One of the notable sights that attracts the eye of the visitor to the Northwestern Coast of this continent, is the rank growth of Bryophytes which is found near tidewater and along the bottom lands of the numerous creeks and rivers tributary to it. The mosses cling from the trunks of the trees, hang in cushions on the limbs, cover logs and stumps and are found on the humus upon the ground. Climatic conditions are most favorable for their propagation. There is in this section of the country a plentiful precipitation of moisture with freedom from low temperatures. The forest at certain seasons is saturated with moisture and one hears here the constant sound of dripping water. Owing to the absence of bright sunshine for eight months of the year, evaporation is at a minimum. Though there is comparatively little rainfall during the summer and early fall, the forests to the west of the Cascade Mountains do not become as dry in summer as do the forests on the eastern slopes of the range. One finds these conditions, ideal for moss growth, extending from the Oregon Coast to southeastern Alaska. Inasmuch as in many portions of this area new conditions are arising unfavorable to the persistence of a luxuriant moss flora, it may not be out of place for one, who is living under these changing conditions and loves the mosses of the primeval forest, to record the reasons why they are disappearing or becoming rare in localities where once they were plentiful. The region, particularly considered in this paper, is in the northwestern part of the State of Washington bordering upon Puget Sound. Settlers first began clearing land here about seventy-five years ago. The discovery of gold in Alaska, in the nineties, directed attention to this part of the United States and, since then, settlement has been very rapid. Lumbering has been and still is the great industry of Western Washington. Innumerable sawand shingle-mills are to be seen in operation both summer and winter. What remains of the old forest will, all too soon, find its way to these mills. The land, when suitable, is being brought under cultivation and cities and towns are springing up everywhere. The country bordering upon Puget Sound is a great valley, bounded on the east by the Cascade Range of mountains and on the west by the Olympics. The land of this valley consists primarily of glacial deposits, together with the erosion from the mountains and alluvial deposits in the river bottoms. There is very little out-cropping rock. One, however, does find granite boulders, left by the receding glacial ice, scattered about. As so many of our mosses depend upon the forest for their environment, the story of the forest is naturally the story of the mosses. Take away the trees and many of the mosses typical of this section go with them. Prior to the last decade one could collect within the city limits the most of our forest mosses. Now one must go some distance to find them. The few


Objective
To evaluate the effect of surgical treatment for pain relief, quality of life, survival status of patients and analyze prognostic factors with multiple myeloma bone disease.

Methods
Retrospective analyzed 43 consecutive patients from June 1992 to June 2016 who underwent surgery in our department. Twenty five males and 15 females were enrolled with average age of 56.8 (ranged: 28-81 years). Lesions location distribution: upper limb in 13 cases, lower extremity in 26 cases, pelvic 3 cases and trunk 2 cases. One patient had two lesions in humerus and femur. The main symptoms manifested 35 cases of pain (81.4%) and 22 cases (51.2%) of pathological fractures, including 11 cases of upper and lower limbs. Limbs surgical included curettage and fixation in 22 cases, segment resection and prosthesis replacement in 11 cases, allograft replacement in 1 case, internal fixation without removal the tumor in 3 cases and resection without reconstruction in 2 cases. Pelvic surgical included 1 curettage, 1 resection with Iliofemoral fusion and 1 resection with acetabular reconstruction of total hip replacement. Trunk surgery included scapulectomy 1 case and rib resection 1 case. The postoperative pain relief, via visual analogue scale (VAS) and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) score were analyzed by Wilcoxon. MSTS score was analyzed by paired-samples t-test. Survival rate and local recurrence were analyzed by Kaplan-Meier and Chi-square respectively. We collected gender, age, number of lesions, laboratory test (HB, CRP, ALB,Cre, LDH), chemotherapy and surgical marginal for multivariate analysis with Cox regression model.

Results
The average time and blood loss were 164 mins (40-290 mins) and 883ml (50-7 000 ml) respectively. The Mirels score for limb tumor patients averaged 9.97 and the median score was 10 (8-12). The quality of life ECOG (Z=-5.622, P=0.000), pain relief VAS (Z=-5.671, P=0.000) and MSTS score (t=-18.520, P=0.000) were improved significantly. Four patients occurred local recurrences (4/43, 9.3%) and there was no significant difference between curettage and resection cases (χ2=3.175, P=0.127). Four patients occurred complications (4/43, 9.3%). The overall survival rate at 1 year, 3 years, 5 years and 10 years was 90.7%, 76.8%, 63% and 57.7% respectively. The 5-year survival rate of pathological fracture cases was lower than others (χ2=7.734, P=0.005). The survival rate was significant difference between patients with and without chemotherapy (χ2=12.043, P=0.001). The survival rate was significantly influenced by ALB, CRP, LDH, pathological fracture and chemotherapy indicated by univariate analysis. CRP, pathological fracture and chemotherapy were independent prognostic factors as Cox regression showed.

Conclusion
Our surgical strategy is effective to relieve pain and improve myeloma patients' living with minor complications; Chemotherapy could improve the postoperative survival rate significantly. CRP and pathological fracture were independent prognostic factors.

Key words:
Multiple myeloma; Fractures, bone; Prognosis; Treatment outcome


Nowadays, global economic growth has been severely affected beyond anything passed in nearly a
century. The outbreak of the coronavirus disease has brought its negative impact and destructive
outcome on the economies alongside with the sharp fluctuations in global energy and stock markets. There might be observed a subsequent sharp decline in the number of transactions and practical shutdown of many markets due to the large-scale quarantine and self-isolation measures. Taking into consideration the above mentioned factors, it becomes clear that there emerged a need to revise all economic forecasts for 2020-2021. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicted a decline of the global economic growth rate in April (-3%), but in accordance with the current circumstances, the figures were revised in June, representing a 4.9% decrease. In spite of a fact that Azerbaijan became one of the first countries among the post-soviet countries,
that allocated the largest share of GDP, in order to eliminate the economic problems caused due to
the pandemic, the impact of the emerged difficulties made a necessity to revise the budget


There are two main topics to be discuss in this paper,pixel-level image fusion based on Principle Component Analysis(PCA),and feature-level image fusion based on Dempster-Shafer evidence theory.In pixel-level case,the SAR image at HV polarization is relatively sensitive to the vegetation canopy.We combined the HV polarization information from SAR and spectral characteristic from SPOT images in an effort to enhance land cover classification.Before the fusion process,wavelet transform was first applied to denoise the SAR image which suffers from speckle contamination due to coherent process.PCA method is then used to fuse the SPOT and SAR images.In doing so,the PC-1 component is replaced by SAR image(approximation image,after wavelet transform) and then the inverse transform is followed.At last,the maximum likelihood classifier was used for both SPOT-XS images and fusion images.In feature-level case,fully polarization information from SAR is used to combine with spectral characteristic from SPOT images,mainly to enhance land cover classification.We first denoise the SAR image by Lee filter.Next,the maximum likelihood classifier based on different distribution was used for SAR and SPOT images(Based on Wishart distribution and multivariate Gaussian distribution respectively),to extract the conditional probability of each pixel for each class.Dempster-Shafer evidence theory is then applied,to combine the classified results of SAR and SPOT data.Experimental results show that the classification accuracy is dramatically improved by making use of the proposed methods.Data fusion can take advantage of the use of complementary information to obtain a better overall accuracy than using single data source only.


Control System for Controlling Turn-Waiting Queues of Queue Objects In a queue object control system in which store terminals, user terminals, and a queue control server are connected by way of a network so as to allow communication, the queue control server includes: store groups in which a plurality of stores are controlled as group turn-waiting queues; a store group control unit that receives usability states of the stores from store terminals and then determines whether any of the stores are available for use; a queue manipulation unit that receives requests from user terminals to register in the queues of store groups, registers the user terminals in the group turn-waiting queues, and, when any store of the store groups becomes available for use, selects user terminals that are registered in the group turn-waiting queues; and a usability notification unit that transmits notification of usability of stores that have become available for use to user terminals that have been selected (Fig. 6).


We study the effect from a sequential fourth generation quark on penguin-dominated two-body nonleptonic B meson decays in the next-to-leading order perturbative QCD formalism. With an enhancement of the color-suppressed tree amplitude and possibility of a new CP phase in the electroweak penguin, we can account better for A_{CP}(B^0 -> K^+ pi^-)-A_{CP}(B^+ -> K^+ pi^0). Taking |V_{t's}V_{t'b}| \sim 0.02 with phase just below 90^\circ, which are consistent with the b -> s l^+ l^- rate and the B_s mixing parameter \Delta m_{B_s}, we find a downward shift in the mixing-induced CP asymmetries of B^0 -> K_S pi^0 and phi K_S. The predicted behavior for B^0 -> rho^0 K_S is opposite.


This article aims to look into different price changes of tungsten,molybdenum and vanadium in 2010 and bring forth our outlook for future development based on the detailed analysis of the major changes in market supply,consumption and trade.


I have read your Commentary entitled'Signposting the causes of medication errors' (2011) published in the last issue of International Nursing Review. Surely, it will improve international knowledge on the important subject of patient safety. However, I find it necessary to make the following comments on the Commentary. In the Commentary, you stated 'with the precise number and types of errors available . . .'. It is believed that it is impossible to gather data on the exact or precise numbers and types of errors. According to Kingestone et al. (2004), the prevalence of nursing disclosure for errors (and 'near misses') tends to be under-reported by nurses who are widely acknowledged as a group that reports incidents more significantly than other health professionals, including medical practitioners. In this regard, some errors are reported because they have had a large impact on patients' well-being or they have even resulted in patients' death; therefore, no study can claim that it has presented a precise number of errors. In addition, you mentioned that '. . . we know little as to their causes,and this study (Joolaee et al.2011) offers compelling insights'. First of all, from the methodological perspective, the study of Joolaee et al. (2011) has not mentioned how many hospitals have been selected for the data gathering. In this study, in the data gathering zone, Tehran, there are three medical sciences universities, which all hospitals in Tehran are affiliated. Each university supervises a couple of hospitals in the different geographical locations of the city. It should be noted that the context and know-how of the hospitals are very diverse. The hospitals under the supervision of each university provide services to people with different social classes and have different workloads and staffing patterns. If the results would have been expected to be generalized to all hospitals in Tehran, the authors should have been selected one hospital, at least, from each medical sciences university for the data gathering. The authors have not done so, and their data cannot be generalized to other health-care settings in Tehran. Moreover, based on my experiences in the Iranian healthcare system, there are differences in the working conditions of nurses working in the hospitals affiliated to the mentioned universities in Tehran. For example, in hospitals affiliated to Beheshti University, there are better working conditions for nurses and a more standard nurse–patient ration. Therefore, the working conditions of nurses in the hospitals may not be considered equal. Furthermore, you stated that we need to reflect on the causes of medication errors, and the Joolaee et al. study (2011) offers compelling insights. This study has only focused on medication errors, not other kinds of errors. Surely, the presented causes would be applicable to the causes of medication errors rather than other kinds of error. My PhD dissertation subject is about patient safety entitled 'exploration of the process and the development of a theoretical model of safe nursing care within the Iranian health care system'. Based on my country's culture and context, the concept of safety encompasses other kinds of errors, and there are many other kinds of errors missed in the international literature. Medication errors form a very small part of the errors (Vaismoradi et al. 2011a,b). In this regard, those papers that consider all causes of nursing errors without prejudgment and direction to the medication ones are preferred.Moreover, such a paper and the relationship between working conditions (management practices, providing a suitable environment with the requisite supply of resources and infrastructure and increasing nurses' knowledge) and nursing practice errors have been presented before (Anoosheh et al. 2008), and it is not something specifically mentioned in the Joolaee et al.'s study. I am afraid you missed to cite it. It clearly covers the causes of all sorts of nursing practice errors with a strong methodology. Finally, I am concerned that with such commentaries concentrating and emphasising on medication errors, we miss the main parts of patient safety and just think that 'medication errors are equal to patient safety'. I apologize for the lengthy letter. Thank you for your consideration and the commentary. With my warmest regards,


List of Tables List of Figures Notes on the Contributors Competition Forces and Institutional Structure in the UK and Germany N.Walker Financial Innovation and Financial Stability: Some Lessons from Germany and the UK G.Hoggarth, A.Milne & G.E.Wood European Destiny and Macroeconomic Responsibility in the Financial Systems of Germany and the UK: A Balance Sheet Approach J.Toporowski Discussant A.Tylecote What Kind of Stability Helps Industry?: Contrasting Experiences with British and German Banking F.H.Capie & G.E.Wood Discussant B.Kohler Financial Competition, Risk and Accountability: The Role of Trust Banks J.A.Kregel The Dynamics of Change and Risk in Corporate and Wholesale Finance B.Howcroft Discussant B.Zugenbuhler Risk Management and the Ethics of New Financial Instruments J.Welby Business Ethics in the Banking Industry - Some Remarks A.Wagner The Savings Ratio Behaviour in Globalised Money and Capital Markets: A Comparison of the UK and German Experience S.F.Frowen & E.Karakitsos Discussant E.O.Smith The Role of Central Banks in the Global Competition Environment N.Kloten Bank Supervision in the Context of Global Competition J.G.Ellis Economic and Monetary Union: An Ethical Issue? M.Donnelly Capital and Credit-Based Development: Lessons for Central East Europe S.Herten & J.Holscher Discussant M.Moersch Social Banking and Affordable Housing in Germany U.Reifner & J.Pfau The Role of Compliance in Germany's Banking Culture L.Schuster Index


This article examines the existence of long memory in daily stock market returns from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) countries and also attempts to shed light on the efficacy of autoregressive fractionally integrated moving average (ARFIMA) models in predicting stock returns. We present evidence which suggests that ARFIMA models estimated using a variety of estimation procedures yield better forecasting results than the non-ARFIMA (AR, MA, ARMA and GARCH) models with regard to prediction of stock returns. These findings hold consistently for the different countries whose economies differ in size, nature and sophistication.


A new noise reduction algorithm is based on calculating the ratio of the average of noisy power spectrum in time-frequency bin and its a time-frequency averaged normalized. If the ratio is greater than the linear regression(LR) threshold, it is taken as speech present else it is taken as speech absent. The algorithm has the advantage of being computationally simple and clearly lower residual noise. It is evaluated using the segment SNR under various noise conditions. We show that this algorithm is generally superior to that of the conventional method.


This paper studies the probable impact of section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms on the rights of disabled students to educational services in provinces with permissive legislation (New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Alberta, and British Columbia) and, by comparison, in provinces with mandatory legislation (Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan). The pre-Charter effects of the legal distinction between permissive and mandatory legislation on the rights of children with special needs as well as on the right to an appropriate education are discussed. Two interpretations of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, a minimal intervention and a more active intervention by the courts, are presented with their probable impact.


A study of atmospheric pollutant behavior was conducted in the southern San Joaquin Valley of California during periods of stagnation, both with and without dense fog. Measurements were made of gas-phase and aerosol pollutant concentrations, fogwater composition, and deposition of solutes to surrogate surfaces. Deposition rates for major species were 5 to 20 times greater during fogs compared to nonfoggy periods. Sulfate-ion deposition velocities measured during fog were 0.5 to 2 cm s^(-1). Rates measured for nitrate ion were generally 50% below those for sulfate, except for acidic fog (pH 3 d) for valley air.


The present study investigates the role of ocean– atmosphere coupling in improving the simulation and extended range prediction skill of the monsoon intraseasonal oscillations (MISOs) using the NCEP CFS (version 2) vis-a-vis its atmospheric component GFS (version 2) forced with bias-corrected sea-surface temperature (SST) derived from CFS. Though the CFS free-run analysis shows dry bias over Indian land as compared to GFS, the interactive air–sea coupling in CFS has considerably improved the simulation of large-scale dynamical fields, SST–rainfall relationship, and the northward propagation of the MISOs with respect to GFS. However, the improvement of MISO simulation in CFS over GFS has not necessarily guaranteed the improvement of real-time extended range prediction during 2011 and 2012. CFS shows better skill over GFS (forced with bias-corrected CFS derived SST) at pentad lead 4. The phases of MISOs are better predicted in GFS and the amplitude prediction skill is marginally improved in CFS. The present study also advocates the need of probabilistic category (active, normal or break) forecast at extended range.


ABSTRACT Much of the research on school leadership emanates from western contexts, and scholars in these countries have great influence on educational leadership theory, policy and practice. Leadership knowledge, theorising and practices can no longer be generated predominantly by scholars from the North. Grounded in a framework of decolonising educational leadership, this paper examines the practices and approaches of school leaders in Kenya. Utilising a narrative inquiry methodological approach, the leadership perspectives and practices of secondary school principals were examined. Findings reveal convergences and departures with contemporary leadership theories and practices, different approaches to student engagement and success, desire for a more consistent approach to school leadership preparation and complexities navigating socio-cultural issues. Findings of this research have implications for leadership preparation and development in the Global South and broader educational leadership discourse.


PURPOSE: To improve density resolving power by arranging all of microdots into the cyclical pattern of an identical tile and alloting pixel color curves to the respective microdots of the tile to divide them into first and final sequences and alloting energy levels in regions. CONSTITUTION: A random number generator generating white noise is standardized so as to equally generate 1-24 random numbers to select one of arrangements and, when random numbers are rearranged corresponding to respective specific 2×2 sub-tiles, an obstruction pattern is induced but a penalty is minimized. A first arrangement is two adjacent microdots having a common side part and the max. penalty numbers of 3 are obtained and a second arrangement obtains two penalty numbers and, in almost all of cases, this structure can be perfectly avoided. The structure of a penalty 1 yet has obstructiveness but the avoidance of this structure from a Bayer matrix is impossible and a state obtaining a penalty number of 0 is best.


ABSTRACT The dominant narratives currently offering critique of the neoliberal university suggest a professional environment that is both uncaring and unhealthy. This paper adopts a Deleuzian gaze on the rhizomatic multiplicity of teaching to identify and reinterpret key lines of flight within this assemblage – identified as care, pedagogic health and salutogenesis. It is argued that the perspective described by the coexistence of these lines may develop a more positive ontology as a basis from which a university may be able to work towards a more productive state of healthy learning. The point at which the three lines of flight co-exist is hypothesised as a 'triple point'.


The Simple Concurrent Object-Oriented Programming (SCOOP) mechanism introduces inter-object concurrency to the Eiffel language, via addition of one new keyword, separate. We describe a general tool that takes a Eiffel program that uses the separate keyword and translates it into an Eiffel multi-threaded program that uses the Eiffel T HREAD class. The resulting code is thereafter compatible with EiffelStudio and any other Eiffel compiler that provides the T HREAD class.


An experimental and theoretical investigation was conducted examining the effect of chlorine (CI) on nitrogen oxide (NO) emissions from a practical combustor. Experiments consisted of both parametric and detailed studies on an 82 k W rated swirl flame laboratory combustor. Theoretical efforts consisted of detailed kinetic modeling using validated kinetic mechanisms obtained from the literature. Both the experimental and theoretical work led to essentially negative results, namely, that NO/Cl interactions are unlikely to influence NO emissions under most conditions of interest. Kinetic modeling provided useful insight and was able to simulate trends revealed by the data. Additional calculations from kinetic modeling then suggested that CI might enhance staging effectiveness, under severely reducing primary stage conditions.


Low-dose intravesical administration of Ty21a, a commercial typhoid vaccine, generated effective antitumor DC and T-cell responses and improved survival in a mouse model of bladder cancer. These results demonstrate the potential of Ty21a for clinical use. Preclinical data show that intravesical instillation of Ty21a/Vivotif, a commercial vaccine against typhoid fever, is an effective alternative option to standard Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) immunotherapy for non–muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). Here, we characterized the inflammatory effects of Ty21a on the bladder and investigated the immune mechanisms underlying tumor regression toward the use of this bacterial vaccine in NMIBC patients. MB49 bladder tumor–bearing mice had significantly improved survival after intravesical instillations of Ty21a doses of 106 to 108 colony-forming units. By IHC and morphology, both BCG and Ty21a instillations were associated with bladder inflammation, which was decreased with the use of low, but effective doses of Ty21a. Flow-cytometry analysis showed a significant infiltration of T cells, natural killer (NK) cells, and myeloid cells, compared with controls, after a single dose of Ty21a, whereas this was only observed after multiple doses of BCG. The induced myeloid cells were predominantly neutrophils and Ly6C+CD103+ dendritic cells (DC), the latter being significantly more numerous after instillation of Ty21a than BCG. Ex vivo infection of human leukocytes with Ty21a, but not BCG, similarly significantly increased DC frequency. CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, but not NK cells nor neutrophils, were required for effective bladder tumor regression upon Ty21a treatment. Thus, the generation of antitumor adaptive immunity was identified as a key process underlying Ty21a-mediated treatment efficacy. Altogether, these results demonstrate mechanisms behind intravesical Ty21a therapy and suggest its potential as a safe and effective treatment for NMIBC patients.


Abstract In the application of mobile multimedia and wireless communication system needs an enormous amount of data. Due to the usage of a huge data rate, a superior amount of energy is offered to BER, which effectively enhances the entire energy consumption rate in the system, and also, the generation of CO2 emission leads to global warming. Hence, professionals searched for energy-efficient approaches for attaining enhanced data rates in wireless communication systems. Then, professionals observed the energy efficacy as well as QoS as an essential factor in developing and validating the mobile multimedia communication system that has created superior interest in recent days. In this paper, energy-efficient models are suggested for MIMO-OFDM mobile multimedia communication systems with statistical QoS constraints. Hence, this research suggests a new MTGSO for energy optimization in the MIMO-OFDM mobile multimedia communication system to improve spectral efficiency and system capacity. Thus, the empirical result of the designed method attains better performance regarding average power constraints, achieving 29.8 %, 21.3 %, 123.8 %, and 4.2 % enhanced than SSO, FOA, GSO, and TOA. This energy-efficient hybrid algorithm for MIMO-OFDM proves its efficiency in terms of various performance measures and statistical measures.


Introduction: The living labour in the critique of political economy Part I: The Labour and its Forms 1. Living Labourand its Objective Forms (commodities and money in history) 2. The Necessity of Money 3. The Historical Making of Living Labour as a Commodity (transition to capitalism) Part II: The Capital-Labour Relationship 4. The Role of Labour in a Capital Theory and the Transformation Problem 5. Co-operation, Abstract Labour and General Intellect 6. The Appropriation of Living Labour and the Capatalist Law of Population Part III: The Curculation of Capital 7. The Formulas of Capital Circuit in the History of Economic Thought 8. The Problem of Constant Capital in Crisis Theory (The weight of dead labour in the 2008 crisis)


Ontology languages are used in modelling the semantics of concepts within a particular domain and the relationships between those concepts. The Semantic Web standard provides a number of modelling languages that differ in their level of expressivity and are organized in a Semantic Web Stack in such a way that each language level builds on the expressivity of the other. There are several problems when one attempts to use independently developed ontologies. When existing ontologies are adapted for new purposes it requires that certain operations are performed on them. These operations are currently performed in a semi-automated manner. This paper seeks to model categorically the syntax and semantics of RDF ontology as a step towards the formalization of ontological operations using category theory.


Pennsylvania is currently the third leading state in coal production. The first underground coal mines in Pennsylvania were formed in the late 1700s by mining the outcrops of the Pittsburgh coalbed on the hillsides of Mount Washington. For over 200 years in Pennsylvania, there has been an evolution of both underground coal mining and the laws and regulations that govern it.
Room-and-pillar and longwall mining methods have been used in Pennsylvania. Though more efficient and safer for miners, the longwall mining technique, introduced in the late 1960s, elevated both the number and intensity of subsidence related impacts to surface features. The 1966 Bituminous Mine Subsidence and Land Conservation Act was the first state law advocating for the protection of surface structures from subsidence. In 1994, Pennsylvania amended the outdated 1966 law with the formation of Act 54 for additional protection of structures, watersources, lands, and streams from mine subsidence. Act 54 requires all impacts due to mining be recorded and analyzed on a five-year basis. Between 1993 and 2018, there have been 2,222 impacts to structures, land, and watersources for which the mining companies were responsible for repairing or fairly compensating the property owner for damages. The data collected from the 25-years of Act 54 enables an investigation of how the country's strictest subsidence regulations have impacted Pennsylvania's mining industry.
This study used data collected through Act 54 to identify trends in mine characteristics and surface impacts to spot significant changes in mining. Subsidence prediction models were compared with the recorded field impacts to observe when impacts occurred in expected areas and, more importantly, when they appeared far beyond the predicted influence zone of the models. Case studies of far field effects were studied to determine why these impacts are occurring past the expected prediction limit. The recognized trends and characteristics of impacts aided in the review of the standards and guidelines set by Act 54. Overall, this study found Act 54 to be an evolving law that has contributed to protection of the communities and environmental resources of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.


Background: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common joint disorder, with the knee being one of the most frequently involved sites. Conventional radiography (CR), hitherto the primary imaging tool in OA, shows late and indirect findings. Ultrasound (US), on the other hand, offers the possibility to depict different structures within the knee. The main objectives of this study is to asses correlation of Ultrasonography (USG) findings of OA knees and pain assessed in each knee using a numerical rating scale (NRS) from 0 to 10.Methods: This study was a single center cross sectional observational study. Patients presenting to rheumatology clinic between February 2017 to March 2017 and satisfying ACR clinical criteria for osteoarthritis of knees were taken. Pain assessed in each knee using NRS. USG evaluation of painful knee was done using standard protocols.Results: In this study, 9 patients and 17 knees were examined. The mean age was 65.7 yrs with more females (66%) as compared to males (33.3%), mean disease duration was 6 yrs with majority of patients (88%) on pain reliever medications (NSAIDS). Ultrasound showed that synovitis and osteophytes has negative correlation with pain score (r=-0.06, r-.09). Presence of cartilage loss had slightly higher correlation with pain score (r=0.18). The meniscal protrusion (r value 0.15) is associated slight correlation with pain score.Conclusions: Ultrasound can assess many soft tissue pathologies which cannot be seen on conventional radiography, however the importance of these soft tissue pathologies is uncertain and remains to be determined. In this study we could not find any significant correlation between pain and ultrasound findings.


This guide highlights sources of web-based, video, and audio courses in biological sciences and many other subjects areas. It also provides links to tools for online learning, such as course and e-book building software and web-based collaboration tools. Online course software, e-book publishing tools, web-based tools, and other resources for implementing online classes


P REVIOUS studies, Houthakker and Taylor (1970), Phlips (1972), and Houthakker and Verleger (1973), on the demand for gasoline have concentrated on the private consumer demand at least with respect to model formulation, although it is not clear that the data used in these studies were so restricted. These models have been specified as single equations involving short-run dynamic linear adjustments. In terms of the regressions actually run, the main effect has been to introduce lagged values of the dependent variable. Very little attention has been paid to prices other than own price. Our approach in this paper is to formulate the model in terms of a simultaneous equation system, to pay particular attention to relative prices in addition to own price and income, and to separate the demand by households from that by commercial (truck) users.


Burglar and fire are the two dangerous life events. An IoT based intruder and smoke monitoring system is proposed to protect us from these events. The proposed system is a low cost and energy efficient alternative to the existing systems. It is an integrated system that can detect and monitor theft and fire. The system consists of hardware and software parts. The hardware parts have two separated subsystems, smoke and intruder subsystem. The smoke subsystem uses an ESP8266 Arduino board with a smoke sensor (MQ2) and a buzzer. The intruder subsystem uses an ESPIno32CAM board with an ultrasonic sensor (HC-SR04). The software parts consist of three applications that are web, android, and LINE application. Both subsystems share the same web, android, and LINE application. When a smoke is detected by the sensor, the alarm sounds. The smoke subsystem sends a notification to the web and LINE application and the gas concentration level is sent to MySQL database. When an intruder is detected by the sensor, the intruder subsystem captures his photo and sends it to the LINE application for notification. The system also has the ability to recognize faces so that when a homeowner is detected by the sensor, no notifications are displayed in LINE and web application. Web application shows an alert message when there is an intruder and a smoke. It also shows a graph of gas level values. Android application can turn on and off the device in the system.


Through retrospective investigation,this article analyzed the leaving reasons of 160 nurses and put forward corresponding measures to change the trend of leaving clinical work in nurses,increase the proportion between beds and nurses and ensure nursing quality.


Polymers of esters of acrylic acid having an average chain length of about 6 to about 30 mers are prepared by an anionic polymerization reaction, carried out in the presence of a catalytic amount of an alkoxide anion. These polymers, their hydrolysis products, and their derivatives have a wide variety of applications, including among others use as components in films, coatings, fibers, impregnants, adhesives, and binders, and use as modifiers, plasticizers, melt flow improvers, and leveling agents.


Abstract : This report results from a contract tasking Radiophysical Research Institute (NTRFI) as follows: The contractor will investigate generation and control of artificial large-scale ionospheric turbulence. He shall perform three ptimary tasks as described in his proposal 1) seek to understand the generation and decay mechanisms of artificial large-scale turbulence (ALST) in the ionosphere; (2) study the relationship between ALST and artificial small-scale turbulence (ASST); and (3) investigate new methods of diagnostics of coherent structures in ALST.


Purpose This study sought to prospectively evaluate the feasibility and safety of a preoperative mathematic model for computed tomographic(CT) guided microwave(MW) ablation treatment of hepatic dome tumors. Methods This mathematic model was a regular cylinder quantifying appropriate puncture routes from the bottom up. A total of 103 patients with hepatic dome tumors were enrolled and randomly divided into 2 groups based on whether this model was used or not: Group A (using the model; n = 43) versus Group B (not using the model; n = 60). All tumors were treated by CT-guided MW ablation and follow-up contrast CT were reviewed. Results The average number of times for successful puncture, average ablation time, and incidence of right shoulder pain were less in Group A than Group B (1.4 vs. 2.5, P = 0.001; 8.8 vs. 11.1 minutes, P = 0.003; and 4.7% vs. 20%, P = 0.039). The technical success rate was higher in Group A than Group B (97.7% vs. 85.0%, P = 0.032). There were no significant differences between the two groups in primary and secondary technique efficacy rates (97.7% vs. 88.3%, P = 0.081; 90.0% vs. 72.7%, P = 0.314). No major complications occurred in both groups. Conclusion The mathematic model of regular cylinder is feasible and safe for CT-guided MW ablation in treating hepatic dome tumors.


A method of analytical iteration is presented for calculation the cable shape and the unstressed element length of main cable of suspension bridge based on the mechanical feature of the bridge under dead load.The presented nonlinear equations were analyzed by Newton-Raphson iteration scheme,and a program is developed upon this method.By means of considering the ways of stiff girder construction,the way is provided for calculating the force of suspension cable.Meanwhile,the calculation of suspender force,the solution for the target configuration of main cable of suspension bridge,and the calculation procedures of unstressed element length were discussed in detail.Finally,the efficiency and the accuracy of the proposed method were demonstrated through an example,and the calculation results were compared with the other literature method results.The analytical results show that the presented methods have the advantages of simple procedure and high accuracy.


In this paper for the first time we compared spectra of the brain and Schumann electromagnetic waves. We argue that both modes of electromagnetic radiation: brain waves and Schumann waves can be analyzed with the help of the Planck formula. From our calculation we deduced the temperature of the Schumann and brain waves T= 10 -10 K.


AIM OF THE STUDY:
1. To analyze the etiological factors of paraumblical hernias in adults.
2. To find the possibility of hypothyroidism, being a risk factor for paraumbilical hernias.
3. To compare the outcomes of primary suture repair with mesh repair of paraumbilical hernias.
4. To analyze the post-operative course of paraumblical hernia repair.
MATERIALS AND METHODOLOGY
1. Study Centre- Madras Medical College and Rajiv Gandhi Government General hospital.
2. Duration: February 2017 - September 2017.
3. Study Design: Observational study (Prospective).
4. Sample Size: 50 patients.
Inclusion Criteria:
1. All patients diagnosed with paraumbilical hernia and its related complications for surgical management were included in the study.
2. Age >18 years.
3. All patients who gave consent for the study.
Exclusion Criteria:
1. All incisional hernias occurring around the umbilicus.
2. Umbilical hernioplasty performed incidentally during other laparotomy procedures.
3. Recurrent paraumbilical hernias.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
1. A large multicenter trial is essential to have a larger sample to make the data more informative.
2. A long term standardised follow up study for at least 5 years could be more authentic to find out late recurrences.
3. Randomisation of recruits into mesh and anatomical group will definitely improve the outcome of the study.
CONCLUSION:
As the age advances medical co-morbidities may be associated more, including diabetes mellitus.
Swelling and pain were the common presenting complaints. Half of the cases were obese with equal prevalence both in men and women.
More than half of the hernias were larger than 3 cm and omentum being the most common content of the sac. Presence of obstructive symptoms in hernia larger than 3cm may be an indication of irreducibility.
Mesh repair and drain has been the preferred method in elective cases. This resulted in the lower incidence of seroma, hematoma and wound infection.
Immediate postoperative complications were strongly associated with 1. Emergency surgery, 2. Hernia size >3cm and 3. Irreducibility.
Use of mesh will definitely reduce the recurrence rate in adult umbilical hernia.


Abstract : The report is intended as a user's manual for those interested in the NARM's Manpower Cost Model and its calculations involving manpower inventories, variable manpower support, and variable manpower costs. A comprehensive bibliography is attached as Appendix III for those interested in features of the NARM not covered in this report.


Modern civil aircrafts contain an increasing amount of titanium as structural material. Besides mechanical properties the electrochemical compatibility with carbon fibre reinforced materials is the main driving force for new titanium applications in aeronautics. Researchers in industry and academia are spurred by high demand and high costs to develop new affordable processes for the extraction of the attractive light metal. Established industrial scale processes are based on chlorination of the titanium dioxide and reduction of titanium tetra chloride with magnesium or sodium. Processes based on electrolysis are promising for the replacement of common titanium extraction routes. However, many different process alternatives were proposed in the past but due to up-scaling restrictions none of them has been industrialised yet. Nevertheless, it is worth to examine new attempts with lower energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions for ecological and economical reasons.

The difficulty of titanium winning is its strong affinity to oxygen and hydrogen. Electrolytic processes require detailed knowledge on the electrolyte as well as on the behaviour of the titanium ions and its species in the electrolytic cell. Higher energy efficiency is the main driver for the development of an electrolytic process. Worldwide several processes based on the extraction of titanium in molten salts are under investigation. The electrolytic processes can be divided in direct reduction of cathodes on the one hand and several technologies to dissolve different titanium compounds in the electrolyte on the other hand. Table 1 provides an overview on the major international known developments, which will be discussed in the presentation.

Further challenges of the electrolysis of titanium in molten salts are referred to the deposition on substrates to form dense coatings. Electrochemical routes have the potential to replace energy and time consuming PVD processes for special applications. Once an electrolytic titanium coating process is developed new applications e.g. for corrosion protection and titanium matrix composites will arise. Opportunities and challenges of new coating technologies by molten salt electrolysis will be presented.


In this dissertation, I study firm dynamics in the context of a global and uncertain economy. In the first chapter, I show how uncertainty generates reallocation among French multinationals. In a second chapter, I study how an increase in demand uncertainty negatively impacts firm growth and how the persistence of this effect depends on the synchronicity of the firm dynamic with that of the other firms in its sector. Finally in the third chapter, I highlight how the extensive margin of international trade contribute to shape the direction, quantity and content of the international transmission of knowledge.


Cancer is one of the most life-threatening diseases and serious
public health problems in both developed and developing countries
[1]. The major events include transformation, disregulation of
apoptosis, proliferation, invasion, angiogenesis, and metastasis [2-4].


This chapter discusses the implementation of scientific management theories in the context of the Guided Democracy's revolutionary effort to remake the Indonesian person. Studies into the administrative problems in the early 1950s has pointed out the cultural problem of administration. Classes on such themes as leadership strengthened the idea of a cultural pathology rooted in feudal Indonesian culture. Instead, an idealized image of the village with its corporatist values of gotong royong became one of the mainstay in the discussion of Indonesian administration. This would translate in the creation of a series of institution meant to discipline the civil service and wider population. Indoctrination courses, surveillance and retooling were the means to which the behavioral problem of the Indonesian man could be rationalized so as to support development. The support for this behavioral indoctrination came from both scientific management and Indonesian ideas of traditional corporatism. The concept of discipline was bifurcated within the divide between the experts and the rest. Thus, Indonesian behavioral discipline was often a form of re- traditionalization allowing for the expert to take on the authority of tradition. This again highlights the ease with which scientific management was reincarnated to support an Indonesian corporative order that was illiberal and undemocratic.


Let { X n ,n≥1} be a sequence of iid. Gaussian random vectors in R d , d≥2, with nonsingular distribution function F. In this paper the asymptotics for the sequence of integrals I F,n (G n )≔n∫ R d G n n−1( X ) dF( X ) is considered with G n some distribution function on R d . In the case G n =F the integral I F,n (F)/n is the probability that a record occurs in X 1,…, X n at index n. [1] obtained lower and upper asymptotic bounds for this case, whereas [2] showed the rate of convergence if d=2. In this paper we derive the exact rate of convergence of I F,n (G n ) for d≥2 under some restrictions on the distribution function G n . Some related results for multivariate Gaussian tails are discussed also.


The use of written sources for teaching History. Analysis of textbooks for thethird and fourth years of high schoolCurrently, in addition to the usual contents, history textbooks now cite primary and secondary sources with suggested activities. This research analyzes these proposed activities in history textbooks for third- and fourth-year students. The objective is to evaluate the degree to which the activities proposed in the sourcespromote the development of critical thought in students.Students exercise critical thought when they engage in the activities suggested in the sources cited to compare different versions of the same historical events and then process this new information to develop their own response to a historical problem. This level of complexity is not achieved in most of the suggested activities given that sources tend to serve only to supplement information


In this paper we prove the existence of global in time small data solutions of semilinear Klein-Gordon equations in the space-time with a static Schwarzschild radius in the expanding universe.


Introduction: Few studies have considered the factors independently associated with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and/or fibromyalgia (FM) or considered the impact of these conditions on health status using population-based data. Methods: We used data from the nationally representative 2010 Canadian Community Health Survey (n= 59 101) to describe self-reported health professional-diagnosed CFS and/or FM, and their associations with 6 health status indicators. Results: In 2010, diagnosed CFS and FM are reported by 1.4% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.3%–1.6%) and 1.5% (1.4%–1.7%), respectively, of the Canadian household population aged 12 years and over, with comorbid CFS and FM affecting 0.3% (0.3%– 0.4%) of that population. Prevalent CFS and/or FM were more common among women, adults aged 40 years and over, those with lowest income, and those with certain risk factors for chronic disease (i.e. obesity, physical inactivity and smoking). After controlling for differences between the groups, people with CFS and/or FM reported poorer health status than those with neither condition on 5 indicators of health status, but not on the measure of fair/poor mental health. Having both CFS and FM and having multiple comorbid conditions was associated with poorer health status. Conclusion: Co-occurrence of CFS and FM and having other chronic conditions were strongly related to poorer health status and accounted for much of the differences in health status. Understanding factors contributing to improved quality of life in people with CFS and/or FM, particularly in those with both conditions and other comorbidities, may be an important area for future research. Abstract Introduction: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a high incidence cancer affecting many Canadian adults each year. Diet is important in the etiology of CRC with many dietary components identified as potential risk factors. The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet is a well-established pattern to characterize overall eating. The purpose of this study was to characterize a DASH pattern within the Canadian context and to assess its relationship to the risk of CRC in Canadian adults. Methods: Unconditional multiple logistic regression with control for confounding variables was performed using data from the National Enhanced Cancer Surveillance Study. Dietary intake was captured for this case-control study through a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) and categorized into a DASH score ranging from 0 to 10 representing a poor to a strong DASH pattern respectively. Results: Consuming a strong DASH pattern of eating (score § 8) was not common in the 3161 cases and 3097 controls. Overall, only 10.8 % of men and 13.6 % of women had a strong DASH pattern. Multivariate analysis demonstrated a trend for decreasing risk of CRC in men with increasing DASH scores ( p value for trend = .007). Men with a strong DASH score had a 33% reduction in risk of CRC compared to those with a low DASH score. There were no significant trends for women for CRC or for colon or rectal cancers separately. Conclusion: Our findings are similar to other researchers suggesting a benefit with a strong DASH pattern associated with a decreased risk of CRC, especially in men. Research should further investigate our gender-based differences. Congenital anomalies (birth defects or congenital malformations) are abnormal-ities that are present at birth, even if not diagnosed until months or years later. They may be present from conception, as is the case with a chromosome defect (e.g. Down syndrome) or gene mutation (e.g. achon-droplasia), and they also include those structural defects that occur in the embryo-nic period up to the end of the seventh week of gestation (e.g. spina bifida) or in the early fetal period between 8 and 16 weeks gestation, (e.g. orofacial clefts).


In 1841, Wacław Jabłonowski, in a review of Juliusz Słowacki's Beniowski, depicted in the poet a fiery rain which would cleanse the nation of "disgusting growths of weepy Romanticism". The paper presents an ironic play with the motif of tears in the poem, which is, above all, a play with literary conventions. An example of farewell love letters flooded with tears is regarded not only in the context of the poet's distance from sentimental and romantic affects (the issue of authenticity and artificiality) or from literary styles, but also in the context of the imagological constructs of—real or projected—Polish identity as well as reactions to the loss of independence. Juxtaposing Beniowski with Byron's Don Juan, the paper shows how Słowacki overcomes irony and moves towards mysticism.


Transport
   of
   membrane-‐bound
   organelles
   is
   critical
   to
   neuronal
   cell
   function
   yet mechanisms
  hitching
  vesicles
  to
  transport
  machinery
  remain
  elusive.
  Here
  we
  test whether
   jun-‐kinase
   interacting
  protein
   (JIP-‐1),
   a
  peripheral
  membrane
   scaffolding protein
   that
   binds
   kinesin
   light
   chain,
   is
   sufficient
   to
   mediate
   cargo
   transport
   in axons
   and
   study
   its
   competition
   with
   amyloid
   precursor
   protein
   cytoplasmic domain
   (APP-‐C)
   and
   negative
   charge,
   also
   known
   motor
   receptors.
   Fluorescent beads
   (100
   nm
   diameter)
   exhibit
   sequence-‐specific
   fast
   anterograde
   transport (0.46μm/s
  instantaneous
  velocity)
  in
  the
  squid
  giant
  axon
  when
  conjugated
  to
  a
  14-‐ amino
   acid
   synthetic
   peptide
   derived
   from
   the
   carboxyl
   terminus
   of
   JIP-‐1.
   JIP-‐1-‐ beads
   have
   statistically
   significant
   faster
   velocities,
   longer
   run
   lengths,
   and
   fewer pauses
  of
  shorter
  durations
  than
  APP-‐C
  or
  negatively
  charged
  beads
  by
  cumulative


A desire with iterative optimization techniques is that the algorithm reach the global optimum rather than get stranded at a local optimum value. One method used to try to assure global convergence is the injection of extra noise terms into the recursion, which may allow the algorithm to escape local optimum points. The amplitude of the injected noise is decreased over time (a process called "annealing"), so that the algorithm can finally converge when it reaches the global optimum point. In this context, we examine a certain gradient-free method, simultaneous perturbation stochastic approximation (SPSA), that has performed well in complex optimization problems. We develop a proof of conditions under which SPSA will converge globally. We argue that, in some cases, the naturally occurring error in the SPSA gradient approximation effectively introduces injected noise that promotes convergence of the algorithm to a global optimum (obviating the necessity for injecting extra noise). The discussion is supported by a numerical study.


The main purpose of this study is to identify determinants of the demand of life insurance in 14 countries in Central and South- Eastern Europe (CSEE). We use fixed-effects panel model for the period 1998 - 2010 allowing each cross-sectional unit to have a different intercept term serving as an unobserved random variable that is potentially correlated with the observed regressors. We use two measures as a demand for life insurance: life insurance penetration and life insurance density. The research results show that higher, GDP per capita, inflation, health expenditure, level of education and rule of law are the most robust predictors of the use of life insurance. Real interest rates, ratio of quasi-money, young dependency ratio, old dependency ratio control of corruption and government effectiveness do not appear to be robustly associated with life insurance demand.


The embodiment of the invention discloses a method and a device for queuing routing. The method comprises the following steps of: obtaining history behavior information of a user accessing a calling center system; and analyzing the history behavior information and carrying out the queuing routing on the user calling based on the analyzed results of the history behavior information. The embodiment of the invention further discloses a device for queuing routing, comprising an information obtaining module and a calling processing module. The technical scheme of the invention can provide a dynamic queuing routing mechanism according to the history behavior information of the user so as to provide finer service way for the user and improve the experience of the user.


In M.I.C. technology it is important to know well the propagation properties of planar lines laid on semiconductor substrates. For this purpose we have developped two complementary theoretical analysis. The first one based on the Finite Element Method (F.E.M.), the second one on Spectral Domain Approach (S.D.A.). We present some attemps of these analysis which are compared to experimental results.


The minimum number of critical points for circular Morse functions on closed connected surfaces has been computed by the authors in [4]. Some bounds for the minimum characteristic number of closed connected orientable surfaces embedded in the first Heisenberg group with respect to its horizontal distribution are also given by [4]. In this paper we provide a more elementary proof for the minimum number of critical points of circular Morse functions and the details for the bounds on the mentioned minimum characteristic number. Mathematics Subject Classification (2010): 58E05.


The project of Line 2 of Bus Rapid Transit has planned to be put to execution in Changzhou after the operation of Line 1.Analyzing the overall condition of Line 2 rebuilding project,the paper discusses the problems,such as arrangement of cross section,structure process of road surface and joint treatment.


Two step synthesis of 0-[3-(5-tetrazolyl)propyl]oximes from corresponding oximes in the system Br(CH2)3CN / K2C03 / 18-crown-6 / toluene with the subsequent treatment with Me3SiN3 / Bu2SnO was carried out. Acetophenone 0-[3-(5-tetrazolyl)propyl]oxime formed an internal salt in the solid state. In contrast, the similar proton transfer did not occur in the case of benzaldehyde 0-[3-(5tetrazolyl)propyl]oxime. Introduction Synthesis, reactions and properties of tetrazole derivatives are widely described in numerous reviews '. NUnsubstituted tetrazoles can exist as both 1Hand 2//-tautomers being in equilibrium in solutions. The amino derivatives of tetrazoles exhibit amino-imino tautomerism caused by acidic properties of Nunsubstituted tetrazole ring. The pKa of tetrazole ring strongly depends on electronic properties of side chain. The electron-withdrawing substituents in tetrazole molecule increase N-H acidity. Proton transfer from tetrazole ring to amino group in aminotetrazoles 2 leads to the internal salt formation. Zwitter-ionic structures also have been described. The aim of the present work is the synthesis and investigation of the 0-[3-(5-tetrazolyl)propyl]oximes structure. Results and Discussions 0-[3-(5-tetrazolyl)propyl]oximes were synthesized by two step process (Scheme 1). The phase transfer catalytic alkylation of oximes 1, 2 in the 1-bromo-4-butyronitrile / solid KOH / 18-crown-6 / toluene system 4 led stereoselectively to ^-isomers of 0-[3-cyanopropyl]oximes 3, 4 in yields up to 96 %. In the second step the products 3, 4 interacted with Me3SiN3 in the presence of Bu2SnO in toluene 5 to give E-0[3-(5-tetrazolyl)propyl]oximes 5, 6 in 39-43% yields. The compounds obtained were characterized with massand NMR spectroscopic data. />=NOH R KOH / 18-crown-6 / toluene / 20<>C Μ 4 " 5 h 3 , 4 MejSiNi / Bu2SnO toluene / reflux / 30 h Η I


Many transition metal ions coordinate to N,N,N',N'tetrakis(2-pyridylmethyl)-1,2-ethanediamine (tpen) with a coordination number of 6. Such 6-coordinate [M(tpen)] complexes are well known for M = Fe(II), Fe(III), Cr(III), and Co(III). In spite of the steric crowding of the tpen, the structures of these metal complexes are typically mononuclear octahedron with the tpen ligand coordinated in a hexadentate manner. In contrast, when the tpen ligand is coordinated to the copper(II), a variety of geometries can be formed due to the various bonding modes of the tpen and the d configuration of the copper(II). Recently, a 5-coordinate [Cu(tpen)] complex having one uncoordinated pyridine N atom was obtained by reacting the tpen with copper(II) perchlorate. In this reaction, we did not find a 6-coordinate [Cu(tpen)] complex. However, in the present paper, a 6-coordinate complex, [Cu(tpen)](ClO4)2· 2/3H2O (1), is synthesized, and its structural characterization is reported.


In the past, educational curricula were designed for a stable world, but now our society lives in a rapidly changing world surrounded by local and global challenges, perhaps the most important of which is the knowledge explosion, technological development, and openness to the world as a result of the speed of communications and transportation, until the world has become a small village. All of this requires efforts to develop thinking mentalities capable of solving problems, and that is the responsibility of education at the present time.


By the method of analytic hierarchy process(AHP),the ideal mixed pattern of Liquidambar formosana Hance was chosen.The results showed that the mixed forest of L.formosana(1) × L.chinense(1) was a mixed pattern in South China with higher productivity and better ecological benefit,which could be applied to south forest districts.


A novel method for improving pump absorption efficiency in circular double-clad fibres by laser machining localised pump scramblers at strategic positions along the fibre is reported. Preliminary results for a thulium-doped double-clad fibre indicate that the pump absorption coefficient attainable via this approach is comparable to an equivalent octagonal fibre.


Bandpass filters play a significant role in wireless communication systems. Transmitted and received signals have to be filtered at a certain center frequency with a specific bandwidth. The major problem in design microstrip bandpass filter is to get a deeper and wider rejection bandwidth. In this thesis, a dual mode microstrip open loop resonators and filter is design to be operated at 5.7 GHz for wireless local area network (WLAN) using sonnet lite simulation software. Results have been analyzed in terms of reflection coefficient and transmission coefficient. The simulated filter performances are presented. The simulated result shows the performance of bandpass is better for resonator with contact feed compared with non contact feed.


The invention discloses a pixel structure. The pixel structure comprises first transparent conducting films and second transparent conducting films, wherein the first transparent conducting films are arranged on all color resistors on a color film substrate, the second transparent conducting films correspond to the first transparent conducting films and are arranged on subpixel areas of an array substrate, and all the first transparent conducting films are connected. The area of the first transparent conducting films is larger than that of the corresponding second transparent conducting films, and grooves are formed in the parts, larger than the second transparent conducting films, of the first transparent conducting films. The light transmittance of the pixel structure is greatly improved.


Developments in information gathering and processing have led to considerable interest in micromarketing. In the quest for increased profits, managers of retail chains may be attracted to the idea of customizing prices to the store level according to local demand and competitive conditions. For example, if chain stores face lower demand and/or more competition in some locations than others, it may be tempting to price lower in those areas. However, we show generally and illustrate through means of a specific model that there is a strategic incentive to soften competition by committing not to customize prices at the store level and instead adopt uniform pricing across the store network. Moreover, for a range of parameter values that we characterize, this incentive is sufficiently strong to allow for higher profits to be achieved under uniform pricing rather than local pricing. We also show that the strategic incentive is enhanced when all firms in the industry agree (or are obliged by a competition authority) to adopt a similar policy, and even that there are cases where both firms and consumers (as a group) are benefited thereby.


One of the challenges in rootstock breeding programs is the combination of tolerances to different abiotic stresses in new interspecific hybrids adapted to a wide range of environmental conditions. In this work, two Prunus L. rootstocks: Myrobalan 'P.2175' (P. cerasifera Ehrh.) and the almond × peach hybrid 'Garnem' (P. amygdalus Batsch × P. persica (L.) Batsch) were subjected to drought during 24 h to understand their drought response mechanisms. The study was conducted monitoring leaf water potential (LWP), stomatal conductance (gs), relative water content (RWC), and electrolyte leakage (EL); as well as the abscisic acid (ABA) content in roots. The relative expression of five drought-relative genes was also studied. The obtained results allowed examining the drought tolerance potential of 'Garnem' and Myrobalan 'P.2175', demonstrating the great potential of 'Garnem' as drought tolerance source in future selections in breeding. Furthermore, based on the obtained data, the transcription factor Myb25-like could be a good biomarker of drought sensitivity for use in Prunus rootstock breeding programs.


The aim of the Action Research was to establish whether learners would grasp Maths concepts better by using a learning tree, illustrating the building blocks in the process.There are links with scaffold learning (Bruner 1967), where learners build upon knowledge in small chunks to develop their knowledge and skills.Hairdressing learners studying level 1 Maths pinpointed their achievements on a model of a tree. The main stem had various branches representing a different topic of Maths. I thought by allowing the learners to see their progress visually this may enhance their enjoyment, promoting more engagement and having an effect on success rates. The ultimate result was to improve the quality of teaching and learning in the classroom, whilst challenging learner's personal constructs about themselves.


Objective To explore the prevalence of ETS gene fusion in prostate cancer and its correlation with patient's clinicopathologic index.Methods Ninety-one samples from prostate needle biopsy cases with median age 75 (55-90) years and 18 samples from radical prostatectomy cases with median age 72 (63-81) years were collected from Oct.2010 to Feb.2012.TMPRSS2-ERG,TMPRSS2-ETV1 and TMPRSS2-ETV4 fusions were tested by multi-probe fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) assay.Fusion positive and negative cases were compared with age,TNM stage,Gleason score (median Gleason score 7 (6-9)),and PSA value (median PSA 33.4 μg/L,mcan PSA 118.8 μg/L).In needle biopsy cases,there were early stage 32 (34%),locally advanced prostate cancer 36 (40%),metastasis 23 (26%) ; in radical prostatectomy cases,there were 9 cases in T2 stage,8 cases in T3 stage,1 cases in T4a stage,respectively.Results TMPRSS2-ERG fusions were present in 14.3% (13/91,95% confidence interval,0.071-0.215)biopsy specimens and in 11.1% (2/18,95% confidence interval,0-0.256) radical prostatectomy specimens.No TMPRSS2-ETV1 or TMPRSS2-ETV4 fusions were found in any cases.Altogether,13 (86.7%)cases possessed deletion pattern.And 7 (46.6%) hold insertion pattern.5 cases had both deletion and insertion pattern.38.5% (5/13) deletion pattern had distant metastasis.Except one metastatic case harbored both deletion and insertion pattern,there was no insertion pattern accompanied with metastasis.There were no differences between fusion positive and negative cases in the distribution of age (P =1.000),PSA (P =1.138),primary Gleason score (P=2.186),Gleason score (P=2.107),TNM stage (P=2.052) and Risk Degree (P=2.597).Conclusions The TMPRSS2-ERG fusion positive cases harbor more deletion pattern than insertion pattern.There are no differences between fusion positive and negative cases in the distribution of age,PSA,Gleason score,TNM stage and Risk Degree.

Key words:
Prostate cancer;  Gene fusion;  TMPRSS2;  E26 transformation-specific family


Some new techniques are introduced in this paper, which were used in the route and field sea ice investigation during the 19th Chinese Antarctic Expedition. The practice has found that these techniques made the observation more accurate, and they can be used in the sea ice investigation in the Bohai Sea and inland river ice. The techniques of video, marine radar for icebergs movement and ice sheet thickness are more useful. Their designed aim, principles, components and capabilities are given.


Author: Diarmuid Torney This publication has been produced with the assistance of the European Union. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of ECRAN and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union. Executive summary • The exploitation of unconventional fossil fuels, particularly shale gas, has been one of the most significant developments in the global energy landscape in the past five years. While extraction techniques have attracted controversy due to concerns over environmental impacts from environmental groups and the public, shale gas has transformed the US energy market. • The US experience has led to strong interest in Europe and China, and several assessments indicate large shale gas reserves in both regions. Neither region has so far seen any commercial shale gas extraction, however, and future exploitation of estimated reserves is subject to considerable uncertainty. • In the EU, shale gas extraction is likely to remain limited, at least in the short term. This is due to strong public opposition in many countries, land rights issues, the structure of the European shale gas industry and the geological characteristics of European reserves. • The Chinese government intends to capitalise on the potential of shale gas, but here too a number of factors may constrain extraction in the short term. These include a lack of relevant technology and experience on the part of domestic firms, regulatory and infrastructural issues around gas prices and pipeline capacity, water scarcity in many shale gas regions, the geological characteristics of reserves and the potential for public protests over issues of pollution and land rights. However, technological innovation in the shale gas industry has been very rapid, and some of these constraints may be overcome in the years ahead. • A high shale gas scenario for China would benefit both China and the EU: China would gain greater energy security and lower dependence on coal, while the EU would benefit from reduced pressure on global gas markets and relatively lower Chinese greenhouse gas emissions. A low Chinese shale gas scenario would result in an increase in China's imports of natural gas, or in its coal consumption, or a combination of both. Increasing imports of Russian gas could strengthen Russia's hand as a swing supplier between the EU and China. Increased coal consumption, on the other hand, would lead to increased Chinese greenhouse gas emissions. • It is in …


Legumes represent major sources of nutrients and their nutritive value depends upon the processing methods applied. The objective of this study was to determine the effect processing on proximate and mineral compositions of 'hepho' (Lablab purpureus L.). Hepho is the Afan Oromo name for black climbing bean Lablab purpureus L. which is an indigenous legume in Ethiopia. The processing techniques employed were traditional cooking (TC) and pressure cooking (PC) of the dehulled and undehulled hepho bean while the raw sample was served as a control. The protein content was retained in all the processing methods while other proximate compositions showed deviations from the raw. Both PC and TC caused a significant (p < 0.05) difference in carbohydrate, fat, fiber, ash and energy content. The results also showed that the processing methods caused a significant (p < 0.05) difference in all the minerals (Ca, P and Zn) except the iron (Fe) content that was retained during all the processing employed. This legume was reach in minerals and proximate compositions and after processing the protein and iron content were determined to be stable. The high amount of iron in lablab beans and its retention during processing was noteworthy as diets in many developing countries are iron deficient. Hence, hepho or lablab can be an alternative and cheaper source of supplemental protein and other nutrients to solve protein energy malnutrition which is a prevalent problem in developing countries like Ethiopia.


The epidermis of two species of phoronids, Phoronis australis and Phoronis hippocrepia, was studied using transmission electron microscopy and histochemical techniques. Results were compared with information available for Phoronis psammophila. The epidermis of each of the three species is similar with respect to certain cell types, namely supporting cells, fine-granule-containing cells, and four types of gland cells. These species differ, however, in abundance and distribution of each cell type. Differences may be related to different degrees of lubrication produced in various kinds of habitats (epifaunal, rocky, and sandy habitats). On the other hand, these differences may be related to burrowing activities in the three kinds of substrates. We conclude that possible correlations among structural patterns of the epidermis and various habitats primarily involve the relative abundance and distribution of gland-cell types along the trunk and ampulla. Phoronids are marine tube-dwelling invertebrates. The two species used for the present work, Phoronis australis Haswell, 1883, and Phoronis hippocrepia Wright, 1856, and a third species, Phoronis psammophila Cori, 1889, to which they are compared, build tubes in different substrates. P. psammophila lives in the intertidal and shallow subtidal zones (0-18 m depth) in sandy or muddy sediments, and its tube is covered by aggregated sediment particles (Emig, 1971; Fernandez et al., 1991); P. hippocrepia is found from the intertidal zone to 55 m depth, burrowing in rocks or empty shells or incrusting hard substrates; its tube is sinuous, without aggregated particles, except on the portion of the tube outside of the substrate (Emig, 1971; Emig & Bailey-Brock, 1987). P. australis occurs between the low-tide mark to 36 m depth and builds its tube in the tube wall of cerianthids, which may be considered a hard substrate (Emig, 1971; Emig et al., 1972). A detailed description of the epidermal cell types and their distributions along the trunk of P. psammophila was provided by Fernandez et al. (1991), who confirmed the statements of Pourreau (1979) relative to the role played by epidermal gland cells in tube construction. We have studied the ultrastructure of the epidermis of the trunk and ampulla of P. australis and P. hippocrepia in order to compare these species with P. psammophila and to describe possible relationships between the structure of the epidermis and habitat. I We thank Dr. C. C. Emig (Station Marine d'Endoume, Marseille) for the facilities needed to collect specimens of Phoronis hippocrepia and Drs. G. San Martin and E. Garcia Raso for kindly providing the specimens of Phoronis australis used in this study. This work was supported by a research grant (PB 860010) of the Comisi6n Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnologia (CICYT). TRANS. AM. MICROSC. SOC., 112(4): 280-291. 1993. ? Copyright, 1993, by the American Microscopical Society, Inc. This content downloaded from 18.104.22.168 on Thu, 08 Sep 2016 06:10:38 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms VOL. 112, NO. 4, OCTOBER 1993 MATERIALS AND METHODS Individuals of both species studied were collected on the Mediterranean coast; Phoronis hippocrepia was found in a submarine cave near Marseille (France) at 10 m depth, and Phoronis australis was collected at 2-3 m depth in Almeria, SW coast of Spain, within tubes of Cerianthus sp. (Anthozoa). Specimens were fixed in 4% glutaraldehyde buffered with 0.1 M cacodylate in filtered seawater and postfixed in 1% osmium tetroxide in the same buffer. Tissue pieces then were dehydrated in an acetone series, stained en bloc in 2% uranyl acetate during dehydration, and embedded in Araldite via propylene oxide. Ultrathin sections were obtained with an LKB III ultramicrotome, stained with lead citrate, and examined with a Philips EM 201 electron microscope. For histochemical tests, specimens were fixed in neutral buffered formalin or Bouin's fluid and embedded in paraffin wax. Blocks were sectioned at 5-7 ,m. The following histochemical techniques were applied (details in Gabe, 1968; Lison, 1960; Pearse, 1968): 1. For characterization of mucopolysaccharides: periodic acid-Shiff (PAS), Alcian blue 8GX (AB) at pH 2.5 and 1.5; AB-PAS, and Toluidine blue (TB) at pH 4.2-1.5. 2. For proteins: Danielli's tetrazo reaction with or without previous treatment by DNFB (dinitrofluorobenzene), performic oxidation, benzoylation, and deamination.


Studies of the biomarkers of atrial cardiopathy seem to be promising for identifying patients with cryptogenic stroke (CS), in which an intensive search for atrial fibrillation is indicated. Nevertheless, the diagnostic value of these markers and their threshold values require clarification. Objective: to present the characteristics of echocardiographic markers for atrial cardiopathy and the serum concentration of N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) in embolic CS versus cardioembolic stroke (CES) and non-cardioembolic stroke (non-CES) to determine the threshold values of parameters with the highest sensitivity and specificity in differentiating CES and non-CES. Patients and methods. A total of 259 patients with ischemic stroke were examined. The standard examination additionally involved calculation of the parameters that reflected left atrial LA) function (LAF): LA emptying fraction (LAEF), and LA functional index (LAFI). The serum NT-proBNP concentration was also determined in 75 patients. vs 54.7 [51.6; 56.6]% vs 54.9 [52.5; 56.8]%; p<0.001). The only parameter that showed significant differences between all the three groups (CES, CS, and non-CES) was LAFI (0.24 [0.2; 0.32] units vs 0.37 [0.3; 0.47] units vs 0.40 [0.34; 0.47] units; p<0.001), while maintaining the differences in the values for the two groups (CS and non-CES) (p=0.004). The following threshold values of biomarkers were obtained for CES and non-CES; these were a LA diameter of 41.5 mm (p<0.001), a LAVI of 36.3 ml/m 2 (p<0.001), a LAEF of 51.8% (p<0.001), a LAFI of 0.28 units (p<0.001), and an NT-proBNP of 316 pg/ml (p<0.001). Analysis of the ROC curves and the area under the curve (AUC) revealed that the most informative criteria for sensitivity and specificity were LAEF (79 and 88%, AUC 0.89), NT-proBNP (67 and 91%, AUC 0.89) and LAFI (93 and 72%, AUC 0.81). Conclusion. The CS group and non-CES one are comparable in the echocardiographic manifestations of atrial cardiopathy and in serum NT-proBNP values. LAEF and NT-proBNP concentrations are promising biomarkers to classify CS patients into potential arterio- and cardioembolic types.


A multi-mode cavity filter, comprising: at least one dielectric resonator body incorporating a piece of dielectric material, the piece of dielectric material having a shape such that it can support at least a first resonant mode and at least a second substantially degenerate resonant mode; at least one excitation device for at least one of: establishing an electromagnetic field external to, but immediately adjacent to, at least one face of the dielectric resonator body or for extracting energy from an electromagnetic field located external to, but immediately adjacent to, at least one face of the dielectric resonator body, a layer of conductive material in contact with and covering the dielectric resonator body; on the at least one face of the dielectric resonator body:; at least one aperture in the layer of conductive material for at least one of inputting signals to the dielectric resonator body and outputting signals from the dielectric resonator body, wherein the excitation device is located, in at least two dimensions, at the electrical centre of the at least one face of the dielectric resonator body.


The experiment was conducted in Randomized Block Design (RBD) with three replications at Potato Research Station, Sardarkrushinagar Dantiwada Agricultural University, Deesa during rabi 2017-18. The crop was harvested at 90 days after planting. The analysis of variance revealed that mean sum of squares due to genotypes were found highly significant for all the traits. This is proved that the existence of tremendous variability in the experimental material for different traits. However, from tuber yield point of view, MS/9-2196, J/7-37, K. Ganga and K. Anand were elite genotypes based on per se performance. The genotypes, K. Lauvkar, K. Sindhuri and DSP-7 exhibited low physiological weight loss, while genotypes, K. Surya, MS/12-655 and K. Ganga had low loss due to rottage on weight basis. Thus, these genotypes may be considered as good for storage ability at room temperature storage condition. The high heritability along with high genetic advance in plant height, leaf area, fresh weight of tops per plant, number of tuber per plant, tuber yield per plant, average tuber weight, physiological weight loss, loss due to rottage on weight basis, loss due to rottage on number basis and total weight loss, suggested that genotypic variation for the characters is probably attributed to high additive genetic effect and selection would be rewarding based on phenotypic performance.


ABSTRACT The focus of this paper is on the multilateral trade system as embodied in the World Trade Organization (wto) and its impact on African economic development and poverty alleviation. It discusses how the multilateral trading system—particularly the rules and agreements in areas such as tariff barriers, access to Western markets, and intellectual property rights—has affected the efforts of African countries to chalk up economic development and address the high poverty levels on the continent. The paper argues that while African economies have not remained stagnant since becoming part of the multilateral trading system, the economic growth rates have been rather low, thereby bringing little benefits to African countries. This stems not only from the inadequate access that most African countries have to Western markets, but more importantly from the lack of personnel to negotiate at multilateral trade sessions, the perennial problem of limited experts, and mono-crop agricultural exports, which have characterized the economies of much of Africa. Hence, until there are changes in the multilateral trade system, improvements made in areas of personnel training and human capacity buildings, and efforts made to diversify their exports, it is unlikely the peripheral status of the African countries in the global economy will change.


Smarandache's function is defined thus: S(n) = is the smallest integer such that S(n)! is divisible by n. [1] In this article we are going to look at the value that has S(2k-1) (mod k) for all k integer, 2 :s k :s 97. One can observe in the following table that gives the continuation S(2k-1) == 1 (mod k) in the majority of cases, there are only 4 exeptions for 2 < k < 97. k 5(2"-1) 5(2"-1)


High‐pressure studies on high quality AlxGa1−xAs double heterostructure light emitting diodes (LEDs) grown by liquid phase epitaxy (LPE) are presented. The AlxGa1−xAs active region varies in composition from x∼0.25 to x∼0.53, i.e., through the important region of the direct‐indirect crossover (x≡xc≊0.45). The pressure coefficient of the Γ conduction band is observed to decrease (∼1 meV/kbar for x∼0.25 to x∼0.53) with increasing Al concentration, which is in accord with alloy disorder and band‐edge bowing. Indirect‐gap (X) recombination radiation of significant intensity is observed and provides evidence for the high quality of the LPE diodes. High‐pressure measurements, and the corresponding increase in energy of the direct band edge and decrease in the indirect band edge, show that the light emission is a strong function of the carrier distribution in the Γ and X conduction‐band minima. Comparison LEDs fabricated from a crystal (x∼0.37) grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition exhibit nearly simil...


We present a tribimaximal lepton mixing scheme where the neutrinoless double beta decay rate has a lower bound which correlates with the ratio {alpha}{identical_to}{delta}m{sub sol}{sup 2}/{delta}m{sub atm}{sup 2} well determined by current data, as well as with the unknown Majorana CP phase {phi}{sub 12} characterizing the solar neutrino subsystem. For the special value {phi}{sub 12}=({pi}/2) (opposite CP-sign neutrinos) the {beta}{beta}{sub 0{nu}} rate vanishes at tree level when {delta}m{sub sol}{sup 2}/{delta}m{sub atm}{sup 2}=3/80, only allowed at 3{sigma}. For all other cases the rate is nonzero, and lies within current and projected experimental sensitivities close to {phi}{sub 12}=0. We suggest two model realizations of this scheme in terms of A{sub 4}xZ{sub 2} and A{sub 4}xZ{sub 4} flavor symmetries.


Abstract : Significant research has been done on bent functions, yet researchers in switching theory have paid little attention to this important topic. The goal of this paper to provide a concise exposition. Bent functions are the most nonlinear functions among n-variable switching functions, and are useful in cryptographic applications. This paper discusses three other kinds of cyptographic properties, strict avalanche criterion, propation criterion, and correlation immunity. We discuss known properties, as well as open questions. It assumes the reader is familiar with switching circuit theory. Familiarity with Reed-Muller expansions is helpful, but not essential.


The thesis's aim is to study the communicative component of a sentence semantic and to analyse its main ways of syntactic expression both in Russian and Italian.
The research is divided into four chapters. Chapter One starts with a study of the semantic content of the phrase, and analyses it as a tripartite structure with a propositional, a communicative and a pragmatic component [Kobozeva 2009: 217-265]. Besides, it contains a detailed analysis of informative categories, which are the constituent parts of the communicative component: the theme-rheme opposition, the new-old opposition, the presupposed-not presupposed opposition and focus and contrast concepts as well. In the second paragraph, a new informative category, named "setting", is introduced. The category's function is to define the spatial-temporal coordinates in which the action expressed in the phrase takes place. Finally, a brief dictionary, containing Italian equivalents of the Russian linguistic terms mentioned in the chapter, is given.
Chapter Two describes the most relevant ways of expressing a communicative content through syntaxes both in Russian and in Italian. Ways of syntactic expression such as word order, intonation, passive and kleft are taken into account for both languages. Moreover, the important correlation between word order, intonation and stylistic undertones in the Russian language is analysed in the second paragraph.
Chapter Three is a comparative analysis of the ways of syntactically expressing the communicative structure in Russian and Italian. The analysis is conducted through a comparison of different Italian translations of some phrases taken from A dog's heart by M. A. Bulgakov. The examples have been divided into eight groups, according to their communicative structure (e.g., "propositions in which theme precedes rheme and coincides with the subject"; "propositions in which rheme precedes theme" etc.), and have been compared with eight Italian translations of those passages. Such a comparative analysis of the communicative structure in the original Russian phrase and in the Italian translations made it possible to identify the two languages' peculiarities in the use syntaxes to express the communicative structures. Some cases in which "semantic shifts" can be observed in the course of the translation could be identified, too.
Chapter Four contains a practical application of the theoretical notions thus gathered about the informative structure of a statement and about his ways of syntactic expressions. It deals especially with the teaching of Russian as foreign language and particularly with the teaching of Russian word order. More in detail, propedeutical exercises have been elaborated for teaching the Russian word order both in writing and in speaking, as well as by means of translation from a foreign language. In addition, a series of exercises has been developed, which make the translator aware of the difference between Russian and Italian in expressing the communicative structure through syntaxes.
The final part contains the results and the conclusions of the work, along with appendixes to the theoretical-linguistic part .


Currently, 20 species of the genus Rhyacophila are known from Vietnam. Of these, 17 species are distributed among eight species groups, with three species unassigned. Examination of material collected by personnel of the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Canada has revealed six new species and five new records of Rhyacophila from Vietnam, distributed among six species groups, four of which are new to Vietnam. Newly described species include: Rhyacophila smithi, Rh. curriei, Rh. laocai, Rh. meyi, Rh. olahi, and Rh. fernandi. Rhyacophila bidens Kimmins, Rh. inaequalis Denning and Schmid, Rh. lhabu Schmid, Rh. malayana Banks, and Rh. rhombica Martynov are recorded from Vietnam for the first time. The females of four species, Rh. bidens, Rh. immaculata Mey, Rh. malayana Banks, and Rh. tamdaona Oláh, are described for the first time. All 31 species of Rhyacophila now known from Vietnam are included in this work, organized by branch and species group.


Abstract. An ensemble of forecast flood inundation maps has the potential to represent the uncertainty in the flood forecast and provide a location-specific likelihood of flooding. Ensemble flood map forecasts provide probabilistic information to flood forecasters, flood risk managers and insurers and will ultimately benefit people living in flood-prone areas. Spatial verification of the ensemble flood map forecast against remotely observed flooding is important to understand both the skill of the ensemble forecast and the uncertainty represented in the variation or spread of the individual ensemble-member flood maps. In atmospheric sciences, a scale-selective approach has been used to evaluate a convective precipitation ensemble forecast. This determines a skilful scale (agreement scale) of ensemble performance by locally computing a skill metric across a range of length scales. By extending this approach through a new application, we evaluate the spatial predictability and the spatial spread–skill of an ensemble flood forecast across a domain of interest. The spatial spread–skill method computes an agreement scale at every grid cell between each unique pair of ensemble flood maps (ensemble spatial spread) and between each ensemble flood map with a SAR-derived flood map (ensemble spatial skill; SAR: synthetic aperture radar). These two are compared to produce the final spatial spread–skill performance. These methods are applied to the August 2017 flood event on the Brahmaputra River in the Assam region of India. Both the spatial skill and spread–skill relationship vary with location and can be linked to the physical characteristics of the flooding event such as the location of heavy precipitation. During monitoring of flood inundation accuracy in operational forecasting systems, validation and mapping of the spatial spread–skill relationship would allow better quantification of forecast systematic biases and uncertainties. This would be particularly useful for ungauged catchments where forecast streamflows are uncalibrated and would enable targeted model improvements to be made across different parts of the forecast chain.


In this paper, we solve some conformable fractional partial differential equations including the wave equation. While the solution of such equations is often either numerical or too long, in our case we use fractional Fourier series and separation of variables, where solutions turned out to be easy and interesting. AMS Subject Classification: 26A33


Abstrac: The paper addresses the issue of PR 2.0 and how it is related to Web 2.0. Analyzed are the factors which have brought about the changes in traditional PR. Focused are the new expectations of businesses and their clients regarding interaction via social media. The main thrust of the paper is the new power of bonding a traditional profession with the latest developments in communication channels.


Various features for the shared reverse link - (a) the link quality guarantee, (b) separately congestion control, (c) variable data rate transition policy, and / or (d) a reverse link, including a partition, recent CDMA interference the novel MAC algorithm is disclosed. Link quality assurance is provided by monitoring the transmission feedback information (ACK / NACK) for determining the quality of a communication link indirectly. Wireless devices are targeted individually to perform the congestion control of the reverse link. A variety of data transmission rate by the individual wireless device to autonomously adjust their transmission rates and transmission power, and discontinuous transmission are achieved. The reverse link may also be allocated among different wireless devices by controlling the transmission power of the wireless device operating on the reverse links individually.


Thig paper derived the formulas of caluclating the refractive index-distribution coefficients g, h4 and h6 corresponding to properties of the material used in ion-exchange process. The value of g obtained from these formulas with the measured data of the material are consistent with that measured by the imaging method.


Observing an underlying genetic component as to why people behave the way they do and recognizing that people have a genetic predisposition to certain behaviors, a Pennsylvania-based mental health genetics company has developed the first consumer DNA-focused mental health and wellness test


Computer-assisted coding (CAC) evaluation can be viewed from two related but distinct perspectives: accurately identifying codes, and more generally facilitating the process of human coding and information flow within and among healthcare organizations. The first perspective calls for intrinsic metrics, grounded in comparison with a gold standard. The second perspective calls for extrinsic techniques, grounded in the real-world task. We discuss this distinction and present an experimental evaluation of CAC using both intrinsic and extrinsic measures.


The solar energy is available in a tremendous amounts around the world and the photovoltaic panels might be the solution global power problem. Put the use of PV panels is limited due to the low power conversion ratio. Along with the low conversion rate of the PV panels, its efficiency even drops with the rise of surface working temperature by 0.5% for each degree centigrade. This study investigate experimentally and numerically the effect of front face water cooling on the power production and efficiency. By developing a CFD and experimental module (cooled and conventional panel) for cooling the front face of the PV panel with 8, 6 and 4 LPM of water sprayed by 4 mm nozzle diameter. The results shows an efficiency increase up to 16.2% at 45 °C ambient temperature compared to a conventional panel works at the same conditions.


African peasants, especially (female) food producers, and contributing to ecological destruction. His apparent denial of the formation of class (and his emphasis, instead, on the centrality of urban-rural conflict) seems at least partially contradicted by several factors, including those cited by Cabral; the growth of an African working class (especially in South Africa, but also, for example, in Nigeria, Kenya, and Algeria); the impact of twentieth-century capital-intensive technology in pushing men and women out of agriculture into growing labour reserves of urban underor unemployed; and the role of the post-colonial state in fostering the emergence of a bureaucratic bourgeoisie that, benefiting from privatisation, seemed likely to become the core of an emergent capitalist class.


In this work, we present an experience of Problem-posing in Mathematics for the studies of Affine Function, which occurred in a class of 1st Grade of High School, of a State Public School, in the city of Marataizes - ES. Of a qualitative nature, the data were produced during the stage of conducting Supervised Internship III, of the Higher Degree in Mathematics at the Federal Institute of Espirito Santo (Ifes), Campus Cachoeiro de Itapemirim - ES. The students were asked to problem-posing that contemplated the Law of Formation of an Affine Function. The analysis of the data allowed us to conclude that the Problem-posing reinforced the student protagonism in the mathematics classes, allowing the development of argumentation and critical thinking, important in learning, and allowed to reveal the students' preferences, knowledge and experiences in the problem-posing, generating motivation in mathematics.


The electronic mobility is an important parameter to express HgCdTe characters. The performance of photoconductive detectors, photovoltaic detectors and sprite detectors are all concerned with it. In our work, besides ionized impurity scattering, polar-optical scattering, acoustic deformation potential scattering and piezoelectric scattering, we also consider the dislocation scattering and give the result in accord with experiment. It shows that dislocation scattering is one of the important factors to influence HgCdTe electronic mobility. In our work, we also give a kind of amendment formula of ionized density. In addition, we also discuss the relationships between mobility and temperature and dislocation density. The result shows that, in the region 40K and 100K, the influence of dislocation is important and can not be neglected.