This paper introduces the composition and usage of the18 luminescence tubes shadowless retractor, the Single-port gasless laparoscopy minimally invasive surgical instrument, which is the national patent products. As for the issue of inadequate illuminating intensity, the 3- lamp cold light Lifting retractor system is presented for the first time in domestic, as well as its designing and manufacturing procedure. It also presents the trial-producing of 3- lamp cold light Lifting retractor and its supporting power box. The system has been tested. It can apply to the disaster relief field and other special conditions, at the same time, it can improve the intensity of illumination with its simple producing procedure.


BACKGROUND
 White-coat hypertension (WCH) and masked hypertension (MH) can increase the risk of target organ damage. Home blood pressure monitoring is an important method for detecting WCH and MH. However, the prevalence and risk factors of WCH and MH in China has been rarely reported.

 OBJECTIVE
 To explore the prevalence and risk factors associated with white coat hypertension (WCH) and masked hypertension (MH) in Shunde District, Southern China.

 METHODS
 This study recruited subjects from the Physical Examination Center in Shunde Hospital, Southern Medical University. Office blood pressure and home blood pressure values were collected. The prevalence of WCH and MH was calculated by combining the office blood pressure and home blood pressure values. Multivariate logistic regression was used to explore the related risk factors for WCH and MH.

 RESULTS
 Four-hundred and sixty-one participants (61% male), with an average age of 49 years, were included. The incidence of WCH and MH was 5.1% and 15.2%, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that smoking (OR=4.71, 95%CI=1.05-21.15) and family history of coronary heart disease (OR=4.51, 95%CI=1.08-18.93) were associated with higher odds of WCH. The associated factors for higher odds of MH were smoking (OR=2.83, 95%CI=1.11-7.23), family history of hypertension (OR=2.17, 95%CI=1.11-4.26) and family history of coronary heart disease (OR=2.82, 95%CI=1.07-7.45).

 CONCLUSIONS
 WCH and MH are highly prevalent in the health check-up population in Southern China. Out-of-office blood pressure monitoring, especially home blood pressure monitoring with a telemedicine device should be recommended to identity abnormal BP phenotype.

 CLINICALTRIAL
 It has been registered in the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry(ChiCTR1800018515)


In this paper, it is tried to investigate the identity distinction roots of Islamic world with other types of civilization identity based on the effects of crusade wars on the identity of Islamic identity, and analyze the historical memory of Islamic world about the issues of Israel and the west in this platform. Considering the stated platform of historical-identity conflict, it is tried to analyze the news policy- making of cross-border media of Islamic Republic of Iran broadcasting organization. In this paper, as an interdisciplinary research, it is tried to explain the effect of media and identity on international relationships by using political science, sociology, and communication science theories, and give an answer to the question that how does Islamic Republic advertise itself through the media and news using the historical memory of Muslims from crusader-ism of the west, and its anti-imperialist policy? Achieving this goal, the researcher tries to explain identity dimensions of a society by proposing a theoretical framework of identity and clarify the effects of identity on international relationship based on constructivism and clash of civilizations viewpoint. Then, by stating the quiddity of anti-crusade identity queuing from the viewpoint of Huntington, it is tried to outline this theory according to the historical memory of Muslims from the first widespread confrontation of the west wit Islamic world in crusade wars and explain the position of Iran in confronting the crusaders and how this capacity should be used in cross-border media productions of Iran.


By questionnaire survey, 32 out of 52 workers (61.5%) reported previous or current skin diseases from okra cultivation. The sites of skin lesions were mainly the‐ arms, lingers and fingertips. Positive patch test millions with preparations of okra leaves or immature pods in 111 workers, compared to 63 control subjects, wore significantly higher in okra workers than in controls (p<0.01), ranging from 9.8 to 30.0%, 37 out of 111 workers (33.3%) I were diagnosed as having allergic contact dermatitis (n= 17; 15.3%) and irritant contact dermatitis (n= 18; 16.2%) from okra cultivation.


The invention relates to angle sensors, in particular to an angle sensor for the Internet of Things. According to the angle sensor for the Internet of Things, the radio frequency technology is used for recognition. The angle sensor for the Internet of Things comprises a dielectric slab and a V-shaped scattering unit, wherein the V-shaped scattering unit comprises a metal arm A and a metal arm B, the included angle between the metal arm A and the metal arm B is theta and is used for coding the address information of an object to be measured. The angle sensor is made to adhere to the object to be measured when used, and when the object to be measured rotates in the plane where the angle sensor is located, the address information and the real-time angle information of the object to be measured can be detected at the same time by measuring the reverse plural scattering field, in the horizontal polarization direction, of the angle sensor and the reverse plural scattering field, in the vertical polarization direction, of the angle sensor. The angle sensor for the Internet of Things is simple in structure and low in manufacturing cost, the frequency band occupied when the sensor works is narrow, and the spectrum efficiency is improved.


Based on L 0 The human body successive frame bone optimization method of minimum belongs to graphical representation method field, optimize and restore the skeleton point position occurred in continuous movement human bone and extracts exception, branch mis and excessive rough situation, and solve the problems, such as that the skeleton point position occurred in same frame is overlapped, joint is broken, to obtain more uniform, complete skeleton model.Firstly, acquiring the image of human body in multiple angle movement, dense point cloud model is reconstructed using each multi-view image of each frame.For the point cloud model of each frame, L is used 1 Intermediate value bone method extracts skeleton model;Then, piecemeal processing is carried out to the skeleton of each frame, and each piece of skeleton point is sampled, construct successive frame skeleton sequence, establish the sparse Optimized model for considering consecutive frame relevance.Finally, increasing the regular terms of the adjacent skeleton point of same frame in Optimized model, the skeleton point for allowing optimization to obtain is more uniform.


Three new manganese complexes trans-[Mn(P–NH–NH–P)(CO)2][Br], (14) P–NH–NH–P = (S,S)-PPh2CH2CH2NH–CHPhCHPhNHCH2CH2PPh2), fac-[Mn(P′–NH–NH2)(CO)3][Br], (15) P′–NH–NH2 = (S,S)-PPh2(C6H4)NHCHPhCHPhNH2, and syn-mer-Mn(P–NH–NH2)(CO)2Br, (16) P–NH–NH2 = (S,S)-PPh2CH2CH2NHCHPhCHPhNH2 were synthesized and tested for the asymmetric transfer hydrogenation (ATH) of acetophenone in 2-PrOH. The ligands have stereogenic centers derived from the starting diamine, (S,S)-DPEN. Complex 16 was shown by NOE NMR experiments to have Mn–Br syn to the N–H of the secondary amine. Only the precatalyst 16, upon reaction with potassium tert-butoxide (KOtBu) in 2-PrOH, generated an active system at 80 °C for the ATH of acetophenone to 1-phenylethanol in an enantiomeric excess (ee) of 42% and thus was selected for further investigation into the mechanism of transfer hydrogenation. The corresponding amido complex Mn(P–N–NH2)(CO)2 (17), a borohydride complex syn-mer-Mn(P–NH–NH2)(CO)2(BH4) (18), and an ethoxide complex anti-mer-Mn(P–NH–N...


Abstract Epidemiological studies suggest that βcarotene is able to modulate the risk of cancer. A number of in vitro studies reported that βcarotene inhibits the growth of cancer cells; however, so far little is known about the molecular mechanisms of the antiproliferative effect of βcarotene. Here we have investigated the effects of two βcarotene preparations, (i) βcarotene dissolved in tetrahydrofuran (final concentration in cell culture medium: 0.5%) and (ii) βcarotene incorporated in a water dispersible bead form, on cultured human colon carcinoma cells HT29. The treatment of cells with βcarotene up to 30 M for 72 h led to a significant increase in the cellular βcarotene concentration and formation of retinol. βCarotene showed only low cytotoxicity for confluent cells tested up to 30 M, but at dietary relevant concentrations for the intestinal tract (10, 30 M) βcarotene was strongly cytotoxic for growing cells and induced apoptosis in HT29 cells as assessed by the AnnexinV assay (the maximal effect was observed 15 h after treatment with βcarotene). Exposure of cells to retinol at concentrations yielding cellular retinol levels similar to those observed by βcarotene treatment had no antiproliferative or cytotoxic effect. Furthermore, βcarotene did not affect the activation of the extracellular signalregulated kinases (ERK1 and ERK2) that are essential for cellular growth. In summary, βcarotene can inhibit growth of human colon carcinoma cells in vitro by induction of apoptosis in proliferating cells.


Banks play an active role in the economic development of a country. Their ability to make a positive contribution in igniting the process of growth depends on the effective banking system. These banks mostly deal with money collected in the form of deposits along with their own funds in the form of share capital and resources constituting around 5% of the total resources of the banks. So the banks have the obligation of meeting the demand of the customers promptly, paying interest for the amount and meeting the expenses to carry out its activities. This necessitates the banks to maintain adequate liquidity and earn required profit from their activities. Maintenance of liquidity and profitability are contradictory in nature. (Therefore, the banks have to perform the difficult task of maintaining equilibrium between liquidity and profitability). The maintenance of liquidity is necessary to prove the fact that the bank is able to meet its commitments without fail and is paying the day to day expenses. Thus, liquidity refers to the ability of the concern to fulfill its obligations promptly. Whereas, profitability is primarily the measure of the overall success of business and so, it is the ability to earn profit. Profitability is the most powerful motivational factor in any business. The larger the profit, the more efficient and profitable a business is deemed to be. It is the engine that drives a business concern. It also enables a concern to discharge its obligation to the various segments of the society.


Previous studies have largely focused on the career success of white employees (Heslin, 2005). Using recent survey data, this paper examines the career satisfaction levels of white/Caucasian and visible minority managerial, professional and executive employees in the information and communications technology [ICT] and financial services sectors in corporate Canada. Given that the demographic makeup of organizations in Canada is drastically changing with the aging population and the increasing participation of visible minorities in the labour force, it is crucial for managers and organizations to understand their employees' level of career satisfaction. Studies have found that employees who are more satisfied with their careers are more engaged and thus are more likely to actively contribute to the organization's success (Peluchette, 1993; Harter, Schmidt and Hayes, 2002). Findings from this paper showed that the average career satisfaction scores were lower for visible minority employees than for white/Caucasian employees. In addition, variations were found between white/Caucasian employees and Chinese, South Asian and Black visible minority employees. While Black employees were 13.0% less satisfied than white/Caucasian employees, Chinese employees were only 8.3% less satisfied than their white/Caucasian counterparts, and the difference between South Asian and white/Caucasian employees was found to be insignificant. Decomposition analyses show that over 58% to 82% of the difference in career of satisfaction scores, depending on the ethnic group, can be accounted for by factors included in this paper. Of the unexplained portion, most of the differences in career satisfaction between white/Caucasian and minority groups are attributable to higher returns to white/Caucasian employees' human capital and demographic characteristics.


This study discusses the solution to the optimal control problem of the COVID-19 model with preventive action through education and treatment of infected individuals. In this model, the population is divided into seven subpopulations: subpopulation of susceptible, exposed, symptomatic, asymptomatic, quarantine, isolated, and recovered. Optimal control is obtained using the Pontryagin minimum principle and solved numerically using the Forward-Backward Sweep method. Furthermore, given control measures can minimize the number of subpopulations: exposed, symptomatic, and asymptomatic, and significant costs associated with control. © 2021 Seventh Sense Research Group®.


The Integrated Water Supply Scheme (IWSS) provides a secure water supply to the Perth region. This study reports on the findings of a multi-objective optimization analysis to derive insights on the best ways to manage the current IWSS. With precedents based urban systems dominated by surface water, it was realized that the drying climate experienced by the Perth region in recent decades would make formulating the optimization problem itself a challenging task. The optimization had to be embedded in a discovery/learning process characterized by iterative review of results and reformulation to develop a deeper understanding of system behaviour and an adequate articulation of stakeholder needs. The key insights to emerge from this process were recognition of the major changes on system behaviour brought about by the drying trend in Perth's climate. With reduced dependence on surface water, reservoirs were found to operate in a narrow range, rarely spilling. Traditional drought contingency measures based on storage-triggered restrictions and a variable groundwater abstraction rule proved to be ineffective. The availability of surplus desalination water offers the prospect of banking water in underutilized reservoirs to provide a contingency source of water. However, a major cost trade-off is required to sustain high levels of banking.


Recent studies have revealed that for the majority of species the length distributions of duplicated sequences in natural DNA follow a power-law tail. We study duplication-mutation models for processes in natural DNA sequences and the length distributions of exact matches computed from both synthetic and natural sequences. Here we present a hierarchy of equations for various number of exact matches for these models. The reduction of these equations to one equation for pairs of exact repeats is found. Quantitative correspondence of solutions of the equation to simulations is demonstrated.


The research study focuses on implementing Lean SCM and Green SCM principles harmoniously to reduce costs and GHG emission across the logistics department of a supply chain, thereby making a supply chain eco-efficient and giving competitive advantage to an organization. The construction industry over the years has been grappling with costs overruns and low productivity; many paradigms have been implemented to tackle this issue but haven't been successful. The lack of success is attributed to the highly fragmented and uncertain nature of the construction industry. In terms of GHG emissions the construction industry accounts for 50% of global CO2 emissions, a substantial chunk of this emerges from the operational phase and most research focusing on reducing CO2 emission in construction focus on the operational phase and very little research is dedicated to reducing CO2 emissions during the construction phase and in specific logistics. Hence this thesis aims to develop a framework using principles of Lean SCM and Green SCM to reduce costs and GHG across Construction Logistics.


Introduction. Procedural provision of studies on monitoring for infrasound pollution of residential areas located in proximity to highways is the issue of the consideration in this article. The fact of the absence of a standardized procedure for carrying out large-scale studies of the infrasound range of the sound pressure in residential areas is reported. A brief review of regulatory documents currently used by experts of accredited laboratories, hygiene and epidemiology centers to solve sanitary problems of infrasound range acoustics, is given. Material and Methods. As a rule, experts use techniques for a hearing range of noise measurements and procedures specified by device service instructions which result in significant inconsistencies of research findings. Determination of parameters affecting the accuracy of research findings carried out with the help of routine devices available in hygiene and epidemiology centers was the objective of infrasound measurements presented here. Results. Effect of wind flows, study duration and monitoring location point were found to be the major parameters affecting the accuracy of research findings. Data on wind load on Saint-Petersburg territory is reported. Territories in the immediate proximity to the "West Speed Diameter" (WSD) highway, Ring motorway and Sinopskaya embankment being potential infrasound sources, were chosen for experimental studies. Such choice was caused by the heavy freight and passenger car traffic characterized by relatively permanent intensity. Discussion. Measurement series at various wind loads and of different durations were done. Measurement points were chosen in free field and in the vicinity of echoing areas. Measurement data were assessed taking into account expanded uncertainty, at 95% confidence level. It was found that reliable measurement results in infrasound frequency range can be obtained on the territory at wind velocity not exceeding 1 m/sec, during measurements in the free sound field with duration over 20 minutes. Given wind load conditions can be realized in St.-Petersburg for several days a month.


To make its research readily available to a broad audience, the Center for Philosophy and Public Policy publishes a quarterly newsletter: QQReport from tile Center for Ph ilosophy alld Public Policy . Named after the abbreviation for "questions," QQ summarizes and supplements Center books and working papers and features other selected work on public policy questions . Articles in QQ are intended to advance philosophically in formed debate on current policy choices; the views presented are not necessarily those of the Center or its sponsors.


Objective To investigate clinical efficacy of Tripterygium wilfordii in treatment of chronic glomerulonephritis.Methods Our hospital from January 2008 to July 2011 were treated 89 cases of chronic glomerulonephritis patients,patients were randomly divided into two group of 45 patients and a control group of 44 patients in the observation group application TWP 20mg tablets/time,3 times/day.The control group received tablets every three compound nephritis,3 times/day.All patients received continuous treatment for more efficacy after 3 months.Results The two groups of patients after treatment total effective rate was 80.0%,63.6% in control group,the difference was statistically significant(P0.05).After treatment,urinary protein,Scr,Ccr,BUN significantly improved compared with before treatment(P0.05),but to improve the level of the observation group was better than the control group(P0.05).Conclusions Tripterygium wilfordii in treatment of chronic glomerulonephritis there is a genuine effect,not only can eliminate or reduce proteinuria,hematuria,but also can improve renal function,delaying the progress of chronic kidney disease.


''Patient-centered care,'' as an expression, is beyond a fad and a term du jour. I believe that it has crept into our professional lexicon, but what is its precise meaning? The term patient-centered care (PCC) has also made its way into the taxonomy of wound care. A recent Internet search using Google reveals a significant number of citations and Web sites defining and espousing the patient-centered approach in numerous settings, including patient-centered wound care (PCWC). In fact, few wound care books even include the term patient-centered care as a subtitle. However, a more rigorous search of the PubMed index came up with 1 article with the PCWC term related to wound care.When the key words ''pressure ulcer'' were used in combination with PCWC, no specific articles were found, and those that were identified used vague references to PCWC, such as palliative care, terminal care, pain management, and holistic care. What then is the precise definition of PCWC? As stated by Stewart, it may be easier to agree on what PCC is not; it is not about healthcare providers, board certifications, hospitals, insurers, andpayers. Inwoundcare, agoodexamplemaybe the fact that sometimes (at least during lecture presentations) we focus on the wound rather that the patient with a wound, hence the need for a more ''holistic'' approach, which is mentioned as a frequent and regular modifier to explain the concept of PCC and PCWC. To understand the term, we must quantify PCWC, and to obtain a rudimentary understanding of the term, the value of the term, and what it means to the patient (the target of the care), we should consider the intersection between the qualitative and the quantitative facets of the term. The final task will be to operationalize the concept of PCWC. In our attempt to define PCWC,we should considerOccam's (or Ockham's) razor or the law of parsimony. William of Occam (1284–1347) was an English philosopher and theologian. His work on knowledge, logic, and scientific inquiry played a major role in the transition frommedieval to modern thought. He based scientific knowledge on experience and selfevident truths and on logical propositions resulting from those 2 sources. In his writings, Occam stressed the Aristotelian principle that entities must not be multiplied beyond what is necessary. A problem should be stated in its basic and simplest terms. In science, the simplest theory that fits the facts of a problem is the one that should be selected. This rule is interpreted to mean that the simplest of 2 or more competing theories is preferable and that an explanation for unknown phenomena should first be attempted in terms of what is alreadyknown. Therefore, usingOccam's razor (shavingdown to the core principle), we can simplify the principle and/or the definition of PCWC (what does the patient want?). Stewart states that the best way to measure patient ''centeredness'' is an assessmentmade by the patients themselves. In wound care, the patients need to be part of thewound care team. Instead of ''empowering'' patients to become active participants in their wound care, many patients will want to take a proactive leadership role in their care and correspondingly will empower healthcare providers to be on their team, as they direct the process and outcome centered on their goals and objectives. Some organizations are addressing fundamental posits related to the concept of PCC in general. For example, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) is an independent, not-for-profit organization helping to lead the improvement of healthcare throughout the world. IHI works to accelerate improvement bybuilding thewill for change, cultivatingpromising concepts for improving patient care, and helping healthcare systems put those ideas into action. IHI is focusing on 3 areas that we believe will contribute to a complete framework for a PCC healthcare system. Specifically, IHI will work to articulate changes that & enable healthcare providers to reliably meet the needs and preferences of patients. & enable fully informed, shared decision making. & include patients and their loved ones on healthcare improvement and design teams. After considerable review about the concept of PCWC, I have concluded that this term serves as a philosophical anchor to remind us that the patient comes first as they should. Asmy wife, a coronary intensive care nurse, reminds me when I'm heading out the door worrying about organizational policies, procedures, and politics related to patient care of the day, she reassuresmewith the following phrase: ''Remember take good care of the patient and all of that other stuff will be all right.'' However, in the realworld, other factors sometimes cause us to focus just on the wound or systems-based minutiae related to patient care that directs our attention away from the patient. As we look for the simplicity espoused by Occam's razor, we may want to consider Albert Einstein's theory ''Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.''&


Abstract : The management of a large-scale feeding facility involves many decisions which depend on the ability to forecast future food prices. Food ordering policies, contract period lengths, and future budget allocations are just a few of the decisions which are based on some knowledge of these food price trends. The ability to identify these future price trends can be an important asset to the facility manager. This study has developed a B5500 FORTRAN computer program which enhances the manager's planning in three ways: It accurately forecasts food costs; it uses these forecasts to determine the costs of future menus; and it uses a randomly generated menu schedule to provide an estimate of future operating expenses. (Author)


This paper is on the geometrical effective thermal conductivity of hollow metal sphere structures. Two different technologies of joining, namely adhesive bonding and sintering, are considered. The spheres are arranged in the nodes of a cubic primitive lattice and connected by an adhesive layer, respectively directly joined by sintering. Furthermore, the influence of the cell wall thickness of the spheres on the thermal conductivity is investigated.


BNAK-Divide-and-Merge clustering algorithm is an improved algorithm which is based on the Divide-and-Merge clustering algorithm proposed by David et al. Divide-and-Merge is a methodology which combines a top-down divide method with a bottom-up merge method. Although it has been proved to be a method with high efficiency and quality of clustering by implementing lots of relevant experiment, its divide phase will consume too much time and space resources when it is applied to very huge sets; furthermore the method which can figure out the number of clustering with a threshold is also not best. Accordingly, improves the original algorithm to overcome the two major flaws mentioned above.


The ability of communication in English is one of the required qualifications for college students. The following four aspects should be focused on: 1. To emphasize the basic knowledge teaching; 2. To emphasize vocabulary teaching; 3. To pay equal attention to the teaching of listening, speaking, writing and reading; 4. To emphasize the cultivation of the sense of English language. The author gives her brief opinion on these respects.


The acquisition of Indonesian sentence on 3 years old children tend to be very simplethat describes the mindset, behavior, and personality to tell the events that happened thoughsometimes still not right and not yet become a complete sentence. The purpose of this study isto know and describe the acquisition of sentences in children aged 3 years in KB YaaBunayya Surabaya. In the form of declarative sentences, interrogative imperatives, andsentence solicitation. The method used in this research is descriptive qualitative researchmethod. technique of data collection using conversation involve gathering technique,recording technique, and record technique. The analytical techniques used are transcript thedata, recording, classifying, and retell. The result of this research is the acquisition ofdeclarative sentence of 3 years old child there are four kinds. In addition to the declarativesentence, there are also 3 interrogative sentences that are interrogative sentences thatrequire the recognition of "yes" or "no" answers, about a thing. Both types of interrogativesentences that ask for answers are 'reasons', and the third Sentence type that asks forinformation. Found 2 more sentences namely sentence invitation and imperative sentence.Conclusions and suggestions are given so that this research is useful for the readers,especially for the development and improvement of the development of learning methods forchild 3 years old for more re-interaction and productive in the use of good and correctIndonesian.


This study evaluated the impacts of heat abatement during pre- and postpartum periods on physiology and performance of beef heifers and their calves. On day 0, 64 Brangus beef heifers (21 mo of age) were stratified by their initial body weight (BW; 454 ± 37 kg) and body condition score (BCS; 6.3 ± 0.28) and then were allocated into of 1 of 16 bahiagrass pastures (1 ha and 4 heifers/pasture). Treatments were randomly assigned to pastures (8 pastures/treatment) and consisted of heifers provided (SH) or not (NSH) access to artificial shade from day 0 to 33 (83 ± 4 d prepartum until 50 ± 4 d postpartum). Shade structures were removed on day 33. Calves were weaned on day 203 (119 ± 9 d of age), and then transferred to 1 of 16 drylot pens (3 to 4 calves/pen) and limit-fed a soybean hulls-based diet (3.25% of BW) until day 268. Data were analyzed as a complete randomized design using MIXED and GLIMMIX procedures for non-binary and binary variables, respectively. Heifer BCS on days 55, 133 and 203 were greater (P ≤ 0.01) for SH vs. NSH heifers. Plasma glucose did not differ (P ≥ 0.29), whereas plasma IGF-1 were greater (P ≤ 0.05) on days 55 and 133 for SH vs. NSH heifers. Calf BW was less (P = 0.05) for NSH vs. SH calves at birth, did not differ (P = 0.44) at weaning, and was less (P = 0.05) for SH vs. NSH calves on day 268. Plasma haptoglobin concentrations were greater (P = 0.05) and serum titers against bovine respiratory syncytial virus tended (P = 0.10) to be less for SH vs. NSH calves after vaccination. Serum titers against all remaining viruses did not differ (P ≥ 0.24) between treatments. Therefore, heat abatement during pre- and postpartum increased heifer BCS and plasma IGF-1 during late-gestation, increased calf birth BW, reduced calf post-weaning growth, and had minor changes to calf humoral immune function.


Objective To investigate the female health condition in a power plant of Chongqing City.Methods Three hundred and fourteen cases of female staffs in a power plant received gynaecologic exam including gynaecologic routine examination and cervical smear.Results Two hundred and fifteen of 314(68.47%) female staffs suffered gynaecologic diseases to different degrees.The three leading diseases were colpitis(23.25%),chronic cervicitis(21.34%),and hysteromyoma(12.1%).The occurrence of cervicitis in young women was higher than that in the middle aged and aged.Conclusion The health condition of female staff could be well evaluated by periodic gynaecologic exam.


Infrared suppression devices (IRS) are frequently used in naval/cargo ships to passively entrain an additional amount of cold air from the atmosphere, and mix it with the hot plume so as to suppress its temperature and the IR signature. In this work, a convex-type IRS device has been proposed consisting of five numbers of convex-type funnels. The air entrainment ratio has been numerically computed by solving the transport equations (i.e., mass, momentum, energy, turbulent kinetic energy, and its dissipation rate in a structured grid arrangement employing a pressure-based finite volume solver in Ansys Fluent. The pertinent parameters like the Reynolds number, inlet temperature ratio, convex-radius ratio, and funnel-overlap height have been varied in the range of 1.5×105 to 1.5×106, 1.243 to 2.576, 0.834 to 1, and 0 to 0.326, respectively. It has been observed that the air entrainment ratio increases with both the Reynolds number and convex-radius ratio for the considered temperature ratios. An optimum convex-radius ratio (=0.909) has been obtained, where the air entrainment and outlet temperature become the maximum and the minimum, respectively. Both the inlet temperature ratio and overlap height significantly improve the intake of cold air into the IRS device due to the additional buoyancy force, and the enhanced area salability for air ingestion. The convex-type IRS device performs better than a cylindrical-type IRS device. The Correlation equation for the air entrainment has been developed.


Carbon sequestration in forest ecosystems is recognized as a key mechanism for mitigating the accumulation of atmospheric carbon dioxide. However, both forest carbon pools and sequestration vary according to tree species, age of the stand, soil types, climate, environmental disturbances, and management practices. Tree species composition and management practices are important tools for increasing carbon storage in forest ecosystems. Plantation is becoming a key component of the world忆s forest resources and is playing an important role in sustainable forest management. Well鄄designed, multi鄄purpose plantations can reduce the pressure on natural forests and complement some ecological resources provided by natural forests in addition to mitigating climate change through direct carbon sequestration. Afforestation and reforestation are important measures for managing commercial forests in subtropical China. However, the large鄄scale development of


~ v Chapter 1: Introduction 1 Rationale for Study 1 Research Question 2 Organization of the Study 3 Answering the Question and Beyond 3 Chapter 2: Review of the Literature 5 Particulate Nature of Matter ~ ~ Johnstone's Triangle of Understanding Chemistry 7 Particulate Nature of Matter and Conceptual Understanding .~S Relevance and the "Real-'~Vrorld" ~ 9 Summary _ 12 Chapter 3: Materials ~ and Methods ~ , 13 Description of Course and Potential Participants 13 Instruction ~ 14~ Assessment 18 Sample Participation 20 Limitations. of the ,Study 21 Chapter 4: Results and Discussion 23 Introduction ~ 23 Statistical Results 23 What Happened with the Hypotheses? . 25 The Results and Other Research Studies 2b The Results and the Current Study 27 Teacher-Researcher Observations 27 Student Motivation ~ 29 Sequence of .the Solutions Unit ~ 30 Summary of the Conflict 32


The freedom, in Latin libertas, is the object of philosophical reflection since Plato. Yet as
the determined philosophical direction it took the form of the "liberalism" on the turning point of
the sixteenth and seventeenth century, represented by two philosophers: Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679)
and Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778). Among contemporary scholars Isaiah Berlin is standing out.
From his point of view the philosophical problem of the freedom should be examined in two aspects:
the negative freedom i.e. the attribute of not hindered freedom in making choices and the positive
freedom as opportunity of being the master of one's own fate. The author of the article, after critical
demonstrating the conception of liberalism, sketches the theory of freedom from the position of
Christian ethics. As a starting point he takes the conception of man as a person whose rational activities
take on the form of twofold freedom of choice. In the psychological aspect, this freedom assumes
the ambivalent form of doing good or evil, however in the moral aspect it turns out to be freedom put in
order by the hierarchy of objective moral values. In this meaning the freedom also organizes the whole
free man's activity and becomes creative strength of his moral personal perfection. It also defines
the crucial sense of Christian philosophical science of truth about freedom.


A novel batch bioprocess monitoring approach based on multiway kernel localized Fisher discriminant analysis (MKLFDA) is proposed in this article. For the routine bioprocess operation with some abnormal events, a supervised monitoring method is needed to handle the training data set that includes various types of faulty samples. Because of the inherent process nonlinearity and multimodality among normal and faulty clusters, the traditional multiway Fisher discriminant analysis (MFDA) method becomes inappropriate and unable to effectively detect or classify faulty samples. The newly developed MKLFDA approach, however, combines kernel function with the localized Fisher discriminant analysis so that the "kernel" feature can retain the process nonlinearity while the "localized" characteristic is able to extract the multi-Gaussianity within data clusters. Furthermore, the integrated multiway analysis uses batch-wise unfolding to convert the three-dimensional data set into a two-dimensional matrix that can be f...


An excellent book on an important but neglected topic. The air intake is a vital element in aircraft design but surprisingly, until now, there has been no recognised text book on the subject. Admittedly, there are many reports from research establishments describing the results of tests on particular intakes but the general reader will frequently find difficulty in obtaining access to these reports and also, they often assume that the reader has a thorough grounding in the subject. It follows that the designer has had to rely on his own experience or on advice from experts such as the authors of this book who have in fact advised on the intake design of nearly every aircraft developed in the UK in the past 40 years. They have now drawn on this extensive experience to produce a comprehensive and practical review of the subject.


Microblogging community is different from conventional social networks and e-commerce systems for its low user activity,data sparsity and dynamic of user-interests.Because of these challenges,conventional recommendation algorithms cannot get desirable performance in microblogging community.This paper proposes a novel recommendation algorithm based on Bayesian personalized ranking(BPR) by modeling user's implicit feedbacks in microblogging community.The proposed algorithm collects implicit feedbacks in the form of microblogs pairs and uses them as training pairs to learn users'interest.This paper defines a confidential score for each microblogs pair based on the time user received it.Microblogs pairs with shorter interval time have higher confidential score and thus have much more impact on user's interest.Experiments on two real-world microblogs datasets show that the recommendation algorithm outperforms all the baselines.


1 The operative treatment of brachial plexus ' injuries still remains a chailengc. A thoroughful evalu, atioti of the kind and extcnsiori of a lesiori is required in ; eacli individual case to conie to the appropriate therai peutical decision. In this regard the knowledgc of the I level in a given lesion (preor postganglionic) is of i spccial irnportance. Especially in traction injuries, howI ever, the lesion site can be rnore widespread. including both the preand postganglionic division of plexus elI ements (fig. 1). 1Jp till now therc is no way of direct


Five new species of Lasiosphaeria are described and illustrated on material from Southwestern France, i.e. L. capitata, L. pallida, L. rufa, L. vestita and L. volvestriana. Eight other species, i.e. L. breviseta, L. caudata, L. immersa, L. moseri, L. munkii, L. punctata, L. pyramidata and L. stuppea are recorded from France for the first time, of which L. punctata, L. pyramidata and L. stuppea are described in detail. New French records of L. porifera are given.


The present invention, but milling the present invention relates to synthetic silica production method, more specifically, pyrophyllite quality pottery stone and classified, wherein the pulverization is pulverized first to 100 to 150 mm, and the second milling of 50 to 70 mm, 0.1 to 30 in mm crushed tertiary, and 0.1 to pulverized quaternary to 3.0 mm, and performed after the step of grinding the fifth round of 0.1 to 2.0 mm, SiO The synthetic silica is produced by a pyrophyllite quality pottery stone used as a starting material, Al Synthetic silica, pyrophyllite quality pottery stone, cracking phenomenon


For a number of years I have followed with interest Dr. Warriner's writings on the topics of rural poverty and land reform (25; 26; 27; 28; 29). Her historical as well as multi-country perspective allows her an overview of these matters which few can match. She has consistently directed our attention toward the rural poor and recognized their skills and willingness to change if profitable alternatives were made available. She has stressed income distribution in developmental planning, and has insisted that the term "land reform" be used in a narrow sense to mean a change in property ownership in favor of the poor. She has rightly pointed out that land reform is no cure-all, but that it may, in some cases, be the only alternative available for making significant inroads on rural poverty. Few in the development profession can match her dedication to these issues. My comments will be largely supplemental to the points made in her paper. I attempt to do two things: (1) state what I think is the st;te-of-the-art regarding five major economic issues related to land reform, and (2) briefly review the role which economists and aid agencies have played, and the part they will likely play in land reform during the next couple of decades.


A novel versatile and highly integrated display controller for consumer television sets is described. The device can be easily configured to support the three major television color standards existing today. The digital television controller is designed for channel tuning and video and audio controls. Other peripheral television functions, like keypad scanning, remote infrared sensing, LED, and on-screen display, are also incorporated onto the same chip. A superintegration design methodology, which significantly reduced the design cycle time, was used. >


Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) has been widely used to estimate the healthy operation of some urban roads and underground facilities. When identifying subsurface anomalies by GPR in an area, the obtained data could be unbalanced, and the numbers and types of possible underground anomalies could not be acknowledged in advance. In this paper, a novel method is proposed to improve the subsurface anomaly detection from GPR B-scan images. A normal (i.e. without subsurface objects) GPR image section is firstly collected in the detected area. Concerning that the GPR image is essentially the representation of electromagnetic (EM) wave and propagation time, and to preserve both the subsurface background and objects' details, the normal GPR image is segmented and then fused with simulated GPR images that contain different kinds of objects to generate the synthetic data for the detection area based on the wavelet decompositions. Pre-trained CNNs could then be fine-tuned with the synthetic data, and utilized to extract features of segmented GPR images subsequently obtained in the detection area. The extracted features could be classified by the one-class learning algorithm in the feature space without pre-set anomaly types or numbers. The conducted experiments demonstrate that fine-tuning the pre-trained CNN with the proposed synthetic data could effectively improve the feature extraction of the network for the objects in the detection area. Besides, the proposed method requires only a section of normal data that could be easily obtained in the detection area, and could also meet the timeliness requirements in practical applications.


The anomalous delay of Pioneer 10, the unexpected increase of velocity & radius of space probes & celestial bodies is discussed respectively. An attempt is made to solve this puzzling anomaly. Deprived from empirical properties of nuclear matter an inverted potential in an anisotropic pressure is added to the space which avail us to account for the explanation of this anomalies.


A novel coordination polymer[Co(DPPZ)_2Cl_2]_n was prepared by hydrothermal synthesis and characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction.Single crystal X-ray analysis indicates that this compound crystallizes in monoclinic system,space group C2/c with parameters:a=0.83463(17)nm,b=1.2336(3)nm, c=2.7965(6)nm,α=90.00°,β=95.13(4)°γ=90.00°,V =2.8676(10)A~3,Z=8,T=292(2)K,Dc= 2.024cm~(-1),μ=4.296mm~(-1),R_1=0.0498,wR_2=0.1506


The grid-connected inverter works as a controlled current source in grid-connected mode, while operates as a controlled voltage source in island mode. The grid-connected inverter should continue to operate normally under unbalanced grid voltage. In case of utility serious faults or intentional islanding, the inverter should be able to seamlessly transfer from grid-connected mode to island mode. In order to achieve these aims, this paper proposed a new feedback multi-loop control strategy with capacitor current, capacitor voltage and grid-side current in αβ reference frame, in which a proportional resonant (PR) regulator is adopted. Compared with the dual-PI control scheme in dq reference frame, the PR controller does not require decomposition of positive-and negative-sequence grid side currents, the transient performance will be improved and low voltage ride through (LVRT) capability of the grid-connected inverters during unbalanced grid voltage condition. The proposed scheme can realize the adjustable power factor, and produce symmetrical and balanced currents in case of unbalanced voltage dips. With this control method, seamless transfer can be achieved between island and grid-connected mode, and load voltage quality during the transition is improved with the proposed control method. Simulations are carried out to verify the proposed controllers and algorithms.


In this paper, we mainly give the following conclusion: Let X be a Banach space with the boundedly complete and hyperorthoronal basis {x_n}, then P_XX_n has Radon-Nikodym property if and only if X_n(n=1,2,…) has Radon-Nikodym property, thus generalize the corresponding result in refence [1].


Supercapacitors with high power density in combination with batteries with high energy density can lead to efficient energy storage systems. Recent studies from NREL have shown that HEVs equipped with 40-100 Wh/kg supercapacitors could improve the fuel efficiency by 15-30%. However, energy density of state-of-the-art capacitors (2-20 Wh/kg) is an order of magnitude lower than metal hydride (40-100 Wh/kg) and Li-ion batteries (120-170 Wh/kg). The key scientific barrier for low capacitances is the presence of micropores on the active surface of electrodes that are not accessible to electrolytes. Although there are a few exceptions, it has been widely accepted that high surface area materials with pores substantially larger than the size of solvated ions in the electrolyte is a prerequisite for achieving high capacitances. Research efforts are focused on increasing active surface area, pore size control and increasing operational voltage by use of ionic liquid electrolytes. Hybrid carbon based materials with enhanced electrolyte accessibility could serve as potential alternatives which requires precise control of pore sizes and presents a grand challenge. We will present our results on controlled synthesis and electrochemical studies of hierarchical nanoporous carbon architectures derived "metal organic frameworks (MOFs)". MOFs represent a new class of materials with well-defined porosity, structure tailorability and tunable functionality with considerable attention due to their promise in wide range of applications. Porous carbons derived from MOFs (CMOFs) exhibited high surface area, porosity and pore volume. To further improve the overall electrical conductivity of CMOFs, heteroatoms such as nitrogen can be introduced using amine linkers during MOF synthesis. The Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface areas of the as-synthesized CMOFs are in the range 150-800 m2/g. Detailed synthesis strategies, effect of annealing temperature on the CMOFs structure and their electrochemical performances [Figure 1] as materials for supercapacitors will be discussed. Figure 1: Cyclic voltammetry curves: (a) CMOFs annealed at 700 and 900 oC showing enhanced capacitance with annealing temperature increase. (b) 100 cycle data for CMOFs showing good cycling stability.


The characteristics of thermal compressing flow and microstructure of AZ41 magnesium alloy cast by low frequency electrical magnetic field(LFEMC) were studied through thermal simulation tester Gleeble1500D.The results show that there exist obviously dynamic recovery and dynamic recrystallization(DRX) during thermal compression of the LFEMC AZ41 magnesium alloy.The dynamic recovery is prominent character at 453523K,but DRX is prominent behavior at 593723K.The flow process is the most stable and the microstructures at the center and the edge of specimens are markedly refined by DRX at the temperature of 593K and the strain rate of(1.0s~(-1)).The crash and dissolution of Mg_(17)Al_(12) phase accelerate DRX during deforming.


A presentation given by Jill Eastment (NHS Cambridgeshire) and Vicki Snelgrove (NHS Great Yarmouth and Waveney) in the first Innovation breakout session.


Abstract The scholarly works of the Egyptian Sufi and chief qadi Zakariyyā al-Anṣārī (d. 926/1520) often reflect a late-medieval Muslim trend of subtle intellectual innovation—that is, innovation that cloaks itself in the received tradition while often diverging markedly from it. It is particularly his celebrated Iḥkām al-dalāla ʿalā taḥrīr al-Risāla, a commentary on ʿAbd al-Karīm al-Qushayrī's (d. 465/1072) Risāla in Sufism, that embodies such an intellectual trend quite starkly. This study examines the Iḥkām to understand how Anṣārī adapted an eleventh-century Nishapuri handbook in Sufism to his own fifteenth-century Egyptian context. It argues that Anṣārī's redirecting of Qushayrī's Risāla occurs through three broad interpretative techniques: a recasting in content, a recasting in form, and a recasting in tone and objective of the original text. After exploring these techniques in depth, a few larger implications for the field of commentary theory are noted in a concluding section. A preliminary consideration of Anṣārī's biography, particularly those biographical details related to his scholarly training and career, his background in Sufism, and the writing of his Iḥkām, appears as a preface to the textual analysis that comprises the second half of the study.


Abstract:Along with the wide spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in the world, anti-Asian—especially anti-Chinese—incidents have risen rapidly, particularly in the United States. This article intends to relate current narratives to established oral tradition and argue for the role that traditional knowledge plays in cross-cultural encounters and contexts. The findings suggest that one strategy to achieve social and interracial integrity is to encourage more intercultural interactions between different groups and to challenge stereotyped ethnic boundaries.


Abstract : This report documents results of analyses of human performance and investigations into its contribution to risk in operating events. The Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Accident Sequence Precursor (ASP) Program and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Human Performance Events Database (HPED) were used to identify events in which human performance significantly contributed. Standardized Plant Analysis Risk (SPAR) plant models developed under NRC sponsorship at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) were run using the Systems Analysis Programs for Hands-on Integrated Reliability Evaluation (SAPHIRE) software to calculate the conditional core damage probabilities (CCDPs) for these events. Forty-eight events were reviewed. Eleven were determined to have very little human performance involvement and were not analyzed further. The remaining 37 plant-specific events influenced by human performance were selected for analysis. Twenty-three events were analyzable using standardized Rev. 2QA or Rev. 3i SPAR models and methods. The other 14 events involved operating modes or conditions not within the scope of the SPAR models. A team of plant systems/SPAR, Human Reliability Analysis (HRA), and operations analysts performed qualitative analyses for all 37 events. Several findings drawn from the analyses of events with human performance contributions are discussed.


The relationship between the plasma density and the mode of Pi2-band (40–150 s) waves in the magnetosphere is studied using measurements made from the Combined Release and Radiation Effects Satellite (CRRES). We focus on wave events that occurred from 1100 to 1500 UT on February 17, 1991, on a single CRRES orbit. During this interval the low-latitude ground station Kakioka (L = 1.2) observed a series of Pi2 pulsations within 2 hours of the local time of CRRES. When CRRES was in the plasmasphere, the poloidal components (Ey, Bx, Bz) at the spacecraft had high coherence with the Pi2 pulsations seen at Kakioka, where Ey, Bx, and Bz are, respectively, the azimuthal component of the electric field and the radial and compressional components of the magnetic field. This relationship lasted until the spacecraft completely moved into the plasmatrough. Waves were present in the plasmatrough, but they did not maintain high coherence with the ground Pi2. For a plasmaspheric event, Ey and Bz oscillated nearly in quadrature, in support of a radially standing wave mode. These results confirm previous AMPTE/CCE magnetic field studies that suggested that fast-mode waves in the inner magnetosphere are the source of low-latitude Pi2 pulsations. In addition, the CRRES results strongly suggest that the outer limit of the "inner magnetosphere" is the plasmapause. The observed wave properties are discussed in light of possible Pi2 mechanisms, including plasmaspheric cavity modes and braking of periodic bursty bulk flows.


Small loans of "Agriculture-rural areas-farmers" face both advantages and opportunities,as well as weaknesses and threats in the condition of today's society;therefore,it needs to adopt multivariate strategies to strengthen the advantages,weaken inferior state,grasp the external opportunities and eliminate the external threat;it also needs to explore positive interactive effect of the government,farmers and financial institutions.


This report details the results of a multidisciplinary study to determine the level of contamination of Lake Calumet in Cook County, Illinois. The study was initiated to evaluate the physical, chemical and biological processes that influence the environmental quality of the lake and the surrounding area and to predict the ecological effects of the contamination associated with lake sediments. Some principal findings of the study include: (1) concentrations of toxic metals are above background levels and higher in the lake than in nearby water bodies; (2) all sediment-sampling stations produced toxic responses in single-species bioassays, with over half the stations classified as highly toxic; and (3) community-level bioassays showed toxic effects at 71% of sampling stations.


We study the partition function from random matrix theory using a well known connection to orthogonal polynomials, and a recently developed Riemann-Hilbert approach to the computation of detailed asymptotics for these orthogonal polynomials. We obtain the first proof of a complete large N expansion for the partition function, for a general class of probability measures on matrices, originally conjectured by Bessis, Itzykson, and Zuber. We prove that the coefficients in the asymptotic expansion are analytic functions of parameters in the original probability measure, and that they are generating functions for the enumeration of labelled maps according to genus and valence. Central to the analysis is a large N expansion for the mean density of eigenvalues, uniformly valid on the entire real axis.


his essay represents a conversation between the concept of trans-modernity, developed in Enrique Dussel's, The Underside of Modernity, Afro-Latin American Diasporic thought, particularly the work of the Colombian thinker, Manuel Zapata Olivella, and what I have articulated as the discourse of memory in Afro-Diasporic thought. It is an attempt to further explore memory as an integral component of recognition, dis-alienation, and de-colonization. More specifically, it seeks to: 1) expand my current work which engages the question of memory and listening as a means by which Afro-Diasporic subjects assert their identities and their being in the world, particularly in Latin America, 2) initiate a conversation between contemporary Afro-Latin thinkers, such as Manuel Zapata Olivella and non-Afro Latin American thinkers like Enrique Dussel on the question of transmodernity, knowledge, power and identity 3) speak to the notion of sources of the self as a critique of Charles Taylor through Dussel and as part of a dialogue regarding the politics of recognition. T


In this paper, we investigate the performance of artificial noise assisted secure communication in the presence of a full-duplex active eavesdropper who can simultaneously perform eavesdropping and jamming. An approximate closed-form expression for the secrecy rate is derived. With this result, we obtain a new result for the optimal power allocation factor maximizing the secrecy rate, and analyze the impact of self-interference coefficient and jamming power on it. We further consider a more practical scenario where the legitimate user aims to maintain a given target data rate and uses all remaining power for artificial noise (AN) to interfere with the eavesdropper. While the eavesdropper tries to compel the transmitter to reduce the AN by sending jamming signals to the legitimate receiver. To solve this conflict, we introduce a power cost parameter to describe the impact of jamming on the eavesdropper itself and then formulate a game-theoretic framework. We also derive the closed-form equilibrium solutions for both sides. These results show the optimal jamming strategy of the eavesdropper and provide insights into the low bound secrecy performance. Finally, simulation results are provided to verify our analytical results.


This paper aims at improving calculation accuracy and reducing calculation burden of delay-dependent stability analysis for large-scale multi-area load frequency control (LFC) schemes in traditional and deregulated environments. The special features of the LFC models have been exploited via model reconstruction technique to equivalently transform the original LFC model into a delay-free part and a delay-related part by a transition matrix. The improvement of the calculation efficiency is obtained by decreasing both the number of decision variables and the maximal order of the linear matrix inequalities. Based on the reconstructed model, a novel augmented Lyapunov functional is constructed mainly based on the delay-related part with much lower order and its derivative is bounded with the Wirtinger inequality to establish a stability condition with less conservatism. Case studies are based on two-area LFC systems to verify the effectiveness of proposed stability criteria based on the time-domain indirect method, with a great improvement of the calculation accuracy that can achieve almost accurate delay margins, such as the frequency domain method. Moreover, comparing with the criterion based on the original system model without reconstruction, the calculation efficiency has been greatly improved with the cost of small deduction of accuracy.


Introduction: A variety of research studies have shown that caffeine usage is highly prevalent among university students and many of them have different perception of its effect on their mental and physical health. These perceptions can influence the intake of caffeine which may lead to its addiction, resulting in serious public health consequences. Aims & Objectives: The objective of the study is to determine the frequency of caffeine consumption and the perception of its effects among university students. Place and duration of study: This study was conducted within 6 months duration, from May 2018 to October 2019 among students of three private universities in Lahore, Pakistan. Material & Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study. A sample size of 670 university students was taken and the data were collected from three private universities of Lahore through convenience sampling technique. The perception of effects of caffeine was determined through a pre-validated questionnaire, Caffeine Expectancy Questionnaire (CaffEQ) from consumers and nonconsumers of caffeine. Results: A total of 670 university students participated in the study, out of which, 278 (41.5%) were males and 392 (58.5%) were females. 506 (75.5%) participants were consumer of caffeine, while 164 (24.5%) were non consumer. The occurrence of caffeine consumption was more in males (79.9%) than in females (72.4%). Participants reported that they consume caffeine because it makes them feel more alert (83.4%), they experience caffeine withdrawal without caffeine (83%) and caffeine makes them feel more energetic (80.6%). The perceptions due to which participants don't consume caffeine were that they expect caffeine makes their heartbeat irregular (81.7%), they don't like the way caffeine makes them feel (80.5%) and caffeine makes them irritable (76.8%). Conclusion: The study concludes that male students had more tendencies towards caffeine consumption than females. Perceptions for consuming caffeine were feeling of alertness, experiencing caffeine withdrawal symptoms, feeling of energy and ability to work over long periods of time after having caffeine. The perceptions for not consuming caffeine were irregular heartbeat, bad feelings, irritability, and sleep disturbances.


PURPOSE
This study aimed to determine the effect of shyness levels of women on early diagnosis attitudes towards cervical cancer.

DESIGN AND METHODS
The study was planned as descriptive. Data were collected from women in the 18-49 age group who applied to family health centers in Sivas. The descriptive information form of women, the Shyness Scale, and the Attitude Scale for Early Diagnosis of Cervical Cancer were used. A total of 303 women were included in the study.

FINDINGS
A significant negative correlation was detected between shyness levels of women and the perceived benefit, while a significant positive correlation was determined between shyness levels and perceived severity.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS
In this study, the perceived benefit increased as the shyness levels of women decreased.


1. Assistant Professor, Department of Paediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, Dhaka, Bangladesh. 2. Professor, Department of Paediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, Dhaka, Bangladesh. 3. Resident Phase B, Department of Paediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Correspondence to: Dr Khan Lamia Nahid, Assistant Professor, Department of Paediatric Gastroenterology & Nutrition, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), Dhaka, Bangladesh. Cell: 01711362681, E-mail: email@example.com Received: 30 October 2019; Accepted: 2 April 2020 Introduction Solitary rectal ulcer syndrome (SRUS) is rare and uncommon disorder of rectosigmoid region which is mostly reported in adults and is very rare in children. This disorder is diagnosed by clinical findings, colonoscopy findings and histopathological changes.1 The cause of this syndrome is still not known and is usually caused by chronic constipation, which can be associated with excessive straining during defecation, rectal manipulation, trauma and ischemia. The condition was first described by Cruveilhier in 1830 and detailed clinical and histopathological features were reported by Madigan and Morson in 1969.2 It occurs most commonly in the 3rd decade in men and in the 4th in women, with only a few reported paediatric cases.3,4 The annual incidence rate of SRUS is 0.001%.5 SRUS usually presents with rectal bleeding, constipation, mucous discharge, prolonged straining, tenesmus, and lower abdominal pain.6 The term "SRUS" is a misnomer, and is sometimes referred to as "the threelie disease,"as the lesion is not always solitary (it may be multiple), is not ulcerative (it may be polypoidal /nodular or affecting the erythematous mucosa only) and is not restricted to the rectum (it may also involve the sigmoid colon).7 Histological examination is the gold standard for the diagnosis of SRUS.


Knowledge on patterns of beliefs about the illness (illness cognitions) can provide insight into individual differences in adjustment to haemophilia. The current study aimed to identify (a) which sociodemographic and disease characteristics were associated with illness cognitions and (b) which illness cognitions were associated with health‐related quality of life (HRQOL) in young adult men with haemophilia, besides sociodemographic and disease characteristics.


This paper aims to analyse if virtual forums set up in an environment specifically designed to improve collaborative learning can effectively influence students' discourse quality and learning when compared with those forums set up in a general environment. Following a coding schema based upon the set of scaffolds offered in the Knowledge Forum environment, we have qualitatively analysed 60 forums and 1370 students from different subjects. The results show that there are very few elaborated and shared deep discussions: the central axis in those superior contributions focuses on bringing new information to already written contributions. There are more new and contrasting opinions in forums set up in a specific virtual environment, whereas there is more reasoning and elaboration in those that were set up in a general one. We propose some explanations for this dissonance and we conclude that collaborative virtual environments are secondary aspects in accounting for deep exchanges of information. Therefore, there are many aspects that need to be taken into account to improve collaborative learning and knowledge building.


In November of 1975 the Congress of the United States passed the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (PL 94-142) and thereby mandated that all school-aged handicapped children in the United States were to have available to them a "free, appropriate public education" by September 1, 1978. To accomplish this the Congress also prescribed a set of minimum standards that were to be followed by state and local education agencies to insure that such an education was indeed being provided. The purpose of this particular article is twofold. First, it will provide an account of the basic tenets of the law, its origins, and its legislative history. Second, it will describe a number of the minimum standards established by this act that directly relate to and impact upon the education of handicapped children.


In this study, we compared age-related lip movement variability with acoustic variability across repetitions using Functional Data Analysis (FDA). Lip movement and acoustic data of 1520 repetitions of a short Swedish phrase from 50 Swedish speakers were collected. Results showed weak to moderate negative correlations for age and variability in lip movements, phrase duration and sound pressure level, which confirm previous studies of decreasing variability in speech with age. Variability in F 0 did not vary with age, and this may be because we tend to vary our intonation in speech both unconciously when we are learning to speak, and conciously as adult speakers. This will be explored further in a follow-up study.


The paper develops a model of inflationary finance that defines the fiscal deficit as a function of the virtual deficit--one that would be observed at zero inflation. It studies the negative relationship between the inflation rate and real government expenditures--the Patinkin effect--a powerful stabilizer during megainflation. The model outperforms other seigniorage models in explaining the persistence of four-digit inflation rates that never explode into an open hyperinflation. It also explains how apparently expansionist fiscal policies end in measured real deficits that are small and compatible with the small amount of seigniorage that can be collected at high inflation rates.


Holding Accountability Accountable: What Ought to Matter in Public Education Kenneth A Sirotnik (Ed.) Teacher's College Press, New York 2004 $19.95 ISBN 0-8077-4464-6 Holding Accountability Accountable: What Ought to Matter in Public Education, edited by Kenneth A. Sirtonik, addresses a much discussed issue in public education, accountability. Sirotnik states, "although it seems like a never-ending job description, educators must continue to hold the 'accountabilists' accountable for their rationales and actions, and that is the primary purpose of this book" (p. 8). Sirtonik, along with ten other contributing authors, effectively addresses this purpose. The book is organized into nine chapters, each written by a different contributing author. Each chapter ranges between 15 and 18 pages in length and concludes with a section that is titled "Notes" where the author reflects on the chapter and adds small details that are helpful to the reader. The book's introduction includes a letter from an unknown man named Andy who presents concerns from the teacher's point of view. One concern expressed by Andy is that "in the current environment, the worst teachers are the ones who appear to be doing the best job. Those who refuse to teach to the test are seen as the worst teachers, because their students won't be prepared to score highly" (p.1). An examination of any school would reveal the truth of Andy's words. Chapter one, titled "Looking Through the Rearview Mirror at School Accountability" by Larry Cuban, takes a look at accountability beginning in the late 1800' and early 1900's. Standardized testing was first set-up to make the schools a more effectively run institution, more like a business than a place where students come to learn and grow. All of the historical aspects of accountability and its progression up to today provided needed background information, but more discussion regarding why accountability came about might have been beneficial. Chapter two, written by Nancy Beadie, addresses the "four main systems of accountability in public education" (p. 35). She states that the four systems of accountability operate at different levels: the student, institutional, professional and political. Beadie provides numerous statistics to support her chapter focus. She primarily concentrates on the high school diploma and how its importance has grown from 1920 to today. She concludes the chapter by saying, "the history of student accountability suggests that if our goal is student improvement, we should be looking at ways to restore a culture of aspiration by decreasing, rather than increasing, the threat of punishment" (p.48). Chapter three was probably the chapter I enjoyed reading the most. This chapter, written by Harvey Siegel, talks about what ought to matter in education. The first line of the chapter reads "Public education in the United States is increasingly driven by a concern for accountability" (p. 51). Standardized tests are being thrown into the laps of teachers and testing is slowly, but surely, changing the way we teach. I also enjoyed reading the case study that was provided in this chapter. …


Part 1 Modelling global trading arrangements: the Michigan model of world production and trade - theoretical considerations implementation of the model. Part 2 Computational analysis of the effects of production: the structure of tariff protection - effects of foreign tariffs and NTBs input-output technologies and the effects of tariff reductions neighbourhood effects of developing country protection the effects of protection on the factor content of Japanese and American foreign trade an evaluation of factor endowments and protection as determinants of Japanese and American foreign trade the economic consequences of an import surcharge - theory and empirical evidence for the US economy tariffs and defensive responses the impact of tariffs on profits in the United States and other major trading countries. Part 3 Computational analysis of multilateral trade liberalization: impact of the Tokyo Round and US macroeconomic adjustments onm North American trade alternative scenarios for trade liberalization in the Uruguay Round negotiations evaluation of alternative safeguards scenarios in the major trading countries. Part 4 Conclusions and implications for research and policy: what have we learned?


In a steering driven by an electric motor device that includes a bypass circuit for connecting a power source between the input terminals and also connecting an electrical motor between the output terminals and activates the electric motor by means of the bridge circuit and transmits power of the electric motor to a steering system, the bridging circuit comprises a predetermined number of arms consist of connection circuits for connecting the switching elements in parallel with the diodes in series such that the diodes become mutually reverse polarity.


Although the causal relationship of elevated LDL-C levels and CVD has been established in a great number of studies, the causal relevance of elevated TRG levels and CVD risk remains ambiguous (1,2). Although observational studies indicate that elevated TRG levels are associated with elevated CVD risk, randomised clinical trials of TRG-lowering drugs have not shown the anticipated benefit (3–6). This inconsistency in findings may be because of the fact that observational studies are subject to reverse causality and confounders (7). On the other hand, the negative findings from clinical trials may have arisen from inadequate selection of drug targets (6,8). What is more, levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and its relationship with CVD comprises a major confounder in the TRGCVD enigma, as both HDL-C and TRG associate with CVD events in observational studies, yet statistical adjustment for one attenuates the association of the other (3). Given this uncertainty, it remains unclear if reducing TRG levels by different means may reduce CVD risk. A further approach to evaluate the causal relationship of biomarkers that addresses these limitations is to study the natural randomised allocation of allelic variation in genes affecting their level, also known as Mendelian randomisation (9,10). Unlike observational studies, genetic associations in Mendelian studies are not subject to reverse causation as genotype comprises a stable characteristic throughout life that its expression can be affected to a limited extent throughout life (9,10).


This research intends to measure the quality of life (QoL) perception, from the perspective of residents and tourists towards Coimbra, a city with an important World Heritage Site, as classified by UNESCO. In these times, preserving tangible and intangible heritage is so important for future memories. Identifying the QoL perceptions through the eyes of residents and tourists allows the improvement of the community well-being of the destination for both stakeholders. Starting from this assumption, this study aims to: (i) measure the tourists' and residents' perceptions on quality of life (QoL); (ii) analyze the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on QoL perceptions, both from the tourists' and residents' perspective. To achieve these objectives, a questionnaire was disseminated to residents and tourists in two different phases, before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results show that in general, residents and tourists exhibited, in both periods, medium and high perceptions of QoL, with an exception made for the Urban Issues domain that decreased even more during the pandemic. Furthermore, the results show, for residents and tourists, that the perception of Urban Issues, Way of Life, Community Pride and Awareness, Economic Strength, and Recreation Amenities impact significantly and positively their Community Well-Being perception. New paths for academics and for practitioners are presented at the end, as well as limitations and evidence for future research.


Historic centers are plural spaces with memories of great importance to the cultural identity of a people. Besides their cultural and heritage importance, these spaces are ideal for entertainment, specifically, for the development of fright tourism, due to their dark narratives. Fright tourism can be understood as a process in which elements of local tradition are mixed with transnational aesthetics, coming from cinema, pop culture, horror, and cultural industries, promoting feelings of fear for tourists. In this context, this study aims to analyze the potential for the promotion of fright tourism, based on stories of hauntings at historical attractions in the city of João Pessoa-PB. This study is characterized as descriptive and exploratory, based on the collection of bibliographic and documentary data and a field visit. The results show that the Sólon de Lucena Park, the Santa Roza Theater and the Boa Sentença Cemetery have stories such as the ghost woman of the Lagoa, the vigilante spirit, the woman in white, the bride who walks among the tombs and the Boa Sentença employee, which permeate the popular imagination and can be used to promote fright tourism.


A proposed system classifies sedimentary basins, worldwide, into specific as well as general categories. The geologic history of each basin may be subdivided into cycles using three parameters: basin-forming tectonics, depositional sequences, and basin-modifying tectonics. Sedimentary basins may be simple, with one or two tectonic/sedimentary cycles, or they may be complex polyhistory basins with many different cycles and events. There are eight simple cycle types in this classification, which cover continental, continental-margin, and oceanic areas. The eight basic cycle types, their depositional fills, and tectonic modifiers have been given letter and number symbols so that the specific geologic history of each basin may be written as a formula. These formulas may then e compared and similarities or differences between basins noted.


Inexpensive wireless communication and emerging energy storage technologies are creating a new future for the power grid. These tools are enabling a "smart grid" which can utilize novel control strategies, such as real-time pricing, to achieve efficiency, fairness, and stability. We propose a decentralized smart grid architecture which uses minimal communication to meet these objectives. Then, inspired by queueing models and distributed control in wireless networks, we develop an algorithm for allocating power which is sensitive to both delay as well as price. The delay sensitivity allows for load shifting while the price sensitivity is a natural consumer objective. We show that the algorithm quickly converges even when homes operate asynchronously which makes the architecture practical for implementation. In addition, we show convergence using techniques from lattice theory. Although similar ideas have been used in standard power control algorithms for wireless systems, we demonstrate that the underlying ideas are more general. This provides a theoretical contribution along with a practical contribution to smart grid power management systems.


Search for the biological sources of the ureide carbon atoms of uric acid has centered chiefly around compounds similar in structure to the ureide group of uric acid. One of the earliest studies on the precursors of uric acid was made by Wiener (3), who postulated that uric acid was formed by the condensation of 2 moles of urea with 1 of tartronic acid. Although this hypothesis was at first attractive, it has, however, been disproved as the mechanism of the biosynthesis of uric acid by several investigators using both in viva and in vitro techniques (4-10). Pyrimidines (11)) which are likewise related to purines, have also been excluded as precursors of uric acid, since they are oxidized almost quantitatively to urea by the mammal. More recent isotopic experiments of Plentl and Schoenheimer (12) also provide convincing evidence that pyrimidines do not participate in uric acid synthesis, A more serious difference of opinion, however, has persisted among investigators until recently concerning histidine and arginine as the precursors of purines or purine derivatives. The opening investigations on this subject were made by Ackroyd and Hopkins (13), who postulated that the imidazole nucleus of allantoin could be derived from either of these amino acids. Subsequent data obtained by comparing uric acid or allantoin excretion of animals fed diets high and low in these amino acids have not been altogether conclusive or in agreement (14-19). Results obtained by the isotope tracer technique, however, do not confirm the point of view that histidine or arginine may be precursors of uric acid (10). The feeding of N15-labeled ammonium citrate to rats and pigeons led to the incorporation of N15 into purines of the tissues and uric acid or allantoin of the excreta in much greater concentrations than in histidine or arginine of the tissue proteins. Moreover, uric acid isolated after the administration to the pigeon of arginine labeled with N15 did not contain significant amounts of N15 (20). These findings have led to the conclusion that the


Mobile attendance with notification system is an attendance system which developed for Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka. This system will be used by UTeM lecturer to record, monitor student attendance status in university. Mobile attendance with notification system ensures every student has attended each class and lab according Malaysia Qualification Academic (MQA) student rule and regulation.
However, current attendance system in UTeM is paper based attendance system that lecturer will print out attendance sheet where the student will sign on the attendance sheet once they attended class. Paper attendance sheet easy to lost and misplace when store in ISO file. Lecturer difficult to keep track previous student attendance status and manually issues warning and barred letter notice to student advisor and faculty administrator. Therefore, a mobile attendance with notification is develop to replace current attendance system. This system just required a smart phone to record student attendance, whereas computer used to keep track previous student attendance status, issues student warning letter and barred letter notification to student advisor and faculty administrator. Mobile attendance system will help university lecturer and
faculty save time and manpower to manage student attendance record.


A decade – more or less – past the publication of the edited collection Neoliberal Environments and Neil Smith's 'Nature as an Accumulation Strategy', this forum aims to revisit and reflect on neoliberal natures, both out in the world and in the scholarly literature. In this time, there have been a number of advances in our conceptual apparatus for interpreting capital's productions of nature, ranging from financialization to vital materialism to world ecology. Further, the world has not stood still in the intervening decade. Various schemes for neoliberalizing nature have come and gone while others have launched, and the financial crisis led to widespread and often retrenched austerity even as extractivism showed no sign of abating. In light of these developments, we convened this forum to ask: what are the failures and accomplishments of neoliberal natures? Our use of the world accomplishments is not normative. We have gathered insights to reflect on the material-semiotic effects of neoliberal hegemony in the environmental register, and how critical scholars interpret, and even intervene in, those effects. The forum begins with an introduction that parses some trends in the world 'out there' and then turns 'in' to examine the neoliberal natures literature. Reflecting on a bibliometric analysis and broader trends in the literature, we argue that there remain critical gaps in explanatory frameworks driven in part by geography's troubling lack of racial and gender diversity.


Preserving the tree of life (i.e. phylogenetic diversity) is increasingly recognised as important in conservation. Australia is a key area for retaining the tree of life because it holds a disproportionately large amount of phylogenetic diversity. We examine the degree to which the phylogenetic diversity of Victorian eucalypts is reserved within conservation areas. Based on modelled distributions of 101 eucalypt species and a phylogeny constructed from four molecular markers, we show that Victoria's conservation reserve system contains approximately a quarter of the eucalypt phylogenetic diversity. Some species do not exist at all within the reserve system. Large increases in reserved phylogenetic diversity could be achieved with small increases in the area set aside for conservation. Further, we show that any developments within Victoria's national parks should consider impacts on the reservation of eucalypt phylogenetic diversity.


It has become increasingly clear in recent years that the effectiveness of efforts in developing countries to achieve human development goals hinges largely on the quality of governance in those countries and the zeal and commitment of governments' and civil society institutions. Concerns regarding central administrative capacity, fiscal constraints and the limited accountability at all levels of government have led African states to place increased emphasis on the importance of decentralization and developing capacity for effective local governance. The political rationale for decentralization has always been good governance through enhancing local democracy, promoting transparency, accountability, integrity, and representation in the management of public affairs. Good governance can therefore be established when stakeholders can reach a reasonably clear common vision, which guides their actions for mutual benefits. In reality, however, there is a wide gap between assumed outcomes and empirical evidence of supporting or discrediting decentralization. Indeed, some studies conclude that decentralization is neither good nor bad for efficiency, equity, or good governance; but rather its effects depend on institutionspecific designs. This paper explored the local governments' institutional challenges to good governance in Uganda. The study adopted a crosssectional survey design with a triangulation approach and a sample size of 302. The paper concludes that the current legal-administrative environment slows good governance; that c


The timbres of string and woodwind families were investigated by measuring sharpness and loudness over a 2‐octave range and between individual performers. Sharpness is defined as a frequency‐dependent weighting of the loudness‐critical band rate pattern. It is promising for timbre perception research because it addresses the most salient timbral dimension. Digital recordings were collected with performers 4 m from the microphone in a music rehearsal hall. Performers played diatonic scales at two extreme musical dynamic levels, pianissimo and fortissimo. Across all families, sharpness increases with playing frequencies and with dynamic level, and lies between 0.5–2.0 acums. Loudness variance is larger than sharpness variance. Overlap in sharpness is greatest at the pianissimo levels with the exception of the double reeds. The string family smoothly changes in sharpness across the entire playing range at both musical dynamics levels. The clarinet family has less overlap at the fortissimo level and a slight ...


This study aimed to analyze the impacts that can occur in the balance sheets of companies in inflationary environments when these balances sheets are not corrected, independently of whether the inflation rate reaches the level determined by IAS 29. The sample chosen consisted of companies from G20 member states that had already adhered to IFRS. The data distribution was analyzed using the ROA, ROE, EPS, and revenue weighted by total assets of the companies studied, before and after monetary correction, using statistical inference and evaluating the statistical probability distribution using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Shapiro-Wilk normality tests, and subsequently applying the Wilcoxon non-parametric test. The main results found were that monetary correction in the financial statements of the companies analyzed shows significance, both in countries with high inflation rates and in those with lower cumulative inflation rates. It is concluded that inflation significantly impacts the results of financial statements above a 10% cumulative rate, so measuring accounting elements at historical cost loses relevance, and it is vital to use corrected historical cost by applying a monetary correction.


Since the 1990s,the prose of northeastern female writers has gained great achievements.Researchers have focused on the series of Susu's Soliloquies in the Northeast and Chi Zijian's prose,in order to discuss the artistic techniques,cultural connotation and the features of female writing.However,there are still lots of shortage and deficiency,which leaves space for future research.


By (57) Abstract: The methods and superconducting cable for overcurrent protection, the current detector comprising a circuit breaker or current limiter is inserted into the superconducting cable in series, the current detector, a superconducting cable suppressing at the lower cable conductor current can be constituted by a superconducting material. When the current in the superconducting material is also increased too, it is supplied to the cold shunt over a short period of time, which is coupled in parallel with the cable conductor of the superconducting cable. After this short period, the current is supplied to the hot shunt coupled in parallel to the outer cable conductor of the cable, occurs heat dissipation should be done at room temperature. The use of the method and cable according to the present invention, for example, due to failure of the cooling event, the superconducting cable is broken cable even lose their superconductivity can be prevented, without the need for damage recovery It can be started soon operating normally.


The pressure-volume relationship of a model alveolus was determined and the effects of cycling rate, bubble size and surfactant concentration on the pressure-volume relationship were studied. When the bubble was coated with the white layer isolated from lung wash of 22 dogs and pulsated between 650μ and 400μ in diameter at a rate of 12 cycles/minute, the maximal pressure was -32.0±4.2 mm H2O and minimal pressure was -2.2±1.4mm H2O. The pressure-volume curve showed a large hysteresis loop. The calculated surface tensions at 650μ and 400μ were 36.7±6.2 dynes/cm and 3.7±1.5 dynes/cm respectively. The pressure-volume relationship remained unchanged when the pulsation rate was varied from 6 to 180 cycles/minute. The results on the lung wash from three newborn lambs were similar to those obtained from the dogs, even though the white layer was diluted 50 times. With further dilution of the white layer, the pressure-volume relationship changed by bubble size and concentration of the white layer. As the bubble size decreased and/or the surfactant concentration increased, negative pressure at minimal bubble size decreased and the hysteresis loop increased. These findings indicated that a certain surface concentration of surfactant was necessary to achieve the surface activity and pulmonary hysteresis.


Progress has been made on Chinese sedimentology in recent years,the theses and abstracts of the conference were comprehensively analyzed.In combination with domestic published theses in sedimentology,the research progress was summed up,which included the depositional facies and sequence stratigraphy of fluvial deltas,deep water deposition and stratigraphical sequence,deposition and stratigraphic sequence of the carbonate rocks,depositional experiments and numerical simulation,seismic sedimentology,basin evolution and sedimentary fillings,paleaoclimate and sedimentation,sedimentary geochemistry,as well as sedimentology and unconventional oil and gas resources.It was considered that Chinese sedimentary study should take full advantage of outcrop and core observation data,and enhance the analysis and simulation of sedimentation including physical and mathematical simulations,and as well as perfection of sedimentary theory model.Various research methods and technologies,including related methods of front interdisciplinary should be used comprehensively to achieve scientific research of sedimentation and achieve more perfect sedimentology with practical situation.


Experiments were established on irrigated land at Lethbridge, Alberta, to determine the effect of timing and method of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) termination on weed abundance, soil moisture and N content, cereal yield and colonization of roots by vesicular arbuscular mycorrhizal (VAM) fungi. Alfalfa growth was terminated using no, minimum, and conventional tillage in either late summer, early fall, or spring. Herbicide was applied or tillage was used to control volunteer alfalfa, dandelion (Taraxacum officinale Weber), stinkweed (Thlaspi arvense L.), and kochia [Kochia scoparia (L.) Schrader] before seeding cereals. Dandelion and volunteer alfalfa density tended to be greatest after no-tillage treatments, and poor in-crop alfalfa control likely reduced cereal yields in no-tillage plots. In contrast, the major in-crop broadleaf weed, redroot pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus L.), was most dense (7 plants m-2) in tilled plots. Both wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) yields were re...


Prostaglandin (PG) is a potent biological substance with varied applications in bovine reproductive control, and PGF2α main effect is to induce luteolysis. Prostaglandin PGF2α has been reported as an ovulatory stimulus in prepubertal heifers. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate the use of PGF2α in fixed timed artificial insemination (FTAI) protocol as an inducer of ovulation in cows and characterize the blood perfusion of the pre-ovulatory follicles. The experiment was carried out at Embrapa Genetic Resources and Biotechnology. Twenty-four zebu cows were assigned to a 3 x 3 Latin square desing with 30 days between treatment periods. Cows received at random stages of the estrous cycle an intravaginal device containing 1g of progesterone (P4) concurrent with an i.m. injection of 2.0 mg of estradiol benzoate (EB). The day of EB injection was considered study day 0 (D0). The intraginal device was removed on D8. Cows were then randomly assigned to three treatments as estrous synchronization protocols. In the PGF2α-D7 treatment, cows received 500 μg of PGF2a i.m. (cloprostenol) in two applications on D7 and D8. In PGF2α-D9 treatment, injections of 500 μg of PGF2a i.m. were on D8 and D9. Control (CT) cows received 500 μg of PGF2α i.m. on D8 and in D9 and 1 mg of EB on D9. Cows were evaluated with a color Doppler ultrasound (MyLabTM30Gold VET, Italy) every 12 hours from D8 (0 hrs) to D10 (60 hrs), after which cows were evaluated every 6 hours until ovulation occurred or a maximum of 120 hours. Seven days after ovulation, cows were examined by ultrasound with color Doppler mode to evaluate the presence of luteal blood flow to assess functionality of the corpus luteum (CL). For follicular and luteal vascularization, a subjective classification of grades 1 to 5 was adopted, which considered the percentage of follicle wall or CL with blood circulation. Statistical comparison was performed for time of ovulation, and size of preovulatory follicle using ANOVA with the Tukey adjustment for treatment comparisons. Degree of vascularization of follicle wall and CL was analyzed used Friedman's test. Time of ovulation differed (P<0.05) among treatments and CT cows ovulated earlier (72.4±3.7 h) compared with the other treatments (PGF2α-D7 96.0±12.8 and PGF2α-D9 90.0±18.2 h). The mean preovulatory follicle size did not differ among treatments (PGF2α-D7 13.1±1.6; PGF2α-D9 13.4±1.8; CT 11.9±1.5mm). Similarly, the degree of irrigation of follicles did not differ among treatments (PGF2α-D7 3.7±1.0; PGF2α-D9 3.5±1.0; CT 2.3±1.8). Ovulation rate in PGF2α-D7 and PGF2α-D9 averaged 62.5% (15/24) and it did not differ from CT (58.4%; 14/24). Diameter of the CL (PGF2α-D7 15.5±3.4; PGF2α-D9 14.4 ± 3.2; CT 13.4±2.7 mm) and its vascularization (PGF2α-D7 4.7±0.6; PGF2αD9 4.7±0.6; CT 4.7±0.4) did not differ among treatments. Administration of EB, but not PGF2α, reduced interval to ovulation, although ovulation rate did not differ among treatments. EMBRAPA, UNB.


The objective of the experiment was to identify the most favorable nitrogen (N) source ratio of ammonium (NH4 +) and nitrate (NO3 −) for aeroponically-grown Douglas-fir when pH was maintained at pH 4.0. Seedlings were grown in controlled environments with solutions containing 0:100, 20:80, 40:60, 60:40, 80:20 or 100:0 NH4 +:NO3 − ratios. Nutrient additions in the aeroponic culture units were controlled by solution conductivity set points. Seedling growth and nutrient allocation was observed for 45 days. Different NH4 +:NO3 − ratios resulted in significant differences in the rate of N addition, growth, morphology, and nutrient allocation. Seedlings grown in solutions containing 60 or 80% NO3 − were characterized by a combination of high growth and photosynthetic rates, high and stable internal plant N concentrations, and sufficient levels of other essential nutrients. High proportions of NH4 + in solution resulted in low rates of N addition, stunted lateral root growth, and may have been toxic.