Tracer studies in healthy volunteers using stable isotopes of ruthenium were performed with the objective of extending the limited knowledge about the biokinetics of the radionuclides of this element. Tracer solutions were prepared starting from metallic ruthenium powders enriched in either Ru or Ru (isotopic enrichment ca. 98%). Tracer administration was followed by the collection of blood and urine samples at fixed times. Some investigations were conducted by means of the double tracer technique, consisting in the simultaneous administration of two tracers, one orally and the other intravenously. Tracer concentrations in biological samples were determined by means of proton activation analysis. Blood clearance and urinary excretion were noticeably affected by the degree of complexation of ruthenium in the administered solution. After injection of solutions characterized by a high degree of complexation between ruthenium and citrate, the disappearance from plasma was faster than with poorly complexed ruthenium. Accordingly, the percentage promptly eliminated into urine was about 50% for highly complexed ruthenium and 20% in the case of low complexation. The fraction absorbed from the intestine into the circulation was lower than the current ICRP estimate of 0.05 for nearly all chemical forms investigated. Only in the case of high complexation degree the absorbed fraction was significantly higher (0.108±0.022) than the ICRP value.


This paper presents a novel observer‐based controller design method for discrete‐time piecewise affine (PWA) systems. The basic idea is as follows: at first, a piecewise linear (without affine terms) state feedback controller and a PWA observer are designed separately, and then it is proved that the output feedback controller constructed by the resulting observer and state feedback controller gains can guarantee the stability of the closed‐loop system. During the controller design, the piecewise‐quadratic Lyapunov function technique is used. Moreover, the region information is taken into account to treat the affine terms, so the controller gains can be obtained by solving a set of linear matrix inequalities, which are numerically feasible with commercially available software. Three simulation examples are given finally to verify the proposed theoretical results.


H.WZhang,Z.Y.Zhong.Y.L.Liu,H.C.Wang Institute of lnfmation and Mataids Udvemity of Uc=,Uonic Science and Technologl of China, Chengdu,610054,P.R.China 1.lntmductioa A great mterest har been amacted m planar magnetic devices to miniamre various electronic equipment including transformers and inductors, especially for the pwer elecuonics application[l-2]. The planar core with dgrag, spiral and wioding coil fabricated on the substrate show high core loss md large magnetic-fluxleakage because ofthe magnaic circuit was not close, meanwhile, the lithography and ion etching dry pmess are wry complexity and need lots of advanced process sysfem such as nitrogen ion beam etching system and sputterinp rystem[34]. Therefore, this paper describes a new thin film transformer fabricated by mask vacuum evaporated process. This ihm film m f o r m e r is composed of €-shaped CoZrRe amorphous magnetic l a p s wound With Cu thin film coils, primary coil fums and secandary coil bxns are 3:1,32. The measured results show that the €-Shaped thin films transformer har a high Q Value and good properties of high freauencv operation, especially in 0.5-4MHz range. 2.Experiment.l pmeedure A. Design R I R I


.................................................................................................................... v List of figures.................................... ........................................................................... ix List of tables.............................................................................................................. x CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION............................................................................ 1 1.1 Background of the Study................................................................................ 1 1.1.1 Concept of Perception ............................................................................ 2 1.1.2 Performance Appraisal Process ............................................................. 3 1.1.3 Factors Affecting Employee's Perception of Pe rformance Appraisal Process .. 5 1.1.4 National Housing Corporation................................................................. 6 1.2 Research Problem.......................................................................................... 8 1.3 Research Objectives .................................................................................... 11 1.4 Value of the Study........................................................................................ 11 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW ......................................................... 13 2.


Abstract Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in contaminated waterbodies can cause serious pollution to the adjacent atmosphere through volatilization. Gas–particle partitioning of PAHs controls the atmospheric concentrations of these pollutants. PAH levels in gaseous and particulate air samples were investigated near two polluted lagoons along the eastern coast of the Red Sea. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry was used to analyze nine priority parent PAHs and nine methylated PAHs. Total gaseous and particulate PAHs ranged from 12.2 to 397.5 ng m−3, with an average of 125.6 ± 117.3 ng m−3, which was nearly 10-fold higher than that found in a previous study. Particulate PAHs (ranging from 0.04 to 16.32 ng m−3, with an average of 2.56 ± 1.71 ng m−3) contributed to less than 20% of the total atmospheric PAHs. Applied diagnostic indices showed that gasoline emissions were the main sources of PAHs in the lagoons' atmosphere. Multiparameter statistical analyses indicated that wind speed strongly affected the distribution of atmospheric PAHs. The average PAH gas–particle partitioning coefficient was 0.49 m3 µg−1 (ranging from 2.1 × 10−8 to 51.23 m3 µg−1) and was significantly correlated with supercooled liquid vapor pressure. In addition to the effects of meteorological parameters and vehicle exhausts in the study area, the discharge of wastewater in the lagoons elevated PAH levels in the surrounding atmosphere.


1. Andrographis paniculata (Burm. f) Nees, commonly known as 'king of bitters', is a herbaceous plant belonging to the Family Acanthaceae. It has been widely used for centuries in Asian countries like China, India, Thailand and Malaysia for the treatment of sore throat, flu and upper respiratory tract infections.


Gentzen proves the equivalence of his system of natural deduction with an axiomatization of propositional logic due to Hubert. This last system is consistent, therefore Gentzen's system also. We avoid this roundabout way and give a direct proof that all provable formulas of Gentzen's system of natural deduction are tautologies. From this we can easily infer that the system is consistent. In the natural deduction we start with assumptions and apply rules of inference. These are the following:


Owing to their conditions of production, and sometimes to poor storage and transportation conditions, herbal products are susceptible to fungal contamination and development. This can lead to the accumulation of mycotoxins in this kind of commodities. Consequently, herbal products can be contaminated with fungal toxins, such as aflatoxins, ochratoxins and other mycotoxins, which pose a serious risk to public health. This paper reviews the main aspects regarding mycotoxin contamination of medical/aromatic herbs, in the context of the importance of this product in a global market. Moreover, the effect of processing on final contamination of derived foods, as well as the analytical methodology commonly employed in fungal and mycotoxin analysis in this type of products was reviewed.


It is a great pleasure to welcome you to the Joint Workshop on Foundations of Mobile Computing (DIALM/POMC) 2005. This workshop has continued to flourish since its inception attracting submissions and attendees from all over the world. The goal of this workshop is to foster cooperation among practitioners and theoreticians in the field of mobile and wireless computing and communications. It is intended to be a lively meeting, covering many of the algorithmic aspects of this field ranging from operations research to radio engineering problems. We believe the technical program of this year will help meet this goal.The call for papers attracted 34 submissions. The program committee accepted 13 papers that cover a variety of topics, including energy efficiency, MAC layer design, localization, geographic routing, and resilient topology construction. All papers went through a thorough two-stage review process (in addition to a quick reject phase that identified papers that were clearly out-of-scope). In the first stage three independent reviews were sought for each paper followed by a second stage where discussions were conducted among the reviewers to reach a final decision. We are grateful to the hard work of the program committee and additional reviewers in helping us finalize the program. We are extremely pleased with the final technical program and we thank all authors that submitted papers to DIALM/POMC 2005. In addition, the program includes a keynote talk by David B. Johnson. We believe that the keynote talk and the rest of the technical program will serve as a valuable reference for researchers and developers.


Species included in the taxon Delitschia are loculoascomycetes with dark, two-celled ascospores. Each cell of the ascospore is provided with an elongated germinal slit and each spore is surrounded by a hyaline gelatinous layer. A total of 46 species of Delitschia are recorded in an analytical key. Descriptions and illustrations are provided for the following 26 new species of Delitschia found on diverse substrata of herbivores from Canada, United States, and Mexico: D. anisomera, D. anomala, D, arestospora, D. chodocola, D. chorizomera, D. chrysina, D. crinita, D. didymastra, D. didymella, D. flavida, D. hexaspora, D. illinoisensis, D. intonsa, D. lachnothecium, D. lamprorhynchia, D. limasepta, D. megatetraspora, D. melanotricha, D. nephrospora, D. oligospora, D. pachylospora, D. simulans, D. tetrasporella, D. tomentosa, D. variispora, D. xanthodera.The remaining 20 species represent established and recognized taxa; for 11 of these, descriptions are vague and (or) inadequate. Species descriptions have bee...


Coextrusion technologies are commonly used to produce multilayered composite sheets of films. Each layer of these composite materials provides a specific end-use characteristic, suc as optical, mechanical or barrier properties. Processing together polymers of different natures may have two consequences : on the one hand, the flow of two adjacent different liquids may give rise to interfacial instabilities which are detrimental to the quality of the final product. On the other hand, the difference of chemical natures of the polymers may lead to delamination of the multilayer film. In order to avoid the latter problem, polymers are compatibilized by introducing a binder between adjacent layers. As a consequence, a non-zero thickness interphase is created between the layers. In this paper, it is theoretically analysed how this interphase may influence the flow stability. As a matter of fact, it is experimentally known that flows of compatible polymers are more stable than those of incompatible systems. Next, a way to optimize the process is proposed.


T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) and T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma (T-LBL) are aggressive hematologic malignancies that are currently still treated by highdose chemotherapy possibly followed by hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Despite important progress in deciphering the genomic landscape of these diseases, the transition of novel targeted therapies towards clinical practice has remained largely unsuccessful. T-ALL and TLBL, which the World Health Organization regards as one single disease entity, can be classified into different molecular genetic subtypes based on the aberrant expression of specific transcription factor oncogenes, such as LYL1, TLX1, TLX3, HOXA, NKX2-1, TAL1 or LMO2. Within these genetic subclasses, a variety of co-operative lesions converge towards activation of specific pathways, such as JAK-STAT or PI3K-AKT signaling. Interestingly, JAK-STAT pathway mutations seem to be more prevalent in LYL1, TLX1, TLX3 and HOXA tumors, whereas mature TAL1 leukemias/lymphomas more often display PI3K/AKT alterations. PIM1 is a highly conserved serine/threonine kinase involved in cell-cycle progression, transcription, apoptosis, drug resistance and cellular metabolism through phosphorylation of a myriad of known downstream targets. Formal proof of its oncogenic activity emerged from the analysis of Pim1 transgenic mice, which spontaneously developed T-cell lymphomas with a latency of several months. At the transcriptional level, PIM1 is a canonical JAK-STAT target gene that can be activated downstream of cytokine signaling. Recently, a number of studies have all shown that PIM1 might act as an attractive molecular target in human T-ALL. Indeed, recent work identified a case of adult T-ALL in which aberrant activation of PIM1 was driven by the T-cell receptor (TCR) translocation t(6;7)(p21;q34) (TCRβ-PIM1). In addition, PIM1 activation was also found to be more broadly implicated in T-ALL disease biology downstream of mutational activation of the JAK-STAT signaling pathway. Although these studies clearly point towards PIM1 as a novel therapeutic target for the treatment of T-ALL, initial drug evaluation experiments have largely been focused on human T-ALL and T-LBL cell lines, which often fail to provide an accurate representation of the primary disease. Therefore, additional in-depth pre-clinical in vivo evaluation of PIM inhibitors using patient-derived xenograft models of human T-ALL and T-LBL will be required to further facilitate the translation of these findings into clinical practice in the near future. Here, we report the identification of a similar TCRβPIM1 translocation, t(6;7)(p21;q34), as previously described, in a case of pediatric T-LBL, suggesting that these PIM1 rearrangements are a rare but recurrent genetic abnormality in both pediatric and adult T-ALL and T-LBL. For this particular T-LBL case (see the Online Supplementary Methods for clinical information), initial FISH analysis revealed the presence of a TCRβ translocation in the major leukemic clone at diagnosis. Using Targeted Locus Amplification (TLA), with the TCRβ


MicroRNAs (miRNAs) repress protein expression by binding to the target mRNAs. Exploring whether the expression of one miRNA can regulate the abundance and activity of other miRNAs, we noted the coordinated biogenesis of miRNAs in activated macrophages. miRNAs with higher numbers of binding sites (the "primary" miRNAs) induce expression of other miRNAs ("secondary" miRNAs) having binding sites on the 3′ untranslated region (UTR) of common target mRNAs. miR-146a-5p, in activated macrophages, acts as a "primary" miRNA that coordinates biogenesis of "secondary" miR-125b, miR-21, or miR-142-3p to target new sets of mRNAs to balance the immune responses. ABSTRACT MicroRNAs (miRNAs) repress protein expression by binding to the target mRNAs. Exploring whether the expression of one miRNA can regulate the abundance and activity of other miRNAs, we noted the coordinated biogenesis of miRNAs in activated macrophages. miRNAs with higher numbers of binding sites (the "primary" miRNAs) induce expression of other miRNAs ("secondary" miRNAs) having binding sites on the 3′ untranslated region (UTR) of common target mRNAs. miR-146a-5p, in activated macrophages, acts as a "primary" miRNA that coordinates biogenesis of "secondary" miR-125b, miR-21, or miR-142-3p to target new sets of mRNAs to balance the immune responses. During coordinated biogenesis, primary miRNA drives the biogenesis of secondary miRNA in a target mRNA- and Dicer1 activity-dependent manner. The coordinated biogenesis of miRNAs was observed across different cell types. The target-dependent coordinated miRNA biogenesis also ensures a cumulative mode of action of primary and secondary miRNAs on the secondary target mRNAs. Interestingly, using the "primary" miR-146a-5p-specific inhibitor, we could inhibit the target-dependent biogenesis of secondary miRNAs that can stop the miRNA-mediated buffering of cytokine expression and inflammatory response occurring in activated macrophages. Computational analysis suggests the prevalence of coordinated biogenesis of miRNAs also in other contexts in human and in mouse.


As a powerful genetic tool, site‐specific recombinases (SSRs) have been widely used in genomic manipulation to elucidate cell fate plasticity in vivo, advancing research in stem cell and regeneration medicine. However, the low resolution of conventional single‐recombinase‐mediated lineage tracing strategies, which rely heavily on the specificity of one marker gene, has led to controversial conclusions in many scientific questions. Therefore, different SSRs systems are combined to improve the accuracy of lineage tracing. Here we review the recent advances in dual‐recombinase‐mediated genetic approaches, including the development of novel genetic recombination technologies and their applications in cell differentiation, proliferation, and genetic manipulation. In comparison with the single‐recombinase system, we also discuss the advantages of dual‐genetic strategies in solving scientific issues as well as their technical limitations.


The invention discloses a carboxylate gemini surfactant and a preparation method thereof. The carboxylate gemini surfactant is benzene-1,4bis(N-beta- sodium acrylate-N- alkylamine). The synthesis method of the carboxylate gemini surfactant comprises three steps which are the ring-opening reaction, bromination and salt-forming reaction of maleic anhydride. The carboxylate gemini surfactant has theadvantages of high activity, a critical micelle concentration of 0.38mmol/L which is one twenty-fifth of that (908mmol/L) of sodium dodecylbenzenesulphonate, a surface tension under the critical micelle concentration of 31.8mN/m which is 7.4mN/m lower than that (39.2mN/m) of the sodium dodecylbenzenesulphonate, and expected application in daily chemical products such as detergent, solubilizer andemulsifier and an oil extraction formula system. The method has the advantages of mild product preparation reaction conditions, simple and convenient operation and easy product separation and purification.


The solution NMR conformational properties of two angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) Zn catalytic‐site 36‐residue peptides, with the general sequence HEMGHX23EAIGDX3, synthesized through solid‐phase 9‐flourenylmethyoxycarbonyl (Fmoc) chemistry, is reported. The 1H resonance assignment of Zn‐bound peptides is presented and the characteristic features of the NMR solution models of the two ACE Zn(II)‐bound peptides are reported. The solid‐state and solution structures of the ACE C‐domain catalytic site are compared while biologically important structural similarities and differences of the N‐ and C‐terminal catalytic sites are discussed. Additionally, the structural features of the ACE substrate, the angiotensin I (AI) decapeptide, are studied using NMR spectroscopy, in order to set the structural basis for the ACE–substrate interaction in solution. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Biopolymers (Pept Sci), 2004


Two main challenges that need to be addressed in physical human-robot interaction (pHRI) are efficient recognition of human intention and interaction safety. In this paper, a general human intention framework was summarized, firstly, according to the robot's roles: a passive follower and a compliant leader. Secondly, we proposed variable admittance control models governed by human intentions. Power envelope approaches were then proposed to impose constraints on the variable admittance parameters inferred from human intention for maintaining passivity conservatively. Our passivity preserving approaches were validated via simulation and shown to avoid mismatching of time-varying admittance parameters that restrain drastic changes of admittance controller dynamics, which usually result in instability. Finally, the relationship between the robot's passivity and stability when it interacts with the human was analyzed.


The article assesses the tourist potential of the Vologda region based on the author's methodology. The assessment results make it possible to identify municipalities with the highest level of tourist potential, as well as to identify the problems hindering its development and implementation.


This thesis researches the IC-coloring of the star subdivision graph,improved the lower IC-index of the star subdivision graph,and concluded two class graphs of the one lower IC-index.


Financial support: None. Conflict of interests: None. Purpose: Many international journals have published studies on the results of distal femoral fractures in elderly people, but only a few studies have been conducted on the Korean population. The aim of this study was to determine the factors that are associated with the outcomes and prognosis of fixation of distal femur fractures using the minimally invasive plate osteosynthesis (MIPO) technique in elderly patients (age≥60) and to determine the risk factors related with the occurrence of nonunion. Materials and Methods: This study is a retrospective study. From January 2008 to June 2018, distal femur fracture (AO/OTA 33) patients who underwent surgical treatment (MIPO) were analyzed. A total of 52 patients were included in the study after removing 121 patients that met with the exclusion criteria. Medical records, including surgical records, were reviewed to evaluate the patients' underlying disease, bone mineral density, the number of days delayed from surgery, complications and mortality. In addition, follow-up radiographs were used to determine bone union, delayed union and nonunion. Results: The average time to achieve bone union was 19.95 weeks, the rate of nonunion was 20.0% (10/50) and the overall mortality was 3.8% (2/52). There were no significant differences in the clinical and radiological results of those patients with or without periprosthetic fracture. On the univariate analysis, which compared the union group vs. the nonunion group, no factors were identified as significant risk factors for nonunion. On the multiple logistic regression analysis, medical history of cancer was identified as a significant risk factor for nonunion (p=0.045). Conclusion: The rate of nonunion is high in the Korean population of elderly people suffering from distal femur fracture, but the mortality rate appears to be low. A medical history of cancer is a significant risk factor for nonunion. Further prospective studies are required to determine other associated factors.


Determining the condition of a concrete building or structure through periodic assessments during its lifespan is an essential part of proper maintenance. The repair methods of concrete facades and balconies are selected primarily on the basis of their technical condition. The information on the deterioration level of structures provided by a condition assessment assists in the selection of appropriate repair methods and assessment of related risks and service life of the repair. The content of a condition assessment is to be such that set goals are achieved. Usually the aim is to determine the repair or maintenance need and safety of structures. To achieve that, the deterioration and performance defects of structures need to be established. Concrete facades and balconies can be subject to several types of deterioration. Thus, the existence, scope, location, degree, impacts and future progress of deterioration need to be determined in each case. The wide variation in the level of deterioration between dif...


Article let in advertisement influence level for a person and consciousness manipulation opportunities. The author finds out methods of effective advertisement creation.


The importance of contextual systems, which fuel individual's development, is emphasized in Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory (1979, 1987, 1995), recalling their dynamism, integration and interdependence. Furthermore, Figueiredo and Afonso (2006), bearing in mind the educational use of ICT, underscore the individual/student's interaction both with contents and contexts, considering the latter of paramount importance in education. Actually, evidence shows that ICTs, if regarded not as a complement but essentially as a means to change learning toward knowledge construction, provide favourable learning environments contributing to children and youth's cognitive and social-emotional development. This change takes place, or, better saying, may take pace, in each of the structures defined by Bronfenbrenner microsystem, mesosystem, microsystem, exosystem macrosystem and chronosystem. The microsystem encompassing the individual's most direct and immediate contacts. I mean the school and family, focusing on activities, technology, peers, teachers and parents. Recently, Johnson proposed the ecological techno-microsystem that "situates the developing child in the context of ICT use in home, school, and community environments" (2010, p. 32); the mesosystems referring to interrelations between two or more microsystems with which the individual interacts; and the exosystem involving contexts in which the individual doesn't take an active role but which do influence the microsystems surrounding him. Considering the educational use of ICT, both initial training, continuing and post-graduate teachers are included in the exosystem. References either to the macrosystem or the chronosystem are not made in this text. I guide some projects which, in its diversity, illustrate the integration of new technologies, new theories and new methodologies in language learning process as a way to transform, not just to complement, the language learning. This paper, based in those projects, presents a groundbreaking look on ICT in language learning centered on ecological techno-microsystem.


The hepatocarcinogen aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is a potent recombinagen but weak mutagen in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. AFB1 exposure induces DNA damage‐inducible genes, such as RAD51 and those encoding ribonucleotide reductase (RNR), through a MEC1 (ATR homolog)‐dependent pathway. Previous studies have indicated that MEC1 is required for both AFB1‐associated recombination and mutation, and suggested that AFB1‐DNA adducts are common substrates for recombination and mutagenesis. However, little is known about the downstream effectors of MEC1 required for genotoxic events associated with AFB1 exposure. Here we show that AFB1 exposure increases frequencies of RAD51‐dependent unequal sister chromatid exchange (SCE) and activates Rad53 (CHK2). We found that MEC1, RAD53, and DUN1 are required for both AFB1‐associated mutation and SCE. Deletion of SML1, which encodes an inhibitor of RNR, did not suppress the DUN1‐dependent requirement for AFB1‐associated genetic events, indicating that higher dNTP levels could not suppress the dun1 phenotype. We identified AFB1‐DNA adducts and show that approximately the same number of adducts are obtained in both wild type and rad53 mutants. Since DUN1 is not required for UV‐associated mutation and recombination, these studies define a distinct role for DUN1 in AFB1‐associated mutagenesis and recombination. We speculate that AFB1‐associated DNA adducts stall DNA replication, a consequence of which can either be mutation or recombination. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


The dramatic worldwide decline in insect biodiversity has highlighted the need for insect conservation. However, management is hindered by incomplete knowledge of what drives species mortality. Even when drivers are identified, it can be difficult to quantify their effects. Using data from six naturally occurring cohorts observed over 2 years, we created partial ecological life tables for Blackburn's sphinx moth, Manduca blackburni, a federally listed endangered moth endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. We identified mortality factors impacting eggs and quantified mortality for both eggs and larvae of M. blackburni. Life table analysis demonstrated that total mortality was above 99%, highlighting the severe threats faced by this critically endangered species. Disappearance, likely driven by invasive ants, and predation were the two primary causes of egg mortality. While egg mortality contributed the most to total mortality, apparent mortality was high for all developmental stages observed, indicating substantial risk throughout the moth's pre‐adult life cycle. Our results show that M. blackburni likely experiences unsustainably high mortality across its pre‐pupal life stages and highlight the dangers invasive predators pose for the focal species and naïve species in general. The threats facing M. blackburni may bear directly on other declining insect species and their management. Future conservation efforts should focus on mitigating the impacts of invasive ants and other arthropod predators to promote species recovery for this charismatic Hawaiian endemic.


BACKGROUND
In recent decades, patients' exposure to ionising radiation (IR) during diagnostic examinations has increased a great deal. X-ray requests do not always conform to the principle of 'justification', which emphasises the real utility and necessity of the examination. Databases maintained by general practitioners usually record all requests for radiological examinations of their patients and could be configured to assess the radiological risk for each patient.

OBJECTIVE
To show, through the analysis of the data extracted from a database commonly used by Italian general practitioners, whether it is possible to measure patients' exposure to IR in the previous five years, so that doctors are aware of this when they refer patients for examination involving further exposure to radiation.

METHOD
Records of 120 patients from an Italian general practice were randomly extracted from the practice database. The patients were a mix of male and female, aged from 15 to 64 years. All radiological examinations performed in the previous five years were recorded in a special spreadsheet, which had been created for computing the exposure to ionising radiation in milliSiviert.

RESULTS
The calculated cumulative exposure of the 120 patients showed a very different perspective, which could help doctors when applying the principle of justification and allow accurate information to be communicated to the patient concerning their relevant health problem.

CONCLUSIONS
Databases maintained by general practitioners could easily be configured to automatically compute the radiological risk for each patient and to alert the doctor when an X-ray examination is prescribed, giving the doctor crucial decisional support for its justification.


Abstract : Under this DURIP grant, we have build a distributed MIMO software defined radar (SDR) testbed. The testbed consists of 14 micro SDR platforms with two transmit and one receive antennas and a standalone SDR with 4 transmit and 4 receive channels multiplexed to 32 x 32 antenna array through a switching matrix. These SDR platforms can adaptively modify both transmit waveforms and receive signal processing tasks in real time. The radar platforms and associated antenna arrays are designed at X-Band with bandwidths unto 250 MHz.


Crime is a social phenomenon that is not without a society, but it has been achieved. However, it is impossible to find a community or a nation or a people without it.It is not afraid that the approach taken to combat it is based on a policy based on two types of legislation: firstly, those that determine the types of criminal conduct and the punishment prescribed for it, which are commensurate with the seriousness of the act and the seriousness of the offender and the location of the Penal Code and related penal laws, In order to punish the offender and replace those procedural laws and other relevant laws.The practical reality of this policy, however, has been the emergence of an indeterminate number of disordered human behavior that has been criminalized under separate legal provisions in a variety of penal legislation, so that criminal courts have been flooded with various types of lawsuits, To be impossible to achieve.Which required the search for new alternatives to reduce the burden placed on the courts and achieve criminal justice desired, and presented several alternatives to solve this problem. ()


The mean nucleation distance, , is an important parameter in a first-order cosmological quark - hadron phase transition, as baryon inhomogeneities generated during the transition may persist to the time of nucleosynthesis, and alter the outcome of the light elements, provided is above 1 m. We describe different scenarios based on the MIT bag model to determine this distance, and briefly mention ongoing work that may completely change our picture of the phase transition.


Abstract The Bantimala Complex of South Sulawesi consists mainly of melange, chert, basalt, ultramafic rocks and high pressure type metamorphic rocks. Well-preserved radiolarians were extracted from 10 samples of chert, and K-Ar age dating was done for muscovite from five samples of schist of the Bantimala Complex. The radiolarian assemblage from chert is assigned middle Cretaceous (late Albian-early Cenomanian) age, while the K-Ar age data from schist range from 132 Ma to 114 Ma except for one sample with rare muscovite. The radiolarian chert is unconformably underlain by schist in the Bantimala Complex. The stratigraphie relationship and the time lag of these two kinds of age data from chert and underlying schist suggest short-time tectonic events immediately followed by a quick waning tectonism in this region during the Albian-Cenomanian transgression.


A breakthrough for a new way of thinking and acting - the development of child welfare and childcare in the Republic of Belarus


The authors investigate the quality of phase unwrapping by Green-Helmholtz formulation (GHF) and restore the phase term due to transversal component of the interferometric SAR (INSAR) phase gradient.


This study was conducted with the purpose of developing and evaluating leachate generated from
compost and vermicompost plant residues as a mechanism for soil fertilization and disease control
of some agricultural crops in the state of Tabasco, mainly from cocoa (Theobroma cacao) and
banana (Musa paradisiaca). And with that, to be able friendly alternative solutions witn the
environment, such as reducing vegetables residues generated through the same agricultural
management and obtein benefits products in compost,vermicompost and leachate forms. The use of
these biotechnologies could potentially reduce the handling and use of agrochemicals to control
some plant pathogens agents that attack crops and cause economic losses to producers and increase
the soil fertility in production systems.


The invention provides a method for enhancing the bonding strength of dental titanium porcelain through depositing nanometer niobium nitride. The method comprises the following steps: 1, screening a pure titanium substrate having no casting defects, pre-treating the pure titanium substrate, sandblasting the pure titanium substrate under a certain pressure, cleaning the pure titanium substrate after sandblasting ending, and blowing the pure titanium substrate by pure nitrogen to dryness; 2, depositing nanometer niobium nitride on the surface of the pure titanium substrate obtained after treating in step 1 through a depositing process; and 3, carrying out porcelain sintering of the pure titanium substrate subjected to the depositing treatment in a porcelain furnace by utilizing porcelain powder to obtain a porcelain fused titanium material. The method has the advantages of simple operation, inhibition of the oxidation of pure titanium at a porcelain sintering temperature, reaching of a titanium porcelain bonding strength enhancing purpose without influencing the aesthetic effect, convenient relevant material and equipment obtaining, good clinical application prospect, and high practical application value.


Abstract. The Phosphorus (P) Index is a widely used tool for assessing the vulnerability of agricultural fields to P loss. This study is focused on the Ohio P Index, which was developed in the mid-1990s and has yet to be evaluated or revised. The objective of the study was to complete a stochastic sensitivity analysis of the Ohio P Index in order to determine the input variables to which the P Index score is most sensitive and identify variables for which future research and development are needed. Input variable probability distributions were created using the best available data from five agricultural watersheds in Ohio. Monte Carlo simulation was then used to generate 10,000 iterations of the P Index score based on the input variable probability distributions for each watershed. Results showed that three variables (connectivity to water, runoff class, soil-test P) explained 78% to 81% of the variance in the P Index score. Phosphorus application rate, P application method, soil erosion, and filter strip variables each explained


ABSTRACT The study of small state foreign policy has traditionally focused on size and the influence it plays on small state behaviour. This article instead uses the social identity theory to evaluate small state behaviour. Using the concept of status, Estonia's bilateral development cooperation with Georgia and Moldova is evaluated. Despite Estonia's limited resources, the impact of its aid was significant in terms of boosting Estonia's status in the eyes of Georgia and Moldova. Using the concept of status is promising in its ability to explain and understand small state behaviour. The potential impact of this approach is significant as size might best be understood not as material or relational but as psychological.


W EIGHT-TAKING as a means of detection of an incipient toxaemia of later pregnancy was advocated by Zangemeister4 as early as 1916. Davis2 advocated its use as a routine part of pre-natal care in 1923. The absorption of water, with a consequent rapid increase in body weight, is known to precede the occurrence of visible aedema in nephrosis and cardiac decompensation. Yet we know of very few clinics, either public or private, where the use of a pair of scales, and the charting of weight during pregnancy, form part of routine pre-natal care. Why is this so? Partly, perhaps, because, owing to the date of publication, Zangemeister's ideas were not readily accessible; partly perhaps because at the time the "cedema theory" of eclampsia formed one of many theories; and partly, perhaps, because of the difficulty in accepting a figure which should represent the normal weight increase during pregnancy, and above which a toxaemia inevitably occurred. Yet certain phenomena related to water retention in the absence of tangible cedema are facts of common clinical observation in obstetrics. Changes are observed in facial appearance, a characteristic coarsening of the features which is frequently associated with pregnancy. In contrast, there is the change back to normal after delivery and the subsequent diuresis, a change occurring with dramatic suddenness in which the features regain a thinner eontour, the heavy coarse expression disappears, and the patient seems to have retraced the passage of several years. These changes in appearance of the pregnant patient so often escape notice because of their very gradual onset. Now and again the patient herself may remark on them, and may make the occasional observation that her rings and gloves no longer fit, or that her hands feel tight and no longer close readily. More usually, however,


Manufacturing industry servicing has become a main trend of manufacturing enterprises. These enterprises provide customized products to satisfy personalization demand. The emergence of customized products aims to maximize revenue on the base of no capacity change, while improving customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. In fact, customers don't know about the details of products, and their descriptions to products are in difference. On account of providing a scientific basis for reasonable pricing, ontology matching and mapping between customer demand ontology CDO and product configuration ontology PCO should be realized. How to recognize customers' fuzzy and less formal descriptions for demand accurately is a fundamental issue. This paper solves this issue by ontology and revenue management. Customer demand ontology is built by inputting customers' fuzzy descriptions, and then matches semantic similarity with product configuration ontology to calculating product customized degree. Calculating the optimal price under different customized degree by using the profit maximization model of revenue management can give guidance suggestions to enterprises.


This research examines the utility of age/sex distributions below the county level in Bronx, New York. The focus is on the county's 10 Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs), areas with a population of at least 100,000. While the ACS controls by age, sex, race, and Hispanic origin are determined at the county level, they are used uniformly across potentially heterogeneous PUMAs within the county. An important issue in a heterogeneous county is whether county controls reflect nonresponse among individual PUMAs. The key question examined is whether the age/sex distributions that are a product of this process are useful at the PUMA level. We also examine the validity of ACS public assistance recipiency by age at the PUMA level using administrative data on recipients and assess the reliability and utility of selected ACS variables by age/sex. We conclude that sub-county controls should be pursued in the ACS, especially in counties that exhibit high levels of heterogeneity, since they would benefit from weights based on PUMA-specific attributes. More indirectly, the weighting for nonresponse and other issues would more closely reflect the PUMA itself and not the overall county totals. Understanding the improvements that would result from such actions needs to be high on the Bureau's research agenda for the ACS, as we move forward.


students need to "know the formulas for the volumes of cones, cylinders, and spheres and use them to solve real-world and mathematical problems" (CCSSM, Standard 8.G.9). Students must also draw on their prior knowledge, calculating surface areas of cones, unit prices, profit, and revenue. The problem provides multiple entry points and allows students to choose a solution path and make real-world decisions. One aspect of the problem that students need to consider is the method that Aunt Bertha uses to fill the cones. For example, students may decide that Aunt Bertha fills the cone entirely with ice cream and then plops a hemispherical scoop on top. Alternatively, a cone may contain just one spherical scoop whose diameter matches that of the cone. Students will need to make rounding decisions according to the real-world context. In addition, some students may include the area of the base in the calculation of a cone's surface area; others may use 0.3 (30¢) instead of 0.03 (3¢) when calculating the cost of the cones. The problem encourages various representations and solution paths. Students may choose to "create equations in two or more variables to represent relationships between quantities" (CCSSM, Standard A-CED.2); they may create drawings or tables to organize their work. One way to extend this problem is for Aunt Bertha to continue selling two types of cones, with students exploring cone combinations that would be most profitable. This extension may lead students to create a systems of equations explored through graphs or matrices. Aunt Bertha's Ice Cream Shoppe engages students in a real-world setting that stimulates problem-based learning (PBL). Students explore a problem through a constructivist approach and interact with concepts in ways that promote deeper thinking and increased comprehension. They seek information, generate data, and eventually draw conclusions and report their findings. Delicious! MY FAVORITE lesson T H E B A C K P A G E


The unified management of water resources in the Tarim River Basin is all along a keystone of water resources management in Xinjiang.With the population increasing,economy and society developing,and water resources exploitation and utilization improving continuously,the problem of ecological environment depravation in the Tarim River Basin has become the focus of the public concern,and the unreasonable organization system of water resources management is the main cause.Therefore,based on analyzing thoroughly the status quo and primary problems of water resources management organization system,combined with the demand of establishing and developing water rights market,this paper puts forward the basic principles and concrete measures for reforming and perfecting the present organization system in the Tarim River Basin.


Market demand for edible oilseeds is increasing steadily. For Saskatchewan and Canada to participate in this growing market, canola production must increase. The presently grown canola species Brassica napus and B. rapa will not be able to meet anticipated increased future demand. These species require low temperatures and evaporation rates for optimum growth and high productivity. Their area of production is restricted to the cooler, less drought stressed areas of the prairies. A possible solution to these production constraints is the development of canola-quality oilseed yellow mustard (Sinapis alba).


Concrete is the main construction material in the world. It consist of cement, fine aggregate, coarse aggregate and water as main ingredients. Now days due to high global consumption of natural sand, sand deposit are being depleted and causing serious threat to environment as well as society. River sand is becoming a scarce commodity and hence an exploration alternative to it has become imminent. Manufactured sand is the good alternative to river sand and it is purposely made, fine crushed aggregate produced under controlled conditions from a suitable sand source rock. Plastics are non-biodegradable common environmental polluting materials. These are going to affect the fertility of soil. In present study the detailed characteristic studies of concrete is carried out by partial replacement of natural sand by waste granite powder in concrete composition with different percentages (0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%).The mechanical properties of concrete like compressive strength, tensile strength are carried out by replacing the quantity of sand with waste granite powder with different percentages as mentioned above. Hence an attempt is made to find the optimum strength properties at which percentage of replacement it will gives better strength properties. Keywords— Concrete, waste granite powder, compressive strength, tensile strength.


The paper presents thermal diffusivity data on amorphous plastic materials, obtained by means of a method previously developed by the authors. This methods ensures high sensitivity (<1%) and good reproducibility (<3%)


A series of distinctive gap-fill activities were designed to provide practice and test students' knowledge in retrosynthetic analysis. Developed and tested during the COVID-19 pandemic, the activities allow students to work through authentic multistep syntheses of various organic target molecules. Students were asked to identify appropriate RSA terminology and suitable reagents and answer questions on reaction selectivity and mechanisms. Mark schemes were provided so students could quickly evaluate their answers. Feedback results showed students enjoyed these activities and found them beneficial to their learning. © 2021 The Author. Published by American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc.


[PROBLEMS] To solve color variation and intensity variation of a three-dimensional image. [MEANS FOR SOLVING PROBLEMS] A three-dimensional display comprises a two-dimensional display and a renticular sheet. The two-dimensional display has color pixels composed of horizontal rows of pixels extending horizontally and vertical columns of pixels extending substantially perpendicularly to the horizontal direction. In the horizontal rows, red, green, and blue pixels are periodically arranged, and the colors of the pixels of each vertical column are the same. The renticular sheet has cylindrical lenses through which the color pixels are viewed and which are provided on the two- dimensional display and parallel extended. The center axis of each cylindrical lens is inclined at an angle Theta to the vertical columns of the two-dimensional display. The relation Theta=tan-1(3px/Npy) is satisfied where px is the pitch in the horizontal direction of the color pixels, py is the pitch in the vertical direction of the color pixels, the color pixel group constituting one three-dimensional pixel is composed of 3M x N color pixels, namely, 3M color pixels in each horizontal row of one cylindrical lens and N color pixels in each vertical column of one cylindrical lens.


Yearly maintenance scheduling of power generating units is an important scheduling problem that has to be solved within a restructured power system. Solving period of this problem usually is a one year basis. In this paper, a bi-level approach is used to solve maintenance scheduling problem. The upper level of this bi-level problem represents the profit maximization of power units owned by a generation company (GENCO) while the lower level problem represents the market clearing process. This means that a GENCO wants to maximize its own profit in a market and due to the participation of other producers in it, the market should be cleared and the independent system operator (ISO) establishes the desired security level. The bi-level problem is formulated as a mathematical program with equilibrium constraints (MPEC) using the primal-dual formulation. Various case studies are conducted using the IEEE reliability test system (RTS) and the obtained results are compared.


This study was conducted at Al-Nahrain University-Biotechnology Research Center, from February 2020 to March 2020 on Albino rats that ranged in age 2-3 month with weights 200-250 g. 42 rats were used and distributed into seven groups, each of which included 6 animals. aimed to study the effect of diabetes (induced by alloxan) on acid-base homeostasis and serum electrolytes level for experimental rat in addition to the role of adding potassium supplement celery plant extract and pomegranate juice to the diet in preventing the physiological disorders. Alkali proposed to help prevent the development and treatment of high blood acid and body fluids. Different treatments led to positive effects on the level of the concentration of glucose, β-hydroxybutyrate, electrolytes and serum Ph


Background: Niosomes are non-ionic stable vesicular system, which can accommodate both hydrophobic and hydrophilic drugs. The aim of the present study was to prepare and characterize niosomal gel formulations for sustained delivery of aceclofenac. Aceclofenac is the most widely used anti-inflammatory agent in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. It has narrow therapeutic index and short biological half-life. Methods: Aceclofenac loaded niosomes were prepared using reverse phase evaporation technique. The effects of concentration of non-ionic surfactant, cholesterol and concentration of drug on the encapsulation efficiency were studied. The formulations were characterized using different techniques, such as differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), optical microscope and transmission electron microscope (TEM). Selected formulations of niosomes were incorporated into carbopol 934 (1%w/w), sodium alginate (7%w/w), sodium carboxy methyl cellulose (3% w/w), pluronic F127 (20%w/w) and HPMC (3% w/w) gels. The niosomal gel formulations were evaluated for in-vitro drug release and skin permeation. Optimum niosomal gel formulation was evaluated in-vivo using carrageenen-induced rat paw edema test and compared to gel containing the drug alone. Results: TEM analysis confirmed that niosomal samples were spherical in shape and have a definite internal aqueous space. Niosomes of span60 showed higher percent drug entrapment and larger particle size. In-vitro drug release and skin permeation of different gel preparations showed sustained release and enhanced permeation compared to gel formulations containing free drug. Among the niosomal gel formulations, HPMC gel showed the highest release rate of the drug. The in-vivo anti-inflammatory activity of the selected niosomal gel formulation was significantly higher and more sustained than the corresponding non-niosomal gel formulation containing free drug. Conclusion: These results suggest that the niosome-containing gels are promising formulations for sustained local delivery of aceclofenac.


Two global high-resolution ice sea coupling model established on basis of NEMO and MITgcm were systematically evaluated, by comparing the climatology simulation results of their sea surface temperature, sea surface salinity, sea surface current and sea ice area with SODA3, EN4, and NSIDC. The simulation accuracy of each element in the global and typical sea areas are quantitatively evaluated. The global RMSE of SST modeled by NEMO and MITgcm are 0.38°C and 0.46°C, respectively. NEMO had lower SST RMSE in strong current areas, especially in Kuroshio and Antarctic circumpolar currents, while MITgcm had better SST simulations in low-middle latitudes and most of Arctic Ocean. The global RMSE of SSS of NEMO and MITgcm is 0.47psu and 0.69psu, and the highest RMSE of SSS of the two models are in the Arctic Ocean. The RMSE of NEMO and MITgcm on surface current simulations are 0.0465m/s and 0.0474m/s, and both NEMO and MITgcm have high RMSE in their simulations of strong currents. The sea ice area simulated by NEMO and MITgcm are basically the same as that of NSIDC in spatial morphology, and the absolute value of the relative error of sea ice area in the Antarctic and Arctic of the two models are within 25%. The inter-comparison and evaluation results provide a reference for the product application and the model improvement of the two high-resolution ice sea coupling models.


Since nationalization, Public Sector Banks (PSBs) had been showing a very rosy picture of their performance. But due to the policies of directed lending and priority sector lending, their performance started declining and it became a matter of deep concern for the policymakers. Consequently, in the year 1991, the Government initiated the process of reforms in the financial system so as to provide the banks with operational flexibility and functional autonomy. The resources were allocated to the best possible use due to globalization and liberalization. However, the main focus in this period was on the safety and soundness of the banking system through human resource development, technological up gradation, transparency and management of organizational changes. It was also encouraging for the banks to play effective role in the growth of the country so that it could compete with the international standards. The reforms in the banking sector led to the improvement in the profitability of PSBs. Though the PSBs have achieved this objective in a limited way, their relative performance has been consistently laying behind the performance of both the foreign and domestic private banks. After the initiation of reforms, the Government of India had set a net profit of about one per cent of working funds as a desirable target for a healthy banking system. This target has been surpassed by the new domestic private sector banks and foreign banks. Above this background, in this chapter, attempts have been made to discuss the SWOT analysis of PSBs with problems and challenges faced by Indian public sector banks in the post-reform era.


In Australia, the building and construction industry is taking significant steps towards the enhancement of environmental performance of the built environment. A large number of world class sustainable buildings have been constructed in recent years, offering researchers and practitioners alike a good opportunity to identify the best practices and real life experiences in delivering high performance buildings. A case study of ONE ONE ONE Eagle Street, a 6 Star Green Star office building in Brisbane, was conducted to investigate the best practice in achieving this "world leader" green office building. The study identified a number of key factors relating to project delivery system, contractor selection method, client's early commitment, design integration, communication as major contributors to the successful delivery of this project. Additionally, key environmentally sustainable features and their cost implications were explored through in-depth interviews with the main contractor. The findings of this study will shed lights on the successful delivery of sustainable buildings and provide practical implications for different stakeholders.


Yi Huang(李滉) quoted several phrases and words which had been used in Su Shi(蘇軾)'s works to his own poetry. And he also put some episodes which relate to Su Shi to his own poetry. This means that Yi Huang enjoyed reading Su Shi's works and he also admired Su Shi.
During the middle Chosun dynasty while Yi Huang was working, admiration for Su Shi fell into decline with the appearance of Korean neo-Confucianists. Not only Su Shi's thought and scholarship was harshly criticized, but his literature was also criticized.
Yi Huang was one of the most distinguished neo-Confucianist during the middle Chosun dynasty, even praised as 'Zhuzi of Chosun(海東朱子)', he nevertheless liked and learned Su Shi's works so much in such an atmosphere. It means that Yi Huang was a man of tolerance and Su Shi's influence was so great that it reached Korean neo-Confucianists, who were in a confrontational relationship with Su Shi in the academic field.


Large-scale maritime simulation platform faces the contradiction among timeliness, accuracy and integrity in the data collection, storage, analysis and exploitation, due to the features of maritime big data, such as large-volume, multi-source heterogeneity, abruptness and high noise. With this background, in order to deal with the complexity and imperfectness of maritime big data, this paper employs the networked data as the analysis object with more emphasis on the indirect relevance and in-depth analysis. By analyzing the modeling system of maritime simulation platform based on BOM (Base Object Model), designs a Large-scale Maritime Simulation Frame (LMSF). Simultaneously, to solve the problems such as the low efficiency and the high cost due to the difficulty in heterogeneous model integration and the inadequate reuse rate of components, we implement the prototype system of large-scale maritime simulation platform based on HLA (High Level Architecture). In this way, the paper presents a package solution for multitasking interactive operation by multiple people of multiple roles. This paper also introduces how to verify the proposed LMSF on the newly developed maritime emergency simulation platforms with some typical maritime accident and human-in-the-loop test. With numerous tests, the proposed LMSF shows a good adaptation to the collection, storage, analysis and exploitation of maritime big data, more important, it has good scalability and high performance.


2.1 ABSTRACT This chapter deals with the study of I:eterwgeneous photocatalyzed degradation of three pesticide derivatives Dinoseb (1), l)inoterb (2) and 'Fhiamethoxam (3) in aqueous suspensions of titanium dioxide. The degradation was monitored by measuring the change in substrate concentration as a function of irradiation time using spectroscopic analysis technique. Detailed degradation kinetics of all the three pesticides was studied under various conditions such as substrate concentration. different types of Ti02 catalyst (anatase, anataseffrutile mixture), catalyst dosage, initial pli, in presence of electron acceptors such as hydrogen peroxide, potassium bromate, and ammonium persulphatelpotassium persulphate under continuous purging of atmospheric oxygen. All the parameters have been found to show pronounced effect on the degradation rates of the pesticide derivatives studied in this chapter. The results manifested that the photocatalysis of these pesticides follow pseudo-first-order kinetics. An attempt has also been made to identify the intermediate products formal during the photoxidation of these pesticides using GC-MS analysis technique. The products were characterised based on their molecular mass and mass fragmentation pattern and probable mechanisms liar their formation have also been proposed.


The purpose of study this study is to define the factors that influence customer acceptance among Malaysian towards food biotechnology product. The collection of information gathered from the secondary data trough the journals local and internationally. From the study, researcher identified three factors arise such Benefits, Trust, and Social Norms. Then, researcher interprets by doing data analysis to achieve the objective of this study. Conclusion, researcher give some suggestion on improve the benefits of food, and implement labeling as important factor in producing food biotechnology.


Graph Contrastive Learning (GCL), an uprising regime of learning representations of graph-structured data, has gained significant attention in recent years. At its core, GCL leverages the idea of comparing different views of a graph to learn representations that capture desirable characteristics of the graph structures. GCL has been applied to a wide range of graph-structured data, including attributed graphs, multi-relational graphs, temporal graphs, hierarchical graphs, heterogeneous graphs, and hypergraphs. The learned graph representations yield predictive performance that generalizes well in various downstream tasks at the node, link, and graph levels, and can scale up to graphs with millions of nodes. In this paper, we present a review of representative GCL approaches with a major emphasis on our own recent efforts. Beginning with the original GCL approach with ad-hoc view generation and simple homogeneous graphs, we demonstrate how the framework can be further extended to more complex heterogeneous graphs and hypergraphs, as well as improved via principled view generation towards generalizability, fairness, interpretability, and other aspects. Theoretical explorations are covered at the end. In conclusion, we discuss the future prospects and ongoing challenges in the field of GCL.


Between 1800 and the Civil War, the American West evolved from a region to territories to states. This book depicts the development of the antebellum West from the perspective of a resident of the Western frontier. * Provides both a historical overview of the antebellum West and detailed examinations of specific issues that shaped Western responses to the Civil War, serving students in Western American history and general American survey courses as well as students of the Civil War * Explains how unique elements of the West, such as international influences, the military, the Indians, and settlement and legislation, created conflict that differed from what was experienced in the East during the Civil War


SYNOPSIS. The free amino acid extracts of 3 species of the free-living amoebae, Pelomyxa carolinensis, Amoeba dubia and A. proteus, were studied. Both the free amino acid patterns and levels in each species were different. Altho it appears that the free amino acid patterns were not altered by culture routines or starvation, the free amino acid levels were altered by these factors. The possibility of using free amino acid levels as a criterion for recognizing genetic differences is discussed.


In this paper, an expectation and maximization (EM) channel estimation algorithm is proposed for orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) wireless communication systems. The algorithm provides minimum mean square error channel fading estimates without requiring a priori knowledge of the channel fading statistics. Simulation results show that the proposed EM channel estimation algorithm without information on channel fading statistics can provide nearly the same performance as the Kalman estimation algorithm with perfect information on channel fading statistics, and is more suitable for practical OFDM wireless communication systems.


Selecting and precomputing indexes and materialized views, with the goal of improving query-processing performance in the system, is an important part of database-performance tuning. The complexity of the viewand index-selection problem is significant and may result in high total cost of ownership for database systems. In recognition of this challenge, software tools have been deployed in commercial DBMS, including Microsoft SQL Server [1] and DB2 [4], for suggesting to the database administrator views and indexes that would benefit the evaluation efficiency of representative workloads of frequent and important queries. In this paper, we focus on developing a unified qualitycentered approach to view and index selection, for a range of query, view, and index classes that are typical in practical database systems. (To the best of our knowledge, we are the first to adopt the solution-quality focus for this generic practical problem setting.) Our problem inputs include efficient evaluation plans for the input workload queries. Each plan is represented as a set of views and indexes; thus, the set of plans in the problem input defines the search space of views and indexes whose materialization may benefit the performance of the input query workload. We show that this version of the viewand index-selection problem is NP hard, even when the set of indexes and views mentioned in the input query plans is of relatively small size. In spite of this level of complexity of the problem, we develop efficient methods that deliver user-specified quality (with respect to the theoretically possible quality given the input query plans) of Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. To copy otherwise, to republish, to post on servers or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permission and/or a fee. EDBT '08 Nantes, France Copyright 200X ACM X-XXXXX-XX-X/XX/XX ...$5.00. the set of selected views and indexes. Our experimental results and comparisons on synthetic and benchmark instances demonstrate the competitiveness of our approach, and show that it provides for a winning combination with the end-toend viewand index-selection framework of [1].


Aliens — Refugees — Determination of refugee status — Geneva Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, 1951 and Protocol, 1967 — Well-founded fear of persecution — Appellant creating by his own actions circumstances that may give rise to persecution if returned to his country of nationality — Whether a refugee sur place — Requirements of bona fides — UNHCR Handbook on Procedures and Criteria for Determining Refugee Status — Guidance from — Migration Act 1958 (Commonwealth) Relationship of international law and municipal law — Determination of refugee status — Whether appellant refugee sur place — International obligation not brought directly into municipal law — Whether decision-maker to have regard to the Convention in determining refugee status — Whether discretion to be exercised within Convention limits — Whether "error of law" embraces error in construing an international obligation — The law of Australia


This paper describes the mechanism and diagnosis method of vibration of steam turbine arising from the moving parts on rotor and details the diagnosis of vibration fault of one 200 MW steam turbine. Through the analysis of testing data, it was thought that the loose caulking block of center bore of low pressure rotor fell into the internal opening of coupling, and the following inspection proved the correctness of judgement.


Due to the complexity of its design, the voltage transfer ratio is limited to 0.866. In this paper, a new topology is proposed, which can solve the problem of low voltage transfer ratio.


The use of nitrites in meat products such as additives is discussed in this work. The effects of nitrite on the stability of meat products as well as on the human health are described. In the experiment, the determination of nitrite in selected samples of dry salami was performed.


This year marks the publication of volume 50 of the Annals and you will have noticed our celebratory cover. By happy coincidence this year also marks the 60th anniversary of the Association for Clinical Biochemistry. In the first newsletter of the Association of Clinical Biochemists in February 1954, the then President N Maclagan wrote 'It is hoped that the Newsletter will appear regularly and . . . provide a useful medium for the exchange of views and for the propagation of new ideas . . . It may also well form a nucleus from which a future journal of the Association might grow.' This vision quickly came to fruition. In May 1960 the Editor of the Newsletter, H Varley, announced that its name was to be changed to the 'Proceedings of the Association of Clinical Biochemists' and that, in addition to articles currently included in the Newsletter, it should include preliminary communications for publication. And so the first volume of what later became the Annals was published. By then the President was CP Stewart and in the introduction to the first issue he wrote 'A scientific or professional society without a journal of some kind is severely handicapped in trying to fulfil its aims'. Fifty or so years later we can reflect that the Journal has been successful in promoting both the aims of the Association and of the broader clinical biochemistry community. The Journal has come a long way from its early days. Many of the earlier volumes largely reflect outputs from regional and national scientific meetings of the Association, offering fascinating insight into the nature of the work of clinical biochemists in those earlier days. In 1969 volume 6 was published for the first time with its current title 'Annals of Clinical Biochemistry (formerly Proceedings of the Association of Clinical Biochemists)' under the editorship of DN Raine. It continued to publish meeting reports but also technical and clinical evaluations and review articles. Examination of early issues can show us just how far we have, and in some cases have not, come. In 1961 MG McGeown reviewed the laboratory investigation of hyperparathyroidism, recognized as '. . . a relatively common disease . . . [with] its most prevalent clinical presentation [being] renal calculi'. Twelve such tests were considered, including the calcium infusion and phosphate deprivation tests, but parathyroid hormone (PTH) measurement was not even on the horizon. The author concluded that, with the exception of serum calcium measurement, none of the tests considered had a role in the diagnosis of hyperparathyroidism. A 1970 review of laboratory tests in the differentiation of hyperparathyroidism from other causes of hypercalcaemia describes the recent development of a radioimmunoassay for PTH but notes concerns that it does not always discriminate between those with and without primary hyperparathyroidism. The authors conclude that PTH measurement may in the future become the definitive test in this condition, avoiding unnecessary surgical exploration, identification and biopsy of the four parathyroid glands. By 1988, early evaluations of two-site immunoradiometric assays for 'intact' PTH begin to appear, including DJ Newman and JP Ashby's paper in the Annals. Discrimination between individuals with primary hyperparathyroidism and those with non-parathyroid hypercalcaemia was remarkably good. This was in many ways the heyday of PTH testing. While these assays revolutionized the diagnosis of primary hyperparathyroidism we have subsequently learnt of their severe limitations in the management of secondary hyperparathyroidism due to kidney disease. In 2012, Almond et al. described more than threefold variation in the PTH results produced by widely used commercial assays when testing uraemic sera. In the coming decade we envisage publishing more data from studies that have used so-called third generation assays for PTH: truly specific, as far as we currently know, for the intact molecule. My own first issue of the Annals in January 1985 included two articles on the use of glycated ('glycosylated') haemoglobin as an alternative to the glucose tolerance test for the diagnosis of diabetes mellitus. Both sets of authors used an electrophoretic and densitometric scanning approach to total HbA1 measurement at a cost then of £1 per test. An HbA1 value greater than 9% achieved good specificity but poor sensitivity for diagnosing diabetes. Both studies called for outcome studies to establish the impact of more minor increases in HbA1. More than 25 years later diagnosis based on HbA1c has of course now become a reality, using automated (and cheaper) methods with international standardization. The Annals continues to and always has published review articles commissioned by the Association. These have been of immeasurable value to both trainees and senor staff with responsibility for laboratory services. There can be no doubt that the guidance these reviews have provided has influenced professional practice for the better. My same 1985 first issue carries a review of progesterone assays:


Obesity is a heath problem affecting a significant fraction of adult Americans and is on the rise globally. It is of importance to find treatments that achieve medically significant weight loss and successful long‐term maintenance of a desired weight. Recent transgenic mouse studies and genetic characterization of spontaneous rodent obesity mutants, together with gene linkage analysis in humans, have led to an increased understanding of the physiologic and molecular mechanisms underlying obesity. However, much remains to be studied in this complex field of research. In this review, we discuss the physiology and genetics underlying obesity and how studies in rodents and humans are converging, producing a greater understanding of the mechanisms underlying this health problem. Anat. Rec. (New Anat.): 257:64–72, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


In terms of tonnage, sorghum is Africa's second most important cereal. The continent produces about 20 million tonnes of sorghum per annum, about one-third of the world crop. However, these figures do not do justice to the importance of sorghum in Africa. It is the only viable food grain for many of the world's most food insecure people. Much of the African continent is characterized by semi-arid and sub-tropical climatic conditions. Africa is the only continent that straddles both tropics. Sorghum originated in Africa. It is uniquely adapted to Africa's climate, being both drought resistant and able to withstand periods of water-logging.


. This paper is the result of a research project ii which aimed at analyzing the conceptions and expectations of teachers regarding the organization of countryside school. The theoretical studies arose from the Countryside Education Policies, underpinned on the works of Arroyo (2007) and Caldart (2004, 2008). The methodology had qualitative approach, being that in order to collect the data, semistructured interviews with the teachers of a countryside school, situated in the Settlement Carimã, city of Rondonópolis, in the Southeast Region of the State of Mato Grosso and analysis of the Pedagogical Political Project of the referred school were utilized. The obtained information indicate a concern of the interviewed with the need of reinforcing the comprehension of the democratic principles which guide the administration and the organization of the countryside school.


A biochemistry model of system is studied in this paper and the nonexistence,existence and uniqueness of limit cycles are discussed.


ABSTRACT Accurate monitoring of concrete pavement support condition is critical for pavement maintenance. This paper proposed a novel support condition monitoring method using distributed optical fiber sensing (DOFS) technology. The DOFS-based method can precisely monitor the support condition on a larger scale. Single-mode optical fiber with a particular rubber encapsulation was applied as a compression sensor, measuring the interfacial compression status between the concrete pavement slab and the pavement base through a compression-to-strain transfer mechanism. Finite element analysis (FEA) and laboratory experiments were conducted to compression-to-strain transfer mechanism. It was revealed that the average compression-to-strain transfer efficiency reached over 1900 μϵ/mm. The design parameters of the compression sensor were also provided based on the FEA and experiment results. A quasi-distributed sensing system was developed to capture the two-dimensional support condition by connecting the sensors in a particular path. The sensing system's effectiveness was demonstrated by conducting full-scale tests and using the pressure-sensitive film (PSF) as a comparison. The test results showed a great deal of applicability for support condition monitoring under concrete pavement.


In recent years, there has been a growing interest towards the use of a composite structural system consisting of steel frames with reinforced concrete walls (SRCWs) as an economical alternative within earthquake resistant wall systems. The SRCW system is classified as Composite Structural Systems Type 1 in EN 1998‐1:2004. It has been shown that the SRCW system has the potential to be applicable as a lateral‐resistance system for low‐to‐moderate rise buildings located in earthquake‐prone regions as it has the potential to offer strength appropriate for resisting the lateral forces from earthquakes and stiffness adequate for controlling drift. Within the frame of this paper, analytical studies are conducted in order to obtain a better understanding of the SRCW system structural performance. Numerous three dimensional (3D) nonlinear Finite Element (FE) models have been developed using ANSYS software package. The detailed developed 3D FE models include the horizontal and vertical boundary steel elements, the discrete reinforcing bars, discrete stirrups as longitudinal and transverse confinement reinforcement, the shear connectors, the top and seat angles and the web angles including the bolts. Results and findings of this study are indicative of effectiveness of the headed studs geometry and material properties.


Taking WGS84 ellipsoid as the datum to create a normal gravity fomula of the earth s surface,the normal gravity of every survey points in the earth surface can be directly computed by the formula and the gravity abnormal to the survey points location could be calculated directly so that the problmes in gravity external correction can be avoided.The results of the observed gravity data show that compared with Bouguer gravity anomaly,the gravity anomaly caculated by the formula could reflect information of structure much clearly,and some small faults and rocks could be found easily in the gravity anomaly.


A method of simulation of sterilisation process for packed foods is shown. The simplicity of this method allows its application in laboratory for the individuation of the best parameters for industrial processes. A datalogger connected with a personal computer was used in order to acquire the time-temperature data and to transfer them to an electronic sheet. The monitoring system resulted effective in recording the time-temperature data also in industrial processing. The thermic diffusivity values, obtained from the mathematical elaboration of the experimental time-temperature data, were used to simulate with sufficient approximation the thermic effect on heat-treated products.


The solubility of CO2 in poly(ethylene terephthalate)(PET) was studied using magnetic suspension balance(MSB) combined with high-temperature high-pressure view cell.The former gives apparent solubility and the latter presents swelling volume through direct observation in the presence of CO2,which is necessary to correct the gas buoyancy acting on PET melts in the MSB measurement.The effects of temperature and pressure on the swelling ratio and CO2 solubility in traditional and modified PET melt were analyzed.The results show that both swelling ratio of PET and solubility of CO2 decrease as temperature increases and increase with pressure.However,the swelling ratio increases slowly and approaches a plateau region under higher pressure.Compared with traditional linear PET,the modified PET displays lower swelling ratio and solubility.Solubility of CO2 in PET melt is in an order of magnitude of 10-2 g CO2·(g PET melt)-1 under 4—6 MPa in the temperature range of 250—280℃.CO2 solubility in PET melt agrees well with Henry's law in the pressure range of 1—6 MPa.Heat of solution is obtained using the least-square method.


In new institutionalism organizations are constituted by the institutions in their environments. In this theory, rationalized management ideas such as Lean Management or Total Quality Management ar...


1.1. Lipoprotein abnormalities in atherosclerosis, the role of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) The inverse relationship between plasma levels of HDL and coronary heart disease (CHD) has been demonstrated in a number of observational epidemiological studies, such as Framingham Heart Study, and Prospective Cardiovascular Münster Study (PROCAM), as well as in several intervention studies, for example Familial Atherosclerosis Treatment Study (FATS), which showed that increased HDL concentrations independently predicted lowered risk of CHD. Results of the High-Density Lipoprotein Intervention Trial (VA-HIT study) also suggest that the rate of coronary events may be reduced by raising HDL cholesterol and lowering triglyceride concentration independent of LDL cholesterol levels in subjects with CHD whose primary lipid phenotype was low HDL-high triglyceride levels.


Mitochondrial uptake of calcium (Ca 2+ ) in cardiomyocytes is thought to regulate cell survival and match ATP production to energetic demands. Of multiple pathways allowing such entry, the mitochondrial Ca 2+ uniporter is a highly Ca 2+ -selective channel encoded by several recently-discovered genes. However, which of these several genes encodes the pore-forming subunit of the channel remains an open question. Using whole-mitoplast voltage-clamping, we show that RNAi-mediated knockdown of the mitochondrial calcium uniporter ( MCU ) gene reduces the uniporter current ( I MiCa ), whereas overexpression increases it. Mutations in the putative pore domain alter key features of I MiCa , such as its strong affinity for ruthenium red, a classic uniporter blocker. These analyses demonstrate that MCU encodes the pore-forming subunit of the uniporter channel.


As the vital measures to promote the development of colleges and universities,socialization of rear service group inevitably demands the corresponding administrative pattern of fianance should be set up.On the baasis of analysing the characteristics of the rear service group,the author proposes that the accurate, timely, efficient and highly supervisory operational system of finance should be established.


The measurement of the electron energy spectrum in single β decays close to the endpoint provides a direct determination of the neutrino masses. The most sensitive experiments use β decays with low Q value, e.g. KATRIN (tritium) and MARE (rhenium). We present the theoretical spectral shape of electrons emitted in the first, second, and fourth unique forbidden β decays. Our findings show that the Kurie functions for these unique forbidden β transitions are linear in the limit of massless neutrinos like the Kurie function of the allowed β decay of tritium.


Small insertions and deletions (indels) in the human genome are substantial contributors to genetic variation and impact human traits and diseases. The role of indels in late onset Alzheimer's disease has been understudied. Few examples, such as the intronic poly‐T variant in the TOMM40 gene, suggest that systematic exploration of indels within LOAD risk regions will advance the understanding of the genetic architecture of LOAD. Previously we developed a bioinformatics pipeline that characterizes and prioritizes candidate regulatory SNPs in enhancers located in LOAD‐GWAS regions. Here we extend the pipeline to the analysis of indels. The proposed bioinformatics pipeline progresses from indels located in LOAD‐GWAS regions to a filtered set of regulatory variants that have a predicted strong effect on transcription factor (TFs) binding.


Tau (7) is a major constituent of paired helical fila- ments (PHF) found in Alzheimer's disease. The current study examines the possibility that the distinct prop- erties of PHF-associated T proteins (T~HF) result from post-translational modifications of normal soluble T ( T ~ ) . Following hydrofluoric acid (HF) treatment, TPHF proteins are heat- and acid-stable, soluble in 24N-morpho1ino)ethanesulfonic acid buffers and display the same molecular weight, PI, and immunochemical properties as normal 7.. Alkaline phosphatase treatment of dissociated PHF results in similar, although less extensive, electrophoretic changes and a reduction in PHF-1 immunoreactivity. Therefore, phosphorylation of normal T. appears to be responsible for the distinct properties of T~HF. Although our results suggest that all of the normal T isoforms are in PHF, the relative abun- dance of individual T species differs in HF-treated PHF and T. samples. Moreover, the loss of PHF following HF treatment suggests that post-translational modifications contribute to the structural stability of PHF.


This work presents a physics-based compact GaN device model that can predict the performance characteristics of a wide range of GaN devices for power electronics applications. The model has been validated against the measured characteristics of a 650 V commercially available GaN device. The higher voltage range devices exhibit quasi-saturation on-state behavior due to drift resistance, which is evident from their on-state behavior. Also, higher voltage GaN devices have significant nonlinear capacitance characteristics due to the presence of field plates connected to the source and gate terminals. The field plates are fabricated to improve the electric-field distribution in the channel. The field plates result in significant nonlinearity in the channel capacitance that can be quantified as successive depletion in the device capacitances. The model accurately captures these phenomena in the dc and C-V device characteristics. The model also captures the third-quadrant behavior of all GaN devices with model parameters that are decoupled from the first quadrant while maintaining continuity between the first and third quadrants. Dynamic validation of the model is performed from the double-pulse test. The proposed model can be used to characterize commercially available high-voltage GaN devices that can be used in power electronic applications and design.


The joint estimation of in-phase and quadrature-phase (I/Q) imbalance and carrier frequency offset (CFO) for multiple-input multipleoutput(MIMO) orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) systems using training sequences is studied in this paper. A new concept called channel residual energy (CRE) is introduced.By minimizing the CRE, we can jointly estimate the I/Q imbalance and CFO. The proposed method needs only one OFDM block for training and the training symbols can be arbitrary. Moreover when the training block consists of two repeated sequences, a low complexity two-step approach is proposed to solve the joint estimation problem.Simulation results show that the mean-squared error (MSE) of the proposed method is close to the Cramer-Rao bound (CRB). Key Words: MIMO-OFDM, I/Q imbalance, CFO.


The salt stress response of Puccinellia tenuiflora (Grisebach) Scribner & Merrill vacuolar H-ATPase c subunit gene (PutVHA-c) was studied. Transgenic Populus plants for overexpressing PutVHA-c gene was generated following Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation using explants of a hybrid poplar plant. PCR, Southern and Northern blot analysis showed that the PutVHA-c gene was integrated and expressed in the transgenic Populus plants successfully. Compared to the wild-type (WT), transgenic punching leaves experienced less injury than the WT punching leaves after soaking in solutions of NaCl and NaHCO3. Under the different salt stress conditions, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities of transgenic Populus were enhanced significantly whereas malondialdehyde (MDA) level was lower than WT Populus significantly, moreover the soluble sugar content was also higher in transgenic Populus. Therefore, the overexpression of PutVHA-c gene in transgenic Populus cause biochemical changes that are known to correlate with improved salt tolerance. Introduction Vacuolar H-ATPase c (VHA-c) genes have been cloned from some plant species, such as Tamarix hispida (Willd) (Gao et al. 2011), Mesembryanthemum crystallinum (Linn) (Tsiantis et al. 1996) and Pennisetum glaucum (Leeke) (Tyagi et al. 2005). VHA-c gene expression was affected by environmental stresses according to previous research and it is reported to be induced by the salt stress in M. crystallinum (Tyagi et al. 2005, Low et al. 1996). In P. glaucum, VHA-c gene's transcripts were also increased by salinity and drought stresses (Tyagi et al. 2005). The VHA-c gene from Spartina alterniflora (Linn.) Loisel enhanced the tolerance of salt (Baisakh et al. 2012). In addition, VHA-c gene was found to be overexpressed in plants under different stress conditions, such as low temperature stress, osmotic stress, salt and heat (Tyagi et al. 2005, Kluge et al. 2003, Lehr et al. 1999, Chen et al. 2002). P. tenuiflora a monocotyledonous halophyte species is planted in Songnen plain of northeast China which is the saline-alkaline in nature. The salt content of saline-alkaline soils is high, the water and nutrition contents are low. So the poor soil conditions limit the crop growth directly. In this study, the VHA-c gene (PutVHA-c) was used to transform a hybrid poplar plant. Poplar has several exceptional qualities, such as a high capacity for vegetative propagation and a fast growth rate. Populus davidiana Dode × P. bollena Lauche is the hybrid cultivar of poplar that uses Populus bolleana as male parent and Populus davidiana Dode as female parent, which is planted on a significant scale in northeast of China due to its characteristics as graceful shape, cold resistance, fast growth, and suitability to develop transgenic progeny. A hybrid poplar Populus davidiana Dode × P. bollena Lauche was chosen for transformation. Populus was planted in northeast China and has a well-characterized morphology with cold resistance features. *Author for correspondence: .


[CuC6F5]4 is a thermally stable and soluble compound with suitable reactivity for synthetic applications in organic and inorganic chemistry. Here the synthesis of [CuC6F5]4 is explored in different...


The Peace Athabasca Delta (PAD), one of the largest freshwater inland deltas in the word, offers shelter to millions of migratory birds every year. However, this RAMSAR site has been experiencing abnormal water level variations due land-usage modifications and climate change that threaten the survival of wetlands and native biodiversity. Monitoring and understanding of the hydrodynamics of this delta is essential for wetland management and performing environmental impact assessment of engineering projects in the area. Although local stage measurements can provide significant water level information, access to and entire coverage of this remote area is very difficult and may not be possible throughout the whole year. Remote sensing offers the possibility to acquire periodically data over large and difficult-to-access areas such as the PAD. Among these systems, the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) could be used to study hydrological dynamics in the area because of its high resolution and capacity to operate 24-hours a day in all weather conditions. These characteristics are critical to perform investigations over boreal zones because they remain dark for significant periods every year and the presence of clouds is frequent. Both, the standard and multi-temporal SAR configurations have proven a remarkable capability to detect and monitor water related phenomena with unprecedented accuracy. In this paper, we evaluate water level variations on vegetated wetlands of the PAD by exploiting open source differential SAR Interferometry (InSAR). 8 RADARSAT-2 images (Ultrafine Mode, HH polarization) from April to October 2012 were acquired over the PAD. The period of study corresponds to the ice-off season characterized by abundant wetland vegetation which under certain conditions makes the double-bounce scattering, the dominant mechanism of the backscattered signal. In order to rapidly identify potential wetland areas for effective InSAR application, an average map of backscatter amplitude was first produced and analyzed. A filtering procedure was applied to reduce the speckle effect. Final regions for interferometric processing were chosen based on amplitude and coherence analysis as well the availability of water level stations for validation. Various methodologies and parameters were tested in an effort to produce high quality InSAR results. To diminish decorrelation effects, the study was limited to image pairs having small temporal and perpendicular baselines. One procedure that notably affects the quality of the coherence and, therefore, that of the final interferogram is the coregistration. Two different methods were evaluated and filtering in range and azimuth was applied to correct the non-oversampling part of master and slave spectrum. Moreover, different window sizes and influence of the oversampling factor were taken into account in the analysis. In order to extract the signal of interest (i.e. water level change) the effect of other components contained in the phase needs to be removed or at least diminished. Evaluation of the impact of two different Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) on the topographic phase extraction was considered. After the topographic correction, a spatial additive filter was applied to further reduce the noise and enhance the fringe pattern visibility. Finally, unwrapping was done using coherence masks as input to mitigate influence of high decorrelated areas. Overall, our InSAR derived water level changes are in good agreement with those obtained from local stations over the PAD. However, notable decorrelation (possibly produced by wind, atmospheric delays) affected the quality of the signal in some pairs and decreased the quality of the unwrapped phase. InSAR maps suggest notable water level fluctuations over the entire region of study, which may complicate the unwrapping. However, a quality control based on root-mean-square error indicates, in general, a performance of the method proposed comparable to those obtained by other InSAR wetland studies. As part of this project, a 2D hydrological model will be used for cross-validation of the estimated water level changes.


1 want to show how the chemical compositions of the polymers in connective tissue give rise to a hierarchical series of structures, and to point out how the prop問 erties of these structures are central to the function of connective tissues. In its simplest evolutionary form!), connective tissue was a shared environment created by two or more cells. It would have been most important that the connecting medium did not prevent the infiow and outfiow of materials essential to life, while offering some protection against the outside world. The connecting medium then adapted to mechanical stresses associated with movement and the maintenance of shape. The framework in which much of evolution has taken place is remarkably simple (Fig. 1). Of the two elements the fibres have tensile strength, i. e. resistance to forces which would extend them, whereas the interfibrillar polymer 'infiates' the meshwork, and hence provides resistance to compres圃 sive forces. Movement of small molecules can take place easily in the soluble polymer compartment, to sustain life in the cells of the matrix. Let us consider first the protein fibre collagen (Fig. 2), which consists of polypeptide chains, containing about 1,000 amino acid residues. Five different chains have been identified so far, but al are verv similar. One third of the residues are glycine, in every 3rd position, and sequences such as Gly-Pro-X are very common. The complete sequence of 2 of the chains is now known. Three chains from the tropocollagen molecule which is a triple helix about Fig. 1. Diagrammatic illustration of connective tissu巴 matrix(taken and adapted from Balazg15)).


Chen Liang and Liu Guo kept abreast of each other in the history of ci poetry.However,each has his own individual characteristics.Therefore,it is necessary to study them carefully.


Motion in and around small mesoscale eddies is studied. The model is composed of an upper layer, a motionless and infinitely deep lower layer, and the water mass that intrudes between the two layers. This water mass is deformed from a cylinder to a lenslike shape during intrusion. Assuming that potential vorticity (with a relative vorticity of zero before the intrusion) is conserved during the process of intrusion, rotation in and above the radially symmetric intruding mass is determined for a steady state established after intrusion. The rotation is anticyclonic in and above the intruding mass and is fastest at the rim of the mass. In the asymptotic case of the small intruding mass, the azimuthal velocity in the mass exceeds the velocity in the water above the mass. The velocity above the mass tends to be comparable to the velocity in the mass as the mass radius approaches the deformation radius.