Abstract Objectives The aim of this report is to identify from the literature common themes relating to the concept of hospital preparedness for emergencies to develop an agreed framework for evaluation. Method A systematic literature search identified appropriate articles for critical appraisal. A meta-ethnography approach was used to synthesize the findings, using both reciprocal translation and line-of-argument synthesis. Results From an initial 2162 articles, we identified 13 articles that specifically addressed the aims of this review and formed the basis of the intended analysis. Conclusion Hospital emergency preparedness is essential for effective disaster relief. Developing a systematic and structured methodology is necessary to assess hospital preparedness. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness: 2014:0:1-9)


Objective: To investigate the role of the P44/42 mitogen activated protein kinases in leukemia cells induced by γ ray irradiation. Methods:Mouse leukemia model was induced by 60 Co γ ray irradiation: The mice were divided into 3 groups: the leukemia group, the uncancerization group and the unirradiated control group according to the pathological examination. Western blotting was performed to detect the P44/42MAPK expression level and the phosphoryation level in the mice thymus and bone marrow cells. Results: The P44/42MAPK expression was significantly higher in the thymus and marrow tissues of the leukemia group than that of the uncancerization and control groups( P 0.05).The level of P44/42MAPK phosphorylation in leukemia group was higher than that of the uncancerization and control groups( P 0.05). Conclusion: P44/42MAPK may play a role in proliferation disorder of leukemia cells induced by γ ray irradiation.


American electric system, once viewed as the paradigmatic natural monopoly, is in the midst of radical restructuring and deregulation. Because the electric industry is one of the major emitters of pollutants and greenhouse gases, and because our economy is becoming increasingly electrified, restructuring has great potential either to advance or set back prospects for sustainable development. Although restructuring proposals differ enormously, most envision creating a competitive market for electricity in which power suppliers contract directly with customers no matter where they are located-for a variety of energy services. Restructuring promises rapidly rising electricity usage in response to lower prices, a reshuffling of the nation's mix of generating resources due to opportunities to sell power to distant customers, and changes in the role of renewable energy. The driving force behind "restructuring" is the expectation that it will lower prices, especially for large industrial users of electricity. However, given the size and complexity of the electricity industry more than $200 billion in retail electricity sales in 1994 from more than 2,000 separate utility companies it should not be entirely surprising that major reorganization might have significant consequences, both economic and environmental. In this article we review the potential positive and negative results of electricity restructuring for sustainable development. The most widely accepted definition of sustainable development, based on the 1987 report of the World Commission on Environment and Development, is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability for future generations to meet their needs. As applied to the generation of electricity, this implies a system that supplies power essential for development but that emits levels of pollution well within healthful limits; that promotes the long-run availability of nonpolluting, renewable sources of energy; and that prices electricity so as to fully reflect all of its environmental costs.


Thirty-eight concrete specimens were tested in a servo-controlled shear box test machine. The aim of the tests was to determine the combination of stresses that would cause failure in the concrete and to compare the failure stresses with Mohr–Coulomb theory. It was found that the failure load of specimens tested under a constant normal force could be predicted using Mohr–Coulomb theory with an assumed friction angle of 35°, provided that the normal stress was greater than 0·15fc. For normal stresses less than 0·15fc Mohr–Coulomb theory overestimated the shear capacity of the concrete unless a modified cohesion value and friction angle were used.


(Received 17 June 2014; published 15 August 2014)We describe the quantum evolution of the vacuum Bianchi II universe in terms of the transitionamplitudebetweentwoasymptoticquantumKasner-likestates.Forlargevaluesofthemomentumvariable,the classical and quantum calculations give similar results. The difference occurs for small values of thisvariable due to the Heisenberg uncertainty principle. Our results can be used, to some extent, as a buildingblock of the quantum evolution of the vacuum Bianchi IX universe.


The protonation constants of the macrocycle H2L(C-meso-meso-5, 12-diphenyl-7,14-dimethyl-1, 4, 8, 11-tetraazamacrocyclotetradecane-N, N"-diacetic acid) were determined by potentiometric titration in 0.5mol/L KCl solution at (25±0.1)℃, (30±0.1)℃ and (40±0.1)℃.The changes of enthalpy and entropy in the coordination reaction of H2L with H+ in the solution were given. The stability constants of the complexes of H2L with La3+,Nd3+, Pr3+, Sm3+, Eu3+, Gd3+, Dy3+ and Yb3+ were determined by the same method at (40±0.1)℃. The experiment results obtained were discussed.


process, but our theory is based on stochastic energetics, which is thermodynamics in fluctuating small world. Here, I will show energetics of single active diffusion trajectories, where the instantaneous diffusion coefficient (IDC) as a new diffusion analysis quantity is derived. Considering decomposition of energy dissipation in a nonequilibrium steady state, we can make implication of the IDC clear. An advantage of our theory is to be able to discuss the meso scale energetics from only single-particle tracking data without measuring response.


Project planning and scheduling plays a vital role in estimating the time and cost angle of a project. Finalizing a project on time and within the budget is challenging. This study focused on finding the shortest possible time required to complete the phase 1B Building project of the University Health Centre, FUTA and also to evaluate the probability of completing the project within the stipulated time. This project work has been able to give a concise view about network analysis in building construction; definitions of some terms commonly used in network analysis was also stated. Also, an introduction to CPM and PERT was stated; assumptions of CPM, advantages and disadvantages of CPM were stated; assumptions, advantages and disadvantages of PERT were also stated. Data analysis was carried out and all the possible routes of the activities involved in the building project were found; the location of the critical path of the building project was also found; the expected duration for every activity in the building project was determined; the probability of completing the project within the stipulated time was also evaluated. The results showed that there is a 50% chance for the project to be completed within the stipulated time. With the information gathered on the building project, the project was delayed due to some factors such as low circulation of money, inadequate equipments, loss of some weeks due to a change in plan, and inadequate manpower; thus, there was a two month difference between the initial completion and the now actual completion time.


We have read with great interest the article by Tanna et al on service-based learning at Imperial College London [1]. As medical students at King's College London, we contribute our thoughts. The term 'service-learning' was a new concept for us. However, on reflection, we see similar parallels within our curriculum. In particular, our early years' longitudinal general practice placements encourage continuity and repeated supervised exposure to the same patients. A final year rotation then follows where we take on the role of a General Practitioner (GP). This involved making patient care package plans and home visits regulated and followed up by the GP. Regarding the increase of responsibility taken on through service learning, we have found evidence in medical education to support this claim. It shows servicelearning increased recognition of the importance of the role played in community health interventions. Consequently, this led to better engagement from students to attend their placement and incentivised their learning as opposed to passive learning [2]. We can validate this as having increased responsibility in our GP placements boosted engagement and clinical learning. The role of supervision has an important role in facilitating service-learning in medical education. We found training experiences were enhanced for medical students that had the support of the clinical teams on their placements. This included the whole practice staff acting synergistically together which improved satisfaction amongst supervisors and students [3]. Similarly, this applies outside primary care, where we have encountered a better learning experience when supported by the multi-disciplinary team. Tanna et al raise many valuable points regarding service learning. From the feedback received, there is definitely scope for greater exploration. It would be interesting to see the long-term benefits across a larger sample size using quantitative analysis. Along with its successful application in general practice, there may be an exciting potential in other clinical teaching settings. Yours sincerely


Swang is India's most ancient Folk opera Theatre. Folk Theatre is a composite art form in India with a fusion of elements from music, dance, pantomime, versification, epic and ballad recitation, graphic and plastic arts, religion and festival peasantry. Swang having roots in native culture is embedded in local identity and social values. Besides providing mass entertainment, it helps Indian society as indigenous tools of interpersonal, inter-group and intervillage communication for ages. Swang has been used extensively in India to propagate critical social, political and cultural issues in the form of theatrical messages to create awareness among the people. As an indigenous form it breaks all kinds of formal barriers of human communication and appeals directly to the people. Realising the importance and powerfulness of the traditional medium. People in rural areas should be approached through traditional-folk forms of communication in addition to electronic media. Bhagat, Mach, Tamasha, Nautanki and all most all the folk theatre is Generated from Swang. Different forms of Folk Theatre in India are traditional way of Communication and constitute a potential source for conveying messages for Social, Economic and Cultural Development which ultimately helps in overall Nationaal Development.


We have studied the gravitation in the context of the noncommutative manifold M4×Z2 where Z2 is not the two point space but corresponds to a direction-vector attached to a space-time point. A local field theory, noncommutative Yang - Mills fields is limited to obtain the return thatsuch a symmetry group differences are. Noncommutative gauge symmetry of space - time and theinternal symmetry of the mixer is a very natural and clear perception that the gravitational forcegauge a characteristic feature of the theory. The gauge fields of the dimensionally reduced noncommutativeYang-Mills theory map onto a Weitzenbӧck spacetime and a teleparallel theory of gravity arisesas the zero curvature reduction of a Poincare gauge theory which induces an Einstein-Cartanspace-time characterized by connections with both nonvanishing torsion and curvature. This analysissuggests that noncommutative Yang-Mills theory naturally induces gravitation through a torsioned space-time. Thus as in the case of a noncommutative manifold whereZ2 is a two-point space there appears to be aconnection between gravity and electroweak theory in this formalism this is achieved through therealization of chiral anomaly and torsion. It is noted to be that that Weitzenbӧck geometry thatEinstein's General Relativity with the teleparallel gravity equivalent, provoked by her some notablefeatures are. This show has been that the geometry torsioned space-time at which the the chiralanomaly inconsistencies in the torch made is. This show is that it naturally Weitzenbӧck geometryof the moves that the gravity of a teleparallel formula birth towards.


Abstract Kormantsin is a coastal town in Ghana with a ruined fort, a remnant from the Atlantic slave trade. Kormantsin is an important cultural landscape—of slavery. Landscapes of slavery are cultural landscapes because they involve poignant human history, significant land manipulation, and human perceptions/ideologies regarding land use and race. Kormantsin's cultural landscape is documented and discussed using images and accounts from 17th- and 18th-century travellers, and contemporary photographs and texts; the landscape image (including a fort) at the slave trade's zenith is ascertained, and it is suggested how landscape may have been used to facilitate the trade. The study reveals a pathway possibly traversed by slaves from this fort. It is determined that the fort's landscape has changed relatively little since the slave trade. It is suggested that this historic landscape be preserved for future use and interpretation.


Method for producing a field emission display 200 includes a second tab on the alignment member affixing the first tab 122 of the unit 120 to the projections 118 of the positive electrode plate 113, the alignment member 120 ( 122), a negative electrode projecting portion (121) step, further, the negative electrode plate 112 to the positive electrode plate 113 is arranged with the negative electrode plate 112 to the positive electrode plate 113 attached to the plate 112 by attaching step, and then removing all the projecting portion 121 of the protrusion 118 and the negative electrode plate 112 of the positive electrode plate 113 that includes a step of removing the alignment member 120. The tabs 122 are connected to the spacers 124. Coefficient of thermal expansion of the negative electrode plate 112. The positive electrode plate 113, and the alignment member 120 is substantially the same as each other.


The 1.1-million-gallon-per-day (mgd) city of Taneytown (Maryland) wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) consists of two sequencing batch reactors (SBRs). The city intends to upgrade the existing plant by incorporating BioMag, by Cambridge Water Technology, to provide enhanced nutrient removal (ENR). A full-scale trial of the BioMag system was conducted in 2010, representing its first application to an SBR. BioMag is an enhanced biological wastewater treatment process that uses magnetite, an inert iron ore (Fe3O4), to increase the specific gravity of biological floc, to increase settling rates. This application demonstrated stable, high-level treatment throughout a wide range of influent concentrations. Effluent total nitrogen and total phosphorus concentrations averaged 1.2 milligrams per liter (mg/L) and 0.11 mg/L, respectively. Key components of this application are the ability to increase mixed liquor suspended solids concentrations and appreciably reduce the duration of the settle phase, increasing aerobic and/or anoxic react phase durations.


Based on a survey research with volunteers in Tsinghua University,This paper studies the relations between entrepreneurial attitude and intention,and the influences of the background diversity on the entrepreneurial attitude and intention,and there are 869 valid subjects.By factor-analysis method,3 common factors of entrepreneurial attitude are separated,including attitude of pursuing fame and gain,attitude of pursuing spirit and attitude towards social responsibility,and the common factors of entrepreneurial intention are consciousness intention and action intention.The SPSS analysis results show that Tsinghua University students' entrepreneurial attitude and their entrepreneurial intention have correlated positive effects,and the background diversity distinctly affects their entrepreneurial attitude and intention.


The demand of improved thermal efficiency and high power output of modern gas turbine engines leads to extremely high turbine inlet temperature and pressure ratios. Sophisticated cooling schemes including film cooling are widely used to protect the vanes and blades of the first stages from failure and to achieve high component lifetimes. In film cooling applications, injection from discrete holes is commonly used to generate a coolant film on the blade's surface.


Prolactin, prepared and assayed by Bates and Riddle as previously described (1), in sterile solution at pH 8.0–8.4 was injected intramuscularly in the buttocks. The dose varied from 2.5–10.0 cc. (75–400 units). When the dose was divided the second injection followed within 12–24 hours. The subjects were 37 women delivered of normal children at the Sloane Hospital for Women (Table I). All were afebrile except one who had a moderately severe sapremia. Twenty-nine cases were chosen in which lactation had failed to develop adequately by the sixth day (fifth in two cases) or later postpartum. These were cases which, in the clinical experience of the staff, would in almost every instance have failed further to improve in milk production. In 21 of these cases there was a gain greater than 100 gm. of breast milk daily when comparison is made between the day preceding prolactin dosage and the date of the patient's discharge 3–9 days later (good result). In four cases the gain was from 50-100 gm. (moderate result)....


Background: Occupational noise is considered as a global problem with social and physiological impacts, causing noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL). High levels of occupational noise is a problem in all regions of the world. Road traffic produces high noise levels that can cause damage to the traffic police hearing. Hence, occupational hearing loss is a well-known outcome of noise exposure at work.
Objectives: The study aimed to measure the noise exposure level at different traffic points and determine the occurrence rate and severity of hearing loss among the traffic police of Dhaka Metropolitan City.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted during 2017-2019 in 28 selected traffic points of Dhaka Metropolitan City under four traffic zone (East, West, North, and South) and among 100 traffic police who were working there and met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Noise exposure level was measured from all selected traffic points with a digital sound level meter. Data were collected by face to face interview with a pretested semi-structured questionnaire followed by an otoscopic examination, tuning fork tests, and a baseline audiogram. To see the association, Chi-square tests or Pearson's correlation coefficient (r) tests were performed.
Results: This study revealed that the average noise exposure level at East, West, North, and South zones are respectively 125.6 dB, 112.9 dB, 121.3 dB, and 119.4 dB. At every point, the noise exposure level was more than the acceptable limit set by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). In the audiometry report of 100 traffic police, 64% had sensorineural hearing loss. Of them 85% had mild, 9% had moderate and 6% with severe hearing loss. Notch in 4 kHz in an audiogram was present in the right ear of 46% of respondents and left ear of 52% respondents. It was observed that hearing loss was significantly associated with increasing age and job duration.
Conclusion: Traffic police of Dhaka Metropolitan City is in constant risk of noise induced hearing loss as the ambient noise of this city is very high. Regular assessment and hearing screening is recommended for all the traffic police who are exposed to noise.
Bangladesh Med Res Counc Bull 2020; 46(3): 219-227


80 Ss were required to reproduce 9 time intervals, ranging from 1 to 17 sec. duration, under 8 experimental conditions: the factorial arrangement of auditory and visual interval presentation, auditory and visual interval reproduction, and patterned and unpatterned stimulus filling the interval. Mode of stimulus presentation and of reproduction had no consistent effect on time estimation. Significant modifications occurred with repeated trials and reliabilities of duration estimations were consistently high.


We demonstrate that the shear elastic constant of misfit-layered dichalcogenide films [SnSe]n[MoSe2]n with n = 1, 2, 3, synthesized by the modulated elemental reactants method, is c44 ∼ 1 GPa, an order of magnitude smaller than c44 of typical layered crystals that have weak interlayer van der Waals bonding. The films are synthesized by alternating deposition of the elements to a total thickness of ≈ 60 nm followed by thermal annealing. We determine c44 through measurements of the velocities of 700 nm wavelength surface acoustic waves propagating along the surface of Al/[SnSe]n[MoSe2]n/Si structures in combination with picosecond acoustics measurements of c33 and calculations of the c11, c12, and c13 elastic constants by density functional theory. We attribute the low value of c44 to incommensurate interfaces between SnSe and MoSe2 layers and turbostratic disorder within the MoSe2 layers. We conclude that the ultralow shear modulus of disordered layered materials contributes significantly to their exceptionally low thermal conductivity. PACS numbers: 43.35.+d, 62.80.+f ∗Electronic address: firstname.lastname@example.com


OBJECTIVES
Vulvovaginal diseases are common gynecologic complaints and patients often turn to social media (SM) for medical information. The objective of this study is to examine vulvovaginal content on SM and how it has changed over time.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Four SM platforms were searched (i.e., Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube) at 2 time points from March 30 to May 7, 2021, and again from November 24 to December 10, 2022. Newer SM platforms became popular during this time interval and thus TikTok and Reddit were included in the search in 2022. This study focused on 2 common vulvovaginal conditions: lichen sclerosus and vulvodynia. The SM platforms were searched for content on these conditions and the type of content, language, and country of origin were assessed.

RESULTS
A total of 1228 SM accounts, posts, and pages were assessed. Lichen sclerosus content on SM was mostly informational (32.6%), whereas vulvodynia content was mostly personal experience (30.5%). Patient support groups were significantly more popular in 2021 compared with 2022 and professional groups were more common in 2022 compared with 2021 (p < .001). Overall, Facebook and Instagram consisted mostly of patient support groups, YouTube had both informational and professional videos, TikTok had mostly personal experiences and healthcare professional videos, and Reddit was mostly discussions about patient personal experiences.

CONCLUSIONS
The current study highlights the content and quantifies user engagement of lichen sclerosus and vulvodynia on SM.


Objective To explore the prognostic factors of hospital mortality for
unplanned re-exploration after cardiovascular surgery. Methods We
retrospectively analyzed the data of 100 patients who underwent
unplanned re-exploration after cardiovascular surgery in our hospital
between May 2010 and May 2020. There were 77 males and 23 females, aged
(55.1±15.2) years. Demographic characteristics, operation information,
perioperative complications were collected to set up a database. The
patients were divided into survival group and non-survival group
according to hospital mortality. Logistic regression was used for
multivariable analysis to explore the prognostic factors of hospital
mortality. These statistically significant indicators were selected for
drawing the receiver operating characteristic curve of the evaluation
model, calculating the area under the curve(AUC) and evaluating the
effectiveness of the new model with Hosmer-Lemeshow C-statistic. Results
Hospital mortality was 26.0% (26/100). Multivariate logistics
regression revealed that the operation time of unplanned re-exploration,
the worst blood creatinine within 48h before the re-exploration, the
worst lactate within 24h after the re-exploration, cardiac
insufficiency, respiratory insufficiency, and acute kidney injury were
independent prognostic factors (p<0.05). The AUC of the new
assessment model constituted by these prognostic factors was 0.910, and
the Hosmer-Lemeshow C-statistic was 4.153 (P= 0.762). Conclusions The
operation time of unplanned re-exploration, the worst blood creatinine
value within 48h before the re-exploration, the worst lactate value
within 24h after the re-exploration, cardiac insufficiency, respiratory
insufficiency, and acute kidney injury were independent prognostic
factors of hospital mortality for unplanned re-exploratio after
cardiovascular surgery.


In a natural environment, humans are not able to process all information available to the visual system simultaneously. As a consequence, we attend to different subparts of the input one after the other. Under natural viewing conditions, these shifts of attention are associated with changes in fixation. This so-called "overt" attention therefore provides an objective measure of attention shifts. In my thesis, I investigate the influence of color on overt visual attention. I present human subjects with different categories of color-calibrated images and record their eye-movements. If an image feature like red-green color contrast has an influence on attention i.e. is salient, then it should be strongly elevated at fixated locations. However, since this measure is only correlational, I present the images in several different levels of modifications. The modifications, systematic changes across the entire image, influence only the global appearance of the stimuli, while leaving the local features under investigation unaffected. In the first series of experiments, images of 7 different categories (Face, Flower, Forest, Fractal, Landscape, Man-Made object, and Rainforest) are presented either in natural color or grayscale. With regard to the influence of color on overt attention, I find two extreme categories: while in Rainforest images all color features examined (red-green and blue-yellow color contrast, as well as saturation) are salient, none is salient in Fractal. In all other categories, color features are selectively salient. This shows that the influence of color on overt attention depends on the type of image In the second series of experiments, I use only Rainforest images. These are presented to color-normal or deuteranope subjects with several modifications in the color domain. I find a causal influence of color-contrast on overt attention, processed in a way that it is not specific to either the red-green or blue-yellow color channel. In the case of color blindness, a slower high-level compensatory mechanism affects the selection of fixation points. These experiments show that there is no single color feature, which influences overt attention in all possible environments. I provide evidence that different levels of the visual hierarchy are involved in the computation of saliency. The experiments conducted also highlight the importance of higher-level mechanisms. Overt visual attention under natural conditions 2


Background. Cell proliferation, apoptosis and expression of p53 proteins were studied in human uterine leiomyomas and myometrium during the menstrual cycle and after menopause.


It has been more than half a century since the tragedy of the fratricidal Korean War, but both war veterans and people of the next generation who have not experienced the actual war are still suffering from its trauma. Also, the result of the armistice which left the peninsula with a semi-permanent line dividing South and North makes it impossible to shake off the scars and the inscribed horror of the war. Turkey dispatched a large number of troops to Korea during its suffering of the agonizing ravage of the war, and it is its brother country linked by a strong bond of blood recording the third highest number of casualties next to the United States and Great Britain. Most of the citizen s of Turkey find pride in the brotherhood with Korea, and esteem the blood shed by their ancestors and deem that they have not sacrificed in vain when watching the progress of Korea. Research on Turkish films on Korean War, films to be introduced for the first time in Korea, and Turkey's perspective of Korean War is an important task that should be carried on with a systematical study, and this research is expected to create a great sensation throughout the country, especially within the academic circle on Korean War and the Korean movie industry. The aforementioned Turkish films that use Korean War as their motif can be said to possess strong elements of propaganda and anticommunism to prove to its own citizens the superiority of Turkey as well as its contribution to World's peace and protection of democracy. For instance, Turkish soldiers from Turkish Biyonet In Korea and North Star are armed with sublime affection for their motherland and show their loyal patriotism while fighting in the Korean War. Also, characters other than the soldiers who observe the Korean War also possess clear nationalism. On the other hand, rather than depicting the agony of the common people sacrificed by the war, these movies are trapped in the common frame of clear dichotomy of good and evil and the victory of the good against evil. In addition, the protagonists appear to be guardians of Korea, showing brave spirit in the war. The two movies mentioned above are similar in the sense that they both show an archival film explaining the outbreak and development of the Korean War before the actual film. From 94 minutes of The North Star's running time, 7 minutes consist of the archival film in the beginning, and 19 minutes is devoted to archival film from 64 minutes of Turkish Biyonet In Korea's running time. Likewise, the ratio of archival film in the Turkish movie On Korean War is too big to be ignored. It can be said to be a mechanism for delivering the historical background of Korean War before the actual story begins and, at the same time, to justify the dispatch of Turkish troops. However, these archival data are valuable to researchers studying Korean War and in their usage for comprehending and understanding and the circumstances of the time. Ataturk said, "We must not forget that the greatest enemy of the Turkish World is communism. We must defeat it." and Adnan Menderes, the Prime minister of Turkey during its participation in the Korean War, said, "Independence and existence of nations are not only protected within their boundaries." The Turkish government realized these ideologies of its founding father and politicians through Korean War.


This paper draws on the affordances theory and investigates the ways in which pre-service teachers are sustaining social media uptake in learning by taking advantage of the opportunities afforded by the new delivery methods during the pandemic. This research is part of a descriptive mixed methods study. A questionnaire and in-depth, qualitative interviews were used to explore pre-service teachers' perceptions of the affordances of social media platforms for learning and the actualization of those affordances. The survey and interview data were analyzed through the theoretical lens of affordance theory. The results suggest that the pre-service teachers actualized the affordances of social media by their knowledgeable use in a dynamic learning environment. The key findings are that the teachers perceived the social media applications to be flexible, useful and practical (functional affordances), bridges formal and informal learning and supported self-regulated learning (cognitive affordances), allowed pre-service teachers to assume new identities and discover learning as independent learners who had control over their learning (identity creation affordances), and fostered interaction and collaborative feedback (social affordances). Lack of guidance or lack of teacher presence was the main constraint. This research produces new knowledge and analysis and makes new theoretical contributions on the specific affordances of social media technologies. This study adds to and extends existing literature by contributing to an understanding of the actualization of the affordances of social media platforms.


Abstract We compare several risk preference elicitation methods – including incentivised, non-incentivised, and framed methods as well as a traditional Likert survey question – in a developing country and empirically test how well consequent measures of risk attitudes predict risk taking behaviour. We find that Likert scale and non-incentivised framed survey questions are not sufficient substitutes for costlier incentivised methods in rural Niger. Instead, the incentivised framed question works best while a simplified incentivised lottery question works almost as well. More risk and ambiguity averse farmers are less likely to adopt fertiliser microdosing indicating the importance of insurance and strategies to promote learning.


Resources need for the Beyonce's Lemonade Analysis Project in 11th Grade IB Language and Literature class. Visualization of where Beyonce shot the visual album Lemonade and write ups on the audiovisuals in 'Lemonade.'


For the poor robustness of Kalman filter in bad observation condition,a model of adaptive Kalman filter was designed in this paper.The actual vehicle GPS/DR tests showed that this model could reduce relatively larger deviations in poor observation condition.The plane positioning precision of adaptive Kalman filter was 2~3 meters better than standard Kalman filter.So using adaptive Kalman filter in integrated navigation was advised in poor observation condition.


Abstract : The long-term goal of this research project is to develop CCR5 antagonists with the structure feature of anibamine as novel anti prostate cancer agents. The tasks of this project include: 1. Chemical synthesis of the ligand designed as anibamine derivatives; 2. Radio-ligand competition binding assay to evaluate the binding affinity of the ligands synthesized; 3. Characterization of CCL5 and CCR5 expression in SV40T-immortalized human prostate epithelial cell lines of the same cellular lineage with varying tumorigenicity and metastatic capacity in vivo (P69, M2182, M2205 and M12); 4. Investigation of the impact of chemokine receptor CCR5 antagonist on prostate cancer cell growth and progression using M12, PC-3, and DU-145 cell lines; 5. Molecular modeling study. In order to achieve these aims, we have first designed and synthesized a series of anibamine analogs based on "Deconstruction-Reconstruction-Elaboration" method. In the second year of this project, additional twenty novel ligands have been prepared as derivatives of anibamine for biological screening assays. Second, several progressive biological assays to evaluate the anti prostate cancer activity of the ligands have been set up and pursued. Primarily, a Ca2+ mobilization assay has been set up and the protocol has been tested successfully. Some of known ligands and new ligands in our library have been tested in the assay. Second, a RANTES-binding inhibition assay protocol has been set up and some new ligands have been tested in this assay. Additionally, biological screening includes the test of capacity of these novel compounds to inhibit proliferation and/or apoptosis by the human prostate cancer cell lines M12, PC- 3, and DU-145 has been conducted continuously to evaluate the efficacy of more ligands. A molecular modeling study (3D QSAR) protocol has been set up and tested with some representative ligands in our library.


The paper presents the prediction of the ultimate bearing capacity of the strip footing resting on layered soil (dense sand overlying loose sand) using random forest regression (RFR). In this study, 181 data collected from literature were used. 71 % of the total data was randomly selected for training the model and the rest of the data were utilized for the testing purpose. The various input parameters were friction angle of the dense sand layer (f1), friction angle of the loose sand layer (f2), unit weight of the dense sand layer (g1), unit weight of the loose sand layer (g2), ratio of the thickness of the dense sand layer below base of the footing to the width of footing (H/B), ratio of the depth of the footing to the width of the footing (D/B) and (H+D)/B. Ultimate bearing capacity was the output in this study. Performance measures were used in order to make the comparison with the artificial neural network (ANN) and M5P model tree. The result of this study revealed that the performance of the RFR was superior to M5P and ANN. The results of the sensitivity analysis reveals that the unit weight and the friction angle of the loose sand layer were the most important parameters affecting the output ultimate bearing capacity of the strip footing resting on the layered soils.


Electric circuits are usually described by charge/flux‐oriented modified nodal analysis. Here, we derive models as port‐Hamiltonian systems on several levels: overall systems, multiply coupled systems, and systems within dynamic iteration procedures. To this end, we introduce new classes of port‐Hamiltonian differential‐algebraic equations. Thereby, we additionally allow for nonlinear dissipation on a subspace of the state space. Both, each subsystem and the overall system possess a port‐Hamiltonian structure. A structural analysis is performed for the new setups. Dynamic iteration schemes are investigated, and we show that the Jacobi approach as well as an adapted Gauss‐Seidel approach lead to port‐Hamiltonian differential‐algebraic equations.


We use the exact determinantal representation derived by Kitanine, Maillet, and Terras for matrix elements of local spin operators between Bethe wave functions of the one-dimensional s = ½ Heisenberg model to calculate and numerically evaluate transition rates pertaining to dynamic spin structure factors. For real solutions z1,…, zr of the Bethe ansatz equations, the size of the determinants is of order r×r. We present applications to the zero-temperature spin fluctuations parallel and perpendicular to an external magnetic field.


. Theoretical aspects of decentralization as foundation of establishment of democratic model of governance are analyzed in the article. The aim of the article is a comprehensive scientific analysis of the nature of decentralization of power as a mechanism for limiting state power in the context of democratic transformation to provide practical recommendations for further decentralization reform in Ukraine. To this end, the following tasks are set: to highlight the features of the reform of decentralization of public power in a democratic transformation; to offer practical recommendations on the optimization of executive bodies and the expansion of local self-government bodies power in the process of carrying out the constitutional reform in Ukraine. The theoretical basis of the paper are the scientific works of foreign and domestic experts in the field of theory of state and law, constitutional law, administrative law. Such general scientific methods as: logical method, forecasting method, historical method and others are used in the research. The analysis of the category "decentralization of power" was also carried out using a logical method, which revealed the objective patterns of development of this phenomenon in legal science and state-building practice, as well as to determine the characteristics of decentralization of public power. The comparative legal method helped to find the ways to improve the current legislation on the decentralization of public power in the unitary state. In turn, using the method of legal modeling, conclusions are proposed and substantiated aimed at improving the current legislation on the decentralization of public power, as the basis for the formation of civil society. Importance of implementation of the reform of power decentralization for the development of Ukraine as a democratic constitutional state is proved. The legislative framework for the implementation of the reform of decentralization of power is analyzed. The author investigates the problems of decentralization in Ukraine, determines the advantages of decentralized management and possible risks. A conclusion demonstrates that implementation of processes of decentralization will facilitate democracy strengthening and increase its stability.


Design considerations are presented and structural configuration of digital antenna array (DAA) with fiber-optic microwave signal distribution system is proposed. The latter provides phase stabilized multichannel transmission of microwave signals received by array antenna elements to digital processing unit (DPU). Compared with conventional coax-waveguide analogs fiber-optic distribution system proposed provides high bandwidth, small losses, less values of noise figure and amplitude-phase distortions and essentially better weight-size characteristics.


The 29 pieces are described and illustrated. Apart from the Ionic capital fragment excavated by the School at Kynosarges, they probably come from a collection made in the nineteenth century by George Finlay, as older Turkish buildings in Athens were demolished. Most are of minor importance, but parallels are adduced from Corinthian capitals in Athens and Corinth. Later capitals belonged to a Turkish house recorded by Danish architects in 1835 and 1851.


An innovative new concept for a 2-piece oil control ring was developed based on using a sintered ring blank. The geometry of the ring is chosen such as to obtain an extremely good conformability. This allows to seal very efficiently also in case of higher liner deformation. The ring exhibits one sealing face contacting the liner. Now it is either possible to reduce the tangential load significantly, compared to conventional designs, and reduce friction losses without sacrificing oil consumption or to maintain the tangential load but reduce oil consumption.


In this paper,the use of marketing theory on the employment of college graduates of the marketing connotation of the status quo and problems of theoretical analysis,targeted marketing concept from the set target strategy,marketing strategy for employment of university students to explore the question of marketing.


We propose a modified fuzzy c-Means algorithm thatoperates on different feature spaces, so-called parallel universes, simultaneously. Themethodassigns membership val- uesofpatterns todifferent universes, which arethenadopted throughout thetraining. Thisleads tobetter clustering results since patterns notcontributing toclustering inauniverse are (completely orpartially) ignored. Theoutcomeofthealgorithm areclusters distributed overdifferent parallel universes, each modeling a particular, potentially overlapping, subset ofthe data. Onepotential target application oftheproposed method is biological dataanalysis wheredifferent descriptors formolecules areavailable butnoneofthembyitself showsglobal satisfactory prediction results. Inthis paperweshowhowthefuzzy c-Means algorithm canbeextended tooperate inparallel universes and illustrate theusefulness ofthis methodusing results onartificial datasets.


A manufacturing supply chain consisted of an assembly manufacturer and a component supplier was discussed in the paper,the influence of symmetry information in supply chain RD decision was analyzed.Under both supplier′s RD capacity symmetry information and supplier′s RD capacity asymmetry information,RD decision model under different information conditions was constructed with price subsidy policy and the optimal solutions were found.The influence of information factors on supply chain RD cooperation was revealed through comparing the decision results under different conditions,under asymmetry information,in order to stimulate the supplier,the manufacturer has to pay additional cost for the unknown supplier′s RD capacity,which resulted in price subsidy increasing,the reduction of manufacturer′s profit,while the profit of supplier increase due to holding private information.


The article is devoted to the calculation and analysis of electron-optical characteristics of a electrostatic quadrupole-cylindrical field. The object of the research is the development of an energy analyzer based on a quadrupole-cylindrical field. The structure of electrostatic quadrupole-cylindrical fields is obtained on the basis of the superposition of a basic cylindrical field and axially symmetrical cylindrical quadrupoles. The calculation of electron-optical characteristics of a quadrupole-cylindrical field was fulfilled on the basis of the analytical method for calculating of trajectories of charged particles. The problem of integrating of differential equations of charged particle motion and the analytical description of the trajectory equation in a quadrupole-cylindrical field has been solved. A projection of charged particle trajectory from the source to its image has been calculated. The main aberration coefficients that determine the conditions of secondorder angular focusing are calculated. The most optimal scheme of a quadrupole-cylindrical mirror for energy analysis has been found.


Religious conflict is an important problem in many ethnically diverse countries (Horowitz 1985). A growing literature in economics suggests that conflict over resources is frequently at the root of such violence (see, for instance, Esteban and Ray 2007). A number of recent empirical papers provide evidence that negative economic shocks to a community, and the consequent struggle for control over resources, can help explain the eruption of historic tensions into acts of violence (Miguel et al. 2004, Oster 2004 and Miguel 2005). We explore this link further by studying the relationship between Hindu-Muslim violence and living arrangements – in particular residential segregation – within cities in India. That is, conditional on city-level demographics and the overall degree of ethnic tension, what are the characteristics of specific locations within a city where communal violence tends to emerge and what can this tell us about why some neighborhoods erupt in this manner at certain points in time? Communal violence at the neighborhood-level


The transference of the monotypic genus Parodizia Medina, 1959 from Bithyniidae (Prosobranchia) to Pyramidellidae (Heterobranchia) is proposed. The proposal is based on some morphological data of P. uruguayensis Medina, 1959 from Tramandai river basin, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.


Energy storage systems play a significant role in both distributed power systems and utility power systems. Among the many benefits of an energy storage system, the improvement of power system cost and voltage profile can be the salient specifications of storage systems. Studies show that improper size and placement of energy storage units leads to undesired power system cost as well as the risk of voltage stability, especially in the case of high renewable energy penetration. To solve the problem, a hybrid multi-objective particle swarm optimization (HMOPSO) approach is proposed in the paper to minimize the power system cost and improve the system voltage profiles by searching sitting and sizing of storage units under consideration of uncertainties in wind power production. Furthermore, the probability cost analysis is first put forward in this paper. The proposed HMOPSO combines multi-objective particle swarm optimization (MOPSO) algorithm with elitist nondominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA-II) and probabilistic load flow technique. It also incorporates a five-point estimation method (5PEM) for discretizing wind power distribution. The IEEE 30-bus system is adopted to perform case studies. The simulation results for each case clearly demonstrate the necessity for optimal storage allocation, and the effectiveness of the proposed method.


We designed, fabricated, and tested SIS mixers based on NbN techniques and estimated the specific capacitance of NbN/AlN/NbN tunnel junctions, which were fabricated by DC-magnetron sputtering, by measuring DC-SQUID resonance steps. In the mixers, NbN/AlN/NbN junctions and NbN/Si O2/Al tuning circuits were used for investigating receiver performance at frequencies greater than 900 GHz. The specific capacitance of the junction was estimated at 120 fF/ mum2 with a critical current density of 12 kA/cm2 . The resonance frequencies generated in the tuning circuits linearly changed with respect to the tuning lengths up to at least 1.1 THz. We found that an input-circuit structure, which we used, is a factor that degrades receiver noise at frequencies greater than 900 GHz.


The invention relates to an operating device (3) for a motor vehicle (1), with an operating element (4) which has a control surface (5), having a capacitive sensor device (7) having at least one electrode (8) formed on a the operating surface (5) opposite rear side (6) of the operating element (4) is arranged, wherein the capacitive sensor device (7) is adapted to detect a change in capacitance at the at least one electrode (8), and having an evaluation device (9) for detecting an approach of an input device (10) at the operating face (5) based on the detected change in capacitance, the capacitive sensor device (7) comprises a plurality of electrodes (8) and is adapted to detect the change in capacitance at each of the electrodes (8) capacitance change and that the evaluation device (9) is adapted to the approach of the input device (10): the corresponding to the electrodes (8) detected to recognize.


The degradation of a high concentration of organic pollutants has long been a challenge to water restoration, and the development of electro-Fenton catalysis offers a practical approach to solving this problem. In this study, a novel electro-Fenton catalyst, activated fullerene soot-loaded NiO-doped CeO2 (0.4(0.4NiO-CeO2)-AFS) nanoparticles, was prepared through the impregnation of 0.4NiO-CeO2 particles and activated fullerene soot (AFS). When applied for the degradation of 200 mg/L of tetracycline, this catalyst demonstrated a degradation rate as high as 99%. Even after 20 cycles, the degradation rate was more than 80%. Moreover, it was concluded that AFS could initiate the synergistic effect between Ni and Ce dual active centers in the degradation of tetracycline; this can be ascribed to the extremely large specific surface area of AFS.


if one does not use the Dutch sources one simply cannot achieve anything like an adequate grasp of the Sephardi role in the British islands. Fortune not only ignores the Dutch background and the Dutch sources; he uses practically no French or Spanish sources either. The inevitable result is that his basic conception is narrow, misleading and unrealistic. The book is also unsatisfactory in much of its detail. Apart from being excessively repetitive, Fortune has not taken nearly enough care to check his facts. He calls Sir Solomon de Medina 'one of the first practicing Jews to be knighted by an English monarch' when he was the first (p. 17), seems to think that Antonio Carvajal, an important Sephardi merchant of the mid-seventeenth century lived in the mid-eighteenth century (p. 15), and wrongly believes that the Dutch held slaving asientos for the Spanish Indies during the first half of the seventeenth century (p. 108), and so one could continue at considerable length. Worse still, perhaps, is Fortune's penchant for grossly exaggerated and misleading generalizations. Here is a sample (p. 39): 'in an era when economic and military power were synonymous, the Jewish financial significance can hardly be over-emphasised'. In a work with scholarly pretensions, this simply will not do. This is a bad book about a subject which deserves a much better one.


Good character in nursing is a key issue lately in Korea and is emphasized as a condition for entry to hospital and continuation on caring. However, the definition of good character in nursing is insufficiently developed and it has not been made an attempt to clarify its meaning and attributes. The purpose of this study is to analyze the good character concept in nursing aimed at clarifying its meaning in order to enable comprehension and use in clinical setting, education and research in Korea. The concept analysis was performed according to hybrid model which consists of the theoretical, fieldwork and analytical phase. In conclusion, good character for caring in nursing is defined as performing nurse's behavior norm to deliver sensitive and effective care. Although the concept of good character is in itself somewhat subjective judgment, registered nurses as well as students must keep developing good character for themselves.


In this paper we establish the linear stability of an electron equilibrium for an electrostatic and collisionless plasma in interaction with a wall. The equilibrium we focus on, is called in plasma physics, a Debye sheath. Specifically, we consider a two species (ions and electrons) Vlasov-Poisson-Ampere system in a bounded and one dimensional geometry. The interaction between the plasma and the wall is modeled by original boundary conditions : On the one hand, ions are absorbed by the wall while electrons are partially re-emited. On the other hand, the electric field at the wall is induced by the accumulation of charged particles at the wall. These boundary conditions ensure the compatibility with the Maxwell-Ampere equation. A global existence, uniqueness and stability result for the linearized system is proven. The main difficulty lies in the fact that (due to the boundaries) the equilibrium is a discontinuous function of the particle energy, which in the end results in a linearized system that contains a degenerate (at the border) transport equation.


This study attempts to verify whether stock liquidity is an important determinant of the choice between public offerings and private placements. Using a sample of 628 SEOs in Taiwan stock market, we find that, ceteris paribus, firms with highly liquid stocks prefer public offerings, whereas firms with illiquid stocks tend to engage in the private placement of new shares. We also find that issuers experience poor operating performance prior to the private placements. Our findings suggest that private placements serve as a substitute for public offerings when the issuing firms are unable to gain access to the public market.


Now a days road traffic is major issue of developing and under developing countries. With the rampant increase of traffic, the society faces major traffic threats including life threats and environmental threat, thus traffic management is gruesome problem to address. The consequences of poor traffic management include road accidents, jamming of traffic, pollution and many more that can be life threatening. Keeping in view the deadlock and congestion in traffic, this work provides solution by indigently detecting and prioritizing the vehicles and non-vehicles. The research involves implementation of Point Tracker Algorithm. Further, the algorithms are enhanced by improving traffic management in terms of identifying category of transport, prioritizing the traffic which contains vehicle and non-vehicles on basis of size of vehicle, type of vehicle, emergency situation and provide the priority to resolve the deadlock. Further, the proposed enhanced Point Tracker Algorithm includes the emergency detection in case of accident and provide an alternative route to neighboring vehicles and non-vehicles.


FIELD: medicine. SUBSTANCE: invention refers to chemical pharmaceutical industry and concerns production of pharmaceutical composition of hypolipidemic and hepatoprotective activity. Composition contains statine or its pharmaceutically active salt, phospholipid of both vegetative and animal origin at total statine and phospholipid content 34-91.1 mass % and proportion 1:3 to 1:100, and base. EFFECT: composition in various medicinal forms is characterised high efficiency, low by-effects, high hypolipidemic and hepatoprotective activity, thus allows treatment of active liver disease. 14 cl, 138 ex


ABSTRACT The behavior of Ba1-x Sr x TiO3 ceramics (x = 0, 0.3, 0.4 and 0.45) in both unpoled and poled states was studied using XRD, SEM, DSC and dielectric methods. The ceramics exhibit pure perovskite structure with tetragonal symmetry for x = 0, 0.3 and 0.4 and pseudocubic for x = 0.45. It was found that the substitution of SrTiO3 to BaTiO3 significantly influences the properties under investigation, leading to a shift of phase transitions and weakness of the dielectric and ferroelectric properties. This suggests that the effects are mainly due to the differences in ionic size between dopant and host ions and to the more covalent nature of the A–O bond following Sr2+ addition and that the former effect is predominant. It was shown that prior electric field poling decreases the disorder introduced by Sr modification through reinforced domains/polar regions ordering.


The HILN (harmonic, individual lines, and noise) audio coder is included in the MPEG-4 audio standard for coding audio signals at very low bit rates (at and below 16 kbit/s). It uses a parametric model to efficiently represent audio signals under low bit rate constraints. In this paper we propose several improvements to the estimation and coding of the HILN model parameters. These include: estimation of the frequencies of closely spaced tones, estimation of multi-pitch periods, improved amplitude representation of harmonics, and better use of the underlying perceptual model. The proposed improvements result indeed in better audio quality, manifested in a 0.4 points improvement in EAQUAL score, used for evaluating the audio quality, as compared to HILN, at both 16 and 12 kbit/s.


This paper describes the applicability of Affective Engineering to various problems of dementia in an aged society, which is now a major social problem. In recent years, the proportion of long-term care population has increased in proportion to the rise in the aging rate. Among them, there is a reality that dementia care is especially occupied by the top. The purpose of this research is to describe the significance and its role of "meta-sensitivity engineering" from the experience of the author based on the serious social issues in the super aged society as mentioned above. Therefore, the discussion in this paper shows one guideline for future affective/Kansei engineering.


The federal budget crisis has come to a boiling point and federal employees are feeling the pain as well. Motivation of federal employees is a current topic that needs to be addressed as the government is downsizing at an ever increasing rate. With pay freezes, pay cuts, and now downsizing, Herzberg's research based on the Motivation/Hygiene theory will be looked at as a way of predicting how to motivate federal employees while the government is downsizing. There is a dearth of current research related to the motivation of federal employees during downsizing. Seminal research is reviewed as well as some recent research on motivation and downsizing. From this literature review, the gap in the research reveals that future research can be based on data from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management; however, the study should be longitudinal and specific to an agency so that a representative sample can be analyzed.


Elastography aims at assessing tissue elasticity. As a branch of ultrasound elastography (UE), shear-wave elastography is recognized by engineering and clinical fields, particularly fast shear-wave elastography (SWE). Shear-wave elastography (SWE) is a real-time, two-dimensional elastography technology that has emerged in recent years. It is different from Static Elastography, and also different from Transient Elastography and Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse. Based on the fact that the elastic moduli of different tissues are several orders of magnitude greater than the acoustic impedance differences, Elasticity imaging instruments for clinical use have been developed, and has gradually matured. A new stage of technological progress has occurred with SWE. This paper introduces the principle behind the use of elastography and several elastography technologies in clinical application, and then explores methods for fulfilling the promises of this technology: real time and superfast. Furthermore, methods for the generation and detection of Shear Waves are enumerated. These include, for example, the dynamic coherence enhancement technique based on "Mach Waves" and ultra-high-frequency imaging technology for simultaneous transmitting and receiving. Finally, the future development of Shear-wave elastography is discussed. It is believed that with the development of new technologies and new materials, shear wave elastography (SWE) will play an increasingly important role in clinical practice.


At most medical centers, patients with nontraumatic intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) and clinical or computed tomographic evidence of mass effect or


The Cowlitz Hydroelectric Project, located on the Cowlitz River and owned by the City of Tacoma, consists of two developments: Mayfield and Mossyrock Dams. Many studies were made to design fish passing facilities needed to maintain the anadromous fish runs across these dams. A decision was finally made to rely for the future on hatcheries to sustain these runs with a continuation of natural propagation in the upper reaches of the Cowlitz River. The Cowlitz Salmon Hatchery is designed to sustain the salmon runs of 17,000 spring chinook, 8,300 fall chinook, and 25,000 coho. The hatchery complex consists of a fish barrier, fish ladders, transportation channel, fish separation facilities, holding and rearing ponds, water supply, hatchery buildings, and other structures. Main features and operation of this hatchery are generally described.


This research studies interaction between Oman Capital Market Index (MSM 30) and share price of companies listed and traded on the exchange, using daily closing prices of 15 individual companies for a period of 7 years from 2008 until 2014. It estimates the systematic risk levels of stocks by performing a simple linear regression using the 'market model'. It further employs traditional grander causality test to study lead lag relationships among the stock prices of individual stocks and Index. The overall results indicate that only few stocks out of the selected sample show price movements over time, where, rest either show no movement or relatively very small movement over the years. The results indicate low activity on the stock exchanges in case of companies of food industry of Oman. The results point out for a need for a reform process so as to increase the market depth and breadth for securities. Further, measures can be adopted to increase the participation of foreign investors which may boost liquidity and fresh capital in the sector.


The invention discloses a multifunctional measuring tape comprising a first housing, a second housing, a connecting groove, connecting apertures, a connecting shaft, an outlet, a measuring tape sheet, a fixing device and a fixing buckle. A side surface of the first housing is provided with the connecting groove. One end of the second housing is arranged in the connecting grove. The connecting apertures are arranged in the first housing and the second housing. The connecting shaft is arranged in the connecting apertures. The outlet is arranged in the side surfaces of the first housing and the second housing. The measuring tape sheet is arranged in the first housing and the second housing through the fixing device. The fixing buckle is arranged on the first housing and the second housing, and the fixing buckle is connected to the measuring tape sheet. Through the above mode, the multifunctional measuring tape of the invention can better carry out length measurement and detection, and the multifunctional measuring tape is simple in structure, various in function and provides more convenience for usage by people.


Abstract With the initiatives for greater cooperation and the move towards deeper integration within the SADC region, regional cross border investment is emerging as a significant form of investment as countries seek to form closer bonds with each other, as well as to link trade and industrial production. Article 22 of the SADC Protocol on Trade encourages countries to take advantage of the existing opportunities for regional cross border investment by adopting policies and measures that promote open cross-border investment regimes. South Africa is the leading investor in the SADC region, accounting for most of the foreign direct investment activity. Mauritius has also shown a keen interest in investing in the SADC region. While Zimbabwe had shown a keen interest, its deteriorating economic and political environment would entail that regional investment from Zimbabwe is most likely going to be due to disinvestment from Zimbabwe as firms seek better investment climates.


Stomach-specific floating tablet of metronidazole based on the buoyancy and bioadhesion concept was prepared with a purpose to retain the drug in stomach for longer duration and helps in releasing the drug in the antrum region of gastric mucosa, a safe heaven for Helicobacter pylori.This research work systematically studied the effects of various polymeric blends of bioadhesive polymers namely chitosan and carbopol 971P with low density polymer- methocel K100LV on the desired in vitro drug release profile in the stomach, buoyancy, swelling index, and mucoadhesion of tablet formulation. Chitosan and carbopol 971P concentration significantly influence the in vitro drug release and bioadhesion strength. An increase in buoyancy was observed with increase in Methocel K100LV concentration in the polymeric blend. The increase in buoyancy and drug release was obtained in the presence of microcrystalline cellulose, sodium bicarbonate, and sodium citrate.The optimum formulation provides desired high drug concentration (~35%) during 1 hour and sustained release up to 12 hours, following the Higuchi model. The mechanism of release of metronidazole from the floating bioadhesive tablets was anomalous diffusion transport. The studies indicated successful formulation of gastroretentive compressed tablet with excellent controlled release, mucoadhesion, and hydrodynamic balance.


Extremely beautiful, sophisticated, fine, delicate floral tracery of white on white clothes is actually called Chikankari or Chikan. Chikankari is a distinctive integral part of Lucknow culture. In India it is believed that Chikan embroidery may have existed, or may have been known by some other name from times immemorial. Ancient books revealed bronze needle dating 1500 – 2300 BC and figurine wearing embroidered drapery has been mentioned and seen in the ancient Buddhist stupa sculpture. The Babur Nama accounts for the clothes worn then, and the mention of very fine muslin with white embroidery, which is in fact the chikan. The famous historian Abul Fazal documented the clothes decorated with fine embroidery. Akbar patronized and established the industries for fine embroidery work. He invited the expert chikan craft masters from Nishapur, Iran. All the craftsmen like cutting masters, tailors, embroiderers, gold-silversmith manufacturers of fine wires used to sit under one roof. The cross-cultural exchange encouraged an advanced embroidery craft, which spread to all parts of the country. Indian embroidery craft was influenced by middle-east, European and Chinese embroidery, when cross-border cultural exchanges improved. Dhaka was an important center of chikan craft. It is said that Jahangir brought this craft to Lucknow and later it was whole-heartedly adopted by the Nawabs of Lucknow. Thus it became a part of the culture of Lucknow. Throughout the history of Indian textile, we see that the embroidery work on clothes was a common feature. In ancient and medieval periods embroidery may have been more popular among


Abstract In July 2018, olaparib, a poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitor (PARPi) was approved for the treatment of patients with deleterious or suspected deleterious germline BRCA-mutated advanced or metastatic HER2 negative breast cancer in Japan. BRACAnalysisTM was approved concurrently as a companion diagnostic program of olaparib. PARP inhibitors such as olaparib are proven to have activity in women with a BRCA mutation or with a deficiency in homologous recombination repair. Among many companion diagnostic tools in oncology, BRACAnaylsisTM has some uniqueness as follows; comprehensive germline BRCA gene profiling provided exclusively by Myriad Genetic Laboratories, availability to all women with HER2 negative metastatic breast cancer regardless of family history of breast or ovarian cancer, and implications for their family members. An improved level of genetic literacy will be needed for clinicians, patients and their families. Considerations for incorporating genetic testing into the cancer treatment, clinical management of a patient and relatives, ethical requirements will be discussed.


However, less than 50% of people infected with HCV genotype 1, the most common genotype worldwide, could be cured with a regimen of pegylated interferon (peginterferon) alfa and ribavirin. The development of direct-acting antiviral drugs, representing new classes of antiviral compounds, has revolutionised treatment of chronic HCV infection. These agents target key steps in the viral life cycle and are potent inhibitors of viral replication. In 2011, the fi rst two direct-acting antiviral drugs boceprevir and telaprevir were approved for use in combination with peginterferon and ribavirin for the treatment of chronic HCV genotype 1 infection. These two drugs are specifi c inhibitors of the HCV NS3/4A serine protease and are associated with improved response rates. When administered for 24 weeks or 48 weeks, the duration depending on the initial response and severity of the underlying disease, they lead to sustained viral clearance in 66–75% of patients with HCV genotype 1 infection. 5,6 However, the use of these fi rst-generation protease inhibitors in combination with peginterferon plus ribavirin is associated with signifi cantly more adverse events than is peginterferon alfa plus ribavirin, including death in patients with compensated cirrhosis. 7


The Oglala Sioux Indians in southwest South Dakota instituted in 1970 a range management program involving the production of native game animals for recreation fee hunting. They have two forest-parkland pastures of about 4,000 acres each. These pastures are enclosed by game fences of heavy woven wire, 7.5 feet high. This paper is concerned with these two pastures, referred to as the game range. The Indians also have a 20,000-acre badlands pasture enclosed by natural barriers and a heavy barbed-wire cattle fence. The game range is a land of rugged topography located near Allen, S. Dak. Its plant cover includes ponderosa pine (Pin us po nderosa) forests, open parklands, and savannahs. The steep-sided drainages have good stands of deciduous trees, including bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa), green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica), and American elm (Ulmus americana), and deciduous shrubs including


In 2010,the researches on marine microbiology included basic researches,application researches and the combination of two researches.The accuracy of methodology was improved and the variation of research objects increased.There were new breakthroughs in marine virus,marine fungus,mariculture diseases,classification identification,and ecology and environment microbiology.Articles related to marine microbiology was about 350,which 150 articles was about fisheries science and the rest articles was about basic researches.The researches of marine microbiology began to not just limit in fisheries science,which indicated the formation of China marine microbiology researches.


In this project, this dining chair for child is designed to make parents easier to handle their child during in daily activities. The objectives for my project are to make the chair is suitable in any areas either at home or outside. Besides that, this project is designed to save of space when use or after use it. We can easier to carry and also storage the dining chair anywhere we want to go such as travelling and so on. This involves the process of designing the dining chair for child by considering the shape, the ergonomic factor and also the safety factors. Several methods and processes involved are conceptual design, material selection, cutting, drilling, welding and finishing. After all the processes had been done, this dining chair may help us to understand the fabrication and designing process that involved in this project


– Despite extensive design processes, emergent and anomalous behavior can still appear at runtime in dependable automotive systems. This occurs due to the existence of unexpected interactions and unidentified dependencies between independently-developed components. Therefore, system-level mechanisms must be provided to quickly diagnose such behavior and determine an appropriate corrective action. D IAGNOSTIC F USION describes a holistic process for synthesizing data across design stages and component boundaries in order to provide an actionable diagnosis.


Abstract : This thesis expands the concept of Computer-Aided Design/Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAD/CAM) in naval shipbuilding to include maintenance. This inclusion is coupled with the integration of the design and manufacturing processes in the acronym CIDMM, which stands for Computer-Integrated Design, Manufacture and Maintenance. A methodology is proposed to identify and measure the tangible and intangible benefits derived from CAD/CAM in naval shipbuilding. The methodology is flexible enough to be applied to future CIDMM systems. A decision-aid for assessing the intangible benefits and a structure for computing the time benefits are proposed in the methodology. (Author)


This paper describes the design, construction and operation of a large rig to apply bending and torsional moments to full-scale reinforced concrete slabs and to measure the resulting strains and deformations of the slabs. The rig can subject slabs to uniaxial or biaxial bending moments and/or torsion, using a computer-based control system operating on 37 high-quality, double-acting hydraulic jacks. The control system can conduct tests using either the magnitude of the applied loads or the magnitude of the slab deformations as the governing variable. The instrumentation carried on the rig allows the measurement of strains on the surfaces of the slabs and on the reinforcement, together with slab deformations and changes of curvature. The rig is capable of accommodating additional jacks for the application of in-plane loading.


A retrospective review was completed of high-resolution axial T2WI for internal auditory canal protocol imaging. The presence and laterality of middle cranial fossa pits (small bony defects containing CSF) and encephaloceles (brain parenchyma protrusion through osseous defects with or without bony remodeling) were recorded. A total of 203 patients were included in the final cohort; 106 (52.2%) were women. Forty-five (22.2%) patients had middle cranial fossa pits: 14 (31.1%) unilateral on the right, 17 (37.8%) unilateral on the left, and 14 (31.1%) bilateral. Ten (5.0%) patients had one or more encephaloceles, none of whom had a documented history of seizure in the electronic medical record. The incidence of such findings should be taken into account when identifying or treating such lesions as possible epileptogenic foci. BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Temporal lobe encephaloceles are increasingly identified and treated as epileptogenic foci. However, there is relatively scant research on the prevalence of asymptomatic encephaloceles. This study set out to describe the frequency of incidental temporal lobe encephaloceles and middle cranial fossa pits. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective review was completed of high-resolution (≤0.5-mm section thickness) axial T2WI for internal auditory canal protocol imaging. The presence and laterality of middle cranial fossa pits (small bony defects containing CSF) and encephaloceles (brain parenchyma protrusion through osseous defects with or without bony remodeling) were recorded. Electronic medical records of patients with encephaloceles were searched for a history of seizure. RESULTS: A total of 203 patients were included in the final cohort; 106 (52.2%) women. Forty-five (22.2%) patients had middle cranial fossa pits: 14 (31.1%) unilateral on the right, 17 (37.8%) unilateral on the left, and 14 (31.1%) bilateral. Ten (5.0%) patients had ≥1 encephalocele, none of whom had a documented history of seizure in the electronic medical record. No significant difference was noted in the frequency of pits or encephaloceles based on sex (P = .332 and P = .383, respectively) or age (P = .497 and P = .914, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Incidental middle cranial fossa pits are common findings, and their prevalence is not related to age or sex. Temporal lobe encephaloceles, though rarer, also exist occasionally among asymptomatic patients. Such findings have diagnostic implications for encephaloceles identified during imaging work-up for epilepsy.


Although the ! Kung Bushmen living in the Dobe area in Botswana have a choice of 85 different species of edible plants, only one is classified as a primary food; 8 are classified as major, 14 as minor, 32 as supplementary, 13 as rare and 17 as problematic.


Zinc oxide thin films with the resistivity of 5×10-3Ω·cm and the transparency of above 80% at the wavelength between 400 and 800 nm have been prepared by conventional rf sputtering in pure argon from a zinc oxide target. A close relation of their electrical characteristics with crystallographic characteristics is found using X-ray diffraction analysis. The low resistivity films consist of very small crystal grains, the c-axis of which is not preferentially oriented or is weakly oriented parallel to the substrate surface.


The Fork detector has normally been used to measure gamma rays and neutrons from irradiated fuel assemblies to verify the consistency of burn up declarations. An unusual series of measurements was conducted with a Fork detector on PWR fuel in the storage pond of the Angra-1 Nuclear Power Station. This fuel had cooled only 41 days and had burn-ups in the range of 16 to 31 GWd/tU. Despite the intrinsically low sensitivity of fission chambers to gamma rays, a special adjustment and calibration was necessary to reduce the contribution of gamma-ray pile-up to the neutron count rate. This was necessary because of the high gamma flux from short-lived nuclides in the fuel, which could, otherwise, alter the neutron to gamma-ray counting ratio, the basis for the burn-up determination. The measured results, expressed as a plot of the ratio neutron and gamma-ray counting rates versus the gamma-ray counting rate showed very distinct data clusters for each burn-up. This made it possible to confirm the irradiation cycle history of the fuel assemblies.


than specialized and thus transcend this particular report. The TCR volume begins with a recap of the Holmes Report by Michael Sedlak. This is a concise but thorough summary for those who have not read the report itself. Following are some 18 brief reactions from a wide range of scholars and practitioners. The volume concludes with a wise, balanced commentary on the preceding selections by Karen Kepler Zumwalt that corrects the misconceptions of a number of contributors.


Apparatus (5) for making pods (1) containing a respective dose (4) of an infusion product, the apparatus comprising: revolving drum conveyor means (6) with pockets (7) uniformly distributed; a line (B) for feeding a first web (12) of filter material which feeds the first web (12) to the conveyor means (6); drive means (8) for moving the first web (12) against the pockets (7) arranged on the rotary drum conveyor means (6) for modeling the first band (12) a series of impressions (L); and a second line (A) for feeding a second web (11) of filter material; the apparatus being characterized in that the drive means (8) comprise, for each cavity (7) of the conveying means revolving drum (6), at least one forming head (13) coupled with the same cavity (7 ), the forming head (13) being movable towards and away from the cavity (7) so as to press the strip (12) and introducing the band (12) within the cavity (7) to model the respective impression ( L); and suction means (14) acting on the band (12) in correspondence of the cavity (7) in synchrony with the forming head (13).


Abstract : A simple Bayesian measure of system effectiveness for information retrieval systems is proposed. The measure combines the recall and precision ratios of an information system with the utility structure of the system user. Using the measure, it is possible to show that effective systems are possible only under a very narrow set of conditions. In particular, it is shown that using present state-of-the-art indexing, it is not possible to have effective systems with file sizes much in excess of 100,000 documents.


There is growing concern about the consequences of future urban expansion on carbon storage as our planet experiences rapid urbanization. While an increasing body of literature was focused on quantifying the carbon storage impact of future urban expansion across the globe, rare attempts were made from the comparative perspective on the same scale, particularly in Central Asia. In this study, Central Asian capitals, namely Ashkhabad, Bishkek, Dushanbe, Nur Sultan, and Tashkent, were used as cases. According to the potential impacts of BRI (Belt and Road Initiative) on urban expansion, baseline development scenario (BDS), cropland protection scenario (CPS), and ecological protection scenario (EPS) were defined. We then simulated the carbon storage impacts of urban expansion from 2019 to 2029 by using Google Earth Engine, the Future Land Use Simulation model, and the Integrated Valuation of Environmental Services and Tradeoffs model. We further explored the drivers for carbon storage impacts of future urban expansion in five capitals. The results reveal that Nur Sultan will experience carbon storage growth from 2019 to 2029 under all scenarios, while Ashkhabad, Bishkek, Dushanbe, and Tashkent will show a decreasing tendency. EPS and CPS will preserve the most carbon storage for Nur Sultan and the other four cities, respectively. The negative impact of future urban expansion on carbon storage will be evident in Ashkhabad, Bishkek, Dushanbe, and Tashkent, which will be relatively inapparent in Nur Sultan. The potential drivers for carbon storage consequences of future urban expansion include agricultural development in Bishkek, Dushanbe, and Tashkent, desert city development in Ashkhabad, and prioritized development of the central city and green development in Nur Sultan. We suggest that future urban development strategies for five capitals should be on the basis of differentiated characteristics and drivers for the carbon storage impacts of future urban expansion.


This paper describes a Road Weather Information System (RWIS) data archive and web access facility recently developed by the Traffic Operations and Safety (TOPS) Laboratory at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Currently, Wisconsin DOT (WisDOT) maintains an RWIS data collection system primary to support winter maintenance operations activities. The objective of developing the TOPS RWIS data repository is to facilitate wider application of the RWIS data for research and operations such as integration with crash and traffic count data, performance analysis of the existing RWIS system itself, and support for WisDOT Clarus initiatives. The design of the archiving system addresses three major technical challenges: data archiving efficiency, data densification, and data accessibility. Data archiving efficiency refers to minimizing processing overhead during the download and database import process. It also includes the use of redundant components to minimize data loss during potential hardware or system failure. Data densification refers to a process whereby raw RWIS data, which is generally sampled at irregular intervals, is presented to the user on a full timestamp grid. The system employs two interpolation algorithms to provide alternate dense representations. Data accessibility refers to the development of tools to provide convenient access to the data. The web facility component provides an online data query and export tool based on Java web application technologies.


The objective of this monographic work is to verify the possibility of executing an extrajudicial executive title in the Labor Court, considering the effectiveness of article 876, caput, of CLT. The methods used to carry out the research are characterized in terms of the level, being of an exploratory nature, as far as the approach is classified as qualitative, and regarding the technical procedures for data collection, it is defined as documentary and bibliographical. In researches carried out in free access databases, it was possible to verify the lack of studies that deal with the execution of an extrajudicial title in the Labor Court, especially the questioning about the rate of the role that deals with those titles. Thus, based on the doctrinal and jurisprudential analysis on the subject, it was possible to understand that there are still great discussions about the possibility or not of executing an extrajudicial executive title in the Labor Court. However, it is possible to understand that Article 876, caput, of the CLT is exhaustive, since the norm explicitly states which are the extrajudicial executive titles that can be executed in labor justice. Therefore, it is not possible to execute titles that are not included in this role. Therefore, the execution of extrajudicial documents in the labor process should be limited to those provided for in the CLT, and only the Term of Conduct Adjustment (TAC), signed before the Public Prosecutor's Office, the Conciliation Statement signed before the Prior Conciliation and the Certificate of Active Dividend (CDA) being competent the Labor Court due to instituted brought by Constitutional Amendment n. 45.


The authors consider the growth in demand for the delivery of new telecommunication services that require digital rather than analogue delivery. They highlight the problem that the provision of these services often requires the costly installation of new transmission media. For both service providers and end users, this can make the cost of serve provision prohibitive. High-speed digital subscriber line (HDSL) systems have been introduced in Europe, allowing transmission up to 2048 Mbit/s over conventional unscreened copper pairs. These systems combined with appropriate interfaces, will allow the timely and economic provision of a range of services that need up to a bit rate of 2048 Mbit/s. The authors consider the service applications of HDSL and develop a deployment strategy that allows the economic migration to fibre systems when service demands allow.<
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Funding information Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Grant/Award Numbers: LU 583/19-1, VO 1509/7-1 Abstract The robustness of soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) content prediction accuracy by visible near-infrared spectroscopy (visNIRS) and mid-infrared spectroscopy (MIRS) models after a change in the quantity or quality of crop residues requires investigation. Arable soils (0–20 cm) from 20 locations across Germany were collected, and 0, 2, 4, or 8 g C kg soil of wheat straw (C/N ratio, 54) or clover (C/N ratio, 13) were added. Before and after a 56-d incubation, dried and ground samples were measured for SOC and TN content and by visNIRS and MIRS. The complete dataset (n = 280) was subdivided into calibration and validation datasets to test the robustness of partial least squares regression models to changes in crop residue quantity and quality in soil. Noise-reducing data pretreatments included region selection, moving averages, resampling every second data point, and the SavitzkyGolay algorithm. The MIRS estimates for SOC (7.4–33 g kg) had lower root mean squared error of validation (RMSEV = 0.9–2.9 g kg ) compared with visNIRS (RMSEV = 1.6–7.1 g kg ). Total N estimates (0.7–2.8 g kg) were more comparable for MIRS (RMSEV = 0.1–0.3 g kg ) and visNIRS (RMSEV = 0.1–1.0 g kg ). Loadings of partial least squares regression components suggested the predictive mechanisms for SOC and TN were more similar for visNIRS than for MIRS. Differing crop residue quantity or quality in calibration versus validation resulted in biased SOC and TN estimates by visNIRS and MIRS models. However, calibration with a global residue model containing all soils and crop residue quantities and qualities lowered RMSEV for SOC and TN prediction with visNIRS and MIRS, demonstrating the usefulness of this approach.


Recently, Macdonald et al. showed that many algorithmic problems for finitely generated nilpotent groups including computation of normal forms, the subgroup membership problem, the conjugacy problem, and computation of subgroup presentations can be done in [Formula: see text]. Here, we follow their approach and show that all these problems are complete for the uniform circuit class [Formula: see text] — even if an [Formula: see text]-generated nilpotent group of class at most [Formula: see text] is part of the input but [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] are fixed constants. In particular, unary encoded systems of a bounded number of linear equations over the integers can be solved in [Formula: see text]. In order to solve these problems in [Formula: see text], we show that the unary version of the extended gcd problem (compute greatest common divisors and express them as linear combinations) is in [Formula: see text]. Moreover, if we allow a certain binary representation of the inputs, then the word problem and computation of normal forms is still in uniform [Formula: see text], while all the other problems we examine are shown to be [Formula: see text]-Turing-reducible to the binary extended gcd problem.


This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of PDXScholar. For more information, please contact email@example.com. Recommended Citation Jordan, Meredith Powers, "The Effects of Anthropogenic Stressors on Mercury Concentrations and Community Composition of Freshwater Zooplankton" (2016). Dissertations and Theses. Paper 3364.


A 64‐year‐old female was diagnosed with adult T‐cell leukemia/lymphoma. She then underwent an unrelated allogeneic bone marrow transplantation with a reduced‐intensity regimen. She achieved engraftment followed by HHV‐6 encephalopathy. This was complicated by Chryseobacterium indologenes pneumonia. Chryseobacterium indologenes is now a possible emergent organism resistant to carbapenem after transplantation.


A mixed-integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) formulation for the molecular design optimization of ionic liquids (ILs) to recuperate ethanol with a purity of 99 mol % or greater from a E85 system (a mixture containing 85 and 15 mol % of ethanol and water, respectively) is presented. The reason why the ethanol/water separation is difficult is because of the azeotropic behavior of this system. Therefore, the IL is designed to feature water affinity such that it can break the ethanol/water azeotrope, allowing the high-purity separation to take place. The MINLP formulation is based on the development of a superstructure that contains a set of cations and anions, whose combination forms different kinds of ILs that have the potential to separate azeotropic systems such as the ethanol/water system. Because most of the ILs to be optimally designed are novel solvents, their physical and thermodynamic properties are estimated by group contribution methods. The optimization formulation is composed of a set of constr...


†In its pursuit of a low-cost, responsive reusable military launch vehicle (RMLV), the Air Force Research Laboratory sponsored development of the MILEPOST simulation model to evaluate candidate designs and perform tradeoff studies for the ground operations implications of design characteristics. In its current form, the model assumes unconstrained resource availability; however, resource utilization will play a significant role in tradeoff evaluations for design alternatives. Specifically, the research objective of this study is to develop a baseline estimate of the logistics manpower required to support the RMLV as represented by the MILEPOST model.


With the rise in cyber-attacks on computing systems and the rapid increase in use of mobile systems, it is essential to secure these mobile devices. Given that these systems can roam on multiple networks, with no guarantee on security adopted on each network, including Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) on the mobile platforms can be beneficial in preventing cyber-attacks. One of the key problems with implementing IDS on mobile platforms is the increased power consumption. This paper presents low power circuits that implement the string matching tasks within the Snort IDS. These tasks can take up to 80% of the power consumed for Snort. The circuit presented is based on memristor crossbars and evaluate Snort rules at 0.013mW per signature. The circuits are easy to program, utilizing only two resistance states for the memristors. They are highly parallel and dense, utilizing a brute-force string matching algorithm. These circuits could additionally be utilized for other string matching operations.


In recent years,a great deal of studies about pigment epithelial cells transplantations which are regarded as reproductive therapies including retinal pigment epithelial cells transplantation,autologous iris pigment epithelial cells transplantation and stem cells transplantation,broke a new path for treatment of retinal degenerative diseases.Pigment epithelial cell transplantation may treat the local retinal disease more directly.However,most methods are still in the experimental or testing stage and have the shortcomings and risks.Many problems such as the surgical indications,the surgical methods,donor cells,ethical issues, cell survival after transplantation,immunology,physiological functions and so on need to be in-depth research.


Objective To explore the cell labeling ability of CM-Dil on bone marrwow mesenchymal stem cells(BMSCs) in vitro as well as its tracking capability in intestine tissues of burned rats.Methods BMSCs were isolated,purified and expanded by the method of adherent culture,and were induced to differentiate into neuron-like cells by basic fibroblast growth factor(bFGF),epidermal growth factor(EGF) and retinoic acid(RA).The surface markers of neuron-like cells differentiated from BMSCs,microtubule-associated protein-2(MAP-2) and neuron specific nuclear protein(NeuN) were detected by immunocytochemistry.The BMSCs were labeled with CM-Dil at the doses of 4,6,8 mg·L-1.Then the cytotoxic effect was determined by CCK-8 assay,the labeling rate was examined using flow cytometry.107 BMSCs labeled by CM-Dil were administrated by retro-orbital intravenous injection after burned models of Wistar rats were prepared.The intestine tissues were obtained and fixed on the 2 weeks and 6 months after the burning,then the engraftment of the labeled BMSCs were observed using a laser scanning confocal microscope.Results The nueon-like cells differentiated from BMSCs expressed neuron markers,NeuN and MAP-2.The results of CCK-8 assay showed that compared with control group,the cell viability in 8 mg·L-1 group was significantly decreased(P0.05).There were no significantly differences between 4,6 μg·mL-1 groups and control group.No significant adverse effects on BMSCs were observed during CM-Dil labeling at the dose of 4 mg·L-1,and the labeling rate was as high as 93.9%.The morphological changes of the BMSCs were not shown.Frozen sections of intestine tissues were performed on the 2 weeks and 6 months after burning,the CM-Dil labeled BMSCs were engrafted at the rat intestine tissues.Conclusion CM-Dil is capable of labeling BMSCs in vitro,thus could be utilized as tracking of BMSCs in the intestine tissue of the burned rats.


Augmented Reality (AR) is a technology that has drawn the attention of educators in the recent years. The technology combines virtual worlds with the real environment, creating an immersive and interactive experience for the students and trainees. Several experimental works have shown that the use of AR for learning and training purposes provides good results. However, there is no common method or practice for using AR for learning purposes. Some years ago, the creation of AR applications was possible only by means of programming. Due to this fact, it was difficult to implement the technology in the learning environment, as programming skills were needed and creating the applications was time consuming. In the recent years, researches have realised about this problem and they have been trying to cope with it. Nowadays, as a result of research work, there are some already available authoring tools that enable educators to create their own applications. However, this process is still time consuming (and sometimes also still difficult) for the educator as the applications need to be created individually and they usually stay on the creator's computer only. They can be reused by the educator and even by the educator's institution, but other institutions cannot take advantage of the work. In this paper we present STEDUS, a new platform that enables schools and universities to have a common access to a growing number of AR applications for learning purposes. The applications are created on demand and offered to all subscribed customers. In this platform, the creation process is carried out by technical workers, while the educational work relies on the educators. The platform contains a common engine for Augmented Reality and enables the educators to download the available applications that they may need. Therefore, institutions from the whole World can benefit of the work that has been carried out in other places, thus creating a collaborative environment.


The second of two papers evaluating investment in SoE training, this paper describes the impact of structured training support on outcome of the SoE.