Background: Pre-eclampsia and eclampsia have remained a major global public health threat in contributing significantly to maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. Based on the inverse relationship between serum 1,25(OH)2D3 levels and plasma renin activity found previously, it is speculated that 1,25(OH)2D3 might be a negative endocrine regulator of renin production in vivo. During pregnancy, vitamin D may play a role in implantation and placental function potentially due to angiogenic, immunomodulatory, and antiinflammatory effects. Vitamin D deficiency can affect the health of both mother and fetus by increasing the production of inflammatory cytokines and stimulating the activity of T-regulating cells. Vitamin D is emerging as a promising agent for pre-eclampsia prevention. Aims and objectives: The objective of this study is to compare the vitamin D levels in pre-eclamptic and healthy non-pre-eclamptic pregnant women in labor and find out the relationship between vitamin D levels and pre-eclampsia. Methodology: The present cross-sectional study was carried out on pregnant women with pre-eclampsia in labor. For each case with pre-eclampsia, one uncomplicated, normotensive pregnant woman in labor was taken as control. On admission to the labor room detailed history, physical examination followed by thorough obstetrics and systemic examination was done. Required investigations were done including vitamin D and calcium levels. Maternal and fetal condition was monitored during labor/cesarean section, mode of delivery, maternal and fetal outcomes were recorded. After delivery, 2cc of cord blood was collected in a serum tube and sent for vitamin D levels. Data was collected and analyzed statistically using Epi-info version 7.1. Results: It was observed that the patients in both groups were comparable with respect to demographic and obstetrics characteristics except for significantly high BP in group I. Vitamin D deficiency (i.e. < 20 ng/ml) was significantly more in group I as compared to group II and the difference was highly significant (p < 0.0001). Similarly, the mean maternal calcium levels were significantly lower in group I in comparison to group II (p < 0.0001) i.e. the mean maternal calcium level in group I and group II were 8.03 ± 0.94 and 9.19 ± 0.67 respectively. It was also observed that the level of 25-OH-D in neonates of preeclamptic women was significantly lower than for those of the normal pregnant women (p < 0.0001). Conclusion: Vitamin D deficiency is highly prevalent in all parts of the world. Pregnant women and neonates are highly vulnerable to vitamin D deficiency. Preeclampsia is indeed associated with lower vitamin D levels and the pathophysiology of pre-eclampsia involves vitamin D and calcium metabolism through their role in immunomodulation, angiogenesis and anti-inflammatory effects. From the present study, it was observed that vitamin D and calcium levels were significantly lowered in women with pre-eclampsia as compared to those of the normotensive pregnant women. So early detection of vitamin D and calcium deficiencies may be helpful in preventing occurrence of PET and its complications.


Climate change and environmental degradation threaten to cause serious effects on the planet and on society. Scientists thus advocate an urgent shift towards a more sustainable development. Herein, industry is said to play a vital role, as it could positively influence sustainable production and consumption. In this, life cycle management (LCM) is suggested as a possible approach towards corporate management of environmental impacts, as it implies holistic environmental management along the whole product life cycle, from raw material extraction through to product end-of-life. Studies of the management and organization of LCM in industry practice are scarce, resulting in a need to study this practice in the setting of multinational corporations (MNCs). The aim of this dissertation is thus to explore the 'nitty gritty' details of organizing LCM; focusing on the 1) initiatives and activities of LCM, their scope of inclusion, how these develop over time, 2) the role of actors in performing and forming these practices, and 3) the activities of these practitioners. Studies both in the field (i.e. industry practice) and of literature have been conducted, resulting in five papers (Papers I-V). One group of papers target LCM as it is practiced in one MNC (Paper I-III), by focusing on contemporary practice (Paper I), the LCM development over time (Paper II), and in the context of a product chain collaboration (Paper III). Another group of papers (Papers IV-V) takes a broader perspective on LCM throughout industry and society, focusing explicitly on the practitioners of LCM and their activities (Paper IV), and the different types of LCM that exist (Paper V). The results show the assiduous efforts of life cycle (LC) practitioners in integrating, adapting and promoting LCM in their organizations, and their importance in bridging discussions in a practice of creative problem-solving, through a process best understood as translation. Adaptation depended much on possible activities, rather than on rational choice for implementation. In this, LCM was made relevant by being connected to existing corporate logics and practices, in turn facilitating the uptake of LCM. The results concretize the many practices of LCM and provide a collected and enriched LCM vocabulary, thereby generating a better understanding of developing industry LCM practice.


A group of 637 golden hamsters [Mesocricetus auratus] was studied and 64 of them found suffering from wet tail syndrome. They had a regional epithelial proliferation of the gut often reminding of a tumour associated with unspecified bacilliform organisms in enterocytes. Three adult females showed a similar lesion lacking of microbes with intestinal adenocarcinoma instead. Its diffuse growth reaching mesentery was combined with secondaries in mesenteric lymph nodes. Nine older hamsters showed a malignant intestinal lymphoma in similar conditions. Mutual relations of the findings were discussed. Wet tail syndrome seemed to be an intestinal precancer.


For many years social workers have been searching for a wayto reach clients who are not inclined to cooperate with anywelfare program that produces change in their way of life.Social workers may use a broad base of knowledge that willenable them to incorporate invitational theory in their work.This article looks at how a social worker is able to use conflictmanagement as described by William Purkey and JohnSchmidt in their book on invitational counseling in order tobetter engage the hardest to reach clients.


Knowledge of the amount of nutrients accumulated in the plant provides important information that can assist in the fertil ization of crops program. To study the salt effect caused by high amounts of fertilizers a pplied by fertigation, an experiment was conducted in a greenhouse at the FCA/UNESP, Bot ucatu, SP. The experiment lasted 90 days (01/11/11 to 29/01/12) constituting f ve levels of electrical conductivity (1.0, 3.0, 6.0, 9.0, and 12.0 dS m ), fertigation two management (M1: traditional management, M2: management by controlling the ionic concentration of the soil solution) and two varieties of beets (Early Wonder and Itapuã) blocks with 4 repeats forming a 5x2x2 factorial. From the dry weight of s hoots and roots was determined the levels of micronutrients (B, Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn mg kg ), and by multiplying the dry matter accumulation was determined in these plant . The ac cumulation of micronutrients in different parts of the plant followed the order: Fe > Mn> Zn> B> Cu for the different


In order to construct a building that will last into the future, a strong foundation is a prerequisite. The foundation is a part of the building that isn't visible in the finished structure, but is essential in erecting a building that will have the necessary strength to endure.The math and basic electrical concepts of this unit are very similar to the foundation of a building. The concepts in this unit are the essential basics that you must understand, because you'll build upon them as you study electrical circuits and systems. As your studies continue, you'll find that a good foundation in electrical theory and math will help you understand why the NEC contains certain provisions. This unit includes math and electrical fundamentals. You'll be amazed at how often your electrical studies return to the basics of this unit. Ohm's law and the electrical formulas related to it are the foundation of all electrical circuits. Every student begins at a different level of understanding, and you may find this unit an easy review, or you may find it requires a high level of concentration. In any case, be certain that you fully understand the concepts of this unit and are able to successfully complete the questions at the end of the unit before going on. A solid foundation will help in your successful study of the rest of this textbook.


Most current AI systems have little to no ability to store and later retrieve a record or memory of what they do. The ability to form episodic memories of what an agent does would be very useful so such a capability will likely be developed and widespread in the near future. This would have some benefits from an AI safety perspective, enabling users to better monitor, understand, and control agents' actions. However, as a new capability with wide applications it could also introduce significant new risks. We outline these risks and benefits and propose four principles to guide the development of episodic memory capabilities so that these will enhance, rather than undermine, the effort to keep AI safe and reliable.


The object of this monograph is to verify empirically the causal effect between the economic development and the disqualify of gender. it was used panel regression with 130 countries and data of four consecutive years, it allowed to verify the relation of the theme by the transversal and temporal cut which brings more efficient and informative results. The social changes that occurred in the last times redefined the women role on the modern society. The female characteristics have slowly started to be valorizaded, enabling women to stop being adjuvant and to start being more and more important as economic agents by time passes. This shows that improvements in women conditions, as literacy rate growth, right of working outside and better life expectations; contribute for the economic development of the country through lower fertility rate and higher human capital. The result gained contributed for the better discussion about the impact of the female conditions on the economic development, therefore it was possible to confirm empirically that a more equal attitudes between men and women can create a positive effect on the development.


Evolution of snakelike morphology, characterized by both body elongationand and limb reduction, has ocurred several times during evolutionary history of Squamata. Changes in morphological parameters related to locomotion directly affect organismal performance in several activities that are crucial to survival and descendent produciton. Therefore, these morphological changes are expected to be adaptive to the environment where the organism occurs. Ecomorphological studies suggests that the evolution of snakelike morphologies in Squamata ocurred frequently associated to the ocupation of different habitats, giving rise to two distinct ecomorphs: grass-swimming species, which generally have elongation of trunk and tail, and fossorial species, which generally have elongation of trunk and short tail. The aim of the present study was to investigate the existence of evolutionary relationships between ecology and morphological aspects like body elongation and limb reduction in species of neo-tropical lizard family Gymnophthalmidae, evaluating how these evolutionary changes affect locomotor performance.


Fluorinetin oxide (FTO) nanostructure was developed on the surface of a glass plate using spray payroliziz method. A new electrochemical biosensor was fabricated based on a layer by layer process. In this process chitosanFe3O4 (CHFe3O4) nanocomposite film was prepared at the surface of FTO electrode by dipcoating method. In the next step, the glucose oxidase (GOx) was immobilized on the CHFe3O4/FTO nanocomposite electrode. The GOx/CHFe3O4/FTO bioelectrode has a linear range of 10–270 µM and a detection limit of 5 µM. The highest sensitivity was obtained at 1.2 µA mM−1 cm−2.


This study is aimed at understanding perceptions regarding how physical activity impacts women who are participating in the Mothers in Movement program an initiative sponsored by two priority schools in Heredia, Costa Rica and also examines social support received by participants and their families. The goal was to obtain input to foster interventions towards increasing physical activity among sedentary adult women and their families. This study uses a qualitative approach, obtaining data through focus groups conducted among a sample of 22 persons who are stay-at-home mothers. The study results show that, at an intrapersonal level, women feel more successful and self-sufficient when they are physically active. They are also better able to control their expectations as well as their social, persuasion and modelling abilities.  On an interpersonal level, participants turned to social, instrumental, emotional and informational support and companionship when deciding to engage in physical activity. Finally, at an organizational level, the school´s support in helping coordinate and execute this project was essential to promoting physical activity. This study highlighted the success of a socio-ecological model as a starting point to help sedentary mothers and their families lead more physically active lives.


In the study, the impact of personality traits on social marketing of sport was investigated.  A total of 401 students who continue their education and training in different departments voluntarily participated in the study. The e-survey method prepared in the internet environment was applied as a data collection technique in the research.  Two scales were used in the application. The personality scale developed by(Benet-Martínez & John, 1998). and adapted into Turkish by (Sümer & Sümer, 2005). was used.  Secondly, the "Attitude Scale on Social Marketing of Sports" developed by (Ünal, 2009). was used in the study. There is a high level of positive relationship between satisfaction. However, this relationship is not statistically significant (R: ,074 , R2: ,006 ,   p < 0,05).  According to the results of the T- test on the significance of the regression coefficient, it is seen that personality traits do not have a significant effect (T ፦1,486, p < 0.05).   Examining the impact of personality characteristics in the social aspect of this type of marketing, which targets large audiences such as sports marketing, especially for companies involved in this sector and, of course, is great for clubs is of great importance. Because, companies should pay attention to this detail in their next strategic moves in this area. Future studies can be applied on businesses. Different dimensions of personality traits can be considered. Social sports marketing can be evaluated in the context of product mix. And this evaluation can be constructed both in terms of consumers (fans). and businesses.


Sugars and their derivatives are contained in various effluents and consume dissolved oxygen in environmental water. Therefore investigations on the COD and BOD values caused by sugars are necessary. Semimicro COD method previously reported was adopted in this experiment and the following results were obtained. COD values of acidic and alkaline method increased as straight line with increasing sugar concentration, but declined when KMnO4 remaining in the reaction solutions was reduced. COD values (g/g) increased with the carbon number contained in monosugars and with the number of sugars in oligosaccharide. COD values of ketoses were a little higher than aldoses. Effect of AgNO3 on the COD of monosugars was not recognized, but the effect appeared in the first period of COD treatment. In the saccharose, AgNO3 effect represented a little. In glucosamine and galactosamine, AgNO3 effect was clearly recognized, but the effect diminished in N-acetylglucosamine. Ration of COD values to theoretical oxygen demand was 58.1% in acidic method and 51.4% in alkaline method. This suggests that the oxidation of sugars is incomplete and decomposed products remain in the solution after COD treatment. Mean decomposition rate of BOD values was 42.9% in sugars and 21.6% in sugar alcohols. Therefore COD values indicate content of sugars more direct than BOD.


This analysis looks at the Indigenous provisions in the 2016-17 federal Budget. This is done in the light of current and past strategies, policies, programs and funding, and is supported, where this is possible, by data and information drawn from government agencies, reports and published papers. Similar analyses from previous budgets are available on the University of Sydney e‐scholarship website. The opinions expressed are solely those of the author who takes responsibility for them and for any inadvertent errors. This work does not represent the official views of the Menzies Centre for Health Policy.


Objectives The levels of some migraine biomarkers differ between episodic migraine (EM) and chronic migraine (CM), but information on C-reactive protein (CRP) levels in EM and CM is conflicting. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate CRP levels in participants with EM and CM in comparison to those in healthy controls. Methods Plasma CRP levels were evaluated by high-sensitivity CRP tests in female participants with EM (n = 174) and CM (n = 191) and healthy controls (n = 50). Results The results showed no significant difference in CRP levels among the EM, CM, and control groups (median and interquartile range, 0.40 [0.15–0.70] mg/L vs. 0.40 [0.15–1.00] mg/L vs. 0.15 [0.15–0.90] mg/L, p = 0.991). The ratio of individuals with elevated CRP levels (>3.0 mg/L) did not significantly differ among the EM, CM, and control groups (3.4% [6/174] vs. 2.1% [4/191] vs. 0.0% [0/50], p = 0.876). Multivariable regression analyses revealed that CRP levels were not significantly associated with headache frequency per month (β = −0.076, p = 0.238), the severity of anxiety (Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 score, β = 0.143, p = 0.886), and depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-9 score, β = 0.143, p = 0.886). Further, CRP levels did not significantly differ according to clinical characteristics, fibromyalgia, medication overuse, preventive treatment, and classes of preventive treatment medications. Among participants with a body mass index ≥25 kg/m2, the CRP levels in EM (n = 41) and CM (n = 17) were numerically higher than those in the control (n = 6) (1.30 [0.28–4.25] mg/L vs. 1.10 [0.50–3.15] mg/L vs. 0.40 [0.15–0.83] mg/L, p = 0.249) but did not reach statistical significance. Conclusions The interictal CRP level is not likely to be a biomarker for EM or CM.


Owners must manage and ensure the safety of their civil structures even as use of many structures extends well beyond their design lifetime. Traditionally, most structures rely on strict maintenance procedures, visual inspections, and very few sensors. But maintenance is very expensive, visual inspections can miss critical problems, and conventional sensors can fail in harsh environments. Can fiber-optic sensing (FOS) address these issues? This is not a new question, but there are some new answers. This paper highlights several structures where FOS is used, and describes the associated successes and challenges for each application. Many successes are coupled to improved FOS tools: better sensor packages, simpler and less expensive instrumentation, improved installation techniques, and more efficient data analysis tools. Examples of each are provided. Particular attention is given to the economics of instrumenting civil structures - when and how it pays. Conclusions include recommendations for future developments that will further accelerate FOS acceptance and use.


The amount of captured images has increased exponentially these last years. Online available image collections are becoming common thanks to social networks or institutes digitization programs. The context of our work falls into the need to explore such image collections. The literature paradigms are leveraged to meet three constraints: (i) handling medium to large image collections, (ii) handling dynamic image collections and (iii) providing interactive visualisations. In this paper, we describe how our work has been used to build a recommendation system and an interactive exploration platform for dynamic image collection. To illustrate the relevance of such tools, we present APoD eXplorer, an online available platform that enhances the exploration of the NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day image collection. The platform is available at http://frederic.rayar.free.fr/apod/.


The cationic poly(vinyl acetate-butyl acrylate-DMC) copolymer emulsions were successfully prepared using the emulsion polymerization technique with 2-methylacryloylxyethyl trimethyl ammonium chloride (DMC) as a functional cationic monomer, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) as the surfactant, and K2S2O8 as the initiator. The morphology, structure and composition, and thermal properties of the emulsions were characterized by TEM, FTIR and DSC, respectively. Also, the correlations between the particle size, zeta potential, viscosity, water absorption and antibacterial efficiency of prepared cationic emulsions and DMC cationic monomer content were established. The results show that the content of the DMC monomer could affect the properties of the emulsions and their films significantly. This offers an attractive opportunity for adjusting the particle size and zeta potential of cationic emulsions over a wide range by feeding DMC monomer in varying concentrations. Furthermore, the prepared emulsions present a high antibacterial efficiency of 98.2% even containing only 2.0 wt% DMC in its monomers, which results in a great potential application as a kind of antibacterial coating material in the future.


The issue of terrorism occupies a large part of the attention of criminal jurisprudence in view of the serious danger posed by terrorist crimes that threatens the society, resulting in the loss of security and safety, the destruction of private public property, exhaustion of bodies and desecration of holy sites. This issue is unique in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, From various forms of terrorist crimes, to well-funded organizations capable of planning and coordinating among themselves to be a rival to the great powers that use the religious discourse as a cover for them and under various names and pretexts that jeopardized the safety and security of society, O innocent citizens and caused serious damage to the economy, environment and infrastructure.


Flavonoids may function as an antioxidant by neutralizing free radicals. This study was aimed to determine total flavonoid content and antioxidant activity from fraction of Piladang (Solenostemon scutellarioides (L) Codd) leaf extract. Total flavonoid was performed with colorimetric method while antioxidant activity of fractions were determined by in-vitro method using DPPH assay. The total flavonoid content was expressed in quercetin equivalent for each fraction was 1.75 mg/g in hexane, 9.63 mg/g in ethyl acetate and 16.78 mg/g in butanol. Antioxidant activity was expressed as 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) in fractions were 364.73 μg/ml in hexane; 29.15 μg/ml in ethyl acetate and 66.21 μg/ml in butanol. The results indicated a direct correlation between the antioxidant activity and the flavonoid content of the fractions. This study confirmed that the ethyl acetate fraction had a highest activity.


Background. Patients with mast cell diseases may suffer from various distressing symptoms, which can be insufficiently controlled with available therapies, severely affecting quality of life. There is thus a need for new and safe treatment options for these patients.
 Objectives. We aimed to evaluate safety and efficacy of omalizumab administration in patients with a systemic mast cell disorder.
 Methods. We included 56 patients with a systemic mast cell disorder who received omalizumab treatment between January 2015 and December 2017, after a pluridisciplinary review at the French National Reference Center for Mastocytosis (CEREMAST).
 Results. A complete response was achieved for 1 patient (1.8%), a major response for 30 patients (53.6%) and a partial response for 12 patients (21.4%), resulting in an overall response rate of 76.8% (43/56 patients). The response was persistent at least 3 months in 33 patients (58.9%). Median time to first response was 2 months and median time to best response was 6 months. Omalizumab was dramatically effective on all superficial and general vasomotor symptoms and on most gastrointestinal or urinary symptoms, and partially effective on most neuropsychiatric symptoms (Figure 1). Safety profile was acceptable, except for one severe adverse event (cervical edema and dyspnea after the first injection of omalizumab). Side effects were reported in 16 patients (28.6%), mainly of low to mild intensity, yet causing interruption of treatment in 6 patients (10.7%).
 Conclusion. Omalizumab is an effective treatment option in systemic mast cell disorders, and displays a favorable safety profile. Prospective studies remain necessary to confirm these encouraging results.

 No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


Ad hoc networks provide a low-latency, high bandwidth, and dynamically reconfigurable network infrastructure that can disclose the full potential of the network to the user. Use of Jini technology in an ad hoc environment allows the user to enter a network and become a user of services without apriori knowledge of the existence of the network or its services. However, Jini lacks security provisions for entry into the network. This paper presents an algorithm that provides a foundation for secure, ad hoc joining of a distributed, mobile, wireless network based on Jini architecture. We also present the description of a Java-based implementation of certification authority hierarchy to support the authentication process.


Understanding the critical period of weed competition is indispensable in the development of an effective weed management program in field crops. Current experiment was planned to evaluate the critical growth period ofSetaria and level of yield losses associated with delay in weeding in rain-fed drip irrigated wheat production system of Saudi Arabia. Field experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of weeding interval (07-21, 14-28, 21-35, 28-42 and 35-49 days after sowing) and drought stress (75% and 50% of field capacity) on Setaria growth, wheat yield and water use efficiency. Season long weedy check and wellwatered (100% FC) plots were also maintained for comparison. Weeding interval and drought stress significantly (p ≤ 0.05) affected the growth and yield of Setaria and wheat. Drought stress from 75% to 50% FC resulted in reductions of 29-40% in Setaria height, 14-27% in Setaria density and 11-26% in Setaria dry biomass. All weeding intervals except 35-49 DAS significantly suppressedSetaria growth as compared with control. Delay in weeding increased weed-crop competition interval and reduced wheat yield and yield contributors. Therefore, the lowest yield of 1836 kg ha-1 was attained for weeding interval of 35-49 DAS at 50% FC. Water use efficiency and harvest index increased with decreasing FC levels but reduced with delay in weeding. Correlation analysis predicted negative association ofSetariadensity with wheat yield and yield contributors and the highest negative association was for harvest index (-0.913) and water use efficiency (-0.614). Early management of Setaria is imperative for successful wheat production otherwise yield losses are beyond economical limits.


This guide will provide students with resources available for research in this discipline. Description of the databases available through the library.


Abstract : The primary purpose of this report is to examine distance learning (DL) from the perspective of the soldier. A summary of the history of DL describes its applications in the Army and plans for additional uses. Findings from research and comments from surveys are examined to reveal how well soldiers accept DL as an effective teaching method within different types of training courses (e.g., small unit training versus individual professional development). The strengths and weaknesses of DL are discussed, leading to a list of recommendations to help trainers produce effective DL courses.


The invention discloses a bill identification method and a device. The method comprises the steps that an infrared transmission image of a bill to be detected is acquired; according to the acquired infrared transmission image, the information of an overlapping area is determined, wherein the information of the overlapping area comprises the boundary position of the bill to be detected and the size of the overlapping area; according to the boundary position, whether the bill to be detected is a complete bill is determined; and according to the size of the overlapping area, whether the bill to be detected is a single sheet is determined. The infrared image and thickness data are used to determine whether the bill to be detected is a single sheet. Misjudgement caused by abnormal thickness data can be prevented.


Lactic acid (LA) is an organic compound used in several industries, such as food, textile, chemical, and pharmaceutical. The global interest  in  this  product  is  due  to  its  use  for  the  synthesis  of  numerous  chemical  compounds,  including  polylactic  acid,  a  biode-gradable thermoplastic and substitute for petroleum-derived plastics. An in-depth overview of the use of industrial and household wastes as inexpensive substrates in order to reduce the cost of LA production is presented. A review is carried out of the biotech-nological aspects that must be taken into account when using some wastes with high transformation potential to produce LA in a submerged  culture,  as  well  recommendations  for  their  use.  The  advantages  and  disadvantages  of  different  types  of  treatments used for the transformation of waste into suitable substrates are considered. Several methods of fermentation, as well as genetic strategies for increasing the production, are summarized and compared. It is expected that in a few years there will be many ad-vances in these areas that will allow greater large-scale production of LA using agroindustrial or household wastes, with potential positive economic and environmental impact in some regions of the planet.


Although I think most of what Michael Slote asserts in his article 'Sentimentalist moral education' is correct, I worry about three important ideas that are conspicuous by their absence. The first is the possibility that human emotions and feelings are inherently cognitive, which is never considered in his psychological account of empathy. The second is that his metaethical claim that 'our very understanding of moral terms and moral principles rests on a foundation of empathy' fails to recognize the culture-specific character of the very concept of morality. My third misgiving is that Slote overstates the now-standard distinction between the ethics of care and the ethics of principles, which I argue is a matter of emphasis, not opposition, especially in the context of moral education.


This paper attempts to propose a view of rhetoric different from that of modern Chinese theories which define rhetoric as a peculiar way of linguistic expression. Based on a comparison of the speculations of western and Chinese rhetoricians on the two basic issues, i.e.aim and scope, it redefines the framework of rhetoric.


Safety and economy are the keynotes of the specially designed, all-steel, window-washing and exterior maintenance machine recently placed in operation at Lever House, headquarters of Lever Brothers Company, New York, N. Y. The 24-story office building has 1,404 fixed, nonopening windows nearly flush with the exterior with only 1 inch of sill. It is estimated that $100,000 have been saved in building costs alone by installing fixed instead of conventional windows. Costs of washing have been cut by two-thirds and substantial savings in interior cleaning, heating, and air conditioning will be achieved. Two men can clean the outside of all 1,404 windows in 6 days.


Dengue fever is a highly prevalent zoonotic disease. This virus endangers 3.9 billion people, with no less than 390 million infections annually. Dengue has a broad spectrum of clinical manifestations; from completely asymptomatic to life threatening complications. This review discusses the relevance of dengue in current medical practice as well as the scarcely known ophthalmological complications. We aimed to first describe the epidemiology, viral characteristics, transmission and global distribution, classification of disease, systemic manifestations and treatment. Secondly, the ophthalmological findings, prognosis and complications associated with dengue fever. This is a literature review of dengue virus infection with an ophthalmologist's perspective. 97 publications were used to synthesize the most important points in the vast knowledge on dengue, and its ocular findings. Complications vary from relatively benign skin petechiae and subconjunctival hemorrhage, to life threatening conditions such as shock syndrome. Ocular complications of dengue may occur as late as 5 months after infection resolution and have severe visual consequences. Closely examination of patients with dengue and early detection of ocular findings may result in better clinical outcomes. Further research is needed to determine the precise moment and regimen strategies for achieving successful visual and systemic outcomes.


Theoretical models for rail internal self-inductance and resistance are proposed which include material saturation and hysteresis. Model data are obtained using experimentally derived ferromagnetic material B-H loops. Analytical methods for deriving the impedance variations with current and frequency for large-signal AC and incremental AC superimposed on DC excitation are in agreement with experimental measurements.


This paper sets out to detail the outcome of the One 2 One project team air conditioning re-design process required to address the new ISP and 3G cooling loads. One 2 One have had a great deal of success utilising the popular free cooling style of unit, however, the new cooling loads were making it impossible to continue with the traditional units in their existing form. This paper outlines the advantages of the free cooling style of unit and demonstrates how the product re-design process led to a new unit being developed to achieve the challenging new requirements. It will be demonstrated that this approach was successful as a result of teamwork and collaboration with a forward thinking manufacturer. The following are covered: the benefits of the free cooling solution; system selection considerations; system resilience; fast track installations; experience of owning and operating; energy efficiency; 3G/ISP technical requirements; re-design process; 3G/ISP product development; and the 3G/ISP free cooling solution.


The paper examines perspectives of knowledge and innovation in projects envisioned by local residents and actors in rural Croatia in their LEADER Local Development Strategies (LDS). Knowledge and innovation are generally considered to be key drivers of development in contemporary society. Traditionally both concepts have been linked to exogenous scientific and expert learning, mainly in urban settings. However, in terms of the more participative approach to rural development in the EU since the beginning of the 1990s, expert exogenous knowledge (e.g. EU structures, developmental agencies) has been expected to be combined with endogenous and often tacit knowledge and social capital embedded in the local context. Thus, learning and innovation in this newly-emerging discourse are not considered necessarily in terms of developing completely new products or services, but also in a search for novel, integrative solutions in development of territory predominantly by networking and a participative approach. This might, for example, include activities that recombine or adapt existing forms of knowledge. Eventually, it is expected that this approach would lead to capacity building and usage of local resources as long-term strategies for sustainability. Although EU wide experiences concerning the outcomes vary considerably and there is no lack of criticism, LEADER is usually viewed as a successful EU initiative with transformative effects in knowledge and innovation creation in rural development. In 2013 Croatia officially started implementing the LEADER approach through the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance for Rural Development (IPARD), although activities based on community-led local development (CLLD) in rural areas have been initiated by civil society since mid 2000's. Until now, 61 Local Action Groups (LAG) have been formed in 451 municipalities and administrative towns equaling 81% of all LAU2 in the country. Although it can be argued that such a great number of LAGs in a short period of time is partly the result of the intention to participate in a recently open call for the first financial support, all of them have nevertheless created Local Development Strategies (LDS). According to EU, Local Development Strategy plays a vital and integral role at the heart of the LEADER approach. If created successfully it builds on "the unique knowledge that local actors have of their area and the essential involvement of strategic and delivery partners within the wider sectoral and territorial development chain". For that reason, this paper examines a sample of LDS in Croatia and aims to identify objectives and projects recognized as important for local rural development by participants of the process. Furthermore, it reflects the local know-how towards sustainable rural developments and discusses them in a wider demographic and socio-economic context of rural Croatia. Finally, it critically re-examines recognized objectives within the knowledge and innovation concepts presented and questions the relationship between endogenous local knowledge and exogenous resources (e.g. development agencies, consultants).


The research on information technology (IT) and learning management system (LMS) is increasing since experts are trying to discover the outcomes of numerous LMS systems to make the learning process more vigorous and dynamic with respect to numerous dimensions and contexts across the globe. This paper investigates the impact of Modular Object Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment (Moodle) on Global Virtual Team Performance (GVPT) along with mediating role of technological factors between the relationships of Moodle and GVPT by considering perceived usefulness factor (PUPLN) of technology. In order to precede the empirical research objectives, the data were gathered between November 2018 and February 2019. The responses were carefully selected and analyzed employing structural equation modeling (SEM). All the respondents were deliberately targeted using online techniques through emails and remainder electronic sources. The findings of the present article suggested that Moodle has a positive impact on GVPT and is a productive tool to enhance GVPT which highly encouraged the team members to interchange information more effectively. Moreover, the fully mediating effect of PUFLN was found between the connection of Moodle and GVPT, respectively. This study provides implications for researchers across the globe.


Modern infrastructure automation systems are threatened by cyber attack. Their higher visibility in recent years and the increasing use of modern information technology (IT) components contribute to increased security risk. Modeling the relationships among the elements of an automation system will clarify the categories of data and functionality in the system. Then the model can be analyzed for general security issues, which may in turn form the basis to develop an adequate profile of technical security controls. This article introduces a reference model for control and automation systems based on object-role modeling, and develops fundamental concepts for security based on the analysis of the model. Index Terms — SCADA systems, process control, security, computer security, data security, computer network security.


The research on optimization of transesterification temperature for production of biodiesel from rice straw oil (Oryza sativa L.) using CaO catalyst derived from the chicken egg skin has been conducted. Production of biodiesel was conducted at varied temperatures, namely 30oC, 40oC, 50oC, 60oC and 70oC. The fatty acid compositions of the transesterification products were determined by using GC-MS and the physical and chemical characteristics were determined using SNI Methods 04-7182-2006. The AAS result suggested that the chicken egg skin contained 91.41% CaO. The optimum transesterification temperature was 60oC producing 90,8405% methyl ester. The results of GC-MS showed that the highest percentage of fatty acid was methyl oleic (44.56%).


Today I stood on the steps of the State House in Austin, Texas along with a thousand or so other good people who were trying to send a message to Congress to spend more money on Cancer research. We were there to support the March for Cancer taking place in our country's Capital, Washington, DC.


A carbon sorbent or a heterogeneous catalyst on a carbon support had a surface-dependent effect on the route and quantitative characteristics pertaining to radiative decomposition of phenol adsorbed from an aqueous solution in a flow system. The heterogeneous catalysts studied were manganese dioxide, platinum, nickel, and nickel-palladium deposited on activated carbon brands AG-3 and BAU (birch carbon) as well as on a spherical carbon sorbent. The nickel-containing catalysts were modified by addition of a 12th series, reduced heteropolytungstate (HPT). The manganese dioxide was deposited on AG-3 carbon by a radiation-chemical method. A weighed amount of the sorent was impregnated with a potassium permanganate solution and then irradiated from a /gamma/ source.


The article outlines the basic concepts of the development of military heritage tourism. The paper states the role of military heritage tourism in the process of creation of cultural relations and international cooperation ties. The purpose of the work is to determine the theoretical foundations and practical implications of military heritage tourism in terms of interconnecting the tourist market organizations, coordination bodies and organizations of patriotic orientation. On the basis of a comprehensive study the problems that hinder effective development are identified; a number of measures aimed at the development of the system of organizational and economic management of military heritage tourism at the regional level are proposed.


The paper summarized the research progress of atmospheric corrosion mechanisms for copper and its alloys in environments such as rural area,urban area,industrial area,sea area as well as indoor simulated cabinets.The regulation of corrosion of copper and its alloy in typical atmospheric environments in China was also reviewed.It is pointed out that the methods such as thin electrolyte film test,droplet test,micro-electrochemical technique,microscopic analysis and observation as well as theoretical model and computer simulation will be the direction in the future for the study on atmospheric corrosion of copper and its alloys.


The utility model discloses a wall hanging member for a television, which comprises a connecting plate that is fixed on a backplane of the television, the connecting plate is provided with a wall hanging connecting piece, and the wall hanging connecting piece and a wall hanging stud arranged on the wall are fixedly connected in a detachable manner. According to the wall hanging member for the television, the wall hanging connecting piece is fixed on the backplane of the television by the connecting plate, then the wall hanging member for the television is fixedly connected with the stud arranged on the wall by the wall hanging connecting piece so that the television can be hung on the wall in a wall hanging manner, the wall hanging of the television is convenient and firm, and the wall hanging member for the television is easy in processing and molding, low in manufacturing cost and light in weight.


Using the self-expansion model as a theoretical basis, we examined how friendship can benefit a business while avoiding the conflicts that are predicted in the relationship-norm framework. We proposed that engaging in self-expansion would automatically motivate a customer to take psychological ownership of the product, promote favorable attitudes toward the seller, and increase product knowledge, thereby affecting the customer's perceived product quality and subsequent product valuation. Empirical results from 266 respondents who were customers at 193 restaurants supported most of our hypotheses. Mediation analysis indicated that the relationship between friendship and product valuation was jointly mediated by psychological ownership and attitudes toward the seller; however, the mediating role of product knowledge was not supported, which suggests that in the context of friendship, judgments about products are based more on the friend than on the product itself. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.


This plasma processing apparatus is provided with a chamber, and a plurality of counter electrode pairs that are positioned parallel to each other while being separated from each other in the chamber. One of the plurality of electrode pairs comprises a first electrode (31) and a second electrode (32), which are positioned separately in such a manner as to be parallel to each other. The electrodes are positioned in such a manner that the main surfaces (4) face each other. The first electrode (31) is provided with a protruding metal pipe part (14) in such a manner as to extend to a gas inlet (7). A resin pipe (13) for transferring raw gas from a raw gas supply source to the metal pipe part (14) is connected to the inside of the chamber, and as a reference for an end of a space (33), which is sandwiched due to the first electrode (31) and the second electrode (32) facing each other, the length (L) that the metal pipe part (14) protrudes is not less than 20 mm.


Background and objective: High doses of opioid associated with low doses of hypnotic is a popular anaesthetic technique since the use of remifentanil has become widespread. This type of anaesthesia could result in a higher incidence of implicit memory. Methods: Ten patients were anaesthetised with a target‐controlled infusion of remifentanil (target concentration of 8 ng mL−1) combined with a target‐controlled infusion of propofol with progressive stepwise increases until loss of consciousness was reached. A tape containing 20 words was then played to the patients. Bispectral index (BIS, Aspect Medical Systems, Newton, MA, USA) was continuously monitored during the whole study period. Implicit and explicit memories were tested between 2 and 4 h after recovery. Results: Loss of consciousness was obtained with a mean calculated propofol plasma concentration of 1.3 ± 0.4 μg mL−1. At this low hypnotic concentration no implicit or explicit memory was found in the three postoperative memory tests. Median (range) BIS value during word presentation was 93 (80‐98). Conclusions: In our group of young American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) I/II patients, no explicit or implicit memory was found when the calculated concentration of propofol combined with a high concentration of remifentanil was maintained at the level associated with loss of consciousness with high BIS values.


Optically levitated nanomechanical resonators in vacuum perform ultrahigh sensitivity for mechanical quantities by overcoming the limitations of clamped resonators. However, the generally levitated silica nanoparticles (NPs) with low absorption and high transparence still face difficulties surviving in high vacuum with unclear reason. By monitoring the physicochemical properties like scattering, mass and density of amorphous silica NPs during pumping process. we propose that the loss of NPs may arises from the motional instability induced by laser heating lead releasing at low pressure. In this work, two types of NPs are heat treated from 100 to 1200 degree Celsius to release impurities before being loaded into an optical trap. The high vacuum levitation ratio for both NPs increase obviously after heat treatment. In particular, for NPs heated to 600 degree Celsius, the ratio strikingly improves from ~30% to 100% and ~0 to 85% for two types of NPs. The loss mechanism is further confirmed by their relatively stable physicochemical parameters during pumping process. This work paves a way for wide application of levitated nano-resonators and indicates that levitated vacuum optomechanical systems could be a promising tool for dynamics and in-situ studying of small particles like aerosols and dusts.


When simulated echoes have a bandwidth between 20 and 80 kHz, bats (Eptesicus fuscus) can discriminate between pulse‐to‐pulse delay jitter and constant echo delay with a sensitivity of 10 ns [Simmons et al., J. Comp. Physiol. A 167, 589–616 (1990)]. To investigate this amazing acuity, high‐pass and low‐pass filters were inserted into the channel between the simulated target and the bat. The effect of such filters on jitter acuity was measured. The data are explained by a receiver model that attempts to equalize the channel filter. The equalizer uses a smeared version of the actual channel transfer function, where spectral smearing induces relatively slow cutoff. Spectral smearing occurs in spectrogram (short‐time Fourier transform) analysis. Smearing varies inversely with the impulse response duration of the analysis filters. This impulse response duration corresponds to the critical interval, which is frequency dependent for proportional bandwidth filtering. Bat jitter discrimination data imply channel e...


The invention relates to a spread spectrum (SS) clock generator and an SS clock generating method. The SS clock generator comprises a first SS module, a second SS module and a waveform module, wherein the first SS module spreads the spectrum of a first input clock signal in a parallel delay mode to generate a first SS clock signal; the second SS module spreads the spectrum of a second input clocksignal in the same parallel delay mode to generate a second SS clock signal; and the waveform module is coupled to the first SS module and the second SS module and generates an output SS clock signalaccording to the first SS clock signal and the second SS clock signal.


SCL-90 and EPQ questionnaires are used to evaluate the mental health conditions of 239 freshmen. The results show that except the terror symptom, other symptoms of the freshmen at Shunde Polytechnic are lower than that of national college norm, and the difference has statistic significance. The force symptom of the male freshmen is significantly higher than that of the female freshmen. The personality of freshmen at college is in positive condition. Analyzing personality and mental health situation, psychological education strategy is put forward as a reference for vocational colleges to carry out psychological education and foster healthy personality of students.


The invention relates to a novel LED (light-emitted diode) backlight module which comprises an LED line light source component, and is characterized in that the LED line light source component comprises a U-shaped slot reflector plate, convex points for reflecting rays are distributed on the surface of an inner cavity of the U-shaped slot reflector plate, one end of the U-shaped slot reflector plates is sealed, the other end of the U-shaped slot reflector plates is connected with a light frame for installing an LED lamp, materials with the luminous reflectance of 90% is arranged on the surface of the inner cavity of the U-shaped slot reflector plate, a light guide strip is arranged at a slot opening of the U-shaped slot reflector plate, and the light transmittance of material of the light guide strip is 85%. With the novel LED backlight module, the light source form is changed, the light mixing effect is improved, the number of LEDs can be reduced, the luminous efficiency of a backlight can be improved, the whole energy consumption is reduced, a uniform plane light source is obtained, and the using quantity of light guide materials are reduced since a solid light guide plate is replaced by the light guide strip and a light mixing cavity structure.


Objective
To discuss the diagnostic value of human epididymis protein (HE)4, cancer antigen (CA)125 and risk of ovarian malignancy algorithm(ROMA) index in accessing the risk of ovarian cancer and to analyze the correlation of the three indicators of climical stage of ovarian cancer.

Methods
A total of 294 patients were subjected to the study including 108 patients with ovarian cancer , 34 patients with other organ cancer 96 patients with gynecological benign disease, and 56 patients with other gynecological.Chemiluminescence was used to measure the serum levels of HE4 and CA125 before surgery.ROMA index was calculated .

Results
ROMA index(61.4±23.2)% in the patients with ovarian cancer was the highest, while ROMA of patients with benign disease was (16.2±6.3)%.ROMA of patients with gynecological tumor was (19.7±7.5)% and was (14.9±6.0)% in patients with other cancer.the differences were statistically significant(P 0.05). The positive rate of ROMA index was 75.87% in FIGOⅠcompared with that of CA125 and HE4.The positive rates were statistically significant(P<0.05).

Conclusion
The ROMA index helps to assess the risk of ovarian cancer and diagnose the ovarian cancer in early.Early diagnosis and treantment can improve the five year survivals of humor.

Key words:
Ovarian cancer; Human epididymis protein 4; Risk of ovarian malignancy algorihm index


Need for intubation in patients with acute respiratory failure remains important when respiratory condition deteriorates and places these severely hypoxemic patients at higher risks of desaturation than patients without respiratory failure (1). Between 30 to 40% of patients with acute respiratory failure will require intubation despite initial management with high flow nasal cannula (HFNC) oxygen (2-4).


The role of the Environment, Health and Safety (EHS) Manager has evolved over the last two decades. For many companies, the focus of the EHS Manager is shifting from solely a regulatory compliance and waste treatment or waste disposal role to incorporating a green engineering and pollution prevention approach when solving environmental problems. It is critical for the EHS Manager to have a strong understanding of Environmental Management Systems (EMS), regulatory requirements, and ISO standards pertaining to environment, health, and safety. However, having the ability to go beyond this realm and collaborate with manufacturing personnel to determine opportunities for cost savings as it pertains to environmental reductions is crucial. Reducing environmental impacts often has a direct relationship with reducing impacts on the health and safety of the organization's personnel as well. This paper will focus on case studies surrounding projects where the New York State Pollution Prevention Institute (NYSP2I) has worked with companies where pollution prevention is becoming a focus of the EHS Manager's role. The effectiveness of this approach versus waste treatment or management solutions will be quantified by showing both the environmental and cost savings.


APN New Zealand Limited v Simunovich Fisheries Limited was a significant Supreme Court judgment regarding the biggest defamation claim in New Zealand's legal history. The Court ruled that third party statements were inadmissible as evidence for a defence of truth, unless such statements could be independently proven to be true. This paper argues that objectively reliable third party statements, such as statements made by the judiciary, should be admissible as evidence for a defence of truth in certain cases. Where a defamatory meaning of reasonable grounds to suspect guilt is pleaded, rather than an allegation of actual guilt, reliable statements made by a third party can be highly relevant in proving the existence of reasonable grounds for suspicion. A high burden is already placed on defendants to negotiate technical pleading and evidential requirements in proving the defence of truth. Simunovich erects an unnecessary further obstacle that will prevent the submission of relevant and reliable evidence. This paper recommends that the Simunovich ruling on third party statements be amended to allow such particulars to be admitted in support of a defence of truth to an alleged defamatory meaning of reasonable grounds of suspicion.


This experimental work is linked to the recent development of Gasoline Direct Injection engines and is dedicated to the study of the airflow entrained by the hollow cone spray issued from an injector for Gasoline Direct Injection engines. This spray is a dense unstationary two-phase flow that interacts with the surrounding air. The mechanism of air entrainment, due to the momentum exchange between the spray drops and the gaseous phase is an important phenomenon responsible for droplets vaporisation and mixture formation. The latter are directly linked to the reduction of fuel consumption and pollutant emissions. By application of the PIV technique, measurements of air velocity near the spray edge have been performed and used to compute the mixing rate q in the spray, by mass conservation through a cylindrical control surface (q is defined as the ratio between the mass flow rate of entrained air and the liquid mass flow rate injected). The influence of two parameters on q is studied. The first one is the injection pressure (P i ) effect, P i varying from 30 to 90 bars at ambient pressure. The second one is the effect of the chamber back pressure (P c ) Three values of P c are investigated: 1, 5 and 8 bars for P i = 80 bars. Thanks to these results, air entrainment mechanisms in Gasoline Direct Injection spray have been discussed.


The age and growth history of individual mussels collected from the cooling water culverts of a power station were determined from the growth bands present in acetate peels of polished and etched shell sections. During periods of exposure to the antifouling agent, sodium hypochlorite (0.2mgl‐1), shell growth was severely reduced, resulting in marked changes in the structure and deposition of the shell. As a consequence of chlorination, the growth rate of the mussel population occurring within the culverts was substantially lower and the mean length‐at‐age significantly smaller than that of a naturally occurring population immediately outside the cooling water intake. The growth patterns present in the shells of mussels experimentally added to the cooling waters during chlorination were compared with, and found to be similar to, the patterns in the shells of mussels that had settled naturally in the culverts. The daily growth of the experimentally exposed mussels (1.1–5.2 μm d‐1) is two orders of magnitude lower than the growth rate of mussels growing in untreated waters. The use of mussels for evaluating the efficiency and long‐term effects of low level chlorination is discussed.


Ion‐implanted polycrystalline silicon layers were annealed using the radiation from a graphite heater. 0.4 μm thick polycrystalline silicon films implanted with 40 keV P+ ions to a dose of were annealed in vacuum at 1000° – 1200°C for 10 – 60 sec. A minimum sheet resistance of 9 Ω/ was obtained for a sample which was encapsulated with a 0.3 μm PSG film and annealed at 1200°C for 10 sec. TEM photographs show that the grain size of polycrystalline silicon grew up to around 1.0 μm in diam. The activation of the implanted phosphorus, the annealing of a damaged layer, and the increase of grain size leads to the reduction of sheet resistance of polycrystalline silicon and the increase of carrier mobility.


This study analyzes the support of on-going and future projects in the rural sector. Chapter 1 sets the scene by defining Community Driven Development as it is used by the World Bank, and the way in which community development principles and objectives are embedded in cultural, social and economic policies in Vietnam. Chapter 2 explores the conceptual foundation for understanding what community driven development means in the Vietnam context. Chapter 3 explores the ways in which community-based organizations and local institutions have been evolving in recent years in response to the rapid changes and developments in the rural economy and in household livelihood systems. Chapter 4 reviews the experience that has been gained from Government Program 135 on socio-economic development of communes facing special difficulties. Chapter 5 goes on to look at the experience that has been gained through selected donor and NGO supported projects. Chapter 6 looks towards the future - and explores the prospects and potential options for supporting community driven development initiatives in the poor commune areas over the next few years.


betic patient had already cirrhosis on initial biopsy. In conclusion, we think that monitoring of NASH progression through serial biopsies can help us accurately define the natural history of the disease. Thus, we agree with Lin and colleagues that future large-scale studies are urgently required to clarify the risk factors for fibrosis progression and other relevant issues regarding prognosis of patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.


The findings from a study of a sample of 148 nursing care homes in the state of Georgia suggest, contrary to expectations, that nursing care homes have more adequate personnel and facilities in rural than in urban areas. This finding is explained by the fact that more medical care nursing homes are owned by medical doctors and are more likely to be located in rural rather than urban areas. It is suggested that a reciprocally satisfactory arrangement can be made between a rural community in need of a doctor and a doctor wishing to own a nursing home. Under such an arrangement a combined hospital-medical care home can be corporately owned by the community and the medical doctor, thus assuring the availability of professional medical help for the community and financial inducement to the medical doctor.


The problem of "dual flow," as commonly found in water works practice, constitutes one of three types of primary feeder systems, and provides the highly desirable condition of feed available from two directions in times of heavy draft. It is the purpose of this paper to show how problems of "dual flow" may be readily solved by the application of graphical analysis leading to a definite result without the usual cumbersome "trial and error" method necessary with an analytical treatment. Incidentally, all graphical methods of analysis have the added advantage of visualizing the relations of the several elements of the problem and in tending to the avoidance of errors. This type of problem as commonly found in practice involves the consideration of what may be termed "long pipes," i.e., pipe lines having a length equal to or greater than one thousand diameters. For such a line, the drop in pressure (or head) along the line may be charged to the overcoming of frictional resistance to flow in the pipe alone. The error thus involved in neglecting minor losses which may occur in valves, bends, etc., and of disregarding the head utilized in producing velocity will, with such treatment, amount to but a fractional percentage and hence for this type of work may be disregarded. If, however, the problem involves what may be termed a short pipe, it becomes necessary to consider all losses together with velocity head in order to deduce proper results. The graphical analysis, as will be shown later on, is even more readily applied to the short pipe problem than to the one involving long pipes and leads to a definite result which is particularly difficult to obtain with an analytical solution. Two typical problems will be analyzed in order to illustrate different methods of approach to the graphical solution. Both cases considered will come under the classification known as "long pipes."


Opioid receptors were identified biochemically in mammalian brain in the early 1 970s ( 1 -3), and since then their pharmacological properties have been extensively characterized (for reviews, see 4--7) . However, little is yet known about the molecular properties of these receptors. Complete structural and functional characterization of a receptor requires its purification, reconstitu tion in a membrane environment, and, ultimately, the isolation and cloning of its gene. Progress in these areas has lagged considerably behind that for other cell surface receptors. There are several reasons for this slow progress. First, opioid receptors have proved to be very difficult to solubilize in a form that retains Jig and binding activity, the conventional first step in most purification schemes. Opioid binding is eliminated or greatly reduced by low concentrations of most of the non-ionic detergents used to solubilize other cell surface receptors. At least part of this problem may be due to the more stringent criteria necessary to establish the existence of opioid receptors. The activity of most cell surface receptors is measured by specific, or displaceable, binding, which is defined as the difference between the amount of radioactive ligand bound in the presence and absence of a large amount of the same unlabelled ligand. A genuine opioid receptor, in contrast, must exhibit not only specific, but stereospecific binding-that which is selective for the I-forms of stereoisomeric agonists, such as Levorphanol and Levallorphan. In fact, most laboratories where solubilization of opioid receptors has been reported have demonstrated the existence only of specific binding in their


Systemic change may be achieved through a combination of the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles in instructional delivery, the integration of accessible digital materials, and the use of state-of-the-art technology tools. To demonstrate this premise, the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) partnered with the University of Louisville to develop a statewide initiative that addresses the implementation of UDL. This initiative included accessibility to statewide accountability testing (CATS), digitized text system, and UDL model schools. The Kentucky Model demonstrates how systemic change can be achieved through the combination of several parts. After consideration of all factors, the authors conclude that there was an overall positive systemic change for the majority of the model schools included in the project.


Angiotensin Ⅰ was synthesized using Fmoc chemistry on Fmoc-Leu-Wang resin.The synthetic crude product was separated by reversed phase HPLC.The molecular weight of major component was detected by ESI-mass spectrometry operating in positive ion mode.The results showed that the crude product contained only a major component and several trace-level components.The m/z of the major component was 1296.8,corresponding to the protonated molecular ion([M+H]~+) of angiotensin Ⅰ.In addition,water should be eliminated from chemical reagents,and some practical methods were recommended to make the experiment convenient.


In this study, double-slag method is used to melt low-phosphorous steel by semi-steel. The results show that, the average phosphorous content of the aimed molten iron of BOF is 0.0052% and after the first slag pure-out, the dephosphorization rate is 56.2%, while the total dephosphorization rate of BOF melting is 92.46%, rang from 91% to 93.4%. Low phosphorous content alloy and slag-stopping tapping technology is adopted and rephosphorization of molten iron is controlled in 0.002%. Finally the average phosphorous of the finished product is 0.0064%, range form 0.0055% to 0.0071%, which means that Pangang Group can produce the steel with phosphorous content is less than 0.008%.


Analysed the various methods of oil-free ignition that are used in pulverized coal fired boilers nowadays in the world, and for the first time it brings out the idea that the pulverized coal air flow might be ignited by high-temperature air. Through a great lot of air heating experiments and pulverized coal ignition experiments, the feasibility of pulverized coal ignition by high-temperature air has was proved, and many useful data were acquired. These data can be used for the design and application of the new high-temperature air ignition burner. In addition, it finds out that for most kind of coals there is a optimal concentration corresponding to minimum ignition temperature, and increasing the primary air velocity is bad for the ignition process, and increasing the hot air velocity is benefit for the ignition.


Genome‐wide association studies have found that polymorphisms in genes for IL‐23 and its receptor are important in psoriasis, and blocking IL‐23 is an effective therapy in the disease. The use of Aldara™, a cream that contains the TLR7 and TLR8 agonist imiquimod (IMQ), was found to exacerbate psoriasis in some patients with pre‐existing disease. Intradermal injections of IL‐23 and topical application of Aldara/IMQ induce skin inflammation in mice with features similar to psoriasis—including epidermal hyperplasia and accumulation of inflammatory cells in epidermis and dermis—which is mediated by IL‐17A, IL‐22, and other factors implicated in the human disease. Consequently, these models can be used in preclinical studies to investigate the molecular and cellular pathogenesis of psoriasis, as well as in the evaluation of potential therapies. This article provides detailed methodologies for creating and evaluating the IL‐23‐ and Aldara/IMQ‐induced mouse models of psoriasis. The article also provides a protocol for analyzing skin leukocytes by flow cytometry. © 2019 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.


4097 Background: TNFerade is a replication-deficient adenovector containing the human TNF-α gene regulated by a chemoradiation-inducible promoter, Egr-1. This dose-selection component of a phase II...


In order to characterize the growth process of copper phthalocyanine (CuPc) thin films on vicinal Si(111) substrates, in situ spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) and reflection anisotropy spectroscopy (RAS) were combined. The analysis of the in situ SE data implies a structural change occurring with increasing film thickness during growth. The ex situ SE data are fitted using a uniaxial model, and different out-of-plane molecular orientations are found: lying molecules on Si(111)-6° and standing molecules on Si(111)-0.35°. The average tilt angles of molecules relative to the substrate surface are calculated to be 41.5°±1.0° and 81.1°±3.5°, respectively. The in situ RAS spectra show that the optical anisotropy of CuPc/Si(111)-6° is induced by the substrate anisotropy, and the strength of the RAS signal of CuPc films is proportional to the film thickness.


A STUDY of this question has seemed to me of sufficient importance to make a search of the literature for the purpose of finding the views of various writers in different countries as to the relative proportion of cases caused by these factors. Epilepsy is so dreadful an affliction and, withal, is so prevalent that any means of lessening the number of its victims is a decided gain for the community. It is estimated that there is one epileptjc for every 1,000 of the population and that would mean 400 in Buffalo. Idiocy, that state of mental deficiency dating from birth and lasting through life, is an equally great affliction. The census of 1900 places (the number of idiots in the United States as 95,000. Infantile cerebral palsies are those paralytic affections which date from birth. They were originally described by Little of England, and are known generally as Little's Disease. These three conditions may all be the result of meningeal hemorrhage occurring at the time of birth. It is necessary therefore to enquire into the causes of meningeal hemorrhage in infants newly born. Little reported sixty-three cases in all of these abnormal conditions attended the birth. One was born cyanosed ; in one. turning was performed: another had ithe cord turned about the neck; another was a foot presentation and was unconscious for two hours after birth ; in all of these there was evidence of pressure and paralysis. In 1882. twenty years later Ross, of England, reported several cases in which the difficulty resulted from foot presentation. In one case there was foot presentation, the labor


In the last few decades the Genomic data and research associated to these Genomic Data sets are folded in to several times. Bioinformatics is the Application of Computer technology in the field of medicine or drug research. As these Genomic data are folded into a huge multiples so there is the necessity of computer and an effective computing technology to process these data set for better and optimum result in Drug design or medical/medicine research. There are various hard computing and Soft Computing technologies that are being applied in this field by various researchers. Soft Computing technologies like Artificial Neural Network, Fuzzy Logic, Genetic Algorithms and other hybrid soft computing technologies like swarm optimization, Ant Colony Network are also very popular and upcoming technologies for these research. Protein Structure prediction is the prediction of three dimension structure form its amino acid sequence and a Protein molecule contain several amino acid sequences which changes it shape in the effect of external agents and application of various drugs from time to time. Genetic Algorithm is a model of machine learning which represent the behaviour of the system in the form of a metaphor of the processes. So Genetic Algorithm can be applied in the field of Protein Structure Prediction to predict the structure and for the creation of a metaphor of the changes in the shape and size of the protein molecules or the amino acid sequences. So in this research article we have applied Genetic Algorithm for the purpose of Protein Structure prediction. For a case study purpose we have taken the example of a 4HU7 protein data set and we have also provides the simulation result for this purpose.


BACKGROUND
The pulmonary autograft operation has achieved broad acceptance and may be the ideal aortic valve substitute. Both the pulmonary autograft and the aortic homograft are more complicated procedures than prosthetic valve replacement. The trend to insert the pulmonary autograft as a root replacement rather than in the subcoronary position has achieved greater uniformity in the results, but there is still confusing diversity in opinions on technical details and anatomical dimensions. The importance of both size and shape mismatches between the three valves involved has received little attention. The valves often differ in diameter and in the shape of the recipient aortic annulus. This uncertainty and the diversity of opinions on essential technical details was disconcerting when we proceeded from aortic homograft-to-pulmonary autograft operations, this was compounded by only a single homograft being available for every operation as we have no homograft bank.

METHODS
We compared the hemodynamic results regarding various geometric mismatches. All operative details were the same and patients were studied at regular intervals. Comparisons were made in patients with mismatch between recipient aortic annulus and pulmonary autograft. Patients with a normal tricuspid aortic annulus were compared to those with either a circular redo prosthetic valve annulus or a bicuspid recipient annulus. Thirdly we compared the patients with plication of the aortic annulus to those with remodeling of the distal aorta. Lastly we compared mismatch between donor homograft and pulmonary autograft.

RESULTS
No influence of geometric mismatch between the three valves could be found on the results of the pulmonary autograft operation.

CONCLUSIONS
Good results are obtainable without a painful learning curve if one keeps to certain surgical principles. It need not be a complicated operation and geometric mismatches between the three valves involved may be compensated for adequately.


We report the first detection with INTEGRAL of persistent hard X-ray emission (20 to 100 keV) from the Rapid Burster (MXB 1730-335), and describe its full spectrum from 3 to 100 keV. The source was detected on February/March 2003 during one of its recurrent outbursts. The source was clearly detected with a high signal to noise ratio during the single pointings and is well distinguished from the neighboring source GX 354-0. The 3-100 keV X-ray spectrum of the persistent emission is well described by a two-component model consisting of a blackbody plus a power-law with photon index ∼2.4. The estimated luminosity was ∼8.5 × 10 36 erg s −1 in the 3-20 keV energy band and ∼1.3 × 10 36 erg s −1 in the 20-100 keV energy range, for a


An alternative approach is introduced for adiabatic and nonadiabatic calculations in the {ital AB}{ital A} Coulomb systems from H{sub 2}{sup +} to the positronium negative ion Ps{sup {minus}} ({ital e}{sup {minus}}{ital e}{sup +}{ital e}{sup {minus}}) so that they are treated as molecular systems. The adiabatic vibrational solutions point out the most relevant ``nuclear`` configurations that should appear in the construction of the nonadiabatic wave function and reveal the importance of the {ital AA} vibrations at this stage. Applications provide evidence for the separability of the ground state of Ps{sup {minus}} and give energy values for six {ital S} bound states of {mu}{sup +}{ital e}{sup {minus}}{mu}{sup +} that seem not to be reported so far.


This chapter evaluates British writer George Langelaan's short fiction titled 'The Fly' (1957), and its film adaptation by Kurt Neumann in 1958. David Cronenberg's The Fly (1986) can only truly be appreciated within the context of what preceded it. He was not remaking an unknown film; rather, he was taking on one that came with preconceptions and expectations. In considering Cronenberg's The Fly, one can clearly see that remaking the original 1958 film was not on Cronenberg's agenda. While Cronenberg's film should not be compared to any other because it has 'its own personality, voice and experience', to consider The Fly's history gives meaning to the simple genius of the central concept: the story of a scientist accidentally turning himself into a fly.


More than 12,000 gravity observations have been taken, from 1958 to the present, in the Nevada part of the Goldfield and Mariposa 2/sup 0/ sheets. Numerous reports are available that present discrete parts of the data. This report is a compilation of all these data after conversion to the International Gravity Standardization Network. The report provides descriptive information and offers a source for principal facts.


Quantum computers differ from traditional computers because unlike traditional computers that use and process information in bits (0 or 1), the unit of information in quantum computers is the quantum bit, or qubit, that can represent additional states beyond ones and zeros at the same time. The additional states called superimposition and entanglement facilitate phenomenal processing speed of quantum computers. The emergence of quantum computers has raised many concerns in various areas of information security. This paper employs a literature survey methodology to elucidate the positive and negative impacts of quantum computers on information security. This paper further addresses the concern that quantum computers will negatively impact information security by examining all recommended information security and privacy controls of the NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 catalog of controls. Furthermore, the paper briefly outlines the recent work towards quantum-resistant standards.


The objective of this study was to identify patient and hospitalization characteristics associated with in‐hospital mortality in infants with truncus arteriosus.


With great interest, we read the article by Mecham et al and would like to congratulate the authors for their excellent review of the role of tracheostomy in the COVID-19 pandemic. Bedside open tracheostomy in COVID-19 patients with prolonged mechanical ventilation is beneficial only if improvement is anticipated. However, the benefit of routine planned tracheostomy in all ventilated COVID-19 patients is still debatable. Being a high-risk aerosol-generating procedure, healthcare workers are at risk of infection during tracheostomy and subsequent care, even with appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE). Furthermore, the mortality benefit and risk reduction of ventilatorassociated pneumonia have not been conclusively proven. Great difficulties in performing tracheostomy with fogged goggles due to PPE and controlling bleeding as these patients are often on anticoagulation treatment makes keeping the two lives safe a herculean task. Evidence generated over the last few months of the COVID-19 pandemic has shown mechanical ventilation to be a poor prognostic marker. Often, patients require prolonged ventilation and are prone to iatrogenic complications along with poor outcomes in the absence of any proven effective therapy. Regarding the doctor involved, there is a paucity of data on the actual occupational hazard of COVID-19 transmission. Weighing the above risks and benefits, several societies have given diplomatic guidelines. The American College of Chest Physicians, the American Association for Bronchology and Interventional Pulmonology, and the Association of Interventional Pulmonology recommend carrying out such a tracheostomy when prolonged mechanical ventilation is anticipated with no comment on the exact timing. They suggest enhanced PPE, negativepressure intensive care unit, and a minimal number of experts. These guidelines may suit the developed world, but in densely populated, developing countries like India, where healthcare resources are scarce, such suggestions are far from reality. The limited PPE and absence of any negative-pressure chamber render the above recommendations impractical. The American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery suggests performing tracheostomy after 2 to 3 weeks with precautions including complete paralysis, closed and minimized suction, inflated cuff in endotracheal tube, cold instrumentation, and delayed routine tube changes. These guidelines are undoubtedly practical and surgeonoriented as there are two lives at risk in such settings— the patient and the surgeon/intensivist. Considering this tilted risk–benefit ratio, a routine tracheostomy must be planned only after addressing the need for the patient and the safety of the surgeon. A local independent triage and ethics committee could help to guide the dictum of Primum non-nocere.


The invention relates to a sample container for holding samples, in particular liquids, and processing of samples by means of a Prozessiervorrichtung, in particular a pipetting device, wherein the sample container (10) has a cylindrical hollow body which at its lower end (18) is closed and at its having upper end an opening (14), wherein the sample container (10) is insertable with its lower end (18) into a sample container receptacle (42), wherein in an upper peripheral portion (20) of the sample container (10) along its outer circumference (UR) a plurality of identical identification patterns (22), in particular bar codes or 2D bar codes, distributed in at least one row (Z1, Z2, Z3) are arranged, wherein in said at least one row (Z1, Z2, Z3) at least two detection patterns (22) are contained , Further, the invention relates to a label with detection patterns, a set of a sample container and a sample container carrier as well as a method for the identification of sample containers.


JOSEPH L. MOSS, 1884-1955 Joseph L. Moss, whose contributions to public welfare were noted in the September Review,1 died on January 17. He will be remembered in Chicago for his devotion to standards during years when the life of an administrator was difficult indeed. Mr. Moss was proud of the fact that he was a member of the first graduating class of the Chicago School of Civics and Philanthropy, the predecessor of the School of Social Service Administration. A fund in his memory is being established at the School.


Single-crystal whiskers of Y1Ba2Cu3Ox with a length of approximately 4 mm were grown from an Sb-doped precursor. The optimum nominal composition of precursors in this Sb-doping method is Y2Ba2.75Cu3Sb0.5Ox. Sb is not detected in the whiskers by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The standard 4-probe transport measurements for the as-grown whiskers show a critical temperature TC of approximately 90 K and a c-axis critical current density JC of 6.57 ×104 A/cm2 at 89 K.


This paper has been withdrawn because of some paper issues. Recent studies on MAC scheduling have shown that carrier sense multiple access (CSMA) can be controlled to be achieve optimality in terms of throughput or utility. These results imply that just a simple MAC algorithm without message passing is possible to achieve high performance guarantee. However, such studies are conducted only on the assumption that channel conditions are static. Noting that the main drive for achieving optimality in optimal CSMA is to let it run a good schedule for some time, formally referred to as the mixing time, it is under-explored how such optimal CSMA performs for time-varying channel conditions. In this paper, under the practical constraint of restricted back-off rates (i.e., limited sensing speed), we consider two versions of CSMAs: (i) channel-unaware CSMA (U-CSMA) and (ii) channel-aware CSMA (A-CSMA), each of which is characterized as its ability of tracking channel conditions. We first show that for fast channel variations, A-CSMA achieves almost zero throughput, implying that incomplete tracking of channel conditions may seriously degrade performance, whereas U-CSMA, accessing the media without explicit consideration of channel conditions, has positive worst-case guarantee in throughput, where the ratio of guarantee depends on network topology. On the other hand, for slow channel variations, we prove that A-CSMA is throughput-optimal for any network topology. Our results provide the precise trade-off between sensing costs and performances of CSMA algorithms, which guides a robust design on MAC scheduling under highly time-varying scenarios.


The objective of this paper is to find explicit web relationships using enterprise websites as seeds. We apply a web crawler to find these relationships in a hierarchy starting from the given seed using the external links to construct a Jaccard Score weighted tree. The proposed methodology aims to search related enterprises from the root node based on the link, which are potential partners, suppliers, clients, etc. We crawl the whole site to find external links using the Breadth First Search (BSF) algorithm and build a tree structure containing just the interesting external links. The applied algorithms were programmed with very simple computational components and may produce interesting results to analyze the domain of sites, their structure, and how they link with each other in their acting range.


n engl j med 369;12 nejm.org september 19, 2013 1176 analyses to understand the variation in prescribing rates according to geographic area in the United States do not suggest that population density is playing a role. Another difference is that the selection of antibiotics by providers in Sweden favors narrower-spectrum, beta-lactam agents, whereas azithromycin is the most frequently prescribed antibiotic in the United States. The Swedish rate may provide a useful reference for establishing a benchmark. Promoting appropriate antibiotic use is critical for preserving antibiotic effectiveness, and we applaud public health officials, providers, and policymakers in Sweden who have led these efforts. Reductions in U.S. antibiotic prescribing have been observed since the launch of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Get Smart: Know When Antibiotics Work Campaign,2 but overprescribing is still a problem.3 An important next step is to determine how much prescribing is too much. Lauri A. Hicks, D.O. Thomas H. Taylor, Jr., M.S.


Weld seam positioning has been of great importance in enhancing welding automation levels. In this article, a multilayer positioning strategy was proposed for automatic weld seam positioning based on the point cloud model of the tubesheet. The method consists of coarse positioning and fine positioning. In the process of coarse positioning, a feature-based maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) was proposed, whose solution was obtained by the proposed likelihood calculation method between the point cloud model and the tubesheet image. Considering that several different coordinate systems—robot coordinate system (RCS), tubesheet coordinate system (TCS), and point cloud coordinate system (PCS)—exist in the tubesheet welding process, through the coordinates of multiple sets of MLE, the conversion relationships of these coordinate systems were obtained, so as to complete the coarse positioning process. In the process of fine positioning, the image of the weld seam was processed to solve the problem of low positioning accuracy in the coarse positioning process. Experiments showed that the positioning accuracy of the proposed multilayer positioning strategy can meet the welding requirements. Compared with the existing methods, the method in this article has a higher level of welding automation.


In recent years, nanoparticles produced with nanotechnology have been widely used in many fields of medicine and dentistry such as prosthetic dental treatment. The advanced properties of nanoparticles such as biocompatibility, durability, solubility, large surface area, high stability, and thermal conductivity facilitate the development of dental materials. Compared to the traditional materials used, they can offer useful features, such as better diagnosis, treatment plans, improvement, and protection of oral health. Therefore, a better understanding of nanotechnology and nanoparticles is essential to appreciate how these materials can be utilised in our daily practice. This review provides an overview of nanoparticles and their applications in dentistry.


Discussion surrounding the terminal care of an individual hospice patient. This includes the patient's reflections, his dissatisfaction, from his perspective, with inadequate end-of-life care, and his thoughts on assisted suicide. The author also discusses the spiritual aspects of this unusual encounter.


In recent years, quantitative research methodology has become more conceptually integrated and technically sophisticated. Fundamental insights regarding design and analytic frameworks that support causal inference along with the development of estimation algorithms appropriate for multilevel and latent variable models have altered traditional methodological practice and ushered in new appreciation for the underlying relationship among modern data modeling techniques. In this article, I provide a brief outline of five methodological content domains that have increasing relevance for quantitatively oriented evaluators, (1) causal inference/experimental design, (2) multilevel modeling, (3) structural equation/latent variable modeling, (4) longitudinal data analysis, and (5) missing data, and the accompanying textbook resources that facilitate understanding and use. A target audience for each text is also identified.


For the characteristics of broken surrounding rocks located at Henan Dengcao coal mine and on the basis of analyzing large deformation,backfilling,bolting and bolt-grouting coupling support method were adopted to reinforce the roadway.Practical application shows that the capacity and strength of surrounding rocks is considerably improved and roadway deformation effectively controlled,with satisfactory technical-economic effect gained.


Recently a lean-rich combustion is drawing attention as a way to decrease the level of NOx. But the flame structure and NOx formation process of the lean-rich flame in the unsteady-state was not made clear sufficiently. So we performed the numerical analysis in the unsteady-state in which we took the NO formation mechanism into the consideration by using the Skeletal Chemistry combined with a part of GRI-mech. And we found that thermal NO is generated not only in the high temperature region formed in the downstream of the rich flame, but also in the swell formed in the downstream of the lean flame. In the swell formed in the downstream of the lean flame, the chemical reaction is occurred actively due to the fluctuation of lateral flow that carries CH4. The faster the lateral flow is, the larger NO mole production rate becomes.


Summary: A trial was undertaken with 2 single‐dose drugs for the inhibition of postpartum lactation. Two hundred patients were studied, of whom one half were given a single oral tablet of quinestrol (Estrovis) 4 mg. and the other half were given a single intramuscular injection of Ablacton. The results showed that both preparations were equally effective in the initial inhibition of lactation and were rarely associated with rebound breast engorgement or withdrawal bleeding.


This paper describes a dual battery EV charging system with variable battery voltage operations. A wide range of EVs is now available based upon their operational flexibility and power availability. However, frequent modification in charging architecture and related components based upon the battery voltage diverseness can't be assured. To fulfill the charging requirements for multiple low power EVs, a dual battery charging system with minimal circuit components is described in this paper. A non-linear sliding mode control architecture with direct power control also ensures smooth operation during the bi-directional charging operation. In addition, the renewable and battery energy storage support is also depicted in the charging architecture to make it self-sufficient to operate in standalone mode. The control configuration is designed with MATLAB and the Simulink platform to validate the bi-directional charging operation with a Level-I charging prototype.


Surface crusting is a common occurrence in many soils worldwide,especially in arid and semiarid soils. The formation of soil surface crust/seal mainly depends on soil permanent properties(such as soil texture,mineralogy, organic and inorganic polymers,composition of exchangeable cations,aggregate stability,antecedent water content and wetting rate).The objective of this study is to classify these influence factors and review the main research direction in this field.The general sequence of events that leads to crust formation under rainfall conditions can be described as follows:(i) breakdown of soil aggregates caused by raindrop impact or slaking;(ii) movement of clay particles and blockage of soil pores.So the aggregate stability and clay content have substantial effects on formation of surface crust/seal.Research shows that soils with 20-30 percent clay were the most susceptible to crust formation. With increasing clay content above 40 percent,soil structure became more stable,crust formation was diminished. In addition,smectitic soils,low levels of exchangeable sodium percentage and electrolyte concentration were all beneficial to the formation of soil surface crust/seal.Wetting rate,antecedent moisture content,also significantly affect soil susceptibility to crusting,but this was often neglected by many researchers.Fast wetting of dry soil caused aggregate slaking and crusting whereas high antecedent moisture content decreased aggregate disintegration.Quantitative study on the influence of various factors to the surface crust formation is the future research direction in this field although this would be challenging because of the interaction among these factors.In arid and semi-arid areas in Northwest China,surface crust is also a very common phenomenon on the surface of earthen architecture site and soil slope on both sides of highway and railway.The presence of surface crust has produced the adverse effect on transit operation and conservation of earthen architecture.So it is very necessary to enhancing the international exchange and cooperation between soil science and geotechnical engineering,and this has already become the main and inevitable trend in the field.