Cloud platforms, real-time monitoring, and gamification of workflows are not new to the oil and gas sector. A growing number of organizations are adopting digital transformation (DT), seeking innovative strategies, safer operations, and business optimization. In line with the exponentially increasing pace of technology advancement, pressures of change are mounting, and experience shows that not all transitions are successful or straightforward. DT for the upstream and downstream processes of oil and gas is available and ready to be implemented with step and disruptive changes dramatically uplifting the traditional way of conducting business, boosting efficiencies, and empowering cost optimization strategies.
 To analyze the current status of DT strategies and the pace of its implementation in the oil sector with a special emphasis on the Middle East, SPE held an Applied Technology Workshop titled, "Transforming Oil and Gas Toward Digital Intelligence" in late April in Mangaf,•Kuwait.
 The workshop attracted 138 attendees, and was held under the patron-age of Deputy CEO (Drilling and Technology) of Kuwait Oil Company (KOC), Nayef Al-Anezi, and chaired by Jamal Al-Humoud, manager of research and technology of KOC and cochaired by Maria Angela Capello, executive advisor in the North Kuwait Directorate of KOC. The ATW also included the SPE course "Digital Oil Field Building Blocks."
 The state-of-the-art as derived from DT journeys highlighted how decades-long operating companies have a real opportunity to transform their operating workflows to become energy digital leaders. The organizing committee included representatives of Emerson, Accenture, GOFSCO, Schlumberger, Halliburton, Weatherford, Baker Hughes, Microsoft, IBM, Deloitte, WorleyParsons, Huawei, KUFPEC, Kuwait University, and Australian College of Kuwait.•
 Al-Anezi opened the event highlighting the importance of DT and technology adoption in aging reservoirs. Al-Humoud shared the step changes with which KOC entered the DT era, which included three digital oil fields pilot projects, applying the most advanced technologies to remotely monitor and control oil fields at West Kuwait, North Kuwait, and South and East Kuwait (Burgan fields). "We need to step up to embrace DT, to expedite our success, to optimize our costs and to enable the excellence in our studies and operations workflows," he said. "Kuwait is pioneering in many fronts of DT, benefitting the oil sector of the state of Kuwait."
 The workshop included an executive panel and four technical sessions: Disruptive Technologies, Creating Value Though Integration, Embracing the Digital Future with Right Enablers, and The Next Digital Era.
 Digital Transformation Discussion
 Bart Cornelissen, managing partner of Deloitte Middle East Energy, Resources and Industrials, opened the executive panel, stating, "The oil and gas industry needs to re-imagine how work is conducted across the entire value chain for a successful digital revolution to take place."


Gasoline is volatile and can form a flammable gas mixture with air easily. Researches on the gas explosions still need to be developed so that more effective explosion prevention techniques and measures can be proposed. The maximum overpressure rise rate and deflagration index are two important parameters for measuring gas explosion damage power. The relationship between these two parameters and the initial pressure is controversial. Razus et al. insisted that it was a linear relationship, however, Faghih et al. declared that it was an exponential relationship. In this paper, the relationship between the maximum pressure rise rate (the deflagration index) and the initial pressure is deduced and discussed. The results show that the relationship is still linear. On this basis, the deduced relationship formula is used to estimate the specific heat capacity of gasoline vapor. Results show that the estimated value is reasonable and acceptable.


Konstantinplatz in Trier: Between Memory and Place Gerardo Brown-Manrique The city of Trier, West Germany, celebrated its second millennium during 1984. The celebrations were augmented by a number of restoration and new building efforts that have helped to clarify the city's historical evolution. One of these efforts was the re development by O. Mathias Ungers of the site of Konstantinplatz (Constantine Square), adjacent to the so-called Basilica but properly named the Aula Palatina, or palace audience hall, one of the most important historical monuments in the city. The square serves as the connection between the historic center of the city and other historical sites to its southeast and thus holds a central place in the sequence of spaces that are part of the historic core of Trier. How this project evolved and how it fits into the structure and evolution of Trier, its sense of place, is best understood in terms of the historical development of the city itself. expeditionary armies that conquered England and it served as the civitas of the Treveri, the seat of the Procurator of Belgica and later of the two German provinces, and capital city of Gallia Belgica. The importance of Trier increased following the political reorganization of the empire by Diocletian in A.D. 286, when it became one of the four most important cities of the Roman Empire as an imperial residence and the seat of the Caesar of the western half of the empire. Thus, until the withdrawal of the Romans in A.D. 410 following the Prankish invasions, Trier maintained a place of prominence in the cultural, economic, and political development of Europe. Though Trier's size changed dramatically during the Frankish, Merovingian, and succeeding rules—to approximately half the area it occupied at its height in the fourth century—it retained a position of influence in the development of medieval society and culture as the seat of one of the archbishops-electors of the Holy Roman Emperors and as the location of many and powerful monastic institutions. Nonetheless, it was the remaining Roman structures that continued to give form and image to Trier. Ravaged over time by the succeeding waves of invaders, the Roman monuments of Trier remained as testimonies to its past. In the nineteenth Hau Jan,. The Roman city of Augusta Treverorum was founded in 16 B.C. as an oppidum, or settlement, for the Gallic Treveri tribe that inhabited the Moselle River valley and rose to the rank of colonia in A.D. 50 during the rule of Claudius. Its importance within the Roman Empire was twofold: Trier's agricultural and manufacturing richness supplied the Roman armies of the Rhine as well as the I Aula Palatina, from the n o r t h w e s t , 1979. Places/Volume 3, Number 1


Objective To study the the effects of tropisetron and droperidol on prevention of nausea and vomi-ting in postoperative patients with PCIA(Patient controlled intravenous analgesia.Methods 120patients(ASA scoreⅠ-Ⅱ) who underwent elective operations under general anesthesia.All patients before surgery had no significant gastrointestinal dysfunction and symptoms of nausea and vomiting,no heart and lung liver and kidney dysfunction,and 24 hours before surgery did not toany anti-emetics.All patients of operation completed divided randomly into 3 groups: ①in GroupⅠ(n=40) patients intravenous injection of saline 2 mL,when the end of surgery,and receivedPCIA with Sufentanil 100~150μg,normal saline diluted to 100 mL;②in GroupⅡ(n=40) pa-tients intravenous injection of tropisetron 2 mg,when the end of surgery,and received PCIA with Sufentanil 100-150μg and tropisetron 5mg,normal saline diluted to 100 mL;③in GroupⅢ(n=40) patients intravenous injection of droperidol 2.5 mg,when the end of surgery,and received PCIA with Sufentanil 100~150μg and droperidol 2.5 mg,normal saline diluted to 100 mL.Thescores for nausea,vomiting,visual analogue scale(VAS),bruggrman comfort scale(BCS),were evaluated at 0,4,8,16,24,32,48 hrs postoperatively.Results Postoperative analgesia and comfort of all patients rate the satisfaction level of scientology,no difference among the groups(P0.05).Prevention and control nausea and vomiting effect,groupⅡis the best,compared withgroupⅠsignificant difference(P 0.05),groupⅢand groupⅠsignificant difference compared(P 0.05).GroupⅡGroupⅢshowed no significant difference between(P0.05).However,groupⅢemerged three cases of extrapyramidal symptoms,sleepiness symptoms in seven cases.Conclusion Tropisetron and droperidol can inhibit PCIA-induced nausea and vomiting.However,minor side effects of tropisetron.


A method of manufacturing charge transfer devices in which an asymmetrical potential well in the direction of charge transfer is formed by the shape of narrower portions of a transfer channel which is bordered by highly doped channel stoppers. Impurities are diffused through a first mask into a polycrystalline silicon layer on the surface of a semiconductor substrate to construct transfer electrodes of highly doped polycrystalline layer. Then impurities are diffused into a semiconductor substrate through openings bordering on one edge with a first mask to form the highly doped portions to make the narrower portions of the transfer channel to assure that the edges of the transfer electrode and the edge of the narrower portion are aligned.


Down syndrome, characterized by cognitive impairment, a number of physical characteristics such as small chin, slanted eyes, poor muscle tone, and a flat nasal bridge, Mongoloid- like facial and multiple deformities. The Down Syndrome (DS) or Trisomy 21 is a common chromosome disorder which has an extra chromosome on the 21st pair resulted in impairments and limitations in developmental abilities and physical growth as compared to normal children. Roughly, 1 in 700 to 800 live births (Sherman et al., 2007; Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, 2006) in western countries showed the incidence of Down syndrome while the total number of worldwide is more than 200,000 cases per year (Christianson et al., 2006). A survey conducted in a Maternity Hospital, Kuala Lumpur showed that the incidence of Down syndrome was 1:959 live births. The incidence of this chromosome disorder within the three major ethnics in Malaysia is 1:987 in Malay, 1:940 in Chinese and 1;860 in Indian(Hoe et al., 1989). Most individuals with Down syndrome have an IQ ranging from mild (IQ 50-70) to moderate (IQ 35-50) (Naess et al., 2011) and they are believed to be slow learners. Since it is commonly associated with mental retardation, impairments in the growth of cognitive development are inevitable.


Land Use Land Cover changes plays a significant role in climate change, biodiversity conservation, food security, water resources management and urbanization. This study aims to identify the land use land cover dynamics of Rel river for 2008 using GEE, four ML techniques are used to identify LULC. Accuracy of all techniques was determined using area under curve and kappa coefficient, results show that RF provides best classification for Rel river having area under curve 0.91 and kappa coefficient 0.89. Therefore, the study will decipher the LULC for the REL river which will aid may government agencies, researchers and academicians, also the integrated approach of GEE-ML for LULC will provide a demonstration for investigating large scale land features using medium resolution remote sensing data, and best approach of many ML techniques.


Daphnane diterpenoids are mainly distributed in Thymelaeaceae and Euphorbiaceae and have various bioactivities. About 100 daphnane diterpenoids have been isolated from natural plants. In this review, we systematically summarize the 13C‐NMR data of daphnane diterpenoids isolated from natural plants over the past several decades and briefly discussed their biological activities and basic structural–activity relationship. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Liparis is a relatively large genus, with a cosmopolitan distribution and an estimated 350 species (Comber, 1990; Seidenfaden & Wood, 1992). Congeners can be terrestrial or epiphytic (Comber, 2001), but only terrestrial species with underground storage parts are able to survive in temperate countries (Comber, 1990). Liparis species have variedly shaped pseudobulbs and usually bear erect terminal inflorescences although pendulous forms occur in certain species (Comber, 1990, 2001). Leaves are more or less pleated, broad and thin, with or without joints at the base (Seidenfaden & Wood, 1992). The flowers are comparatively small, resupinate and have considerably narrower petals as compared to their sepals. The labellum (lip) is entire with a long, curved, and slightly winged column lacking a foot (Comber, 1990; Seidenfaden & Wood, 1992). The genus Liparis can further be divided into three sections; Liparis, Distichae, and Coriifoliae (Seindenfaden, 1976; Comber, 2001). The section Liparis is differentiated from the others by bearing leaves which that are not jointed and eventually withering on the plant, much like those in the genus Malaxis. The other two sections have jointed or articulated leaves that fall off the plant. In the section Distichae, the inflorescences have thick floral bracts and flowers arranged in two rows, and flowers emerging one or two at a time. In contrast, plants in the section Coriifoliae have inflorescences with thin floral bracts and flowers emerging in all directions and usually all opening at the same time.


Recently, Kim–Kim introduced the [Formula: see text]-umbral calculus, in which the [Formula: see text]-Sheffer sequences occupy the central position. In this paper, we introduce the fully degenerate Bell and the fully degenerate Dowling polynomials, and investigate some properties and identities relating to those polynomials with the help of [Formula: see text]-umbral calculus. Here, we note that the fully degenerate Bell poynomials and the fully degenerate Dowling polynomials are, respectively, degenerate versions of the Bell polynomials and the Dowling polynomials, of which the latters are the natural extension of the Whitney numbers of the second kind.


In this study,the banana yogurt was used as the research object and the sensory evaluation score was used as a measure indicator. For achieving the maximal sensory evaluation score,three fermentation parameters,including lactobacillus addition,fermentation temperature and fermentation time,were optimized using the Box-Behnken central composite design and the response surface methodology was based on single factor investigations. The optimum process parameters were lactobacillus addition 0.1%,fermentation temperature40℃,fermentation time 7.6h and sensory evaluation scores 15.19. The linear regression model between textural properties and sensory evaluation scores was y(sensory evaluation scores) =18.114-0.157x1( hardness)-3.211x2(adhesiveness)-0.324x4(springiness).


METHODS. All patients (n 1⁄4 71) with unilateral idiopathic ERM underwent complete ophthalmologic examination, including measurements of best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), SD-OCT, and mfERG for both eyes. To classify idiopathic ERM by subtype, the morphologic characteristics of the foveal area on representative scanned images were assessed. The five subtypes by foveal SD-OCT morphology included foveaattached ERM with outer retinal thickening and minimal inner retinal change (Group 1A), outer retinal inward projection and inner retinal thickening (Group 1B), and prominent thickening of inner retinal layer (Group 1C) and foveal sparing ERM with formation of macular pseudohole (Group 2A) and with schisislike, intraretinal splitting (Group 2B).


THE LICENSING OF THE CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATION OF SYSTEMS OF PUBLIC PASSENGER TRANSPORT WHICH ACCORDING TO THE PASSENGER TRANSPORT LAW (PBEFG) ARE CLASSED AS TRAMWAYS, IS SUBJECT TO THE "ORDINANCE CONCERNING THE CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATION OF TRAMWAYS" (BOSTRAB). AUTOMATIC TRAFFIC SYSTEMS, WHERE TASKS INVOLVING RESPONSIBILITY FOR SAFETY ARE PERFORMED BY ELECTRONIC DATA PROCESSING EQUIPMENT, ARE NOT COVERED BY BOSTRAB TO A SUFFICIENT DEGREE. FOR THIS REASON THE FEDERAL MINISTER FOR RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY HAS IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE MINISTER FOR TRAFFIC COMMISSIONED THE FORMULATION OF NEW GUIDELINES ON THE SAFETY AND RELIABILITY WHICH WILL BE INCORPORATED IN AN UPDATED VERSION OF BOSTRAB. AMERICAN AUTHORITIES (TRAFFIC MINISTRY) ARE CO-OPERATING IN THIS WORK. THE AIM IS, AMONG OTHER THINGS TO FORMULATE INTERNATIONALLY UNIFORM AND BINDING REGULATIONS.


After Emperor Hui and Emperor Qin had been imprisoned in Wuguocheng they were looking forward to being saved by Emperor Gao day by day,they were living a monotonous,lonely,and desolate prisoner life.They amused themselves with reading,summing up persons,gains and loses,writing poems to each other;complained themselves,describing the pain conditions of their prisoner life.At last suffering form"Plotting rebellion",they successively died in strange place.


This study aims to analyze the influence of organizational culture, organizational commitment and motivation on performance employee at PT. KPP, with a population 77 people are all employees of PT. KPP. The sampling method used is non-probability sampling and the form of the sampling technique is the saturated sampling technique. Multiple linear regressions as the data analysis technique used. There is a significant influence between organizational culture and motivation but organizational commitment does not partially significantly affect the performance of employees of PT. KPP, finding the results of organizational culture, organizational commitment and motivation simultaneously have to effect on the performance of employees PT. KPP


3110 Background: The highly selective oral allosteric modulator of PI3Kδ, roginolisib (IOA-244), blocks the activity of PI3Kδ -dependent signalling, in both tumour cells and Tregs. Methods: Part A explored the continuous daily dosing of roginolisib at 10, 20, 40 and 80 mg in patients (pts) with solid tumours and Follicular Lymphoma (FL). Part B consists of dose confirmation cohorts, including uveal melanoma (UM) pts. Primary objective: safety of the anticipated biologically effective dose (BED), or the recommended phase 2 dose (RP2D). Secondary objectives: PK; PD (e.g., inhibition of CD63 expression on basophils, changes in immune cell subsets in peripheral blood); RECIST 1.1. or Lugano-based responses; PFS and OS. Exploratory studies: phenotypic changes in circulating immune cells by Cytometry by Time of Flight (CyTOF); response assessments by radiomics; analysis of circulating protein signatures via Olink proteomic. Results: Part A Solid Tumour (completed): Sixteen pts were treated in 4 cohorts, each with 4 pts. Pts characteristics: uveal melanoma (9/16; 56%), cutaneous melanoma (5/16; 31%) and pleural mesothelioma (2/16; 13%). Only Grade 1 and 2 AEs by CTCAE v5 were observed, including 2 cases of transient (lasting < 24 hrs) diarrhoea and 2 of AST/ALT elevation. Part A FL Cohort (completed): 8 pts were treated at 20 mg (n=4) and 80 mg (n=4). Grade 3 toxicities were transient and observed in 2/8 (25%) pts. 2/4 pts (50%) at the 80 mg had PR as per Lugano criteria. Neither in the solid tumour nor in the haematology pts treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAE) led to study drug discontinuation, immune related toxicity, or a Dose Limiting Toxicity. Subgroup evaluation: UM pts (Part A and Part B): 24 pts (Part A: 9 pts; Part B ongoing: 15 pts), of which 18 pts treated at 80 mg QD (RP2D). Mean time on treatment: 8.6 mo (range: 1.0-27.9 mo). ORR (RECIST 1.1): PR: 1/20 (5%); SD: 16/20 (80%). Median OS for Part A: 20.8 mo (5/9 with 4 pts alive); Part B: not determined; 1-year OS rate: Part A 66.7%; Part B: ongoing. Exploratory Investigations: Radiomics-based evaluation of CT images in pts with solid tumors assessed each metastatic organ, detecting mixed responses; peripheral proteomic evaluation detected changes in several cytokines and chemokines; CyTOF detected reduction in circulating Tregs associated with increased activated effector CD8+ T cells. Conclusions: Roginolisib is well tolerated at the 80 mg dose, shows signs of efficacy and induces phenotypic changes in the circulating immune cells. As best response at the RP2D, the most robust anti-tumour activity was observed in FL (50% PR) and UM pts (5% PR; 80% SD). Clinical trial information: NCT04328844 .


many of the phenomena they were interested in, particularly those involving organizational and group contexts. At the same time academically based counsellors were developing common research interests with social psychologists in areas such as the counsellor-client relationship, and social processes in the development and treatment of adjustment difficulties. As a result of these developments there has been a dramatic upsurge of interest in the social and clinical psychology interface. Social psychological perspectives have been increasingly applied to a wide range of topics dealing with the development, diagnosis, and treatment of maladaptive behaviours. A new Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology has emerged, and several books have been published of which Leary and Miller's is the most recent documenting and evaluating the explosion in research and theoretical application which has occurred. Their approach to this is frankly social psychological. Thus, they show how social psychological theory and research illuminate clinically relevant phenomena rather than the reverse. In so doing their emphasis falls heavily on recent developments in social cognition, nicely illustrating the massive contribution which the new cognitive emphasis has made to the explanatory scope and power of social psychology. The book is divided into two parts. The first covers the social psychological contribution to the understanding of dysfunctional behaviour, the second elucidates the role of social and interpersonal processes in clinical diagnosis and treatment. In the first part four chapters are devoted to the role of attributions, self processes (such as self-esteem maintenance and the regulation of self-awareness), and impression management theory to maladaptive behaviours in general. The discussion of attribution theory and its treatment implications is extensive, with a particularly thorough treatment of the role of attributional processes and perceived control in depression. There is a fascinating account of self-handicapping behaviours, indicating how self-esteem maintenance can have seemingly paradoxical effects such as chronic underachievement, hypochondriasis, or drug and alcohol abuse. A review of research indicates how impression management has implications for virtually the entire spectrum of pathology, ranging from frank malingering to extremely subtle and sophisticated self-presentational strategies. The first part of the book is concluded by chapters focusing on two specific areas of dysfunction. Firstly, there is a concise yet comprehensive overview of social anxiety and its role in inhibited and avoident behaviours. The recent application of self-presentation theory to this area with its new and important treatment implications is covered in depth. Secondly, there is an overview of social psychological processes in troubled relationships. This nicely sums up clinically relevant implications emerging from the new upsurge of interest in the social psychology of intimate relationships. The second part of the book begins with a broad overview of the errors, biases, distortions, and other limitations of clinical inference and judgment which have been identified. A considerable literature exists on 111


A significant contribution to the overall mechanical behaviour of microstructural materials is provided by the interaction of dislocation movement and grain boundaries. As a consequence, polycrystals are observed to respond with a higher strength for smaller grain sizes, a phenomenon which can not be modeled with classical single crystal plasticity theories. Gradient plasticity theories have been developed to describe this size dependency, assuming that grain boundaries commonly either act as impenetrable obstacles or allow unrestricted dislocation movement, cf. Gurtin (2002). By means of an energetic grain boundary energy approach, the grain boundary conditions can be generalized (see, e.g., Wulfinghoff et al., 2013) to allow for a behaviour in between the two idealized limits. The additional energy contribution rises with increasing plastic flow, and consequently stores energy associated to the plastic or defect state of the grain boundary. In order to extend the in-house finite element implementation to incorporate inclined grain boundaries, a discretization strategy is developed.


The paper holds that Li Sao developed not only the metaphor but also the association,and it creatively integrated both of them,which promoted the attainment of symbolic height,forming the highly integrated symbolic art of the perfect combination of the metaphor and the association.The metaphorical and associative symbolism in Li Sao can be classified into such three groups as single thing,typical plot and the metaphor and association in entire text according to its different objects and different levels,in other words,Li Sao involves the metaphorical and associative symbolism at three planes and in three forms,thus constituting a grand and complete metaphorical and associative symbolic system.This contribution made by Qu Yuan not only greatly enriched,developed and innovated the art of metaphor and association of the Chinese poetry,but also pushed it to a peak which is unprecedented and difficult to reach.Hence,it is of both transitional,unique significance and far-reaching influence.


The ovule of Monotropa Hypopitys is a classic subject of study. It seems first to have been described by Mffller (I847). The development of seeds in this species was described in detail by Koch (I882). Stevens (i9ii) published the first accurate description of the developnment of seed in a species of Ericaceae, Epigaea repens. Samuelsson (I9I3) summarized previous work on the embryology of Ericales and published his own studies of the Scandinavian species. From Samuelsson's work it appears that the course of events is remarkably uniform throughout the order, and that some of the stages are characteristic enough to be diagnostic. A more recent summary is included in Schnarf's (I93I) "Vergleichende Embryologie der Angiospermen."


Discussing the issue of CSR and Social Justice in the Future of the Commercial Contract in Scholarship and Law Reform.


Abstract Little is known about the dynamic relationship between the different funding sources of community-based social care in England. Using Waves 2–6 (2004–2013) of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing survey, I estimated dynamic multi-level cross-classified mixed-effects logistic regression models to investigate whether receiving services by one source is more or less likely if an older person was already receiving services funded by the same source or another in the previous period. Four hypotheses between formal privately and publicly funded help and informal help are tested: substitution, complementarity, compensation and task-specificity. I also report evidence that older people on low incomes residing in local authorities that reduce social care spending are especially affected.


Method and design of a luminaire with curved and illuminated on the front sides light guide. The invention is a method for increasing the efficiency of the panels that regulate the brightness distribution, regulation of the scattering and the regulation of the alignment pattern of the light-emitting panel by bending the light guide body and the compensation of the curvature. The directed from the end faces of the light guide light is incident on the curved outer wall of the light guide at a larger angle and leaves the light guide even more intense at the required location and in a required amount which is proportional to the radius of curvature of the light guide. In 4 is the diagram shown the beam path of the light beam (5) passing through the curved light guide. It was also shown exiting from the light guide body beams (4). The light that passes through the light guide body has the opportunity to leave the light guide without an additionally installed diffusers. The invention makes it possible to achieve a substantial increase in efficiency.


Purpose
This study aims to explore the complexities of methodological, ethical and emotional challenges of studying sensitive and vulnerable communities online from the perspective of simultaneously being a researcher and a research subject. The point of departure for these explorations consists of the author's past and ongoing studies of the role and use of a closed grief support group on Facebook for bereaved parents – a community of which the author is a member. The aim is not to provide ready solutions for "how to do ethics," but rather to contribute to the collective and ongoing work initiated by the Association of Internet Researchers (AoIR), among others, and to recognize the necessity of ethical pluralism, cross-cultural awareness and an interdisciplinary approach.

Design/methodology/approach
This is an explorative study, drawing on an (auto)ethnographic case study. The case serves as a point of departure for discussing the complexities of methodological, ethical and emotional challenges of studying sensitive and vulnerable communities online from the perspective of simultaneously being a researcher and a research subject.

Findings
Being a researcher and a research subject rolled into one, as it were, presents both opportunities and challenges. To conduct responsible research from both these perspectives pose high demands on the researchers' ethical as well as emotional capacities and responsibilities. Hopes and expectancies of the community under study might put the researcher into a dilemma, ethical aspects of anonymity and informed consent might have to be reconsidered as well as emotional challenges of engaging in and with sensitive research, all of which makes for a complex balancing act. Ethics and methods are inextricably intertwined, so are the emotional challenges of conducting sensitive research intermingled. Studying vulnerable individuals and closed communities online highlights the necessity for case and context sensitive research and for flexibility, adaptivity and mindfulness of the researcher. It also highlights the importance of discussing and questioning theoretical, methodological and ethical developments for studying everyday life practices online.

Originality/value
The challenges encountered in this case study contribute to the experientially grounded approach to research ethics emphasized in AoIR's ethics guidelines. This case offers an opportunity to explore and discuss complex issues arising from the researcher's insider position in a closed group devoted to the sensitive topic of supporting bereaved parents. Further, it highlights the necessity for research to be case and context sensitive as well as for the researcher and the research design to be flexible and adaptive. Research on vulnerable communities also heightens the demands of ethical responsibility of the researcher and the research process.


The Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 (YJCEA) introduced a range of special measures to assist vulnerable and intimidated witnesses when giving evidence in criminal proceedings. The Criminal Evidence (Northern Ireland) Order 1999 (CEO) mirrors the full range of measures covered by the YJCEA.


Objective To investigate the peripheral effect of intraarticular injection of leptin on rat cartilage.Methods Leptin(100μg) was injected into the knee joints of SD rats.Tibial plateaus were collected and processed for the expressions of leptin and insulin like growth factor-Ⅰ(IGF-Ⅰ) by reverse transcriptase-PCR and immunohistochemical analysis.Results Leptin induced the synthesis of IGF-Ⅰ in rat cartilage at both the messenger RNA and the protein levels.Conclusion The findings suggest that leptin,as a key regulator of chondrocyte metabolism,has a peripheral protective function on rat cartilage and may play an important role in the pathophysiology of osteoarthritis.


The accelerated development in grid computing has positioned it as a promising next generation computing platform. It enables the creation of virtual organizations (VO) for sharing resources distributed across the world. In order to address complex resource monitors and management issues we have proposed architecture for autonomous grid node agent which is based on grid monitoring architecture (GMA). Currently many grid monitoring software use SNMP which is not flexible as it does not provide publish subscribe model, filtering of the monitored data and does not support push model for monitoring parameters thus generating lot of unwanted network traffic. Our proposed architecture is based on GMA so it provides all these functionalities. We argue that our proposed architecture is autonomous as it provides functionality of equality, locality and self-containment in all MoGiNMA implementations (sub-systems). Equality, locality and self-containment are main components of autonomic controllability in any sub system as part of autonomous distributed system (ADS). We are carrying out the implementation of the proposed system. Our preliminary results show some performance constraints. The overall concept can lead towards autonomous resource management in dynamic systems like grid. We argue that the proposed system will provide strong foundation that lead towards autonomic computing realization environment.


The proportional Shapley value (Besner 2016; Beal et al. 2017; Gangolly 1981) is an proportional counterpart to the Shapley value (Shapley 1953b) in cooperative games. As shown in Besner (2017a), the proportional Shapley value is a convincing non-linear alternative, especially in cost allocation, if the stand alone worths of the players are plausible weights. To enable similar properties for cooperative games with a level structure, we generalize this value. Therefore we adapt the proceeding applied to the weighted Shapley values in Besner (2017b). We present, analogous to the four classes of weighted Shapley levels values in Besner (2017b), four different values, the proportional Shapley hierarchy levels value, the proportional Shapley support levels value, the proportional Shapley alliance levels value and the proportional Shapley collaboration levels value, respectively.


The non-oxidative thermal degradation kinetics and mechanism of poly(2-monochloro, 2, 2-dichloro and 2, 2, 2, -trichloroethyl methacrylates) were studied. The influence of the antioxidant IRGA-NOX 1010 on the thermal degradation of the monochloroethyl derivative was also investigated. Initial hydrolysis data on the major degradation products, the corresponding monomers, were obtained.


Soil quality was quantified using comprehensive indexing method in estuary area in Jiansu province.Soil physico-chemical properties which closely correlated with plant growth were selected.According to the crop effect and the area practical situation,the parabola-type and S-type and Z-type membership function were selected to determine the indices function values.Weight values were determined by principal component and grey association analysis method.The result showed the topsoil was shallow,and the soil or groundwater contained a high level of salinity,and the pH was generally high,and the soil nutrient content was low and disproportional.The principal component and grey association analysis were correlated very well,and the evaluated results were similar.Comprehensive evaluation diagram of soil quality showed the quality was low and the difference of soil quality was obvious in different position.The findings of the study were important references for soil quality improvement and scientific management.


A project to develop an air turbo-ram jet adopting an expander cycle is underway in the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan. This engine, abbreviated as ATREX, is aimed for use in a future reusable space plane in Japan. Many properties of carbon–carbon composites have been discussed to clarify their applicability in many parts of the ATREX engine. Most studies gathered in this Special Issue on 'Carbon–Carbon composites' were carried out to facilitate this project. The material-related results of this project are summarized in the paper 'Applications of carbon– carbon composites to an engine for a future space vehicle'. Two papers, 'Effect of normal stress on the off-axis mechanical behavior of a plain-woven C/C composite' and 'Pitch-based carbon Ž ber reinforced SiC composites for space optics', have no relation with the ATREX project, but have been also carried out as a part of Japanese space projects. Hiroshi Hatta gathered the papers in this issue, and also co-authored eight papers related to the ATREX project. He contributed only to pick up candidate papers and to collect them. These papers were reviewed by at least two independent reviewers under control of Professor N. Takeda, Editor-inChief at the time the papers were submitted. Thus, for these papers, the Advanced Composite Materials quality standard was guaranteed. I am grateful to Professor N. Takeda for giving me the chance to plan this Special Issue, and also grateful to all the contributors to this issue for submitting excellent papers. I hope that this issue will contribute to future works related to carbon– carbon composites, and will facilitate the usage of carbon–carbon composites in space projects.


When we realize Web applications using already existing Web service functions, we often have a situation in which preconditions of Web service function invocations may not be satisfied or necessary data may not be yet provided to produce output Web pages. Traditional approaches to consistency checking of Web service function invocations are use of linear temporal logic formulae and finite-state model based checking. These approaches may not be for every programmers. In this paper we propose an easy-to-use method for consistency checking of Web service function invocations. Our approach uses preconditions and postconditions of Web service function invocations and computation of weakest execution states.


A method is presented that makes use of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements to differentiate between mobile and immobile pore fractions in an organic peat specimen. The method is based on the T1 relaxation mechanism and uses a paramagnetic reagent to mark the effective (mobile) pore space in the specimen under examination. A setup has been developed that allows controlled fluid flow through an NMR specimen while it is positioned in a magnet. Results from tests using fluid‐filled glass tubes illustrate the application of the method and verify its accuracy. Results from a test using a peat moss specimen demonstrate the use of the method during a flow experiment in a wetland soil.


In recent years, studies focusing on public relations education and practice have shown dissatisfaction by workplace professionals in regard to the level of abilities, skills, and experience of recent college graduates entering the profession. But studies have not clearly documented what skills employers rate most valuable. This research is a first effort in that regard. A survey of public relations professionals, many of whom had more than 20 years of experience in the field, identified key skills, abilities and experience that entry-level public relations professionals should posses. Introduction More than a decade ago, James Axtell made note of disheartening issues in higher education – too many students, too many curricular and institutional demands, and grossly insufficient resources to support it all (2003). This assessment still rings true. In recent years, as the nation's economy destabilized and state budget deficits climbed (Kelderman, 2008), politicians became less interested in the public good that comes from higher education (Miller, 2008) and more interested in relieving government of education's financial burden. Private colleges and universities also came under stress in the competition for financial support. Higher education faculties, just as they were a decade ago, are strained to provide students the best possible learning experience as resources diminish (Hersh & Merrow, 2005). At the same time, employers continue to be unhappy with the knowledge and skills of new graduates. In 2008, a survey found many employers believed undergraduates were underprepared for the realities of the workplace (Kuh, 2008). A recent study focusing on communication educators reached the conclusion that educators are not as proactive as they need to be in finding out about the realities of the workplace and how undergraduates need to prepared (Moody & Bates, 2013). In the workplace, many professional communicators "are not convinced that educators are teaching students the communication skills they need to effectively work in today's industry" (Todd, 2009, p. 80). At the same time, undergraduate students increasingly look to higher education for its career advancement potential more so than for learning and personal growth. A recent study showed undergraduates' main reason for attending college is "to get a better job" (Grasser, 2013, p. 88). In order to get that better job, new college graduates need to be better prepared than their competition. But what exactly does better preparation require – particularly in an increasingly technological field such as public relations? What kinds of technological abilities, skills, and experience do employers most want entry-level college graduates in Critical Communications Skills 3 public relations to demonstrate? This study surveyed public relations professionals in one of the most dynamic, competitive markets in the United States in an effort to find out. The answers help us understand what employers are looking for, and how graduates should prepare for the realities of today's public relations workplace. The answers can also help public relations educators, already struggling to balance workloads amid increasing institutional demands for research and publication (Gose, 2010; Wilson, 2010), establish their priorities and do more with less. Literature Review This section will present what recent research has documented about common workplace expectations in public relations. It will discuss the recommendations of the Commission on Public Relations Education and the common challenges identified in preparing college students for the technological expectations of the public relations profession. All of this will serve to establish the conceptual context for this study wherein we ask workplace professionals to rate the importance of entry-level practitioners being technologically prepared. The Public Relations Society of America describes the profession as encompassing "a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics" (What is public relations?, 2012, para. 4). Traditionally, PR has been recognized as a profession intent on controlling and responding to the communication of various publics, while attempting to develop mutually beneficial relationships with those publics (Newsom & Scott, 1985). In the formative years of public relations at the end of World War II, the profession was by nature more purposedriven than function-oriented (Bivins, 1993). This orientation seems to have changed in recent years. As we enter the 21 Century, the public relations field is characterized by monumental change as a result of technological advancement, a new and powerful social media landscape, and shifts in client expectations. International public relations is experiencing explosive growth. Nations such as South Korea and China are emerging as world communications leaders. The result is an increased worldwide competitiveness and new challenges to long-held beliefs about appropriate ethical and technical practice (Jeong, 2011). The change has reshuffled our understanding of what is – and is not – valuable knowledge and skill. Some futurists believe the weakening of journalistic institutions and the rise of social media will make public relations the primary conduit for information dissemination to the world community (Sullivan, 2011). In PR today, job security is dictated by one's ability to "actively engage in social media in a pragmatic, controlled and open manner" (Cahill, 2009, p. 26). This necessitates that PR professionals not only grasp the concept of social media's power, but also be able to use media tools in ways that were formerly more closely associated with marketing than with public relations. Critical Communications Skills 4 The change faced by the profession is exemplified by the recent reinvention of one of the world's leading PR firms. In early 2011, GolinHarris radically restructured itself and abolished its seniority-based hierarchy in favor of working groups that are focused around specific client situations and connected 24/7 by social media technology. Many see GolinHarris as the model of the agency of the future (Barrett, 2011). In this new public relations model, a lack of understanding about the impact of social media or a slow response to events that incubate through social media can dramatically impact a PR campaign. There have been numerous examples in recent years. Some reflected appropriate corporate understanding of the new realities (Olenski, 2012; Schreiner, 2011) while others reflected corporate confusion or lethargy (Jacques, 2009; Kiley, 2011). As PR and other related professions rapidly embrace increased computer-mediated communication, one might expect universal agreement in the business community that new college graduates need more technical skills. However, this has not been the case. In 2007, the National Leadership Council for Liberal Education & America's Promise offered a report with "four essential learning outcomes" for all college undergraduates (College learning for the new global. . ., 2007, p. 12). These outcomes included: Knowledge of human cultures and the physical and natural world, personal and social responsibility, and integrated learning. Also included was "intellectual and practical skills. . . including information literacy." None of these outcomes identified specific technical skills that should be possessed by new college graduates. In fact, the report offered a strong defense of a collegiate education that allows graduates to be "broadly prepared" rather than educated to specific technical competencies. "Employers do not want, and have not advocated for, students prepared for narrow workforce specialties," said Roberts T. Jones, president, Education Workforce Policy LLC (2007, p. 16). Jones and other business executives quoted in the report repeatedly argued for general critical thinking skills across in a wide range of subjects and issues, as opposed to a focused technical knowledge or skill set. Another report, also drafted under the supervision of the American Association of Colleges & Universities, referenced more than 800 interviews conducted with small business leaders and CEOs in 2006. The report concluded that executives believe "real world application of knowledge" was critical (How should colleges prepare. . .,2006, p. 2). Only 22% of the business leaders surveyed supported a primary focus on knowledge and skill in a specific field. None of the "most important skills" identified in the report were technical competencies (p. 5). In 2006, the Commission on Public Relations Education, a group of educators and practitioners from a dozen different professional societies, recommended seven categories of college courses "that are essential for a quality public relations education" (The Professional Bond. . .,2006, p. 9). CoPRE's curriculum categories included planning and management, writing and production, a review of professional practice, and Critical Communications Skills 5 campaigns. Two additional recommended areas included public relations elective options and "supervised work experience." The CoPRE recommendations are recognized worldwide as the standard for undergraduate public relations education. In 2010, Toth and Aldoory published a study of more than 200 public relations programs in 39 countries. The researchers found the number of programs was growing and that curriculum generally reflected the CoPRE's recommendations. One of Toth and Aldoory's key conclusions was that undergraduate PR education exists to prepare future public relations professionals "to assume technical and managerial positions" (pp. 13-14). A recent survey of 274 public relations practitioners of different levels of experience and in a variety of workplace environments found strong acknowledgement of the importance of technical skills in public relations practice (Hays & S


A recent study investigated the influence of lighting on crime by considering the effect of change in ambient light level on crimes recorded in three US cities for the ten-year period 2010 to 2019. The results suggested a significant increase in robbery after dark, but did not suggest significant change in for any other type of crime. The current study was conducted to validate this by considering crimes recorded in three different US cities. This analysis confirmed the statistically significant increase in robbery after dark. These data do not suggest that change in ambient light level has a practically relevant effect on overall crime counts: in other words, the potential benefit of lighting for crime reduction is limited.


ABSTRACT Muehlenbeckia astonii Petrie (Polygonaceae) is a nationally endangered shrub undergoing widespread recruitment failure in the wild. Seed germination, dormancy and longevity were investigated to determine factors potentially constraining M. astonii regeneration and population persistence. Muehlenbeckia astonii seeds were collected from restoration plants sourced from Kaitorete Spit, Canterbury. Germination percentage of untreated control seeds in a growth room (20 °C with 16 hours of light daily) was compared with that of seeds in two treatments: (1) chilled at 4 °C for 2 weeks; and (2) chilled for 12 weeks. I also investigated seed longevity by comparing germination of unburied, 6-month old, cold-stratified M. astonii seeds with germination of seeds buried in the field and retrieved after 1–4 years. All seeds were sown in pots outdoors. In the growth room, 24% of untreated M. astonii seeds germinated, while cold-stratification for either 2 or 12 weeks increased germination significantly (to 76%). In the seed longevity experiment, 85.2% of unburied M. astonii seeds sown 6 months after collection germinated. Muehlenbeckia astonii seeds survived burial under the soil in the field for up to 4 years. However, germination declined rapidly to 27.6% after burial for 1 year, and only 2.8% of the seeds germinated after 4 years of burial. The high germination of cold-stratified seeds suggests that low seed viability is not limiting M. astonii regeneration at Kaitorete Spit. Muehlenbeckia astonii has the potential to form a soil seed bank, which may buffer small, isolated populations from local extinction in the short term (< 5 years).


A model of information and communication system is presented in the form of 4 main states: serviceable and unserviceable, each of them may be both in operative and standby modes. The main object of analysis is failure and appropriate parameters: mean time between failures, availability coefficient, reliability probability, probability of survivability, an average total risk of failure probability.


Ceramic industry wastewaters not only contain high total suspended solids but also significant amounts of dissolved organics resulting in high BOD or COD loads. Suspended solids can be removed from the wastewater by chemical precipitation. However, dissolved BOD/COD compounds can only be removed by biological or chemical oxidation. Effluent wastewater from chemical sedimentation stage of ceramic industry was characterized and subjected to biological treatment in a laboratory scale activated sludge unit. Experiments were conducted at different conditions and solids retention times. The best results were obtained with mixed liquor suspended solids 3000 MLSS and 6 hrs. of solids retention times (sludge age) resulting in effluent COD and BOD concentration of 0 mg/l from a feed wastewater of 4000 mg/l COD and 150 mg/l BOD contents. Keyword: Ceramic industry, wastewater treatment, aerobic and anaerobic techniques. Introduction There are numerous processes that can be used to clean up waste waters depending on the type and extent of contamination. Most wastewater is treated in industrial-scale wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) which may include physical, chemical and biological treatment processes. However, the use of septic tanks and other On-Site Sewage Facilities (OSSF) is widespread in rural areas, serving up to one quarter of the homes in the U.S.[1-6]. The most important aerobic treatment system is the activated sludge process, based on the maintenance and recirculation of a complex biomass composed by micro-organisms able to absorb and adsorb the organic matter carried in the wastewater. Anaerobic processes are widely applied in the treatment of industrial wastewaters and biological sludge. Some wastewater may be highly treated and reused as reclaimed water. For some waste waters ecological approaches using reed bed systems [7-9] such as constructed wetlands may be SALAH ABDEL -GHANI ABO EL-ENEIN, et al. appropriate. Modern systems include tertiary treatment by micro filtration or synthetic membranes. After membrane filtration, the treated wastewater is indistinguishable from waters of natural origin of drinking quality. Nitrates can be removed from wastewater by microbial denitrification, for which a small amount of methanol is typically added to provide the bacteria with a source of carbon. Ozone wastewater treatment is also growing in popularity [10-12] and requires the use of an ozone generator, which decontaminates the water as Ozone bubbles percolate through the tank. Disposal of wastewaters from an industrial plant is a difficult and costly problem. Most petroleum refineries, chemical and petrochemical plants [13-18] have onsite facilities to treat their wastewaters so that the pollutant concentrations in the treated wastewater comply with the local and/or national regulations regarding disposal of wastewaters into community treatment plants or into rivers, lakes or oceans. Other Industrial processes that produce a lot of wastewaters such as paper and pulp production has created environmental concern leading to development of processes to recycle water use within plants before they have to be cleaned and disposed of.[19-22] The aim of this study is to investigate the most effective methods for ceramic industrial wastewater treatment ; The study includes : 1Identifying the pollutants of industrial wastewater from ceramic industrial in Egypt and determining its concentration (heavy metals such as, Pb, Al, Cu, Zn, Fe and Ni and monitoring the nitrogen and phosphorus compounds besides physical parameters such as pH, conductivity, TDS and chemical parameters such as dissolved oxygen, biochemical oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, anions, alkalinity, hardness and some organic substances as phenol, oil and grease, total organic carbon and protein). 2Using pilot plant for biological treatment (aerobic and/or anaerobic) via varying some essential parameters (as activated sludge concentration, time) and others constants (as temperature, flow rate) to give the optimum conditions to get the best results of treatment. 3Using jar test for chemical treatment by using different coagulants with varying concentrations to get the optimum concentration of each one and identify the best coagulant which gives the best results. 2 INDUSTRIAL WASTEWATER TREATMENT AND ITS IMPACT ....... Experimental Materials All chemicals used are of analytical grade and used as purchased with further purification. Collection of industrial wastewater sample from subsurface out flow effluents of Ceramic industry (at 6 th October city) in the Summer 2007. Techniques used in treatment process Biological treatment Anaerobic digestion Anaerobic digestion is a bacterial process that is carried out in the absence of oxygen. The process can either be thermophilic digestion,[2326] in which sludge is fermented in tanks at a temperature of 55°C, or mesophilic, at a temperature of around 36°C. Though allowing shorter retention time and thus smaller tanks. Thermophilic digestion is more expensive in terms of energy consumption for heating the sludge. Anaerobic mesophilic digestion is the most common treatment of domestic sewage in septic tanks, which normally retain the sewage from one day to two days, reducing the BOD by about 35 to 40 percent, [27-30]. This reduction can be increased with a combination of anaerobic and aerobic treatment by installing Aerobic Treatment Units (ATUs) in the septic tank. One major feature of anaerobic digestion is the production of biogas with the most useful component being methane which can be used in generators for electricity production and/or in boilers for heating purposes. Aerobic digestion Aerobic digestion is a bacterial process occurring in the presence of oxygen. Under aerobic conditions, bacteria rapidly consume organic matter and convert it into carbon dioxide. The operating costs used to be characteristically much greater for aerobic digestion because of the energy used by the blowers, pumps and motors needed to add oxygen to the process. Aerobic digestion can also be achieved by using diffuser systems or jet aerators to oxidize the sludge [31-33]. Fine bubble diffusers are typically the more costefficient diffusion method; however, plugging is typically a problem due to sediment settling into the smaller air holes. Coarse bubble diffusers are more commonly used in activated sludge tanks (generally a side process in waste water management) or in 3 SALAH ABDEL -GHANI ABO EL-ENEIN, et al. the flocculation stages. A key component for selecting diffuser type is to ensure it will produce the required oxygen transfer rate. Chemical treatment Coagulation results from the addition and rapid mixing of coagulant with the wastewater to neutralize surface charges, collapse the surface layer around the particles and allow the participles to come together and agglomerate. The resulting formulation, called a floc, can more readily settle. As the floc settles, it interacts with more particles, and allows the floc to grow in size [34-35]. A number of coagulants are in common use. The most popular coagulants are alum, ferric chloride and polyacrylamide was added incrementally the lowest dosage that provides good turbidity removal in jar test is considered the first trial dosage in plant operation. Instruments Ion chromatography DX -120 using Dionex ion Pac. As 14 columns was used to measure the liberated ions (Chloridenitrate, nitrite, fluride, bromide and sulphate.). Using eluent consisted of 2:7 sodium carbonate: sodium bicarbonate mixture and the flow rate was 1.2ml/min . Multimeters WTW (wissen shftlichtechnickewerkstatten Gmbh) inolab multi was used for measuring pH, salinity, conductivity, dissolved solids and total dissolved solids. The pH electrodes were standardized under controlled parameter using a standard buffer solution of pH 4 before measurement of the water sample. Electrical conductivity was determined using special electrodes. The conductivity measurement was carried out several times with distilled water and then a standard potassium chloride solution used as a reference. Dissolved oxygen was determined using another electrode. Spectrophotometer UV-9200 UV-VIS spectrophotometer was used in wavelength range 330-990 nm to measure the total phosphate at λ = 690 nm. Where's a series of different concentrations of standard phosphate were prepared and used for the construction of calibration graph measurement at λ = 690 nm. Cecil 7200 diffuse reflectance spectrometer at scanning speed 4000nm/mm and a band width of 2 nm was used to measure the total phosphate at λ = 690 nm 4 INDUSTRIAL WASTEWATER TREATMENT AND ITS IMPACT ....... Turbidity meter TW (WissenshaftlichTechnische werkst atten GmbH) was used. The turbidity cell was rinsed several times with distilled water before sample analysis. Before that the instrument was standardized with a standard solution. Atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS) The samples solution was measured using atomic absorption spectro-photometer model (Aurora AA110 – Canada). The nitrous oxide and acetylene flame were used in the determination. the metal concentrations The jar test Effectiveness of chemical coagulation .The jar test is stirring device. Which consists of six paddles capable of variable speed operation between 0 and 100 rpm. , Fig (1). 5 Fig (1): Stirring device used in a jar tests for chemical coagulation SALAH ABDEL -GHANI ABO EL-ENEIN, et al. The pilot plant For biological treatment., It consists generally of the bioreactor aeration tank, anaerobic tank, pumps ,valves .The big container has the influent wastewater has a large pump with certain rate of pumping to a first column (primary settling tank ) with constant flow rate can be adjusted by a valve to this column to settle about 2 hours then the effluent to the following tank by certain rate adjusted to aeration tank to stay about 2-8 hours with certain volume A.S ( MLSS) in two periods with different aeration


Trends in the number of severe storms defined using the 95th and 99th percentiles of 6‐hourly pressure changes were analyzed for 268 stations in mainland China over the period 1954–2004. Significant decreases were detected in northeastern, central and western parts of the country over the past 50 years, mainly due to the reduction of severe storms in winter and spring. In contrast, some stations on the east coast and in the southeast exhibited significant increasing trends, particularly during the typhoon season (June–October). Significant increasing trends in the maximum wind speed and decreasing trends in the lowest central pressure of landfalling tropical storms and typhoons are also found during the past half century. Thus the typhoon influence over east and southeast China has intensified.


Mathematical epidemiological models for the dynamics of infections that induce lifelong immunity have been extensively developed. In this work, we consider a nonlinear SIR model given by a nonlinear system describing the dynamics of the interaction between susceptible and infective individuals in population. We analyze the dynamical behavior of the nonlinear system and then use two types of control vaccination and treatment to reduce the susceptible and infective individuals and increase the number of recovered individuals. The optimality system is derived and then solved numerically using an iterative method with Runge-Kutta fourth order scheme.


Inhibition of angiogenesis has emerged as an important therapeutic strategy in a variety of solid tumors. This is particularly true in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC), who could potentially benefit from three approved angiogenesis inhibitors that target vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) signaling: bevacizumab, sunitinib, and sorafenib. Combining agents with related targets may enhance antitumor activity through vertical inhibition of a single pathway in which blockade is reinforced at multiple sites. This strategy has been used successfully in infectious disease, where the combination of two bacteriostatic agents (trimethoprim and sulfamethoxazole) targeting the folate pathway at two different levels led to a widely available bactericidal antibiotic (cotrimoxazole). The study by Feldman et al in this issue of Journal of Clinical Oncology is a phase I trial combining bevacizumab and sunitinib in patients with metastatic RCC. The underlying hypothesis of this trial is that this combination is expected to provide more effective blockade and enhanced antitumor efficacy, even though no preclinical evaluation of either the efficacy or the toxicity of such a combination is available in the literature. This is probably due to the inability of bevacizumab to block mouse VEGF and the scant availability of its murine equivalent. However, multiple theoretical arguments can be put forward to support the bevacizumab/sunitinib combination. Beyond the maximal blockade of the VEGF pathway, one can argue that these agents can potentially act complementarily based on the different mechanisms of action underlying each strategy. In particular, bevacizumab blocks the neuropilin pathway, which is not affected by sunitinib; conversely, sunitinib blocks c-KIT, which is not affected by bevacizumab. Neuropilins, first described as coreceptors implicated in neuronal guidance, are also expressed in endothelial cells where they act as coreceptors of VEGF receptor 2 (VEGFR2) and bind VEGF165. As mentioned, no preclinical model was available to predict the safety of this combination before the conduct of this clinical trial. Although the combination of cytotoxic agents usually leads to the addition of common toxicities (such as neutropenia, anemia, and thrombocytopenia), it cannot be assumed that molecular targeted agents (MTAs) will give rise to similar adverse effects, especially if they inhibit different signaling pathways. Two safe MTAs may lead to synergistic toxicity because of different toxicity profiles and the inhibition of different targets, in contrast to the additive hematologic toxicity profiles of most chemotherapies. In this respect, the preclinical evaluation of a combination of MTAs appears to be an important prerequisite to phase I clinical trials. This may help anticipate unexpected toxicities specific to each MTA combination. Interestingly enough, an analysis of the literature shows that available preclinical models, before implementation of the current phase I trial by Feldman et al, suggested that downregulation or neutralization of circulating VEGF may play an important role in the induction of proteinuria (and kidney failure), as described in various kidney diseases and in women with pre-eclampsia. The phase I trial reported by Feldman et al is striking because of the high degree of vascular, renal, and hematologic toxicities reported, along with the timing of the occurrence of such events, most frequently beyond cycle 1. The traditional approach in oncology phase I clinical trials is to determine the maximum-tolerated dose (MTD) with a dose-escalation approach. In classic phase I trials, dose-limiting toxicities are defined during the first cycle of treatment. With cytotoxic drugs, the MTD (ie, the upper limit of the therapeutic range) is usually associated with the maximum clinical benefit. However, evidence suggests that the MTD of antiangiogenic agents is not necessarily the most effective dose. Moreover, identifying both acute and long-term toxicities associated with MTA is important for the management of patients who will be chronically exposed to these agents. Late toxicities appearing beyond cycle 1 do not define the dose-limiting toxicity and MTD but may lead to clinically unacceptable toxic profiles. The most frequently reported grade 3/4 adverse events in this trial included hypertension (60%), proteinuria (36%), and thrombocytopenia (24%). Furthermore, five patients had laboratory and clinical features consistent with microangiopathic hemolytic anemia (MAHA). We will comment on the frequency and pathophysiology of hypertension, proteinuria, MAHA, and thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA), as currently reported with antiangiogenic agents. Hypertension is one of the most frequently observed adverse effects of systemic inhibition of VEGF signaling. In the trial reported by Feldman et al, most of the patients experienced hypertension (92%) and 60% exhibited grade 3/4 hypertension. A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials with patients receiving bevacizumab indicated a relative risk of 3.0 for hypertension with bevacizumab at a low dose (2.5 to 7.5 mg/kg) and 7.5 at a high dose (10 to 15 mg/kg). The overall incidence of bevacizumab-related hypertension was as high as 32%, with 11% to 16% of patients experiencing grade 3 hypertension requiring intensive antihypertensive therapy; 1% had a life-threatening grade 4 hypertensive crisis. The incidence of hypertension in patients on sunitinib was 24% (8% had grade 3) in a phase JOURNAL OF CLINICAL ONCOLOGY E D I T O R I A L VOLUME 27 NUMBER 9 MARCH 2


In the central nervous system, noradrenaline transmission controls the degree to which we are awake, alert, and attentive. Aberrant noradrenaline transmission is associated with pathological forms of hyper- and hypo-arousal that present in numerous neuropsychiatric disorders often associated with dysfunction in serotonin transmission. In vivo, noradrenaline regulates the release of serotonin because noradrenergic input drives the serotonin neurons to fire action potentials via activation of excitatory α1-adrenergic receptors (α1-AR). Despite the critical influence of noradrenaline on the activity of dorsal raphe serotonin neurons, the source of noradrenergic afferents has not been resolved and the presynaptic mechanisms that regulate noradrenaline-dependent synaptic transmission have not been described. Using an acute brain slice preparation from male and female mice and electrophysiological recordings from dorsal raphe serotonin neurons, we found that selective optogenetic activation of locus coeruleus terminals in the dorsal raphe was sufficient to produce an α1-AR-mediated excitatory postsynaptic current (α1-AR-EPSC). Activation of inhibitory α2-adrenergic receptors (α2-AR) with UK-14,304 eliminated the α1-AR-EPSC via presynaptic inhibition of noradrenaline release, likely via inhibition of voltage-gated calcium channels. In a subset of serotonin neurons, activation of postsynaptic α2-AR produced an outward current through activation of potassium conductance. Further, in vivo activation of α2-AR by systemic administration of clonidine reduced the expression of c-fos in the dorsal raphe serotonin neurons, indicating reduced neural activity. Thus, α2-AR are critical regulators of serotonin neuron excitability.


The prevalence of coeliac disease (CD) in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is unclear since evidence of this co -association is scarce. Furthermore, CD -specific antibodies have been described in patients with SLE without biopsy -confirmed CD. Here we describe the diagnostic challenges of CD in a patient suffering from SLE and secondary antiphospholipid syndrome, with transient positive serum levels of CD -specific antibodies, with an increased genetic risk for CD, demonstrated by HLA-DQ2 positivity. Guidance is still needed for the CD diagnosis in some atypical conditions.


Drawing on broaden-and-build theory and promotion- and prevention-focus theory, the authors examined the role of positive and negative affectivity (PANA) on the riskiness of investment decisions. The authors also examined the mediating impact of financial knowledge network intensity (i.e. the level of communication with financially literate others in employees' social network) on the PANA—riskiness of investment decisions relationship.,Study 1 used a sample of undergraduate students and operationalized risk using a hypothetical investment scenario. Study 2 replicated and extended the Study 1 findings using employees and operationalized risk using their real-world investment allocations.,Both Studies 1 and 2 provided support for the negative direct relationship between NA and the riskiness of investment decisions. Study 2 found PA was marginally positively related to the riskiness of investment decisions. Financial knowledge network intensity mediated the relationship between NA and the riskiness of investment decisions in Study 2.,The findings suggest that employees who see the world in a generally negative light tended to have weaker financial knowledge networks, and this may be one mechanism that explains why they make low-risk investments.,Financial knowledge networks can provide access to critical information regarding investment opportunities. Socialization training or social mixers can be used to help employees build and improve their financial knowledge networks.,The authors integrate the research on PANA, social networks, and investment decisions to illuminate the social network processes that explain how affectivity impacts the riskiness of retirement investment decisions.


The hypoxic environment in tumor is reported to play an important role in pancreatic cancer progression. The interaction between stromal and cancer cells also contributes to the malignant behavior of pancreatic cancer. In the present study, we investigated whether hypoxic stimulation affects stromal as well as pancreatic cancer cells. Our findings demonstrated that hypoxia remarkably elevated the HIF‐1α expression in both pancreatic cancer (PK8) and fibroblast cells (MRC5). Hypoxic stimulation accelerated the invasive activity of PK8 cells, and invasiveness was thus further accelerated when the hypoxic PK8 cells were cultured with conditioned medium prepared from hypoxic MRC5 cells (hypoxic conditioned medium). MMP‐2, MMP‐7, MT1‐MMP and c‐Met expressions were increased in PK8 cells under hypoxia. Hypoxic stimulation also increased the hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) secretion from MRC5 cells, which led to an elevation of c‐Met phosphorylation in PK8 cells. Conversely, the elevated cancer invasion, MMP activity and c‐Met phosphorylation of PK8 cells were reduced by the removal of HGF from hypoxic conditioned medium. In immunohistochemical study, the HIF‐1α expression was observed in surrounding stromal as well as pancreatic cancer cells, thus indicating hypoxia exists in both of cancer and stromal cells. Moreover, the stromal HGF expression was found to significantly correlate with not only the stromal HIF‐1α expression but also the c‐Met expression in cancer cells. These results indicate that the hypoxic environment within stromal as well as cancer cells activates the HGF/c‐Met system, thereby contributing to the aggressive invasive features of pancreatic cancer. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Television in China is a massive industry in terms of sheer scale. It employs an army of people and broadcasts to the world's largest national audience. The industry is characterised by a few highly profitable media organisations—mostly in the big cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, a small number of entrepreneurial provincial networks and satellite stations, and a multitude of low profit provincial, city and cable stations.

This chapter discusses the role of industry structure and its impact upon performance and innovation. It argues that structure—as much as ideology—has constrained competition and development in Chinese television. The discussion shows how hybrid organizational forms such as clusters, networks and inter-firm projects are redrawing the television production environment in China. More stations are entering into co-production arrangements, together with sometimes innovative forms of revenue sharing. The impact of these changes will inevitably be felt in economic performance with China establishing greater rapport with international media markets and international practices. The chapter argues that institutional transition within the Chinese television industry embodies three evolutionary stages: the hierarchical period (—1990s), the proto-media market (1990s), and the network media economy (2000—now). Using these frames I show how enterprise models co-exist with non-competitive practices.


In this work, the liquid photonic crystal (olive oil) was injected in fiber to enhance the optical amplification of light according to Raman amplification technique. In this work it was used three types of fibers (LMA, ESM and Hollow core) fibers. The gain has been calculated for the three type of fibers (LMA, ESM and Hollow Core) fibers as (19.46 dB, 8.473 dB and 0.325 dB) respectively, also, the noise of these three type of fibers has been calculated as (-17.71 dB, -8.026 dB and 24.72 dB) respectively. Then, it was compared among these three types of fiber.


This journal was established by INSAR and first went to press in March 2008, under the Editorship of Tony Bailey. I was interested to see that the first ever issue carried, as its "Society Page", the program for IMFAR 2008 in London—where I was lucky enough to give the opening keynote lecture! Over the subsequent 6 years, Tony has done a wonderful job as Editor in Chief, ably assisted by Peter Mundy and John Sutcliffe as Assistant Editors. Autism Research now has an impact factor of 4.53 and is ranked 4/65 in PsychologyDevelopmental, and 5/49 in Behavioral Sciences journals, according to ISI Journal Citation Reports 2013. Earlier this year, Tony informed the INSAR Board of his intention to step down as Editor in Chief of Autism Research in order to have more time for his own research and clinical work. We are hugely grateful to him for his many years of service to the journal and the Society, and for bringing the journal to such a strong position in the field. You will have noticed that in earlier Society Pages I announced the search for a new Editor in Chief and a call for nominations. The Board was delighted to receive applications from some very distinguished international figures in the world of autism research; this testifies to the status of the journal, as well as the importance placed on this type of academic service by already over-worked autism researchers! After careful deliberation, the INSAR Board is delighted to be able to announce that David Amaral will be the new Editor in Chief of Autism Research. Not only is David a leading figure in the field, and Director of Research at the MIND Institute, University of California, he is also Past-President of INSAR (2009–2011) with a long-standing involvement with the Society. I'm very much looking forward to working with David, who will join the Board again as an ex-officio member this autumn. I know he will take the journal in new and exciting directions, and I am sure of his commitment to the success of Autism Research. We are fortunate indeed to have such a notable scientist as Editor in Chief of INSAR's journal. Early in the new year we will also be asking INSAR members to vote for three important Board positions for 2015–2017. We will be electing a new Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer of INSAR, to replace the wonderful David Mandell, Connie Kasari and Jamie McPartland in these roles. The three new Board members will join the Board in May 2015, working with the past-Treasurer (Jamie McPartland), Past-President (myself) and incoming President (Geri Dawson), as well as our new Editor-in-Chief of Autism Research (David Amaral). Please check the INSAR Website for details and look out for voting opening in January 2015. Lastly, as we look forward to IMFAR 2015 May 13–16 in Salt Lake City, Utah, remember to renew your membership of INSAR by December 31st for 2015. Membership (which dues have not risen since the Society was founded) gives you reduced registration fees for IMFAR, access to this journal, eligibility for INSAR travel and other awards, and a range of other member benefits. To cover the administrative costs of processing new or lapsed memberships, INSAR now charges an application fee—so don't let your membership lapse. New membership applications and applications to rejoin must be submitted by March 1, 2015 if you want to join prior to IMFAR and register for the meeting at the member rate. Note that this year we have introduced extremely low membership rates for those from low/middle income countries, to try to ensure that INSAR really is the international society for everyone researching autism, across the globe.


The Danish flexicurity model has attracted attention among policymakers in Europe, because it suggests that a flexible labor market can coexist with a generous welfare system to achieve low unemployment. Using a panel of 19 countries over 1960-2002, the paper identifies the elements of the flexicurity model that may have contributed to the low unemployment rate. A theoretical model of dynamic policies is constructed to analyze whether the model can be emulated by other countries. Focusing on the financing aspect, the paper finds that effective implementation will depend on the initial unemployment level and budgetary situation of the country.


The purpose of this study is to investigate the racial differences in investment behavior, specifically, the behavior of investing in stocks. Previous research shows that Blacks/African Americans are less likely to own stocks than Whites/Caucasians. Using the Health and Retirement Study survey data, this study examines the relationship between stock ownership and races. The results of this study are consistent with previous research that Whites do behave differently from Blacks and they are more likely to own stocks. But the results also indicate this racial difference is related to the racial differences in the determinants of stock ownership, rather than to race itself.


We study the cohomology ring of the complementM(A) of a manifold arrangement A in a smooth manifold M without boundary. We first give the concept of monoidal presheaf on a locally geometric poset L, and then define the generalized Orlik–Solomon algebra A∗(L, C) over a commutative ring with unit, which is built by the classical Orlik–Solomon algebra and a monoidal presheaf C as coefficients. Furthermore, we construct a monoidal presheaf Ĉ(A) associated withA, so that the generalized Orlik–Solomon algebra A∗(L, Ĉ(A)) becomes a double complex with suitable multiplication structure and the associated total complex Tot(A∗(L, Ĉ(A))) is a differential algebra. Our main result is that H∗(Tot(A∗(L, Ĉ(A)))) is isomorphic to H∗(M(A)) as algebras. Our argument is of topological with the use of a spectral sequence induced by a geometric filtration associated with A. In particular, we also discuss the mixed Hodge complex structure on our model if M and all elements in A are complex smooth varieties, and show that it induces the canonical mixed Hodge structure ofM(A). As an application, we calculate the cohomology of chromatic configuration spaces, which agrees with many known results in some special cases. In addition, some explicit formulas with respect to Poincaré polynomial and chromatic polynomial are also given.


The invention discloses a kind of vegetable dish stand, it by pillar (1) and be enclosed within pillar (1) if on dried layer six dish stand hands form;Described six dish stand handss form with two three dish stand handss (2);Described three dish stand handss (2) are by center block set (3), torr arm (4), consist of torr arm (4) three annulus torr hands (5) being connected in center block set (3);The present invention designs and ingenious rationally takies desktop area little, can adjust as required and can house vegetable dish number, handling and easy to use, can use as food serving trays.


Using Kadeishvili's formulas with appropriate signs, we show that the classical cobar construction from coalgebras to algebras \Omega: CoAlg -> Alg can be enhanced to a functor from Hopf algebras to E_2 algebras (for a certain choice of E_2 operad) \Omega : HopfAlg -> E_2 Alg, which, unlike its classical counterpart, is not strictly adjoint, but homotopically equivalent to the left adjoint of the enhanced bar construction B: E_2 Alg -> HopfAlg studied by Gerstenhaber--Voronov and Fresse.


Background:AIDS reporting in Switzerland is mandatory by law. For the first time since the beginning of the epidemic, health authorities observed a decline in AIDS surveillance reports, from 545 new cases in 1995 to 459 in 1996, a decrease of 86 cases. Objective:To examine the extent to which this decline in AIDS surveillance reports is attributable to the introduction of antiretroviral combination therapy. Patients and setting:Swiss HIV Cohort Study, a multicentre cohort of adult HIV-infected patients with national coverage. Participants at risk of developing a first AIDS-defining event, defined as persons with a CD4 cell count below 200 × 106/l or in clinical stage B, were studied. Methods:A parametric statistical survival model was used to estimate the number of AIDS cases expected in the absence of combination therapies. Taking reporting delays into account, the effect of the introduction of combination therapies in the cohort on national AIDS reports was estimated from the difference between the number of expected and observed cases. Results:A total of 4915 participants contributed 10 755 person-years and 2366 initial AIDS events. Between 1990 and 1994, about 35% received antiretroviral therapy, predominantly monotherapy. In 1995 and 1996, the prevalence of antiretroviral therapy increased steadily due to the introduction of dual and triple combinations. The mid-year prevalence of use of combination therapies was 6% in 1994, 13% in 1995, and 48% in 1996. The difference between expected and observed cases per half-year increased from 12 in the first 6 months of 1994 to 69 in the second half of 1996. Taking reporting delays into account, we estimated that 43 (95% confidence interval, 17–69) of the deficit of 86 reports could be attributed to combination therapies. Conclusion:The introduction of antiretroviral combination therapies in a single cohort study explained 50% of the decline in national AIDS surveillance reports. Monitoring the use and effectiveness of antiretroviral therapy must become an important component of AIDS surveillance systems.


We have successfully demonstrated the novel HSQ based T-gate process to transfer the negative nanoscale patterns to positive patterns. This process is based on electron beam (EB) lithography, O2 plasma and BOE solution etching. Because O2 plasma etching has the high selectivity between HSQ and ZEP, HSQ patterns were exposed over the ZEP layer without any loss of pattern dimension. HSQ was then selectively etched by BOE solution. Therefore it is very simple and reproducible process in achieving nanoscale pattern of positive tone and could be useful for the fabrication of nanoscale T-gate HEMTs. The fabricated 40 nm In0.7GaAs HEMTs with the novel HSQ based T-gate process exhibit an extrinsic transconductance gm of 1.4 S/mm and a cut-off frequency fT of 370 GHz


Swedish Match experiences a changing business environment with increased competition. In this business environment, the ability to successfully utilizing technological advances, such as big data and IoT, is becoming more important to remain competitive. In addition, a limited number of studies have been conducted on the theme big data and IoT in a manufacturing firm. Thus, this master's thesis is an initiative to increase the knowledge, both within the company as well as in the overall industry.

The purpose of this master's thesis is to investigate how the manufacturing company Swedish Match can optimize their production process by utilizing big data and IoT.

To answer the research questions and the purpose presented in this master's thesis, a single qualitative case study with an inductive reasoning approach is initiated. To gain insights in the case organization, in-depth interviews and observations are conducted. These methods, in combination with a literature study, provide an understanding of how big data and IoT can be utilized in a production process. Thus, the research questions and the purpose of the master's thesis are also answered.

Four fundamental gaps between the current situation and the desired situation emerge when studying the production process of Swedish Match. These gaps are (1) a lack of internal process integration, (2) a reactive approach instead of a proactive, (3) that high pressure is put on employees, and (4) that much data is stored without being available, combined or visualized at the right place.

Furthermore, it is clear that there are two main application areas of big data and IoT that are feasible when manufacturing functional and mature products. More specifically, these applications are in manufacturing optimization as well as in preventive and predictive maintenance. The applications in these two areas can contribute to attaining increased efficiency in the production process while minimizing costs. Ultimately, this can result in increased quality of the finished products.

In addition, when considering a utilization of the two technological advances, it is of high importance that the company knows what their actual goal is with the adoption. Furthermore, it is of high importance that the organization realizes what big data and IoT can accomplish as well as its limitations, all to assure reasonable expectations.

When considering utilization, it is also important to consider the associated risks. Here, the critical risks should be managed first to mitigate the potential issues. There are two critical risks in this case, namely the risk of the required investment being too large and it being hard to find the needed competencies.


Modern urbanization processes occurring on a global scale inevitably lead to an increase in population density in large cities. People assess the state of life quality and living standards of megalopolises under conditions of high-rise construction development ambiguously. Using SWOT analysis, the authors distinguished positive and negative aspects of high-rise construction, highlighted threats to its development and its opportunities. The article considers the model of development of the city's industry and infrastructure, which enables determining the optimal volume of production by sectors and branches of city economy in order to increase its innovative, production and economic potential and business activity.


Objective To investigate the application result of PDCA cycle for the quality control of the centralized sterilization supply of reusable instrument. Methods The data of quality inspection by the nursing department monthly, the section weekly and the charge nurse at random were analyzed 12 months before and after PDCA cycle was introduced. Results It's significantly different in the aspects of condition management, instrument management, familiarity with the skills and knowledge, sterilization quality and etc after PACD cycle was introduced, with P0.05. Conclusion PDCA cycle contributes to the centralized sterilization supply of the reusable instrument and hospital infection, and thus has to be observed during the sterilization supply quality control.


Commercial vehicles are a mode of transportation that plays an important role of the nation economy, so it is necessary to pay attention to their effectiveness and efficiency factors. Commercial vehicles have high effectiveness if they are able to send as many goods as possible, but the durability of vehicle components must be considered. One way to increase vehicle load capacity is by adding more slots leaf spring. This study aims to determine the effect of adding slot of leaf spring  to the static strength of the rear suspension of Mitsubishi FE 71 110 Ps. This study discusses the static strength of three types of leaf spring  arrangement, they are original leaf spring arrangement, the addition of a 700mm spring slot and an additional 1000 mm spring slot. The research was conducted by creating 3-dimensional design drawings and simulating static analysis using SolidWork software. The data sought are the stress and strain values for each variation. The result is the maximum stress value of the original leaf spring arrangement of 14.58 x107 N / m2, an additional slot of 700 mm 21.80 x107 N / m2, and an additional slot of 1,000 mm 24.93 x107 N / m2.


We prove that there are exactly five sequences, including the triangular numbers, that satisfy the product rule $T(mn) = T(m) T(n) + T(m-1) T(n-1)$ for all $m, n \ge 1$.


As a major part of university administration,scientific research management in higher institutions includes the stipulation and enforcement of the developmental planning and managerial policy making of science and technology,the supervision of research projects and their effect.This paper discusses the service function and innovation of scientific research management and the ways to promote research efficiency.


Elevated plasma homocysteine is connected to atherosclerosis and increased cerebrovascular and ischemic heart disease especially in the patients with type 2 diabetes. Effects of metformin (10 μg mL −1 ), insulin (1 mUI mL −1 ), and their combination administration in condition of mild hyperhomocysteinemia (30 μmol dm −3 ) and hyperglycemia (12 mmol dm −3 ) on human aortic endothelial cells (HAEC) was investigated. HAEC were cultured 4 h in a medium with homocysteine (7 and 30 μmol dm −3 ) and glucose (5.5 and 12.0 mmol dm −3 ). E-selectin, intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), and vascular adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) expressions were analysed by flow-cytometry. Controls were CAMs expression on HAEC in medium with physiological concentration of homocysteine and glucose. HAEC, incubated additionally with 30 μmol dm −3 homocysteine, increased expression of ICAM-1 for 65 % (p = 0.07) and decreased of E-selectin for 30 % (p = 0.07) and VCAM-1 for 13 % (0.06). In condition of mild hyperhomocysteinemia and hyperglycemia there was a statistically significant increase of ICAM- 1 expression (for 22 %, p = 0.04), while administration of metformin and insulin did not statistically sig- nificantly influence adhesion molecules expression. Observed significant overexpression of ICAM-1, leads us to conclude that combination of mild hyperhomocisteinemia and hyperglycemia could have sig- nificant influence on development of inflammation and atherosclerosis in diabetic patients.(doi: 10.5562/cca1810)


Excerpt From the very nature of the cardiac action current, it is evident that the number of leads which can be used to conduct the current from selected skin zones to the string galvanometer is le...


The paper proposes a reading of the urban periphery from a labor-centered perspective, according to which its relational geography is indexed to the mobility of marginalized migrant workers and labor processes. Specifically, it attempts to rethink the urban periphery from the vantage point of peri-urban brick kilns and brick kiln workers. The paper draws parallels between the displacement of brick kilns to the peri-urban and the precarious migration of brick kiln workers by highlighting the tenuous tie between brick kiln workers and the urban space embedded in both. The paper first outlines the historical process of the outward displacement of brick kilns from Delhi to peri-urban villages in Haryana as a result of various pieces of legislation, judicial rulings and planning discourses. It then turns to contemporary forms of circulation between the kilns and the core city. Drawing from fieldwork data generated out of kiln workers' life histories, it explores the various factors conditioning mobility and the reasons why workers circulate between the brick kilns and different urban occupations at different moments in their lives. The paper argues that exclusionary urbanization processes, in tandem with migrants' life cycle choices, produce migrant workers as peripheral subjects while they contribute to the production of the urban periphery.


Function Point Analysis (FPA) is one of the most reliable methods for measuring the size of computer software. It is extensively being used as Industry standard for sizing. It is also tremendously useful in estimating projects, managing change in requirements, measuring efficiency and communicating functional requirements. International Standard bodies like International Function Point User Group (IFPUG) has been maintaining a repository of data based projects with measures like data functions, transactional functions, function size, work effort, delivery date, project duration, max team size, development technique and platform etc. This paper presents the results of analysis that were performed on IFPUG data using a Statistical Package. Modelling techniques like Multivariate Adaptive Regression Splines (MAR Splines), Support Vector Machine (SVM), Automated Neural Network (ANN), k-Nearest Neighborhood (kNN) were used to estimate the function points from the IFPUG data set repository The training and validation data was randomly selected from the data repository. The performance of the various models was analyzed by comparing the observed and predicted function points. The comparison of results on the validation data set of 100 projects indicate that MAR Splines gives the best predicted values for function points as it has the lowest Mean Relative Error (MRE) and highest correlation coefficient. SVM and ANN also gave good results as compared to kNN. MAR Splines is thus a competitive predictive model for estimating function points. Thus, these machine learning and regression models can be used as approximation tool for function point metric.


Objective: To explore the effect of using nursing skill laboratory in nursing clinical teaching in order to improve nursing clinical teaching. Methods: Circu- lation teaching model of ward—skill laboratory— ward—skill laboratory was adopted to 31 nursing undergraduate students who were practicing in internal medical depart- ment of our hospital from June 2006 to February 2007. Results: The evaluation score of students from teachers at the end of practice was 91.35±6.35 (total score was 100); The minimal score of learning ability was 52.39 ± 5.16 (total score was 60); The worst three student's abilities were learning ability, question resolving ability and cognition ability. The evaluation score of teachers from students was 91.03 ± 5.44 (total score was 100). Conclusion: The usage of nursing skill laboratory maked up the deficiency of clinical teaching resource and ensured clinical teaching quality.


These lecture notes cover a number of introductory topics in the area of string theory, and are intended as a foundation for many of the other lecture courses in TASI 2003. The standard topics in perturbative string theory are covered, including some basic conformal field theory, T–Duality and D– Branes. Some of the properties of the latter are uncovered using various techniques. Some standard properties of supersymmetric strings at strong coupling are reviewed, focusing on the role which branes play in uncovering those properties.