We demonstrate self-calibration of an adaptive optical system using differential OTF [Codona, JL; Opt. Eng. 0001; 52(9):097105-097105. doi:10.1117/1.OE.52.9.097105]. We use a deformable mirror (DM) along with science camera focal plane images to implement a closed-loop servo that both flattens the DM and corrects for non-common-path aberrations within the telescope. The pupil field modification required for dOTF measurement is introduced by displacing actuators near the edge of the illuminated pupil. Simulations were used to develop methods to retrieve the phase from the complex amplitude dOTF measurements for both segmented and continuous sheet MEMS DMs and tests were performed using a Boston Micromachines continuous sheet DM for verification. We compute the actuator correction updates directly from the phase of the dOTF measurements, reading out displacements and/or slopes at segment and actuator positions. Through simulation, we also explore the effectiveness of these techniques for a variety of photons collected in each dOTF exposure pair.


Gas disasters are brought out in mines of most parts of China due to its high absorption,high pressure,low permeability and extraction difficulties.A new idea was put forward to promote gas desorption by sonic vibration effects of cavitation water jets.Studied on mechanism of gas-liquid phase transition and gas desorption promotion via sonic vibrating of cavitation water jets.Meanwhile,also studied on regular of the strengthened gas desorption on the premise of different cavitation coefficient by verifying pump pressure.The experiment result indicates that sonic vibration frequency range is quite wide when cavitation bubbles are broken,concentrating between 2 000~10 000 Hz.The vibration peak appeared between 5 400~6 800 Hz suggests that more bubble intensively perish within this extent.Sonic vibrating of cavitation water jets can promote coal bed methane desorption.In comparison with coal desorption which is not composed of cavitation,coal desorption costs 19.6% less time and attains 36.9% more amount when 0.020 0(pump pressure 15 MPa,confining pressure 0.3 MPa) sonic vibrating of cavitation water jets is offered.


abstractThis article considers the position of law as a macro-level intervention into the vulnerability of children to rape or sexual assault as a result of the process of sexual grooming. It situates grooming within the context of the South African narrative of rape, and describes features of the process that are drawn on by South African courts. This article offers a critique of the existing law concerning sexual grooming by examining the different manifestations of the concept in law: first, as a stand-alone statutory offence, second, as a means of establishing lack of consent in the crime of rape or sexual assault, and finally, as a factor when sentencing a person convicted of the rape or sexual assault of a child. While the law may offer some pathways to resilience by having named the offence and created the possibility of legal recourse, the existing shortcomings in the law, combined with its interpretation by the courts in emerging jurisprudence suggest that there are obstacles to it being a singul...


The earliest CAVE systems were a breakthrough technology made possible by the availability of graphics hardware capable of moderately high resolution and update speed. In the following twenty years the cost of computing and display equipment has decreased sufficiently that it is possible to configure a system with display capabilities equivalent to or better than early systems at orders of magnitude less cost, thus extending use to a much wider range of applications and users. In this paper we report our experience in design and implementation of an immersive environments laboratory used for research and education. The principle design considerations were that the system be relatively low cost, easy to configure and maintain, and fit in a small space, considerations common to the design of many similar systems. The paper also summarizes advances in cost/performance and ease of use since the first CAVE systems for each of the principle elements of an immersive environment system.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the percentage of broodmares and foals that shed Clostridium perfringens in their feces and classify the genotypes of those isolates.

DESIGN
Prospective cross-sectional study.

ANIMALS
128 broodmares and their foals on 6 equine premises.

PROCEDURES
Anaerobic and aerobic bacteriologic cultures were performed on feces collected 3 times from broodmares and foals. All isolates of C. perfringens were genotyped.

RESULTS
Clostridium perfringens was isolated from the feces of 90% of 3-day-old foals and 64% of foals at 8 to 12 hours of age. A lower percentage of broodmares and 1- to 2-month-old foals shed C. perfringens in their feces, compared with neonatal foals. Among samples with positive results, C. perfringens type A was the most common genotype identified (85%); C. perfringens type A with the beta2 toxin gene was identified in 12% of samples, C. perfringens type A with the enterotoxin gene was identified in 2.1% of samples, and C. perfringens type C was identified in < 1% of samples.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE
Clostridium perfringens was identified from the feces of all but 6 foals by 3 days of age and is likely part of the normal microflora of neonatal foals. Most isolates from broodmares and foals are C. perfringens type A; thus, the clinical relevance of culture results alone is questionable. Clostridium perfringens type C, which has been associated with neonatal enterocolitis, is rarely found in the feces of horses.


Average filtering,windowed Fourier transform and wavelet filtering of pre-processing tidal gravity observations were discussed in this paper.To the harmonic analysis results of M2and S2,the error of phase delay getting from average filtering method was more than 40degree;the accuracies of the amplitude factors getting from windowed Fourier transform method were 0.00029and 0.00068,and those of the phase delay were 0.014and 0.033degree;the performances of the amplitude factors getting from wavelet filtering method were 0.00013and 0.00035,and those of the phase delay were 0.006and 0.017degree.The results showed that the performance of wavelet filtering was the best,and followed by windowed Fourier transform and average filtering.In addition,Daubechies wavelet filtering was more suitable for pre-processing tidal gravity observations.


Today, because of the mass media, most of us are keenly aware of the problems that beset society. In fact, there is reason to believe that our methods of communication and our rapid forms of transportation have helped to spread information so fast that they have contributed significantly to the accelerated pace and tension of contemporary life. They have kept us in a constant state of anxiety or nervous excitation, and they have caused many of us to go scurrying in all directions trying to solve the world's problems. This kind of behavior has been apparent in virtually all walks of life, but it has been especially evident in education.


Background Intravenous injection of narcotic stimulants affects many cellular functions relevant for the pathophysiological mechanisms of heart failure. There is considerable evidence that mast cells (MCs), TNF-α, and cell death play crucial roles in the pathogenesis and progression of cardiac arrest. In this study, we examined and compared the participation of MCs, TNF-α, apoptosis and necrosis in the heart of drug-related fatalities and the victims of sudden death due to the cardiac failure or aortic dissection. Methods and results Serum level of postmortem tryptase was determined in all study subjects that consisted of 50 autopsy cases: 30 drug overdose fatalities which were further divided into two groups with high and low level of tryptase, and 20 cases of sudden natural death (SND). The distribution profile of cardiac infiltrated-MCs and production patterns of TNF and C9 (necrotic marker) were investigated immunohistochemically. In situ-detection of apoptosis with TUNEL was applied to the heart sections. The level of tryptase was elevated (>45 μg/L) in the drug fatalities but remained below the cut-off value in SND. In the myocardium of overdose victims, MC-infiltration and degranulation were significantly increased as well as production of myocytic TNF-α compared with the SND cases. The expressions profile of myocytic TNF varied between the groups. Apoptotic myocytes were seen more frequently in the SND group while necrosis was more evident in the heart of drug-related fatalities. Conclusion Mast cells are recruited and activated in the heart of drug-associated deaths and the myocytes are the main source of TNF-α with the ability of different production patterns. The high degree of MC degranulation and the elevated levels of tryptase together with the pathological changes in heart of drug-related victims resemble that of the anaphylactic deaths as demonstrated in our previous study.


The key concept for generalizing the Berlekamp}Massey algorithm is the existence of an order function, a map from a ring to the nonnegative integers which determines a "ltration of the ring with one-dimensional quotients. In this article I show that an order function determines a unique valuation on the function "eld, which has a residue "eld equal to the base "eld. The geometry of these valuations for several monomial orderings on a polynomial ring is discussed, and an ordering is constructed which does not correspond to any monomial ordering. The geometric description allows us to de"ne order functions on general surfaces and higher dimensional varieties. ( 2001 Academic Press Key=ords: Algebraic geometry codes; Berlekamp}Massey algorithm; order function; valution ring.


n the 1990s, Bernard Cova launched the concept of "societing" as a way of rethinking marketing in a more connected age. Drawing on his earlier work of "linking value" (Cova 1997) and on the new forms of consumer association made possible by the web, Cova suggested that marketing embrace these possibilities to orient itself toward the construction of communities, networks, and other social forms around products and services. In Cova's view the construction of such consumer collectivities would not only add immaterial value to products, but such communities could also operate as agents of progressive change, empowering consumer and producer collectives to further the progressive values that they held dear. For over a decade we at the Societing Lab have been inspired by Cova's vision (further elaborated in the Italian context by the late Giampaolo Fabris [2009]) to work with producer and consumer collectives to foster and strengthen value-based communities that are able to enact a real social change. Along with Manzini (2018), we call them "intentional communities." In this brief commentary, I reflect on our work with the Southern Italian food economy to envision ways in which new technologies, and in particular those contained in the Industry 4.0 package, can work to empower such "intentional communities" in a Mediterranean context. I draw on 2 years of codesign, workshops, conferences, consultation, and more generally, participant observation in the Southern Italian food sector to propose a vision of a future Mediterranean way to put automation and big data technologies to work in novel forms of progressive community creation, what we call Societing 4.0. I present a horizon of possibilities, a "speculative fiction" that informs collectively created imaginaries of a new role of industry 4.0 technologies within a Mediterranean context.


OBJECTIVE
To provide a relevant, evidence-based review of antidepressant use in children for primary care providers.

METHOD
Selected published studies, reviews, and guidelines are synthesized.

RESULTS
Best evidence supports combination treatment (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor plus Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and Anxiety disorders. Data for efficacious uses of antidepressants in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Autism are scant but emerging.

CONCLUSIONS
Despite recent FDA warnings, antidepressants are beneficial for a variety of childhood disorders (including MDD, Anxiety Disorders, ADHD, and Autism).


This article reviews the current situation,our young youth sports nutrition research and nutrition interventions and scientific nutritious meals. Adolescent nutritional intake and nutritional intake of excess coexist,seriously affecting the health of adolescents; scientific exercise and nutrition interventions and scientific nutritious meals for the health of adolescents has a significant improvement.


The global financial crisis and the problems in peripheral EU countries resulted in increased attention to fiscal developments and their impact on borrowing costs for both public and private sector. Existing theoretical literature suggests that worsening of current and expected budget balances as well as an increase of public debt lead to a rise in short and long term interest rates for sovereign debtors. However, empirical results are inconclusive, especially for emerging market countries. This paper analyzes the factors that determine the dynamics of government bond spreads, with special emphasis on fiscal indicators. The survey covered 17 European countries, of which 9 are developed and 8 are emerging market economies, all of them members of the EU except Croatia. The empirical part of the paper employs dynamic panel data method and uses the Arellano and Bond estimator to get consistent estimates of parameters of interest. The results show that in the period 2004-2011 fiscal balance and public debt projections had a significant impact on the differences in government bond yields for emerging market countries, with the effect being much stronger during the period after the onset of financial crises. On the other hand, it seems that sovereign spread dynamics in developed countries is driven mostly by the global market sentiment.


Objective To Summarize experiences in the treatment of serious injury of pancreas using damage control laparotomy. Methods Retrospectively analyze the choice of surgical method and follow-up treatments on 38 patients cured by DCL,who were in serious injury of pancreas. Results 12 cases(32%) were stanched, surgical debrided and drainage quickly,6 cases(16%) were treated with improved Cogbill operation,and 20 cases(S3% ) were treated with pancreateduodenectomy without reconstruction of enteron. After recovery in SICU, all patients were treated with deterministic operation again. Totally 4 cases(11%) died,with no relation with surgical operation,and 34 cases (89%) were cured. Pancreatic fistula occurred in 4 patients(11% ) ,all of which have been cured with conservative treatment. Conclusion Patients with serious injury of pancreas in accordance with DCL, should choose proper method and take fractionated operation,based on different places and extent of the injury of pancreas.

Key words:
Wounds and injuries;  Pancreas;  Damage control operation


Personalization is an important issue in e-learning as it might help to improve both student performance and experience of use. In this chapter we describe a framework for studying the navigational behavior of the users of an e-learning environment integrated in a virtual campus. The students navigate through the web based virtual campus interacting with learning resources which are structured following the SCORM e-learning standard. These learning resources are structured following the concept of itinerary which it is basically a temporal scheduling involving several activities and the use of several learning resources. Itineraries may be structured depending on several personalization issues, ranging from student preferences to instructional designer and teacher teams expertise, including also knowledge extracted from the usage in previous semesters. Our main goal is to analyze such user navigational behavior for extracting information that can be used to validate several aspects related to virtual campus design and usability but also to determine the optimal scheduling for each course depending on user profile. We intend to extend the sequencing capabilities of standard learning management systems to include the concept of recommended itinerary, by combining teachers expertise with learned experience acquired by virtual campus usage analysis.


Abstract A six-month-old Pomeranian male dog was referred due to a month long history of unformed, soft faeces and mild weight loss. Stool analyses by direct faecal smear, Zinc sulphate flotation and the Baermann concentration method revealed an infection with Strongyloides stercoralis. The dog was initially treated once with a combination drug of praziquantel, pyrantel and febantel (½ Drontal® Plus Tablets for puppies and small dogs; Bayer; i.e. 31.5 mg/kg bodyweight of febantel ). The treatment was repeated after 12 days with the same dosage for 3 consecutive days. The stool analyses performed 14 days and 3 months after the second treatment were negative for S. stercoralis larvae. The results suggest that a repeated treatment with Drontal® Plus Tablets is effective against S. stercoralis in dogs and has no adverse effects.


THE INVENTION CONCERNS A TRIGGER MAGNETOTHERMIC MATERIAL SHAPE MEMORY. INCLUDES THE CORE DECLENCHEUR10 FIXE18 ASSOCIATED CORE MOBILE20 SLIDING THROUGH AN AXIAL ENTREFER22. A BOBINE12 TUBE AROUND coaxially NOYAUX18, 20 AND SENSOR THERMOMECANIQUE44, BY AN ALLOY SPRING 46 SPIRAL SHAPE MEMORY IS LODGE IN SPACE OF CLOS42 FOURREAU14 INSULATION SUPPORT THE BOBINE12. A RESSORT36 COMPRESSION IS ASSOCIATED WITH A POUSSOIR32 UNLOCKING AND USED SIMULTANEOUSLY TO RECALL MOBILE20 CORE AND AUTHORITY OF BIAS RESSORT46 SHAPE MEMORY. NUMBER OF AMP-TOURS OF BOBINE12 IS COMMON FOR ALL SIZES OF RANGE APPLICATION. A LOW VOLTAGE BREAKER .


We show that a consequence of isospin symmetry, recently discovered in mirror conjugated one-nucleon decays, can be extended to mirror-conjugated $\alpha$-particles decays, both virtual and real. For virtual $\alpha$-decays of bound mirror pairs this symmetry manifests itself as a relation between the Asymptotic Normalization Coefficients (ANCs) of $\alpha$-particle overlap integrals. This relation is given by a simple analytical formula which involves $\alpha$-particle separation energies and charges of residual nuclei. For bound-unbound mirror pairs, the ANC of a bound nucleus is related to the $\alpha$-width of the mirror unbound level. For unbound mirror pairs we get a new analytical formula that relates the widths of mirror resonances. We test the validity of these analytical formuli against the predictions of a two-body potential and of a many-body microscopic cluster model for several mirror states in $^7$Li-$^7$Be, $^{11}$B-$^{11}$C and $^{19}$F-$^{19}$Ne isotopes. We show that these analytical formulae are valid in many cases but that some deviations can be expected for isotopes with strongly deformed and easily excited cores. In general, the results from microscopic model are not very sensitive to model assumptions and can be used to predict unknown astrophysically relevant cross sections using known information about mirror systems.


Summary

1
Gas cysts of the intestine are uncommon in human beings but are observed occasionally, most often as an incidental observation at operation for other condition (frequently peptic ulcer).

2
The condition is common in pigs and may be produced experimentally.

3
It is self-limited; recovery occurs without interference.

4
A short review of the history of the condition and the main pathological features is given.


In this paper we propose a new framework for distributed source coding of structured sources, such as sparse signals. Our framework capitalizes on recent advances in the theory of linear inverse problems and signal representations using incoherent projections. Our approach acquires and quantizes incoherent linear measurements of the signal, which are represented as separate bitplanes. Each bitplane is coded using a distributed source code of the appropriate rate, and transmitted. The decoder, starts from the least significant biplane and, using a prediction of the signal as side information, iteratively recovers each bitplane based on the source prediction and the signal, assuming all the previous bitplanes of lower significance have already been recovered. We provide theoretical results guiding the rate selection, relying only on the least squares prediction error of the source. This is in contrast to existing approaches which rely on difficult-to-estimate information-theoretic metrics to set the rate. We validate our approach using simulations on remote-sensing multispectral images, comparing them with existing approaches of similar complexity.


In order to optimize the use of proteins as functional ingredients in foods, one needs more insight into the effects of environmental conditions (pH, ionic strength, and temperature) on the functional properties of protein. This paper summarizes the results of an extensive study on heat‐induced gelation of ovalbumin (egg‐white protein) and soybean protein in the concentration range from 10 to 35 g/100 g. It was the aim of the study to relate the rheological properties of thermally induced protein gels to the microstructure of the gel and the physicochemical properties of the constituent protein. The gelling behavior of the protein was quantified with rheological techniques, and the physical properties of the gels were determined, at small and large deformations. From the swelling/dissolving behavior of the gels in various media, the nature of the crosslinks was determined qualitatively. The microstructure of the gels was determined with electron microscopy. Nmr‐spectroscopy was applied in order to elucidate changes in conformation during heating. It was found that the formation of a continuous covalently crosslinked network is not a prerequisite for thermally‐induced protein gelation. The properties of a gel strongly depend on the pH at which the gel is formed. When heat‐set at high pH(pH∼10), a homogeneous, strong, and almost transparent gel is formed, consisting of flexible crosslinked protein gels. Heat‐setting at low pH (pH 5) leads to the formation of a heterogeneous and weak gel, which easily exudes water. This gel consists of crosslinked aggregated protein. The ionic strength of the solvent in which the protein is dissolved and heat‐set has a much lower effect on gel properties.


Objectives: The purpose of the study is to investigate the correlation between stress and oral health in some high school students. Methods: The subjects were 224 students from three high schools in Daejeon, Daecheon, and Incheon. from November to December, 2015. A self-reported questionnaire was filled out from November to December, 2015. The questionnaire consisted of general characteristics of the subjects, awareness toward stress, stress-coping pattern, oral health-related quality of life and oral health care. Data were analyzed by SPSS 18.0 program. Results: In the analysis of academic stress level by the general characteristics and stress level, higher stress group showed higher experience in stress expectation(high group 16.43, subgroup 9.21), internal stress(high group 13.97, subgroup 6.16), expression type stress(high 10.06, sub-4.95). The higher stress group had emotional stress management in stress-coping pattern and less experience in difficulty of tooth brushing, chewing discomfort, and oral health-related quality of life management(p


The urban tunnel construction will cause ground movement and the deformation or even damage of the nearby pipelines.It's very common in practice that the structural stiffness is ignored in the settlement prediction and damage assessment because of the complexity of tunnel-soil-pipeline interaction.Based on the study of pipeline settlement profiles measured from several tunnelling projects,an observation is put forward that the settlement profiles of the pipeline can be fit very well by the Gaussian equation in case of using a larger trough-width parameter K influenced by the stiffness of the pipeline.Thus an empirical relationship between the parameter K and the stiffness of the pipeline was proposed which can be used to predict the trough parameter according to the stiffness,and a 'Modified Stiffness Method' was proposed.


Image matching is a quite challenging task to identify matching images in the data. There are multiple methods in computer vision techniques such as histogram-based algorithms, colour or edge based algorithms, textual based features, SIFT and Surf algorithms which will help to identify similar images. Here in our paper we are addressing an industrial problem to provide the better solution where US multinational courier delivery service facing challenges in delivering the products where labels/tags and bar codes of the products are missed while delivering to the customers and customers comes with the product image and with some information about the product. The job is to map the user or customer product information with the existing missed products. The advances in computer science and availability of GPU Machines, the problem will be addressed, and solutions can be automated using deep learning approaches. The paper describes the solution of matching the solution accurately and comparing the solution with the existing classical computer vision algorithms.


In this paper, it is investigated that how vertical wind speed affects acoustic parametric array sound field by theoretical derivation and analysis. It is proved that sound pressure distribution of acoustic parametric array acoustic field by experiment test, and the influence on the sound pressure distribution under different wind speed is analyzed. Moreover, corresponding experiments have been done, and the results show that wind speed has no effect on basic sound pressure of sound wave, but will affect the spread direction of sound field. Vertical wind speed can make the sound pressure distribution curve in the cross-section perpendicular to the sound propagation direction move along the wind speed direction for a certain offset distance. The bigger the wind speed is, the greater the offset distance will be. It is significant in revealing the influence of wind speed on the acoustic field of parametric array.


The moving-particle semi-implicit (MPS) method, one of the particle methods, is an effective numerical simulation method for incompressible inviscid flows with free surfaces. The discretization scheme of the particle method can be utilized for discretizations of gradient, divergence and Laplace operators in the partial differential equations such as the diffusion equation and the wave equation. In recent years, advanced materials known as Functionally Graded Materials (FGMs) have drawn considerable interest. These FGMs are expected to be highly heat resistant materials that can be used under high temperature and high temperature gradient conditions. Because of this, it is important to investigate the temperature distributions in the FGMs. The purpose of this work is to present a numerical analysis of the heat conduction for two-dimensional FGMs where the thermal conductivity is a function of the spatial coordinates using the particle method. Analytical solutions and finite element solutions are compared with the present results, and the validity of the present method is shown.


Let A 2 F , B 2 F , where F is an arbitrary eld. In this paper, the possible characteristic polynomials of [A B ], when some of its columns are prescribed and the other columns vary, are described. The characteristic polynomial of [A B ] is de ned as the largest determinantal divisor (or the product of the invariant factors) of [xIn A B ]. This result generalizes a previous theorem by H. Wimmer which studies the same problem when t = 0. As a consequence, it is extended to arbitrary elds a result, already proved for in nite elds, that describes all the possible characteristic polynomials of a square matrix when an arbitrary submatrix is xed and the other entries vary. Finally, applications to the stabilization and observability of linear systems by state feedback are studied. AMS subject classi cations. 15A18, 93B60


Service Level Agreements (SLAs) for Software Services aim to clearly identify the service level commitments established between service requesters and providers. The commitments that are agreed however can be expressed in complex notations through a combination of expressions that need to evaluated and monitored efficiently. The dynamic allocation of the responsibility for monitoring SLAs (and often different parts within them) to different monitoring components is necessary as both SLAs and the components available for monitoring them may change dynamically during the operation of a service based system. In this paper we discuss an approach to supporting this dynamic configuration, and in particular, how SLAs expressed in higher-level notations can be efficiently decomposed and appropriate monitoring components dynamically allocated for each part of the agreements. The approach is illustrated with mechanical support in the form of a configuration service which can be incorporated into SLA-based service monitoring infrastructures.


Bacteremia is a major cause of morbidity and mortality among children with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) and chemotherapy-induced neutropenia. Data evaluating the utility of bacterial prophylaxis in this pediatric population are limited. In April 2014, Children's Health (CH) implemented the use of cefepime bacterial prophylaxis for AML patients undergoing induction and intensification chemotherapy. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of this practice on the frequency of documented bacterial bloodstream infections (BSIs).

 This was an observational, retrospective cohort study of patients < 21 years of age with AML admitted at CH from January 2010 through December 2018. The primary outcome was frequency of documented BSIs before (PRE; Jan 2010 to Mar 2014) and after (POST; Apr 2014 to Dec 2018) implementation of routine bacterial prophylaxis. Secondary outcomes included differences in total antibiotic days per neutropenia days and the occurrence of neutropenia-associated C. difficile infection between groups.

 Of 90 patients with AML who met the cohort inclusion criteria, 38 and 52 were treated during the PRE and POST prophylaxis periods, respectively. The incidence rate of documented BSIs per 1000 neutropenia days decreased from 15.5 to 2.8 after the implementation of routine cefepime prophylaxis (incidence rate ratio 0.18, Poisson regression 95% CI 0.09 to 0.33, P< 0.001). Patients were more likely to have febrile neutropenia in the PRE group (OR 11.9, 95% CI 6.6 to 20.8). The POST group had more antibiotic days per total neutropenia days (0.76 PRE vs 0.97 POST, P< 0.0001), but the frequency of first-episode C. difficile infection was not significantly different between groups (OR 0.36, 95% CI 0.1 to 1.4).

 Universal cefepime prophylaxis for children with AML and chemotherapy-induced neutropenia was associated with a significant reduction in the incidence of febrile neutropenia and neutropenia-associated BSIs without increasing the incidence of C. difficile infection.

 All Authors: No reported disclosures


Abstract Introduction The prevalence of diabetes mellitus has increased tremendously in the last two decades among women of reproductive age and this is mainly due to the pandemic of obesity. Diabetes mellitus is a well-known cause of maternal and neonatal complications in pregnancy. Diabetic nephropathy is a marker of severe diabetes and results in organ damage. However, only a small number of studies have evaluated the implications of diabetic nephropathy on pregnancy complications, with most having 50 to 100 nephropathy subjects. Our study aims to compare pregnant women with diabetes mellitus complicated by nephropathy or not and evaluate the relationship with obstetrical and perinatal morbidity and mortality, on a larger population. Methods This was a population-based study using data from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project—Nationwide Inpatient Sample (HCUP-NIS) including women who delivered between 2004 and 2014. Multivariate logistic regression was used to control for confounding effects. Results Among 86,615 pregnancies that were complicated by diabetes mellitus, 1,241 (1.4%) had diabetic nephropathy. Diabetic nephropathy was strongly associated with preeclampsia (aOR 2.3, 95% CI 1.90–2.68), as well as chronic hypertension with superimposed preeclampsia or eclampsia (aOR 4.2, 95% CI 3.53–5.01), preterm birth (aOR 1.8, 95% CI 1.59–2.1), and blood transfusion (aOR 3.6 95% CI 2.82–4.46). Both groups were similar in age and income. Conclusion Diabetic nephropathy is associated with increased obstetrical and perinatal morbidity compared to diabetes mellitus alone. These patients may benefit from a high dose of folic acid, more vigilant antenatal surveillance, delivery in a tertiary care center, and more rigorous screening and prevention methods for pregnancy-induced hypertension diseases at antenatal care visits.


We shall use the Nualart-Pardoux approach to the Skorohod integral on Rd to construct the divergence operator on the path space over a Riemannian manifold. The Cruzeiro-Malliavin structure equation on the path space is crucial for us to obtain the energy inequality.


Current situation of animal breeding biological safety was elucidated from several aspects in this text.Variation of epidemic characteristic and mode of animal raising have effect on current situation.Especially,the increasing of types and kinds of pathogen,new diseases,mixed infection,zoonosis and chaos in the production,administration and circulation of animal medicine acutely affected the situation.In addition,the circumstance of ecosystem,medical residue and biological safety of animal and animal product were discussed too.At the same time,some suggestion was proposed about the strategy of biological safety,the importance of animal medicine,the reforms of current veterinary administration structure,the vary of the mode of raising and focus on the animal product.


It is well known that a mixture of two chemical components undergoing one chemical reaction is a bulk viscous fluid, where the bulk stress evolves according to the Israel-Stewart theory. Here, we show that a mixture of three independent chemical components undergoing two distinct chemical reactions can also be viewed as a bulk viscous fluid, whose bulk stress now is governed by a second-order differential equation which reproduces the Burgers model for viscoelasticity. This is a rigorous and physically motivated example of a fluid model where the viscous stress does not undergo simple Maxwell-Cattaneo relaxation, and can actually overshoot the Navier-Stokes stress. We show that, if one accounts for muons, neutron star matter is indeed a bulk viscous fluid of Burgers type.


This research evaluated the effect of fibre-protein and can-sugar additions to dehydrated alfalfa pellets on feed acceptance, lactation performance, dry matter intake and apparent dry matter digestibility of dairy cows compared with a standard (pure) alfalfa pellet. The results showed that a two:one ratio of fibre-protein to can-sugar mixture can be added at 150 g kg-1 to a standard alfalfa pellet without affecting the palatability and lactation performance of dairy cows, when the alfalfa pellets are included at 50 g kg-1 (as fed basis) of a total mixed ration (TMR). Key words: Canola fractions, fibre-protein, can-sugar, palatability, lactation performances, dairy cows


The great variation in the susceptibility of different animal species to oral injections of botulinum toxin may conceivably be due either (1) to the destruction or adsorption of the toxin by the intestinal contents, or (2) to the difference in permeability of the intestine to the toxin. Type A botulinum toxin was used in these experiments. There was no evidence that botulinum toxin was adsorbed by the intestinal contents of guinea pigs in vitro, even where the pH was shifted with M/3000 HCl or Na2HPO4. A loop of small intestine in each of six rabbits was injected with botulinum toxin and perfused with blood from the same animal for intervals varying from 30 minutes to 2 hours and 20 minutes. Very small quantities of toxin were demonstrated in the perfused blood, often only sufficient to produce symptoms of botulism in mice receiving 0.5 cc. quantities. No toxin was ever demonstrated in 0.1 cc. In each of two hogs a loop or small intestine was perfused in a similar manner. In one case a very small amount of toxin was found in the blood, a mouse receiving 0.5 cc. of serum taken after an hour and a half of perfusion died in 4 days. In the other case toxin was not demonstrated. The toxin introduced into the ligated loop of intestine showed little if any decrease in potency during the course of the perfusion experiments. Hogs were found to be very resistant to large oral doses of toxin; in some cases as much as ten million M. L. D.'s for mice were fed without producing any ill effects. Toxin was not demonstrated in one cc. of blood taken after 90 minutes from a hog which had been fed nine million (mouse) M. L. D.'s.


Sir,

Over 90% of cases of cystic fibrosis are diagnosed in infancy or childhood, although older patients with phenotypically mild disease are occasionally discovered. We describe a patient with a long history of chronic suppurative lung disease, who was discovered to have cystic fibrosis in her seventh decade.

A 64-year-old non-smoking female Caucasian with radiologically-confirmed bronchiectasis had been regularly followed up for 6 years at our out-patient respiratory clinic. Prior to this, her medical care had been carried out elsewhere. As a child while living in Africa, she reported frequent episodes of 'chest infections', and contracted tuberculosis …


Magnesium aluminate spinel (MgO·2.9Al2O3) single crystals were deformed in compression along the [001] direction at temperatures between 1100° and 1500°C. Dislocations introduced by plastic deformation were observed by transmission electron microscopy. These dislocations lead to plasticity at a temperature where undeformed spinel has no ductility. Further, room-temperature Vickers hardness decreases after plastic deformation at 1500°C.


The findings of the chief executive officer (CEO) characteristics–research and development (R&D) investment relationship remain incomplete if previous unexamined contingencies are not considered. Very few studies in this area have invariably focused on the constraints from the external environment and overlooked the important influence of board social capital on such relationship. This study uses insights from resource dependence theory to examine how the effects of CEO characteristics on R&D investment are contingent on board social capital. The results show that board social capital mitigates/enhances the negative/positive effect of CEO tenure/CEO educational level on R&D investment, supporting the view that board social capital, as an important conduit to link firms to critical information and essential resources in the environment, may offer better counsel to CEOs and enhance their decision‐making capabilities in moving toward R&D. One important implication is that firms wishing to encourage innovation through R&D spending should consider nominating directors with rich social capital to the board because they may assist CEOs in coping with R&D complexities and acquiring requisite resources, leading to a better planning of R&D.


Chapters were first presented at Seminar Residence, Employment and Social Rights of Mobile Persons : on how EU Law defines where they belong (Antwerp, May 2015)


Abstract In 1993 a secondary school in Queensland was surveyed in order to measure the environmental attitudes and knowledge of its community. A questionnaire was developed using published items wherever possible. This report describes the responses provided by the year 11 population of the school. Demographic data on gender, region of birth, neighbourhood type and subject orientation were collected. Attitudinal data was collected in three parts: an affective component using the New Environmental Paradigm scale, a verbal commitment component and an actual commitment component. Data on factual and conceptual knowledge were also collected. Respondents registered highly positive attitudes and commitments to the environment but generally low scores on the knowledge scales. Demographic, attitudinal and knowledge data were analysed for possible interrleationships; correlations obtained were similar to those reported in the literature. However, the respondents' gender and academic orientation were not statistically related to their pro-environmental attitudes or knowledge.


The work of Antonio Gramsci up to now primarily has been considered under philosophical, political and cultural-historical points of view. Beyond it Antonio Gramsci carried out an analysis of educational questions grappling with ideas of the progressive educational movement. Result of his efforts is the drawing up of a draft, which Gramsci characterized as "scuola unita umanesima". The... essay outlines the educational ideas of Antonio Gramsci and describes the basic ideas of his unitary school. (DIPF/Orig.)


Decision supporting system of hospital management based on data warehouse integrated different departments of the hospital network and different applications of data operations together to establish an independent analysis of the circumstance and pick up the operation data. According to the needs of decision-making system to reorganized. The purpose is to provide decision-makers of all types of hospital management and effective analysis of data for decision-making assessment and reference.


BACKGROUND
The study aimed to review recent literature not included in previous reviews and ascertain the correlation between early marijuana use among adolescents, between 12 and 18 years of age, and the development of schizophrenia in early adulthood. A further aim was to determine if the frequency of use of marijuana demonstrated any significant effect on the risk of developing schizophrenia in early adulthood.

METHODS
Five hundred and ninety-one studies were examined; six longitudinal cohort studies were analyzed using a series of nonparametric tests and meta-analysis.

RESULTS
Nonparametric tests, Friedman tests, and Wilcoxon signed tests showed a highly statistically significant difference in odds ratios for schizophrenia between both high- and low-cannabis users and no-cannabis users.

CONCLUSION
Both high- and low-frequency marijuana usage were associated with a significantly increased risk of schizophrenia. The frequency of use among high- and low-frequency users is similar in both, demonstrating statistically significant increased risk in developing schizophrenia.


Background: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) therapy has limitations in the therapeutic angiogenesis of ischemic limbs because of the low survival rates of MSCs after transplantation. Therapeutic angiogenesis using modified stem cells is a novel strategy for severe ischemic diseases. Objective: This study aimed to identify that overexpression of Hsp70 could enhance MSCs survival and therapeutic efficiency in the repair of hindlimb ischemia. Method: In this study, bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells were obtained from C57BL/6J mice, and stably transduced with heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70, H-MSCs) by adenovirus vector. Hindlimb ischemia mice models were created and transplanted with H-MSCs, PBS, or mature MSCs into the ischemic muscles. Results: We observed that Hsp70 overexpression protected MSCs against cell death triggered by oxidative stress in vitro. Moreover, greater blood flow and vascular density increased in the H-MSCs group compared with control groups. The beneficial effects of Hsp70 overexpression were further found to be associated with enhanced Bcl-2/Bax activation and increased secretion of growth factors (FGF-2, HGF, VEGF, and IGF). Conclusion: These results showed that the genetic modification of MSCs using Hsp70 before transplantation could benefit the treatment of hindlimb ischemic diseases.


A semi‐quantitative, immunoperoxidase monoclonal antibody technique was used to study the mononuclear cells surrounding 32 basal cell carcinoma specimens from 30 patients. Tumours were analysed in subgroups based on recurrence, size and ulceration. T cell counts were high (>3 out of 4) for all groups while T helper/inducer and T suppressor/cytotoxic cell counts were equal (approx. 2). Macrophage counts were low for all groups, about 1.2, while B cell and Ia positive cell counts were high (>3). T/B cell and T helper/suppressor cell ratios approached one for the tumours as a whole as well as the sub‐groups. The relative importance and contribution of cell mediated vs. humoral immunity in keeping basal cell carcinomas in check is discussed.


In this article we study left and right 4-Engel elements of a group. In particular, we prove that ⟨a, a b ⟩ is nilpotent of class at most 4, whenever a is of finite order and b ±1 are right 4-Engel elements or a ±1 are left 4-Engel elements and b is an arbitrary element of G. Furthermore, we prove that for any prime p and any element a of finite p-power order in a group G such that a ±1 ∈ L 4(G), a 4, if p = 2, and a p , if p is an odd prime number, is in the Baer radical of G.


Rare-earth ion doped potassium yttrium double tungstate, RE:KY(WO4)2, is a promising candidate for small, power-efficient, on-chip lasers and amplifiers. There are two major bottlenecks that complicate the realization of such devices. Firstly, the anisotropic thermal expansion coefficient of KY(WO4)2 makes it challenging to integrate the crystal on glass substrates. Secondly, the crystal layer has to be, for example, <1 µm to obtain single mode, high refractive index contrast waveguides operating at 1550 nm. In this work, different adhesives and bonding techniques in combination with several types of glass substrates are investigated. An optimal bonding process will enable further processing towards the manufacturing of integrated active optical KY(WO4)2 devices.


The adsorption of Cu2+,Zn2+ on Na-bentonite and organo-bentonite modified by cationic and anionic surfactants(sodium dodecyl sulphate,cetyltrimethylammonium bromide) was studied.The results showed that the adsorption of Cu2+ and Zn2+ was fitted with Langmuir equation,and the organo-bentonite modified by surfactants had a higher adsorption capacity than the Na-bentonite.The factors which affected the removal of Cu2+ and Zn2+ from wastewater were adsorption time,pH value,the amount of bentonite,temperature,and so on.When 5.0 g·L-1 organo-bentonite was added to treat the wastewater from the galvanization factory,the removal rates of Cu2+ and Zn2+ were 97.8% and 87.6%,respectively.


Live Programming is an idea pioneered by programming environments from the earliest days of computing, such as those for Lisp and Smalltalk. One thing they had in common is liveness: an always accessible evaluation and nearly instantaneous feedback, usually focused on coding activities. In this paper, we argue for Live Software Development (LiveSD), bringing liveness to software development activities beyond coding, to make software easier to visualize, simpler to understand, and faster to evolve. Multiple challenges may vary with the activity and application domain. Research on this topic needs to consider the more important liveness gaps in software development, which representations and abstractions better support developers, and which tools are needed to support it.


A study of 530 barrier islands from around the world has been made to determine broad physical and geologic controls on island occurrence and morphology. A total of 74 island chains, consisting of three or more islands each, was included in the investigation. Data for the study were derived from geologic and topographic maps and navigation charts. Environmental parameters considered include wind direction and velocity, mean significant wave height and storm-wave height, and tidal range. Island parameters include length, width, elevation, shape, volume, inlet width, tidal delta length, shoreface slope, coastal plain slope, and continental shelf slope. Most island chains (42%) occur along Amero-trailing edges of continents. Marginal seacoasts are second in importance (32%), and 22% of all island chains are found on collision coasts. Most islands (70%) are found in microtidal ( 4 m mean tide range). According to the second-order coastal classification of Inman and Nordstrom, most barrier islands are found on either mountainous (32%) or wide shelf plains (32%). Next in importance are barrier islands on deltaic coasts (15%). Tidal range does not seem to play a strong role inmore » determining island length (or inlet frequency). Islands are mostly less than 20 km in length, regardless of tidal range, although virtually all long islands (> 20 km) are found on microtidal coasts.« less


The present invention regulates the expression of a tumor protein 63 (p63) and / or function, particularly, the natural antisense polynucleotides related antisense oligonucleotides to modulate by targeting tumor protein 63 (p63). The present invention is also related to their use in the treatment of related diseases and disorders in the expression of the identification of their antisense oligonucleotides and p63. .FIELD 1


In this study we have compared five different heuristic algorithms for adding edges to existing graphs with the goal of improving convergence rate for reaching consensus. This while keeping the cos ...


Objective To investigate the biological safety of silicon membrane embedded permanent magnets implanted into canine,so as to evaluate the safety of a micturition alert device designed on the principle of compass.Methods Twelve adult male dogs(weighing 11-12 kg) were divided into experimental group(8 dogs) and control group(4 dogs).The experimental group was implanted with a silicon membrane embedded NdFeB magnet,which was 10 mm in diameter and 3 mm in thickness and with a magnetic induction intensity of 0.3 Tesla at the center of the pole face surface.The control group was implanted with a silicon membrane embedded NdFeB alloy with the same dimensions.The grafts were sutured onto the anterior surface of the bladder wall.The dogs were then allowed to live for one year.Both the survival and local pathology around the grafts were observed after implantation.And the pre-operation urine and post-operation urine were compared between the two groups.Results One dog in the experimental group died from operation complications 10 hours after operation,another dog had intestinal obstruction 3 weeks after operation because iron wires in the intestinal tract was caught up by the permanent magnet.The rest 6 dogs in the experimental group and 4 dogs in the control group had no abnormalities in spirit,appetite,urine or stool,and there were no infections.The animals were sacrificed one year after operation.Adhension was found between the epiploon and the bladder wall around permanent magnets in these 10 dogs;the fibrous capsule around the permanent magnets was thin,and the local bladder wall below permanent magnets was thickened,with normal bladder mucosa.Grade 2 inflammatory reaction and fibrous capsule of the local tissue were noted around the grafts.The findings of urine routine were normal before and after operation.Conclusion NdFeB permanent magnets embedded with silicon membrane are biologically safe for clinical application,which warrants further investigation.


This article argues that clear coordination structures are essential if collaboration around the complex needs of a small subcategory of seriously emotionally disturbed children and adolescents requiring multi-agency involvement is to be successful. A model of coordination which evolved out of a project conducted in the western suburbs of Melbourne during 1992-1993 is described. Although expensive to implement this model would be less costly than the current unsatisfactory situation where much time and effort is expended by a number of workers from a range of agencies, often for very little return.


The need to provide long-term care for the elderly and disabled persons in a situation of limited personal resources can jeopardize the financial security of a private household. This is related both with additional expenditures on various social services and artificial restricting the economic activity of household agents committed the care function. At some point the financial problems of the household are transformed into social problems. The social nature of the problem of long-term care determines the participation of the state in organizing a special system aimed at solving problems of outside assistance to the elderly and disabled and its financing. The rapid growth in the number of people in need of such assistance leads to searching the sources to cover the increasing costs of maintaining the system and providing social services. One of them is connected with the insurance system that can be introduced into the financial mechanism through the insurance coverage to beneficiaries and financing of infrastructure facilities. There have been analyzed the main options for including non-state insurance into the mechanism of leveling the financial risks of households associated with the long-term care. These are cumulative insurance, classic risky personal insurance and specialized long-term care insurance. There have been defined the immediate prospects for participation of the Russian insurers in this segment, presented the entry points to the modern Russian model of long-term care of the compulsory social insurance system.


p-Nitrophenyl-B-D-N-acetylgluicosaminide monohydrate, C14H20O9N2, crystallizes in the orthorhombic system with a = 8.07, b = 41.66, c = 5.06 Å .§ The space group is P212121 with four molecules in the unit cell. A computer application of the tangent formula of Karle & Hauptman was used to solve the structure and least-squares refinement with anisotropic thermal parameters for the non-hydrogen atoms, has given an R index of 0.061 for the 1368 non-zero diffractometer data. All hydrogen atoms were located from a difference map. Standard deviations of non-hydrogen distances and angles average 0.009 Å and 0.6°, respectively. The glucopyranose ring is in the chair form and its structure is close to that found in other sugars. The packing of the molecules is determined by a complete scheme of hydrogen bonding.


Foreword Javier Perez de Cuellar - Preface and Acknowledgements - Abbreviations - PROLOGUE: Whither Conference Diplomacy? - Conference Diplomacy Defined: Objectives of Conferences - Decision-making in Conference Diplomacy: a General View - Conference Diplomacy: the Organizational Setting - Conference Diplomacy: the Human Setting - The Role of Presiding Officers - Secratariats and Conference Diplomacy - Delegations and Permanent Missions: Their General Characteristics - Conference Diplomats: Requirements and Characteristics - Groups and Conference Diplomacy - Tactics, Instructions, Speeches and Conciliation in Conference Diplomacy - The Madrid Peace Process on the Middle East and its Sequels - Appendix: European Union Decision-Making - Notes - Index


Research on collaborative ties in business markets has pre-dominantly studied how governance forms balance potential gains and transaction hazards within the relationship. Using an incomplete contracting approach, we examine how the OEM trades off gains obtained within the relationship with its supplier against protection of resources that were developed outside such relationship. Adapting the recent theoretical model by Zanarone, Lo, and Madsen (2016) to the context of industrial markets, we hypothesize that OEMs with more valuable pre-existing resources choose closed-price contracts over open-price contracts to dis-incentivize suppliers from overinvesting in capabilities that may enable them to appropriate those resources. Consistent with this model, but not with alternative governance theories, our data on component procurement contracts show that: (1) OEMs tend to use closed-price contracts when their pre-existing resources are more valuable, and the use of closed-price contracts reduces both, (2) the supplier's dedicated investment and, (3) its value-add to the OEM's end product. Our work provides evidence on how parties, cognizant of the "dark side�? of entering inter-firm collaborations, strategically balance the conflicting goals of safeguarding pre-existing resources and creating value.


Data retrieval and its integration is one of the major problems that face large and complex health organizations. This is especially relevant when patient information is produced in heterogeneous environments. Implementing a Virtual Electronic Patient Record (VEPR) system may provide an adequate and cost-effective solution for most clinical information needs. In this paper, we describe and discuss the use of agent technologies for the retrieval and integration of clinical records in a VEPR, thus making patient information available at any point of care. Between May 2003 and May 2004, a VEPR was designed and implemented at Hospital S. Joao, a university hospital with over 1350 beds. An agent-based platform Multi-Agent System for Integration of Data (MAID ®) ensures the communication among various hospital information systems. Clinical reports are retrieved from clinical department information systems (DIS) and stored into a central repository in a browser friendly format. Documents are retrieved in HTML and PDF format and are digitally signed at storage. MAID is now running for the last 12 months, regularly scanning 7 DIS and collecting a mean of 2800 new reports each day. A visualization module for the VEPR was made available in October 2004 and the number of users and user sessions has been growing since. Currently, over 340 doctors are using the system on a daily basis. The total budget of the project was less than 400 000 euros. Around 30p of the costs were spent in software development and MAID accounted for only 13p of the total project budget. The use of agent technologies in the implementation of a VEPR enabled the successful integration of a large amount of heterogeneous data that could then be accessed from any workstation in the hospital Intranet. As few changes were required to be made in the existing DIS, the implementation has been done over a relatively short period of time and the stress in the organization was low. Optimization of the scheduling algorithm, automatic notification of health professionals, introspection of clinical reports, retrieval of XML report representations and extension of VEPR to health centres are priorities for future research and development. We strongly believe that agent technologies can and should be used to solve complex data integration and communication problems, which are crucial to the quality of patient care.


The mammalian reovirus preferentially replicates and kills cancer cells. It is therefore currently used in clinical trials to treat various types of cancers in humans. The main objective of this study was to get a better understanding of the various components involved in the reovirus replication cycle that could potentially be important for the optimization of its oncolytic properties using a combination of traditional approaches and the newly described reverse genetics technique. Classically, the viral persistence approach is undertaken to identify new reovirus variants. This has led to the selection of uncoating mutants in L929 cells. In this study, adapted viruses were recovered from Vero cells (VeroAV) and unlike other persistence mutants, VeroAV had amino acid substitutions on the mu1 and the sigma1 proteins. The reverse genetics approach demonstrated that VeroAV had a better binding ability onto sialic acids of Vero cells. Substitutions on sigma1 were found to be mainly responsible for this phenotype although mu1 substitutions may affect virus infectivity. In a second study, we noticed that the reverse genetics wild-type virus (T3DK) was more sensitive to interferon when compared with the wild-type virus from our laboratory (T3DS). After complete sequencing of the T3DS, we then constructed a T3DS by reverse genetics. This allowed us to proceed in our studies of a mutant virus previously recovered in our laboratory by chemical mutagenesis (P4L-12). It was previously established that P4L-12 had an enhanced replication in transformed cells while sparing the parental cells and this phenotype was correlated to an increased sensitivity to interferon. In this study, amino acid substitutions on the sigma3, mu1, muNS and lambda2 proteins were identified. By using the reverse genetics approach, we demonstrated that the substitution found on the lambda2 protein was primarily responsible for the increase in sensitivity to interferon of P4L-12. The combination of approaches based on persistence or selection of mutants sensitive to interferon followed by characterization with reverse genetics will certainly be useful to get a better understanding of reovirus in order to improve its oncolytic capacity.


An ultrasonic vibration assisted micro-milling (UVAM) with longitudinal vibration of workpiece is investigated in this paper. The most essential difference between ordinary micro-milling and UVAM lies in the trajectory of cutter tooth. A mathematical model has been established to simulate the trajectory of the cutter tooth. A more complex and ergodic trajectory has been found in UVAM. Series of experiments have been performed to investigate the surface roughness of Al6061 processed by micro-milling with and without ultrasonic vibration. It is found that the surface of Al6061 processed by UVAM has a smaller roughness value compared to that processed by ordinary micro-milling when choose an appropriate ultrasonic vibration amplitude. The influence of different ultrasonic vibration amplitude on surface roughness of Al6061 processed by UVAM has been analyzed. It is found that ultrasonic vibration amplitude has an optimum value with regard to the surface roughness of Al6061 processed by UVAM and is not the bigger the better. © 2013 Lian Haishan et al. Published by Elsevier B.V. Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of Professor Bert Lauwers


Abstract Part I of this series identified a key difference in behavior with respect to nitrosamine formation in rubber for EPDM vulcanizates compared with those from SBR, NR or NBR. This paper provides further analysis of some twenty-nine different EPDM cures to investigate both ingredient- and process-related effects. Two different levels of TMTD and carbon black were variables in this study, as was the type of carbon black used (N330 and N550). Batch effects with respect to both polymer and black were also studied, as was the presence or absence of MBT. The use of experimental design has shown how reliable data on nitrosamine formation in vulcanizates can be obtained by paying strict attention to process history, and has revealed for these EPDM cures a correlation between cure time (T90) and the level of nitrosamine formed. Moreover the presence or absence of MBT was also shown to be influential; showing the importance of vulcanization by-products in the generation of nitrosamine. The formation of the t...


We construct a new type of 𝑞-Genocchi numbers and polynomials with weight 𝛼. From these 𝑞-Genocchi numbers and polynomials
with weight 𝛼, we establish some interesting identities and relations.


This paper presents an optimisation method for the trading in power exchanges (PXs) with the consideration of the cost of generation scheduling under the new electricity trading arrangements (NETA) in the electricity market of England and Wales. The power exchange market, running parallel to NETA since its implementation, allows market participants to adjust their contract positions in real time to avoid any excess or shortfall in the balancing mechanism (BM) by submitting bids or offers. With bids and offers present in PXs, generating companies have opportunities to gain profit from this market. A proposed methodology is able to optimise power exchange and generation scheduling problems simultaneously, thereby assisting generating companies to decide which bids or offers should be carried out, and to commit and dispatch their units to meet their net contract positions. The methodology will be demonstrated by a 5-unit power system.


This retrospective was compiled in anticipation of the upcoming 40 th anniversary of that first strike at Millhaven, and it is by no means a comprehensive survey of all the Prisoners Justice Day related artworks, in fact there are many more significant pieces that we could not include at this time. However, we would like to contribute to the archiving and cataloging of these important visual histories, as well as strengthen the networks of those who continue to remember and resist, and we will definitely publish more abolitionist art in upcoming issues. We are especially interested in oral, written and/or sketched histories & herstories of the movements against prison injustice (not only under/across the Canadian state). If you know of some work(s) that we've omitted, or there is something new or original which you'd like to see included in a future publication, please get in touch with us at firstname.lastname@example.com


As the financial sector has swollen in size, the nature of its activities has shifted and investors have taken ever larger bets on its outcomes. The financial sector should add value by processing information, evaluating risks, disseminating that information through advising or road shows, and ultimately, using the information to allocate capital. Over time, the nature of the information processed and transmitted has changed. While financial analysis used to mean fundamental analysis of an asset's long-run value, perhaps combined with some statistical exploration of recent price trends, more recently, focus has shifted to mining order flow data to identify promising times at which to trade. We build a model that explores the reason for this analysis shift, offers testable predictions to help determine the extent of the shift, and clarifies the consequences for the real economy.


The X-Bone dynamically deploys and manages Internet overlays to reduce their configuration effort and increase network component sharing. The X-Bone discovers, configures, and monitors network resources to create overlays over existing IP networks. Overlays are useful for deploying overlapping virtual networks on a shared infrastructure and for simplifying topology. The X-Bone extends current overlay management by adding dynamic resource discovery, deployment, and monitoring and allows simultaneous participation in multiple overlays. Its two-layer IP in IP tunneled overlays support existing applications and unmodified routing, multicast, and DNS services in unmodified operating systems. This two-layer scheme uniquely supports recursive overlays, useful for fault tolerance and dynamic relocation. The X-Bone uses multicast to simplify resource discovery, and provides secure deployment as well as secure overlays. This paper presents the X-Bone architecture, and discusses its components and features, and their performance impact.


The COVID-19 pandemic has made a huge impact on the healthcare scenario of the world. Due to its easy transmissibility, it has affected a majority of the population in a short time. Healthcare staff like nurses and doctors are at an even higher risk of infection because of their prolonged and repetitive interaction with patients. Isolation chambers can be an integral part of Vital care Units and Intensive Care Units (ICUs). Viral & bacterial matter can be present on surfaces of objects in regular use. A negative pressure environment can drastically curb the spread of viral matter in air. In this study, we have proposed a doubledoor isolation room model with air pressure differential control to prevent spread of the virus to the outside world. Our model aims to contain the viral air and eliminate airborne pathogens using High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters and Ultraviolet (UV) light, along with antimicrobial surface coatings. The isolation chamber has prefabricated panels for short installation time, and are made with low-cost materials.


Some fractional quantum Hall states observed in experiments may be described by first-quantized wavefunctions with special clustering properties such as the Moore-Read Pfaffian for filling factor {nu}=5/2. This wavefunction has been constructed by constructing correlation functions of a two-dimensional conformal field theory (CFT) involving a free boson and a Majorana fermion. By considering other CFTs many other clustered states have been proposed as candidate fractional quantum Hall states under appropriate circumstances. It is believed that the underlying CFT should be unitary if one wants to describe an incompressible, i.e., gapped liquid state. We show that by changing the way one derives the wavefunction from its parent CFT it is possible to obtain an incompressible candidate state when starting from a nonunitary parent. The construction mimics a global change in parameters in the phase space of the electron system. We explicit our construction in the case of the so-called Gaffnian state (a state for filling factor 2/5) and also for the Haldane-Rezayi state (a spin-singlet state at filling 1/2). We note that there are obstructions along this path in the case of the permanent spin-singlet state of Read and Rezayi which can be characterized as a robust gapless state.


This paper analyzed the process of heavy rain which happened on July 24 to 27 2010 at southeastern coast of Zhejiang,Wenzhou,Taizhou,Ningbo,Zhoushan et al.,and discovered that the continuous heavy rain is caused by the easterly waves.The interaction of Western Subtropicaol High heat convection cloud with the east-erly waves and the low vortex induced by wave were also important persistent heavy rain;At the same time,the uplifting effect of the Tiantai Mountain and Kuocang mountain,along with the narrow tube effect at the coastal horn-type Harbour also played an important role.We pointed out that it's a profound easterly wave with big northe-south amplitude,long duration and high height extending up to 200 hPa.The structural features are:low-level trough before the divergence,high-level convergence,after the trough of low level convergence togeth-er high-level divergence;wave front sinking motion,upward motion after the wave.


Under the project of developing smart cities, role of the Internet of Things (IoT) is crucial to provide a unified and exclusive access to public resources including electricity, water and sewage, transport facilities along with their optimal utilization. In India, the untreated sewage is the major cause of pollution water sources causing various diseases including diarrhea.The proposed research deals with the blocked sewage system and solving the problem of blockage faster based on IoT devices. Pressure sensor on the bottom as well as on the top of the manhole cover are used to predict the sewage blockage and water logging problem. When the water level rises in the sewage, the pressure inside the manhole gradually increases.When the sewage water starts building up the pressure and reaches at a certain point (threshold limit), pressure sensor (P1) beneath the manhole cover will be triggered and an alert message will be raised in the service cooperation through phone application. When the water level above the manhole increases, the pressure sensor (P2) will be triggered and a red small LED will glow to indicate that the water staggered on the top of the manhole.


The effects of nitrogen on cotton yield and fiber quality in purple soil have been investigated by pot and field test. The results indicated that the effect of fertilized nitrogen on increasing cotton yield was highly significant. The effect model between nitrogen and yield just presented quadratic parabola and the cotton yield would be the highest when the fertilized nitrogen amount was 250kg/ha. The interaction effect between nitrogen and planting density was larger than that between nitrogen and 1, 1- dimethylpiperidinium chloride (DPC), and larger than that between nitrogen and branch numbers. Nitrogen had some effect on fiberquality, which could enhance fiber strength and decrease micronaive. The orders of the fiber quality index affected by nitrogen were elongation Mike strength uniformity 2. 5% SL. The chlorophyll content in cotton leaves could be increased by fertilizing nitrogen, but there were no obvious effects on the ratio of chlorophyll a and b content; The correlation between soil nitrogen content and absorptive or accumulative nitrogen amount in cotton plant emerged significant or highly significant.


The opinions expressed are those of the author(s). They are offered for the purpose of discussion and contribution to research. They are not statements of official Department of Labor or Bureau of International Labor Affairs policy. Executive Summary US trade agreements and preference programs require adherence to internationally recognized labor rights, and substantial policy attention is devoted to promoting improved working conditions in US trading partners. Many observers have noticed that better quality products tend to come from establishments with nicer working conditions. These anecdotes have raised hope of a virtuous circle where improvements in working conditions are self-sustaining and lead to improvements in product quality. This study considers the relationship between product quality and working conditions in the handmade, export-oriented carpet industry in India, Nepal, and Pakistan. By focusing on a specific sector, we directly observe detailed, meaningful measures of product quality that are rare in the existing literature. Our focus on the Indian subcontinent is driven by an unusual dataset with these better quality measures and detailed data describing working conditions. The most common measure of working conditions in the current literature is the unit wage (total labor bill divided by total workers). International labor standards emphasize many aspects of the work environment beyond the wage. We find little relationship between other core labor standards and unit wages. Unit wages are only one aspect of working conditions, and findings on unit wages cannot be assumed to generalize to other working conditions. Unit product prices (total revenue divided by total sales) are the most prevalent measure of product quality. We observe that product quality is multi-dimensional. In addition to unit prices, we observe the actual price of the most recently completed carpet, its size, and its weight. These different aspects of product quality are not perfectly correlated. Findings on how one type of working condition impacts one aspect of product quality may not generalize to all aspects of product quality. We also raise concerns about the use of unit prices as a measure of quality, because unit prices can be driven by other firm attributes correlated with the work environment. In considering the link between 14 different aspects of working conditions and 5 different product quality related outcomes, we illustrate potential pitfalls from relying on bivariate relationships and anecdotal evidence in assessing the causal link between working conditions and product quality. Better working conditions are associated with better quality …


A thermoelastic control system defined on a bounded domain /spl Omega/ /spl sub/ R/sup n/ is considered. The free dynamics is generally unstable. The control actions are defined via bending moments applied to the edge of the plate and the observations taken are pointwise measured in the interior of /spl Omega/. Both control operator and observation operator are fully unbounded, with a combined degree of unboundedness greater than one, the super-critical case. We construct an approximation theory, based on FEM, which leads to a finite-dimensional dynamic compensator, possessing all the expected desirable stability properties, once it is inserted into the original system. In particular, it preserves the same margin of stability of the continuous problem, except, perhaps, for an arbitrary /spl epsiv/>0.


AimThe aim of this study was to verify the validity of the patient version of the Working Alliance Inventory (WAI-PC).
MethodThe theoretical validity of the WAI-PC was experimentally estimated using the non-random change method proposed by Cronbach and Meehl.
ResultsThe results of the t-test showed significant differences between the experimental and control groups.
ConclusionThe study confirmed the validity of the WAI-PC as a tool for measuring alliance in adult psychotherapy.


The content of oleanolic acid was detected by HPLC and the extraction method of oleanolic acid from Chinese floweringquince was investigated. The optimal extraction results were got with organic solvent such as water-free ethanol. That oleanolic aciddistributed mainly in residues and undetectable oleanolic acid distributed in Chinese flowering quince syrup were found throughdetection of variety samples of Chinese flowering quince fruit vinegar. Functional fruit vinegar with oleanolic acid can only beproduced by fermentation with residue.


Lawyers in all practice areas routinely negotiate on clients' behalf. Despite the fact that almost all lawyers routinely negotiate in their practices, many of them regrettably do not apprehend their related professional responsibilities and liabilities. There probably are several reasons for this, but two stand out. First, the negotiation process varies by context and subject matter, and thus calls for seemingly different rules or rules stated only at a very high level of generality. Second, negotiation is inherently paradoxical because, on the one hand, lawyers must be fair and truthful, while on the other, they must facilitate their opponents' inaccuracte assessment of their positions. In any event, this article examines the subtle problems and situations that crop up in negotiations and that implicate lawyers' professional duties. In doing so, it focuses on lawyers' duty to communicate, duty of confidentiality, duty of truthfulness to third parties, and duty of candor to tribunals. In addition to examining lawyers' duties from a professional responsibility perspective, it analyzes their potential civil liability arising out of negotiation behavior.


The inclusion of clay nanoparticles (nanoclay) in crosslinked natural rubber (NR) induces an early promotion and enhancement on crystallization under uniaxial deformation. We evaluate and monitor the molecular structure of the polymer network and its changes during elongation by using in-situ synchrotron radiation. Nanoclay introduces an increase of the crystalline content and a dual crystallization mechanism related to the alignment of the nanoparticles during stretching. This study could be the starting point on the designing of a new generation of elastomers materials without the trade-off exhibited in conventional rubber composites.


Cloud computing is a growing paradigm of commercial infrastructure that assures to remove the need for maintaining and handling much expensive computing hardware. As the market develops, the threat to data also grows. Securing the data from unauthorized entrance and ensuring that the data are intact with the proposed scheme solves privacy, integrity, consistency, and unauthorized access problems. This research paper proposed a PHECC hybrid algorithm (Polynomial based Hashing and Elliptic Curve Cryptography) that includes PH with ECC security algorithms to ensure customers their data security in the cloud. In the current scenario, the hybrid algorithm almost guarantees for data security. The efficiency of the proposed technique is compared to other hybrid algorithms.


1. Milk fat obtained from six Clun Forest ewes was analysed in the 1st, 4th, 8th and 12th weeks of lactation for fat constant values and fatty-acid composition.


The research was carried out in the arid regions of Azerbaijan in 2021-2023. The main goal of the research was to provide a bioecological and phytocoenological analysis of species of the genus Chenopodium, widespread as a weed plant, in the composition of coenosis, and to reveal the possibilities of use based on ethnobotanical surveys among the population. Floristic, phytocoenological, ethnobotanical methods were used during the research. It was determined that 15 species of the genus in Azerbaijan flora are more widespread in the plains and mid-mountain belt, mainly in the desert, semi-desert steppe vegetation, and in cultivated areas. During the surveys conducted among the local population, it became clear that only 10 species of the genus are used, of which 5 species are used only as wild vegetables, 3 species are used only for treatment in folk medicine, and one species — Chenopodium album is used by the population both as a medicinal plant and as a vegetable plant. It has been recorded that one species (Chenopodium foliosum) of the genus is used as a dye plant.


An irrigation study on barley was made to determine the economical consequences of irrigating the crop when an irrigation scheduling program called for an irrigation compared to waiting 3 to 6 days for a water turn, from the ditch. The plots irrigated when the soil moisture depletion level reached 40% produced the highest yield. Yields were decreased 700 and 1000 pounds respectively for waiting 3-4 days and 6-7 days, respectively. The economics of using the pump are discussed and a chart is given to help determine a break even point.


A multi-faceted approach has been adopted by Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) in order ensure that the new 57km Gotthard base tunnel achieves the highest possible level of safety, as reported in this article. A unique safety challenge is presented by the sheer length of the tunnel, especially with regards to dealing with accidents and fires that can cause a huge loss of life and amount of damage. Escape routes require special planning, as well as the need for swift intervention and personnel training.


Crossover services involve deep convergence of services in different domains. Requirements analysis of crossover services often requires the collaboration of engineers in different domains and various organizations. The industry has a demand for sophisticated requirements engineering (RE) methods to address challenges brought by crossover and convergence. However, many methods proposed by researchers have not been widely used in the industry, and the reason is that these methods provide technological solutions to the problems and challenges that may not be considered accurate or even real by practitioners in the crossover services industry. A great effort is needed to explore what needs, expectations, and constraints that RE approaches must satisfy and promote the adoption of novel RE approaches in the crossover services industry. The authors have conducted an industrial study to gain an in ‐ depth understanding of practitioners' needs concerning RE research and method development. The study involved qualitative interviews as well as questionnaires to collect data. The objective of this study is to investigate issues, challenges, and practices of crossover services RE from practitioners' perspectives and to reveal potential guidelines for researchers and tools developers. Findings from five aspects of RE methods are reported and some research directions for future


Abstract : Previous experiments have shown that strong light pulses from gas discharge lamps can initiate detonations of primary but not of secondary explosives. The present study showed that detonations of lead azide and PETN can be induced by a Q-modulated laser. The laser contained a neodymium glass plate (10 x 120 mm) and was Q-modulated with a rotating prism (25,000 rpm). The starting pulse was recorded on one track of an OK-21 oscillograph. The signal from another photocell recorded on the second track indicated the instant when the detonation wave reached the end of the charge. The explosives with a 1 g/cc density were placed in an organic glass shell with a 10 mm inner diameter and a height of 5 mm. The starting pulse had an energy of 10 Mw, a duration of 0.1 msec, and a beam diameter of 15 mm. The lead azide was detonated with a laser beam energy on the surface of 0.08 Mw/sq mm, while the PETN detonated only at considerably higher intensities attained by focusing the beam. This intensity was higher than that achieved by ordinary light pulses. The results also showed that transition to detonation is as fast as in impact-detonated charges. This was proved by using the charge detonated by the laser to detonate a second charge placed behind it.


The fading characteristics and broadcast nature of wireless channels are usually not fully considered in the design of routing protocols for wireless networks. In this paper, we address the routing issue from a link layer point of view. We focus on a multihop network with multiple relays at each hop and three routing strategies are designed to achieve the full diversity gain provided by the cooperation among relays. In particular, an optimal routing strategy is proposed to minimize the end-to-end outage, which requires the channel information of all the links and serves as a performance bound. An ad-hoc routing strategy is then proposed based on a hop-by-hop relay selection, which can be easily implemented in a distributed way. The outage analysis shows that the performance gap between these two routing strategies increases with the number of hops. To achieve a good complexity-performance tradeoff, a N-hop routing strategy is further proposed, where a joint optimization is performed every N hops. Simulation results are presented which verify the analysis.


The molecular weight distribution (MWD), formed in emulsion polymerization that involves the polymer transfer reaction during Interval II, may approach the power-law distribution as polymerization proceeds. The power exponent, a, of the weight fraction distribution W(M) = M -α conforms to the relationship, α = l/P b , where P b is the probability that the chain end is connected to a backbone chain. The MWD of emulsion-polymerized polyethylene reported in literature agrees reasonably well with the relationship, W(M) = M -α with α = l/P b . This simple relationship could be used to estimate the P b value from the MWD data, possibly leading to determining the polymer transfer constant under well-designed experimental conditions. Because α> 1, the number-average MW always approaches a finite value, but the weight- and higher order-averages of MWD may continue to increase as the particle grows without limit depending on the magnitude of P b . The power-law distributions are self-similar, possessing the nature of fractals and lacking a characteristic scale. The i-th moment of the MWD for the present reaction system continues to increase without limit during Interval II for P b ≥ l/i.


A robust significance testing method for the Cox regression model, based on a modified Wald test statistic, is discussed. Using Monte Carlo experiments the asymptotic behavior of the modified robust versions of the Wald statistic is compared with the standard significance test for the Cox model based on the log likelihood ratio test statistic.


In performing the dynamic analysis, the step size used in a step-by-step integration method might be much smaller than that required by the accuracy consideration in order to capture the rapid chances of dynamic loading or to eliminate the linearization errors. It was first found by Chen and Robinson that these difficulties might be overcome by integrating the equations of motion with respect to time once. A further study of this technique is conducted herein. This include the theoretical evaluation and comparison of the capability to capture the rapid changes of dynamic loading if using the constant average acceleration method and its integral form and the exploration of the superiority of the time integration to reduce the linearization error. In addition, its advantage in the solution of the impact problems or the wave propagation problems is also numerically demonstrated. It seems that this time integration technique can be applicable to all the currently available direct integration methods.


Many offshore structures are subjected to overturning moments due to wind load, wave pressure, and ship impacts. For foundations in such structures, usually a combination of vertical and batter piles is used. Little information is available in the literature about estimating the capacity of piles under uplift. In cases where these supporting piles are not vertical, the behavior under vertical pullout is not well established. In this article the vertical pullout behavior of batter piles is examined through an experimental investigation carried out on model batter anchor piles. The tests are conducted on model aluminum pipe piles of 19 mm diameter with different embedment ratios in a soft marine clayey bed at different consistencies and with various batter angles of 0°, 10°, 20°, and 30°. Results indicate that the pullout capacity of a batter pile is less than that of a vertical pile. This reduction is explained in terms of reduced area available for skin friction. Based on this, pullout behavior of batter ...


Model-Driven Architecture (MDA) is a framework for software development focusing on models and model transformation. One of its models is the computation independent model, which describes the system environment and requirements. Representing this model and transforming it into a platform independent model typically involves Requirements Engineering approaches and diagrams. However, it is not clear how Requirements Engineering concepts are related to MDA models. To improve the understanding of MDA and to define which artifacts are expected from a Requirements Engineering perspective, this paper proposes mapping a requirements reference model, the WRSPM model, and Model-Driven Architecture models.


Objectives: Esophageal cancer is a poorly characterized deadly cancer with a malignancy ratio of 2/3 among Iranian males and females, respectively. Recent studies on miR-520c and miR-519d have evidenced their either oncogenic or tumor suppressing roles in different cancers. The goal of this study was to assay the altered expressions of miR-520c and miR-519d in esophageal tumor tissues and adjacent non-tumor tissues in patients suffering from esophageal cancer. Methods: RNA was extracted from 36-pair paraffin-embedded tumor and adjacent non-tumor tissues using TRIZOL kit and relative expressions of miR-520c and miR-519d were quantified by Real Time and RT-PCR using specific predesigned primers. CT method (2) and SPSS16 were used for statistical calculations. Results: Statistical analysis has revealed spectacular upward expression increases of 10.4 and 24.5 folds of miR-520c and miR-519d adjacent in Esophageal Squamous Cells compared to their non-tumor tissues (P <0.05). Conclusion: In general, the present study being the first report on the evaluation of miR-520c and miR519d expressions in ESCC, is able to highlight the oncogenic roles of the two miRNA in ESCC and introduce them as appropriate potential alternatives to be utilized for further research on clinical treatment.


The purpose of this study were to find out (1) whether or not the usage of Critical Reading Strategy significantly improve the eleventh grade students' reading expository text achievement at SMA Negeri 4 OKU, (2) whether or not there is significant difference in reading expository text achievement between the students who are taught by using Critical Reading Strategy and those who are taught by using common strategy, (3) whether or not there is significant difference among the eleventh grade male students in reading expository text achievement who are taught by using Critical Reading Strategy and those who are taught by using the common strategy, (4) whether or not there is significant difference among the eleventh grade female students in reading expository text achievement who are taught by using Critical Reading Strategy and those who are taught by using the common strategy, (5) whether or not there is significant difference between the eleventh grade male students and female students in reading expository text achievement who are taught by using Critical Reading Strategy, and (6) what The eleventh grade students' perception on the implementation of Critical Reading Strategy in their classroom. The population of this study covered all of the eleventh grade students of SMA N 4 OKU in academic 2011/2012. The sample were selected using purposive random sampling from the whole population. The writer chose fifteen male's student and female's students in experimental and control groups. The study was conducted in form of an experiment by doing 16 meetings of teaching including pre-test and posttest. During the research, the students in experimental group were taught reading material by using critical reading strategy. The reading material were taken based on validity of the test. They are the levels of difficulty and the levels of appropriateness of reading test items. To check whether the application of the instruction could run well, the students were given reading comprehension tests. The obtained data were analyzed using t-test. The findings showed that there was a statistically significant progress in the English reading achievement of the students who were taught by using critical reading strategy. The questionnaire was used to find out the students perception on the implementation of critical reading strategy in their classroom. The results of t-test was used by the writer showed that there was significant different for all objective. In conclusion, Critical Reading Strategy was considered applicable to improve reading expository text achievement at SMA Negeri 4 OKU.


The Supreme Court's decision in Vaca v. Sipes 1 is like a giant squid. It has a number of procedural tentacles, any one of which may be more than we can master, but with all of which we must ultimately contend. There is always the danger that we shall be so preoccupied with avoiding the entwining arms, that we shall never see the head from which the tentacles grow, and that the whole problem will escape in a cloud of ink. I do not propose now to wrestle the squid or cut through the procedural tentacles; I will leave that to others 2 or to another time. I propose instead to probe


Table I-Details of Mixed Improved Varieties weighing approx. 20 g. Five reeling bath temperatures, viz. 25°C, 45°C, 65°C, 85°C and 100°C, were selected for the study and twenty samples were reeled at each temperature. The reeling was done in the Roy reeling machine using thermostatically controlled water bath and heaters. The cooking was done in all the cases in boiling water (lOO°C) in an open pan. The yarn produced in the reels was kept immersed in water for 24 h, re-reeled in the automatic re-reeling machine, placing a heat radiator below the reel of the machine to dry the yam as soon as it was taken up by the reel. The skeins were then wound on to the bobbins of the high speed bobbin winder. The yarn obtained was then tested for denier, cohesion (in the Duplan cohesion tester), strength and elongation (in the Serimeter), evenness, neatness and cleanness (in the evenness, neatness and cleanness tester) after making the panels in the seriplane winder. The speeds of different machines were kept constant, wherever required, throughout the tests. The cocoon details are given below.


ABSTRACT This essay is a potpourri of reflections about elevating both the status of public affairs as a field and the Journal of Public Affairs Education (JPAE), the field's journal of record. The reflections argue that public affairs programs need to elevate their status in our universities, and program leaders and faculty must take more responsibility for closing the gap between theory and practice. JPAE could facilitate these initiatives, support globalization of the field, and lead a more robust discussion of public affairs doctoral education.


This essay focus on the situation when the operator of the main control room can not handle the accident in time or make wrong judgment under accident condition in nuclear power plant, which may lead to the occurrence of major accidents or even more accidents concurrently. An intelligent fuzzy diagnosis model based on Grey Relational degree is constructed in this paper, by establishing accident-state correlation matrix and accident-state probability matrix, defining the vector of information weights for accident characteristic vector and monitoring result vector with linear transform, using Grey Relation to measure the relevance degree between monitoring result vector and accident characteristic vector, Searching for suspected accidents approaching to real solutions in iterative recursive algorithms, realizing automatic fuzzy diagnosis of multiple accidents. The results of simulation experiments of LOCA accidents indicate that the model and algorithm can diagnose various common accidents accurately and rapidly in complex nuclear power systems, providing strategy for operator's diagnosis decision.


The coastal population has increased significantly over the past several decades. The increased coastal population led to increased coastal development, which led in turn to great number of structures at risk from coastal hazards. In this study, a G+5 storey reinforced concrete building is analyzed for earthquake and tsunami considering different earthquake zones and different tsunami heights. Based on results, it is found that with the increase in earthquake zone number and tsunami height, values of response quantities of interest i.e. base shear, shear force in column, bending moment and insterstorey drift increases. However, the values of response quantities for tsunami is quite high as compared to earthquake loading.


A BBC Asian Network radio interview to promote the Leicester Asian Film Festival, as its Associate Director, to be held from the 16-19th March 2017.