AbstractThis study was an attempt to investigate whether teaching culturally-oriented texts to Iranian EFL learners has any influence on their listening comprehension. In addition, the study explored the difference between the motivation level of the students exposed to English culture and those who were not. In order to carry out the research, two groups of EFL learners comprised of 35 students studying English in Zaban Sara Institute and Iran Language Institute in Bushehr took part in this study. Two parallel tests of listening comprehension which were heavily culturally-loaded were administered to both groups to examine their cultural competencies. After that, the two groups received another listening test which was culture-free to determine their listening ability. They were also given a motivation questionnaire to examine the impact of culture on their motivation in learning English. Having analysed the obtained data, the results of the statistical tests revealed that teaching cultural elements can have a significant impact on the performance of the language learners in listening comprehension tests. The study also showed that culture learning does not influence the motivation level of the learners.Key terms: Communicative competence, Culture, Cultural background, Extrinsic motivation, Intrinsic motivation.IntroductionThe relationship between language and culture has long been a concern for second and foreign language teachers. There have been positive and negative views to incorporating target language culture into second language teaching. Learning a new language entails new ways of thinking and feeling. It is believed that teaching a foreign language is not limited to learning new vocabularies and syntactic structures. It should also be integrated with some cultural elements of that language. As Krasner (1999) believed linguistic competence alone is not enough for learners of a language to be competent in that language. Without the study of culture, teaching second language is inaccurate and incomplete. It is senseless for second language students to know nothing about the people who speak the target language. In other words, the acquisition of a second language is also the acquisition of a second culture. An effective language teaching program should not only enable the learners to be accurate in the foreign language but also to enable them to be culturally competent. People's culture includes their beliefs, rules of behavior, language, rituals, art, styles of dress, ways of producing and cooking food, and religion. So culture distinguishes one group of people from others. Brown (1994) asserted that culture is like the glue that binds a group of people together.Iranian EFL learners also need to learn the target language culture along with Persian culture and cultural understanding should be more emphasized in EFL education in Iran. According to Gardener's socio-educational model of learning English language, "students' attitudes to the target culture, their position in the educational situation, their ability to integrate into the target culture and their motivation are connected" (1985, p.65). He maintains that the main factor in this model is motivation. The issue of motivation also plays a major role in the area of EFL/ESL learning, and it is widely accepted as one of the key issues in learning and for over fifty years it has been a significant research topic. In addition, it has been considered significant as a basic ingredient of second language acquisition. Homola (1969) says that "motivation is a general term for all the conditions which determine any human activity" (p.7). Therefore, this study discusses the impact of culture on Iranian EFL learners' listening comprehension and it also examines the impact of cultural values on the motivation of learners in learning a foreign language.Background of the studyThe topic of teaching and learning culture has been a matter of considerable interest to language educators and much has been written about the role of culture in foreign language instruction over the past four decades such as, Morain, 1986; Grittner, 1990; Bragaw, 1991; Moore, 1991; Byram and Morgan, 1994. …


INTRODUCTION
The relationship between trait-affect, depressed mood, and sexual functioning has been studied; however, the nature of that relation is not yet well established.

AIM
The aim of the present study was to investigate the mediator role that depressed mood plays in the relation between trait-affect and sexual functioning in men.

METHODS
A total of 205 men from the general population participated in the study and completed self-reported measures assessing trait-affect, depressed mood, and sexual functioning.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Trait-affect was measured by the Positive Affect-Negative Affect Scale-Expanded Version, depressed mood was assessed by the Beck Depression Inventory, and male sexual function was measured by the International Index of Erectile Function.

RESULTS
Regression analysis showed that negative trait-affect and depressed mood were significant predictors of sexual functioning. Moreover, mediation analyses indicated that depressed mood partially mediate the relationship between negative trait-affect and sexual functioning in men.

CONCLUSION
Findings support the role of negative trait-affect and depressed mood on male sexual functioning.


In this study, we establish a Parseval equality and an expansion formula for a Sturm– Liouville operator on semi-unbounded time scales. AMS subject classification: 34L10.


The mixed-metal rare-earth polyphosphate LiSm(PO3)4 consists of a three-dimensional framework in which zigzag [(PO3)n]n− chains with a periodicity of four PO4 tetrahedra are connected through Li+ and Sm3+ ions (both with 2. symmetry).


The work upon which this report is based was supported in part by federal funds provided by the United States of Department of Interior in the form of ND WRRI Graduate Research Fellowship for the graduate student through the North Dakota Water Resources Research Institute. Contents of this report do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the US Department of Interior, nor does mention of trade names or commercial products constitute their endorsement or recommendation for use by the US government. ABSTRACT North Dakota has over 1.9 million ha of sodium-affected soils, influencing water movement and crop production. Study examined different aspects of sodic soils. Swelling is associated with hydration of clays, which forces clay tactoids to separate. Four soil series from North Dakota field sites were used. To assess swelling, field capacity (FC) was used as proxy. The study found that soil Na and soluble salt concentrations were two important chemical factors influencing FCW. The FCW increases with increased SAR and lower levels of EC. These results indicate that maintaining an EC level above 4 dS m -1 may mitigate swelling, which is an issue considered in tile drainage. Over- and under-application of amendments in sodic soils was studied in a 8.1 ha sodic soil field. At each site, samples were taken from two depths; electromagnetic (EM38) and elevation readings were done. Elevation was significantly correlated with soil variables except for Na%. The EM38 was reliable to express soil EC and was correlated with Na% and dispersion. Therefore, conducting the EM38 and RTK may allow site-specific management of Na. Improved knowledge of sodic soils dispersion, swelling, and field distribution will benefit researchers and farmers in managing their fields. Abstract Subsurface-tile drainage is designed to remove gravitational water and soluble salts from the soil-root zone. However, soil swelling, as influenced by soil Na and electrical conductivity (EC), will reduce saturated hydraulic conductivity. The objective of this research was to determine the influence of Na and EC on the amount of water retained at field capacity (- 33 kPa), in northern Great Plains tile-drained Na-affected soils. The impact of six EC levels on the amount of water retained in the soil at field capacity was determined in subsurface soil collected from four sodium-affected soils. Field capacity water (gravimetric water content) for all soils increased with increasing and decreasing sodium absorption ratio (SAR) and EC, respectively. For example, at an EC of 4 dS m -1 , the amount of water retained at field capacity increased from 0.23 to 0.31 g g -1 as SAR increased from 7 to 28, respectively. For the same soil, field capacity water decreased from 0.31 to 0.18 g g -1 when EC increased from 0.5 to 15 dS m -1 at SAR 24. In general, across all SAR values, an EC greater than 4 dS m -1 was required to prevent swelling. However, for soils with high natural salinity, no significant difference was observed for field capacity water using the above methods; the presence of calcite in these soils may have reduced the potential for water retention and may have reduced field capacity values. Therefore, to maintain drainage performance in sodium-affected soils one should regularly monitor Na and EC within the soil profile so that EC values do not fall below critical threshold values. Abstract High spatial variation of sodicity can lead to inadvertent over- and under-application of amendments such as gypsum which is why site-specific management of sodic soils is difficult. The objective of this study was to characterize the spatial variation of Na and its relationship to environmental (elevation using RTK GPS and topographic wetness index (TWI)) and soil factors (EC 1:1 , pH 1:1 , Na%, ECa, and dispersion) to determine the likelihood of making site-specific amendment recommendations for sodic soil management. A grid sampling pattern having 544 geo-referenced sites in a 8.1 ha sodic soil study area in North Dakota was used for this case study. At each site soil samples were taken from the 0 to 0.3 and 0.3 to 0.6 m depths, and electromagnetic (EM) induction was also done. Although the study area was nearly level (< 0.5 m change in elevation), elevation was significantly correlated with soil variables except for Na%. In addition, dispersion, Na%, and EC were correlated which was expected since both EC and Na control a soil's ability to swell and disperse. All of the soil variables exhibited patchiness across the study area. The EM38, used to determine ECa, was determined to be highly reliable to express soil EC distribution and was correlated with Na% and dispersion. Therefore, the use of an EM38 may allow for site-specific management of Na on this low EC, nearly-level landscape. However, due to the variation encountered within the data, electronic methods should not be the sole measurement and used in place of direct soil sampling for determining the distribution and concentration of soil Na.


The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of varying inter-contraction intervals on central and peripheral muscle fatigue during intermittent contractions. Six healthy men carried out maximal unilateral isometric plantar flexions 50 times, separated with an interval of 2, 4, 10, or 30 s. Supramaximal electrical stimuli (twitches) were imposed percutaneously on the tibial nerve during and after every 10th contraction to assess the level of voluntary activation. The surface electromyogram (EMG) was recorded from the medial and lateral gastrocnemius (MG and LG) and soleus (Sol) muscles. Plantar flexion torque and other parameters were maintained over contractions with 30-s intervals, while the torque as well as EMG activity of the MG, LG and Sol and the level of voluntary activation decreased significantly under conditions using 2-, 4-, and 10-s intervals. The amount of decrease in the parameters was greater for shorter intervals. With 2-s intervals, the twitch torque decreased significantly, the half-relaxation time of the twitch torque increased significantly, and the EMG mean power frequency of the MG and LG shifted significantly toward lower frequencies, whereas no significant changes were found under other conditions. These results indicate that there are differences in the contributions of central and peripheral fatigue, both of which are a function of inter-contraction interval.


This paper discussed case study research carried out to investigate what are the statistical methods used by selected local industries. The study was initiated with the purpose to identify gaps between formal statistics tertiary learning with workplace needs. Surveys were carried out in selected manufacturings, productions and services industries in several states in Malaysia to observe statistical applications used. Different levels of statistical procedures can be observed at each respective businesses and industries. Industry requirements for statistical practices also varies according to type of firms and businesses carried out. Although more could be done to improve learning we conclude that our formal tertiary curriculum content sufficiently addressed the statistical methods required by these industries. In addition undergraduate's employability could be further enhanced by addressing their intellectual characteristics which include problem solving and communication skills in teaching and learning processes.


Japan's defeat and occupation demanded a reckoning by each of the nation's elites. Engineers were no different. As an institution of national development and expansion, engineering had prospered from the government's dreams of military conquest and regional domination. Throughout the 1930s, as the government prepared for and subsequently engaged in war, engineers provided the immediate means not only to arm and clothe Japan's armed forces but also to plan, organize, and implement national mobilization. Broadly put, the goals of the engineer were inseparable from the goals of the state. With defeat came occupation. Led by the Americans, the Occupation forces initially focused their reform activities on Japanese education, law, agriculture, and labor.


This paper describes LIMSI's submissions to the news shared task at WMT'17 for English into Czech and Latvian, as well as related experiments. This year's novelties consist in the use of a neural machine translation system with a factored output predicting simultaneously a lemma decorated with morphological information and a fine-grained part-of-speech. Such a type of system drew our attention to the specific step of reinflection, where lemmas and parts-of-speech are transformed into fully inflected words. Finally, we ran experiments showing an efficient strategy for parameter initialization, as well as data filtering procedures.


This paper discusses some of the causes of residual installation forces in piles and the effects of the forces on the subsequent behavior of piles under structural or test loading. In the cases of jacked and driven preformed piles, residual forces arise as a result of the different rates of mobilization of bearing forces at the base and frictional forces on the shaft. The magnitudes of these residual forces can be large, and for this reason they may have a dominant effect on the mechanism of load transfer to the supporting soil at working loads. Residual forces are likely to be much smaller in the case of bored, cast in-situ concrete piles. Some loading tests of jacked tubular-steel piles and bored cast-in-situ, concrete piles are described. All the piles were instrumented so that the distribution of load transfer could be examined, and all were in London clay. Results are presented to show that, as a result of the existence of residual forces, the proportions of shaft and base resistance mobilized at working loads are different for the two types of pile. Some evidence is presented to show that the settlements at working loads may also be influenced by residual forces.


In article the conceptual control model of a power system the including is considered: creation of organizational-methodical support of control model of a power system; support of its functions for lowering of specific indexes of consumption fuel-power resources (FPR); usage of optimal power efficiency, proceeding from restricted financial resources of projects implementation of development of the enterprise.


Healthcare facilities form integral component of healthcare system. It is centers where preventive and curative services are provided and allow referral from simple to complex service provision. Access to healthcare is multi-dimensional but one can narrow it to geographical availability. Jema'a LGA is faced with serious problem healthcare facilities provision and this is not disconnected with continuous increase in population and expansion communities without corresponding investment in healthcare sector by key actors. This has resulted in congestion and overstretching of existing healthcare facilities, making accessibility difficult. However, with recent behavior of patients toward some healthcare facilities, the study aimed at analyzing the distribution of healthcare facilities in Jema'a LGA using Geographic Information System. To achieve this, Geographic coordinates of healthcare facilities were acquired by hand held Garmin ETREX. Total sampling techniques was employed and questionnaire was administered to generate information for healthcare facilities. Data generated was used to create a database. The results revealed 55(100%) healthcare facilities in all; 30(54.5%) healthcare facilities were governments owned and 25(45.5%) private. Further query revealed 53 healthcare facilities were primary and 1 was secondary type. Only 2 out of 54 healthcare facilities were equipped and are discharging good healthcare services. Spatial auto-correlation was used to establish the pattern of distribution. The distribution pattern of healthcare facilities does not appear significantly different other than random. The study recommends all issues regarding healthcare facilities such as upgrade; equipping and new provision of healthcare facilities should be giving emergency attention by all stakeholders.


With the development of China's education and the deepening of educational reform, the whole society has a high expectation for the training of "excellent" teachers. The so-called "excellent" teachers refer to teachers who constantly seek breakthroughs in their positions, so as to become better qualified talents for social development . And this paper carries out all-round views and analysis on excellent primary school teachers in poor areas mainly in the view of core literacy.


To better suit the demand of mental-retarded children ,We approached the forms and ways of curriculum development from all angles,which was mainly based on humanism. Through investigating and analysing the effect of the development,the results indicated that parents and teachers were satisfied with the reform, meanwhile, they posed a higher demand on those aspects, such as the future arrangement for students, the vividness of textbooks.The orientations of the reform were as following: enhancing the cooperation from high education and special education, combining theories with experience; paying more attention to the distinction among individual students and fully excavate their potentials.


Managers and supervisors who want to enhance their professional skills will find a valuable resource in this new guide. Learn what it means to be a great supervisor to your subordinates-and how that will enhance your career. Discover how your attitude can make or break your team's spirit. This book is a must for all new supervisors and a beneficial refresher for even the most experienced supervisor. Coverage includes- To discuss the attitude and image of the supervisor To explain human skills and team building To suggest ways to best get the work done


In this paper an integrated microgrid system is proposed, where a unidirectional DC-DC converter for solar power management, a bidirectional DC-DC converter for battery power management, and a single phase inverter, which is controlled using a single digital processor to deliver a fixed power to the load. Solar power management is realized using Phase shifted full bridge converter battery power management is done using a bidirectional full bridge boost converter. The proposed system is capable to work in different modes managing the power flow based on some factors like availability of grid, availability of solar power, battery SOC etc. The control algorithm of each converter when working in different modes is explained in detail through this paper. The total system is simulated using PSIM simulation tool and performance is evaluated in a 2kW rated hybrid proto model. The simulation results and the results from the proto model confirms the effectiveness of the proposed control architecture.


understand the forms that group litigation has taken in the past and to appreciate both the theoretical problems to which it gives rise and, ultimately, its necessary basis in the organised group. Professor Yeazell's book has appeared at a most opportune moment and no English lawyer should be allowed to believe, because of its title, that it is of interest only to historians and to lawyers in the United States. It is to be hoped that English law will soon incur—and will acknowledge—a considerable debt to its author. As is to be expected of the Yale University Press, the book is admirably produced and there are very few misprints. It is also beautifully written, with humour as well as learning. This reviewer's only significant regret is the absence of cross references which would make easier the finding of earlier passages to which the reader often wishes to return in the course of his reading. Perhaps they could be added in the future editions which deserve to be demanded.


Recently, two-dimensional materials have gained much interest for various applications in nanophotonics and quantum optics, as they possess a strong luminescence and are able to host single quantum emitters. Excitation of quantum emitters via a two-photon process can be employed for high resolution imaging and has applications in quantum optics. Here, we present one- and two-photon excitation of single defects in hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) and analyse the properties of the emitted light [1]. We find clear antibunching signals that prove the single emitter character in both excitation cases. To gain further knowledge, we also obtain saturation curves. From a comparison of one- and two-photon case insights about the level structure of the defects can be obtained. These results will not only help the fundamental understanding of defects in hBN, but also help to introduce this class of emitters in optical imaging, as the defects in hBN are of small spatial extend, photostable and emit their fluorescence well in the wavelength region of the biological optical window. [1] A. W. Schell et al. arXiv:1606.09364 (2016)


This paper presents results of wind measurements performed on two installations in the region of San Julián in South Patagonia. One of the stations is a commercial NRG Symphonie measuring at 40 to 60 m height, and the other one is a research station for small wind power, using NRG sensors as well. The effective results, good averages and a series of implementation issues are discussed, as well as the maintenance requirements to keep the measurements working for future projects.


This paper presents a framework to identify the determinants of acquisition premiums so as to explain their cross-section variability. Observed premiums are predicted to be positively related to (1) the magnitude of the acquiring firm's estimate of acquisition gains and (2) the acquired firm's relative bargaining strength. Increased acquisition gains are argued to result from two sources—underpricing and undermanagement. The variables representing these sources are constructed from pre-acquisition data. A gains variable based on the post-acquisition stock-price reactions of the acquiring and acquired firm is also constructed. It is argued that acquired-firm bargaining strength is enhanced by an increase in the degree of competition in the acquisitions market and by the inclusion of anti-takeover amendments in the acquired firm's corporate charter. The predictions are tested on a sample of 77 completed cash-for-stock and stock-for-stock acquisitions over the time period 1975–80. The empirical results provide strong support for the predicted effects of the determinants of (2) and mixed support for the determinants of (1). This is the first study to document the predicted effects of anti-takeover amendments on observed premiums.


The effect of a mixture of beans, rice and cassava flour enriched with yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) protein was assessed in weanling male Wistar rats (n=60), during 28 days. The following diets were used: experimental (beans, rice and manioc flour with yeast protein; beans, rice and cassava flour without yeast protein); control (cassava flour with yeast protein); and standard (casein). The biological test were determined. The organs were removed for evaluation of wet and dry weights (left kidney, spleen and liver and brain samples), protein levels (liver and brain), and histopathology (heart, right kidney and liver). Carcass total lipids were also recorded. Results were statistically analyzed by the Nonparametric Test of Kruskal-Wallis and the Test of Multiple Comparisons (p<0.05). The highest values for all investigated parameters were found in the casein-fed group, followed by the experimental groups. Data suggest that flour enriched with yeast protein can be recommended as a dietary supplement to eradicate the nutritional deficiency in the poor population.


Hot melt drilling method is a new drilling method. Unlike the traditional mechanical drilling method,rock fragmentation is finished by melting the rock drilled for the new method. The experiments of the new drilling methodology are finished in the drilling laboratory of SPSMI. In this paper, the drilling stand for hot melt penetration,bit used and rocks drilled are introduced. Results show that electric thermal power of bit and bit load are the two main drilling parameters of drilling process. To the same kind of rocks,the penetration rate increases with the increases of electric bit thermal power. When electric bit thermal power keeps fixedness,the penetration rate increases in various degrees with the increases of bit load in difference rocks. Increasing the bit load is beneficial to improve the quality of glass hole wall, but the bit load should not be too big. It is expected that hot melt drilling method have a good application prospect in drilling engineering,particularly in well cementing without casing.


I n this issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society , Milisen et al. 1 document the effects of a nurse-led interdisciplinary intervention for the assessment, prevention, and treatment of delirium in older adults with hip fractures. The intervention, by staff nurses in consultation with advanced-practice nurses and psychogeriatricians, covers the trajectory of care from emergency room admission to 3 months after discharge. In publishing this research, Milisen et al. provide us with several exemplars of study design. These exemplars illustrate seven axioms: (1) conduct a comprehensive, historical, and interdisciplinary review of literature to support the study and its research methods; (2) develop a clear, concise, comprehensive purpose statement to guide the study; (3) use consistent terminology and order of study variables; (4) consult a statistician when designing a study; (5) use finely graduated instrument scale scoring whenever practical; (6) use parametric data analysis whenever appropriate; and (7) calculate the power of your potential sample and, if necessary, modify the study design. Each axiom and exemplar will be discussed in turn.


Milli was born able to hold her head up, and kept this ability. She had sheeny, topaz eyes, dark hair and I loved her so much I let the doctor in the hospital give her a Hepatitis B vaccine containing mercury because I couldn't bear to think of my girl catching a disease.


Objective: The pharmaceutical industry has been portrayed as a promising sector for pharmacy graduates. Nonetheless, little is known about pharmacy students' preferences, knowledge, and attitudes toward careers in the pharmaceutical industry, as well as the factors that may influence them.

Method: A self-developed questionnaire was administered to pharmacy students in public and private universities in Malaysia from October to November 2018 via online platforms.

Results: Only 38.8% out of 433 students who completed the survey stated their preference for working in the pharmaceutical industry. The mean (SD) of knowledge, perceived syllabus, and attitudes related to pharmaceutical industry career preferences were 8.73 (1.77) (full score of 12), 28.50 (5.83) (full score of 40), and 30.59 (4.32) (full score of 50), respectively. Students from private universities, those in years one and three of study, and those with higher attitude scores were more likely to choose the pharmaceutical industry as their career option.

Conclusion: Increasing exposure to pharmaceutical industry careers that involve patient contact and clinical knowledge application is needed to improve students' attitudes toward pursuing a career in this field.


We provide a semantic treatment of questions and answers, keeping in mind the broader objective that the analysis will be used in a pragmatic theory of dialogues between several participants who assert propositions, ask questions and answer them. We develop a fully typed modal language, containing both assertoric and interrogative sentences. We distinguish between sentences and what they express in a given situation; namely, in a given case, a sentence (assertoric or interrogative) may assert a proposition or pose a question (respectively), or alternatively, it may not express anything, i.e., it may be nonassertive or not pose any question in the case under consideration. Thus, the semantics allows for "gaps", which, in turn enables us to have a Strawsonian treatment of pragmatic presuppositions (of both assertions and questions), as well as including conditional forms (assertions and questions) within our language. Questions are identified with the sets of their possible answers, while answers are propositions. Answers are distinguished from replies, the latter being sentences satisfying pragmatic conditions, which may and may not, assert in a given case, a possible answer (to the question asked).


While much of the current work on attachment is based on Bowlby's observations of clinical populations of infants, it is ironic that it is only recently that investigators have begun to study the quality of attachment in atypical populations of infants (e.g., Cicchetti & Serafica, 1981; Crittenden, 1981; Egeland & Sroufe, 198 a; Gaensbauer & Harmon, 1982; SchneiderRosen & Cicchetti, 1984; Serafica & Cicchetti, 1976). The study of atypical populations has implications for our current theories of normal development and for our understanding of the integrative nature of advances in the cognitive, social, and emotional domains (see Cicchetti & Schneider-Rosen, 1984, for a review). Furthermore, the examination of qualitative differences in the nature of the attachment relationship in atypical populations can help


Paracetamol is analgesic drug that is widely used in Indonesia. A modification of paracetamol structure had been conducted which produced two compounds of paracetamol derivatives, that are 4'-acetamidophenyl-2-chlorobenzoat and 4'-acetamidophenyl-3-chlorobenzoat. These compounds are expected to carry bigger activity compared to paracetamol since they have higher lipofility. The purpose of  this research was to determine an analgesic activity of new parasetamol derivatives.   The analgesic activity test was administered using hot plate method in 550C ± 0,50C using mouse as an animal test. Analgesic activity was determined by noting down predrug latency and postdrug latency at the 30th, 60th, 90th, and 120th minutes after the assignment of control supply of CMC-Na 0,5%, paracetamol as a comparison (100 mg/kg BB) and compound test 1 and 2 (100 mg/kg BB) to each mouse group. The result of Maximum Possible Effect produced compound 1 MPE of 29,7% and compound 2 MPE of 37,04%. Based on the statistical analysis of ANOVA test, it can be concluded that the difference of activities is meaningful in the 60th minute after drug supply.  An analysis on stability, toxicity, physical, chemical and pharmacological nature of the new compounds derivative of paracetamol is also recommended.


In the present contribution, we study the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation with two versions of structural derivatives which were recently proposed: the scale q-derivative in the non-extensive statistical mechanics and the axiomatic metric derivative. The latter presents the Mittag-Leffler functions as eigenfunctions. The use of structural derivatives aims to take into account long-range forces, possible non-manifest or hidden interactions and the dimensionality of space. Having this purpose in mind, we build up an evolution operator and a deformed version of the LLG equation. Damping in the oscillations naturally shows up without an explicit Gilbert damping term.


Thank you for the opportunity to review this article. This paper continues to contribute to the important field of measuring organizational readiness for change and builds on the substantial work that has already been done in the careful development of the OR4KT instrument. The details on the conceptual underpinnings this instrument and the review of theories, frameworks and models that led to the initial development of concepts, dimensions and sub-dimensions have been published in this journal and elsewhere. So too have the Delphi studies that led to the English version of the instrument with 6 dimensions and associated 24 sub-dimensions. I have not read the companion paper that describes the process of translation and cultural adaptation of the English version to Spanish and French but am familiar with the process followed by the authors and with the care taken to ensure rigorous translation and adaptation. The careful attention to methodological detail is evident in this paper as well.


Magnetic-field and solvent effects upon the photochemical reactions of 4-methyl-2-quinolinecarbonitrile with achiral carboxylic acids, such as diphenylacetic acid and 2,2-diphenylpropionic acid, were investigated. Consequently, the photoreactions were concluded to proceed by a radical-pair mechanism.


The IoT devices have been the subject of much interest. Nevertheless, these devices are resource constrained and susceptible to false-data-injection attacks and failures, leading to unreliable and inaccurate sensor readings. In this paper, we propose a hierarchical framework for detecting misbehaving nodes in WSNs. It uses fuzzy logic in event-condition-action (ECA) rule-based WSNs to detect malicious nodes, while also considering failed nodes. The spatiotemporal semantics of heterogeneous sensor readings are considered in the decision process to distinguish malicious data from other anomalies. Our experiments using real-world dataset demonstrate that our approach can provide high detection accuracy with low false-alarm rates.


Let G = (V, E) be a simple graph. A detour dominating set S of V(G) is called a total restrained detour dominating set of G and if the subgraph induced by S and V − S has no isolated vertices. The minimum cardinality of a total restrained detour dominating set of G is called the total restrained detour domination number of G and is denoted by γtrd(G). This paper, introduces the concept of total restrained detour domination number of graphs. Also, this number is found for some standard graphs.


Directly reprocessing fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) gasoline in the FCC unit is a simple method for gasoline upgrading. The gasoline distillate is typically reprocessed in the main riser reactor (...


(57) ABSTRACT A catalyst for purifying the exhaust gases of internal combustion engines with improved light-off behavior and improved durability with reduced specific noble metal content is disclosed which uses active aluminum oxide provided with customary promoters as carrier and platinum and/or palladium and rhodium in custom ary amounts as noble metals. In addition, it contains one or more base metals in amounts up to 5 times the mass of the total noble metal which are brought into the immediate vicinity of the rhodium by means of a special manufacturing technique.


Combined with practical work temperature control calculation of mass concrete and sampling values of related parameters are introduced. Calculated value and measured value are comparatively analyzed.In the end some conclusions are summarized,which has a certain reference value.


To enhance the use of the Digital Displacement Machine (DDM) technology as the future solution for low speed fluid power pump and motor units, a Model Predictive Control (MPC) strategy is presented. For a low speed DDM, the conventional full stroke operation strategy is unsuitable, since the control update rate is proportional to the machine speed. This creates an incentive to utilize sequential partial stroke operation where a fraction of the full stroke is used, which thereby increases the control update rate and control signal resolution. By doing this, the energy loss is increased and may become undesirable large if the control objective is purely set-point tracking, why a trade-off is considered advantageous. Discretizing the full stroke based on a chosen update rate results in a Discrete Linear Time Invariant (DLTI) model of the system with discrete input levels. In this paper, the Differential Evolution Algorithm (DEA) is used to determine the optimal control input based on the trade-off between set-point tracking and energy cost in the prediction horizon. The paper presents a flow and a pressure control strategy for a fixed speed digital displacement pump unit and shows the trade-off influence on the optimal solution through simulation. Results show the applicability of the control strategy and indicate that a much higher energy efficiency may be obtained with only a minor decrease in tracking performance for pressure control.


This paper expounds the principle and hardware components of intelligent up -flow standard current transformer and points out anti-jamming measures so that detection efficiency can be improved.


This section presents the concept of state organized crime, defined as the use, by a public official in a position to shape or influence the actions of a state and acting in concert with a structured group, of the resources of the state to commit or facilitate the commission of acts criminalized in international law, in order to obtain a financial or other material benefit. It highlights the challenges that this phenomenon poses internationally and domestically, notably for international peace and security, human rights, and the rule of law. It also discusses the terminology and methodology used in the book, and outlines the argument to be made.


The paper introduces the principle of producing NOX gas when coal burns and the application of burning technique to reduce NOX according to the requirement of energy-saving and emission-reducing to reform the boiler。The result is satisfactory through the detecting,which shows that the emission of NOX is down,the biological environment is protected and the economic and social value is high.


Glomus tumors are benign lesions that originate from modified smooth muscle cells of the glomus body. These tumors are commonly observed in the dermis or subcutis, but they are only rarely found in the stomach. We describe here a 37-yearold male patient who presented with intermittent epigastric pain and in whom a submucosal tumor was encountered during performance of upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. A gastrofibroscopy demonstrated a 12 mm sized submucosal mass with central ulceration on the greater curvature-posterior wall of the high body. Endoscopic ultrasonography revealed a circumscribed inhomogeneneous hypoechoic mass with a focal hyperechoic mass in the third layer of the stomach. We resected the entire mass using an endoscopic resection technique, and there were no complications. Histologically, the tumor cells had uniform small nucleuses with inconspicuous nucleoli. Immunochemical analysis of the tumor cells showed positivity for smooth muscle actin and negativity for CD34, KIT, S100 protein and desmin. This is the first case of a glomus tumor of the stomach that was resected by endoscopic resection.


In recent years, non-reciprocally coupled systems have received growing attention. Previous work has shown that the interplay of non-reciprocal coupling and Goldstone modes can drive the emergence of temporal order such as traveling waves. We show that these phenomena are generically found in a broad class of pattern-forming systems, including mass-conserving reaction--diffusion systems and viscoelastic active gels. All these systems share a characteristic dispersion relation that acquires a non-zero imaginary part at the edge of the band of unstable modes and exhibit a regime of propagating structures (traveling waves or droplets). We show that models for these systems can be mapped to a common"normal form"that can be seen as a spatially extended generalization of the FitzHugh--Nagumo model, providing a unifying dynamical-systems perspective. We show that the minimal non-reciprocal Cahn--Hilliard (NRCH) equations exhibit a surprisingly rich set of behaviors, including interrupted coarsening of traveling waves without selection of a preferred wavelength and transversal undulations of wave fronts in two dimensions. We show that the emergence of traveling waves and their speed are precisely predicted from the local dispersion relation at interfaces far away from the homogeneous steady state. The traveling waves are therefore a consequence of spatially localized coalescence of hydrodynamic modes arising from mass conservation and translational invariance of displacement fields. Our work thus generalizes previously studied non-reciprocal phase transitions due to global mode coalescence.


An algorithm was developed for the interpretation of multispectral SPOT scanning of chernozems with different contents of humus and physical clay in a geographic information system (GIS). Regression models describing the correlation between humus and physical clay were calculated from the image brightness and analytical data. The results obtained were used to compose electronic soil maps.


Did you ncr visit a well conducted educational institution with 22:; strong. intelligent ambitious students in which a pair of overalls was the distinguishiug 'element in the school uniform? That unique experience, has ,iu,;t been mine. Everybody who is interested in the significant educational experiments now goiug on iii the' UnitedStates has heard of the Bern' 'Schoo! at Rome, Georgia. It is impossible, -however, for the spirit of this school to he fully conveyed by word of mouth or throl}gh the written page. the .hreakfa:!'t bell rang and teachers and pupils gathered in the dining room for ·the, substantial meal which should prepare 'them for a husy day. TI\e early breakfast '!Your and, the fact' that the students were attired in overalls, the traditional uniform of the farmer, quickly convinced the visitor that he had found no ordinary school. The days are' too' full at B~rr\' for at{yl)()(ly to waste time changing clothing during tite \\:orking hours. :\f.(er breakfast the boys who, were to be engaged for the forenoon in the work of


Abstract. The morphology of some deciduous teeth of Arctotherium tarijense Ameghino and A. angustidens Gervais and Ameghino (Ursidae: Tremarctinae) is here described and compared for the first time. The crown morphology of dP4 and dp4 is similar to that of M1 and m1. The general morphology of dP/dp4b in A. tarijense and Ursinae is similar, but their permanent dentition morphology is different. The dP/dp4 of A. tarijense seem to bear a generalized set of characters (i.e. crown outline, the protocone and parastyle of dP4, the metaconid and hypoconid of dp4); unfortunately these teeth cannot be compared with their homologues in other tremarctines. Consequently, we are unable to include these characters in the phylogenetic analysis of the Tremarctinae subfamily in order to know whether the phylogenetic relationships are affected or not. It is interesting to note, that had these characters been present in M/m1 of A. tarijense, at least, some of them could be undoubtedly regarded as plesiomorphic features. In this respect, is the deciduous teeth morphology more conservative than that of permanent teeth?

Resumen. MORFOLOGIA DE LOS DIENTES DECIDUOS DE ALGUNOS TREMACTINOS (URSIDAE, T REMARCTINAE).
DESCRIPCIONES, COMPARACIONES Y POSIBLES IMPLICANCIAS FILOGENETICAS. Se describe y compara la morfologia de algunos dientes deciduos de Arctotherium tarijense Ameghino and A. angustidens Gervais and Ameghino (Ursidae, Tremarctinae) por primera vez. La morfologia del dP4 y dp4 es muy similar a la del M1 y m1. La morfologia general de los dP/dp4 en A. tarijense y Ursinae es similar, aunque la morfologia de sus dientes definitivos es muy diferente. Los dP/dp4 de A. tarijense parecen poseer un conjunto de caracteres generalizados (en relacion con el contorno de la corona, el protocono y el parastilo del dP4, el metaconido y el hipoconido del dp4). Desgraciadamente no es posible comparar esas piezas con sus homologas en otros tremarctinos, por lo que no es posible incluir estos caracteres en el analisis filogenetico de la subfamilia Tremarctinae con el fin de saber si sus relaciones filogeneticas se ven afectadas o no. Es importante remarcar que si esos carcateres estuviesen presentes en los M/m1 de A. tarijense, al menos algunos de ellos podrian ser interpretados como plesiomorfias. En este sentido, ?la morfologia de los dientes deciduos es mas conservadora que la de los definitivos?


Online criminal histories document and publicize even minor brushes with the law and represent people who may not even be guilty of any crime. This has dramatically changed the relationship that millions of Americans have with the criminal justice system and may affect their social and private lives. Drawing on interviews and fieldwork with people attempting to expunge and legally seal their criminal records, I explore how online versions of these records impact family relationships. Many who appear on mug shot and criminal history websites are arrestees who are never formally charged or convicted of a crime. The indiscriminate posting of all types of justice contact on websites may impact those who, for the most part, desist from crime and are core contributors to their family and community. I find that many of those who are affected by the stigma of online records did not know that records existed until they "popped up" unexpectedly, and that this experience leads them to self-select out of family duties that contribute to child well-being.


For a linear system with multiple controllers, the problem of stabilization is addressed by means of bumpless transfer input and periodic switching. The main idea is to design open-loop input signals that compensate the discontinuities caused by controller switching. With periodic switching laws, the system state is proved to be bounded and convergent. A computational procedure is proposed for calculating the compensator. A numerical example is shown to verify the effectiveness of the proposal scheme.


1. Impacts of anthropogenic disturbance are especially severe in freshwater ecosystems. In particular, land use disturbance can lead to increased levels of pollution, including elevated nutrient and sediment loads whose negative impacts range from the community to the individual level. However, few studies have investigated if these impacts are uniform across species represented by multiple trophic levels. To address this knowledge gap, we focused on Lake Tanganyika cichlid fishes, which comprise hundreds of species representing a wide range of feeding strategies. Cichlids are at their most diverse within the near‐shore environment; however, land use disturbance of this environment has led to decreasing diversity, particularly in herbivores. We therefore tested if there is a uniform effect of pollution across species and trophic groups within the hyper‐diverse rocky shore cichlid fish community.
 2. We selected three sites with differing levels of human impact along the Tanzanian coastline and 10 cichlid species, comprising varying taxonomic and trophic groups, common to these sites. Nitrogen and carbon stable isotope values for 528 samples were generated and analysed using generalised linear mixed models. We also estimated stomach contents including sediment proportions.
 3. Our study highlights that multiple sources of pollution are having differing effects across species within a diverse fish community. We found that nitrogen stable isotope values were significantly higher at the most disturbed (urbanised) site for benthic feeding species, whereas there was no difference in these isotopes between sites for the water column feeding trophic group. Stomach contents revealed that the elevated δ15N values were unlikely to have been caused by differences in diet between sites. However, at the most disturbed site, higher proportions of sediment were present in most herbivores, irrespective of foraging behaviour.
 4. It is likely that anthropogenic nitrogen loading is the cause of higher nitrogen stable isotope values since there was no evidence of species shifting trophic levels between sites. Results support our previous study showing herbivore species to be most affected by human disturbance and make the link to pollution much more explicit. As lower diversity of consumers can negatively affect ecosystem processes such as stability, alleviating environmental impact through sewage treatment and afforestation programmes should continue to be a global priority for the conservation of aquatic ecosystems, as well as human health.


(1) Background: Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) is used to screen for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in children; however, the optimal age to commence screening is not determined. Our objective was to describe whether ALT trends from 9–24 years were associated with hepatic steatosis at 24 years in a population-based UK cohort. (2) Methods: The sample included 1156 participants who were assessed for hepatic steatosis at 24 years and had at least two ALT measurements at 9, 15, 17, and/or 24 years. Controlled attenuation parameter scores were used to assess steatosis (low (<248 dB/m), mild/moderate (248–279 dB/m), severe (>279 dB/m)). Sex-stratified mixed-effects models were constructed to assess the liver enzyme trends by steatosis level. (3) Results: The final sample was 41.4% male and 10.4% had severe steatosis. In both sexes, ALT trends from 9 to 24 years differed in those with low vs. severe steatosis at 24 years (p < 0.001). There was no evidence of differences prior to puberty. At 17 years, the low vs. severe geometric mean ratio (GMR) was 0.69, 95% CI: 0.57–0.85 in males and (0.81, 0.65–1.01) females. At 24 years, the GMR was (0.53, 0.42–0.66) in males and (0.67, 0.54–0.84) females. (4) Conclusions: Higher ALT concentration in adolescence was associated with hepatic steatosis at 24 years. The increased screening of adolescents could strengthen NAFLD prevention and treatment efforts.


Cortical auditory-evoked responses elicited by clicks were recorded from the acute encephale isole preparation of the cat with cortical electrodes on the primary auditory area. The cortical auditory response consisted of an initial surface-positive deflection which was followed by a slower negative deflection (the secondary wave). This negative deflection was followed by a slower surface-positive deflection. The effect of distraction on the amplitude of the secondary wave was observed. In general, distraction brought about a reduction in the amplitude of the secondary wave. However, stimulation of the dorsal hippocampus during the period of distraction counteracted the effect of distraction on the amplitude of the secondary wave. The results are discussed in relation to the possible role of the hippocampus in the integration of sensory information by the brain.


This paper proposes a novel method which combines Dijkstra algorithm (DA) and ant colony optimization (ACO) algorithm. This method is competent to satisfy the cost priority of path-finding under constraint and complex conditions. First, build a network pruning, and use the Dijkstra algorithm to generate a secondary synthesis network diagram, and then make use of ant colony algorithm in the secondary synthesis network diagram to search for paths. Simulation results based on network topology show this improved algorithm is efficient and feasible to search for paths under complex constraints.


This report is made up of two distinct elements. Part I is a guide to the current status and potential use of chemical admixtures for concrete, designed for the information and guidance of State DOT engineers. A historical perspective is given on chemical admixtures in concrete, and information is provided on the nature and practices of the concrete admixture industry. Selection of and specifications for admixtures by State DOTs is reviewed, and a guide to the usage of specific classes of admixtures currently and potentially available is provided. Part II is contained in a separate document. Its subtitle is, Quantitative Analysis of Interactions between Portland Cements and Superplasticizers.


COVID-19 virus started to outbreak in China in the year January 2020. Contact tracing is an open-minded measure of control that applies to an extensive range of transmissible diseases. It is being used to fight infections like SARS, tuberculosis, smallpox, and many sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). From the moment of the lockdown, there have been a great many talks of applications helping to combat the coronavirus. Technical developers bring a solution to this problem by providing tools that help to contain the coronavirus. This kind of application is helpful, but it lacks in accuracy and privacy concerns. COVID-19 virus, irrespective of causes, solution, treatments, clinical signs, and symptoms is discussed in this paper. The main aim of this paper proposes a contact tracing using k-nearest neighbour, which shows the correct prediction of an affected person of COVID-19 based on the distance and also reduces the transmission of disease. It was tested on the WHO dataset obtained the prediction accuracy of which was carried out on clinical and quarantine data. The evaluation result shows that the contact tracing technique's accuracy has been improved using the proposed algorithm.


On-line HPLC/electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (LC/ESI-MS/MS) in conjunction with NMR has been successfully employed to identify and structurally characterize seven contaminants found in three different commercial preparations of melatonin. Six of these contaminants were identified as analogues of impurities found in contaminated L-tryptophan (an over-the-counter dietary supplement) associated with the eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome (EMS) epidemic that occurred in the United States during 1989. In particular, our studies identified two compounds with MH+ = 249 to be hydroxymelatonin isomers. Four other compounds with MH+ = 477 were identified as melatonin-formaldehyde condensation products. These compounds are structural analogues of L-tryptophan contaminants, namely, 'peak C' and 'peak E' that were previously implicated as etiological agents causing EMS. It has been reported that melatonin consumption has resulted in eosinophilia in some humans taking high doses of this supplement. Although there has not been a major outbreak of EMS-like symptoms from consumption of melatonin, this study clearly suggests that tighter control and regulation of nutritional supplements sold and used as drugs is necessary.


Purpose – This paper reports on a descriptive study undertaken to gain an overview of library and Information workplace needs (as of early 2002) for library professionals with knowledge and skills related to user education and information literacy instruction.Design/methodology/approach – A description and discussion of a small‐scale research project that used content analysis techniques to study job advertisements posted to the international LIBJOBS listserv over a period of three months.Findings – A little over half of the advertisements required at least some experience of and/or skills in user education or instruction of some kind.Research limitations/implications – The analyses reported in this paper were carried out early in 2002. However, more recent literature, and more recent research reported elsewhere, indicate that the findings remain valid.Practical implications – The findings of the study, and recent literature, indicate that skills associated with user education and information literacy ins...


During designing it is important to be able to know as accurately as possible the entire service life. In this case the model of initiation and growth of short cracks as well as model of growth of long cracks are important. From the theory it is known that the defects, i.e., the cracks causing destruction or fracture of the basic function of the individual components, spent almost 80 90 percent of the entire service life in micro conditions, i.e., in conditions in which they cannot be detected by standard non-destructive methods. Therefore it is very important to have as precise computation models for determination of the service life. For this area we used Bilby, Cottrell and Swinden model which is based on the theory of continuously distributed dislocations. In the presented work the model is complemented with random generation of structure of material before cracks. Such a model is intended for "narrow" gears where it is possible to assume that the crack propagates uniformly along entire width.


I am interested in three questions that arise when one wants to deploy the idea of "rules of inference" which don't reduce to logical truths, questions whose significance will become salient if we compare the two slightly different proposals that have been made by David Hitchcock and Stephen Toulmin. The three questions I'm interested in are these: a) What form should the statements that express such rules take? For example, in Hitchcock's account, they typically have the form of a certain kind of "covering generalization" which contains no explicit normative expressions. In Toulmin's, when warrants are "made more explicit" (Toulmin 2003 [1958]: 91) normative expressions occur in them. b) What virtues must arguments and inferences have if they are to be considered valid? Should we say that they must be truth-preserving? Or, with "inductive" arguments in mind, should we say that they must at least be such that it's unlikely that their conclusions are false given that their premisses are true? But what about the possibility of "practical" arguments and inferences whose conclusions are intentions or prescriptions – things whose "propriety" does not consist in their being true? Should we say, using an expression drawn from Brandom, that what matters about inferences is whether they are entitlement-preserving? c) What virtues must rule statements have if they are to be fit to serve as norms for evaluating arguments and inferences? How we answer this question will, of course, depend very much on how we answer the preceding question. Hitchcock, for example, takes rules to be covering generalizations of a certain sort and often (though not always) appears to take truth to be the sole virtue such generalizations need if they are to confer validity on arguments. Toulmin, on the other hand, typically says that warrants must be reliable, and that they derive their "authority" from backing which shows that they are reliable. Such a conception might lead us in a quite different direction, and might possibly prove more robust. The paper has five parts. 1. WHAT FORM OUGHT WARRANTS TO TAKE? HITCHCOCK'S ACCOUNT Hitchcock's account, as developed in a series of papers from 1985 to 1998, is reviewed and explained. In that account, one or more potential warrants can be extracted from any argument or inference containing "repeated content expressions," by generating "a covering generalization" REASONS, WARRANTS AND PREMISSES 369 formed by quantifying over one or more repeated context expressions in its "associated conditional." 2. WHAT VIRTUES SHOULD ARGUMENTS AND RULES OF INFERENCE HAVE? Hitchcock's account is used to bring into focus questions concerning the virtues we should demand of rules of inference. Reflection on Hitchcock-type covering generalizations reveals several different "virtues" which might be thought to make such generalizations fit to serve as rules of inference – e.g., that they be true of the actual world, true in all "logically" possible worlds, true in all "semantically" possible worlds or true in all "nomically" possible worlds. None of these potential virtues appears to suffice. Moreover, since there are good arguments which are not truth-preserving, none of the virtues considered so far would seem to be a necessary condition on rules of inference either. 3. AN ALTERNATIVE CONCEPTION OF ARGUMENT VIRTUE The common idea that arguments and inferences provide justification for their conclusions is unpacked as follows. An argument justifies its conclusion if and only if it shows 1 that it is reasonable to embrace (perhaps to assert) that conclusion, given that its premisses are reasonable to accept. An inference justifies its conclusion if and only if it makes it reasonable to embrace (perhaps to accept) that conclusion, given that its premisses are reasonable to accept. To conceive of good arguments and inferences as those which justify their conclusions in such ways is to adopt the idea that good arguments are entitlement-preserving arguments. To adopt such a conception is to model or ground argument appraisal on epistemology rather than on logic as traditionally conceived. 2 Two arguments are offered in support of the contention that the virtues of good defeasible inferences cannot be understood without invoking terms of epistemic appraisal. Though these two arguments may fall short of offering conclusive reasons for shifting from a truth-preserving approach to an entitlement-preserving approach, they provide sufficient motivation for investigating the potential such a shift in our approach to argument virtue might have. 4. THE FORM OF WARRANTS REVISITED: AN ALTERNATIVE ACCOUNT BASED ON FEATURES OF TOULMIN'S TREATMENT OF ARGUMENTS The paper identifies six features of Toulmin's account of arguments and warrants which, in my view, any account of warrants should incorporate or make provision for. In light of these six features, I sketch a quick, preliminary account of the form that warrants or rules of inference should take. The form is generated by enhancing a Hitchcock-type 1 By "showing that such-and-such" I do not have in mind "providing grounds for concluding that such-and-such", but rather making it manifest that such-and-such is the case. Presenting an argument for a proposition makes it apparent that it is reasonable to accept that proposition because in presenting the argument one brings to light the considerations that make it reasonable to accept that proposition. Recall Wittgenstein's distinction between saying and showing in the Tractatus. 2 Because logic as traditionally conceived studies the truth-preserving potential of arguments, even attempts at developing inductive and non-monotonic logics, I think it is fair to say, focus on truth-preserving potential.


Meiotic analyses of naturally occurring F1 hybrids between Cirsium discolor and C. muticum indicate that the chromosome arrangements of these two species differ by a minimum of two, or probably three, translocations and one paracentric inversion. The low average pollen fertility of 6%7o that characterizes the F1 hybrids can be accounted for largely, perhaps entirely, by the meiotic aberrations resulting from the chromosomal heterozygosity, particularly the nondisjunction of chromosomes of translocation multiples. The substantial chromosomal differences between these two species (2n 20) at the low end of the aneuploid sequence in Cirsium (2n = 34 to 2n = 18) contrasts with the apparent chromosomal stability of the many species at the high end of the aneuploid sequence (2n 34). The three hybrid colonies examined all contain telocentric supernumerary chromosomes that are common in C. muticum and hybrids but absent in C. discolor. The nonrandom distribution of these telocentric chromosomes and the meiotic evidence from F1 hybrids suggest that the telocentrics have been derived from a C. discolor metacentric chromosome in hybrids following centric breakage of a discentric chromosonme or misdivision of a univalent. The role of chromosomal variation in adaptation and speciation has long been recognized as an imporatant question in evolutionary biology. Accordingly there have been numerous hypotheses especially concerning the functioning of chromosomal changes in speciation (Lewis, 1966; Stebbins, 1966; White, 1968; Carson, 1975; Wilson, 1976) and few if any of these have yet been sufficiently tested. The genus Cirsium appears to provide a particularly suitable group of species for studying the relationship between chro1 J thank G. B. Ownbey for introducing me to Cirsium as a subject for biosystematic studies, R. Jackson for his comments on the manuscript, and the University of Kansas General Research Fund (Grant 3988-5038) for partial support of this project. 2 Botany, University of Kansas, Lawrence KS 66045.


The relevance of the research topic lies in the significant impact of transportation costs and price formation for all goods, services and the need to reduce the transport component in the costs of other sectors of the economy. The main purpose of the study is to substantiate the means of implementing the economic mechanism of regulating the activities of transport enterprises in the areas of tariff formation, taxation and investment. The research methods were the method of system analysis, the method of analysis and synthesis, the method of comparison, the balance method, the intersectoral analysis. In the course of the research, it was established that ensuring the development of the national economy is possible only if the transport component in the costs of related industries is reduced, taking into account the multiplier effect of the growth of the transport industry. The results are presented based on the establishment of intersectoral effects, calculated based on the use of the table "cost-output". This model reflects both the direct directly through transport activities impact on various sectors of the economy, and the indirect economic effect due to the results of activities in the field of transport. The impact of lower individual taxes on the performance of transport enterprises (profitability) is also analyzed, the results indicate a positive effect. The implementation of the proposed means of implementing the economic mechanism of regulation of transport enterprises will increase the efficiency of management, which, in turn, will meet the necessary needs for the development of transport enterprises by the conditions of expanded reproduction and increase efficiency, quality and volume of transport services. , to direct the released and additionally attracted means for the decision of the most actual problems of the transport enterprises and their


In article existing methods of sewage treatment from harmful substances are shown. Their advantages and lacks are shown, advantage of their combination is specified. Among polluting substances, the greatest quantity is necessary on ammonium connections, hence, control of their maintenance is an important problem for optimum robots of systems of clearing. Methods existing today do not allow to carry out operatively a concentration estimation ammonium connections in ship sewage. Are used a method of a reactant of Nessler more often. For control рН which change is an indicator of dynamics of process, the method of a glass electrode is used. All specified quality monitoring of the maintenance of ammonium has an essential lack – definition of concentration demands certain temperature conditions and time expenses that excludes any automation of process. Besides one of the most widespread reactants, for definition of concentration of ammonium contains mercury so, its use in ship conditions is excluded. Use of a method of polymetric measurements for quality assurance of cleared sewage which are cleared Is offered. The given method will allow to optimise measurements, to carry out control of the maintenance of ammonium in a mode of real time. Also, the method of polymetric measurements will allow to carry out control of several sizes by means of one measuring channel. Using a polymetric signal which correlates with concentration of ammonium in the controllable environment, probably to exercise clearing administration in parametres of system, for example a current and voltage in case of use of an electrochemical method of clearing. Advantage of the specified method, possibility of creation of a database that will allow to select optimum operating modes of means of clearing automatically is also


Context: While multidisciplinary team approaches to education and practice have been promoted for decades, literature on collaborative efforts in athletic training and nursing remains sparse. Objective: The goal of this article is to provide an example of an interprofessional teaching collaboration in which a simulation scenario was developed between athletic training and nursing education faculty members and to outline the observed benefits and barriers arising from this approach. Background: Interprofessional education and interdepartmental faculty collaboration are increasingly becoming more established and practiced elements of health professionals' education. Bringing together professionals from diverse but interrelated disciplines in a collaborative teaching activity can enhance students' understanding of the health care system and the technical expertise each professional provides in emergent situations. Description: In many health care education programs simulation has been increasingly used as a teaching tool to provide students with opportunities to practice and learn in an environment that mirrors reality as closely as possible. An example of a simulation scenario developed through an interprofessional teaching collaborative is provided as a foundational design for reproduction. Clinical Advantage(s): Interprofessional teaching collaboration of athletic training and nursing faculty can greatly enhance the content and realism of cardiopulmonary simulation for athletic training students when it involves the combined knowledge and experience of these 2 disciplines. Conclusion(s): Interprofessional teaching collaboration in simulation scenarios can greatly enhance learning insights and clinical relevance for athletic training students.


The invention discloses a shift lever comprehensive detection device. The shift lever comprehensive detection device comprises a soleplate, a positioning seat, a quick chuck, a transverse pin positioning groove and rod body positioning groove, and also comprises a cylindrical measuring column, a measuring casing pipe, a rear section position measuring positioning seat, a clamping groove measuring block, a clamping groove measuring positioning seat and an end part measuring block. When in detection, a lever body and a transverse pin of a shift lever are arranged in corresponding positioning grooves to be compressed and fixed, the measuring casing pipe is inserted into a second positioning insertion hole, and if a rear section of the lever body can enter the measuring casing pipe, the angular position of the rear section space is correct; the cylindrical measuring column is inserted into the positioning insertion hole, if a passing section of each measuring column is not interfered by a bent part of the lever body, and a stop section of each measuring column is interfered by the bent part of the lever body, the position of the bent part is proved to be correct; by adopting the tool, the angular position of the lever body rear section space, the bending shape and position of each bent part, the position and size of the clamping groove and the position of the end part of the lever body can be rapidly detected, comprehensiveness in detection can be realized, the detection working efficiency is high, and the cost is low.


Water quality online monitoring system for the reservoir is a kind of integration instrument device which is able to online monitor parameters such as(Cr),Plumbum(Pb),A surfactant(AS),chemical oxygen consumption(COD),ammonia nitrogen(AN),total phosphorus(TP),volatile phenol and other parameters.The system composition and overall structure of water quality online monitoring system was described,singlechip C52 is used for the core,system control circuits is designed,the control of each functional module of data collection portion is realized and the communication with the system main board is realized.The design of control program is described.The tests show that the data acquisition and control system can reach the expected targets.


In order to exploit the value of virtual medical simulation system and the practical demand of clinical teaching for operation,a set of network teaching system is designed based on simulation operations in the introduction of virtual surgery in three-dimensional reconstruction technology,video encoding and compression technology in the process of implementation.The system design,system function and design of critical processes are put forward.By VC++ as developing tool,SQL Server as video database,ASP technology as system accessing serve program,the function such as virtual surgery video data recording,storage and network real-time playback is implemented.


In shaping the Indian identity and Indian literature Hinduism has played a central role it  has been a treasure trove of diverse cultural expressions. The perceptions and interpretations of Hinduism of Indian poets offer unique understanding into the complexities and fine points of Indianness. The present study aims to explore how poets in Indian literature have presented Hinduism, suppling a deep insight of the religion's influence on the Indian psyche. The present study delves into the exploration of "Indianness" in Indian literature by the lens of Hinduism's profusive influence. Indian literature topography reflects a unique amalgamation of languages, religions, traditions, and perspectives, contributing to the heterogenous cultural identity of the nation. The present study investigates the significant influence of Hinduism on poetry during focusing Bhakti Movement. It delves into the works of Bhakti saints i.e.  Kabir, Mirabai, Surdas, and Tulsidas, whose verses revolutionized the depicted Hinduism by spotlighting a personal and emotional connection with the divine. The expressions of love, devotion, and spirituality by Bhakti poets resonate with the core values of Hinduism, jubilation the timeless essence of "Indianness" and the cultural values of India. Moreover, the present study analyses modern Indian poetry with its continued inspiration of Hindu themes. Modern Poets such as Swami Vivekananda, Rabindranath Tagore, and Kamala Das comprised Hindu philosophical concepts, deities, and rituals to explore the complexities of human emotions and spiritual truths. Their verses represented the enduring role of Hinduism in shaping the spiritual essence that weaves together modern India, which highlights the universal enchantment of Hindu spirituality and its contribution to the Indian literature. Eventually, the present study reveals Hinduism's influence on Indian literature which transcends time and space, reflection of interconnectedness of culture, spirituality, and the soul of the nation. The picture of "Indianness" in Indian literature applauds the rich cultural heritage, inclusivity, and pluralism of nation, and offering profound understanding into the enduring spiritual values that maintain to inspire generations of readers.


The sixth-generation (6G) system is widely envisioned as a global network consisting of pervasive devices that interact with each other. Besides exchanging information, these peer entities also share heterogeneous and distributed edge resources. Blockchain is a promising technology to secure resource sharing in a peer-to-peer way. However, constrained by limited transaction throughput, existing blockchain systems (e.g., Bitcoin) cannot process numerous resource transactions concurrently produced in large-scale 6G networks. To cope with this issue, we propose a blockchain scaling scheme that combines Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) with sharding. Our sharding method divides blockchain transactions into multiple mutually disjoint subsets maintained by different committees, which enables high-volume resource transactions to be processed and recorded concurrently. Additionally, all committees maintain a global DAG of blocks to resolve the security degradation raised by the sharding method. Moreover, we put forth a computation efficient consensus algorithm by leveraging miners' computing power to improve resource utilization efficiency. Numerical results show that the proposed scheme achieves good performance in resource utilization efficiency.


The city of Chicago offers a host of activities, museums, shopping and cultural activities for attendees of the American Heart Association (AHA) Scientific Sessions 2006.


The Scully-Lamb solution for the diagonal density matrix elements rho nn of the radiation field of the laser in the photon number basis is used to obtain an expression for the laser linewidth lambda , assuming that the Glauber photon correlation function G(2)( tau )is dominated by a single relaxation rate. In the steady state it is shown that this laser linewidth can be evaluated exactly in terms of the confluent hypergeometric functions 1F1 and 2F2. Well above threshold we perform a Borel-type summation of the asymptotic series for the hypergeometric functions to establish a remarkably simple representation for the laser linewidth.


paper presents our solution to the Subject-Observer Speciflcation problem announced as the challenge problem of the SAVCBS 2007 workshop. The text consists of two parts. In the flrst part, we present the model of the Subject- Observer system in terms of Component-interaction au- tomata. In the second part, we present our approach to veriflcation of the system model with respect to unlimited number of Observers.


Introduction: Metabolic syndrome is a combination of cardiovascular risk factors of metabolic origin. We set out to: • Determine the prevalence of metabolic ...


The polynomial regression based on the constant-pressure filtration rate equation has been presented to handle the experimental data and compared with the methods in literature through an example.


French-American, Spanish-American, and to some extent GermanAmerican pupil-correspondence have been promoted in past years by the National Bureau of Educational Correspondence, organized by Peabody College with U. S. Government approval in 1920. Educational pupil-correspondence is conducted as follows: After a few weeks of introduction to a foreign language, say for instance Spanish, the American pupil writes a personal letter in English to a well-selected Latin American boy (or girl) of similar age and interests who is studying English, and who will be glad to receive English letters to which he will reply in Spanish. Thus each correspondent is reading personal letters in the foreign language he is studying, but writing in his own language. The French-American branch of the Bureau was organized in 1920 and flourished very rapidly, so that by 1940 many thousands of American and French youth were being introduced to each other annually. In fact when France was locked up by the Germans in 1940, the Bureau had just received approximately 25,000 French names for assignment to Americans-a task which is now so indefinitely postponed.


Balb/c mice were immunized with carbohydrate antigen 125(CA125),and a competing sandwich immunoassay was used to screen positive clone of hybridoma cell,finally one monoclonal antibody against CA125 was got successfully.Applications of the antibody in immunoradiometric assay(IRMA) and chemiluminescence immunoassay(CLIA) show it is an ideal substitute of coating part in the sandwich system.We performed a normal range studies in which all healthy women had assay values less than35 U/mL.A direct relationship exits between ELIA and IRMA with commercial kits,correlative equations are y=0.85x+11.1(r=0.932) in CLIA,y=0.87x-12.8(r=0.983) in IRMA,respectively.New antibody is stable at 37 ℃ for 2 weeks.


Methodological likelihoodism is the view that it is possible to provide an adequate post-data methodology for science on the basis of likelihood functions alone. I argue that this view is false by (1) arguing that an adequate post-data methodology for science would provide a good norm of commitment, (2) arguing that a good norm of commitment based on likelihood functions alone would have a particular form, (3) articulating minimal requirements for a good norm of commitment, and (4) showing that no norm of the specied form satises those requirements. Given the Likelihood Principle, it follows that it is impossible to provide an adequate post-data methodology for science on the basis of the evidential meaning of data alone.


The ionospheric vertical sounding i s a basic technique for studying the Earth's ionosphere. Taking into account the fact that conditions for propagation of radio waves depend on the operating frequency , d iagnostics of the ionosphere is performed using digital ionosondes that measure the delay s of decameter radio signal s of different frequencies. An ionogram is a display of the data produced by an ionosonde. It is a graph of the virtual reflection height of the ionosphere (actually , time between transmission and reception of a radio signal ) versus sounding frequency. Vertical and near-vertical ionograms provide the major share of information about the space-temporal structure of the ionospheric plasma above the ionosonde . Of particular interest is investigating dynamic processes from the series of ionograms taken once each minute. Studying seismic ionospheric effects by minute ionograms can be highly informative. It is known that the parameters of the ionospheric layers can significantly vary both before and after an earthquake , and such deviations are detectable from ionosonde data. Recent observations show that the effects from an earthquake can occur at large distances from the epicenter. For instance , s oundings in the Irkutsk region detected the anomalies that occurred several dozens of minutes after the main shock of the 11 .03. 201 1 earthquake in Japan. At the initial phase, the anomaly was recorded as a multicusp structure i n the ionogram, which was probably related to the multiple layers of the ionosphere. Th is structure was interpreted by iterative reconstruction of the electron density profile in a one-dimensional approximation (stratified ionosphere) , and the interperation was published . At the next p hase, the ionograms showed a U-shaped structure with a specific multiple reflection. Multipath propagation is usually associated with additional off-vertical ray paths, which are caused by traveling ionospheric disturbance s (TIDs) . In this regard, it is appropriate to use a 2D model of electron density , depending on both the vertical and horizontal coordinates. In our study , geometric optics approximation was used to simulat e vertical ionograms under the conditions of strong horizontal gradients of electron density. The study results show that d ifferent positions of the U-shaped structure with respect to the main tra ce of the ionogram can be obtained for a single TID . Specific ray paths forming the additional trac es of the ionogram are described . D epending on the TID location , the U-shaped structure can occur with or without a specific multipath reflection.


This project is focusing on programming architecture of an omni-wheels robot which is using three wheels. Three wheels robot could serve a single sideways motion which able to traverse the robot faster than two wheels robot. In addition, this robot is capable of moving in continuous translation and rotation in any direction and confined spaces. A wheel is used to assist the movement of this robot is used transwheel. This special wheel has multi-directional movements which contain free-turning rollers perpendicular to the axle arranged around the transwheel periphery. The movement of the robots is constructed in C programming language. This robot Flexibot is supported by industrial company, Chatanoga Sdn Bhd


The meaning、situation and research progress of soil degradation are discussed in this paper, In addition, the further progress trend is forecasted.


This complete expedition takes you to unveil the Maya culture by exploring the ancient cities of the Maya civilization and visiting genuine local communities.


The rapid increase of information on the Internet is currently a key issue when one is looking for relevant information. At the same time, in the political sector, the amount of available information about candidates and political parties is also increasing. This is becoming a significant problem for voters when they face election processes that require them to select their representatives from a big list of candidates since, in many cases, the candidates are relatively unknown to their constituents. Additionally, the creation of political communities interested in addressing political issues is a hurdle yet to overcome. In this work, an advisor for elections and creation of political communities based on fuzzy logic is presented. The recommendation engine works with a modified fuzzy c-means algorithm and the Sammon mapping technique used for visualization of recommendations. First results demonstrate the potential for building political communities and the stimulation of civic participation.


Metals are essential elements used in a wide range of technologies in modern society, but they are also major environmental contaminants. For example, in Sweden there are over 80 000 contaminated sites, many of which are polluted by metals. Moreover, fly ash generated from the incineration of municipal solid waste have high content of metals such as Cu, Zn, Pb, and Cd. Management of such ash is difficult and specialized landfills are required to avoid potential release of metals into the environment (Karlfeldt Fedje et al. 2010).


A treatment of the mapping and synthesis of random pressure fields is presented that highlights the concepts of point, spatially and/or temporally averaged random pressure fluctuations in the context of local or integral aerodynamic loads. Space-time averaging techniques are examined that provide promising practical means to measure local random pressure fields acting on bluff structures exposed to complex flow fields and to synthesize their integral effects. Pneumatic manifolding devices utilizing a discrete or distributed matrix of pressure taps facilitate both uniform and nonuniform local spatial averaging. Alternatively, a continuous spatial averaging device utilizing a piezopolymer strip permits a similar local averaging provision. Uniform local averaging permits the evaluation of normal or lateral loads on prismatic structure, while, nonuniform local averaging facilitates expedient measurement of torsional and lateral aerodynamic loads on prismatic and cylindrical members, respectively. Synthesis of locally averaged random fields permits evaluation of mode-generalized aerodynamic loads. The design of pneumatic manifolding devices and their calibration procedures are presented. An example of torsional aerodynamic loads on prismatic structures exposed to simulated atmospheric flow conditions in boundary layer wind tunnels is presented.


Two waves of additional follow-up have recently been completed: 18-year follow-up and20-year follow-up. Two other waves will be completed in the next year or so: 22-year follow-up and 24-year follow-up. We have found that almost all borderline patients achieve at least a two-year symptomatic remission, and that symptomatic recurrences are relatively rare. We have also found that 60% of borderline patients eventually recover. In addition, we have found that the suicide rate in this sample is about half that found in older follow-back studies. We have also found areas with more guarded outcomes, particularly for those with BPD who have not recovered. We suggest that resilience is a factor that may be strongly related to a good outcome. In contrast, experiential avoidance may be a factor strongly related to a poor outcome. These additional waves of data will allow us to address these hypotheses with actual analytical results.


Studies on vinegar from the single perspective of knowledge has been done by many people, but then, the integrated studies on it by involving prophetic traditions (sunnah) and Malay manuscripts have not been taken seriously and not being focused widely by scholars. That is why researchers are encouraged more to study the health benefits of vinegar through the prophetic traditions and Malay medical manuscripts. In doing so, the researchers will identify the related hadith to vinegar in many books of hadith and the Malay medical remedies inside Malay manuscripts that are mixed with local herbs with vinegar to treat diseases. Furthermore, the researchers will focus on the scientific facts related to the chemical compounds of vinegar. The result of this qualitative study is to assert the importance of taking vinegar continually as one of the best solutions to prevent any disease. Additionally, to prove the richness of our local pharmaceutical to treat illnesses and to convince our self that the local remedies inside the Malay manuscripts can treat many ailments and it is sufficient without fully relying on the modern medicine.


Characterise the diagnostic and prognostic value of muscle MRI patterns as biomarkers in a genetically heterogeneous nemaline myopathy (NM) patient cohort.


Having 10X higher data rate than 4G mobile which is already in a few hundred Mbps, 5G mobile, which is said to be commercialized in 2020, presents a sounding challenge to implementation of ICs used in 5G mobile devices. 5G mobile is expected to embrace some new technologies. Developing millimeter wave RF IC with cost and power consumption that could meet requirement of a mobile device is something that has not been done well so far. New link schemes like full duplex present implementation issues given high transmitting power in cellular system. Integration of distributed radio and merging of different cellular and non-cellular standards add more to complexity of design. In the presentation proposed 5G requirement is presented and some key IC implementation challenges for 5G mobile devices are described.


Perfectly Japanese: Making Families in an Era of Upheaval. Mary Isaacs White. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002. 255 pp.


Chronic liver diseases lead over a long period of time to an impaired hepatic ftinction, with as a consequence a decrease of drug metabolism. The majority of drug metabolism is mediated by a family of isoenzymes, named cytochrome P450 (CYP45O). To assess the functional hepatic reserve, the rate elimination of probe drugs metabolized by CYP45O is ofien measured. The aim ofthis study was to characterize the activity of differents CYP45O isoenzymes, particularly CYP2C19 activity in patients with liver cirrhosis and to assess the effect of the severity of the liver disease on CYP2C19 activity. Afier the validation of a CYP 1A2, 2C19, 2E1 and 3A4 phenotyping cocktail in 17 healtly subjects, the cocktail was administred to 105 patients with liver cirrhosis to characterize CYP45O isoenzymes activity. The drug concentrations were anatyzed by HPLC and the ratio of the main metabolite to the parent drug was used as index of the activity. We observed that the CYP2C 19 activity was considerably reduced, while the CYP2EI activity was unchanged in patients with cirrhosis. The decrease in CYPYA2 and CYP3A4 activities were inversely proportional to the severity of the disease. In conclusion, the CYP2C 19 is very sensitive to the presence of chronic liver disease unlike the CYP2E1 which is flot affected by it. CYP 1 A2 and CYP3A4 activities decrease in parallel with the severity of cirrhosis. Keys words: liver duThosis, cytochrome P450, drugs metabolism


Recent work [BGS17,ABGS19] has shown SETH hardness of some constant factor approximate CVP in the $\ell_p$ norm for any $p$ that is not an even integer. This result was shown by giving a Karp reduction from $k$-SAT on $n$ variables to approximate CVP on a lattice of rank $n$. In this work, we show a barrier towards proving a similar result for CVP in the $\ell_p$ norm where $p$ is an even integer. We show that for any $c, c'>0$, if for every $k>0$, there exists an efficient reduction that maps a $k$-SAT instance on $n$ variables to a $(1+exp(-n^c)))$-CVP instance for a lattice of rank at most $n^{c'}$ in the Euclidean norm, then $\mathsf{coNP} \subset \mathsf{NP/Poly}$. We prove a similar result for $(1+exp(-n^c)))$-CVP for all even norms under a mild additional promise that the ratio of the distance of the target from the lattice and the shortest non-zero vector in the lattice is bounded by $exp(n^{O(1)})$. Furthermore, we show that for any $c,c'>0$, and any even integer $p$, if for every $k>0$, there exists an efficient reduction that maps a $k$-SAT instance on $n$ variables to a $(1+exp(-n^c)))$-$SVP_p$ instance for a lattice of rank at most $n^{c'}$, then $\mathsf{coNP} \subset \mathsf{NP/Poly}$. The result for SVP does not require any additional promise. While prior results have indicated that lattice problems in the $\ell_2$ norm (Euclidean norm) are easier than lattice problems in other norms, this is the first result that shows a separation between these problems. We achieve this by using a result by Dell and van Melkebeek [JACM, 2014] on the impossibility of the existence of a reduction that compresses an arbitrary $k$-SAT instance into a string of length $\mathcal{O}(n^{k-\epsilon})$ for any $\epsilon>0$. In addition to CVP, we also show that the same result holds for the Subset-Sum problem using similar techniques.


The aim is to investigate the effect of temperature on reproductive development in maiden and repeat spawning farmed Atlantic salmon. Through this research we hope to understand the molecular mechanisms that contribute to, or cause reproductive failure in maiden spawning fish. Salmon hatcheries in Australia can experience variable and unpredictable egg survival which could threaten the long term stability of the industry. While broodstock age and rearing temperature have been identified as factors that may affect egg survival, the molecular basis for reduced egg quality is poorly understood and has not been systematically investigated. Maiden and repeat spawning fish were reared on a profile that simulated either a cool or warm summer. During the reproductive season fish were periodically sacrificed to determine the affect of stock age and temperature on gene expression, focusing on genes responsible for egg shell and yolk formation. This study addresses basic biological questions on egg development in salmonid fish maturing under the growth-accelerating conditions of the warm Southern Hemisphere waters. Since global warming and its effects .on animal physiology is now a major concern, work such as this is becoming increasingly important. In addition, the economic viability of farming of Atlantic salmon is strongly influenced by the cost of production of smalls. Understanding the molecular mechanisms that contribute to, or cause reproductive failure is an essential component of reducing industry production costs, and at a broader level, ensuring that there are sufficient smolts produced each year to maintain industry growth and thus, provide food security and create jobs.


Objective It is to compare the clinical curative effect of western medicine normal treatment and Colquhounia root combined with western medicine normal treatment on IgA nephropathy and to discuss the function of Colquhounia root on the treatment of IgA nephropathy. Methods 72 patients were divided into treatment group and control group with the proportion of 3:1. Both groups were given western medicine normal treatment. The treatment group was added Colquhounia root. The course of treatment was two months. The clinical curative effect and the changes of urine analysis, renal function and serum immunoglobulin were observed. Results The total effective rate of treatment group was 91% and that of control group was 67%. There was significant difference between the two groups (P0.05). The effect of decreasing urinary protein quantitation per 24h and quantity of urinary RBC in treatment group was better than that in control group. The difference was significant (P0.01 or 0.001). The content of serum immunoglobulin didn't decrease in both groups after treatment except IgA in treatment group (P0.01). Conclusion Colquhounia root has a better curative effect on IgA nephropathy than simple western treatment and has an immunizing inhibition function.


We present the first observation of intersubband transition (ISBT) from the ground state (el) to the third subband (e3) in GaN/AlGaN quantum wells (QWs). A clear peak of the ISBT el-e3 was observed in GaN/Al 0.56 Ga 0.44 N QWs. This demonstrates that a strong built-in field due to the piezoelectric and spontaneous polarization effects exists in the structure. The polarization field results in a symmetry breaking of a QW, and thus ISBT el-e3, which in a symmetrical square well is normally forbidden by parity. The band-to-band photoluminescence emission at energies below the GaN band gap also shows the existence of a polarization field.