an embedment at a great depth.Two methods: one related to strain ratio and the other related to compression strength,were used to determine locations of deformed surrounding rock and overall stability of the surrounding rock.


Over the past couple decades, mechanical engineering programs have made significant advances in developing educational materials and laboratory exercises in controls and mechatronics. However, there is an important gap remaining between the academic programs and the needs of the graduates and industry. The academic programs are heavily oriented towards control theory, board-level electronics, interfacing and microprocessors supplemented with laboratory equipment, such as the inverted pendulum, and projects, such as Lego robots. But industrial applications require mechanical engineers to design machines with multiple axes that execute complex, high speed, high precision coordinated motion using sophisticated motion controllers. In this paper, we present overview of a new course and its laboratory developed in partnership with industry. The course aims to teach "the fundamentals" while focusing on industrial motion control technology and multi-axis machines. The course was offered for the first time in its new format in Fall 2013. Assessment results for one module are presented and discussed. This project was funded by a grant from the NSF-TUES program.


Objective: Real-world data, including administrative claims and electronic health record (EHR) data, have been critical for rapid-knowledge generation throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Many studies relied on these data to identify cases and ascertain outcomes., commonly using diagnostic codes. However, to ensure high-quality results are delivered to guide clinical decision making, guide the public health response, and characterize the response to interventions, it is essential to establish the accuracy of these approaches for case identification of infections and hospitalizations. Methods: Real-world EHR data were obtained from the clinical data warehouse and computational health platform at a large academic health system that includes 5 regional hospitals in Connecticut and Rhode Island and their associated ambulatory practices. Demographic information, diagnosis codes, SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid and antigen testing results, and visit data including discharge disposition were obtained from our OMOP common data model for all patients with either a positive SARS-CoV-2 test or ICD-10 diagnosis of COVID-19 (U07.1) between April 1, 2020 and March 1, 2021. Various computable phenotype definitions using combinations of test results and diagnostic codes were evaluated for their accuracy to identify SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 hospitalizations. The association with each phenotype was further compared with case volumes and, for hospitalizations, in-hospital mortality. We conducted a quantitative assessment with a manual chart review for a sample of 40 patients who had discordance between diagnostic code and laboratory result findings. Results: There were 69,423 individuals with either a diagnosis code or a laboratory diagnosis of a SARS-CoV-2 infection. Of these, 61,023 individuals had a principal or a secondary diagnosis code for COVID-19 and 50,355 had a positive SARS-CoV-2 PCR or antigen test. Among those with a positive PCR, 38,506 (76.5%) also had a principal and 3449 (6.8%) a secondary diagnosis of COVID-19, but 8400 (16.7%) had no COVID-19 diagnosis in the medical record. Moreover, of the 61,023 patients who had a COVID-19 diagnosis, 19,068 (31.2%) did not have a positive laboratory test for SARS-CoV-2 in the EHR. In a manual chart review of this sample of patients, we found that these many had a COVID-19 diagnosis code added during healthcare encounters related to asymptomatic testing, either as part of a screening program or following exposure, but with negative subsequent test results. The positive predictive value (precision) and sensitivity (recall) of a COVID-19 diagnosis in the medical record for a positive SARS-CoV-2 PCR were 68.8% and 83.3%, respectively. Further, among 5,109 patients who were hospitalized with a principal diagnosis of COVID-19, 4843 (94.8%) had a positive SARS-CoV-2 PCR or antigen test within the 2 weeks preceding hospital admission or during hospitalization. In a random sample of 10 without a positive test during the index hospitalization selected for manual chart review, 7 (70.0%) had been tested at an outside laboratory before admission and the remaining had a strong clinical suspicion for COVID-19. In addition, 789 hospitalizations had a secondary diagnosis of COVID-19, of which 446 (56.5%) had a principal diagnosis that was consistent with severe clinical manifestation of COVID-19 (e.g., sepsis or respiratory failure). Compared with the cohort that had a principal diagnosis of COVID-19, those with a secondary diagnosis more frequently male and White and had more than 2-fold higher in-hospital mortality (13.2% vs 28.0%, P<0.001). Conclusions: In a large integrated health system, COVID-19 diagnosis codes were not adequate for case identification and epidemiological surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 infection. In contrast, a principal diagnosis of COVID-19 diagnosis consistently identified hospitalized patients with the disease but missed nearly 10% of cases that presented with more severe manifestations of disease and had over 2-fold higher mortality. Data from the EHR can provide additional data elements compared to administrative claims alone, such as laboratory testing results, that can be used to in conjunction with diagnostic codes to create more fine-tuned phenotypes that are designed for specific analytical use cases.


Inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICPMS) has been used to measure the uranium content of the ground water samples of Ferozepur district of Malwa belt of Punjab (India). Out of total 390 habitations surveyed in Ferozepur district, 139 are having more than 30 ppb of uranium (WHO safe limit for drinking water), out of which 30 have been selected with U content > 80 ppb (60 ppb is the safe limit fixed by AERB for India) for the present investigation. The aim of this study is to investigate the uranium content of the ground water in the Ferozepur district of Malwa belt of Punjab and to assess the risk factors (excess cancer risk, LADD and hazard quotient) due to the ingestion of uranium by local population. The uranium content of the water samples of the villages under investigation varies from 80.30–331.42 ppb (μgl-1) with an average value of 106.623 ppb (μgl-1). The excess cancer risk varies from 2.27–9.39×10-4 and hazard quotient varies from 1.03 to 4.23, respectively. The LADD varies from 4.65–19.18 (μg kg−1 day−1). Keywords: Uranium content, radiological risk, chemical risk, cancer risk, WHO, AERB Cite this Article Hardev Singh Virk. Uranium Content Anomalies in Groundwaters of Ferozepur District of Punjab (India) and the Corresponding Risk Factors. Research & Reviews: Journal of Oncology and Hematology . 2017; 6(3): 18–24p.


such as De-Ritis ratio and the TGR. These are used descriptively without any detailed discussion of the origin of the enzyme, its specificity, or even its name: all enzymes are referred to by initialsfor example, GOT, CHE, GLDH. The assumption of familiarity with these abbreviations may be correct for the continental reader, but is likely to be received with dismay in this English translation aimed at the British and American markets. The book should prove useful to a British physician wanting to assess the value of laparoscopy. Its price may deter others from purchasing it even for their library. J. LEVI


Hydrogenation of 1,3-butadiene and 2-methyl-1,3-butadiene and equilibration reaction of H/sub 2/-D/sub 2/ were carried out over ZrO/sub 2/ using H/sub 2/ and cyclohexadiene as hydrogen sources. Reaction rates were measured by changing the activation temperature of the catalyst. While the hydrogenation with H/sub 2/ and H/sub 2/-D/sub 2/ equillibration reaction gave an optimum activity at 600/sup 0/C, another optimum was obtained for transfer hydrogenation at 800/sup 0/C. Hence it is concluded that the sites responsible for the transfer hydrogenation are not the same as those which catalyze hydrogenation with H/sub 2/ and H/sub 2/-D/sub 2/ equilibration. Product distributions in n-butenes and methylated butenes were compared on ZrO/sub 2/, ThO/sub 2/, La/sub 2/O/sub 3/, and MgO and were also compared in direct hydrogenation with H/sub 2/ and transfer hydrogenation with cyclohexadiene. Assuming an ionic intermediate, selectivity changes in the monoolefins produced over different catalysts and by different hydrogen sources were interpreted in terms of the variation of the anionic character of the intermediate and the shift of anionic to neutral or cationic intermediate, respectively.


To evaluate the impact of different fat spectral models on proton density fat fraction quantification using chemical shift‐encoded MRI (CSE‐MRI).


Chongzuo of Guangxi has the unique landform of karst topography and scenery cultural landscape,the colored mountain culture of Zhuang ethnic minority art treasure,the red traveling patriotic education base,the colorful ethnic character and style of border area,the world-famous "military fort of century",the farming-tourism scenic area,which contain rich tourist and cultural connotations.The basic direction and the main ways of developing tourism in Chongzuo is to explore and make good use of these tourist and cultural resources,to build tourist and cultural brand and to create clean and safe tourist environment.


Let $\mathbb{X}\,=[X_1\rightrightarrows X_0]$ be a Lie groupoid equipped with a connection, given by a smooth distribution $\mathcal{H}\subset TX_1$ transversal to the fibers of the source map. Under the assumption that the distribution $\mathcal{H}$ is integrable, we define an analog of de Rham cohomology for the pair $(\mathbb{X},\mathcal{H})$ and study connections on principal $G$-bundles over $(\mathbb{X},\mathcal{H})$ in terms of the associated Atiyah sequence of vector bundles. Finally, we develop the corresponding Chern-Weil theory and study characteristic classes.


Waste disposal is especially important when it comes to medical supplies, as some waste can be contaminated with diseases and dangerous pathogens. Not all biomedical waste is treated the same way and different disposal companies use different methods such as autoclaving, incineration, chemicals and microwaves. Improper disposal of medical waste causes environmental pollution, unpleasant odours, the growth and reproduction of insects, rodents and nematodes, and injuries from blood-contaminated sharp objects, typhoid fever, cholera, hepatitis, etc. can lead to disease transmission. Thisstudy will reveal the current processes and environmental impacts of biomedical waste management by examining the quantity and quality of biomedical waste (BMW) generated by pharmacies, laboratories and multiple speciality hospitals.


Abstract Polymer blends of WRT (waste rubber tire) powder/LLDPE (linear low density polyethylene) have been attempted to prepare thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs). The effects of maleic anhydride-grafted styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene (SEBS-g-MA) and dicumyl peroxide (DCP) on mechanical, morphological and thermal properties of the blends were evaluated using universal testing machine (UTM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analyses (TGA). It was found that combination of SEBS-g-MA and DCP could better enhance the mechanical properties of WRT powder/LLDPE blends compared to SEBS-g-MA or DCP alone. Better compatibility between WRT powder and LLDPE was responsible for the enhancement of mechanical properties, as supported by SEM. The incorporation of SEBS-g-MA and DCP with WRT powder/LLDPE blends reduced the crystallizable perfectness of the blends, but slightly increased the thermal stability of the blends, as shown from DSC and TGA results


This paper discusses the implementation of a synthetic electrical admittance for performing active sound absorption at the diaphragm of electroacoustic transducers. The dynamics of electroacoustic transducers such as moving-coil loudspeakers can be readily controlled either by applying a direct feedback on acoustic quantities or by plugging some shunt circuitry at the electrical terminals. Such basic control strategies make possible to vary the acoustic impedance that the transducer diaphragm presents to the medium where sound waves propagate. Depending on the control settings (feedback gain, shunt resistor, etc.), any conventional loudspeaker system may become a versatile electroacoustic resonator capable of absorbing (or of reflecting as much) the incident sound energy in a frequency dependent way. Recently, it has been demonstrated that the feedback-based principle reveals formal analogies with the electrical shunt approach. In the footstep of this novel approach, an original method for designing electrical networks, in a form of a synthetic electrical impedance or admittance used for mimicking the performances of active feedback techniques, has been highlighted. In this paper the design of a synthetic electrical admittance is presented, along with computed results showing the effect of this additional electric network on the dynamic behavior of a moving-coil loudspeaker. As a conclusion, general remarks on the practical implementation using digital filters on a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) platform are provided.


To investigate nurses' job satisfaction in military hospitals of Northern Greece; identify the working conditions that affect their attitude towards the profession. The research was conduc- ted in Army hospitals of Northern Greece. Nurses' job satisfaction in an Army Hospital, individual and organizational characteristics using the Warr- Cook-Wall job satisfaction scale, relationships between aspects of the organization, nurses' per- sonal characteristics and nurses' job satisfaction are examined in a descriptive correlational study. A random sample survey using a self-report ques- tionnaire was given to registered nurses and nurse assistants of Army hospitals of Northern Greece. The response rate was 42,6% (N=110). The Warr- Cook-Wall job satisfaction scale measures overall job satisfaction and satisfaction with fifteen aspects of work. Each item is rated on a seven-point Likert scale. The association between relationship factors and organizational outcomes such as job satisfac- tion, turnover intentions and organizational com- mitment are assessed. Descriptive statistics were used in order to summarize the results.
Nurses with highest education were significantly more likely to be very satisfied (p=0,018). Results of the regression analysis when performing Pearson correlation coefficients (correlation signif- icance at the level 0,05 two-tailed) showed that the decrease in job satisfaction was predicted by week- end work p= 0,020, r= -0,222 by night shift p= 0,005, r= -0,266 . Results of the regression analysis showed that the increase in job satisfaction was predicted by years of service p=0,002, r= 0,297 and by age p=0,008, r= 0,252. The percentage of nurses that reported that the ward they worked constitu- ted their personal choice was the 32%. Nurses who worked in a department of their choice were cor- related with job satisfaction (p=0,015). 63% believe that nursing profession is not socially awarded. Although a majority of military nurses were satis- fied with their job, they were experiencing a num- ber of pressures at work. Moreover, demographic, job, and practice characteristics influenced job satisfaction of Military Nurses in Northern Greece.


A method for determining aflatoxins B1 (AFB1), B2 (AFB2),G1 (AFG1) andG2 (AFG2) in maize with florisil clean up was optimised aiming at one-dimensional thin layer chromatography (TLC) analysis with visual and densitometric quantification. Aflatoxins were extracted with chloroform: water (30:1, v/v), purified through florisil cartridges, separated on TLC plate, detected and quantified by visual and densitometric analysis. The in-house method performance characteristics were determined by using spiked, naturally contaminated maize samples, and certified reference material. The mean recoveries for aflatoxins were 94.2, 81.9, 93.5 and 97.3% in the range of 1.0 to 242 µg/kg for AFB1, 0.3 to 85mg/kg for AFB2, 0.6 to 148mg/kg for AFG1 and 0.6 to 140mg/kg for AFG2, respectively. The correlation values between visual and densitometric analysis for spiked samples were higher than 0.99 for AFB1, AFB2, AFG1 and 0.98 for AFG2. The mean relative standard deviations (RSD) for spiked samples were 16.2, 20.6, 12.8 and 16.9% for AFB1, AFB2, AFG1 and AFG2, respectively. The RSD of the method for naturally contaminated sample (n = 5) was 16.8% for AFB1 and 27.2% for AFB2. The limits of detection of the method (LD) were 0.2, 0.1, 0.1 and 0.1mg/kg and the limits of quantification (LQ) were 1.0, 0.3, 0.6 and 0.6mg/kg for AFB1, AFB2, AFG1 and AFG2, respectively.


Has there been an economic miracle in Singapore? How do we measure this miracle? Is it measurable? How and why has this miracle taken place in Singapore for the last 43 years after Independence in 1965? What structural changes have taken place in the economy? What special institutions have been created to engineer this transformation? What is the critical role of the State in this transformation process, particularly in terms of its effects on investment in human capital, physical capital and social capital? The focus of this chapter is on the course and causes of the rapid transformation in income and wealth creation, with the support of some interesting stylized facts and photographs since Independence in 1965 through 2008.


Processing of statistical data for the ten-year period of operations of gas pipelines for JSC "Sakhatransneftegaz" allowed the group to identify factors of accidents and to identify groups with the maximum contribution to the dynamics of accidents and injuries. Based on the findings highlighted the most dangerous section of the pipeline was found to be, "Srednevilyuyskoe condensate field - Mastakh - Berge - Yakutsk". With the help of industrial safety indicators it is condition was assessed.


We present a new method of lossless image compression which has two additional useful properties: (1) a continuous range of lower resolution images (e.g., lossy images) can be extracted from the representation and (2) any desired region of the image can be individually extracted with up to lossless quality. We achieve these additional properties by spatially partitioning a modified version of the embedded zerotree wavelet compression algorithm. Specifically, the proposed approach uses a new form of successive coefficient refinement which reduces its complexity and improves its rate-distortion performance for lossy decompression. We show that the compression performance of the proposed method is only slightly worse than that of the Said and Pearlman (see IEEE Trans. on Image Proc., vol.5, no.9, p.1303-10, 1996) approach which does not offer regional decompression.


Objectives: This paper attempts to measure the impact of the second stage exploitation of FDA's MAUDE database on patient safety, technology assessment and other scientific fields.

Methods: Five bibliographic databases have been queried with the terms "Manufacturer and User Facility Device Experience Database" and "FDA AND MAUDE". A number of eligibility criteria where applied on the results, which led to a final group of 117 papers. An extensive study of these publications resulted to a number of interesting findings.

Results: The results concern the evolution of the database exploitation over time, and are examined according to the device groups that the identified papers are referring to, the research goals of these papers, the reasons that led the authors of these papers to use MAUDE data and finally how these data were used within their research methodology.

Conclusions: Patient safety and technology assessment are two of the scientific fields on which MAUDE database has the greatest impact. On average, more than 10 peer-reviewed papers each year involve MAUDE data as a mean to reach their research goals. This proves that MAUDE is an exploitable and valuable data source for research in these scientific fields.


The new version of ATHENA 2012 certainly meets that claim. The 3D Modeling Program has increased functionality and a big increase in speed. The features in the 2D section have been re-oriented and optimized for a better and faster level of productivity. Never in the history of ATHENA has there been such an extensive upgrade. The 3D module has been substantially expanded. The 3D core of ATHENA has been thoroughly revised. In comparison to the preceding version 3D constructions can now be displayed with up to ten times the speed in ATHENA 2012. The speed is controlled through the various viewing modes. The display of hardware, e.g. joint components, in the drawing can be switched on and off. Furthermore, Extrusion cuttings and processes (e.g. drillings) can be more easily defined and set. Also the output in terms of production drawings has been increased substantially. A new interface to ERPlus (T.A. Project) has been produced.


An apparatus for controlling fuel injection for an engine of a motor vehicle with direct cylinder injection, which performs the direct injection to an injection mode, which is selected from a plurality of different injection modes in accordance with the engine operation state where the injection mode is changed for a change of engine operating condition to a different injection mode, characterized by a driving state detecting device which suppresses a change of the injection mode to another injection mode when traveling on a slope or downhill grade.


Abstract This study assessed, in monetary terms, the ecosystem services provided by trees growing in public parks and garden squares in Warsaw, Poland. It focused on the valuation of two services: air purification (measured as an annual benefit stream in EUR/year) and carbon storage (measured as a fixed value at a given point in time in EUR). The study was conducted using the Avoided Cost Method with i-Tree Eco software. The initial calculations were based on data obtained from 41 selected green spaces in Warsaw. Subsequently, the results were extrapolated to all public parks and garden squares. The findings indicate that the average economic value of the NO2, SO2 and PM2.5 pollution removal ecosystem service provided by trees in Warsaw is around 3 EUR/tree/year. On average, one hectare of a public park in Warsaw provides this service at a value of 408 EUR/ha/year, while one hectare of a garden square provides this service at a value of 347 EUR/ha/year. With regards to the carbon storage ecosystem service, the results showed that the average economic value of this service is around 170 EUR/tree. On average, one hectare of a public park provides this service at a value of 22.4 thousand EUR/ha, and one hectare of a garden square provides this service at an average value of 18.9 thousand EUR/ha. By extrapolating these results, the total value of the air pollution removal ecosystem service provided by trees growing in all public parks and garden squares in Warsaw was estimated to range from 393 to 560 thousand EUR/year. The value of the carbon storage service ranges from 23.3 to 30.2 million EUR.


This paper focuses on the pricing problem of a two-stage closed-loop supply chain (CLSC) considering the cross-channel recycling and channel preference based on a single manufacturer and a single traditional retailer. The pricing decision problem raises from the manufacturer's direct sales and the retailer's retailing including recycling. Managers need to focus on intelligible management considering consumer channel preferences, cross-channel recovery and pricing strategies. According to game theory, centralized and decentralized CLSC decision models are used to provide an efficient solution to managers for the pricing problem. The centralized model consists of differential and uniform pricing strategy and the decentralized model consists of manufacturer-led Stackelberg, retailer-led Stackelberg and Nash equilibrium game, respectively. The impact of cross-channel recycling rate and channel preference on pricing and profitability in a two-stage CLSC system is explained elaborately in this study. The results show that cross-channel recovery rates and consumer channel preferences have a direct significant impact on pricing strategies including profit allocation decisions in CLSC. It demonstrated that different channel preferences leading to different pricing strategies and decision for manufacturers and retailers choices. Manufacturer's pricing decreases when channel preferences are constant and cross-channel recovery rates increase. Retailer's pricing remains stable as the cross-channel recovery rate has less affected on it. Furthermore, if the cross-channel recovery rates increase, then the manufacturers pricing decreases and retailers pricing increases. This information will be a helpful guideline for the manager to select suitable pricing strategies based on the company scenario.


The issues affecting high-pressure melt ejection (HPME) and the consequential containment pressurization from direct containment heating (DCH), as they affect advanced light water reactors (ALWRs), specifically advanced pressurized water reactors (APWRs), were reviewed by the U.S. Department of Energy Advanced Reactor Severe Accident Program (ARSAP). Recommendations from ARSAP regarding the design of APWRs to minimize DCH are embodied within the Electric Power Research Institute ALWR Utility Requirements Document, which specifies (a) a large, strong containment; (b) an in-containment refueling water storage tank; (c) a reactor cavity configuration that minimizes energy transport to the containment atmosphere; and (d) a reactor coolant system depressurization system. Experimental and analytical efforts, which have focused on current-generation plants, and analyses for APWRs were reviewed. Although DCH is a subject of continuous research and considerable uncertainties remain, it is the judgment of the ARSAP that reactors complying with the recommended design requirements would have a low probability of early containment failure due to HPME and DCH.


Compared with the Australian population, Queensland transport and storage workers and particularly drivers, have a higher rate of chronic disease associated with their occupational environment, unhealthy nutritional intake, a sedentary lifestyle, smoking habits, and excessive weight gain. Poor health can threaten the livelihood of workers and lead to increased workplace health and safety related costs for the employer. Addressing worker health can produce many benefits for employers including increased productivity, improved safety performance, and better staff retention. Broadening successful workplace health and safety management systems to include the promotion of worker health should be seen as a priority in order to achieve these positive outcomes. The Queensland Workplaces for Wellness Initiative aims to provide practical guidance, tools and resources to assist transport organisations to improve and maintain the health of workers.


One of the most important and difficult steps in the production of seed corn is drying and conditioning it, especially when seed production is done in ecological areas with limited temperature.


To increase food production under the challenges presented by global climate change, the concept of de novo domestication—utilizing stress-tolerant wild species as new crops—has recently gained considerable attention. We had previously identified mutants with desired domestication traits in a mutagenized population of the legume Vigna stipulacea Kuntze (minni payaru) as a pilot for de novo domestication. Given that there are multiple stress-tolerant wild legume species, it is important to establish efficient domestication processes using reverse genetics and identify the genes responsible for domestication traits. In this study, we identified VsPSAT1 as the candidate gene responsible for decreased hard-seededness, using a Vigna stipulacea isi2 mutant that takes up water from the lens groove. Scanning electron microscopy and computed tomography revealed that the isi2 mutant has lesser honeycomb-like wax sealing the lens groove than the wild-type, and takes up water from the lens groove. We also identified the pleiotropic effects of the isi2 mutant: accelerating leaf senescence, increasing seed size, and decreasing numbers of seeds per pod. While doing so, we produced a V. stipulacea whole-genome assembly of 441 Mbp in 11 chromosomes and 30,963 annotated protein-coding sequences. This study highlights the importance of wild legumes, especially those of the genus Vigna with pre-existing tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses, for global food security during climate change.


This article provides the main issues involved around the WMS (Wharehouse Managment System) with the management of warehouses and their application. From the review carried out, it was started by identifying the basic functionalities of this system, exposing its contribution to the optimization of the operations in the warehouses, aspects to be taken into account for the election of a software adapted to the needs of each organization, the process of implementation and its previous preparation to achieve the expected results with the acquisition of the system, its application in Colombia and the results obtained from the efficiency.


We compared the plausible reaction mechanism and quantitative efficiency of highly self-organized TiO2 nanotube (ntTiO2) film with TiO2 powder. Film was fabricated by electrochemical potentiostatic anodization of titanium thin film in an ethylene-glycol electrolyte solution containing 0.3 wt% NH4F and 2 vol% deionized water. Nanotubes with a pore size of 80-100 nm were formed by anodization at 60 V for 3 h. Humic acid (HA) was degraded through photocatalytic degradation using the ntTiO2 film. Pseudo first-order rate constants for 0.3 g of ntTiO2, 0.3 g TiO2 powder, and 1 g TiO2 powder were 0.081 min, 0.003 min, and 0.044 min, respectively. HA adsorption on the ntTiO2 film was minimal while adsorption on the TiO2 powder was about 20% based on thermogravimetric analysis. Approximately five-fold more normalized OH radicals were generated by the ntTiO2 film than the TiO2 powder. These quantitative findings explain why ntTiO2 film showed superior photocatalytic performance to TiO2 powder.


The okra crop is mainly grown in kharif season. Recently due to availability of irrigation facilities and higher prices to okra fruits, it's cultivation in summer has been common. It is rarely cultivated in winter season. The major threat to cultivation of okra is yellow vein mosaic disease caused by yellow vein mosaic virus (YVMV), which is the main cause of drastic reduction and unstable production of the crop (1, 5, 9). The sowing dates have significant role in the yellow vein mosaic incidence (2, 6). The present study was carried out to evaluate the influence of sowing dates on yellow vein mosaic virus (YVMV) disease development, whitefly population built up and yield of okra and to determine suitable month of sowing that will have minimum disease incidence and highest yield. Monthly sowing using three cultivars, viz. Parbhani Kranti, AROH-10 and Local was sown around the year 2005. Crop was sown in a plot 3 x 3.6 m 2 at a spacing of 60 x 30 cm following the recommended package of practices. The plot was exposed to natural invasion by whiteflies to develop the disease. The observations of vector population, disease incidence and yield were recorded. Whitefly counts were recorded as per the method modified from Sipell et al. (7). The whiteflies were counted early in the morning before 8 o'clock from three leaves i.e. bottom, middle and top leaves of three randomly selected plants of each treatment. The whitefly count was recorded from 7 to 120 days after sowing with an interval of 7 days. The transformation of vector population was done by using Poison formula x0 .5


The origin of magnetic coupling in KNiF 3 and K2NiF4 is studied by means of an ab initio cluster model approach. By a detailed study of the mapping between eigenstates of the exact nonrelativistic and spin model Hamiltonians it is possible to obtain the magnetic coupling constant J and to compareab initio cluster-model values with those resulting fromab initio periodic Hartree-Fock calculations. This comparison shows that J is strongly determined by two-body interactions; this is a surprising and unexpected result. The importance of the ligands surrounding the basic metal-ligand-metal interacting unit is reexamined by using two different partitions and the constrained space orbital variation method of analysis. This decomposition enables us to show that this effect is basically environmental. Finally, dynamical electronic correlation effects have found to be critical in determining the final value of the magnetic coupling constant. @S0163-1829 ~97!07707-2#


Largemouth Bass Micropterus salmoides, Florida Bass Micropterus floridanus, and their intergrade are socially and economically valuable sport fish. In the southeastern United States, it is customary for fisheries personnel to age black bass Micropterus species using sagittal otoliths, which requires killing the fish. Presently, fisheries managers and black bass anglers show reluctance to sacrifice large individuals. Development of a nonlethal ageing technique would not only allay concerns of sacrificing large black bass, but it could offer a pathway for new research, management, and conservation. We excised dorsal spines III–V from Largemouth Bass in Florida varying from 30 to 57 cm total length to evaluate the effects of the procedure on survival over 35 d. No mortalities were observed for fish with excised dorsal spines, and experiment-wide survival was 0.94 (0.87–1.00; 95% confidence interval). No significant differences in survival, weight change, or incidence of external injuries were observed between control and excised fish. The areas of spine excision healed with no visible infection or inflammation at the conclusion of the experiment. Therefore, dorsal spine removal offers managers a nonlethal option for collecting ageing structures of adult Largemouth Bass in Florida, including large individuals, and this result likely extends to other Micropterus species as well.


Leaders who desire to leave the current organization are sometimes forced to stay. The leadership behaviors of these leaders are underexplored in the current literature. Building on proximal withdrawal states theory, this study examines two pathways through which leaders' reluctant staying mindset (i.e., desire but are unable to quit) relates to their subordinates' task performance and organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB). One pathway proposes increased laissez‐faire leadership behaviors due to leaders' lower intrinsic motivation; the second pathway proposes increased delegation behaviors due to leaders' higher extrinsic motivation. Using three‐wave data collected from 100 leaders and 313 subordinates, we found that leaders' reluctant staying was indirectly and negatively associated with subordinates' task performance and OCB through leaders' lower perceptions of task significance and higher laissez‐faire leadership behaviors. At the same time, leaders' reluctant staying increased their bottom‐line mentality and delegation behaviors, but the indirect effects on subordinates' performance outcomes were not significant. We discuss the implications of our findings for theory, practices, and future research regarding how to manage leaders who stay reluctantly in the organization.


Androgenetic alopecia (AGA), a patterned hair loss in both males and females, is a commonly occurring disease worldwide. Conventionally, no curative or satisfactory treatment is available for this condition. Therefore, in the current study, we aim to use platelet‐rich plasma (PRP) as an alternative treatment option for the AGA patients.


The aim of this work was to verify and assess the tolerance of the PR63E82 (ExpressSun) sunflower cultivar to tribenuron, propaquizafop and their tank-mix combination in two rates under various weather conditions. Three small-plot field trials were carried out on sunflower in Prague, Czech Republic, from 2015 to 2017. High phytotoxicity (25–56%) of tribenuron (TBM) + non-ionic surfactant was observed in 2015 and 2016 when the sunflower was sown in mid-April. In 2017, phytotoxicity was significantly lower (4–6%), probably due to a later sowing of sunflower (May), and hence higher temperatures. The main symptoms of TBM phytotoxicity were leaf chlorosis, necrosis and growth retardation. Propaquizafop (PQF) injury was minimal in 2015 and 2017. A higher phytotoxicity (10–13%) was recorded in 2016, probably due to a hail which occurred 2 days after T2 (second application term (sunflower BBCH 14)) application. Plant injury had puckered leaves and also made more side branches. TBM + PQF damaged sunflower plants most of the tested herbicide treatments (phytotoxicity 3–62%). High phytotoxicity caused stem branching, increased number of sunflower heads and decreased yield.


Malang City has the potential to market superior products in Indonesia in the form of small industries. To market products, information facilities are needed so that the public knows the results of superior product performance from small-scale industries such as: glass material crafts, wood furniture crafts, tempe chips and others. This study aims to analyze how the strategy of developing small home industries of glass handicraft industries using SWOT analysis tools to analyze strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The results of the superior products of small industries are the authors focus on small and medium industries recycling glass materials marketing areas around Probolinggo, Sidoarjo, Pasuruan etc. Recycled glass craft for the marketing areas of Probolinggo, Bali and Surabaya, it is deemed necessary to hold product development (Product Development), which aims to increase the competitiveness of small industries in the same class. Finally, the results of the study found several important achievements include: (1) Increasing market demand, (2) Product sustainability, (3) Increasing productivity, (4) Cost of goods can be reduced, (5) Operating income increases.


Abstract: The main objective of this paper is to introduce the main concepts of Graph theory and study about connected graph, Eulerian graph, Hamiltonian graph etc. Graph theory is a branch of mathematics which has wide application in the area of mathematics as well as in other branches of science. This paper aims to emphasize the applications of graph theory in our daily life, in Computer science, Operation Research, Chemistry etc.


Abstract This paper considers the problem of searching for a vector of multipliers in a two-term third-order multiple recursive generator (3MRG) with the objective of maximizing the spectral test performance. On computers with double precision floating point, the maximum spectral value can serve as an initial threshold one. The spectral value found by this paper is superior to the best spectral value previously published for the full period 3MRG.


introduction: Congenital heart defects (CHD) are among the most common congenital diseases with great impact in infant morbidity and mortality; however, their real incidence in our country is unknown. The Ministry of Health created the National Congenital Heart Defects Program to contribute to the reduction of infant mortality for this cause. Therefore, determining the incidence and the relative frequency of CHD at the Hospital Materno Infantil Ramón Sardá, a public tertiary institution specialized in high risk pregnancies and congenital defects would provide information to the Program. objectives: 1) To determine the incidence and relative frequency of CHD of life birth (LB) at the Hospital Materno Infantil Ramón Sardá in the beginning of the PNCC program. 2) To evaluate the association with other congenital defects. 3) To analyze the distribution of CHD by sex. Methods: The study has a descriptive, observational and retrospective design. The digital clinical records of 1,161 LB with confirmed diagnosis of CHD from the Section of Pediatric Cardiology, Hospital Materno Infantil Ramón Sardá, between January 1, 1998 and December 31, 2011, evaluated during hospitalization and follow-up at the outpatient clinic, were analyzed. Congenital heart defects were classified based on their severity according to the meta-analysis published by Hoffman and Kaplan in USA assessing their incidence and relative frequency. Categorical data are presented as number of absolute cases and percentage. results: From a total of 92,725 LB during the study period, CHD were present in 1,161 of cases (12.5/1000). After excluding small muscular ventricular septal defects, the incidence decreased to 7/1000 LB. The incidence of moderate and severe CHD was 44% (3 to 3.5/1000). Ventricular septal defects were the most common CHD. Conclusion: Despite being a tertiary center for high risk pregnancy and congenital defects, the incidence of CHD determined at the Hospital Materno Infantil Ramón Sardá is similar to the one published worldwide.


Since late 2003, more than 6,500 HPAI/H5N1 outbreaks have been reported in 61 countries and human cases have been identified in 15 countries. While the mechanisms enabling persistence in poultry populations remain unclear, the movement of poultry through live-bird markets (LBM), which are common in Asian countries because of a cultural preference to consume freshly slaughtered meat, has been shown to be an important factor in the circulation of HPAI/H5N1 in Viet Nam and Hong Kong. The dense concentration and high turn-over rate of live birds in LBMs provide ample conditions for virus amplification and therefore LBMs may be an important reservoir for HPAI or "hub" of circulation. HPAI surveillance programs in several countries including Viet Nam, Thailand, Cambodia, China and Hong Kong have demonstrated that HPAI/H5N1 can be found in LBMs.


This study uses surveys of students in universities and colleges to explore whether gender is a critical variable in understanding what is labelled as user-friendly computer instruction and learning, Internet searches, and presentation software tools.


Urban Traffic Control is a key problem for most big cities. Current approaches to handle the city traffic rely on controlling traffic lights. The systems in operation range from static control of traffic light phases to adaptive systems based on numeric models and traffic sensors. Recently, some planning‐based approaches have also been proposed. These approaches work at a higher level of abstraction, but have been found to work well if complemented by low‐level systems. We have identified two main difficulties for the wide use of planning techniques in this domain: generating the control models is a difficult task; and some algorithms scale poorly. In this paper we present Automated Planning for Traffic Control (APTC), a control system based on Automated Planning, that successfully overcomes these two problems. It combines techniques that continuously: learn an accurate planning model; and also divide the city for distributed reasoning in order to scale to large city networks. Experimental results show that APTC outperforms static approaches as well as other planning‐based systems. We also show that the combination of both approaches improves compared with using only one of them.


Five strains of Cellulomonas (ATCC 482, ATCC 488, ATCC 491, ATCC 15724 and ATCC 21399) were evaluated for toxicity. Extracts of cells in both water and oil as well as the cell free spent broth injected into fertile chicken eggs were not lethal to the embryos. Viable organisms inoculated in rats, mice and rabbits by oral, subcutaneous and intraperitoneal routes respectively, did not cause generalized or localized infection nor abnormal changes in the vital organs. The sexual maturity, fertility and the vital organs of adult rats as well as the vital data of their progeny were not affected by feeding 10% protein from all strains.


The current economic uncertainty, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, has affected the global socio-economy. In Malaysia, to curb the spread of Covid-19 viruses, the government has implemented the Movement Control Order (MCO). This action has caused many SMEs (including micro-enterprises) not to be able to continue their operations as usual, mainly due to cash flow problems, operational instability and supply chain disruptions. Micro-enterprises are a significant contributor to local economic development. Hence, business continuity strategies are essential for these enterprises to continue and survive in the market. The government has introduced various methods to support these businesses. Meanwhile, virtuous strategic planning and management can improve the management's governance and integrity in making accurate decisions to achieve their goals. The implementation of digital marketing can upsurge the sale of micro-enterprises. This study intended to examine the relationship between government support, governance & strategic planning, operational restructuring and digital marketing with micro-enterprises business survival. This study uses a quantitative method with a total of 135 respondents among the owner of micro-enterprises in Complex Pekan Rabu, Kedah. Government support, governance & strategic planning and digital marketing were found to be survival determinants factors during the covid-19 pandemic.


Yan'an is the Holy Land of China's revolution and the cradle of new China,also is the Chinese Party members' spiritual homestead.Our party not only realized the first historical leap of China Marxism in Yan'an revolution times,but has established the position of instructing of Mao Zedong Thought,and has fostered and formed the great Yan'an Spirit.Under the new situation that party and country pay close attention to college student's idea and political education,further strengthen and improve the teaching of college idea and political theory lesson,to carry forward the Yan'an Spirit is the important content of the teaching of idea and political theory lesson,and have profound enlightenment and methodology guidance to the teaching of idea and political theory lesson with high quality too.


Khazagerov Georgy Georgievich  - Ph.D. of philology, professor. Russian language dpt. Institute of philology, journalism and cross-cultural communication. Southern Federal University. Abstract . In the article modern theory of «metaphor we live by» is challenged. Cognitive metaphor is considered rather as a tool than a social guide. It acts like topos. The experience of the rhetoric of totalitarianism shows how metaphor loses its power via loosing unconscious perception. The resistance of metaphor to critical analysis depends on metonymical component of metaphor. Metonymy itself is more dangerous means of propaganda than metaphor. Key words : metaphor, metonymy, topos, rhetoric, totalitarian rhetoric


Mortality attributable to cirrhosis exceeds 1.32 million per year,1 positioning liver disease as a clear outlier when compared to healthcare developments across other domains of western medicine. Additionally, the burden of liver disease extends far beyond raw mortality estimates, with significant impact on community and secondary healthcare services.2 Herein, Roberts et al present a largescale evaluation of hospital admissions across Greater Toronto.3 In so doing, they show that although liver disease contributes <2% of all general medical attendances, the duration of hospital stay, inhospital mortality and readmission rates far exceed those relating to heart failure, pneumonia and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Moreover, those with liver disease are significantly younger at presentation, yet 'sicker' than nonliver patients, with a high proportion admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) and needing renal replacement therapy. Of principal concern is the fact that the median age of death is <60 years old; significantly younger than in medical patients admitted for other reasons. Healthcare costs are also greatest for liver disease by virtue of greater need for diagnostics, ICU beds, and longer length of stay. However, a major limitation to the study is the time period under evaluation (20102017), wherein >10% had hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection cited as the principal aetiology of liver disease. The advent of directacting antiviral therapies has led to a marked reduction in HCVrelated hospital admissions, yet the proportion of successfully treated vs nontreated individuals was not shown. The authors also did not study the reasons for admission among patients with rarer aetiologies, which comprised approximately 20% of all liver disease admissions, albeit with <4% admitted because of cirrhosis. The incidence and prevalence of rarer, immunemediated diseases are rising across the west,4 yet detailed analyses were lacking for this important yet seemingly underappreciated patient population, with substantial and disproportionate medical needs. While a country having the size and geography of Canada cannot expect to have a hepatologist in every hospital, it is possible to leverage the wealth of expertise available regionally. The Lancet Liver Commission has promoted the need for infrastructural change,5 which although positioned from a UK perspective, is broadly applicable to other publicly funded healthcare systems. These include dedicated hepatology reference networks with targeted referral pathways, establishing patientcentred key performance indicators, and centralised 'advice and guidance' services for health outposts that lack specialist hepatology services.5 Equally, there are initiatives to improve discharge care and circumvent readmission for patients with endstage liver disease.6,7 This is alongside public health resolutions to attenuate harmful drinking, eradicate viral hepatitis, and increase promotion of exercise and healthy dietary habits.8,9 As the national incidence of liver disease rises,10 efforts to educate the public and other healthcare professionals must be enhanced, including screening for liver disease in clinics that manage diabetes, obesity and alcohol addiction. Interventions to prevent cirrhosis and liver cancer in all patients with chronic liver disease are also essential to mitigate healthcare costs, and limit global liverrelated morbidity and mortality.


The average economic growth rate of Pasaman Regency before the administrative division (1993-2002) was 5.8%, then after the division increased slightly to an average of 5.9%. This figure is far lower than the rate of growth of the New Autonomous Region of West Pasaman Regency (6.4 %). After the division, agricultural and mining sectors became more dominant in the economy of Pasaman making up 54.6% but the contribution of the manufacturing sector declined sharply from 10.3% to 4.6% as most of the existing Pasaman processing industry became part of West Pasaman. The comparative advantages of Pasaman Regency are mainly in the sectors: agriculture, forestry and freshwater fisheries. The district's economic growth is mainly influenced by factors originating from outside the region as indicated by the relatively high regional-share component of 159%. While regional division has benefited West Pasaman, it has provided no significant benefit for the parent region which can still be categorized as underdeveloped. An analysis of the Klassen Typology Matrix indicates that policies and programs that are relevant for the development of disadvantaged areas should be directed at providing employment through the use of laborintensive technologies. This development should focus on agriculture, forestry and freshwater fisheries producing products with a significantly extensive market. CC BY: Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0


This paper discusses several types of interoperability for medical applications and devices: the ability of applications to run on any platform; how modularity affects interoperability; and data exchange between heterogeneous applications. It draws from experience with Internet standardization to find lessons for creating standards for interoperability.


The Medea myth is one of the most ancient that tradition has handed to us, but paradoxically, is perhaps the most 'modern' and scabrous among those ever known.For her mysterious character and, in some aspects, demonic, Medea has enjoyed vast fortune in ancient times as well as in modern and contemporary art.We will focus the dissertation on Christine de Pizan's text, La Cite des Dames and the figure of Medea that emerges: the terrible Medea becomes, in the writing of Christine, the symbol of knowledge and female loyalty towards others, which is not only faithfulness in love, but total availability of body and soul. We will link the Christine's Cite with Boccaccio's De mulieribus claris and we will argue that Christine's work is not a translation, a plagiarism, of the most famous work of our writer and poet. In the second part of the thesis, I will analyze the version of another special woman; showing that the faces of Medea are numerous and diverse: the Midea of Irina Possamai. Irina is, in fact, one of the first Italian librettiste and chose - as Christine did - to narrate her Medea in an opera that, not surprisingly, she called Midea.The Medea myth is one of the most ancient that tradition has handed to us, but paradoxically, is perhaps the most 'modern' and scabrous among those ever known.For her mysterious character and, in some aspects, demonic, Medea has enjoyed vast fortune in ancient times as well as in modern and contemporary art.We will focus the dissertation on Christine de Pizan's text, La Cite des Dames and the figure of Medea that emerges: the terrible Medea becomes, in the writing of Christine, the symbol of knowledge and female loyalty towards others, which is not only faithfulness in love, but total availability of body and soul. We will link the Christine's Cite with Boccaccio's De mulieribus claris and we will argue that Christine's work is not a translation, a plagiarism, of the most famous work of our writer and poet. In the second part of the thesis, I will analyze the version of another special woman; showing that the faces of Medea are numerous and diverse: the Midea of Irina Possamai. Irina is, in fact, one of the first Italian librettiste and chose - as Christine did - to narrate her Medea in an opera that, not surprisingly, she called Midea


The biennial NPS MedicineWise National Medicines Symposium (NMS) brings together a diverse audience of stakeholders from across the medicines and health sectors. Pharmacists are by far the best represented health professionals at NMS, comprising over 40% of the audience.


In this editorial we begin with a story: the legend of the ring of Gyges.1 According to the legend, Gyges was a shepherd in the service of King Candaules of Lydia. One day, when he was out tending his sheep, there was a violent earthquake, which broke open the ground to reveal a cavern in which Gyges found a corpse, entombed in a bronze horse, and wearing nothing but a gold ring on its finger. He took the ring and wore it to one of the regular meetings that were called to prepare a report to the king on the status of his flocks. Whilst fiddling with the ring Gyges discovered that, if he twisted it so that the stone was turned in towards his palm, it made him invisible. After making this discovery he hatched a plan, and arranged to have himself chosen as one of the messengers sent to report to the king. When he arrived at the palace, he used his new found powers to seduce the king's wife and, with her help, murder the king and take control of the kingdom. In Glaucon's telling, the tale of Gyges illustrates the ultimate power and attraction of injustice. Freed from the constraints of custom and reputation, he could steal whatever he wanted, have sex with whomever he chose, kill or free from prison anyone he wished, and not be apprehended. No one, not even the most just, argues Glaucon, could resist the temptation of such a ring. In various ways the papers in this issue can all be connected to the story of Gyges in particular, and to the significance of stories in general in the shaping of moral sensibilities. Myths and stories have always played an essential part in human moral and ethical development—children's stories, such as Little Red Riding Hood, we know carry strong subliminal moral messages,2 and modern day ethicists still carry on the Socratic/Platonic tradition using Legal Ethics, Volume 10, No. 1


High pressures and temperatures may be generated at the center an imploding plasma liner with applications in thermonuclear fusion, laboratory scale astrophysics, and high energy density physics. These phenomena are being studied on the Plasma Liner Experiment (PLX) in which a spherical liner is formed via the merging of plasma jets. The basic physical processes include pulsed plasma acceleration, plasma jet propagation in a vacuum, plasma jet merging, liner formation, liner implosion, stagnation, and rarefaction. A summary of PLX, some preliminary theory and modeling results, and scaling laws based on 3D hydrodynamic modeling are presented. We will emphasize our recent 3D hydro modeling, which provides insights into liner formation, implosion, and effects of initial jet parameters on scaling of peak pressure.


Before giving in details the attitude we assume in our department with reference to the use of the B. C. G. vaccine i t may be appropriate briefly to survey the position of the obstetricians in general on the question ))Tuberculosis and Pregnancy)) and in this way to point out how we gradually arrived a t our present standpoint. Even in early days the question ))Tuberculosis and Pregnancy, has attracted the attention of the obstetricians. To begin with, however, it was the effect of pregnancy on the tuberculous condition that was considered of primary interest. Although no detailed review of the entire historical development of the question can be attempted here, i t still is essential to go back as far as to the ,International Congress of Gynecologists)) in Rome, 1904. Here, for the first time, the question was discussed by a large body of obstetricians and gynecologists, and many joined SCHAUTA and his school in their strong emphasis upon the deleterious influence of pregnancy on pre-existing tuberculosis and in their consequent conclusion that abortion ought to be induced on a rather large scale. Yet, on the other hand, there were not a few obstetricians -particularly from France -who shared the opinions advo-


Problems of the newborn breastfeeding problems congential and hereditary disorders developmental disorders behavioural problems psychiatric problems nervous system disorders eye disorders ear, nose and throat disorders respiratory system disorders cardiovascular system disorders the critically ill child allergic disorders nutritional disorders fluid therapy gastrointestinal system disorders endocrine system disorders immune system disorders blood disorders malignancy renal system disorders infectious diseases tuberculosis meningococcaemia malaria and parasites poisoning, bites and stings anaesthesia and analgesia surgery burns injuries abuse and neglect skin disorders muscle disorders joint disorders orthopaedic disorders immunization procedures simple investigations normal values and useful information graphs pharmacopoeia.


We have moved rapidly from the Agricultural Revolution in the eighteenth century, through the Industrial Revolution of the nineteenth century, into the Information Revolution of the twentieth century and, according to Daniel Pink, in his book A Whole New Mind, it is now time to move on. The Creative Age is moving our culture and civilization forward out of the Information Age. He says, "The keys to the kingdom are changing hands." According to him, the future belongs to the creators, empathizers, pattern recognizers and meaning makers. He says that artists, designers, storytellers, caregivers, consolers and big picture thinkers will be in demand and thrive as we leave the age of logical, linear, computer-like abilities and move on to a society based on invention, conceptualization, creativity and design.1 How does this apply to healthcare, which has moved during these revolutions from charity houses and folk remedies in the eighteenth century, through antiseptics, the introduction of public health and the professionalization of medicine and nursing in the nineteenth century, technology-driven investigation, unremitting attempts at cure, regardless of the personal or financial cost, and evidence-based medicine, which dominated the end of the twentieth century, to health and wholeness in the twenty-first century? No longer 'holism' in its narrow sense but wholeness of person in the face of persisting disease or death, wholeness of services and whole systems commissioning. Les Watson, responsible for the Saltire Centre for Learning at Glasgow Caledonian University, argues that as adults we are conditioned to avoid being wrong at all costs, and this negatively affects our willingness to take risks. But take risks we must. He says that forensic examination of the past, a major part of most planning strategies, will not produce innovative solutions for the future or help us make decisions where we do not know the answers. According to him we need to be unhappy with things as they are. We need uncertainty, vision, creativity and to be entrepreneurs to create new futures.2 We need to be imaginative and prepared to be wrong. However, the choreographer Twyla Tharp counsels "Some people find this moment – the moment before creativity begins – so painful, they simply cannot deal with it. In the most extreme form, this terror totally paralyses people."2 I think, in palliative care, we have become paralysed. We need challenges, we need skills, but we need both in equal measure. Csikszentmihalyi proposes that without either we are apathetic. When we develop some skills but have no challenges, we are bored. If we have challenges but not the skills to meet them, we worry and become anxious. As our skill levels rise to match the increasing challenges we face, we are both aroused and feel in control until the cork bursts out and we cannot stop ourselves –we are on a roll. Csikszentmihalyi calls this 'flow', suggesting that individuals in this state can achieve anything they set their minds to.3 How might this apply to teams? A dysfunctional, poorly skilled team with no challenges will be apathetic. Challenges without skills create a team of anxious worriers who cannot get anything done. A team that is skilling itself ready for action but has no challenges becomes bored. Imagine how it might be for that team if it develops as it is challenged. A skilled and challenged team would be unstoppable and the whole far, far greater than the sum of its parts. If we are to be part of the creative revolution, then let's apply our vision, our creativity, our imagination to endof-life care. We know that only sometimes it is good. We know that sometimes it is far from ideal. We have begun to accept that as the norm. We need to think outside the box. Suppose the model of care we might work to had five stages beginning with those for whom the answer to the 'surprise question' (would you be surprised if this person died within the next year?) is 'No'; including the time of progression of advanced disease; onset of dying then death itself; early bereavement, and then the year following death for the bereaved relatives and friends4 (Figure 1). What it if it was easy to recognize all those patients who need end-of-life care, regardless of diagnosis? Those thought to be in the last year of life would be known, not only to those who happened to have their written records, or even to the IT literate GP who had his Gold Standards Framework (GSF) register on the computer at the surgery, but those GSF registers would be linked electronically, and accessible by all who needed that information


The invention relates to a curved conduit (2) pertaining to a hydraulic machine, for channeling a flow. Said curved conduit (2) is provided with fins (8) that are fixed to its inner wall (22) and comprise openings.


[Objective]The research aimed to analyze the spectral character of Zhoushan sea water.[Method] The satellite remote sensing data was collected and water spectrum data was attained using portable amphibious spectrum radiameter ISI921VF.[Result] The water quality differed in different sampling points.The water of the sampling points contained different composition and composition concentrations was different.[Conclusion] It is necessary to apply other methods as assistance.


For every new product and service entrant, there are usually many incumbents who must defend their positions in the market. Hence, defensive strategy is as least as critical as new-product strategy. Our 1983 article argued that defensive strategy critically depends on the distribution of buyer preferences and the position of the new entrant relative to the position of the incumbent in a multidimensional attribute space. Since the appearance of our 1983 article in Marketing Science, research in defensive strategy has progressed in both prescriptive and descriptive directions. Subsequent research on defensive strategy has also addressed empirical, methodological, theoretical, and substantive issues. Today, defensive strategy is more important than ever, with shorter new-product life cycles, persistent service innovation, remarkable technological change, global competition, and the invention of new channels of distributions.


In a recent study, it was suggested that there could be direct associations between cellulose and lignin in mild alkaline cooked pulps. The observation was based on studies showing that the molecul ...


This panel provides participants a chance to interact with five digital government research center directors about their experiences in building sustainable digital government research centers. Panelists, selected to provide regional representation, will discuss their experiences and share lessons learned. Topics to be covered building a research agenda, building mutually beneficial partnerships, fund raising, finding and developing talent and engaging with university, funding, and other institutional partners. Following the formal remarks participants will be invited to raise additional topics of interest for discussion with the Directors on the panel.