The occasion of this dissertation is the conflict between the scientific realism and instrumentalism with regard to the unobservable entities. Specifically, the aim is to study and evaluate the instrumentalist approach to science, emphasising on the form of instrumentalism supported in the work of Bastian Cornelis van Fraassen (The Scientific Image), the constructive empiricism. The basic questions to be dealt with are:1) What advocates scientific realism? 2)What do we mean when we talk about the instrumentalist approach to science? 3) What is the instrumentalist approach to science in van Fraassen's work? The first part of the thesis deals with the term "realism" setting as a starting point the theory of Ideas of Plato, reaching the modern scientific realism. So we have: 1) Platonism, 2) the Direct Realism, 3) the Indirect Realism, 4) the Scientific Realism. Each of the above-expressing the term "realism" differently. This thesis focus more on the analysis of the scientific realism, because it will be compared with the instrumentalist approaches to science. The Scientific realism argues that the purpose of science is to give us a literally true description of the world and that the best (more mature) scientific theories offer us approximately true descriptions of the world. Therefore, entities that describe is real (eg. electrons). Arguments in favor of the scientific realism are the following: A)the argument of non-miracle (NMA), according to which "realism is the only philosophy of science that does not make the success of science a miracle." (Putnam, 1975). B)the argument of the Inference to the Best Explanation( IBE) is that from the ability of a theory to offer the best possible explanation of natural phenomena follows the truth of a theory. We continue with the basic forms of instrumentalism: 1) the eliminative: the terms that indicate physical unobservable entities (theoretical terms), eg 'electron', can be eliminated completely by the scientific language and 2) the non-eliminative: the aim of the scientific theories is not to seek something more behind the phenomena whether they exist or not. The van Fraassen's antirealistic view called constructive empiricism and it can be classifiable in the non-eliminative instrumentalism. Supports that science aims to give us theories which are empirically adequate and acceptance of a theory involves the belief that this is only empirically adequate. Precondition of his position is the distinction between observable and non-observable, which raises objections. His attempt to distinguish the observable from unobservable seem to have led his to an impasse. Of course, this does not diminish the value of its offer, since he is rapporteur of a new theory and new terms, such as empirical adequacy, thus triggering further study and research in the field of philosophy of science.


We investigate the thermal condensation caused by a massive object that passes through the interstellar medium with high velocity, and propose a mechanism for creating a filamentary gaseous object, or interstellar contrail. Our main result shows that a long interstellar contrail can form with a certain parameter; a compact object more massive than 104 M ☉ can make a filament whose length is larger than 100 pc. Observation of interstellar contrails may provide information on the number, masses, and velocities of fast-moving massive objects, and can be a new method for probing invisible gravitating sources such as intermediate-mass black holes.


Growing competition in the world determines the importance of innovation technology between countries. High-tech markets encourage the inventors to apply their inventions to commercial project. Many new trends on the world markets depend on factors that generate the ideas and their capacity to be absorbed. Development of new technologies in foodservice is considered a luxury as the sector is comprised predominantly by small and medium size businesses that may not be able to afford the heavy costs involved. However, rapid advancements in information technology have allowed dedicated suppliers to foodservice businesses to develop such innovative products or services which help to be successful on the market. Such hardware or software developments enable food and beverage outlets to increase quality of product, productivity and profitability. This review attempts to provide in-depth discussion and enhance understanding on innovation technology in foodservice enterprises. An article was conducted of a detailed analysis for EU countries food service industry. Analysis shows that international chains have a very strong position in the quick service segment. Technology is developing at an ever-increasing pace and dramatically changes business models in the hospitality industry. In the new economy, organizations that have the ability to develop and adopt the invention in a short period of time and profitably apply it in all areas of business reach competitive advantage over the competition in time. The growing importance of innovation in function of achieving a sustainable competitive advantage determined a brand new concept and innovation classification. Nowadays, the term innovation means not only a significant improvement in process and product technology, but it refers more to the innovation process in the field of human resources, especially in marketing management. For the above mentioned reasons, the paper pays special attention to the marketing innovation analysis and the increasingly significant impact it has on the process of achieving sustainable competitive advantage. The main goal of this article is analysis the theoretical and practical contexts concerning marketing innovation, innovation technology in foodservice enterprises.


Background: Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) is involved in the pathogenesis of arthritic diseases. The TLR4 inhibitor TAK-242 has shown potential as a possible treatment for rheumatoid arthritis in an adjuvant-induced arthritis rat model. However, further investigation of the anti-arthritis effect of TAK-242 in other animal models of arthritis disease is required. Objective: This study was conducted to examine the anti-arthritic effects and mechanisms of TAK-242 on curdlan-induced spondyloarthritis in SKG mice. Methods: Curdlan-injected SKG ZAP-70W163C mice were intraperitoneally administered with TAK-242 (3 mg/kg) every other day or anti-IL-23 antibody (100 μg) weekly for 9 weeks. The therapeutic effect of TAK-242 was evaluated in the SKG mice by measuring the inflammation level of foot, ileum, lung and tail by histology, the levels of proinflammatory cytokines in serum, bone mineral density (BMD) in femur and spine, and CD4+T cell subtypes Th1 and Th17 in spleen.Results: TAK-242 treatment significantly reduced clinical score, paw width, and colon length in SKG mice. Consistent with the therapeutic effect, TAK-242 also reduced peripheral arthritis and IL-17 expression in the foot and ileum tissues. It also inhibited inflammation of the lungs, ileum, paws, and tail and reduced serum levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-6 and TNF-α. TAK-242 recovered the reduced bone density in the femur but not in the spine. Treatment with TAK-242 also suppressed the populations of Th1 and Th17 cells in the spleen of SKG mice.Conclusions: TAK-242 may show beneficial anti-arthritis effects by inhibiting the proliferation of pro-inflammatory Th1 and Th17 cells. Further research is needed for TAK-242 to be repositioned as a treatment for arthritis disease.


Abstract Use of a tirofiban bridge is an alternative to simply withdrawing dual antiplatelet therapy prior to operating on patients at high risk of stent thrombosis and bleeding. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of this protocol in patients undergoing surgery within 12 months of a percutaneous coronary intervention involving stenting. We performed a systematic review based on searches of the PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane, Embase, Lilacs, and Scielo databases and of the references of relevant articles on the topic. Five of the 107 studies identified were included after application of eligibility criteria and analysis of methodological quality, totaling 422 patients, 227 in control groups. Notwithstanding the limitations reported, four of the five studies included indicate that the tirofiban bridge technique is effective for reducing adverse cardiac events and is safe in terms of not interfering with the risk of hemorrhagic events or bleeding. However, randomized clinical trials are needed to provide robust evidence.


In the early history of the infection in swine, the disease was confused with hog cholera, but recognized in France about 1846 as a apecific disease. The causative organism was isolated by Loeffler; in 1882. He designated it as "Bacillus of Schweinerothlauf." In 1883, Pasteur initiated immunization of swine, by employing cultures of the organism 'attenuated by passage through rabbits. In 1873, both Tilbury Fox2 and Baker3 published accurate clinical descriptions of the cutaneous form of infection in man, which Rosenbach, in 1884, aptly designated as erysipeloid. The disease has been subsequently called erysipeloid of Roeenbach. Rosenbach isolated the organism from a portion of excised skin a t the site of infection. He inoculated his own arm with a pure culture of this organism and reproduced a lesion of erysipeloid.


Objective To compare the diagnostic efficacy of a newly developed whole blood rapid panel test for heart-type fatty acid binding protein (H-FABP) with that of cardiac troponin I (cTnI) and creatine kinase isoenzyme MB (CK-MB). Methods Eighty-two patients with suspected acute myocardial infarction (AMI) according to certain time frames from onset to presentation. The rapid panel test method was applied to detect the H-FABP and cTnI. The serum CK-MB activity was determined with an immuno-inhibition assay kit. The sensitivity and specificity in diagnosis of early AMI were analyzed between H-FABP and cTnI and CK-MB. Results Final diagnosis was confirmed within 42 patients who were suspected AMI. The overall sensitivities of H-FABP, cTnI and CK-MB were 85.7%, 76.2% and 31.7%, respectively. The relative sensitivities of these 3 markers were 66.7%, 100% and 0% for AMI patients presented within 3h of onset of symptom; 100%, 67% and 67% for those between 3 and 6h. While the relative specificities of these 3 markers were 100%, 50% and 100% within 3h of onset, and 94%, 75% and 100% for those between 3h and 6h. Negative predictive values were 100%, 67% and 84% for patients within 6h of onset. Conclusions H-FABP is more sensitive and specific in diagnosis of early AMI, which may has great potential as an excellent biochemical cardiac marker for diagnosis of AMI in the early phase.


This article looks at the resulting trust and its creation as a response to an event, that of unjust enrichment. The author looks at how and why the resulting trust arises; the role of key presumptions in determining whether or not a resulting trust is present; the role of intention in creating a resulting trust; and how all resulting trusts serve to effect restitution of unjust enrichment. The author argues that Canadian courts have focused on the constructive trust and its relationship with unjust enrichment, to the detriment of achieving understanding in this area. This has left the resulting trust on the sidelines, when it could more appropriately be used to create greater certainty and predictability.


In a traveling wave microresonator, the cascaded four‐wave mixing (FWM) between optical modes allows the generation of frequency combs, including intriguing dissipative Kerr solitons (DKS). This study explores the quantum fluctuations of frequency combs and reveal the continuous‐variable quantum entanglement between different comb lines of the DKS states. The entanglement of DKS exhibits two distinct characteristics. For modes located at the spectral edge with a small number of excitations, different comb modes with multiple colors become entangled due to photon‐pair generation and coherent photon conversion stimulated by the FWM. Notably, a sudden disappearance of quantum entanglement in the center of the DKS spectrum is observed, which is attributed to the self‐locking phenomena in the FWM network. These findings demonstrate the prominent quantum nature of DKS, which is of fundamental significance in quantum optics and has the potential to be utilized in quantum networking and distributed quantum sensing applications.


One of the most strategically important devices within the field of gas turbine instrumentation is the optical pyrometer for turbine blade temperature measurement. With this instrument, the greatest operational problem is the optical fouling of its lens and the associated design problem is to fit the device within a given size envelope without adversely comprising the effectiveness of the purge air system. Consequently, a statistical-numerical investigation using the design of experiments approach was conducted by utilizing computational fluid dynamics (CFD) techniques to study the trade-offs in purge system design. This paper reports on the study carried out to determine the relative effects of the main geometrical design parameters on the performance of a purge air system using a two-level fractional factorial experiment.Copyright © 2003 by ASME


Practical books for school-garden and farm.-Two volumes have recently appeared, Plant Production by Moore and Halligan' and Horticulture by K. C. Davis,2 both of which undertake to develop skill and an understanding of the biological principles involved in plant production. They are designed as highschool texts, and in both the chapters are supplemented by suggestive questions, laboratory exercises, and home projects. What to do and how to do it are conspicuous in the books, but the why and wherefore are not so apparent. The method is given for planting and caring for practically all the garden crops, garden and orchard fruits, lawn shrubs and shade trees, all so explicitly and clearly that the novice may follow directions with certainty. In each book this work is also outlined by months to remind the beginner what are the proper activities for each season. There is adequate treatment of the methods for combatting insect pests. If the pupil has farms and gardens that are giving him real problems, the books will be used to good advantage. If he has apple trees infested with borers, if he has currants or grapes which he wants to know how to prune, or some garden crop is disappearing under the ravages of a pest, he will find clear and concise directions as to what to do and how to do it. But the books need such motivation. The reviewer has noted with regret as he has visited high-school classes in agriculture that there is less laboratory work, less contact with concrete situations than in the botany instruction which the agriculture has often replaced, and that the teacher is content to conduct the class as recitation of subjectmatter learned from the text even when the school is located in the midst of farms that would furnish an abundance of illustrative material. One could wish, therefore, that in these excellent texts the exercises and questions came at the beginning of each chapter rather than at the end, that they were more extensive and more explicit and not simply reviews of what has preceded in the text. For instance, an exercise dealing with grapes in the first book is as follows: "At what distance apart are grapes planted? How many plants can be set on an acre if the plants are set 8 feet by 10 feet? At six cents a plant what would it cost to set out an acre of grapes?" The second book has at the end of the corresponding chapter these as suggestions: "Setting, trellising and caring for young vines may be a project for the first year of the vineyard." "Discuss the propagation of grapes." In a word, the directions for projects are not likely to force actual experience on the part of the pupils nor are the questions likely to send them out into the farm and garden seeking answers. The books are packed with useful


The performance of an engine is one of the major concerns in the automotive industry. Increased emission restrictions on motor vehicles have led to the necessity of more accurate control on the engine performance. The objective of this study is to optimize the injection and ignition system in an automobile internal-combustion engine. In this paper the engine torque, the fuel consumption and the hydrocarbon emissions are considered as the main performance metrics of the engine, and a mathematical model is proposed on the basis of response surface methodology and two-stage stochastic programming. The proposed model encompasses desirability functions with a maximum–minimum operator to convert several responses into a single response and also considers the probabilistic pattern of regression coefficients by some random scenarios. To illustrate application of the proposed approach, it was applied in a real case in an automotive company. The results of this test represent a reasonable performance of the proposed approach.


2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (2,3,7,8-TCDD) was measured in sediments and suspended matter samples from estuaries adjacent to an industrial site in Newark, NJ, where chlorinated phenols had been produced. Present day and recent historical levels of 2,3,7,8-TCDD contamination were established through the use of radionuclide time tracers ( 7 Be, 137 Cs)


A dilute solution model is developed for the prediction of the partial ionic and electronic conductivities, as well as ionic transference numbers, in doped Th02 electrolytes. Total conductivity measurements were carried out between 800 to 1100°C for "pure" Th02 and Th02—y203 solutions over a wide range of oxygen chemical potentials. Galvanic cell measurements were made to separate the total conductivity into partial ionic and partial electronic conductivities. Although was in agreement with the predictions of the dilute solution theory for all electrolyte compositions crIon exhibited a maximum with increasing y203 concentration. No significant excess electron conductivity was indicated for any Th02—y203 composition at oxygen partial pressures as low as those for Ci—Cr203 equilibrium coexistence. With increasing F015 content in Th02— y203 electrolytes, the Pqz range for exclusive ionic conduction is extended to higher Po,', although no experimental data are available, the dilute solution theory predicts that the Pq2 range for exclusive ionic conduction would also be extended to lower P(j¡ with increasing y203 concentration. As early as 1905, Haber, et al.1-3 had initiated electrochemical studies of oxygen concentration cells using Thüringer hard glass and porcelain as solid electrocutes. In the classic paper, "Theorie der * M. F. Lasker, formerly graduate student, Department of Metallurgical Engineering, The Ohio State University, is now with the Applied Research Laboratory of United States Steel Corporation, Monroeville, Pennsylvania. Robert A. Rapp is Assistant Professor, Department of Metallurgical Engineering, The Ohio State University. 1 F. Haber andA. Moser, . Elektrochem. angew. physik. Chem. 11(1905) 593. 2 F. Haber and F. Fleischmann, . anorg. Chem. 51 (1906) 245. 3 F. Habeb and G. W. Foster, Z. anorg. Chem. 51 (1906) 289. Mixed Conduction in Th02 and Th02 — Y203 Solutions 199 geordneten Mischphasen", C. Wagner and Schottky4 recognized the inherent non-stoichiometry in ionic compounds and other ordered solid solutions; the intrinsic atomic (or ionic) defect concentrations of a compound and the deviation of the composition from exact stoichiometry were related thermodynamically to the activity of the metal or nonmetal component in the surroundings. In 1933, C. Wagner5 derived an expression relating the EMF, E, of a galvanic cell involving a mixed conducting solid compound electrolyte to the sum of the ionic transference numbers, iion, of the electrolyte. For an oxygen concentration cell, Wagner's equation may be expressed as


A novel approach to the control of an automotive engine in the cut-off region is presented. First, a hybrid model which describes the torque generation mechanism and the power-train dynamics is developed. Then, the cut-off control problem is formulated as a hybrid optimization problem, whose solution is obtained by relaxing it to the continuous domain and mapping its solution back into the hybrid domain. A formal analysis as well as simulation results demonstrate the properties and the quality of the control law.


The article examines principles for systematization of functional-protective coats on medical products and instruments. It is suggested to systematize these coats by several main signs: designation, methods of formation, materials, structure and character of interaction with tissues of the organism. The conducted ranging analysis of the coats, which are known or have prospects to be applied in medicine, will be useful for specialists in medical material science, surgeons, designers of new instruments and implants.


The present research studies the variation of refractive indices with the temperature of three different boric acid concentrations, each dissolved in distinct solvents. The refractive index as a function of temperature (dn/dT) was also computed.


Abstract The published literature, especially textbooks, describe the life history of Acetabularia acetabulum (= mediterranea) in its native habitat, the Mediterranean, as requiring three years until the reproductive cap with cysts is formed. Our experiments prove that, although the cell may become dormant in cold-water conditions (10°C), it can also complete its life history in one growing season. Such is the situation in the Mediterranean. The misconception that A. acetabulum is a short-lived perennial stems from field observations in the original 19th century literature that have not been checked either in situ or with experimental evidence.


Abstract : Experimental measurements of the spatial and temporal transfer of power of a 225 meter length of low-loss optical waveguide have been made. In particular, measurement of the angular attenuation showed substantial loss of the high order modes which reflected itself in an approximately 8.2 nsec/km decrease in measured dispersion. Additionally there was a reduction of the effective numerical aperture from 0.15 to 0.12. Negligible mode coupling was observed in this particular waveguide which allowed a phenomenological calculation of temporal output for an assumed uniform excitation of all modes. This agreed well with experimental measurements. Calculation of this output from knowledge of the index profile is presently not in agreement and some possible reasons are indicated. The first measurements of the temperature dependence of attenuation were made to determine the approximate size of the effect. Only small changes were detected up to about 400C. (Author)


This article aims to establish the relationship between social skills and experience necessary to adapt to the academic university context. The research was conducted with 200 students in the course of psychology in public and private institutions. The two instruments used (IHS-Del Prette, 2001; QVA, Almeida & Ferreira, 1997 adapted for the Brazilian population by Villar & Santos (2001), citado em Villar, 2003). Were used together in accordance with the rules of QVA. The results show that students from public institutions have better academic adjustment than the private institutions. We found correlations between academic adjustment and social skills. For students of public institutions social skills are related mainly to the personal and contextual dimensions and those of private institutions, with the scale of achievement.


JOURNAL.HOUSTONMETHODIST.ORG 168 A 35-year-old female with a history of pulmonary hypertension with secondary polycythemia and congenital asplenia was seen for heart/lung transplant evaluation. Up until 2 months prior, she was able to carry out her activities of daily living without limitation and with very mild dyspnea on exertion. However, her functional status had recently declined significantly, and she had to quit her job. She came in experiencing shortness of breath with minimal exertion, consistent with NYHA III, and was put on 4 L home oxygen via nasal cannula. She reported associated occasional leg swelling and denied any chest pain, syncope, or history of hospitalization.


This study analyzes the figurative language used, the rural life imagery portrayed, and the social reality depicted in the lyrics Southern Leyte's folk song, "U, Bulak nga Azucenas" (Oh, Azucena Flower). It is found out that the folk song uses the following figurative language: apostrophe, metaphor, hyperbole, non sequitur, simile, personification, enumeratio; portrays rural life imagery of a gentle and modest woman; and, depicts the social reality of fragility of a woman. The analytical data has proven that the lyrics of the folk song uses figurative language, portrays rural life imagery, and depicts social reality.


For all the known Hawaiian species of Idolothripinae, synonymies, brief diagnoses, full descriptions or redescriptions, illustrations, and complete collection data are given. A key to the species is provided. Of the 9 species, Allopisothrips alakaiensis Sakimura and Bianchi is a new genus and species, and Gastrothrips acutieornis (Hood) (-Hoplothrips paumalui Moulton) is a new synonymy. Apterygothrips remotus (Bianchi) (removed from Pseudocryptothrips) is a new combination, and is excluded from the


Breast cancer (BC) is the most common cancer among Libyan females. There are many important risk factors for BC in different populations as suggested by epidemiological studies. BC is an etiologically complex disease affected by genetic and other environmental factors, which include gender, age, previous breast cancer, body mass index, menopausal status, postmenopausal hormonal therapy, reproductive factor, alcohol consumption, smoking and breastfeeding. The aim of this study was to investigate if  there is an association between risk factors and breast cancer among Libyan females. Data were collected by using questioners for 38 cases with breast cancer from Tripoli Medical Center and 100 controls from March 2016 to February 2017. The results showed that risk of breast cancer was associated with age, the mean ages (± SD) of the case and control groups were 46.7 ± 15.6 and 38.8 ± 19.1 respectively, age at the first birth (P=0.036), family history with first-degree relative percentage of the cases and control groups were 21% and 4% and second-degree relatives were 10.5% and 13% respectively with statistical difference (P=0.042) and menopausal status (P=0.002). The risk decreased with breastfeeding (P=0.033). No association was observed between passive smoking (P=0.363) and the number of pregnancies and births (P=0.402). Data from this study indicated that there were some factors associated with breast cancer among Libyan females including age, age at the first pregnancy, family history and menopausal status.


According to the contemporary battle style of ground to air missile region defense system,this text gives the meaning of ground to air missile region defense system,does a researeh about the efficiency indicators,and based this to analyze the efficiency of ground to air region defense system by using index method and expert adjudicate method,puts forward a efficiency estimating model of ground to air missile region defense system.


Automatic generation control in electric power system operation is a most common issue presently due to its growing size, varying structure, addition of non conventional energy sources and distributed generators to meet the rising demand. This paper depicts that, the application of fuzzy logic control in automatic generation control. A two area thermal power system considering reheat steam turbine with Generator rate constraints is modeled and the system is simulated for three different speed regulations. The response from conventional Proportional Integral (PI) controller, Proportional Integral Derivative (PID) controller with Fuzzy PID controller is compared. The proposed Fuzzy PID Controller can generate best dynamic performance for a step load change of 0.01puMW. The system simulation is realized by using MATLAB software.


When properly harnessed, microfinance offers a variety of benefits to the African people. Foremost, microfinance initiatives can effectively address material poverty, the physical deprivation of goods, services, and the income to attain them. When properly guided, the material benefits of microfinancing can extend beyond the household into the community. At the personal level, microfinance can effectively address issues associated with "non-material poverty, which includes social and psychological effects that prevent people from realizing their potential.


Background: Hypertension prevalence rates will continue to increase globally and it is predicted in 2025 as many as 29% of adults worldwide will experience to have hypertension. Hypertension with inadequate treatment will cause complications which is the number fifth cause of death in all ages. In order to avoid complications, family support was required to treat hypertension. Objective: To determine the relationship between family support and caring behavior of hypertension by families at home, Methods: Correlational research design with cross sectional approach was used. A sample of 35 respondents willing to join by simple random sampling. Chi-Square Test was used to analyze the data. Results: There was a significant relationship between family support and caring behavior of hypertension by families at home with value p-value = 0,003. While the domain of family support which related to caring behavior of hypertension by families at home are instrumental support (p-value = 0,001), informational support (p-value = 0,000) and emotional support (p-value = 0,004). Finally, it can be concluded family support need to be considered in treating hypertension at home.


Erythema ab igne is reticular erythematous pigmented dermatoses seen in patients exposed to prolonged or repeated sub-threshold Infrared radiation inadequate to cause burns. Here, we report a case of erythema ab igne in a 40-year-old male patient seen over the abdomen due to prolonged laptop use.


Degradation of streams is a threat to the recovery of the Apache trout, an endemic fish of the White Mountains of Arizona. Historic efforts to improve trout habitat in the Southwest relied heavily on placement of in-stream log structures. However, the effects of structural interventions on trout habitat and populations have not been adequately evaluated. We treated an actively degrading stream on the White Mountain Apache Reservation that harbored a unique population of Apache trout, using a combination of fencing to abate ungulate grazing, sedge transplants to speed recovery of degraded streambanks, and placement of rock riffle formations to stabilize the channel and restore aquatic habitat along 450 m of degraded stream. Following treatment, the bed refilled, water depth and width increased, and fine gravels (5-32 mm) became more abundant. Trout abundance in the stream declined as the degradation worsened, but it rebounded following the restoration treatments. While other factors, such as flooding and sampling methods may have influenced the fish populations, the results suggest that the treatment did not negatively impact the trout while preventing further deterioration of the habitat. The riffle formations were not observed to induce channel instability, cause excessive retention of fines, or raise barriers to fish passage, which are common hazards of conventional in-stream structures. This case study demonstrates that in specific ecological contexts, structural interventions may be appropriate for conserving native trout habitat.


This paper makes an analizes of the metrologic characteristic of Satam type on-line flowmeter calibrated equipment according to calibrating experiments,and presents the temperature compensation mathmatics model based on influence of the tested liquid temperature on metering performance.


Kammerer and Frankish (this issue) challenge us to expand our conception of introspection beyond neurotypical human cases. This article describes a possible 'ancillary mind' modelled on a system envisioned in Leckie's (2013) science fiction novel Ancillary Justice. The ancillary
 mind constitutes a borderline case between a communicating group of individuals and a single, spatially distributed mind. It occupies a grey zone with respect to personal identity and subject individuation, neither determinately one person or subject nor determinately many persons or subjects,
 and thus some of its processes might be neither determinately introspection within a mind nor determinately communication between minds. If ancillary minds defy discrete countability, the same might be true for some actual minds on Earth. Kammerer and Frankish's research programme can be extended
 to include not only the study of possible forms of introspection, but also the study of possible mental activity intermediate between introspection and communication.


Many studies have been done pertaining to the effects of parental divorce on children. Recently, studies have shown that parental marital status has an effect on adolescents' sexual activity. Specifically, children of divorced parents have been found to be younger at first coitus than children of married parents. This study attempted to replicate these findings, as well as investigate possible factors that mignt be associated with the earlier sexual activity of adolescents of divorced parents. Eightynine high school students from a small Eastern Pennsylvania school were administered a 38-question survey. The questions concerned each subject's parents' marital status and the t.,;bject's sexual activity. In addition, questions investigated the possibility that anger, lack of parental supervision, and parental endorsement of sexuality are associated with the earlier sexuality of children of divorced parents. It was hypothesized that children of divorced parents would be sexually active earlier than children of married parents and that greater anger, lack of supervision, and parental endorsement of sexuality would be associated with this earlier sexual activity. The results did not support the hypothesis. Children whose parents were separated or divorced were not found to be more likely to have had intercourse or show higher levels of overall sexual activity. Their age at first experience of intercourse was not significantly different from that of children whose parents, marriage was intact. The results of this study also failed to support the hypothesis that anger, lack of supervision, and parental endorsement of sexuality are associated with earlier sexual activity of children with divorced parents.


Let $\mathcal X$ be an infinite locally compact separable metric space with metric $\rho$ and let $f : \mathcal X \longrightarrow \mathcal X$ be a continuous weakly mixing map. Let $\beta = \sup \big\{ \rho(x, y): \{x, y \} \subset \mathcal X \big\}$. In this note, we show (Theorem 4) that, for any countably infinite set $\{x_1, x_2, \cdots\}$ of points in $\mathcal X$ with compact orbit closures $\overline{O_f(x_i)}$'s, there exist an infinite set $\mathcal M$ of positive integers and countably infinitely many pairwise disjoint Cantor sets ${\mathcal S}^{(1)}, {\mathcal S}^{(2)}, \cdots$ of totally transitive points of $f$ such that (1) for any integers $\ell \ge 1$ and $n \ge 1$, $\ell!$ divides all sufficiently large integers in $\mathcal M$ and for any distinct points $a_1, a_2, \cdots, a_n$ in ${\mathbb S} = \bigcup_{j=1}^\infty \, {\mathcal S}^{(j)}$, the set $\{ F_n^m\big((a_1, a_2, \cdots, a_n)\big): m \in \mathcal M \}$ is dense in $\mathcal X \times \mathcal X \times \cdots \times \mathcal X$ ($n$ terms), where $F_n\big((a_1, a_2, \cdots, a_n)\big) = \big(f(a_1), f(a_2), \cdots, f(a_n)\big)$; (2) ${\mathbb S}$ is a dense $\beta$-scrambled set of $f^n$ for all $n \ge 1$; (3) for any $x$ in $\{x_1, x_2, \cdots\}$ and any $c$ in $\widehat {\mathbb S} = \bigcup_{i=0}^\infty \, f^i({\mathbb S})$, $\{ x, c \}$ is a (${\beta}/2$)-scrambled set of $f$. Furthermore, if $f$ has a fixed point and $\delta = \inf_{n \ge 1} \big\{ \sup\{ \rho(f^n(x), x): x \in \mathcal X \} \big\} \ge 0$, then the above Cantor sets ${\mathcal S}^{(1)}, {\mathcal S}^{(2)}, \cdots$ can be chosen to satisfy the additional property that $\widehat {\mathbb S} = \bigcup_{i=0}^\infty f^i({\mathbb S})$ is a dense {\it invariant} $\delta$-scrambled set of $f^n$ for all $n \ge 1$. For continuous mixing maps on $\mathcal X$, we have a stronger result (Theorem 5). A notion of chaos is also introduced.


Definitions. The name permanent has been introduced the first time in 1812 by Cauchy and Binet, separately. Cauchy [3] introduced it while he studied a special type of symmetric alternating function, that Muir [11] later called permanent. In the same period Binet [1] did that too and he provided also formulas to compute permanents. Later, Schur studied permanents as a specific type of generalized function: the Schur function. Now permanents have applications in many fields of Applied Mathematics, like Combinatorics, Probability, Invariant Theory, Physics and so on. Specifically, given an m×n matrix M = (mij) in a commutative ring R, with m ≤ n, the permanent of M is defined by


Geographers have recently begun to make a considerable contribution to global health. Most notably, this contribution has involved unpicking the national and international response to the problem of global health and submitting it to critical scrutiny. Such work not only requires paying close attention to the differing ways in which global health is imagined (historically as well as in the contemporary period) but also considering the effects of such imaginings on the material, lived experiences of those most affected.

Keywords:

geography;
globalization;
health


S>A PWR cortrol rod irradiated to as high as 1 x 10/sup 22/ nvt ()0.625 ev) during two seed lives in the Shippingport Atomic Power Station was destructively tested in an effort to determine the effect of irradiation on the properties of Hf and to further assess the consequences of abnormal corrosion of the weld joints of Zircaloy-2 welded to Hf. Tests performed included hardness, tensile postirradiation corrosion, chemical analysis, and metallographic examinations. Results of these tests indicate that the strength increase follows a two-step process with an apparent saturation between 3.8 and 5.8 x 10/sup 21/ nvt and an additioral increase in strength at higher exposure, while the useful ductility decreases slightly. There are no apparent limitations of the cortrol rods to further use arising from the observed corrosion at the weld joint, and short-time corrosion tests have not uncovered an acceleration of corrosion caused by buildup of transmutation elements. It is concluded, therefore, that Hf is adequate for continued use in PWR. However, further trends in property changes should be established by additional testing after each succeeding refueling. (auth)


This study examined to determine the effects of 6-week yoga asana on metabolic fitness (MetF), morphological fitness (MorF) and bone integrity (BI). To obtain required data, the investigators had selected thirty (N=30) female subjects between the age group of 18-25 years (Mean ± SD: age 21.03 ± 1.30 years, body mass 63.40 ± 2.36 kg, height 1.62 ± 0.022 m) from Department of Physical Education, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, Punjab, India. The subjects were purposively assigned into two groups: Group-A: Experimental (N1=15) and Group-B: Control (N2=15). All participants were informed about the objective and protocol of the study before providing written informed consent. The 6-week yoga asana brought about significant improvement in Maximal Oxygen Consumption (VO2max) (p < 0.001) whereas no significant differences were found in Morphological fitness (MorF) and Bone integrity (BI). It is concluded that the 6-week yoga asana may be recommended to improve Maximal Oxygen Consumption (VO2max) and may contribute to enhance high aerobic power (i.e., VO2max) that plays a vital role in enhancing the repeated sprint ability. These types of studies need to be replicated in a variety of populations, both male and female or lower age group level, as the effects may vary depending upon the physical and health status of the population.


Control of the state of geophysical objects is one of the key components of their further safe operation. But some geophysical objects have areas that cannot be successfully inspected for various reasons. Such missed areas can be in critical condition and significantly affect the final results of the examination. It is possible to solve this issue by implementing methods and means of remote operational non-destructive control of the state of geophysical objects. One such solution is implementation of unmanned aerial vehicles, commonly known as drones. The goal of the work is to find out the possibility of using drones as an element of remote control of the state of geophysical systems in order to eliminate inaccessible areas during the inspection of both on-ground and underground objects and to establish the key parameters of drones for their implementation in the specified role. Drones and areas of their application were used as objects for this research. Two categories of remote control of the state of geophysical objects by drones were defined, followed by technical requirements for drones for each category.


The British Institute of International and Comparative Law and Baker McKenzie present the first comprehensive empirical study on corporate restructuring and investment treaty protections. The study examines all publicly available decisions of investor-state tribunals dealing with issues of corporate structuring and restructuring. The key findings are as follows.

A majority of tribunals find they have jurisdiction despite the respondents' objections to restructuring. In all decisions but one, tribunals reviewed the validity of the corporate restructuring as part of ascertaining whether or not they had jurisdiction.

A large portion of the respondent states' objections relies on traditional jurisdictional grounds, such as the definition of "investor" or "investment" to criticize the claimants' restructuring. These traditional grounds are rarely successful and in two-thirds of the decisions tribunals find that they have jurisdiction despite the respondents' objections to the restructuring.

Once tribunals find that they have jurisdiction, they are significantly more likely to find in the claimant's favor on the merits.

Timing is key to the decision on the validity of restructuring, but it is viewed subjectively. Tribunals distinguish between original investment structuring and subsequent restructuring. Where the claim is brought by the original investor, tribunals tend to abide by the strict wording of the treaty.

Where the claimant is not the original investor, the tribunals are more likely to apply additional criteria, e.g. considering whether the corporate restructuring was an abuse of process or applying the Salini test.

The investor-state tribunals pay particular attention to whether the restructuring was done before or after the dispute arose and whether such dispute was foreseeable to the investor at the time of restructuring.

The treaty's scope of the application appears critical to the decision on the validity of the restructuring. Tribunals rendered the vast majority of decisions under bilateral or multilateral investment treaties, with almost two-thirds issued under the ICSID Convention. Therefore, international law or a combination of international and domestic law govern the issues of restructuring.

While the study finds no significant effect on the outcome of the respondent state's objections as a result of the applicable arbitration rules (e.g. ICSID Convention, UNCITRAL, SCC or ICSID Additional Facility), the exact language of the investment treaty matters.

The majority of claims are brought under a treaty with a broad scope of application. Where the claim is based on a broadly worded investment treaty, claimants succeed in overcoming objections to a restructuring in 83.5% of decisions.

Claimants with a genuine economic activity in the host state and a good reason for the restructuring seem more likely to succeed. Where tribunals find that the claimant engaged in a genuine economic activity in the respondent state, the investors succeed in overcoming jurisdictional objections in nearly all decisions.

In the absence of genuine economic activity in the respondent state, tribunals almost always agree with the respondent state's objections (92.5%). Where the tribunal is persuaded that the reasons for the restructuring were other than solely access to ISDS, the respondents' objections fail in over 80% of decisions. If the tribunal decides that the only purpose was access to ISDS, the state respondents' jurisdictional objections are much more likely to prevail.


Relatively few cases of very marked hyperglycemia in diabetic coma, with recovery, have been published; consequently it seems worthwhile to report a case that we have had opportunity to study. The patient, a man aged 50 years, entered the University of California Hospital on July 31, 1928, in coma. He had had symptoms of diabetes for the previous 18 months, but for the past 6 months a feeling of lassitude and weakness had been steadily increasing. His weight had decreased from 220 pounds to 195 pounds. All his teeth had been extracted just three weeks before entry with the hope of improving not only his general condition but also a neuralgic pain that had recently developed in his right arm. Instead of the anticipated improvement, however, his symptoms increased to such an extent that his vision became blurred and severe restlessness accompanied by mental depression developed. Notwithstanding these danger signals no medical advice was sought, and he finally sank into profound diabetic coma.


Cultural landscape is a combined work of both human and nature. The study of cultural landscape in a region is helpful to discover the historical changes and human factors in the region. With the development and maturity of digital technology, there are many kinds of research ways, such as UAV, satellite remote sensing, etc. Firstly, this paper collects and understands the domestic and foreign research examples, then analyzes the application advantages of UAV in cultural landscape research, and then takes Guling, Fujian Province as an example to carry out the landscape culture research using UAV technology, and finally summarizes that UAV technology can provide reliable data sources for Cultural Landscape Archaeology, solve the accessibility problem in Cultural Landscape Archaeology Research, and provide more perspectives for desktop work.


BACKGROUND: Non-biologic immunosuppressants are commonly used in the management of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). These agents, however, increase the risk of hepatitis B virus (HBV) reactivation. The clinical significance of this is substantial due to the associated increase in morbidity and mortality in those affected. These complications can potentially be reduced by screening for HBV and providing vaccination. It is unclear, however, if HBV serology is evaluated in IBD patients maintained on immunosuppressants. This study assessed the frequency at which HBV serology was obtained and vaccination was given in patients at an urban university medical center. METHODS: Medical records of all IBD patients on non-biologic immunosuppressants therapy cared for at a university medical center during an 18-month period were reviewed. There were no exclusion criteria. Patient age, disease type, immunosuppressant drug, hepatitis serology and vaccination status were obtained. Non-biologic immunosuppressants included 6-mercaptopurine, azathioprine, methotrexate, and cyclosporine. Hepatitis serology included HBsAg and HBsAb. A database was created and patient confidentiality was maintained. Statistical analysis was performed using a Fisher Exact Test with significance set at P < 0.05. RESULTS: Medical records of 65 patients were reviewed. There were 36 females (55.4%) and 29 males (44.6%) with a mean age of 37.1 years. Twenty-six patients (40%) had ulcerative colitis and 39 (60%) had Crohn's disease. Fifty-one (78.5%) patients were on 6-mercaptopurine and 14 (21.5%) were on azathioprine. Twenty-three patients (35.4%) had HBsAg status obtained. Twenty-one (41.2%) patients taking 6-mercaptopurine had HBsAg screening and 2 (14.3%) patients on azathioprine had HBsAg screening. There were no HBsAg positive results. There were no differences in HBsAg screening based on gender (P = 0.55), disease type (P = 0.13) or drug (P = 0.11). Ten patients (15.4%) had HBsAb status recorded, of which 2 (20%) were positive and 8 (80%) were negative. Nine (17.6%) patients taking 6-mercaptopurine had HBsAb screening and 1 (7.1%) patient taking azathioprine had HBsAb screening. There were no differences in HBsAb screening based on gender (P = 0.74), disease type (P = 1.0) or drug (P = 0.68). There was no documentation of hepatitis B vaccination given to the patients with negative antibody titers. CONCLUSIONS: Individuals on immunosuppressants have an increased risk for the reactivation of HBV. This study revealed that physicians inconsistently obtained HBV serology in IBD patients on non-biologic immunosuppressants. In addition, patients who were eligible to receive hepatitis B immunization did not receive vaccination. It is important that HBV immunity status is assessed consistently and vaccination is administered as needed in IBD patients on non-biologic immunosuppressants to decrease risk of hepatitis B reactivation. Increased physician and patient awareness on the necessity of obtaining HBV serology and achieving HBV immunity in IBD patients on non-biologic immunosuppressants has the potential to improve clinical outcomes.


This study is researched how will be realized both more performance of silver-life money allocation and comfortable using some money from the financial institution for construction fund of social welfare facilities. This research propose that can approach by making composition to the social matching fund with government supporting , public investment institution and silver - retired citizen. This paper idea could be a chance that provide retired people with stable income while pension foundation and institutional investors to lend social welfare facilities capital under low cost.


Both the strong mode confinement and the low propagation loss are longed for designing highly integrated terahertz (THz) devices, but they are difficult to be achieved at the same time. Here, a graphene-coated nanowire with a dropshaped cross section (GNDCS) is proposed with the long-range propagation and strong confinement. We found this waveguide can support two kinds of graphene surface plasmon polaritons (GSPPs), outside-dominant and insidedominant modes, with distinctly different energy distributions. Interestingly, both modes can achieve low-loss propagation with strong mode confinement. In particular, the outside-dominant mode can attain an extremely long propagation length (1mm) and the inside-dominant mode has a very high energy utilization rate. These excellent characteristics make the waveguide very useful in the nanophotonics, bio-photonics and highly integrated THz circuits.


In this research, our aim is to increase the efficiency of individual visitors and the whole system by reducing traffic congestion in large-scale crowd's activities. To achieve the goal, a route guidance mechanism with centralized information control (CIC) is proposed by granting priority to visitors using CIC. Through multi-agent simulation, we confirmed that the CIC mechanism was effective in improving the traffic efficiency of visitors and could avoid the phenomena of social dilemma in large-scale crowd's activities at the same time.


The effects of experimental finishing diets and enhancement were tested to determine if they could improve Honduran beef palatability. Fifteen enhanced (ENH) and non-enhanced (NE) paired loins from 7 different finishing diets (n = 210 loins) were fed to Honduran consumers (n = 288). Diets consisted of a grass-finished control (CON) or diets with the inclusion of distiller's dry grain (DDG), palm kernel meal (PKM), PKM replication (PKMR), sorghum (SORG), soybean meal and corn (SBMC), or sugarcane (SC). An interaction (P < 0.01) occurred between diet and enhancement to influence scores for all palatability traits, willingness to pay (WTP), and acceptability of traits. Consumers found enhanced samples were more tender (P < 0.05) than NE counterparts, excluding ENH- and NE-CON (P > 0.05). Without enhancement, CON was rated more tender (P < 0.05) than all other treatments, except PKMR. All ENH samples were juicier (P < 0.05) and had a flavor that was liked more (P < 0.05) than NE counterparts. Diet alone resulted in similar (P > 0.05) juiciness scores between CON, DDG, PKM, and PKMR; however, CON was rated juicier (P < 0.05) than all other treatments. Among NE samples, flavor liking scores were not different (P > 0.05) between CON, DDG, PKM, PKMR, and SBMC, and CON was liked more (P < 0.05) than SORG and SC. All enhanced steaks, except CON, had greater overall liking scores and WTP values (P < 0.05) than NE counterparts. Diet alone resulted in similar (P > 0.05) overall liking and WTP values between CON, DDG, PKM, PKMR, and SBMC, while SORG and SC were liked less overall (P < 0.05) than CON, which reduced (P < 0.05) WTP values. Experimental diets in conjunction with enhancement were able to improve the consumers' perception of palatability traits, acceptability, and WTP.


In Act II, Scene V, of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, Bassanio, a Venetian lord, prepares to host a masque, but the trade winds change unexpectedly and Bassanio's ship sets sail that very evening, cancelling the masked ball. Although this masqued scene is never realized, written, or staged, its mention is enough reason to interrogate its possibility. Through a Derridean decentering of presence, bringing together the extensive literature on Elizabethan masques, early modern understandings of touch and dance, and a deep interrogation of religious tensions, as played out throughout The Merchant of Venice, the masque's textual absence is at once made an important, albeit impossible, presence. These intersecting texts create a web of social ideologies that describe the early modern moment from which this play emerges. What is unwritten proves powerfully choreographic, the absence itself working to organize bodies in space, separated by religious and gendered difference.


In Australia currently, lifetime care for adults with acquired disability and high care needs is characterised  by  complex  funding  arrangements  between  the  Federal  and  State  governments, involvement of government and non‐government agencies, and multiple sectors and services with varying roles and responsibilities.
The  Australian  Government  has  proposed  the  development  of  a  nationally  coordinated  approach to lifetime care for people with disability and in 2010, initiated a Productivity Commission Inquiry to examine the feasibility of a long‐term care and support scheme for people who acquire a disability before the age of 65 years. The report of the Productivity Commission  Inquiry  (2011)  recommends  a  National  Disability  Insurance  Scheme  (NDIS)  to  provide all Australians with insurance for the costs of support if they or a family member acquire  a  disability.  As  part  of  the  Budget  2012‐13  commitments,  the  NDIS  will  be  implemented in a restricted number of selected sites in Australia in 2012 with an expanded implementation  of  the  scheme  in  additional  sites  expected  in  2014  (http://www.ndis.gov.au/). Importantly, this is a critical phase in national disability reform in Australia.


Research of development microfinance institutions (MFIs) Gapoktan in in the district of Gunung Kidul conducted from March to December 2014, aims to determine the factors that affect the sustainability of MFIs Gapoktan. The data used are primary data obtained from the Extension Workers, and MFIs Gapoktan. Secondary data from the Department of Agriculture, BP2KP and BPP. Sample MFIs Gapoktan. determined by purposive with a variety of conditions is less developed, undeveloped and developed worlds. Data were collected by interview and discussion. Analysis of data using multiple linear regression analysis. Factors that affect the sustainability of MFIs Gapoktan in Gunung Kidul consists of legality aspects, aspects of capability management, aspects of capital support, feasibility aspects, aspects of the characteristics of the MFI, and aspects of the real guidance of the business. Results of the analysis showed that all six of these factors effect no significant effect on the development of MFIs Gapoktan in Gunung Kidul. Keywords: development, microfinance institutions Gapoktan, performance


This paper explores the influence of the economic cycle on labour mobility within the EU, focusing on the likely impact of the present economic crisis. To do so, we use an econometrically calibrated simulation and a case study of Ireland. We find that, in the short run, the crisis is likely to lead to a somewhat lower stock of migrants from the new member states in the EU15 than would have been the case without the crisis on account of diminished job opportunities for migrants. By contrast, in the longer run the crisis might lead to a moderate increase in migration from some of the new member states compared to what would have been the case without the crisis. The latter is driven by the observation that the crisis may have undermined the economic growth model of some of the new member states, thereby slowing down their economic catching-up process.


For years, we have consistently strived to enact high-quality legislation, or, in other words, legislation which is comprehensible to its recipients, transparent, uncomplicated, and devoid of legal loopholes and contradictions. In order to bring about a genuine improvement in this regard, it is possible to introduce enhancements to both the process of formulating the goals of changing legislation, as well as to the process-based design of selected legal acts, and acts of a procedural nature in particular.
The article presents the efforts which the legislators have undertaken to-date in order to eliminate faults to the legislation process which allow for the creation of contradictory, ambiguous, and overly complicated legislation. The article also presents the actions undertaken in order to implement the methodology, best practices, and tools associated with business process management which have proved to be successful in the business sphere in the field of legislation.


Gelatin is one of the most versatile and unique hydrocolloid ingredient widely used in food industries, serving multiple functions in food system such as emulsifier, foaming agent, encapsulating agent, colloid stabilizer and film-forming ability among others. These advantages led to the continuous exploration of new source of gelatin as well as optimization of the extracting conditions of gelatin. Major commercial production of gelatin are from the skin and bones of porcine and bovine (mammalian gelatin) and the rest are from non-mammalian sources such as fish, which are still far behind the porcine and bovine in terms of production. Poultry derived gelatin is growing in importance as new potential mammalian gelatin source. The current article entails an overview of recent research in extraction of gelatin from different matrixs using alkaline, acid, enzymatic aided extraction and these selected methods affect the functional properties of the extracted gelatin. Various enzymes used to improve the physicochemical properties such as bloom strength, thermal properties, solubility and pH stability of gelatin of gelatin are also discussed.


There are five cultivated species in the genus Avena L.They are common oat(A.sativa L.),Ethiopian(Abyssinian)oat(A.abyssinica Hochst.),Byzant(Red)oat(A.byzantina Koch.),Hispid(Small)oat(A.strigosa Schreb.),and naked oat(A.nuda L.).Naked oat is characterized by its hulless seeds,while other oats by their hulled seeds.Naked oat is mainly planted in China and hulled oats are grown in other countries.Therefore,naked oat is important among oats in the world.However,the viewpoints on the origin and taxonomy of naked oat were disputable.The authors believe that the origin of naked oat would be the adjacent region of Shanxi and Inner Mongolia,and the taxonomic status of naked oat would be an independent species,i.e.,A.nuda L.


A heat flow was measured in the absence of and in the presence of acoustic streaming. The streaming produced by ultrasonic transducers was visualized by a particle imaging velocimetry (PIV) and an infrared thermal camera. The experimental results revealed that acoustic streaming could accelerate the melting process as much as 2.5 times, compared to the rate of natural melting (i.e., the melting without acoustic streaming). In addition, temperature and Nusselt numbers over time provided conclusive evidence of the important role of acoustic streaming on the melting phenomena of the phase change material (PCM).


This study was conducted to examine the impact of changes in annual mean temperature, annual mean precipitation, carbon footprint, ecological footprint, and area harvested on cereal crop production in East Africa. The study was conducted in a panel cointegration framework using annual time series from 1980 to 2018 for five East African countries i.e., Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. Unit root tests were performed using LLC, IPS, ADF-Fisher, and PP-Fisher tests, while panel co-integration tests were performed using Pedroni residual, Kao residual, and Johansen Fisher panel co-integration tests. Long-run coefficients were estimated using the Pooled Mean Group/Autoregressive Distributed Lag, Panel Fully-modified OLS, and Panel Dynamic OLS models. Empirical findings from the three models revealed that increases in annual mean temperature have adverse effects on cereal crop production, while increases in annual mean precipitation, carbon footprint, ecological footprint, and area harvested have positive effects on cereal crop production in East Africa. Based on these findings, it can be suggested that prioritization of climate change adaptation strategies in the region such as the development of drought and heat-resistant crop varieties, changing in planting dates, and investment in irrigation technologies to boost cereal crops productivity could play a role in minimizing the adverse effects of changes in climate factors.


Sprinklers are used extensively in a variety of fire protection applications. These systems are required to perform effectively over a wide range of extremely harsh and complex operating conditions. The sprinkler performance depends on the initiation, formation, dispersion and surface cooling characteristics of the sprays created by these devices. The behaviour of sprinkler sprays is strongly coupled with the fire dynamics in the surrounding environment, making characterization of these sprays and their corresponding performance quite challenging. The present paper provides a discussion of the important fundamental transport process for sprinkler sprays in fires. Mathematical models are provided for these processes in order to quantitatively characterize sprinkler spray performance. These mathematical models are well suited for incorporation into CFD codes or other fire modelling tools in order to analyze and predict fire suppression performance.


I use the 2008 Ghanaian Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) wave to implement a novel structured variable selection method, the composite absolute penalty (CAP) with an L ∞-norm penalty, not used before in child health literature, to select risk factors that determine child malnutrition. It performs better than other baseline methods, selecting factors that are relevant to the second part of the paper, which is an empirical health analysis of environmental shocks. I use the 2003 and 2008 waves of the Ghanaian DHS, with information on region and dates of birth, along with timing and location of repeated environmental shocks in the form of chemical spills into water sources, to examine consequences of these shocks on children's health status. I find that boys from both poor and non-poor households, born during the shock in the region affected by it, are negatively influenced, with their height-forage Z-scores 1.08 standard deviations lower. There is no impact on their weight-forage Z-scores. Further, I extend the analysis to examine the impact on various health quantiles, using height as response, and preliminary results indicate that there is no impact on median scores, and that the most significant negative impact is on the lowest quantiles.


The presence of the residual stresses generated by shot peening makes it possible to increase the fatigue strength of a treated component and to increase it operating life. It is important to be able to predict the profile of stresses that the realization of shot peening under given conditions. Indeed, numerical modelling has been for a few years an alternative to expensive measurements. The finite elements models proposed exhibit of a lack of precision. Indeed, an overestimate of the stresses is generally noted when compared with experimental evaluation. In this work we study the influence of a better description of the mechanical behaviour of the treated material on the relevance of the models, in particular the effects of kinematic hardening and those of the hardening parameters on the stress profile. To confront models with experiments, we used X-ray stress analysis. Confronted within this framework with the constraints particular to the impact in terms of dimension and of stress gradients, the method was adapted. In this study, a procedure to obtain the distribution of intensity within the X-ray spot was developed and implemented analytically, making it possible to compare the numerical and experimental results taking into account the distribution of the intensity and the gradient of stresses. It is often practical to have quickly good idea of the stress profile. For this, a relatively simple analytical model was proposed that allows to obtain the evolution of the residual stresses versus depth


Abstract Case report - Introduction Autoimmune diseases are a group of disorders where the body produces an immune response against its own tissue constituents. The understanding of the immune mechanisms underlying autoimmunity has significantly deepened and broadened recently. The viral infection is a well-known trigger of autoimmunity and chronic hepatitis is known to cause various auto-immune diseases; organ-specific or systemic. Self-reactivity is part of the normal regeneration and healing. Auto-reactive T&B cells are kept dormant by the concerted action of a variety of mechanisms. Hepatitis C can disrupt this by molecular mimicry, by providing adjuvant and even by directly affecting B cell function. Case report - Case description We report a case of a 77 yr old Caucasian lady from South Africa who presented to Addenbrooke's hospital complaining of general decline, multiple constitutional symptoms, and low-grade fever for nearly 6 weeks. She did not have any infective symptoms. She had a past medical history of Type 1 DM, Hypothyroidism, Sjögren's syndrome Osteoporosis and chronic hepatitis C infection which was treated 4 years ago. Family history was not significant, and she was a non-smoker. She was found to be thin with a BMI of 18, pyrexical with a temperature 37-38'c; otherwise, examination findings were unremarkable. Initial investigations revealed high inflammatory markers with an ESR of 99 and CRP of 120. WCC was within the normal range as were her renal and liver function tests. She was thoroughly investigated for Pyrexia of Unknown Origin. Her septic screen including Echocardiogram was negative. There was no detectable serum Para-protein and tumour markers were negative. Her CT scan of the chest abdomen and pelvis, MRI scan of the spine and PET scan were reported to be normal. The Serum Pro-calcitonin was low. Rheumatology team was enlisted at this point. On further assessment, the patient mentioned of having an ongoing mild generalised headache - described as a 'fullness in the head' and mild generalised scalp tenderness. She also had an aching pain in her legs. There was no history of visual symptoms, jaw, or tongue pain. On examination, she had generalised scalp tenderness which was worse over the left temporal artery. She had a temporal artery biopsy which showed typical features of GCA (disruption of IEL and giant cell) Following which she was commenced on steroids to which she had a remarkable response. After a month she was commenced on Tocilizumab with quick wean off steroids in view of her elevated risk for fractures. Case report - Discussion This lady believes to have contracted Hepatitis C in the early 80s during a surgical procedure for removal retained products of conception following an incomplete miscarriage in South Africa. She was found to be positive for hepatitis C in the early 90s when she tried to donate blood in the UK. She had genotype 1 hep C. on diagnosis her fibro scan was normal and live biopsy showed mild fibrosis. After regular surveillance during the following years, she was treated with AbbVie 3D regime and ribavirin in 2016 and she was declared to be clear in 2017 (Hepatitis C was undetectable). This lady received a diagnosis of Sjögren's syndrome in the early 2000s which was based on the fact that she had Sicca symptoms, Positive ANA of 9.2, positive anti-La and anti-Ro, Rheumatoid factor of 13 and lymphocytic clusters in lip biopsy. There are many studies linking Hepatitis C and Sjögren's syndrome. Sicca symptoms are common in hepatitis C, as chronic sialadenitis is a well-known extrahepatic manifestation. A recent meta-analysis showed a strong association between Hepatitis C infection and Sjögren's syndrome (OR3.31). This lady was diagnosed with hypothyroidism in the early 90s. Thyroid autoantibodies were not checked then. Thyroid autoimmunity is quite common in Hepatitis C positive patients. Higher prevalence of anti-TPO (21%) and anti-thyroglobulin antibodies (17%) has been demonstrated in Hepatitis C positive population even before they develop hypothyroidism. She was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes mellitus in 1997 at the age of 55 after she presented with Diabetic ketoacidosis. She was strongly positive for Anti-GAD antibody (>2000). Again, pancreatic autoimmunity is highly prevalent in non-diabetic Hepatitis C population (1.4% vs 0.4%). There are several case reports of patients who developed type 1 DM after acute hepatitis C infection. Case report - Key learning points As chronic infections are known to trigger autoimmune diseases, it is advisable to screen for them in patients with multiple or atypical autoimmune diseases. Treating the infection itself will lead to complete remission of these autoimmune conditions.


In this paper, depolarization effect induced by rain ,which have an important effect on the performance of dualpolarization frequency reuse communication system, is described .Depolarization discrimination at different working frequency, different rain rate and different propagation distance is calculated .Based on this , several adaptive compensation methods are given.


In this review,we summarized the procreant toxicity caused by Tripterygium wilfordii F and its active components in the subjects with gonadal maturity,and the prevention and treatment for the toxicity.Clinical and experimental studies have indicated that Tripterygium wilfordii F and its active components decrease the func- tion of the female ovary,leading to premature senility and hypogonadism.This toxicity can be prevented by sequen- tial substitute treatment with estrogen and pregnant hormones,and by the"nourishing kidney"prescriptions of Chinese medicine.In the male gonad,the toxicity caused by Tripterygium wilfordii F is confirmable and reversible. The mainly involved processes are the sperm generation,and function of the premature or mature sperms.Several Chinese medicines and the prescriptions can attenuate such adverse effects.The reported effects are mainly found in the subjects with gonadal maturity.Henceforth,the effects of Tripterygium wilfordii F and its active components on the premature gonadal system should be reinforced in both basic and clinical studies.


The purpose of this study is to examine the nature of upper secondary school system, to develop the criteria that is utilized to analyze school system comprehensively, and to explore the futhre directions of the secondary school system by comparin that of major conturies.
In the study three criteria for the school system disgnosis were selected: educational ideal dimension, humen development dimension, and social system relevance dimension. The criteria of each dimension for the study are as follows. The educational ideal dimension comprise three criteria of democratic ideal, universality, humanity, Human developmental dimension comprise three criteria of educational stages, sequence, continuity. The social system relevance dimension comprise two criteria of openness and efficiency,
In order to gain some policy directions about upper secondary school system those of major countries such as U.S, France, G.K, Germany, Japan were compared, According to the comparison, these countries have shown the following features. In the structural aspect they are making efforts to intergrate upper secondary schools in which students mihgt select programs to their own interests & aptitues. In the management aspect they are strengthening vocational education as well as general education and offering much opportunities for career deucaion.
Based upon the problem diagnosis of Korean ypper secondary school system and the study of school systems in other major sountries the policy directions are as follows.
1)In upper secondary school system schools have more autonomy relating to the goal setting, curriculum, school finance etc. and have accountability for those matters.
2) The upper secondary school system have diverses schools, diverse programs responding to muliple demand from the students and the society.
3) In upper secondary school system students could move more sommthly verically in the aspect of lifelong educaion. Students also could transfer more freely hofizontally among different stream of schools and among schools within same type of schools.
4) In upper secondary school system schools offer the poortunities equally and the quality of educaional provision be maintained equitably irrespective of social class, the wealth of the community and founding institution.
5) In upper secondary school system compulsory educaion be strengthened in terms of the period and contents.
6) In upper secondary school system schools be managed to develop students their mind, emotionm, and physical body more harmoniusly.
7) In upper secondary school system schools be managed to develop students their potential so that school could raise students\' excellence in their achievement.
8) Vocational schools be managed to have dual goals: completion of education and continuation of education.
9) In upper secondary school system schools be managed to raise the continuity and cooperation of different types of schools.
10) Upper secondary schools heve more smooth connection with higher educaional institutions in terms of curriculum and career educaion etc.
11) Upper secondary schools utilize the personnel and resource of the sommunity more actively,and strengthen industry - school relationship, and promote exchange with other schools incfluding schools abroad.
12) Upper secondary schools be managed to raise not only internal efficiency such as school effectiveness, employment of vacationla schools but also social efficiency such as high school graduates\' contribution to the national economy.


PT Arpan Bali Utama as an industrial company must always be responsive to the company's needs, because the company's production supplies the existing inventory. In this study, the design of an inventory information system for stock opname and warehouse card activities at PT Arpan Bali Utama. The design of this inventory information system is intended to solve problems related to the management of stock opname data and warehouse cards, both in data input and in computerization of stock opname reports and warehouse cards. This system was developed using the Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) programming language and a database developed using the Microsoft Access 2016 application. The results obtained from this study are an inventory information system designed to assist accounting and warehouse departments in carrying out stock opname activities. data input, data search, and production of stock opname reports and warehouse cards. In addition, this system can also help the accounting department through warehouse cards to see the movements of goods in the warehouse.


Twenty‐seven infants who survived intensive care during early infancy in the pioneering period of neonatal intensive care (1956–1965) were investigated after 8–17 years. The selection criterion was maintenance of a tracheotomy for more than 15 days during the first 12 months of life. A variety of clinical, physiological, radiological and psychiatric sequelae was found. Respiratory symptoms were the dominating problem during the post‐tracheotomy period. The long‐term follow‐up revealed that these symptoms had a stong tendency to subside. At the time of the follow‐up, as many as 20 children (74%) did not experience any functional impairment.


Get your staff and clients excited about your locum, focus on the locum's positive attributes and the new ideas he/she will bring to the practice.

Find a locum who makes you think about your vacation and not the practice.

Use your checklist to discuss how your practice works.

Make sure you have a detailed contract — and verify the license status of the locum.

Consider any profit a bonus.

Hire a locum for a day if possible in advance of a large block of time to iron out any conflicts.

Have a checklist of issues to review before you go to minimize any misunderstandings — Did you read the title? I know I said this already — are you getting the picture? See the sample checklist (Figure 1). Give a copy to the locum, so you both know what you have discussed before you go on vacation. Give a copy to the support staff so they know how to book appointments.

Enjoy your time off!

Footnotes

Use of this article is limited to a single copy for personal study. Anyone interested in obtaining reprints should contact the CVMA office (gro.vmca-amvc@nothguorbh) for additional copies or permission to use this material elsewhere.


The aim. To study the toxicity of 2-(6,8-dimethyl-5-nitro-4-chloroquinoline-2-yl)-5,6,7-trichloro-1,3-tropolone in vitro and in vivo.Materials and methods. 2-(6,8-dimethyl-5-nitro-4-chloroquinoline-2-yl)-5,6,7-trichloro-1,3-tropolone was synthesized using a method for expanding the o-quinone cycle during the reaction between 5-nitro-2,6,8-trimethyl4-chloroquinoline and 3,4,5,6-tetrachloro-1,2-benzoquinone while boiled in dioxane. An in vitro experiment was carried out in the human A549 cell line. Cell viability was assessed using the MTT colorimetric assay by reducing the optical density of the experimental samples compared with the control ones. Acute toxicity was studied on 20 BALB/c Nude male mice. The test compound was administered once orally as a suspension in 1% starch gel at three doses: 0.0055 (group 1), 0.055 (group 2) and 0.55 mg / g (group 3). The control group (group 4) received a placebo.Results. We synthesized a new compound, 2-(6,8-dimethyl-5-nitro-4-chloroquinoline-2-yl)-5,6,7-trichloro-1,3-tropolone. Its structure was established by 1 H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), infrared (IR) spectroscopy, and mass spectrometry. The yield was 19.8 g (52%), the melting point was 205–207 ºС, bright yellow crystals (benzene) were observed. The half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 2-(6,8-dimethyl-5-nitro-4-chloroquinoline-2-yl)-5,6,7-trichloro-1,3-tropolone was 0.21 ± 0.01 μM, which was significantly lower (р < 0.05) than the IC50 of cisplatin (3.84 ± 0.23). Following the in vivo experiment, no toxic effect of tropolone was detected when administered once at a dose of 0.0055, 0.055, and 0.55 mg / g. Conclusion. 2-(6,8-dimethyl-5-nitro-4-chloroquinoline-2-yl)-5,6,7-trichloro-1,3-tropolone demonstrated cytotoxic effects on the A549 cell line at a lower IC50 than cisplatin which is widely used in treatment of cancers, including lung cancer. Insolubility of 2-(6,8-dimethyl-5-nitro-4-chloroquinoline-2-yl)-5,6,7-trichloro-1,3-tropolone in water and the absence of its toxic effect in the studied modes determine the scope of its application for further study of cumulative and antitumor effects.


The design of a geometric knowledge base that stores standardized and formalized geometric knowledge data was presented.Emphasis was placed on the design of the structure rather than the representation of the knowledge data.In order to manage the complexity,authors adopted a key strategy that aimed at encapsulating certain knowledge data into knowledge objects by analyzing the data requirements and then organizing the knowledge objects by modeling and Abstracting the hierarchic structure of relations among them,and discussed the implementation of a preliminary version of the geometric knowledge base system that realized the proposed structure and the design of a web-based user interface.


It has recently been debated whether apnea testing is a procedure with significant risks requiring informed consent, leaving families the opportunity to refuse.1,2 Pivotal to this question are systematic studies on apnea tests in brain death. Our prior studies found that apnea tests were aborted in 10% of patients but suggested a further decline in complications in a preliminary series.3,4 We reexamined our experience with apnea testing in a large set of brain dead patients.


Abstract. The Talmudic Sages displayed a remarkable understanding of economic laws and practices. A knowledge of this understanding would be useful for the development of western economic thought. Especially is this true of the insight these Jewish scholars won into the nature of value, one of the most controversial economic concepts today. The Talmud—a compilation of studies, disputations and interpretations from Palestinian and Babylonian academies from the 3rd century B.C.E. to the 5th century C.E.—contains a complex system of value concepts in which economic aspects are part of a larger set of ethical and legal doctrines. This includes "ideal" and "market value," the value of human life and its link to man's productive capacity, the derivation of present value from calculations of expected income flow from the person's labor, the nucleus of the concept of "human capital," of "free labor" as against "slave labor," subjective and objective value with the latter made subjective and the former objective, psychic value and marginal utility. The most intriguing doctrine is that of a "valueless value"; the Talmudic sages attempted the quantification of a negative value couched in positive and psycho‐economic terms, an idea which, it is held, has no parallel in western economic thought. This idea, it is argued, has significance for modern welfare economics; it is a distinct category in which the valueless subject is given a positive numerical value (1) (2).


We have demonstrated a new strategy for preparing poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)
(PNIPAAm) gel with significantly improved properties by polymerization–crosslinking in organic solvent (dimethyl sulfoxide, DMSO) and at low temperatures (0.5 and −20 °C, below the melting point of DMSO). The effects of different synthesis conditions, including monomer concentration and polymerization temperature, on the formation of the PNIPAAm gels in DMSO were investigated. The properties of the resulting cryo-PNIPAAm gels were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to reveal their interior morphology as well as the temperature dependence of the equilibrium swelling ratio, shrinking and swelling kinetics in water and their oscillatory shrinking–swelling kinetics over 3 min temperature cycles between 26 and 37 °C. The SEM micrographs reveal that the interior microstructures of the cryo-PNIPAAm gels are very different from conventional PNIPAAm gels, and are much more regular and oriented than the conventional gels. This unique interior morphology of the cryo-PNIPAAm gels is believed to be responsible for the improved swelling and deswelling kinetics and excellent dynamic response without loss of water retention upon temperature cycling.


Solid‐state single‐photon sources in the infrared region are crucial for advancing quantum technologies, in particular long‐distance fiber or on‐chip quantum communication, quantum key distribution, quantum computing, quantum sensing and metrology, and fundamental research. The ability to generate and manipulate individual photons in the infrared spectrum is an area of expansion due to the availability of advanced material quality or new emerging materials. The latest advancements in the discovery and utilization of single‐photon sources in various material platforms and their foreseeable future development are here summarized.


The strong metal–support interaction (SMSI) is the encapsulation of a supported metal particle by an oxide layer that diffuses from the substrate. This process is usually described as being driven by a reduction in the surface energy of the metal particle and has a significant influence on the catalytic activity of the metal. Here, epitaxial Pd nanocrystals grown in ultrahigh vacuum on SrTiO3(001) and anatase TiO2(001) substrates are studied by scanning tunneling microscopy. At annealing temperatures above ∼600 oC, the Pd crystals can become encapsulated by a TiOx monolayer originating from the substrates. For both bare and encapsulated Pd crystals, their height-to-width ratio increases with the crystal height as a mechanism to partially release their interfacial misfit strain with the substrate. However, the rate of this increase is lower for encapsulated crystals, indicating that during the SMSI process the interface between the particle and the oxide is modified to form a lower energy interfacial structure which also results in less strain in the encapsulated particle. The SMSI is found to preferentially occur on larger crystals, driven by the reduction in their elastic strain energy, which scales with the crystal volume. Compared with the traditional view of SMSI our results provide a more complete description of the encapsulation process.


Abstract The birefringence of CaTiO3 and CdTiO3 has been measured as a function of temperature between 20 and 1200 K. The existence of a phase transition at about 83 K in CdTiO3 has been confirmed. No clear transition was found in CaTiO3.


The invention relates to a pretension and lay-off method of a crane jib for a ship, belonging to the technical field of a crane. The crane comprises a luffing mechanism composed of a top pulley block, a jib, a winch, a luffing wire rope and a jib head pulley block and a bracket. The method comprises the following steps: A. operating the winch in the forward direction, loosening the jib and layingoff the jib onto the bracket; and B, operating the winch in the reverse direction, pulling the jib upwards to enable the pressure of the jib on the bracket to be less than the pressure on the bracketbefore being subjected to the upward pull, and stopping and shutting off the winch. The invention also relates to a pretension and lay-off device of a crane jib for a ship. The luffing mechanism alsocomprises a middle pulley arranged at the middle of the jib, and the luffing wire rope is connected with the jib head pulley block and the middle pulley through the top pulley block. The pretension and lay-off method and device of a crane jib for a ship can produce a pretension force on the jib by means of the luffing wire rope, thereby reducing the self-weight load of the jib as well as the influence and the destruction on the jib structure as a result of the shock load and the changing load of the bracket on the jib. Besides, the invention has the advantages of simple method and structure, convenient operation and low cost.


This is the Proceedings of the 2017 ICML Workshop on Human Interpretability in Machine Learning (WHI 2017), which was held in Sydney, Australia, August 10, 2017. Invited speakers were Tony Jebara, Pang Wei Koh, and David Sontag.


Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) is a human pathogen which infects neurons and can reach the central nervous System (CNS), causing encephalitis. Glycoprotein B (gB), a main component of HSV-1 necessary for entry into host cells, has been involved in neuroinvasion. Its cytoplasmic domain contains highly conserved motifs, similar to motifs involved in intracellular sorting of transmembrane proteins. To determine their role in the intracellular transport and maturation of gB, we deleted or mutated these motifs, and characterized the subsequent modifications in transfected and infected cells. We identified a region that includes the di-acidic motif ERTE, which is essential for the maturation and cell surface expression of gB, and for complementation of a gB-null virus. Two other motifs, YTQV and LL, participate in the retrograde transport of gB from the cell surface to the TGN. Whereas YTQV is essential for internalization of gB from the cell surface, LL most likely participates in a further step of this transport, since mutation of the LL motif does not prevent internalization of gB, but delays its accumulation in the TGN, while enhancing its recycling to the cell surface. Modification of these motifs leads to a decrease in virus infectivity and to changes in the phenotype of infection in cell culture (disruption of the LL motif enhances syncytium formation and the opposite is observed when the YTQV motif is modified). Altogether, these results favor a model in which HSV-1 gets its glycoproteins and final envelope at the TGN, and suggest that retrograde transport of gB, albeit non essential, might play an important role in cell-to-cell spread and infectivity of the virus.


Microbiological testing is an integral part of most microbiological food safety problems, making up a significant amount of the effort of many food microbiologists. Effective use of these analytical tools requires both a thorough understanding of the technical details of methods being employed and how the performance of the methods is influenced by sampling limitations. However, too often the latter is incompletely evaluated or understood. In particular, improvements in the sensitivity and specificity of new methods can be effectively lost if it is accompanied by a decrease in sample size. The basis for sampling requirements, particularly when a microorganism of concern is present at low levels, is based on the probability of detecting the specific portion of food being tested from a larger population of food portions. Two general approaches based on statistical requirements are most often employed in the testing of food samples, "within-batch testing" and "between-batch testing." The purpose of with-in batch testing is to establish that a specific lot of food is "safe" in regard to a specific hazard at a specified level of confidence. This approach assumes no prior knowledge of the history of the food. Practical sampling considerations generally limits its effectiveness to batches where more than 1% of the samples are contaminated. Often referred to as process control testing, the purpose of between-batch testing is verification that a process is operating as intended. This type of testing assumes that there is extensive knowledge of the system being evaluated. This approach can be very sensitive to changes above an established baseline, however, that sensitivity is again dependent on the number of samples taken and the inherent number of contaminated portions produced by the system. An understanding of which tool to employ and the limitations of those tools are critical to the effective use of microbiological testing.


It was shown in Part I [J. Acoust. Soc. Amer. 43, 709–715 (1968)] that the wave equation for an acoustic Luneburg lens is ∇2p − (1/ρ)∇ρ⋅∇p = (nL2/c02)∂2p/∂f2, where p is the pressure, ρ the density, c0 the constant speed of sound in water and nL2 = 2−r2/a2 Luneburg's index of refraction. Here r is the radial distance measured from the center of the lens and a is the radius of the lens. Also, we have in general that nL2(r) = c02ρ(r)κ(r), where κ(r) is the compressibility. In Part I, the solution of the wave equation was obtained for plane‐wave irradiation when ρ is constant. In this paper, we first obtain the solution to the wave equation for plane‐wave irradiation when ρ(r) = nL2(r)/c02κ, κ being constant. Then the general case is examined when ρ(r) is an arbitrary function of position. It is found that at low frequencies, the speed of sound is affected by the presence of ∇ρ. while at high frequencies, this effect is negligible. Consequently, a completely arbitrary choice of ρ(r), even though κ(r) is chos...


The effect of industrial sludge toxicity on the cell growth of a green paramecium, Paramecium bursaria was examined. P. bursaria cells were cultured in a lettuce medium supplemented with various concentrations of sludge suspension at 23 °C under LD (ligh and dark cycle) condition. Results suggested that P. bursaria proliferates normally even at 1.5% sludge suspension. However, 1.5x10 % sludge suspension 2 showed acute toxicity to P. bursaria. On the other hand, with 1.5x10 % sludge suspension pHwas raised up 2 from 7.3 to 8.8 before the incubation, no lethal effect was found in the sludge suspension. To investigate the lethal ingredient in the sludge, P. bursaria was treated in both sludge suspension and sludge supernatant solution. The result indicated that P. bursaria was very sensitive to the former, but not the later even after 7 days of incubation. These results suggested that the lethal toxicity of 1.5x10 % sludge suspension is derived 2 from suspended fine particles (insoluble parts). More research studies are required to elucidate the lethal toxicity in those fine particles to P. bursaria.


This paper presents data on CIELAB chromatic contrast sensitivity collected in a psychophysical experiment. To complement previously published data in the low-frequency range, we selected five spatial frequencies in the range from 2.4 to 19.1 cycles per degree (cpd). A Gabor stimulus
 was modulated along six chromatic directions in the a*-b* plane. We also investigated the impact on contrast sensitivity from spatial orientations – both vertically and diagonally oriented stimuli were used. The analysis of the collected data showed lowest contrast sensitivity in the
 chromatic direction of around 120° from the positive a*-axis. The contrast sensitivity in the diagonal spatial orientation is slightly lower when compared to the vertical orientation.


Against to sand stone material rebound modulus behaved nonlinear characteristics,in order to design pavement structure more rational, the influenced factors of sand stone material nonlinear were evaluated comprehensively with fuzzy mathematics,the most influenced factors in every factors were obtained,so as to consider focally in sand stone nonlinear material research.


Introduction. Agricultural production is a prerequisite for the economic development of the Eastern European countries, which ensures food security of the citizens in the conditions of constantly varying economic environment.Problem Statement. The main condition for the development of the agrarian sector is an established system of selling products at high prices. Therefore, its assessment requires in-depth analysis, with the need for organic and high-quality food products making this problem extremely urgent.Purpose. Studying the current status of agro-food production and food security in the countries of Eastern Europe and the needs in raw materials of interrelated industries of the national economy, which can become a driving force for the development of rural areas; assessing the investment attractiveness of the agricultural sector; and determining the prospects for the development of agro-food production in Eastern Europe.Material and Methods. In this research, we have used systematic approach, comparative analysis, generalization, synthesis and analysis. The sources are statistical reports of international institutions, government and private organizations, scholarly research publications of foreign and domestic researchers.Results. The five elements of agro-food production in Eastern Europe have been identified: availability of resources suitable for agriculture; transformation of land relations; the structure of gross production by branches of agriculture; development of organic agriculture; investment attractiveness of the studied countries. The challenges of the agricultural sector at the middle and lower levels of agriculture have been described.Conclusions. The key prospects for the development of agricultural production in Eastern Europe are: improvement of the agricultural land market, sale of agricultural products in European and international markets, development of innovation through the introduction of modern technologies of agricultural production, development of organic farming, enhancing interest of credit and banking sector in investment projects in the sphere of agricultural production.


The geometrical structure of the doubly negative charged closo boron hydride B15H(D3h) was optimized at the HF/6-31G level, and its energy properties and normal-mode vibrational frequencies were computed at the same level by using ab initio quantum chemistry calculation method. The calculated results show that the structure would be in-deed a stationary point on its HF/6-31G potential hypersurface and the cluster could be pre-dicted to be both chemically and kinetically stable.