This article analyses the performance of the serial operations of mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in the telecommunications sector, seeking to understand if the serial M&A strategy leads to stockholder wealth maximisation, and the role of the acquirer's characteristics and its behaviour as an acquirer. After calculating the abnormal returns of telecommunications M&As from 2000 to 2010 and evaluating the long-term value creation/destruction of these operations, neural network and clustering techniques are used to study the serial acquirer's behaviour versus occasional acquirers, to understand the factors influencing the success of the operations and to classify the acquirers into different types. Among other findings, we identify relevant variables that can make the strategy of the serial acquirer successful, and observe signals of indigestion in a certain type of serial acquirer, showing post-merge value destruction. We reflect that the capacity of an organisation to assimilate its previous acquisitions tends to be limited.


Theranostic nanoprobes with a combination of highly sensitive optical bioimaging and photothermal therapy (PTT) are considered advanced tools for improving the detection precision and the imaging‐guided hyperthermal therapy efficacy against tumor in the biomedical area. Compared with the traditional visible/first near‐infrared (NIR‐I, 650–900 nm) light‐emitting optical probe, a nanoprobe capable of generating the second near‐infrared (NIR‐II, 1000–1700 nm) emission is emerging as the next‐generation optical imaging technique with high‐sensitivity, and high spatial/time resolution owing to its remarkably reduced photon scattering losses. However, a multifunctional theranostic nanoplatform incorporated with the new advanced NIR‐II optical imaging and PTT has not yet been explored. Herein, a general strategy for designing theranostic nanoplatforms by integrating NIR‐II optical bioimaging with photothermal functions via in situ growth of Cu2−xS quantum dots on the lanthanide nanorods is demonstrated. The as‐prepared NaLnF4:Yb/Er@Cu2−xS hybrid nanoprobes with a core‐satellite structure present excellent NIR‐II emission centered at 1525 nm, highly stable photothermal effects and good biocompatibility. These designed theranostic nanoprobes are utilized for NIR‐II optical imaging, small tumor detection (5 mm in diameter), and PTT. More importantly, non‐invasive brain vessel visualization with high spatial resolution (44.2 µm) through scalp and skull without craniotomy is demonstrated. Therefore, these results pave the way to designing new multifunction theranostic nanoplatforms for highly sensitive NIR‐II optical‐guided tumor detection, non‐invasive blood vessel imaging, and PTT.


After five consecutive years of drought, it is easy to forget that California faces major long-term as well as short-term water problems. With no clearly articulated water policy for California, the drought may foreshadow a water future where urban supplies are rationed, agricultural supplies are severely reduced and the quality of water-based environments is continually threatened, even when rainfall is normal. The California Department of Water Resources estimates that, in the absence of new facilities or other strategies, the water supply deficit in a normal precipitation year could reach 2 million acre-feet by the year 2010. The state's annual population growth of about 700,000 adds nearly 100,000 acre-feet to the urban water demand each year. Although agricultural water demand is not likely to grow, existing levels of agricultural water use depend on ground water overdraft, a practice which cannot continue indefinitely. Demand for water devoted to environmental amenities such as fish, wildlife, recreation, scenic values and the support of aquatic ecosystems is also increasing. As surely as drought, deteriorating water quality reduces available supplies. Toxic wastes, salinity and the residues of agricultural chemicals threaten ground water supplies while surface water quality is threatened by agricultural drainage, land-use practices and urban runoff.


Tumor formation is due to somatic mutations. Mutant oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes lead to destabilization of the differentiation pattern and to defect cell adhesion. Proliferative genes are the cause of tumor formation, allow replication and thereby shortcut the cell cycle. At least one proliferative mutation is present in every tumor cell. Biochemical characteristics for tumor cells are onset of replication, constitutive onset of the repair system, and cell death defects. A successful tumor therapy inhibits specifically tumor cell activity and not the immune response. Thereby, the immune system is able to recognize and to digest tumor cells. In search of the center of the tumor pathways, switch genes are identified, that influence in trans tumor cell activity. Switch genes are not mutant, but overexpressed in human tumor cells. All switch proteins are RNApolymeraseII transcription factors. Therefore in tumor cells RNApolymeraseII should be used to full extent. Amanita phalloides contains amanitin, inhibiting RNApolymeraseII. Applying Amanita phalloides dilutions lead to reduction of the tumor cell activity, and in cancer patients to stabilization of the disease state, or eventually to remission.


Orthogonal arrays (OAs) are basic combinatorial structures, originally studied by statisticians motivated by their applications to design of experiments. In recent years, they have found numerous applications in com- puter science. Among their applications are derandomization of algorithms, random pattern testing of VLSI chips, authentication codes, universal hash functions, threshold schemes, and perfect local randomizers .I n this


The utility model is provided with a single-hole perforator convenient for positioning which includes a base, punching component set on the base. Holes are set on the place where the base relevant to the punching component. The L-type right angle slots whose both sides are vertical are set between the base and the punching component. The punching component is vertically relevant to the right angle slot. As the L-type right angle slot of the single-hole perforator can conveniently and fast position the paper, compared with the existing perforators, it has advantages of simple structure, easy for use, convenient for carrying, high stiletto efficiency, good precision and being able to punch binding holes with different space. The structural characteristic of the L-type right-angle slot can be applied to all kinds of existing single-hole perforator, even to double-hole (multi-hole) perforators. The applicable range is wide.


To learn the effectiveness of flexural strengthening of timber beams with near surface mounted CFRP,17 timber beams were experimentally studied.There were three unstrengthened reference beams and 14 beams strengthened with near surface mounted(NSM) CFRP bars or strips.The test parameters included the type of CFRP,the position of NSM(tension face or the bottom of the sides),the number of CFRP bars and strips(1 or 2),additional anchoring of NSM CFRP bars and strips(U iron nail or CFRP U stirrup),and additional CFRP sheet bonded to the tension face.The test results show that the ultimate flexural strength of the timber beams are increased by 14%~85% with an average of 39% due to NSM CFRP bar or strip strengthening.Their ultimate deflections are increased by an average of 32%.The initial flexural stiffness of the timber beams is also enhanced by NSM CFRP bar strengthening,while this increase is not significant by NSM CFRP strip strengthening.The strain distribution along the height of the NSM CFRP bars strengthened beams at middle-span is nearly linear during the whole loading process,while there is some different by NSM CFRP strip strengthening.This preliminary study shows that neither an increase of the number of CFRP bars/strips nor the addition of extra anchoring can significantly enhance the bending capacity of strengthened beams,but bonding an additional CFRP sheet to the tension face of the NSM strengthened beams can.


In our previous work, a frequency-domain method for estimating the mass, stiffness and damping matrices of a structure was presented. In that method, the accuracy of identified system matrices for different data point configurations are addressed and shown that a more accurate damping matrix can be identified and the present method is insensitive to the data point configurations used in the identification procedure even for cases with only few data points. In this paper, a system matrices reduction method for a damped system is proposed. In this reduction method, a mapping matrix is formulated based on the original complex mode shapes and utilized to transform the original system matrices to reduced ones, which possess the selected modes of original system. The selection of active degrees of freedom is also addressed in this paper. The simulated and experimental results indicate that the reduction method is effective and accurate.


Incredible long-life makes LED lighting systems a good long-term investment The higher capital cost is justified as there is long-term energy and maintenance cost savings. Operational requirements and materials used in manufacturing a of LEDs make then-failures distinctive compared to other microelectronics devices. Significant effort has gone into understanding of the failure modes and mechanisms and reliability of LED lighting. Although still very incomplete, our knowledge of the reliability issues relevant to LED lighting is increasing. This paper provides an overview of LED lighting failure modes and mechanisms that are commonly encountered. It focuses on the reliability issues of LED lighting.


Very little is known of the ecology and distribution of Vietnamese tortoises and freshwater turtles, even though Vietnam is one of the world's hotspots of chelonian diversity and, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), almost all its species are threatened. We report the diversity of chelonians for two distinct areas of northern Vietnam (in three provinces) characterised by forested hills and mountains, with ponds and streams. We observed ten species in Lang Son/Bac Giang provinces and 11 species in Lao Cai province. Reportedly, the two most frequently recorded species were Pelodiscus sinensis and Cuora mouhotii. Most species were Endangered or Critically Endangered according to IUCN, thus making the protection of the forest habitats of these provinces of crucial relevance for the survival of these species. Reliable records for the almost extinct Rafetus swinhoei were collected, but all of them refer to the end of the 1970s.


The following terms are used in this section. (i) Exposure standard is an ionization chamber and associated equipment, which allows the direct measurement of exposure. (Frequently referred to as a primary standard.) (ii) Reference instrument is an exposure or exposure-rate meter of good stability which is calibrated as accurately as possible against an exposure standard and used only for the calibration of field instruments. (The reference instrument is frequently referred to as a secondary standard or substandard.) (iii) Field instrument is an exposure or exposurerate meter used for routine measurements.


Process for the preparation of memantine HCl having less than about 0.15% of one or both of Ac-NH-TMAD and Ac-NH-MMAD comprising measuring an amount of at least one or both of N -acetyl-1-amino-3,5,7-trimetiladamantano (Ac-NH-TMAD) and N-acetyl-1-amino-3-methyladamantane (Ac-NH-MMAD) in a batch of 1-acetamido-3, 5-dimetiladamatano, selecting a-acetamido-3,5-dimethyladamantane one batch having less than about 0.15% of one or both of Ac-NH-TMAD or Ac-NH-MMAD and transformation selected batch 1-acetamido-3,5-dimethyladamantane in memantine HCl containing less than about 0.15% of at least one of desMe-MMN HCl or HCl MeMMN.


STEPHENSON (1953) proposed that types could be identified by intercorrelating actial persons or group representatives, on the basis of their responses to ipsatively presented items, and by factor analyzing the resultant matrix. Gordon (1969) tested Stephenson's typological model by treating the Survey of Interpersonal Values (Gordon, 1960) as a structured Q-sort (Gordon and Hofmann, 1968) and by factor analyzing intercorrelations based on mean scores of 59 different American samples. The outcome of this analysis was high positive. Four factors accounted for more than 98 per cent of the variance. Each of the factors was clearly defined by a set of groups which had in common characteristics making highly plausible their having substantial loadings on the same factor. Mean trait scores of the defining groups were meaningful and consistent with known group characteristics, and highly interpretable results were yielded for groups with significant loadings on more than one factor. Additionally, individual correlation coefficients between groups were found to be interpretable in their


With the present hiatus in developing New Zealand's infrastructure, few large dams will be built in the short term future. The present generation of dam designers and inspectors has benefited from personal invotvement in dam design and construction during their training years : our successors will not be so fortunate. To ensure the safety of future designs, and perhaps more importantly the necessary skills in future dam inspectors and supervisors, specific attention should be given to training of engineers in dam technology, embracing a wide range of civil engineering skills. The case is made for Institution focus on this matter as part of the Dam Safety Review and draft Code of Practice being handled by N2SOLD, in collaboration with the two Engineering Schools. In particular, the older generation of designers, supervisors and inspectors should be individually identified and their experience documented as far as practicable, for the beneficial education of the emerging generation who will replace them.


OBJECTIVE
To examine living setting at 3- to 6-month follow-up for inpatients with functional impairments discharged from medical rehabilitation.

DESIGN
Retrospective performed by using information from the Uniform Data System for Medical Rehabilitation (UDSMR) representing medical rehabilitation patients across the United States.

SETTING
National survey data.

PARTICIPANTS
Information submitted in 1997 and 1998 to the UDSMR by 167 facilities from 40 states was examined. A total of 9587 patient records were included in the final sample. The mean age +/- standard deviation was 70.2+/-12.4 years. The sample included 51.6% women and was comprised of 77.5% non-Hispanic white patients, with an average length of stay of 22.3+/-4.6 days.

INTERVENTIONS
Not applicable.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE
Living setting (home vs not at home) at 3- to 6-month follow-up.

RESULTS
A discriminant function training model including 8 statistically significant variables correctly classified 85.1% of the patients (n=8149). The total FIM instrument score, patient age, function-related group, and marital status were found to be useful classification variables. Wilks lambda for the model was.924 (chi(2)=1031.49, P<.000). The area under the receiver operating characteristics curve was.85.

CONCLUSION
The association among functional abilities, demographic characteristics, and follow-up living setting in patients with stroke is complex. Functional variables can be used to help predict follow-up living setting. These variables change based on patient severity level.


Beginning in the 1950s, John and Charlotte Gere pioneered the collecting of small-scale landscape oil sketches by 18th- and 19th-century artists working outdoors. The collection numbers some 75 works by artists such as Corot and Valenciennes, and is documented in this volume.


Abstract Aim The aim of this study is to evaluate the influence of flattened and flattening filter-free (FFF) beam 6 MV photon beam for liver stereotactic body radiation therapy by using volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) technique in deep inspiration breath hold (DIBH) and free breathing condition. Materials and methods Eight liver metastasis patients (one to three metastasis lesions) were simulated in breath hold and free breathing condition. VMAT-based treatment plans were created for a prescription dose of 50 Gy in 10 fractions, using a 230° coplaner arc and 60° non-coplanar arc for both DIBH and free breathing study set. Treatment plans were evaluated for planning target volume (PTV) dose coverage, conformity and hot spots. Parallel and serial organs at risk were compared for average and maximum dose, respectively. Dose spillages were evaluated for different isodose volumes from 5 to 80%. Result Mean D 98% (dose received by 98% target volume) for FFF in DIBH, flattened beam in DIBH, FFF in free breathing and flatten beam in free breathing dataset were 48·9, 47·81, 48·5 and 48·3 Gy, respectively. D 98% was not statistically different between FFF and flatten beam (p = 0·34 and 0·69 for DIBH and free breathing condition). PTV V 105% (volume receiving 105% dose) for the same set were 3·76, 0·25, 1·2 and 0·4%, respectively. Mean heterogeneity index for all study sets and beam models varies between 1·05 and 1·07. Paddik conformity index using unflattened and flattened beam in DIBH at 98% prescription dose were 0·91 and 0·79, respectively. Maximum variation of isodose volume was observed for I-5%, which was ranging between 2288·8 and 2427·2 cm3. Increase in isodose value shows a diminishing difference in isodose volumes between different techniques. DIBH yields a significant reduction in the chest wall dose compared with free breathing condition. Average monitor units for FFF beam in DIBH, flattened beam in DIBH, FFF beam in free breathing CT dataset and flattened beam in free breathing CT dataset were 1318·6 ± 265·1, 1940·3 ± 287·6, 1343·3 ± 238·1 and 2192·5 ± 252·6 MU. Conclusion DIBH and FFF is a good combination to reduce the treatment time and to achieve better tumour conformity. No other dosimetric gain was observed for FFF in either DIBH or free breathing condition.


In this paper, through logical and mathematical reasoning, I have shown that the current ways in Physical Sciences, especially Physics, are not only limited but may also be delusional. Moreover, if not corrected, Physical Sciences will always remain as framework for building explanatory models rather than describing the reality. Through a series of arguments, I propose a conjecture theorem – Dilemma Theorem of Scientific Models- which essentially implies that it is impossible for Physical Sciences to discover and claim the correct description of Physical World using current model based approach, hence, making them just an attempt to discover probable models and their applications, rather than a way to find true picture of Physical World.


The Gesellschaft fur Schwerionenforschung ~GSI! Darmstadt has been approved to build a new powerful facility named FAIR ~Facility for Antiprotons and Ion Research! which involves the construction of a new synchrotron ring SIS100. In this paper, we will report on the results of a parameter study that has been carried out to estimate the minimum pulse lengths and the maximum peak powers achievable, using bunch rotation RF gymnastic-including nonlinearities of the RF gap voltage in SIS100, using a longitudinal dynamics particle in cell ~PIC! code, ESME. These calculations have shown that a pulse length of the order of 20 ns may be possible when no prebunching is performed while the pulse length gradually increases with the prebunching voltage. Three different cases, including 0.4 GeV0 u, 1G eV 0u, and 2.7 GeV0u are considered for the particle energy. The worst case is for the kinetic energy of 0.4 GeV0u which leads to a pulse length of about 100 ns for a prebunching voltage of 100 kV ~RF amplitude!. The peak power was found to have a maximum, however, at 0.5‐1.5kV prebunching voltage, depending on the mean kinetic energy of the ions. It is expected that the SIS100 will deliver a beam with an intensity of 1‐2 3 10 12 ions. Availability of such a powerful beam will make it possible to study the properties of high-energy-density ~HED! matter in a parameter range that is very difficult to access by other means. These studies involve irradiation of high density targets by the ion beam for which optimization of the target heating is the key problem. The temperature to which a target can be heated depends on the power that is deposited in the material by the projectile ions. The optimization of the power, however, depends on the interplay of various parameters including beam intensity, beam spot area, and duration of the ion bunch. The purpose of this paper is to determine a set of the above parameters that would lead to an optimized target heating by the future SIS100 beam.


We study the extension of dependence logic D by a majority quantifier M over finite structures. We show that the resulting logic is equi-expressive with the extension of second-order logic by second-order majority quantifiers of all arities. Our results imply that, from the point of view of descriptive complexity theory, D(M) captures the complexity class counting hierarchy. 1998 ACM Subject Classification F.1.1 Computability theory, Relations between models; F.1.3 Complexity hierarchies; F.2.2 Computations on discrete structures; F.4.1 Computability theory, Computational logic, Model theory;


The configurational statistics, i.e., the distribution of isotactic and syndiotactic placements, of binary vinyl copolymers possessing asymmetric α-carbon atoms is calculated for several sets of configurational parameters and three types of compositional statistics, i.e., Bernoullian, alternating, and blocklike. Terminal-model copolymerization is assumed with only the last monomer unit of the growing chain having a kinetic influence on the addition of monomers, but not preceding monomer units or their configurations. The configurational statistics of the copolymer chains is non-Markovian in general, which is in contrast to the first-order Markovian character of the compositional chain. The magnitude of the deviation of the configurational statistics from the Bernoullian and first-order Markovian distribution and the difference between configurational and compositional run numbers is evaluated. The degree of transcription of the compositional chain onto the configurational chain is discussed.


Body image mean is the picture of our bodies and formed throught our thoughts. Althought people don't have a clear picture of body image, but they alrady have a shadows to used in body shaping and behaviour. It means that body image is already in their thinked. This study aims to examine how the communications process that occurs between girls with their mothers. The type of research is qualitative with qualitative content analysis approach. Informant were determined using the snowball sampling technique. Reaserchers of 3 pairs of mother and daughter. Technique of collecting data of this research use in-depth interview technique to get deep data. In addition to the interview also uses documentation. Data analysis use qualitative content analysis techniques and data validity using member check techniques. The result of this research are several proceses: 1). Early communications between girls with their mother. Girls express their concern about her body image to their mother; 2). Giving support frome mothers to thire daughters. Mothers provide support in the form of motivational words and constructive suggestions to their children; 3). Determination
2
of the rules of provide rules to girls. Mothers provide rules to girls how girls should look, rules are adapted to norms of decency and religion; 4). The formatin of beautiful concept. The beautiful concept is formed based on the urgent communication between the girls and their mothers. Educations in family spahre becomes one of the factors that can influence a child's view of body image. Mothers can serves as models that can be imitate and follow by their doughter. The doughter perspective about positive and negative body image is depends on how education provide within family.


The article analyzes the available literature data on the problem of the food additives usage in the food industry. According to many scientists, reducing the amount of fresh foods that are eaten, and increasing of artificial additives may be one of reasons for increased prevalence of diseases such as cancer, diabetes mellitus, obesity, depression and asthma. Number of food additives used in food industry in different countries, is up to five hundred today, not counting the combined additives and flavorings. One of the most common food additive inUkraineand inEuropeis monosodium glutamate (E-621). Studies have shown that excess of sodium glutamate intake can provoke the development of hypertension and stroke, diabetes mellitus, Alzheimer's disease and abnormalities of the nervous system development, erosive lesions of the mucous membrane of the stomach and weight gain. There are no reliable data that showed in what doses and at what conditions monosodium glutamate which is used in foods constantly is harmful to health. On the one hand, there are studies that intake of monosodium glutamate in the dosage of3 gramsper day is dangerous to human health. However, other researchers argue that daily administration of sodium glutamate to rats even in safe for human health doses (15 and 30 mg/kg), corresponding to 1 and2 gramsfor the average adult person, has toxic effects. Thus, based on the large amount of data can be argued that today there is a constant increase in the use of food additives in the food industry of an economically developed countries as well as countries with low intake. And because food additives are foreign substances to the human body (due to the chemical composition or number) investigation of their effect on human health has become relevant. Moreover, small number of data on biochemical and morphological changes in major organs and body systems dictate the need for a detailed study of the problem. In addition, it is necessary to focus not only on the study of established dangerous doses of food additives, but also to study the molecular mechanisms of these substances influence on the living body in "safe" (permitted) doses.


The water content of crack in the concrete under waterproofing membrane was investigated by water vapor permeability test and simulation analysis. The test specimen has concrete cylinder-shape with crack in the center of their substrate. The permeability tests were carried out with the following parameters: the width of crack in the concrete, the presence or absence of a waterproofing membrane, the type of membrane and the membrane thickness. As a test result, it was clear that water vapor permeability around crack area of concrete substrate was higher than that of no crack area. Then, even if the crack area in the concrete substrate was coated with waterproofing membrane, it was easy to infiltrate water into the crack of concrete. The simulation method to calculate the water permeability at the cracked area of the concrete substrate was proposed based on diffusion theory and water transmission that were obtained by permeability tests. The simulation results and the experiment results of water content in the concrete are furthermore discussed.


The purpose of the present study is to translate the "Conceptions of Learning Science Questionnaire (COLS)" into Turkish language and also adapt and validate it. First, three English teachers translated the original questionnaire from English to Turkish. Later three other experts, blind to the original questionnaire performed a back translation from Turkish to English. Moreover, another expert conducted Turkish grammar check and made the necessary corrections. Later the questionnaire translated was prepared for validiy and reliability analyses. 415 students from Anatolian High Schools participated in the study. Construct validity was tested by exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. The reliability coefficient was calculated for each factor in the scale. For the analysis, SPSS 15 and Lisrel 8.72 software were used. When the analysis results were examined, it was seen that the Turkish version of the questionnaire had a 7-factor structure, which are memorizing, preparing for exams, calculating and practicing, increasing one's knowledge, applying, understanding and seeing in a new way, like the original version. These factors together explain the 58.0% of the variance. In the Turkish version of the questionnaire, internal consistency for the questionnaire in general was calculated as 0.82 and Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficient for each factor varied between 0.65 and 0.82. As a result, it can be said that the Turkish-COLS is a reliable and valid scale that can be used to identify and categorize the framing conceptions of students in Turkish culture while they are learning science in general.


Purpose: We conducted a meta-analysis to compare surgical and oncologic outcomes of patients with gastric gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) undergoing laparoscopic resection surgery (LAP) and open resection surgery (OPEN). Methods: PubMed, Ovid, Web of Science, Cochrane, CNKI, and Chinese Biomedical Database were searched. Statistical analysis was carried out by RevMan 5.0 software. The quality of evidence was assessed by the Newcastle-Ottawa scale. A decision tree analysis model was constructed to evaluate the treatment strategy. Results: Seventeen studies involving 776 participants were included for the meta-analysis. The meta-analysis results showed that, compared with OPEN, LAP indicates potentially favorable outcomes in terms of intraoperative blood loss [weighted mean difference (WMD), −60.67; 95% confidence interval (95% CI), −116.66 to −4.69], time to first flatus (WMD, −1.19; 95% CI, −1.65 to −0.73), time to oral intake (WMD, −1.26; 95% CI, −1.89 to −0.63), and hospital stay (WMD, −2.62; 95% CI, −3.25 to −1.99). There were no differences in terms of the operative time, overall complication, and recurrence. Decision analysis showed that LAP was the strategy with a higher overall success (93%) compared with OPEN (88%). Conclusions: This meta-analysis showed that LAP for gastric GISTs was associated with less blood loss, earlier return of bowel function, earlier resumption of diet, and shorter length of hospital stay when compared with OPEN; however, LAP and OPEN had similar operative time, overall complication, and recurrence. The LAP might be superior to OPEN for the patients with GIST <5 cm. Methodologically, high-quality comparative studies are needed for further evaluation.


The analysis of the role on information construction to improve our national urban community sports' public service quality by using the methods such as literature research,field investigation and expert interview,logic analysis etc. The result shows that the construction and application of the modern information platform can not only improve the public popularity of the urban community sports' public service and broaden the access to public service,but also guide rational public supervision and prompt feedback of the quality of its service. What's more,it can promote the benign social interaction and improve the service efficiency and management level and,at last enhance our national urban community sports' public service quality.


Spend your few moment to read a book even only few pages. Reading book is not obligation and force for everybody. When you don't want to read, you can get punishment from the publisher. Read a book becomes a choice of your different characteristics. Many people with reading habit will always be enjoyable to read, or on the contrary. For some reasons, this modifiers of chemical carcinogenesis an approach to the biochemical mechanism and cancer prevention carcinogenesis a comprehensive survey tends to be the representative book in this website.


ABSTRACT Over the past several decades the painting An Old Man in Military Costume by Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn (ca. 1630–31; J. Paul Getty Museum, 78.PB.246) has been the subject of a number of investigations carried out in order to better visualize a second painting beneath the surface figure. The underlying image – the head and shoulders of a man wearing a cloak – is oriented 180 degrees from the upper image and appears to be fairly complete. Scanning macro x-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy reveals the face is painted with lead white and a mercury-containing pigment (likely vermilion), and the cloak is painted with a copper-containing pigment. Following the revelation and digital color reconstruction of the underlying figure, a number of questions still remained. Here, through the use of infrared reflectance imaging spectroscopy (i.e., hyperspectral imaging) and macro-XRF imaging spectroscopy, together with cross-sections taken from targeted areas, the sequence of painting in both compositions was explored. Of particular interest was the discovery of evidence of multiple attempts to situate the lower figure, and the subsequent application of a blocking-out layer over the lower figure before the artist rotated the panel and executed the upper figure. In addition, examination of the placement of the two images on the panel adds to our understanding of the subtle complexities of Rembrandt's working process.


Empirical results from the current GSETT-3 illustrate the need for source specific information for the purpose of calibrating the monitoring system. With the specified location design goal of 1,000 km{sup 2}, preliminary analysis indicates the importance of regional calibration of travel times. This calibration information can be obtained in a passive manner utilizing locations derived from local seismic array arrival times and assumes the resulting locations are accurate. Alternatively, an active approach to the problem can be undertaken, attempting to make near-source observations of seismic sources of opportunity to provide specific information on the time, location and characteristics of the source. Moderate to large mining explosions are one source type that may be amenable to such calibration. This paper describes an active ground truthing procedure for regional calibration. A prototype data acquisition system that includes the primary ground motion component for source time and location determination, and secondary, optional acoustic and video components for improved source phenomenology is discussed. The system costs approximately $25,000 and can be deployed and operated by one to two people thus providing a cost effective system for calibration and documentation of sources of interest. Practical implementation of the system is illustrated, emphasizing the minimal impact on an active mining operation.


A precise knowledge of the Parton Distribution Functions (PDFs) of the proton is essential in order to make predictions for the Standard Model and beyond the Standard Model processes at hadron colliders. The parton density function fi(x,Q) gives the probability of finding in the proton a parton of flavour i (quarks or gluon) carrying a fraction x of the proton momentum with Q being the energy scale of the hard interaction. Cross sections are calculated by convoluting the parton level cross section with the PDFs [1].


The main criteria of atopic dermatitis (AD) are based on symptoms and signs such as pruritus and age-related typical distribution and morphology of the eczema (1). AD is frequently associated with other atopic manifestations, e.g. asthma and allergic rhinoconjunctivitis (ARC), clinical allergies to, for example, pollen and danders and positive tests for allergy, e.g. RAST. AD often starts in infancy and early appearing AD and a family history of atopic disease are possible means of selecting infants at high risk for future allergy (2 , 3). In this study we have analysed if an onset of AD before two years of age implies a heavier allergy trait than AD with a later onset, by re-evaluating data from our previous prospective studies on sensitization in infants and children (2-4). One cohort of 84 girls was unselected with regard to family history of atopy (NR, normal risk), and they were followed from birth with interviews, examinations and tests at ages 3 and 8 months, and 2 ,4 ,7 and 12 years (2, 4). The initial cohort consisted of 86 children. Two nonatopic children died between 7 and 12 years. The remaining 84 children reported for all follow-up evaluations. Another cohort consisted of 115 children selected from families with atopic diseases in at least two close relatives or with single heredity and cord blood IgE 80.9 kUjl (HR, high risk) (3). The initial cohort comprised 121 children but the parents of 6 children objected to the venepunctures before or at the first follow-up examination. The remaining 1 15 children were followed from birth with interviews, examinations and tests at ages 3,6 and I8 months, and 2 and 4 years. The mothers of 65 of the 11 5 HR children were on restricted diets during lactation. The criteria of atopic manifestations and clinical allergy have been described in detail previously (2, 3). Briefly, AD was defined exclusively on the basis of its dermatological manifestations, i.e. chronic or chronically relapsing, non-infectious dermatitis of typical morphology and distribution, based on the suggestions of Hanifin 8.1 Rajka (1). Three or more episodes of bronchial obstruction were regarded as athma. Rhinitis was considered allergic if it appeared at least twice after exposure to a particular allergen. Positive exposure to an allergen was defined as an obvious reaction within 1 h on at least two occasions. The two cohorts of children were divided in three subgroups each: (group I) children with onset of AD before two years of age (12 NR children, 37 HR children); (group 11) children with onset of AD after two years of age (14 NR children, 10 HR children); and (group 111) children who did not develop AD during the period of follow-up (58 NR children, 68 HR children). IgE antibodies were determined by Phadebas Rast (Pharmacia Diagnostics AB, Uppsala, Sweden). Only IgE antibody concentrations 2 0.35 PRUjml, i.e. RAST class level 1 or higher, were regarded as positive. RAST was performed against the following allergens: egg white, cow's milk, mite ( D . pteronyssimus), birch, timothy and mixed animal danders (cat, cow, horse, dog). The subgroups of NR and HR children were evaluated with regard to the cumulative frequencies of asthmajARC, clinical allergy to pollen or danders, positive RAST to egg white or cow's milk, and positive RAST to inhalants. Since the samples were small and the expected frequencies were sometimes less than 5, Fisher's exact test (two-tailed) was used to analyse possible differences between the subgroups of children. The results are shown in Table 1. For NR children the cumulative frequencies of all the markers of allergy were significantly higher in children with AD before two years of age than in children with onset of AD after two years and in children without AD. Children with onset of AD after two years did not differ from children without AD. In the HR group children with onset of AD before two years of age differed significantly from children with onset after two years only for a higher frequency of positive RAST to food antigens. Children with onset of AD before two years of age had higher frequencies of all markers of allergy than children without AD, while children with onset of AD after two years had a significantly higher frequency than children without AD only with regard to a positive RAST to inhalants.


Based on the theory of coordinate inhibition three nitrogen-containing active structures of different aromatic in coal were established. Using quantum chemistry calculation method, the effect of hydrogen bonding on the formation of complexes that formed by three nitrogen-containing active structures of different aromatic and inhibitor were calculated in B3LYP/6-311G* levels. The results show that hydrogen bond can make H2O participation in forming complexes which formed by three nitrogen-containing active structures of different aromatic and metal ions. Hydrogen bonds play a molecular recognition and guiding role in the process of H2O involved in the formation of complexes. After H2O participating ligand through hydrogen bonds, the complexes formed Ca-O-H-O four-membered ring structure in the geometrical structures. It Shows that its stability are improved and not easy to contacts with O or reacting. It making coal spontaneous combustion can be well inhibition. After H2O participating ligand, aromatic change had little effect in stability of the complexes. It shows that different ranks of coal can get better inhibition effect after H2O participating ligand.


The analysis of what precise effects changes of shoe or in-shoe orthosis design have upon intrinsic foot or ankle kinematics has been hampered by two main problems preventing accurate description of the segments of interest. Firstly the shoe itself covers most of these structures and secondly many of the segments are small bones with no clear external landmarks for identification or marker attachment. There is a history of the application of intracortical pins for precise definition of bone segments in the lower leg and foot dating back to the early 1990s. Some of these studies (Reinschmidt et al. 1992, Stacoff et al. 1992) also analysed the movement of the foot within the shoe and ankle kinematics when wearing shoes. Recently a further group of studies of this research group has advanced this technique for also investigating smaller, intrinsic segments in the foot when shoe outer soles (Arndt et al. 2012) or in-soles (Liu et al. 2012) are used to alter kinematics.


It was to analyze and predict the structural characteristics of EXHCand SHETAgenes fromStaphylococcus hyicus exfoliative toxins by bioinformatics.According to Staphylococcus hyicus exfoliative toxins EXHCand SHETAgenes sequence reported in GenBank,two pairs of primers were designed to amplify EXHCand SHETAgene fragments,respectively.The fragment size of EXHCand SHETAgenes of GDZC strains were 1007 and 971bp,respectively.The nucleotide and amino acid sequences analysis showed that EXHCgene exhibited homology 100.0% with Staphylococcus hyicus Denmark strain(AF515455)and Staphylococcus sciuri Hebei strain(JF755400),while shared low homology,3.3%to 53.9% and 7.9%to44.2% with exfoliative toxin of other Staphylococci stains based on nucleotide and amino acid sequence,respectively.There were 31 nucleotide mutations in the conserved region of SHETAgene,the nucleotide and amino acid sequence homologies with the Japan isolates(AB036768)were 96.2%and 98.4%,respectively.Using the DNAStar software to analyze the structure of proteins ecoded by EXHCand SHETAgenes,the results showed that protein encoded by gene EXHC was hydrophilic protein,and protein encoded by gene SHETAwas hydrophobic and poor antigenicity.This study amplified the EXHCand SHETAgenes fromStaphylococcus hyicus GDZC strains and predicted the protein structure successfully,and confirmed Staphylococcus hyicus from China could carry two toxins genes EXHCand SHETA,provided a theoretical basis for further study of the Staphylococcus hyicus pathogenic mechanism and interaction between toxins.


The results of treatment of 630 patients with peritonitis of different etiology are presented. In 170 patients with purulent peritonitis, the programmed laparostomy was used in the complex of treatment. A good immediate and long-term result was noted. Lethality reduced by 17.3%.


Summary In acute rheumatic fever the reduced ascorbic acid level of the blood plasma is found to be almost uniformly lowered. Our data further indicates that at least some and perhaps a high percentage of "rheumatic" children, although the disease process is clinically quiescent, tend to lie in less low but distinctly sub-optimal ranges. It has not been determined that this is due to inadequate intake or to what extent it may have resulted from anorexia, digestive disorders or depletion by the disease itself. The data presented indicates that the plasma ascorbic acid levels usually parallel the vitamin C intake. However, some cases are quite refractory in their responses to oral administration of the vitamin even in large doses.


It is difficult for traditional quartz fiber to meet the requirements of multi-parameters (temperature, pressure, etc.) testing in such harsh environments as high temperature, high pressure, strong corrosion and strong electromagnetic interference. In this paper, an optical fiber growth system based on the CO2 laser- heated pedestal growth method is designed. The system is composed of optical system, high-precision control system and software system. At the same time, the influence of several factors on the growth of high-quality fibers is analyzed, which includes single-crystal fiber growth speeds, diameters and so on. The system can provide uniform and stable heat source, and has successfully grown sapphire, spinel and other ultra-high temperature optical fibers. Some of which have been applied in engineering practice. In the future, the system can also be used to grow magnesium oxide, zirconia, hafnium oxide and other ultra-high temperature optical fibers. So that it can potentially solve the application problems of optical fibers in the field of ultra-high temperature sensing such as aerospace loading and ultra-high-speed flight.


Aggregate advertising models are functions reflecting the relationship between product sales and advertising expenditure for a market as a whole. In this paper, we proposed a new advertising response model based on consumer population dynamics. Considering that the population dynamics is one of the basic characteristics of consumers, we try to apply it in describing the effects of advertising. In detail, a two-level framework advertising response model is introduced in this paper, in which the general Lotka-Volterra model is used to describe population dynamics among consumers and another increasing function is utilised to reflect the advertisement's effect on the intrinsic sales growth rate of a product or a brand. Mathematic analysis shows that the new advertising model has more advantages than other classic models such as Vidale-Wolfe model, Nerlove-Arrow model, Lanchester model and their modifications. Also, an early-warning marketing mechanism is introduced as an application of the proposed model.


Several strategies for the synthesis of α-trifluoromethyl substituted α-aminoacids and α-hydroxyacids with organometallic moieties in the side chain are described. The preparative potential of organometallic substituents (organosilicon, organotin, and organocobalt moieties) offers a convenient methodology for the synthesis of highly functionalized α-aminoacid and α-hydroxyacid derivatives.


Proximity magnetic sensor is able to detect the object target accurately in close range and it has been widely used in the underwater guided weapon system because there is no countermeasures from the target. In order to increase the damage of target by shock wave due to explosion of the underwater guided weapon system, the maximum detection range of the proximity magnetic sensor needs to be increased. In this paper, we describe the techniques of the optimum transmitting and receiving coils design using the Finite Element Method for the output power enhancement of the transmitter and the sensitivity improvement of the receiver. Finally, the proposed design techniques of the transmitter and the receiver were verified using a experimental setup and a prototype.


Becoming a 'winning organization' when one currently is an 'ugly ducking' can be a difficult and strenuous task. BAT Niemeyer in the Netherlands succeeded in making such a transformation over the course of four years. Action learning was used, among other methods, to steer part of this transformation, in which employee involvement was heavily emphasized. In the following article, it is described how action learning was used by the company and what resulted from this. Some of the difficulties involved in the process are also set out. Some of the 'lessons learned' for action learning development are briefly discussed as well. Although action learning was not used in all of the firm's initiatives to realize the abovementioned transformation, we think these lessons can be drawn nevertheless.


Waste plastic film often contains an abundance of impurities, such as crop stems and soil. To address this issue, a toothed-plate single-roller crushing device for waste plastic film was developed. By analyzing the movement and force pattern of the film, the feeding speed, the number of toothed plates, and the crushing roller rotation speed were used as test factors, and the size qualification rate and the impurity content of the crushed film were used as test indexes. Through a Box–Behnken test design, regression analysis, and ANOVA, a model between factors and indexes was established. The results showed that the size qualification rate and the impurity content of the crushed film were 82.55% and 9.57%, and the errors in the prediction and test values were 6.14% and 8.38%, which proved them to have good reliability. The findings of this study provide essential technical and equipment support for the resource recovery of waste plastic films.


The writer has analyzed the positive and negative effects of higher education structural reform on the United Front and its members, and discussed how the United Front work can be adapted to the reform, how we can concentrate on crucial points, implement relevant policies, improve efficiency, so as to better serve the key tasks.


HfAlN hard coatings were synthesized by cathodic arc evaporation from Hf0.75Al0.25 targets at different bias voltages and N2 pressures. Structural investigations by x-ray diffraction (XRD) revealed the formation of a face-centered cubic (fcc) structure with a change in the preferred orientation depending on the energetic growth conditions. This change in the crystal structure did not significantly influence the mechanical properties, e.g., hardness, where values ranging from 24 to 26 GPa were measured. The obtained fcc phase is stable up to 1000 °C as no significant changes in the crystal structure could be observed after annealing in vacuum. Similar experiments in ambient air and subsequent analysis of the coatings by XRD and Raman spectroscopy revealed an onset temperature for oxidation in the range of 700–800 °C and the formation of monoclinic HfO2 as the dominating oxide phase. Ball-on-disk tests at different temperatures were performed in order to evaluate the tribological properties. The coefficient...


In order to solve the problem of data interchange among many electronic devices of future automobile, moreover reduce wires and cost, and increase the total system reliability , we have developed a network control system of CAN (controller area network) bus based on CAN2.0B protocol and CAN bus controller MCP2510 aiming at our experiment sample car. We have applied it to an electronic control and detection system for a dry hybrid belt continuously variable transmission (A-CVT) developed by us, and it realizes the communication between the engine electric control unit (ECU) and transmission electronic control unit (TCU). The principle diagram of CAN bus control area network, the main software flow chart and hardware circuit are shown, and the experimental data wave cures when communicating are obtained. Through test with our experiment sample car equipped with the TCU and the network control system of CAN bus developed by us, the accelerating time up to 100 Km/h is 22s; and 23s with original in the same situation. The long-term test indicates that the network control system of CAN bus runs with stability and extendibility, and has good communication and control ability.


• A comprehensive database with N12,000 ships information was established. • A yearlong AIS dataset was used to develop time-in-mode and spatiotemporal surrogates. • A bottom-up approach was used to estimate emissions from major ship source sectors. • The ECA region covered over 80% of the total ship emissions in the PRD region. • Application of AIS data reduced uncertainty in ship emission estimates. E-mail address: firstname.lastname@example.com (J. Zheng). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.07.219 0048-9697/© 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. a b s t r a c t a r t i c l e i n f o


2 , respectively. The correlation coefficient was high at 0.913 for the L3/4 and L4 interpedicular transverse plane. The correlation coefficient for L4/5 and L5 was 0.905, and the correlation coefficient for L5/S1 and S1 was 0.845. Conclusion: The lumbar spinal canal dimension measured at the intervertebral disc level in a population of normal Korean subjects is expected to be useful as reference data. The transpedicular plane perpendicular to the spinal canal can give information for estimating the spinal canal dimension at the disc level.


The UK Renal Registry (www.renalreg.org) performs national audits of the care of patients with established renal failure in the UK. Data from all patients receiving renal replacement therapy in each renal centre in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are analysed in the UK Renal Registry, and data on Scottish patients are sent by the Scottish Renal Registry, which is run independently.


The present invention provides a nonvolatile memory device and a method. The device comprising: a control gate electrode formed on the blocking insulating layer formed on the charge storage layer formed on the tunnel insulating film, the tunnel insulating film formed on a semiconductor substrate, a charge storage film, and a blocking insulating layer, a tunnel insulating film on the semiconductor substrate sequentially stacked, and comprises a first tunnel insulator film and a second tunnel insulating film, the band gap of the second tunnel insulator film is greater than the bandgap of the first tunnel insulating film. Flash Memory, the band gap, the tunnel insulating film


This paper investigates the impact of return path discontinuities on both signal and power integrity of high speed interconnects. A test board is built for the purpose and 4 different configurations are analyzed and correlation between measurements and simulations (coming from a full wave 3D EM field simulator) results is also presented. Both time and frequency domain results are analyzed and design guidelines are provided. It is observed that return path discontinuities have a sensible impact on ground bounce in single-ended signals; however the differential signaling can drastically reduces it. Discontinuities from gaps in return paths (e.g. plane splits) and connectors impact the differential signals on both insertion loss and cross talk. The real value of return/grounding vias is to reduce the common signal noise.


Description is made of the history and progress of resin-in-pulp(RIP)process development.In view of the complexity of low-grade and difficult molybdenite and characteristics of metallurgical process development,the future application and development tendency application of resin-in-pulp process for molybdenum metallurgy is prospected.The actual applications showed that the use of RIP process during leaching for treatment of nonstandard high-carbon molybdenite concentrates resulted in 99% adsorption and stripping rates of Mo in resin and the Mo recovery 92%~95%.


Following disturbances, ecosystems are more susceptible to invasion by non-native species. Furthermore, it is important to determine the impact of alien tree species on soil regeneration processes during secondary succession. In this study, we analyzed the effect of native and late successional common oak (Quercus robur) and non-native red oak (Q. rubra) on soil physicochemical (pH, carbon, and nutrient content) and microbial properties (microbial biomass [Cmic] and respiration [RESP]) nearly 30 years after severe fire disturbance. Post-fire soils under Q. rubra had organic horizons with a greater mass, lower pH values, and depleted nutrient (N, Ca, K, Mg, and P) contents than soils under Q. robur. The impact of Q. robur as a late successional species on soil properties 30 years after a disturbance was similar to that of pioneer species (Scots pine, European larch, common birch, and black alder), as is indicated in previous studies. Most of the studied physicochemical (bulk density, soil organic carbon, N, Ca, K, and P content) and microbial (RESP and Cmic) soil parameters under Q. robur were within the ranges found for post-fire soils under pioneer tree species. Only the pH and Mg and Na contents in organic horizons were higher under Q. robur than under pioneer species. Our results indicate that Q. robur could be a valuable addition to reforestation sites after fire disturbance, especially in more fertile microhabitats. Due to the depletion of soil nutrients, care should be taken when introducing Q. rubra during the reforestation of post-fire sites, especially in larger groups.


Wearable sensor systems have become promising tools in modern health care. Vital signs are recored to monitor the condition of a subject in a continuous manner. In order to assess sports performance and optimize training, as much as possible information on the athlethes condition is helpful. We present a wearable and disposable sensor that measures heart rate, oxygen saturation, pH value, skin moisture and temperature. The sensor is fabricated on a flexible printed circuit board and the different elements are encapsulated in soft and biocompatible polydimethylsiloxane. Surface mount light emitting diodes and photo diodes are used for photoplethysmography and are cointegrated with planar capacitive electrodes for moisture monitoring and a colorimetric pH sensor, based on a sol-gel routine. Different trials of sports performance have been recorded and the results are compared to each other.


subject, into a realm which acknowledges that such concepts are social constructs and say as much about those who construct them (us) as those whom they seek to define, exclude or other (not us). The most intriguing aspect of the manuscript is its range of sources, drawing on literary, popular, scientific and socio-political discourses to elucidate the myriad of forces which shaped the constructions of idiocy. The book shows how the construct of idiocy served as a metaphorical device to express a range of modernist anxieties and tensions. Typical of the book is its opening chapter centered on William Wordsworth's poem 'The Idiot Boy' published at the end of the 18 century. McDonagh does not focus so much on the poem itself, but on the lively correspondence it generated between a young aspiring critic and the author thereby illustrating contemporary reaction to ''idiots'' and their construction. Other chapters include an analysis of material from the public sensation that was the ''Wild boy of Aveyron'', two fascinating chapters examining respectively the differential construction of women and men in relation to idiocy, the discourse of folly and sin, and the Dicken's novel Barnaby Rudge, said in the novel to be ''an idiot'', thus making him a rare title character with an intellectual disability. The latter chapters give us a new lens on the well research rise of eugenics and the institutions which came to dominate the 20 century. While the book does provide much valuable history of the concept of intellectual disability, ultimately it is a book as much about us as it is the putative category of ''idiot''. As McDonagh notes, ''The formation of idiocy, the refinement of its symbolic and ideological functions, was also part of the process by which we became the people we are, or believe ourselves to be: rational, reasonable, with a claim to rights and authority''. McDonagh concludes the book with a thoughtful discussion on the implications for contemporary issues regarding those who carry related labels and ends with the reminder that should we suffer the arrogance that ''our definitions'' or ''our science'' has discovered the truth about ''who are the intellectually disabled'', that just as disparate threads constructed the 19 century idiot, we continue ''out of similar material to weave our own motley belief about intelligence, intellectual disability and the difference between them''. For social workers and others involved in the ''field of intellectual disability'' this eminently readable book will provide a fascinating and enjoyable means to remind ourselves that those we seek to support do not represent some fixed, immutable other, but are products of the world in which we live, just as are our own beliefs about ''them''. It also provides us with the reminder that things need not remain as they are. History shows us not only that things were different once, but that they can be again.


XML, the eXtensible Markup Language allows to separate the structural abstraction of a group of documents of their content and presentation; this means that three layers or levels of a document can be determined:
· Their structural abstraction or Document Type
 Definition(DTD).
· Their content based on having labeled or XML
 document.
· Their defined presentation through Style Sheets.
This modulate vision of a document allows to outline a solution to show in the WEB the information of degree projects and investigations according to the documentation standards and scope of contents defined by an institution; in this article,for clarity and easiness of understanding, a very basic example is developed, diffusing of records investigation summary by means of a WEB site that give to know to the external and internal community of the university around the works that one comes developing or they have ended, developed by students or specific work groups, with the connotation of being a simple and relatively easy procedure of implanting.


The construction of Vibration-Transit theory of liquid dynamics is being presented in three sequential research reports. The first is on the entire condensed-matter collection of N -atom potential energy valleys, and identification of the random valleys as the liquid domain. The present (second) report defines the vibrational Hamiltonian and describes its application to statistical mechanics. Following is a brief list of the major topics treated here. The vibrational Hamiltonian is universal, in that its potential energy is a single 3N -dimensional harmonic valley. The anharmonic contribution is also treated. The Hamiltonian is calibrated from first-principles calculations of the structural potential and the vibrational frequencies and eigenvectors. Exact quantum statistical mechanical functions are expressed in universal equations, and are evaluated exactly from vibrational data. Exact classical statistical mechanical functions are also expressed in universal equations, and are evaluated exactly from a few moments of the vibrational frequency distribution. The complete condensed-matter distributions of these moments are graphically displayed, and their use in statistical mechanics is clarified. The third report will present transit theory, which treats the motion of atoms between the N -atom potential energy valleys.


Continuous monitoring of plant and processes is widely practised but the use of thermal imagers in such systems has always been restricted by camera cost. A radiometric thermal imager can be regarded as equivalent to multiple single point radiometers or a matrix of thermocouples but with the advantages of far denser coverage, non-contact measurement, simpler installation and data processing; in addition several of the advantages of conventional machine vision systems such as shape and position recognition can be provided. IRISYS has developed a multipoint radiometer utilising its low-cost infrared array technology. This unit provides continuous real-time temperature monitoring of 256 data points at an affordable price; it is housed in a small, light-weight, sealed and robust metal case and generates RS232 or Ethernet data output. This paper reviews the radiometer technology and its application to single and multi-camera systems.


In this study, we address whether financial statement audits mitigate potentially value-reducing managerial risk-taking. Prior research identifies associations between financial statement audits and perceived credit risk, but surprisingly few studies assess whether lower perceived risk translates into fewer negative riskrelated, operational outcomes such as defaults. Using a sample of privately held commercial banks, we find having a voluntary financial statement audit is associated with a 38% decrease in the likelihood of credit defaults, operationalized as bank failure. Our results are robust to limiting our sample to banks matched on propensity to obtain an audit. We also find no differential effect between mandatory and voluntary audits, providing further evidence that the association between audit and reduced likelihood of failure is due to having an audit, rather than choosing to have an audit. The finding that audit procedures are associated with a reduction in undesirable risk-taking should be important for regulators and other stakeholders as they weigh the costs and benefits of mandatory audits.


Resu me . ... . .......... . Intr odu ction .. . ..... .... . . . .... . G l acia l f eature s ... .. .. . ....... . Striations . .......... . . . ..............•............... De line ation of ice front posit ions .. ... . .. .. ... . . ........ ... .. . . . Deg l ac i ation . . .....•. ... ... ........ ....... . . ..... ... .. . . ..... ... Deglaciation o f Appalachi.c.n r e g ion b e tween the Inte rnational Boundary and th e Highland Front Morain e ... , .... .. . ... . ..... . ,. N o rthwe stward r e tr eat of an a c tive i ce fr o nt ................. . Late g l acial ar e a of ice dispersal n e ar The tford Min e s ... !' . ... . D egl aication of St. Lawr e n ce L owl ands ......................... . Chronol ogy of g l ac i a l recession in southe rn Qu e b ec .. .. . .. ... .... . . . .Re f e rences ....... ... ..... . . ................ . . ............ ..... . Table 1. Rad iocarbon date s . ... . . . ...... . ...... . . . . ..... .... .. .. .


This report was commissioned by Farming Connect via the Organic Centre Wales and was written and produced by the Soil Association Producer Services Department in February 2003. It has been made possible with the kind co-operation of the Federation of Milk Groups.
Objectives
1. To develop a system of monthly data collection for Wales which is compatible with nation-wide data collection
2. Collection of historic data on dairy production in Wales (1997 – 2002)
3. Projections for future production and processing levels (2003 – 2006)
4. Identification of potential areas of growth


Agricultural RD investment regional optimization is to ensure national food security. The theory based on the Pareto allocation of resources,"the marginal capital gains rate equal "principle,China's agricultural RD investment regional optimization reality ana lysis,the results show that China's investment in the regional agricultural RD differenti ated zone configuration,has not yet reached the optimal configuration state. Finally,the article makes relevant policy recommendations from two aspects of improvingits structure.


Electric energy and hot and cold energy are the basic energy needs of human life and the two main energy forms of integrated energy system. As a typical demand response resource, Heating Ventilation Air Conditioning (HVAC) can be introduced into the demand response problem of cooling-heating-power synergy. Aiming at the difficulties of traditional modeling such as self-learning ability and slow optimization speed, a model free deep reinforcement learning based HVAC cooling-heating-power demand optimization strategy was proposed. Considering the complex observation state and the prediction of continuous action space, a deep deterministic policy gradient (DDPG) was chosen to solve the demand response problem. Firstly, the thermal demand response model on the demand side was defined, and the HVAC environment model was established. Secondly, HVAC is described as a Markov decision process. Appropriate state actions, control signals, and reward functions are designed to speed up the optimization process. Finally, in order to verify the feasibility of the optimization strategy based on DDPG, the simulation results of cold and hot power under different constraints were introduced respectively. The results show that the typical HVAC system with multiple energy flows of cold and hot power has good demand-side response characteristics


This practical experiment has the aim to work with groups of aged, making movements based on the salutogenic perspective. This work was developed using 631 subjects of several cities in the State of Niedersachsen, Germany, but only 452 subjects (men and women) with ages from 35 to more than 70 year-old responded to the study. The activities were made using practices which had the aim to enlarge the body perceptions during movements and during social contacts. The results showed that, in a subjective perspective, the participants presented an improvement in the movement, in the body perception, in the relationship facing stressors factors during routine, the relationship with each other and facing life in a spiritual way. These results drive us to confirm those works which put a personal value and respects the limits which may substantially contribute to what Antonovski (1979) defines as General Resources of Resistance, which reinforce the importance to face the stressors factors of life.


Although social media (SM) represents an entirely new means of creating and sharing knowledge, it also presents entirely new challenges in protecting confidential information and other data that companies do not want to share. Companies that want to use SM for knowledge creation and sharing have to ensure they are able to provide adequate protection of their knowledge. However, knowledge protection and security-oriented knowledge management processes have received little attention in prior studies. This research attempts to close that gap; it examines which information and knowledge protection challenges arise from SM, and why they arise. Our three main findings include 1) a number of challenges for knowledge protection in social media, 2) a number of special characteristics of social media, which are causes for the knowledge protection challenges, and 3) a number of questions that, when answered by the company, can help to react to the identified knowledge protection challenges. Our findings increase the understanding of the dynamics between information security, knowledge protection, and the special characteristics of social media. In addition, our findings open up a number of future research questions and provide companies a tool for creating knowledge protection policies concerning the use of SM.


When teaching phonology in English language classrooms, teachers face three distinct challenges. The first challenge depends on the teacher's skills and training to be able to recognise learners' mistakes in order to provide them with appropriate feedback. The second challenge is how to support individual learners, who are at different levels of competence within the group, effectively. Lastly, the third challenge is connected with spending class time more effectively and providing customised, individual feedback to large numbers of learners in a timely manner. This study explored the usefulness of a voice recognition App, Dragon Dictation, which is freely available on mobile phones. Instead of teachers seeing mobile phones in the classroom as a threat, the study explored their benefits as a teaching and learning tool. The linguistic and affective usefulness for learners is reported as well as the feedback this App may provide for teachers on the effectiveness of the chosen method of instruction in class, which was also explored.


This research aims to assess the extent of the influence of Profitability (Return On Asset), liquidity (Current Ratio), and Leverage (Debt to Equity Ratio) in predicting Financial Distress either partially or simultaneous.
            The object of this research is Return On Asset, Current Ratio, Debt to Equity Ratio and Financial Distress on the  Textile and Garment companys that listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange 2012-2016, the data analyzed sourced from the financial statements of the company.
This research using quantitative research methods with the associative approach. The results of multiple regression analysis showed that Return On Asset, Current Ratio, and Debt to Equity has a significant effect in predicting Financial Distress which is only 41,0% while 59,0% is influenced by other factors. Partially, Return On Asset has a negative effect on financial distress with value t-count -2,544 < t-table 1,692. Current Ratio has a negative effect on Financial distress with t-count -1,148 < t-table 1,692. While Debt to Equity Ratio influential positive against Financial distress with t-count 2,481 < t-table 1,692. simultaneously, Financial distress is influenced by Return On Asset, Current Ratio and Debt to Equity Ratio with value F-count 7,644 < F-table 2,891.


The aim of this subject of research is to identify the possibility of improving the productive and export of Egyptian cotton, through study of the factors affecting all aspects of consumption, exports, inventory and supply production plus stock for the cotton crop in Egypt. The results of the study findings are the positive effect of each of the quantity consumed of all varieties of cotton in the previous year and real income per capita and the total dollar amount of domestic production and the negative impact of the sale price of a ton of hair romanced local quantity consumed of these items. The results also show that the height of each of the world price and domestic production, the average export price per ton of American pima cotton, the average export price of Sudanese cotton varieties studied, and the exchange rate leads to increase in the quantity exported from Egyptian cotton, to increase in the export price and the amount consumed by these items leads to a decrease in the exported quantity. As it turns out the positive impact of domestic production of cotton varieties on the amount of stocks. As well as the results show the positive impact of farm price of cotton varieties on the quantity before them and by encouraging farmers to expand the area cultivated with cotton. Therefore, the study recommends the need to support producers of Egyptian cotton to achieve a balance between the prices of factors of production and farm price, with the need to work on the trend towards the export of cotton in the form of manufactured products to increase the added value of the export of Egyptian cotton.


Some nonlinear codes, such as Kerdock and Preparata codes, can be represented as binary images under the Gray map of linear codes over rings. This paper introduces MAP decoding of Kerdock and Preparata codes by working with their quaternary representation (linear codes over <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mathbb {Z}_{4}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>) with the complexity of <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mathcal {O}(N^{2}\log _{2} N)$ </tex-math></inline-formula>, where N is the code length in <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mathbb {Z}_{4}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>. A sub-optimal bitwise APP decoder with good error-correcting performance and complexity of <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mathcal {O}(N\log _{2} N)$ </tex-math></inline-formula> that is constructed using the decoder lifting technique is also introduced. This APP decoder extends upon the original lifting decoder by working with likelihoods instead of hard decisions and is not limited to Kerdock and Preparata code families. Simulations show that our novel decoders significantly outperform several popular decoders in terms of error rate.


Metallic nanowires of rectangular cross-section can operate as isolated or arrayed optical monopole or dipole antennas, and when deposited on a Si substrate and covered with water, become useful as (bio)chemical sensors. The optical performance of such antennas is assessed over a broad wavelength range as a function of geometrical parameters, including wire thickness, width, length, and gap (in the case of dipoles). Effects caused by varying the pitch of twodimensional arrays of antennas are also determined. Given a uniform broadside excitation, antennas resonate in the main mode of propagation of the corresponding asymmetric metal stripe waveguide, and antennas performance is related to its propagation characteristics. The structures considered are amenable to fabrication via metal evaporation and lift-off, with the nanowires defined by electron beam patterning.


A model for observing the system state under multiplicative and additive noise conditions has been recently proposed to extend the well-known Kalman estimation theory. In the present correspondence we investigate the biasedness properties for the best linear recursive estimator of such a model, and discuss means for adjusting the generally nonzero bias term of the estimator.


Recent advances in ingestible electronics have elucidated the chemical composition of the gastrointestinal tract. Most devices are typically assembled from nondegradable materials, which require surgery for removal in cases of retention. Thus, edible electronic components based on naturally derived materials have been developed. However, a disease‐specific digestible sensor is difficult to construct due to the limited ingredients available. Here, a food‐based capacitive sensor using large dielectric constant changes with excellent selectivity is proposed. The sensor uses a combination of an interlayer of an enzyme‐containing degradable hydrogel, an insulator of food‐based slippery liquid‐infused porous surfaces, and Au/gelatin electrodes. In the enzymatic reaction, generated micro‐bubbles change the permittivity of the capacitor dynamically. Compared to most approaches for capacitive sensors using swelling/shrinking of the interlayer, this simple method excels in a large permittivity change with selectivity associated with the enzymatic reaction. This sensor is potentially applicable to various gaseous reactions, such as redox reactions, weak acid release reactions, and thermal decomposition. The capacitive component works in the contact‐free device as the resonator or sensor. Therefore, this study would open the way to human‐friendly material‐based wireless chemical sensors in healthcare or environmental domains.


ABSTRACT Warming temperatures have been linked to advancing spring migration dates of birds, although most studies have been conducted at individual sites. Problems may arise ecologically if birds arrive or depart before or after associated food resources such as plants or insects reach critical lifecycle stages. Here, I compare mean first arrival dates of the Rufous Hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus), a prolific pollinator and long-distance migrant with the northernmost breeding range of any North American hummingbird, between 1895–1969 and 2006–2015 at eight observation locations in Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. Historical arrivals were reported through the North American Bird Phenology Program, and recent arrivals were estimated from temporal occupancy patterns using eBird checklists. Results indicated that hummingbirds arrived 8 and 11 days later in the recent time period in two coastal cities in Oregon and 7–17 days earlier in northern, more inland cities in Washington and British Columbia. Fewer days were noted between arrivals in more northerly areas in the recent time period suggesting that birds may now be migrating faster than in the previous time period. Spring temperatures have increased in the past century in much of this region, and birds arrived earlier in years with warmer spring temperatures to suggest that migratory advances are climate-related. Later mean first arrivals reported in coastal regions of Oregon in the recent time period may suggest that Rufous Hummingbirds are bypassing coastal areas to take advantage of more predictable conditions along inland migratory routes or are shifting their breeding ranges northward, notions both supported by declining population trends observed in Breeding Bird Survey data. My results demonstrate a climate-related advancement of Rufous Hummingbirds in western North America and provide justification for the investigation of the ecological impacts of climate change on birds in coastal vs. inland environments. In addition, I provide a framework for comparing information from two extensive and emerging datasets to better understand the impacts of climate change on birds at broad spatial and temporal scales.


Dear readers, when you are hunting the new book collection to read this day, understanding countertransference from projective identification to empathy can be your referred book. Yeah, even many books are offered, this book can steal the reader heart so much. The content and theme of this book really will touch your heart. You can find more and more experience and knowledge how the life is undergone.


This paper reports a new record from Asia of Phallus drewesii, a phalloid species previously only known from the African Island of São Tomé (Atlantic Ocean). A description and color photographs are provided based upon the Vietnamese specimens. Differences from similar species are briefly discussed.


1 Please address all the correspondence to this author. 50 Memorial Drive. E53-347. Cambridge, MA 02142 Tel: (617) 253-0468 ABSTRACT This paper describes a method that allows us to enhance our understanding of the difference between designing modular systems and integrative systems. Modular systems are those whose interfaces are well defined and shared with only a few other systems. Integrative systems are those whose interfaces may be more complex and shared across the product. Our approach is illustrated by analyzing the development of a large commercial aircraft engine. We document both the product's design interfaces and the technical interactions between design teams. We found statistically significant differences in the ways modular and integrative design teams handle design interfaces. We focus our analysis on studying the effects due to organizational and system boundaries, and to the existence of various types of design interfaces. By identifying modular and integrative systems and by understanding the differences in designing those systems, development organizations can improve the integration process for complex designs.


Production performance trials of Baoxing,Chuandong,and Trerano varieties of Ochardgrass(Dactylis glomerataL.) in alpine pastoral areas of northwestern Sichuan were tested and observed for growth and production during 2003-2009 in field plots.Results show that the yield of Ochardgrass grown in this region is low for first-year sowing,followed by increased production capacity annually.Yields peak at third and fourth years,then decline.Seventh-year grass production declines to the second-year level.Results indicate that established Ochardgrass grassland can be sustainable for six to seven years after sowing.


With the rapid development of imaging techniques,more and more cavernous transformation of the portal vein(CTPV) have been detected.Till now,kinds of imaging means have been used in this disease,such as ultrasound,CT,MRI,MRA,DSA,et al.At the same time,complete comprehension of the causes,pathogenesis and imaging characteristics play an important role in its diagnosis and treatment.


Abstract Heat capacity measurements were performed on chromatographically purified C70 from 120 to 560 K by DSC. The experimental values were linked to the vibrational heat capacity, calculated based on normal-mode vibration frequencies available from the literature. Good agreement is found, as prior for C60 Major orientational disorder is introduced in two closely spaced transitions, reflecting the change to the phase that displays anisotropic rotation of the rugby-ball shaped molecules. The total entropy of the disordering transitions is 22.4 J/(Kmol), slightly lower than that of C60, but additional entropy is gradually acquired between 120 K and the transition temperature, making the total entropy gain higher than that of C60, as expected for a less symmetric molecule. The Debye temperature for the six lattice vibrations of C70 was calculated to be 45 K, compared to 53 K for C60 No melting temperature could be detected for C70 up to 950 K, but the entropy of fusion is estimated to be 12 J/(K mol). Enth...


Most sections of the industrial relations academic community (broadly defined) started with favourable impressions of the ALP-ACTU Prices and Incomes Accord. Amongst its keenest and most articulate supporters were academics and unionists writing from an explicitly social democratic perspective. Frequently drawing on the German and Scandinavian experiences, writers such as Hughes (1981), Hartnett (1981), Higgins (1978, 1980, 1985), Stilwell (1982), Burford (1983), Ogden (1984), Mathews (1986), and Clegg et al (1986) argued that the Accord would enable the union movement to break out of its labourist straitjacket to encompass broader political concerns and to develop a social role well beyond the ranks of organised labour.


Objective:To compare the transcutaneous permeation of hydrochloride tetracaine formulated in liposome gel with the free drug in gel.And discuss the permeation mechanism of liposome as the carrier of hydrochloride tetracaine. Methods: The drug accumulated permeation percentage through the skin into the receptor cells and the drug resident percentage in the skin were determined, using the double permeation cells in vitro. Results: The drug accumulated permeation percentage into the receptor cells of hydrochloride tetracaine formulated in liposome gel was smaller than that of the free drug in gel. The drug resident percentage in the skin formulated in liposome gel was larger than that of the free drug in gel. The transcutaneous permeation of the drug in both formulations fitted in with Higuchi equation. Conclusion: The hydrochloride tetracaine liposome gel has the ability to enhance the transcutaneous permeation of the drug, and the drug in receptor cells does not increase.


during periods of rapid change.&dquo; She hypothesizes that the &dquo;socialist commitment to public ownership, egalitarian distribution of wealth, and collective responsibility for the material welfare of all citizens&dquo; should protect the elderly. Though she betrays a predisposition toward these ideals, her data, meticulously collected, and even her conclusion, disprove her hypothesis. To do her topic justice, Davis-Friedman should have compared the post1949 communist revolutionary times to a period of peace rather than the 1930's and 1940's. Though the Nationalist economy was capitalist, the government was engaged in continual military campaigns that culminated


In a few paragraphs this article explains the main theses developed in the book From Apology to Utopia, the most important work of Martti Koskenniemi. The book analyzes and criticizes the structure of international legal argument, showing that international law does not provide a set of rules capable of settling contrasts and divergences among states in a neutral way, and that, for this reason, cannot be differentiated from politics: the sources and the principles at the basis of international law are structured in such a way that opposite solutions may be reached using the same arguments. The international lawyer is called to be aware of this undetermined aspect of law, and to imagine new solutions for new problems. The conclusions Koskenniemi reaches, however; leave open two questions, which this article seeks to bring to light.


Aristotie's Rhetoric appears to hâve had little influence on rhetorical theory in Greek or Latin during late antiquity or the early Middle Ages, but it was closely studied by some Islamic philosophers, notably al-Farabi. Behind al-Farabi's interest in Aristotle's Rhetoric lay his adoption of Plato's doctrine of the philosopher-king, v̂ fhich had an éloquent exponent in late antiquity in the philosopher-orator Themistius. An allusion to the Rhetoric in an oration of Themistius suggests that al-Farabi's assessment of the Rhetoric also had roots in late antiquity, possibly in circles around Themistius. The content of the Syriac Rhetoric of Antony of Tagrit confirms the likelihood that in thèse matters, as in many others, the Syrians were the intermediaries between Greek late antiquity and the classical renaissance in Islam. he fate of [Aristotle's] Rhetorica in the late classical and early médiéval periods is obscure."^ It seems strange to us in the twentieth century that this masterpiece of classical antiquity had little impact on rhetorical theory in late antiquity and the following centuries, when some other areas of Aristotle's thought were greatly appreciated. In the West, of course, the fading out of the knowledge of Greek eventually closed ail access to the text for centuries, although this leaves unexplained why neither Victorinus nor Boethius translated Aristotle's Rhetoric 'J. J. Murphy, Rhetoric in the Middle Ages (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1974), pp. 90-91. ©The International Society for the History of Rhetoric, Rhetorica, Volume XIII, Number 1 (Winter, 1995) 17 D ow naded rom http://online.ucpress.edu/rhpdf/13/1/17/330154/rh_1995_13_1_17.pdf by gest on 10 June 2020


High pressure turbine blades, placed after the combustor on aircraft engines, can present irreparable defects caused by the shell mold at casting. During cooling, a great difference in thermal expansion between the ceramic shell mold and the metal can induce stresses in the blade right after solidification, which could result in discarding defects. Two types of layered alumino-silicate molds (1 and 2), used for non-ferrous casting, were studied. To determine their thermomechanical behavior, all tests followed a thermal path that mimicked the industrial process, with a dwell at casting temperature (1550°C). Type 2 samples showed higher thermal expansion coefficient rates. Both specimens expanded linearly during the temperature dwell, caused by matrix and stucco interactions, which promote secondary mullitization. Type 2 shells, with higher pore volume fractions, exhibited lower overall Young's modulus values (compared to type 1), while maintaining rigidity at casting temperature. In conclusion, type 2 shells resulted more adequate for investment casting of high-pressure turbine blades.


In a recent paper arXiv:2109.08340, we have exhibited a set of conditions that are necessary for the $H$-property to hold for the class of step-graphons. In this paper, we prove that these conditions are essentially sufficient.


We propose a novel method for reconstructing phylogenetic trees. It is based on a conceptual clustering method that is an extension of the well-known decision tree learning approach. As such, the method differs from existing methods, both algorithmically and with respect to the information it uses and the assumptions it makes. It scales better in terms of the number of sequences, and as such can be used on large sets of sequences, beyond the point where other methods break down. By nature, it has a stronger tendency to construct trees in which subspecies are defined by particular polymorphisms. Experiments show that its performance is comparable to that of state-of-the-art methods.


The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of the supplementation of two xylanase products to diets with reduced metabolizable energy fed to meat-type quails during the starter phase (1-14 days). A completely randomized experimental design in a 2 x 3 + 1 factorial arrangement two reduced metabolizable energy (ME) diets, inclusion or not of xylanase, and a control diet with no enzyme addition) was applied, totaling seven treatments with five replicates of 45 quails each. At 14 days of age, jejunum segments were collected for morphometry evaluation. No interaction between the studied factors were detected for performance and jejunal morphometry parameters. Body weight, weight gain, feed intake and feed conversion were not influenced by enzyme inclusion. Reduced ME diets (-70 or -140 kcal/kg) did not affect performance, except for feed intake. Xylanase inclusion increased villus height and villus:crypt ratio. Therefore, xylanase supplementation can be effective in corn and soybean meal-based diets, without causing any impairment in the performance of 1to 14-day-old quails. Xylanases A and B were more efficient when dietary energy level was reduced in 140 kcal ME/kg, and were also shown to effectively improve the jejunal morphometry of starter meat-type quails.


The present invention relates to a pinless type semiconductor package component constructed by conductor frame and its making process. It can be used for making tetragonal plane pinless package component, and is characterized by that a concave hole is formed on the crystal-placed surface of crystal-placing portion of conductor frame as fastening structure of packaging sealant body, so that said packaging sealant body is fastened on the positioning place so as to prevent delaminating phenomenon. Besides, the formation of concave hole can reduce the height of top portion of chip, so that it can increase the thickness of packaging sealant body portion positioned over the wire solder so as to can prevent wire solder from exposing, and can raise the quality of the packaging component.


INTRODUCTION Rabies is an acute progressive viral encephalitis and one of the most critical zoonotic diseases worldwide with the fatality rate of almost 100% [1]. The disease is commonly transmitted through the bite of rabid animals. The etiological agent of the disease is an enveloped singlestranded negative-sense RNA virus belonging to the Rhabdoviridae family and the genus Lyssavirus (Order Mononegavirales). Members of this family occur on all continents except Antarctica [2]. Carnivores are the main reservoirs of the virus in nature and dogs play a significant role in the transmission of rabies to humans in most developing countries. Whereas, wild animals are mainly responsible for the dissemination of rabies in developed countries [3]. Some of these countries have controlled sylvatic cycle of rabies by oral vaccination. Transmission of rabies from wildlife to domestic animals and humans remains a severe public health concern in many countries [4]. In addition to human deaths, rabies is responsible for substantial cattle losses and pose a threat to rare carnivore species [5, 6]. In northern provinces of Iran, the majority of rabies occurs in livestock kept in barns [7, 8]. Rabies, as an endemic disease, circulates among both wild and domestic animals of Iran. Annually, the national reference center for rabies, Pasteur Institute of Iran, confirms several hundred rabid animals. In addition to the dogs, wild carnivores such as foxes, jackals, and wolves are vectors of rabies in wildlife. Until now, 62 rabies foci have been identified in Iran's wildlife with the disease spillovers to domestic animals in these areas [9, 10]. Previous studies showed that dogs and foxes in the north and wolves in the west and northwest of Iran were the most important vectors of the disease. Dogs were the most frequent potential source of exposure to rabies (62%) during 1993-1994 and 2008-2009. In Khorasan and Kerman provinces in the east and south of Iran, wild rabies was more critical in comparison to other regions [11, 12]. In Ilam province, western Iran, dogs were responsible for the majority of animals bites (89.2%) during 1999-2009, followed by cats (5%), wolves (0.7%), jackals (0.6%), foxes (0.3%), and other animals (4.2%) [13]. In Tehran, most of the animal bites were inflicted by dogs (65.9%), followed by cats (25.44%), ferrets (3.98%), monkies (1.52%), hamsters (1.41%), and other animals (1.84%) [14]. Vaccination of wild animals and dogs can prevent the circulation of the rabies virus in the wildlife and its Introduction: In Iran, 95% of animal bites are attributed to domestic dogs and cats, while one-third of rabies victims are from wildlife. The wolf is one of the primary vectors of wildlife in the country. This study was aimed to assess the impact of wildlife on rabies transmission and to evaluate the efficacy of an oral rabies vaccine (ORV) in gray wolf (Canis lupus pallipes). Methods: We studied the incidence of wolf attacks by analyzing a 10-year period of data (2000 to 2009) available in the Ministry of Health and Medical Education, the Veterinary Organization and Pasteur Institute of Iran. In the next step, five captive gray wolves were fed by Raboral V-RG® vaccine baits (Merial®, part of Boehringer Ingelheim, Germany) and monitored for rabies neutralizing antibodies over 20 months by rapid fluorescent focus inhibition test (RFFIT). Results: Our analysis showed that 55% of animal bites occurred in rural areas and the remaining in urban areas. The most rabid wolves were from Fars province in southern Iran. The vaccine baits were palatable for the hungry wolves. Seroconversion with antibodies titers ≥0.5 IU/ml occurred after 12 weeks and maintained for 78 weeks indicating potential protection against rabies after receiving a single ORV bait. Conclusion: Our results suggested that a single dose of vaccination with V-RG®, though initially designed for foxes and raccoons, can protect the gray wolves against rabies as well. J Med Microbiol Infect Dis, 2017, 5 (3-4): 56-61. DOI: 10.29252/JoMMID.188.8.131.52


ABSTRACT We investigate how a firm strategically manages the characteristics of a menu of three-part tariff to maximize its profit while consumers self-select the products. As the unit price designed for low-type segments and fixed fee as a function of free allowance increases, the firm can make a higher profit by offering more quantity units to its low segment customers. These two dynamic forces also shape the information rent, which is generated due to an information asymmetry, and hence reduced. Thus, this condition will eventually mitigate the issue of cannibalization.