The article presents the results of research on millet seeds the crop formation and the quality, depending on its varietal characteristics. It was experimentally proven that in the conditions of the Right Bank Forest-Steppe of Ukraine, the passage of phenological phases of growth and development of millet depended both on varietal characteristics (groups of varietal maturity) and on the number of effective temperatures. The crop yield and quality depended on the phenological phases of growth and development, particularly the phases of flowering and seed formation and their conditions. On average, over three years, early and late ripening varieties had signifcantly lower seed yield compared to other variety samples. Early-ripening, mid-early and mid-late varieties had signifcantly higher seed yield. The lowest productivity was in the very early sample of Dakota – 88.3 kg/ha. The yield of very late varieties – Nezalezhnist, Kanlow and Lyadivske – made 89.7, 88.3 and 99.4 kg/ha, respectively. The study on factors affecting seed yield established that the influence of the factor "variety" was the largest and amounted to 61.1 %, and the factor of "growing conditions" affected the crop less – 11.9 %. Germination energy and seed germination, as well as its yield, depended on the maturity groups of the variety samples. Very early, early-ripening and medium-ripening varieties had the highest quality indicators, no signifcant difference was found depending on varietal characteristics. The mid-late varieties had signifcantly lower quality indicators, and the lowest quality was the very late Kanlow variety. The study on factors affecting seed quality established that the influence of the "year conditions" factor on germination energy and germination was the greatest and was 37.6–48 %, and the "variety" factor was 33.8 and 30 %, respectively. It was found that the later is the variety is of the maturity group, the higher is the sum of effective temperatures it needs and, accordingly, the longer the onset of the phenological phases of growth and development of the crop, which affects the features of seed formation and ripening and, accordingly, its quality and yield. The mid-late varieties had signifcantly lower quality indicators and the lowest ones were observed in the very late variety. Mid-late, late and very late varieties do not ripen biologically, which affects the seeds quality its germination is very low.
Key words: variety samples, maturity groups, germination energy, germination, phenological phases of growth and development.


and the donor, and the surgical technique. Tolerance in animals is best induced by drugs when the donor and recipient differ by only weak histocompatibility antigens. Tissue transplant rejection has mostly been studied using skin grafts in mice. Nevertheless, the mechanisms of homotransplant rejection in man may be different, as may the best ways of prolonging graft survival. For example, in skin grafts the existence of lymphatic drainage is most important, and grafts to areas with no lymphatic supply survive for long periods. There is no intact lymphatic drainage in a renal transplant; and it is by no means certain that the rules which apply in small animals necessarily apply in man. Nevertheless, clinical application of immunosuppressive methods has shown that they have a well-deserved place in the prolongation of homograft survival in man. The best methods remain to be determined.


Information hiding is covering sensitive information within normal information This creates a hidden communication channel between the sender and receiver such that the existence of the channel is unnoticeable Hidden channels have advantages over the encrypted channels that the anonymity of communication is protected With the introduction of the Internet and digital document distribution hidden channels are being used more and more widely


From the ancient time it is the fundamental duty of the state to protect its citizens. The quantum of punishment used to be based on the theories of punishment. It has been observed in the modern times with the advent of administration of justice that there has been a shift from traditional punishments to the new trending concern of victimology. The focus is now on the victim's plight and giving him fair justice and compensation. This paper contains various theories of punishment and the elaboration of whether it's effective in modern times.


221 Background: Being overweight (OW) or obese (OB) is a risk factor for a variety of cancers & denotes a worse prognosis for some. Strategies on management of OW & OB patients (pts) are lacking. Data shows majority of physicians are OW & OB & confidence in OB counseling in these individuals is less compared w/ normal weight (NW) counterparts. Here we report results of a survey on cancer pt's opinions on weight management. Methods: Pts asked to complete a 20-question (Q) survey. Clinical info collected: age, race, cancer type, weight class (underweight, NW, OW, OB, unsure but likely overweight). Survey Qs ask about optimal timing of weight counseling. Also, Qs regarding importance of their oncologists (ONCO) BMI assessed. Other Qs about pt risk factors for obesity, pt willingness, & pt preferred modalities to change dietary & exercise habits also assessed. Stats: 1-way ANOVA & students' T-test used to compare responses. P-value α = 0.05 used. Results: 245 pts completed the survey. Main Qs: Best time for ONCO to address weight with pts is? "Anytime" 45% (111/245), "First visit" 27% (65/245), "After main treatment" 27% (65/245), "Never" 1% (2/245) p < 0.01. Who would you listen to MOST about weight loss advice? "NW ONCO" 41% (101/245), "BMI of my ONCO does not matter" 53% (131/245), "OB or OW" 5% (13/245) p < 0.01. Pts tend to; "eat less healthy when stressed": true 77% (189/245) vs false 23% (56/245) p < 0.01; "eat less healthy when sad or depressed": true 72% (176/245) vs false 28% (69/245) p < 0.01; "exercise less since cancer diagnosis" true 61% (150/245) vs false 39% (95/245) p < 0.01. Pts are willing to change "dietary habits to induce weight loss": yes 94% (231/245) vs no 6% (14/245) p < 0.01; "exercise habits to induce weight loss": yes 96% (234/245) vs no 4% (11/245) p < 0.01. Results of clinical, demographics, other Qs included in presentation. Conclusions: Almost all pts would like to discuss weight loss on the first visit or after main treatment completed. Almost all pts are willing to change dietary & exercise habits. Also, most pts would like to receive counseling by their ONCO regardless of their ONCO's weight. Furthermore, early interventions into pt's psychological health & exercise habits may benefit pts in weight management.


Relatively naive psychology sophomores effectively can fake the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire and the Maudsley Personality Inventory to simulate both an "extravert", and an "aggressive" sales executive personality pattern, and to create a "good impression." Differences among the three conditions are consistent with different intentions by the testees. Students conceive creating a "good impression" as portraying themselves as being extraverted and non-anxious-neurotic. The fact that both questionnaires are equally fakeable points to the need for care in their use in employee selection.


The invention discloses a preparation method of a viviparous remusatia tuber and duck rice crust, and belongs to the field of foods. The method comprises the following steps: with viviparous remusatia tuber, sticky rice and duck as main raw materials and anise, cinnamon, ginger, fennel, pepper, chill, vegetable oil, aginomoto and the like as auxiliary materials, marinating, separating bones, braising, baking, cooling and packaging. The viviparous remusatia tuber and duck rice crust produced by the method has the fragrances of the viviparous remusatia tuber and the duck, and has the characteristics of being crispy in taste, not greasy, balanced in nutrient and the like due to a unique production technology.


Background: Tension-free vaginal tape (TVT) has been largely used for the management of stress urinary incontinence. In certain cases, however, this procedure results in bothersome complications that lead to a complete resection. Objective: We assessed the technical feasibility and functional outcome after complete laparoscopic resection of TVT. Design, setting, and participants: Thirty-eight women with TVT-related complications refractory to first-line management underwent a complete laparoscopic tape resection between 2001 and 2009. Surgical procedure: Complete laparoscopic resection was achieved with either an intraor extraperitoneal laparoscopic approach. Laparoscopy was performed with four ports: a 10-mm umbilical telescope port, two 5-mm ports placed medially to the anterior superior iliac spines, and a 10-mm port placed at the midpoint between the pubis and umbilicus. The two half-tapes were dissected towards the urethra and removed. Measurements: All data referring to patient demographics, surgery, tape-related complication, and perioperative outcomes were recorded. Results and limitations: The mean age of the patients was 66.2 yr (range: 45–79 yr). TVTrelated complications included bladder erosion, vaginal extrusion, and bladder outlet obstruction or groin pain. The resection took place at a mean time of 25 mo (range: 6–80 mo) after TVT placement. Resection was complete in all patients, within a mean operative time of 110 min (range: 50–240 min). All women reported a total decrease of symptom-related complications within a mean follow-up period of 37.9 mo (range: 2–80 mo). However, recurrent incontinence occurred in 65.7% (n = 25) of the patients. The main limitation of the study was the lack of a validated questionnaire to assess the evolution of functional disorders. Conclusions: Complete laparoscopic resection of TVT is safe and technically feasible. In the limited number of women who have persisting disabling symptoms after conservative management, urologists must be aware that a complete resection can help resolve the symptoms. # 2010 European Association of Urology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.


A detailed electrochemical studies on furfural at mercury electrode has been reported. A linear sweep voltammetric method has been developed for low level determination of furfural and other aliphatic aldehydes simultaneously. This method has been used for the determination of acetaldehyde and furfural in liquor samples. The detection limit ranged between 0.05-1.0 ppm for different aldehydes.


wE b hich has educated more doctoral candidates in divinity d ed than any other theological faculty in the United States. Jerald C. Brauer Each volume will center on a specific problem or issue within the fields of history of religions, church history, theology, religion in literature, psychology and religion, and ethics and society. Certain to be widely read by scholars and students, the series deals with many pressing concerns of present-day divinity studies.


Background—Animal studies have shown that motilin affects gall bladder motility. In humans, no effect has been shown, but erythromycin, a motilin receptor agonist, induces gall bladder emptying. Aims—To explore the effect of increasing doses of exogenous motilin on gall bladder volume and antral contractility in the fasted state in humans. Methods—After an overnight fast, eight healthy men received increasing intravenous doses of Leu13-motilin (KW-5139) or 0.9% NaCl in a double blind, randomised fashion. Gall bladder volume and antral contraction frequency were determined by ultrasonography. Results—Infusion of motilin increased plasma motilin levels. Motilin induced a reduction in gall bladder volume of 8.0 (5.0)%, 17.1 (5.0)%, 18.5 (4.7)%, and 16.1 (4.9)% of baseline volume at the end of infusion of 2, 4, ,8 and 16 pmol/kg/min respectively, compared with mean stable gall bladder volumes during placebo infusion (p<0.05). Antral contraction frequency increased during motilin infusion, but not during placebo infusion (p<0.05). Conclusions—Exogenous motilin reducted fasting gall bladder volume and increased antral contractions. After reaching maximal reduction, the gall bladder volume did not decrease further during continuous motilin infusion at higher doses and stayed at the same reduced volume. The degree of gall bladder volume reduction during motilin infusion mimicked gall bladder emptying preceding antral phase III activity of the migrating motor complex in humans. This study indicates that motilin may play a physiological role in the regulation of gall bladder emptying in the fasted state.


Three new linear polyketides, 10,13-trans-13,14-erythro-densicomacin (1), 10,13-trans-13,14-threo-densicomacin (2), and 8-hydroxyannonacin (3), and a known polyketide goniothalamicin were isolated from the stem bark of the Peruvian plant Annona densicoma Mart (Annonaceae). Their structures were elucidated on the basis of UV, IR, 1 H and 13 C NMR, and mass spectrometry data of the natural compounds and their derivatives. These polyketides are cytotoxic against human tumor cells in culture


After short-term (24h) and low concentration(lug/ml) of MNNG treatment, Partial transformation was found in human embryonic nasopharyngenl fiboroblasts in vitro.During partial transformation, cells with marked chromosome aberrations became polymorp hous and grew in a cross-crist pattern. The life-span of the MNNG treated cells was much longer than that of the untreated cells.The numerical changes of chromosome in transformed cells was characterized by large number and early appearance of high aneuploidiess Many abnormal chromosomes and 8 marker chromosomes were found in these oeslls too.The most common break point of chromosome in the treated cells was 4q31 which was 25.20% of the total identifiable break points. 1q. 1P, 6P and 7p also took part in chromosome rearrangement.In comparison with NPC solid tumors and cell lines reported in the literatures, the concordance of chromsome changes was not signifieant:


Due to the change of economic environment at the end of 20~(th) century, the competitive enterprise system (with the characteristics of separation of ownership rights and control rights) has been losing its adaptation. As a result of this, the two rights are combined in the "modern enterprise system" in recent years. This paper points the modern enterprise system, which characterized by "effective combination" of two rights, is different from neither the competitive enterprise system (characterized by separation of two rights), nor the classical enterprise system ("nature combination" of two rights).


This paper explores some of the hitherto under-researched intersections between urban (re)development, urban planning and visual culture. What emerges is an academic context that, to date, has largely compartmentalised discrete literatures on 'view', 'value of the view' and cityscape change, (re)imagineering and (re)scripting). It shows how materialising processes associated with the commodification of a panoramic view in politico-economic and cultural terms can be used to transform and regenerate along neoliberal lines. It demonstrates how panoramas, when treated as a commodity within the context of neoliberal capitalism, are appropriated, (re)imagined and (re)scripted by architects and property developers to create high status, residential and commercial space for an affluent élite. As such, panoramas are a mechanism for the acceleration of capital accumulation that inherently create new and reinforce existing spatial inequalities. This study draws on research into the commodification of the view of the historic city of Valletta in the redevelopment of Tigné Point, the largest, most comprehensive regeneration scheme in Malta in recent years.


Crystal trichosanthin and prednisonum were employed to treat 43 cases of ectopic gestation.They were all cured.The time for negative conversion of HCG was (7 5±3 4) days;the average hospitalization time was (20 1±7 3) days and average expense was 1993 RMB.


e16065 Background: Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) followed by surgery has been the standard treatment option for locally advanced esophageal squamous cell cancer (ESCC). However, only 30% to 40% of patients can achieve pathologic complete response (pCR) after nCRT with favorable prognosis. To improve the efficacy of neoadjuvant therapy is an urgent clinical need. Immunotherapy has demonstrated promising results in advanced EC. Among patients received nCRT, PD-1 inhibitor has also provided a benefit as adjuvant treatment. However, the efficacy and safety of PD-1 inhibitor in neoadjuvant treatment still need to be confirmed. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the nCRT combined with perioperative toripalimab in locally advanced ESCC. Methods: A prospective, single-armed, exploratory trial was conducted and the key criteria included: resectable thoracic ESCC stage T1-4aN1-2M0 or T3-4aN0M0 according to the 8th edition of the AJCC staging system; aged 18̃75 years old; ECOG PS 0-1. All patients received radiation therapy scheme: 41.4Gy in 23 fractions over 5 weeks, concurrently with 5 cycles of paclitaxel/cisplatin (paclitaxel 45mg/m2 and cisplatin 25 mg/m2) on days 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 and 2 cycles of toripalimab 240 mg every 3 weeks after chemoradiotherapy for neoadjuvant therapy. Esophagectomy is performed 6-8 weeks after CRT completion and after operation patients received 4 cycles of toripalimab 240 mg every 3 weeks for adjuvant treatment. The primary endpoint was major pathological response (MPR: TRG1 and 2) rate. The secondary endpoints were survival outcomes (DFS and OS) and adverse events. Results: A total of 20 patients were enrolled from Jul 2020 to Jan 2022.13 patients have completed surgery in which 10 completed adjuvant immunotherapy, 3 patients have completed neoadjuvant therapy awaiting surgery, and 4 patients are still receiving neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy. The overall pCR rate was 54% (7/13) and the pCR rate in primary tumor was 62% (8/13). Of the 13 patients, 10 (77%) had MPR (TRG 1 or 2). Treatment-related adverse effects (TRAEs) of any-grade occurred in 13 of 13 (100%) patients and those of grade 3-4 in 7 (54%). The most common any-grade TRAEs were lymphopenia (13/13, 100%), leukopenia (9/13, 69%), esophagitis (6/13, 46%), neutropenia (4/13, 31%) and nausea (3/13, 23%). The grade 3 TRAEs included lymphopenia (7/13, 54%), leukopenia (2/13, 15%), neutropenia (2/13, 15%) and anastomotic fistula (1/13, 8%). Most commonly immune-related adverse events (irAEs) were thyroid dysfunction (2/13, 15%) and pneumonia (1/13, 8%) and all were grade 1̃2. None of these 13 patients had any recurrence within a median follow-up of 6 months after operation. Conclusions: NCRT combined with perioperative toripalimab is feasible and safe for locally advanced resectable ESCC and seems to bring better tumor response. Long-term survival outcomes remain to be determined. Clinical trial information: NCT04437212.


High-frequency time series prediction method based on wavelet transform and ARMA model (WARMA) is proposed. By wavelet decomposition and reconstruction, the original time series is decomposed into an approximate series and several detail series, the reconstructed series is more unitary than the original series in frequency, so it can be predicted with ARMA model. The prediction result of the original series can be obtained by the superposition predicting value of each reconstructed series. Experiment results show that the method gains advantage over the ARMA solely.


It is believed that the Pioneer satellites anomaly could be resolved by the orbit determination programs (ODP) if some particular elements of the satellite that were omitted or rejected as non applicable were taken into account. This is not the case and up to now, not a single proposition has been able to resolve the anomalous acceleration that plagued those satellites. We show that the Pioneer anomaly is in fact a natural and universal constant also remarked as an apparent numerical coincidence.


Engaging in scholarly activity during residency can facilitate the acquisition of important skills; however, residents may encounter barriers such as unclear expectations as to what constitutes scholarship, a paucity of dedicated time and a lack of mentorship.


One of the most important points of contact that student teachers have with the teaching profession occurs during placement, as placement provides a prime opportunity for them to interact with pupils and to further develop their teaching. In this article, a mediated discourse analytical perspective is employed as a lens to study a student teacher during his final teaching placement, with the aim of exploring how resemiotizations of previous experiences in the shape of oral stories can be interactionally used in the classroom. The data consist of three video recorded oral presentations, two video recorded sessions in a classroom, interview data, and observational field notes. Due to its potential to link past multimodal semiosis to present-time actions, nexus analysis is employed as the method for analysis. By unpacking a student teacher's use of oral stories in the classroom, the study demonstrates how stories are adaptable resources that can be used to mark proximity to pupils, and thus serve as a means to manage the interaction order in the classroom. This is an activity with relevance for the teaching profession and, by extension, student teachers' development of professional identity.


Throughout the 19th century, the dichotomy school/home became a structural element in the buildings designed for primary education. On the other hand, when considering the chronology under analysis, we note that the public school areas tend to close in on themselves, and do not taking advantage of their "surroundings" for educational purposes, a fact medical and pedagogical discourses are not able to truly counterbalance in their proposals for openness to the environment and nature.


Work related musculoskeletal disorders become a hot issue in Korea since many workers reported the musculoskeletal disorder problems. The objective of this paper is to find whether workers' subjective symptoms are closely related to occupational characteristics and mu sculoskeletal stress evaluated by ergonomic techniques. Workers in an electronics companies were surveyed using a questionnaire survey form. Their work was also analyzed using ergonomic techniques. Four types of jobs, manual handling jobs, inspection jobs, assembly jobs and VDT jobs were used. It was found that 22.8% of workers reported subjective symptoms. Workers in manual handling jobs showed the most subjective symptoms ration (34.7%). It was also found that lower back was the most painful body region.. Work duration and control possibility of work speed showed significant high odd ratios. It was also found that pain reported was well correlated with ergonomic evaluation of jobs.


Enantioselective Ni-catalyzed reductive aryl monofluoroalkenylation of alkenes between aryl bromides and gem-difluoroalkenes has been developed. The reaction proceeding under room temperature and base-free reaction conditions tolerates a wide range of functional groups on both coupling partners. Various synthetically useful oxindoles containing monofluoroalkenyl substituent are obtained in good yields with 85%–95% enantiomeric excess. In addition, the synthetic method can be further applied to the late-stage monofluoroalkenylation of complex biologically active compounds.


This research conducted a literature review based on the 2015 revised music curriculum and the corresponding elementary and secondary music textbooks. Through this, the content system was analyzed and the connection between subjects was revealed in relation to the criticism that appeared in the area of music appreciation of subjects according to the 2015 revised music curriculum. Based on the basis of the analysis and analytical basis for the connection of critical activities, the connection of Korean music criticism activities of implemented in the 2015 elementary and secondary music textbooks were analyzed. The results are as follows: The Korean music appreciation songs with outstanding connections between elementary and secondary school classes were pansori, creative Korean music, Daechwita, Pungryu, Sujecheon, and Gayageum Sanjo. Based on this, the connection of Korean music criticism activities based on functions was examined in detail, and the school-level Korean music criticism activities were presented to highlight the connection between schools. In order to strengthen the connection between elementary and secondary schools in the area of music appreciation, the following suggestions is proposed: a follow-up study should be conducted on Korean music criticism activities and detailed teaching·learning methods, considering the connection between elementary and secondary school classes. It is hoped that Korean music criticism activities will be conducted according to the connection among elementary, middle and high school levels at a time when music textbooks are developed in the future.


........................................................................................................................v CHAPTER 1 PROCESSES OF NEGOTIATION IN PERFORMANCE PRACTICE AND THEORY .................................................................................1 2 RADICAL DIFFERENCE IN/AND PHILOSOPHY ..........................................28 3 HAUNTING, HISTORY, AND THE HIROSHIMA MAIDENS .......................61 4 THE PERFECT MEDIUM: THE SEEN AND UNSEEN PROCESSES OF PHOTOGRAPHY AND SPIRITUALISM ......................................................103 5 SAMPLING, SEVEN EASY PIECES, AND PERFORMANCE DOCUMENT(ATION)S....................................................................................142 6 CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................182 WORKS CITED ..............................................................................................................189 VITA ................................................................................................................................195


A compact S-band 1 kW traveling-wave tube (TWT) is being developed for microwave power module (MPM) phased antenna array radar applications. The S-band MPM provides tenfold peak power increase compared to the currently available ones. Circuit characteristics including interaction impedance, phase velocity, power, and gain of the TWT were predicted using large signal code. The test result of the compact S-band 1 kW TWT will be presented along with design the results for individual components that include the electron gun, antennas, window, and collector.


The utility model discloses a spinning device of metal sheet materials, which is composed of a frame, a work table, a work table lead screw, a beam, a rotating arm support, a transverse guide rail, a transverse lead screw, a lengthwise guide rail, a lengthwise lead screw, a sliding seat guide rail and a sliding seat lead screw. The beam is provided with a sliding seat, and the rotating arm support is installed on the sliding seat guide rail of the sliding seat. The sliding seat lead screw drives the rotating arm support to move vertically along the sliding seat guide rail. A rotating arm is movably installed at the lower end of the rotating arm support and movably connected with a spindle which is provided with a machining tool head. The spinning device of the metal sheet materials has the advantages of realizing spinning process of special-shaped pieces, and being high in processing precision, good in forming effect, small in size, multifunctional and the like.


This paper analyses the performance of irrigated wheat farms in the Lower Indus Basin, with a view to identify 1he sources of productiviry differences and to examine the productiviry potential in the Basin. The study is based on crosssectional data collected from a random sample of 1220 irrigated wheat farms located in 14 can.al commands. The study employs Data Envelopment Analysis (a non-parametric programming method) and production function. approaches to evaluate performance and to estimate elasticities and margin.al productiviry of inputs at aggregate and disaggregated levels. Average farm level performance index is estimated at 74 per cent, implying that wheat producers can reduce inputs by 26 per cent by adopting the best practices of efficient producers. Shortage of irrigation water in some canal commands and poor land qualiry in others are found to be fundamental constraints to productiviry increases in the Basin. The analysis suggests that productiviry gains in the immediate short run can be achieved by the effective reallocaiion of water across canal commands. However, sustained productiviry increases in the long run would be achieved through effective management of, and additional investments in, both land and water resources.


The crystal structure and thermal properties of a mixed-stack donor–acceptor complex of trimeric perfluoro-o-phenylene mercury with tetracyanoethylene in an 1:1 ratio were studied by X-ray diffraction and TGA methods.


Introduction Disease burden, polypharmacy, co-morbidities and complex social needs are significant in patients with advanced COPD and predict morbidity, mortality and health care utilisation. Our first aim was to develop a structured annual assessment for patients with advanced COPD: the 'Comprehensive Respiratory Assessment (CRA)' to systematically assess disease burden, co-morbidities and social care needs akin to the 'Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment'. The second aim was to use the CRA in an out-patient setting to inform an individualised care plan. We report our first year experience of implementing an Advanced COPD Clinic with an annual CRA. Methods A multi-disciplinary team developed the Comprehensive Respiratory Assessment (CRA) for patients with advanced COPD which was defined as an FEV1 of <50% predicted with one of the following: MRC ≥ 4, Respiratory Failure, ≥2 hospital admissions with an acute exacerbation of COPD, current smoking history, and a low BMI or significant weight loss. A bespoke electronic patient record (the airways disease database [ADD]) was developed to support the CRA. The CRA was performed annually by an advanced COPD nurse and subsequently reviewed in an out-patient clinic by a respiratory physician supported by a multi-disciplinary team whereby an individualised care plan was agreed with the patient. Ethical approval was sought and written consent provided. Results The Advanced COPD service and CRA was established in June 2013 in Leicester, UK. The CRA is categorised into four principal domains which are: (1) exercise and activity, (2) exacerbations, (3) co-morbidities and extra-pulmonary manifestations, and (4) prognostic indicators and end of life care needs. At one year 155 referrals have been made with 71 annual CRAs completed to date. The baseline data of the patient cohort are described in Table 1. Conclusion The innovation of an advanced COPD service, with a multi-disciplinary team, supported by an annual Comprehensive Respiratory Assessment and bespoke electronic patient record is feasible and allows systematic assessment, development of individualised treatment plans, and further characterisation of this cohort. Abstract P91 Table 1 Characteristics of an advanced COPD cohort Baseline Characteristics Mean (SD) Age (years) 66 (9) Gender (% male) 51% MRC Grade (median and IQR) 4 (4–4) FEV1 (% predicted) 32 (12) Body Mass Index (kg/m2) 25.5 (7.7) Current smokers (%) 25% Pack years (years) 39 (17) Living arrangements (% living alone) 31% Oxygen use (% LTOT) 39% Number of exacerbations in previous year (median and IQR) 4.5 (2.0–8.0) Number of hospitalisations in previous year (median and IQR) 0.5 (0.0–1.0) Incremental shuttle walk test (m) 128 (91) Quadriceps strength (Kg) 19 (9) CAT score 25 (7) Chronic Respiratory Questionnaire (CRQ) CRQ dyspnoea 2.1 (0.7) CRQ fatigue 2.9 (1.2) CRQ emotion 3.7 (1.4) CRQ mastery 3.7 (1.5) HADS anxiety 9.5 (4.4) HADS depression 8.1 (3.5) MRC: Medical Research Council, FEV1: Forced Expiratory Volume in 1 sec, CAT: COPD Assessment Tool, CRQ: Chronic Respiratory Questionnaire, HADS: Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale


CMS updated the Final Rule for OPO Conditions for Coverage on 11/20/2020 to include new OPO metrics, tiers of classification, and a new definition of a donor that included an individual with: a) at least 1 organ transplanted; or b) pancreas procured for research or islet cell transplantation. We conducted a retrospective cohort study using data from the OPTN/ UNOS. The number of pancreata procured for research increased four-fold from 2020 to 2022, despite stable numbers of other organs procured for research. Of the 57 OPOs, 8 (14.0%) procured >100 pancreata for research in 2022, accounting for 1,548 (58.2%) pancreata research procurements. Of those 8 OPOs, seven would be at risk for possible (Tier 2; n=3) or definite (Tier 3; n=4) decertification based on CMSs 2022 interim report. Based on these data, two Tier 3 OPOs would be reclassified as Tier 2 and one as Tier 1; three Tier 2 OPOs would be reclassified as Tier 1; and three Tier 3s would be reclassified as borderline Tier 2. The pancreas research carveout may detrimentally impact the system of organ donation by failing to accurately measure OPO performance and flag (and decertify) underpeforming OPOs unless CMS revises its final rule.


Every observation index quality of the horizontal pendulum and vertical pendulum of Lifen Central Seismological Station,Shanxi,was estimated synthetically in this paper.The results indicate that the two instruments give different response to earthquakes because of different work principle and configuration.However, they have good synchrony while being acted by the same regional stress field.


The spatial hole burning (SHB) in distributed feedback (DFB) lasers limits longitudinal-mode stability and occasionally results in spectral linewidth broadening or multiple-mode oscillation. Introduction of gain coupling is one of effective methods to reduce SHB. However, SHB may still exist in the gain-coupled (GC) DFB laser due to inappropriate coupling strength, parasitic index coupling, and facet reflection in practical devices. This paper describes self-suppression effect of SHB in absorptive-grating GC DFB lasers which is observed through the measurement of frequency modulation (FM) characteristics. This effect is attributed to the photon-density-dependent coupling coefficient in the gain-coupled cavity.<<ETX>>


An improved image coding algorithm based on SPIHT algorithm is presented. It revises the SPIHT's sorting strategy. The improved algorithm enhances the coding speed, induces the memory and improves the recovery image quality, so the improved algorithm is an efficient methode for image coding.


Positive analysis was conducted on the effect of contract farming on farmer's net income from wheat production,utilizing the data from a survey of 327 farmers of 6 counties in north of Henan Province.The empirical result indicates that contract has no significant effect on farmer's net income from wheat production for lower price.Contrastive analysis indicates that there are remarkable differences in farmers,particpating in wheat contract of different purposes,and seed-wheat contract has distinct effect on farmers net income from wheat production for the price advantage.


Since the "Great Recession" in late 2007, economic inequality in the United States has been increasing sharply. The notion of "talent" has been a key prism through which the various responses to economic inequality have been refracted. Talent is able to bend and shape the appearance of economic inequality because it is rhetorical, attributing innovation and economic productivity to the "authorship" of specific individuals through metonymy. The rhetorical function of talent operates within a broader "neoliberal imaginary," in which the invisible order of the market appears to operate behind the material world, organizing the environment of concrete, everyday reality. Against the dominant understanding of economic inequality as an issue of the redistribution of wealth, I argue a fundamental, prior issue is the reattribution of talent. Framed as a problem of redistribution, economic inequality appears to require the transfer of wealth from productive individuals making disproportionately large economic contributions, to less productive individuals contributing substantially less. I examine the metonymical function of talent through three case studies. In First, in US immigration reform debates, pro-immigration advocates use the discourse of the "global war for talent," enabling neoliberal state governance by positing talent as a key ingredient in gaining economic advantage. Second, biographical constructions of Steve Jobs do not quarrel over whether he was talented or a "genius," but instead take his genius for granted, and concern themselves with specifying the particular sort of genius he manifested. The circulation of Jobs enables the attribution of Apple's productivity to his possession of "delicate taste," allowing him to function as a cultural shorthand justifying relations of economic inequality. Third, the response to President Obama's "you didn't build that," speech explicitly argued individual immigrant entrepreneurs were "talented" because they act as the source for


The design of rigid submarine pipelines has been the object of extensive research work over the last few years, where the most relevant issues include upheaval and lateral buckling problems. Both of these problems systematically associate temperature and pressure loads, where the treatment of the first is obvious, while the latter have always been a matter of discussion. In 1974 Palmer and Baldry [1] presented a theoretical-experimental contribution, in which they have set a pattern that has been followed ever since. Another similar and well known paper was published by Sparks in 1983 [7], who only present a physical interpretation of this same theory. Most of the present day industry codes define an effective axial force, according to which, fixed end pipelines will be under compression due to internal pressure. The starting point of the discussion presented in [1] was that internal pressure produces a lateral force, which is numerically equal to the pressure times internal cross-sectional area times the pipeline curvature: q = p.Ai.d2y/dx2 (1) This equation is demonstrated further ahead in this paper. Palmer and Baldry then based their arguments on the traditional equation of the pinned column buckling problem, studied by Euler [2]: EId4y/dx4 + Pd2y/dx2 = 0 (2) for which the well known solution is: P = π2EI/L2 (3) and on the associated problem studied by Timoshenko [3], which adds a distributed lateral load q to the same problem: EId4y/dx4 + Pd2y/dx2 = q (4) Replacing q with the lateral pressure given above, they were able to have their own problem fall back onto the Euler solution: EId4y/dx4 + Pd2y/dx2 = p.Ai.d2y/dx2P-pAi = π2EI/L2 (5) After correcting for the Poisson effect they were able to determine the new critical axial force caused by the pressure. Unfortunately, however, the arguments set forth in [1] have been misunderstood. The fact that both axial force and lateral force multiply curvature does not make them forces of the same nature. Being able to add them has solved a mathematical equation, but still hasn't converted the lateral force to axial. The authors wish to prove that [1] presents no more than a tool, which can be used in the analysis of global buckling problems of pipelines subject to both temperature and pressure. It will be shown, however, that this pressure will not produce an axial force, as now-a-days prescribed conservatively in many pipeline codes, which is even used for stress checking.Copyright © 2004 by ASME


1.9% Time to treatment can have significant impact on progression of cancer and treatment decisions rely heavily upon genomic and proteomic testing. However, multiple factors can delay the availability of molecular diagnostic test results including the use of tissue-based testing. Almost one third of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are either not candidates for tissue biopsies or have insufficient tissue samples from their initial biopsy. Additionally, most physicians in the community setting want to initiate treatment quickly but do not have access to on-site molecular testing at their practice. As a result, physicians may delay their decision to commence treatment with specific targeted therapies or treat before the existence of actionable mutations is known. The goal of this study was to assess the utility of blood-based cell-free (cf) DNA Laboratory Developed Tests (LDTs) in the community setting. The tests utilize Droplet DigitalTM PCR (ddPCR) technology to detect the EGFR sensitizing mutations L858R and exon 19 deletion (ΔE746-A750), the EGFR resistance mutation (T790M), the KRAS mutations G12C, G12V, and G12D, and the BRAF V600E mutation. Patient samples for testing were collected and shipped at ambient temperature using a Biodesix® whole blood sample collection kit and processed at the Biodesix Laboratory. Metrics were reviewed from the real-time measurement of established molecular diagnostic markers in the plasma of patients with NSCLC. For this study, we analyzed results from greater than 6,000 patient cases (~44,000 individual variants). Of the sites that self-identify, greater than 80% of test orders were received from physician practices are community-based. Test mutation status results were reported within 72 hours of a sample receipt (96%). The percentage of tests requested that were positive for each variant category were 7.5% for EGFR sensitizing (including L858R and del19), 5.8% for EGFR resistance, 9.8% for KRAS (including G12C/D/V), and 1% for BRAF. Notably, we generated test results successfully for 98% of tests submitted. We have developed rapid, highly robust, and sensitive blood-based assays to expedite time to treatment and expand the laboratory testing options for patients with NSCLC. Utility of a Targeted NSCLC Genomic Test for cfDNA Variants in the Community Setting


James Mclachlan Nairn with a palette and paintbrush, in front of a painting. Taken by an unknown photographer in the 1890s.
The painting in the background is possibly `Tess at Silverstream'
Quantity: 1 b&w original negative(s).


The paper introduced a solution that make the embedded DSP system communicate Internet based on GPRS. Applied TMS320F2812 DSP from TI and MC39i from Siemens as communication module. Ported μC/OS-II RTOS in F2812 DSP system, and further ported LwIP protocol stack in RTOS. The software has been developed under the μC/OS-II. So the solution matched the embedded DSP system communication with Internet. There is a simplicity, high performance and low cost system, which has wonderful application.


Polychlorodibenzothiophenes (PCDTs), the sulfur analogues of the polychlorodibenzofurans (PCDFs), were identified in fly ash from two municipal solid waste incinerators and from an electric-arc furnace of a car-shredding facility. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and MS/MS experiments were used to detect the new compounds in addition to the related polychlorodibenzodioxins (PCDDs) and PCDFs and to differentiate PCDTs from the nominally isobaric PCDDs. Among the PCDTs detected were tetra- and pentachloro-isomers including the 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzothiophene. The concentrations of PCDTs in fly ash were up to 55 ng/g, at or 1 magnitude below the concentrations of the PCDDs and PCDFs in these samples. The sources and routes of formation of the new compounds are still unknown. Various pathways seem plausible, and as an example, the authors report on the formation of PCDTs from the thermal reaction of chloro aromatic compounds (poly-chlorobiphenyls (PCBs)) with elemental sulfur.


The Fully Depleted (FD) SOI MOSFET with Ultra Thin Body and Buried Oxide (UTBB) is considered as one of the best candidates for sub 28nm technology nodes due to the better short channel effect (SCE) maintaining the well known planar structure (1). However for thinner buried oxide the coupling between the front and back gate becomes stronger and amplifies the substrate effects as first modeled in ref. (2). For UTBB transistors the substrate effect becomes even worse and due to that it is mandatory to have a Ground Plane (GP) implantation (at the buried oxide/substrate) in order to minimize/avoid the depletion region at the buried oxide/substrate interface, which is the reason of the substrate effects. This paper studies experimentally and by numerical simulation the temperature influence on UTBB devices with and without GP implantation. The UTBB SOI nMOSFET devices studied were fabricated in a SOI substrate with 6nm and 14nm Si film on 18nm buried oxide. The gate dielectric consists of a 5nm SiO2 thermal oxide, followed by a TiN metal gate electrode. No channel doping was applied so that the doping level of the channel is around 10 cm. The Ground Plane was done with a boron implantation at 25keV and 5x10 cm. Two different L, 10m and 70nm, was measured with W=1m. Figure 1 shows the experimental drain current vs. back gate voltage (IDS vs.VGB) curves with VGF=0V, VDS=50mV, tSi=6nm, L=10m and W=1m for 25C, 100C and 200C for devices with and without GP implantation, where it is possible to see a back gate voltage shift (kink) for devices without GP. This effect disappears for devices with GP substrate doping concentration higher than 10 cm as observed in ref. (3). For high temperature, this effect occurs for almost the same back gate voltage, but the maximum amplitude (VGB MAX) decreases as shown in figure 2 due to the Fermi level reduction. Figure 2 also shows that for a thinner silicon film the substrate effect is lower due to the stronger influence between the front and back gates. The same tendency was observed for shorter devices with L = 70 nm, but lower VGB MAX was obtained due to SCE. Numerical simulation (4) was used in order to analyze the potential drop along the SOI structure with VGF=0 and VGB= -0.2V and 1V at T=25 C and 200C, as presented in figure 3. UTBB SOI nMOSFETs with a substrate doping concentration of NaSUB=10 18 and 10 cm were used to simulate devices with and without GP respectively. The substrate potential drop (sub) for VGB= -0.2V, when the buried oxide/substrate interface is near inversion, is almost zero for GP devices while it is around 0.7V for devices without GP. However, figure 3b shows that in spite of sub ≈ 0 the potential inside the buried and gate oxide is higher for GP devices which can cause reliability problems. For high temperature the Fermi level decreases and the sub decreases to 0.3V for devices without GP at 200 C. As a conclusion, in spite that GP devices present negligible substrate potential drop, the impact on SOI devices becomes higher, increasing the potential drop at the buried and gate oxide, which can cause early degradation. When the temperature increases the substrate effect decreases and devices without GP can be useful for some special applications. Other electrical characteristics will be presented in the extended version. References 1. C. Fenouillet-Beranger et al., Solid State Electronics, 54. p. 849 (2010). 2. J. A. Martino et al., Electronics Letters, 26, p. 1462 (1990). 3. V. Itocazu et al., ECS Transactions, 49, p. 511 (2012) 4. Atlas 3D numerical simulator, Silvaco Datasystems Inc. (2006).


Glaucoma represents a leading cause of preventable vision loss in Sub-Saharan Africa. Recent studies evaluating outcomes of glaucoma drainage implant (GDI) surgery suggest an important role for this approach in the African patient population. The Tube Versus Trabeculectomy study demonstrated a higher success rate with non-valved GDI surgery compared to trabeculectomy with mitomycin C after five years. The Ahmed Baerveldt Comparison study showed no difference in surgical failure rates between the Ahmed Glaucoma Valve and the Baerveldt Glaucoma Implant (BGI) but better intraocular pressure outcomes with the BGI at one year. The Ahmed Versus Baerveldt study demonstrated a lower failure rate for the BGI, but also a requirement for more post-operative interventions. Further study of GDI surgery in the Sub-Saharan Africa is necessary to determine its optimal place in the treatment paradigm for glaucoma patients in the region.


Rapid growth in technologies and competitive business environments have brought significant changes in management accounting practices in the manufacturing industries. To cope with these changes a good number of management accounting tools have been developed in helping managerial decisions both at operating and strategic levels. Researchers have identified that the implementation of such tools in developed countries brought success in decision making though research in this particular area in less developed countries, especially in Bangladesh, is not significant yet. Thus, this research aimed to explain the changes that have taken place and the factors behind the changes in management accounting practices (MAP) in manufacturing industries. The listed manufacturing companies in Bangladesh consist of the population and sample of the study. Factor reduction techniques were used to analyze the influencing variables behind the changes in MAP. The paper reveals that the changes that have taken place from 2001 to 2010 period in MAP are mainly in the operational areas while after 2011 the changes in MAP have mostly taken place in the area of strategic decision making. The factors behind the changes are categorized under the heads of Changes in Business and Organization Strategy and Changes in Manufacturing and Information Technology by applying factor analysis. Keywords: Bangladesh, business strategy, changes in decision making, information technology, management accounting, manufacturing


The reaction time constitutes a critical parameter for the overall stopping time of a vehicle, in emergency braking situations. In the current paper, on-road reaction time measurements and results are described, as an attempt of finding a stable relation between static and dynamic values. The relevant tests were performed within the PhD dissertation of the author, where the reaction time was one of the parameters used for modeling drivers' behavior, in order to produce innovative algorithms for personalized driver warning provision for collision warning and avoidance systems.


The hostile business environment in Malaysian private higher education institutions (PHEIs) has proved to be fatal to numerous institutions.While there are success stories, the issue looms as what differentiates the performers and the non performers. As such, this study was conducted to understand why some PHEIs perform better than others; and whether the differences in performance are due to the choice of strategy.Finally, this study explores whether the organisational distinctive capabilities influence towards the institution choice of strategy. Based from a sample of 97 PHEIs, the study depicts that differentiation strategy was significantly link to performance with a spectrum of organisational capabilities influencing the institution's choice of strategy.


Metal alloy (NiCrCuAlGe) thin film resistors were coated with atomic layer deposited (ALD) alumina (Al2O3) in order to improve the stability and repeatability of the high value resistors (100 kOmega - 500 kOmega) in the temperature range from 4.2 K to 300 K. The drift rate of the resistance due to the native oxidation at room temperature was reduced from -2.45 ppm/h for an uncoated resistor to 0.03 ppm/h for an alumina-coated resistor. It was shown that the additional alumina coating does not significantly change the thermoelectrical properties of the metal alloy thin film resistors.


Objective: The case study shows an improvement in genito-pelvic pain at acquired penetration, with moderate severity, characterized by persistent recurrent pain for 7 months.
Therapeutic methods: According to the patient's evaluation and psychometric tests, the result consisted of differentiated diagnosis of dyspareunia, with moderate severity. During the treatment, psychotherapeutic techniques were applied - purely cognitive therapy validated and standardized by Delcea et al., Relaxation techniques, desensitization therapy and pelvic floor.
Outcome of therapy: During sex therapy for a period of 4 months, with individual sessions - two with each individual and 10 couple sessions, the sexual disorder was improved, from 4 to 2, the quantification of the pain by the patient, on a scale of 1 to 5.
Conclusion: Sex therapy has been a real success by improving the relationship and sex of the couple. The two managed to improve their communication, to manage stress and nervousness situations through conflict management and in particular, to reconnect sexually through a better intimacy of the couple, rediscovering eroticism and sexual desire, thus ameliorating the genito-pelvic pain disorder. penetration.


Our understanding of star formation is heavily influenced by the nearest star forming regions, where protostars and their environments can be most readily observed. However, these nearby regions appear increasingly less likely to represent the dominant mode of star formation in galaxies. Observations of star formation integrated across galaxies reveal that the rate of star formation is proportional to a power of the total gas surface density (Schmidt 1959; Kennicutt 1998). We here demonstrate that gravitational instability (Toomre 1964) in galactic disks with an isothermal equation of state can quantitatively reproduce this law, thus suggesting that the initial conditions for most star formation in galaxies is determined by large-scale gravitational collapse. We simulate a large set of isolated galaxies using the smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) code GADGET (see Springel et al. 2001), modified to include absorbing sink particles (Bate et al. 1995). Sink particles replace gravitationally bound regions of converging flow. Our galaxy model consists of a dark matter halo, and a disk of stars and isothermal gas (Mo et al. 1998; Springel & White 1999; Springel 2000). Full details are given by Li et al. (2005a). The isothermal sound speed cs represents the velocity dispersion σ ' 4–15 km s of the bulk of the H I gas (e.g. Dickey et al. 1990; Meurer et al. 1996). We choose values cs = 6 (low T ) and 15 (high T ) km s. We vary the gas fraction of the disk mass from 20–90% and the rotational velocity (and thus total mass) from 50–220 km s. The gas,


The European Directive 95/46/EC on the processing and free movement of personal data was adopted in 1995 and had to be implemented by all Member States of the European Union by October 1998. However, there have been a number of concerns among those involved in medical and pharmacoepidemiological research: some have thought that implementation of the Directive, that is its embodiment into the laws of each Member State, may neither be uniform nor suciently harmonized to achieve the objective of the free ̄ow of data between the Member States and other countries Ð and this might impede scienti®c research and act against the public interest; others have felt that the proposed legislation might interfere with, or even prevent, certain studies in pharmacoepidemiology and drug safety evaluation which have been undertaken without relevant problems for many years and with great bene®t to the public good. Clearly, a great deal depends on the way in which 95/46/EC Ð widely regarded as a `framework' Directive Ð will, in detail, be carried into the local laws of the individual Member States. The provisions of the Directive have been extensively reviewed elsewhere. Because of the anxieties which had been expressed, a meeting of interested parties was held in London under the auspices of the International Medical Bene®t/Risk Foundation (IMBRF) and a transcript and commentary on the proceedings of this meeting were published. Even at this stage it was noted that the draft Directive contained provisions for the elaboration of `Codes of Conduct' and it was felt that such a code, relevant to pharmacoepidemiology, might well permit studies of drug development and drug safety to continue without undue diculty. The International Society for Pharmacoepidemiology (ISPE) established a European Ad-hoc Committee on Con®dentiality and Legislation and this gathered relevant information on the di€erent laws and practices in the Member States. Its activities were paralleled by a very active Ad-hoc Committee in the United States. Furthermore, a conference was held by the European Federation of the Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) in April 1997. The activities of these two groups will be considered further but it is clear that the baseline laws and practices regarding data privacy and con®dentiality vary in many ways between the Member States Ð and so does the manner in which they are adopting and implementing the EU provisions at national level.


DOI: 10.21276/sjmcr.2018.6.2.13 Abstract: A 51-year-old male experienced left lower abdominal pain while running. He was transferred to a local acute critical care center. On arrival, he was in a state of shock. He had also multiple café au lait macules and subcutaneous nodules, suggesting neurofibromatosis-1 (NF1). His shock state was improved by the infusion of lactate ringer solution. Truncal body enhanced computed tomography (CT) revealed retropertoineal hematoma with a sacral body tumor and enriched, enlarged tumor-nourishing blood vessels without extravasation of contrast medium. As his vital signs were stable and there was no sign of active bleeding, conservative therapy was selected. After 10 days, his condition remained unchanged without transfusion, and the volume of the retroperitoneal hematoma had decreased, so he was temporarily discharged and referred to a special tumor orthopedist to evaluate the sacral tumor. As patients with NF1 are occasionally complicated with lethal hemorrhaging in the head, neck, chest and abdomen, including the retroperitoneal space, patients with unstable circulation should be evaluated by whole-body CT to detect the bleeding source in addition to the distribution of asymptomatic tumors.


A differential voltage reference generator for pipelined analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) is presented in this paper. A modified Brokaw bandgap reference (BGR) is adopted to generate an adjustable sub-1V reference voltage. A new single-ended to differential converter based on current conversion is proposed to obtain the required differential voltage reference from the output of BGR directly. Fabricated in TSMC 0.18μm CMOS technology, the proposed circuit generates a 0.5-V differential reference voltage with a temperature coefficient of less than 46 ppm/°C. The power consumption is 3.5 mW under a 1.8-V power supply.


An algorithm for shape optimization based on simultaneous solution of the equations and inequalities arising from Kuhn-Tucker necessary conditions is presented. Regular triangular FE assembly is proposed. Element vertices are associated with design variables directly or through spline parameters defining the boundary of the optimized body. This way, during the iteration procedure, FE assembly is automatically remeshed together with the motion of the optimized boundary. Multiple loading conditions are represented in the problem as equality conditions in the form of a set of equilibrium equations for each loading condition separately. From the necessary condition equations an additional, important relation between cost function, Lagrange multipliers associated with inequality constraints and their limit values is derived. The algorithm combines standard professional FEM programs with an optimizer proposed in the paper which is illustrated with shape optimization of several 2D bodies. The proposed approach i...


Field experiments were conducted during 2005–2007 to test effects of nineteen treatments on turmeric rhizome yield in Alfisol at Utukur and Inceptisol at Jagtial in India. The treatments were comprised of nitrogen (N) at 0, 60, 120 and 180 kg ha−1; phosphorus (P) at 0, 40, 80, and 120 kg ha−1; and potassium (K) at 0, 50, 100, and 150 kg ha−1. Application of 180-120-100 kg ha−1 NPK gave maximum yield of 4302 kg ha−1 in Alfisols, whereas application of 120-80-100 kg ha−1 gave 4817 kg ha−1 in Inceptisols. Regression and principal component (PC) models were calibrated through soil-plant-fertilizer variables. The regression model gave significant R2 of 0.75 in Alfisols compared to 0.88 in Inceptisols, whereas the PC model explained variance of 66.5 percent in Alfisols and 76.3 percent in Inceptisols. Regression model through PC scores gave R2 of 0.54 in Alfisols and 0.47 in Inceptisols. Maximum sustainability yield indexes of 58.8 and 55.5 percent by 180-120-120 kg ha−1 (Alfisol) and 67.1 and 60.6 percent by 120-80-100 kg ha−1 (Inceptisol) were attained based on regression and PC models respectively.


Ten years ago when I was at Tientsin, I talked about reform with the Grand Secretary. Why is it that up to now not a single thing has been changed or reformed? A.t that time when I heard you, sir, talking about that, I was overcome with admiration, and furthermore I deeply admired, sir, your having vigorously changed your customs in Japan so as to reach the present stage. Affairs in my country have been so confined by tradition that I could not accomplish what I desired.l


Background: Temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD) is a term for disease of the TMJ and the muscles attached to it. The symptoms and signs of TMD are clicking, crepitation, headache, and pain in and around the TMJ. Management of TMD includes dental approaches (e.g., splints, bite plates, and jaw exercises) and surgical approaches. Acupuncture is a Chinese medicine that consists of insertion of small solid stainless-steel needles into many acupoints on the body to improve health and relieve pain in the surrounding areas. Case Report: A 34-year-old male patient reported with severe pain in the right and left TMJ region and difficulty in opening of his mouth for the past 6 months. Extra-oral examination revealed tenderness on both sides of the face, deviation of the mouth toward the right side, the mouth opening was two finger breadths, and mild early-opening click. Intra-oral examination revealed the presence of 28 teeth. Orthopantogram did not show any changes in the condyle and articular eminence. The patient was initially treated with palliative therapy and then treated with acupuncture. Conclusion: Acupuncture is an alternative mode of treatment for persons with muscular TMD.


Isochronal-annealing measurements were performed on n-channel Si-gate metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) to determine the temperature at which interface traps anneal following exposure to 10-keV X-rays. All five of the processes sampled exhibited annealing by 300 degrees C, although this annealing was generally preceded by an increase in the number of interface traps (N/sub IT/) at lower temperatures. In particular, N/sub IT/ for two of the processes increased at 100 degrees C. Additional annealing experiments at 100 degrees C for a week are consistent with these results. The implications of these results for high-temperature accelerated-annealing rebound testing are discussed. >


There are two opinions on the relationship of the power of different types of rights in the conflict of rights: equality or inequality.The rank of rights is not available because its main reasons are refutable.Rights should be protected equally because of the spirit of the Constitution and the principle of equity and justice.


Traditional AJAX (asynchronous JavaScript and XML) engine occupy too much time to parse returned XML document with larger volume of data. In order to solve this problem, an improved AJAX model is put forward and an application example is given. The improved AJAX model uses a parallel array as data model to store the returned data. Because it avoids the parsing of semi-structured XML document, the data utilization efficiency is improved. Experimental results show that the improved AJAX model meet the business requirements with processing large number of data and significantly reduce the user waiting times. Applying this model in the data table whose records count is no more than 3000, the client and server interact smoothly, so it can well satisfy the users'real-time requirements.


PRESIDENT Paula D. McClain Paula D. McClain is professor of political science and professor of public policy at Duke University, where she also serves as dean of the Graduate School and vice provost for graduate education. She has also directed APSA's Ralph Bunche Summer Institute at Duke for more than 20 years. McClain studies racial minority group politics—particularly interminority political and social competition. She has published in numerous journals, including the Ameri‐ can Political Science Review, the Journal of Politics, and Politics, Groups, and Identities. She also has three coauthored books: • American Government in Black and White: Diversity and Democracy (with Steven Tauber), which won APSA's Race, Ethnicity, and Politics section's Best Book Award for a book published in 2010; • "Can We All Get Along?" Racial and Ethnic Minorities in American Politics (with Joseph Stewart), which won the 1996 Gustavus Myers Center for the Study of Human Rights in North America Award for Outstanding Scholarship on the Subject of Intolerance; and • Race, Place, and Risk: Black Homicide in Urban America (with Harold M. Rose), which won the National Conference of Black Political Scientists' 1995 Best Book Award for a previously published book that has made a substantial and continuing contribution. McClain has served as president of the Midwest Political Science Association (MPSA), the Southern Political Science Association (SPSA), and the National Conference of Black Political Scientists. She has also been vice president of APSA, MPSA, and SPSA, as well as program chair or co-chair for the annual meetings of all three organizations. She was also a vice president and program co-chair for the 2003 International Political Science Association World Congress. In 2014, McClain was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Her numerous honors include the Duke University Blue Ribbon Diversity Award (2012), the Graduate School Mentoring Award (2010), the Frank J. Goodnow Award for contributions to the profession of political science (2007), a Meta Mentoring Award from the Women's Caucus for Political Science of the APSA (2007), the Manning Dauer Award from SPSA (2015), and the Midwest Women's Caucus of Political Science Outstanding Professional Achievement Award (2017).


Abstract : In both an economic and a military sense, Cuba's national security has been since 1959, a function of its relations with the United States and the Soviet Union. Cuba's policy towards the Third World can only be understood within this more important constellation of relations. Cuba's effort to cast itself as a leader in the Third World has been an important element of its overall strategy for survival. Just as Yugoslavia sought the leadership of the Nonaligned Movement to block Soviet retribution for Tito's deviation from orthodoxy, Cuba has sought similar prominence as protection from attack by the United States or abandonment by Soviet Union. In sorth, there are no more easy gains to be made by Cuban diplomacy. Both in Latin America and in the Third World generally, Cuban foreign policy is reaching the limits imposed upon it by its own ideological commitments and its relations with the Soviet Union. Moreover, the exacerbation of tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union has once again placed Cuba at the focal point of the cold war, forcing it to concentrate its attention on maintaining the closest possible relationship with the Soviets.


Devices based on superconductor electronics can achieve much higher energy efficiency than standard electronics. Research in superconductor electronics could advance a range of commercial and defense priorities, with potential applications for supercomputing, artificial intelligence, sensors, signal processing, and quantum computing. This brief identifies the countries most actively contributing to superconductor electronics research and assesses their relative competitiveness in terms of both research output and funding.


Every development in communication standards up to this point has been driven by the need to provide end users with high-speed access. Although future-proof 5G and well beyond systems are being designed to accommodate the varying needs of a wide range of use cases, the emphasis has shifted significantly due to 5G. These requirements encompass Accelerated Wireless Internet, Massive Computer Telecommunications, and Special Low Latency Communications. It will be important to rethink the current deployment of cellular networks in order to realise these features in 5G and beyond, since just inventing new radio access methods and leveraging extra spectrum will not be enough. Application networking, content delivery network abstraction, computer vision, and data storage are just some of the technologies being implemented into 5G networks to satisfy the demands of a wide range of requirements. However, there are a number of challenges presented by these technologies because to concerns around decentralization, transparency, compatibility, privacy, and security. Block chain's distributed ledger system, cryptographically secured data storage, audit ability, immutability, and transparency have helped it gain traction as a potential answer to these issues. In this research, we take a look at the most up-to-date deployment of Blockchain in 5Mobile communications and examine how it might help 5G and beyond smart systems to provide a wide range of services in the front-haul, border, and core.


Results from the acoustic surface reverberation experiment (ASREX) and critical sea test 7 (CST‐7 phase 2) are examined to determine if surface wave parameters can be used to augment wind speed in air–sea process models. The wave parameters are extracted from directional wave spectra using a fully automated spectral partitioning approach. Isolated directional wind–sea spectra provide the basis for estimating the total rate of energy dissipation by breaking waves. The method employs Phillips' equilibrium range theory and extends Felizardo and Melville's recent work obtaining wave dissipation estimates from one‐dimensional wave spectra. Preliminary results are encouraging; wave dissipation reduces the scatter in whitecap fraction observations by several orders of magnitude when wind speed is replaced with wave dissipation as the independent variable in the standard power‐law model for whitecap fraction. It will be demonstrated that the success of this approach is partially attributed to a wind history bias ...


(57) Abstract: Apparatus and method for selecting the channel on a television system by theme. Remote controller for the television system (10) is a device for storing a plurality of theme keys, each corresponding to one theme (34-44), the input channel indicator corresponding to each theme (104) When, if it first theme key pressed corresponds to a first theme, to access in order to send to the television system in each channel indicator corresponding to the first theme multiple themes, television continuing device for controlling the channel selection system and (100,16), during the set time period that is after the transmission to access a channel indicator, a transmission to access sequentially the channel indicator corresponding to the first theme a device for halting that, if if pressed first theme key again, accessed and Shin device comprises a device for stopping sending to access each channel indicator corresponding to the first theme of the plurality of themes.


It is explored how to establish future stock plans for senior managers in listed companies using the option theory, contract theory and property theory. The future stock incentive and restraint mechanism in listed companies is studied and the feasibility of future stock plans is analyzed.


The interconversions between relaxation moduli and creep compliances, including stretch, shear, bulk parts, and the time-dependent Poisson's ratio, are derived by using the relaxation-creep duality representation. The relaxation-creep duality representation for the viscoelastic functions introduced in this paper is composed of an exponential function that characterizes the relaxation behavior and a complementary one that characterizes the creep behavior. All viscoelastic functions can be represented as the same form. The new sets of coefficients, called the modulating constants, between viscoelastic functions obey the elastic-like interconversions, and do not involve the characteristic times. The relationships of characteristic times between those functions are also derived. These interconversion formulas can then be calculated easily. Three literatures are referenced to calculate the consistency of the viscoelastic functions via the new interconversions introduced in this work. The Young's relaxation modulus in one literature is not consistent to the shear one in another literature. By assuming a constant bulk modulus, the modified Young's relaxation modulus and time-dependent Poisson's ratio that was derived by the new interconversions can meet the measured curves and can be consistent to the shear creep compliance in the literatures. The fitted data from experiments can then be checked via the new mathematical interconversions for the consistency.


Allium mongolicum Regel was a versatile sandy vegetable,which is also used for herbs,health protection and binding-sand.Based on the systematic research of sandy vegetable team of Inner Mongolia Agricultural University,such as the study of introduction and acclimation,breeding,cultivation technology,seed physiology,dynamics of growth and development,nutrition and mowing in Allium mongolicum Regel.The paper summarized the non-polluted cultivation of Allium mongolicum Regel in cultivated land,desert and wastedland from following five aspects: habitat enviroment,cultivattin techique,pest and disease control,timely harvesting,storage and transport,production records.Providing the direction for nomaliztion cultivation,accordingly,enhancing the yield and inproving the quality of Allium mongolicum Regel.


The formation of a stable sublatent image as a result of the action of pairs of light quanta has been investigated theoretically on the basis of transitions from a ground stage through an unstable level to a higher level. Expressions for the fraction of grains in the sublatent image stage for continuous as well as for intermittent exposures have been derived, the latter for the purpose of determining the critical time period. The possibility that the absorption of more light quanta is necessary for the formation of a developable image has been taken into account. A model including low and high intensity reciprocity failure is outlined briefly.


Based on the theory of the multimediations, this reception study has a main objective of analyzing how the information linked to domestic violence against woman disclosed by Jornal Nacional, newscast aired on prime time TV Globo, are seized by young highschool students, considering too other mediations – friends, family and school – to which they are exposed. Ten high school students are the sample of qualitative field research. Through interviews, it was concluded that family mediation is the most important consideration in evaluating the subject and the attitude of young people on the topic. The aspect that stands out is that the Jornal Nacional serves as an instigator, since most young people reveals that the debate on violence against women at home and in other spaces begin when there is disclosure of reports related to the topic. Keywords: reception, young people, Jornal Nacional, domestic violence against women.


The long-term capacity-time dependence of 1-decanol was measured at the mercury/electrolyte interface for the electrolytes KCl, NaCl, LiBr, and K(2)SO(4), each of concentration 0.1 M, in the temperature range 20 to 50 degrees C and at 35 degrees C for electrolyte concentrations of NaCl in the region 0.05 to 0.4 M. All capacity-time dependences exhibited a slow increase of the capacity after a sudden decrease in the short-term range. The corresponding long-term time dependence of the degree of coverage can be theoretically well described with a first-order surface reaction. The ratios of final equilibrium capacity to minimal capacity can be explained with the formation of hemispherical or bilayer surface micelles from an initial monolayer of perpendicularly adsorbed molecules. A generalized packing parameter that involves the increase or decrease of the head groups' distance due to electrolyte ions or other surfactants was introduced. In the case of bilayers of parallel adsorbed molecules, obviously a new type of transition, which will be discussed in detail, occurs.


AbstractTo provide ground validation data for satellite precipitation products derived from the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission, such as IMERG, in cold seasons and where orographic factors exert strong controls on precipitation, the Olympic Mountain Experiment (OLYMPEX) was conducted during winter 2015/16. By utilizing multiple observational resources from OLYMPEX, estimates of daily and finer-scale precipitation are constructed at 1/32° spatial resolution over the OLYMPEX domain. The estimates are based on NOAA WSR-88D and gauge estimates as incorporated in NOAA's National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL) Q3GC product, augmented with an additional 120 gauges available during OLYMPEX. Few stations are located in the interior of the Olympic Peninsula at elevations higher than about 500 m, and in this part of the domain the Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) hydrology model is used to invert the snow water equivalent (SWE) estimates, derived from two NASA JPL Airborne Snow Observatory (ASO) ...


Quantum Cryptography uses the laws of quantum physics for communication, offers an unconditionally secure solution to the key distribution problem. Moreover quantum mechanics also provides the ability to detect the presence of eavesdropper who is trying to learn key. But there is a problem of user authentication in quantum cryptography which can be overcome by using advantages of both public and quantum cryptography. By using ECC (Elliptic Curve Cryptography), which provides equivalent security level as RSA (Rivest-Shamir-Adleman) in less key size that is 160 bit key size of ECC provides equivalent security level as 1024 bit key size of RSA which is advantageous for resource constrained devices like cellular phone, personal digital assistants (PDAs), embedded systems, sensors and smart cards. At the same time in typical quantum cryptography there is an overhead and inefficiency caused due to number of rounds required to measure the correct bases which can be overcome using the system.


Objective To investigate different phenotypes of carotid atherosclerosis in association with hypertension,impaired glucose metabolism and metabolic syndrome(MS) in the elderly.Methods A cross-sectional study consisted of 202 hospitalized patients(60~85 years) was carried out in the department of geriatrics in West China Hospital from 2007 to 2010.OGTT was applied to the subjects without formal diagnosis of type 2 diabetes(T2DM).Subjects were divided into four groups according to their glucose metabolism and presence or absence of MS as following: NGT group,IGT group,T2DM/MS(-)(T2DM without metabolic syndrome) group,and T2DM/MS(+)(T2DM with MS) group.Demographic indicators,blood pressure,blood fat,blood-fasting sugar and insulin parameters were carefully collected.Results Compared with NGT group,IGT group was associated with higher CCA-IMT.Comparedwith NGT and IGT group,the T2DM groups had increased incidence of IMT and plaque.Compared with the T2DM/MS(-) group,T2DM/MS(+) group had increased carotid IMT,mildly lower prevalence of abnormal IMT and plaque.Multiple linear regression showed that age and different stages of glucose metabolism were the main factors which affected carotid artery IMT.Logistic regression showed that smoking and duration of hypertension were the main predictors of carotid artery plaque,and fibrinogen was an independent predictor of abnormal intima-media thickness.Conclusions Abnormal glucose metabolism and hypertension are important factors in the process of atherosclerosis.Metabolic syndrome,when overlapping with T2DM,may not increase the impact of T2DM on atherosclerosis.


Severe weather is the main cause for the delay of transport aircraft,rerouting strategy is an effective way to reduce delays,multi-aircraft path planning is the key point for rerouting.For many flights delay caused by severe weather,this paper presents artificial potential field method for multi-aircraft rerouting path planning.Traditional artificial potential field model is established according to the aircraft by gravity force and repulsion force,and different rotation control force between aircraft and aircraft,aircraft and severe weather is introduced to avoid local minimum value during rerouting.Simulation result shows that the path planned by improved artificial potential field method is shorter and smoother,and no large angle turning and repeated shocks,and the computational efficiency is improved by 33%.


A series of three experiments tested the hypothesis that castration would result in altered open-field behaviour and aggression in male meadow voles. The open-field behaviour of laboratory-reared voles was not affected, and that of wild-captured laboratory-housed animals showed only one significant difference. However, in free-ranging voles, recaptured at intervals for testing, castration resulted in significantly reduced intermale aggression, and significantly decreased activity and increased urination in the open field. Thus, only the results from the experiment using free-ranging voles indicate a significant castration effect, and we suggest the lack of effect in laboratory-housed animals may be due to changes in factors including photoperiod, social milieu, and season.The changes in aggression and open-field behaviour in the wild animals are in agreement with interpretation of previous field studies of intact male voles, which demonstrated changes in these two behaviours at the onset of the breeding s...


In this paper we analyze the Chilean Consumer Price Index (CPI) with respect to ten price indexes representing the average price faced by ten different income groups. We construct these indexes using information from two versions of the Household Expenditure Survey: that obtained for the period 1996-1997 and for the period 2006-2007. We show that the official CPI is a fairly good representation of the prices faced by the eighth and seventh income decile agents (first income decile is the poorest, tenth income decile is the richest). CPI shows a decreasing ability to represent the cost of life as the distance to the seventh and eighth decile increases. In particular, the poorest and richest people are the worst represented by the CPI. We also show that the inflation faced by different income groups has important similarities, but also some remarkable differences. For instance, while all income groups display a monthly inflation rate around 0.25 percent, the standard deviation of the lowest income group annual inflation is 45% higher than that of the richest group. More importantly, we show that different income groups face either permanent or very persistent gaps in their price indexes, indicating that differences across income groups may take a long time to dissapear.


General situations of dispersive clay is briefly introduced as well as the properties of dispersive clay and its harms to hydraulic works.Combined with practical works and based on analysis of failure conditions of the dam with dispersive clay some common treatment measures are proposed in order to ensure the safety and stability of dams.


Alkali-metal-doped C[sub 60] superconductors formed by alkali-metal azide decomposition show a time evolution for the development of the superconducting phase after initial sample preparation which extends over about 15 h for storage at room temperature. This is studied quantitatively for K[sub 3]C[sub 60] and Rb[sub 3]C[sub 60], and differences are seen between these two systems which are consistent with redistribution of the alkali metal in the C[sub 60] matrix accounting for the time evolution observed. This is supported by separate experiments in which the storage temperature after sample preparation is decreased to 77 K. It is interesting that electron spin resonance (ESR) signals are seen in all of these samples in both the superconducting and nonsuperconducting temperature regions and that they show time evolutions after sample preparation that are qualitatively similar to the low-field microwave absorption (LFMA) signals which characterize the development of the superconducting phase. However, a detailed comparison shows differences between the ESR signal changes with time and the development of the superconducting phase which suggests that the origins of the ESR and LFMA signals are independent. It is interesting that similar ESR changes with storage time are observed in nonsuperconducting Cs[sub 3]C[sub 60] as are observed inmore » superconducting K[sub 3]C[sub 60] and Rb[sub 3]C[sub 60]. 10 refs., 10 figs.« less


In the 2000 years during which human abilities have been assessed formally, tests and examinations have grown more powerful. A century ago, critics launched a strong attack on examinations, citing their "inevitable uncertainty," but a growing testing industry and governmental cries for "accountability" have managed a stubborn defense. More recently, appreciation of the complexity of notions such as "language proficiency" and acceptance of the resulting impossibility of finding a single measure of those notions have led testing experts to a realization that assessing language knowledge is multipart and intricate—and more likely to be served by profiles than by simple scores.


The reaction of CpTi(CO)2 (1), Cp2TiCl (2), and Cp2TiCl2 (3) (Cp = η5-C5H5) with purine (PuH) and adenine (AdH) in organic solvents is described. The compound 1 reacts with both molecules in an oxi...


The research objective was to determine the role of the XVI Gorontalo Higher Education Service Institutions in implementing service strategies for improving the management quality of private tertiary institutions, especially in terms of internal and external service strategies and managerial roles in improving the quality management performance of private tertiary institutions within the XVI region Higher Education Service Institutions. Gorontalo. The analytical method uses a technical SWOT analysis. The results of the study show that the Higher Education Service Institution (LLDIKTI) as a facilitator through its services can bring together various supporting interests. Education, Student and Academic Staff, Research and Community Service and Other Supporting Programs that put quality demonstrations that intersect with the interests of the business world and industry through the Merdeka Belajar program and the independent campus.


This study's objective was to establish the efficacy of a honey-based dressing in the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers. A well-known moisture-retention dressing was used as the control dressing, and factors influencing wound healing were controlled. There was no significant difference in healing rates of diabetic foot ulcers between honey and the conventional dressing, and the honey had no significant effect on glycaemic control. It was concluded that honey is at least as effective as conventional dressings in healing diabetic foot ulcers.


Water pollution can be found in the oceans, seas, rivers and lakes which can be taken as organic pollutants or better known as emerging pollutants. Emerging pollutants (EP´s) are chemical substances that persist in the environment, these molecules are in the food chain causing risks and adverse effects for human health and the environment. EP´s are not they are discharged as effluents indiscriminately, for this reason is important to improve water treatment by the application of advanced techniques as adsorption. Adsorbents like alumina are known for their large surface area, high mechanical properties and good resistivity to thermal degradation. Aluminum oxide or alumina (Al2O3) is a solid white ceramic material which has been considered an efficient adsorbent for EP´s removal as advanced water treatment.


The role of the competence approach in the preparation of future officers of rocket-artillery armament is determined, which is integrated with the components of qualification requirements for such specialists, the content of the educational program, modern teaching technologies, develops system-activity principles for the development of educational standards for training, aimed at qualitative training of military specialists, improvement of content of vocational training, the use of innovative technologies in educational process. The main trends in the development of means and methods of armed struggle are oriented towards the model of the graduate of a military institution of higher education of an integral nature. The method of determination of the content of training of the cadets is developed, the essence of which is based on the analysis of the prospects of the development of means of armed struggle, their combat application, established the main activities of future officers of rocket-artillery armament: organizational and combat, technical and operational, administrative and managerial. The competency model has been designed in which the goals, content and results of the training of military specialists are interrelated with the consideration of dynamic changes in professional activity and are not limited to a narrow professional sphere of application. The model includes basic personal qualities, systematically formed universal skills and abilities and allows more qualitative and scientific approach to the definition of the military component of the educational standard, qualification requirements and curricula for training engineers. The most effective technologies in the training of future officers of rocket-artillery armament are modular rating education, distance learning, problem-based learning, project technology. It has been established that it is advisable to use problem tasks in the classes in the disciplines of vocational training. The problems of increasing the efficiency of professional activity of future officers of rocket-artillery armament are outlined: automation of missile strike and artillery fire control processes; timely intelligence of enemy objects in the interests of rocket troops and artillery; ensuring the increase of the range of artillery fire, the power of their ammunition; an increase in the proportion of high-precision munitions, etc.


In the saliency theory of elections parties are seen as monolithic. Each party emphasises the issues they own to gain electoral advantage. There are no rival agendas generated by different factions within the party or its territorial subdivisions. We test this assumption in the 2005 UK general election, comparing national party communications with those of local parties in the South West of England. We found consistency in the issue emphases of Labour's national and local campaigns. But there were divergences in priotities between the national and local campaigns of the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. We seek to account for these differences in emphasis.


And the antenna is disclosed that is used for radio frequency identification system, the antenna is a reference ground, an antenna feeder, and is electrically coupled to the antenna supplying HF and the mid one of UHF signals, the primary patch antenna element to the field transmit and receive with It includes a field transmitting and receiving one or more additional patch antenna elements -, HF and send one of the UHF signal and to receive respectively electrically coupled to the edge of the primary patch antenna element HF and one of the UHF broadband signals imide. One or more additional patch antenna elements provide a gain increase of HF and UHF signals.


Sustainable land use and rational soil management, including an up-to-date soil moisture control requires continuous actions. This permanent control may prevent, eliminate or at least reduce undesirable soil processes and their harmful economical/ecological/environmental/social consequences; utilizing the unique soil characteristic, resilience, may satisfy the conditions for the "quality maintenance" of this "conditionally renewable" natural resource. Control can be efficient only on the basis of comprehensive risk assessment, impact analysis and exact prognosis. These have to be the main research priorities! The successful prevention, elimination or moderation of undesirable soil degradation processes and extreme moisture regimes can be efficient only in a well-coordinated multidisciplinary international cooperation in the Carpathian Basin. The realization of the sustainability concept in the rational land use and soil management gives reality for a better life: healthy, good quality food, clean water an...


Abstract Fifty-six species (23 genera) of treehoppers (Membracidae) are recorded from the vicinity of Little Orleans, Maryland, with date and host-plant data. Eleven of the species represent new state records for Maryland, bringing the total number of species recorded for the state to 81. These data document annual collecting efforts since 1993 by the authors and others in connection with the informal treehopper conferences initiated by the late T. K. Wood. Photographs are given for 12 species representing 7 genera.


Open-ended questions can be found in the questionnaires of a multitude of surveys performed in socioeconomy, epidemiology, advertising, marketing, sensometrics. They become an essential part of these questionnaires when a more fundamental research is involved and/or when a complex and unknown topic is being explored (particularly during periods of uncertainty, in the context of an unstable and risky environment). Processing "free responses" (i.e.: responses to open questions) is a challenge for both statisticians and specialists in text analysis. When dealing with socio-economic sample surveys we are often facing the following situation: Numerous statistical observations are simultaneously described by texts and by several categorical variables. For instance, individuals in a survey are characterized by both responses to open-ended questions and responses to closed questions. In multinational or cross-cultural surveys, as well as in some industrial databases (complaints files, for example), it frequently happens that the texts are in different languages, although the categorical variables are the same. The techniques that will be briefly presented take advantage of the presence of categorical variables to group responses and consequently to build as many artificial texts as there are categorical variables. The main task consists then in comparing texts, instead of understanding texts. Such purely comparative approach may allow for tackling multilingual surveys or corpora. About the technical aspects of the methodology, let us mention that both principal axes techniques (factor analysis, principal component analysis, correspondence analysis) and clustering methods play a major role in the computerized exploration of textual corpora. They produce visualizations and groupings of elements (free responses in marketing and socioeconomic surveys); they highlight associations and patterns; they devise decision aids for attributing a text to a category of respondent or to a specific period. We will focus our presentation on the use and assessments of visualization techniques in several practical situations. The examples of application concern texts derived either from food and wine guides or from openended questions in a series of international sample surveys.


Monthly precipitation, average temperature and sunshine data from 1953 to 2011 for 29 typical weather stations, and corn production data from 1979 to 2011 for 16 cities in Yunnan province were analysed to determine temporal and spatial characteristics. The correlation coefficient of the SPEI index at different time scales and corn yield reduction was also calculated. The results showed that variation in SPEI has declined, and the frequency of droughts has reduced but the duration has increased. Changes in the wet and dry seasons were reflected by SPEI-3 and SPEI-6, and annual changes were verified by SPEI-12. From the perspective of drought frequency during the different stages of corn growth, the highest is the sowing period, which is followed by filaments period, and finally, the maturity period. There were three extreme droughts and 28 severe droughts in Kunming during the corn sowing period from 1951 to 2011, and the drought frequency was up to 51%. The frequency of drought was highest in central Yunnan. Drought tended to be seasonal and worse during the summer corn growth season: the minimum Sep-SPEI-6 drought index of Kunming was in 2010. The SPEI drought indices in the 16 cities of Yunnan were positively correlated with corn yield reduction. The SPEI value of the Kunming corn growth season and corn yield reduction was positively correlated, and the correlation coefficient of Sep-SPEI-6 drought index and corn yield reduction is equal to 0.58. Overall, droughts in the summer corn growth season affect corn production greatly and SPEI drought index can be applied to drought monitoring during the corn growing season in Yunnan.


Abstract
This chapter features four personal reflections written by practicing teacher leaders from Indiana, Connecticut, Nevada, and New Jersey. The first two reflections describe the transition from teacher to teacher leader through active engagement in leadership roles related to teacher preparation, internships, and field experiences. The third reflection compares teaching in a professional development school (PDS) to teaching at a non-PDS site; and the fourth reflection considers the many benefits of teaching in a PDS, including the support of a professor in residence. The chapter concludes with five questions for discussion and reflection.